Loosening of the Obi

[Gin]

Rice wine, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, and white musk.

I've tried this thrice now--I didn't pay attention to it the first time, I felt like I couldn't smell it much at all the second, and now today. I'm loving it today. It's sweet and light. The rice wine isn't too boozy, the sandalwood is restrained. The vanilla bean isn't as angel-food-cakey as the Vanilla Bean SN, but maybe it's just masked by the white musk that is shining like a beacon. It reminds me a bit of The First of The Three Spirits with the musk and vanilla. Loosening of the Obi is really pretty and I'm thinking I might need to grab a bottle before it's gone.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: slightly boozy and meaty rice wine with vanilla bean. Yum.

 

Drydown: the booziness subsides a little and melds with the white sandalwood and vanilla bean perfectly. The white musk amps the whole blend and makes it glow. I described this to someone as having a slow magnetic pull. Completely unexpected winner.

 

I tested this and fell in love! Bought a bottle and still in love.

[angburfield]

This is just stunning to me. I am not getting much from the rice wine but the sandalwood, vanilla beand and white musk are so feminine, soft, clean and just plain pretty. Make we want to wrap myself in a silk kimono after being covered in rice oil..feeling just naturally sensual and aware of every sense..this wears close to the skin and blends in with my skin chemistry so beautifully.

[edenssixthday]

Loosening of the Obi - This is a beautiful, soft, feminine scent. It's mostly vanilla and white musk, with a touch of rice wine that smooths it out and keeps it interesting. The white sandalwood is also subtle, but gives the scent texture and grounds it. Something in it doesn't work quite right on my skin, and I'm thinking it must be the musk. Oh well, more for the rest of you.

[hkhm]

bottle: vanilla musk. perfect.

 

wet: this is such a delicate musk, such gentle vanilla, such dainty sandalwood... very feminine.

 

dry: as this dried i finally get hints of rice wine, very faintly though. this is a very soft sandalwood musk with only the barest touch of vanilla. to me this gives the feel of clean, cool skin perhaps touched by the sunlight of a late spring morning.

[Bamels]

I am recovering from a cold so my nose may not be up to scratch. I admit to being intrigued by the rice wine. Sniffing the imp I can smell slightly spiced rice. I'm guessing this is the sandalwood mixing with the rice wine! It's a nice smell, clean and fresh with a slight sweetness to it. Not sure how well it will smell as a perfume. Once on my skin the musk is coming through quite strongly with the slight booziness of the rice wine behind it. The vanilla bean is slowly coming out to warm up the scent as it dries. When dry the scent reminds me of a lovely After Sun I used to use. It's a light refreshing smell with a slight sweetness to it. It smells a bit like a perfume sample you would get from a magazine, but much nicer! I think I will keep this for really hot days when I need to feel refreshed.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This scent is not something I'd usually like. It's very feminine without being floral and clean. It's like a lovely cream-colored raw silk. Rice wine is a prominent note, with white musk and sandalwood following closely behind. There is something herbal about this and I'm getting whiffs of something like the absinthe or black licorice from Paduan Killer Swarm.

 

I'm sad that I can't smell much vanilla, but I'm pretty sure this will age nicely into a warmer vanilla scent.

 

ETA, months later. The perfume is essentially the same, but the vanilla has become more prominent. I'm so in love with this scent that I may need a backup bottle.

Edited December 31, 2011 by mxtine

[pinkgyrl]

This scent feels so light and airy. On my skin, this scent has a creamy and cottony vanilla feel with just a touch of a fruit or a floral note giving it a sweetness (probably from the rice wine). It's soft and unassuming and would be perfect in an office setting or when you just want a gentle scent to wear. It's most definitey a skin scent, and it just feels magical - love

[milo]

I originally passed this by because rice wine tended to be rather awful on me from a previous Luper, can't remember which one. Here, though, I'm surprised right off the bat. Fresh, slightly musky vanilla and a lovely sandalwood. I'm getting something akin to mint, hence the fresh, airy feeling of this blend. Depending on how the rest of the afternoon goes with this blend, I may hunt down a bit more. Very nice!

[mimosa]

Very light and pretty, a perfect summer scent.

Wet; something sharp almost minty. The sandalwood peeks out as this dries, then hides behind the vanilla musk.

I love this, it stays close, I can slather safely without upsetting anyone else.

[karihan]

Source: Straight from the lab bottle.

 

In bottle: WHOA, hello there rice wine and sandalwood! Yeah, that's definitely sake there. A bit worrisome, as I'm hoping for more vanilla and musk, but onward!

 

On wet: Not ... a whole lot of anything? I can pick up a whiff of the sake, and bare traces of the other notes if I practically mash my nose to the spot, but I'm really not getting much.

 

Drydown: Well, it doesn't get any weaker, but it doesn't get any stronger either. A barely-there skin musk with a slight tang of sake. Bizarre!

 

Conclusion: My skin has been known to eat scents, but it usually doesn't do so instantaneously! Ah well, LtO. I'll give you one more try before a final decision, but I think you're in need of another home.

[maika]

In the decant: a tiny bit if vanilla, a tiny bit of musk, and something incredibly clean. I guess that's the rice wine

 

Wet: Pretty much just the rice wine.

 

Dry: The rice wine has settled into the background, and the sandalwood, musk and vanilla are soft and sweet. It doesn't have a big throw, but I can see this being a wonderful summertime scent. Off to find more.

[lookingglass]

This is really clean and a little boozy, like a gin and tonic feels. It's refreshing, but light and soft, staying close to the skin and melding ever so much with the white musk and vanilla. It does not smell like cake. It reminds me a bit of B&BW's Rice Flower and Shea, but greener and softer, if that's helpful. It's a good warm weather scent.

[ami226]

On the skin: A clear scent. A musky, vanilla, and slightly flowery scent. There is a sweetness that is quite beautiful. I think I need to try this one again before deciding whether to keep it or not. This one would definitely be perfect for summertime!

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: Soft, sweet, fresh, and clean. There's something vaguely fruity about this, which I'm assuming is the rice wine. This is a surprisingly young and innocent scent for a Luper!

 

Wet: That fruitiness really flares up once its on my skin. After a few seconds, the white musk starts coming out... and then the sandalwood, giving all those light, sweet notes a solid backing. It starts to smell very lotiony as it dries down.

 

Dry: Yep, very lotiony. I can still pick out each of the notes, but the vanilla has ebbed somewhat, so it's less sweet than before.

 

An Hour Later: Oh, ick. I do not like this at all. Very lotiony and perfumey. Pretty much all of the sweetness is gone, and it's left with an almost sour edge. I blame the rice wine; it's the only note I'm not familiar with... though the white musk may be partially at fault here, too.

 

Overall: I can see how some might like this, but it is not my style at all. It's way too girly and perfumey for me.

[yakiguri]

Was on the fence about buying this when the Lupers were live as sake is typically a death note. And yup, it ruined this scent for me too. Sour, acrid, NOPE. Scrubbed and swapped.

[mymymai]

ITI: The rice wine is pretty clear on first sniff, although it has a bit of an anise quality. There is also a softness to this scent, which is due to the light musk and sandalwood. It’s clean, simple, and lovely.

 

Wet: Ooh, the white sandalwood becomes the dominant note, while rice wine supports it and adds a herbal hint. The musk rounds out the scent and there seems to bit just a touch of sweetness from the vanilla (very faint, though). It’s lovely!

 

Dry: After a little over an hour, the scent becomes a little powdery due to the sandalwood, but in a good way. The vanilla has come up stronger on my skin, so that it’s a sweet vanilla-d dusting powder with an undertone of herbiness from the rice wine. It is still a lovely scent and I may consider getting a bottle in the future.

[ND¢]

I don't get any booziness from this at all. A sweet, somehow very well-rounded scent. I agree with the posters who mentioned HGM, it's very similar to me (don't have a bottle anymore, so can't compare.) It also reminds me somewhat of Tamamo-no-Mae. Light and conveys a very fresh, innocent quality. Will be hunting down more of this to stockpile.

[Violaine]

This is really beautiful. Sniffing it in the bottle, I thought, "Oh, this is Korea!" And by that I mean that it smells like a throng of generic, sweet, teenage girl-aimed Korean body sprays. But don't take that in the wrong way!! I love those scents! I spent a lot of my time in Korea shopping at places like Etude House and Holika Holika for those sweet, almost effervescent sprays!

 

But while it reminds me of those scents, Loosening of the Obi is more grown up. The rice wine stays very high in the blend, always there, but it's like the sandalwood, vanilla bean, and musk are wrapping their arms around it and pulling it back down to earth. It's sweet, enveloping, and while I'd consider it "perfumey", it's also very unique and mysterious in a lightly feminine way.

 

I absolutely love and adore this. If you're one of those people who feel like the Shungas are "made for you", then you gotta try this.

[Balame]

This is stunning. It's the sheerest white musk with vanilla bean and airy sandalwood. Makes me think of pure white silk sliding along the thighs of a beautiful woman. Sooooo goooood.

 

Yeah, sorry I can't be more coherent. The vanilla bean is really delicious (without getting too foody because of the dry rice wine) and true to its name; I haven't found it this realistic in any other of BPAL's blends. I would venture to say that Obi almost has a coconut vibe when wet, as shimmery vanilla tends to evoke, but that's totally fine since it's another favorite of mine.

 

This is not "understatedly" sexy, even though it's not in your face. It's like the most naturally beautiful person you've ever seen, so the allure is obvious. They're just extremely humble about it.

 

Must have more.

[filigree_shadow]

I put some on, sniffed it, thought it smelled nice, did something else for 20 minutes... and now I can't really even locate the spot on my arm where I put it. I think it was mostly a sweet rice wine at first, but it settled into a really nice vanilla musk. Except that I can barely smell it. I mean it's super soft. I can only smell it if I have my nose right at my skin. That doesn't really work for me as perfume, because I like for people to be able to smell whiffs of my perfume without putting their noses on me. It is really, really pretty, though.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Oooh. That's lovely. Soft white musk, a whisper of vanilla. It's a bit creamy. There is something almost a little green, or fresh about it. Vey soft, feminine and pretty. Very springy/summery.

 

 

Dry: I do wish this was a bit stronger, but as it is it's a perfect work scent for me - light, totally inoffensive. Not much throw, but so very pleasant. Clean without being at all soapy or aquatic. It makes me feel pretty.