Xiuhtecuhtli

[milo]

This one is a loud, bright, slightly spicy citrus floral. Not my style, but I'm kind of enjoying this one. It goes kind of waxy on me after a bit, and not in a good way, like chapstick. This one kind of reminds me of Mexico, of a small town with lots of cool shops with incense, grocers and textile, knickknacks and stone cobbled streets. Brings back memories, but this blend isn't me.

[brwnpaperhag]

This is my first review in a looooong while, apologies in adavnce, but hopefully it's like riding a bike!

 

I honestly have no idea why I never bought this sooner, especially since people have been comparing it to Gucci Rush, my one and only, for at least 10 years now.

 

It opens with fresh, green orange--so sharp and clean! The bitterness and the zest are wonderfully surprising.

It takes a bit to round out; on me, that's about 40 minutes. It slowly warms up into this gorgeous heady fragrance of plumeria (gentle, not at all loud like b&bw) and (I'm guessing) Copal. The fresh bit from the orange keeps it from going too floral, but the copal confuses my nose and makes me think I'm smelling something gourmand. If I keep inhaling like an addict, I almost get a popcorn vibe? Like, all buttery in the back of my throat.

 

I read in one of the very early reviews that someone got chocolate from this, and I can definitely understand that--it's so warm.

 

I don't get much smoke from this, and I can't tell if it's because I've only just opened my lab-fresh bottle or if that's just me--I've never really worn a scent with smoke in it.

 

It wears close to the skin on me, but sometimes when I turn my head I get a nice waft and it's sooooo comforting. A slatherer would definitely be noticed if they chose this scent.

 

I can't stop huffing my arm--it's exactly the same reactrion I had with Rush. I know people have said it before, but oh man--if you love heady but soft, big/loud/bright fragrances, this is definitely for you. I could roll in this forever.

[lizabelle]

This may be the scent that truly hooked me on BPAL. It is bright, warm yellow bottled, like sunshine on a warm, humid day. The plumeria is by far the star, with a punch of citrus and some smoke in the background. I'm not sure what "jungle blooms" are in here otherwise, but there's definitely something there rounding it out. This is a well-blended perfume and the notes work very well together. It's pretty linear but warms beautifully on my skin and gets so creamy. I can't stop smelling it when it's on--it just makes me happy. Definitely full-bottle worthy!

[sunlitgarden]

I think this came as a Lab frimp but I'm not sure how old it is.

In the imp: Sweet orange, florals in the background. I like this!

On my skin: lots of sweet orange! This is creamy, sweet, and has a lushness to it that does make me think of a jungle. I've never been to a tropical rainforest myself but it reminds me of standing in a greenhouse with lots of flowers and plants in the background. I've tried a few tropical scents where the plumeria is too sharp, but it's not like that here. A few minutes later I'm starting to smell what I guess is the incense smoke--it reminds me of a freshly blown out candle. I don't usually like smoke notes but it's blended with enough other notes here that it's not overpowering. I probably wouldn't have picked this for myself but I actually really like this, especially because it's different from any other scents I have. Yay for frimps!

[freyasfae]

I haven't smelled plumeria in a long time, but the plumeria definitely comes out on this for me with a mix incense and the BPAL jungle blooms I have smelled before. I am not exactly sure what copal smells like, but I don't really get much sweet orange from this.

[torikitty]

Wet: smoky orange with a floral background, and the copal sweetening things up. I wouldn't pinpoint plumeria.

Dry: still a smoky orange with a sweetness and tropical floral. Very pretty and good for a summer evening. An hour later the plumeria becomes more apparent and sexy. This ends up being a fruity, lightly floral, flirty fragrance with low throw.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Carrie

[ramblingrambler]

This is not something I would typically wear or even like, but my goodness is this lovely. I don't know if I can pick out the notes one by one, but it, all together, captures the scent of light penetrating death. I have no idea how I know that–didn't read the scent description until after I started my review, but that was my first thought upon application... "This is light and energy!" and as it started to dry, "It's slightly somber but intensely energetic still." Indeed, light penetrating death. I would wear this at the first remnants of spring and then all summer long.

[ianastar]

In the bottle and wet this is smoky incense for sure.

 

The dry down brings out more of the orange and florals.

 

Final thoughts - this is a lovely tropical floral. I love how the orange brings some lightness and warmth to the florals. This is a keeper for me.

[sarandipitee]

Sweet incense with lush fruity florals. Very heady and musty and humid. Off to the frimp pile.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Copal, incense, sweet orange, accompanied by the sweet plumeria.

 

Wet: The copal, incense, and sweet orange are the strongest notes on my skin, but I do get the plumeria as well. The sweet plumeria note is becoming stronger the longer this sits on my skin.

 

Dry: This is primarily an incense scent on me, sweetened by the orange and plumeria notes, but I am also getting the tropical blooms listed during this stage.

 

Verdict: This one is really nice, sweet incense scent. I think I'll hold on to the imp (since it is fresh from the Lab) to see how much I reach for it and to see how it ages.

[ShleepySnorlax]

Oh wow, this is interesting! This came as a frimp from the lab, & isn't my normal kind of scent. I was really excited to see copal listed because I've been wanting to try it. I wasn't able to pick it out, but that's okay. This keeps going between yummy juicy sweet oranges and perfume-y orange. I think the flowers give it the perfume-y quality. This works wonderfully on a hot summer day like today. On me, there isn't a lot of throw or staying power (although maybe I'm sweating it off!).

[fizzbangdangcharade]

Orange trees heavy with ripe fruit; that mint plant you potted and placed on the sill large and lush, and ready to be harvested for tea and cocoa. The breeze brings with it the warmth of vanilla, the faintest hint of sweet tobacco and spiced skin oils. There’s always that faint hint of something floral, but there’s never a bloom in site.

 

I originally got this as a frimp awhile back, and it immediately became my favorite scent from that order. (It is, in fact, my favorite scent of all the ones I’ve tried thus far.)

 

I had no idea what to expect when I sniffed this in the imp – but was immediately both confused and entranced.
In the bottle: bright and creamy orange with a splash of..cilantro?! As much as I love orange I hate cilantro (or anything that reminds me of it) so I had my doubts about this one. But I couldn’t help it, I needed to know; it was the first of my order I put on to try out.

 

Wet on my skin: Yep, that’s orange and cilantro all right. But I don’t hate it? I think this is what cilantro smells like to most people – a really pretty lemony green, similar to lemon grass but not quite the same (which is not how actual cilantro reads to me.) I also get – chocolate and mint. This may sound like an odd combo but I actually really love it.

 

Warming up: The green lemon fades a bit, and the orange is swirled with a frothy vanilla cream. The chocolate mint is just as strong, and makes this so sweet (but not saccharine.) Despite all the notes being food scents, this doesn’t actually come off as foody to me. It’s less gourmand and more sweet summer breeze.

 

Drydown: The cilantro has all but gone – the orange has mellowed, and blended into the mint chocolate. The creamy vanilla has lost its froth, allowing a soft spice to come through. It’s smokey, like the memory of incense and sweet tobacco leaves. There’s something not quite floral – more like the suggestion of blooms on a summer breeze, warmed by the sun and nourished by damp earth.

 

Last: It lasts all day on me, fading into something soft and lulled by sunset.

 

Throw: This one has amazing throw – it makes my entire office smell amazing, and in the winter it lingers in my scarves. Of all my scents, I’ve noticed it’s one of the few were people will stand just a little closer to me than usual.

 

This is my scent. My go to. It works with all of my soaps, it transitions from day to night, and works for all occasions. It makes me feel warm, and content, and like the world is beautiful. Like I am beautiful. I have scents I love because they evoke strong scent memories I cherish, or because they fill a specific role I want to portray. But this? This is just...me.

[quigza]

wet: frangipani & orange

 

Dry: Ever have vitafusion calcium gummies? It's like that & frangipani (plumeria) & a bit of Abuela's incense.

 

aftermath: Some vanilla tinted creaminess, faded floral, and candle wax.

 

It's a lovely experience. I think I might wear it for specific purposes, but this isn't an everyday thing for me.

Edited September 19, 2018 by Lemonlife

[roseus]

Imp: sweetness and bitterness. Mostly orange and vanilla and plumeria. 

 

Wet: more about orange and plumeria. Distinct incense. Smoky and ashy in a really unique way. 

 

Dry: The notes, besides that beautiful smoke, are very indistinct now. It's a very sweet smoke, with a humid floral undertone. So unique and beautiful.

[DigitalCoyote]

Wet: Bitter and acrid. 

 

Just dry: A bust of flowers and sweet smoke.

 

Dry: Orange rind and sweet smoke.

 

#BPALphabetAUG20

Edited August 25, 2020 by DigitalCoyote

[Laughing Seagull]

I bought an imp of this from the lab because I have had good luck with citrus and copal notes, and WOW, I love it!  This is a must-bottle!  The streak of having good luck with citrus and copal continues.

 

In the imp, this is a "breezy" orange.  By this I mean, let's say the neighbor has an orange tree and you open the window and a little bit of orange scent wafts in.  It's like that - very light and fresh.

 

On the skin, the breezy orange develops a creamy softness that is just gorgeous.  It's not sweet enough to be a creamsicle - perhaps a high class orange mousse or something.  The florals come out about an hour later, and they are amazingly polite - I can still smell the other notes, they just have a floral twang to them now.  I don't really get much if any smokiness.  I can sort of see where people were coming from with the "white chocolate" comments.

 

I am just in love with this scent.  It's fresh and breezy and pleasant!

[Hesper]

I really want to like this! It was one of my imps I was most excited for, and the Lab was so generous as to upsize it to a bottle (<3). Plumeria is one of my favorite flowers--I keep a bowl of fresh-fallen plumerias on my bedside daily, I'm that in love with them--and sweet orange, plumeria, and incense are exactly the notes I want out of a heady summer perfume...

 

In the bottle and wet, this is...artificial orange. Oh, I'm scared. Candy-sweet, pure orange, cloying like medicine. This is the Emergen-Cs my fundamentalist friends used to force me to drink when I was playing in their yard.

 

As it dries down, it calms down to a more natural sweet orange scent, balanced out by a certain creaminess: the plumeria disappearing into it like milk into tea, smoothing the drink but losing that essential milk-ness quiddity. The copal, I assume, is mixing these things together, but orange overwhelms the actual florality on my skin, which is rather disappointing. I wanted plumeria to be the main scent, and even once it calms down, it's not...complicated by anything. Incense smoke and crushed blooms are nowhere to be found; it's just a light, pretty sweet orange smell.

 

I like it fine, once we're past that frightening artificiality. It's just not the heady, sultry, complex plumeria perfume touched with orange and smoke that I expected it to be. Altogether light without the challenge of darkness, no trials of the gods or sacrifices here. Maybe aging will do something for it...?

 

In the meantime, I will continue searching for excellent plumeria smells that I can carry with me, unlike my bedside dish of flowers.

[Something_Diabolical]

I already swapped away one imp of this but with my last order I got another frimp so i thought I'd give this another try. 

 

In the imp it's very citrus-y and sweet. It bites my nose a little. No cleaner association though. It stays like that after application and smells really strong to my nose. Kinda like expensive perfume too, I guess that is the copal-floral-mix. 

Mellows a bit after a while but stays linear and very noticeable. I can see why people compare it to Angel by Mugler which I hated (basically head ache in a bottle for me). Compared to this one I like Xiuhtecuhtli a lot more, find it even enjoyable but I think it isn't necessarily my style and it makes me slightly anxious about developing a head ache while wearing it (didn't happen so far but I guess that's the association with Angel). 

[torischroeder9]

Received as a frimp in a swap. 

 

In the imp: Delicate smoke and the soft resin of copal. You could absolutely convince me of florals here, but at this stage, none are distinct. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's still resin and smoke, though they separate here slightly. In the imp, they were swirled together, and I couldn't smell one without smelling the other. In the early stages on my skin, I get each in fits and starts. (That description sounds less harmonious than it really is.) As it dries, I can start to detect the sweet orange near my skin -- and it might be contributing to what I read as the copal further out in the throw -- but the throw is still mostly copal and smoke. It's a light incense smoke, though, nothing harsh or heavy about it. And it's totally possible that the plumeria and other floral notes are blending into what I'm reading as sweet incense smoke. 

 

The more the scent develops, the more sweet orange I get close to the skin, which is a little unusual for my skin chemistry. (My skin usually eats orange by this point in the wearing.) I like it, as it's a tropical vibe that's light but not too light and isn't overly sweet or cloying. I would also say there's something fairly gender neutral about this. It's light and sweet enough to be traditionally feminine, but it's also grounded and smoky in a way that's traditionally masculine. 

 

I like this considerably more than I thought I would based on the notes (I had imagined it being more humid florals), but I'm not sure I need  bottle. If I hadn't already amassed quite a perfume collection, however, I might think differently as this fits in a scent niche that my current other perfumes don't really provide. 

[skyturtles]

Not what I was expecting! Wet from the imp (of unknown age) I get a fresh, green, sweet orange with copal. As it dries down, there are some floral notes in there, and the orange turns into some sort of creamy incense. Very interesting! There's something wet and jungle-like about this for sure. I think this would be great in the summertime, because of those tropical vibes. It's not quite my cup of tea, despite the creamy sweet orange, but I'm going to hold on to it and try it out in warmer weather.

[crow-toes]

Sweet and orangey. A very fresh scent, but not one I like for myself - too tropical.