Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons

[hexnut]

PROSPEROUS FLOWERS OF THE ELEGANT TWELVE SEASONS

 

Patchouli and honeyed saffron with labdanum, leather accord, and wood vanilla.

 

In Vitro A very rich honey and resin kind of scent. I should mention that I have not checked the notes list recently and all I remembered going into the test was patchouli, honey, and saffron.

Wet The oil is light orange-brown. Freshly applied it was slightly less intense but gained and almost creamy sweetness. This subsided after a minute or two and and the overall scent was more spicy.

Drying It became less sweet and hinted at a woody or even musty quality, but was not at all unpleasant.

ETA: Two hours after application, the leather is prominent but not harsh, with underlying sweetness. This is both lovely and sexy.

Edited February 20, 2015 by hexnut

[HerbGirl]

Well hello, cousin of Celeste!

This is right out of the mailbox but i mainly smell that gorgeous, creamy saffron. I will update after this has had time to rest...so far, it is gorgeous.

 

I should add that i cannot wear beeswax or honey and i do not smell any honey in this blend. :-)

 

This morning it is all patchouli, saffron and leather. Wowza!

Edited March 1, 2015 by Herb Girl

[LiberAmoris]

Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons is lovely. Wet, I get a big hit of patchouli, but on my skin that quickly settles down and the wood vanilla and leather come forward. The honeyed saffron sweetens it up, and the labdanum is doing something here that reminds me a bit of tobacco. This would fit right in with some of my favorite autumnal BPAL blends. At times the wood/leather is a little much for me, but only when I'm sniffing my wrist—in the air around me I get more of the patchouli and honey.

 

After an hour, it's really settled down and the honey and vanilla have come forward to balance out the leather and wood. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one ages!

[karykeion]

I'm really curious to see how this goes, because I only realized after I ordered it that it's kind of in the same family as A Variety of Pleasing Amusements and Feed Me/Fill Me, both of which I wear all the time. It's got honey, patchouli, vanilla, and leather, so if I buy this, I'm going to have to figure out when the hell I'm going to wear it as opposed to one of the other two.

 

I have no idea how to pick labdanum out of a blend and I've never tried anything with saffron in it, so here we go.

 

In the decant: Honey, patchouli, and leather mostly. I'm comparing with both FMFM and Variety, since they're so similar. It's sweeter, woodsier, and more honey-forward than Variety and more complex but less intense than FMFM. I really like what I assume is the saffron; it makes the blend kind of spicy-sweet and really interesting.

 

On me, wet: Oooh. The saffron kind of makes this a warmer scent than the other two. i think it's mostly saffron with a little honey and wood vanilla. It's almost more of an autumn-y scent than a spring one. The honey kind of takes over right after, but I don't mind because I am always and forever on the lookout for honeys that don't turn into baby powder.

 

On me, dry: Kind of sweet and woodsy, but I think the honey went a little powdery. Also, I can't really pick amber out of a blend, but if it smells anything like musk, I think I might amp it a little bit.

 

I like this fine, but I don't really see how it's different enough from Variety and FMFM to warrant a bottle. The imp will probably get a lot of love, though. c:

[petrichorandleather]

Wet: Resin and tobacco. Two of my favorites. It reminds me of French Tobacco SN, but without the slightly vanillic undertone.

There's something in here that goes CEDAR on me and is drowning out this oil's potential, which makes me really sad.

 

Dry: nothing but a very sharp cedar scent.

 

Sillage: pretty close to skin

 

I'll be swapping this. I had very high hopes.

[quickdrawkiddo]

Oh man, I like this a lot. It dries down to vanilla and leather with a slightly funky undertone of patchouli and something resin-y. Surprisingly unisex, for something with the word "flowers" in the name. Sweet but not cloying. I may need a bottle of this one!

[zankoku_zen]

Honey, vanilla, saffron, and just a hint of leather. Huh. Again, this makes me think of Badgers, but more Asian. So take Celeste and add a swirl of Badgers, and this is what you get. I get a ton of honey, vanilla and saffron.

 

Dark, heady, sexy.

[unxolve]

Wet: YEP THAT'S PATCHOULI. Sort of a warm sweet-smokey bonfire smell. I can smell a hint of honey in the background, like you were smoking out a bee nest to harvest it.

 

Oooooh getting a spicy floral light sweet smell behind the smoke? Mmmm, now that is quite nice. All of a sudden there's this lurking, bright and fresh. Thing. Still quite a bit of smoke. Mysterious! When my nose isn't pinned to my wrist, it is all a really fragrant, sweet, bright, beautiful smell, almost fruity smell (although no fruit I can identify) that's not patchouli at all!!!! Mm, with a nice honey/vanilla.

 

Very intriguing, though. One of those "how is this doing this??" scents, because the things appearing alongside each other are so contrary, it's crazy. I think I'm adding honey to my yes please list. :9 Still might be too much patchouli for me. Nose on my wrist, this is all patchouli bonfire!

 

I might come back to this one, because it's so unusual.

 

Edit: Tried it again! Lasts me most of the day. The dry down is a bit of the slightly naughty milky chocolate from Gelt, weirdly. The vanilla is very, very nice.

Edited May 26, 2015 by unxolve

[agirlnamedfury]

All the listed notes on this hit me right out of the imp: lots of patch, honey, and saffron. On my skin, the leather really comes out as well.

 

This is sweet and rich and musky, not super spicy. Very nice, though not mind-blowing.

[VetchVesper]

I love patchouli and was hoping for something light enough I could wear it in the spring. This did not disappoint! Light enough to be worn in the spring, but depthy enough for the cooler months.

 

Totally yummy in the bottle. Sweet, sexy patchouli with a hint of leather.

 

On my skin the blend becomes more spicey and less sweet, the patchouli blends and the wood notes come out. It's a wonderful, pipe tobacco/ incense smell. This would be great on either sex.

[tziporra]

Very much on the same lines as Feed Me and Fill Me With Pleasure. It's not as _much_ as FMAFMWP though, if that makes any sense. It's rich dark sweet patchouli with vanilla supporting the whole the whole concoction. I admire it very much although it isn't something I will wear myself. I'm not amping the leather, so that is especially nice.

 

Tzi

[theseagrows]

this starts off with labdanum (yum), patchouli and honeyed saffron. seconds later i start getting a hint of woods and maaaybe leather. this seems promising, but could go either way! after a few minutes, the leather gets much stronger and dominates the scent along with the woods. the honeyed saffron is gorgeous with these other notes and sweetens them up a bit, thankfully. i really like this scent, it's just got a bit too much...oomph for me, i think it may be the woods. it's nice but i will have to use it sparingly, just because it has a lot of throw.

[Balame]

My second favorite blend from the Lupers this year! At first the patchouli comes on a bit strong, but it quickly turns into a seamless, gentle blend. Patchouli, honey, leather and soft incense are all here. The notes feel smooth and seductive together. It’s similar to A Variety of Pleasing Amusements with its leather/honey combo, which was another Luper blend I loved. But it’s less in your face and more “come hither dear stranger." More complex, elegant and subtle.

 

It has the delicate, sweetly spicy saffron that’s gorgeous in Lovers and a Fan as it is here. Overall it reads as a creamy, spiced vanilla and honey backed by woods and leather. Absolutely delicious yet graceful. Even a bit mysterious. It feels like a decadent dessert I want to indulge in, if that decadent dessert were a very good-looking nobleman/woman. Very happy this one turned out the way it did, as I was having the worst trouble trying to hunt down more Variety, and I like this even more.

[somacat]

This is the good stuff. There's something so quintessentially BPAL about the scent. It's comforting as well as slightly dark, and I love the vanilla and patchouli in this blend as they complement each other so well, and add a depth and woodenness. The smoky leather adds a nice gruff edge and sexes up the dry warm honey and saffron. The Labdanum adds an interesting roundness. This is going on my wish list

[Ethaisa]

This is amazing, from start to finish. Honey notes don't always play nice on my skin, but the honey here nicely sweetens and rounds everything else. Dark and woody and the leather is luscious. This is going to age amazingly well. Definitely a bottle.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Sweet and incensey with a touch of bitter off the leather.

 

Wet on skin: A little less sweet, but still incense and leather.

 

Dried down: Mmmm...... this is sexy, animalistic. Patch and labdanum and leather. I kind of wish I was getting a little more of that honeyed saffron and vanilla right now, but I'm still loving this.

 

Throw: This has some serious throw on me. The patch just wafts up to my nose.

 

Verdict: ***** I think I'm going to want me a couple of bottles of this.

[milo]

Very nice. This reminds me of Feed Me and Fill Me With Pleasure. I'm getting a slightly sweetened patch with maybe a touch of saffron. Too similar, in fact, to warrant any more.

 

eta: I'm liking this too much. I've got a wonderful forumite to pick me up a bottle. The saffron and sweetness bloomed after a bit, and I REALLY love it after the patch calms down. It's still there, but more like a cousin of Banshee Beat. I rarely upgrade these days, and am really excited to get a bottle:)

Edited April 16, 2015 by milo

[porcelina]

wow, this is really good! i forgot what the notes were when i first received my order and thought, "prosperous flowers... why would i order this?" then i smelled it and knew why! the vanilla/wood combination is very reminiscent of my beloved antikythera mechanism, but with the addition of patchouli, i do get kind of a banshee beat vibe! the saffron makes it really unique, though. i don't really get ANY leather at all. this stuff is beautiful and i bet it will age spectacularly.

[yakiguri]

Prosperous Flowers has ALL of my favorite / most winning-est notes so I knew this was going to be nothing but win on me. Indeed, this blend doesn't disappoint. It's a beautiful blend of sweet, honeyed patch + spicy woods that's heady, but not so rich that you'd feel stuffy wearing this on a warmer day.

 

Unfortunately Prosperous Flowers isn't particularly unique. If you have Variety of Pleasing Amusements (more honey), Feed Me and Fill Me With Pleasure (stronger/sweeter patch), and/or White Peacock (more tobacco), you can safely skip this. If you missed any of those or are looking for backups, Prosperous Flowers works as a decent stand-in. I would say compared to those just listed Prosperous Flowers has more vanilla.

 

Hoping aging will separate it more from the rest of its family notes-wise, but I'm still glad to have a bottle and will keep it regardless.

[Roogna]

bite of patch and labdanum which comes off as a heady, biting floral-like scent. no vanilla. I don't think any saffron. the leather comes out after an our or two, but it's a wet brown leather that's just not that appealing to me.

[Ishtar]

Revisiting Prosperous Flowers after a few months' aging, I was suprised at how much more prominent the leather has become. Right after applying, I get a big blast of really nice sweet patchouli. For a short while, it feels like this could be one of these fabulously deep and complex fruity/woodsy blends, and i can't wait to see where it's going to take me.

 

Then the leather takes over. To be fair, this is a soft, sophisticated, unobtrusive brown leather note that will probably smell lovely to leather aficionados. Unfortunately, this is a note that I can only take in small doses, and it is just a tad too front and centre here for me to fully enjoy it. It's really too bad, as this is an otherwise gorgeous scent.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: SO MUCH PATCHOULI. Ugh, I am never going to find a perfect patchouli/honey balance like I dream about. My skin just amps patch way too much. That's all I smell here, dirty-sweet patch, but not sweet sticky honey. I don't get any vanilla. No labdanum or saffron. Just patchouli. I can't even smell the leather. SAD.

 

 

Dry: This gets a bit more rounded and sweet, but is still completely patchouli dominant. The really dry, earthy, woody kind that kind of smells like dirt on me. Not great. The search continues! I will find a honey/patchouli scent that smells as good on my skin as Tricksy does in my hair!

[Lucchesa]

Ignore the name -- there is nothing floral about this scent. Leather, patchouli, vanilla. This is a total keeper for me. Soft brown leather, some woods, a little sweetness from the honey, a little dry earthiness from the saffron -- unisex leaning towards the masculine, sexy, warm, snuggly. This is predominantly a leather scent on me, but the supporting cast is marvelous, nothing overacts, it works beautifully on my skin.