Riding in the Palanquin

[nameoftherose]

RIDING IN THE PALANQUIN

Lacquered wood, mother of pearl, bamboo, silk, ho leaf, and jasmine blossoms.

In the imp: Bright and fresh, slightly lemony, with echoes of jasmine and bamboo (I think). It really does convey the impression of lacquer, which I think is awesome.

Wet: Straight out, it is still very green and crisp, although the lemon seems to be just about staying in check. Somewhere in the depths, I can catch the animalic undertones of the jasmine. It's very strong at this stage (indeed, it seems to be clearing my cold somewhat...), but luckily it starts calming slowly and getting more multi-dimensional rather than just GREEN.

Drying: Jasmine is hiding somewhere inside the thick veil of greenery. It definitely brings to mind green bamboo shoots; there are also undertones of other unidentified grasses somewhere in there. I'm not very good at identifying green notes yet, but I find this mix sophisticated and reminiscent of some classic perfumes. I think at this stage it is also rather unisex. I got some of it smeared on my fingers and here, while on my wrist it is still overwhelmingly green, I am getting a sweeter, polished kind of white flower scent.

Dry: This really morphs! This is where the 'mother of pearl' and silk kick in. Somewhere in the drydown, a creaminess appears and suddenly, it's no longer a green lacquer scent but something very smooth, sophisticated and a touch sweet. I'm having trouble identifying this accord - it's cream with something animalic underneath so at first I thought it might perhaps be ambergris. Equally, however, it might be a combination of some tonka over a really earthy, woody base (like damp earth or driftwood - but dry at the same time.. :/). I feel like I should really know what this is, but can't quite put my finger on it.

This blend stays quite close to the skin, strangely I think even in the intense opening stage (although this might be my cold). It's unusual in all the best ways - clean, sophisticated, complex and above all surprising. I'm really liking it!

[zankoku_zen]

Slightly lemony jasmine blossoms, silk, and wood. You get this lacquered, silky jasmine blossom on top of wood. It's delicate, oriental, and floral. Very sophisticated. Low throw, low wearlength on me.

 

So, yeah, hmmm. It's definitely unusual and yes, it somehow makes me think of luxurious silk sheets. It's that mix of luxury, decadence, and sensuality. Because SILK.

[Aviatrix]

I was very excited to try this, as the concept made me think of a beautiful ornate wooden palanquin with silk drapes being carried through a blooming jasmine corridor.

Now, jasmine has a history of going bad on me, with a few exceptions like Theodosius and Kubla Khan. So while I was excited, I was also wary.

It turned out, however, that my fears were unwarranted! The jasmine in this, while definitely the most prominent note, is very well-behaved and lovely. There is a greenish background of bamboo, and the rest of the notes are well-blended and not easily distinguishable to me.

I wish I got a little bit more wood from this, but I am still more than pleased. It really evokes the wabi-sabi elegance of a palanquin under blossoming jasmines, and I can definitely see how it evokes silk and mother-of-pearl. (As a side note, if anyone is scared of the mother-of-pearl note being briny or aquatic, no need to fear, because there is not a trace of aquatic in this at all!)

 

Definitely one of my favorites out of the decants I got this Lupercalia, and I might be getting a full bottle in the near future!

 

You will like this if you like jasmine, first and foremost. Or if you're interested in trying something very atmospheric and a little different

[ellocentipede]

Like Aviatrix, I was really excited about this oil. It is really beautiful and one of my favorites from this year's many amazing offerings. It's giving me a Peach VIII vibe-- it smells like jasmine lemonade with a dollop of whipped cream and a bamboo straw. I may need a backup of this beauty!

[myth]

I would never have tried this one except that I was frimped a decant of it, so I felt compelled to test it even though it is a laundry list of things known to be terrible on me.

From the wand it's very high-pitched, a perfumey white-noise scent, borderline screechy. On my skin I can smell the watery green bamboo, which never works for me. I can also smell a strong floral, and florals are my nemesis. The screechy white noise effect is probably coming from the silk; fabric notes tend to read as a high-pitched airy/dusty musk. Basically everything in this is known to be problematic for me to one degree or another (the only exception being that I like wood generally, except polished woods, and lacquered seems to fall in line with polished). Lots of floral as it dries. It smells like what I used to think perfume smelled like, which is pretty much exactly why I never wore perfume before discovering BPAL. I only put a tiny dab of this on and I still had to go wash it off because it was amping over my two other much more generously applied test spots.

So, if you look at this and think, "it's full of my death notes," it probably will be. No surprises here.

[LiberAmoris]

Riding in the Palanquin really does smell like silk and lacquered wood! It starts off with the bracingly green tang of bamboo, fresh jasmine, and what I think must be the ho leaf. The silk and mother of pearl accords give everything a sheen that's backed up the lacquered wood...they give 'slip' and luxuriousness to the bamboo and jasmine that feels very refined. I don't get a lot of sillage with this one, it wears close to the skin. Definitely delicate and sophisticated.

[Veronica]

So glad I managed to snag a partial of this off the forums--it was one of the scents that most intrigued me at Will Call. On me, this is fresh, light green floral with a slightly aquatic note, but its soft, spring water, not ozone-y saltwater. The jasmine in this is delicate and beautiful, which is rare for me when it comes to BPAL. As the other reviews mention, there is a pearl/silk/cream quality to this as well, blending the notes together beautifully.

[Ethaisa]

This opens up with a bit of a green watery lemon kick, but settles back close to the skin. Ends up as a really delicate jasmine blend, very smooth and rather unusual, but I have lots of jasmine blends I adore so I think I can resist this one.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Lots of gorgeous jasmine, not the sweet kind. There's an undercurrent of something stinky, though. Like there was narcissus/daffodil in here (those notes tend to go BAD on my skin).

 

Wet on skin: This is.... kind of bitter on me. But at least I'm not getting that narcissus stink anymore. No, no, wait, there it is. It's like my beloved green tea gone horribly wrong.

 

Dried down: Ok, this is nice now. Just smooth jasmine. It's understated, though. I'm not exactly sure of the notes, but I feel as though the mother of pearl and bamboo silk softens it.

 

Throw: Not getting much throw at all off of this.

 

Verdict: *** Nice, but this just doesn't feel special enough for me to keep sniffing.

[milo]

I find some woods kind of green and fresh smelling. Usually oak, so im wondering if this is the laquered wood. This is green and woodsy, dries to fresh tea. Fades fast. Reminds me of The Twisted Oak Tree only that one is better.

[yakiguri]

Bamboo is quickly becoming a favorite fresh/aquatic note, especially since it's one of the few notes in that category I can wear. This blend is definitely on the softer side of fresh thanks to the pearl, silk, and woods, which I'm thankful for since fresh scents can get screechy on my skin. Because it's so soft though the throw is quite close, so it's definitely a skin scent. Oddly enough the jasmine is nonexistent on my skin, and jasmine is my favorite floral scent.

 

Glad to have this in my stash for those summer days where it's much too hot for my thick patch, vanilla, leather, and honey blends.

[unxolve]

Jasmiiiiiine which to me is a little bit of a green citrus grapefruit/tea thing. There's something creamy underneath the green that keeps it smooth and palatable and pleasant. Very nice! Not getting any wood. I am getting a little fabric/silk, oddly. Very clean, very green, very spring, definitely glad to have this!