Kyoto

[Jerre]

Kyoto:

A gentle, soothing blend of cherry blossom, white sandalwood and star anise.

 

A new favorite of mine: cherry blossoms and tea!

 

Summary: an absolute perfect-paradise blend! Sweet and mellow!

[lilfaerywingz]

bottle:cherry blossom.

 

Wet: blossom and a bit of sandlewood.

 

Dry: star anise and sandalwood

 

LOVE IT

[Tess]

Many people mention a strong cherry kick to this, but I can't help hoping it will stay with the blossom for me, since that's not nearly as strong or sweet. I'm not sure how I feel about anise, but we'll have to see, won't we?

 

In the vial - Holy freaking cherry. I'm so very afraid...

 

Wet - Oh, the sandlewood brings the cherry down NICELY, although I'm not getting the anise yet.

 

Drying - Oh, oh, oh! The anise is out now, the strongest note, but NOT what I was expecting! It's spicy and dry with the sandlewood and the cherry blossom is just a hint in the background. It's kind of soapy, though. Hmm...

 

Dry (30 minutes) - You know that black candy that's made with anise? Yeah, I smell like that. And freshly washed.

 

Overall - My skin did NOT like this one. I don't know why I got the soap, but it was REALLY soapy. And the anise... yeah, the anise was just too strong.

[Jishin]

On me, this turns into cherry Tootsie Pops! No sandalwood, no star anise (I'm disappointed -- I love star anise), just bright candy-style cherries.

 

I swapped it off to a friend on whom it works much better.

[shirasade]

My body chemistry seemed off because of medication I was taking, but now I think I can finally continue to test smell the imps still waiting to be evaluated...

 

Imp: Very sweet. Strong anise, which doesn't suit me at all.

 

Wet: I start to smell cherries. The anise gives it an underlying spiciness that's not unpleasant.

 

Dry: Finally I begin to get a sense of the sandalwood, which tones down the cherry sweetness and makes it more woodsy. The anise is still present underneath, but not licorice-y, and it actually stays the longest.

 

Overall: Very strong change in my sense of this. Once the sandalwood starts to emerge, it actually does remind me of Kyoto, of a temple garden. Turns out I like this quite a lot, despite the negative first impression. Sadly, it fades very quickly.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: LOADS of cherries and a hint of anise.

 

On my skin: cherry (mostly) and anise (quite present too). Those are two scents I dislike and the mix is not made to please me either.

It's quite heavy and nearly medicinal.

 

After a couple of hours: turns to soap.

 

Verdict: no.

[starcr]

In the bottle, fairly fruity. Smells more like cherry fruit than cherry blossom.

 

On me, at first it almost smelled like Sweet Tarts! But after a bit it calmed down and turned into much more what I'd expect from a cherry blossom scent. Mild. I liked the way it smelled when I went outside, the combination of the oil's scent and the scent of wet earth and cold rain. Unfortunately, somehow when I reapplied in the evening it just smelled like candy for the rest of the night. Not sure how that happened. Also, it didn't seem to last quite as long as some other scents have.

 

I'm not raving over this one and don't care much about getting a full bottle, but it's still pretty good.

[tempestteapot]

As much of a foodie as I am, I'm thinking the cherries in this one are FAR to strong and sweet.

 

I'm noticing that with my skin a lot of the time my skin grabs one note and amps it past everything else in the blend. Ugh. I need scent lockets.

[supremegoddessofall]

On me: Pure anise. Bah. Can't smell it longer to pick anything out.

[mtlaise]

I love star anise, and really hoped that would be the most prominent note on this one for me... unfrotunately, when I put this on, it's all cherry blossoms, and nothing else. It's not a bad scent, but not really my style. Ironically, my roommate, who doesn't really like star anise, gets all the star anise out of this that I missed out on!

[oh_the_horror]

In bottle: Marachino cherry. I smell the anise a little too. This is nice.

 

Wet and drying down: Cherry and leather. ? The anise is coming out and it's yummy. This is reminding me of absinthe. I think absinthe is more interesting.

 

Dry: Sweet sugary cherry and anise. It's pretty but I'm not crazy for it. Okay, some spicy sandlewood is finally coming out and it's making this gorgeous.

 

I want my own imp of this. I got mine through a circular swap so I have to send this one out soon. I really hope the next imp of this I get has a little more sandlewood in it. It would become one of my favorites.

 

This has an older label on it so It's been aged some.

[neuilly]

A nice, light, sweet scent but unfortunately I'm not a big fan of anise. Otherwise I really like it...definitely recommended to anyone who likes anise.

[theseagrows]

at first i get a strong-cherry almond. once dry it's anise with a tiny hint of cherry. after a few hours it's a spicy cherry. i like this part the best, but i'm not gonna wait 3 hours for it to get there, so i'll have to swap this one.

[India7]

I'm not getting too heavy a cherry scent from this - it seems to be more of an undertone. I get much more almondy scent to this (or it could be the anise), with a little bit of pepper. I just love it so much! I used up my imp, and am finally posting my two cents after receiving my bottle of Kyoto today in the mail!

[impadua@aol.com]

Ohhh...another new best friend. This came to me in a mystery imp pack. The cherry blossom truly smells like cherries, and the sandalwood makes it so warm, and the star anise (licorice) just gives it a tiny bite. Normally, licorice is only 2nd in line of my least favorite scents (rose kills me), but in this, it has the most wonderful personality. And excellent staying power. I slept with it on last night, and I woke up sniffing, wondering what that wonderful aroma was...it was me..

 

I need a big bottle of this.

[oddtraveler]

On Paper: started off with a strong note of plum, along with a little bit of old silks or... well, the best I can describe the smell is it was like when I opened up a box of vintage kimonos I had bought. After a few minutes the plum died down and the old silks smell took over, along with a sort of old wood kind of smell. Thought it had a lot of potential...

 

On Me: Unfortunately this scent really didn't work on me. The plum came through as sort of a sickly, weird dried and powdered sugared plum. After that, the lovely old silks kind of smell started to come through, but on me it just smelled like, well, grandma. It hung on for quite a while, fortunately not so strong as to give me a headache or make me feel the need to wash it off. As for staying power, it's pretty late (I put it on in the morning), and it's just barely there.

 

:sigh: I guess Kyoto wasn't meant for me...

[filigree_shadow]

I should mention first that my imp is labeled Old Kyoto, so that gives you an idea of its age.

 

When I first put it on, all I smelled was anise and cherries. Not as strong as kabuki, but something similar to it. However, once it mellows out, it's a sweet cherry blossom with sandalwood. The star anise isn't nearly as strong, and the cherry scent has faded into a floral. This is prettier and more sophisticated than Kabuki, and I wouldn't even put them in the same family at this stage.

[Spring Snow]

With Kyoto, I get a very soft, mellow fruity floral. The cherry is the strongest note, followed by the sandalwood, and I don't get any anise at all. The weirdest part is that while my left wrist smells like a very sophisticated, well blended and subtle fruit-floral, the right wrist smells like pencil shavings. Maybe I got an imp of Schitzo-Kyoto by accident.

[Em-]

This is very sweet and almost nutty to my nose. I love anise, but Kyoto fades on me too quickly for me to get a whiff of anything in particular. Damn chemistry.

[modernsaints]

Damnit all I want is ONE cherry scent that works on me. Cherry. Not cherry-and-O-HAY-LOOK-IT'S-ANISE, or cherry?-what?-i-thought-this-was-musk.

 

I mean, I LIKE smelling like anise. I enjoy being a licorice! Kyoto stays in the collection. But right now I am craving some cherries.

[n1k1ta]

The star anise is the strongest note in this mix for the first hour. I've discovered that I'm not really a fan of anise, so I wasn't thrilled. I kept an open mind about Kyoto though since I thought the cherry blossom and sandalwood would take over soon.

 

They did, actually, but the sandalwood overpowered the cherry blossom. I ended up with this woody yet almost floral perfume with a hint of herby anise. It was pleasant enough. I was wanting more cherry blossom and less sandalwood.

 

Kyoto, all in all, is for someone else with a different chemistry.

[Mimicake]

An interesting fragrance with notes that aren't very familiar to me. There is a hint of licorice which I assume is the star anise? The cherry blossom is a whisper of sweetness that seems to linger only to tease, and then fade away as it dries. It feels like a very smokey licorice. It is not unpleasant in the least, just not anything I am used to or expected. It is a rather sexy scent to me, so I think I'll cherish my imp though I probably would not buy a large bottle.

 

But wait! Just as I was about to end this little review I smelled my wrist again. Oh the drying has made it beautiful and soft. I like this more than I thought!

[Nia]

I wonder why cherry essence has to smell like bitter almond. I know that this is cherry blossom, but it just smells like cherry perfume to me. This time, at least it doesn't swallow up whole the other notes and I can enjoy the mixture. I don't really detect the sandalwood as such, it's just cherry with something sober and not floral holding it down.

[kwsix]

In the imp, Kyoto is all cherry blossom to me. On my skin, it is cherry blossoms and licorice with a wisp of sandalwood in the background. It's a beautiful soft floral with an unexpected kick, and I like it very much. The cherry blossom fades a little on the drydown, and I'm left with licorice with the barest hint of delicate flowers. It's unique, feminine, and fresh. This one is a winner, and I will definitely seek out more.

[underline2]

KYOTO

 

First Sniff:

This side of cloyingly sweet, but very fun and nice. I can smell the sandalwood in the background, but it's mostly cherries.

 

Initial Reaction:

Immediately the sandalwood took over and stayed for a few hours. It's a very nice-smelling, complex sandalwood, but nearly a single note just the same.

 

After Time:

Whether it was the application of whiskey to my wrist or just time, the sandalwood became softer and sweeter. I still can't exactly pick out the cherry, except once in a while when I'm not sniffing my wrist but the air around me.

 

Overall:

Mellow and rather gender-neutral. I wish the cherry had lasted, but sandalwood tends to take over on my skin. I wouldn't get a bottle, but I'll probably get some use out of the imp.

 

Season: Autumn, Spring

 

Rating (out of 5): 3.5

Edited June 28, 2007 by Shollin