Hoîru

[ClockworkMoM]

Bourbon vanilla and suede leather, tonka and patchouli, pale amber and blackened tea leaf, coconut husk and cashmere.

This is a gorgeous vanilla and coconut blend. It is very light and dries even more so, but it is lovely. I amped the coconut, vanilla and leather, such that the blend was reminiscent of a lighter, leather version of Wolf Spider. This is not a strong/dominant leather, but rather a softly worn leather that makes it a truly comforting blend. This was one of my favorites that I tested at our lunacy event!

[LadyMedb]

This is a delicious, light blend. My skin eats it rather severely, so I'm glad I bought the full bottle, because slathering is the only way to make it really show up on me. I wish it were a little stronger so I could appreciate its complexity a bit more; however, as it is, I get delicious coconut and tonka, with a hint of amber, soft and close to the skin. It's as well that there isn't a lot of bourbon vanilla in it for me, as that note can go to go play-doh on me. Overall, I really like this scent - it's the kind of thing that I catch at the edge of my perception all day and appreciate over and over again.

Edited February 21, 2017 by LadyMedb

[roseus]

In the bottle: light vanilla-amber.

 

Wet: sweet, soft leather. The softest leather I've encountered. It melds well with the vanilla and amber, it's almost creamy in this stage.

 

Dry: Similar to wet, but I catch whiffs of coconut here and there. The patchouli is very subtle underneath everything, I almost don't even notice it. It's cuddly, and very work appropriate.

[Jenjin]

This is one of the first times i've seen a Shunga highlighting homoerotic art. Color me intigued~
“An extremely rare (possibly unique) Hokusai design featuring a homosexual couple in a rather complicated pose.”

This is beautifully complex, exquistely blended and just a little "glittery velvet goldmine". I can't pick out any discerning notes right away except maybe a very smooth elegant, silvery amber vanilla. It's slightly dry, sophisticated, and uplifting. After a few minutes, the coconut husk appears along with the smooth, creamy, sueded leather. It's an instant classic and reminds me of an upscale boutique fragrance. Very wearable and versitile, I can see pairing this with either jeans and t-shirt, little black dress, or even "to bed". Another HIT for me from the lupers.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Jenjin

[vthesiren]

I was afraid to skin-test this one, because I kept getting this incredibly funky note that put me off. On the skin, I can make out the coconut, but the rest kinda melds into this weird diaper-esque thing that's just not very pleasant. I'm gonna let this sit for a few more weeks and try again.

[LiberAmoris]

Beautiful and dark. I don't know if the cashmere note is related to Kashmir wood (as in my beloved Lucretia) or cashmeran, but it's like a fuzzy blanket thrown over everything.

 

Hoîru is so well-blended that its tough to describe, but I guess I'd sum it up as 'coconut leather oudh blanket'. (I know there's no oudh listed for this one, but that's how it's playing out on my skin.) I enjoy this, but it's way better on my husband so this goes into his stash. I'll ask him to bring this on our next warm weather getaway, since the coconut makes this feel vaguely tropical.

[LizziesLuck]

Love all these notes, nary an iffy note among them, so I can't wait to try it! (In my head it smells a bit like So Below, but my head is frequently wrong)

 

 

Wet: Mmmm. Mmmmm!!! It's light, and close to the skin, but I immediately want to slather on more, it's so good. It is a bit like So Below, meets Unicorn and Ram. It's slightly tropical, in a sexy, sultry sort of way. Gosh I wish it was stronger though! This also reminds me of something from Lush, but I couldn't tell you what. I like this, but it's so hard to pin down, and there is so little throw. I am having to literally stuff my face into the crook of my elbow to smell it. It smells familiar and comforting and sultry all at once.

 

 

Dry: This dries to a sultry, sexy, musky coconut scent. It does still have a So Below type feel to it - but maybe more of a "daytime" version of So Below, if that makes sense. It's still a light scent, but it's much easier to smell now. Not a lot of throw, but strong enough to wear and enjoy. I quite like it, and will be keeping my bottle to wear in the summer (with my million other coconut scents - we'll see how it stands up).

[gloame]

This is very distinguished. It could go unisex, but it's still light and creamy enough for even ladies who like girlier blends. What stands out to me the most is the creamiest of the blend, the cashmere. It smells like a warm sweater feels. Makes me sigh happily.

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

Musk and tea with a soft backing of coconut

On the Skin:

Initially quite harsh with musk and tea but the vanilla comes out very quickly to smooth things out. The tonka is a support note but the suede leather emerges as a gorgeous element mingling with husky patchouli.

On the Drydown:

This is nice but has been outshone by the other Lupers. At the end of the day it's a nice warm leather and musk with a sharp astringency from the tea leaf. I am hoping it will smooth out with age

[Lunameth]

I get an almost anise-type note from this, and I wonder if it's the tea blending with the leather. I had a similar reaction to Tea and Music, which also has black tea and leather in.

 

It starts off quite sharp on me, but does smooth out, and the suede leather isn't overpowering at all. However.... it's anise, pretty much all I can smell :/ Eventually, after an hour or so, I get a faint whiff of coconut.

[Haltija]

I immediately got bourbon vanilla and coconut when I first put it on but literally within 20 minutes it was gone. My skin completely drank this up and it's such a shame because in the bottle it was absolutely stunning.

 

Will try again in the future and see if it lasts longer.

[Casablanca]

In the bottle, I get suede leather and a hint of patchouli.

 

Wet on my skin, I smell suede leather, vanilla, and at first — for the first few seconds — a hint of patchouli. Then the patchouli bows out, and the blend morphs into something like Unicorn and Ram. Cozy sweater thing! That’s the cashmere, I’m guessing. The whole blend is complex, though. I’m getting an added softness to it from the tonka, along with hints of black tea and coconut. I do pick up a wisp of patchouli on the back end, but it’s subtle, and I’m grateful. The vanilla is keeping things smooth.

 

Once dried, Hoîru is softer, even more well blended, and beautiful. The only notes I can isolate at all at this point are vanilla, suede, and cashmere. I also get something like anise.

 

This is gorgeous, and I’m glad I set aside my patchouli fear to give it a chance.

[Little Bird]

Hoiru is very light and soft. It doesn't have much throw and only lasts about two hours on my skin. The amber and cashmere, I think, meld together in a soft, powdery, warm skin scent, with the vanilla and coconut giving it a creamy, sweet edge. It reminds me of white sandalwood. I can't pick out the leather, patchouli or tea, which I expected to be stronger, but the whole thing is very light and difficult to discern notes from.

[Diva Urd]

This is very light, but it's an incredibly comforting scent. It's like "It Sifts From Leaden Sieves" and "Goblin" had the cutest love child together! The patch anchors the coconut, vanilla and tonka, there's only the slightest whiff of leather here and there, and while it's definitely a skin scent, it lasts long enough on me that I can justify a bottle. Beautiful!

[whisperstilled]

Wet: Wow. Vanilla, coconut, and leather heaven. The black tea is definitely there to give things a little astringency. I am INTO it.

Dry: This is exceptionally good, a perfect leather/sharp/sweet blend that hits every end of the scents I like without being too much of anything. As Shungas tend to be, it's pretty even across the board - I can smell everything in here, and even the patchouli isn't scaring me off. It feels like a scent to wear while studying in a cozy library with some fat leather books. I may need a bottle of this.

[theseagrows]

i get coconut, tonka and a hint of patchouli at the outset. it gets kind of dusty and powdery after a couple minutes. later on i get the tea which really balances out all that powder for me. the suede is there in the background, as well as the cashmere. i like this one but it's not a love. i think it's fairly unisex too. i think it's just way too powdery on me.

[renfair]

From a decant circle of my first Lupers!

First Sniff Impression: Oooh, a sweet, leathery, slightly musky and bitter herbal cologne.

Wet in Vial: I can maybe pick out the bourbon but everything else mushes into a big, blackish-smelling cologne.

Drying Down on Skin: There's too many ingredients for me to tell what exactly is going on here. Leather, I guess, and patchouli. Something sweet but not overly, so perhaps the bourbon vanilla. I think I can tell the amber. It does smell kind of "golden." There's a "soft" note in there too, keeping it from being heavy or too much incense.

 

Dry on Skin: This is much better dry. Some of the ambiguity of what exactly I'm smelling has faded away. The cashmere and leather seem the dominant notes, bringing to mind the idea of being curled up in a leather chair wearing a thick wool sweater that's maybe still a little damp

Conclusion: This one ended up being much better than I was expecting from immediate application. However, it's still too masculine and "woolly" for me. But I like it, so I might see if I can try it on my husband.

(Post Review notes: I did end up buying a half bottle because I loved the warm, leathery cashmere. It will be amazing to wear in the wintertime. And interesting translation note: I looked up "Hoiiru" in my favorite online dictionary cause I was curious what it meant ... and yeah, it means literally what's happening on the label. )

[torikitty]

In the bottle: leather

Wet: All the notes I can pick out. I think the bourbon vanilla, leather, coconut husk are the most apparent.

Drydown: bourbon vanilla gets sweeter, wet tea leaves, leather dryness

Dry: same as above. I guess melded together it ends up smelling like a sweet men's cologne. It's not bad for a leather lover, but it doesn't do much for me.

[VetchVesper]

This is really lovely. I don't get separate notes from this unless I really try. I just get a wonderful fruity/floral quality over a soft incensey woodiness. There's also an alcoholic quality I associate with designer perfumes. This smells high end.

 

It kind of reminds me of Fake News, actually. Maybe the patchouli is similar. Hoiru is softer, and less masculine to me though, and I do occasionally get a dry coconut. I am enjoying my bottle and look forward to seeing how it ages.

[Balame]

I should enjoy the notes listed here, but the problem is that I'm only getting two of them.

It smells like suuuper oily... wrongness. It's like a leather rag lying in a puddle of coconut oil.

 

I should add that it's not actively "repellent" or anything, but it doesn't feel like BPAL so much as a mess made in the kitchen.

Honestly not getting any of the other notes here except a hint of sweetened black tea. And something that vaguely reminds me of licorice.

 

As a whole this is a really light, inoffensive fragrance, so I'm not running to wash it off or anything. But I'm not digging the "oily leather scraps" effect.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Balame

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: The words that first come to mind are rich, woozy, heady, and sweet. The bourbon vanilla and coconut are the main players at this stage, but I think I'm also getting some amber and/or tonka. However, despite all these notes that I normally associate with cuddly, warming winter scents, this is surprisingly light and almost cooling - could that be the tea leaf and/or the cashmere? This definitely feels like something in my wheelhouse of warm, rich, voluptuous amber-leather-booze-bourbon vanilla scents, but a more spring-appropriate version thereof. With scents like Gluggagaegir, The Antikythera Mechanism, Hellfire, and a lot of the Mars scents from the 2015 Lupers, I love them for about half the year, but if I wear them when it's warm out, I feel like I'm smothering. Hoîru evokes the same heady, sexy feeling, but without the heaviness. Silk instead of velvet, let's say.

 

Wet: Wooo, now that's an experience! Upon first application, I got a waft of straight-up alcohol, but that faded quickly. Then it passed through a smoky leather-and-patchouli phase, with the smoke provided by the blackened tea leaf, with heavy emphasis on the "blackened" part. Then the coconut appears, albeit drier and less juicy/heady than ITI. Finally, it settles down into a soft leather/traditional perfume scent with unexpected coconut accents, and still with that lightness that I think is the cashmere(?). Wow. I bought this both because it seemed to be part of a scent family I love (see above), and as a celebration of BPAL including more queer themes in their releases, but I got WAY more than I expected. For one thing, I realized that, while I hate the taste and texture of coconut, I love it as an unexpected accent in perfume - Startled Toad from the 2015 Lupers is now a favorite of mine, and it looks like this is heading the same way.

 

Dry: This is a scent that doesn't like staying in one place for too long. The leather-amber-perfume stays, but I keep getting unexpected wafts of different notes as accents - coconut husk, mellow smoke, and what I would swear is a light floral at one point. After a good couple of hours, it resolves into one of the softest, cuddliest leathers I've ever smelled, rounded out by amber and gentle resins. The coconut is still there, making this scent familiar yet unique. It still retains the fresh air/clean skin smell that must be cashmere. Boy, is this one a winner on my skin!

[lizabelle]

This is a surprise win for me! Admittedly, I blind-bottled a few scents in a panic right before Lupers came down (I wanted to try them all beforehand, but the timing just didn't work out that way). This was one, and it seemed like a risk because BPAL's coconut has never done me any favors. However, as a huge fan of Dee, I have to recommend that anyone who likes that should go find a bottle of this.

 

It starts off very leathery on me, with a bit of tonka to tone it down. It's masculine, but a soft masculine (much like Dee). Over time the coconut, vanilla, and cashmere all make themselves known and blend into one harmonious whole. The other notes are present but more in the background. It's comforting and soft the same way Dee is, but it has a presence, too, and I imagine it'll stick around a good long time. I might have to see if I can track down a backup!

[zankoku_zen]

Vanilla coconut, patchouli, cashmere, suede, and a touch of patchouli. This one is a coconutty-sophisticated skin scent. Low throw, great wear length. This one smells just a little dirty, just a little glamorous, and very rich.

[milo]

The notes sounded full of win, but this was downright awful on me. Fake body spray, full of garish musk and would probably smell like a high school locker room.

[freyasfae]

The patch is pretty strong when wet and does calm a bit as it dries down and the scent becomes more complex. My nose doesn't really pick out any of the others as distinct on their own, but it's definitely more than patch. I am also less familiar with the others - it's outside my wheelhouse, so that could be it, as well.