Hyakki Yagyō

[SophieCedar]

Demonic black musk, inky myrrh, black coconut, champaca blossom, and smoky clove bud.

Whoaheee! This is demonic for sure. Smoky, black, inky. Yup. Its all of that. Wet phase is a huge black musk and myrrh burn off. Like tire smoke. Whoa.

Drydown is sweeter, more earthy, with the coconut finally appearing. Fans of Streets of Detroit and Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, Brown Jenkin..or anything black musk, should try this.

[boomtownrat]

As a fan of Streets of Detroit, Haunted, and Goblin, I immediately added this to my cart upon reading the notes. It turns out that the OLLA scent that Hyakki Yagyō reminds me of is Kit. Somehow, it's putting me in mind of a softer, lighter Kit with coconut. It's not demonic on me at all, but there's a suggestion of incense somewhere in a back room of a dimly lit old house late at night. This truly could've been an OLLA scent, so if you missed those, you might like this as an adjacent type of scent. My nose might be broken, my skin chemistry might be wonky, or it might be true. In any case, I love it. There's not as much throw as you might expect, but it lasts for hours.

[Dark Alice]

I am so sad. I had high hopes for this one. But something about the smokey clove bud is turning the glorious musk, myrrh, and black coconut into a funky, rancid coconut stench. So glad I tried that decant before I got that damn bottle.

[Little Bird]

Another fail from my luper order. It's a kind of animalic/poopy smelling musk, tons of baby powder, and a nag champa incense smell. Headshoppy, too powdery, and has a strange, plasticy edge like walking into a craft store and smelling hints of sharp cinnamon potpourri and the plasticy-clean scent of lots of fake, plastic flowers and wreaths. Strangely clean and way too powdery for me, and the clove is coming off as sharp, dry cinnamon to my nose.

 

I was hoping for sweet, dark resins and Snake Charmer coconut with clove, but this is intensely powdery, clean, and off smelling to me. Very strong and gave me a headache after about a half hour, at which point I just scrubbed it off and gave up. I'm going to be giving away my bottle of this.

[Dark Alice]

This was a heart breaker. Every note should have been a win. Except it smelled like a coconut got drunk in a goth club and threw up on my skin. *sigh*

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

Very dark. Champaca, musk and clove are prominent. Slightly vinegary

On the Skin:

There is an oudh-like funkiness to start and the musk is super strong. The vinegar note burns off quickly to reveal something quite beautiful.

On the Drydown:

This becomes very dry and woody, which must be the black coconut. It's quite husky and a little dusty. The musk re-emerges to add some dark sweetness and the myrrh adds it's resin to round the blend out a bit. At times there is almost a motor oil vibe. The clove is definitely smoky but doesn't dominate. I like it

[patina]

Black musk, clove, and myrrh are normally great things that go well together in my opinion. My skin does well with resins too.

 

But I think the coconut makes everything seem more "funky,". The clove being a very smoky clove doesn't help much. The unpleasant element dies down a lot with wear and it's possible that with the way black musk ages, the whole scent will mellow and become very palatable eventually. Still, I have other black musk and clove scents I prefer.

[mystery213]

This one is really weird. In the bottle it is a non-descript sort of clove addled spiciness. When it is applied to skin, I think my nose gets really confused initially by the unusual musk and coconut combo that arises, as that is about all I smell. As it dries, the champaca starts peeking out of the background, but it is still predominantly coconut and musk. The clove seems to have largely disappeared, which is strange since it was in the forefront when cold sniffed from bottle. My skin also amps coconut like nobodies business, so my skin chemistry might be burying the clove in coconut.... I don't think this musk will be going anywhere, no matter what else amps itself though, this is a very 'musky' blend.

[Haltija]

Upon the opening stage of this, it honestly made my eyes go weird. It had this really dominant funk to it that just about made me recoil-- which isn't normal because every single solitary note in this is a total win on my skin, even together.

 

I was about to give up until it started to dry and it dries down to a sibling of Streets of Detroit, at least on me. I even pulled out my bottle and did a side by side and they could be related. The one thing that shows up quite strong on me is actually the black musk and champaca--- not a single trace of coconut to be spotted. It's dark, heavy, musky and not for the faint at heart.

[zankoku_zen]

Coconut, champaca and black musk. This is a black coconut blend. Smoky, musky, sexy coconut. Good throw and wear length.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Oooh, that's delicious. The musk reminds me of a darker Siberian musk. It's not the typical sort of "lemony" black musk from the Lab. It's sexy, dark, gritty. The coconut is sexy. The musk and coconut combo reminds me of Raptures and Roses, but this is much darker and not floral. Has that vibe though. Or like Tiki King, dark musk and coconut. Add in some incense. and this is hot, steamy, tropical, dark and sexy. I totally love it so far. The Myrrh is creeping in, sweet and rich. This is awesome.

 

 

Dry: I am going to need to do a death match, because this seriously smells just like Tiki King to me. Granted, I haven't had Tiki King on since summer, so I could be nuts. But I don't think so. It's also slightly reminiscent of So Below. If you like those types of scents, give this a go! It's seriously sexy. Musky coconut magic! I will likely grab a bottle, as I have never managed to snag a back up of Tiki King.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: I immediately get hit with the black musk, the inky part of the myrrh, and the clove bud, and then the sweetness of the black coconut and champaca follows.

 

Wet: Okay, this is weird. I'm getting the strong black musk, the smoky clove bud, the odd, inky myrrh, and then the coconut and champaca. I feel like the dark notes are clashing with the sweet coconut and champaca. I think the black musk and black coconut are at odds with each other.

 

Dry: The black musk eventually calms down, and the sweet coconut stops fighting with it, so that it's mostly musky, sharp myrrh and clove on me, with the black coconut and champaca in the background.

 

Verdict: I like the clove. But the wet stage was a little strange on me, and the myrrh ended up being a type I don't really care for (I prefer the soft kind), so I don't think I'd reach for this again. I am glad that I got a chance to try it, though.

[milo]

I love black musk, so this was a no brainer, even though I don't really wear the ones that I have. This one has got a bit of incense going on and sweetened with the black coconut. I like this and will probably use up the imp when I'm in the mood for a black musk fix.

[tinyvulture]

A smoky, musky coconut blend. There's a sourness to it like sour milk, hopefully that fades. LATER: It didn't.  Other reviewers also note the funky odor, so I guess it's not just me having a bad reaction to this one.

[Lucchesa]

Hyakki Yagyo on me was a powerful, headshoppy musk blend.  The combination of the black musk with the champaca made it behave more like red musk on my skin; it's not the lemony black musk I am partial to.  The coconut comes out on drydown, which is lovely, but it's never prominent on me; the clove is only a hint, and I'm not sure I ever found the myrrh.  If musky incensey blends work for you, this one is sexy, has some throw and lasts a long time.  It's not quite me but champaca almost never works on me so I'm not heartbroken. 

[VetchVesper]

Ungh.  Oh yeah.  This is potent stuff, alright.  Big blast of animalic musk and incense, right up front, and I am %100 ok with that because the dry down is gooooood.  This actually reminds me of Callidora right away.  It's got a similar funk that's almost p'oud, but not quite.  It's a little acrid, but somehow, still enticing, though it needs to settle the heck down to be wearable. 

 

The only notes I see that overlap in Hyakki Yagyo and Callidora are the myrrh and maybe the musk notes, so now I'm wondering if Egyptian myrrh is bringing the funk.  Either way, just like Callidora, the pungency of the animalic note is tamed on my skin, and this becomes a wonderful, powdery (but not baby-powdery) incense blend.  The clove is an afterthought, burgeoning up from the depths of the fragrance to add just a touch of nose tingle to the back end.  The champaca and coconut aren't recognizable to me as anything but a sweetness threading in and out of the heavier notes.  This lasts for hours and hours, and is quite sexy.

 

I shall be scrounging for a bottle of this.  

 

ETA.  Thank you to the kind Lucchesa for the frimp.   

Edited June 25, 2020 by VetchVesper

[Rane.]

My favorite of all BPALs I've ordered. I have only a dribble left, & have retired it to a special box for keepsake. Smells divine. Strong cloves, & hearty coconut are the first impression, then slowly musk & champaca. It turns almost incense-like on my skin with a loud clove top. Musky, warm, green & black colors come to mind when I smell it. If anyone has a bottle please contact me. I would love to buy it. 💖

Edited September 20, 2020 by Rane.
Gosh darn cokkatootee typos

[rivetted]

This smells like evil bubblegum. 

 

There, I said it.

 

Purely evil evil bubblegum.

 

No idea what's going on here.