Kurukulla

[Astarte]

The Tibetan goddess of love and wealth. Her scent is a harmonious, sweet, enchanting blend of three lotus blooms and three roses.

Oh my god, I love this blend. There are so many roses in the BPAL collection, from Persephone (juicy rose) to Old London (tea rose) to Rose Red (fresh cut rose).

Kurukulla initially in the bottle smells drinkable, its very fresh and wet. Once applied to my wrist, I can smell the roses intertwining with the lotuses. It gives it a very wet feel, the roses or lotus neither dominates the other and the result is a very girly slightly sweet rose. Kurukulla reminds me faintly of Juliet.

If categorising this with the other roses, I would have put this as the water rose. Its absolutely delightful to wear and I adore this scent, definitely a 5ml order for me.

[inkstone]

In the imp: Roses and lotuses and I think I'm going to die of happiness!

 

Wet: Roses. Sweet, wet roses in full bloom.

 

Drydown: Roses layered over lotuses layered over roses layered over lotuses.

 

Final thoughts: This is so beautiful. It's feminine, sweet, harmonious and so evocative of a Tibertan goddess of love and wealth. Roses can be hit or miss on me and go to powder. However this doesn't do this at all. It stays wet and juicy and sweet. The lotuses provide an added dimension to prevent this from being a purely rose scent. Wonderful! This is definitely on the consideration list for a bottle!

[roisnoir]

Mmmmmm. On me, this becomes a sticky, alcoholic rose.

This smells like I imagine the dregs of wine made with roses would.

 

Lovely and rosey and definately something I will wear again.

[Caitfish]

Kurukulla:

 

In the Bottle:

Dominant notes: Beautiful, fresh, slightly fruity roses (that's probably the lotus talking). Lush, wet, fruity lotus!

Impressions: A light, effervescent rose, swimming in lush, wet lotus!

 

Initial On:

Dominant notes: Lotus springs up at first, fruity and sweet - it takes a moment for the light, dainty roses to recover.

Impressions: a lovely blend so far - light, as I've said - so it isn't overpowering. The lotus/rose combination is a unique one, and gives this relatively simple blend some interest.

 

After a While:

Persistent notes: The roses come to dominate, but it's never a heady rose smell - it's always very upbeat. The lotus sticks around, keeping this lush and interesting.

Staying power: Good for a light floral. Probably needs to be reapplied for throw after a couple of hours.

 

Overall Impressions:

This is a beautiful, refreshing blend. It isn't soft or demure like most white florals, or brooding and heady like some rose blends can be. I agree with the above poster who said that this smells like an alcoholic rose - it smells something like a rose dipped in champagne. Man, who could resist that? This is a kind of trusting, playful, refreshing love. It's like a floral Bon Vivant. Lovely!

Edited December 23, 2004 by Caitfish

[FireInCairo]

The rose is quite prominant in this fragrance in my opinion. It is very soft. This scent is very womanly..and very stately. It would be lovely to wear in the evening..on a romantic date or something like that.

[jj_j]

Beth is sooooo good with roses!

 

Kurukulla is indeed a wet, light rose. It's not cloying in the least, and the liquid tones of the lotus make this fresh and gently sweet. If the description hadn't had lotus listed, I would have pegged this blend as having pear, it has such a juicy, fruity tone.

 

While it's a clear and fresh scent, I don't think I'd call Kurukulla a spring-time scent, in spite of the roses and lotus. It's elegant and lovely enough to wear any time, and for any occasion.

[MissAnthropy]

In the imp: Sweet, sweet roses, and even sweeter lotus blossom. This, is the sweetest rose-hinted scent I've ever experienced. It smells like the rose garden around by the waterfront out this way. The smell there is overwhelmed by roses... and they're so fresh and sweet as they mix with the misty air.

 

Wet (on): A very fruity-rose scent. I can smell the lotus, but it seems to really be mixing with the rose, playing with it, and turning it very fruity sweet! How odd! And yet... how neat!!

 

Drydown (on): Still VERY rosey, but not as sweet. But I still love it. I'm not a huge fan of rose scents, but this one is really winning me over.

 

Closing thoughts: Feminine beyond feminine. A rose scent I am actually VERY pleased with. People who like sweet tea roses scents... will love this blend. I will wear this again, and may buy a larger bottle.

 

 

-Leslie

Edited January 17, 2005 by MissAnthropy

[regyt]

I generally dislike florals, but the lab threw this in as an extra with my last order (and the generosity is greatly appreciated!). Like I said, I dislike florals, but I dutifully tried them all anyway.

 

Wet on my skin, it had a lot of throw and was sweetsweetsweet. As it dries, the throw is relaxing somewhat, but it's still an pretty sweet scent on me. It's almost getting a bit incensy along with the sweet florals as it continues to try, but I'm tempted to blame that on all the incensy oils I've tried in the past week or so. It's very wet-smelling, liquidy, too - not a light scent, but like petals suspended in cool water flowing over your skin.

 

I'll admit that Beth's florals don't bother me the way just about every other floral perfume I've gone near has - her florals really do smell like the flowers themselves, and are lovely. But it's just that I don't really want to smell like flowers. This'll be gorgeous for someone who does.

Edited March 6, 2005 by regyt

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Whoa, a very "in your face", very sweet floral.

 

Second Impression: I can see this being cloying if too much is applied. The rose notes are just beautiful, the lotus not so much. Lotus seems do to the same thing that honey does on my skin, go all dirty-funky.

 

Final Analysis: So happy I got to try it, but it's just not my thing.

[anshara]

In the imp: Juicy fruity Rose.... Yum like a perfect combo of Persephone, and, Bon Vivant.... Gods I love Lotus!!!!

Swiped on wrist, wet: still light and fruity like Persephone

Initial Drydown, two minutes: Rose takes over... Gods I love Beth's Roses

later drydown, ten minutes: The wet scent, amped up the fruitiness of the Lotus is beautiful!!!!YUM!!!!! Nice throw, just enough to get noticed, not at all overpowering.

 

Verdict: Love, love, love!!!! I WILL get a bottle of this!!!!!

[Julilla Regina]

Oh, this is truly amazing! I think this is very balanced, with the rose and the lotus gaining equal time on my skin. This is masterful, really. If you love florals, do not miss this one! All day long I couldn't stop sniffing.

 

A little goes a long way, it has good staying power. Be careful and don't put on too much though, it could get overpowering. This is brilliant and I love it!

[rhubarbbear]

i love roses and was very excited to try kurakulla!

 

in the vial it smelled of sweet, candied roses. YUM! wet on the skin it was the same, with a touch of a fresh, watery note. about 15 min later my husband and i were in the car on our way to run some errands, and i noticed a kind of burning smell. hubby did too, and commented that the car smelled funny. we were slightly concerned.

 

i sniffed my wrist for solace. holy crap, the burning smell was kurakulla! it smelled like burning hair

 

i've never had a bpal scent go so horribly wrong, and since i loved the initial phase so much i was terribly disappointed. i'm going to keep my imp a while and see if aging it, or different days of the week make a difference. so weird.

[quimerula]

A balanced scent, right in the middle between rose and lotus.

Rose gives it its green bit, almost acid; lotus gives it its sweetness and depth.

[kmasden]

Well, I just found my first rose scent. I've said over and over that I can't wear rose. My skin usually amps rose up so it dominates and I just have bad memories of those "tea rose" years.

 

This is gorgeous. I can't believe I love a rose scent! At first it's fruity, it's definately luscious and juicy. Wow. I can smell the rose, but it adds this thick, pulsing, just touch of rose scent to the base and the predominant note is wonderful lotus, warmed by the sun. Love, love, love it!

[ChupaChup]

Considering I don't like lotus, Kurukulla is a really nice blend. The rose in this is gorgeous, it's a little tangy and almost saves this for me. Eventually though, the lotus gets a little too strong for my taste. But if you like lotus and want to try a toned down rose, give this lovely blend a try.

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Rose scented bubble gum with an odd background note to it that's slightly like sour fruit. Ah, lotus. Depending on how you're blended you are either the prettiest thing in the world or simply too much for me. Let's see what this one holds.

 

Wet: Bubble gum and rose. This is like Persephone but a little more...I don't know. This is more apple and rose than pomegranate and rose. This has a tartness to it whereas Persephone has more sweet, which is interesting given that this is loaded up with the lotus. This smells like apples on me, tart apples dripping with sticky juice.

 

Dry down: Barely there freshly cut apples. My skin is devouring this blend leaving me pondering whether I like it or not. It's so odd the combination that these flowers have produced on my skin. Rose usually blooms out like nobody's business and lotus also comes out fairly strong on me. Hmmm...maybe the two have cancelled each other out or something. It's coming back a little now. It still smells like apples with just a little bit of rose in there.

 

Dry: It smells like apples. I don't know what's doing it. Apples with the faintest breath of rose in the background. And now the roses are a little more prominent. Very faint, though. Apples. Apples and faint roses. Not a terribly bad blend but this lacks staying power and is really a little light and eccentric for my taste.

[helarctos]

This is going to sound dorky, but my first whiff of Kurukulla evoked the memory of Tori Amos chorusing "Sweet, sweet, sweet" (singing "Muhammad My Friend"). That's what Kurukulla is -- wave upon wave of sweetness.

 

The roses and lotus marry in a high fanfare of floral reverie. Unfortunately for me, after a few minutes on my skin a sickly green note emerges that I can only characterize as "weedy." I'm not sure what the culprit is here; I've noticed it in a couple of floral blends before but haven't kept track of it.

 

Not for me, but someone will love it.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet lotus.

 

On Skin: This is pretty!!! The lotus has it’s signature bubblegum sweetness, and the tartness of the rose compliments it nicely. I actually like this rose scent… I can almost taste rose flavored gum… LOL! This is super girly and I can’t imagine a man wearing it… It's so innocent! The floral is a little strong after a while and gives me a slight headache. I do like it in small doese though. This would be a nice scent to make a spray of. Medium throw but it does fade fairly quickly.

Edited August 18, 2006 by slave1

[Lit Chick]

Ah, lotus. Depending on how you're blended you are either the prettiest thing in the world or simply too much for me.

Agreed!

And unfortunately, I had the same reaction as Andrabell to this. The lotus simply amped itself up into cloying sweetness, and no other note couls come through.

Ah well, of to swaps!

[pickman's model]

Pretty! This is "pretty" bottled.

 

I got the rose and the lotus sweetness, and also a bit of red wine. It didn't last all that long, but it was so pretty and feminine, I loved it anyway.

 

Kinda ladylike in a "kiss-on-the-hand" sort of way.

[tart]

Aww, how pretty! Kurukulla reminds me a lot of Persephone -- a sweet, juicy rose, a scent like blushing red lips. This is a beautiful, silky, romantic rose. It starts turning a little soapy on me as it dries, as many rose blends do. As long as it stays more on the red side and less on the soapy side, I'll keep it. Very nice!

[FoxMackenzie]

One of the first impressions I got sniffing this in the imp was the same feeling/scent I get when I crack open a can of Red Bull - that metallic, faintly alchoholy type of tang that makes the sides of your tongue do that tingly thing they do when you eat something too flavorful first thing in the morning.

 

It also smells like some kind of adult summery drink, something you want to toss ice cubes in and sip on a porch.

 

On me: ooh. Lime citrusy right at first. May explain the Red Bull connection (that has citrus in it too) - there's some sort of under-scent coming out and drowning out the first lime scent. This second thing is semichemical, kind of like cardboard? It's light, though, and calming...like attempting moving on a pleasant not-too-warm day and sitting on a box near freshly-painted walls. And still the citrus underneath.

 

I like this...nice and light, I would happily wear it regularly.

 

~Fox

[Angela]

I so wanted to like this. Rose scents typically do very well on me, and I figured the addition of lotus would do even better things.

 

In the bottle: Strong, STRONG floral. I don't know if my nose is just overly sensitive today, but this practically knocked me out at first whiff.

 

Wet: It calmed down a bit into an ultra-feminine, but almost heady floral. I liked it at this point.

 

Dry down: The touch of what I guess is the lotus started to fade a bit, and all I could smell was the rose with a touch of something almost smoky. It was hard to describe. I was still liking it at this point.

 

Dry: It suddenly went putrid on me, and my wrists smelled like someone had peed on them. Drat.

 

After a few hours: Pee and baby powder. Oh well.

[PurringPulsar]

Kurukulla

 

In the imp: holy moly, sugared roses, rose and lotus overload! Those are two of my favourite florals, so I'll love this!

Wet on skin: yup, this is gorgeous. Crisp, sophisticated rose coupled with sweet, delicate lotus. What a combination!

Dry on skin: still simply rose and lotus. The rose here is surprisingly tart, like dried rose petals, gives this an interesting bite, whilst the lotus smoothes it out and adds sweetness.

After a while: the rose becomes smoother and lovelier. The lotus is there in the background, but now it's the rose that takes centre stage. This rose is bold and ain't afraid to show it! But lotus adds a gorgeous, smooth sweet undertone that is just sublime. I think the lotus does strengthen with time and mingles nicely with the rose, enhancing it, similar to how the frankincense enhanced Rose Cross.

Verdict: this is an uncomplicated blend, but simplicity is good…it's a combination of two of my favourite notes-rose and lotus. Both complement and contrast each other. The rose is tart, crisp and dry but with a ladylike feel to it. The lotus is smooth, sweet and sugary, delicate and innocent. The rose tempers out the sweetness of the lotus, the lotus does the same to the tartness of the rose. I really love these notes individually, and fusing them together works well and makes me smell like a goddess. I love BPAL rose and lotus blends, as you can imagine, this one is another favourite for me.

[blaqpearl]

So tonight I wanted to try something new. I reached into my imp box and pulled this out.

 

In the vial...a floral. Then I read the description. I havent been lucky with roses but I wanted to try it because its smells so beautiful in the vial. Also scared of lotus because I hate bubble gum.

 

Wet....so yummy. There is a beautiful girlfight going on. Rose sometimes on top and then the lotus. This is going back and forth. But in the air, I smell roses. This definitely has alot of throw.

 

Dry...I am starting to smell the thing about roses that puts me off. The smell of nail polish remover. This one hasnt gotten to the point where I have to wash it off. But I kind of smell in the background somewhere. I still like it though. We will see after a couple of hours.

 

I think my best friend will love this as it reminds me of her...I will share this imp with her and perhaps get her a bottle for her birthday.

 

Hubby's review...reminds him of Mississippi. Specifically the smell of 100 different women's perfume at church on a sunday morning.