Twelve Tastes in the Classification of Passion

[torischroeder9]

Mandarin, carnation, and clove bud.

 

Fresh from the mail, no time to settle -- but I was already getting ready to review other BPAL when this arrived. I couldn't wait; I let it cut in line. Will definitely update after it's had time to get used to its new home.

 

Edit 3/3/19 -- Text in blue is my review now that the scent has had time to settle. 

 

In the bottle: Mandarin and clove. It's beautiful spicy orange (the scent, not necessarily the color). Mostly mandarin in the bottle. The clove is detectable, but it's not as much as I remember there being a week ago.  

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's largely mandarin with a touch of clove. It almost has an orange candy -- the old-fashioned stick candies -- quality to it. (The oil color, by the way, is clear or nearly so.)

 

Yup. Still has that mandarin-dominant, orange spice candy thing going on. 

 

The initial drydown is much the same, though the clove has some impressive throw on it -- but since it's just a grace note on the blend for the moment, it's not overpowering. I don't get any detectable carnation as of yet -- though I can't tell if that's still yet to develop on my skin, if it's being overshadowed by the clove, if it's due to the freshness of the oil, or some combination of factors. 

 

I'd tell you that settled, the initial drydown is even more mandarin on me. The clove hasn't really started to assert itself yet. (And no, still no carnation.)

 

Given another twenty or so minutes to develop on my skin, and the carnation does make a subtle appearance. It's a supporting note, toning down the super brightness of the mandarin and adding a more delicate nuance of spiciness to the clove. I want to say it's starting to add some sophistication to the blend. (I say "starting to" because it's still very much a background player at this stage, but I can see that as its role as the blend unfolds.) 

 

Aaand this is where Twelve Tastes in the Classification of Passion leaves off on me, at least for the time being. Luper and Shunga and evocative title notwithstanding, this is a warm, cheerful, inviting blend on me. The mandarin is bright, the clove warm and happily spicy, and the carnation works to add some unity and balance to the blend. The scent itself would be at home in a variety of venues, including for work or everyday wear (at least as it manifests on me). 

 

At this point, a couple of hours after the initial application (which is mandarin and clove on me), the carnation comes out, and it is elegant and sexy as hell. It does take a while to get there on me, but the cheerful warmth of the mandarin and clove is also pretty great, so I can't complain.  

 

The throw is on the stronger side of average on me, and we'll see about the wear length -- Mandarin disappears on me notoriously quickly, but clove and carnation can hang around forever... 

 

If this perfume were a Luper Goat, it would be a social butterfly Luper Goat with excellent people manners. I can imagine it making the rounds in any given room, nuzzling up to people as a way to ask for treats and pets (which I suppose is a nicer way of saying food and attention). While Twelve Tastes (the Goat!) might push her head underneath someone's unsuspecting hand and while you of course want to be mindful of your fingers when proffering any treat, this is not a goat that's going to knock someone over or chomp any hands off. She has manners -- but also Charm and Game, as well as the confidence to rely upon them. 

Edited March 4, 2019 by torischroeder9

[zankoku_zen]

Strong carnation and orange with a whiff of clove. Hey, it's a orangey carnation blend. It's nice to see orange in a non-foodie roll, and with carnation adding a nice spicy floral kick to it all. Great throw and wear length.

[Casablanca]

On me, this is loads of mandarin, with only scant hints of clove and carnation. The mandarin is smooth, mildly sweet, a bit green, and not bitter at all.

 

The carnation comes out a bit more after the blend dries, but I still barely get the clove.

 

This is mandarin's joyride all the way through. I dig mandarin, so this is good by me. In all likelihood, the clove and carnation will grow some as the blend settles, so this is a nice starting point.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: a jumble of awesome wet juicy and strange herbal brown notes...? One of the most confusing blind test bpals I've experienced. Thoroughly disappointed in my smelling talent after reading the description, with "oh...that's all. And I couldn't figure it out. :("This is one of those cases where only 3 notes can absolutely baffle me and I realize I would make a terrible "Nose".

 

Dry: mandarin that sticks around longer than all other notes? How does that? Well, clove too. The carnation is the confounder, here- The note that's getting all contorted. Its still hard to identify dry, but after deducing what I could identify..that's it! This is a strange but good, and darker toned mandarin scent.

 

[Lucchesa]

SophieCedar's experience is very close to mine -- juicy orange and herbal/spicy brown notes, like a designer kitchen circa 1971.  Once it dries down, I am still getting plenty of mandarin, not usually a long-lasting note on me.  This is highly reminiscent of one of those pomanders at the Dickens Christmas Faire, orange and clove.  There's some carnation too, very spicy clove-like carnation.  Interesting, but not me somehow; I like all three of these notes, but not all together with nothing else.  

[LavenderCoffee]

1 Gorgeous juicy mandarin

2 backed by carnation

3 touched by clove.

I haven't worn much orange traditionally but I'm into mandarin at the moment and I'm super impressed with this one - it really hangs in there! I love all the clove I can get, so this is a bit subtle in that regard, but the dusky spicy carnation backdrop for the vibrant citrus is pretty darn great.