Cacao, Black Pepper, and Khus

[zankoku_zen]

No additional scent description.

[Max]

wow i was expecting to find thoughts on the fragrance. I honestly don’t know how i feel about this one. It’s kind a ride of emotions. From underwhelmed to this is definitely a grower and i love it: This will age nicely I believe and definitely comes through when warmed up in the hands.

Revelation: It’s grassy. like in a field of hay kind of way but I wouldn’t call it hay like a khus kind of way😂

 

In the bottle: some peppery and nutty chocolate with what reminds me of sunflower (khus aka vetiver)

Wet on the skin: super nutty on me with all those notes coming through. The pepper does start to melt into the vetiver

Dry: same fragrance but mellows out into a very moody sweet earthy chocolate 

 

I believe I like this but definitely not my first pick when i’m in the mood for cacao pods 2021. In order of favorites it’s cacao, copal & palo santo (1st) followed by cacao, sandalwood, clove & hemp (2nd) then 3rd of course being yours truly whom this review is for. 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Max

[puellacaerulea]

This one starts off all strong, very smoky vetiver; no cacao or pepper in sight. As it wears, though, the vetiver slowly mellows out and lets the cacao and pepper come out. A few hours in it's smoky and peppery cacao with a bit of slightly earthy depth from the vetiver. I like where it goes once the vetiver chills out, but that intense BBQ smoke phase early on is a lot to power through.

[groovyrooby]

Cacao and vetiver are two of my favorite BPAL notes, even better in combination! And here they are skipping along and holding hands, right out of the gate!

 

This is rich and dark with a little tang from the cocoa. I didn't detect much black pepper, unless it's that bitter dried spices aroma that's bringing a little bit of sour. I imagined I would like more black pepper, but I'm not sure my vision of it would've helped here. This is lovely as-is.

[zankoku_zen]

Rich, dark smoky cocoa smoke. This one is basically a drier cacao and smoky vetiver. Good throw and wear length.