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Showing results for tags 'Shungas 2017'.
Found 22 results
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Honey oudh and bourbon vanilla. In The Bottle: Wow. It's the honey we all love from numerous Lab blends, but it's being tempered with something that's surprisingly green and fresh. I guess it's the oudh, but it's not like any oudh I've encountered before. Huh. Wet On Skin: The "green" grows in intensity while the honey recedes. The vanilla is still nowhere to be seen. Dry Down: This green, fresh oudh aspect is the dominant for sure. The honey has morphed into a lighter honey dust upon dry down and alas, the vanilla remains MIA. In All: I'll keep this around for a bit to see how it ages. I'm not certain yet if this is a keeper for me, but I think it's a lovely scent for spring and anyone into leafy, greenie scents should absolutely get some ASAP.
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Tuberose incense, blue wisteria, and oakmoss. Holy moly, this one starts off with a knock-you-over-backwards heady floral punch. I smell a lot of wisteria, I don't know what tuberose smells like, I read it's heady, so maybe it's in here too, along with a boat-load of wisteria. Like, wisteria for days. It's a good thing I love wisteria. This is intense, and the throw is intense, for the first 20 or 30 minutes or so after applying... then, suddenly, it calms down noticeably. The Storm of Wisteria begins to pass, and I start to smell incense, a lovely, soft, high-quality incense breaking through as the wisteria clouds thin. The wisteria continues to wear away gradually and gracefully over a few hours, and the incense stays pretty steady throughout; I can still smell a lovely, soft, vaguely-floral incense faintly on my wrist even around 8 or 9 hours later. I don't seem to get moss... the only scent I have that I get a lot of moss from is Fae. If there is moss here, it's probably not that moss. (And that's probably not helpful, sorry!) (Edit: Oh yeah... also, and when I smell this, I think of an etherial light dusty blue, or a pale blue with a slight slivery/grey tint... but I'm not sure I smell colors the same way other people do, maybe my nose marches to its own drummer or my scent-palate isn't sophisticated enough. /disclaimer)
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Proceeds from this blend will be donated to Planned Parenthood. Golden sandalwood, soft leather, champaca resin, and coconut. I love skin scents that are soft, deep, and incensey for Spring. Keichu really does this for me. The mild acidity of the leather gives this scent lift, and it's not at all overpowering because it blends so well with the tang of the wood. The champaca is light, like a floral tea. Coconut plays a subtle but unifying role, beautifully rounding out and sweetening the blend. It has a similar feel to Hippie Ghost, another favorite of mine, in that it is both earthy and airy.
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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!
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Green tea and honey with a touch of wasabi. In the bottle it smells like a pine sort of potpourri. On skin, a very high pitched green tea. It takes a moment for the astringent potpourri like scent to separate into individual notes. I can smell the honey only when I waft my wrist up to my nose. The wasabi is interesting, and definitely does to your nose the fire dance that wasabi usually does. It's delectable- it's a cup of green tea on a tray with wasabi, possibly waiting for sushi. The only problem I have is that every now and then it becomes a blended potpourri. It is a fresh scent, and the honey grows a little stronger as the wear goes on...and it dries into a very dry green tea sweetened by honey. I think it's growing on me.
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Green tea and honey with orange peel, hay absolute, bergamot, and cypress. Wet/fresh on: green tea and bitter orange peel/bergamot, quite sharp no honey yet, no hay, no cyprus. A fresh scent, very alive. 20-30 mins later, the honey has blossomed, and it is neither a light airy honey nor a thick syrupy one but a golden medium-bodied one (my favorite). The bitterness/sharpness has softened considerably and something else is emerging... something soft, subtle, and woodsy underneath. After about 2.5-3 hours the tea has mellowed to faintness and its mostly a honey-woods scent. To be fair, I tried this on the back of my hand and my hands have been hella dry lately. I need to try this again on my wrist or crook of my arm and see if the tea sticks around longer on properly moisturized skin. I like all the stages of this so far but Im in the market for a nice tea scent so ideally Id like to smell the tea for longer.
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Sweet amber and golden honey, cream accord, blue lilac, and a drop of cardamom. In The Bottle: Lilac and cream, oh my oh my! Wet On Skin: The lilac is REALLY heavy! Frankly, at this stage it's verging on overwhelming me. Still, it's a lovely note, and I'm hoping it'll settle down some on the dry down. Dry Down: When I was a kid, there was a giant lilac bush that grew outside the neighbor's house on the corner. I loved waling by it in late spring, when the boughs were heavy with blooming cones of the sweet flower. This lilac is very similar in freshness to what I smelled during that time. As it dries, the honey, a light, sweet yellow honey, not the dark, rich ones in "O", is certainly here as well, with the equally pal amber rounding it out. If there's cream here, it's mostly afterthought, which is a bit of a shame, honestly, because the sweetness of the other notes on my skin could use something to damp them down a little. The cardamom, however, IS there, but can only be detected as I pull my arm away from my face. Tricky! In All: High throw- a little goes a long way! Very, very floral and sweet. I don't know if this is for me, but any floral fan would kill to have this for sure!
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Fir needle and white tea with crushed fresh ginger, white amber, apricot, and oakmoss. Interlude After Sake is a beautiful blend, mellow and light. The white tea and ginger dominate the opening; the fir needles I only smell the bottle and when it's very, very wet; sort of a whiff of balsam pillow over what is otherwise a sweet/clean leaning perfume. The apricot and amber lend the sweetness, the ginger and tea prevent it from hitting foodie territory. There may even be oakmoss in there contributing something nice, but I have no idea what oakmoss smells like on its own. This is a low-throw perfume oil on me. It reminds me a bit of Kumiho, which I had an imp of years ago and loved, but could not wear because it lasted 0.5 seconds on me before disappearing. Interlude has medium staying power; lasting about 6 hours before fading to a lovely apricot-amber glow. Lovely.
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Chrysanthemum incense and red carnation. In The Bottle: Whoa, hello chrysanthemum incense! Carnation, of course, lending its special, sweet spiciness to the mix! Wet On Skin: The incense is definitely front and center. It reminds me quite a bit of the champa incense note, actually, even as it retains a hint of the mum-vibe. (also I accidentally got a little in my mouth when I was sniffing my finger. Don't eat it!!!) Dry Down: A light incense, but still a stronger note just the same. The spice of the carnation is here, but precious little else of the sweet flower remains. I am hoping this will come around with some aging, but regardless, it's a great addition to any incense lover's collection. At worst, I will later with some of the Spanish Carnation SN when I want more of that red beauty in the mix!
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Goats milk, coconut, rice milk, honey carnation, and sugar. I hate to be the first review because I'm terrible at identifying notes but here goes: This scent is much warmer than I was expecting - everything already blended well before it even touched my skin. Having trouble picking out notes. I'm thinking the honey carnation is giving a deeper note....or maybe the sugar is more like a burnt sugar or a brown sugar. I got this one and the Kitten scent together and was worried they'd be too similar but they are nothing alike on my skin. Oddly enough despite having two milk notes this doesn't come off as particularly milky to me. There is a hint of it in the background but I get....even an almost wood note in this? The more it sits the more I think it's the honey carnation. Also no coconut to be found on my which I occasionally amp. So interesting - not sure if it's my skin chemistry or the scent itself so I look forward to reading more reviews.
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Rice milk, white musk, and pear. I was intrigued by this one, but pear can sometimes be too sweet for me. In this case, it was. The pear and creamy rice milk amped on me, with the musk not quite emerging (I was hoping it would smooth/mellow out the pear). It is a lovely blend for those that enjoy sweet creamy fruit blends.
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Amber and balsam peru with patchouli, blood orange, and rose geranium. This was the luper that I was most excited for this year, because I adore geranium and patchouli. My only hesitation was with the blood orange, because citrus can go too sour on me, and I wanted this to be an herbal-spicy-rich-earthy-amber sort of fragrance. I thought that the other, heavier notes would overpower the citrus, but that is not the case. In the bottle, I get creamy orange and nothing else. On my skin, a big blast of sour, tart orange. 15 minutes later, still mostly orange, but I think I can pick out a sweet, smooth, chocolatey patchouli and dry, sandalwood-like wood notes. Sadly, I can't really pick out the rose geranium at all. I get none of its green spiciness. I don't get any green balsam notes either. A half hour in, this is a barely there skin scent that's mostly baby powdery amber and a smear of sour orange. My biggest hope of the Lupers this year is my biggest disappointment
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Sugar dusted strawberries and mallow blossoms. My first two thoughts upon putting this on were, "This smells like the milk left over after eating a bowl of cereal. Or maybe strawberry milk!" It settles into something less childish fairly quickly. I have a few strawberry scents that like from bpal, but none that I love yet. I love this one. It's gentle strawberry and sweet milky marshmallow with just a touch of something perfumey. It's strawberry Stekkjarstaur.
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Hinoki wood, grave moss, vetiver, and cypress. lately I'm drawn to scents that evoke forests and wilderness, and this starts out like a fairy tale woods at dusk, with inky, goth, velvety moss-and-cypress branches casting spiky black lace shadows. there's a trace of grit from the vetiver. this wet phase is stunning, gorgeous. dry, this morphs into something soft and gentle, like pale worn suede. throw is gentle and my skin noms this within two hours. eta: it's been over a week and this beauty has upped significantly in throw and wear-length. it's also morphing and shifting in the most welcomed and delicious ways. currently: dark, gritty woodsy open, leaning more unisex aka cologne-like in the dry-down.
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White oud and white sandalwood, iris pallida, blonde woods, and pink pepper. Oh, Karikkotsu, you gorgeous elegant, bony nightmare you! This is special. This is unlike any of the Shungas or lupers in the (huge) collection. This is high end chic. This..... is elegant, dry wood with a whisper of what seems to be Bay Rum and a touch of pepper. As if a perfectly dressed gent has arrived at the bar for drinks before dinner..... but it's so unique it's ungendered. Everyone who smelled it, even bpal folks themselves seemed surprised at and enthralled with it. Wearing this I feel.....grand....put together...impossibly chic yet laid back and comfortable. I think the iris is the key that blends all these notes together in a magical way that creates a soft, amazing, sleek yet relaxed scent. I. Love. This. ...Bottle bought.
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Soft mosses, lotus petals, bamboo wood, ylang ylang, and vanilla sandalwood. Wow, this is a very gentle scent. Everything about it evokes softness, it's super pretty. The notes are very well blended but I think the soft mosses are at the forefront. The lotus and ylang ylang give it a sweet edge while the vanilla sandalwood gives it a smooth background, the bamboo wood lends a freshness. Overall, this is soft, fresh and clean. Nice for spring!
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Beeswax, tobacco leaf, a whiff of smoke, and purple rose petals. Ok I so I told myself I wasn't going to come on here and write some ramble-y, amateurish review but never mind that... I this scent and I want to share my love. It is mainly beeswax to me/on me, with a creamy antique rose melded to it, a very very faint whisper of smoke (that seems to come and go) and what seems to be a background of tobacco. Well, honestly, I'm not really even sure I can quite distinguish the tobacco from the beeswax, I usually amp honey and beeswax, and tobacco tends to do some sort of comforting golden grounding thing on me so I think they are mingling into one sofly-gilded-beeswax thing in my nose. I'm reminded a bit of The Lights of Men's Lives, and a bit more of the the beeswax I smell The Gambols of Ghosts, which seems a thicker and more opaque wax to me. Flickering Lantern is a fairly sweet scent on me, but softly so, and the rose is doing some kind of creamy almost-edible thing that I find most delightful! It's romantic, sort of maternal, maybe, and just lovely. To me this scent is a creamy, softly-glowing, peachy-mauve. I'm not getting purple, my experience of this is romantic evening mauve.
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Nectarine and pearl peach, white frankincense, and gardenia. In the bottle: juicy ripe fleshy fruit Wet on the skin: juicy, ripe, realistic nectarines and soft peaches. There's a little frankincense, but it's light, and the gardenia seems present, but maybe a little distant. Dry down: I was worried the nectarine and peach would dry down too soft, but they stay lovely and fruity, if not so juicy, and the gardenia steps up without being over powering. This is a gorgeous blend! Going to be one of my favorites. I'd put it in a similar family to another favorite: Josie (but sans honey, and maybe lighter/fresher fruit, and gardenia is slightly less heady than magnolia).
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Cedarwood, orange blossom, Florentine iris, and golden vanilla. Beneath the Kotatsu is absolutely beautiful. The cedar is very subtle, and grounds the scent without playing a prominent role. The vanilla is warm, with no hint of plastic. The orange blossom and iris are sweet and subtle. This began as a subtle floral with medium throw, and settled down to a slightly closer scent dominated by vanilla. Truly a beautiful blend.
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White sandalwood, sweet incense, cypress, ambrette seed, champaca, and lotus pods. This is a close to the skin scent. The star of the show is the Lotus and every component adds to it. Very feminine and soft perfume. If you like soft floral scents then this is for you.
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Blueberry musk, lotus, and green tea. Granted, my bottle just came in the mailbox today - so take this review with the grain of salt. In the bottle: It's a sweet, musky blueberry! I don't think I have ever smelled "blueberry" perfume before - but there you have it - it's right there in this bottle. On skin: The blueberry musk is straight forward and in front. Then the lotus comes forward more with the green tea in the background. After a bit of time: The green tea and lotus become more prominent, while the blueberry seems to have worn off. It becomes more of a light, creamy green tea scent. It's nice, but I was hoping the blueberry would stick around longer. I'll let this one sit for a few weeks and re-test then. Hopefully then, she'll retain that wonderful blueberry muskiness that I'm craving.
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White tea, fig, honey, and sweet olive. All I can say is this: if you like white tea, you need to try this. I don't get much honey, but this is fresh from the mailbox, so I imagine with some time to settle it will shine through. I'm getting a little green fig around the edges, and maybe a smack of osmanthus, but overall this is a clean, super pretty white tea. This is so lovely and fresh, perfect for spring and a must for any white tea lovers out there. TL;DR: white tea white tea white tea
