Oya

[asciident]

... Oya's ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum. Oya winiwini!

Wet: Almonds and plum.

First on: This is too complex for my nose to discern anything specific. It's gorgeous and complicated, a little fruity, but dry. Air/ozone perhaps.

Dry: The fruit is gone, leaving just the smallest tinge of sweetness to this. It's both musky and stormy(?) now. It's also a little spicy, and any hint of almonds is gone now. Very interesting, and a pretty scent. Like classic perfume. I'm not sure if it's very "me" though. Edited August 8, 2008 by Shollin

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Almondy

 

On Skin: Almond sweetness

 

On Drydown: I get a bare hint of plum around the edges, but there is something here that is musky and spicy and oddly enough, reminds me to varnish

 

Verdict: Despite the varnish like smell, Oya definitely puts me in mind of Afro-Caribbean things, and more importantly Brazil. It's like watching into a voodoo shop in Rio de Janeiro and seeing and smelling things that you can't quite interpret.

[waternight]

In the imp: Cherry or almond, with a cool sweet aquatic underneath.

Wet/Drydown: Sweet cherry. This is pretty soft and mellow on me, actually. I’m not getting a lot of scent off of my skin. Spicy cherry. Not very complex. Alright, the cherry note is fading, but it’s still a fruity scent, so I guess that’s the plum. Now I’m getting something slightly… salty? Interesting… Still VERY faint on me though. Huh! Now there’s something resinous and lovely, slightly musky. This one is revealing its layers. Now it’s a sweet incensey scent.

Dry: This smells how I wanted Kanishta to smell on me, before it went to latex. Lovely.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Almonds? Cherries? Ozone. Ok, so we have almonds, cherries and ozone. Hmm, and plum. I love plum. Not so much almonds though, and ozone usually hates me. This is a very complex scent... Let's see how this goes...

 

On the wrist: Ozone immediately leaps to the fore. Vying with the cherry scent, completely obliterating the almonds... and I'm left with... hmm, plum and ozone. Not bad actually. This is a gorgeous purple ozone scent on me at the moment, very unique.

 

Dry: The plum gets a bit sharper, the ozone is lost entirely... this is pure plum right now, amped to the nth degree. After another five minutes or so I get a slightly musky scent, which is usually a precursor to bad times on my skin as musk and I have never been on the best of terms. This one is quite the morpher! Something herbal is coming through now, herbs and musk are destroying my lovely plum scent!

 

Final Analysis: This started out good, got better, was attacked by my chemistry, rallied and turned into something I would never choose to wear. I'll try it again in a couple weeks, see if it was a fluke and if it wasn't then I'll probably swap the imp. Definitely a recommendation for plum lovers, though anyone who can't do musk or ozone might want to proceed with caution.

[Extispex]

In the imp, mostly almond. On my skin, the almond deepens and wraps me in an old memory. There's something familiar about it, comforting. I keep seeing my great-grandmother's kitchen, which is my earliest memory.

 

I love the way Oya smells on my skin, a brisk, sweet and fruity almond, and I love the way it makes me feel. It does fade on me quickly, but I don't care. Its just such a content, calming scent for me. (I guess I'm not getting much of the 'war' aspect of it). Its beautiful.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Huh, I feel like I smell a twinge of evergreen, which is unexpected. Besides that there is a fruty almost bubblegum smell, and (oh-no!) something that smells like jasmine. The over all effect in the imp is a sharp, fruity bathroom cleaner. Lets hope this plays well on my skin...

 

Wet: Sweet gummy fruits (cherry?) with an alcoholic perfumey sharpness. Unfortunately, it still smells of jasmine to me, and jasmine doesn't play nice with my skin chemistry (hullo cat pee). But then I'm also getting a bit of that "bathroom cleaner" smell, which usually means sweet pea.

 

Drying: Okay, the sweet pea/bathroom cleaner smell lessens, and as it dries the jasmine-like note lessens, too. This is odd, but it has the "feel" of antonino the carny talker (except I like antonino much better). I feel like I start to smell a bit of smoke in the background, and even a hint of necco wafer/converstation hearts (which to me usually means gardenia). Late into the drydown the plum finally starts to dominate (what I was hoping for), and this reminds me of a floral version of Hellion (Hellion is more to my tastes, though). Oddly enough, it also resembles Montressor (which I also very much enjoy) with his dark fruits.

 

Overall: The later drydown with the plum and distant florals is nice enough, but that beginning jasmine/sweet pea stage is too cruel to one with my skin chemistry (cat pee and bathroom cleaner...). For plum lovers with nicer chemistry than I, you should enjoy it. For me, I'll stick with my Montressor and Hellion since the drydowns are similar and I actually like the wet stages of those two...

[BlueStarGirl]

I really hope that this is an unreleased scent, I couldn't find it anywhere else on this site or at BPAL. I'm very sorry if I just missed it.

 

In the bottle: Very ripe, almost rotten fruit that becomes bubble gum-y and then goes... cherry, maybe? Cherry is good.

 

Initial wet: Cherries and... musk maybe? Musk doesn't like me.

 

Initial dry: I'm also getting some sort of white flower (maybe jasmine or lily? Very sweet and baby oil-y, it's giving me a bit of a headache.) The scent has seemed to stabilize into a dirty baby powder scent.

 

Throughout the Day: The scent stayed light and faintly powdery for awhile, but it isn't the longest lasting scent. It reminds me of the scent of an unlit stick of fruit-scented incense.

 

Overall: I really enjoyed the sweet fruity maybe-cherry initial scent, but this fragrance is just too sweet for me. I don't hate it, but it's not a keeper for me. Oh well, it was very fun to try something brand new regardless of the results!

 

According to Wikipedia, Oya is a wind goddess responsible for creation, war, and death. She is also known as "mother of nine". This fragrance could easily be made up of nine different scents, but beyond that I can't say that I find this an especially windy or chaotic scent.

[girl_android]

In the imp, whoa, almond! Plus something a tad ... bitter? dirty?

 

Wet on skin, it's almond plus something like ... dirt?

 

Once dry, the almond calms down, what I'm fairly certain is jasmine pops up and turns this into pretty much jasmine and friends rather than almond/cherry/plum/dirt? I never got any plum out of this. I skimmed the reviews before mine, and it's very interesting how it seems to be so different on everyone.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle: Cherry Cola.

 

Immediately on skin: VERY unusual. Smells a little like cola, almond, and some very sweet fruit like cherry or plum. I also get a bitter undertone.

 

After a few minutes: plum with a light wine scent and a touch of musk to keep it from being too sweet.

 

Later on: This has turned very sweet on me and I can really only smell the plum now. It’s definitely a bluish purple or indigo sweet scent. There is just a touch of musk, but I can barely detect it. The scent is not very strong, but it is definitely wafting quite a bit. It's very sweet and pleasant on me.

[maribouquet]

imp - marzipan

wet - almondy sweet and sort of musky

dry - just meh, on me, and fades quickly

[bodegaselkie]

Oya was included as a free imp with my most recent order.

 

As others have said, Oya is very fruity and sweet in the bottle, with a dominant cherry/almost scent as it's applied to the skin. The plum in this is not the scent of fresh, ripe plums but of candy-plum flavor as we've come to know it through sweets. As it dries the almond/nut note gets creamier and softer and the spices begin to come out. It's not a bad blend for those who like fruity scents, but I'm not one of them.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Sweet cherries, yum!

 

Wet: Cherry and oddly intoxicating, with an undertone that's almost floral and a little Dr Pepper-y

 

Drying: Geez, where'd it go? This one has mellowed out fast, and yeah, I am getting an almond-y tone. I don't smell the cherry at all anymore. Aw, drat ... next stop, Soapville. Darn.

[ranyart]

This was a frimp from the lab on my last order.

 

In the imp: Dark plum, wine, a hint of almond.

 

Wet: this smelled like cough syrup when I initially put it on. Ugh. Happily, this lasted only for a moment.

 

Drydown: Oh, wow. I didn't expect this! I smell the same dark plum as in the imp, but richer and less sweet. I'm also picking out some musk and red wine, as well as some herbs I can't quite place.

 

Dry: Oya has turned into dark plum and spicy musk. I wish I could pick out more notes, but "spicy" is the best I can come up with, sadly.

 

My partner has repeatedly commented on how nice Oya smells on me and stated that it "smells purple," and I have to agree. I didn't expect to like this so much, especially not when I caught a whiff of the wet oil on my skin, but I really love it. Oya reminds me a lot of Madrid, another lab frimp I am in love with, in that it's a fruity smell with a lot of spice. This is more spice and less sweet, though.

 

This may go on my list of bottles to buy.

[smokey188]

This one has a slight Jasmine or Honeysuckle scent to it to me. I got this in a swap and it's not something I would have picked myself but I really like this one. Definitely a 5ml next time.

[akiko]

A frimp in my last lab order, yay.

 

Imp: It smells like purple. Kind of like those scented purple markers, except not as artificial. More like actual purple fruit.

 

Wet: definitely something fruity in there, possibly red musk. There's a resinous phase during the drydown.

 

Dry: Plum-touched resins. All in all, not a bad smell.

[bryghtrose]

Lots of plums, and then it dries to an herbal blend. Still full of plums, but not as foody.

[gchris]

In Vial:Very plum

 

Wet: Spicey incense and plum. Nice blend. Starting to smell like cherry sucret cough drops.

 

Later: This is a very nice plum scent. It still has a nice 'bite' even after an hour or so. sweet, but not overly so, medium strength.

[enderfem]

Imp: Almonds and sweetness. Almost like almond extract.

 

Wet: Almonds and plummy sweetness, although something is trying to go a bit bitter here. Please don't go bitter, almonds! I don't want to smell like cyanide.

 

Drydown: Mostly plum but still some almond. This scent is very faint, but very nice.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sweet musk.

 

Wet: Goes initially sour, which makes me worry that there is honey in here and it is taking its sweet time to see if it likes me or not.

 

Dry: Quite fresh in a musky/incense-y sort of way. It's very dry and resinous, but smells sort of summery and makes me think of a summer's evening twilight.

 

Throw: Enough.

 

Overall: It's nice. I get the sense that there is a touch of moss in this and I'll have to be careful about what time of the month it touches my skin, but this is very commanding and smells good without giving off a "perfume" smell.

[savage_rose]

The cherry does what it almost always does and goes to powder. So, this smells like powder and sweetness...sigh. Sorry, Oya.

[lilirose]

I'm almost wondering if I got a mislabeled imp, because I don't get fruit or sweetness from this at all.

 

However, what I smell is unspeakably beautiful and complex. I get ozone, musk, probably a touch of vetiver, maybe a little jasmine. It smells like the night wind. It's very dark and deep but also feminine.

 

I'm in love. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. I'd add this to my 5ml wishlist immediately, except I'm afraid that a bottle would smell totally different, since everyone else seems to smell sweetness and fruit in this except me.

[innocent]

Oya is my favorite orisha, so she of course made it into my first order of imps...

 

On me this scent is so complex, I really can't pick out individual notes - just a plummy overtone darkened by incense. While wet, something in this goes powdery on my skin - in a bad "baby diaper" way. Fortunately that fades quickly though a trace of (inoffensive) powder remains.

 

Nice, I'll be keeping my imp (and may replace it when it eventually runs out) but I don't think I'll get a bottle.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Dark amber/honey colour. Sweet, almost cloying, dark and rich fruit. Benzaldehyde-y almond and maraschino cherries, dark, dried plum.

 

Wet: That benzaldehyde is potently volatile! Almond extract, but with a bitter almond note and that hint of cherry. Plum is much lighter, and an odd soapy/powder note has emerged, possibly floral.

 

Dry: Okay, now it's going sort of DUSTY on top of the soap and powder, and I'm definitely getting a floral feel. Some smoky incense too, though I may be confusing some of the smoke and dust. Scorched sandalwood, maybe? I get a bit of Hellion.

 

Later: There is a harsh muskiness which makes me think red musk, and it has that sort of dark/sexy appeal, even if it's not the sort of dark/sexy i like. Based on other guesses and my own experience, I'm going to agree that the soapy floral is probably jasmine.

 

Summary: Although a bit sweet at first I like it sniffed; it's dark and juicy and fruity, but on me it very quickly morphs into a dusty, soapy-powdery blend of jasmine, scorched sandalwood, and red musk - all nemesis notes on me - AND loses nearly all the fruit. Moderate throw, fades rapidly.

 

Sigh! I love this Goddess, her description and concept so much.

[voodoocatwoman]

Oya most beautiful!

 

Cherry almond concluding with a sour bite both in the imp and wet. When it dries, however, it turns softly sweet with a hint of musky incense. I think Oya is magnificent.

[iiinterstate]

wet: spicy plummy musk.

 

after awhile: dries down to fruity, very earthy incense. I REALLY like it. I think I'll be giving this one a serious all-day try. Possibly bottleworthy.