Sri Lanka

[Hallows_Eve]

SRI LANKA

Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh.

 

Oh...my...gods....I want to put this on my husband right now and climb on top of him. Or wear (only) this myself when doing so. A damn fetish in a bottle is what this is.

 

In the bottle: a bit of a shock at first because it smells more like a wet animal than anything else. This is the wood.

 

On me (wet): Its a bit contained at first, but picture some very exotic incense that you have stored in a cedar box. Now, its a hot day, no a.c., you have the fan on and your windows open, you throw some pillows on the floor, and you feel like burning some incense, you open up the box and you get this concentrated combination of smells.

 

On me (dry): Now its burning incense, smoky. Hot Harem Harlot. Sandalwood and Cedar really work well with me. I *heart* wood and spices in this combo.

 

Now- a couple of things- It is not a distinctly feminine scent and I can see it being classified more as a masculine one- this does not bother me, because I very much into woods and spices. Also, a little will take care of you. Too much will knock people over.

 

But for me, it works. I love this scent.

[Rheliwen]

In the bottle it smells similar to a lot of masculine oils, namely Fenris Wolf.

 

Wet: Oh...wow! Cedar, patchouli, incense and something sweet. It sort of reminds me of Anne Bonny's twin brother. I just tried it on the beau, and it turns really sweet on him.

 

Dry: It's starting to get sweeter now. The cedar in this is much moister than the other cedar blends I've tried (like Tombstone). The incense is really smooth and nice. It smells good enough to eat!

 

I think you earth girls are going to love this!

[sarada]

I rescued this from a hot mailbox today and let it cool down inside for a little while before testing it. I've been very excited for this because wood scents are my absolute favorites.

 

In the bottle: I'm getting a lot of the cedar smell that also struck me strongly in Azathoth -- I swapped out Azathoth because it was too cologney but I think the other ingredients in this will come to the forefront soon.

 

Yep, that's wood all right! I should point out that cedar is actually sometimes problematic for me as it strikes me as "man's cologne" a lot. True, this is a masculine blend...but as the bottle comes down to air conditioned room temperature and I roll it around a little I fet a lot more of the darker sandalwood shades. Ahhh yes, there is it, glorious pale woods. Not quite like Yggdrasil...this is a bit darker than that, and more masculine, but it's gorgeous.

 

I don't actually get a lot of the patchouli and myrrh in this but I think that the incensy resins give it an almost golden feeling. It stays consistently cedar and sandalwood on my arm, as woods tend to do ... they stay put and don't move around a lot. Kinda like trees.

 

I'm going to have to spend some time with this one to see if any of the other notes come to the forefront later -- this is definitely a great one for my fellow earth girls to try out. If you missed Azathoth or wish that you could get more, this might help to fill that void, and happily it's not quite as "cologney" as that blend was on me. Still, my favorite wood blends are Anne Bonny and Capricorn and while this will join them as one of my favorites, they are secure in their positions at the top for the moment! Sri Lanka, welcome to the Top 15!

 

Edited later: You know, I didn't wind up hanging on to this one after all. It was so similar to Whippoorwill and even Silk Road a little, the spicy quality of myrrh overpowered everything else in the end. I didn't wind up wearing it once since I first tested it so I passed it along...the darker woods and resins suit me better.

 

Edited again even later: And I bought another bottle, a year later, after testing it again and now I wear it all the time!! Don't listen to me anymore. I love it, it's smoky sandalwood, end of story!

Edited September 1, 2006 by sarada

[shelldoo]

in the vial: hmmm very resinous and slighty green

 

wet: patchouli and myrrh w/ some frankencense

 

dry this is very incense. it smells just like teh ritual ones i make by hand. when i have the stuff sticking to me, and making me sniff my fingers. on me the most prominent note is frankencense w/ the myrrh a close second and occassional glimpses of patchouli. i often use sandalwood as a base for my incense and i am telling you they smell so much like this scent. so of course i love it

[gdogs]

mmmm. . . this is so interesting. in the imp i thought it would be too sharp for me. i smelled pickles. . .

 

even for the first minute on, i thought i might not like it.

 

this is a woody scent with an aquatic bite, to me. i get the cedar and the sandalwood. but there is also a sharpness that keeps the woods from being too heavy. too round.

 

it is like i layered aureus with empyreal mist. or lightning.

 

i like this. this would be perfect for days when anne bonney is too heavy, but when i want the comfort that the woody/resiny scents give me. i cant stop inhaling this.

[cuervosueno]

This is very lovely. Got an imp pack plus my CT yesterday and have three scents on, and while at first I was much distracted by the lushness of the Hanging Gardens, this is coming out to be the dark horse favorite.

It did smell dark and slightly animalistic in the bottle, but on, its not like that at all. The wood notes are there, but they don't scream out cedar or sandalwood to me. They are the background for sweetness and pachouli, and this smells so much like Bali to me I can't believe it...where I wandered around in a daze with sea smells and greenery and the undercurrent of pachouli that grows there threading it all together. I close my eyes smelling this and think of the last trip I was on in Bali...the lovely little beachside hotel, the gardens....I love it!

So it doesn't conjure up Sri Lanka to me..but then again, I've never been there. I really do love this though. Guess it goes on my wishlist!

[oakmoss]

This has the same feel as temple incense, light warm spiciness with just a touch of smoke. I was doubtful about the cedar, which tends to read as too masculine for me, but there's none of that sharpness, just golden sandalwood blending beautifully with the other notes and softened by the myrrh. I could see this being used as ritual anointing oil, or when you need to feel calmed and purified.

[stardreamer]

Starting to get into the new stuff from my latest shipment!

 

Not quite sure why I ordered this... oh, wait, probably because of my ongoing "try woody scents" paradigm. Normally I'm leery of anything with patchouli in it, but this one has surprised me. It's definitely incense-y, but not in the sharp, unpleasant way that I associate with "smells like a NewAge store". This is sweeter and not as smoky; in fact, it's rather like the incense undernote in Snake Oil. I suspect it's the cedar balancing it out, but it's not an overwhelmingly cedar scent either. It's not going to be a heavy-rotation favorite, but there will be times when I'll definitely want to wear it -- I think it would be fabulous with RenFaire garb! Staying power is exceptional; I only put on a teeny bit because it was so strong, and I can still smell it faintly more than 14 hours later.

 

ETA: After wearing it several more times, I'm less pleased. After the first attempt, it settled into an "all incense" sort of scent; I get a big blast of it on application, it doesn't change much, and I'm not a huge fan of undiluted incense. I think, on the whole, that this one is going to end up getting swapped.

Edited November 26, 2005 by stardreamer

[sarahjay]

this is absolutely beautiful

 

it is smooth and lovely - the cedar is not too sharp, the sandalwood is glorious, the myrrh is warm, the smoke is not too smokey and the patchouli is spicy but not too heavy. I only tried a little dab on my thumb and I just couldn't stop sniffing (I'll update more fully at a later date). I think it would be lovely on me, but also fantastic on my old man - can't wait to try it on him - I think it would be very sexy on him.

 

I just got an imp because sometimes I find cedar too sharp - but I'll be buying 5mls before too long I'm sure

 

edit sept 9 - I'm about to order 5ml of this, I really love it. I thought that I would adore baghdad and like this, but it's the other way around, suprisingly (to me).

Edited September 10, 2005 by sarahjay

[miss apple]

Sri Lanka

 

Can't tell much from the bottle but my first impresion once I've applied a bit to my wrist is smoke and...something else though I'm not sure what. This is more subdued than I was expecting but still nice. After a while I still get the impression of smoke but it has deepened and I think I detect whiffs of sandalwood and possibly the myrrh. In my mind I can see the image of curling smoke drifting lazily off of incense sticks. I only applied a dab to my wrist so I'm hoping it will be a bit stronger if I use more but at the moment my first impression is that this is a quiet and reflective oil.

[ipb]

i'll be honest, after the fantastic FLOP that silk road was for me, i didn't have high hopes for sri lanka - enough that i was content to wait until a swap floated by to get it. i'm not a fan of cedar, i'm leery of some sandalwood, and i don't know what olibanum and gum mastic smell like.

 

that said! on me, the cedar's very much in check by the sandalwood (which i think maay be similiar to the one in queen mab). it's slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and not horribly wood. it's definitely a soft and round and light scent, which is exactly the opposite of what i expected.

 

it's actually more what i thought silk road would smell like - the softness of the fabrics, the light spices, the wood chests for transporting everything.

 

i enjoy it, and i may put it on the bottle list.

[ChupaChup]

Sri Lanka is a lot lighter and softer that I was expecting. It's a woody, smoky scent for sure but it's so barely there. It does sweeten somewhat over time but never gets much body. Maybe it would develop more in an oil burner.

[Bean Rua]

I tested this side by side with Baghdad. It's funny, they shouldn't have much in common, but they do.

 

Heavy resin provides the base. Incense wafting through temples. While I can smell the cedar, it doesn't take over, like it does in Azathoth.

 

There's a special sharp sweetness here that Baghdad does not have. It might be the type of sandalwood, probably the olibanum or gum. It invokes coolness for me...deep shade.

 

Where Baghdad feels oppressive to me, Sri Lanka is filled with light and good cheer.

 

It fades beautifully, leaving the sweet resin behind. It's been six hours, and its presence is subtly in place. It will provide a great base for other mixtures. Last night I layered Dana O'Shea, and right now I'm reaching for Port au Prince.

 

It's a keeper for me...although I am not sure if it is so high up on the list as to order a 5ml right away. Think I am also going to use this in a burner, and perhaps as a scent for my towels and bed linens.

[Reinaluna]

Sri Lanka: Someone earlier mentioned this being similar to The Silk Road, It is kind of. The Silk Road did not work for me but this one has the sweetness that The Silk Road did not have to me. When First applied I get the Sandalwood and patchouli. I dont smell to much Myrrh or cedar and it is not as strong as one would think considering the ingredients. After 20 min give or take it starts to get sweet. This is very nice and exotic and I recomend this one to the people that did not agree with The Silk Road.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - oh I think this is going to be another winner. Sandalwood and incense!

 

Dry - Oh this is a sandalwood lover's dream! Sandalwood with some cedar behind it, and oblibanum. I don't really get the patchouli and myrrh; they're very subtle. This lasts and lasts and is really quite nice. Going on my big bottle list for sure!

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5.

[joseybird]

This is definately cedar/sandalwood, but the sweet variety, not the pencil-shavings one (which is more associated with Virginia cedarwood I guess). It's a soft woodsy scent--far less hard-core than I had been expecting. The incense starts wafting in after a minute or so, but it's pretty subtle.

 

The description scared me at first, but I'm so glad I got an imp and am trading for a bottle it reminds me of some mountain temple somewhere, where the wooden beams have been infused with incense over the centuries.

[girlmadasbirds]

this one is so wonderful! i'm really at a loss for words as to what to say about it. it's a gorgeous blend and i'm able to pick out each note. sandalwood, incense, and an earthy spiciness from the patchouli...

would work great on a guy as well.

[DarkMouse]

This smells warm and spicey.. but I can't pick out any notes above any other. There is a cinnamon heat and a sweet cedar but I don't get sandalwood or patchouli on my skin. Its almost floral to me.. carnations and spice. Its a very warm and comforting scent and would be nice in an oil burner in a meditation room or bedroom.

 

Unfortunately, my biggest problem is that it was unbelievably familiar to me when I opened the imp. My mom used to order natural foods and bath products through a co-op when I was younger.. and to me, Sri Lanka smells exactly like a hair conditioner that I used to use. I feel silly writing that in a review, but I can't get that thought out of my head. It does take me back to that time in my life though, so I will be keeping the imp when I want to be reminded of home.

[wolfie13]

This smells warm and spicey.. but I can't pick out any notes above any other. There is a cinnamon heat and a sweet cedar but I don't get sandalwood or patchouli on my skin. Its almost floral to me.. carnations and spice.

 

I have to agree completely with this portion of Dark Mouse's analysis!

 

This was surprisingly light and floral on me - so much so that I was convinced I must have gotten a mislabeled imp!

 

Add a touch of light incense, smoothly blend (no single notes really stood out on me) and there you have it.

 

Nice, but not really for me - it was too light and non-descript (and where is that floral coming from??)

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I've been dying to try this since it was released. Based on the description, it sounds like it was made for me and I've got extremely high hopes for this.

 

First sniff:

 

This is incense, but not head shop incense. Exotic incense burning in some far flung Buddhist temple, not the type you pick up at your local Rocky Mudd's. It's almost green smelling somehow, like green tree branches - sappy but woody at the same time. The best way I can think of to describe this is that it's like a temple in some untouched corner of the rainforest - snapped sapling branches and exotic, hand-blended resins smoking in a brazier in some farflung Buddhist temple.

 

Wet on skin:

 

There's still something very reminiscent of the sappy, green smell you get when you break a small branch off a living tree. It's unexpected but strangely beautiful (and not at all what I expected). The incense note is pronounced, but it's not your average, run of the mill incense. This is nothing like Penitence or Cathedral or even Anne Bonny for me, it's more exotic: dryer and less sweet.

 

Dry down:

 

A little bit of this goes a long, long way. I dabbed a tiny bit of this on to test it and I can smell it without getting my nose anywhere near it. The green wood note is gone and I smell dry, exotic incense with an almost cinnamon-like note to it. This reminds me of Lorenzo Villoresi's Incensi for some reason, although this is much better quality (nothing beats BPAL!) and smells far more beautiful - something about the notes seems similar.

 

The bottom line:

 

Beautiful! Very unusual! I love this!

[tesao]

i have a carved sandalwood statue that a friend of my husband's gifted us with when he returned from a trip home to india. it sits on my altar and absorbs the scents that i use for daily rituals.

 

sri lanka smells exactly the same way that the statue does. soft sandalwood, hints of spice. it doesn't have a huge amount of throw, but it does have amazingly long staying power. i put this on at about 21:00 last night, and it is still there, wafts of it haunting my nose as i type this.

 

during the drydown last night, i could smell something which was akin to a light tobacco note. it isn't present this morning, but the hint of smoke remains. no idea what olibanum or gum mastic smell like. whatever they are, they apparently like me!

 

yay!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Is that fig I smell?

 

Second Impression: Sri Lanka turns into a combination of Silk Road and Nemesis on my skin. How odd. Incense, warm and sweet sandalwood and a good dose of sweet fig. I don't get any dryness or cedar.

 

Final Analysis: Not at all what I was expecting. A beautiful scent, but I like to keep my Nemesis and Silk Road separate.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A frimp from the Lab; I am grateful but wary, as the notes sound very "hippy", which is not my thing (random Eric Cartman moment--"Hippies! They want to save the earth, but all they do is smell bad and smoke pot!" ).

 

However...I am pleasantly surprised. This is like a lighter, sweeter Cathedral. The patchouli and myrrh are *not* strong on me, which is amazing. This evokes all my Gothic-architecture obsessions--it smells like beautiful old carved wood getting warm in the sun coming in through arched windows. Really well-blended and nice. I don't know if I would wear it on its own--it would be for layering or for a *great* altar scent. I wish I had incense that smelled like this. Thank you, Labbies!

Edited August 17, 2005 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[urraca]

This was a lab frimp and I'm delighted to be able to try it.

 

My first surprise was how sweet this scent is. I expected something much darker but the myrrh and patchouli don't really turn up on me at all. This goes on with very much the spicy scent that is in Morocco and Silk Road. I know this will thrill many, but alas that spicy scent does not agree with me because I find it too bakery-like. This is certanly the best of the three though. An hour or so into the drydown however the spice retreats and the woody notes, cedar and sandalwood come forward in a delicious way. This is my favourite part of the scent. It had some throw but needed repeated application throughout the day.

[Miss Lynx]

Oh dear -- I am usually no great respecter of the gender assignments of scents, and some scents typically regarded as masculine or at least gender-neutral are fine on me, I don't think this is one of them. It really, really, really smells like men's cologne. And while I've tried a few men's colognes that settled into my skin chemistry and ended up smelling not masculine, but just kind of unconventionally feminine on me, this again doesn't appear to be one.

 

At first there was a really sharp pungency to it -- maybe the cedar? -- but that faded after a little while, and now it's predominantly a woody scent, but not the kind of woody that I like. It actually reminds me of the "Woody Sandalwood" perfume oil they used to have at the Body Shop when I worked there about 15 years ago, which didn't smell at all like sandalwood to me, but more like -- well, men's cologne, and not even a terribly good men's cologne.

 

I initially thought that maybe it'd eventually settle into my skin, but it didn't, and less than an hour later, it started to fade away entirely, without ever really hitting a point of smelling good on me. It's strange -- I really thought I'd like this one, and I do like most of the ingredients listed, but for some reason it's just not working out.

 

Oh well, into the swap pile it goes, unless one of my male friends decides they like it.

 

Grade: D