Khajuraho

[slave1]

KHAJURAHO 08

... This is a blissful, euphoric blend based on an ancient Indian love potion: honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower.

 

In Bottle: Smoky sweet floral

 

On Skin: This scent starts out quite strong. It seems more sweet than my bottle of the 06 version. The florals and honey are almost sticky and the rose isn’t as strong as it was in my 06 bottle. The woods are there, very solid and clean. There is a bit of smoky earthiness coming from them. The amber is sweet and powdery and the vanilla blends with it perfectly. I don’t get the green tone like I did in the 06 version, this time around I get a more golden feel, very warm. A seductive feminine scent, very pretty. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[grashopper8]

MMMMmmmmm, and it stays just gorgeous! I slathered in the morning, and it was on my clothes (which prologned the hang-time), but I have to say that this is my favorite of the Lupercalia update. It may not be for everyone, but to my nose it's pure heaven!!!!!!

 

I can't believe I haven't tried this until now. Gorgeous! I can't even describe my euphoria. Perhaps someday I'll be able to articulate my infatuation.....for now, *huffff* mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

5 out of 5

 

Slightly fruity, heady incense, with an absolutely perfect accompaniment of white florals. Thank you Beth!

[500ml]

This smells like... nail polish on me I really wasn't expecting that to happen, it really does not smell good. I can smell other notes underneath that seem like they could be nice, but the nail polish is just so strong that it blocks out everything else.

 

So weird :/ I've never had such an odd reaction to a blend before, I'm really not sure which of the notes is causing this.

Edited March 22, 2008 by porcelain

[MaeKitty]

KHAJURAHO 2008

 

In the Bottle: Err, bananas? And Rose. Weird....

On Me: This is so odd! Maybe it just needs to age a bit...I'm getting some tropical flowers, which remind me of my time in St. Kitts. Some rose, though it's not too heavy, it does give me that annoying rose tang. Just not loving it as much as the 2007 version. It's a little too light. I don't get the honey, amber or vanilla. Huh. So odd.

[twilighteyes]

The first thing I get when smelling this in the bottle is a floral date with a honey vanilla bottom.

 

On my skin it has a bitter floral scent. As it dries, it retains that bitterness.

 

I expected to love this one much more since the first note listed was honey! But it turned in a bitter floral on me.

 

Scratching off the extra bottle I was going to order.

[suki]

This is for the 2008 version

 

in the bottle: like a deep delicious incense

 

wet on skin: i'm getting little whifs of dark jasmine, sweet grape wine and nag champa. very 'indian'.

 

dry down: all the above mesh and melt together so that individual notes become harder to pull out, giving this scent a beautiful, rich complexity that is likely to have by standers drooling in rapt attention trying to figure out where the lovely fragrance is coming from

 

in all: glad i got a bottle before it was gone- this is one to wear out to the clubs!

 

 

 

 

[edenssixthday]

Khajuraho 2008 – “Cuz yer a ho!” Ha ha. Okay, anyway, this is AWESOME! It smells 100% totally and completely different on me than the previous versions of this blend. The 2006 and 2007 versions smelled very similar to each other, with slight differences in my experience of them. I honestly thought 2008 was a new formulation, until I checked the notes against those of the previous years’ blends. Same notes, but a dramatically different scent experience for me. This is my favorite of all of all three years. Even the honey in this blend doesn’t make it go south on me like honey usually does. When I apply this, it opens up with the scent of champaca flower, but that only lasts half a minute before the date palm completely drowns out the champaca. The date palm continues to be the dominant note throughout the entire life of the blend, with the white sandalwood and tuberose showing up right behind it and the vanilla bean pulling the scent together with a gorgeous sweetness that I don’t remember the other versions having. This is a beautiful, beautiful blend and I am so glad that I decided to try this year’s blend instead of assuming it smelled like the previous versions. The wear length and throw are both quite strong.

Edited April 26, 2008 by edenssixthday

[windbourne]

This one (08) initially smells rather unpleasant on me, and I'm not sure what causes it. It's got a rather decided 'cathouse' scent, not in the more raunchy connotation, but as in 'where tigers live', but this time (Bengal had the same effect on my skin), they've decided to grow wicked and sour flowers.

 

As it fades it settles into a more graceful vanilla with a tropical bent, but still, that undertone of 'big cat musk' just sits there and vexes me.

 

Not a keeper.

[Lamia]

In the bottle, floral, fresh on skin skin it smelled like fruit rotting on the vine and bad breath. It did change fairly quickly to a fruity scent. Towards lunchtime, it developed a disagreeably thin shrill note.

[Indigo78]

This is for the '07 version:

 

Mysterious, sweet, incense-y in the imp. Sandalwood is by far the most prominent.

 

On the skin: this is Acetone when wet?! Yeah...That's acetone to my nose, with the other notes banging on the ceiling trying to get out. Hrmph.

A moment later the woods come in beside Vanilla, softening the bitterness a little.

 

Five minutes in, and this isn't nearly as dry as before. In fact, the bitterness (and whatever the Acetone notes were) are almost gone, becoming sweet and nectar-like. Really nice. (please stay this way? )

 

At twenty minutes I get the date palm and honey, blanketed by tuberose and vanilla. Starting to get "under my skin", and I am enjoying this scent.

 

I really enjoy this after it settles, and if it were easily procured I would add it to the wish list.

[ouch!]

WOWZERS this is gorgeous! This is bottled "Lush" on me and I'm never letting it go!!

 

A lovely forumite frimped this for me and I wish I could remember who now because I would grab her and kiss her and swing her round. I put it on my hand and almost fell over at the beauty!!!

 

So...anyway, enough of the sexual intercourse with an oil.

 

I seriously don't know where to start with describing this, it's a million different things at once and it's extrelmey complex. It definately reminds me of a Lush store, I used to work in one so I'm very familiar with the smell..it's kind of like what my clothes used to smell like when I got home from working there, or...when you buy alot of things and you get wafts from the shopping bag...(I know I sound crazy).

 

I would say, I can definately detect wood...definately incense & floral...but there's a complex sweetness that surrounds it and it's stunning!! I just can't get enough of it!!

Glad I managed to get a bottle...I'll be on the hunt for more though..

 

Sorry for the crap review..but some things are just so hard to describe!

 

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this so doesn't work on me. I get that weird banana floral smell. Ick. It's heady and sweet, and the honey is also pretty aggressive. If I liked honeyed bananas, this would be my go to scent.

 

Nope. Not my kind of floral.

[thelaurenator]

Oh, this is lovely. A very well-realized Oriental. It's an incredibly sexy scent, but not for the faint of heart. This is a VERY in-your-face womanly scent.

[dorothy humbird]

KHAJURAHO 2008

 

Sweet, smells like Pepto Bismol in the imp... or some other fruity medicine.

 

On my skin the medicinal quality lessens, but now it smells kind of powdery-foody. Oddly, this reminds me of Eden, when their only common notes are honey and sandalwood... and plenty of other blends have these notes as well. This is more obviously floral, though -- I can smell the Damascus rose quite clearly. I suspect the champaca blossom might be what's giving this a bubblegum-y sweetness, but that may be pure conjecture on my part.

 

Something is causing this blend to smell sort of waxy on my skin, or else this combination of notes just tends to remind me of candles. It's a pleasant enough smell, I suppose, but not particularly evocative of the impression I'd like to create... rather more "cozy home" than "comfortably coy coquette."

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Sweet, floral, tart, woody in that order. No recognizable fragrances, but it smells absolutely delicious.

 

Wet: Floral sandalwood amber, and somehow earthy. This scent is largely unrecognizable, but it's grounded in a way that so many of their other scents haven't been, at least, not on me. Still delicious. Smelling it seems to have a warming effect.

 

Half an hour: A very pleasant blend of a couple of florals, sandalwood, vanilla and an elusive touch of amber. There's something else in there I don't recognize, and I keep wondering if it's the date palm because it smells sweet-woody. This is not something I'd want to pick as a regular scent -- not distinctive enough on me -- but it's plenty nice. It makes me feel good when I sniff it, and that alone makes it worth wearing from time to time.

 

Four hours: Got busy and lost track of this one. The floral died off quickest, though, leaving a very pleasant gentle sandalwood over amber for a while. Now it's very faint, sandalwood glazed with vanilla. Nice in the short term, and I like the aura, but I think I'll be sharing some of this wealth in the form of decants.

[kawaiiferreto]

I guess I never posted a review for this . . .

 

My impression of Khajuraho (and any other champaca blend really) is best described by a brief dialogue:

 

Me: Hmm. This is O.K. I guess... smokey floral.

Champaca: HIIII!

Me: *hack* That's a bit much on the champaca.

Champaca: Did you say you don't like champaca? Clearly you must not be smelling right. DOOOOOOOOOOOMS!

Me: BLEGH!

Champaca: *Vomits on wrist* Laaaalaalaaa!

[levelek]

I'm not sure which vintage I am reviewing here - I got a second hand imp before realising that different versions seem to have been released. Helpful, yes?

 

In the vial: smoky, incensey, sweet. I'm guessing this is the champaca!

 

Wet: the incense dials down a little, the florals open up more, the vanilla peeks out, and the honey asserts itself firmly on the whole lot. I'm getting a hint of the tuberose. It smells warm and a touch musky. There is also a soapy note and I'm really hoping it's not going to turn all soap on me in a few minutes.

 

Drydown: honeyed vanilla! This is quite the morpher.

 

Dry: spicy, honeyed vanilla, with a whisper of wood. No trace of the smoke left. If I were going for a vanilla scent, this would be my choice!

 

ETA: on second wearing, sniffing it from a little further away, the two-word summary is: Vanilla Fudge.

Edited December 31, 2008 by levelek

[Juushika]

The 2006 version.

 

In the vial: Sweet and golden honey with a fleshy pink floral (primarily rose).

 

On me: There's an initial burst of amped-up bitter red rose, but during drydown the notes rebalance and round out. The fleshiness of pink florals are combined with a touch of rounded, slightly tart fruit, a warm base of amber, a hint of spice and incense from the sandalwood, and plenty of thick, creamy, slight sweet honey and vanilla to smooth it all out. It's a rich, thick, sensual blend, creamy and slightly heady, but more golden than dark. Scent color is pink gold. Throw is moderate.

 

Verdict: Given my general distaste for florals, this is much more lovely than I ever expected. It's definitely a floral blend, but the resins ground out the headiness of the flowers and the creamy base of honey and vanilla is sensual and delightfully indulgent. This scent isn't anything like my usual style, and I don't know how often I'll wear it. But it's so lovely that I have to keep it around.

[kohaisama]

KHAJURAHO 08

 

In the bottle: tuberose, damask rose

 

Wet: Date sweet, full roses and the sandalwood slowly creeps in.

 

Dry: Smoky, sandalwood roses and SERIOUS throw.

 

I like sandalwood and roses, but the smoky bit keeps me from really loving it.

[obsidienne]

Khajuraho is nothing like what I expected.

 

It's sort of sweet, but also extremely woodsy, and I keep thinking I smell cedar; perhaps this is a sandalwood I am unfamiliar with. The amber note is really sour and powdery on me. There is also an almost lemon-floral overtone to it? The vanilla and honey are subtle. It's just a weird scent for me. It smells like a masculine blend, exotic and full of sun and sand and desert. But not right for me. Bleh.

Edited February 12, 2009 by obsidienne

[mgrazulis]

'08 Version

 

A lovely decant in the vial--champaca, honey and amber stand out. On the skin, the sweetness of the champaca is strongest, drowning out the other florals. The amber takes over in the end, doing its usual amplitude with my chemistry. After an hour, it has all but disappeared.

[asciident]

(2008 version.)

 

Wet: All I can smell is floral soap. Blech.

 

First on: Smoky, floral soap. Ew.

 

Dry: I smell like grandma's bathroom.

Edited February 21, 2009 by Melissa Della

[ami226]

This blend is so interesting and beautiful! On the dry down, I find that it smells quite different up close than when you get a random whiff from further away. Up close it is a nice friendly floral. It is on the verge of turning soapy. From further away, I smell a definite honey with tuberose. Interesting. Definitely going to try this one again and in my locket...

 

Oooooh, boyfriend likes it as well (and he doesn't like any floral....)

[cinnamonster]

This seems to be a blend that smells incredibly different on everyone.

 

Wet: super strong tuberose

 

Dry: super strong tuberose, perhaps a hint of sweetness behind it but mainly tuberose. I can almost get one reviewers idea of blackcurrant in this, it's almost there, but somehow not. Someone else compared this to a sibling of Red Lantern, but not for me, Red Lantern is honeyed fenugreek!

 

So, I get no incense, no honey, no anything really except slightly sweet Tuberose. This is a bit like Agent Provocateurs Tuberose massage oil really. I like it though, just maybe not doing enough fancy-stuff to wear often.

[lady_pandora]

Right out of the vial, this smells strongly of frangipani. I've got that bit from the end of Tori Amos's "Datura" in my head, where she says "Frangipani? Frangipani?" It's really reminiscent of Delight for the first few minutes. I googled "champaca flower" and apparently it can refer to one of the oils also called frangipani, so that's where that scent is coming from.

 

Eventually the frangipani settles down to be part of the larger whole. This is a beautiful floral blend, and between the fact that no one note is dominant and the unfamiliarity of some of the ingredients, I can't pick out individual notes for the most part. I do keep thinking I smell jasmine, but if it were actually jasmine, my skin would have turned it to jasmine SN by now! I can also smell honey. This is gorgeous and unique. I think I'll be getting a lot of spring wear out of it.

 

You'll like this if you like: Delight, Vasakasajja. It's a sweeter Delight, and Vasakasajja without the vetiver-ish note.

 

Edit: 6.5 hours after application, I think this may actually be my new absolute favorite. I didn't think Poisoned Apple could be dethroned. This smells so good I want to make out with myself. I must have more of this!

Edited April 2, 2009 by lady_pandora