Khajuraho

[storme]

... 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 the imp: hmm, this is sharp - the amber and florals seem to be the strongest smells, but I can faintly smell vanilla and honey too.

On me, wet: FLORALS. Florals and vanilla, to be precise. This is weird, but a nice weird - warm, tasty florals, and not quite like anything else. There's hints of incense and patchouli there, too.

On me, dry: hmm, the sandalwood came out, and the soft warm sweet florals blended well with it, and it was really pretty and exotic for about ten minutes - but it's faded really fast on me, and now all I can smell on my wrist is a slightly icky powdery-honey smell. Sigh.

Verdict: Clearly this didn't love me enough to stick around, and I wasn't as sold on it as others seem to be, so I guess this will go on the swap pile.

[edited to add in the lab description] Edited November 18, 2007 by Shollin

[Thursdae]

Khajuraho is not my usual fare. I’m usually into fruits and florals, and seldom go for incense blends. But the incense/resin aspects of Khajuraho like my skin, and it has very good staying power. I love layering it with Chaste Moon. I wear Khajuraho quite often, and even searched out a backup bottle. It’s funny that some of my fruity loves are sitting there untapped while I pull out the Khajuraho again. I may have to adjust my thinking about my scent preferences. Beth’s magic touch has blended the disparate elements of Khajuraho into a magic mixture. I don’t know what I’m smelling, honestly, but I know I love it.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is honey and sweet florals. It's also a bit "thick" smelling too. When first on it's very light compared to how it smells in the bottle- it's a soft honey blended with florals. After several minutes I can smell rose developing with a faint woodiness in the background. After a couple of hours it becomes powdery and ambery. Reminds me a bit of Honey Moon but without the ginger. This dries down very soft- lovely!

[lady_pandora]

When the Lupercalia update came out, I could only afford one 5ml. Based on the listed notes, it came down to a choice between Khajuraho and Smut. I finally chose Smut. Now that I've tried Khajuraho, I must say, I'm still glad I picked Smut, which does this amazing almost-second-skin thing on me, but I wouldn't have been amiss with Khajuraho either.

 

I'm not sure I should be trusted to pick out the individual notes in this--I could have sworn I smelled jasmine, yet it doesn't seem to actually be there--but this is lovely. This is what I wanted to get from Pannychis when I first read the description ages ago--a sensual floral with a hint of incense. Pannychis is lovely but my skin amps the jasmine and drowns the other notes; in Khajuraho, I get this beautiful, sexy floral with hints of incense. YAY!!!!

[jidabug]

Wet, this was a deep floral, very tropical. The tuberose was strong intially, making this very perfumey at first. It dried down to a soft, sexy sweetness over flowers and the perfumey-ness has mellowed. This is definitely a scent for sexy, seductive days.

[Bagfish]

Well, I am very suprised. I am not a floral girl, but Khajuraho seems to have made me change my mind a bit as I am completely in love!

 

I thought I hated tuberose, lumping it in with jasmine as the source of all floral evil, but this oil is beautiful. I seriously can't smell the sandalwood and a jasmine scent is only present in the first minute or so (which is just about bearable to my jasmine sensitive nose). There is a little bit of smokiness underlying the beautiful tuberose/rosey note and I can smell a little bit of honey and possibly a date smell too (brown and sticky, if a scent can be described as that!).

 

This is completely amazing, warm, beautiful, rounded, not too sweet: all in all, totally delectable. I would never have thought it would work apart from the Lupercalia series has challenged and grown my scent repertoire which is what encouraged me to try Khajuraho. The only problem is that DH doesn't think it suits me as he is so used to smelling me wearing amber/masculine scents. He'll learn!!

 

Now the hunt is on for a bottle as I have a horrible feeling my imp will run out shortly the way I am slathering this on.....

[dancink]

First ever review here (first ever imp too.) Slightly modified from the review I posted on my lj.

 

"Khajuraho"

 

First impression... BANANA FLAVOURED MUSK LOLLIES! Oh yeah. So not what the description made it out for me, especially considering it's not meant to have any musk in it at all. Of course, I should have known this, since my skin seems to turn sandlewood into musk for about 20 minutes before turning it back to sandlewood again. Odd, I know. Anyway, it took about ten minutes for this is mellow. Once that happened it was 'wow... um... sex?" Very much early morning sleepy sex, warm sunshine, and sugar. My favorite combination...

Half an hour later... Wow, here's that sandlewood. I very nearly washed it off at this stage as it was *very* strong and strong sandlewood tends to give me a headache. I did kinda drip a bit too much on though (I am less than dextrous with the opening of imp bottles.) It didn't make me sneeze, but it did make my nose feel a bit sinus-y. Also, I have a sudden urge to don my sari and dance around wildly to my 'Best of Bollywood' cd.

One hour into wear... Still very sandlewoody, but hints of rose are starting to come in.

One hour, twentyish minutes (can't be bothered watching clock any more)... Rose is in full force now, and a tiny wiff of musk again. Some honey. Date? Where is the date?

Over all? I love it, and have worn it nearly every day for over a week, although it isn't a very long wearer on me as my skin seems to gobble sandlewood. Still, for those days I need a bit of sexin' it works well. Also, the date? Finally caught a wiff of that about two and a half hours in, although it was only for a micro-second.

[mirutai]

I was dismayed by the sharpness of this in the imp - would have sworn it contained jasmine - but on application this bloomed into a warm, golden, floral scent. It's still quite sharp while it's wet, but once it dries the amber, sandlewood and honey wrestle past the florals to take control. To me, this scent is rich, sexy, and warm - a floral version of O.

 

This smells like the perfume of a beautiful Indian woman wearing a gorgeously embroidered sari, walking langurously across the verandahs of her palace as the heat of the day fades into evening.

 

Not my usual sort of thing - not something I'd reach for before heading out to work in the morning - but very pleasant and evocative nonetheless.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Dusty sandalwood base. Hints of sweet honey and vanilla bean give this a vaguely foody aroma. Rich amber is draped over the blend, framing it like a curtain pulled back from an open window. I'm not getting much of a floral note - if I hadn't read that there were roses and davana blossoms and champaca flowers, I certainly wouldn't be able to pick any up.

On me: The flowers really come out on the skin! The slight cream note of tuberose is the only one I can single out and identify; the sandalwood adds a dustiness to it. That's the best way I can describe this on my skin: dusty tuberoses on a bedof even dustier white blooms. I think I can detect the date palm too, but I'm not sure as I've never smelled it before.

[emzebel]

Another blend I had high hopes for from the notes, but it rings very sharp and bitter on my skin. The honey is a nice touch of sweetness, I think it must be my on-again off-again relationship with sandalwood souring or something.

[chapatti]

First whiff: oh, lovely!

 

Drydown: OK, this is extremely hard to describe. I'd say it's mostly floral, but with a roundness, a - perkiness? - that's almost fruity. The honey is extremely tame on me, the sandalwood is noticeable in the background, and I can't tell the vanilla at all. It's so well blended, warm, rich, exotic and distinctive. It doesn't smell like that whatsoever, but it reminds me of a thick fruit liquor in its richness; and color-wise, I'd describe it as a reddish orange - this is no light, airy floral for sure!

On me, it didn't morph much, short of the sandalwood amping up, giving a very pleasant effect.

 

Verdict: Beautiful! Finally, a floral for those who don't like florals (i.e, me ).

 

8.5/10

[juniperus]

Bottle: sandalwood, and a hint of amber

Wet: the sweeter blossoms are coming forward, especially the tuberose. And the honey.

Dry: I can catch hints of the vanilla (but it's not as sickly sweet as it usually gets on me, to my delight) and the florals are holding their own.

Later: this is right at that edge of sweet I can comfortably wear. the florals have mellowed, and I can catch the dates now, but no sandalwood. very interesting, mellow, and retiring (which is OK - sometimes I just want to wear something just for me). very nice!

[anomie]

In the bottle: heavy incense and florals, blossoms drooping under their own weight.

 

Dry: the incense has mellowed, and now it's a slighly soapy floral top note. Still very lush, though.

 

Later: Oh, no... the same thing that happened with Osun is happening here. It's gone all powdery!

Edited May 15, 2006 by Nomie

[kunoichi]

When sniffing from the vial it's a dark scent (probably the sandalwood), reminiscent of incense, that almost has a hint of something like anise behind it.

 

But oh this is yummy on my skin, after it settles down! It's like all the sweetness of the honey and dates and florals all come out to play on my skin! It's gorgeously sweet and delicious. It reminds me a little of something like Lampades or Baneberry. Mmmm!! I love it!

 

Eventually the sweetness fades a little and the sandlewood comes through - kind of like flowers and dates and honey on a sandlewood platter.

Edited May 19, 2006 by kunoichi

[PetaledSoul]

In the hidden recesses of my suburban heart, my soul rejoices in the exotic. When I very first found BPAL, the Wanderlust collection appealed to me most.... I wanted to smell spicy, exotic, mysterious, sensual.. like all the places in my dreams.

 

Okay, so those recesses aren't so hidden as of late... but I still hadn't found the perfect scent. Every single one went bad - straight to old lady powder or a nasty headache.

 

That is, until Khajuraho. This may be most fabulous stuff I've ever put on my skin. Certainly sexy, absolutely exotic. I can smell the honey, tuberose and sandalwood if I look for them, but mostly the notes blend together into something lovely.

 

And now, I want it all. I bought a decant of this from a forumite on a whim... too bad I'm already addicted. The ONE downside is that it fades within a couple of hours, so I'm going to have to procure even more for slathering. And, I'll probably end up with a scent locket incorporated into my wardrobe specifically for this oil.

 

So yeah, I'm off to stalk the forum for more. Hopefully I can find enough to keep me from losing my mind =)

 

BTW - I will also be buying Litha basted on the fact that there are a couple of similar notes and I hope my skin likes THAT, too.

 

*sigh* this is why BPAL is the crack.

[feline.by.design]

Khajuraho is, on my skin, a very soft, powdery vanilla with sweetened woodsy tones. I had tested from a decant at a Meet n' Sniff I had with Fyre and though I liked it quite a bit. So I went out in search of my own bottle to buy.

 

The vanilla is probably the strongest note on me, and it smells lovely. It's a light, airy vanilla dusted by the petals of flowers and tamed by the sandalwood I can barely smell.

 

Quite enjoyable! I'm glad I found a bottle with the forums.

 

-doreen

[Melantha]

I didn't get a lot of vanilla or sandalwood out of it; on me, it's more floral, but not overtly so; it doesn't scream "department store perfume" to me. It's delicate, and complex, and soothing. I can see where I will be alternating between this and The Perfumed Garden.

[edenssixthday]

Khajuraho - Although it’s based on an Indian love potion, it makes me think of something that would be worn by a Middle Eastern seductress. It whisks me back through the ages, and I can’t help but think of King Solomon’s concubines and the ways they must have scented themselves in order to gain their King’s attention. On my skin, this blend is highly “perfumey,” and the sandalwood is the dominant note at all stages of the blend. It is slightly sweet from the honey and date palm, and it is slightly floral, as well. It’s a pretty scent, but a bit too “earthy” for my taste. This is one I would like to wear on occasion, but not enough to own a full bottle. I’ll keep an imp and enjoy it, but pass the bottle on to one of the many others who adores this blend. It has excellent throw (don’t over-apply!) and the scent lasts all day.

[dragonryder]

Very floral with a hint of vanilla scent. Wears long but not overpowering.

[karengypsy]

In the bottle: Honey and incense.

 

On me: Oooh, this is one of my most favorite blends ever! The most prominent notes on me are honey, incense, date palm, amber, rose, and sandalwood. There's something else in this blend that I don't know - probably the davana or champaca - that makes it very lovely, though not floral at all, to me.

 

Verdict: Incredible blend! Glad I have two bottles.

 

Rating: 5/5

[rosetta]

in the vial: old eau de cologne (I'm serious!)

 

on me: spicy, slightly sweet; luckily the eau de cologne -smell disappears when on... I had expected to like this, as honey is one of my favourite notes, but didn't get much of it here, and this scent didn't do much for me in any way, unfortunately. It seems sandalwood & incensy scents are just not for me...

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

so sad!

 

in the vial, it smells delish.

 

on my skin, powdery vanilla, plastic and sawdust.

 

pooh!

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Sandalwood, rose, and a slight honey sweetness.

 

On Application: Woody floral; the sandalwood is prevalent, but sweet. There's a touch of something fruity to my nose, but it's mostly a sweet incense. Pretty so far.

 

On Drydown: Blah, I get none of the notes I was hoping out of this. No honey, no amber, no sandalwood, no vanilla. I just get more of that heady floral. It's killing everything else in the scent.

 

Comments: I'm extremely disappointed with how this turned out on me. It has so many notes in it that I just absolutely adore, and NONE of them came out on me!

 

Verdict: Swap. *sigh*

[theseagrows]

i dunno why i even tried this one, honey usually doesn't work on me and sandalwood gives me a headache if it's too strong, but sometimes when those notes are blended with a bunch of other notes, they work out. not with this one however. i think i am mostly detecting the tuberose, vanilla bean and sandalwood, and it's giving me a headache :/

[mountainwitch]

I've put off reviewing this one, precisely because I adored it so immediately and powerfully that it took me a while to figure out what to say.

 

I've never had a perfume quite like this: undeniably exotic, both golden and warm, and unrelentingly sexy. Honey and spices and the same palm and fig notes that make Intrigue so, well, intriguing. (I can't believe I just said that . . . ) It has definite throw and lingers for hours--in fact, my only warning would be to apply with a light hand. It is definitely a potent blend, and a little goes a long way.

 

edited after doublechecking Intrigue description

Edited August 6, 2006 by mountainwitch