Obatala

[fairnymph]

... Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.

In the bottle: White, sweet, and creamy, yet somehow fresh. I can pick out the milk, coconut, and shea.

Wet: The sweet coconut and milk almost make this foody, but somehow it's not. There is a distinct rainy, clean aquatic note - perhaps even something green or floral.

Dry: The shea really amps, giving this a planty and somewhat waxy feel, and making the blend less foody. The aquatic note has mostly dissipated.

Summary: Lightly sweet milk and coconut, with the latter and the earthy-waxy shea dominating. Soothing and yummy. Great throw and lasting power.

Not my style, but I was pleasantly surprised. It smells yummy indeed. Edited May 1, 2008 by Shollin
fixed Lab description --Shollin

[simpsonmeredith]

In the bottle: mmmm, coconut and cream!

 

Dry: Sadly, this doesn't work on me. The coconut is all gone and all I smell is shea butter and slightly sour milk, maybe a little cocoa butter. About two hours after applying, I even trying putting on Nut Butter from The Body Shop (Brazil nut, shea and cocoa nut butters) to maybe save it, but that milk smell still came through. I wanted to love this one as I adore coconut but this in not the one for me. I should add that I usually love milk scents but this just wasn't that creamy clean milk scent.

[ambersparrow]

In the bottle: Coconut

 

Wet: Coconut and Shea.

 

Dry: The coconut fades and my skin really amps the Shea.

 

Throw: Average to strong

 

Wearlength: Long

 

This scent was a bit disappointing... I was expecting more coconut and less Shea. I think the Shea and milky scents make this a bit too sweet for my taste. Every once in a while, my nose would catch a whiff of slightly soured milk... it wasn't too often, but it was enough for me to decide that I won't wear it alone. I'm going to try layering this w/ Tiki Queen to see what I get.

Edited April 23, 2008 by BelligerentTart

[arsenicsauce]

Weird. I'm not very familiar with shea butter, so maybe that's it, but to me this smells like some kind of fruit chew candy. Mambo, specifically. The coconut is nice, and I like it better than the coconut note in other bpal scents I've tried, but it kind of gets drowned out very quickly by that sweet note.

[kittycatpurr]

In the imp: Coconut pudding. A little bit foody sweet.

Wet: This reminds me of something from my childhood. Comforting and pleasant.

Drydown: The shea butter has a warm scent, which rounds out the sweetness of the milk and coconut.

Dry: What the? Now this smells like sour milk and Silly Putty. It's making me very unhappy.

Later: Put another product with shea nut butter on my skin, and learned about my mutant power to turn it into burnt plastic.

[grimalkin]

This smells like sweet, milky shea in the imp. On my skin, it smells just like caramel corn. I can't smell coconut, unless that's what's giving it the buttery note. It's faintly powdery when dry.

[goblinshark]

Obatala

 

This is THE perfect coconut scent, I think.

 

In the imp it smelled soooo buttery, which scared me. I HATE foody scents for the most part.

 

One my skin the buttery coconut mellowed out a lot. As it dries it smells like ripe meaty coconut with a faintly musky undertone. It's rich but never goes sickly sweet, which was my main concern. Extremely summery and very wearable. This was a big winner for me, I will definitely be purchasing a large bottle of this.

[savage_rose]

Obatala is such a sweet, fresh coconut. It's like sweetened coconut milk with a hint of fresh coconut and a hint of something softly floral.

 

And on a whim I just layered it with Upa Upa...amazing. It smells like a pina colada made with fresh coconut...very, very lovely combination.

[TooMuchTemptation]

Obatala is a scent I've been wanting to try for a long time. For some reason, I always get distracted from it by other scents. So finally I got a decant of it.

 

First impression, sniffed from the vial, HOLY SCHNIKES Milk Moon 05! That rich and creamy lead-off smell that I adore! Milk Moon 05 is heaven on me, I must put this on my skin right away!

 

Wet on my skin it's still highly reminiscent of Milk Moon to me, but while MM is cooled by a faint mintiness, Obatala's full blast creaminess is cut by something aquatic, making it smell a bit like freshly shredded coconut. I can pick up hints of the shea butter, but it's not strong.

 

Dry on my skin, I'm loving it. This is round and creamy without being super-foody, aquatic without being dryer-sheet-y. I've been digging more dry and woody scents, but Obatala is not dry at all. It's wet, like it's just been rained on. The creaminess is still there, and it's sweet, but not heavy. The longer it dries, the lighter in intensity it becomes, and it's great.

 

It's similar to my Moon, but different enough for me to want to wear it. Milk Moon is my cuddly blanket comfort scent, but Obatala is more refreshing. Like the coconut water that you drink straight from the coconut shell, the kind you can get from street vendors on hot days.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Fresh coconut. Faint in the imp.

 

On Application

Faintly sweet and buttery with a faint coconut scent.

 

Dry Down

As above. Doesn't really do anything and is so faint I can barely smell it.

 

Rating (0-5)

1

[jehrichardson]

In the Bottle: Coconut lotion.

 

On the Skin: Old lady soap and coconut lotion.

 

After a While (only 5 minutes): Old lady soap

 

Verdict: Nope. Not for moi.

 

(Several days later, I try this again. It's too sweet, too coconutty, and too old lady-soapish for me, but I thought it might make a good layering scent for anything too dark, too sour, too musty. Alas, it no workie. This may seem weird, but after 15 minutes it smells like soap and of all things, burnt plastic - like a mutilated Barbie in the bath. Weeeeird.)

Edited August 5, 2008 by j4r

[Iceblink]

Lots of coconut but BUTTER is what I smell most. I must amp shea butter. News to me! The coconut note here is nice but the shea is too heavy and rich. It's like eating the last bite of a really sweet dessert even if you don't want it. Too gooey.

[voodoocatwoman]

Yuck.

 

In the imp, this is pure fresh coconut.

 

Wet: The coconut has been drenched in milk.

 

Dry: The milk has now curdled and the cocnut smells like plastic.

[vikitty]

Not enough coconut. I love the shea butter but I wish there were more coconut!

[suki]

in the imp: whoa. and also, YUM: cool and soft is right!

 

wet on skin: same. the coconut and milk of Eden are here, but somehow, probably because of the absence of fig, it smells quite different. the shea butter gives it a delicious softness that makes it lovely and yummy, without being too foodie.

 

dry down: oh YEAH. i don't get the water note at all- just lots and lots of sweet creamy light yummy goodness.

 

in all: TOTAL keeper! gettin' me a big bottle ASAP, yes i am!

 

 

 

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Wow, this really smells like coconut meat (not like fake coconut) milk and shea butter with a fresh aquatic undertone.

 

Wet on skin - Mostly coconut milk and shea butter, but I’m pleasant surprised by how realistic this smells, and not like sunscreen.

 

Dry on skin - Yum... milky coconut with an underlying aquatic freshness. This smells just like summer in Hawaii... the coconut is so delicious and not like sunscreen at all! Keep imp!

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: Like real fresh coconut and shea butter. Also somehow smells like water; I have no clue how.

 

WET: Fresh coconut and milk with shea butter. Warm, creamy, and slightly sweet, but gives off a cool, fresh feeling for some reason. Very interesting.

 

DRY: This is definitely the truest, freshest coconut scent I've ever smelled. This is quite lovely, even if it's not my usual style. I'm amazed by how I can actually SMELL cool, refreshing water here. I have no idea how that's possible, but Beth is a genius.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Milk and coconut.

 

Immediately on skin: The same milk note from Milk Moon 07 is in this, and as soon as I put it on it turned my stomach, so I had to wash it off. It smells sour and warm to me, and milk should just not smell like that. I really liked the coconut note, but the milk really overpowered it.

[beturtlement]

In the bottle, I definitely smell coconut, with a crisp finish, but as soon as I put it on my skin, I got a somewhat honeysuckle vibe from it. It actually became a sweet, strong floral, tinged with coconut. Heady florals, of almost any kind, just don't do well on me and seem to get accentuated. I've smelled unrefined shea butter before, and I didn't get any of that in this.. nor did I get chocolate, even when I tried to layer it with Bliss (Obatala just smothered it completely).

 

It's a lovely scent, just not something that mixes with my chemistry well.

Edited November 24, 2008 by beturtlement

[MCS4096]

I got this as a frimp, and I after I sniffed it and loved it I was surprised to read it had coconut in it.. a note I've sworn to avoid, because while I love coconut in candy, I don't want to smell that way Guess the lab fooled me!

 

In the imp: buttercream.. and actually, to me it smells a bit like sandalwood and vanilla as well.

 

Wet: Yep.. that water note is showing up a bit. Still yummy shea buttery goodness though! This truly smells like a "sandalwood and vanilla" oil I have from another company (much much better though! )

 

Dry: Ok. I smell that coconut now.. Shea butter is still strong. This reminds of a bit of a lovely suntan oil or something, with the butters and coconut. Really delicious... but I still think that coconut is a bit of a deal breaker.

Edited November 22, 2008 by MCS4096

[Suu4LC]

In the imp this is definitely coconutty shea butter (very similar to the body shop's shea body butter) with a LOT of milk. Maybe a bit too strong on the milk I fear.

 

Ughhhh, yeah the coconut and shea smell good, but the milk is like baby formula *shudder* Really really strong baby formula. Turns my stomach...yeah, the milk note in this is total baby formula *shudder* If you've had trouble with the lab's milk note in the past, this may be a problem blend for you as well.

[Andrea912]

Wet: heaven; meat is the perfect description, because this is definitely not coconut milk; so rich and creamy and juicy...

 

Dry: heaven; exactly what the perfect coconut oil should smell like

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

Milky, buttery coconut - squee!

 

First on:

I get a dash of aquatic ozone and shea butter on my skin.

 

Dry:

After 15 mins, this is pretty much pure shea butter on me. Not much scent in other words. It goes ever so slightly more coconutty later on, but not enough for me.

 

Finally:

No throw on me – swapping.

[inurbanus]

I *love* the Lab's coconut note, so I've wanted to try Obatala for a long time. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out well on me. I can barely smell coconut - just shea and a soft aquatic note. Other posters have mentioned a sour milk note, and there's certainly something a bit off here, so that might be it. Overall, this is interesting, but not what I was hoping for.

 

3/5

[Leopard403]

Man, the Lab is on FIRE with my freebies this order!

Obatala is another scent that I'd never looked twice at, but upon first sniff ZOMG love! One of my favorite go-to products lately is Lilypad's Quench spray in Creamy Coconut, and this is the perfect perfume compliment: Heavy on the coconut but a bit musky and buttery, too. Almost foody, but without that "you smell like cake/pancakes/whatever" reaction I get from most foody blends. Lovely and dark in cold weather, but this will be wonderfully summery when it gets warm as well! I think I need a bottle!