Kumari Kandam

[absinthetics]

KUMARI KANDAM

 

The hollow scent of a vast antediluvian civilization, now frozen and buried, smothered by a thick sheet of ice and trapped deep beneath the ocean. Thick incense, clay, stone, and hothouse blooms with a spike of frost, a hint of decay, and heavy, dolorous aquatic notes.

 

This scent has inspired me to be a first review, even though I doubt my ability to pick out notes. So I will review it... a bit more on impression.

 

In thebottle -- this scent is a cool, wet incense. I have to say it smells like a beloved child of Whippoorwhill and Ice Queen. The spike of frost is a touch piney, a touch sharp. But the papery and aquatic feel of the whippoorwhill-like notes wet it down, and melt the queen to something a bit more somber. It's amazing how something green and aquatic can hold that 'hint of decay'. Beth did something amazing with that.

 

Wet -- Wet, she dies down a bit. The clay, the dark, and cold grotto chambers of the sunken city come to mind. Long abandoned hallways, memories of inhabitants... the piney scent dissipates into an incensy aquatic. Something I've never smelled before. It's delicate and old, but you never forget the 'ice'.

 

On the skin, and dry down-- For me she sweetens up a bit. The incensy notes become more accessible and it becomes a bit more delicate, a bit more vacant and haunting. I can't decide if this scent embodies a perfect winter scent, or would be a lovely solace from the staggering summer heat. Regardless, on the dry down she gets a little more earthy, and the 'clay's begin to form. You can also get the feeling of those 'hothouse' blooms, as they seperate from the aquatic notes.

[sarada]

I had sniffed this at Absinthetics' meet & sniff last week and was completely enthralled. Yes, it does smell rather like Ice Queen! This is the new scent I was the most excited about. Frost and clay? Love it. I couldn't wait to try it out.

 

In the imp, it does very much remind me of that unique combination of elements in Ice Queen -- clean, faintly minty with a musky undertone, like a sheet of ancient ice, with years of soil and greenery trapped beneath the surface.

 

Kumari is a little bit more watery than icy, as though the thick sheet of ice has clear rivulets running off from it. The ancient greenery trapped within the opaque sheen begins to crumble and break apart, releasing a refreshing burst of fresh, fragrant leafy fronds darkened by mildew and age.

 

As it dries down a faintly earthy scent, damp clay, takes the place of those aquatic/icy notes. After the initial, fresh and frosty muted minty blast that directly recalls Ice Queen, I think of shards of ancient pottery frozen in ice, emerging as a distant sun begins to melt the ancient glaciers.

 

This is just a masterpiece. I like it even better than Ice Queen because it incorporates at bit of earthiness in it. I definitely need a bottle, the question is how soon can I get one?

 

I love these conceptual scents -- ice, snow, stone, space. I want more!

[filigree_shadow]

Hmmm... at first this smells slushy. Like the Lab's snowy blends. But instead of being paired with pine or birch or those foresty notes like the snow ones usually seem to be, this one has some humid floral notes with it. (I'm not 100% sure, but I think there may be some violet in there.) There's just a little bit of incense under there -- not a lot, just enough to make it seem kinda floaty.

 

As it dries it loses some of that slushy quality but still smells cool and crisp. Kind of like a melancholy winter's day. I really like the incense with it, though. That's a nice touch!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Cold and sweet

 

On Skin: This is so bright and unique!! I get a Snow White and Ice Queen feel from it right away. That beautiful clean white glittering snow note and also the slight pine. The clay and stone confuse me, this smells alive and bright, I don’t get dry stone or thick dry clay at all. The incense is coming forward, a nice soft spice and not smoky. The aquatic notes are very strong and give a wet feel, but not dripping wet, more like a little quick splash... maybe slowly melting ice? The florals are sweet and I think give a fruity tone as well. This scent has a beautiful cold crisp feel. A perfect fix for me since we’ve had a hot summer here in Colorado. A must try for fans of Snow White, Ice Queen and Skadi. Average to strong throw, medium to long wearlength.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is a sweet mint...lovely!!

 

once applied this amps up beyond belief

 

holy love of all that is fresh and aquatic...this is so beautiful...

a peppermint candy cane comes to mind...eating it on the seaside...

 

gorgeous!!!

 

this lasts for a good long time too....i may need a big bottle for trips

to provincetown for sure!!

[edenssixthday]

Kumari Kandam - I really don't know if I can describe this blend any better than Beth did in the scent description. It's heavily floral and heavily aquatic, and there's a pine note that reminds me a lot of Skadi, Frost Moon, and Ice Queen. I wouldn't normally wear a scent with that pine note, but it works really, really well in this blend. The throw is very, very heavy and the scent lasts for a good 7 hours before it needs to be reapplied. I'm very impressed with this scent and have found a scent that is going to be a favorite in the coming winter months. This will be perfect on a cold, snowy day.

[Inanna9]

Fruity...Snow? I love it, and this is coming from someone who didn't care for Ice Queen and Skadi (and aquatics in general) at all. It's trying to go the way of wonky hairspray on me, but the earthiness I suspect is not letting it. This is really very (on me) a lovely, pine and fruity-floral aquatic (the fruity-floral being the hothouse blooms maybe...? Dunno.)

 

Good throw, too. Really nice for when I'm in the mood for something different from what I usually wear. I'm glad I took a chance.

[Blood onmy hands]

I've been eagerly waiting to try Kumari Kandam, after reading the list of notes including clay and stone. Strangely enough, I've been looking for a perfume that smells to me of wet clay and rocks.

 

In the bottle, this smells like snow. Aquatic and smooth.

 

On me, this goes oddly sweet. Now it smells like snow and sugarcane. Not at all earthy or incensy or decaying or even really floral.

 

The snow note almost smells like pine, almost like mint, almost like cliche aquatic... but not quite any of those things. It's strange and pleasant when paired with this warmer, sweeter note.

 

Kumari Kandam isn't like any other BPAL blend that I've tried before, though it falls into that category with all of the other 'snow-aquatic' blends. This is very pretty and smells slightly edible. I want to eat this snow Kind of sad that I'm not smelling anything like clay or stone though.

[LiberAmoris]

Kumari Kandam smells just like snow on stone to me, like a cold breeze off rocky cliffs. I smell the icy slush from Ice Queen, the mineral note from Black Opal, and a smidge of ozone. Once it begins to dry down, I get the incense and hothouse blooms. It's really unique and feels so cold and wintry that it actually gives me chills.

 

This is an imp I intend to keep if only for the tremendous evocative power it has. It's quite impressive how well it captures the poles of ice and tropical blooms.

[spring heel]

I've been really eager to try Kumari Kandam for awhile and its finally here! (: In and out of the bottle its a very minty incense type smell. I guess you could imagine clay and frost, though. It seems like really appropriate imagery although I don't know what actually icey clay and stone would smell like... There aren't many changes in it. But after a while, it suddenly becomes a little bit sweet. Hothouse blooms? Maybe. I wouldn't call it floral though. It just adds a little burst of life to the cold, dark stone scent. I like this a lot, but I couldn't really see myself wearing it.

[yeahbutnobut]

Kumari Kandam

 

In the imp: a more ozone-citrus-aquatic variant of the Snow Bunny/Skadi ‘snow’ note, with something warm underneath.

Wet on skin: the hothouse blooms and something akin to jungle greenery come out underneath the pine-menthol-ozone frostiness.

Dry: now it starts to remind me of Ice Queen! This is really interesting…I can smell a smooth and powdery stony scent-the mineral note from Black Opal-in here as well. This reminds me of Ice Queen meets Snow Moon, with Black Opal and some jungle plants added to it…and also a hint of sweet resin and smoke. This scent is both hot and humid and also icy cold at the same time, which is really unusual.

After a while: this seems to stay the same, I think it warms up though and loses it’s citrus sharpness. I smell more of the stone and clay now, and the aquatics still retain their frosty scent but that seems to have melted now-the aquatic note in here is very good on my skin, not turning soapy at all! I still smell the floral greenery and there’s a little bit of smoke wafting over the scent…and I swear that I can smell the tiniest hint of vetiver. There’s also something almost sweet and lightly musky here.

Verdict: one of the most unusual, complex, and interesting scents ever. I agree that this is a conceptual scent, like a masterpiece of modern art, not traditional at all. There’s almost a feel of Chaos Theory about it, mixing together mineral notes (yes…I’m amazed at how Beth can make scents with mineral notes!) and icy aquatics with jungle greens and flowers, a dash of incense smoke on the top and vetiver at the base…it shouldn’t work, but it does. It also smells like Ice Queen has gone on holiday to an exotic island of rainforests and caves and has frozen it, a paradise now glaciated…a scent of contrasts and complexities but also a stunning perfume which will make heads turn. All in all, a fascinating fragrance.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes. I might get a bottle when I run out of Ice Queen.

If you like this, try: Black Opal, Cloister Graveyard in the Snow, Death of the Gravedigger, Snow Bunny, Snow Moon, Dublin, Nuclear Winter

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this smells like christmas snow. i'm not sure how else to word it...

not peppermint (which i hate) or frankincense and myrrh, but some combination of scents that have somehow gotten stuck in my head as "christmassy"

 

wet and dark and smooth with a dangerous edge.

ever cut yourself on ice?

 

this reminds me of something that i can't quite name...

like maybe Dirty and House of Mirrors had a child? or somebody put Black Opal in a "freezer" (not literally, of course. do oils freeze?)

 

i like it, but i'm not sure i will wear it often.

 

aha! i think i remember now. Yankee Candle's "Storm Watch". that's what this reminds me of.

bear in mind, i just worked a 13 hour shift, and i'm beat. [=

[maijasu]

This reminds me of both Cloister Graveyard in the Snow and Death of the Grave-Digger, although it does not smell identical to either. It is less minty than CGITS and less earthy than DOTGD, and as others have mentioned, it does have more of a "slushy" feel, rather than icy. I'm not really smelling the florals as much as others have, but maybe that's just because they're blended so well. This is absolutely gorgeous, and I must get a bottle with my next order. Bravo!

 

[supremegoddessofall]

Very aquatic, but in a bath salts sort of way, which is probably the clay/stone influence. A bit of floral, but fairly subdued under the aquatics. Not very incense-y.

[Thaleia]

Humid and frosty at the same time: an aquatic floral with hints of Lurid’s ozone and Ozymandias’ stone ruins. Not as humid as New Orleans or Bayou, because of the spike of frost and aquatic notes and that hint of decay, and it actually is very nice. One part Lurid, one part Ozymandias, and a dash of hothouse blooms from the antebellum Deep South and you’ve got Kumari Kandam.

[theseagrows]

whoa this is nice. it's an aquatic floral with a touch of warmth. i often avoid aquatic scents, so i dont have much to compare it to, but i definitely sense the snowy/icy note that's in talvikuu. i think this is similar to city in the sea, if i am remembering correctly. except i like this one better, it's more floral and less aquatic to my nose...and more of an icy aquatic rather than oceany. this imp is a keeper!

[Voleuse]

Oh! There is something in this that reminds me of the snow blends, Ice Queen and the like. It's a cold, slushy, piney note that I always love. Pretty! As it dries, the aquatic notes mingle with the snow. After a long while, hints of warm earth surface, far beneath the slush and sea. I don't get any of the other notes, not even the incense others mentioned, but I do like this.

[maribouquet]

This reminds me a bit of Cloister Graveyard in the snow, in that first on the snow/ozone is most prominent. It settles down like a blanket, wafting with a light ghost of incense dust and the palest trace of flowers...not sure what, though. I want to say lily, but that may just be the incense reminding me of Kostnice.

 

I like this very much, and was thrilled that it lasted all day, even through a few hand washings. Despite its stamina, it is still a light, subtle scent on me, with all the notes on the same plane, none jostling for attention or overwhelming the others.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Cool ozoney aquatics

 

Wet: Same as in the bottle, salty ozone aquatics, like sea spray. There's something herby in there, too. It's pretty aftershavey.

 

Drydown: It doesn't morph very much, I get cold sea-like aquatics, salty, I do think I get a hint of clay or stone, actually. It's also rather herbal and wild-smelling, like a moor by the seaside. I think that there's sweetish pine in the ice notes of the blend, too. After a long while, a cool, nearly floral sweet note emerges, really adding to this iciness.

 

Overall: It's reminiscent of wilderness, ice, the ocean, and forests. A rather evocative blend, that makes you think of a nature in which you really wouldn't like to be lost. But the pine/aquatics together end up smelling pretty masculine and aftershavey for me.

[enigmae]

I get the aquatics and the florals, but there is an overlying smoothness and dirtiness that is almost creamy – it must be the clay. I also get the “spike of frost” which is rather piney. It’s like a floral, darker Snow Moon, which is one of my favorites. I really like the beginning stage. However, after drydown it’s a little too sharply floral so I’ll have to try it again.

[femmefatale]

At first it is such a sharp ozoney aquatic that I had to hold my wrists down to keep from getting a headache.

As it dries though, the sharpness fades quite a bit (though it's still there a bit more on my left wrist) and starts to sweeten and a hint of saltiness comes out. It reminds me of something I can't quite place, but it's comforting.

I think it would also smell wonderful on dh.

 

ADDED 8/5/08:

 

Since I can't try this on my skin right now I'm trying it in my locket, so I can't say how it might morph on the skin.

 

I have no idea how else to descibe this other than....Christmas soap. Now you might think I'm saying that in a negative way, but I'm not. It's actually very nice smelling. Very green and watery, but not tropical at all. It definitely has a cold "feel" to it.

It's very lovely, though I think it might work better on hubby. I'm going to wear it the rest of the day and see how I feel. It's not really me but I'm very glad I got to try it.

Thinking about it though, I could possibly see wearing it during the winter. Still debating on whether or not I'll get a bottle. It would actually make a very pretty room scent too.

Edited August 6, 2008 by Shollin

[waternight]

Got as a frimp with my last order!

 

In the imp: There’s that aquatic note I love so much, with some lovely florals underneath. There’s more to it, but my nose can’t distinguish specific notes.

Wet/Drydown: This is heavily aquatic, but I’m picking up some stone in here as well. There’s a heady floral note that blends extremely well with the aquatic note, it’s almost seamless. The aquatic note isn’t quite the salty tang of Tempest, more of a fresh-water note. I’m picking up the incense note now, but it’s not overwhelming. This blend is heady and delicious.

Dry: Becomes a deliciously heady incense blend with a stony bent. Long lasting too.

 

This may be my favorite aquatic that I've tried so far, and the dry phase is amazing. This may go on the big bottle list.

[hipslike___cinderella]

Oooo. Evocative and strange, this is.

 

All at once, in the oil, I can smell stone, clay, and water. It's rather masculine, although there's hints of flowers. This is so very cold... although not "decaying", but very clean.

 

On my skin... WOAH! Ivory soap! Strong! D'oh. I don't like this stage, but I wait patiently. It's worth it... very very slowly, the incense and flowers draw out while remaining chilly. I can see a freezing clay building, housing strange exotic flowers.

 

I can't decide about this one. The Ivory soap stage is totally unpleasant, yet something keeps drawing me back. Definately sets a mood. Hhhhm.

 

(For what it's worth, since it was so masculine I tried it on my boyfriend and I just cried "YECK!" and dismissed it as strong, strong Ivory soap. It smells better on me. )

[The_Merf]

In the imp: A citrus floral--I'm going to bet that this is a combination of the blooms, the aquatics and the "decay" notes.

 

Wet: Very much the same as in the imp. Very orange (but my skin tends to amp all citrus notes).

 

Drydown and wear: The orange might actually be coming from the incense, as this smells a lot like Cairo on me. However, there's more floral at base in this scent than there is in that one. As it goes down, some of the clay/stone emerges, but this remains orange.

[moon_lemming]

Kumari Kandam is all ozoney aquatic on me at first, which is no surprise since my skin amps that kind of scent. As it dries, though, it takes on a complexity that I adore, like a snowy light floral with a hint of incense underneath.

 

I really can't pick out any notes, it's so well blended. All I can say is that it's LOVELY and it sticks around a good long time on me -- eight hours later, I can still smell it.

 

And this is from a girl who doesn't normally like aquatics. I think this might replace City in the Sea as my fave semi-aquatic.