Mama-Ji

[SarahScent44]

Spices, cardamom, nutmeg, and flowers.

In the bottle. I get a blend of the spices and the flowers.

It's all spices on my skin - very warm and close.

When it dries, it's deliciously, but generically, spicy.

[milo]

Funny how this works differently on people. I wish I got spices. I get spices in the bottle, but once it is on me, it amps floral something fierce. It just smells too perfumey, and sadly, not for me.

[prettybird]

In the bottle: Mmm. Nicely spicy, with barely any florals at all (which is fine by me).

 

On skin: WTF where did it go? It powdered out almost immediately, and all I'm left with is Dial soap.

 

Ten minutes later: What a morph! The spices are back with a vengeance. I don't get much floral, still, but the cardamom is really coming out. It doesn't seem to have a lot of throw on me, but it's still quite nice.

Edited August 3, 2008 by prettybird

[innocent]

Something in this turns into spicy soap after a few minutes on my skin.

 

Bah.

 

*kicks a rock*

 

I really wanted to like Mama-ji, both because I like the character and because I wanted a scent that would remind me of the time I've spent in India.

 

*kicks another rock, goes to fondle saris to cheer self up*

[rayvn1]

I had expected not to be very into this one - so maybe I set myself up to not care for it <kicking self> As others have said there's all spice on me with a hint of rose on the drydown. This seems a very Fall scent on my skin so though I won't wear it often it will be good to put me in that mood when I want to feel like orange and brown colors. It is a bit comforting, but a little too old lady-ish on me. Darn! I've loved the other American Gods scents like Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel so maybe I'll give this one another try later.

 

Edit from 3 hours later: Oh...my.... I smell just like pickling spice This is what I picture pickled imp smells like since I haven't tried that one yet. I will definitely wear this when I'm PMS'y and craving anything pickled! This is awesome

Edited September 6, 2008 by rayvn1

[foxroses]

Definitely spicy – something unusual, maybe the nutmeg? It doesn't smell all that similar to the cardamom in Bakeneko to my nose. A little floral, but not bad. Nice on. The unusual spice fades, blends better. This seems to fade on me incredibly fast.

 

I can still smell it, just a touch, but it's becoming a little too floral for me. Agk headache. No thanks.

[Nepthys]

Overpowering incense - the hippie bookstore variety. My body amps this way hard and while it is pretty, I certainly can't wear it out... it's too intense. I tried just a dab in my car and everyone that got in made comments like, "Your car smells like church" or "did you burn incense in here?" Ultimately I used it as a candle dressing and that was pretty nice.

[Pentacular]

I'm afraid I can't give this a specific blow-by-blow review because I don't own Mama Ji, but when I was in San Francisco recently, I was going through a friend's enormous collection of BPAL scents, thoroughly immersing myself in every smell offered to me when I stumbled upon this little imp of Mama Ji hiding under bottles of fragrance.

 

It was hideously late that night and I was tired, but the name seemed familiar to me. Comforting. And when I pried the stopper off the little imp, some of the oil got on my fingertips. The smell from this little imp was an EXPERIENCE.

 

I can't discuss the different components that made this smell amazing, but the experience it gave me was a flood of memory that was comforting and emotional and amazing.

 

It was, for me, the days of my youth when I visited the Malibu hindu temple and would stand there for prayers and blessings, cupping my hands, right over left, and accepting saffron water to drink and smoothe over my hair (getting most of it on the floor and on my clothes because I couldn't figure out how to drink out of my hands). It was the smell of that temple. It was also a flooding memory of being terribly distraught in Puttaparthi one night. My parents were fighting and left each other at the hotel. And in my crying, a girl with a basket of strings of jasmine flowers comforted me by sitting me down in front of her and threading jasmine through my hair.

 

That scent was absolutely brilliant. I cannot wait to get my hands on it to dip my nose into it again and put it on my skin to see how it plays out.

 

As it dried and wore down on my fingertips, it became lighter and warmer and spicier, but more subtle. Less powerful. Like lingering warmth from a mother, just to let you know she's still there for you.

[ephemera]

I almost didn't get this oil when I did my last imp order, I'm not sure why. I'm glad I did though.

 

I smell very little of the floral in the bottle that a lot of people mention. Maybe a blossom, hidden waaaaaay underneath all the spices. On my skin the floral starts to come out, getting stronger as times passes. Luckily on my skin it seems to (at least so far) be balanced out nicely with the spices. I can definitely smell the cardamom - no nutmeg really, this is heavy on the cardamom on my skin.

 

Definitely a keeper, but possibly not a bottle.

[themerrybaker]

Sugar and Spice, it smells pretty nice. Mama Ji reminds me of Silk Road, Tushnamatay, Bengal, and other baking spice oils. Good if you collect this type, but not outstanding.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Dry, dusky spices.

 

Wet: Dry spices, almost like the old dust left on the floor of an old spice storage warehouse. A hint of clove peeks out.

 

Drying: This one seems to soften quite a bit, into something more powdery, in a good way, powdery and spiced at the same time. It's very nice, a trace feminine ... but not really something I can see myself wearing enough to keep.

[Magpie]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this already. I got it ages ago...I think partly it's because I put some of it on a facemask I had to wear for a couple of weeks in the summer and got a little sick of it then, along with Bengal.

 

In imp: Mmm, delicious sweet cakey floral, with a foody hint of spice. This, like Bilquis, is a bit like cake to begin with.

 

On: Oh god, wow, why haven't I worn this in so long? It's amazing, comforting and soft,almost like that lovely clean smell you get with freshly washed sheets that have dried on the line on a beautiful summer's day. A little soapy, but in a quite nice way, if that makes any sense. Again, my unbalanced skin chemistry makes two different scents on my wrists - the left is sweet and soft, exactly the fresh-linen smell I just described. The right is an almost acrid spice, definitely cinnamon and nutmeg, very foody. This is weeeeeeeird. The difference is a little less pronounced as it dries, making a nice overall foody/fresh blend that is incredibly comforting and lovely. I put this on because I'm feeling a bit down, ill and cold (it's snowing) and boy, does it make me feel better. Mmmm mm. Quite faint, but deliciously lovely, definitely spicy in a fairly non-aggressive way. Smells a bit like a homely kitchen after delicious sweet things have been cooked, especially with the cold but summery freshness as well.

My wrists have evened out after fifteen minutes or so, and now both have a lovely soft, nutmeggy floral that doesn't feel much like a floral at all.

 

A high score, and definitely on the bottle list.

[asciident]

Wet: Floral soap. Almost don't want to put it on.

 

First on: Same on my skin, sigh.

 

Dry: Nope, still the same. Time to scrub it off.

[femmefatale]

This started off as a very dry spice scent...with something a bit strange that I can't quite put my finger on.

 

As it dried it became a bit sweeter and a hint of the florals came out. I wouldn't call this a "floral scent" though. It's very....interesting. It reminds me of one of the local historical shops that sell spices and dried flowers and herbs.

 

I'm not completely sure if I like it, but there is something about it that keeps making me sniff my wrist. I think I'll have to try it a couple more times to see.

[Ceri]

In the vial: Spices and something dry, smells like oolong tea.

 

Wet: Cardamom and rose?

 

Dry: I'm not sure if there's any roses in this blend, but on me, this is thick rose syrup.

 

Overall: I'm not too fond of rose scents, not for me.

Edited March 2, 2009 by Ceri

[aquazoo]

Spicy and a little smoky, just the way I like it. Sometimes the florals rise up to the top, and then they sink down below the spices again.

 

 

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in all the time i've had this bottle, i've never done more than sniff it. so it is time for it to move on to a better home, but first a quick review of the one time i tested it:

a strong cuppa chai, a lily and a white rose. reminds me a bit of Lush's Potion, which i don't much care for either.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Warm and spicy. I smell primarily nutmeg and get a hint of that really clean, almost mentholated scent from the cardamom. Maybe a hint of champaca? Definitely something flitting between floral and incense.

 

Wet: The spices are still the dominant note but underneath I get a white, waxy sort of scent. Maybe calla lily? It tempers the spices a lot and rounds this out into a beautiful, full scent. I get another whiff of champaca and a few more mystery flowers. Osmanthus, maybe?

 

Dry: This is beautiful. Heady, dark and incensy but kept in check by the fresh brightness of the cardamom and a few white florals. I think there might be honeysuckle in this as well and there is a wonderful, full sweetness to this scent. I think it is exceedingly sexy and possibly one of my favourite florals in the catalogue.

 

Throw: Good. I'm in a little cloud of Mama Ji hoping it will die down a bit before I go out amongst other humans.

 

Overall: What a beautiful blend. As I continue sniffing I think I get a bit of gardenia from this. So extra points for wrangling the dread pirate gardenia. Love it. This will be getting rotation throughout the year--it's just one of those blends that is perfect and languid on a hot day and warm and comforting on a cold one.

 

ETA: Been wearing this all morning and it finally struck me what it smells like! Floral gums. Those little gummy candies that taste like violets and rose and other assorted edible flowers. I totally love floral gums so this just adds an extra layer of enjoyment to the scent.

Edited April 25, 2009 by paperrose

[angelicdemise]

I love this one! Incense-y but light, not overwhelming. This is one my favorite BPAL's.

[Monster]

In the vial: Hmmm...hard to put my finger on. Almost like incense.

 

Wet: Spices? Check! Cardamon? Check! Nutmeg? (barley but..) Check! Flowers...??? The floral notes are showing up as a "perfumy" note on me. Usually lavender is the culprit (for "perfumy" notes). There might be lavender in this but I could be wrong.

 

Dry: Wowza! This dries into an absolutly gorgeous, smoky, slightly spicy (not floral at all!) perfume. This is heady, warm and rich smelling. Mama-Ji is like a grown-up hippie perfume. This is more refined and regal.

 

Verdict: I'm really glad I gave this one a chance. First sniff out of the vial I wasn't too impressed but after it dries (only for about 10 minutes) it turns into a drop dead gorgeous perfume. *huffs arm* Oh yes, my decant will not be lasting long.

[topazphoenix]

Headshop with cookies.

[phantasmmysteria]

This is one of those scents that's been on my wishlist for a good long while, but that I never actively persued because I didn't think it was going to work for me. I love it when I'm pleasantly suprised!

 

Wet: Judging from the wet stage, this spells doom for me. There's LOTS of rose right off the bat, as well as something that lends an incensy vibe to the blend without being particularly resinous because I don't amp it -- I recall someone mentioning champa flower, so perhaps that's it? Man I am no good with floral notes...

 

Dry: It takes about a half hour to get there (during which I have to resist the urge to huff my wrist because it's all sour rose and cardamom doing something weird in the background), but after that I get this amazing blend of spices and sweetness with just the faintest whiff of flowers that flit about. It's really magical. I'm not quite sure if there is anything in this blend sweetening it up or if it's just my chemistry, but this eventually smells like vanilla chai or spice cookies on my skin with a throw of roses (mmm, spice cookies made with rosewater? I might have to try that!).

 

Verdict: Big bottle plz.

[Gin]

Mama-Ji is polarizing! I fall into the floral camp. I expected loads of spice, but got floral. I don't know what floral--champaca seems a good guess. Paperrose said, "Definitely something flitting between floral and incense." and that's exactly what I'm getting. Nice, but not what I expected, and not something I'd wear.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, I'm sniffing mostly florals.

 

On my skin, starts out spicy floral. Shortly after application, I pick up the cardamom and nutmeg.

 

The floral is still there, but the spices are stronger now that it's nearly dry.

 

I really like this one. A very balanced blend.

[ljaylh]

 

Mmm.. very lovely, it's definitely spicey but cardamom is so much more warm and subtle than cinnamon for my skin - blended with the nutmeg here it's almost peppery but not quite - just right. Unfortunately once theoil dries down, the flowers come out and take the edge of the spices and flavours that Mama-Ji had when wet.. bummer. Eventually this ends up being a warm golden floral with just a teensy hint of spice.

 

I liked it best before the floral fair commenced