Tamamo-no-Mae

[gaai]

TAMAMO-NO-MAE

One day, a courtesan of unearthly beauty appeared at the Emperor's court. Her skin was like silk and porcelain, and her eyes gleamed like polished onyx. Her body exuded an enchanting scent, and her robes were immaculate. She quickly endeared herself to the Emperor and his concubines; her unequaled grace was matched by a glittering wit and astonishing intellect, and though she appeared to be no older than twenty, there was no question that she could not answer. There seemed to be no limit to her knowledge and strange wisdom, and she was well-versed on every topic, from astronomy to Buddhist teachings. So profound was the Emperor's fascination with this woman that he kept her by his side, day and night. One night, the Emperor and his court attended a performance of poetry and music at the serene Seiryoden. A strong gust of wind suddenly tore through the Leaping Tiger Garden into the performance hall, shaking the bamboo reeds and extinguishing the lanterns. The room was plunged into darkness, save for a warm, golden light that emanated from within the mysterious woman's robes. She was aglow like the rising sun. Enthralled, the Emperor declared to his ministers that this woman must be an incarnation of the Buddha, and he named her Tamamo-no-Mae. Deeply in love and profoundly devoted, the Emperor exchanged weighty vows with his favored mistress, and showered her with gifts and affection.

 

Within months, the Emperor became ill. He was listless, his sword-hand faltered, his skin took on a grey cast, and his muscles began to sag. Horrified, his ministers went to all the priests and soothsayers in the land, begging them for answers. They had none. The ministers appealed to the people, begging them to raise their voices in prayer. The people loved the Emperor, and sent their prayers to the Gods. The Emperor's condition did not change. Finally, the renowned astrologer, Abe no Yasuchika, divined the cause of the Emperor's infirmity: Tamamo-no-Mae. She was not born of woman; her true form was that of a hundred-year-old, forty-two-foot-tall, two-tailed fox demon. Disguised as a beautiful courtesan, the demoness hoped to slowly kill the Emperor, and then take his place. Knowing that she was exposed, Tamamo-no-Mae fled the palace.

 

Horrified, the Emperor sent the greatest warriors in the land, Kazusa-no-Suke and Miura-no-Suke, to pursue and slay his former mistress. The creature was wily and elusive, and after many weeks of hunting, the warriors began to fear that they would be unable to bring the demon to justice, thus shaming themselves and their families. They vowed that they would commit suicide if they failed in their quest, and they prayed to the Gods for assistance. That night, a beautiful woman appeared to Miura-no-Suke in his dreams. Her lovely face was marred by weeping, and she begged the warrior to spare her life. He refused, and cut the woman down. Upon waking, he realized that the dream was an omen -- they would find and kill the foxwoman this day -- and the warriors resumed their hunt with renewed enthusiasm. The hunters spotted the fox on the Plains of Nasu, and Miura-no-Suke fired an arrow into her heart. She fell, and her body transformed into the Sessho-seki, the Killing Stone.

 

Tamamo-no-Mae's scent is soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo soke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha.

 

I'm afraid I won't be able to give a very good review of this one because I'm not sure what (at least) half of the notes listed are/smell like.

However......I will say that it has a very Asian vibe to it......it reminds me a little of Hungry Ghost Moon, but softer......

First there is a kind of citrus scent, which I think comes from the ginger......after it dries it smells fruity, a little sweet, light and feminine.......it will be great for summertime!

[emzebel]

Tamamo-no-Mae is the most creamy almost edible Asian inspired blend I've ever smelled of Beth's. Which is not to say that it is foody - it is just evocative of things that are rich and delicious, without necessarily being highly caloric itself...if that makes any sense.

 

The skin musk, benzoin, tea, rice flower and ginger blend together for a smooth, clingy seductive base that reminds me just a wee bit of the cello-clear cake part of Japanese red bean cakes, steaming and hot from an Asian market. Except that the sandalwood, and sweet florals add a richness that pull this out of the realm of snack foods and into something more intreaguing entirely...this is the scent of Spirited Away, innocense bruised, not necessarily lost completely.

 

It is completely and utterly devestatingly gorgeous.

[LiberAmoris]

Tamamo-no-Mae is awfully pretty. It definitely is creamy, like white tea with a touch of milk or soy milk and a spray of florals. There’s something almost peachy about the way this plays out on my skin, although it must just be the combination of notes striking my nose in such a way to create phantom notes. The ginger is barely audible on me---there’s just the barest brush of it.

 

I’m trying to pick out the other notes, but this is so finely milled that it’s difficult to do so. I think I can smell the rice flower, moments of the white sandalwood, and the Amacha (hydrangea leaf?). I believe the black locust flower is in the pea family, and I do smell something that’s like a mellower, greener, less intense sweet pea kicking around in there. The light resiny bottom to the blend is probably the benzoin gum, I’m guessing, and it lends a very, very subtle incensey hint.

 

I’m really enjoying this. It’s just perfect for this time of year.

[themerrybaker]

I keep reading the pretty label as "Tomato No More" and hence this oil reminds me a bit of fruit salad. (But really, really, good smelling fruit salad). There seems to be some phantom coconut here.

TNM is a sweet, syrupy, good both for the summer and later in the winter when we miss the summer fruits. It reminds me a bit of Hungy Ghost Moon, as mentioned previously, and also of Peony Moon.

Such a surprise given the list of components.

[nikkoblue]

Oh my word!

 

This looks like it might be my favorite BPAL blend evah.

 

This is a very creamy scent with hints of tea and ginger, which blends seamlessly with the musk. For some reason I'm vaguely reminded of Dorian, yet at the same time I'm being thrown back to fourth grade and the heady scent of Little Twin Stars and Hello Kitty paraphernalia. This scent is actually edible, soft enough to wear anywhere but at the same time somewhat mysterious.

 

On me, this scent holds true start to finish; I don't get anything initially that I can't catch a whiff of later. I bought 4 bottles of this and will treasure every single drop.

[Jilara]

Tamamo no Mae is intriguing, since I don't see fruit in the list of ingredients, but it's distinctly fruity on me. Someone mentioned a peach quality, and I'm getting it, too. Actually, it reminds me a little of a fruit note from Fire Pig.

 

Wet, I get mostly fruitiness and ginger. But when it starts to dry, the skin musk comes out and starts to predominate. Dry, there is a slightly foody quality, like maybe there's a bit of manju waiting to be tasted. The dominant note is skin musk, but in back is that slightly spicy fruit and a hint of mochi. It makes me think of a fruit manju I get at the Japanese market, but sexier. Mmm, bite into that tasty peach... When you think of the fact that peaches are a sexual allusion, it's appropriate. Very nice Asian note blend, but definitely not what I would have expected from the list of elements in it. It's definitely one I'll wear a lot, though.

[ForeverLastcXs]

Oh, this is gorgeous! I am glad I ordered a bottle! I had a feeling that I would like it and am so glad that feeling was right. At first sniff, it smells slightly fruity and remains the same on my skin. It smells like a ripe, juicy peach. I'm in agreement with Jilara here; it didn't turn out quite to be what I expected given the list of notes, but nevertheless, I love it! I'll be wearing this one a lot.

[lysithea]

This is a creamy, rendition of March Hare. Spicy and warm with wonderfully pleasant citrusy/fruity top notes. The "peachy" feel comes off much more apricot for me which gives it plenty of fruity zip and zing. I cannot pick out any individual notes, however, for it is such a finely blended perfume.

[slave1]

TAMAMO-NO-MAE

 

In Bottle: Sweet yummy asian feel

 

On Skin: This reminds me of Hungry Ghost Moon a bit... it has the obvious Asian overtone and is slightly fruity. It’s sweet and earthy and quite lovely. The musk and sandalwood provide a dark soft base. The rice flower smells similar to HGM and is very sweet. The ginger is also sweet and a bit citrusy. I also get a creamy feel from this scent even though I see no milk or cream notes listed. It reminds me of a fruit smoothie, sweet, juicy and delicious. Some people have mentioned a peachy/apricot note to it, and I seem to smell that as well. I really like it and love that the scent causes me to smile everytime I inhale it. A good spring/summer scent. Medium throw and average to long wearlength.

[Atalanta Pendragonne]

I can certainly smell the resemblance to Hungry Ghost Moon here, and I'm glad; I ordered it hoping it would be similar. It's brighter, though, almost effervescent, and as it dries I'm getting that apricot note too. It's defintely lifted my spirits on a dreary, dismal day!

[mermaidrage]

In the bottle: Barely anything. There's a light tea, something vaguely floral, but otherwise it's almost nonexistant.

On skin: Tamamo-no-mae is immediately creamy and rich! I can definitely believe that black locust could be part of the same family as sweet pea because that's what I immediately think I smell. The tea settles to the background but is replaced by this wonderful glowing musk, back up by the sandalwood.

 

I absolutely adore this. I'm going to have to try to hunt down a backup bottle (or three)!

[dawndie]

In bottle: sweet ginger candy

 

On skin: I'm getting the Hungry Ghost Moon vibe too. Lots of sweet sugary ginger and rice candy

 

Half-hour later: a bit more floral (lotus? nothing distinct) plus there's a light sweet musk that makes this more "grown-up" than HGM, which was all sugary sweet Japanese candy on me

 

In conclusion: while this starts out with lots of candy, it ends up snooty and sophisticated, like something a rich aunt would wear. Beautiful and inspiring!

[filigree_shadow]

OK, why is there no peach listed in the notes? Even in the bottle I smell peach, and on my skin definitely. I don't know what else that scent could be except peach.

 

Anyway, this is lovely. I love tea scents, but it seems like whenever a tea scent is paired with a fruit it's usually lemon. I don't like lemon very much. This peach (or whatever it is) is perfect. Full, round, and lush. It also has a deep, slightly resiny scent underneath. I can't describe it better than that because I don't know what most of those note smell like. All I know is that I like it a lot.

 

I accidentally forgot that I ordered this bottle and ordered a second one a couple of days after my first order. I'm so glad! This is a scent I'll wear often.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: tea, ginger, and a whisper of fruity floral.

 

On skin: the ingredients meld together seemlessly with the ginger being slightly more pronounced than the other notes. This is a gorgeous blend and my only regret is that I didn't order more than one bottle.

[sarada]

I can't seem to get enough of this!! This is my favorite of the lunacy round this month and I've been slathering it constantly since I got it yesterday. It's also the perfect scent for this time of year: its sweetness is magnified by the sudden warmth in the air but it still has the sense of fresh green shoots and sun-warmed damp flowers that I like in the spring.

 

Indeed, it is very much like Hungry Ghost Moon but there is a strong peachy note in this -- I don't know where it's coming from but for some reason I had been expecting this to be peachy, too. A slightly sweet and sour note like rice wine sweetened by ginger lingers up in a burst of smoky warmth. The skin musk keeps this one going where it might otherwise dissipate, and the lab's musks are marvelous on me, clinging to me and releasing bursts of dark sweetness all day.

 

Very much a Hungry Ghost Moon sister, but with a hint of a smoky musk and a strong but fleeting burst of peach that calms down into sugary ginger as it wears. Just spectacular. I will wear this all summer in vast amounts.

[glass_cat]

This is truly a beautiful scent. It pains me to think that I wound up with a bottle of this completely by accident. I actually ordered Blue Moon, but due to a mix-up at the lab, they accidentally sent me this instead. I offered to return it to them, but they told me to keep it in compensation for the mistake while I waited for them to ship me my Blue Moon. Well... color me lucky, because this is delightful, and I actually think it's my favorite of the recent LEs I've personally tried, so the Blue Moon mix-up must have been fate looking out for me. Tamamo is so soft, light, and feminine. Something about it also feels happy. I feel myself cracking a smile each time I sneak a sniff of my wrist. My boyfriend went absolutely nuts over it, too! It's also very long-lasting, still lingering and noticable hours after it's been applied. Normally the lighter scents aren't on me, but this is an exception, so Tamamo is basically perfect all around.

 

I don't know that I'll be much help at helping to identify notes with this one. Most of them I didn't even recognize the names of in the description, so it would be anyone's guess as to whether or not I do or don't smell them in this blend. (That was my main reason for passing on this in the first place... having absolutely no mental picture of how it would smell.) I do smell the ginger quite prominently though, and ginger works very well on me. I've yet to meet a BPAL ginger I don't like. It's soft in Tamamo though... not sharp and overpowering the way it can be in blends like Shub, especially when first applied. I also smell very gentle florals and light fruits. Someone above mentioned peach? I smell something peach-like as well... perhaps apricot? Overall, this is a sweet Asian-inspired "fruity floral". It's soft and pretty and happy... there and detectable without being cloying or overpowering. A perfect summer blend! I'm so glad I wound up with a bottle of this. Yay for happy accidents!!

Edited May 26, 2007 by glass_cat

[Eemia]

This does have a very beautiful, dry-fruit scent. Not a ripe, juicy, or cirtus fruit but something that is aged and wrapped in delicate paper. It's very unusual and unlike any fruit based scent I own. There is also a very slight, very expensive smelling boozy quality that I am adoring. But it's not the dark, rich booze that I smell in other blends...it is a clear, light booze scent that feels glittery and only vaguely heady. Everything about this reminds me of colors...pale, muted flesh tones, light oranges, cream, and beige.

 

I only start to smell the musk and sandlewood if I really sniff closely....this is so well blended that it would be difficult to pick out notes. It's warm and a tiny bit spicy from the ginger. It lasts quite a while on me, with about an average throw. This is light enough for me to wear through the summer, but I wished I had bought another bottle because I would wear this one year round.

[bibliophile]

This is such a delightful and surprising blend! Like themerrybaker, I get phantom coconut to start, along with astringent tea and ginger. As it dries, it becomes creamier -- more like coconut milk -- and the sweet pea-ish scent that others have attributed to the black locust flower comes out. I am so glad I bought this. Though I adore HGM and its gingery deliciousness, I can't wear it at all in the summer because the heat amps it on my skin to the point of being suffocating. This will be a wonderful summer ginger blend!

[fountaingrl]

Wet in bottle: sweet, light floral, tang (light) of tea

Wet on skin: still sweet, floral - very white somehow, tea is strong and there is an undertang that on me is slightly citrus and I like it.

 

On drydown, most of the scent fades. I love the start of this, the wet phase suggested that this was going to go floral tea with a gentle citrus and bamboo on me (my skin does interesting things) but then .... all but a generic floral fades. It is pretty, but nondescript and not worth hanging onto for me when I have so many that need love. It's already found a swap where someone will give it proper love.

 

I really wanted this one to work too, as I loved the story. C'mon, female monster that works for me PLZ!

 

(edited for spelling, ack, need more coffee it seems)

Edited May 27, 2007 by fountaingrl

[forspecial_plate]

The other reviews described this pretty well....it's soft and sweet, a little tartness, but deep. It does smell fruity but I'm getting a bit of a dry smokey feeling from it, too. Not a whole lot of throw, this is more of a quiet scent. It is somewhat feminine, but I think as a guy I could wear this too, in the right circumstances. I just like how it smells on me. I had been thinking about getting a larger amount of Hungry Ghost Moon, but if I decide to keep TNM, I won't need a bottle of both because they are very similar.

[shadesong]

In bottle: Light and pretty, slightly gingery.

 

On me: Soft. Smooth. Elegant. That ginger, and... there's something papery in here, which is bringing to mind the ginger chews candies I always have in my house, the ones where you unwrap them and then peel the ginger off that floured inner paper. It's not a blatant foodie. I'd be hard-pressed to categorize it. It is beautiful and light and crinkly.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Are you sure there is no grapefruit in this? I smell grapefruit - just like the note in Hungry Ghost Moon

 

On me:

Goes on sweet, citrusy but creamy. I swear this is the same grapefruit note that is in Hungry Ghost Moon. Then, something more elegant and mature and a little watery (but floral in nature) creeps up behind it, and takes the sweetness down a notch. It becomes more floral in a few moments, but the fruity sweetness to this doesn't disappear, it just tones down.

 

Like with many other people, this does remind me a lot of the Asian Moons. It has a very similar feel to it (and appropriately so of course). And then suddenly, I'm getting something sharper - sake. With the sharp and spicy quality of ginger no less. An interesting turn in this otherwise smooth and feminine scent.

 

The end result is a really complex scent - fruity, sweet, airy, slightly floral, elegant, and womanly but with a sharp spicy note reminiscent of sake.

 

Final note:

I do really like this one - with a lot of the Asian Moons I liked them, but did not love them. The exception to that was Hungry Ghost Moon, which I adored. I find Tamamo-no-mae to be more like Hungry Ghost Moon in that regard - it has less floral in it and more complexity. I definitely will be using this one!

[QueenFae]

I'm not very familiar with many of the ingredients in this blend, but I will do my best to describe it. Ooooh la la, this is light, smooth, feminine, exotic, and slightly fruity. There is a soft, creamy base, with outdoorsy, herbal green middle tones, and a light, musky, floral overtone. This is very unique, very sexy, and I just love it.

 

This is just beautiful, I am very happy to have a bottle. I wish it lasted a little longer, but this is lovely enough to re apply.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Mmmm. Nice! This indeed as has been repeatedly mentioned, has a HGM flavor (and I should mention that HGM is a scent I still wear obsessively). But different. It is creamier, lighter and fluffier. No citrus, no ginger. Yet it still is reminiscent of HGM, somehow... must be the rice milk or something. Like a sister scent to HGM, it is related but entirely it's own thing. This blend also smells somewhat vanilla-y too. It is unfortunately REALLY faint on me. But it smells awesome. Need more! Slathering is in this blend's future.

 

This is indeed a masterpiece of Beth's. It really is just perfectly blended.

 

5 out of 5, for sure.

 

EDIT: OK. I am going to say that my Carnaval Diabolique phoenix design scent locket is not a silly extravagance after all. This little bugger is going to save me from having to douse myself in some of my favorite faint, but delicious, stinkies... and also the too-precious-to-waste ones. Both of which fit TNM. It fades in about a half hour on my skin, and has a fairly low throw. Put her in a scent locket though, and the scent lasts... well, for a really long time. I've worn the same TNM saturated swatch at least three days, on and off, and it keeps on stinking. Wow! It also makes the scent throw much better. (Selkie, which I had a similar experience with, also does the same thing in a scent locket... and the ones that are powerful, like say Storyville, or Crumpet Rebellion, I will never need to put on my skin ever again- just save the swatch in a baggie, and reuse forever.)

Edited August 22, 2007 by LittleGreyKitten

[savage_rose]

This smells like sweet coconut on me, with a hint of green tea. Creamy, yet refreshing! I keep trying to pick out notes, but that's what it is. Absolutely lovely.