Kubla Khan

[Delirium1009]

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree:

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

 

So twice five miles of fertile ground

With walls and towers were girdled round:

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,

Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;

And here were forests ancient as the hills,

Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!

A savage place! as holy and enchanted

As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted

By woman wailing for her demon-lover!

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,

A mighty fountain momently was forced:

Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst

Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,

Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail:

And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever

It flung up momently the sacred river.

Five miles meandering with a mazy motion

Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:

And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far

Ancestral voices prophesying war!

 

The shadow of the dome of pleasure

Floated midway on the waves;

Where was heard the mingled measure

From the fountain and the caves.

It was a miracle of rare device,

A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

 

A damsel with a dulcimer

In a vision once I saw:

It was an Abyssinian maid,

And on her dulcimer she played,

Singing of Mount Abora.

Could I revive within me

Her symphony and song,

To such a deep delight 'twould win me

That with music loud and long

I would build that dome in air,

That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

And all who heard should see them there,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

Weave a circle round him thrice,

And close your eyes with holy dread,

For he on honey-dew hath fed

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

 

Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine.

 

In bottle/imp: Smoky, dry, complex, and just slightly sweet. I can't really pinpoint any notes straight from the imp.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent is extremely complex. I can pick out the opium and the jasmine, but that's it. It's a strong smoky scent with touches of jasmine, leather, and a slight creaminess that I'm guessing is the dark vanilla. It smells very dry and I'm not getting any sweetness from it now that I have it on.

 

After a few minutes: There are sweet notes coming out now… I can sense the vanilla and I think the sandalwood as well. The tobacco is there, quietly blending with the rest. It's weird… I can pick out hints of all these notes but the blend overall smells a little like plastic to me; I think it's mostly the opium blending with the black vanilla. There is definitely a golden, warm feeling about it I think might be the work of the sandalwood or hay.

 

Overall Impressions: I tested this and Event Horizon together, and while they're both dominated by the opium notes, they're very different. This blend is very complex, smoky, and creamy all at the same time. The sandalwood adds a nice warmth I haven't gotten from many opium blends. There's a hint of flowers about it, but other than a slight bit of jasmine I can't pick any out in particular. It's nice for those who like opium but don't want to be smelling strongly the single note all day.

Edited September 13, 2007 by clover

[tempete]

Kubla Khan starts out a bit soapy (perhaps because of the jasmine), but quickly settles into a gloriously complex opium scent that is sweeter and much lighter in feel than Event Horizon. I normally avoid scents that contain tobacco and leather because they tend to smell dirty and overly smoky on me, but my skin apparently loves opium more than these two notes. I'll have to wear this a few more times to be sure, but I can forsee a bottle of Kubla Khan in my future.

[naeelah]

This is really complex and utterly gorgeous. I definitely need a big bottle of this. I was a little frightened of the hay note, but my fear was totally unfounded.

 

This smells like the lighter, golden, radiant cousin of Red Lantern. Initially, it's sweet and golden. I can definitely smell the champaca and jasmine, with tobacco and opium smoke. As it dries, after an hour or two, it's a bit drier and much smokier. The jasmine is less prominent but I can still smell the champaca. I can smell the sandalwood at the base, and for once, it hasn't taken over the blend. It's good to know that I can wear golden sandalwood! I can't quite pick out the peru balsam, leather, or ginger, but I'm sure they're there, somewhere. I think I can also catch a trace of the vanilla, but it blends with the sweet and smooth qualities of the floral notes. The tobacco seems to be less prominent now.

 

Everything here blends really well, so it's hard to explain. It's really, really gorgeous - rich, golden and smoky. Fans of Red Lantern and similar scents will definitely want to try this.

 

Throw is about average, and wear life seems to be about average.

 

ETA: 1/21/08

 

I went through a phase of being iffy on this scent. I thought Defututa reminded me of it, so I put this old imp on the other arm to compare. It has REALLY changed with age -- but I think it has aged magnificently. Basically, the balance of the notes seems to have totally reversed - all of the stuff that I couldn't smell before I can smell now.

 

Wet, there's a strong mint-like quality. As it dries, I can definitely smell the Peru Balsam. It's also quite smoky. Little by little, the champaca emerges, and some of the golden quality returns. I can pick out the tobacco. I think I can also pick out the sugared lily. The mint like quality is still there in the background.

 

Totally dry, this is still a golden scent, but dark, smoky, and woody. It's much darker and more mysterious now. I love it!

Edited February 1, 2008 by naeelah

[dronzeka]

In the imp, I smell mostly the dark vanilla, with a little lily, all kind of blurred with some other stuff.

 

Wet: still the vanilla! I'm having the hardest time picking out the notes in this - there's vanilla and lily, but it's nowhere as sweet as that suggests. I think the opium and hay and tobacco must be mixing together to make this a kind of tough, more savory vanilla? That probably sounds awful, but this is really lovely. It's definitely dark vanilla. Oooh, now I get a whiff of mandarin (yum!). (I do, but I think that might be the Carnal I put on earlier!)

 

I keep wanting to say that I can smell this or that, but really, I can't - it's all so well blended.

 

As it dries, I'm sad to say that the lily is getting stronger - the "sugared" bit helps, but I do amp lily into something kind of sharp, and I'm getting a little of that here. And actually, looking at the other reviews, I think what I'm getting is a mix of lily and opium (I really am not sure what opium smells like when it's at home). But when I keep whiffing, I keep getting that lovely deep vanilla, which I adore. Now a whiff of tobacco, now a whiff of leather.

 

It's amazingly complex, and I think I like it a lot, but I'm going to have to try it a few more times. Overall, it's dark but not heavy, a little sweet but not at all foodie, mostly non-floral (except for a bit of lily. But I amp lily and not jasmine or rose, so YMMV. For the rose haters, I don't get an ounce of rose in this at all, but for the jasmine haters, I think I catch a bit of jasmine.)

[Dekejis]

This is quite an interesting and (like the others have said) complex scent!

 

In the imp, it's sweet and golden and just a bit floral.

 

On my skin, the sweet fades a bit, although I get hint of something that is just a little citrusy. I think I also smell a bit of the opium coming on as well, along with the sandalwood.

 

As it's drying, the smell of leather picks up. and blends in with the opium and sandalwood. The floral, fruity and sweet notes seem to have disappeared to the background, taking the edge off the leather. Once it's dry, it's a dry, slightly smoky masculine opium and leather; smooth and exotic. Lovely! I'll have to try this a few more times before I decide if I want a larger bottle or not, but I'll definitely be enjoying the imp.

[HappyLoveJoy]

This is like a symphony on the skin! All the notes create an everchanging melody of scents and they are all so beautiful. Initially there is a blast that is reminiscent of Chaste Moon and it's sweet floral caramel but it doesn't last once it's on the skin. A soapy quality does take over for a little while and I think that's the ginger and balsam combined with the jasmine. Remember tasting soap as a kid? The soapy note is like that. Not necessarily the way soap smells but the way it tastes and smells. When the soapy note disappears, I then get a smoky, sweet opium that is rich with deep florals. Kubla Khan and Khajuraho could be very close relatives (I know they have champaca in common---maybe even something else). They both have the same serum-like sweetness and sophisticated full dark body that softens so perfectly as it dries down. The vanilla becomes strongest at the end when it's soft, sweet, creamy and laced with the opium smoke and florals. I knew right away that I needed a bottle and thanks to a swap with TrinitySydney I have one on the way! I'll definitely be ordering a second bottle as this is now in my top 5. Bravo, Beth, this is a masterpiece!

[tamburlaine]

Immediately: OPIUM. And not opium flowers or opium sap; this is indeed opium smoke. The slight curl of fragrance disappears immediately into the blend's consciousness and out comes "Kubla Khan"!

 

And then, I smell a light tempered by amber and vanilla. The light, I feel, is the tea leaf and ginger and mandarin and lily. Luckily, the sandalwood hasn't come out to play just yet - that was the only note I feared in this blend, for unfortunately sandalwood turns powdery and volatile on me.

 

Since this review was written as a stream of consciousness, I have to say that Beth, you have done Coleridge proud. I'm glad you included as many notes as you did -- and some strange ones too! -- to give homage to this Vision in a Dream.

 

In the drydown, the come-down is apparent. I smell the peru balsam, which is one of my absolute favorite notes, and the hay absolute that lingers on the nose of Coleridge as he walks around his lonely farmhouse. The vanilla and jasmine come forth and the blend is now familiar and no longer strange. The journey of an opium-induced masterpiece now must be refined, recorded, and that can only be done in the realm of the waking.

 

What a journey! Brava! Now let's see what you can do with Yeats!

Edited September 19, 2007 by tamburlaine

[slave1]

KUBLA KHAN

 

In Bottle: Foody plastic

 

On Skin: I don’t like this at first, it has kind of a chemical tone to it. I’m thinking it’s the florals… more than likely the jasmine. But as it develops the dark smoky notes balance the sharp sourness of the florals. The dark vanilla is delicious and sticky sweet. I can’t smell the ginger or mandarin… but I do smell the hay, and it smells… well exactly like hay. A bit dry and a bit sweet. The leather is very light and fades into the background. The sandalwood also stays in check and just offers a very slight clean woody note. I still think the jasmine and lily aren’t working on me here, they are just too sour. But the other notes are gorgeous and I love the parts they play. Overall it’s not really a scent for me, but it’s been fun to review. Light to moderate throw, short wearlength.

[Beatrice33]

This one dries down to a gorgeous, soft, creamy, sweet and fruity scent. It's way too pretty to feel like "me" but it's truly lovely. It surprised me because there were so many notes listed I simply couldn't imagine how they would meld together. This is fitting of it's namesake.

[Alchemy21599]

In the imp: sweet, slightly smoky vanilla with a hint of floral. Very complex.

 

Wet: The smoky vanilla is replaced by sweet floral with a slightly sweet and spicy back ground note.

 

Dry: How did this turn soapy? I tried it twice with the same results. Oh, well. I think this will be a gorgeous scent on the right person.

[edenssixthday]

Kubla Khan – This is a really complex scent. The strongest note is rose, followed by the scent of vanilla, leather, jasmine, and tobacco. I smell some of other notes in there, too, but they are much more subtle. This is a warm and dry scent and not a floral, as I’d anticipated, and despite the floral notes. It’s more of a sweet resin type scent, but it’s really hard to define because it’s just so complex – one of the most complex BPAL blends I’ve ever tried, that’s for sure. It seems like a really fantastic gender-neutral scent, very sophisticated, and grown-up – something I could wear to a business meeting. I do like it a lot. I am surprised at how close this one sticks to my skin, but the staying power is about average. This is a good one. A really good one. I could see this being worn in any situation where something subtle, yet different, is desired.

[tartchef]

Every once in a while, I like to purposely try a scent that pushes my boundaries - I got Kubla Khan hoping that the opium/tobacco/vanilla notes might temper what would otherwise be a trainwreck of florals on my skin...

 

Bah. No dice. All I get is rose shouting over jasmine soap, with leather bringing up the rear. I smell like a very expensive men's shaving soap. Nice, but so definitely not me....

[eanewsom]

Wet, I get a hint of vanilla and a warm blend of ginger and mandarin. It has a similar feel to Mr. Nancy even though the notes are all different. As it starts to dry, the sweetness fades and the opium and tobacco come to the forefront, making this a complex and intriguing scent. After it's on about five minutes, though, everything except the tobacco goes away, and it gets soapy.

It's hard to accept that anything with notes like this one, which is pretty much an Ahania shopping list, would go so bad on me. I'm going to wait a week or so and try again in the hopes my chemistry will change and this will become what I had dreamed of.

[sixthsentinel]

Wow....

 

Initially the opium smoke (at least I think that's what's doing it) is giving me a strong blast of hairspray. Underneath, something sweet is struggling to make its way beyond the Aquanet force field. I'm thinking "ew, no, now I have to live with it 'til it wears off" when I begin getting whiffs of the most wonderfully sweet & creamy fragrance. Yet sniffing the skin directly leaves me thinking, "surely not...?"

 

In the space of 15-20 minutes perhaps, the Aquanet is as gone as the '80s & I'm falling hard for Kubla Khan. It is now all golden light & sweetness & cream, reminding me strongly of the part of Fairy Market that is not flowers. By now, I'm sure I am a goner & going to have to order a bottle.

 

However, in about another hour, the sweetness is beginning to wear on me. It's cloying--no, that's not fair. The scent isn't getting any stronger, it's not amping, it's not cloying... my olfactory glands are simply being worn down by KK, it seems.

 

Suddenly I am recalling scenes from Splendor in the Grass, most notably the one where Natalie is shamelessly throwing herself all over Warren Beatty in the car, insisting that she's not a nice girl... uh, at least I think that's how it went. Anyway, I now feel like Bud, wanting little more than to escape the clingy Kubla Khan, who refuses to be ignored.

 

So... it turns out, all those reviewers of Fairy Market who said the sweetness under the flowers may have been overwhelming had it not been for the floral element... well, they were right. Because to my nose, KK is pretty much just that sweetness, almost the same exactly. I remember wishing I could have that minus the flowers & thinking everyone else must be crazy, but it turns out they just know their stuff way better than I do, because that is indeed way too much sweet for the sweet.

 

All that's left to do now is stand in my front yard proclaiming my profound disappointment by striking my best William Shatner stance & shouting "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" 'til the neighbors call the popo.

[furygrrl]

In the imp: An almost golden-sweet vanilla. Something bright and a little sharp, too - like a high-end, citrussy hairspray.

 

On wet: Sweet creaminess. Jasmine. The nailpolish-remover scent of champaca. Oooh...but here comes the sandalwood, already starting to ground everything. Very, very nice.

 

Drydown: Complex and lovely. The vanilla and sandalwood make for a wonderfully sweet-yet-stable base - creamy, warm, and golden. The champaca - a note that never fails to hate me regardless of how many times I try it out - has finally decided to pull back and play nice, making friends with the jasmine, tag-teaming to become this general haze of pretty floral-ness. I can smell an undercurrent of spicy smokiness, too - opium and ginger making the scene at last. There's the leather - it's slightly sour against the other notes.

 

Roses, lily, hay, tobacco...I'm sure they're all in there too, but I can't pick them out specifically - that's how busy and well-blended this scent is.

 

Overall: I'm really enjoying this! It's an almost syrupy sweet floral, saved from being too heady or too generic or too frou-frou (ie. only to be worn to expensive restaurants or similarly classy engagements) by that deliciously smoky, lightly spiced, golden cream combo of the vanilla-sandalwood-opium-ginger (and possibly tobacco). It *did* start off a bit...louder...than I usually like, but within 5-10 minutes, it settled down into the gorgeous, darkly playful skin-scent I'm getting - and can't stop sniffing! - now. A unique composition (to my nose, at any rate), one that might need to be upgraded to a bottle in the near future. 4/5

[Blood onmy hands]

It's almost not really fair for me to review this. I hate tobacco, leather, jasmine, BPAL's opium, and most of the amber notes that the lab uses. They're notes that just don't work on my skin or with my nose. I hate smoky scents, powdery scents, sharp florals... There was no real way that I was going to like Kubla Khan. I think that my friend just gave it to me as some sort of evil joke.

 

The jasmine definitely goes soapy on me in this blend. Opium is as bad on me as it always is, an incredibly sharp, stinging, burning sort of chemical-ness that reminds me of cheap hairspray, but worse. I also catch hints of a sharp citrus in this, but everything about this blend on my skin is sharp and cutting. Soap, hairspray, and a splash of orange citrus.

 

Tea leaf, sugared lily, hay, and dark vanilla would be amazing on me, but I can't find any of those notes in here. To be fair, I only wore this for 45 minutes and it still hadn't mellowed out enough for me. This was starting to get a bit sweeter, perhaps thanks to the vanilla notes, but not enough to save Kubla Khan. I just can't wear the opium.

[KaliVerra]

 

I THINK I HAVE FOUND THE GRAIL!!!

 

OMG... this is soooooooooo goooooooooood. If ever a BPAL formulation was made for my chemistry, THIS IS IT.

 

In the bottle: Buh... not so great. The magic is not here.

 

Wet: It's just around the bend... we're still in chemical land.

 

Drydown: EUREKA!!! Mother of monkeys... THAR'S THE TICKET!!

 

"Mommy, why is the spooky lady smelling her arms like that and rolling her eyes up in her head? I'm scared!"

 

"Son, quit looking at her... she might come over here... "

 

-AKA- the BPAL effect.

------------------------

 

I cannot believe the "It's my skin and something INSANELY sexy" blend of vanilla, leather, opium, sandalwood, amber... it's like exuding a vapor of barely-there incense... my DH kept asking "What IS that??" - and I kept telling him - and an hour later, he'd sniff and ask again So he's hooked on me wearing it!

 

Totally going to be needing a backup bottle and wearing OFTEN. And SO glad this is a GC!!

 

A shining 5/5!!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is buttery and a bit smoky...

 

once applied this amps up...a lot

 

this is a very unique blend...i thought it would scare me off but after i give

it 30 minutes plus, this warms up and is really beautiful; it is hard for me to pick

out any notes in particular with the exception of the hay...give kubla khan a try for sure;

i bet you may be pleasantly surprized

[yeahbutnobut]

Kubla Khan

 

In the imp: a sweet vanilla-tinged, almost buttered, jasmine-centred floral.

Wet on skin: gorgeous jasmine and vanilla, very much like Peitho or Bigger Critters, but more exotic.

Dry on skin: this is so pretty. It is very floral, but it's a lovely sweet floral tinged with smoke and spice. This reminds me strongly of Peitho, one of my favourite jasmine/lily scents, and one of the few scents where the jasmine doesn't turn acrid. This bodes well. I smell jasmine with rich vanilla and a hint of pale opium, and sugared lily (sugared in the same way as the florals in Hope, Faith and Pink Moon are sugared, yum!) and a hint of dry golden hay and tobacco. There's an interesting mix of slightly dewy, cool (icy?) sweet flowers contrasting with a dry base of hay and smoky notes. This is also reminiscent of the Perfumed Garden, that same jasmine, but with a different layout of notes. I don't smell roses yet.

After a while: the floral notes blend together really nicely by now, and merge with the sugar and vanilla to create a scent of sweet glorious flowers-there's something luminous and otherworldly about this floral scent. I am reminded of another BPAL now but can't say which…maybe Midnight on the Midway? All I know is that this smells so beautiful. There's a touch of opium to the flowers and a hint of sun warmed hay, and maybe just the barest hint of rose, but I don't get leather here. The champaca is being very well behaved here, it's not amping to that overripe cloying fruit scent, it's adding it's sweetness to the floral notes but not taking over. I think I know what this reminds me of now-Vaskakajja (sp?), but I think this is much, much better than that scent.

Ok, call me crazy, maybe my nose is being odd, but I've finally worked out what this reminds me of…Mr Ibis. I know, there aren't many notes in common apart from sandalwood and vanilla, but that's what I get here, that same pale, cool Egyptian musk scent, only this one is sweeter (there's that fantastic 'sugared flower' note to it) and more floral and smoky, but I definitely get a resemblance. The scent gets smoother, creamier, there's a lovely light musk aspect to it. It eventually turns into a well blended mix of vanilla and ethereal flowers with a glow of musk and a haze of subtle smoke, hints of hay and sandalwood grounding it nicely. Nothing soapy, nothing acrid, just a seamless blend where everything works together. I swear that I get a little bit of amber popping up at the end.

Verdict: if anything could sum up the idea of 'poetry in scent', this would be it. This has a mixture of notes I love (rose, vanilla, sugar) and notes that can turn bad (lily, champaca, jasmine, opium) and the note list was so diverse and contradictory that I thought this could either be spectacular or messy. Thankfully it's the former, and it is so beautiful. The jasmine is perfect-not a bitter flower but a heady sweet one, and the lily is sugared with that fantastic sugared vanilla musk that I love from the Twins and Pink Moon 07. The opium is subtle yet exotic, the vanilla is decadent and rich, and there's a hint of hay and incense, but it's mainly a hypnotic sweet floral. All the notes blend harmoniously. But then the scent gets even better-the notes merge together and a luminous musk appears. I have no idea why I get this glowing pale musk but I do, and it reminds me of Mr Ibis, with added sugared flowers and a hint of poppy. I love Mr Ibis so this is a very good thing. The scent just continues as a smooth well-blended floral sweet musk until the end, and I love it. Along with the likes of Peitho, Perfumed Garden (06) and Bigger Critters, this is one of my new favourite jasmine scents. A truly spectacular fragrance.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes, and I need a bottle asap!

If you like this, try: Peitho, Monster Bait BiggerCritters, Kanishta, Perfumed Garden, Midnight on the Midway, Languor, Vasakasajja, Mr Ibis

[The_Merf]

I wish I could pinpoint the exact type of ginger that makes me turn my stomach, because it can make a blend unbearable for me. All I could smell in this blend was that awful ginger smell--absolutely nothing else. I almost vomited (hand to heart--I'm not being hyperbolic) when I smelled this in the imp, and of all the 400+ BPALs I have tried, this was the one that was hardest for me. This was worse on me than Saw-Scaled Viper in terms of the ginger acting up. I had to remove it immediately.

[Nepthys]

Jasmine hates me so I ordered this with some trepidation. Much to my delight, this is gorgeous. It goes on very soapy and clean, reminding me of a a floral-laced Come To Me; as it dries down, all I really can pick out is lily and sandalwood. Now it's quite complex so I know there are a jillion other notes comprising the final effect, but I can't identify them save those two. This is really a pleasant surprise.

[Nidaba]

It always amazes me how different impressions can be!

 

In the imp: Whoa, strong. Can smell the jasmine mainly.

 

Wet: Jasmine again with ginger and sandalwood. A little soapy.

 

Drying: Ginger, ginger, ginger! But not the bad overwhelming kitchen type, it is supported by the other notes, but I can't really pick them out anymore.

 

Verdict: This was NOTHING like I expected. I never smelled the buttery scent others described. No vanilla, no smoke, no leather, no tobacco. But I love ginger, so I will definitely keep the imp, maybe buy another if it runs out, but not a full bottle.

 

 

ETA: This feels a little hot on my skin. Not sure what it is, I normally only get that with really strong cinnamon.

Edited October 8, 2007 by Nidaba

[alicia_stardust]

KUBLA KHAN

 

Wet: I smell champaca and a light, bright, almost fruity floral.

 

Dry: This took me by complete surprise. I did not check the scent description before trying this on, and after about five minutes I got a whiff of it and thought, "Damn, what smells so good?" It was me.

 

This starts out as a strong yet eloquent rose/lily scent. It's sweet and feminine. The opium, champaca, and tobacco fall into place shortly after that, and I get hints of ginger and leather. It is not until 30 or more minutes have passed that I can smell hints of vanilla. The final stages of this scent are all jasmine and yet even hours after the jasmine has faded I smell opium.

 

This is incredibly complex and very pretty. It's a must for anyone who likes those soft aromatic floral blooms, opium, vanilla, or champaca.

[303marlena]

 

 

 

"Mommy, why is the spooky lady smelling her arms like that and rolling her eyes up in her head? I'm scared!"

 

"Son, quit looking at her... she might come over here... "

 

-AKA- the BPAL effect.

------------------------

 

I cannot believe the "It's my skin and something INSANELY sexy" blend of vanilla, leather, opium, sandalwood, amber... it's like exuding a vapor of barely-there incense... my DH kept asking "What IS that??" - and I kept telling him - and an hour later, he'd sniff and ask again So he's hooked on me wearing it!

 

Totally going to be needing a backup bottle and wearing OFTEN. And SO glad this is a GC!!

 

A shining 5/5!!

 

 

 

 

what she said...

 

 

Yummy yummy yummy, I gots love in my tummy. I don't know if I love this as much as Cerberus, Midnight Mass, or Bakeneko--but its up thar...

 

This was delicious without being foody, vanilla without being girly, leathery without being manly, amber-y without being powdery, opium without the hairspray or headache. ITs sexy, sweet and delicious--which is how I want to smell!!!

Edited October 15, 2007 by marlena

[grashopper8]

I didn't get as much sweetness out of this as others did, it was more of a powdery, incensey opium floral. Delightful for sure, but I wouldn't say it went sweet (with my chemistry, anyway).

 

yeahbutnobut used several adjectives that fit Kubla Khan perfectly, so I'll just quote them below in agreement:

hyponotic....harmonious....pretty....interesting....contrasting....luminous.... otherworldly....smooth

 

And...that about sums it up for me. Kubla Khan fits in the 'good things' category.

Edited October 17, 2007 by AEris