Tupapau

[Heavenlyrabbit]

White sandalwood, pikaki, 'umi'umi-o-dole, and plumeria.

Another exquisite floral... done to perfection. The florals here seem to be much more active and present themselves more individually than in Marae. Perhaps it's the Sandalwood gently touching each of the florals at different times. One moment the perfume wafting off my wrist is this and soon after it's that.

I am getting a Daytime Floral. Tropical, yes but not necessarily an evening or formal. I'd say that's the Pikaki and Plumeria which have always seemed to me as youthful and friendly notes.

Don't know what umi'umi-o-dole is and hope someone shares.

Twilight Eyes kindly sent me the info that umi'umi-o-dole is Spanish Moss. No wonder I liked this so much. Edited April 24, 2008 by quantum spice

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Moss and light, creamy tropical flowers.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a deep tropical floral scent with bits of lush moss. It’s not overly sweet and flowery but has a nice green smokiness to it. It’s fresh but complex.

 

After a little while: This has turned rather smoky on my skin, which I think is the pikaki imitating the way the lab’s jasmine notes morph on me. This is a deep scent with thick plumeria and smoky pikaki and the sandalwood as a warm, solid base. The moss adds a slight masculine note that blends in nicely.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent started out flowery and fresh but morphed into something a bit smokier than I expected. I have an issue with the lab’s jasmine notes turning quite smoky and almost bitter on me, and it seems like the pikaki in this has followed suit. This is a deep, smoky and thick tropical floral with a base of light sandalwood and hints of masculine moss. This is a bit cloying and too deep on me.

[CiCi]

Fresh on the skin this smells like deep earthy moss, and for the first 10 minutes or so that is the only thing I could smell. Reading the notes, I was hoping that my body chemistry would let it blossom into more than just the mossy scent.

 

After 15 minutes, the Plumeria and pikaki kicked in, blended with the umi'umi-o-dole, and oh my gosh, is this a beautiful scent! I love sandalwood and it does make it's presence known, but lightly. Where before it was earthy, now is is sweet, with a slight hint of musk maybe and a gorgeous tropical floral scent. It is not overwhelming, just gently makes you aware it's there.

[grashopper8]

Overall, I think this scent is pretty, but it is a little soapy, even for me. The notes listed don't include fruit, but there seems to be a slight tropical-fruity undertone that doesn't come from any of the listed notes. This scent smells a lot more like Bath and Body Works Plumeria than the BPAL yule blend, Noche Buena. Noche was very fresh and almost green, and Tupapau is softer and rounder and more of a pink scent. I liked it throughout the day, but it didn't wow me as something I would wear again.

 

4.1 out of 5

[akiko]

This is very much not for me.

 

imp: nail polish

 

wet: strong, headache-inducing florals

 

dry: washed it off

[Czarina]

I googled 'umi'umi-o-dole and learned the following faskinatin' tidbit:

 

Soon after Spanish moss was introduced in Hawaii about 1920, the Hawaiians fashioned a lei from it. Because the plant reminded them of kauna'oa in texture, they used the same techniques to make the lei hinahina as was used for the lei kauna'oa.

 

Another name given to Spanish moss, 'umi'umi o Dole, means "Dole's beard" and received its name from the famous gray beard of Sanford B. Dole, first and only president of the Hawaiian Republic.

 

Amazing the thought that is put into scent design!

 

That having been said, on to the scent.

 

In the bottle: sickly sweet tropical floral.

Wet: this settles down quite a bit. Pikake and plumeria are in the forefront, stabilized by the sandalwood and moss.

Drydown: growing sweeter. This is back to being sickly sweet to me--and this from a person who practically bathes in Sugar Skull.

 

Good throw, average wearlength.

[grrrlennyl]

At first: A fruity floral, Very pretty and pale.

On: Lots of plumeria. I can't really pick out the other notes, but this is a really pretty combination.

1 hours later: A little soapy.

2 hours later: Soapy.

Overall: Unfortunately, this one turned on me.

[schackjj]

Wet: Murky, mossy.

 

Wet: Yuck, what IS that floral?! It keeps getting stronger. Eep.

 

Drydown: The floral just keeps taking over whatever else is in the blend, and I detest it. Only after I've written my review scribbles do I look at the notes. Aack - jasmine! No wonder. My nemesisss! So please read this review through my Anti-Floral Filter.

[savage_rose]

Ew, tiny little black specks in my oil. Huh? Maybe there's some kind of weird component in here?

 

It smells like sweet tropical flowers. If Marae is a white garland lei, Tupapau is a colorful garden lei, with a wide range of flowers. It smells good, and although it's not my favorite blend so far it's nice.

[Sarri]

I'm really pleased I ordered tupapau - I generally find full on florals a bit headache-inducing but they're tamed here by the sandalwood and moss, and on me this is a sweet green tropical scent - there's something almost aquatic about it, perhaps that's the moss doing that.

 

I've never been to Hawaii so can't comment on how well it conjures up the islands, but between the sandalwood and the plumeria it reminds me of walking round the gardens at the Taj Mahal at sunset and that's a lovely memory to evoke, consequently this is a very happy smelling scent for me.

[sookster]

straight sniff from the imp is the most elegant floral with a touch of sandalwood...

 

once applied this is such a delight!! the flower notes in this are just superb and

blended to perfection with just a hint of sandalwood!! l-o-v-e!

this is my favorite floral from the luau bunch and as luck may have it, i was

able to score a big bottle!! yay!!

[gwynhwyfar]

I love the notes in this, so I was really excited to test it out.

 

In the bottle, I wasn't disappointed -- it's an absolutely gorgeous floral. Pretty, and a little sexy.

 

Thankfully, I resisted the temptation to just slather it on, because while it remains gorgeous for the first few minutes on my skin, once it's drydown, it turns into the scent of rotting wood. This is another of those body chemistry things that I have no real explanation for, but it's rather a fascinating process.

 

Assuming you don't have my skin, if you like florals, this would be a hard one to beat.

[maribouquet]

I love the sandalwood and the mossy smell of the umi'umi-o-dole - that's what I smell at first. The floral notes are very pretty. If this dries down well I may have to order a bottle. It's like a tropical Silence. :luv:

[Ina Garten Davita]

A starry night on a tropical island.

 

White sandalwood, a touch of moss and the suggestion of tropical florals. My skin amps sweet, especially with sandalwood so this is really working for me.

[galleywest]

You know, I love the smell of this, but it is so light on my skin that I can hardly smell it only minutes after I've applied it. Even when I slather, it just disappears. Here's what I do get, though:

 

Wet, in the imp: It's greener than I thought it would be. I think it's the sandalwood, but I really like it! There's a contrasting sweetness which must be from the plumeria. The umi-umi-o-dole or whatever (the Spanish moss!) lends it some sharpness too which must be contrubuting to the greenness I mentioned above. It's very, very pretty, though light.

 

Wet, on my skin: It barely lasts. I thought the plumeria might come out, or the pikaki. I'm very surprised they don't! My friend put it on and the pikaki just leapt out, but on me it's just an ever-so-soft floral.

 

Dry, on my skin: I can smell the sandalwood a little more, and the moss. It's a shame, I really like what I'm smelling, but the throw is so light that I just can't justify it. Even Pele lasts longer, and that's saying something. If this stood out on me more I would get a bottle. I almost did anyway, just because it's such a great tropical scent, I just couldn't quite do it.

[PersephonesChild]

Something slightly astringent and I would say "classic" about this blend... I think it's the white sandalwood, which is so much less gritty, dirty, smoky than my beloved red sandalwood. The florals have a slight citrus tone to them. It's very ethereal. In terms of notes, it has a lot in common with some of the church-y blends that are light florals and sandalwood (Ave Maria Gratia Plena, etc...) but I think it smells a lot less like my grandmother. There's something very playful in it. The pikaki doesn't doesn't go crazy like Jasmine does (yay!). I'm not getting much spanish moss, but I suppose it does have a little bit of a damp smell to it... in general, very lovely. Light, not old fashioned, suggestive, but not over-powering.

 

ETA: Unlike a few other reviewers, this blend is really sticking around for me. And it's so fruity for something without fruit in it! It kind of reminds me of Kitsune-Tsuki-- somehow, it's sort of smelling like Asian plum.

Edited April 24, 2008 by PersephonesChild

[Kippy]

Sigh, I really wanted to love this one.

 

On wet, it was gorgeous as the earthy moss was balancing the florals. But the moss left and I was left with a mash of unidentifiable floral. I would have loved Pikaki or Plumeria alone, couldn't really pick out either of the scents.

 

Off to a home that will give it love!

[alicia_stardust]

This has a very grounding effect on me. The sandalwood turns this into a fragrance with a lower pitch than most of the rest of the Flotsam series. The white sandalwood is very gentle and smooth and beyond that there is a mish-mash of tropical florals with that high, intoxicating, sweet note that is characteristic of plumeria. Very nice.

[Blood onmy hands]

Tupapau is nothing but sharp floral soap on my skin, from start to finish. I can't pick out any one note, just a mishmash of perfumey florals crammed into soap...

[500ml]

Disappointing to say the least, I had quite high hopes for Tupapau, but in the end it just doesn't work for me and I'm not sure why. Wet it's a bit too bitter and dry. Dry I also get faint tropical fruits which I generally don't mind at all, but by then it just smells a bit too sickly.

[willowtreeling]

To me, this is really really pretty. It doesn't really smell tropical, though....

It actually reminds me of something else, but I can't think of what....it smells like small pale pink flowers and juicy green stems and leaves....

[CrazyPretzel]

My experience with Tupapau seems to be the same as porcelain's - it's quite bitter and dry and not very nice on me. I do find it rather soapy... and it fades quickly. Win some, lose some!

[hkhm]

bottle: this is mostly plumeria and pikaki with a hint of earthy sandalwood.

 

wet: this is sharp wet flroals once applied. bt there is a nice sweet hint underneath that i'm hoping will develop...

 

dry: this is a very tangy, sweet floral when dry. not usually my sort of scent but i can't stop sniffing my arm.

[slave1]

TUPAPAU

 

In Bottle: Very light floral

 

On Skin: This is the faintest scent of the collection so far. On me it’s just a whisper of floral and woods. The sandalwood is very clean and white in feel. It has a kind of commercial perfumey quality to me, bordering on hairspray. It feels like a scent for an older more conservative woman, which is not me at all. There is an earthy note but it is overshadowed by the florals. It’s a floral scent but doesn’t feel like a lush tropical blend to me. Not my favorite sadly… Light throw and short to average wearlength.

[xoe]

Tupapau did not work for me at all, sadly. Don't know why.. but it turned to a crazy bugspray type smell.

Oh well.