Mata Hari

[yellowbread]

... Her scent is striking and bold with a delicate yet dark undertone: five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean.

I'm not one of those people who think jasmine smells like cat pee. However, I do think it smells awful in an intensely flowery way. In the imp, that was all I could smell- not just jasmine, but JASMINE!!!! Once it dried on my skin, a little bit of the rose came out, but this didn't temper the jasmine at all. It lasted maybe an hour or two, and then promptly disappeared, without me getting the faintest whiff of vanilla, fig, tonka, mahogany or coffe, which was dissappointing but also very weird, as I amp vanilla to a ridiculous degree.

This one is definitely not for me.

[countessmouse]

Mata Hari needs to lay off the coffee and cigarettes. Honestly, it smelled like an ashtray to me and I couldn't get it off of me fast enough! Ugh! This one is definitely going into the for sale pile.

[staceylou]

I wanted to love this, but, ick, smells like Palmolive dish soap on me

[Venneh]

Roses and jasmine and real generic in the imp, not really that appealing. On my skin, it's pretty much the same. Argh. Going to give it the time so the rest of it to come out, but it's not promising so far. Rose and jasmine. Bleh.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Venneh

[MinxyMinou]

From the description I thought this was going to be amazing...sadly it's just a nondescript soapy floral on me.

[Soniadevi]

This one smells differently everytime I smell it, so it's hard to write a review, but I have to say that my first impression of the scent is very jasmine, but then I can smell a very well blended coffee-jasmine-fig, with the creaminess of the vanilla laced throughout, and the roses tend to stay in the background, enhancing the floralness of the jasmine rather than showing up as rose on their own.

 

I would say that if you love jasmine, you'll love this! I don't know what mahogany smells like, and it would be far fetched for me to say that I can perceive some wood in here, (I don't know what tonka smells like either to be honest- vanillery?)

 

In any case, it is a very beautiful scent, velvety and deep, perfectly suited to the femme fatale that was Mata Hari, and I find it to be a very feminine, sensual scent that would be wonderful to wear in the evening with cocktail attire, or even, chilling out at home, in your cashmere robe (not that I have one, but one can always dream right?) In fact, I have to say, the more I sniff my hand, the more I like this! I'm not a big jasmine fan, but I don't dislike it either, so this one is a nice way for me to enjoy it.

 

My rating out of 5, 5 being the best? 3.5 out of 5. Who knows, I may change my mind. It can go either way really, you never know how your nose will evolve!

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: roses and a powdery jasmine, ruined by mahogany and stale cigar smoke. coffee and a teensy bit of vanilla comes in on the end of it. I appreciate the complexity of this scent, but there's a bitterness in this that doesn't work for me.

 

On my skin: coffee and smoke, roses wilting and a bit of jasmine. I love the roses and coffee, but it keeps changing on me. rather grown-up and hardly sweet at all. quite mysterious, for dangerous women only. it becomes coffee more as it dries.

 

Last thoughts: I just can't get into something that changes so much and is so confusing. I want something that's at least a little identifiable. but still appreciate all its' complexities, even if it doesn't suit me.

Edited April 17, 2011 by frecklestars

[lahdeedah]

I'm not one of those people who think jasmine smells like cat pee. However, I do think it smells awful in an intensely flowery way. In the imp, that was all I could smell- not just jasmine, but JASMINE!!!! Once it dried on my skin, a little bit of the rose came out, but this didn't temper the jasmine at all. It lasted maybe an hour or two, and then promptly disappeared, without me getting the faintest whiff of vanilla, fig, tonka, mahogany or coffee, which was disappointing but also very weird, as I amp vanilla to a ridiculous degree.

 

This one is definitely not for me.

 

 

I would have wrote almost an identical review, so I'll keep this short, adding that jasmine is not always awful on me. But it does tend to bully everyone else out of the way. Here it was so intensely overpowering that I actually went to scrub it off, which I RARELY do with a perfume, so that's saying something. If you have issues with jasmine, I would not recommend this blend.

[AuraWilkes]

Whoomph.

 

 

In the bottle, the first thing I got smelled like musk, musk, and nothing but musk. I was, quite frankly, scared to even try this. I didn't get any coffee or rose whatsoever. Nothin'. Just what I like to call "old lady smell." Ick.

 

First swipe/wet: Well, THERE'S the flowers. But...it's all jasmine. My god, the jasmine. It's nearly overpowering. So. Much. Jasmine.

 

Drydown: Well, thank the lord for patience. It's a very gentle, very comforting floral with a sort of after-spice I dig. However, this won't be going on my bottle list. To the swaps with ye!

[Incendiare]

In the vial pops out the jasmine with a mysterious spicy undertone. Directly on my skin, I get buckets of jasmine, perhaps a slight trace of rose, and the slightest hint of coffee. I definitely don't smell any fig or vanilla at this point.

 

As its drying down, the jasmine is still way too overpowering. I can only catch the barely-there coffee note when my hand is at a distance (applied it to the top of my hand), but smelling it up close, basically just jasmine still. Weird how I don't really get any rose at this point.

 

Thirty minutes later this doesn't seem to be changing at all. Just overwhelming jasmine with the practically non-existant coffee in the background. This is a disappointment. Based on the description, I was expecting something complex yet balanced.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

I can understand why maybe this one won't age very well. Coffee oils are so volatile and become stale quickly. Anyhow, my batch must be fresh because this smells great! All I'm really getting is jasmine and coffee, but they're working well together. It's like the coffee is tempering the jasmine, keeping the jasmine from smelling too little-girlish. Mata Hari is sophistocated but feminine. I really like this.

[Suu4LC]

Ooo! I am excited to try this! Bpal rose can be hit or miss on me, but when it's a hit it's so lovely! Except for mahogany, I think I am a fan of every note in this blend, though sometimes jasmine can be a bit intense.

 

Hmm...In the imp this is mostly jasmine actually...jasmine and rose, but the jasmine is really overwhelming the rose. I hope on my skin the other notes come out! I like jasmine, but usually not as the main event.

 

Ok, on my skin it is still definitely mostly jasmine/rose, however the balance between them is a bit more even. I don't even notice any of the other notes-maybe the vanilla giving this some creaminess, but no mahogany or coffee for sure.

 

This dries down a a jasmine-y vanilla scent. Very pretty. I still get a bit of the rose, but it never goes sour or weird as roes tends to do. Very smooth.

 

If you are looking for a sweet jasmine scent, with vanilla and rose, this is the blend for you. Not something I need a bottle of, but after the initial blast of OMG JASMINE, this dries down to something very lovely. I never noticed any of the other notes in this.

[calivianya]

I agree with the description of this scent as smelling like an ashtray. This just did not work for me at all. I didn't even put it on my skin - the wet smell was too bad.

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp from the lab with my last order. In the imp it smelled a lot like Dragon's Eye, that same creamy sort of floral but more jasmine than lily of the valley. Wet on, the rose tried to amp a little for a while. After about 30 minutes, it was kind of a headachey floral. I thought I'd have to wash it off. It settled down; however, it became what I associate with old lady perfume, just very old fashioned and kind of frumpy. I got no coffee note in this at all, no tonka, no wood of any kind, and the roses weren't delicious, juicy roses. They were soapy old woman roses.

 

Throw was medium, and it lasted several disappointing hours. Unfortunately, this scent wasn't for me.

[impolight]

:::MATA HARI:::

 

Mata Hari should be quite intriguing! An exotic dancer who flashed her executioners? Kick Bootay!

All the notes make it sound like Mata Hari will be quite the sugar-bomb... Which is good if that's a personal preference or if you have the body chemistry of baby-sis!From the Imp: Wow! Mata Hari is a hardy fragrance!

Sugar indeed, but sturdy sugar...

Sugar that could somehow be manipulated to adopt characteristics of either lumber or leather.

Weirdly enough, Mata Hari also smells like it is actively on fire... It is what a person could imagine an immolated dalek to smell like!

This isn't a smell that is at all offensive, it just has a suggestion of synthetic material that is being consumed by a super-hot fire...

This is melting silicone and glass, glowing metal, cracked and smoldering plastic, and exploding canisters of paint...

Completely unexpected and inexplicable! A completely unique BPAL experience so far...

This could be a female battle robot, ready for plasma-based kick-assery.

Unless mistaken, this is all the result of a completely eccentric anomaly based on Mahogany with a genetic quirk.

When combined with the roasted elements of the coffee-bean (especially if it is of the Sumatran persuasion) this could account for the fragrance's so far incendiary proclivities...

On the Skin: Jasmine pops up for a split-second, just long enough to reinforce, with the help of the Tonka Bean, the sweetness of burning plasticine... And simply spirals down into the roiling inferno.

There could be Rose in this, but ALL 5 of the were covered by the flaming forest of Mahogany trees swept over the top of it by a tsunami.

Mata Hari is great! Just not at all what was expected.

As experienced in this particular instance, Mata Hari is perfectly unisex.

Mata Hari could effortlessly assimilate with the Phoenix Steamworks category of fragrances as a warrior she-bot on the rampage.

Awesome sauce!

5 out of 5!

[TigerLilyFeet]

I purchased a bottle of Mata Hari un-sniffed and I'm so happy with it~! I knew from reading the listed notes I would dig this scent and Beth didn't disappoint me.

Mata Hari is exactly the scented equivalent of the description. In the bottle I smell heavy dried roses first mixing with a dark jasmine, both very strong, pungent, and mysterious. On my skin however vanilla, mahogany, spicy black coffee, and the tonka

morph beautifully. I still catch traces of a smoky jasmine with dried roses in the air around me, but this scent is heavy with black cofffee beans and vanillic warmth, it's dark and just absolutely enchanting. I've owned my bottle for almost two years, and it's only become more of a lovely scent with age...

Edited February 10, 2011 by TigerLilyFeet

[mymymai]

I picked up a bottle of this, and on first sniff, I was a little hesitant. I smelled strong jasmine and a deeper floral and woodsy scent, but it wasn't soft at all.

 

Wet: Overpowering jasmine, tonka, wood, and baby oil? It's better on than out in the bottle, but still really strong.

 

Dry: slightly powdery jasmine (in a good way, like jasmine dusting powder), sweet rose, very light vanilla, and just a little darkness underneath remains. I like it very much dried down! 3.5/5

[heleng]

I can't get past the overpowering Jasmine in the imp.

 

I did try it on my skin, but it's still all Jasmine, soft powdery Jasmine, with a hint of rose too. Not for me.

 

 

 

[Larinessa]

This was just rose on my skin. No mahogany, tonka, vanilla, or coffee. Just rose. I was hoping to try and find a blend that would change my mind about rose, and hoped this would do it as I love the other notes. Sadly no. I had to wash this off

[Amaranthus]

Oh no! I smell beautiful roses, vanilla, and fig, and within seconds it is all drowned out by the scent of old, cold coffee grounds. This might be good on the right skin chemistry, but it is not good on me.

[yakiguri]

Jasmine is absolutely one of my favorite flowers--I grew up on jasmine rice--and it's one of my best floral notes, so it takes a lot for me to consider it cloying. Mata Hari unfortunately is CLOYING, SCREAMING jasmine, with an undercurrant of sweaty gym sock. I had to scrub this off right away. >_<

[Honey]

Yay, coffee! No, roses!

 

 

Imp: It's roses and roses! Maybe a hint of vanilla and coffee.

 

Wet: More roses, fruity and sweet.

 

Dry: Roses. Sadface. But, hey, what did I expect from the notes in this scent?

[KittyHawk]

I was really excited about the coffee note in Mata Hari, especially mixed with the vanilla, fig, jasmine, and a hopefully non-soapy rose. Well, once I applied it, the coffee was gone, never to return. It was a nice blend otherwise albeit too heavy on the florals for my taste. It's just not what I was hoping for, so it's off to find a better home.

[Verilita]

In the Imp:Astringent rose and Jasmine with something bitter, I guess the coffee?

 

wet:It smells like rose and jasmine are having fisticuffs on my skin. They are both fighting to be dominant, and not really complimenting each other at all. The bitter scent still lingers in the background, but I can tell for sure what it is.

 

drydown:And it's jasmine with the knockout! The rose is very firmly pushed into the background and the jasmine has taken full dominance. The scent grows a lot softer as it dries, the vanilla finally decides to make an entrance and mellow the flowers out. I'm sure how I feel about this scent, for such a complex mixture of notes I'm only really picking out two or three at most.

[SerendipityHQ]

I was looking for a sexy scent and this one was on my radar for a blind bottle purchase. Happily, I got it as an free imp from a lovely forum member...who therefore saved me twenty bucks.

 

In the Imp: Ugh. Upsetting right off the bat. Bathroom. Strong bad bathroom. Opening it scared off my cat.

 

Wet: Bathroom/ Ashtray. I have no idea what jasmine smells like, but people seem to be blaming the rotting/decomposed smell on it so I'll just assume it's that. This is not promising at all.

 

Dried: Well, at least it's consistent. It smelled vaguely floral for about ten minutes, then returned to the nasty decomposed smell. I'd be happier with old coffee grounds.

 

0/5. This is the only scent so far that I legit dislike. This is anti-sexy on me and didn't seem to change much from the imp to my skin. Same rotten smell. Maybe the oil has gone off because I can't smell any coffee at all, and certainly no rose. Just stink.

Edited November 19, 2011 by SerendipityHQ