Mata Hari

[LiberAmoris]

... 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.

Mata Hari is a shape shifter and an oil of many disguises.

Beth had warned us not to judge it until the drydown, but I was still a bit skeptical because it did not smell like anything good could come possibly out of it! All I could smell was slightly burnt coffee with an underlying muddle of flowers.

But that’s the beauty of this blend. What begins as an ordinary, don’t-smell-twice oil— blossoms on the skin. The coffee odor falls away and the tonka, roses, and jasmine step forward. The only comparison I can make is to a lovely woman stepping up to a door in a brown trenchcoat. When her beloved opens the door, she opens the trenchcoat to reveal that’s she’s wearing a pink, red, and white teddy.

The covert quality of Mata Hari’s beauty makes it aptly named. Three hours later, it’s sepia-tinged roses, vanilla and cream. I will love using up my imp and probably end up getting a big bottle. Edited November 2, 2005 by Shollin

[tart]

The fig in Mata Hari came out so strongly on me that I couldn't enjoy any of the other notes (all of which I love). I may try layering it with something else to amplify the creamy scents that others are getting. Damn you, fig!

[miss apple]

Mata Hari - first sniff - coffee beans, and that's pretty much my nose can figure out. I like the smell of coffee so that's a good thing but as a scent I"m not so sure...

 

On dry down I get less bean and more freshly brewed cup with a little bit of jasmine. Half an hour later the coffee has taken a back seat to a lush floral scent - almost like gardenias. After a few hours the mahogany surfaces with a bit of vanilla sweetness though maybe that's the tonka bean? This is such an alluring scent! It has an innocent air with a veil of mystery - very complex and beautiful. A definite winner

[AnnetteL]

While I definitely think of Mata Hari as a rose scent, as the rose is very identifiable, the other ingredients here combine on my skin into a slightly coffee-tinged honey-ish note that is just as prominent, and I would really classify this as a gourmand fragrance that happens to have a floral component.

 

I am not 100% sure about it, sometimes I think the coffee doesn't really mesh with the other notes and it has almost a slightly stale quality. I'll use up my imp but probably won't get a bottle.

Edited December 5, 2004 by AnnetteL

[grrrlennyl]

mata hari

at first: this was a freebie from the lab. yuck. coffee bean. i hate the smell of coffee. hopefully, this will change once i put it on.

on: old coffee grounds. ewww.

1 hour later: hmmm...it's turned into a very interesting floral. it's warm and a bit sweet. much better than the coffee smell.

2 hours later: i smell something more woody, like dried flowers stored in an old wooden box or drawer. dusty. a hint of sweetness. this is nice.

3 hours later: this is soapy, but sweet, too. i'm still getting a dusty smell. it's nice.

overall: i most likely wouldn't buy this again, but i'll enjoy using the imp.

[Lucretia]

My first reaction to this was actually very positive, the coffee reminded me of my grandparent's house.

I liked this one at first, but the whiffs I'd get during the day were just too bitter for me. I was hoping for a warmer coffee shop kind of smell, but even once the coffee smells fades the rose is just too bitter for me. sad. because I've always loved mata hari! oh well, at least my other favorite people smell good.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Beth was exactly right--Mata Hari overwhelms you with coffee right out of the bottle. But hang on a minute; it's just a smokescreen for her *true* identity as a gorgeous feminine floral. The drydown is lovely; my only regret is that I don't really get the fig--I LOVE fig but have yet to find a BPAL where it will come out on me. Apparently Mata Hari is hiding it up her sleeve for a future mission...

[spaceprostitute]

I like the smell of whole coffee beans, or freshly ground, or even a freshly made pot of coffee, but unfortunately, in the vial, it's wet, stale coffee grounds. On the other hand, I'm not sure I would even like the coffee smell that I DO like on my skin as a perfume, so perhaps there's just no pleasing me when it comes to coffee in a perfume oil.

 

On, the coffee is very overwhelming and finally dies down a little bit, but that's when I"m overwhelmed with jasmine, which makes me sneeze and gives me a headache. Not to mention that the coffee is still quite pronounced for some time and coffee + jasmine = one heck of an olfactory nightmare for me. To my nose, the notes clash and make for an unpleasant experience. However, I will admit the coffee eventually gives way to the floral, but unfortunately jasmine and I do not get along. If you like jasmine, you'll probably like the floral drydown.

 

Sorry Beth, I tried. I tried twice, in fact, and had to swap the imps both times. It's right for someone I'm sure, but unfortanately, I'm not one of those people.

Edited October 10, 2004 by spaceprostitute

[ChupaChup]

I origianlly ordered Mata Hari and now I have gotten it as a freebie two different times. Sadly, it just doesn't work on me. I love the smell of coffee, but on me this is just stale coffee for a couple of hours. Eventually some rose and the light spices others have mentioned come through but by then it is so faded that I really can't appreciate it. I've already swapped away the first imp and now I have two more

[Murron]

First sniff from skin: this really smells like a nice cup of Mocha for me, the coffee is very overpowering.

 

A few hours later: the coffee has mellowed out and the florals have arrived! I can't pick out any note, because it's so nicely blended together...

 

End of the day: I still smell the florals with some mocha behind it, wich makes the scent warmer....

 

I love this!!

 

Edited to add that this scent makes me crave chocolat for some odd reason!!

Edited October 14, 2004 by Murron

[Koumori]

The initial coffee note does largely dissipate upon drydown, becoming an underlying presence beneath a fairly strong floral. Unfortunately, I don't like coffee or strong florals, so this one is decidedly not for me. Too much jasmine coming through for my taste. Of the "exotic" scents, I prefer the spicier ones like Old Morocco and Scheherazade.

[sheelanagig]

Oh Mata Hari... I wanted to love you so much!

I didn't get ANY coffee from this at all. Just uber-strong floral that tickles my nose. When I opened the package itself, I got an overwhelming scent of coffee, but absolutely none from the vial or the oil itself. Where are you Juan Valdez?

I'll try it again in a few weeks. Maybe my body chemistry will change in favor of this oil...

[Longstofly]

Mata Hari is one of the most unique scents I've smelled so far. It reminds me of two friends going to meet in a cafe somewhere. One friend gets coffee, black and the other gets jasmine tea. The scent of their drinks begins to mingle.

 

That's what I smell in Mata Hari.

 

I think I would like it more if my skin didn't pull jasmine out and amplifly it like it does. Later on, this scent becomes super jasmine and nothing more.

[Fallenangel743]

I also got this as a free one. While wet I could only smell coffee. Immediately after it dried it turned into a screaming headachy jasmine. Though it stopped giving me a headache, jasmine was nearly all I could smell out of this one, probably due to my skin chemistry. Not bad, but I won't buy a big bottle.

[pkwench]

Mata Hari:

 

For a drip of coffee, I get the whole pot! But, this is no bad thing. Wet, Mata Hari is coffee galore. It stays, making me smell very much like a cross between a Victorian bookshop and a coffeehouse until it quiets down just a touch. Then it's a warm, slinky, creamy coffee full of deviousness and intrigue. I don't know that I'd want it every day, but there's certainly a mood that goes with Mata Hari and I find I enjoy it. The imp shall be well loved.

[octopusgrrl]

In the bottle: jasmine with a hint of something aldehyde, like lavender - maybe that's the coffee?

 

Wet: jasmine and patchouli - quite an unusual combination

 

Dry: spicy jasmine with a little vanilla smoothness developing into vanilla-tonka creaminess

 

Verdict: What is it with me and rose? Maybe it's because I've worn plain rose oil for a number of years, but BPAL's rose scents always come out too subtle on me. Mind you, maybe it's the jasmine that overwhelms the gentler rose. This is quite a pleasant scent especially once it's been on for a few hours, but the jasmine is too much for me in the beginning, so this one might be a swapper.

[fragrantgrasse]

If I were to have based my opinion on what Mata Hari smelled like right out of the bottle, it would have ended up on the very *top* of my swap pile.

 

Lucky for me I waited!

 

Coffee is the first note I detect and it is not subtle but right up there, feet planted squarely in each nostril. It is tempered by an odd sweetness, that, mixed with the coffee makes it idiosyncratic. But this is just a phase.

 

Over time the jasmine and roses emerge and temper the coffee - alchemically changing what was origianlly a swap - for a treasue. Mata Hari is smooth and luxurious, rich, round and very unique.

 

Over time it softens and grows into one of my favorites!

 

 

ADDED March 1:

 

"From Bewitching Brews/ Mata Hari / A renowned exotic dancer and courtesan, possessed of aristocratic elegance, matchless charm, an iron will and a streak of fearlessness.......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."

 

Exotic and elegant. Bold and delicate.... Absolutely. Five roses and soft jasmine, yup. Spiced with a drop of coffee..... Just a drop? wow.

 

I have been using Mata Hari in a variety of different settings. On my wrist, on a perfumers strip to gain a bit of distance, and in a candle burner. In each incarnation she smells the same although the warmth of a candle burner really amplifies this to a lovely distraction.

 

My first impression as has been mentioned by almost all reviewers is the coffee note. On me it grounds and maintains the more floral aspects....which gain momentum immediately! Rose and jasmine come forward to mix with, but not be altered by the coffee. To me the coffee note is the most constant and unchanging scent in this blend. Roses and jasmine soften and evolve, tonka and fig, where are you? I love tonka bean but am unable to indentify it, probably its beaniness mixes so well with florals and figs that it just adds it's quiet presence to the chorus. I am not sure what mahogany smells like but the addition seems like it also adds mellowness and warmth to the other notes.

 

Over all I love Mata Hari - it has a strangly stimulating effect on me.....oh, duh... Of course! The coffee.... not until I wrote that did I connect the two. I also find I have to be in the mood for this one though. On me it requires a certain psychic & physical stamina be present. I could never wear this to bed for instance!

Edited November 1, 2004 by fragrantgrasse

[isyche]

I wish Mata Hari smelled like coffee on me, but my skin also amplifies jasmine and that's all I can smell once I put it on. I wanted coffee/rose/fig/tonka, not plain jasmine. Sigh.

 

I've got two of them, so I'm going to swap one and keep one for further testing.

Edited November 1, 2004 by isyche

[Caitfish]

In the bottle, Mata Hari smelles exactly like (clean) diapers. I can detect the coffee and jasmine if I try... hard. The blend just smelled like diapers.

 

So I tried it on, tried to love it, convinced myself that I was smelling something else... but in bed, my boyfriend turned to me and said, "whatever perfume you're wearing smells like diapers."

 

I AM SO SORRY! I'm sure my imp is just funky, perhaps I left it in the heat, but I just can't get past the diapers. *sigh* I really wanted to love this one, to - but there are so many that I already do, it's okay that this one doesn't work for me.

Edited November 5, 2004 by Caitfish

[Ishtar]

Like most people, what struck me first in Mata-Hari was the strong coffee note. Apparently, I am the odd duck who quite enjoyed that initial note and would not have minded it to last a little longer

 

In a matter of minutes, Mata-Hari turned into a creamy floral blend where jasmine definitely predominated. A faint hint of coffee still lingered in the background, enough to ground the blend and give it a slightly unusual edge.

 

I am a big jasmine lover, so needless to say, I really liked this. On my skin, Mata-Hari is warm and vibrant, with very good throw and lasting power.

Given how excited I was about the initial coffe note, I am looking forward to getting my single note Coffee Bean and experiment with layering

[Shollin]

First sniff: That’s coffee, all right. The darkest roast you can imagine – no sugar, no cream, very strong… the kind of coffee that would make a Marine drill sergeant flinch at its bitterness. And it’s sitting on the breakfast table beside a sparse bouquet of pale girly flowers. What a contrast.

 

Wearing: I was all geared up to wait out several minutes of choking coffee scent, after reading other reviews of Mata Hari (and Beth’s warning), but the flowers explode on my skin and I can smell the coffee only very faintly if I sniff my wrist. Jasmine and rose, no question – but it’s a very warm scent, and jasmine usually smells cool to me. This is not your average floral. After a few minutes the coffee peers out again, adding a dark spice under the flowers. By the end of the night it had dried to an interesting vanilla-tinted rose, and I’m not entirely sure what I think of it. I’ll have to try it again.

[Jenmaha]

Weird. I put this on, and I instantly am overpowered by the same pissy note that ruined Puck for me. I'm sure there are other lovely notes, but I was too occupied by that to notice. So, I scrubbed off what I could, and slapped some Djinn on to cover up the rest...and what do I get? The most lovely, soft, smoky, candley floral in the world! Mata Hari by itself? Mata Hari + Djinn?

[starrykitten]

I'd been ogling Mata Hari since I heard it was upcoming, and even moreso after the description. I do like to wear it but it's not what I was expecting. On me, it's smells like some drink made by brewing jasmine tea in a cup of coffee. I'm really not getting any rose, fig, or tonka from it.

 

It seems to have good staying power, though, and I love to wear it on rainy days.

[Lady_Ell]

I wish this stayed how it smelled when wet: coffee beans and raindrops on roses (no whiskers on kittens though).

 

When it dried I smelled like Palmolive dishsoap and rotten, festering flowers.

 

Flowers hate me.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: burning coffee...

 

WEARING IT: as it dries so does the overbearing scent of coffee, it's still there just not as loud. definite flowers start to emerge - jasmine and rose and it becomes really creamy. i don't really smell the scents i wanted to smell in this, the vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany. which is unfortunate.

 

VERDICT: wanted to like it, but i just don't think it's my type of scent.