Mata Hari

[chop-chop]

... 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.

Got this as a freebie with my order and being intrigued at the smell of coffee on first sniff I quite cheerfully applied it. Unfortunately, once I put it on it leaves Coffeeville and heads straight for Baby Powder City. Not that smelling like baby powder is always bad, it just wasn't what I hoped for.

[Scylla]

In the vial: Stale coffee (!!!)

 

Wet, on my skin: ROSES! And not much else, sadly. My chemistry tends to amplify rose scents and makes them overpowering and old-ladyish. And that's what happened here, unfortunately!

 

On drydown: The roses have toned down a bit, but they are definitely still the predominant note. Next comes the jasmine, and I can't detect any tonka bean or vanilla.

[Lady Ravenglass]

Wet: Hmm. Slightly burnt coffee. *waits* Ack! Singed feathers! Oh, wait, flowers, faintly. This reminds a tiny bit of Old Venice, that adult womanly floral scent that I ended up giving to my mother. Unfortunately, there's something else in there behind that flowers that smells like, well, bathrooms My nose won't let it alone, but I'm not really enamoured of this scent at this early point and would rather not splash any more on!

 

I keep sniffing it, but I really do think this is again, too grown-up for me. There's something sophisticated in there and dark. Roses. I ordered this for the fig and vanilla, but it's the roses that are wafting around me.

 

Dry: Roses. Nice roses, but the jasmine is what is making it feel too mature for me. I'll give it another go, wearing it properly, and perhaps get a feel for it in the office.

[luxuria]

In the imp- smelled like gross stale coffee and roses with another flower vaguely in the background.

 

The instant it touched my skin it turned into extreme roses. No coffee and the other floral note disappeared as well.

 

A little bit later..still screaming roses.

 

It continued to scream nothing but roses until it faded completely. Weird!! This one seriously didn't morph on my skin at all past getting fainter. I'm going to keep this one but treat it like a single-note rose.

 

[edit] My skin chemistry decided to stop make everything scream roses, so I've been giving the rosey blends another try. Ooh my..this is wonderful now!

 

I smell primarily jasmine with a hint of rose, and the coffee stays but loses the "stale" quality. I also get really strong hits of fig every once in a while as well as the woods, vanilla, and tonka bean- it makes a very rich, stable base that keeps this from being a plain floral. I don't like plain florals, and I'll actually wear this one regularly (skin chemistry permitting). So trust me, if you don't like florals too much but like the other notes, try this anyway! It's WAAAY pretty.

Edited February 12, 2005 by luxuria

[Tesseljoan]

Mata Hari is stale coffee and jasmine when wet. Not so good. Fortunately, when it dries I seem to get a fruity note with a flowery one. It's tolerable, but not a favourite.

[surf-tormented]

Having not read the description of this oil because I got it free in a contest, I was amazed at the coffee scent of this. I never thought of wearing coffee as a scent, but it is comforting to me. I did smell some other notes, but the coffee was overpowering all of them.

 

Pity this doesn't last longer. It would be a great pick me up. The coffee is enough for my limbo list but I probably won't be buying a bottle of this because it disappears in about an hour.

 

I also wish I could smell the other notes.

[Julilla Regina]

Oddly, I didn't get the coffee note that others got. I got straight up tonka when I first sniffed it. It mellows out and the jasmine becomes more prominent. After a few hours of wear, it's a clean, incensy scent. To me, it smells like an exotic scented soap you would buy in Chinatown or an import shop. Perhaps you'd look at the wrapper and never know what was in it because you couldn't read that language. I don't know how else to explain it. It has a Far East scent, a Far East that you read about in picture books when you were a little kid.

 

I think this would be a great scent for someone who likes deep, incense-y blends, but who wants something a little different than a High Mass or Buddhist Temple scent. I think it's the tonka that makes this so unique.

[Donnababe]

Mata Hari

 

I bought a 5ml of this on a whim and was lucky enough to get an imp in the interim. The big bottle gamble almost paid off.

 

On me it's all coffee and jasmine for the majority of the time. I like this scent best after it's been on for a few hours because that's when I get the warmth and sweetness from the tonka bean. I do like it but, not enough for a big bottle. It would have been a different story if my skin had found the rose and fig as well as the dominant coffee and jasmine.

[feline.by.design]

I've had this imp for a *while* and I finally decided that I should give it a whirl.

 

I didn't think I would like it much, as the initial coffee scent kind of made me shy away, but on the skin, the coffee smell amost faded instantly, leaving me with something jasmine-dominating.

 

Then, jasmine starts to fade away too, within a few minutes, and I have a sort of coffee bean rosebud in my inner elbow. Moments after that, I've got mushed flowers. It's a bit strange, really.

 

Hmm... overall, it's not bad. I think it's one that I would definitely try again to see how well I'm fond of it. It's very interesting, but I'm not quite sure that it's a fragrance that I enjoy. I'm going to pass this particular imp of Mata Hari on in a holiday package to someone else, but if I get another imp in the future, I'll be giving it another chance.

 

It's a very unique blend, I must say.

 

-doreen

 

Edited to add: In the time it took me to read about six or seven other reviews on Mata Hari, she's changed again! This time, I smell something darkly fruity, perhaps the fig, but with coffee beans smudged on the skin of the fruit. I sort of wish I could let the fragrance keep shifting on me, but I'm about to take a shower now, so she'll be washed down the drain. I may rethink sending out the imp to someone else, though, because this fragrance is such a shape-shifter. Or I may just order another imp in a future order.

Edited December 10, 2004 by feline.by.design

[closedacct]

Mata Hari

 

Roses seem to turn to powder on me, and this was no exception. Powder and coffee. I thought I would love the coffee, but I don't. My skin chemistry is so funky. The first time I tried this it smelled mostly of coffee....the next, roses(powder).

Sent it off to VorpalBunny, to make a lovely body scrub.

[linaerys]

I dislike most rose scents, but I really liked this one. When I am nice a warm I get rose plus chocolate plus coffee plus sex.

 

Unfortunately, when I'm too cold there is a note in it that goes kind of sour. Probably the jasmine.

[Splendid Molerat]

Initially Mata Hari is roses and jasmine on me.

 

As it warms up, there's a sinuous fig and tonka blend close to the skin. In the background is the coffee note, which is kind of smoky and bitter.

 

I can imagine an older, still desirable woman drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes the night before the firing squad.

[Fyre_in_Winter]

I decided to put an imp of Mata Hari in my first order because it sounded like a really unusual and exotic scent. By luck of the draw, it ended up being one of the last scents I tried, and with some trepidation. In most of the blends I had tried that contained rose (Rose Red, Othello, Venice, Desire), the rose did some interesting and not always pleasant things.

 

I did not get any coffee from Mata Hari, at any stage. I was a trifle disappointed by that. Instead, Mata Hari smells like I expected Othello to smell. The rose doesn't overwhelm or go lemon-zing, but instead stays soft, a pink rose to my mind, reined in by predominantly the fig, which is quite nice, and a hint of jasmine.

 

And for about an hour or two it has a nice, spicy bite to it. But it's the dry down that has me hooked. This is what I'll be wearing to bed. On drydown it is a very soft and wonderful smell of rose-infused cream. Ttonka bean apparently works wonderfully with my chemistry. I'm not sure about a big bottle of this, but I'll definitely always keep an imp on hand.

[FireInCairo]

At first- the thought of coffee in a scent really threw me off. This is very nice stuff though. The coffee doesn't last. The scent turns into a heady floral that stays of my skin for ages. It seems to be mainly a scent of roses on me. Very nice...

[amunnefret]

Well I won't repeat ad inifinitum notes and so on as that has been thoroughly covered in previous reviews - I read the description after my day's trial and that there is coffee in the mix came as a huge suprise! Will pay more attention tomorrow and see if I pick it up.

 

Mata Hari is an exotic lady - leads a person on a merry dance as can be expected. What you anticipate when you apply it wet is nothing like the experience when it dries down. Beautifully prettily and seductively jasmine at the outset it settles down through varies fascinating changes to something quite spirited and sparkly - and tenacious. There aren't that many scents that are this obvious after a long hard days wear.

 

Uplifting, sophisticated and full of intriguing surprises. I love this fragrance and expect to give it many more wears in the future.

[sarada]

What a fascinating scent! I would have never tried this on my own because I have a horror of coffee and usually run past that aisle in the store to get to the tea without having to smell any coffee (I know, I'm weird)...but I got an imp from a friend as part of a freebie bonanza (thank you!!!) and I dripped a drop on my hand while I was sniffing it. So I figured, let's see how it turns out on me!

 

In the vial it smelled like...not coffee....but toasted, puffed rice!! Or like a package of puffed rice cakes. Maybe that's how my mind interprets coffee, I dunno, but I thought that was worth mentioning! Then as it hit my skin it became sweet -- like sweetened cereal of some sort, blossoming into a crisp honeyed scent in milk. It stays sweet for quite some time though I'm not getting any of the florals, here...it's a very grainy scent for me. The florals mainly manifest themselves as a hint of a powdery scent. If there is jasmine, it's not very prominent on me...then again I just tested Venom on my other hand, which is super-powerful jasmine...so my head might just not be on right about florals today.

 

Some time later -- several hours -- it's mainly a vanilla scent with a wisp of powdery floral and a vague memory of that toasted rice smell. I'm not a fan of vanilla but you know, the lab's vanilla are so much better than anyone else's, that I always wind up liking them just a bit more than I expected. Wish I could get some roses out of it, but I am really surprised by how this turned out on me. I don't think I'd buy a bottle but I think I'll use this when I'm in a weird mood! The moral of the story for me is: don't be afraid of the lab's coffee scents if you don't like coffee...they might surprise you!

[aimeceleste]

I didn't get the stale coffee that I see mentioned a lot in the previous posts. On me, Mata Hari was a strong floral, with mostly jasmine notes. Over time, it faded to a sweet vanilla-y smell. A good scent overall, not what I was suspecting from the other reviews.

[heartbeast]

Hey! Why haven't I reviewed this scent? It's one of my staples!

 

I don't get straight coffee when this is wet; I get coffee and roses. When it dries, the fig steps up and becomes more prominant, but the change from wet to dry isn't that pronounced. It's a complex wash of rose, coffee and fig, with the other notes wisping around in the background. It never turns powdery on me; it's got a lush, juicy wetness to it that stays true all day.

[shelldoo]

HMMMMM I have learned I usually adore beth's rose scents....

 

in vial: ummm metal?

 

wet: where are the roses. I get a metalic, jasmine....do not enjoy this much.

 

dry: hmmm the metalic is gone now I just have a sharp jasmine, maybe I will try it again in a few weeks.

 

hmmm eta after 3 hrs or so the smell ahs mellowed into something very beautiful, floral, light, and all the sharp smell I disliked is gone. I will try it again, not sure if I like the wait til the yumminess appears.....but the end result is beautiful

Edited January 15, 2005 by shelldoo

[Finny]

Out of the imp this smelled of coffee, I work with coffee all-day, I don't want to smell any more like it than I already do!

 

On the coffee almost disappears, yeah! The florals are very soft on me, I can pick up the rose but the fig and tonka soften it, so that I can't really tell what flower I am smelling. It turns into a soft sweet smell, with a hint of floral. The coffee adds a nutty smell? I don't get a strong coffee aroma or a stale coffee aroma. Very nice.

[inbigtrouble]

I don't really get much of the coffee smell at all with this one. What I come out with is really more of a straight-up floral with a mellow spiciness, but it lasts a nice, long time on me without being overwhelming. If I try really hard, I can pick up on the tonka and fig.

 

Really nice. This one might become a new staple for me.

[amrita]

Crappers. This smelled like sour, plasticky coffee when wet, and sour, plasticky coffee with soapy rose when dry. At one point, about an hour after application, a pleasingly complex vanilla wafted up-- I confirmed it was me, but the smell went away after a moment and we returned to the regular program.

 

This blend sounded so awesome... I think I'll wait a couple weeks and try again, just in case.

[requieminblack]

I have been *really* excited to test Mata Hari because I love coffee scents. I just got my little imp in the mail, so here we go!

 

First sniff from the bottle- Woh! Strong Jasmine!

 

After 10 minutes- The roses are coming out now. Very pretty. Jasmine swirling around a rose garden. I am not getting any coffee coming through which is disappointing. Smells just like my Mom's perfume.

 

After 30 Minutes- Ok, it is getting softer now. I can smell a slight hint if vanilla now. Mmmm, yummy. No wait...is that the coffee? It must be. Ok, this really is starting to smell like my Mom who is never seen without a cup of coffee in her hand.

 

Summery- Mata Hari smells just like my Mom. She wears Jasmine/Rose perfume and drinks about 2 pots of coffee a day. It is a very soft and comforting grown up scent. I don't get stale coffee at all. More of a deep warm vanilla floral. Simply stunning.

[halowrites]

in the bottle, it smells like...a memory, half-recalled. very 'female'-- not feminine, but the smell of a woman, lush, bewitching. very intriguing. I had the imp sitting on the bathroom counter as I showered, and I swear I could smell it in the air-- a deep, creamy vanilla smell. very, very nice.

 

first impressions when I apply it-- um. it smells like urine. I'm mildly horrified, to say the least-- I've just slathered something that smells like pee all over my wrist and in my cleavage. dude. !!!!

 

thankfully, that smell fades pretty quickly, and I think it was maybe just an initial burst of jasmine. very pungent, and somewhat overwhelming. underneath it, I can smell vanilla and....coffee! ashfkjdhasfkjhas. oh, the glee-- you have no idea. I can't smell any trace of roses whatsoever, strangely enough, but maybe they'll come out later. I can still smell the jasmine, but it's a lot more subdued. the vanilla/coffee blend is now at the forefront, and there's another scent at the edge, too. I'm guessing it might be either the tonka bean, or perhaps the fig, but I'm not familiar enough with either of those scents to say for sure. it's just enough to keep the scent interesting every time I catch a drift of it.

 

now, almost two hours later, it's settled into a lovely jasmine/coffee/vanilla blend. warm, creamy, a little spicy, and very, very nice. I smell like coffee-- how perfect is that? I like this one a lot.

[sarahjay]

I couldn't really smell the coffee in mata hari, which suprised me and disappointed me slightly. that said, it is still a lovely blend. the tonka is particularly lovely and mata hari is a really warm scent.

 

I like it a lot, but I like the caterpillar a lot more, so I don't need a big bottle of it at the moment. I will keep the imp and use it up and maybe get a bigger bottle in the future.

 

I would like to try other blends with tonka in (runs off to do a search)