Lovers in a Ricefield

[hkhm]

Plum blossom, vanilla sandalwood, nutmeg, and wild rice.

bottle: this is very, very sweet plum blossom.

wet: this is all plum blossom heaven with a nice swirl of that vanilla sandalwood. there is a hint of spice which might be the nutmeg (though it doesn't really smell nutmeg-ish).

dry: the plum blossom fades but the lovely vanilla sandalwood scent remains. along with whatever that nice spicy hint is. heady and beautiful.

[valentina]

I just got my big (at least for me!) order and I have lots of testing to do, but I have to show up and about this one right away.

 

This particular scent is so not my normal style, but I love nutmeg and I don't see it that often in blends that I think might work on my skin. It was worth a try, I thought.

 

THIS IS GORGEOUS. It smelled beautiful in the bottle and it stayed that way on my skin. It's difficult to really pull a specific element, but it has the sweetness of plum and vanilla offset by the sharpness of sandalwood. The nutmeg is very mellow, and the wild rice gives an almost milky softness. This does not smell like Underpants, but I get a similar sweet-sharp-spice vibe, but with an Asian twist. I think it is glorious.

[heavywhitewove]

In bottle: smells like pear juice with maybe a hint of nutmeg (and I was hoping for big time NUTMEG!!!)

 

Wet on skin: pear fades a bit, all spice is gone. This is a VERY LIGHT fragrance. No throw.

 

Dry: What happened?? NO!!! It completely and utterly vanishes in 3 minutes.

 

Test 2# Slather more on wrists, earlobes, neck - gone, 5 minutes this time. Both O and Morocco do the same thing on me.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5 (decent smell just doesn't last - and staying power is important during Valentines Day - HA!)

 

My 80 year old mother's review of the scent in the bottle: ugh - is that candy?

[crebbsgirl]

This is sweet plummy goodness while wet. As it dries, the vanilla sandalwood comes out more and the nutmeg adds a beautiful spice element here. It's sweet. Almost bordering on candy-like but it doesn't ever get there completely. The rice does indeed add a bit of creaminess to the blend, but it doesn't come out for me until much later in the drydown. This is light and gorgeous.

[lysithea]

Light plum with a vanillic sweetness. Wet, I can pick out a bare twinge of nutmeg. I agree that the rice helps to lend a creamy sweet underlayer to this blend. Throw is light, but it stays true. A really lovely blend.

[jehrichardson]

This is lovely!

 

It does start a bit fruity, and that usually makes me worry, because purple fruits in bpal frequently turn to koolaid on me.

 

Not to worry though, the plummy fruitness rapidly gives way to a very light floral, and vanilla/sandalwood.

 

I can't say I get any of the nuttiness of wild rice, and that would remind me more of my home in Minnesota rather than Japan, but no mind.

 

I don't think I register any of the nutmeg either, but I think it might just be well blended into the vanilla/sandalwood.

 

This is charming and has a light sort of innocence to it, sweet and rich and playful.

 

It's a win.

[Reanna]

My first review

 

In the Bottle: a lighter, creamier Fairy Wine

 

On Wrist: The plum sweetness tones down as it dries. Vanilla sandalwood comes forward and nutmeg just whispers it's there. I don't really get any wild rice, maybe that's what makes it creamy?

 

To me this is a cross between Fairy Wine and Katrina van Tassel. It has the fruitiness of Fairy Wine and the creamy softness of Katrina.

 

Five stars!

 

Edit: 25 minutes later: Hey what happened to the plum blossom?? All I'm really getting now is some spicy vanilla sandalwood and I really have to stick my nose against my wrist to smell it. Hmm. Maybe I'll try layering this with the aforementioned Fairy Wine as well as in my clocket.

Edited February 3, 2009 by Reanna

[herkissofshame]

SADNESS. This smells great in the bottle - all complex plumnutmegcream goodness. I slather it on and bask for a nice while... and then bam! Plum takes over completely. This isn't the first time this has happened to me (plum amps like crazy on my skin) but unfortunately, it makes any perfume with plum a bit of a generic single-note. Sigh. I'm going to try this one in a scent locket and then if that doesn't work put it up for swaps.

[FandF]

WET: plummy perfume wet. Teas with spice. Nice so far and smells very unique.

 

DRYING: What started out as very good is turning slightly strange as it dries. The purple scent is being overtaken by slightly rotting stems in a field.

 

DRY: The dry down of this is hitting an annoying stage for me. deep, dark rotting plum cookies? lab plum is not a friend to me but now i notice that there is vanilla in here as well which is a note of doom. the vanilla is making the weird plum even darker and weirder.

 

man this was SO close too! i'd say scent locket for me for sure...it started out really nice!

 

[Persephone76]

Hmm...I get no vanilla sandalwood, no nutmeg and no rice, which makes me very sad! In fact, I get no plum blossom, either--just plum (plum blossom and plum are NOT the same thing, folks!). This is very sweet, candy-ish and fruity and reminds me of Pink Phoenix. Which I am not very happy about at all

[MCS4096]

In the Bottle: Super sweet candied blossoms. It actually smells a bit like plumeria.. which I'm not a fan of.

 

Wet: I get the creamy rice and a bit of lightest sandalwood when I sniff up close, but the throw is all "plumeria" No nutmeg.. or at least, not enough IMO.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same. There isn't much depth here at all.. I'm really hoping it ages well, because it's a bit BLAH really

 

ETA: I came back to add: This smells just like some damn plumeria body splash I had in like.. 8th grade, from Bath and Body Works, when I didn't know any better.. double

 

ETAA: This is definitely aging nicely/quickly. I'm already getting more of the rice and spices, AND it's growing on me.

Edited February 26, 2009 by MCS4096

[greenranger]

This started off really sweet, and I was only kind of liking it. Over the course of about 6 hours it has mellowed into a sweet sandalwood that I like much better. However, I think I like a couple other scents better to start with.

[Cheri]

I absolutely love this scent! I wore it to work today and it started out smelling like very sweet plum. Then right after work I stopped at the house we're going to be moving to so I could dp some work on it. I figured after that much time I must be the only person who could smell it, but I stopped at my daughter's house and she said "mmm, you smell good, which one is that?". So, it lasted a long time, and I love it in all of it's stages. It looks like this might be in the top five.

 

Back to the scent. It smells similar to Fairy Market, but sweeter and not as piercingly sharp as FM. It's creamy, but not foody. It's feminine, beautiful, and totally highlights the talent of it's creator.

[fireflower]

This is very soft. I feel like what I smell is rice milk rather than wild rice, because it has a creamy quality to it coming from the vanilla sandalwood. Unfortunately I get no plum at all (I never amp fruity notes, it seems, I think they just like to sink into my skin) and I don't think I detect nutmeg, but this is still extremely lovely.

[lostluckkitten]

Starts with a fruity floral note; very juicy. As it dries, the vanilla and rice come out, along with a hint of spice, and the my skin turns it into a spiced rice pudding. Warm and comforting. It has a unique smell to it that I can't quite place. If I had to tell you what it most resembles to me, I would say rice or bread pudding, with raisins and a hint of spice. A favorite of this year's Shungas for me.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Plum and vanilla cream with the grainy scent of the rice.

 

Immediately on skin: This reminds me so much of a specific dessert, but I can’t put my finger on it. Daifuku, perhaps? I’m not sure at the moment though. Anyway, the main note in this is plum, which is a favorite of mine. Blending with that is this almost toasted vanilla rice scent. It’s creamy, but has a slight bite to it. The note that’s triggering this actually reminds me a lot of Possets’ Madame X scent.

 

After a little while: As this dried, the plum got less and less overwhelming and is nicely blended with that vanilla and rice mixture. This is fruity, creamy, warm, and toasted with a very unique feel to it.

 

Overall Impressions: I really really like this scent. It reminds me of something, but I can’t think of what. Well, at least the vanilla and rice part of this scent does (not so much the plum). This scent is fruity, creamy, and has a nice grainy bite to it. I don’t know how else to explain it. It smells yummy, but not overly foody. It’s very interesting and unique for sure, though the vanilla and rice in this reminds me of Possets’ Madame X scent.

 

[Yoginispirit]

Mmm. This is such a pretty scent! In some of the plum blends, (even plum blossom) my skin amps the sour, sharp plum juice which takes over the whole blend. In this one, the plum is still dominant but mixed with rice cream which softens it nicely.

 

Wet it sort of smelled like Purple Pez candy.

Dry the plum get's just a little tart but is swimming in a pool of grainy cream. The rice is slightly detectable but mixed well with the milky, creamy note.

 

Overall this is lovely but a little weak on throw. I SLATHERED and am only getting faint wafts. This will have to be a locket blend when I get one.

 

3/5- Because of the weak throw. This is my 2nd favorite of the Shungas (giant vulva being the first).

[Ravenclaw79]

A sweet, fruity sort of scent, light, though, and slightly soap-tinged.

[tajana]

Wet, it's plummy vanilla-flavored rice milk. Cute! Other plum-heavy perfumes I've tried have been really candyish, but the plum blossom seems more well-behaved, particularly because the creamy vanilla/rice keeps it in check. (I was just drinking rice milk a few hours ago. ) Dry, it's almost gone! I never did get any nutmeg out of this. After half an hour I just get a bare hint of plum on even footing with light vanilla sandalwood if I really take a deep whiff. Quite nice, but I'd really have to slather Lovers in a Ricefield to get much out of it.

 

Edit: Well, I tested it again today and its character reversed itself! Significantly stronger and longer-lasting, but not my thing at all! It starts off demurely, just like it was the day before, but after ten minutes I was thrown off by an unexpectedly intense scent wafting up from my wrist. Sweet sweet plum, sweetened further with vanilla. There's still a noticeable splash of rice, but the sandalwood is smothered by vanilla and plum.

Edited February 13, 2009 by tajana

[Wwindy]

So pretty, and so hard to describe!

 

This reminds me a tiny bit of Brides of Dracula, but Lovers in a Ricefield is a much warmer, sweeter scent. It does seem a little bit like a particularly yummy, creamy dessert -- possibly Indian? The floral and sandalwood overtones keep it from being too overtly candylike, though.

 

It really doesn't read like plum specifically to me; I'm getting floral rather than fruity, with some nice vanilla in the mix. The nutmeg is stronger in the bottle than it is on my skin. On my fingertips I can definitely pick out an identifiable rice note, but that aspect is much better blended elsewhere -- it's just a bit player in the crooks of my elbows and on my neck.

 

This may be a little too flowery to go into heavy rotation for me, but it's nice...

[eanewsom]

This is gorgeous! The plum blossom smells fruity, not floral, but it's great on me, unlike most BPAL plum. As it dries, the sandalwood and nutmeg show up to made it more grounded and richer. This scent is sexy, but it's a lighthearted, cheerful sort of sexy. Definitely bottle-worthy!

[Iceblink]

The plum blossom is quite overwhelming here--it's just plumplumplum for a while. The rice and vanilla add a sweet, creamy background to the PLUM!!! and after a while I start to smell the nutmeg. Creamy spiced plum. Nice, but I have trouble with BPAL's plummy notes smelling a bit artificial on me. This one will need a little more testing.

[kohaisama]

In the imp: smooth vanilla on soft sandalwood and a bit dry, probably the rice.

 

Wet: The same as in the imp, but I get a hint of nutmeg. No plum blossom yet.

 

Dry: Ah, there's the blossom with the vanilla sandalwood. But it's gone very soft and close to the skin.

 

This one is really nice. Not overpowering and stays in the nose rather well even though it's close to the skin when it dries. This would be great for a locket. I wonder what this would be like when the sandalwood has time to age. I'm a big fan of sandalwood and this is nice, but I wouldn't wear it fresh. Give it a few months and it'll probably have a little more throw and make the vanilla a bit richer.

[iiinterstate]

Wet: Delicious plum blossom. More fruit than flower (a good thing) and it's strong. Just a couple swipes from my decant and I can smell it as I type.

 

Drydown: I'm surprised not to find more sandalwood in here, as I usually amp that note a little bit, but I do detect the softest vanilla. Plum is still the strongest so far. I like it, but i hope everything else comes out a little more.

 

Later: This really is nice, and I enjoy the unusual rice note that comes out after awhile, but I'm not in love with it. Oh well.

 

 

[Gale]

Another Shunga winner for me!

 

Wet: Plum--sweet juicy and delicious.

 

Dry: The other notes begin to come out and temper the sweetness of the plum, but not much, as this is a light and sweet blend. The nutmeg adds some creamy spiciness, and the vanilla sandalwood hangs in theback.

 

After a couple hours: Now I smell the rice note, which further tones down the sweetness, and makes it just plain gorgeous.

 

This is not in your face sexy, but it is a showstopper all the same!