Makhanitis

[Pottersville]

Black plum, burgundy wine, sandalwood, and champaca.

Yup, this is definitely a scent where you begin the description with ... "this reminds me of ....". Makhanitis is a lovely scent. Rich, dry, and heady. She reminds me of a drier Bordello and a less complex Mdm Moriarty, and Prunella is her kinder, gentler cousin. I'll hold on to my decant, but won't go for the bottle since Makhanitis isn't as unique as I'd like her to be. Edited November 11, 2009 by Shollin

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Amber-coloured oil. Sweet, dark, boozy. Syrupy plum, somewhat acidic and also grapey wine, and dry-sharp sandalwood.

 

Wet: More (concord) grape and plum, very much sweet, dark fruit, almost candyish. Still a bit boozy. Sandalwood is softer. Light touch of heady, feminine champaca.

 

Dry: Slow to dry. More woody, and much drier, as the deep sandalwood amps. Much less sweet and cloying, and now heavily floral, with a soapy/powdery edge.

 

Summary: Boozy note gone, with slightly tart grape and sticky plum holding below the dry, almost dusty, but still warm, deep sandalwood with bright, heavy champaca. Decent throw, fades a lot initially but then holds.

[Poenari]

My decant broke during shipping, but the oil-soaked envelope really made my mailbox smell great! And when I brought it inside, I could smell Makhanitis across my entire kitchen. There was enough oil soaking the bubblewrap that I could get a skin-test. I can definitely understand the comparisons to Urd, which I love. It's strong plum and champaca, but the sandalwood gives this a darker undertone on me. At first I didn't think I'd need a bottle of this because of the similarity to Urd, but I could still smell this lingering in my kitchen the next day, and there is enough difference that I decided I must order a bottle.

[nekogrrl]

Wet on skin: Dark plum, with a bare hint of.. fecal matter.

 

Drydown: the fecal matter smell is gone very quickly, which is a good thing!

 

Dry on skin: Plummy sandalwood.

 

Verdict: Eeeeh. It's a nice scent, but doesn't wow! me.

[Blood onmy hands]

I've been getting much better at wearing wine & grape notes. I guess that my skin chemistry and personal preferences are changing. I've been able to wear Moriarty, Snake Charmer, Obsidian Widow, & Blood Garden lately, and I've actually enjoyed them.

 

That said, Makhanitis reminds me of why I had an aversion to wine/grape notes in the first place, lol. This goes into a fit of cloying grape candy and plummy cough syrup on my skin. The notes mellow out in the drydown, beat into submission by powdery, soft sandalwood and a hint of smoky champaca, but I still kept catching the smell of this when I wore it, and it kept making me think of grape cough syrup. After about an hour, this is baby powder and tart, not-so-good plum on me.

 

There are a lot of dark fruit/wine scents that I like a lot more than Makhanitis. I won't be keeping my decant of this one.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Sharp, bright and fruity. A touch of smokiness.

 

Wet: Right off the bat this develops a slightly soapy edge. I think it's the champaca but it could be the wine acting up. I definitely get the comparisons to other scents in the GC and LE families but although this is a relative it seems like a complete scent in its own right.

 

Dry: Sexy. The plum is the main note. It's high pitched, juicy and a bit tart. Under that I get a swirl of warm, sweet wine and the sandalwood and champaca give this a bit of an incense/headshop edge. It's not necessarily a dressed up scent but it's the type of scent that would make any outfit seem that much more pulled together.

 

Throw: Awesome.

 

Overall: I took a chance on Makhanitis because I adore all the notes and thought it reminded me a lot of Prospero which I missed (and then, ironically, picked up a bottle of on the forums while waiting for this order). I'm glad to have it because this is the sort of bright, fruity but definitely adult scent that I love to wear during (the hopefully soon) patio weather.

[aquazoo]

Plum and wine, right away! Then the sandalwood comes up. It completely overwhelms the wine and plum, and quickly.

[Miss Lynx]

This smells like -- well, pretty much what the notes say! It's most strongly boozy and fruity, with just soft undertones of the other notes. This is definitely not a cutesy teenage fruit scent -- it's very much an adults-only sort of fruit, laced with strong wine. The sandalwood's barely noticeable except as a background presence mellowing it out a bit, and the champaca adds a sort of dusty floral overlay to it.

 

It's like dark, juicy, slightly overripe plums soaked in wine, with nag champa incense burning in the background. The overall effect makes me think a bit of an opium den or something. Decadent, intoxicating and a little bit evil. It's closest equivalent is probably Purple Phoenix, though it's not really as complex a that one.

 

Ultimately, this is kind of like the winey part of all of BPAL's wine scents, distilled into one uber-wine scent, with just enough softly incensey background to keep it from being cloying. I quite like it, but I don't know if it's really unique enough for me to keep it considering the size of my collection. I suspect that when I want to smell like this I'll probably reach for Purple Phoenix instead.

 

Grade: B+

[ljaylh]

 

Finally! I found one of the Aphrodites that works for me!

 

Mmmm.. this is rich and velvety, the plum and the burgundy wine is gorgeous - just the right blend of fruit and sweet. The sandalwood gives it all a beautiful warmth and creaminess, and the champaca adds just a bit of heat to the mix.

 

My only issue is that it fades quite a bit once it's dried down.. that lush, heady plum that was present when it was wet mellows out a lot. But another little dab soon fixes that.. and I'm finding that a little dab is all I need, it's got a pretty decent throw. A lovely blend for anyone who enjoys things from the plum/burgundy family.

 

 

 

[dawndie]

In bottle: bright fruity plum

 

On skin: incensey champaca (a favorite) and dusty sandalwood

 

Half-hour later: softens to a respectable dupe of Hellion, dark purple plum and sandalwood

 

In conclusion: I rarely go wrong with the dark winey blends, and this is another great example. Each ingredient is a favorite on its own, and all together it's

[Phaedra]

Wet this is sweet fruit and red wine with something bitter and sharp mixed in. When first on this is plum and wine, sweet and heady. This feels like a dark purple or burgundy. It has a similar feel to Purple Phoenix. This doesn't change much more on me. It's very long lasting. On the dry down this is a nice soft plum. It has an almost regal feel to it. This is a must try for lovers of Purple Phoenix.

[milo]

Mmm, this is sooo delicious! I get the Hellion comparison, and this will do very nice in place of it, thank you very much! This is yummy plummy incense. I thought it was too foody at first, but it has mellowed very nicely. It is slightly more fruitier than Hellion, but all in all, very nice. Wish I got two bottles, but just happy I have the one for now!

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Bottle: Oh. My. Gods! Dark. Deliciously Dark. Dark burgundy. Dark wine and plum and a trickle of sandalwood running underneath. I want to crawl in this bottle right now and live there.

Wet on Me: Sweet sweet love. Glory this is fabu! More plum over that dark wine. The sweet of the sandalwood mixed with the champaca. This is the deepest darkest most luxe head shop I have ever walked into.

Drying Down: STILL loving this. Nose has welded itself to my wrist. I look odd walking around work this way. I am drunk with the scent of this.

Dry: I am in love. Although I tend to clean crisp or herbal scents, this is simply amazing. Beth you have outdone yourself on this. I want to hug it and pet it and squeeze it and call it MINE!

 

[Lamia]

I'd tested this in the shop back in Feb, and my notes say "starts like Pop Rocks, turns nice but takes FOREVER to get there!"

 

Bought a bottle at the last ECWC cuz why not?

 

This time, applied fresh and alone, it started with a murky candy sweetness, and has twisted sideways. The champaca and sandalwood are disagreeing voiciferously with the plum like newly-introduced cats.

 

I expect them to settle the hell down eventually, but for now, it's an intriguing scent, muttering and complex between growls.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: "In your face" red fruits, the same plum that's in Snake Charmer & Mme Moriarty: a sexy juicy red plum.

Wet on skin: Boozy plums, sweetness.

Dry on skin: Wine, plum, champaca. I don't get a lot of sandalwood, but it might develop later on..

Final thoughts: Of all the ladies (and lad) of the Lupercalia this year, she was the one I chose, mainly for the red fruits & champaca. Something in this blend reminded me of Montresor, but I much prefer Makhanitis to the former. Very beautiful feminine blend, I enjoy wearing it!

[catattack]

Wet: Very syrupy sweet.

Drydown: This is dark and syrupy. Super strong and cloying. It's suffocating. There's something bitter/sour in there I don't recognize.

Overall: I don't like this one. It's really strong.

[blacklacestatic]

In the bottle: Plummy, juicy, a tad musky, a hint of wine.

 

Wet on skin: hmmmm....Very strong, heady, reminds me a little of paint. Boozy and I'm not sure I like the plum in this anymore.

 

Drydown: Deep plum with a boozy woodsiness to it. Kinda reminds me of a faint Snake Charmer, but not as sweet. Kind of "dry" feeling.

 

Overall: I had suspected that I was going off plum for a while. It used to be a favorite note of mine, but lately I really haven't been enjoying it. If you like plum, you will probably love this, because it's very strongly plum. I'm just not that into it I guess.

[sprocket21]

Ahhh...I open the imp and the beloved BPAL plum note that I love so much from Bordello, Midwinter's Eve, and other scents comes wafting out. It's very juicy and sweet for sure. On my skin, it's still mostly plum, but now there's an added powdery edge to it - I assume from the champaca?

 

The longer I wear this, the less plum I get and the more powdery, perfume-y it becomes. I wish it had remained the juicy plum I smelled in the vial! I think this is a good candidate for my oil burner.

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Red wine and plum.

 

Wet: The champaca is running the show, alas. It's a little pungent, top-heavy on me. Sometimes that red wine note doesn't work on me, and this appears to be one of those times. Oh, well. But it's too soon to tell yet (I hope).

 

Half an hour: Champaca and the red wine note, which is not working well on me. This is similar to what happened to me with "Lilith": the red wine note just went sideways on me and took the rest of the scent with it. I do get wonderful plum, which is a great note on me, but it's completely in the power of the stronger notes this time. Alas, I do not think this one is going to be for me after all.

 

One hour: Very champaca, and still the red wine note doesn't want to play nice with me. I think I'm going to have to give this one up, even though I really don't want to. It's a good thing I still have "Snake Charmer" and "Hellion" to give me my plum fix!

 

Three hours: Oh, now I am well and truly heartbroken! It's all plum love on me now, on a base of sandalwood. There's just enough of the wine note to give it a bit of sweetness, and the champaca has faded down to a mysterious background note. But I can't wait three hours for the scent to hit its stride, so I really do need to get this one into some more loving hands. I'm so sad about this one, even more than I was about "Philommeides."

 

 

[samarablackcat]

I am ashamed that I haven't reviewed this yet...

 

I first smelled this in the bottle at Dirty South Will Call back in February. No skin test, but the scent haunted me.

 

Ordered as soon as I got back home. And since then, this is my go-to scent when I'm not sure what to wear.

 

Wet, plum and deep, heady wine. Yum. The champaca, so incensey and rich melds together with the sandalwood, emitting an aura of headshoppy goodness, grounding the scent. Not too sweet and not too dry, it surrounds me with a scent of power. Its calming aroma takes me to a place where I am in charge, its quiet strength propelling me forward and upward, compelling those around me to take notice. This is my

don't-fuck-with-me

scent. I am calm, serene and ready to take on the world.

 

Perhaps it's the lack of many ingredients that makes this so successful on my skin, or just the perfect combination. A total winner in my book, and one that I am hoping will age with grace, as a reminder to myself to do the same.

 

Throw is strong and lasts for hours. No need to carry an imp or bottle to refresh later. Yes, Makhanitis, it appears you were made for me.

[devilot]

In the Bottle: Dark purple fruit-- yes plum, yes wine, and something sinister, reminiscent of patchouli but not quite as earthy.

 

Wet: Deliciously juicy and dark. Definitely in the same family as Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty to my nose.

 

Drydown: Bummer, I'm getting the same shift as sprocket21, which is to say, as this blend dries, it grows powdery and perfumey.

 

Verdict: I might not usually mind the shift to powder, but it's not something I love enough to warrant a bottle. Why did my skin and nose change? This was so perfect when I got it from the lab.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - The fruit anf the slightly acidic tone of the wine

 

Wet on me - Again that dark, almost dirty fruitiness

 

Dry on me - Dark dry grapes, with a touch of musk

 

Overall - A deep dark purple scent. Not something that I would wear on a regular basis, but I can see it's appeal

[tajana]

Tons of sweet jolly-rancheresque plum at first, a lot like Bordello! As it settles down on my skin the grapey and astringent wine note comes on strong, adding a distinctively boozey edge to the bonanza of succulent dark red and purple fruit. It's very sweet and hard candy-ish, but the wine, for once, is really expressing its alcoholic quality on me, which definitely makes this smell a bit more adult. Eventually this goes a bit powdery-perfumey with the champaca, and the sandalwood stays quite low in the mix, sadly. The blend of dry incensey powder and uncomfortably squelchy, juicy fruit isn't sitting well with me, but then, I'm not usually one to enjoy a lot of fruit and wine in my perfumes. As usual for scents I don't like (ha) the lasting power is very good and the throw is quite strong. I see the resemblance to Mme Moriarty others have mentioned, but this is much sweeter, simpler, and heavier on the fruit.

[Muppetk]

This is almost a keeper. It's almost enough that I'm going to want to try it at several points in my cycle - to see if some hormone shift squashes the champaca... and maybe I'll try it on scent lockets to see if it's my chemistry makign the champaca turn from mogwai to gremlin or if I just don't *like* champaca.

 

So to the real review:

 

WET: Yum. This is my favorite part. Plum + burgundy wine -- rich and full and juicy. More than decent throw too. REALLY nice.

 

Drying: And then the champaca starts to come out. It's still nice - It's about 1/2 champaca's powder/cough medicine and 1/2 plum/burgundy. Still nice, but really disappointing after the first glorious burst.

 

Dry: And then the champaca takes over. Only a hint of sandalwood ever peeks through, and the champaca smothers (or at least overtakes somewhat) that gorgeous burgundy from the beginning. Sigh.

[rayvn1]

Bordello plum instead of Prunella/Bensiabel plum. Not sure what the difference is, but on my skin it's a big one! This kind is very fruit juice sweet Not for me.