Kaidan

[Schmoozy]

Rosehip, plum blossom, white sandalwood, jonquil, and amber-laden incense.

 

Incense, plum blossom, amber and sandalwood. It seems very floral, but at the same time very dark, sexy and woodsy. I love how it starts off sweet, slightly soapy, powdry and then the sandalwood and incense shine through. This helps too soften the sweetness, add richness and depth. The rosehip manages to hover in the background, and never threaten to overpower the blend as a whole.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very floral plum, with a background of warm incense.

 

Immediately on skin: To me this smells like violet candies with plum blossoms. Separating it out I think it’s the plum blossom, jonquil, and amber incense all blending together. It’s slightly fruity, floral, and creamy all at the same time.

 

After a little while: This no longer smells of violet candies to me. Now it’s a very sweet scent, mostly amber incense and plum with hints of other rich floral notes. The sandalwood adds a bit of a dry, warm note.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is sweet and thick, fruity and rich but a touch dry. It smells almost of amber and plum blossom candy.

[zankoku_zen]

Kaidan was one soapy white floral on wet (why hello plum blossom). As it dried, the floral toned down and I got a bit of the incense. So it ended up smelling more like a male version of the Dove soap bar. Creamy, floral, clean.

[grrrlennyl]

Kaidan

 

On: Very blossomy with a hint of juicy fruit.

Half an hour in: Incense with a bit of something sweet. A dry scent.

1.5 hours in: Soft, floral incense.

3.5 hours in: A sweet, incensy floral.

Overall: This is pretty, but not very interesting on me.

[cuervosueno]

What an interesting scent! When I read the description, I had no idea why I wanted to try this, but it's quite intriguing, actually. The rose hip is what I get first: delightlfully tart in the way of rosehips with a bit of plum flower. I don't much like jonquils as a scent, and unfortunately they come in next (aren't they daffodils? I love the flower, but the scent is a kind of dry floral) It gets kind of wierd once that comes in, and I do get a hint of sandalwood, but overall the pleasant tartness goes and I'm left with an oddy dusty woody scent with a hint of floral sweetness.

I agree that it smells very much live violet candy with floral. I wish the rosehip scent stayed....because how cool is that? rosehips, which are nothing at all like the flowers, but sadly, they do not, and incense doesn't come out too much, though there is a powdery edge here that reminds me of the ash of a floral incense.

Not my thing.

eta: looked up jonquils. They are related to daffodils, but also to the evil (to me) narcissus. Hmmm...no wonder I don't like it.

Edited February 1, 2011 by cuervosueno

[countessmouse]

Mostly sweet plum blossom at first, which was slightly offputting to me. Then the incense kicked in and it is all sweet woody incense with just a hint of plum. I'd like more of this!

[Vega]

Sniffed: Red berries and flowers heavily laden with spice, with a touch of something brighter, perhaps a pale floral or citrus.

 

On skin: What a lovely, well-rounded scent! Plum and rosehip (and perhaps sandalwood) form the rich, smooth, sweet base. This is spiced liberally with incense, and made dusty with amber. Finally, the high, pale note that must be the jonquil/narcissus gives it a spectral, glowing touch. Overall, Kaidan is a little bit high and pale, a little bit sweet and juicy, a little bit spiced and dusty -- and all these in balanced amounts. Over time it continues to open up and become fuller and richer, while retaining all these good qualities. A subtly feminine scent, somewhat mysterious and reserved. Kaidan may be the offspring of Mme. Moriarty (plummy and berry-like) and Grandmother of Ghosts (spectral, pale herbal-floral); it also reminds me a bit of Lady Lilith, even though the notes are quite different. Colour impression is a pink-touched red with a white, glowing heart.

 

Verdict: I think Kaidan is a fine scent and quite evocative of its namesake. Nevertheless, it's not quite capturing my heart, a case of close but no cigar. Ah, well.

[mxtine]

This is a bright, fruity floral when it's wet. It's well-blended because I can't pick out every note other than plum. After a few minutes drying, it gets a bit commercial perfumey and soapy. I wish I got more wood and incense.

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: The plum blossom is front and center. There's a slight tanginess from the rosehip and a bit of powder from the amber.

 

On: This becomes a bit less fruity and gains a floral note that has just the right amount of sharpness - the jonquil, I would assume (I have a jonquil soy candle and that smells similar to this note). Quite nice, although it doesn't floor me.

 

Later: Plummy floral! It's most similar to Kitsune-Tsuki to my nose, which is easy to explain, as jonquil and daffodil smell a lot alike. I do like this, but I think I'd order Kitsune-Tsuki first, since that one also has orchid.

[theseagrows]

i was iffy on this one, but the words "amber-laden incense" really got to me! plum almost always goes plasticky on me, but not in this! well, slightly, but nothing like usual. plum victory! other than that, this is is a warm, soft scent with a very subtle plum hint. i don't even think i can smell the jonquil in this? very pretty, and i will keep this because it's a plum scent THAT WORKS!!

[AnyseLawsBray]

In vial: Sweet, tangy rosehip and plum. This is very promising.

Wet: Headier than I expected, but lightly so. The sandalwood and incense are grounding influences, keeping it from going screaming off into 'shrill white floral' territory. I am loving this plum blossom - all too often the lab's plum notes go craft store candle on me, but this seems like a perfectly rosy plum right off the tree.

Dry: The jonquil adds a swaying breath of ethereal cleanness. It seems quite serene, feminine & lovely. The fruitiness melds into an aura of incensed sandalwood, adding just enough dry spice to make this blend a more intense and alluring experience than expected.

 

Verdict: All too often it seems that Asian inspired blends feature notes that don't work well for me, namely citrus, insubstantial florals or aquatics. I am glad to find one that is wearable, and not only that, still complex enough to keep me sniffing long after application. Of course, the fact that rosehip and jonquil are two notes I adore may have played in, just a bit!

[fufu_berry]

In truth, the only reason I tried this was for the character - I have been positively inhaling Irredeemable for the last couple weeks, and Kaidan is my favorite character (the mini-story about her background literally brought me to tears). Florals and strong fruit scents have generally been extremely fail on me, but since there weren't any allergy notes in Kaidan I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

On wet: Tangy is the best word - sweet, but also a little zesty. I would associate this most with the plum.

 

Drydown: Some floral-y sweet notes coming out, but nothing that's making me headache-y or weird like florals usually do.

 

Dry: A little bit of the sandalwood coming out to ground it. No incense, so it's lighter and sweeter than I would have pictured for the character, but my skin often eats smoky scents, so not too surprising.

 

Several hours plus: Finally the incense comes out! Resinous and light, fortunately no powder from the amber.

 

Yay for trying new things! I don't know yet if I need a bottle of Kaidan, as sweet fruity scents are waaaay outside my wheelhouse, but I am actually enjoying it.

[Sidhechaos]

Kaidan

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL)

Boom! Studios: Irredeemable (General Catalog)

Status: Available

 

Youngest of The Paradigm, when Kaidan recites the ghost stories of Japanese legend, she brings their spectral warriors to life.

 

Rosehip, plum blossom, white sandalwood, jonquil, and amber-laden incense.

 

In the bottle, this has this spicy floral scent.

 

On the skin, the sandalwood and amber incense are dominant, the sandalwood slightly stronger. The florals show up as a faint undertone if you are sniffing right at skin level.

 

During dry down this turns into an amazing scent, I will probably be ordering many more bottles of this. the softness and sweetness of the florals balance perfectly with the white sandalwood and amber incense. Everything balances perfectly and you can pick each individual note, it also has good throw, I hope it has lasting power. I think this has made it into my top 10 fragrances.

[tinyvulture]

I'm not familiar with this story, but I wanted this scent for its notes. There's a gentle rose, and the lab's gorgeous plum note (like Bordello, but softer here), and then some other florals (not sure what jonquil smells like but I guess this is it). I don't notice any incense. A beautiful, feminine bouquet. It turns out, rose and plum are lovely together.

[OctoberGwen]

This is gorgeous. I love rosehip, and I definitely smell that here along with the sweet plum blossom and a beautiful, light incense.

 

This may go onto my bottle list.

[celestia]

♔ Kaidan

 

In the bottle: Dewy candied fruity floral- reminds me of a cross between titania and the spun sugar and fruit from Xanthe…but instead of apple, it’s sugar plum. Same vibe as the pear in Titania though

 

Wet: Almost immediately the liquid is dropped onto my skin, the rose explodes. It’s a slightly petally red rose, lightly sugared. I don’t get much of any amber or incense yet …or the white sandalwood, but the sugared plum blossom is wafting around, struggling to reign supreme over the rose which now reminds me of a crystal shop; slightly musty, powdery sweet and a little dried. If rosehip were replaced with any other coloured floral…or if by chance the yellow floral in this stood a chance, I would buy bottles of this stuff. I get a slightly powdery resinous musk in the background, which I can only assume is the amber loaded incense coming out

 

Drydown: The rose and amber are reacting to each other and I’m getting a bit of a blooded, copper tang. How odd. The rosehip is becoming slightly more lemony but also less noticeable. It’s begun to recede. It’s pretty but the rose ultimately ruins the scent for me because the initial scent smelt like it was going in a different direction and I was super excited to follow, how unfortunate! I'm super grateful to have been able to sample this though!

TL;DR: Dewy sugared plum, crystal shop rose and copper bright amber

[achildoftime]

This is really quite lovely! It reminds me of a warming tea that has rosehip and plum in it. It's light, fruity, and is generally a joy to wear. I never really get any of the sandalwood, but the incense lingers in the background a it. Just enough to give the scent some depth. The plum blossom does remind me of Kitsune-Tsuki, but where that is a little more upbeat and fun Kaidan is a little more serious to my nose. Kaidan is more reserved and steady. It really is a pretty scent!

[freyasfae]

Oh, the plum blossom with a touch of rose is apparent right away and very lovely. Surprisingly delicate - good for spring, and even a light floral for summer. I don't much of the sandalwood right away, but once it begins to dry down the spiciness from the sandalwood and incense come forward and round out the delicate plum blossom and rosehip. I can't decide if it is a keeper or not, but it is very lovely.

[Lucchesa]

I was curious about Kaidan because of the rosehips. The only other rosehip blend I've tried was Allegory of Chastity, which was not a standout on me. Kaidan is not my usual sort of scent, but it's very pretty. It starts out delicate spring blossom on me, with just a hint of plum. As it dries down, I get sandalwood incense along with the blossoms, the plum becomes a bit more pronounced, and there is a tangy note that must be the rosehip. It's definitely more interesting in this phase, and I agree with achildoftime that it has more gravitas than Kitsune-Tsuki -- Kaidan works better on me than that blend.