Sumai No Sechie

[CiCi]

Fig, pink grapefruit, Egyptian white musk, ambergris accord, muguet, ylang ylang, Hawaiian white ginger, jonquil, and khus.

My first thought when I first applied and smelled this on my wrist was how light and fresh it was. It opens up with light citrus followed up with skin musk and light floral. It is fresh and tangy, perhaps the ginger is lending it the lightness it needs here. It seems like there are many ingredients listed so it would be a heavy scent, but it isn't. There is a juicy sweetness from the fig but there is not heavy here, just the presence of it. The spiciness is minimal with the ginger giving it the initial burst of mild peppery sweetness and then becoming mild and light, but not overly sweet. Drydown is gingery and golden pale spice but very light in an understated way. It is so perfect for Spring and Summer.

[Invidiana]

I thought this would just be another grapefruit-dominant blend, but was I ever wrong. It's prominent wet but actually becomes very faint in the drydown and allows an array of heady, sensual notes to shine through. I get a lot of gorgeous ylang ylang and muguet mingling with warm fig on an ethereal bed of white musk, with the softest hint of ginger. I think the ambergris contributes to the warmth and sensuality while the jonquil, not a terribly strong scent, melds with the other florals smoothly. Khus is actually an alternate name for vetiver but I can't sense much of it, maybe just a slight woody undertone. I would put this in the same scent family as Blue Morpho and Beanman & Beanwoman. Gorgeous and turning into a bottle.

[Mellifluous]

If I were to describe this fragrance in two notes, it would be Muguet and YlangYlang. That said, you really can smell every note in here if you look for it. As Invidiana said, you def get the pink grapefruit on first application, but after a innitial application it settles down quite a bit. I would say this would be a good introductory perfume for people to get into "green" scents. Its got enough floral with the ylangylang to stand up to the muguet, and the ambergris, ginger, and fig do balance the fragrance just enough so its not too GREEN. A really nice belnd.

[thezander]

In the Imp: Oh dear, smells gingery.

 

On wet: Not bad actually! I smell mostly grapefruit with a light garnish of ginger. This is rather refreshing!

 

Initial drydown: OK, those florals are coming to the foreground now. *Goes to check the note list* OK, jonquil and ylang ylang are behaving themselves on me. Oh, and muguet is lily-of-the-valley. That's fine, and it's staying realistic, not soapy. Oh, and it seems khus is actually vetiver, but it's not going all horrible on my skin for once. And the fig adds a subtle earthy-foody quality without really standing out. Same with the amber; doesn't stand out much, but rounds out the top notes of white ginger and tangy pink grapefruit. I'd say this is a nicely balanced blend.

 

Overall: The grapefruit's freshness keeps the other notes from being too overpowering, and I think anything anchored with a white musk-y base tends to work out fine for me. A nice wearable, refreshing, fruity floral, though I don't think I'll splurge for a bottle just yet.

[OctoberGwen]

Oh, geez. I really don't want to buy any more bottles, but this is so freaking beautiful.

 

I don't know how to describe it, it's so gorgeously blended. I get fig and pink grapefruit for sure, and then the deepest white musk I've ever smelled. It's feminine and fresh with just the right amount of light musky undertone. I smell awesome.

 

Great throw. Good staying power. My wallet just ran and hid.

 

 

ETA 4/10/12

 

Still loving this blend a lot but I would have to update staying power to "fair." I bought a half bottle off a fellow forumite and I think I'm also going to get a bottle from the Lab before the Shungas come down, because this is definitely worth slathering/reapplying. It smells simply gorgeous on me. The depth of the fig, the light zingy grapefruit, some subtle white florals and the lovely musk blend into a feminine, refreshing little cloud that is both sexy and uplifting. A great everyday scent for spring and summer.

 

 

ETA 5/30/13

 

Sumai no Sechie has remained one of my Top Five BPALs. This is my 'Go To' scent on the lighter side and I absolutely adore it for those occasions when I'm not in the mood for one of my heavier blends. I love that it's light without being aquatic or soapy, and it's a very complex and lovely fragrance.

 

All the bottles belong to me!

Edited May 30, 2013 by OctoberGwen

[bpalscentsual]

Yes, light and fresh is how I'd describe this. Unfortunately, when I opened my imp and for about five minutes on initial application, all I got was Old Lady Perfume, with the capitalization and everything. You know, the kind that you can use as mace. It was really unfortunate.

 

Right now, it's calmed down substantially, and occasionally I'm getting whiffs of a white floral combined with, I kid you not, lemon-lime soda. My nose is crazy (it also thought tobacco + carnation was evil bubblegum earlier today, so I don't trust it right now). I'm getting none of the earthiness I usually associate with fig.

 

Although it is a very 'light' scent in the sense that for me it's a very pale flower and pale citrus fruits, a little dab'll do ya. Potent, at least on me. Jeez Louise.

[zankoku_zen]

Sumai no Sechie was a surprise. It smells light, fresh and fruity. Fig, muguet and ylang ylang. I may have to retry again and see if I need more.

[pinkstardust420]

This is so pretty! I get an initial blast of grapefruit and hawaiian white ginger, but then the rest of the florals start coming into play, along w/ the gorgeous musk, and fig. Very pretty, and tropical!

[tarotgirl99]

This is really pretty and light! I get sweetest grapefruit (fig-sweetened?) resting on a gentle bouquet of mixed florals. It's not too sweet, not particularly tangy, and it's a perfect summer perfume. EXCEPT it disappears so quickly...this involves frequent and stronger-than-usual reapplications.

 

I think it's worth it.

[ami226]

This one starts off kinda sour. Grapefruit? A musky grapefruit. If this were a drink, I would love it! Not quite right for my skin though.

[TheMistWalking]

Source: Bottle straight from the lab, aged about 11 days.

 

Wet on skin: Florals with citrus. I can't pick out an individual flower note. The lily of the valley, ylang ylang, and jonquil blend together into a soft floral. The grapefruit smells more like tangerine to me. I'm not noticing any fig, musk, ambergris, or vetiver.

5 minutes later: The citrus is stronger, and there's a mild zing from the ginger. It's more of a lightly spiced citrus with florals now.

1 hour later: The scent is much the same -- zingy citrus and soft flowers -- light and not overly sweet.

2 and a half hours later: Sadly, it's all but faded into nothing.

 

Verdict: This scent was a lot lighter and more delicate than I thought it would be. It's very pretty, and it's perfect for the summer months ahead. Unfortunately, it has very low throw and fades rather quickly. I like it, and I'm happy to have it, but it's not horde-worthy to me.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love the lab's fig and ambergris notes, but don't get either from this blend. Sumai No Sechie is mostly a zingy grapefruit and tropical white floral smell. The grapefruit turns slightly bitter smelling on me, but the overall feel is a light, citrussy fruity-floral perfume. It's the sort of scent that would probably give me a headache if it were stronger, but it's light and doesn't have a ton of throw on my skin. Not my type of scent.

[milo]

A bit of citrussy grapefruit and musk at first. This then dries down to a soapy citrus, not unlike the Body Shop's pink grapefruit soap, only not as citrussy and more soapy. Not for me.

[Gin]

Flowery-fig-grapefruit-musk. It's a weird combination of sour and powdery-candy sweet.