Tanuki No Doke Daruma

[killersandliars]

A raccoon dog having his scrotum painted in imitation of a Daruma doll.

Red currant, champaca flower, apple blossom and apple pulp, goma, tomato leaf, and brown grasses.

Woo! First review.

When I read the notes for this particular Tanuki blend I knew I had to have it. I adore anything with apple notes, which the Lab does so well, but I also adore champaca and red currant. These are all some of my favorite springy notes, so I was already sold. I was also intrigued by the tomato leaf, which I love the scent of in real life but have never experienced in a perfume before. Tanuki no doke Daruma is mostly apple and campaca with a touch of extra sweetness from the currant and a little bit of crisp greenness from the tomato leaf. As it wears on, the currant does poke its head out a bit more and the scent deepens just a little bit. The linen-y champaca stays very near the forefront, and for me it keeps the scent from being too sweet or too fruity. I don't particularly smell any brown grasses, but they could be blending in with the somewhat dry champaca, giving this blend the soft, furry quality that is under the surface. I adore everything about this scent, but I have yet to figure out a way to make it last more than a couple of hours on my skin. That said, I would still rate it pretty highly (like 4.5 out of 5 stars) because it has so many interesting notes that I love.

[OctoberGwen]

This is a unique blend for sure. In the imp, I smell red currant and champaca flower, but it's completely different on my skin. When applied, I smell something very organic and raw, which is most certainly from the tomato leaf; it's a distinctive smell (as anyone who has grown tomatoes can tell you), and I definitely get it here. I also get a lot of pulpy-smelling apple.

 

Since red currant is listed first I was hoping that would be the predominant note like it is in the imp, but on me this is all compost-y tomato leaf and apple. Sadly, apple is not one the few fruits I like to smell like.

 

An interesting blend, and I'm happy I tried it. Just not for me.

Edited April 27, 2012 by OctoberGwen

[stellamaris]

Sigh. Can't even test this, all I can smell is APPLE. Bleech. Now I feel like one of those posters I make fun of, "I really can't stand the smell of apple, but I thought I would try this All Apples All the Time and hope that it did not smell like apples! Boy, was I ever disappointed..."

[FoxipherJones]

Apples with substance in the bottle. On me, it's all wet apples all the time at the very beginning. Florals, leaves, and grasses come out after that fades, with red current over the very top. It's not bad on me, but it's not my favorite; it's interesting, but not delicious.

[Lethran]

In bottle: I’m goin to call this apple dominant with the blossom supporting the pulp. The red current and champaca are gentle support to the apple notes. The tomato leaf is softer than I’d hoped, but gives a sharper greener edge to the otherwise gentle fruit and floral blend. The brown grasses are giving the tomato leaf very understated support. Goma appears to be a sesame dumpling, and if I’m guessing right which element it is, it’s very understated and mostly serving to tie the other elements together. Wet: Still strongly apple dominant. The red current is stronger and brighter than it was, but still supporting apple pulp. As the tomato leaf and brown grasses come into their own, there is a more outdoorsy than foody feel to it. This is really well blended and utterly lovely as a whole, though I think the apple blossom and champaca tip it a little too far into the florals for my comfort. Dry: Fast fading into soft red current and champaca.

[orata]

Juicy red apple, with red currant and champaca coming out a bit more as it dries. It's nice, but almost an apple single note on me--doesn't smell as complex as the description would have made me think.

[Caper]

I was in love when I first put this one on. The apple is crisp and sweet and the tomato leaf (my favorite!) added a nice edge.

 

As it's dried it has softened into an apple only scent. Which is nice, but vaguely reminds me of shampoo.

 

No bottle, but I'll keep the decant for warm summer months.

[angelamaria]

In decant: cool apple, hint of the red currant, and a touch of green. This is sweet, almost candy-sweet, but the apple is fairly "crisp" in feel so it doesn't go candyish.

 

Wet on skin: this is really nice, although a tad soapy on my skin. It's a sweet and cool refreshing apple, with soft greens and a touch of red currant to give it a bit of sass. This could have been part of the Apples collection during the last Halloween round--if you like apples and/or that particular collection, this would be an interesting try.

 

Dry: definitely soapy on me, which is a bit of a shame. It keeps its coolness, but softer and fading away as time goes on. I think I am also starting to detect the champaca flower, but a definite yes on the greens here--it's more pronounced than in the decant/wet phase, although still primarily an apple blend.

 

Verdict: soapy apple, sadly, is not for me.

[Dark Alice]

Wet: Juicy current and fresh apple.

 

Drydown: As always the apple blossom takes over and kills everything glorious about the notes in this scent. Every now and then I get a whiff of red currant but this is predominantly overwrought by the apple blossom.

[brilliantcat]

In the imp: apples still on the tree! It reminds me of going apple-picking as a kid. I'm sure the tomato leaf is adding that wonderful green, growing sense to the blend. On me, holy cow it stays the same! It's not overwhelmingly apple. It's quite well-blended and I can't pick individual notes out. It smells like lovely green growing things, perfect for spring. Not a full bottle need for me, but pretty nonetheless.

[zankoku_zen]

Red currant, apple pulp and tomato leaf. Oh, this smells like a garden.

 

My only problem with this blend is that it has very low throw, and almost no staying power. My skin is greedier than my nose and eats this one right up. Twenty minutes after application and this Tanuki has gone into hiding.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love apple scents, but most of bpal's don't work on me (either seem to be sharp & artificially perfumey smelling or soapy, where I prefer a crisp, juicy, sweet apple scent). Tanuki No Doke Daruma is sort of in-between for me. It's not quite sweet enough, but it's not bad either. The red currant makes it slightly sour on my skin, the apple blossom has that soapy apple shampoo smell, and the tomato leaf and grass give it an herbal, green edge. The overall feel is like a clean, green, herby apple... maybe like apples in an orchard that haven't fully ripened or been cut open yet. Light and clean-ish. I might keep my decant of this one, but don't need a full bottle (I prefer Arcana's Avalon for apples and greenery, and Violette Market's apple scents in general).

Edited May 17, 2012 by Little Bird

[milo]

Some soapy apple and non descript cologney smell at first. After a bit the currant comes out to play, and it's a bit more tart. I've never smelled the lab's tomato note, and I'm not getting it here either. This kind of reminds me of a tart, fruity Body Shop soap, or a high end shampoo. This tanuki is not working for me.

[lohengrin]

In the decant: Apple and apple blossom.

 

On skin, wet: Same as in the decant. Kind of reminiscent of Baobhan Sith, with apple instead of citrus.

 

On skin, dry: Now it's getting soapy.

 

After an hour: So many floral notes just Do Not Like Me. It's probably the champaca flower here, since apple blossom is usually okay on me. Whatever it is going wrong, though, it turns this sharp and soapy. And I never got any tomato leaf or goma (the notes I was hoping for most) at all.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Apple, grasses, a hint of prickly tomato.

Wet: Chapaca coming out a bit. The overall effect is quite soapy.

Dry: A fresh and sweet apple with hints of grass. Not bad!

[brilliantcat]

I definitely get apple and tomato leaf on my skin, I recognize the tomato leaf note from Jerusalem Cherry Honey. It reminds me of being outdoors. On the drydown it smells of flowers and soap. Not for me. I wanted more apple.

[Alaeidrel]

Most apple is too weird on my skin to wear, but this is almost an apple single note as others have mentioned. I'm actually in love with it because it's so soft and gentle. It's a bit overly sweet in the bottle, but dries to a beautiful light apple and floral. I think there's probably a little currant and tomato grounding it but they're so well mixed I can't pick them out.

[tarotgirl99]

 

I love apple, but this is apple bubbles on me. Way too soapy.

 

Sad.

[Lucchesa]

Tanuki No Doke Daruma was a frimp from a generous forumite, but I'll try anything no matter how unpromising the notes. Plus I love the tanuki stories. As expected, this is not for me. The apple and currant combine into something way too fruity for my taste, the apple blossom and champaca making it too floral as well. I would like to smell the tomato leaf note, but I couldn't individuate it here, and the grasses don't really come out either. No clue what goma is. Too fruity and too flowery on my skin.