Eight-Petaled Lotus

[violetblue]

On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying,
and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded.

Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my
dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind.

That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to
me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion.

I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this
perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart.


- Rabindranath Tagore


The Sacred Lotus represents spiritual illumination, boundless creative regeneration, the mysteries of the cosmos, infinite consciousness, divine love, and purity of spirit, mind, and body.

I don't know why, but I was expecting a sweet/bubblegum type scent. On the wrist, I get Calvin Klein's Eternity perfume from this one. It's really clean and nice, and seriously, a dupe for Eternity on me. Bizarre! Can't wait to read more reviews!

[Mellifluous]

I was wondering as well, whether this would be a bubblegum lotus, or a watery/floral lotus. I think its mostly in the middle of those two... possibly slightly more on the watery/floral side. Overall, this smells like it could be a nice lotion scent. A soft flowery scent, with a slight watery sweetness. It invokes a very pale pink fuzzy color to my minds eye. I like it, but one bottle is definitely enough for me.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: There are blends with lotus that work on me. There are blends that don't. It's a 50-50 shot whether I'll get the sweet or floral lotus note. But having just missed the single notes the first time around, I'm not passing up anything that even remotely interests me.

 

In the Bottle: Interesting. The initial impression is somehow both candy-sweet and aquatic floral and of all things it smells like a pineapple/orange lemonade drink.

 

Wet: On my skin it's not so sweet, though the citrusy impression is still there. There is also a fresh green hint of leaves or stems. So far so good.

 

Drydown: Gradually a creaminess develops that pushes this toward magnolia territory and makes me wonder whether the two plants are related. It is light, lemony and creamy with a bit of that leaf-stem greeniness.

 

Verdict: I think this is a keeper. I'll be curious to try layering it with other florals and spicy blends.

[suki]

As with the other Single Notes I've tried, the first thing I notice about Eight-Petaled Lotus is that it stay true from bottle to application through dry-down. In the BPAL universe it's one of the rare instances of "what you smell is what you get" from start to finish. I like that about the SNs. There's a security in that.

 

I am in agreement with Mellifluous- there's something that reads as a 'lotion' smell to me in this. It's light and floral...I guess. I mean, I'm actually finding it hard to ascertain *where* this scent belongs, which is funny because it's a single note, so it *should* be really obvious!

 

There's a softness to this scent. It's got a light to medium throw, but don't let that fool you- this Lotus holds it's own. You can slather it all you want, it's not going to become over-bearing. It's just not that kind of floral. That's why I hesitated to even call it as such. for me, I like the occasional floral, but there's nearly always a point where it'll become too cloying, too overwhelming. I don't see that happening with this.

 

Unlike Siberian Musk and Spanish Red Carnation, I don't know that I can see myself wearing this one alone- unless I was in a really vulnerable head space, then it might be the only thing to console me. But no, mostly I can see layering this with another sweet or feminine scent to give me a softness (like mixing it with Smut, maybe!) or else adding a depth (Like with Mid Winter's Eve, perhaps.).

 

In all, glad it's around, and really, really glad to be experimenting with all the new Single Notes!

[Dark Alice]

Sweet, watery floral with a hint of perfume.

 

Dry: More floral...still with a slight perfumey edge that I amp.

 

Complete drydown: I lovely subtle floral perfume. This is gorgeous but I think I only need a decant of this. So off to the sales with the rest of ya!

[OctoberGwen]

I bought this because I have resigned myself to buying ALL the new single notes (no, I do not have a problem!), but I didn't think I would care for it much because I really dislike wearing aquatics.

 

However...this scent is really lovely. It smells so pure, and spiritual. It is reminiscent of a little white temple by the water, but it is not particularly watery.

 

It's a soft, creamy white scent with a good bit of green. Very, very subtle; I don't see this being offensive even in a situation where people dislike perfume use. Quite exquisite, really.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I'm a huge fan of the single notes. I like when my perfume stays relatively consistent, so the single notes are right up my alley. Lotus can sometimes turn super bubblegum on my skin, so this should be interesting!

 

Wet: Clean and crisp smelling. It's slightly soapy, but definitely not in a bad way.

 

Dry down: The soap smell is gone and is replaced by a watery, clean floral. This is really pretty!

 

Dry: Clean floral without being soapy or high pitched. This is just uncomplicated and beautiful.

 

Final thoughts: This is so lovely. It sticks close to my skin and is just beautiful.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, and I might be picking up a bottle before it comes down next week.

[porcelina]

lotus is a rare floral that i don't immediately want to run screaming away from, so i was excited to try this eight-petaled SN variety.

 

this is a very sweet, clean floral. there is something slightly papery going on? It's sweet, a little dry around the edges, yet watery at the same time. don't ask me how something can be dry AND watery at the same time.

 

it is a pure, clean floral, not screeching or high-pitched, very delicate and pretty.

[schackjj]

I had high hopes for this SN. Lolita v2 is one of my all-time faves (mmm, bubblegum and smoke). This. This feels like maaaybe a distant cousin to that lotus. It's more... floral (ick)... and almost... soapy?

 

I'll hang onto this and see if my bottle mellows into something amazing. One can always hope.

[lanas]

This smells exactly like soap on me. Not even a particularly floral soap just a nice clean soapy smell. Which is nice and I will keep my decant but I don't think I will need a bottle

[Blood onmy hands]

Eight-Petaled Lotus brings to mind a bar of creamy, clean, white soap. It's a soft, gentle, sort of girly soapiness, but still soap on my skin. Makes me think of bars of hotel soap. I'm used to bpal's lotus notes smelling like bubblegum, so this is unusual.

[crimescenecleanup]

OK, I luuuuurve most of BPAL lotus scents, and to my nose they smell a nit like aquatic bubblegum. Let's see if this is as nice as Blood Lotus or Black Lotus or the golden lotus from Bastet.

 

In the bottle: Banana Laffy Taffy, is that you?

 

On skin: There is no hint of laffy taffy, banana, or any candy/bubblegum/fruit - in fact there is no sweetness at all. I am oddly disappointed. This is a very light, dry floral.

 

After fifteen minutes: this is vacillating between wanting to be a clean floral and wanting to be dryer sheets. It won't make up its mind, and I find its indecision unnerving.

 

Drydown an hour later: It has surprised us all and decided to be Ivory Soap. Don't try to oppress Eight-Petaled Lotus with your preconceived notions of "flowers" and "scent categories"!

 

Now it is giving me a headache and a rash.

 

Eight-Petaled Lotus is just too radical for me; I'm not ready for this kind of flower behavior.

[Elliemental]

I've recently come to the realization that I love lotus. So naturally I had to give this single note a try! After slathering my arm I'm getting a definite "coolness" that seems to be coming off of my skin. It's definitely a very sharp aquatic floral on me. I can see where people are getting soap or dryer sheets. I am definitely enjoying this scent, it seems like a clean white scent which would be particularly lovely in hot or muggy weather--it's the coolness mixed with the floral that makes this enjoyable for me. (Luckily the "sharpness" I mentioned isn't noticeable unless my nose is touching my skin, when I hover over the skin it's just a lovely light waft of lotus.)

 

I think I'll enjoy playing with this one.

[SadariEvenstar]

Pure, sharp shampoo. Sadly, this one is a big no. True to most things I dislike the scent is intense, I can't wash it off, and the throw is significant.

[zankoku_zen]

Light, clean and fresh. It's a little watery, a little soapy on me but I am absolutely astounded that it doesn't smell like actual bubblegum on me.

 

Weirdly fabulous!

[Monday]

Eight-Petaled Lotus smells like a freshly washed cashmere sweater. Clean, soft, cuddly and somehow fluffy.

[milo]

At first, I'm getting the traditional 'bubble-gum' lotus scent, but a bit more fresher and light on my skin. Almost instantly, it turns to a fancy floral soap, and the bubble gum is gone. Ten minutes later, no more soap, but a sweet, gentle floral. I'm at a loss to describe the scent, it's nothing I've smelled in bpal before, but from a childhood memory of a doll you used to be able to buy in the 70's with a little plastic bottle of perfume. I used to love that scent, sweet and gentle, it brings back childhood memories. This smell's of innocence and caring and gentle love, though it's not something that an adult couldn't wear. I really like this, and may track down more.

[yeahbutnobut]

Eight Petalled Lotus

 

In the imp: COMPLETELY different from the sweet, pink, bubblegummy Lotus SN that came out ages ago. This is fresh, tart, watery and grapefruity (of all things).

Wet on skin: fresh and crisp with a bitter fruity scent.

Dry on skin: this one is intriguing. It’s not a bubblegum lotus like Black Lotus, Undertow, Naiad etc. nor is it the smooth golden lotus from Bastet or Glowing Vulva. This is the lotus note from the 2010 incarnation of Lotus Moon-I was puzzled as to why that scent had a grapefruit note to it, and now I realise it’s this particular lotus. Though in here it’s less fruity than LM 2010, and not sweet. I think this is also the lotus in Creeping Mist. There’s an aquatic or blue musk feel to it. It’s very clean, but not soapy. It’s floral but not heavy. It also reminds me of Ophelia (which has waterlily) and Danube (even though there is no lotus note listed, but maybe there’s waterlily or lotus in the aquatics in there) and also one of the Japanese scents-I think it’s the Fox Ghost one-that has blue musk and resins.

After a while: this does fade fast. The wet, grapefruity floral scent from before has toned down and now smells crisper and whiter, almost like linen but not as dry or washing powder-like, but it’s not very strong.

Verdict: if you think you hate lotus, put your preconceptions about this flower aside, and try this. It seems there are many varieties of lotus and this one is a perfect waterlily scent, fresh and wet, clean and tart, slightly grapefruity, slightly ozone-y or blue musky, and with a blossom-like floral aspect. This is a very refreshing scent that’s perfect for spring or summer, light and dainty but also ethereal. Like Spanish Red Carnation this is another very complex single note, lots of dimensions to this seemingly simple floral.

Is it a keeper? It’s very pretty but it fades too fast on me.

If you like this, try: Lotus Moon 2010, Ophelia, Danube, Creeping Mist

[Aveya]

Source: Forum Sale, partial bottle

Preconception: I ran across lotus once in a scent and thought I really liked it. But wanted to smell it stand-alone to understand it.

 

Bottle: Clean, light, pink, gently soapy.

Skin: Floral, wet, slightly musky. Crisp yet milky. A touch fruity. A touch citrusy.

Drydown: I agree with the review above that says Lotus smells like cashmere. It definitely smells cozy, clean, gently floral, but also has this... fizz to it. It's the citrus/fruity zing. Kind of makes it feel fuzzy.

 

Verdict: Cozy sweater, misty pond, grapefruit florals, all rolled into one cozy interesting scent. Unisex with a feminine slant. Much more layered and complex than I assumed it would be.