Lovers in the Tea House

[CiCi]

Sake and matcha tea with amber incense, golden sandalwood, and yōkan.

Straight out of the bottle is a light boozy scent (sake) followed by a sweet amber scent.

On my skin, it is beautiful. The sweet light boozy scent fades somewhat but the amber lingers and the lovely sandalwood comes into play and mixes with the yokan, which I found out to be a jellied dessert made out of red bean paste, agar and and sugar. This scent seems almost slightly creamy, and I can almost detect a bit of citrus although no citrus is listed. This is a light, breathtakingly ethereal scent. If you are on the fence about this at all, but it, you won't be disappointed. This is absolutely stunning and I'm thrilled to have it.

[Aviatrix]

This scent is quite heavy on the lemony amber to begin with! I like amber a lot, so I'm happy. It has a bit of bite from the rice wine as well.

After a while the sandalwood comes out to play, and somehow I'm getting a slightly foody quality that must be the yôkan. It's very delicious in the dry stage, and the lemoniness of the amber has faded.

It saddens me a bit that the dry stage is also very faint. Maybe I didn't put on enough of it? Or maybe it just IS supposed to be very light, as GoldenRubee mentioned in her review.

 

Overall, it's a very pretty, slightly sweet and foody, blend that has all the goodness of both amber and sandalwood. I'm happy for my bottle!

[DJ Sin]

In the bottle it was slightly acrid and boozy, it must be the sake.

I get a lemon scent in the beginning and then it dries down sweet vanilla and amber. This is absolutely gorgeous! Sometimes amber can go powdery on me but the matcha and sake balance it out.

[Sakura Tsukikage]

I agree that this is gorgeous! It goes on with yes, a touch of lemony amber with a hint of the freshness of tea and the light booziness of sake. It's a fresh almost chewy but smooth springlike scent with a very light incensey backdrop, but mostly bright and sweet, sugary-fresh but sticky ambery-jelly, which might sound a bit strange, but it's how it strikes me! On, I start picking up the amber incense and sandalwood together, almost lightly smokey, with a sweet sticky middle and that lemony bright sake and tea note over the top. It gets sweeter and rounder, fuller and almost a little creamy as it wears. It really makes me think of the inspiration--a teahouse serving sweets, tea, and sake, with all those scents in the air, with a slight tinge of incense and the fullness of sandalwood that make me think of the inhabitants of the place somehow. It fits very well to me, and I love the sweet creamy amber incensey yokan sense it gives me as it dries, light and sweet without being too foody. Thinking about it, the matcha is a very specific note and rings true to real matcha for me, with some of that foamy bitterness and thickness and almost powderiness it has, and it adds a lot to the scent, melding really well with the rest of it, especially the yokan.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Sakura Tsukikage

[Lethran]

In bottle: The sharpness of the matcha tea and the sweetness of yōkan go together beautifully. (Yōkan is a jellied bean paste dessert that comes in various flavors. I have had a melon version. I’m pretty sure I am correctly identifying this element, but there is room for error. Buyer beware). I’m calling it tea dominant, with yōkan second, and amber third. The sake grounds and the touch of sandalwood elevates. This has beautiful body and quite a bit of nuance, everything working together to make something sweet and bright and sticky. I like it, though I think I prefer some of the other green tea blends in this year’s Shunga offerings. Wet: Or maybe not. I really like this on my skin. Something in the way my skin responds to the yōkan makes it really special. The green tea stays dominant, but the yōkan really sings, the amber buoying it. The sake warms it, and the sandalwood stays understated. Dry: Lots of matcha with sandalwood support and the ghost of yōkan.

[Alphakitty]

This is the Shunga I was most excited for, since I seem to gravitate towards Japanese-themed scents and this features two notes you don't see a lot of (matcha, which is distinctly different from your usual green tea, and yōkan--red beans in a perfume, could it really be?!). The smell in the bottle is strange, not unpleasant but not what I expected. Strong sake and lemon! There is no citrus listed in the notes, but it makes itself clear in the bottle.

 

Wet, it's straight-up sake on my skin. Since it is pretty much the only alcohol smell I can tolerate aside from rum (sometimes) and wine in small doses, it's nice but still not quite what I expected. I spent quite a few minutes sniffing my wrist and giving it dirty looks as the scent refused to morph.

 

Then, thankfully, the drydown! Matcha, matcha, matcha. Not too strong and tempered by the sake, which is still hanging out, and there is a distinct sweetness. Could it be.. my beloved red bean jelly finally making an appearance? The longer this sits on my skin the more it shifts to yōkan and sandalwood, smooth and sweet. Matcha keeps peeking through in the middle part and sake sticks through until the end, and this is an interesting morper to be sure.

 

This is exactly what I wanted. There's a sake bar in my city that I love, and sometimes I go there just for dessert--I have always wanted a scent that kind of captured that, which I know is oddly specific but... this is it! Sandalwood for the bar, sake (of course), matcha and yōkan for the dessert. I don't get amber or incense thankfully, which is a surprise--those tend to amp up quite a bit on my skin!

Edited March 3, 2014 by Alphakitty

[tziporra]

I was super fortunate and got to choose my decants by sniffing empties from my wonderful decanter. This is not something I would ever have chosen based on notes.

 

In the bottle I'm really digging the matcha and sake notes blending, it is absolutely beautiful and very Asian, which I love about the Shungas. Beth always seems to be able to capture the essence of the artwork so beautifully.

 

Unfortunately, this turns into a jellied lemon mess on my skin. Like sugared cleaning products.

 

No Lovers for me.

 

Tzi

Edited March 7, 2014 by tziporra

[DovaKitten]

Mmm. I don't get much booze, although I do get a kind of sharpness that might be sake? Mostly what I get is amber and sandalwood held in check by sharp, bright citrus (huh?). I can smell the matcha as a delicious and slightly floral note, but if I had to guess without knowing what's in this, the only notes I would have gotten are amber and sandalwood. I would have guessed "something fruity," too, which isn't in the description but may be coming from the red bean paste? Anyway, it's delicious and reminds me (strangely) of something my mother would wear, placing it at the top of my bottles list.

 

I'd also like to note that this is the first BPAL amber that hasn't gone straight to powder on my skin.

[toku]

This is just delectable. At first it's sharply tangy-sweet lemon. After several hours it's dried down to a subtle, not overly sweet, slightly foody/slightly resinous blend of awesome. This is probably the most well-rounded amber blend I've tried. I realize that I'm not describing this well AT ALL but it seems to resist being pinned down by me. I'm going to try it again tomorrow to confirm, but I'm pretty sure this will be a bottle for me.

[Jangzonrice]

Decant from ladymeag!! Wet: lemoney matcha tea, sake, sweetened with amber. Dry: Amber incense with sandalwood (soft) and the red bean sweetness of yokan!! I was skeptical that the yokan smell would actually be there, but it is in the dry down...I love this. In fact, I just bought a bottle!! Throw is medium, just enough!

 

By the way, I also layered this with treasure ship coming in and it smells so amazing!!

Edited March 7, 2014 by Jangzonrice

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: This is odd, because each time I sniff the decant, I get something different. On the first sniff, I get this blast of unexpected citrus. On the second sniff, I get intense sandalwood followed by the citrus scent I mentioned earlier. Hmm.

 

Wet: Lots of candied lemon! I'm not really getting anything else from this at the moment. After a few minutes, the candied lemon scent is still at the front of the blend, and the resins are lingering behind it.

 

Dry: The aforementioned lemony scent and some booziness thanks to the sake note.

 

Verdict: This isn't bad, but it isn't 'me.' I won't be getting a bottle, but I'm glad that I was able to try this!

 

*edit* After a while, the booziness went away, and now all that remains is a very light lemony scent.

Edited March 8, 2014 by dementia_divine

[MiasmaResonance]

A weird matcha-boozy-lemon scent on my skin. A slight candied aspect is present as well. Not quite as foody as I wanted, sadly. I wouldn't really wear it. Pass for me.

[JasminDreams2010]

My friend gifted me a bottle of this for my birthday! I'm so glad she did

I might have not picked this up on my own, but it's really nice with my skin chemistry. It's not a morpher, per se, but the boozy notes are stronger in the beginning. It is a sunny, light-hearted little fragrance, with the amber incense giving it a touch of sex. I agree there's sort of a citrus feeling to this, though I don't smell any actual citrus in the notes.

All in all, a nice springtime scent. Safe for work but it could be an evening scent, too. Win!

[MCS4096]

I wish I got a little more obvious yokan here.. it was really the reason I got this blend. But I do love it all the same-- it's a great sugared lemon now, and I have a feeling that as it ages the amber and sandalwood might come out more and make it a bit creamier and softer.

 

Edited for language fail

Edited March 16, 2014 by MCS4096

[Balame]

Woohoo! A big bright burst of lemon and matcha right off the bat. It doesn't change much as it dries, just gets calmer and lets the yokan come out a bit. Sadly I was hoping for more amber or sandalwood to temper the citrus, but no such luck.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, I am really digging this. On wet, there's this slightly boozy note which combined with the incense and amber leads to a golden, redolent vibe.

 

As it dries, I get sweetness, a hint of tea combining with the incense and amber.

 

Subtle, sophisticated, amazing.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: The first hit is sweet, probably the yokan, but it's quickly replaced with astringent sake. Possibly mixed with the sandalwood, but I'm attributing it to the sake.

 

Wet on skin: Same as before. A lovely sweetness which is throwing nicely, accompanied by a sharp scent that makes me thinkof alcohol poured over a paper cut. Close to my skin, it's just the sharpness.

 

Dried down: Same as before, sweet yokan and sharp sake.

 

Throw: The throw is almost all yokan, very nice.

 

Verdict: *** This one has me torn, really. I love the yokan and the throw. But I really don't like the sake astringency I get when sniffing closer, which, considering how much I love the yokan, I'm bound to do. It's like a bait and switch, Jekyll and Hyde sort of scent on me. I'll have to pass this time, but I'd love to see another scent with yokan in it. I think I will keep the decant, though, see if the sake mellows out over time.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Magycmyste

[rhubarb3point14]

I get the oddest, most incongruous strawberry-wine or blood-orange juice scent when I first apply this. It's AMAZING. It smells like a memory of summertime. With the matcha and yokan, I would have expected a more alkaline sweetness, but instead I'm getting this wild summery juiciness.

 

Then it dries down to a faint skin-scent of fruity incense. Like many others here, I wish it stayed a little stronger over time, but I adore this enough that I'm willing to slather.

[velvet]

i like this a lot. it was a bit of sake during the wet stage, but now its like a mellow lemon with amber and sweet edges. it's what i wanted lemon-scented sticky bat and june gloom to be. I am seriously considering a bottle.

[theseagrows]

this is a pretty, light tea scent, perfect for warmer weather. in the beginning it reminds me a lot of ebisu when first applied. i swear i get some nectarine, but it's not in the description. it's a slightly sweet, watery tea scent, very pretty and light. i'm not sure about the amber incense or sandalwood, this does seem golden, but not in a smoky way. it's mostly just citrussy tea on my skin. almost a duplicate of ebisu with my skin chemistry. i want to try this next to ebisu and compare. i definitely think ebisu is more strongly a nectarine scent, but there is definitely a similarity. after being on my skin for awhile, i detect a very slight plasticky note, which probably comes from the yōkan, since sweeter fruits tend to do this on my skin with bpal scents.

Edited March 24, 2014 by theseagrows

[mymymai]

ITB: It's sweet and feminine via the sake, amber incense, and yokan, although there's a bit of a bit to it doe the the green tones from the matcha tea.

 

Wet: The sake here is very floral and sweet with a touch of effervescence. The matcha notes are still distinct and slightly bitter, although the amber and sandalwood have trouble keeping up even with the subtly sugary yokan.

 

Dry: All the bitterness has subsided to reveal a soft, subtle sake and yokan-laden scent that is just gorgeous. It's worth the wait for the dry down.

[milo]

Lovely and fresh, I quite like this. I'm getting tea along with the sandalwood and citrus.

[tinyvulture]

I'm not picking up any boozy sake or green matcha at all. Instead, a bright, citrusy lemon/grapefruit note dominates. Yokan is a dessert made from bean past, and there's definitely a sweet foodiness. Makes me think of a grapefruit sprinkled with sugar honestly. Not really for me.

[Soupy Twist]

This positively shocked me because I thought I was going to hate it. Incense in the bottle, but it goes on as citrus peel. There's a brief sandalwood note, which is surprisingly nice, and then it turns into candied lemon peel! This becomes a lemony tea, which eventually dries to a lemon drop similar to Arcana's Ambrosia. Complex and interesting, although not a lot of throw or longevity. No sake or beans. It was gone in two hours.

[Lucchesa]

Sake is a beautiful note and I'm sad that it doesn't appear in any of this year's Shungas. Lovers in the Tea House is not foody on me at all; I'm not picking out any sweet red bean paste. Wet I get sake, a citrusy feel that I think must be the matcha (green tea has a citrus vibe on my skin), and sandalwood. As it dries down, the amber comes into play but if it's incense, it's very light in feel.

 

Overall this is light, bright, a beautiful late spring or summer scent. Unfortunately, like so many tea blends, my skin drinks it up rather too quickly. ETA But before it's completely gone, there is a bit deeper phase where I think I'm smelling the yokan. So lovely!

Edited February 18, 2018 by Lucchesa