Treasure Ship Coming In

[samarablackcat]

King mandarin, green mint, green tea leaf, and white musk.

I was very excited for this as I have fallen hard for King mandarin and must try everything that has it as an ingredient.

I have tried this three unique times and each I get something different, so hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

In the bottle, mint is the most prominent. I'm not a mint lover (but I don't hate it, either) and not very familiar all the varieties. It's not soft like Go To Sleep, Darlings, Ded Moroz, Green Tree Viper or Snow, Glass, Apples, but sharper, ice-inducing mint, take-a-deep-breathe-and-feel-it-in-your-nose and the back of your throat. But the mandarin is there, tempering the cool with sunshine.

I was most worried about the tea as it seems to overtake most scents on me, but this is not the case. It wants to hide, buried deep under the mint. Right now I'm not getting any musk (white musk, like in Fae, is one of my favorite notes).

Now for a caveat: I always step outside to test my perfumes. Normally, it's very humid here (Florida) and it helps me judge sillage. But a wonderful thing happens as I step out (and it's cold for Florida today with low humidity); the mandarin steps up and now I am getting a perfect balance of mint and mandarin. A perfect scent for summer; cooling and refreshing.

As this dries, there is a battle for dominance between the mint and mandarin, each in time taking the lead. The mandarin stays on top; the mint closer to the skin. The mandarin is crisp, clean; the mint, cooling; a perfect reflection of the battle of nature and season, yin and yang, finally melding together as one. Tea is making a quick appearance and stays close to mint; very fragile leaves needing a slow, steady warmth to expose its true nature, too afraid to take the lead.

I am hoping with a little age the musk will help to temper and keep everything in check. The first time I tested (right out of the mailbox) I thought this needed less mint and more mandarin/musk, but today, after sitting for three days, it feels absolutely perfect and is an accurate representation of the image chosen for the label; quickly aggressive, calming, soothing and then, surrender and passion.

eta: After several hours of being on my skin, the tea made itself know. A light, close-to-the-skin scent of tea, orange and a hint of musk. No mint to be found.

[tziporra]

In the bottle and wet on my skin this is fresh cut almost bitter mint. Maybe the orange is taking any sweetness out of it? This is a very green mint.

 

I have to let it dry down quite awhile before I get anything besides mint. Finally I get some white musk. White musk, the edge of the mandarin, and mint.

 

The scent is too green for me. I like my orange a little cleaner smelling.

 

Tzi

[Jangzonrice]

Decant from ladymeag. Wet: solid mint with a bit of bitterness of king mandarin. Dry: a bit of musk with a lot of king mandarin...smells like orange sapphire from bath and body works..which I happen to like! I want a partial now.....

[DovaKitten]

The mint in this is nowhere near as strong as in the Lick It series, but it still has a cooling effect on my sinuses when I sniff it too close. (I love that, incidentally. It's what keeps me coming back to mint blends, even though the mint never stays this strong.)

 

There is a really lovely balance here between the mandarin and the peppermint. It reminds me a bit of Disco Snowballs, but I like this blend better. (That one kind of smelled like orange juice and toothpaste, which was nice but also created a really unfortunate association.) I think it's the musk that makes the difference. It's giving this a sweet and almost-creamy depth.

 

I absolutely love this blend and it is so very upsetting because I'm really trying to narrow down the bottles I need. Sigh.

[Caper]

Whoa mint! I love mint, so this is nice for me. Next comes an edge of citrus, and I love citrus, so this is also nice for me. Ten minutes in and the mint is still going strong; I'm not getting a lot of morphing here and it is staying a bright orange/mint blend.

 

About a half hour in, the mint has stepped down and the orange is moving into a gentle blend with the white musk, this is awesome, and pretty much exactly what I was expecting. Luckily the lemon-y green tea isn't overpowering, but just part of the citrus.

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: Strong mint with mandarin in the background.

 

Wet: Mint and mandarin. The mint isn't nearly as strong as it seemed to be in the decant. It's a soft mint. I can't really say that one note is stronger than the other. When I inhale deeply, I get the warmth of the mandarin followed by the coolness of the mint. The green tea leaf is lingering in the background.

 

Dry: This dries down to a bitter mandarin and mint scent at first, but after a while, the mandarin becomes the most prominent note, with the memory of the mint in the background.

 

Verdict: I won't be needing a bottle of this one, but I am glad that I was able to try it!

[Dark Alice]

Just mint on me. My skin eats the citrus up so again...just mint. Not impressed. Meh.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

After an initial burst of mint, I was reminded of Tarot: The Star, which I desperately loved before it was discontinued. That one was lime and marzipan; Treasure Ship is white musk and green tea, but somehow my nose feels they are similar because they are so fresh and yet warm. The mandarin is definitely a new twist, though, and I like it. This is very clean and nice for spring, scrubbing away the darkness of winter.

[Aviatrix]

It opens up with a blast of mint that seems almost foody, like the mint in the Lick Its, was my thought. After a little while I am getting more of the sweet mandarin. It's very good! I don't actually detect the green tea, which is a little surprising, since green tea tends to amp on my skin. The musk has settled nicely into the background.

 

Aside from hoping there would have been more green tea in this one, it is very nice overall. A fresh springtime scent with the sharpness of the mint would be perfect for a warmer day!

[DJ Sin]

one word: citrus!

 

However my skin chemistry eats it up, this has very little staying power on me.

Someone else will it enjoy it more than me..

[Alphakitty]

In the vial this is overwhelmingly minty, to the point where I was a bit nervous to test it out. The tea note is what drew me to this one, and it is nowhere to be found! Nor is the musk. But, funnily enough, I don't mind because on my skin the mandarin dominates and it is DIVINE. Why are there not a thousand mandarin and mint perfumes?! It is the most glorious combination on me, bitter citrus with a soft, whispering background of peppermint. I was convinced I would only need a decant of this one but now I want ten bottles to hoard for the rest of my life.

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet mint, hints of citrus and fresh mandarin zest.

 

This is perhaps the mintiest blend to last on my skin. And yes, it is nothing short of epically gorgeous. If you're looking for a green/fresh blend along the lines of Wormwood Field, this is amazing.

 

Honestly, this reminds me and gives me a jolt just like Exhibit Hall Fatigue oil, but whereas that is a bracing herbal mint/citrus combo, Treasure Ship is much more wearable as a perfume.

 

Lovely.

[ReallyZeb]

As soon as I apply it I get a massive blast of mint, but by the time it's dried that has vanished completely. It then starts with a delicate mandarin which is lovely but my skin eats it up, I have to put my nose to my skin to get anything. An hour later and it's a slightly citrusy musk which is beautiful but so delicate and close to the skin - far too light for me, I need something with a bit more punch.

[Floria]

This is a summer scent, really. It has a similar vibe to Embalming Fluid, with the juicy, unsweet citrus and a bit of mouth-watering bitterness from the tea. If you like Embalming Fluid or Schrodinger's Cat, or the mint-lime combo in Goldenrod Crab Spider, try this.

Because of the slight bitterness of the tea (and maybe some additional sharpness from the musk), the mandarin comes across as kind of grapefruit-like to my nose, rather than the satsuma-peel scent of the King Mandarin SN. It's very juicy and not particularly sweet. The mint is more obvious than the aloe in EF - it's a distinct note, rather than just adding to the combined vibe - but it came and went when I was testing it. The musk doesn't stand out much on its own to my nose. It's very refreshing.

[lohengrin]

In the bottle: Mint, with only very slight hints of mandarin or tea.

 

On skin, wet: Pretty much all mint, all the time.

 

On skin, dry: Mint and tea. I can't really smell any mandarin at all.

 

After an hour: The tea gets stronger and the mint weaker, but the mandarin never does really make an appearance. I like this scent a lot, but with it being so heavy on the tea and so light on the citrus, it turns out I'm going to have to deathmatch it against F5.

[Shadowdawn]

At first upon getting a whiff-- mint and tea! Not unpleasant at all, but I am waiting for the complexity to come out, and once on the skin it does ....

 

Unfortunately this is not the best thing, but also not the worst. It is also the first time a citrus has actually beat out the sweets and creams in a blend to linger the longest and I love it for that!

 

At first, it smells absolutely gorgeous... like minty green tea with a splash of fresh, very sweet, mandarin orange right from the fruit. I don't find the mint too sharp, but it's definitely there right on top of it all.

Unfortunately, about a minute in I detect a skunkiness in there somewhere.... maybe the white musk isn't playing nice with the mint? It definitely smells a little skunky, so I'm worried.

 

The first stage of the dry down brings with it the exit of the skunk! And also the taming of the mint which simmers down to a back note, Whew!

Unfortunately, soon thereafter I get... soap. Really high quality soap, but soap none the less... like an herbal(the bitterness/green part of the tea interacting with what is left and quickly fading from the mint)/jam soap.

 

Then, the second stage of the drydown waves to the soap as it exits stage right and I am actually left with a very very light soft barely-sweet creaminess (like a clear crystalline musk)and delicious strong whiffs of the dried rind of King Mandarin

 

By the end of this, I have no bitter green tea and NO mint left... just a silky, softened and well behaved, lady like Mandarin peel. Depending on how you sniff it, in some breaths the white musk says hello first, and in others it keep to the backdrop, but either way the mandarin is evident. It is just SUPER SUPER light in the dry down If the dry down could amp more, I'd really absolutely love this, but it's gone so fast like a passing breeze.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Phox

[Alaeidrel]

This is really interesting! When I first put it on I was worried it would go soapy - that was my impression in the imp - but it dries to a creamy mandarin and musk. There's a tiny bit of mint that I'm guessing will amp more when I'm in warmer air but right now it's grounding and subtle. I wasn't planning on buying bottles of any new shunga but I might have to get this one.

[theredkilt]

A burst of fresh green mint greets me, but then it started smelling like a savoury dish. I've waited an hour for the mandarin came out to play, but it's not juicy or fragrant one. The mint renders him a unripened vibe, like a green mandarin. It's not my cup of tea; i expected totally something different.

Edited April 2, 2014 by theredkilt

[lucycat]

In the imp: Wow, that’s some minty mint. I can just discern the mandarin around the edges.

 

Wet: the mandarin comes out more, but this is still primarily mint. As expected, this feels cool on my skin, a quality I’m sure I’ll appreciate more when it’s not 30 degrees Farenheit outside, as it was the first time I tested this. On my second test, about a week later, I get more green tea.

 

This makes me envision a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice topped with a sprig of mint.

 

Later: Mint and green tea. I don't get much musk from this, and wonder if it will come out as the decant ages.

Edited April 9, 2014 by lucycat

[mymymai]

ITI: Oh, it's bright, slightly citrus-y, but tempered well by the mint and the tea. It reminds me of the chocolate mint star mints but without the chocolate.

 

Wet: Deliciously juicy and slightly bitter mandarin weaves itself around the mint and tea, forming a delightfully bright scent that is as invigorating as it is uplifting. The musk serves as a nice base note, supporting the other scents while not being overtly obvious.

 

Dry: After a shower, the still lingers, smelling of tea, musk, and the impression of a mandarin eaten several hours ago. It's nice in any iteration.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Mint, citrus, tea leaf.

 

Wet: Sharp green tea leaf, backed by the green mint.

 

The dry-down: Everything calmed down to a generic tea scent, with a small slice of something citrus floating on top. Pleasant. I love citrus scents, but they just don't work as well as they should on me any more. I keep hoping, though!

[milo]

I like this. I'm getting mint and mandarin in that order. Fresh and great for summer.

[Soupy Twist]

Stale toothpaste and clementine peel. yuck.

[Hadewig]

When applied, I smelled the mint and also the peel of a mandarin or orange. Not really the fruit itself. The mint I could almost feel on the tip of my tongue if that makes sense to anyone. After a while the mint moves to the background and a strong powdery feel starts to appear. After an hour, all I could smell was the Batiste Dry Shampoo with the Blush scent. Treasure Ship Coming In smells exactly like that after the dry down...