Sinus Amoris

[suki]

The Bay of Love: red sandalwood and velvet-thick vanilla with red pepper, oudh, Ethiopian myrrh, and champaca blossom.

In The Bottle: The champaca blossom and myrrh combine and are doing this thing that somehow smells like a flower that emits baby powder. Odd. Very very odd.

Wet On Skin: Wow. Many years ago I had this incense that smelled like blue lotus powder, if such a thing existed. This smells like that, and also, the red sandalwood is coming around now, all spicy and rich and smelling like another beloved scent of my youth, Bain de Soliel suntan gelee. Incredible.

Dry Down: Wow, again. this scent is a bit of a morphed, and truth be told, I'm glad- myrrh tends to become pure talcum powder on my skin and makes me sad. But the myrrh has faded into the background and this scent has become rich, spicy and sexy, like a well-loved riding crop and the vanilla musk of a person's natural sweat.

I think I'm in love.
Edited May 12, 2015 by VioletChaos

[Lycanthrope]

I just got this!

 

After a really rainy Denver week, this is helpful to smell a slightly dry, reddish wood (like Fenris Wolf, but more flowers... a bit softer around the edges). That's wafting from the bottle.

 

On the skin, it has a very similar reddish sandalwood vibe, but then the myrrh starts to turn it more... 'voluptuous' for a better word, and then the scent goes definitely towards a sweet, deep, vanilla-like (but not cloying!) sweetness. It starts moving more towards a very intriguing, non-sugary and definitely non-foody vanilla. A gourmand, supported by the woods to make for a very wonderful, less masculine but still UBER CUDDLY Fenris Wolf. On me, Snake Oil has a bit too much exotic flair - this is still heady and commanding, with that red-musk feel, but I don't get actual red musk. So... um, it's hard to put this completely into words...

 

It has similar traits towards Monster Bait: Underpants (vanilla sandalwood?), because lurking under the very slight, but burnished woods, the fundamental song is a harmonious woods-vanilla richness. As it dries down, the richness improves, and it doesn't morph quite as much as Fenris Wolf or Jupiter (BPAL) moved on me - those were strong dry red woods that dried down drier. This is like a heavy bass note or chant slowly reverberating down to your nasal core and harmonizing, spreading, enveloping, singuralizing and becoming a full, rounded EXPERIENCE, a scent that hits all the chords so right you can't tell one note from another, until it's just MMMMMMMMM.

 

As it dries down, the Oude woods enrich, and, wow, like seriously, I can't believe how good this is. It melds with my (male) skin chemistry SO GOOD. I smell like... SO GOOD. I would be in trouble if like, for example, Chris Evans sauntered into my house and was like, HEY BABE. I SMELL LIKE SINUS AMORIS, LIKE SRSLY. I would also accept Jeremy Renner, although I'd expect him to smell more ... woodsy. Of course if they both were wearing Sinus Amoris, like, they could totally fight, shirtless, over me, and I would be like MOAR SINUS AMORIS, throwing it onto their unnaturally buff bodies, and wondering if I would go more for classic scruffy or the hot dad Renner effect. And they would smell awesome, and it would totally be the WORST MOVIE PLOT EVER.

 

So, um, this time, hoarding instincts, you win. I already checked the website for the slim chance that this was still up (no such luck). I would have bought many more Evans.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Lycanthrope

[AmyO'Shields]

I hate to follow Lycanthrope's amazing review but i just wanted to mention how much i love this and how much it reminds me of the TP Atmo Evening on the Veranda...must be the red sandalwood? Very nice!

 

ETA I just couldn't handle the red pepper :-(

Edited January 12, 2016 by Herb Girl

[boomtownrat]

Sinus Amoris is probably going to need some time before I can love it, but I'm not giving up because the bottle only arrived two days ago. Most of the notes blend into a woody scent with kind of a musky quality, and there's a noticeable spikiness from the red pepper on top of it all. That's not to say it's a strong red pepper scent, though, because it doesn't have powerful throw. As it dries some occasional sweetness wafts in and out, but there's never anything foody happening and it's a bit more perfumey than I expected. I think that's the myrrh and oudh talking. This is my first experience with champaca in blossom form, so I don't know how to identify the note. It doesn't seem all that similar to the champaca note I know. My hope is that age will bring out more of the incensey quality I wanted and allow the pepper to settle down some.

 

At the moment, it feels like I'm trying on the perfume of a lady who's far more sophisticated than I am. She's a bit "little black dress and stilettos at a cocktail party in a penthouse," whereas I'm more "black t-shirt and Doc Martens in an Irish pub" (or, more frequently, "t-shirt and skull-print lounge pants at home"). My skin chemistry is rather volatile, so this could all change when I wear it again.

 

Edited on 27 May 2015: I still don't get the incense and vanilla loveliness that so many other reviewers are describing. Champaca blossom seems to be nothing like ordinary champaca on me, and red pepper stomps most of the other notes. It's only been a few weeks, so maybe I'll grow to like it in time, but my experience with Raven Moon 2012 tells me this probably isn't going to become the beloved scent that I had hoped it would be. I took a chance on that pepper and it isn't working well for me yet.

Edited May 27, 2015 by boomtownrat

[mooncityminx]

Fresh on the skin I am getting mostly sandalwood. It starts out very quiet and the sandalwood blooms. Then the champaca comes out, like beautiful incense. Now the pepper comes out to play and there is a wonderful resinous mix here like (forgive me) like a Lush store that also sells Nag Champa incense. I worked at a Lush store over the holidays one year, and there was a saying that customers would come in and ask what product they could buy to capture the whole smell of the store, and there wasn't one. I think it is the vanilla in this that is triggering my association with Honey I Washed the Kids, but there is also a spiciness and a beautiful beautiful resinous glow. OMG I want to smell like this forever. Can we make that happen, please?

 

Interesting how on Lycan this became masculine, and on me it is sweet and spicy and resinously feminine.

[annemathematics]

this arrived yesterday. of course I rushed to try it on first thing; patience was not happening.

 

on my skin there was the tiniest hot kick of cayenne/sharp spice*. just enough to catch my attention right up front and that was the last I saw of it. next up was a blend of champaca with sandalwood. spicy sandalwood, like an Indian grocery store indeed. sinus morphed quite a bit over the next few hours and each stage was lovely. sometimes it was champa heavy, other times the sandalwood heaved out to the forefront, sometimes it was a champaca/vanilla tango duet. if, over time, it evolves into any of those stages, embraces all of them, etc, I'm down. this is nice, rich intriguing.

 

today for kicks, I deathmatched it against skekZok, the ritual master, another decadent champaca scent. next to sinus amoris, skekzok's champaca is bright and brash, and the hyssop stands out dramatically. next to skezok, the biggest notes in sinus amoris are the vanilla and the sandalwood. while the skeksi is powerful and ostentatious, sinus is coming across all smooth and rich and suave. they play very well together and are each nice! I would say having both is only redundant if you are "meh" on champaca. I'm not. I'll be keeping and wearing both of these.

 

 

 

*(meaning scent, not skin burn! there was no skin burn at all ever...unlike with real love, I remain unscathed!)

 

**also, doesn't "the bay of love" sound rather yachtrock-ish?

[rinster]

How did the Yacht Rock series slip past my radar?!?! Now I have a term for my husband's [ahem] quaint musical tastes. Love it!

 

I did a full day test with Sinus and love it. It's got a dreamy incense quality that reminds me a little of Panther Moon, but it's less headshop and more elegant bohemienne. It's got a similar spicy kick to Raven Moon, but it's smoother with a schmexy bombshell vibe. My sinuses love Sinus Amoris.

[Roogna]

voluminous! I applied a tiny bit to my wrist and I feel like I'm in a cloud of it. My throat is not thanking me, so this will be a pass for me.

The scent itself is middling. It's powdery on my skin.

up close (nose to wrist) I can pick out the sweet myrrh and champaca (which is kind of powerdery itself) and maaaybe a hint of vanilla. The other notes just blend into the cloud of scent that I apparently amp.

 

*edit - after about an hour it settles some - slightly more vanilla/sandalwood and less powdery and enveloping cloud

Edited May 18, 2015 by Roogna

[LiberAmoris]

Sinus Amoris took a few wears for me to love it, but I'm there. The first couple of times I applied, I just couldn't get past the powdery, almost soapy intersection of the champaca and myrrh. And then I tried it once more, and walked through a cloud of my own sillage as I doubled back across my path ... there it was, a lovely, vanilla/red sandalwood incense, like something you'd get in a paper packet at a souk for a price that seems dear even in conversion, and on a slow afternoon when you come across it in a drawer years after returning home, you burn it and it proves to be worth every cent and then some. I'm not sure if my nose adjusted or the scent settled down nicely, but now it just smells like that beautiful incense each time I wear it.

 

There's something so relaxing about this blend, and yet it doesn't put me to sleep. I think it would be ideal for red sandalwood lovers who are looking for a meditation or yoga scent. I'm so glad I took the plunge and ordered a bottle!

[theseagrows]

i tried this at the SF will call, so forgive me if my memory isn't completely accurate. i do remember thinking it was like a creamy scent with something that reminded me of sarsaparilla, but not that exactly, but it definitely had this verrrry slightly creamy fizziness to it, maybe the red pepper? i think i was getting mostly pepper, myrrh, a bit of vanilla, and something else floral, though it didn't "read" as champaca, that was probably what it was, but smelled different due to the blending of the other notes.

Edited June 4, 2015 by theseagrows

[zankoku_zen]

Dreamy red sandalwood, touches of oude, pink pepper and vanilla. This one is an incensey sort of sandalwood, very wearable, very sexy. I can see this both appealing to those that dig sandalwood, dig red musk, and dig the sexy blends. It's a slinky sandalwood blend, most of which in my opinion have been in the Shunga line, and this one is distinctively a non-Shunga but would very well be at home in a Lupercalia update.

[myth]

Well, I have to be the voice of dissent here, I'm afraid. This should have been a good one for me... I dig incensy sexy blends, sandalwood, vanilla, oude, and myrrh, but I don't dig Sinus Amoris, nor find anything about it the least bit sexy.

It's heavy, powdery, and something in it is sharp and pricks my nose. This smells like a stinky grandma perfume on me. It's nose-curling harsh upon first application, and as it settles in it turns into a heavy powdery scent that is so cloying I feel like I might suffocate when I inhale it.

Hours later I get a waft of incensy sandalwood that has finally lost its powder, and that I kind of enjoy. I just can't wait out the overly perfumed grandma in a head shop main phase of this for a tiny aftertaste of something that I only kind of like. Oh well. It's loved enough that I should have no trouble rehoming this bottle.

[abejita]

Velvet-thick vanilla in the description, paired with oudh is insta-buy for me, and this lives up to my expectations. It's deeply sensual and has that perfect amount of throw that announces itself without screaming. Good lasting power, too.

 

It's dominated by the vanilla/red sandalwood, which is always a good combination. It has that Morocco feeling, though not close enough to confuse the two scents. The myrrh gives it an incense background and seems to increase the staying power, rather than take over the scent. The red pepper isn't obvious on its own to me, it just gives it a touch of a spice note that gives the sweetness some counterpoint, bringing out their character beyond just the sweetness. The oudh is a bit more obvious, and adds a fullness and elegance to the vanilla/wood combination. The champaca is more of the incense character than the floral character, which is a good thing for me-- sometimes highly floral champaca turns a little to rotting fruit/garbage on my skin.

 

I love this one so much. After a decade, I have more BPAL than I could ever wear, so I almost never buy a backup bottle. This one, however, may send me looking for a 2nd bottle.

[lady_pandora]

Mmmm, Sinus Amoris. This is a hard one to review because I don't always get the same result when I wear it. I don't know if it's hormonal or what. But either way, it starts out with the champaca over red sandalwood, and then it develops into either mostly vanilla or mostly oud. The vanilla note here is not polite foody vanilla like, say, Mini Magdalene--this is husky and syrupy and smoky and in-your-face, the vanilla that's in Black Cherry Love. The oud, which I'm finally able to identify because it's the thing that's in both this and Angel of Death that isn't sandalwood, apparently likes to smell like ambergris on me in both blends. And whether I'm having a Vanilla Day or an Oud Day, I can smell lovely incensey myrrh beneath it all. This is dead sexy and I need more of it. And it will console me for the rarity of Angel of Death because I actually like this even better.

[tallan]

The first time I tried Sinus Amoris, it was just a light sandalwood, backed by some hardly noticeable myrrh. A disappointment, in other words. And then I got Fenris Wolf, which I'd been excited about for a while - and the comparison to which had made me more interested in Sinus Amoris - and it didn't work on me at all. I started preparing myself for this not being my scent, either, even though I really wanted it to be. But it needed a second try. (And a third. Possibly a fourth and a fifth. I mean, to be really sure.) And the second time I put it on, the vanilla showed up.

 

This time? Warm, soft woodsy vanilla made interesting by the spicier, resinous notes. I don't get any champaca blossom, or do but can't identify it, which is just fine by me. It's still pretty light on me, with hardly any throw; hopefully that'll improve with aging. I have a feeling it will age gloriously.

And I'm perfectly okay with imagining Chris Evans smelling like this, thank you.

[milo]

Sinus Amoris does not disappoint. I got it because the notes seemed right up my alley. Warm vanilla and slight bit of woods, and I could swear there was a bit of amber here. All this with a bit of spice thrown in and we have a win, folks.

[sprout]

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ah ah ah ah ah ah

 

I am interrupting my smell-gasm to report this Sinus Amoris oil is sexy vanilla incense good. I mean, nothing to see here people, keep moving, ALL YR SINUS AMORIS ARE BELONG TO US!

 

I am getting mostly vanilla myrrh (think La Petit Mort, but but more vanilla! with a hint of incense) Mostly, this is a nonfoody vanilla candle that just extinguished. Not a Yankee Candle or something you get at BBW, this a high quality candle you can only get in the most booshey upscale French salon. And, if like me you don't know French, you cannot even begin to pronounce it. The closest thing that I have sniffed to this vanilla is Vanille Cannelle by CSP, but there isn't any ginger or cinnamon in this. It is not foody at all, not cupcakes or cookies or anything like that. Just really, really good vanilla with incense and the gentlest of myrrh.

 

No pepper for me, which is why I did not get multiple bottles and I am SO SAD that I didn't.

 

Final analysis: Mainly myrrh, vanilla and sandalwood/champaca. No burning, no foodiness, no powder, just the best vanilla incense you ever smelled. But, don't hunt this down, because I am going to need more.

Edited November 16, 2015 by sprout

[Anaire]

I've been trying and trying and trying this one, it's settled for over 6 months and I still end up with a dominating pepper scent that's way to much for my nose. Pity, as DH says it's a sexy vanilla spice but I'm not getting that at all, all I smell is pepper, pepper and more pepper.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: oh wow! The Myrrh in this....my heavens! With the vanilla! Swoon! I think I can actually smell the red pepper too, which I was so worried about, but it's not like red pepper the vegetable, as I had feared, more like the pink pepper note in Mi-Go Brain Cannister, which I love. This lovely so far.

 

Dry: The red musk comes out a bit more (which is great, love red musk) and it balances nicely with the Myrrh as the dominant notes in this, on me. Fantastic. I love Myrrh, love red musk, so this is all win for me! A keeper.

[Blood onmy hands]

Mostly a very dry, slightly powdery sandalwood incense smell. Warm and woody. I think the red pepper gives it a sharp bite in the drydown. I don't really smell the myrrh or vanilla at all. Fades quickly and doesn't have a lot of throw.

[Joyleaf_]

This is absolutely stunning on me. I got a sniffie of it a while back and searched out a bottle. Its this warm gooey vanilla with resinous sandalwood and an hint of more woods.

 

The pepper and the myrrh smooth it down and its really lovely. I just, yum. It is pretty unisex on me, with a slight feminine flair, and I can assume that on my partner it would be absolutely devastating.

[SoundlessEchoes]

In the bottle, this is a soft, oriental breath of sandalwood, champaca, and myrrh. It's a very soothing scent, to me.

 

Worn: It blooms from slightly floral to more of a soft incense on the skin, but this isn't harsh, close-in incense, or even incense burned nearby. It's more like being somewhere where a sweet, heady but light incense is being burnt in the next room over and a warm breeze is carrying it over to your nose and wrapping it around you like a fire-warmed scarf. There's a very slight hint of smokiness to it that sometimes clarifies itself into the red pepper note, but mostly, the edge it adds just goes to create that faint feel like something is burning. To get the red pepper distinctly, I find I have to go in closer to the skin where it's applied, then it becomes clear. The vanilla sneaks out over time from under the rest as a supportive, almost fluffy underlying base.

 

Overall, that initial feeling of a soft, warm, soothing incense-y oriental holds out for me. It has decent life span and a fairly gentle throw, so I think that worn in moderation, it'd be a perfectly fine workplace scent. That said, it might make me feel sexier than I'd want to be at work, I find this one can support both a snuggly or a sexy mood rather easily! Not always, but at least some of the time, this reminds me of a much softer, more stealthy Snake Oil.