Kali

[BoneBone24]

… This perfume is a blend of the sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey.

 

Wet: Chocolate covered cherries

Drydown: Somewhat tingly like cough syrup but at the same time it’s also soft. Spicy tobacco softened by light florals and a hint of chocolate. Smooth, tart wine adds a touch of cherry-like sweetness in the background. The rose is adding a surprisingly clean vibe to the mix.

Dry: Light, clean, sweet, and smoky all at once. Mostly floral at this point, but in a nice non-heavy way. I can detect the rose more than anything else. The darker notes are all blended together as one sweet and spicy supporting note. I think the balsam is sort of tempering the rest of the scent so it doesn’t go too floral or too sweet or too anything else. Well blended. Feminine and soft.

6 out of 10 bones

[Opulence]

I'm envious of the reviewers who had such lovely, complex experiences with this. All I'm getting is a fruitiness blended with something sweet and/or floral. Didn't have much throw at all, and the scent wasn't "me."

[Deliciousness]

Imp: Sweet and slightly foody smelling.
Wet on skin: Sweet foody floral. I know that seems like an oxymoron, but it really has a pretty floral background with an overlay of something sugary and candied in nature.
Dry: Surprisingly like the wet stage, but just a little more mellow and softer. There is an ever so slight soapy edge.

Although I'm enjoying my imp, I can't see myself wearing this scent. There is something about it that I am enjoying and something that is also slightly off putting (maybe the occasional whiffs of soapiness).

[Magycmyste]

I'm pretty excited to try this. While I'm still holding out hopes that they might someday do a Krishna scent, I do love Kali. I'm also a little apprehensive though, mainly because of the red wine note. I haven't had the best luck with boozy notes yet.

 

In the imp: I definitely get the chocolate and red wine. Possibly the honey and/or a floral, but they seem to blend pretty well into the first two notes.

 

Wet on skin: The dark chocolate is still the heavy note here, with a bit of the wine it the background.

 

Dried down: Unfortunately, the chocolate seems to have completely died down, and been replaced with florals. On the bright side, the florals are BEE-U-TI-FUL! I mean, seriously, these are nice.

 

Throw: I get a little of a floral throw here. In all honesty, I'm also wearing Charisma for other reasons, and I'm getting more of that than Kali. They blend together beautifully, though.

 

Verdict: ***** I'm not entirely sure this isn't also because of Charisma (which I also love the scent of), but I love the way I smell right now. This makes me very happy. I even liked the booze note, since it wasn't too boozy. Whoo!!

[Teaker]

So pretty, and very unique! The main floral here is lotus, but it's not overwhelmingly sweet and bubblegum. It's quite mild and just adds a touch of sweetness to the base of smooth wine and tobacco. The chocolate adds the faintest dark undertone. It's a lovely pairing without ever reaching foody territory. It's not quite a floral either. It has a creamy/tropical/tangy feel.

 

I totally forgot that there was honey in here, until a few hours after I applied and I got a big whip of play-doh. Damn you honey, you ruin everything!

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A slightly synthetic, fruity-sweet smell. Not quite fake cherry, but close. Possible undertones of red wine.

 

Wet: Apparently my notes deleted this cell, but I'll reconstruct it as best I can. It's still fruity-sweet, but less synthetic; more of a traditional perfume note. I don't think lotus plays well with my skin - it became overwhelmingly fruity in Bastet, and I'm afraid it's doing the same thing here. And my skin amps fruit like whoa. The chocolate and wine (especially the wine) eventually start to peek out a little, but never get more dominant than the florals.

 

Dry: I don't know if this just became an indistinguishable part of my skin-scent really fast so that I couldn't smell it on myself, or whether it fades REALLY REALLY FAST, but I really had to huff to get anything beyond an hour, and after three, I'm not getting anything at all.

 

I may buy a bottle somewhere down the line to round out my florals collection, but I'm not much of a florals gal to begin with. Plus, it shares many similarities with Lilith (only with lotus being the dominant floral instead of rose), and Lilith is already on my to-buy list. But, as usual, I'll hang onto my frimp and see if it goes any interesting directions with age.

[Psuke]

Imp review:

 

Wet in bottle: Fruit, like the black currant in Eat Me, but no vanilla cake, just fruit. Sometimes with a back tang and maybe some oiliness? Not necessarily unpleasant. Sometimes with more of a honey note (I smelled this several times before wearing it, and it changed subtly from sniff to sniff)

 

Wet on skin: fruit. Definitely fruit. Not overly sugar-y, but sweet, and with a dollop (small dollop) of the rich honey note.

 

Dry down: Fruit. It's fruit all the way. Not food-y fruit, but fruit all the same. It's practically a single note scent for me. Cherries or black currant my nose isn't trained enough to tell. But it's definitely fruit.

[Veronica]

Wet, this is all sweet fruit from the red wine and cassis (blackcurrant, smells plummy to me). Dry, it becomes a sweet plum base with just a hint of floral and spice. Pretty but not outstanding for me.

[Soupy Twist]

In the bottle I get fruit, tobacco, and what I can only describe as "juicy wet chocolate." It goes on as flowers and that wet chocolate, but shortly after all the dark notes vanish and it's just tropical flowers, like hibiscus and osmanthus. There's a honey note which turns it too sweet for me, and then more tropical flowers. It's overall pretty, but frankly I expected something a lot fiercer from the goddess of destruction.

[LizziesLuck]

This has a mix of great, ok, and really iffy notes on me, so who knows how it'll turn out. Most worried about the wine, that almost never works for me.

 

Wet: Boozey, fruity chocolate. Not bad at all so far!

 

Dry: Weird fake fruit, and powder. Fail.

[quintessentially]

The wonderful azurephoenix frimped this scent to me in her Lupers decant circle (presumably because it shared a lot of similar notes to another scent I'd ordered for from her circle, The Initiation). These two scents are most certainly not comparable despite the overlap of notes but Kali is still very enjoyable! Kali is all floral to me, and so perfectly blended that I couldn't discern any one note in particular! If you're looking for a powerful tropical floral scent, definitely give Kali a try. She's got intense staying power.

[RobberBaroness]

In the bottle: Very complex and layered. The chocolate and red wine is a great combination, with a floral background. Seems like a date night perfume.

 

Dry: Chocolate, wine and white florals. I keep thinking how sophisticated this perfume smells, almost too grown-up or classy for me!

[Cali]

For me from the imp it's actually quite warm and sweet, and I love the hibiscus in there. Most of the notes I can actually pick up (chocolate! Wine! Tobacco!) and it's a very interesting and really nicely mixed scent, it really works together very well.

Goes a bit more dry and fruity/honey on my skin.

[torikitty]

I get more of the hibiscus and cassia. I can pick up a sweetness from the wine. I'd say this is a sweet, fruity, summertime scent. I don't pick up anything dark from this.

[gloame]

Very strange at first sniff—almost grape and Starbursts? I expected the cassia to come out strong first. It settles into something very sweet and foody and unusual. Very different from other foody blends.

Where I'd wear this: Mumbai, high summer, the markets

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Lots of red wine with some cassia, rose, honey, and some chocolate.

 

Wet: I'm getting a lot of red wine, honey, and rose. I'm also getting some of the dark chocolate, cassia, and hibiscus. As it begins to dry down, I'm mostly getting the red wine, honey, rose, and hibiscus.

 

Dry: The red wine, rose, and honey are still the strongest notes on me. I tend to amp the Lab's red wine note, so I'm not surprised. The honey is not as strong as it was during the wet phase of the scent, though, so it's mostly red wine and musk rose on me.

 

Verdict: I was curious about this one because of the long note list, and I wasn't sure how it would be. Alas, the red wine and rose notes dominate on my skin, and the combo isn't one I particularly enjoy.

[fizzbangdangcharade]

Wet, this is an obscene amount of cherry. And usually I hate cherry, but this is actually a really nice variant. It makes me think less cough syrup, commercial 'cherry' and more 'made with real cherries' stuff. It actually kind of reminds me of a (stronger) hand made cherry caramel I had once on a whim and loved. Cherry, with a touch of vanilla, sugar, and cream.

 

On and warming: the warm spice in the cherries comes through a little more, warming it further.

 

Dry: there's still that underlying wisp of cherry, but now it's more predominately smokey incense, a swirl of sugar and cream in a mocha. Like eating cherry cakes and coffee in a spice shop.

 

Another I really like. I wasn't sure what I was expecting (something more floral to be sure) but it ended up being better than I imagined it would be.

[garbagewitch]

The very first sniff: Robitussin! I’ve genuinely tried to pick out notes, but when it first hits my skin, it smells just like a face full of Robitussin for a few seconds. I actually jerked back instinctively, like I do when I'm faced with an actual dose of cough syrup.

 

The cough syrup opening dies down quickly, though, and it goes very floral. Not a fluttery-clean, nose-tickling floral like lily or sweet pea, but something more lush and substantial, I think it's a mix of the hibiscus and lotus. I quite like this phase, especially as it warms up a bit; it makes me think of a flower with thick, pale waxy petals, surrounded by shadows. Womanly and inviting, but with a soft aura of danger. If it would just stay like this, I think I could adore it, but it just doesn't last long enough for that to happen. Whatever was making it so dense and shadowy fades much too soon and it just becomes all lotus.

 

Between Kali and Black Lotus, I've figured out two things: what lotus smells like, and that I don't particularly like it. It's pretty, but there’s something very insubstantial about it—even when it's very clearly there, it seems almost like it might disappear at any moment. If I'm going to wear a scent, I want it to be present. It also seems to have a tendency to elbow every other note in a perfume out of the way, which is quite annoying. I'll be passing this on to someone else, and putting lotus on my Proceed with Caution list.

[spookyumbrella]

This has so many notes and I only got one - wine. Maybe a teeny floral wisp if I focus really hard (or maybe its just my imagination, im not sure!). Pretty much a wine single note for me. 

[RoseThornAndOak]

So oddly enough, the longest lasting note is one of the florals. This starts out and stays like a quintessential BPAL blend, similar to what your box of imps smells like, a smorgasbord of powdery, heady floral honey and darker resinous and wine notes. It's pretty but just kinda meh. 

 

The next day, this gorgeous floral similar to Wildberry Lilac (my signature scent) shows up and it's gorgeous! If anyone has smelled Wildberry Lilac incense, this is what the final final (8 hours later) drydown is like. I would describe it as lilac but much less powdery and more voluptuous, almost a tropical bloom. Gorgeous. I'm curious which note is doing it, possibly the hibiscus? Slippery Poppy Tincture does something similar. I'll have to scope out more of the flowers in this blend! 

Edited April 24, 2020 by RoseThornAndOak

[Laughing Seagull]

I tested a fresh imp from the lab.  This is the third of my "Popular chocolate scents test," with the others being Bliss and Velvet.  Spoiler: Bliss wins.

 

While wearing this, I primarily detect fresh, clean florals - lotus and what strikes me as some sort of white floral - with the overwhelming sweetness of honey hanging over it and a whisper of tobacco in the background.  I don't notice wine or cocoa at all.

 

Hours later, all I can pick up is a honey-soaked lotus.  Honey and lotus strangle every other note to death.  RIP

[bkwy.aesthetics]

I received a frimp of this in an order and had to invest in a full bottle! This is one of the biggest morphers in my BPAL collection and really changes from the bottle to on the skin. Once applied, this is a very dark, sexy, and mysterious perfume 🖤

 

In Bottle: Out of the bottle, this is a sharp fruity scent that smells slightly artificial, but is supported by some light florals. The hibiscus, red wine, and osmanthus are the most recognizable notes to my nose.

 

On Skin: This is when the magic happens: the tobacco and cassia begin to amp up and the artificial aspect of the fruit evaporates completely. It almost smells as though the fruity florals are all being smoked and roasted, giving an almost resinous edge. I'm not really able to detect the honey or dark chocolate however.

 

Dry Down: Everything softens and the resinous aspect lingers. This ends up smelling, to my nose, like fruity incense and oriental florals. Lovely!

 

Wear Time: 6-7hrs

 

Throw: Medium (7-10in)

 

[pommelo]

I had a really old frimp i got off this forum, which i loved - it was warm and regal with the amber, and with a hint of heat from the almond, rounded out by the lotus.

 

So i invested in a full bottle - and it's straight up pink bubblegum on me!  i don't really recognize any almond, not like in Hecate or Uruk, on me it's all pink musk. 

I can imagine a girl wearing an expensive fluffy faux pink fur jacket wearing this. But for me.. nah I think I'm going to store it away for a year at least

[MolyH]

Slightly smoky honey dribbling down a wall of flowers--the floral notes are so well-blended that I can't pick anything out. It really is just like a solid wall of something vaguely floral. This is a very dry scent too, despite the description, I think that comes from the wine. I'm getting none of the chocolate that others go on about. But hey, honey scents have a tendency to turn very sour on me, and this one didn't.

[asoursweetsixteen]

I was really excited for this interesting blend when I ordered it in an imp. I can confidently say this is very much not for me. wet, it smells very much not great, like some weird lotion that somehow went bad and had the smell warped for the worse. letting it dry, though, allows the the florals and honey to come through but leave everything behind. the florally scent of Kali is actually very nice, and florals are what I gravitate to in commercial perfumes, but most of the florally BPALs make me smell like a grandma, Kali is not an exception. it's a nice scent for soap or something, but it's definitely channeling grandma perfume that I don't see myself wearing out, probably only to bed. unfortunately this won't be a repurchase D :

 

edit oct 8th: trying a few imps over again and updating reviews. this one is a true morpher, the scent in the imp is pretty nice, chocolatey and fruity almost. it really is just so... not amazing on skin. it's bitter in a too much florals way, like stale old grandma perfume and cough medicine. i hate to be so mean but like... it's really not good. wish it stayed as cherry as it was in the imp but even that's not really worth being in the locket. gonna go wash it off now...

Edited October 8, 2023 by asoursweetsixteen