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Defututa

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Olive blossom, honey, smoky vanilla, cinnamon, jasmine, sandalwood, and champaca flower.

 

So, after a long time away from BPAL and the forums, im back. I recently ordered a large amount of imps (always try before going big bottle in my opinion) and in the order i just had to try defututa.

Most of the notes in this one are ones i just love and adore, i love olive blossom, cinnamon and love smokey scents, vanilla is pretty nice too. the only ones that give me problems are jasmine and sandalwood.

 

sadly, wearing this jasmine is the front runner, i do get a little smoke but not what i wanted, i dont even smell any cinnamon or olive which is a shame.

 

Think ill try aging this one for a few months or a year and come back to it cause i love the idea of this one, if it doesnt work, im sure i can find a few friends to give my imp to (or try on my guy...though he isnt much into fragrances)

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Another one I got second hand so I'm not sure if it is relatively fresh or aged. Have only smelled this one also and have not tried on my skin, but will come back and update when I do.

 

In the Imp:

 

My first thought was soapy- while Gnome, which I previously reviewed had a note that smelled of classic dish soap, this is exactly like bath soap, some soap I have smelled before, Dove? Camay? I'm not sure which brand but it smells exactly like one of their classic soaps to me. Also smells floral, I'm pretty sure the only note I'm picking up is the Jasmine. Not getting any of the Vanilla or Cinnamon or Honey, which is a shame because those are the type of notes I love. Maybe when I try it on my skin I will get some of them. Let's hope so. Otherwise, it's just far too soapy for my liking, but if you like that classic bar of soap smell you will most likely like this.

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What an odd mixture - very pretty!
Wet, I'm mostly getting the honey and olive blossom. Later the jasmine kind of kills it for me unfortunately.
I'm sure this is great for most people!

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Bottle: Mostly a mild jasmine. A little cinnamon and honey.

Wet: A lovely, soft blend of jasmine, smoky vanilla and cinnamon with a few honey drops. I don't know what olive or champaca flowers smell like, but I suspect at least the former are softening this. There's a little hint of a lighter and more mild olive oil here than probably exists.

Dry: As usual, sandalwood and cinnamon amp up in drydown. Thankfully a little honey vanilla lingers as well. Later, to my surprise, honey vanilla has taken over the sandalwood. (I like sandalwood when it's supporting something else, but it gets boring by itself. So, yay!)

Defututa arrived as a free sample that was already on my wish list. I'll be getting more of it for sure.

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Imp: Sweet floral with hints of spice.

Wet: Toothache inducingly sweet and the jasmine makes my eyes water.

Dry: Sickeningly sweet, powdered jasmine soap. There is a clean,full brightness behind it that I imagine is the olive blossom. It isn't strong enough to compete with the jasmine. My eyes and nose are streaming. And there's an ice pick stabbing my sinuses. The throw is insane and this doesn't wash off. I'm really beginning to think that my skin HATES jasmine (and apparently just the Lab's jasmine, because I looked over the notes for my favorite commercial perfumes and they all include it). It seems to interact with me in a way that makes this one thousand times stronger than it should be. On the plus side, my boss complimented my new "soap" (well, actually she asked me where I managed to find a bar of Cashmere Bouquet, which I LOVE so I took it as a compliment). So apparently, I'm the only one in agony over the way this smells.

Edited by SunsetKay

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Another gorgeous jasmine scent from the lab. The jasmine in here reminds me of the one in New Orleans--not indolic, not soapy, just cool and sweet and perfect. This is so well-blended I thought at first that jasmine was the only floral in here, but when I get in close I can smell something a bit more "yellow" that I think is champaca. The olive and honey are subtle but present and give the whole thing a depth that the other notes wouldn't have otherwise--this is borderline boozy floral and I really like it. I do get a touch of spice in the background/mixing with the honey but there's not a whole lot--I'd love more of that and the smoke but this is very pretty as-is. When I inevitably get a bottle I might try layering it with something smoky or spicy to play up that aspect.

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Mostly a lovely white floral with a touch of cinnamon at first. Sounds weird, but it works. Hours later it was mostly honey. I loved it the entire time and now need a bottle. More flirty, bombshell-sexy than intensely sexy like O or Snake Oil.

Edit June 2017: Now smells creamy jasmine, never stinky toilet-jasmine. Elements of the vanilla and honey. I have no idea what the other florals smell like, so those could be in play. Very pleasant.

Edited by evil_laugher

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It was nice and warm coming out of the gate, but it quickly moved to a mild jasmine vanilla scent. There is a touch of smokiness after some time, but it doesn't have enough character on me to save it. It's fine, but I think I'll pass this along.

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This one did not work for me at all. Wet on my skin was a confusion of vanilla and floral not so bad, but then it dried and even though vanilla and I are good friends, she left me alone with Jasmine. The kind of jasmin that smacks around my olfactory and refuses to leave. I'll have to do some experimenting to see if other jasmine smells do this.

 

I will attempt to age this and see if the vanilla gains some better footing. :)

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I was really excited to try this after hearing great reviews. I was hoping for a soft, lightly spicy, vanilla jasmine or a flying fox/olive branch baby, but sadly I got a ton of cinnamon with a touch of honey. Almost like cinnamon toast crunch. I'm going to rest it and hope that the vanilla and jasmine bloom with age.

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I guess I never reviewed Defututa. After it had passed into my culled imps, I got it out this afternoon when I was trying to figure out if it was champaca that was ruining a couple of other blends for me. And yes, it was the champaca. I don't get any cinnamon at all here, just jasmine and honey vanilla at first. (I can't claim to know what olive blossom smells like.) And it is very nice for about 45 minutes until the champaca takes over and tries to drag the whole ensemble into motel soap territory. It's not terrible, but I think I would be willing to swap it after all.

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Starts off with enough honey that I think I'll need to wash it off (Honey goes dirty dish towels on me)

But something this blends makes the honey mellow out on me quickly so it's not a problem and it becomes sweet and powdery (in a way I like)

I think I get some of the forals, they way they mix together stops any of them from becoming soapy, screechy or indolic...it just stays "pretty"

Surprised how much I'm enjoying this one considering it should have worked on me at all

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In the imp: I'm getting what I'm guessing is the olive blossom, along with jasmine and champaca flower, accompanied by the smokiness of the vanilla, the honey, and finally, just a touch of cinnamon.

Wet: The first notes that jump out at me are the olive blossom and the jasmine, but then the champaca flower emerges and quickly becomes one of the most prominent notes. The honey is stronger than the smoky vanilla, which I get more of the smoky aspect from than vanilla at the moment, and the cinnamon starts out as just a hint, but ends up getting stronger rather quickly.

Dry: Smoky champaca, olive blossom, sweet jasmine, and honey with just a hint of cinnamon. After a few hours, it remains a smoky floral scent, with the honey and vanilla adding more sweetness over time.

Verdict: I really enjoy this! I'm going to hold onto my imp and see how often I reach for it before springing for a bottle, though.

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I got this some years ago, I think possibly as a frimp.

 

In the imp: A well blended floral, hard to pull out specific notes, although I get hints of jasmine and another floral my brain labels as the champaca, even though I've never smelled it to know for sure!

 

5 to 10 minute dry down: I spilled quite a bit on myself and my skin just like... ate it all up, leaving a demure, polite, tiny floral with faint whiffs of jasmine.

 

1 hour out: The longer I wear it, the more the florals fade away, leaving a breathy bouquet of honey, honeysuckle, and jasmine, with a soft ground of sandalwood and vanilla. It never gets strong or anything other than delicate and pretty on my skin, though. So if that's what you're looking for...

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Wet: Sweet and smoky vanilla, with a touch of sandalwood. Uh. Why haven't I tried this yet?! ... Oh right. I was afraid of the jasmine. (Please stay hidden, jasmine!)

 

Dry: Olive blossom! I was hoping that would come out. The cinnamon is definitely present now, as well; not TOO much, just enough to let me know it's there. The smoky vanilla is still there, as well as the sandalwood. I'm happy to report the jasmine is still hidden!

 

A nice little surprise.

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In the imp: Almost nothing. It's a soft close smell. Olive blossom and sweet smoke. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's olive blossom, honey, and just a touch of smoke (I'm not sure if my skin is eating the vanilla portion of that note). As it dries, the honey emerges, underscored by the smoky vanilla. The cinnamon also makes an appearance, adding a touch of spice. As it settles, the olive blossom fades a bit, and the champaca flower starts to grace the edges of the scent. The jasmine remains blessedly well behaved. 

 

This is nice. Really nice. Maybe-I-need-a-bottle nice. The olive blossom, honey, and smoke note combine to give a feeling that's almost like beeswax. The cinnamon adds gentle spice, and the rest of the floral notes are accents rather than main players. The throw is relatively low on me, but the wear length is pretty good, so I'm thinking this might be another workable workday honey blend. 

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Oh. Oh. So I ordered this in part because I wanted a jasmine perfume (I like the smell of jasmine oil, and want to find a jasmine perfume that I like and works on me), but also partly because I have what I think is an imp of olive blossom single note that while very slightly powder is very very lovely. I wanted to experiment with that in blends. Defututa was where I went with it.

 

I was expecting, to be honest, jasmine. And in the imp I think I can smell it, along with I think sandalwood. Possibly cinnamon and olive blossom as well.

 

On, wow. This isn't jasmine on me. It's all olive blossom and honey. And it's a beautiful combination. Not floral, not sickly, not foody, but somehow just delicious and I want to sniff it again and again and again. I think the other scents are in there as well, the vanilla and the jasmine, the champaca flower. I'm not sure about the cinnamon but the rest form this perfectly blended backdrop to the olive blossom and honey serenade.

 

It has decent throw too. When I'm testing, they only go on my wrists. The easier to wash off, and to test throw. But I could smell Defututa while I was typing at my keyboard very easily and clearly. Which was a delight, if a distraction. Mmmmm. I think I might need a bottle of this. I'm trying to be strict about my bottle demands but this is really gorgeous.

 

The hunt for an actual jasmine blend continues :P

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Jasmine honey on a cloud of vanilla and the olive + champaca flowers, over a very mild base of powdered cinnamon and sandalwood.

 

Sweet warm silk.

Edited by monocainsheresy

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Freakin' amazing. I'm enveloped in a swirl of spicy floral sex. BPAL jasmine rarely works on me, but this is so well balanced with the cinnamon and smokiness. Honey lends a touch of sweetness, but by no means cloying. This is my perfect floral and easily slipped into my Top Ten.

 

If you like Chimera, give this a shot!

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Defututa

 

In the bottle: A fresh, not quite citrusy, not quite floral, airy scent.

 

Wet: A pleasantly tropical floral, not overwhelmingly sweet. I can get the jasmine but it’s not reading as a one-note fragrance. Still a fresh, bright fragrance.

 

Dry: Turns into a well-balanced yet distinctively jasmine blend. A little warmer and more rounded than plain jasmine on its own.

 

After 30 minutes: Fading almost totally away on me after only about 15 minutes. That’s just as well, since it settled into a fragrance that’s much more feminine than I like.

 

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Defututa is an example of why I need to remember how awesome the GC is. While jasmine is a dangerous note for me (in that it can go horribly wrong), I can also adore it in the right scent. And this is seriously gorgeous, just as lovely as La Prostitution et la Folie Dominent le Monde IMO. It smells like smoky vanilla with fresh jasmine petals, other creamy florals, and a little spice (no cinnabomb). The honey is also light to my nose but is probably what gives the scent its sweetness. This might go on my bottle wishlist . . . I look forward to trying Like the Very Gods too, after seeing the comparisons. 

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In the imp I get the delicate osmanthus blooms, breezy and a touch fruity, with a sheer dry vanilla and a touch of honey. On my skin the jasmine comes in and the scent gets more of a incensy base, I assume from the sandalwood and champaca (which isn't going sharp on me!). Still in the delicate realm. Incensy yet with a freshness from the osmanthus. The honey has a mellow sweetness and depth that with the vanilla really blends the two realms. Gorgeous.

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Fresh out of the imp (lab fresh) I get green, fresh, a bit of floral but soapy soapy soapy.

As it dries down the soapiness disappears. It's replaced by a woody leatheriness.

There are many notes here that I'm a fan of, but the addition of some others turns me away unfortunately. It just did not work on my skin. This might be my first experience with olive blossom, and I already know that sandalwood is usually a no-go. Champaca flower is also an unknown.

Oh well, off to someone else!

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