Loi Krathong

[femmefatale]

วัน เพ็ญ เดือน สิบสอง
น้ำ ก็ นอง เต็ม ตลิ่ง
เรา ทั้ง หลาย ชาย หญิง สนุก กัน จริง วัน ลอย กระทง
ลอย ลอย กระทง, ลอย ลอย กระทง
ลอย ลอย กระทง กัน แล้ว ขอ เชิญ น้อง แก้ว ออก มา รำวง
รำวง วัน ลอย กระทง, รำวง วัน ลอย กระทง
บุญ จะ ส่ง ให้ เรา สุข ใจ, บุญ จะ ส่ง ให้ เรา สุข ใจ

The Festival of Lights! On the evening of the twelfth full moon of the Dai calendar, small lotus-shaped offering boats are released out to the rivers and canals of Thailand, carrying prayers and wishes out into the waters. It is a preparation for renewal, and a time for releasing and banishing the darker parts of ourselves.

Banana leaves, betel nuts, coconut bark, spider lilies, candle wax, and incense.

Beautiful! Just absolutely beautiful. It starts off very green with just a hint of coconut bark and incense, but quickly sweetens when the lilies come out a bit. There is another note I can't quite identify, so I think perhaps it's the betel nuts? The incense is smooth and not at all heavy or sharp smelling, more like the smell of incense itself, not so much the smoke.

Everything blends really well together and avoids being just an incense scent or a green scent or a floral. It's a gorgeous, balanced blend that I can see wearing year round. I love it already.

And for those of you coconut haters, still give this a shot. It does not smell like coconut, but more of the sweet wood smell that coconut bark has. Edited November 8, 2011 by Silvertree
Merged first review w/placeholder.

[ianastar]

I can't even begin to describe how amazing this one is. On me it's the perfect combination of floral, sweet and earthy. Yet the three never overpower one or another, but just blend together in perfect union. The lilies are amazing and blended with the other notes, this is just such a magical fragrance.

[fetish911]

I totally dig this scent! I was a little hesitant cause the notes sounded like they were closer to the reviews of the Aswang proto I had that was not for me at all. But I am glad its not anythin like it!

 

wet- sweet floral, with a hint of coconut and somthing that almost smells slightly minty. It might be the same coconut that was tiki princess that read to my nose as a "cool coconut" kind of smell. This burn off rather quickly and I am left with just a sweet incensy floral.

This scent is pretty good.

 

4/5

[stellamaris]

This is gorgeous. It's a nightime scent for me, light and lush. Very sexy and lady like. Yes, ladies can be sexy

 

It does remind me of being in those Asian tropical places, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam. I know that I lived there in a former life, have been lucky enough to do a bit of traveling and living there, amongst the wonderful smells...

 

Edit : The more I get to know this one, the more I love it, wore it all day today, it is really complex and wonderful

Edited November 26, 2011 by stellamaris

[a_llb]

In bottle: The slight soapiness of lily, and something reminiscent of bubble gum? I've never smelled betel nut before, perhaps that's the culprit.

Wet: The sugary/fruity edge dissipates, and so does the soapy quality. The lilies become very smoky & deep, and I can sense something dark green there as well - banana leaves, I expect. I like this much more than any other lily blend I've tested so far; it is clean, but ultimately without the soap. Hooray!

Dry: Heady incense, earthy & golden. Still much more smoky than I expected, it clings to my skin the way real incense smoke does after being burned. Almost like opium, how it's a smoky floral mix. Eventually I get some coconut bark, slightly woody & as the smoke continues fading, I'm able to smell the warm, sweet candle wax.

 

Verdict: The description sucked me in head over heels, so my expectations were rather high - yet I was still very surprised when I actually tested it. The incense/smoky quality is quite realistic, though it remains clean-smelling, not stale at all (which is what usually puts me off of burning incense.) The lilies are, as I said, the first I've liked this much. It's just slightly floral, barely resinous, and brushed with earthiness. This is a very arcane, mystical & primitive feeling blend to me. Lilies still aren't my fave, but I may hold onto this.

 

ETA: A few weeks of aging has really brought out the smoke - I honestly don't think I can wear it anymore. I love how it smells, but this incredible sexy smokiness is just too much for my skin to handle. There is an underlying sweetness that just gets to me after a while.

Edited December 17, 2011 by braybrigade

[edenssixthday]

Loi Krathong - This is a really fascinating scent. It's loaded with the scent of banana leaves, incense, and wax. It's warm and inviting and very tropical in a way that's not remotely reminiscent of Hawaii. Sadly, as it warms up on me, the lilies go all sorts of wrong on my skin, which is typical for lilies, and that one stinky little notes is going to keep me from enjoying the rest of this awesome fragrance. Can I put in a request that lilies be banned from all perfumes? They ruin so many otherwise amazing scents.

[milo]

As others have mentioned, this is a tropical scent. I'm getting soft fruits and warm, creamy coconut. The coconut does not go dusty on me, which is a pleasant surprise, so I'm guessing the actual bark works better with my skin chemistry. I'm really not getting any lily here, but maybe my skin doesn't pick up lily. This is a great tropical blend, without the tropical florals, and my second fave after Opuhi. It really will pick me up while craving the sunshine and would be a great vacation scent. Very nice, and this may be worthy of a bottle upgrade.

Edited November 24, 2011 by milo

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the vial: Wow, this is complex and very hard to describe, except to say that it is exotic, lovely, and sophisticated. I smell banana (fruit) first, but the incense, lilies, and candle wax kick in very quickly to keep it from being foody. The coconut (meat) is there, but very subtle.

 

On me, wet: Much the same as in the imp, but with another note that I can't identify - it must be the betel nut. This is a little more foody than in the imp, but still not really a foody perfume, with the flowers and incense so prominent as well.

 

After 10 minutes: Pretty much the same, except that I'm now also noticing a green/herbal note which must be the banana leaves. There's something in this that gives it almost a vanilla-like aspect, but it clearly isn't actual vanilla.

 

After 20 minutes: The incense and candle wax are coming out more strongly, making the overall scent perfumey, elegant, and oriental. The other notes are still present, too.

 

After 30 minutes: It hasn't changed much in the last 10 minutes except that the candle wax continues to strengthen and is now one of the most dominant notes.

 

After 1 hour: The incense is the strongest note now, with the lilies in second place. All of these changes are pretty subtle - this fragrance doesn't really morph. Instead, different notes dominate at different times, but they are all there all of the time so it is always fairly consistent.

 

After 1 1/2 hours: Naturally, since I said that, it did suddenly decide to change. Up close, the scent is now mostly candle wax. But the consistent scent is still there in the throw, and in the background when sniffed up close.

 

After 2 hours: Back to the more consistent scent. Perhaps the temporary change was due to a change in the room temperature, which did occur before I adjusted the thermostat.

 

After 3 hours: The scent is quite faint.

 

After 4 hours: It is pretty much gone.

 

BTW, this was an awesome match with the Fig and Sandalwood Hair Gloss (BPTP) that I also had on at the same time. The two scents have a similar mood to them, of incense and exotic fruits.

 

My rating: 4 and a half stars

[angelicruin]

Lots of banana leaves in this one with wax and incense and a wood note. I like it, but don't really see it as being a scent I would want to wear on my person. I'd love this much more as an atmospheric spray.

[Little Bird]

The bottle I got of this is mostly coconut and beeswax at first. I like coconut sometimes, but this is like a cloying, heavy, tropical scented candle on me.

As it dries down, I get a bit of soapy floral coming into the mix (sort of chemical-y and harsh, a bit like the smell of cheap hair spray).

A little whiff of incense smoke creeps in after a while, but this just smells all off to me.

This smells like being in a dorm room, overwhelmed by a mix of cheap suntan-lotion-coconut, novelty incense, and cheap hair products... just sickly on me.

[surlygurl]

Fresh on, this is all incense, a little smoke, and a drip of candle wax. It pretty much stays that way on me. It also reminds me of something else, some other bpal.... Oh Yeah! The School from last yule. *dabs some on other wrist*. Yup. Loi Krathong is more incense & wax while the school is a bit darker, but the throw on me is the same.

 

I was hoping for betel nut, but that didn't make an appearance.

[JasminDreams2010]

This is a five-star fragrance on me. I was lucky enough to receive this as a gift from a friend, otherwise I might have missed it! My skin does tend to amp smoky/woody scents so I can't really smell too much of the coconut, just a rich, deep, incense blend with a little hint of pretty lily.

It manages to be simple, yet with a harmonious effect that keeps it from being a single-note incense.

exotic, elegant,calming, perfect for the holiday.

I was inspired to google loi kathong since I hadn't heard of it. It sounds like such a beautiful holiday. I may have to go to thailand some day for this express purpose.

[zankoku_zen]

Banana nut bread and incense. That's what it reminds me of. Incense, smoke and wisps of nuts and bananas.

 

Tropical, smoky, exotic.

[Verios]

This one was disappointing on me--I was hoping for something magical, that reminded me of the time I spent in Thailand while in college...but alas, while this was okay, it was mostly floral on me, and not in a tropical, heady lush way--it's slightly soapy, and I got none of the other awesome notes I'd been hoping would be the more dominant...so while I may keep the partial imp that a forumite very kindly frimped, in hopes that with age some of the other notes will come out to play more, this wasn't what I was hoping it would be (at least on my skin).

[portalkat]

When this is wet, I get mostly the banana leaf, a hint of the coconut and mostly the candle wax. When dry, the banana leaf note recedes and I'm left with the candle wax and a hint of the lilies. This is mostly candle wax on me with just a hint of the other notes. That said, it is very evocative of a room where candles have been burning and vases of lilies and banana leaves still stand. It reminds me of BPAL's Manila, not in the notes, but in the images and feel. I'm actually quite liking this.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

quick review before this bottle goes to live with someone else: at first it's a waxy, christmas-scented candle. a frankincense and myrrh sort of thing. then it settles into an incense - a dusty sort of incense, but pretty.

 

i hate coconut, but there's none here. maybe this is a tropical island christmas incense?

[Caper]

I love this so much. It is like Light of Men's Lives and Midnight Mass had a love child in the jungle. It is amazing.

 

The floral, and I hesitate to use floral because I hate florals but I like this (maybe because it is more of a jungle leaf impression than a floral) is present in the imp and then this fades into beeswax and incense. I tried it last year and waffled, then tried it again this fall and loved it and grabbed a partial bottle of it.

 

Into my top ten for fall.

[PumpkinGuts]

So, so good. First I smell a true banana, nothing like the banana runts or taffy that I usually get.

The banana is short-lived and dries down to a predominantly incensey perfume, with a little of the candle wax. The lily is present, but tame.

It's a tropical, sexy incense! I'll wear the hell outta this in the summertime.

[Monster]

My first impression was tropical incense. This is unlike any other BPAL I have tried. The banana note isn't artificial, plastic or cloying but more green and lush. The coconut adds to the tropical impressions in this. I'm not detecting any lily. This is simply a fruity, beachside incense. Gorgeous. I may need to track down a bottle.

[MiasmaResonance]

In the bottle: Sweet slightly tropical incense.

 

Wet: Heavy floral incense

 

Drying: Still incense but very slightly sugared and a hint of banana leaf and candle wax. A little coconut is also coming out, but it's verrrrry reserved and dark/toned down (assuming this is b/c it's coconut ~bark~). I do wish the notes were more prominent than they are, actually. It ends up being an incense blend that just doesn't stand out as much as I assumed from the notes. I think it would have been better a little heavier on the banana leaves. Despite all of that, I still very much like it. I will definitely retest in a few days.

[Aviatrix]

I am getting mostly incense and coconut bark on my skin. There is a subtle floralness to it as well, which I assume is from the spider lilies. I am not getting much in the way of betel nuts, and I wouldn't know what banana leaves smell like

 

It is very beautiful! To me it seems like a sister scent to Midnight on the Midway, with a similar sweet incense, except this one has a decidedly tropical atmosphere to it. So, a kind of tropical Midnight on the Midway?

At the same time it is very unlike any other BPALs I have tried. Coconut can be very iffy on me (Obatala goes to total plastic, for example), but this coconut bark works wonderfully, a pretty and realistic dry coconut shavings scent that I'm not really sure what else to compare with...

 

It is very evocative of something exotic and mysterious, while also totally wearable. It's not a very powerful scent, it stays close to the skin, but every so often you get a little whiff of the wax and the incense when you are going about your daily life.

 

I am definitely glad I sprang for a bottle unsniffed, it was not a disappoinment! I would recommend it if you liked Midnight on the Midway and am looking for something in that vein, or if you enjoy tropical blends, or if you're simply looking to try something that is completely unique

[tauntonlake]

If you're looking for the holy grail of church incense smells, you'll find it in this bottle. Which means I need about 500 bottles...

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: OMG this is the scent of a million candles burning and I LOVE IT. It also has a "healthy living" sticker on the back (bought it on the forum sales page) that makes me so happy - the idea of getting to buy BPAL at a store is like a dream for me.

I can't describe how neat this scent is, or how accurately it captures the scent of a brightly burning candle. It's so cozy and comforting. It doesn't have the BPAL beeswax note I was expecting, but I'm not mad about it.

Now it's growing more nuanced - the leaves are giving off a neat papyrus vibe, and now the whole thing reminds me of reading old books by candle light in my family's old cottage - it's a bit musty in the very best way. LOVE.

 

Dry: Just gorgeous. It goes through a short phase where it smells a bit medicinal, but that passes, and it's back to burning candles with hints of old books. SO GOOD. So glad I randomly snagged it. I will treasure this scent for the way it makes me feel. <3