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Behold, the Palace of the Sun King and the personal playground of Barrials. Is nothing sacred?

 

Indonesian oudh and jasmine brocade.

 

In The Bottle: Pure rich deep jasmine. The kind I've found almost exclusively in small Indian markets. Lovely!

Wet On Skin: More of the same. Oudh notes are usually pretty strong on me, so I'm still hopeful that something will turn when fully dry...

Dry Down: Still mainly a rich, heady jasmine, the oudh has, in fact, joined the party, though in a surprisingly subtle performance (subtle comparatively for oudh, I mean). The effect is very much like entering an ancient, abandoned temple. I envision a place once grand, now grandly dilapidated, but still, those who pilgrimage to see it are left in a state of quiet awe. 

 

I'm not much of a florals kind of person. that said, there's enough going on here that i will hold on to my bottle to see how aging deepens the scent and I can easily see layering this with some heady down-and-dirty patchouli and something *magical* being born.

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Dreamy, indolent jasmine. This is the jasmine for the rich. It's dreamy, pure, and very very concentrated. Good throw and wear length.

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All I know after testing this is that I want more of that Indonesian oude note. Damn, that's nice.

 

It smells classy and expensive and strangely clean for oude. Just a perfect, deeply complex exotic wood scent.

 

And then there is this light, airy, fluffy, almost powdery jasmine that climbs all over everything, to remind you that this is a playful scent we are talking about here.

 

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The initial application is a minute or so of that almost barnyard-y oudh, but not strong like in some other blends. Then the jasmine blooms - literally - and it does indeed smell very classy and expensive. It wears well and I'm left with a beautiful deep jasmine for hours. Really interesting blend, and if you like jasmines this is a must to try.

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It's a jasmine centered blend that doesn't go stinky. The oudh does a good job keeping the jasmine in check. It's not a sweet jasmine, but a tiny tad smoky one. Smells beautiful and would be best worn for fall/ early winter.

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Smooth and perfume-y and woodsy. This Palace is covered in rich velvet curtains, intricate patterned, and dark ancient wooden walls. Jasmine grows outside all the windows and they open to let the perfumed breeze waft through the rooms. 
I accidentally poured more than intended on my hand, and had to slather liberally. Instead of a jasmine-crazed scent overload, the scent stayed so smooth and just strong enough. Almost like it was meant to be slathered and flaunted. The Indonesian oudh is indeed amazing. So smooth and deep, it’s magical with the sweet floral of the jasmine. Definitely a palace-worthy scent, and probably my favorite jasmine blend I’ve smelled. 

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A few days ago I discovered a set of Travalogue decants most of which I had not tried because they arrived after the scents were no longer available and together with decants of scents that still were available for a short time. It is a consolation that even if I had tried them right away I still would not have been able to get a bottle of this. This scent is divine! It starts out as strong oudh with a hint of jasmine, then the jasmine gets stronger and the oudh goes a bit down and they are both of equal strength. But there is something slightly resinous sweet in the background that balances this couple that could otherwise have been rather piercing. It must be the brocade note which doesn't exactly smell like Antique Lace, but to me it feels like it if that makes sense. I hope I'll find a bottle of this, somewhere.

Edited by Zorra
Better wording of the description

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Similar to other reviewers, on me it's a smoky jasmine with a warm woody undertone. It is absolutely lovely in cold winter weather! The jasmine and oudh are beautifully blended and neither one dominates. I imagine that a tragic heroine from a film noir or classic hard-boiled detective novel might wear this well. It smells expensive, elegant, and serious.

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Both jasmine and oudh are iffy notes on me, so this was an easy pass for me when this collection was live, but a kind BPALer sent me some to try, and I'm pleasantly surprised!

 

The jasmine and oudh in this are smooth. The jasmine smells summery, but isn't super heady or indolic on me, and the oudh is deep and resinous without the farm-y funk that I get from some other oudh notes. Neither dominate the blend throughout most of the scent's wear (although I do get more oudh by the end of the day), and both notes complement each other perfectly.

 

If Beth uses this oudh again, I hope future blends denote it as such, because I'd like to see this Indonesian oudh pop up again!

 

I'm really glad I got a chance to try this Winter Travelogue scent, and I'll be keeping my decant!

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