Chaman's Party

I love it when Olivia Giacobetti works her magic, because she always amazes me with something new and fresh... I am sure that if she played with economics with equal dexterity as with perfume ingredients - she would soon conjure up a second Japan for us in Poland.... extraordinary dexterity, flexibility and a kind of sixth sense in the selection of materials paired with each other - undoubtedly place her among the most capable and creative perfumers... like a skilled craftsman, Olivia's deft fingers worked on this very difficult material until she sewed in 2008 for Honore Des Pres - quite a graceful voodoo doll, symbolizing (I quietly hope) Frida from Gucci... 😛 The name Chaman's Party fits this fragrance like a glove, and it's hard not to be suggested by this catchy and intriguing title - sniffing a scent woven from moist, earthy vetiver and burnt wood.... the dark, harsh, heavy, distinct and damp scent of vetiver root, I associate with Haitian voodoo priests, or as in the case of Encre Noir, with old, moss-covered monumental tombs - such as are abundant in the forgotten, post-colonial cemeteries of New Orleans.... there is a certain extraordinary, mystical power in this ingredient - which one nod of the perfumer's blotter, commands to become a poignant horror, evoking a cold shiver down the back, or a crisp and vibrant essence of all kinds of perfumes.... the vetiver of Chaman's Party has taken on a ghastly gloomy expression, which, combined with the equally dark face of burnt wood - gives the composition an unsettling aura of mystery... this is the ferocity of Encre Noir Lalique mixed with the still smoldering ruins of Olivier Durbano's Black Turmaline... a truly unusual, dark yet not lacking in warmth and thoughtful staging.... The poignant, rather chilly and anxiety-inducing opening mellows as the fragrance transitions to the heart chord... damp from the morning mist, the unburned remains of wooden logs by the embers of which, just a few hours ago, voodoo priests danced in a trance - slowly, like darkness retreating before dawn, give way to the warm, discreetly spicy note of dried clove buds.... their delicate, noble aroma blends wonderfully with the ever-warmer and friendlier vetiver - and the whole is completed by a silent woody chord in the background... the secret mystery has just come true, when the first, still shy trebles of wild birds, welcome back the sun - drowning out the cries of the prey, which, a few feet underground, has just opened its eyes.... Cool, damp and gloomy at first, vetiver warms more and more, like a dark green carpet of grasses from which the sun drives away the morning mist and dries with its warmth the drops of morning dew... similarly ripens on the skin of Chaman's Party, whose mature, slightly peppery and at times resinous form is closer to the steady good-naturedness of the incomparable Guerlain Vetiver than to the demonic nature of the vampire from Encre Noir.... this is undoubtedly one of the best, fullest and most original incarnations of vetiver that I have yet encountered, and it is a real pleasure to recommend Shamans Party to any lover of the magic of this fantastic ingredient....

This isn't burnt bacon. The opening notes are immediately familiar to anyone who has smelled pine or birch tar. It's smoky and earthy with a lot of depth. I find it in the same spirit as Sikkim Girls, with some similar florals coming across to me during the middle phase. I am surprised that jasmine and frangipani are not on the list. Sikkim Girls on me has almost no vanilla or tuberose and is heavily smoky, which is probably why this scent reminds me of it even though they don't share ingredients. The drydown still has smoke but this is when the woods come out. Unfortunately the scent has rather poor longevity and is almost gone in a couple hours. This is my first niche buy as well as my first upscale natural perfume. I don't much care about the things I use being natural, and in this case actually would consider it a bit of a detriment to the scent. I got a remarkably good price on this comparing it to stores online. I had a coupon for KICKS. It is similar in some aspects to Sikkim Girls, though it is the effect that is similar rather than the actual scent. I really like this and think it'll make an interesting summer scent. I do have concerns about how long it will keep since it is a natural perfume.

You sit on a herby forest floor awaiting the shaman. When he arrives, he is not exactly what you expected, some dude named Barry or Larry absolutely reeking of vodka. Muttering, he gets a fire going, sprinkling a little more booze to make the flames leap higher. The shaman is wasted and the popcorn-munching spectator in you is actually getting excited. This is going to be good. Herbs are pulled out of ziplock bags in his filthy jeans and tossed on the fire as he belts out off-key renditions of what he tells you are spirit songs. You join in, why not, it is all so delicious. Five hours later you have no clue what happened except that you want to do it all again. This scent is spiritual but delightfully fun. My four-year-old requests it almost every day, and since it is all-natural I do not feel bad letting him spray a bit. It certainly captures that fierce, indomitable soul which children so often seem to have. Love this fragrance.

qualche anno fa cercavo un profumo che rendesse l'aroma di wiskey affumicato, di torba, di incenso da chiesa. e finalmente, per caso quasi, mi ritrovo a sniffarmi i polsi contenta per questa piccola meraviglia sinistra, il party dello sciamano, che ha poco o nulla a che fare con i soliti accordi. sarà il vetiver super secco, sarà che il legnoso qui è radicalizzato come non mai, ma questo profumo, per chi non ha paura di sentire l'odore di un incendio et similia, è il non plus ultra. radicale, fumosissimo, asciutto all'inizio, si ammorbidisce di qualcosa di lievemente erbaceo ed esperidato, pur mantenendosi decisamente carbonioso! bellissimo, e, per me, adatto ad esperimenti di layering. simile al dourbano black tourmaline.

I had never had the same type of fragrance in my collection so I bought it. I didn't like the packaging nor bottle though. Charman's Party is just like the first aid kit box as one in each family. Just like the medicinal scent, I detect clove the most. And I expected this peculiar scent would react differently in each type of skin. I think licorice emerges gradually in the middle note with jasmine in my case. I like wearing this alone or layer with some sweet scent perfumes too. Today, I mixed with the attar of jasmine for the beautiful summer days ending.

This is a clean Chaman. He took a shower with a luxurious vetiver scented soap and ate some tomatoes with basil before the bonfire begins. This perfume smells of wood, herbs, smoke and the clove flowers. I am always baffled and delighted by this fragrance. I think Chaman’s party is at its best in summer months and definitely is a wild and jungle-like scent. Not very office appropriate but I wear it there anyway. One spray from a bottle and it lasts a good 12 hours. Sillage is not enormous but I get noticed (and complimented! :).

This smells like smoked wood and bacon at the first sniff. Extremely different and strange. But very, very interesting. This reminds me of the forest, it's so earthy. Then it dries down to something herby and soft and subtly sexy - very heavenly. Unique by far. 18.08.20 Years later I do own a bottle of this. And with a better educated nose I do now know that the star of this perfume is the vetiver. A great, fun, smokey vetiver scent, with prominent clove.

This actually smells alot like spring to me. When you start work in the garden after a lång winter. When the temperature start to rise and you can smell the earth again. Love it. Like so many have said: earth, wood and fire! In a nice, comforting way.

This scent totally lives up to it's name! Smoke, insence, moss, sage or possibly pot.. This is not for the weak hearted. If you like to stand out from the crowd, this may very well be the one for you! A very unusual and striking scent.

Wow! I don't get any of the notes listed that you others pick up. On me it smells only like tar. A very truthful tar smell, like the Finnish tar tablets. I love that it's organic, but not a perfume for me. Edit August 2017: A year later, I did get the other notes, particularly in summer. It's not a bad perfume, and if I hadn't tried Anna Zworykina's Dark Side of the Goddess, I would have bought it. But there's no going back after that true smokey masterpiece with delicate floral melodies. Another one to look for if you like tar, but taken to a new level of complexity is her Cuir de Russie. Edit January 2019: I did end up buying it a very good price. It is a beautiful fragrance, smokey with florals peeking out. Unfortunately, Zworykina has reformulated Dark Side of the Goddess, so it is no longer smokey at all, but more herbal/fresh, so this is the best there is in this genre now.

Explosive, allright! Right out of the bottle it is a powerful blast of heavy smoke and strange herbs. Really making me WOW! I am about to enter the schaman`s hut and I am greated with some really strange, but not unpleasant smells. Just very exotic and unfamiliar. After the smoke has settled a bit, there is some crisp and aromatic notes, something that reminds about red tea, but I am sure that it is some far moore strange and rare herb. The jungle is right outside the opening of the hut. A very interesting fragrance, stronger and more longlasting than Sexy Angelic. The drydown is nice and comforting, but not as intriguing as the top- and middle notes.

I became flabbergasted when I found this one in a regular perfume shop. It seemed so unique to me, so different. I had just began my journey down the rabbit hole of the world of scents. And I was amazed. Bought it on the spot. An amazing opening of tar and smoke. Much like the finnish "Terva Leijona" ( a kind of tar and liquorice candy). Perfectly suited for a walk in the woods during autumn. I wish I liked the dry down equally much. But its not nearly as interesting. The smoke and tar dissolves and leaves something plain. But oh, that opening... Maybe the Chaman had it all planned out: Lure me into the dark woods and down to that rabbit hole...

Smoky and herbal green, but also somekind metallic or rather electronic airy too, reminds me of aldehydes, but not soapy though, more like the air after a thunderstorm. Interesting, but way too green for me.

- Old Hickory Smoked Salt - a wet church - mouldy flowers - steaming earth - dusty deck boards - ..... after 15 min it's mostly gone ... ...deeply interesting... !!!

Awesome natural fragrance, reminds me a lot of the smell of sizzling hot fried bacon. The fragrance should be named ''Chaman's Barbecue Party'' :D

Holy ham is the opening difficult for me. It's a pure pork "potporri" in the original sense of the word - a pungen stew. This would be an amazing feat if this fragrance seemed designed to this end. Gradually, cloves predominantly, basil, and florals emerge from the meaty miasma, and it becomes sweet and incensy, though still vaguely fleshy. I don't dislike this, but perhaps appropriately given its name, it's a very strange trip indeed.

With my skin chemistry, this is an unsophisticated, linear scent. I can't say I like it. It has smelled like blackcurrant cough medicine since I put it on four or five hours ago. If I hold my wrist to my nose and inhale deeply, I can just make out a woodsmoke smell. Perhaps a slight hint of tar; and also one of vanilla-ish incense. My experience of the scent does not have much in common with the other reviewers' at all, so I think it might just be a bad match for my skin.

This smelled very much like campfire and hotdogs on my skin, not appealing at all. However, on my husband, it turns woodsy and sexy.

What a peculiar scent. Like putting your cheek close to embers to see if they're still warm. Each of the notes can be identified with a bit if imagination and patience which proves fun - see if you can discern the vetiver, cloves, smoke, and basil. The sales spiel also lists Wood of Life from Peru, which I presume is a dickhead way of saying Guaiac wood. Perhaps it's the basil, but there is something very familiar but impossible to pinpoint about this! Hidden within this simple quintet it is a tune played on an instrument I'm sure I know but can't for the life of me identify. This has a distinct medicinal quality to it that is slightly alarming. This is made intriguing by the smoke. It is as if the school matron and a mountain man had a baby who became a philosopher. It has the thinnest resemblance to kurkdijan's velvet mood oud but this is more uncomfortable shoes oud. It smells like a place of painful memories that you keep returning to as if you have yet to learn it's lessons. It smells like being in the care of someone who knows what they're doing, can speak to plants and animals, read the stars, start their own fires in a wet forest. This is not an immediately pleasant fragrance, it is fairly challenging actually, but it is in equal measure intriguing. A great fragrance to wear to sit down with a good book. Think more River Cottage than Geordie Shore. I spray it on my pillows to ensure a smooth passage into the oeneronic realm.

So unique! I think you either love this or hate it. It starts off with a hot, humid, earthy jungle floor smell mixed with burning wood (like a bonfire) and strange, green herbs. It's like being invited to a witchdoctor deep in the rainforest and attending a ritual there, filled with weird fumes and intense drumming. Chaman's party indeed, or should I say shaman? :) After a while the intense, deep, smokey earthiness opens up, the scent blooms in a way, and softer and moister green and floral notes appear. Like stepping out of the shamans dark, smokefilled hut and into the fresh, humid jungle. Faint whiffs of smoke still lingers as the rainforest embraces you and shows you it's most beautiful, blooming secrets. This scent has sort of got the same weird ritual nature vibe as Coven from Andrea Mack. If Coven and Slumberhouse Norne had a baby, it would be something very close to the opening of this scent. But the drydown is more in the direction of Beyond Paradise from Estée Lauder. Just to give you a feel of what this smells like. I fell in love with this unique juice at first sniff and have just ordered a bottle. The only downside to this is the longevity. It goes away within 3-4 hours on my skin - but the sillage while it's there is very good. :)