Copala

Copal, resinous smoke, billowing through artisanal clay burners.. a means to keep patrons from being eaten alive in dense Mexican jungle. To the less discerning eye and nose, the process of warding off blood-thirsty disease-vectors is mundane and ordinary. The lay person is blissfully unaware of how something so ordinary is but an echo of something completely transcendental and sacred. When I bathed in copal smoke wandering the seaside jungle of Tulum at night years ago––illuminated by tea lights, as street lights are (or were) mostly nonexistent––I felt wholly at peace. Fortunately I do get to spend a few weeks traveling around my old stomping grounds as it were... much has changed but tradition will always thrive. So many memories, recent and from years past. Copala captures such emotions and experiences so others may explore and bask in.. it is perfect. Beyond mere jargon and fluff, I am fully enamored. Absolutely divine. Wears great on skin and clothes, perfectly unisex, all that is required is momentary stillness to fully appreciate this beautiful scent.

Subtle, addictive, and beautifully composed, this is incense at its most wearable. It opens with a soft spark of pink pepper before unfolding into the warm resinous heart of copal and dry woods. There’s a quiet sacredness to it, like the faint trail of incense drifting through a sunlit chapel, but with an intimate, almost skin-like sensuality that makes it feel unexpectedly sexy. My husband loves it on me - and I love it on him. The Mexican vanilla in the base adds a creamy smoothness without tipping into sweetness. Instead, it tempers the dry incense and wood with just enough softness to keep things cozy and intriguing. Sweet, woody, balsamic, and just a little spicy - it’s a beautifully balanced blend. This is a rare gem: an incense fragrance that thrives in warm weather. It wears close to the skin, never overwhelming, yet it lasts for hours. A quiet luxury, and easily my favorite from Xinu.

Wow...Copala by Xinu is superb perfumery. The golden Copal resin shimmers like the ambery honeyed resinous tree sap it is and is expertly blended with Mexican vanilla, pink pepper, and slightly smoky mesquite wood to ground it and make sure it doesn't wander too sweet. This perfume smells natural, although I did wonder if I was sensing some iso E super, but I love iso E super, so it's not a problem for me. I've really enjoyed wearing Copala today and want more! Full bottle worthy, IMO.

Dusty, split wood in the open scrub... reminds me of New Mexico (I've not yet visted Mexico but look forward to it.) Evocative, natural, simple, resinous, high quality and otherwise hard to describe-- I'm wearing this from the Xinu sampler and seem to be getting less vanilla than I did from the full bottle in the shop. All the fragrances in this line are wonderful-- even spiritual-- they feel removed from digital capitalism and I'd recommend trying each one before picking a signature.

It feels like there are notes in here that I've never smelled before. Copála is indeed, as Xinú describes, mystical. The opening is woody and spicy with a hint of the vanilla, and dries down into a very sweet, almost floral scent. I love the sustainable packaging as well - the spherical combination of glass and wood tickles something in my brain.

subtle but attractive incense and dry vanilla. It does have a sense of being a little mysterious - in the way you might imagine liturgical incense to be. notably, this is a great incense for warm weather and warm climates. it doesn't project a huge amount, but i can always detect it, and it lasts for ages. my favorite from Xinu.

I’m not usually into incense type fragrances but this one is more woody than smoky. It has that sweet woodiness that’s so popular right now because of Baccarat. Although it has copal it doesn’t give me church or middle eastern vibes. Im so curious to try their AguaMadera and Oro Nardo now.

There is something about this on my skin that makes it smell like hubba bubba classic bubble gum but in a sexy masculine leading woody way? I love it and get a lot of compliments. Stays close to the skin.

Too sweet and linear for those used to woody balsamics like myself but it does absolutely smell of quality

A light simple incense scent centered around the copal incense resin native to Mexico. The copal resin is not as strong as olibanum but has a charm of its own. The perfumer surrounds this central note with vanilla, pink pepper and mesquite wood notes. The resulting scent is an airy incense scent that can be worn in almost any setting. The unisex scent has moderate projection and good longevity. Enjoy!

Sweet incense and balsamic woody, a little spicy. There is something meditative about it. All of Xinú’s perfumes have a natural feel and connection to the raw materials which is really refreshing. There is a chocolate wood aspect that reminds me of Nasomatto Pardon. It’s a soft scent and doesn’t last particularly long but it’s very smooth and warm. The shop is worth a visit if you are in CDMX.

I’m wearing this in the Texas summer, and I can tell you with certainty that it’s not too strong for hot weather. On the contrary, I was hoping it would be punchier. The copal is quite restrained, and the vanilla takes it firmly into creamy/amber territory. I was hoping for more bite from the copal. It’s quite pleasant, but I’m not sure I want a full bottle.

Fresh, fragrant and aromatic. There's a balsamic elements there, and a lot of it, and as a result I'm not a fan. It reminds me of one of the many Fueguia scents I've tried, and I can't remember which. Either way, this is a no from me. Not my kinda scent...

Copala was not an instant love for me. I had been wearing various Slumberhouse perfumes which are dark and moody and was not mentally prepared for Copala. It's light and ethereal compared to the Slumberhouse line and it took several wearings to appreciate it. Today is Mexica New Year and I wore it to the sunrise ceremony. I knew there would be a copal ceremony at 5am, and I could not have worn a more appropriate perfume if it had dropped out of the sky. In the cool morning air, it came alive. It has a deep, earthy vanilla; like freshly sliced vanilla pods. The mesquite is a wood note that I don't think I've ever experienced in perfumery before. I love cooking with mesquite flour because it's both sweet and smokey and when used in cooking just as in perfumery it can add a bit of sweet smokiness to otherwise bland dishes. In Copala, the mesquite brings out a smokiness and a sweetness in the vanilla that is both modern and timeless. I've worn quite a few smokey vanillas - from Guerlain SDV to CB 7 Billion Hearts to Habanita and Shalimar - but this was on a whole new level. It was the copal that stole the show for me. I thought I wanted a deep/bright copal; exactly like the smell I am used to when copal incense is burned. Here, however, it's like the copal resin, which is lighter in smell, and not the incense, which is heavier. Taken together, this wore on me like a deep, earthy, smokey woody vanilla, but very light and ethereal, almost like incense floating on water. In traditional aztec dance ceremonies, it is customary between dances to honor the four directions of the medicine wheel - fire, water, air and earth. There is always an altar either in the center of the dance space or at the front and it contains each of these elements. There is a "four directions song" and when you dance, you turn and face the four directions. Before you can even enter the dance floor, you must bless yourself with copal incense which is kept in a censor. It occurred to me that Xinu Copala also represents the four directions fire/spice, water/perfume, air/incense, and earth/vanilla & mesquite. I don't know if that was done on purpose, but it made this perfume meaningful to me on a whole other level because it spoke to my soul, my culture, my heritage, and our beautiful traditions. I love that this perfume, especially the beautiful bottle is modern and artsy; much like my culture and wearing it, I felt vibrant, alive, and filled with color and life.

Copala is one of only four fragrances created by Xinu, a new house that builds its creations from ingredients picked and handmade from local flora - which is a great thing not only because all ingredients smell better at home, but also because in this way Xinu supports (and has already revitalized) small farming communities endangered by the advent of cheaper international sources. Such is the case with vanilla, which in Copala is atypical because it sits firmly on top- the fragrance opens with a realistic, moist, ripe, fleshy, sweet vanilla bean that's, surprisingly, not combined with anything in fashion now for vanilla (straight smoke, herbs, metal). Also at the top is the pepper (with a mere but brilliant supportive role), as well as a waxed aromatic (like laurel), hybridized with some sage. The middle comes fairly quickly (after about 30m) with mesquite, fresh and alive, supported by something that reminds me of a young walnut (iodine, wood, nut oil , and milk notes). At 60-75m, the base kicks in with an honest and powerful copal, supported by a floral, sweet and humid frankincense; this phase keeps going for ever but does not end the development - after another hour vanilla comes back in, and the cycle resumes in one of the rare cases where evolution is circular. The projection is low, but the silage is moderate (2-3m) and longevity is surprising for a perfume with such a high concentration of natural ingredients - 6-8h on the body, and up to 20 on fabrics. In total, a very wise composition that instead of giving us (yet) an oriental, offers an original application for vanilla and a copal that is modern, fresh, and entirely unisex. To quote my friend Roge' (and with regrets that our impressions didn't overlap more, as I trust his nose completely but unfortunately can't share in his PH experience), it's blind buy worthy. [NB- if anyone is curious, I actually shot a review and unboxing of this after my visit to the HQ in Mexico City. You can find it on YouTube at A Nose Knows.]

Agreed that this one is a shapeshifter — it's part of what makes it so unisex — there are times when it is highly masculine and times where it leans more feminine. Stays pretty close, but has surprising silage. The opening is lovely and woody, smooth (but not creamy) and dry. Absolutely hints at an earthy vanilla, but not prominent on my skin. It moves pretty quickly into a fairly masculine, cologne phase that is prominent for 5-10 minutes on me — not my favorite, but moves quickly. The dry down is lovely. Mystical, woody, resinous, dry. Earthy vanilla. A tinge of sweetness, like an aromatic honey. A cologne edge that remains throughout the dry down, keeping it very unisex. Although I don't normally like the cologne smells on me (female who loves unisex perfumes), this one works. It's an invigorating edge on an otherwise soft and mystical resinous wood. As a person who generally stays away from smokey perfumes, I do not get any smoke from this one. I personally don't get any of the fritos and juniper berries — skin chemistry is a funny thing! :) And, yes, the bottle & the shop (at least in SMA) are stunning!

Cool bottle alert!! Cool bottle alert!! Copala is a non-smokey incense perfume(if there ever were a thing). Its honeyed profile cedes an amber touch to a burgeoning gold colored vibe. Sitting atop the sugary goodness is a finite dosage of pink berry. As you would expect with the delicate note listing, the fragrance fabric is woven to create a non agonistic oriental. Your love affair(or lack thereof) could very well depend on your gender and your vanilla velocity preference. On my skin, the vanilla here is threadlike and doesn't summarily contribute to the actual smell. If anything, it provides tranquility in the texture department. Back to that gender thing that I mentioned...A man's skin is significantly rougher than that of a woman ergo my skin absorbed all of the creaminess whilst acquiring all the woody components. I sprayed the arm of a woman and the results were as if I doused her in vanilla perfume extrait. All in all, modern juice; modern bottle. The perfumer didn't hornswoggle us and that's all you can ask for. -BLIND BUY WORTHY(ONLY IF YOU'RE A WOMAN)-

I’m in Mexico City and happened upon this little perfumery in the Polanco district. It was really cool and had two rooms where all their products could be sampled. The two I really liked were Copala #2 and Ummo #3. I sampled them both and have worn them all day. I’d say the Copala is warm and spicy with some woodsy notes. It has some subtle vanilla that adds just a touch of sweetness. As far as projection it never really projected further than intimate and was a skin scent after 2-3 hours. At hour 8 it is still a skin scent. I really like this fragrance and would buy a bottle if it performed better. They offered it to me for $210 USD in store for 50ml. I’m tempted to grab it and just spray it on my clothing. It is very unique and mysterious. As far as Ummo, I liked it a lot too and it did project better and was stronger right out of the gate.

I'm so happy I was recently gifted this. This fragrance took me on an interesting journey. Copal is a note I am unfamiliar with. I'm much more accustomed to frankincense which is indigenous to the Middle East. Copal is Mexico and Central America's version and it's quite different than it's middle eastern cousin. I pick up on some citrus accords, especially in the opening. As it dries down the citrus accords start to dial down. What's left is this airy and ambery whisper. I'm really not a huge fan of heavy and dank ambers such as Grand Soir and Shalimar. I don't think it's fair to compare Copala to those. This is more effervescent and possesses more finesse... it also doesn't assault your senses in any way. I sense this would give you the most alluring and welcoming scent cloud.

i am absolutely in love with this fragrance. My favourite scent to wear in the Winter/Fall is Toi Toi Toi-Ormaie, and Copala feels like a sister fragrance that is more suitable for any season. I can definitely smell the copal, which provides a gorgeous camphorous resinous quality. Like a sweet sap leaking out of a tree in the forest on a hot day. Then has that vanillin smell that you get from old books and antique furniture. It is just a perfect fragrance!