Karma
by Lush

An overall thumbs up, followed by a word of caution : you must not blind-buy this.

The patchouli means business, it's not hidden in pleasantries nor does it make apologies. It comes on as a top note, really. It gets married with the orange and they live happily ever after. The other notes were at the wedding, but they were not bridesmaids nor best mans - perhaps distant relatives guests. I can't really discern them, yet I feel their presence.
This perfume does not evolve much - nor does it ever fade - but the blend of essential oils is remarkable and worthy of respect. However, I did get sick of wearing it after a couple of years. I still enjoy it when if I smell it on someone else, and may wear it once a year, but for some reason it became too heavy for me to bear over time.

22nd December, 2011.

Listed notes: orange, patchouli, lemongrass, cinnamon, lavender, pine, elemi (frankincense), geranium.

Karma is a straightforward, conventional, spiced amber oriental scent, descended from Shalimar by way of Ambre Sultan, Musc Ravageur, and Opium. A candied orange rind top note rapidly gives way to a classic oriental arrangement of cinnamon, vanillic amber, and patchouli. The only relief from these sweet spices and resins is a very light dab of frankincense, but don’t expect the austere exoticism you’d find in Bertrand Duchaufour’s Dzongkha or Jubilation XXV; the incense is too bashful for that. Karma also eschews the jasmine and orange blossom common to so many oriental scents. In this respect it parallels Musc Ravageur, but Karma reveals no trace of that scent’s animalic musk base note.

Karma is plenty potent and hangs around for hours, though given the tenacity of its materials, it evolves very little, if at all, over its lifespan. If this rich, sweet, dense perfumery style appeals to you, you will like Karma. Without the suggestive overtones of Musc Ravageur, the smoky and floral dimensions of Shalimar, or the depth of say, Eau Lente, Karma feels a little bit “generic oriental” on me. On the other hand, it’s pleasant, it smells well-made, and at $15 US for a small perfume spray, it’s a bargain to boot.

4th September, 2011. (Last Edited: 5th September, 2011.)

I've worn this for years now, I actually first smelled it during a screening of Moulin Rouge and thought they had perfumed the theatre, my friends and I fell in love with it and realised it was the woman in front wearing it, she told me what it was and I went home via Lush. I've never met a guy who didn't love it on me, men find it incredibly alluring and sexy. I do too, it's exotic, the patchouli does that, I can smell the bergamot and orange quite strongly as well. This is the only constant I have in my fragrance wardrobe, and I generally have more than 20 on the go, I always replace this one and this one alone when they run out.

8th June, 2011.

I fell in love with this scent when my sister purchased the Karma cream for me. It smells fresh and lovely, has some staying power. Yummy!

6th June, 2011.

I don't understand why Karma is so popular. It's horrific and headache-inducing. The orange is there at first, but then the patchouli turns up in excess, and then there's something else... another reviewer described it as "laundry detergent" and that's a pretty apt description. Not something I want on my skin.
I've tried the bubble bar as well and it was just as strong, I had to shower in something else afterwards just so I could scrub it off. Thank god I only have a sample, don't blind buy this!

2nd April, 2011.

i sampled the reissue of Karma, which is now in a black bottle and is labeled as a Gorilla Perfumes fragrance. I never smelled the original, but this is some truly ghastly juice. It smells like a total amateur hack made this in his bathroom sink, with no attention given at all to balance or blending. It's patchouli, patchouli and more patchouli, thrown together with a screaming loud white laundry musk in its base. Smells like powdered laundry detergent for hippies. Total garbage.

MY RATING: 2/10

6th December, 2010.