Bulletproof No. 45
Tokyo Milk (2011)

A creamy, woody black tea scent with a hint of chai spice to my nose (and the only one of the line I've tried that doesn't make me wheeze). I don't know that I like it as much as I did when I first tried it (now that I'm more experienced, it is a bit more in your face and commercial than I prefer these days) but it's still a good everyday scent, and just a touch more interesting than safe.

To make a long story short: I smell like an incense stick being used to stir coconut milk into a steaming mug of tea, and I'm not even mad about it.

To make a short story long: When I test fragrances for the first time, I usually spray my wrist first, knowing full well that it will develop wildly different from when I do my usual sprays: one to the throat, one to the midriff. My very first spray of Bulletproof - after stripping off its cellophane and clumsily tearing the box in my excitement - started exactly like Penhaligon's Elixir. That's the only other incense fragrance I own, and my girlfriend hates it on me. I was still excited. Bulletproof had this initial underlying creaminess that set it apart from Penhaligon's "church incense." I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist. It was gorgeous, and I knew it would be different in my full wearing, but I couldn't help falling in love.

I'm glad I did my full wearing right away. On my wrist, Bulletproof is straight-up woodsmoke, campfire, everything described here... that dries down to a safe coconut vanilla scent. Which is good, great, and different from anything I own. But as a full wearing developing throughout the day... oh my.

Oh. My.

I read this described as "dark, mysterious" maybe even aloof? I see that. I definitely see that. However, this dark, mysterious entity has a bright, bubbly friend who can always get him to crack a smile, and that's how I see the coconut interacting with the incense accord. Coconut is broody incense's quirky friend. And I love it.

This thing just has that "oomf" I see people sometimes cite as lacking in a fragrance. I'm much too addicted to the blind buy to settle into a signature, but if I had one, this would be it.

I didn't get any coconut or ebony woods. Got more of a tea scent. Very faint/close to the skin. It's really a shame because the description/notes sounded amazing.

This one is a pleasure to wear. A four-piece orchestra. It's gothic. It's brooding. Mysterious and sensual. It's perfect. One of my favorites. Woods smothered in tea and coconut. It smolders on my skin.

For me it lasts for hours. For me, the sillage is grand.

I've worn this for a few years and shall continue to possess it until it becomes discontinued. If you like this you will enjoy Arsenic, by this house, as well.

Heavily smokey with a green, medicinal afternote. Not really my cup of tea, but I can't fault the name.

Bulletproof is easily one of the best this outfit has produced. Their releases are almost always extremely pared down, so surprises, development, and excitement are usually minimal, but in some sparse instances this isn't a hindrance. The creamy, lactonic top is dried right out by the woods in Bulletproof, steering it away from scents like Envy for Women. So, while Tokyo Milk's works are labeled 'unisex' but definitely marketed toward females, this is one of the group which works just as well on me as it does on my sisters. The overall scent is a bit like a dried out coconut tree covered in cocoa butter, just not as weird as that sounds.