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xrumeras – :
This feels like half a perfume. I get no heart or top notes. Instead I am presented with a balsamic , smokey accord that reads like the drydown of some other scent.It’s not unpleasant, and this might even please someone who enjoys a minimalist approach to perfume. I am underwhelmed.
kyzma8686 – :
OOOOOOhhh yes please. Golden incense, dry wood, and dusty vanilla. Burned through my sample in a week, upgraded to one of the gorgeous bottles right after
ebts1 – :
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.
7JHNR4 – :
Copala is a warm, spicy treat! Love the reviews from my homies, Roge’ and Dana_Sandu_Pro. Some of my favorite people in Fragranticaland. 🙂
On my skin, vanilla is virtually non-existent, with incense & spices taking the lead. Copala reminds me of a stronger, more performant version of the beloved 10 Corso Como (for women), combined with a smaller amount of Baume du Doge. Myrrh, cedar, cardamom, and pepper come to mind.
Overall very impressed with the Xinú line. 4 out of 4 offerings were complete home runs. For the past few months, I’d been in a Review-writing-rut, using just the “Add a personal Note” feature instead of public posting. Xinú brought the magic back to perfumery – a scintillating inspiration in the vast sea of mediocrity. They are niche, works of art, yet absolutely wearable.
astefeani – :
I’ve burned copal at home, and this fragrance comes across dryer & woodier while having some wet greenery as contrast, but if you’re looking for the elevated bright sweetness of copal, you won’t be completely satisfied.
LoveSex50 – :
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.]
aleks-shapoval0 – :
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)-