Perfume Review! Haus of Gloi's Komodo

By Unknown

Purchased

I have a problem, and it smells like Komodo

It's hard when you find a fragrance you really like and it's discontinued. It's even harder when you find out you like it, own only one tiny sample vial and find out you like it long after it has been discontinued.

Luckily for me in the case of Haus of Gloi's Komodo, this was the first scent I sampled back in 2013, and I stocked up big time when they announced it would be discontinued due to the supplier no longer having the mangosteen note in stock.

A random aside - this fragrance also began my fascination with mangosteen. I just recently came back from a vacation where I stopped through Flushing in Queens, NY and saw actual fresh mangosteen for sale at the New World Mall... I deeply regret not buying any because I really want to know if it tastes as good as it smells in Komodo!

Komodo

5mL glass bottle for $15.00 USD

Mangosteen, Tahitian vanilla bean, dragons blood resin and faded tropical blooms.

Komodo was the very first indie perfume I sampled, and initially I was not impressed. I felt like it smelled too much like a gift shop (it does) and that it was too strong and like a bad candle.

But after a while (years, actually) of revisiting Komodo and trying it again and again (along with an aged vial) I've come to really love this scent and am disappointed it's no longer going to be part of the Haus of Gloi catalog. The mangosteen note is twinkle of a sweet-tart top note that balances the "toasted giftshop incense vanilla"  heart of Komodo.

I hated the dragons blood notes in a Solstice Scents fragrance I have long since thrown away - I was so violently against it that I scrubbed it off less than three minutes after application and never touched it again. But this is such a tiny pinch that I barely even notice it. I think it prevents the vanilla from becoming gourmandy.

As for "faded tropical blooms", your guess is as good as mine. My experience with "faded" flowers is that when they start to die they smell kind of gross, so I dunno why I'd want to smell like that. Maybe it's more like a retro Hawaiian-shirt-floral-pattern kind of faded?

Duration:
I own the exfoliating sugar scrub, full-sized perfume oil, and the pumpkin butter. The exfoliating scrub still leaves behind a close, clingy whisper of scent long after my shower - it's just enough to not smell like plain "freshly washed skin". The perfume oil lasts a good 6-7 hours on me, although the drydown towards the end reminds me of dryer lint. This seems like a new thing because last year I don't remember it smelling like that. I wonder if it's because this bottle is now a year old.

The pumpkin butter is crazy. I apply some to my feet straight after my shower, and I still smell it on me when I wake up in the morning. It's a powerhouse!


Score: 4.5/5
I can't bring myself to give this a full 5/5 score only because I really wish there was more mangosteen. I just really, really want some other indie scent to showcase mangosteen. I suppose that's no fault of Komodo, and I shouldn't penalize it for that, but I feel like this fragrance was just one more nudge of mangosteen away from greatness!

Did you manage to sample Komodo before it was discontinued? Let me know what you think! For more impressions, check out Jessye Gets Bubbly's Extra Edition on the Haus of Gloi Summer 2015 lineup and see more great summer scents (that aren't discontinued)!