Karma
Lush (1995)

I haven't worn this, but I can offer a review. I was just at a cheese shop with my girlfriend and was waiting in line, and I smelled this. It was quite strong and was projecting very well off of whoever was wearing it.

To me, a third party, it smelled wonderful. Sweet, powdery orange with a beautiful musky base. It was a beautiful cool August evening so everyone was wearing short sleeves. It didn't smell cheap but it also didn't smell like some old school baroque French perfume either.

I commented on it as we left the store, and my girlfriend was eager to mention the same thing, except she knew what it was (she is a Lush fan).

So, I have no idea on what it smells like up close, I have no idea how it performs but I can confirm it is a vibe

This fragrance is a much more wearable version of Tauer's Orange Star. If you enjoy a dense, slightly dirty orange scent, then you'll love this fragrance. It has good longevity when tested on paper. However, it's not as dirty as Terre D'Hermes, so don't expect a similar scent. The amber feel comes from the patchouli and elemi. I'm planning to revisit Lush to test this fragrance again.

The sample I tried in 2016, courtsey of a basenotes buddy, was named K, & was apparently an early version of Karma:

This is a heavy, strong, spicy orange-citrus with patchouli, & smells of Christmas. l've never worn the Karma fragrance myself, but l had a friend who used to wear it a lot, & l have previously bought the soap. This is exactly as l remember it. lt doesn't develop, but slowly fades over the course of thirteen hours. l think this might make a great festive candle fragrance, but as a perfume it's not something l would want to wear often.

30 years ago, a sunny July day, walking down Yonge Street. The painted door of a headshop swings open and a rush of hot, fragrant air washes over me, heavy with incense and patchouli. Orange rind smoothed by lavender is Karma's greeting but the message is patchouli, make no mistake. There's also a tang to it that must be the elemi, and for me this keeps the patchouli from becoming too cloying. I love its warmth and nostalgia. As the spray perfume is a total Bazooka, I prefer the solid form--it's easier to control. It lasts for 6+ hours, and the sillage is considerable regardless; apply with restraint. I enjoy it in the cold weather for its comforting warmth, and in the hottest, humid weather for its recollection of afternoons spent lolling in the sun working on...mind expansion. Way groovy, man.

I'm glad I don't detect much lavender in this, because it doesn't usually sit well on my skin.
The orange top note is dominant and lasts throughout. All of the other notes listed gradually come through it. Lovely :)

My first encounter with Karma was as a soap, given to me at Christmas by a now former in-law as a gift. When I went into a Lush store to replace it, I was delighted to discover that Karma is a full line with a fragrance to boot, although I feel the soap errs closer to being strictly masculine than the perfume. Still, folks who love orange and patchouli from all parts of the gender spectrum can appreciate the simplicity of this. Lush made a name for themselves with this line, and the whole handmade hippie cosmetics aesthetic of the brand finds it's genesis in the way this smells. Karma is the Ur-Lush experience, love it or hate it. It's a head shop in a bottle, Woodstock niche perfume, fragrance for free love, and it makes no claims of refinement or sophistication (like most Lush). The person that will enjoy Karma most is the person that romanticizes hippie counterculture, that appreciates the mood set by nag champa incense, lava lamps, and black lights. That doesn't mean this is for aging baby boomers remembering the Monterrey Pop festival either, as realistically the homespun hippie feel this gives off transcends generations, and is equally appropriate for a vintage deadhead or a younger fan of Ziggy Marley. Lush knew their target with this early effort, and it's become their marquee line as a result.

Karma opens with orange oil and lavender. This isn't the dry mandarin most western perfume prefers either, but a syrupy sweet and almost stifling orange oil note similar to what one finds in Grand Marnier or Cointreau liqueurs, so one must be a fan of sweet to like this citrus. Karma uses the workhorse lavender as a counterpoint note in the top, but that's all there is before a dry down into a pine and lemongrass heart begins, undoubtedly as a slightly greener but still citrusy transition into the real star of Karma: Patchouli. This isn't your dry manly patchouli a la Givenchy Gentleman (1974) or even the benzoin-powered nuclear patchouli of Giorgio Beverly Hills for Men (1984), but a raw, verdant, incense and essential oils grade of patchouli, the kind those "Patchouli Stinks!" bumper stickers are targeting. Karma will truly, madly, deeply test one's proclaimed love for the stuff, especially when that totally unfettered base note hits with wisps of the orange and pine still floating about, acting like resonators for the stuff. If that wasn't severe enough, elemi is the counterpoint to the patchouli, in almost a cruel trick, and further pushes the green on for miles and miles.

Sillage and longevity are out of this world, and either this is everything 1969 one could ever hope for, or quite literally the antithesis of perfume as an art, since there is no reverence for the methods of perfumers past given here, no put-on-airs sense of scruples or class. Hell, this stuff might as well have been composed by a teenager in a tie dye shirt listening to her mom's old Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young records while playing with oils she bought from the legal weed shop in downtown Seattle. It's almost antiestablishment perfumery if not for the fact that the Lush chain has bank rolled their success on it. I do find the stuff cloying on a hot day and totally inappropriate for any occasion outside the weekend day trips, where presentation takes a back seat to having a good time, but if liking something as crude as Karma is one's biggest quirk, then I'd say that person could stand to unbutton a little more anyway. This is equally suitable for fall and spring, plus will carry through winter air with an extra spray or two, but go easy, since it's ingredients show no mercy in any concentration and it happens to be eau de parfum anyway. Also makes a great chaser for smoke to those who take their Cheech & Chong fan status seriously, but you've already guessed as much.