Sol Invictus

[laslibres]

A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom.

 

2009 version: orange! Or rather, I think I'm smelling tangerine...it's sweeter than just regular orange. It gets more flowery as it dries on me, sort of powdery white flowers, and orange blossom.

 

Sadly, the orange blossom does as it sometimes does on me: turns to bitter orange peel yuckiness. Also, the tangerine (or maybe the flowers?) start to take on this fake, plastic quality, which is disappointing. I don't know why orange blossoms smell so awesome in real life, but go completely sour on my skin...curse the gods of scent! *shakes fist at sky*

[Lyrical]

In imp: WOW! Amber blends can be hit or miss on me, but this is a blissfully orange amber, sweet and golden.

 

Wet on skin: amber and orange blossom remind me of Khryseê, but this has additional notes to freshen it. As it dries the orange blossom recedes a little and makes way for the brighter citrus notes, and it's perfectly "perfumy", ie it smells as if I'm a normal person wearing normal perfume, but still has that magic BPAL touch. The fresh citrus is perfectly balanced by the thick amber and it's just perfectly blended and balanced. I love it! More than that - I LOVE IT!!!

 

Dry on skin: rich and smoooooooth orangey-lemony amber. There is no sharpness or bitterness here, and none of the off-notes some musky or citrussy ambers get on my skin. It's a fresher version of Khryseê. I may need multiple bottles of this. Not much throw - it stays very close to the skin, which I like..

 

And just as I thought it couldn't get better - a soft spicy-smoky base note emerges. I think it may be frankincense.

 

Second day slathering: I still like this, but today there is a tendency to soapiness. I think that's the frankincense.

[Coldfire]

 

 

Decant: I get the orange blossom and the citrus and hibiscus.

Wet on me: Still more of the same. The Hibiscus reminds me of growing up in Miami

Drying Down: Warm, Yellow Sunny goodness

Dry: And it's dried down to the amber baby powder on me.

[Schmoozy]

 

Absolutely golden, and uplifting. Sol Invictus is fruity, sunny, slightly resiny and simply beautiful. Am thrilled that it came back this year. It's bright and cheery, yet at the same time the amber and frankincense along with saffron keep it spicy, and thick with sticky sexiness.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Tried both versions but the 2007 version was aged two years while the 2009 version was fresh.

 

2007 - dusty, a bit powdery amber and frankincense scent with maybe a hint of orange blossom and citrus remaining. I blame the frankincense for the dusty impression. The volatile citrus notes are mostly gone.

 

2009 - very bright, sweet and sunny citrus. The amber shows in the background when it dries down but it remains on the citrus side for along while. I am not particularly good at picking out anything more specific when florals and fruits are involved. But on the whole the citrus is strong and does not really seem to blend so well with the amber on me and it is brighter and sparklier than expected while I was looking for warm and sweet.

 

So as far as I can tell there is a big difference between fresh and aged Sol Invictus, the citrus notes say goodbye rather soon.

[PiraticalFrogg]

In the bottle: citrus plus amber. A more masculine scent than I was hoping for, but still wearable.

 

Wearing: The citrus disappears very quickly, and the amber mellows out. I'm not sure if this is due to other scents coming through more or because of body chemistry.

 

Overall: I love amber and citrus but was a little disappointed at this scent. I'll still wear it, but I won't go through the bottle quickly. I have to wear quite a bit to get the scent to come through, making this one definitely too heavy a scent to wear to the office. It is pleasantly warm for winter, though.

[milo]

In the bottle, this smells a lot like The Sportive Sun, a blend I adore. On, it is a medicinal, sharp citrus. As I was puttering about doing my thing, I could have sworn I smelled perm solution. Yup, that is me, unfortuneately. Boo. The perm solution gradually disappears, and we're left with strong, cleaning solution citrus. Very medicinal and perfumey now. I'm pretty disappointed, as these notes are made of win for me. Still, I'll let my partial age, and see if that improves the blend.

[miaa]

In bottle: When I first read this thread some of you seemed to think of it as "Cold and harsh" I however kept thinking about it so I swapped for it and today... Glory! Very sweet but NOT a candy sweetie. If I were to guess I would say it was honey based, it smells like honey blended with oranges and amber. So even if honey is not in the notes my nose thinks it is.

[On skin:/b]

The perfect university blend it smells like you do aftter a fresh morning shower only in a golden amber way. I think for me this is one of the best Yules ever. It is Alice in a more feminine adult blend.

[sprocket21]

Mmm, this is definitely citrusy...but the florals are adding a soapy note to it. I don't detect any honey, and while I can't directly smell the amber, it seems to be lending a powdery sweetness to the orange. So, in sum, it's a powdery sweet orange soap. Not unpleasant, but it pales in comparison to my favorite golden citrus amber blend, L'Estate.

[gingiemay]

Super light floral orange soap. It was faint in the decant and faint on my skin. It's a bright, yellowy kind of scent but so faint I can barely discern the notes.

[fairnymph]

2009

 

Light yellow oil. Bright, very slightly sharp citrus and florals. Heliotrope, frangipani, hibiscus, citron, tangerine and mock orange (a little bitter) as well as lots of orange blossom (the slight sharpness). I get a definite sense of warmth and a bit of a perfumey feel from the amber and I can't pick out the saffron or frankincense.

 

More floral, perfumey, and a little soapy - I think the latter due to the orange blossom. A little powdery, too, from the amber. The orange blossom, frangipani, and heliotrope are in command, and the citrus has faded and turned a bit like Pez. I get a sort of dark sweetness now that could be the saffron and/or the frankincense - this has more depth on my skin.

 

Still going down the soapy-powdery route, alas - and it's a shame because this is otherwise the nicest frangipani blend I've tried, and actually all the florals except the orange blossom (which is the soapy sharp sort) are ones I really like. And the citrus isn't as strong as I would like, but it's holding pretty well for BPAL citrus. The saffron unfortunately has amped and is doing that weird mentholic wintergreen thing, and I'm getting much more of the sweet and woody frankincense.

 

More and more soapy and powdery over time. In the end it's golden, slightly citrusy, resinous and mentholic-spicy floral soap with perfumey, powdery amber. The powder puts it into old lady territory for me, if the soap wasn't unfortunate enough. Moderate throw but fades quite a bit.

 

[Sinmara]

2009 version:

 

Wet: rather sharp and zingy

 

Dry-down: still zingy, the sharpness is gone and it's a truly uplifting blend.

[bloody sore]

This is on my list of the worst BPAL of all time.

Something in this is just not right on my skin. Once on, I get baby powder and lemon. But not really baby powder, more like baby powder that's been on a poopy butt and lemon. Did I mention how much I really don't like lemon? Or baby powder? And of course, when I put this on, it was running out the door to go for a 3 hour drive. :/ It also wasn't just my nose, as the wife agreed with the baby powder and lemon nastiness.

[filigree_shadow]

This is the 2009 version.

 

When I first put this on it was citrusy and bright and cheery, and I thought I was going to like it. But then it turned powdery and strange. Crap. I suspect frankincense is the issue here. We often don't get along. When it's dry it smells like a very vaguely citrusy chalky incense. Not gonna work for me.

[whataboutprom]

My bottle is from Vintage 2006 and was purchased through the lab via Etsy.

 

Wet: Citrus and powdery amber, plus what I can only describe as a very feminine "perfume" scent. I can already tell I'm going to love this after it dries, because it reminds me a lot of Jezebel, but with dry citrus notes instead of Jezebel's sweetness. Jezebel is the perfume that got me over my disdain of powdery amber.

 

As it dries, the scent is becoming more clean, and I'm hoping it doesn't turn soapy. I wish this was more golden on me, but my skin rarely lets the golden side of amber shine through.

 

On me Sol Invictus is a light, bright and very powdery blend, but a refined amber powder, not baby powder. I think this will be a great scent for sunny days or when I need a pick me up.

[Sangria2]

2007 Version

 

When I first tried this back in 2007, I didn't like it. It was way too much citrus for my taste, so I set it aside and basically forgot about it. I'm grateful to say that it has changed quite a bit over time.

 

In the imp: The smell in the vial sort of blasts out "pickle juice". There is a pleasant cologne smell underneath the pickle.

 

Wet: On the skin however the pickle fades very fast, into a slightly sweet, almost honeyish amber.

 

Dry: An hour in it is staying pretty true to the amber, and a wrist sniff reveals a slight bitter orange peel. Surprisingly enough, the bitterness keeps the orange in check for me and it's really quite nice. In fact, I almost wish this bitter orange part had more of a throw. I'm also surprised that I've had it on for over three hours now and it's still hanging in there pretty well.

 

It has definitely improved with age, as long as the citrus bit wasn't what the wearer was after. I am glad I hung onto it.

[Gateau]

I received a low partial of this from a kind BPALer as a freebie, so sweet!

 

Was very excited about this one, as so many of the listed notes are win for me, and the whole thing overall sounds very warm, sunny, and upbeat. It didn't do that much for me, though. It's very orange blossom-dominant on me, with the other florals adding a slightly bitter soapiness. I don't get any juiciness from the tangerine, warmth from the amber and frankincense, or anything that adds a lot of depth.

 

Oh well, I'm glad I got to try it, and if you like orange blossom, it may work well for you.

[Zii]

Wet: I am honestly amazed by how beautiful this is. I was worried by some of the sweeter florals, and while this is a very floral blend, the citrus makes it mouthwatering.

 

Drying: Now it's starting to get spicier as the amber and frankincense make themselves known. I much prefer this stage, as it tempers the sweetness and makes this scent more my style.

 

Dry: it's a bit dusty now, but I still love the depth and warmth of this. A keeper for sure.

[lizabelle]

2006 version:

 

I was generously frimped this with a recent forum purchase; I had been curious about it before but doubted I would get my hands on any any time soon. This is a wonderful blend, not really floral or citrusy or resinous but the best of all of those notes. It reminds me of Van Van in the way the citrus and amber blend to be almost one note. The florals are surprisingly soft and add a little sweetness without overpowering. This is indeed a sunny scent, but the kind that could still be worn in winter. If this ever gets rereleased I'll be all over it!

[LavenderCoffee]

I purchased the 2006 version of Sol Invictus from the lab's etsy at the end of 2020. Revisiting the scent as part of the Different BPAL Every Day Challenge for Jan 2022. 

 

Wet in the bottle, there is a bright burst of tangerine, but wet on my skin, this disappears and the orange/citron are loudest.

 

As it dries, the citrus notes fade almost entirely away, and the remaining notes create a warm, golden effect. I'm not great at picking out florals, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting the orange blossom, saffron, and frankincense over the amber base. There's a faintly smoky sweetness and it's absolutely gorgeous.

 

This scent stays close to the skin and doesn't have much staying power, but I like it for a comforting scent on a gloomy day, when I can bury my nose in my wrist and/or reapply as needed.