[Absinthetics]

PRINCE LÍR
"Heroes," Prince Lír replied sadly. "Heroes know about order, about happy endings – heroes know that some things are better than others. Carpenters know grains and shingles, and straight lines." He put his hands out to the Lady Amalthea, and took one step toward her. She did not draw back from him, nor turn her face; indeed, she lifted her head higher, and it was the prince who looked away.

"You were the one who taught me," he said. "I never looked at you without seeing the sweetness of the way the world goes together, or without sorrow for its spoiling. I became a hero to serve you, and all that is like you. Also to find some way of starting a conversation."

Chivalry, love, and sacrifice. A noble cologne touched by a sweet sadness: vanilla fougere, bright citrus, juniper berry, ambergris accord, and basil.

What an amazing scent. Mostly I am picking up juniper from this scent, which is made a little harsh by the citrus notes. However, I wouldn't think 'citrus!' when I smelled this bottle. It's almost like a bite at the back of your nose, but not in any way orange or lemon. I'd almost say that this scent smells like leather. I looked for it in the notes but it's not there, and I'm honestly surprised. This smells like a knight going into battle. Like oiled grieves and a hyped up male-ness. There is something soothing and pretty about it, but I mean male-prettiness, grace, glowing.... it's warm in a way that it's well-worn but somehow bright. I think this is the mix of sneaky citrus and the vanilla Fougère. A work of art! I want to cuddle up next to Prince Lir so he can keep me safe at night.

This post has been edited by Silvertree: 30 August 2011 - 09:07 PM

[cfrancesca]

Initially this is herbal-basily on me, similar to the herbs in Antony and I could swear I also get soft, slightly smokey brown leather. A warm and bright citrus note starts to amp but stays well-blended with the other notes on me, I get a little bit of soft vanilla fougere in the background, the ambergis is soft and also stays in the background, the juniper berry is not coming up on my skin. This settles into a soft, warm, slightly smokey, dusty, well-blended leather herbal blend with a slightly bright citrusy vanilla fougere background. ETA: As I'm testing other scents I caught another whiff of it and I'm really amping the smokiness, it's probably coming from the ambergris.

This post has been edited by cfrancesca: 01 September 2011 - 11:46 PM

[Little Bird]

I love masculine scents, vanilla, and ambergris, so I had high hopes for this. And it doesn't live up to those hopes. Prince Lir is a pale, perfumey sort of scent on me. I can't smell much of anything in the bottle, and it's incredibly light on my skin as well. It's like a hint of perfumey, sharp musk and sour, green pine & sour citrus that's left over from a perfume applied several hours ago. Not much throw at all, and only lasts about an hour on my skin. I don't smell any vanilla or sweetness :( I'm majorly disappointed with this blend...

[Edens Sixth Day]

Prince Lir - This goes on herbal but almost immediately morphs into a cologne-like soapiness. There's a hint of vanilla, ambergris, and juniper. But mostly, it's soap and cologne.

[Balame]

In the Imp: How pretty. I guess I was expecting this to be greener because of the basil, but thankfully it's very citrus sweet with the fougere making it more typically perfume-y. It's actually giving me a strong memory of one of my aunt's favorite perfumes, Obsession by Calvin Klein.

Wet: The citrus + bright juniper and powdery ambergris is somehow reminding me of a very sexy orange juice, but the basil immediately pops out a bit more and makes everything more balanced. It still makes me think of Obsession, so if you're looking for a similarity, try this. In Obs you have citrus notes like bergamot and mandarin combined with oakmoss, and here it's a very close citrus and fougere (which often has a base of oakmoss)/basil, for the earthiness.

Dry: The basil has amped up a lot at this point. It's a fitting gradient. The prince is very fresh and sweet initially, but during the journey he becomes more mature and a little... sad? I don't mean that this scent makes me feel depressed or anything, but it just ends up having a very adult vibe to it with the herbal note in the forefront (for me) and the citrus a faint reminder of the past. Kind of like the realization that everything isn't always rainbows and sunshine in life. The basil isn't in your face, as it's actually relatively soft, but compared to the sweeter notes it comes across as serious. This is very faint on me within only 20 minutes.

Overall: I liked this more during the wet stages, as I'm not a big herbal person and the ambergris and citrus combo was really nice, but I would enjoy it on someone else. It's clean and energizing but still fairly musky.

*edit - I do get something that's fairly similar to a light brown leather in this after a while, as others have mentioned. Pretty sure it's the basil + musky fougere. Also lends to the mature nature of the drydown.

This post has been edited by Balame: 25 September 2011 - 06:51 PM

[angelamaria]

In tester: ambergris, and citrus for brightness although it's not too discernible. Definitely cologney, but sexy and not WHOA THERE BOY. Clean-smelling.

Wet on skin: mmm, sexy. I'd love this scent on a man. Ambergris...and it's almost smoky and leathery actually! This is delicious, slightly herbal, and clean. Ohhh, sooo~ sexy. <3 Ahem. Noble cologne indeed, but not unapproachable. This is a noble manly scent.

Dry: aaaaand~ my skin loves this too, because it's getting eaten all up. Mere minutes after drying, it's gone very faint, with that delicious smokiness and leatheriness. I can't believe there is no leather in the notes list.

Verdict: mmmm I would definitely slather this on my man, given a chance ;)

[BeKindRewind]

i had such high hopes for this, and it smelled really good after it tried down
you know the herbaceous nature of the basil and fougere being countered with citrus and juniper
but sadly this just wanes on my skin
though i guess i applied it at five this morning
and do occasionaly get whiffs of it if the wind is just right
so i guess that's not so bad
it just satays REALLY close to the skin

[zankoku_zen]

Juniper, citrus and something that smells like leather. Oh, what dashing tragic men wear. Nice, manly, dashing.

[DarkSinestra]

In the imp, this was softly herbal and slightly citrusy. A little masculine for what I like to wear, but I was anxious to try it anyway.

Wet: What on earth? Straight up doctors office waiting room and latex bandaids. So much so that it literally gave me a visual flash of the doctor's waiting room from my childhood pediatrician.

Dry: On my wrists, it stays doctor's office and bandaids. In the crook of my arm, cheap men's cologne. Prince Lir is not for me.

EDIT: I'm glad I didn't just wash this off, even though I was tempted. After a couple of hours of the doctor's office/men's cologne phase this blossomed into a gorgeous vanilla with just a touch of bright citrus at the edges and a rich creaminess. I'm not sure the LONG icky phase is worth getting there for me, but it's not a total failure.

This post has been edited by DarkSinestra: 27 April 2012 - 07:38 AM

[brilliantcat]

In the imp, I smelled a citrusy cologne, which didn't bode well. It smelled exactly the same wet and once it warmed, it turned a little sweet, probably from the vanilla. I was hoping for more of the basil and juniper berry. Instead I got a semi-sweet, slightly citrusy men's cologne. Pass. Sorry, Prince Lir, I love you really but your scent doesn't love me :(

[girbot]

In Imp:
Green citrus slightly sweet astringent

Dry:
Surprisingly likable considering I tend not to like cologne. I can kind of sense the mellowing effect of the vanilla and a slightly crisp note of green and citrus in the background, but the juniper berries leave the biggest impression on me. I love the smell of basil leaves, but I couldn't discern a definite basil scent. I also have no clue what ambergris smells like. I wouldn't want a bottle, but could definitely see myself wearing this from time to time, maybe when I want to pretend to be my own boyfriend or something like that.

Less than an hour later:
*poof* all gone

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Bright green notes with a creamy undercurrent. Pretty.

Drydown: Grassy basil grounded by tonka. Clean yet robust. It gains a slight cologne-ish edge as it dries.

Dry: A musky, deep green cologne overtop of soft tonka. Bright and masculine with a touch of creaminess. It fades substantially in this phase leaving the light impression of a creamy cologne that does occasionally remind me of latex.