Saint-Germain

[paperdoll]

... He is a Hermetic Magician's hero for the ages, and his scent is an elegant, timeless, truly refined cologne, bold yet classic: gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses.

Initial Sniff: Lavender and moss. A bit sharp.

Wearing: Woah. This is amazing. The amber, creamy carnation, and soft moss meld into this incredible refined masculine scent. I really can't figure out how to describe it. The color association is a soft grey-purple. This has great staying power.


Final Impressions: Beautiful. This smells on me just like Noir smells on my man, which is odd. It is a very comfortable scent for that reason, I think.

[stardreamer]

Swapped this from Olympia301, thanks!

 

This is a really well-balanced blend. It's hovered just on the edge between floral and citrusy-sharp ever since I put it on, and that was 12 hours ago. Looking at the ingredients list, I think the "floral" is the lavender while the "sharp" would be the carnation. R., unsurprisingly, didn't like it -- he said it smelled like laundry detergent to him. I'm not getting anything that suggests mosses or amber.

 

I honestly can't tell whether I like it enough to keep or not! It's pleasant, and has excellent holding power without being overpowering when fresh on, but I'm not sure it's me; more testing is indicated. This may well end up being a "keep and use, but don't re-order" imp.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Strong lavender and weaker mosses, with many hints that something quite powerful lurks beneath.

On me: An excellent - I dare say near perfect - men's cologne. There's something almost citrus about it, but I believe that's just the mosses. Carnation gives this fragrance such a gorgeous spicy edge, while the lavender provides the perfect stage for the other notes to dance on. My brother will adore this; off to him it shall go.

[vyvyan]

Oh my God, this would be *glorious* on a man. This is the scent of a guy who isn't pretentious or snobby, he just *really is* that cultured. I want to nuzzle my arm.

 

Hell with the imaginary man - this is glorious on *me*. I'm not sure what these notes are, but taking a guess I'd say I get a lovely soft amber with a bit of lavendar or something crisp on top. Can't really smell any mosses, or any definable florals. It's one of the more traditionally perfumey BPALs I've yet come across, and while I don't usually like perfumes, that's just fine with this blend.

 

Goes on sharp, clear, very masculine, but settles down quickly on me to a more subdued warm-yet-crisp, slightly spicy, totally androgynous scent. Melds fabulously with my own skin. I smell so freaking good!

[PurringPulsar]

Saint Germain

 

In the imp: fresh cologne and lavender. Mmm, this is quite nice.

Wet on skin: oh wow, this gets lovelier. The lavender's still strong, but the carnation comes out…I love carnation! There's also amber and possibly some moss.

Dry on skin: this is really nice. It smells like French cologne, with a lovely lavender note, but the carnation makes it even nicer, the amber gives this blend a well rounded sweetness and there's a fresh, green and deep moss note.

After a while: there's a note there that's almost citrussy, that's the cologne note, the lavender in this is soothing, but the amber and carnation enhances it and adds a nice edge to something that may otherwise end up smelling too overly 'perfumey'. However, it does reminds me of really sophisticated French men's perfume, but isn't too 'manly' to put me off wearing it.

Verdict: this is a lovely blend, refined and sophisticated. It's a cologne scent with lavender, but it has that lovely sweet-spicy carnation, a sweet golden amber note and fresh moss that make this really interesting. This is a unisex blend, it feels 'gentlemanly', but not overly masculine thanks to the carnation and amber. And something about it smells quite 'French' possibly because of the lavender and fresh cologne. This is a gorgeous, grown up and mature scent, and I really like it a lot. Now I am really looking forward for more Great Alchemist blends to be released!

[QueenFae]

Very light, enticing, aquatic for me. This truly is a "refined" type of cologne, it's reminds me a bit of something my father used to wear. It's definitely masculine, but not so much that a woman couldn't pull it off too. I like it, I'm giving this imp to my man so I can sniff it on him.

[arabella]

First Impression: This is familiar - it's a men's cologne but I can't quite pin it down. No, wait, I know what it is, it's Irish Spring soap.

 

Dries down to: Very quickly fades to a mild, non-descript soapy scent, with an green/earthy undertone.

 

Additional comments: I'm really surprised at the description. I don't get lavender or carnation - I'm not sure what "mossy" smells like but it must be providing the green/earthy undertone I get. Amber is the one constant note in most of the scents I love but I don't get that "scentgasm" feeling from St. Germain, that I usually get when amber is present, at all. This one really confuses me.

 

Lasted: Very faintly, for about 3 hours.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5

[Little Bird]

Saint-Germain didn't smell anything like I would have expected given the description.

 

At first it smelled delicious, like spicy pepper and dry woods. It was oddly familiar. This stage didn't last long enough for me to figure out what it reminds me of though.

 

Then, over the next few minutes, the spiciness slowly drifted away and became powdery. I can't stand it when lovely things go the route of baby powder on my skin.

 

An hour later, I'm sniffing my wrist and cannot detect anything. Like most scents that go powdery on me, this one (thankfully) did not last that long. I'm almost tempted to reapply for how lovely it started out though.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Whoa, totally unfamiliar to my nose.

 

Just On: Cologne.

 

An hour or two later: Hmm, something pretty masculine.

 

Around 6 hours: Very smooth and GOOD men's cologne.

 

12 hours: Faint hint of men's cologne.

 

Overall: This is probably the first scent that is actually too masculine for me to wear alone. It's still okay, just not something I'm going to wear.

 

After reading other reviews: I couldn't pick out a note in this to save my life, so it was obviously well blended. It's a great scent, but definitly not my type, it's probably the very first BPAL to ever be too masculine for me all the way through.

[Lilithlefay]

At first I did not want to try this because of the lavender, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The presence of the carnations made the lavender more bearable for me as they added a sweet spiceness that blends very well with the lavender scent, plus the amber really makes a nice mark. I think this may be a bit too masculine for me though, I thik it would smell wonderful on a guy.

[Muppetk]

Wet: Smells almost exactly like Jo Malone's Amber-lavendar. The other notes are nearly undetectable. Definitely masculine.

 

Dry: the scent fades a bit and morphs, a hint of carnation and less masculine. Prettier.

 

Huh. Congratulations St. Germaine, you're the first BPAL scent to give me a headache. Well, actually oneroi did that once. I think it's the lavendar.

[Nachtwulf]

In the bottle: A clear, almost 'terse' scent. It's got a fairly masculine edge to it; it's a little floral, but not flowery, and isn't particularly sweet, as such. It's not soapy, either, at least in the bottle; I'm hard pressed to say -what- it smells like, right off. It does have a rather peppery quality to it.

 

Wet: The peppery notes seem stronger once it hits my skin, along with something... something else. I don't know what the 'else' is at all, but I don't think it's lavender -or- carnation. It's VERY masculine, though; it reminds me of aftershave.

 

Dry: Still very after-shavey. I can pick up the lavender, though.

 

Final Opinion: It's nice enough, but it's just too masculine for me. It makes me think of men's cologne or aftershave, and while I don't mind it, I can't really see it on me as a scent. Doesn't suck, but it's not my bag.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Lavender.

 

In the imp: Very refined. Lavender and dark mosses.

 

On skin, wet: Something in this reminds me of... lime? Huh. There's also the heavy, but not overbearing, lavender, the mosses, and that deep amber beneath it all.

 

On skin, dry: The lavender becomes stronger, and the amber weaker. This doesn't last terribly long, gone by the fourth hour.

 

Conclusion: Yes, this strikes me as the scent of a very intelligent, refined and perhaps British man. It also seems a scent for en resistant to wearing "that smelly stuff." As I'm neither a refined British man, nor resistant to BPAL, it's not something I'd wear.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Aredhel

[herongale]

Saint-Germain (Bewitching Brews)

 

in the bottle: Almost totally clear with a touch of milkiness. The scent is VERY manly. So manly that I hesitate to even know how to describe it, other than to say that it smells like a really f**king hot guy. I guess there are flowers in here, but there's also a rich tobacco note as well as a faint touch of something alcoholic. I really am at a loss; the notes all fade into something that I want to call "tight ass beauty." But surely that is inappropriately vague.

 

wet: okay, on me I get a citrus note, and more of the hottness. ... wow. This is like pheromones but all funky and masturbatory and stuff. I want to f**k myself with my non-existent c**k. *fans self*

 

drydown: This here is too much man-flesh scent for this woman to tolerate. I'm too sexy for myself and that perplexes me. It's a delicious rich scent that would be perfect on any person with testosterone ambitions.

 

verdict: Not something I'd buy for me, but something I'd enjoy on just about anyone else. *hints hints*

 

(ps, I'm not sure of the acceptability of all the words I used in this review for this forum, so to be safe I put stars in the more naughty ones. Please rest assured that when I originally wrote this and put it on my LJ, all bad words were totally intact)

[sarahj]

Saint-Germain

 

freebie from the lab

 

in vial: sharp lavender

 

wet: the lavender has been softened by amber

 

dry: soft blend of lavender, amber, and moss

 

verdict: nice, but I'm not sure it's for me...I will try again later

 

ETA: I tried this again and decided it fades too quickly (about 3 hours) for me to add it to my big bottle list...I will use up my imp, though

Edited October 4, 2005 by sarahj

[enderfem]

In the bottle: Lovely. A bit green. Something sharp, with a darker note under it.

 

On me: Wow! This is masculine. I usually like masculine scents, but this is a bit too much like men's cologne. I smell like I had a lovely looooong evening with a very wonderful gentleman. And haven't showered his scent off yet.

 

I very much like the smell of it, but will probably swap the imp. Too masculine for me, and for the man in my life.

[feline.by.design]

Saint-Germain was one BPAL scent I had been meaning to try for a while now... ever since it came out. I finally got off my tuckus and included an imp in a pack, which I received.

 

Seeing as how I'm quite fond of masculine scents, it's no surprise that I really enjoyed my trial with Saint-Germain. From the little vial, I could tell that this one was going to be a keeper. I was so confident, I wore it to work, rather than wait for the weekend or at night, which is normally when my testing takes place.

 

I found Saint-Germain to be a clear, clean fragrance that could be very gender neutral if it weren't for that manly little bite in the scent. The amber is subtle, with the lavender and "mosses" prominent on my skin, and perhaps the carnation (I can never tell when I'm smelling carnation for some reason). The effect is incredibly fresh, yet not too crisp. If you like the idea of smelling like a man fresh from a shower, this would be for you. If you're looking to douse something on a man so he can smell like he's fresh from a shower, well, this would be for you, too.

 

As for me, I'll see how often I hit the imp, although if I wasn't being so militant about lessening my collection (really, it's true... what, you don't believe me?), I'd definitely snag a bottle of Saint-Germain with my next order. However, seeing as I have two imps of Saint-Germain goodness, feigning restraint may not be so difficult.

 

-doreen

[Miss Lynx]

Hmmm... I was hoping to like this more than I actually did. I've lately been curious about trying more of the "traditionally masculine" scents, since discovering the greatness of Titus Andronicus, which is fast becoming a top favourite. And a lot of the feminine scents are too sweet for me.

 

This one sounded nice, both from the description and the reviews, but I wasn't so impressed with it in person. It's nice, but not really very exciting. Kind a clean, slightly citrussy, herbal. A bit like a more androgynous version of Mantis, really.

 

And like Mantis, sadly, it pulled a rapid disappearing act on my my skin. Not quite as fast as Mantis did, but it's been less than an hour and it's no longer perceptible on my wrists, and only slightly in the crooks of my arms. The only place it stayed at all strong was in my cleavage, and frankly I'm, um, well-endowed enough in that area that it may have actually formed an airtight seal.

 

So, pleasant enough, but not a winner. Maybe I'll try it on the boy.

 

Grade: C+/B-

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Strong general cologne smell

 

On me:

This is definitely masculine, it's very "cologney" and deep. Despite a slight frankincense like warmth and spice to it (though that isn't listed as a note, there is something in this that reminds me of frankincense) it's a very clean and crisp scent with a nice citrus kick.

 

Final note:

Would smell great on a man, but definitely not something I can pull off. For the man who likes stronger/deeper scents.

[sookster]

i think upon first sniff i get a lot of lavendar and some other herby scents as well....starts off quite masculine but morphs and changes with my chemistry to become a very unique blend...equal balanced of florals and herbs this is just lovely ..... such a shame that it is not long lasting enough but i will treasure my imp until i go and buy myself a big bottle.....

[kettu]

in bottle

light and lemony

 

on skin

light yellow and green. springy. calming and lifting, like morning sunshine. dew evaporating on gently warming grass.

 

dry down

green is getting a little heavier

 

after 5-10 minutes

Ew. It went all powdery. Like a vaguely lemony old lady's underthings drawer. [...] hrm. The moss is becoming more prominent, but the powder's still there. Boo.

 

after 30 minutes

still light, bit mossy, turning old, stale, and tinged with decayed brown.

 

much much later

powdery old lady dust.

 

Meh. Pas pour moi.

 

*looks over other reviews and, oh, the actual scent description*

I didn't really find this scent all that masculine. I think it's the lavender that does it in. To me, lavender is Old Lady -- think Miss Havisham from Great Expectations -- definitely not something I want my guy to smell like.

 

BUT! With a different body chemistry, e.g. someone Not Me, it could work pretty well, I think. I agree with Lynxie. We'll try it on the boy. Muahahahaha!!

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Quite sharp--I think I'm picking up on the moss. Even though it is sharp, it doesn't smell like it has staying power.

 

Wet: I had to try this twice. I put a little dot on the first time to sample it, and it vanished. I "slathered," as it were, the second time, and the lavender was overpowering. I could "taste" it in my mouth.

 

Drydown and wear: It is a shame that this takes so long to move through the "overpowering lavender" stage, because the "moss stage" that comes after it is quite nice. The scent also lasts much longer than I thought it would--I did not have to reapply after a 10 hour day. I will probably finish the imp (and apply less, to control the lavender), but I don't think this is a bottle for me.

[Freyja Lux]

A very gentle men's cologne, but nothing I'd want on my man! The lavender gives this scent a very gentle touch, and the amber gives it warmth. It's nice, but just too traditional smelling for me. Reminds me of mall cologne, but nicer and a bit more complex.

[LyndaM]

I surprised myself by really liking this. It's obviously more traditionally masculine, and I'm usually a gourmand/roses/lily kind of girl. It's not my usual thing at all, but despite all that it smells really good to (and on) me.

 

I can't even pin down what I love about it; I'm getting the amber, moss and lavender, but none of those notes usually get me this interested on their own. It goes on STRONG, but within a half hour mellows down into just perfect.

 

The carnation is a mere suggestion here, but I do love that note and maybe it's holding this blend together for me. This would be wonderful for stormy nights, with a fire in the fireplace and one of my old favorite books. Or as a fresh and unexpected choice for when I'm dressed up in my 'proper lady' clothes.

 

I will probably end up buying a bottle, this is so comforting and so unlike my floral or foody leanings.

[hypatia]

I like this one a lot. On me it's mostly lavender, and it doesn't morph all that much. The lavender manages to be distinct without smelling too much like a sachet or a bowl of potpourri. The amber takes a bit of the herbal edge off of it. At first there's an almost smoky note, and something a little sharp in the background (can't tell what); then the lavender and amber and moss merge together and stay that way. At the very end, the carnation comes out. To my nose, it doesn't register as carnation so much as "oh, wow, smells like Morocco minus the spices!"

 

I put some on first thing this morning, and now, 12 hours later, I can still detect faint whiffs. It's very good for wearing to work; it's a clean, put-together kind of scent. Definitely one I'm considering getting a bottle of.