Mandeville’s Phoenix

[gentle-twig]

In Egypt is the city of Heliopolis, that is to say, the city of the Sun. In that city there is a temple, made round after the shape of the Temple of Jerusalem. The priests of that temple have all their writings, under the date of the fowl that is clept phoenix; and there is none but one in all the world. And he cometh to burn himself upon the altar of that temple at the end of five hundred year; for so long he liveth. And at the five hundred years’ end, the priests array their altar honestly, and put thereupon spices and sulphur vif and other things that will burn lightly; and then the bird phoenix cometh and burneth himself to ashes. And the first day next after, men find in the ashes a worm; and the second day next after, men find a bird quick and perfect; and the third day next after, he flieth his way. And so there is no more birds of that kind in all the world, but it alone, and truly that is a great miracle of God. And men may well liken that bird unto God, because that there ne is no God but one; and also, that our Lord arose from death to life the third day. This bird men see often-time fly in those countries; and he is not mickle more than an eagle. And he hath a crest of feathers upon his head more great than the peacock hath; and is neck his yellow after colour of an oriel that is a stone well shining, and his beak is coloured blue as ind; and his wings be of purple colour, and his tail is barred overthwart with green and yellow and red. And he is a full fair bird to look upon, against the sun, for he shineth full gloriously and nobly.

Sulphur and myrrh crackling with clove, Himalayan cedar, and red sandalwood.

This was pretty much a no brainer blind bottle for me from this year's Phoenixes. But I was still really curious about it for a couple reasons. All of the listed notes are winners on me, but I had never tried a blend with (I think) any of them in combination. I was especially curious as to how the clove would play with the woods and myrrh. And what was the sulphur going to be?

Mandeville's Phoenix opens with myrrh brightened by something I can't place (maybe it's the cedar? it almost has a slightly citrusy feel). I was expecting vetiver to stand in for "sulphur" but I'm not getting any. After about a minute the clove and sandalwood start to add a little depth, but the myrrh is still dominant. After a few minutes, this is mostly myrrh and sandalwood with a little bit of clove. Myrrh has obvious funerial / ecclesiastical connotations and sandalwood always feels like such a serious note to me, so while this is certainly a sort of melancholic blend, the clove is a really interesting touch that adds some warmth and playfulness. The longer this stays on, the more the other woods come out and the less myrrh-dominant it is (although the myrrh sticks around, for sure). The cedar averse shouldn't be wary of this blend, it mostly just stays in the background adding some welcome brightness.

This fits in well with my collection, perhaps a little toooooo well given my other myrrh loves, but this blend is pretty special and I would recommend it to any myrrh or sandalwood fans!

 

ETA: Now that this has had some time to settle, I am getting some smokiness midway through the drydown. I love a smoky scent! But this phase also lasts maybe an hour so I wouldn't be too concerned if that puts you off.

Edited December 31, 2015 by gentle-twig

[JazzieCazzie]

I'm very much on the same page as Gentle-Twig with this one, I think ...

 

Prefacing this by saying I had no idea what to expect with sulphur as the first note listed, but I was thinking maybe some fire and brimstone and, with the clove listed, something hot and spicy.

 

IMP: Again, not sure what I expected, but this was definitely not it! Very bright and clear and clean and strong. My first thought was absolutely citrus despite it not being listed as a note.

 

WET: Sweet! Sweet and clear and light and lemony. Or like lemon water you get at a spa. I kind of love this but don't think I could have correctly identified a single note blind.

 

DRY: AAAAAAAAAND here comes the myrrh. Sigh. Oh well.

 

OVERALL: In the end, the myrrh just made it too sweet for me but, as with Statius, I think it would make a great bath oil (I can tolerate the extra sweetness much more in the tub!)

[zankoku_zen]

Clove, cedar, and sandalwood. This one is a fairly masculine blend. Smooth sandalwood with notes of cedar and clove. Good throw, good wearlength.

 

If you're looking for a good smoky sandalwood, try this one.

[Little Bird]

Sweet, syrupy myrrh and sweet clove that gives off a bit of a cinnamon feel with dry, somber sandalwood. It starts off as mostly myrrh and clove on me, and settles into a strong, smooth sandalwood incense with hints of myrrh and clove. The white sandalwood usually turns baby powdery on me, but the red sandalwood isn't powdery at all. It smells of expensive, dry wood.

 

I'll keep my bottle of this, because I'm obsessed with myrrh, and this is a lovely sandalwood incense and myrrh.

[Roogna]

quick sniff of good notes - I thought this was going to be a winner.....then immediately turns to an almost soapy version of the notes (like a smokey soapy mix) and it hangs very light/close to skin.

[Casablanca]

Wand: Sweet, woody resin.

Wet: Sulphur, hey there. I didn't smell you on the wand at all. You're interesting, but you remind me of first-year college chemistry, and that stereotypically eccentric prof who held a burning sulphur mix under the nose of a student who collapsed asleep on his desk. It wasn't our fault that the course was at 8 a.m. for a whole year, you know. We were all a bit rough and dead around the edges. Which brings me back to this fragrance -- it too is a bit rough. I like it in the same tentative, experimental way I liked trying to run down a steep hill without bending my knees, when I was 5 or 6, to see what would happen. (I probably won't end up in the ER this time.)

Anyway, that's sulphur. I love its smoke but it's quite a yellow-toned smoke, and hits somewhere left of perfect for me. The myrrh grounds it in resin, clove is a spicy sidekick, and I get a little cedar and sandalwood, too. And maybe a little unlisted benzoin?

Dry: The sulfur gradually loosens its hold and starts to disperse, as reluctant to go as the real stuff was in Chemistry 101. Myrrh is spreading out now. The spiced woods support it, but don't take over.

I'll be looking for clove with myrrh and woods again -- maybe with a different smoke. That would be one of many possible heavens for me.

[Spaztic]

I got this one in a swap and I'm really enjoying it!

On me it smells like wet stone, dry sandalwood, a bit of sweet clove (maybe the myrrh + clove, I still haven't learned to recognize myrrh) and dry sauna-like cedar

I find the scent atmospheric but still wearable, which is a rare combination