Cairo

[naeelah]

The essence of holy Kyphi, beloved incense of the Egyptian Gods.

Based on the way this smelled on my arm, I was not expecting to pull up my spreadsheet and see that this is an incense. Once dry, though, I see what's going on.

Wet, it strikes me as a spicy lemon musk. As it dries, the lemon quality slowly fades away in and a smooth, sweet floral component emerges, along with the subtleties of the resins. It's very sweet starting out, but the sweetness also recedes the longer it dries.

I wouldn't know what's in it, but I get the impression of: lemon (or lemongrass), cassia, spices, honey and/or white grape, frankincense, golden resins, rose, and jasmine, among other things. The rose gets stronger and stronger, for me, as it wears.

There are a few other incense blends that are similar to this -- ones that contain honey and not just resins and woods -- but nothing is just like it. It has a very rich, diverse bouquet, and the notes are fairly distinct, although once dry, the effect is more homogenous. I find this less cloying than the other incense blends of this variety (Philosopher in Meditation, I'm looking at you). It's brighter and less smoky than many incense blends, although it has a distinctly fuzzy haze over it. The lemon[grass?] is what really sets this one apart.

Lovely and well worth a try, just give it time to dry and develop.

Try if it you like: Cleopatra Testing Poisons, Tabula Smaragdina, Philosopher in Meditation, Diwali. Edited February 10, 2009 by naeelah

[hkhm]

imp: very soft incense.

 

wet: a light, almost lemony, incense.

 

dry. i've got it: this smells like light citronella incese coils.

[CynicalPink]

I've never met an incense I like

 

Imp: Thick and syrupy. Not getting the overwhelming citrus from the imp

 

Wet: Well yes that's incense alright. It's brightening up as it moves to dry. This must be where the citrus comes in

 

Dry: And there's the lemon citronella candles everyone was talking about

 

[heathercaley]

Its a musty lemony verbena-ey smokey (I'm guessing that's the incense part of it all) blend. Very clean, but not astringent clean. It reminds me of the spa, after you come out of the wet sauna and drink some lemon myrtle tea. Lovely!!

[mhickle]

This may be incense, but it is honeyed citrus incense. I'm not getting lemon, exactly, as others seem to be getting. To me, it's more orangey - height of the season, juice-dripping oranges.

 

Unexpected and lovely. Really enjoying this one.

[Zirah]

Clean, light, fresh, lemony. I'm still not getting any of the heavy incense tones others seem to, but that's OK. I smell like sun on linen with a hint of old temple incense.

 

Asked to name this, I would never have gone to Egypt. It smells much more Old South to me, like Georgia in the late summer.

[copagirl]

I was really looking forward to testing this one because I had read it was very similar to my fav "regular" perfume, Coco Chanel. So it starts out so nice in the imp, spicey, honey. On wet it is honey and incense, and soft spices. A little later the lemon comes out that everyone talks about but then...ugh ROSES. Rose scents do not work for me, they smell very strong and old ladyish. So so sad...

[iiinterstate]

I'm not sure when Old Cairo became just Cairo, but I have the Old version to try.

 

Wet on me: light, citrusy incense. Ooooh, nice.

 

After a minute: incense is overpowered by something lemony... maybe verbena? I don't know if that makes sense though.

 

Later: Citronella candles. Damn.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Dry incense. Not burning yet, just the stick, with no particular scent to it. Maybe an orange?

 

Wet: The incense is light on my skin, but still there. I;m getting something orange peel. Tart ans clean.

 

Dry: Sweet citrus candy. Lemon or orange peel. Very sweet.

 

Overall: Completely different from the imp! From dry incense turned to sweet candy. Lovely transition. Will wear this one.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Fruity citrus incense?

 

Immediately on skin: This smells of grapes, grapefruit, and light incense. It’s an odd combo, but a lot more upbeat and brighter than I was expecting.

 

After a little while: This smells like a mixture of citrus and grapes and other fruits over incense. It’s a bit cloying, a bit mismatched, and a little dry on me. It smells like Fruity Pebbles a little mixed with incense, but without the cereal and milk. Mainly, just the fruitiness. It’s an odd combo though and just doesn’t blend completely to my nose.

 

Overall Impressions: This is much fruitier and more citrusy than I was expecting, though it does also contain an incense note. The combo doesn’t really mesh well though so I find this to be a rather disjoined scent.

 

[cinnamonster]

This is a bright smell, it morphed so fast I can't recall the opening scent but it settled very quickly into being the lemon turkish delight in one of those mixed boxes. I like it a lot. I can't say much more about it, it's very simple on me.

 

ETA: I have tried this again - the opening is fizzy, fruity lemongrass, like a lemongrass seltzer might smell, it's drying down into less fizz, still very strong on the lemongrass with hint of citronella, and a hint of white floral, possibly a white rose (which is probably where I got turkish delight from before). This would be nice scent to use outdoors one night in an oil burner. It's making me think silk cushions in fuschia, those low Thai style couches, candles, relaxed outdoor atmosphere, more Thailand than Cairo I guess!

Edited June 27, 2009 by cinnamonmel

[milo]

I was really expecting a dry, dusty scent from Cairo. What I get is a wonderful, incensey citrus, I thought lime, but another reviewer mentioned lemon, and that is what it is. This is what I was hoping Carnival Diabolique would smell like, but this is a much more fresh, clean scent with a touch of incense. I really like this, and may consider a bottle down the road when my little imp runs out.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, Lemon Pledge

 

On the my skin, lemons and something else fruity. Someone mentioned grapes...possibly.

 

I normally like lemon scents, but this one is just too much like furniture cleaner.

 

 

[BuxomM]

It starts off sweet and lemony and turns to a slightly bitter honey wine.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Imp: chocolate resin?

Wet on Me: dry, tart, resin-ish

Drying Down: dry, dusty almost less tart, almost sweet

Dry: warm, dry, dusty, old, resin-y…lovely.

 

[Dark Alice]

Where others get incense I get watered down incense with hints of sweat and warm sickly fruit. must. wash. off. now.

[isisonearth]

Imp: There is something very lemony about it. Sort of a herbal lemon. Not at all what I expected.

 

Wet: The sweet myrrh rises like incense from offerings of lemons and oranges. Yes the sun warmed citrus fruit notes are becoming more pronounced. Reminds me of Wild Sweet Orange tea.

 

Dry: It is starting to go very lemon furniture polish. That makes it sound bad but really it isn't. There is a wood smell but it is bright warm and shiny and the lemon is still pervasive.

 

Hmmm...after looking at a description of Kyphi it seems the wood is cedar, the bright is frankincense and I'm wondering if the lemony isn't spiknard.

 

Yep...its cedar. After about 20 minutes it begins to go horribly wrong.

[laslibres]

Wow, I really can't put my finger on this scent. There is incense, yet, but something else more fruity that adds a bit more...color, I guess. Then on me, some light flowers and something kind of planty-leafy comes out...sort of like palm or papyrus. The incense has a bit of a spicy quality to it, dry, but deep and complex. A bit musky, too. The whole thing feels sort of dusky-red-purple, if it were a color.

 

Now that I see everyone else has mentioned lemongrass/lemon verbena, I can sense that too...it's tempered by the incense, though. Hrm. I really can't figure this one out, but I think it's good! It has that kind of slinky, snakelike quality that Snake Oil and its derivatives have.

[Yoginispirit]

Hmm. Strange. I smell the citrus-honey but there's something else...wine?

 

This oddly smells like wine. And its giving me a headache. It smells nice enough but it's also making me a bit queasy. Darn.

[Aldercy]

Musty, dry verbena, old wood, crystallized, slightly boozy honey and a hint of sandy rose. Given those notes, I'm surprised by how cold it nevertheless is. I would expect this bone dry, desert scent to be hot, but it's too ancient and emotionless to be warm. Like the stale air of a sealed tomb. It's interesting and powerful in that it brings to mind lots of mental imagery, but I couldn't wear it as a perfume.

[Leopard403]

I don't have olfactory cells that can discern details about incense. Some people get hints of rose? Lemon? Chocolate?

I'm jealous. To me, this is just "incense." That smokey, sweet, head shop-y, sort of boring "incense."

[donnatron]

Imp: Labdanum? Methinks there be labdanum here.

 

Wet: Really grapey. Sort of sweet. Sort of smokey. SO MUCH GRAPE! Where is this grape coming from? I dinna understand.

 

Dry: Sort of body odour-y labdanum. This is kind of a fail on my skin. I can see how it theoretically works but it's just falling flat. No incense, no interest. Just a grapey sort of blah scent. Sadly not for me.

 

Throw: Minor.

 

Overall: Not my style. If you're a labdanum fan this is probably the scent for you.

[Sinmara]

Fresh on the skin it has a sharp tang to it, almost unpleasant - once it dries down it starts to develop into something heady, intoxicating and slightly spicy.

[aquazoo]

Sour lime. That tones down to some soft spices. It's like an expensive spicy soap.

 

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: interesting... sweet, slightly lemony

 

Wet on Skin: reminds me of furniture polish, but in a good way

 

While Drying: lemony, sweet, with a touch of a spice I can't quite place, but I think it is something I associate with eastern/indian food

 

After a Little While: This is interesting, but feels a little bit disjointed. It seems to be a combination of lemon, savory spices, and a boozy note - maybe white wine?

 

Later: The spices remind me of Khrysopelex. The lemon scent is less prominent now. The wine has gone a bit too sweet, and there is a musky note at the base now. Some time later, I am left with a nice, powdery-sweet scent. I like this late late phase better than the earlier stages.

 

Final Thoughts: On my friend, and briefly on me, Cairo was straight up lemonheads candy.

Cairo earns a 2.5/5 on my skin.