Philostratus’ Phoenix

[mystery213]

And the Phoinix, Iarkhas said, is the bird which visits Aigyptos every five hundred years, but the rest of that time it flies about in India; and it is unique in that it gives out rays of sunlight and shines with gold, in size and appearance like an eagle; and it sits upon the nest; which is made by it at the springs of the Nile out of spices. The story of the Aigyptoi about it, that it comes to Aigyptos, is testified to by the Indians also, but the latter add this touch to the story, that the Phoinix which is being consumed in its nest sings funeral strains for itself. And this is also done by the swans according to the account of those who have the wit to hear them.

Rays of sunlight, shining with gold: amber glittering with orange blossom, Calabrian lemon, warm saffron, golden vegetal musk, and honeyed incense.

Ooo, this one is very distinct. It has a strong, sunny neroli top-note to it, and gives a very 'golden' feel overall. After a few seconds, the amber and saffron come out and round this out into a gorgeous scent that is quite reminiscent of very well aged Vixen. The lemon, thankfully, stays in the background, just adding to the brightness of the scent without being obvious. The amber takes forefront at the end of drydown, and the musk and incense finally show up also. This one is going to age AMAZINGLY!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

not a proper review, but a quick series of impressions.

 

 

the oil is a surprisingly dark, molasses-y type of colour, and it started off reminding me of some of my favourites - Smut, Scherezade, Elephantine Colossus, Voodoo Queen, etc - just at first. it settled down quickly and became more of a honey scent. me & the Lab's honey don't get on well.

 

what this reminded me of, the most, was having my teeth stuck together and being afraid to move my jaw lest i rip out a filling, after having accidentally bitten down on a Pine Bros Softish Throat Drop!

[JazzieCazzie]

IMP: Wow. Super rich and complex and resiny and unusual. Really unusual or at least not what I was expecting from reading the notes. I'm getting the amber and musk predominantly sniffing the imp.

 

WET: Ginger ale! The initial wet scent is SO different from what I sniff in the imp (but still awesome). Guessing this is the neroli and/or the lemon coming to the forefront. It's sparkly and light and yet also rich and spicy at the same time!

 

DRY: It's almost impossible for me to pick out an individual note because on my they all blend together so seamlessly into a lovely and very unique bouquet.

 

OVERALL: I think this one is a big bottle buy for me because while it contains many of my favorite notes, I really have nothing that smells like this. I think it would make a fantastic spring/summer scent.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: I think I am getting mostly the lemon and honeyed incense. It's quite well blended and hard to pick out notes. Pleasant though, but not really blowing me away. It is nice to put on something citrusy and not have it immediately smell like cleaner with my stupid chemistry though. It's not very strong on me, not a lot of throw. Does seem to be primarily a citrus scent, but with some depth from the other notes.

 

Dry: Sort of a honey-lemon incense. Quite interesting, but not something I would wear personally, so I will pass my decant along to someone who will hopefully love it better. Glad to have tried it though!

[milo]

I enjoy most of these notes, so was looking forward to trying this one. At first, kind of an aggressive planty vibe. That fades, thankfully, and it ends up being a a warm, resin/incense blend. Sounds good, but I'm not digging it for some reason. After a bit, the musk comes out, and it does kind of smell like Scherezade/Vixen, and Snake Oil without the vanilla and spices. In the end, I do like this, but I like my super aged Vixen and Snake Oil better. I may upgrade, but not a full bottle.

[theseagrows]

starts off with a clear golden amber, not a heavy or powdery one. a few minutes later i get the lemon, musk and incense. the saffron adds a nice depth. i am not sensing much orange blossom which can be a powerful note, so it must be subtle here. it becomes more strongly an amber-incense scent on me with a hint of citrus. it's a bit meditative and it does honestly smell like an incense stick, and one i'd love to try.

[zankoku_zen]

Golden amber, musk, lemon and orange blossom. This reminds me to a better version of Santa Eularia des Riu. It's got that golden Mediterranean glow to it, slightly lemony, and just golden. This smells like sunshine in Greece (not that I've ever been, but that's what I've imagined this). Low throw, good wearlength.

 

This smells like sunshine in your face. And part of me loves it for it.

[Little Bird]

Musky lemon, powdery amber, and a soft, spicy incense. I probably wouldn't wear this one again (not a big fan of lemon, musk or powder), but it does smell warm, sunny & golden, and it isn't unpleasant at all.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Primarily an earthy scent (from a combination of the saffron, incense, and "vegetal" musk, I think), with the amber and/or honey casting a soft, vaguely sweet golden veil over everything. The citrus is notable, but it's a soft citrus, not an in-your-face citrus like it usually is.

 

Wet: There's an initial blast of incense, but the citrus quickly becomes dominant. I'm really liking what this vegetal musk is doing to it, though - combined with the amber, it's an earthy, gilded citrus, not a juicy and/or bright and glittering citrus like I'm used to. This is going to be perfect for days like today, when I need a little pick-me-up but can't stand the aggressive cheerfulness of straight-up citrus.

 

Dry: A soft, herbal, musky amber. Cuddly, unisex, and delicious! There's little to no citrus left, but citrus does tend to burn off quickly instead of hanging around (at least on me), so that's to be expected. A whiff of honey turns up at the veeeeery end (around 11 hours on me - great wear time!), after being notably absent throughout.

 

This is the blend I was most on the fence about for my Yules/Anniversary order, but out of all of them, I think this is my favorite! I really don't have anything in my collection like it. I've got some dark, juicy, sexy citruses, some bright, get-up-and-go citruses, and plenty of lovely glittering citrus-amber combos, but nothing quite as earthy and mysterious as this.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Lunasariel

[theredkilt]

I swear there is a champaca resin in this blend, but turns out it's the orange blossom that renders a soapy vibe. All i get on my skin is incense, no honey, no vegetal musk, nothing.

[LiberAmoris]

Woah, the oil color for Philostratus’ Phoenix is a very dense golden brown.

 

Wet, the Calabrian lemon is really bright and fresh, and then there's loads of honeyed incense and amber, and golden vegetal musk thrums along underneath. The orange blossom and saffron are nice accents, but don't take over the blend. Once it dries down, this is primarily amber-honey incense with a highlight (lemon) and a lowlight (vegetal musk). It manages to be both sunshine-y and earthy, and when I asked my husband to sniff it, he told me it smelled like really fancy nag champa incense. I think that's a thumbs up from him.

[VioletChaos]

I seriously have NO idea how this scent escaped my attention for a solid six months! Luckily, the BPAL gods smiled upon me and I was still able to order a bottle, so here we go...

 

In The Bottle: Orange blossom and vegetal musk are the strongest notes for sure. I *am* getting a tiny whiff of honey, but not the incense part. at least not yet.

 

Wet On Skin: The honey is a big stronger now, and the musk has stepped back a bit, which I'm glad about- it's an odd smell, and while I don't dislike it, it WAS making me feel a little off-kilter about the scent. The amber and saffron are popping out a bit at this point, too.

 

Dry Down: It's morphed a bit and now it's predominantly an orange blossom and honey incense- which is AMAZING. I am a bit sad that the Calabrian lemon didn't make so much as an appearance on my skin, especially after discovering Pere Nöel, but this is a really beautiful scent in its own right.

 

I anticipate wearing this for warm evening strolls.

[Casablanca]

This is a bottle I wanted but was afraid to get -- it just sounds like every possible shade of yellow, and I'd rather things were mixed up a little. Gold is my favorite color and I don't want too much of a good thing. I saw a used decant for sale and got that instead. I thought I'd then get a bottle if I liked it. Before the decant had even arrived, I looked up the Phoenixes, and they were gone. Oops.

Bottle: Only buttery amber as smelled in the bottle, but with a shrieking lemon note also evident on the wand.

Wet: Golden yellow, with a high-pitched whine of a smell from the lemon. The amber is intense, especially with the honey, though the whole is softened by saffron. The notes combine into a golden-yellow streak of smell, almost monosyllabic, except that the golden warmth of most notes fights with the cooler yellow of the lemon. This might be a fine lemon on its own, but I don't like it with the rest of this.

Dry: The cool lemon steps back a bit, and incense comes forward. I'm not keen on incense notes but I feel like the whole has more harmony: the incense blends in, it's just not my preference. I still kind of want something to offset all this yellow. A little green, or something. Also, golden musk sometimes doesn't smell quite right on me, and there's a bit of that problem here. It's not cat pee, but it has started down the path that leads to cat pee, and so it brings that to mind.

I'm glad I passed on a bottle of this. I mostly like it once the lemon calms down, but not as much as other ambers I have.

[freyasfae]

This is mostly honeyed incense on me - a rich honey with a lot of depth which I think may be from the amber. Honey can be iffy on me, so this one is a pleasant surprise - and I think the amber has a lot to do with that. I don't think it's a keeper for me as I have honeys I prefer more.