Polyhymnia

[astrid]

The rage of Pindar filled the sounding air,
As Polyhymnia tried her skill divine;
The shaggy lion roused him from his lair,
And bade his blood-stained eyes in fury shine;
The famished eagle poised his waving wings,
Whetting his thirsty beak--while murder rose,
With hand that grasps a dirk, with eye that glows.

She of Many Hymns governs Sacred Poetry and the Gift of Eloquence, and brought the gift of Geometry to the world. The most introspective one of the Sisters, she is contemplative, withdrawn and brooding. The Solemn One is veiled, garbed in long, somber robes, and is shown either resting her arm upon a pillar, or with her finger to her mouth in a gesture of silence. Polyhymnia grants fame and glory to writers, brings inspiration and immortality through one’s written work. Orris root, white sage, rowan bark and red sandalwood, with myrrh, rosemary, lemon balm and honeysuckle.

(Hoping I did this all right!)
Polyhymnia just arrived today! I had to get this scent mainly out of the fact that it contains Rowan bark and I named my horse Rowan after the properties of the Rowan tree!

In the bottle in is simply gorgeous, crisp and fresh. Like a softened and gentle Lemon balm. First on, the Lemon balm is very much in the forefront, but then after a little bit it tempers down to almost being undetectable. So all you peeps who don't like lemon scents, don't let this one scare you. It will at first, but then you won't notice it. I'm actually sad the lemon balm goes away on me. I am very much becoming fond of the brightness that lemon brings to scents!

So anyways...yes, the tempered Polyhymnia has become a bit "church incensey" to me...probably the myrrh. I'm having a hard time distinguising any of the other ingredients actually. It's only been about 10 minutes that I've had this on so I can't say what sort of throw or duration it has.

I am really sad it doesn't stay on me the way it is in the bottle. When I first smelled it, I was ecstatic, but now I'm not so sure. I can see with the way it dried down it is rather "withdrawn and contemplative" and poetic with a solemn grace.

[Blood onmy hands]

First on, this is all lemon balm, pleasantly sweet and soft. It makes me think of warm sunshine and spring. After a few minutes some very sweet honeysuckle begins to peek in around the lemon balm. It's a very yellow and cheery blend. It also has an almost fizzy quality to it, like soda. I'm loving this one.

 

15 minutes later. The lovely lemon and honeysuckle have disappeared and this is going soapy on me .

 

Polyhymnia ends up smelling like thin incense smoke and soap. I wish that the first stage would have stayed strong on me... I'll probably be swapping my imp, since the drydown goes soapy.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I had to have an imp (at least) of Polyhymnia, since--as a writer and literature instructor--she's the Muse for me! I'd keep this for inspiration no matter what it smelled like. Luckily, it smells good!

 

Polyhymnia begins with clean, bright lemon notes that give way to a strong herbal base. I can just see her in her robes, saying "here! I will wake up your groggy brain with citrus and then get stern on yo' ass with some serious herbs!" or something like that. This reminds me of Arcana without the lavender. She will have a place of honor amongst my imp-throng.

[sarada]

Let's see, I have Polyhmnia on my right wrist, and Clio on my left...

 

The lemon balm in Polyhymnia is rather overwhelming and unavoidable, to the exclusion of almost every other note. There's a Burt's Bees lemon balm creme, I forget what it's for but I used to open it up just to sniff it. A strong, medicinal, sinus-clearing scent.

 

Unfortunately it's not something I'd want to wear as a fragrance, though I love to sniff it to clear my head as a sort of aromatherapy. I don't get any red sandalwood, even when it dries down, except that I can still smell something mellow and pleasant once the lemon fades, which wouldn't be the case it it was straight lemon. I love rosemary, and that adds a slightly herbal touch but I don't really get anything else out of this blend.

 

It dries down to a faint memory of the lemon balm -- I'd swear I had actually applied this as a paste, it's so strong, but I never really get the woods or other notes. They must be there, warming the lemon and keeping it from being too faint and fleeting, but I'm afraid this is going to bring about the usual lemony complaints.

 

Polyhymnia is one of the muses that I most identify with so of course I will probably keep this and keep her in mind. Oh and it also reminds me of the blend Shadow, but without the strong woody/cedar stage that that dries into...a very pale wood maybe, that has recently been polished with lemon oil.

[coulrophobe]

Wooooo, that's lemony! But it's a fresh, rich, creamy lemon balm scent, rather than lemon Pledge.

 

Definitely a bright, sunny, wake-you-up sort of scent. Once in a while, I think I catch a whiff of herbs or wood, or a fleeting hint of honeysuckle, but the lemon balm pretty much owns this scent.

 

I'm saving this one for a rainy day, literally - I think it'd be a great antidote for depression brought on by dreary Northwest winters.

[cupide430]

Polyhymnia

 

Light, creamy, herbal lemons. This is mostly lemony, which I'm sure is the lemon balm. There's something creamy behind it which reminds me of a Lush massage bar (like a less lemony Each Peach). It is getting a bit warmer and a bit more powdery as it dries. Definitely a sunshiney wake up type blend.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: all i can smell is the lemon balm. it's very strong and clean.

on: still all lemon balm.

1 hour later: this smells like the mushroom page in a scratch-n-sniff book i had when i was a kid. in other words, not good.

2.5 hours later: more incensy and sweet, with an edge to it.

overall: if this stayed the same as when i first put it on (LEMONS!), i would probably keep it. unfortunately, it does some odd things on my skin.

[undergroundwoman]

What the heck am I smelling in here? Rather lemony at first. I was hoping this would be a a nice Chiroptera replacement, but it appears not to be. This is a lot like Eidolon on me--I normally am all about the herbs but like Eidolon this smells like something I'd cook with. So lemony herbs, which should theoretically be good for me... but the drydown is a bit odd on me. Woody-musty.

 

I'll probably keep the imp, since I like to think I'm introspective and contemplative, and perhaps this will bring me fortune and glory through my research. Fortune and glory, kid. Maybe it will help with writing, keep me focused.

[yeahbutnobut]

Polyhymnia

 

In the imp: bright, sunny, sweet lemon (balm) with something else underneath making it sweeter.

Wet on skin: the lemon balm sharpens a bit, it smells like citronella, which I love. I think I get a bit of myrrh and orris underneath it.

Dry: this is a lovely scent! It’s like a slightly dusty/powdery sweet lemon scent, bright and awakening, and also gentle. It smells like the citronella my mum uses as ‘natural mothballs’ (I actually like that scent, so that’s a compliment) but I think I also get the myrrh which adds depth, and the dry, warm notes of sandalwood and orris. I don’t get much honeysuckle yet, and the herbal notes are just barely noticeable.

After a while: after 20 mins, the lemon balm tones down a bit-it isn’t as sharp now, letting the other herbal notes through slightly. The red sandalwood is more noticeable now-it’s warm and slightly spicy, and I get myrrh and orris underneath it all. I still get a nice smooth-sweet lemon scent on top of it all, with a smooth woody-creamy base.

(1 hour) this is now an effervescent lemon scent with herbs and a nice woody base. I also get a bark note at this stage, which might be the rowan, and I also like the way the myrrh adds depth to the scent.

The eventual drydown after a few hours is a smooth, slightly herbal, slightly woody, dry and dusty (in a pleasant way) and sweet scent with just a hint of lemon remaining. It’s very nicely balanced now and I really like this stage of the scent.

Verdict: this was a very pleasant muse scent that is so much better than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be very dry and dusty smelling, but it isn’t-it has a perky lemon balm note reminiscent of citronella, balanced nicely by the herbs, the sandalwood, the orris and myrrh. It’s quite sweet, and pleasantly dry, with a nice warm and sunny feel to it, like a warm summer afternoon. After an hour or so, I think I can detect the rowan bark. It’s one of my new favourite lemony scents, and it’s herbal-lemon scent is quite good for perking up my sluggish brain, so this will come in handy during my studying and writing. The drydown is very pleasant too-a smooth orris-wood-herb-lemon smoothness. I may get more of this.

[wolfie13]

In the bottle: I smell lemon balm and the sweet floral of honeysuckle. Hmm. It doesn't look good.

 

Wearing: The same as above plus the addition of some sandalwood, which is a good thing, and uh-oh the orris root which is not so good on me. (has a powdery-woody violet scent on me). Other notes are nowhere to be found on me.

Yikes: This combo is not working on me at all! I like most of the elements of this blend separately but I guess not together. The lemon and sweet floral aspects of this just take over on me, and combine in odd ways with the other ingredients.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - Wow, I wasn't expecting sharp! This is sharp, astringent….it must be the lemon balm.

 

Dry - lemon and the dry, powdery scent of orris root. I was looking forward to this blend because of the rowan, the rosemary, the myrrh, the red sandalwood and the white sage, so it's just my luck that all I get out of it is lemon and orris. Sadly, this will be going into the swap pile.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2 .

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is sweet, sugared lemon. As it dries, I catch hints of rosemary and sage, as well as an incense note I assume is the myrrh. It's warm and invigorating.

 

After a while, however, the incense note goes wonky on me. It smells a little musky, and it clashes unpleasantly with the dominant lemon. Not strongly, but enough that I find it disconcerting.

[desu]

In the bottle: Woodys lemon balm.

 

On my skin: Lemon balm.

 

Later on: More lemon balm with a very slight woodsy hint to it.

[Miss Lynx]

My first thought: Does every scent I encounter these days have to smell like lemon? I was starting to wonder if it was just me. But the last few I tried were Shadow, The Great Sword of War, Lenore and this, and all but TGSoW have something lemony listed, so I guess it's just coincidence.

 

Anyway, yes -- the lemon balm here is what jumps out most strongly at first. But as with the others listed above, it also seems to dry down quickly. Lemon and its variants (lemon balm, lemon verbena, etc.) seem to be among those aggressive top notes that come on really strong at first but don't have much staying power.

 

As the lemon balm fades, some of the other notes are coming out more: definitely the orris, with its powdery, dry feel, and I can get some earthiness from the myrrh and sage, and a touch of sweetness from the honeysuckle.

 

Overall I'd call it a mildly interesting dry herbal, with slight floral touches. Not bad, though not really a "me" scent. I think this one will probably go to Kettu, who is very fond of orris and will probably like this just fine.

 

Grade: C+/B-

[isyche]

Like everyone else, I get lemon at first from Polyhymnia, but it's a soft, calm, herbal lemon, solemn in a way that lemon usually isn't.

 

Then it fades to a light, warm sage/wood/incense scent that also gives me a feeling of serenity and sacredness...like something a cloistered nun or priestess might wear. It seems very non-sexual, so it would probably be a good work scent.

 

I like this, and it's very appropriate for the muse on me -- I'll definitely hang on to the imp at least.

 

ETA a little later: The herbal/wood/incensey phase is really, really nice and lasts a long time. there's some compulsive wrist-smelling going on...maybe I want a bottle.

Edited January 27, 2006 by isyche

[aidenraine]

When this is wet on my arm the lemon absolutely dominates. It is sheer, loud, brash LEMON DROP!

I am waiting to see if anything else emerges. Something under the lemon is very soapy. It's like a lemon dish detergent I have. Maybe a bit "Cascade".

 

Gah, I usually love lemon. Not sure what about this is bothering me. It's more synthetic than I usually encounter is all.

 

I do... no, nevermind. It's still just lemon.

 

*taps fingers and whistles*

There are so many other ingredients that I like in here, I wish I could smell them!

 

There is a slight queasy aroma in here for me as time passes, like a honey almost. It reminds me of being sick. This one definitely not for me.

[bodegaselkie]

Polyhymnia was a big disappointment because of the myrrh. Don't get me wrong -- I love myrrh, but it seems like when it's in one of the BPAL blends, that's all I can smell. It even happened with Penitence, which turned into pure myrrh. So rather than getting all the nice complex scents everyone else mentioned in Polyhymnia -- or, cripes, even a lemony smell, this went all myrrh-y and a little spicy from the moment I put it on. I never got to smell the other notes. *frown*

[sophia_helix]

Wet, this was a lovely, bright lemon. I'm not even all that crazy about lemon, but it was very pleasant.

 

Eventually it began to sweeten (the honeysuckle) and then get an incense/resin note (the myrrh, I assume). I don't really get any of the specific herbs listed, which is too bad.

 

After an hour, it smells dead-on like Tarot: The Sun. That same very warm, sweet, slightly spicy citrus combo is unmistakeable. Sadly, this gives me a bit of a headache for some reason (unlike The Sun), and although I like the fact that the herbs are a little stronger, I may have to swap..

[Thursdae]

To me, Polyhymnia is a lovely citrus/sage. I covet it, but first I have to do a wrist-by-wrist comparison with Embalming Fluid. I love EF so so much that I wonder if I would tend to reach for it when in need of a waft of fragrant lemon. Going by memory (unreliable, I know), EF is sweeter and Poly is more herbal.

 

Smelling Polyhymnia brought a smile to my face. Definitely a keeper.

[lysithea]

This is a sunny green scent. At times, I got a harsh green-ness that I wasn't quite sure about. But, I stuck it out and ultimately determined that I could wear this blend.

 

As others have pointed out, the lemon balm is noticeable. I found that it disappeared quickly and then the dry, greenness took over. I can only assume that this was the orris and the rosemary/sage blending together.

 

I found this somewhat reminescent of Sol - although this is sweeter (honeysuckle) and has a few interesting surprises to make it more distinct.

 

It drys to a sweet powder with a slight incense feel to it. I think more testing is necessary, but currently I think it is a keeper.

[Kittyflop]

Lemon. It's a lovely sweet creamy lemon, not harsh or acidic. I can also detect some of the green/herbal qualities that others have mentioned.

 

Sadly, my skin eats lemon and herbal scents for breakfast. After an hour there's not a trace of it left.

[filigree_shadow]

Wet: Yep, that's lemon. Lots and lots of lemon. There's something REALLY nice underneath, but it's squashed by all the lemons.

 

It calms down considerably on drying, and I get a faint waft of incense. Not a lot, though. It stays bright and pretty bold.

 

I might try this again when it gets warmer, but since I'm not a lemon fan this may still be too lemony for me.

[abberlaine]

Wet, Polyhymnia is bright lemon balm (as opposed to fresh, real lemon) with an accent of honeysuckle. Wake up, sunshine! It's a working blend rather than something I'd go around wearing as a perfume.

 

As it dries, the herbs come out and the lemon balm fades to something fabric-soft, sunny, and aural (is that the correct word?). I can pick out the rosemary and the sandalwood, soft and smooth. The lemon retains just enough of its initial tang to keep your eyes open.

 

Thumbs up!

[maewitch]

Strong lemon, slightly sweetened opens this up. I assume that's the combination of lemon balm and honeysuckle. It reminds me a bit of Shanghai at this point, but the citrus melts away to reveal the deeply aromatic woods and herbs underlying this.

 

This is really like smelling two completely different perfumes. The first part is cheery and light, while the second part is much more grave. I think I like both equally. There's a spiciness and dryness to the second part that seems especially enticing.

[feline.by.design]

Ah, I've wanted to try this scent, and I'm glad it was included as a frimpie in my latest order. Thanks, Labsters!

 

The fragrance that comes to greet me upon the initial application of Polyhymnia reminds me a little of Succubus in spirit, not so much scent: a sharp citrus cutting through a darker, heavier base. The lemon note eventually droops a bit to create a more "lemon candy" scent than the initial that could easily be likened to lemon-scented cleaner.

 

The drydown begins to make the fragrance soft, and there is a note that threatens to turn powdery, though I'm not sure which one that is. The fragrance of Polyhymnia is still lemony, but the herbal notes have tempered the once brash lemon into a ghost.

 

The longer I wore this today on my wrists, the more interesting it became. After about five hours, on my left wrist (I reapplied on my right so that I can capture the initial scents), the oil is still fragrant if I put my nose close. It's a sweet, light wood that greets me now. I did get a little bit of the spices maewitch mentions sometime around the half-hour mark, I think.

 

Polyhymnia intrigued me as being the melancholy muse. It's not an immediate "OMG!" fragrance for me, but some of the ones I wear frequently weren't immediate hits as well. Since the warmer weather is here to stay in Florida until at least October, I could definitely use fragrances like this. Polyhymnia is different enough from my other citrus scents to possibly warrant getting a bottle of it later. I'll have to see how often I use my imp, but to anyone else curious about trying Polyhymnia, I say, Go for it!

 

-doreen