Lyonesse

[alliekat13]

Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss.

Well all of the wonderful reviews for this scent inspired me to buy a bottle unsniffed
because everyone seemed to have great things to say about this oil. When I opened the bottle: Pickle juice.....something smells like brine in here, I can only assume that it's the sea moss, I don't know what else it could be. And also very strong men's cologne. It reminds me of some cologne that someone used to wear, but I can't place it. It smells kind of old-manish. I was hoping for the vanilla and the stargazer lily to come out, but alas, no. An hour later it has faded into a sweet ambery-musk sorta smell, but no vanilla. Wow. I am really dissapointed in this one. All I can hope is that this gets better with age, cuz I don't wanna go around smelling like I doused myself in my grampa's cologne.

[SultryWolf]

In the bottle: Amber and bit of sweetness.

On: Amber and honey, like a lighter Jacob’s Ladder or a darker Et Lux Fuit. Throw and staying power are mild.

[Eemia]

I received a frimp of this with my last order and it took one time for me to fall head over heels. Lovely and warm. Lots of vanilla and amber....smells musky and slightly sweet. This is a smooth, mellow blend that I can imagine smells wonderful on anyone. Very sexy! I put this at the top of my "next orders" list.

[Shollin]

First sniff: O Droolworthy Sweetness, thy name is Lyonesse! Bright and deep and sweet and deep and edgy and deep.

 

Wearing: This may be the deepest sweet scent I’ve ever tried, almost to the point of darkness. It’s endless and beautiful.

[delicate_fangs]

This is lovely indeed. At the beginning, I get a bit of musk, some amber, and something that smells almost like bay leaf for a moment, and then disappears. A soft floral note peeks out, and then it's a nice full-spectrum amber with something complicated and smooth overlaying it.

 

I like this very much. Glad I bought a bottle when it came out, and gladder still that I finally got around to wearing it.

[moonchild1965]

This is my first imp. Loving this scent...on me, you smell the vanilla when it's first applied, but now that it's been on several hours, the vanilla is definitely in the background and the other woodsy notes are coming through. It's a little too light on me, but would make a great daytime/work fragrance.

[Miladygrey]

This smells so ridiculously good it's almost unreal. Stargazer lily (mmmmmm), the white musk (exotic), and especially the ambergris. Even when all the other scents had faded, that rich fragrance stayed and stayed--never overpowering, just there. It's completely feminine and elegantly sensual. Must get my own imp or bottle straightaway.

[black_and_bloom]

Lyonesse is a very pretty, feminine scent - it initially starts out very sweet, floral and "perfumey." The sweet vanilla, and the stargazer lily, stand out the most for me and dominate the scent from first application on. I can sense the deeper note of the musk, too, but the rest of the notes are lost to me. In fact, this reminds me very much of Kindly Moon because both have that aggressive (but pretty) lily note that overpowers everything else.

 

I like this, but not enough to wear it often.

[Brianne]

This is O without the honey

 

I had to quote andrabell on this one because I agree so much!

 

In the vial:

sugary

 

On me:

Oh my. I cannot even describe Lyonesse. If I thought it was gonna smell like THIS, I would have ordered it sooner. I'm so lucky the Lab gave me a frimp of it! This smells - as andrabell suggested - like O without the honey. It's creamy, smooth and sweet and very very lickable. Slightly sugary vanilla - like the vanilla in Black Opal and Antique Lace.

 

Final note:

I have nothing else to add except that this is SO awesome.

 

 

EDIT:

Here's the banner I made for it:

 

Edited March 18, 2007 by Brianne

[The_Merf]

In the imp: A very warm vanilla, absolutely a "golden" scent.

 

Wet: The white notes, like the sandalwood and lily, as well as the herbal moss, are combining with the amber to give this scent a bit of sharpness right now...the vanilla is there, but not the dominant note.

 

Drydown and wear: As the scent dries down, it starts to match the golden scent from the imp itself (hooray!). This is one of the more pleasant ambers I've tried in some time (lots of ambers end up going powdery on me, but this one does not). I think the person(s) who summed this up as a slightly richer/wamer version of Jacob's Ladder pretty much hit the nail on the head.

[kraken]

In the Imp: Vanilla, amber and lily. Very sweet, but not gourmandy.

 

Initial Wet: Fairly strong florals backed by vanilla and amber. Just a hint of moss.

 

Initial Dry: The amber comes through more strongly along with the vanilla. The lily fades to make way for the orris.

 

Drier Dry: Warm vanilla and amber primarily. The musk is light and compliments the amber nicely, remaining light and does not weigh the scent down. The sandalwood is likewise a nice dry note.

 

Overall, it's lovely, rather like a Bastet meets Antique Lace. I like it very much, but it does not last very long on me. Not that I mind slathering it on over and over again.

[dorothy humbird]

I was hoping for more vanilla out of Lyonesse, but alas... that is not what I get primarily.

 

On me, I smell what I have come to think of as "the amber vibe," which I first picked up in Bastet, and then later in Red Lantern. Here, I think the ambergris and sea moss are what tip it from "interesting" into "no thanks" for me. There is something too ... rich and golden about Lyonesse -- it really comes off as guilded to me, and in a way that I can't appreciate for whatever reason. I want to say it's perfumy, or soapy, but it's not really either. Guess there's no accounting for personal taste.

 

Ah, this is why BPAL has hundreds of scents and not just a handful.

[Victory]

I've had a bottle of Lyonesse for a few months (thanks to nursekins for the swap!), and I just don't really know what I think of it. The only word I can think to describe the scent is "dense". The effect is like walking into your bathroom that's full of steam, but scented. I think I'm mostly smelling the amber with random whiffs of vanilla and lily, but the ambergris and moss and other notes are probably backing the amber up. I was really hoping to get something close to Antique Lace or O, since I love them both, but this isn't anywhere near to those oils, to my nose. I think an imp would do me rather than the whole bottle.

[Loligo]

Very subtle and elegant -- not something I ever thought I would say about a vanilla perfume! It's warm and rich, but not particularly sweet, and the warmth combines with the opening aquatic notes to create something that kind of reminds me of the beach.

 

I do wish it lasted longer on me, though.

[Naamah_Darling]

Good heavens! This is brilliant and splendid! First, a bright and shining musk, combined with the fresh and almost citric elemi and the warm promise of amber, and perhaps that is a bit of the moss giving it an edge . . . oh, this is bright!

 

This is only a tad like Sol Invictus, really, but it has that same sense of wide-awake brilliance. Yes, there's greenery there, too, most definitely.

 

On . . . This is really perfume-y and traditional, but it's so pretty. The throw is a billowing, thick, radiant cloud of misty amber, sandalwood, and musk, with a tantalizing hint of vanilla swimming around the bottom. Closer, it's more traditional, and slightly more masculine.

 

I'll go ahead and say that men and women both could wear this; whether you smell it as a man's scent or a woman's really depends on which way you tend to interpret incense notes, which are netural to me. This has a solid base of incense, but it's overlaid with crisp topnotes, the lily, the elemi, the moss, that keep it keen and in sharp focus.

 

As it ages, the amber notes and the mossy note take precedence – a queer mixture of aquatic and ecclesiastical. This has the character of a horizon seen from the deck of a trading ship – a shore of autumn trees and towering mountains, with a city of golden towers rearing by a brightly sunlit sea. This isn't hazed with mist, it's perfectly clear but somehow distant, as though seen through a captain's glass. As evocative and rich as the tolling of faraway bells.

[dronzeka]

Weird. I was really surprised when I read the notes for this, because I don't get vanilla from this at all - I get a very perfume-y aquatic kind of scent; all I could think of was the ocean. Maybe I'll have to try it again and see if I was just insane or chemically off that day, but it may be simply that I amp the sea moss to high heaven. It's just really really ocean blue on me, and a little too strong and leaning toward the masculine.

[porcelina]

buttery, sugary amber... this actually reminds me of jack (only not disgusting, haha). it's a very pretty, sweet scent. i'm saving it for fall.

[purplemoonshoes]

In the imp I get subtle butterscotch. On my skin I get a strong golden vanilla with lots of throw that doesn't fade quickly. Good for halloween through Christmas, and unisex, unless the floral comes out on you. Reminds me a little of MB: VD, but without the woodsyness. Hey, I just made up a word!

[funkmoppet]

This is a morpher!

 

From the frimp (thanks Lab!), it's a VERY sweet caramel blast from the vanilla and amber. This lingers on my skin for a while, gradually losing its foodie dominance as the earthier notes begin to push through. My skin tends to amp these, which I'm perfectly happy with.

 

Drying down, it's gone from CARAMEL to a very evocative, warm aquatic. The sea moss is now dominating with the woods and well-behaved amber softly drifting underneath. I still get a hint of the vanilla every so often.

 

I very much like what this blend becomes once the wet phase settles down (it has a similar unisex finish on me that I adore so much in Glasgow). I don't think it's a bottle purchase, but I will hang onto the imp and see.

Edited July 20, 2007 by funkmoppet

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Vanilla cake batter

 

On Skin: Vanilla cake batter

 

On Drydown: Vanilla cake batter with a few spices thrown in. I ocasionally get a whiff of something perhaps floral, like if I were in my kitchen and I'd be smelling my neighbor's flowers through the outside window.

 

Verdict: See a trend here? The vanilla amps up to the max, something else throws itself to add some sugaryness and overall, I smell like a cookie. Foody lovers rejoice. And my husband is attempting to gnaw my wrist while trying to get ready. I think he needs breakfast...

[readiness]

I could have sworn I had a review here but oh well.

 

This is "teh sex" on me. It starts out kinda food almost nutty - what I wanted gluttony to be but very foody. Luckily on dry down it goes away. It lasts forever, has great throw and the sea moss and musk dominates but not in a stinky way. much more subtle and sexy. Honestly this scent makes you edible.

Edited July 22, 2007 by readiness

[constantdistraction]

In the bottle: Almost overwhelmingly sweet, vanilla icing on a cupcake.

 

On skin: It mellows out to a sort of burnt vanilla smell--still reminiscent of baked goods, but very pleasant and sensual. I had a hard time making up my mind on this one. Although I love vanilla, it's not exactly my kind of scent. It's a little bolder than I would like, I guess, but every time I wore it I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists!

 

Not buying a bottle yet, but I'm keeping my imp.

[stasha]

Oh this is smooth and tasty. In the bottle it's like a sweeter version of Antique Lace with the vanilla and cream in the forefront while florals are only a slight lingering note.

 

Upon first applying it continues with the deep, liquid vanilla but as it dries the floral and amber smooth it out to a perfectly blended beautiful scent. It's sexy in its elegance. Quiet and 'lady-like'. I love it

[JennyGardener]

Lyonesse must share some notes with Grog, because I smelled that distinctive butterynut flavor. I found my visit to Lyonesse warm and joyful, like a kitchen with red tile floors and some wonderful dessert baking in the oven. I think I'd like to revisit the bakeries of Lyonesse again very soon! This is also a scent I'd like to try on my husband. For some reason, these yeasty warm dessert things remind me of him.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Almost foody vanilla and honey with a musky base.

 

Immediately on skin: Strong vanilla, light musk, and a light touch of flowers.

 

After a few minutes: Almost foody, but not quite. The vanilla reminds me of the condensed milk note in Shadwell. I can smell the musk and a slight touch of sandalwood. There’s also just a tiny bit of lily adding a slight clean note to the blend.

 

Later on: This is a gorgeous, soft, sweet vanilla and musk scent. It’s very strong on me, but it’s a complex scent so I don’t mind… and it’s not too foody either which is nice. It’s a sweet rich vanilla deepened by the amber and sandalwood with a light touch of musk and clean lily.