Lyonesse

[freyasfae]

This has a seaside quality, but it doesn't scream sea scent - I suppose the lily and vanilla negate that. I think I would actually like it more sea like.

[KezzieZ]

Lyonesse was an imp that I ordered in my last BPAL order since it sounded so interesting (I really like vanilla smells). I had completely forgotten this had a stargazer lily note to it, but that has piqued my interest; I think stargazer lilies are cool, but they smell STRONG and I wouldn't be able to have any in the house whether I'm feeling cool with the scent or not since they're toxic to cats. There are several notes I've never smelled before, so I guess we'll see what I think and what familiar things I can parse out.

 

In Bottle: I'm detecting a lot of things. In the bottle, this is sweet for sure. I think I'm getting vanilla, musk, stargazer lily, and maybe also the sea moss. I think, other than the sweetness, I could also describe this as floral and herbal.

 

Wet on Skin: On my skin, I think I'm getting more of the stargazer lily. Maybe also some background musk? I feel like the notes are swirling around a bit, so this is coming off as a morpher to me. I kind of want to say the scent has become somewhat aquatic? Maybe that has to do with the sea moss. Like I wrote before, I don't know all of these notes.

 

Approx. 2 Hours Later: I think this became vanilla and musk-centric, with other notes still lingering. The scent reminds me of one of the Crimson Peak atmo sprays (The Golden Hour) though I never had the chance to check out the perfume incarnation of that one. Admittedly, this isn't as powdery as the version of The Golden Hour I have.

 

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I really like this first impression. It's not too sweet and the different notes have me puzzled in a good way. Trying this also makes me feel more confident that a stargazer lily note will not necessarily drown out everything else. I'll see how I like the imp as I continue to use it (in rotation with the others I have; I may need to pare down the selection later).

[qveenmab]

This was a frimp I would never have gone for myself, wary as I am of sandalwood, but which actually turned out to be quite lovely and the morphiest BPAL I've tried yet.

 

Immediately upon application: I was blown away by how different this was from what I smelled in the imp. Rich and creamy but not overly sweet, vanilla and amber and what might be the orris, though that's not a note I'm very familiar with. No sandalwood, thank god. At this stage it makes me think of white chocolate??

 

A few minutes later: Ah. There's the lily, and the sea moss has shown up to cheer it on. Veeeery floral, in a not altogether pleasant way. I don't think I've ever tried a lily scent before, it's not really my style, but looks like this might be a note that amps on me, like jasmine. :/

 

After about half an hour it's settled down, and doesn't change any more over the next few hours before I fall asleep. The soapy floral/aquatic is still dominant, but the white chocolate reappears, if only to lurk in the background (it's actually more noticeable from a distance than when I put my nose to my arm). The white sandalwood is gentle, just rounding out the blend and never turning sour on my skin. I wouldn't say the lily ruins this for me, it's still a wonderful complex and intriguing scent and I'll be keeping the imp for now at least while I decide if it's something I'd actually wear, but I wish the other notes were given more of a chance to shine. 7/10

[lizabelle]

I'll admit that before this perfume I had no clue what ambergris smelled like. After looking it up I'm pretty sure that's what's making this scent so interesting for me--there's a soft, almost-salty resinous note tying everything together that's absolutely amazing. I get a lot of vanilla and muskiness, with a shockingly-behaving amber note and a deep salty-mossy base. I don't get a lot of sandalwood out of this, but I'm not too upset because it's lovely as-is. To me this is nicely balanced between being overly cool or warm; it's sort of beachy, but in a "sunny spring day with a breeze" way rather than a summery way. This is unlike anything I've ever smelled and I definitely need a bottle.

[sunnyrain]

Lyonesse is a warm, well balanced oil. Echoing other reviews. Yes-this is a 'golden' scent.

 

I feel it is so well balanced, that it is difficult to pry the notes apart. But, I get mostly soft ambers, swirled with vanilla over the backdrop of musk, and a sweetness that rounds it all out, without being cloying. The dry down is the most pleasing to me, because wet this oil can be a little strong.

[celestia]

♔ Lyonesse

 

In the Bottle: Light, sweet, very light salty vanilla

 

Wet: Mmm this is a beautiful oceany gourmand vanilla musk. It smells like rich, creamy and musky sweet vanilla orchid with salt from the seaside licking around it. It’s so gloriously pale light, creamy, foamy golden in olfactory colour.

 

Drydown: The muskiness from this is astounding, it almost reminds me of Antique Lace and Regan (heavier parts of Regan) blended together with an added oceanic salted element. It emphasises the rich and sweet characteristics of the vanilla but also keeps it from venturing too far into gourmand territory. It’s seriously glorious stuff. The oceanic , slightly salty and atmospheric ozone nature of the sea moss and ambergris are a little sharp on me, but tangs up the blend the way salted caramel tangs up the taste buds. It’s utterly beautiful. I never thought I could appreciate a salty vanilla- but the salt is more of a salty sweet mist, wafting around the blend, rather than a big lump of salt lick just randomly dumped it. Such a masterful, atmospheric blend.

 

TL;DR: salty sweet sea mist and musky rich, sweet orchid vanille.

Edited May 15, 2017 by celestia

[rachelos]

This to me is one of the most beautiful Black Phoenix oils I've tried. It's not me at all, unfortunately, I wished my personality matched this! But for others I think it's so perfect. It reminds me very much of Dorian, although it's been years since I've tried Dorian, so correct me if I'm wrong... Either way I just wanted to show my love for it, especially with Dorian being out of stock.

[mishi-bear]

My imp of this is at least a decade old, so keep that in mind.

 

Lyonesse is mostly vanilla and sandalwood on me. The florals at most add a touch of sweetness to the far background but are barely there. I do actually get a bit of the sea moss though, adding just a touch of damp greenness to the background, making this feel vaguely seaside-y, but just a touch.

 

Overall I actually really enjoyed this one mostly for the vanilla and sandalwood. I'm curious to try a fresh imp of it before springing for a big bottle though.

[roseus]

Oh my. The golden vanilla and musk meld beautiful with the ambergris that my skin amps. So largely this is a warm, vanillic salty skin scent on me. I catch just hints of the sea moss occasionally making this a lovely non-traditional beach scent. Will need more.

[Juliamon]

I opted to give this a shot because I'm still trying to narrow down which florals are migraine-safe for me, plus anything sandalwood-vanilla is something I gotta try (especially with amber/ambergris)!

 

In the imp: sweet florals and salty ambergris

 

Wet: Ooh, beachy aquatic. The florals are very prominent and I'm a bit concerned as they're pushing it a bit too commercial-perfume for my taste. That's the orris doing that, I presume. Behind that is the sandalwood, moss, and ambergris, with the vanilla and musk coating it all in a creamy soft glow. I'm having several scent associations at once: a small beach in Gloucester, MA; older, more sophisticated relatives visiting from Rhode Island; a Neutrogena sunscreen sample that smelled strongly of lily. Very summery, very coastal, very feminine.

 

Dry: Unfortunately, the sandalwood has gone MIA in short order, and the florals are really getting to my head in a bad way. Ah well, at least it's a winner for plenty of other folks. Time to add lily to my 'nope' list.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Juliamon