Lysander

[Honeygirl]

Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin.

Bottle: Violet, lilac and herbs

Wet: This scent confuses my nose, there's a lot going on! I think I get the lilac musk most of all, then the herbs.

Drydown: I wish I'd gotten some lime rind, I would like this better. It's certainly not a bad scent on me, just more of a miss than a hit.
2.5 outta 5

[waternight]

In the imp: Warm tonka and benzoin - but NOT sweet - with a heavy wood influence. Hint of lime.

Wet: Strange - getting a wood smell with a vaguely tonka/benzoin influence. Ah! I've got it! It's the blackberry leaf. But it smells like a true leaf, sort of fuzzy with prickly setae. Dry lime rind is there too. There's a completely unique note I can only guess is the lilac-musk. This smells NOTHING like what I expected, it's a lot more earthy and plant-y. I think I'm smelling some violet now. My, this is strange.

Dry: Very herbal and interesting. Hard to pin down. Some more tonka shows up, smoothing and warming the blend. Lysander is definitely a unique experience.

[savage_rose]

Warm vanilla skin musk...very sweet without being too foody. Mmmmm...

[hkhm]

imp: very woodsy, almost lightly spiced lilac.

 

wet: what? this has an almost sugar skull like sweetness. there the lime and florals... this is one darn interesting scent!

 

dry: to me, this is like a strange mix of la befana and sugar skull. not bad, just really unusual.

[Rouge]

In the vial - Rich, warm and woody. There's a vanilla-like creaminess that's very appealing.

 

Wet on the skin - Happily, this blend is not too overtly masculine. It has a very warm, rich tone from the tonka, which sweetens the musk considerably.

 

Next stages - The lime rind makes a gentle appearence in the background of the scent, but it's swift and fragrant rather than the zingy freshness that might come from the fruit pulp itself.

 

Dry down - A gentle and musky scent that's certainly very evocative of a glade in a midsummer forest where the fae are holding court.

[annaham]

All my skin gets when this one goes on is BOOZE, BOOZE, BOOZE, with a slight hint of lime. I certainly don't wear this one every day, but it's nice for either a very cold or somewhat warm day.

[greenranger]

In the imp, I think I am getting the lime rind, lilac musk and maybe myrtle?

 

On I get a strong whiff of the benzoin.

 

Dry, benzoin, lilac musk, lime rind and myrtle.

 

An interesting scent, there's a lot going on, and the high and low notes are playing games in my nose.

 

After a bit, the scent has calmed down. some of the notes don't seem to want to last on my skin. The tonka and the benzoin are most of what is left. There's something else spicy and resinous lingering on my wrist, but, mostly it's tonka and benzoin.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Aerinha

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Lime, a touch of lilac and tonka.

 

On Application

The blackberry leaf is the first thing I smell - green and astringent and then quickly folowed by the tonka

 

[bDry Down[/b]

This is really complex and deep. Quite a dark scent for me. I get occasional caramel/toffee elements and also coffee, but the over-riding theme is a deep musky green scent. I have loved most of the lllyria scent so far and this is no exception. There is a wildness to this I love.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

[Iceblink]

Crap. This smelled like tonka/lilac goodness in the imp but dried down into generic men's cologne on me. Lysander, how could you?

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Resinous and woody.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very different than I expected from the description. There’s a distinct resinous and almost caramel-like scent in this, which is probably the benzoin. Matched with that is a touch of lilac, woods, and citrus.

 

After a little while: This deepens into a rich benzoin and tonka musk scent with hints of lilac musk, deep woods, and lime. The citrus is very light but it freshens up the blend a bit. This is definitely a more unisex blend and the floral notes really support this deep scent.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a fabulous unisex scent. It’s deep, complex, and has hints of lighter notes to lift the scent a bit. My husband likes this one and I like it on him, but I don’t know if I’d personally wear it.

[Lamia]

This was so complex it completed broke my nose musk, cinnamon, fruits, woods all at once!

 

Deliciously gently masculine, but it faded within half an hour of application, and all I am left with is the faintest brush of old tonka.

 

Regretfully, as this is a delectable scent, trade bag.

[juniperus]

Bottle: surprisingly sharp with the myrtle and leaf

Wet: much the same, but the incensey benzoin is bringing up the rear

Dry: growing somewhat darker even thought it remains sweet

Later: got benzoin, got tonka, , and then it's really gotten muddy from there. clearly not pleased with my skin chem...

[Lit Chick]

Such an interesting and lovely scent. I get a sweet, smoky, foodie thing going on at first.. a little gingerbread poppety ('05, I think). There's a dark almost-burnt caramel undertone. Woody too. It lightens up dramatically into a well-behaved masculine cologne. Not generic, not agressive, it's unaffected. Neutral in a good way. It doesn't try too hard.

 

I really like this, and I would have never tried it based on the notes. Violet was on my never-in-any-form list. Hated. Herbals not my fave. I am so digging the tonka - cannot wear any of BPALs vanillas (and I've tried) but this gives me what I want without the unfortunate dough effect. Lilac too - who knew? Lime does make a very weak attempt to make me pucker, but hah! Die citrus, die.

 

Shocked and pleased, and encouraged to give more notes a chance.

[djsiberia]

wet: hrm, buttery and musky.

dry: still buttery and musky with a bit of something floral.

 

this one isn't for me either.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Foody, with the "baked goods" scent. This baked good smells citrusy and a bit herbal.

 

Wet: Still smells like citrus baked goods. There's also a floral that smells really pleasant, and a bite of myrtle.

 

Twenty minutes: A sugary foody scent dominates, but with wonderful herbal-citrus complexity.

 

One hour: Oh, this is delicious now! It's still a little sugary, but much less baked goodsy. This would make a good daytime scent, maybe in the springtime or early summer.

 

Two hours: Less sugary now, it's gentle but complex, floral and warm and sweet and herbal. It blends together so nicely, it's difficult to make out individual notes. I don't think it's going to last much longer on me, but it's very pleasant.

 

Three hours: Yup, mostly gone now. But it went gracefully, not souring or going flabby. Very nice; I didn't expect to like this one. I read up on tonka and have a better handle on it now: it's that same "baked goods" scent I got so strongly off Vampire Tears. Hurrah, I get it!

[marared]

Witchfrimp!

 

If there's one flower whose scent I know very well, it's lilac, after living in upstate NY for seventeen years (where the Lilac Festival in the spring is frequently snowed out), and this is a very good lilac. I don't get any of the foody impressions, just lilac with a hint of that Glasgow blackberry bush in the background. Not a bottle purchase for me, but I'm going to love this imp for all it's worth.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Hmm, interesting. Quite woody—maybe it would be more accurate to say woodsy--but otherwise somewhat difficult to classify. Vaguely masculine. Tonka is the primary scent, but I'm also getting touches of the fresh lime and what I think is lilac musk.

On, wet: Wow, VERY interesting. Lots more lime and green scents along with just a hint of tonka—I'm definitely in some kind of forest. The lilac and wood violet give it just a tiny whiff of nice powder, but otherwise, this is all blackberry leaves and lime and shrubby little plants for me. The elements are sort of jostling for position, though, not always respectfully.

On, dry: The tonka is warming up and flexing and the benzoin is making its presence known while the green, planty notes are sloooowly melding together. The overall effect is warm, slightly sweet, slightly powdery, but with a dark, smoky undertone. This is one of those where the wafts definitely smell better than my wrists do.

Later: It was a struggle, but the tonka seems to have finally emerged victorious, with just a touch of the lilac musk. The sharper notes are firmly in the background now, but enough remains that the primary sensation this scent evokes is "Mmmmm, yeah… wait, what?" (Come to think of it, that fits awfully well here.)

Overall: I like it enough to try it again, but not enough to immediately want to buy a bottle. There are other woodsy/forest scents that I like more, and for some reason, these disparate elements don't really come together for me until I've been wearing it for hours. The lilac musk and tonka aren't nearly as strong for me as they seem to have been for other testers, which is a shame, because I might have liked Lysander more in that case.

 

 

[milica]

Started off very nice, woody and herby sharp with something soft and sweet in the background. After one hour became fruity and flowery but in a sour and cloying way, a bit soapy. I can't even detect any note, it just smells bad on me. probably violet and lilac gone wrong. Swap pile.

[asciident]

Wet: A sharp floral scent.

 

First on: Still sharply floral, meh.

 

Dry: Strangely resinous now? Maybe that's the benzoin's work.

[unlaced]

Another magic frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp: it smells kind of sharp. And a bit cologne-y.

 

Wet on my skin: the sharp/cologne changes to kind of an herbal scent with smoky, creamy tonka coming in from out of nowhere. yum!

 

drying/dry: tonka all over the place!! Smoky & creamy. Everything else has pretty much backed off but I can smell powdery lilac and a bit of violet behind the tonka. This is love... I'm thinking this imp won't last too long...

[Lethran]

In bottle: Interesting. The lilac/myrtle/blackberry leaf combo is striking and walks the line between floral and herbal. The violet is not taking over the blend, for wich I’m grateful. Wet: The lime comes out, but blends nicely with the dark green and floral effect. This makes me thinkk of the edge of woods where the shade loving plants grow. Surprisingly androgynous for a floral. Dry: Mostly Violet, with a faint herbal edge and some myrtle.

[Brianne]

Lysander is a strange mixture in that I would THINK that these notes would clash. Even when I smell them, I think, "Hmmm those are odd together"... but they aren't BAD together. The tonka and benzoin create a warm, slightly sweet smell that reminds me of caramel. But it's backed by lilac and something woody. The result is strangely addictive (as I sniff my arm for the 25th time) and I actually like it... but wouldn't wear it (as it's just not something I could see myself wearing despite the fact that I enjoy the smell).

[MCS4096]

In the imp: Really weird! It's almost got a cake foody note?? Its sweet, floral, slightly acrid, herbal, green and purple

 

On: Wowzy! Sharp and cologney is right! It blends together a bit as it dries down more. The throw is mostly tonka and violet.. as your nose moves in you definitely get the lime rind and more of the biting elements. Very interesting, but a little cacophonous.

[tragedy]

In the bottle I thought for sure this was going to be another "hurry up and wash off" oils, But I've been fooled before so I gave it a shot...

 

This is so nice on me!!! I smell Lilac, musk lilac, very faint lime... its powdery on me.

Why don't I have more lilac??

I'm kinda glad the tonka doesnt come out on me, although I love tonka I think it would have ruined it.

Nice lasting throw too... after 4 hours still get whiffs without sniffing wrists.

 

I'm really glad I got a bottle of this!

[crebbsgirl]

Let me first say that lilac musk is freaking gorgeous!!! This is wonderful! The tonka and benzoin lending a vanillic sweetness. The wood violet adds a bit of sharpness here, but is rounded out beautifully by the musk and resins. The lime didn't come our for me. The only think that ruined this was the blackberry leaf. It just doesn't like my skin and turns to funk.