Aelopile

[Schmoozy]

Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud.

Pretty simple blend of cedar, labdanum and citrus softened by amber and verbena. This is woodsy, slightly resinous and extremely lemony. Fortunately for me, I love cedar, I love lemon and amber is one of my go-to notes. A winner! Edited September 3, 2009 by Schmoozy

[MamaMoth]

As I work my way through the Steamworks line, I notice that all of them that I've tried have a slightly metallic tinge, sharp and interesting. In my mind's eye, I see them curing in a shiny copper pot for a week before they're bottled and sent out.

 

Aelopile has such a bright, shining, pleasant scent. I personally love citrus over resins and/or woods, and this is really a prime example of why. As someone noted earlier, it's not an immediately definable citrus. It doesn't scream orange or lemon, it just sings that sharp sweet freshness. The amber gives it a glowing roundness, and I can detect that spicy yummy labdanum peeping underneath. The cedar isn't dry or overly woodsy.

 

This is good stuff.

 

[theseagrows]

what an odd scent with my skin chemistry. my skin almost eats it right up, but i can smell a sort of cedary-coconut scent. like, a really subtle coconut. an this is mixed with a sort of warm-metallic scent (amber and citrus?) ah very difficult to describe. my skin eats it so much too, i can hardly smell it. i don't think it smells all that great on me either.

[hkhm]

imp: warm, golden lemony amber.

 

wet: the citrus is pretty strong while this is wet, it doesn't both me at all but it is quite a strong lemon scent.

 

dry: i get a lot more verbena dn lemon once this dries, the amber is in the background. this conjures up a mental image of when i was freshly bathed as a child and wearing something perfectly clean and crisp. this scent is wonderfully clean and innocent and warm.

[Argentwolf]

At first blush, I get a blast of citrusy smell, and then the cedar kicks it to make it smell like woodsy polish.

 

It has decent staying power and throw...not sure if this is a keeper for me, though.

[Ohmaude]

I LOVE this. Why hadn't I tried this earlier?

 

I'm an absolute sucker for citrus-amber blends, and I love verbena. This is that, with a background incense-infused cedar that shows up with time. The verbena loses it's lemon edge and what is left is the quietest golden amber wood incense blend. This is what I wanted Jacob's Ladder to be. Wherein Jacob's Ladder went drugstore men's cologne, this is more unisex or even feminine.

 

There is the slightest hint of copper, like the rest of the steamworks line. It's actually more evocative of the idea of warm copper, over there being a particular metallic note. True artistry.

 

This is perfect for those days when you want a subtle, beautiful scent that stays close to the skin. That being said, it's so light on me that I did have to apply more oil than usual. But overall, a winner. I see a bottle in my future.

 

If you enjoy this, try the salon scent Three Gorgons or the impossible to find Murder of Crows.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: Cedar. Polished and smooth. Like my jewelry box.

 

Wet on wrists: The citrus jumps out. It's like a layer of expensive polish on the cedar box.

Early dry down (10 minutes): This is actually kind of strange. The cedar is dominant, but now it smells slightly smoked -- and it's not anything like the lab's usual smoke notes. It almost smells like...sausage?! It's a crisp, slightly charred, deep, slightly greasy and almost peppery smoke. Yet, it's not terribly foody. More like crispy grease than actual sausage. It's very much a workshop scent rather than a kitchen one, yet I can't quite shake the sausage comparison. Maybe I just have that on the brain because I have left-over kielbasa for lunch?

 

Late dry down (1 hour): As this dried the smoke that showed up faded. It settled into a polished cedar scent with occasional glimpses of citrus in the top note range. It's not quite as straight-forward as that, of course. It's actually extremely well blended - round and smooth. It still strikes me as workshop scent, but a darn sexy one. It actually reminds me very much of Krampus, minus the spice notes.

 

Overall: Love. A bottle of this is going on my wishlist. I want to try it on J too.

[Beckiemort]

Wet: It smells very masculine to me, the cedar is definitely pronounced.

 

Dry Down: I feel as though I smell like a man for sure. The cedar is still there with a little citrus and other background notes but definately man. However I can just imagine how it would smell on a guy…now I only need to find one to slather this with.

[thebirdofhermes]

In bottle: Amber with a touch of sweet citrus.

 

On skin, wet: Very citrusy, but not a specific citrus fruit. Grapefruit-lime-lemon citrus, actually. There's a sharpness to it right now, and a somewhat astringent seeming wood note. Obviously the cedar, but it doesn't smell quite like cedar yet.

 

On skin, an hour later: Not fifteen minutes because I wore this to a job interview (also why the notes about the wet scent are rather sparse). It's gone to somewhat powdery amber over sweet cedar. Mostly I'm getting cedar. Not surprising, my skin seems to love the wood notes. Thankfully, I love most wood notes too. If I get up close and personal, there's the breath of something that could be a citrus fruit, but it's very faint. Which is quite surprising since my skin usually holds onto citrus notes for a very long time. I'd have to say that, were it not for the scent in the bottle, I'd probably almost mistake this for a single-note cedar. It's nice, not going to argue, but I think the only reason I'd want a bottle is for the label art. Which is not a good reason to spend $15. If the citrus stuck around, then perhaps I'd consider a 5mL, but as it is, it's just not complex enough for me. Will get another imp when this one goes, however.

[crebbsgirl]

This started out a little sharp and rather generic-cologney on me. It warmed considerably as it wore, but something started to smell.... funky. Like, funk. Like unwashed funk. Ok, something here definitely does not agree with me. In a really bad way. Gew.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Lemon verbena cologne

 

Wet: Lemon on the surface with grass pulp and wet wood.

 

Dry: Smells like chopped up greens (spinach, lettuce, grass) Wet and dark, dark green. chloroform green.

 

Overall: This smells similar to other scents i have tried. Although, the fade from wet to dry is very strange and different. I'll give it another try.

 

[skyelyric]

While wet, Aelopile starts out as a woody citrus on me--rather unusual scent, but I like it. Once dry, I really can't pick out any individual notes, it melts into something clean and crisp and sweet...oh, hey, amber's what goes sweet on me, cool. =) Amazing when your nose and your brain starting putting two and two together.

 

I really like this, and it strikes me as an excellent unisex scent--which is good, since I actually got the imp on recommendation as part of a male friend's birthday gift (thank you to Duskinhereyes for that rec). I love giving perfume to guys.

 

 

ETA: 8 hours later, after a few handwashings and some scented lotion, it should have been dead. The lotion wore off and I noticed, leaning my head on my hand, that I still have a whiff of Aelopile at skin level. =)

Edited February 14, 2010 by skyelyric

[starfish327]

the lemon in crib girls (my lemon comparison note) but more cough drop-ish, more herbal.

 

insane throw- my boy commented on it AFTER i left the room.

 

and it made both of us sneeze and sniffle. it's not a bad scent but it's not high on my list, i have other lemon/citrus scents i like just as much and that don't trigger a houseful of allergies.

[ralenth]

Verbena hates me, I think. I love the scent, but it always does nasty Lemon Pledge type things on my skin. Aelopile is no exception.

 

Wet, Aelopile is a bright lemon zest. As it dries, it goes through a Lemon Pledge stage and then a bit of a Lemonheads stage, where it pretty much stays. Off to the swaps, sadly.

[gingiemay]

I amp cedar, so this is very woody to me. The amber makes this very cologne-y to my nose. No verbana, citrus or oud. I make this out to be a masculine blend, but it could just be my skin amping the amber and citrus.

[grnwoodtree]

WET: Verbena, citrus, Pledge furniture polish..something warm underneath...but what?

 

Waiting for dry-down: uh-oh...overpowering sweetness..feel a headache coming on!

 

*TAKING A BREAK*

 

Reminds me of some popular perfume I dont like (I dont like popular perfumes in general!)

 

Dry: Very sweet - the cedar is in there, but reminds me of a scent I wore in the 80's - Gloria Vanderbilt? VERY GIRLY

It's kind of pleasant but if a I sniff to close my headache flairs back to life.

 

Later: It;s growing on me - at times its girly, at times its a man's scent. Is that the labdanum finally coming out?

 

The whiffs I get from my skin seem mercurial! So many notes coming out of this one! not bad

 

All in all the amber and cedar are an interesting old fashioned smell. May try it again.

[impolight]

:::AELOPILE:::

 

Ye Gods, this is a MAGNIFICENT fragrance!

The Phoenix Steamworks line KICKS SO MUCH A@@!

Opening the 5 ml. bottle and taking a whiff wiped everything completely blank. The ultimate reset button...

The only significant thing at all was for everyone and everything else in the universe to go away, so all that remained to curl up around and dream was the fragrance that is Aelopile!

This is a brass and chrome contraption that hums with both religious intensity and erotic abandon. This is clean, arousing, reflective, and intensely focused.

On the skin, Aelopile amps.

Aelopile berzerks.

Aelopile leaves no survivors.

Aelopile would be right at home in the Bladerunner movie AND it's soundtrack.

Aelopile is the robotic assassin that you REALLY wanna fu...

Well, you know...

There are certainly citrus notes in here. Tangerine?There is also the cleanest wood smell encountered to date, the sexiest cinnamon encountered to date, and the Lab's crazy-beautiful-erotic metallic notes... This is such an incredible formula!

This would be the ultimate ballroom in a mansion designed exclusively for an eccentric trillionaire who made their fortune entirely from steampunk technology.

Aelopile is bright, clean Copper buffed to a mirror's polish with platinum filigree.

Aelopile is a fantastical unisex fragrance.

This would be ideally suited for someone looking for a departure from commonplace and predictability.

5/5!

[hmelt004]

This evokes burnished, bright copper and bronze, but it does not smell metallic. Really. I was worried about the amber and cedar, both notes of death to me, but they stay mellow and grounded. Aelopile also smells...heated, sort of alive and glowing. I am buying a bottle of this tomorrow.

 

If you have a guy who is into steampunk, you must buy him some of this one immediately.

[GeorgeJr]

This is a very clean scent . A little sweet , but not overly so . Not beating you over the head citrus-y either , which is good in my book . A rather subtle scent you need to hover over to huff . Not bad , but a little weaker then I generally care for .

A day later ... After I had this on for a hour , I noticed it wasn't as weak as I first said . Also , it came up with a hard to explain / describe group of notes that made me think of green glass full of a mild citrus drink . I've smelled the Labs "glass" note before & am amazed every time . I don't know how they do it , the note in this makes me think of that greenish volcanic glass you see sometimes . In blobs . So I'd say this actually does a very good job of capturing the instrument it is meant to mimic / envision .

Edited May 1, 2010 by CoopieCat

[moose42]

Just got a new order today! *squee*

 

In imp: citrus, but there is something there making the citrus sharper. I think it's the cedar or verbena

wet: it's an orange lemon. Not an orange mixed with a lemon, but a lemon that happens to be orange. I don' know, it makes sense to me. Maybe it's grapefruit.

 

drying: The cedar is coming out more. I like it! It makes the citrus seem more important, yet holds its own. Also, I think the verbena is there, but I don't really know what that smells like.

 

dry: I can pick out the amber now. It makes the scent softer, like a pillow.

 

later: still going strong, though the cedar and resin took over. I don't really mind that much.

 

 

 

It's a fairly cleansing scent, which I like, but I probably won't get a big bottle.

Edited May 1, 2010 by moose42

[tdiym]

on me, this is a pure, sweet cedar, and i love cedar.

i don't get the orange or anything else, except it just makes the cedar a totally smooth, sweet, and clean-smelling wood. i completely love this. this is my favorite of the steamworks by far.

[Truelove]

Sort of herbally weird strange. An odd mixture, I’m not too fond of it, but will try it again.

[mxtine]

In the vial, woody. On my skin, cedar and verbena, which is very lively, earthy and clarifying. Smells more like aromatherapy or even a nice natural cleaning product, but I don't think it's working for me as a perfume. Perhaps it would work on a man. I think that seems to be the trend with most of the Phoenix Steamworks blends.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I love steampunk style, but this is the first of the Steamworks scents for me to try...I think I had some idea that they *all* smelled like oil and grease, but the notes say otherwise! Aelopile has bright, fresh topnotes of lemon verbena and perhaps tangerine. Amber goes really well with these notes, adding depth and warmth. As it dries, the cedar comes out; I am less fond of this phase, because cedar + citrus = cleaning products to my nose!

[aquazoo]

Cleaning product of some sort to start. It's got some herbs to it, but the citrus just isn't working for me.