Cordelia

[zankoku_zen]

The essence of faith, love and devotion: lilac, lemon, green tea, wisteria, osmanthus, white cedar, and Chinese musk.

In the Bottle: The lilac is the most predominant note. It does smell a bit like Old Shanghai.

On Skin: Very floral. The lilac is pretty strong.

On Drydown: I get a sniff of something very bitter like in Goneril. Its floral but I don't think the Chinese musk works well with my chemistry.

Verdict: I think this scent would work better on someone else.

[Ajila]

Wet on me this was lilacs dusted in icing sugar, and very pretty it was too. Dry on me it had disappeared. Sadly this lasted less than an hour on me, maybe one for the scent locket.

[vyvyan]

This was really floral on me. I didn't really get any of the tea or cedar - just pretty, light flowers. It's a little bit of a "green" floral, but not as much of one as Phantom Queen. Beautiful, but not something I'd wear.

[elphaba]

The ingredient list on Cordelia was deceptive for me, because this didn't turn out to be the light, fresh scent I was expecting at all. The first thing that hit me was the cedar, followed quickly by the florals, which I'm useless at telling apart.

 

After about fifteen minutes, I started noticing something different underneath everything that I suspect was the Chinese musk. I have to admit, pretty much everything else went to the wayside once I started to be able to isolate that scent. I don't usually like musk, but this (if, in fact, it was the Chinese musk) was different and intriguing. I'm glad I tried this blend, if only for it introducing me to that note.

 

I don't think Cordelia will be for me, but it's also more than just your garden-variety (pardon the pun) floral.

[Blood onmy hands]

I've put off trying Cordelia for a while now because the only notes that I really like in it are the lemon and green tea... and I already have a bottle of Shanghai (the best green tea scent ever).

Cordelia smells nothing like Shanghai. I don't get tea or lemon here at all, sadly. First on I smell a sharp smoky cedar and then this dries down to something floral. I can't pick out any individual flowers, it just smells floral. The musk comes out after about a half hour and it's a light musky floral. Not much throw, I forgot that I was wearing anything after a while... but I didn't really like it when I was smelling it either.

Cordelia is just another floral blend that doesn't stand out on me.

 

2016 frimp review:
I can definitely pick out the lilac in this now. Sweet, true, honeyed, blue lilac. The drydown turns sharper with clean musk, spiky, dry, slightly bitter cedar, and a sharp lemon & green tea. Goes just a little bit soapy. Lilacs swirled into lemony green tea on a cedar table, with a sharp musk perfume wafting about.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Little Bird

[Savannah]

Cordelia had a lot of notes I wanted and a lot I wasn't familiar with. One of the ones I wasn't familiar with must have soured on me. I got a weird, sharp, curdling floral with something sour (maybe the lemon and green tea in combination with the sharp florals?) and a splintery wood note in the far background. Really not good. I don't get the white musk, which I love. Alas-- I'll pass this on to my floral-loving friend!

Edited September 25, 2005 by Savannah

[puck_nc]

I love the scent of wisteria, and it's hard enough to find in perfumes, so I had to give this a try.

 

Origin: Part of a big imp purchase off LJ

 

In the Bottle: It's very light and floral, and I can pick out my wisteria.

 

Wet: Hmm...the florals vanish and all I get is lemon, cedar and musk. The combine into an almost cinnamon-scent. It's like I'm standing in an old-fashioned candy-barrel store.

 

Drydown: Wow, this fades fast on me! The florals creep back out, but by the time they do my skin has eaten it all.

 

Verdict: I'm thinking of trying this as a spring room scent since it's so pretty in the bottle.

[LyndaM]

I was really psyched about Cordelia, and prepared to love it. Apart from the Shakespearian connotations, Cordelia is a character in one of Margaret Atwoods' books (Cat's Eye), that has haunted me since I read it as an impressionable teen.

 

Alas, Cordelia and I were not meant to be.

 

In the imp and wet, the lemon was all I could smell, and it was like a spike through the sinuses. It was a sweet lemon, like a lemon drop candy, but still had that 'furniture polish' tinge that all lemon morphs into on my skin.

 

Dry, it was lovely, and I really enjoyed the wisteria. It's not often I can pick up that note, so it was especially nice. But I just can't deal with the lemony beginnings, so off to a more appreciative home it goes.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Lilac and a spicy musk.

 

Dry: Lilac and a base of a bitter musk. It keeps the lilac from being too sweet, but unfortunately, it's just too bitter for me.

[Lori]

Sniffing the imp: Very, very earthy. At first I thought it was patchouli, but is the cedar.

 

Wet on wrist: Cedar and florals. Mmm…the lilac is coming through. I love lilacs! They are one of my favourite flowers…the embodiment of Spring! J

 

Drier: Now the cedar is coming on strong, again, balancing out the sweetness of the flowers. It smells smoky and has darkened this scent down quite a bit! I can also smell a bit of the tea and lemon. This is morphing beautifully!

 

Dry: This fully embodies a Princess, who became a Queen, and who ended up disguised as her father, King Lear’s fool. It has many guises. It is a perfectly blended scent of strong florals, mixed with watery, light tea, sweet musk and earthy, smoky cedar. Just a gorgeous, amazing blend! Bravo!!!

Edited October 3, 2005 by Lori

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Lilac and lemon... actually lemon and lilac. A bit lemon-Pledge-y, but sweet, with a powdery undertone that reminds me of Whitechapel.

 

First on: My skin is bringing out florals and tea, with maybe just the faintest hint of cedar way down there. This isn't excessively sweet once you get it on you. It doesn't smell quite like anything I've ever smelled before. Strikes me as very dry and melancholy.

 

Dry: Fades quickly, but leaves behind very faint incensey lemon and lilac. The tea and cedar are gone.

 

Overall: A frimp, and not one I would have chosen, but pretty dang nice. Not for the big-bottle list, but I will wear again.

[Orodemniades]

Wet: Is there sandalwood or vetiver in this? Smells woodsy-resiny with a floral on top...but thankfully that deep note goes away, leaving a sultry sweetness. (hmm, must have been the cedar...but I like cedar, and it likes me! Maybe it's the musk??)

 

Drydown (coupla hours): It's quite nice, but I don't know if I'll be able to get past the initial stages.

 

Oro

[QueenFae]

A lovely, light, outright girly blend. At first sniff, this reminded me of my mother's garden. Then I read the ingredients and realized I was really reminded of her bountiful lilac trees that grew along the driveway. Lilac is definitely on top here, but it's a perfect blend of all the components. I can detect the cedar and the green tea pretty strongly as well. This one is really beautiful, sort of a non traditional soft floral, and it has a bit of an edge. Very nice, I will see where my imp takes me.

[carolinachiquita]

This is a really nice light soft florally fresh blend! It is more of a spring/summer scent and it does remind me a little of Shanghai but its not as zingy as shanghai is. I think I would like a 5 ml of this but I have banned myself from buying anymore regular catalogue scents as I have too many! (But it's on my list of ones to get a bottle of!!)

[perfumediva]

spicy fresh lilacs..

 

with a dash of musk

 

very fleeting and light which adds to its mystery

 

 

 

reminds of the color lilac

 

very soft like the whisper of purple butterfly wings..

 

[Galen]

when it's wet I get a woody soft floral vibe but as it dries down the lilac takes over. I think of this as a rather soft, wistful blend

[harmonyfb]

Wet, it smelled strongly of lilac, which was nice, if not my usual thing. But once it dried, it became a powdery old lady scent. ::sigh::

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: Lilac, wisteria, green tea. It’s very very light and airy. I’m afraid this one won’t have a nice throw.

 

Wet: I’m cursed with the love of wet. This is stupendous. Wisteria is one of my favorite flowers. I love it. This brings to mind a Victorian lady sitting in her emense garden maze under an arched trellis covered with wisteria having tea and writing lamenting poetry. Beautiful.

 

Drydown: This muted down amazingly. It just barely blotted down to a sweet heartfelt version of the wet stange. She’s appearantly writing love poetry now.

[malanna]

This is mostly white cedar, with a bit of musk at the beginning. The green tea comes out a bit, followed by the lilac. Once it's settled down, it smells mostly of lilac and osmanthus, rounded out by the musk. This makes me think of the painting that's similar to The Lady in Shallott, except the woman in the painting's lying down on a boat (I know it was a Shakespearian one...). It smells like the flowers falling from trees that are swaying over the water.

Edited November 21, 2005 by malanna

[sarahj]

Cordelia

 

received in a swap

 

in vial: lilac, green tea, and musk

 

wet: lemon starts to appear

 

dry: a nice, light (too light) scent...fades in less than 2 hours

 

verdict: I will use the imp, but don't need a big bottle

[AngellicMystique]

This is very feminine. It's pure, clear and strong. Overall, it's a little powdery over a strong floral base.

[yeahbutnobut]

Cordelia

 

In the imp: slightly citrusy and woody, with a hint of floral. I think I smell the tea, cedar, lemon and lilac/wisteria.

Wet on skin: lovely lemon tea! I'm getting a soft lemon tea note, but with a dry and grounding cedar backdrop, with floral notes and a bit of soft musk here and there.

Dry on skin: at first, this reminds me so much of something from Lush-maybe Lemony Flutter Butter or Bohemian soap? One of their lemon products, that's for sure. This is lovely-a real fruity lemon scent (I love the smell of real lemon oil) with a bit of tangy tea and a delightful touch of lilac and wisteria in the background. There's also a light musk (I think Chinese musk is like a sweetish white musk) and a hint of cedar still remaining. It's very gentle, I have to go right up to my wrist to smell it. It's not overly feminine as a scent-it almost becomes unisex at times (I think the cedar does that), and it's very fresh and unobtrusive.

After a while: this smoothes out nicely on my skin, to become so well blended that no individual notes stand out. It's mainly a soft lilac-wisteria scent with a blanket of light musk over it, with mere hints of cedar, and the lemon-tea scent has now faded but still hangs around.

Verdict: this is a delightful scent, very well blended and perfect for everyday. Fresh fruity lemon tea, purple lilac and wisteria blooms, a gentle musk note and a solid background of cedar all merge to make a pleasant scent which is both fresh and light but not too blatantly girly (I dunno, there's something unisex about this scent at times). I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle yet-the scent is so soft that I have to sniff my wrist up close to get the best of the scent-but I find this a very nice scent indeed.

[Celogrl]

This is so light! I like scents with more 'punch', but Cordelia is a lovely alternative for those moods when lighter is better. Lemon is present, a bit of tea and wisteria, too. This would make a perfect summer day fragrance.

[LiberAmoris]

Cordelia makes me kind of happy in a geeky way, because I can smell all of the listed notes, and that doesn't happen very often for me.

 

First on, I get a blast of the lemon and green tea, with the osmanthus, wisteria, and lilac trailing behind. Then it's heavy cedar and musk, with the flowers as a delicate counterbalance. I love the lilac in this blend, but the cedar is just too strong, even after a few hours. Sadly, my skin loves to amp cedar.

 

Cordelia is very pretty, though. I often think of her brilliant line: ...I cannot heave / my heart into my mouth.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i'm getting mostly cedar. i don't think i'll like this.

on: lots of cedar and musk, with a hint of various flowers. there's an almost plasticky note that reminds me of dolls i used to have.

half an hour later: cedar and a hint of soapy flowers.

1 hour later: all cedar.

overall: cedar is just one of those notes that my skin amps up. this just won't work for me.