Cytherea

[tartchef]

White sandalwood, patchouli, white amber, orris, bourbon vanilla, champaca flower, and kush.

An odd combination on me, largely because I tend to amp orris & champaca - on my skin, Cytherea is a mouth full of violet pastilles & a whiff of pipesmoke. The white sandalwood is pretty aggressive, too, sharp & needly. And yes, it's an incredibly light oil, with very little throw.

This would be stunning on the right woman - I can sense the potential for an incredibly sophisticated, 1920s-era scent... it evokes an ivory silk slip dress & marcasite chandelier earrings, a white fox stole & Loius-heeled pumps... Alas, nothing that I'd ever pull off gracefully, much like Cytherea Edited July 10, 2008 by tartchef

[Loligo]

For the first two hours, this scent is WHOA ORRIS. It's like a drier, dustier version of Numb. Finally. several hours after application, I am starting to pick up some amber and vanilla, but the dusty floral powder is still there, too.

[Chapanis]

To me this is really more of a feeling than a scent. Smokey soft wispy grey and white. There is some dry vanilla in the background, but it is not sweet. I like it, but I am on the fence over whether or not I need a whole bottle.

[Tesseljoan]

This barely made it into my bottle order, because of the Lush comparisons... I would never have selected this based on the note listing. BOY am I glad that I did! Cytherea is a winner for me. There is indeed a fleeting similarity to the dearly departed Skinny Dip, but this scent is so beautiful and evocative in its own right. Just a shame I don't have the words to do it justice.

[alexandra]

In the bottle: Skinny Dip indeed, people! Maybe that's the combination of orris, sandalwood and the spicy elements of champaca?

 

Wet: Cytherea starts off as a soft, whispering, violet-like wraith. I have to chase her round my wrist.

 

Dry: Then she stays in one place, barely breathing before jerking into half-life as a zombie. The scent gets weirder and louder and moans and becomes all sandalwood then back to orris then over to vanilla then back to champaca. And then she's all coy for a while before disappearing.

 

And?: An unusual girl: quiet in class, a romper in bed, leaves before dawn in her nightgown. Hard to pin down after the Skinny Dip phase but I kinda like her. She's an odd-ball and I like to look after my own.

[nekogrrl]

Mmmm, this is nice.

 

Wet, I smell the sandalwood and amber.

 

Drydown, the vanilla comes out and yum, does it smell good.

 

The vanilla lingers a little longer, next to the skin.

 

It's yummy.

[djsiberia]

wet/in imp: florals...musky and boozey with a hint of wood.

 

dry: interesting. orris goes either way for me with it mostly causing headaches.

 

i like this one, but i'm not sure i love it. mostly i tried it because i wasn't sure what kush & champaca flower smelled like...i do think it smells pretty, but it's underwhelming to me.

[gchris]

In Vial: Earthy, woody

 

Wet: Smells like earth and wood kind of astringent. I know it is the patchouli that I am smelling and I do not like patchouli.

 

Dry: This is mellow now, and kind of powdery but still has a woody, earthy scent.

[darharper]

Thanks for decant, Tartchef!

 

In the vial: Lovely vanilla and woody goodness.

 

Wet: Mmmm. I smell like bourbon and vanilla. So nice.

 

Dry: Skin chemistry! It turned sour and horrible. I am not sure what note did it, but, I have a feeling it may have been the orris because all the other notes are usually a great thing on me. I am so disappointed! I had such high hopes for this blend! Stupid skin chemistry!

[Magpie]

In imp:

Sweet, smoky, floral. Very pretty, but it doesn't stand out particularly.

 

On:

It dries to a powdery sweet floral. It's rather nice, as the vanilla definitely plays a subtle part, and I can get the pleasant violet/iris note other people here have remarked on, though it is soft and dry. Over time, the sandalwood sharpens it almost imperceptibly and it becomes a little more definite as a scent, but still very close to the skin. In fact, after a couple of hours it seems to have got a bit stronger and more defined, and beautiful.

 

Over all:

I like this a great deal; it is possibly the most 'me' of any of the Grindhouse Ladies that I have tried and the one I have most considered getting a bottle of. It doesn't have very much throw at all, but it's damned sexy. It's the most personality-filled of the Ladies I've tried yet. Cytherea is sweet and lovely, smiling like an angel as she does indespicable things which to her aren't wrong at all. Her scent is warm and skin-close, and smells very natural, not obviously 'perfume-y'.

[GhillieDhu]

All those beautiful complex ingredients… and I get toasted nuts?? On my skin, Cytherea is halfway between hazelnut and cashew, with a fuzzy edge of sandalwood, eventually drying down to a faint clean vanilla musk and not much else. Interesting effect, surprisingly conservative and professional for something with so many incense notes, but I don't particularly want to smell like nuts every day. Middling wearlength, very light throw.

[DurAnorak]

I was worried about this one, because patchouli is become hippy death on my skin - I can't seem to wear *anything* with it - but instead, my hand smells like I have been lying in crushed Lush Flosty Gritter bath bombs for two hours. I could not be happier - their American Cream solid perfume doesn't quite work for me and I ADORE the scent. No patchouli to be seen anywhere! I probably won't get a bottle of it, as between Inez and Pickled Imp I am going to be bankrupt anyway, but it is really soft and beautiful on me, definitely a keeper.

[hepkitten]

Definitely dry and white, but with an unexpected spicy twist to it that makes it a bit different from similar blends I've tried. Very nice!

[diamondstars]

In the bottle I really can't smell hardly anything at all, sadly.

 

On skin it turns to pure sandlewood for me, like a single note.

 

Sale/swaps I'm 'fraid..

 

[Phaedra]

Wet this is patchouli, vanilla and amber. Very seductive. When first on this is plastic pencil shavings! Oh no! Why does this smell so different andweird on my skin? This sinks into my skin very quickly. It almost smells like Belladonna at this stage- wet, green and herbal. After about an hour this is a very faint vanilla. This wears off very quickly leaving behind an almost imperceptible creamy vanilla. I've never had a BPAL wear off this fast. This is a nice scent but it's just not long lasting enough for me.

[edenssixthday]

Cytherea - This is a very subtle scent on me. It's mostly the rooty scent of orris blended with the sweetness of bourbon vanilla and a hint of dry champaca. It's pretty, but to me, it seems slightly common and doesn't really jump out as something unique and oustanding. It has a very short wear-length on my skin, as well.

[zankoku_zen]

This is a very light scent on me. Slightly herbal on wet, very dry and white on drydown. I do get a bit of the nuttiness and it throws me off a bit.

[milo]

This is quite nice, a whispy hint of spice, and I think I get the sandalwood, don't get the vanilla anywhere. It only lasts 15 minutes on me, though, off to swaps.

[grashopper8]

This reminds me a little bit of Snow White, a scent I didn't like because it seemed dusty to me.

 

I feel like Cytherea is soft and quiet, a little sweet, and a bit dry and boring.

 

I like the amber note in here, but I'm not attracted to the other notes.

 

Good thing the Carnaval is so immense! So much to try....

 

2 out of 5

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Orris and something floral. This smells very white to me.

 

Wet: Extremely ethereal. It's barely there.

 

Twenty minutes: Sandalwood and a delicate white floral, not heavy at all. I can make out the orris too. No amber, no patchouli, no vanilla.

 

One hour: Still mostly sandalwood and orris, with background white florals.

 

Two hours: Sandalwood and orris still This is quite understated, a little dry and sterile for me although there is nothing at all unpleasant about it.

 

Five hours: Still some faint white scent. Patchouli, amber, and vanilla never materialized. Fail.

 

Upon retest (I so wanted to love this one!) I got nothing but orris.

[MeiLin]

In the imp: Hm. Smells like a men's perfume I used to wear in the '80s. I can see the flask-like, frosted bottle but can't remember the name. Not very floral at all.

 

Wet: Patchouli. sigh.

 

Dry: Ah, here comes the sandalwood, very very dry and dusty. Oh! here we go! Bourbon vanilla! The orris root is coming out, too. Wow, this is interesting. I get an elegant gypsy librarian--there's something sophisticated, bohemian and bookish about it all at the same time. Especially if the elegant gypsy librarian was very androgynous.

 

This is light, not a lot of throw. Sir says it's rather masculine, and that was my first impression as well; on the right guy it would be awesome sauce, and I have put this in Sir's box just to see what it smells like on him.

[yeahbutnobut]

Cytherea

 

In the imp: a very pretty sweet orris, powdery and pale.

Wet on skin: ahh, now I see the Skinny Dip comparisons! Yes, this does smell like SD!

Dry on skin: oh, now it’s even nicer! It’s Skinny Dip mixed with American Cream! This scent takes two Lush scents that I love and combines them fabulously! The orris must be what smells like violet, I can smell lots of vanilla. I have no idea where I’m getting the SD notes of clove and white chocolate, or the AC notes of lavender and sage though. All I know is that I smell them in here. However when I smell again I also get hints of sandalwood, patchouli and kush.

After a while: ohh, this is really nice now. It still resembles SD and AC, but now it also bears a resemblance to Kubla Khan, which I love. It seems the champaca note in here is like Kubla’s, in that it doesn’t turn cloying and all-consuming, it stays as a sweet, gentle floral. The scent is a tad fainter now but it’s gorgeous-the vanilla is sublime, the white amber adds a delicate glow, and the darker notes (patch and kush) don’t darken the scent too much, they add a bit of smokiness and ground the scent.

The drydown is a gorgeous powdered vanilla-violet scent.

Verdict: this smells like a combination of two of my favourite Lush scents: Skinny Dip and American Cream, but of course with that distinctive BPAL feel. The violet-clove-white chocolate scent of Skinny Dip meets the wonderful vanilla-sugary sweetness of AC, supported by notes of sandalwood, champaca and patchouli to add a hint of something exotic, smoky and sexy to the scent. I have no idea how these notes (other than vanilla and orris) can remind me of those Lush scents but they do. I love this scent so much-the champaca doesn’t cloy like it sometimes can, the vanilla and amber are magnificent as usual, the darker notes are subtle but lend depth to the scent, the violet-y scent of orris isn’t too powdery here either. The only disadvantage about this beautiful scent is that it fades too fast and can be too quiet, but that doesn’t stop me from loving it. Feminine and approachable, sweet but not sickly sweet, I need to stock up on this one!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Definitely.

If you like this, try: Kubla Khan, Faith, Le Serpent Qui Danse, Florence, Vaskakajja

[ravenrigan]

In the bottle

Luscious tropical flowers with a hint of wood and spice

 

Wet on skin

The sandalwood comes out to play, with a creamy floral but its still sweet, warm and yummy

Drydown

On me Patchouli insinuates herself into the room and draws every eye to herself, but she's a sophisticated creamy patchouli, in her best clothes, and she's playing nice with the amber and vanilla with a faint hint of floral.

 

Finish

Sandalwood and vanilla earthed in patchouli.

 

Mood

It reminds me of Hell's Belle if she hadn't been tangoed by Mandarin (not a personal favourite). On me Cytheria is wet, dense complex and opulent, morphing between earthy woody sex and creamy floral yumminess. It has great throw, and lasts fairly well, but I love it so much I had to reapply so that I could really waft it around myself.

 

Verdict

This was an impulse bottle buy unsniffed from Ebay, and I am so glad I bought it. I wore it to a job interview, and felt like a million dollars, confident unstoppable, distinctive, but approachable. (Didn't get the job, but didn't want it that much). I will keep the bottle I have, and consider a second before the Carnival leaves.

[Christine Daae]

In the imp, this is seriously woody and patch-y. Hmm. I was kind of hoping for …all the other notes, haha.

 

Wet on my skin it continues to be dry and very woody. I don’t really know what champaca flower or kush smell like, but I don’t get much amber, orris, or vanilla. I just get mostly sandalwood. This smells like the dirt note in Death Cap without the marshmallowy vanilla.

 

Hmm. Well, I am very glad I got a chance to try this, but if I want something that smells an awful lot like this, I have Death Cap. There isn’t really anything about this blend that stands out to me as different, though I know it’s probably just my chemistry taking the sandalwood and running with it. Stupid chemistry.

[voodoocatwoman]

Oh, my. The combination of sandalwood, amber and vanilla is exquisite. This fragrance is sultry and wispy. This may have to go in the top ten.