Calliope

[Hawke]

The eldest of the Muses, she is Eloquence, and thus, governs heroic and epic poetry, and her eloquence has served to calm quarrels even amongst the surliest of Gods. She is crowned in gold, and holds a roll of parchment or stylus and tablet. Hers is the scent of creative inspiration, and it is a boon to writers, poets and arbitrators: lavender and bright mint with bergamot, verbena, thyme and a touch of sweet orange and warm almond.

 

In the vial: Crisp fruitiness, like a combination of lemon or grapefruit and a sharp wood or mint. It's cheerful and peppy and gave me a real energy boost, just sniffing it.

 

Wet: Vanilla and lemon. So much so that it becomes a sort of citrus-and-creme scent. It's beautiful, even with the fir or sage or whatever herby note that is underneath. I fear it's not going to last long though.

 

Dry: Nope, didn't last long. Typical citrus scent. I love it for the boost of energy, though. I will, at the very least, keep the imp.

[Wench457]

Calliope ITB: lemony and fresh smelling.

 

On: definitely smells of lemons on me - perhaps the verbena is going there. Like home-made lemonaid, when you include the peels as well as the juice.

 

Dry: lovely fresh lemony scent. Looking at the note description, I have no idea where I'm getting so much lemon from. I also pick out just a hint of honey, but it's always in the background. I love, love, love this one! Did fade rather quickly, so I'm glad I snagged a bottle on ebay!

[GemmaCat]

In the imp: I can't really place these notes. Citrus? *sniffsniff* Sharp florals?

 

On my skin, initial: Very herbal. I think that's the thyme taking over.

 

Drydown: exactly the same.

 

Not what I was expecting and definitely not for me, but at least I now know that thyme gets amped up by my skin and is to be avoided.

[NanookPurple]

My first review...but I am in love with Miss Calliope, so it's deserving. Calliope changes beautifully as it dries. It starts out bright and almost sharp -- definitely snaps you awake with the lemon, mint and bergamot. As it mellows, it turns softer, though still warm -- an earlier reviewer found it herbal and kitcheny, which I agree with, though not kitcheny in a cooking sense, more kitcheny in a homey, comforting sense. Once it's settled in, it smells like sweet tea and a slice of lemon poundcake on a warm summer evening. It's a fantastic fragrance, warm and inviting throughout, at once lively and calming.

[mandragora]

In the imp: Bright and refreshing citrus with a hint of mint.

Wet on me: Tart and spicy lemony blend.

Drydown: Crisp and sharply tart citrus blended with thyme and almond. No hint of lavender though.

Verdict: Calliope is like a feminine version of Dorian without the musk.

[Inanna9]

At first swipe I get an immediate hit of mint and lavender before the citrus kicks in with a bright, cheerful note of something very green and lemony, which I assume to be the bergamot and verbena, perhaps a touch of thyme. No orange--but that one always seems to hide from me. Even so, if it could stay like this it would be utter perfection.

 

Then my chemistry throws a wobbly (sorry...I've been commandeering Britishisms these days. Obnoxious of me, I know) and the whole thing goes sugary-sweet on me and turns into that same note I get in both TAL's Concentration and The Vortex. I've always assumed this note to be lemongrass, and although it doesn't really play nice with me, it's tolerable enough (the exception being Concentration, which made me queasy).

 

The drydown is that syrupy lemon coupled with an emerging woody note--similar to the one in Polyhymnia--which I then proceed to amp up to the heavens. *sigh*

 

I'm not giving up yet. I really want to get along with these Muses, so perhaps it's time to break out the scent locket.

Edited April 11, 2006 by Inanna9

[HennaFairy]

in the bottle:

herbally and a little cinnamon

 

first impressions on:

I can smell the orange and thyme - very herbally, nice blend

 

wearing it:

went SLIGHTLY soapy then passed, around that time also bothered my nose/throat just a little. Smells ok, but not great. by the end of the day it was fairly pleasant, but nowhere near that nice for the majority of the time.

 

overall:

not for me.

 

rating: 4/10

Edited May 8, 2006 by HennaFairy

[eviltemptressdq]

Thanks to HennaFairy for passing this along to me to try!

 

Ok, first wiff... I smell MINT. I am a mint lover, so got excited... Then lemony (must be the orange, since there is no lemon in this. LOL). YAY.

 

Wet on my wrist... slightly off. Not sure exactly what it is yet... i still smell "spicy lemon". Again, no lemon in it so my smell must be a bit off today.

 

After an hour... I LIKE it, but don't love it. There is something in there... maybe the lavendar, that I don't like.

 

I also tried dripping some in the candle i was burning, but sort of just made a mess of the label. LOL.

 

I give it a 3 out of 5!

[mirutai]

Before reading the description, I was pegging this as "crisp, bright orange with... something". Now that I know that the "something" is herbs, I can just about pick them out. They smell like fresh, growing herbs, not dried; this scent is more like walking in an orangery/herb garden than like being in a kitchen. This is a bright, refreshing, invigorating scent, but not sharp. It's quite unusual.

 

Really lovely. I suspect it will fade fast, but I'd be willing to slather this!

[astridclaire]

I got this as a freebie in a swap. By looking at the description I don't think I would have ever ordered it for myself even though I do quite a bit of writing and need Calliope's assistance from time to time.

 

Lavender, bergamont, and verbena all together? I thought it was going to be super sharp. But no, oh no! This is lovely! Yes, there's the bergamont, and yes, there's the lavender and verbena, but it is very well rounded and smooth. I'm guessing that the orange and almond save this and turn it into something devine. Like another reviewer said, it does remind me of really good slightly sweet homemade lemonade with a spring of lavender throw in.

 

This is an absolutely perfect cool summer scent and very inspiring as well- which is good because now I have to go write a narrative statement for art school!

 

It fades a little quicker than most and it stays relatively close to the skin, but I'm sure it would work wonderfully as a perfume spray (I turn most of my GC favorites into perfume sprays and love the throw and staying power I get from them).

 

Calliope can be my muse anytime. I'm definitely getting a big bottle in my next order.

[kunoichi]

This is a very odd one! It smells, from the vial, like citrus and lavender mixed together. It reminds me of something, some essential oils I used to burn in my oil burner, but I can’t remember what it was. At first I get the citrus-lavender smell on my skin, but before even an hour is up this citrus-lavender smell vanishes and the scent left is oh so faint and subtle that it’s hard to determine what it is. After an hour or two has passed, this very faint smell is a sweet breath of air before it, too, vanishes...

[juniperus]

Bottle: very lemon with a hint of tea.

Wet: same. fresh, slightly bitter lemon - the zest more than the fruit.

Dry: more of the tea (white tea rather than black or green, I think). Barest hint of something green and sharp ..bay, mebbe.

Later: Same throughout - no shifting at all. Fresh, bright yellow scent.

 

Emma reviewed this with me since it's hers. She agrees that it's very lemon. Colin loves it. It's been relinquished to him, as she really wanted my Asphodel. Those who do not care to share can be...persuaded.

[zankoku_zen]

Finally got around to testing this out... Thanks jewelbug!

 

In the imp: Lemony fresh. I get a whiff of lavender.

 

On Skin: It smells alot like verbena, a shap tang of lavender but mostly just citrus goodness. Occasionally, I get the hint of something warmer...

 

After twenty minutes, I smell again and I smell thyme... and roast chicken?

 

After an hour, still get herby chicken goodness.... Odd.

 

After two hours, its settled to a herby smell, with what appears to be a bit of an incense base.

 

Verdict:On wet, and in the imp it's very lovely. Very sharp and clean smelling. Unfortunately, on me Calliope is not a muse inspiration... unless you keep dreaming of roast chicken. It was interesting, but I'm not sure I want to smell like roast chicken all day.

[Diana]

Wet: Lemon rinds. Something herbal lurking behind the bright citrus notes.

 

Drydown: more of an herbal lemon, like verbena rather than lemon rinds. After a bit more time, it develops a greener type of herbal scent, probably the thyme. There's a slight coolness to the scent, but it dries down to almost pure thyme. It's an unusual blend, but a bit too heavy on the dry-herbal notes for my taste.

[Caltha]

Calliope

My first though was marzipan with lavender. Then I found it to be vaguely salty and modified it to Play-dough with lavender. I don't mean that in a bad way. It starts out strong, with a blast of lavender and something lemony or lemongrassy and that dough-y undertone. It dries mellower, drier and woodier, perhaps something more like salty dry wood with lavender. It's a pretty good lavender too, a spicy/green/herbal one I can stand. An odd one and a keeper. Now I'm dying to know what's actually in it...

[edenssixthday]

Calliope - The first time I ever heard the word/name “Calliope” was when I was 12 years old and heard the calliope playing on the back of a New Orleans riverboat. I have never ceased to be enchanted by the bright, sparkly music of the calliope, and I’ve consistently said for years that “calliope” is one of my favorite words. I love the way it rolls off the tongue. For these silly reasons, I had high hopes for this scent; however, as soon as I smelled the oil in the vial, I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be pretty on me, and sure enough, when I applied the blend, it was very not pretty. On my skin, it was a clash of chaotic notes. The lavender and verbena didn’t compliment each other, but thoroughly opposed one another. Mix in the sweetness of the almond, and another totally different type of scent added to the chaos. The thyme gave the scent a masculine quality that ricocheted off the other notes, bouncing around and not blending with any of them. It was a scent that wasn’t so bad that I had to wash it off, but as I wore it, I couldn’t wait for it to wear off. It faded after about 2.5 hours and never had much throw, so no one else had to be offended by the way I smelled. I honestly would love to read the reviews of people who liked this to see what about it appealed to them.

[sofiaviolet]

I mostly smell lavender and verbena, perhaps because these are the notes I know best. The other herbal notes come through a bit more strongly on my skin, but those two are still very prominent. Lovely.

[indicolite]

Calliope, muse of epics, I have such a tendency to write epics that if you did not suit me, I would have thrown something.

 

However, you DO suit me!

 

This is such a clear scent, but with that hint of almond keeping it from being totally clear. I cannot get any more precise than that, but I can feel the creative juices bubbling.

 

I think Calliope is going to be a keeper.

[Melantha]

A great room scent; but I'm not much for herb-y perfumes, and this one has mint to boot, which might be, next to almond, my least favorite note.

[forspecial_plate]

I love citrus, and this starts out mostly citrus for me. At first it's all sweet orange and bergamot. If I concentrate I get a little bit of mint in there. It stays very citrus for a good while, like at least an hour. Then as it dries I start to pick up on the herbal aspect....verbena, thyme, maybe the lavender a little bit. Average throw and lasting power. Never did I smell any almond which is strange....maybe it just blended with or was overpowered by the citrus. I do like this, but not sure I like it enough to keep, with so many other Bpal oils that I like more. If I'm ever in the mood for a bright fresh citrus I'll turn to Calliope.

[Eros]

In the imp and first applied it's Lemonheads candies. Stays that way for a good 20 minutes or so then turns into a lovely and very light woodsy scent. No lavender, no mint, almond, etc.

Very nice but fades to almost nothing.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: herby minty fruity

 

wet: bergamot?

 

dry: minty, fruity, and cool. A very icy scent to my nose.

 

Verdict...maybe now and then...we'll see.

 

ADDED 1/2/08:

 

too sugary sweet. Nauseatingly so. Must wash off!!!

[puredeadthingy]

Mmm. Herbs and zest. And yeah, this is the scent I'm wearing tomorrow when I'll have a huge workload and a free period before lunch where I will NOT JUST SLACK.

[steffanina]

Calliope-

 

In Bottle: Rosemary and orange blossom.

 

Wet: Orange, and the brightness of the lavender comes out.

 

Dry: This is just not pleasant on me; it's got a sour plastic smell, mixed with a little powder so it smells a little...diaper-y. Not good for me.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[zombiegrrl]

In the bottle it smelled lemony minty. Wet on me, it smelled mostly lemony, with a touch of herbal. At first it kind of reminded me of that Jean Nate stuff from the 80s, but less Pledge-ish than that. Now that it has dried and settled down, it smells like an herbal orange. Nice, but I think I will stick with the imp. It would make a nice room scent or sachet though --- hmmmm......