Phobos

[Arcy]

Twin to Deimos and child of War, Phobos is the embodiment of terror and mortal fear. Chilling white musk, lemon verbena, white grapefruit and lemongrass.

Bottle : Lemon and lemongrass, very citrusy. There is a background of a chill wind somehow, which is very nice.
Skin, Wet : Bitter lemon and lemongrass. Smells like commercial household cleaners as soon as it starts getting warm from my skin.
Skin, Drydown : Mmm, sugared grapefruit and lemonade?
Skin, Dry : Lemongrass and lemon again, more like cooked and sweet than cleaning chemicals. Still none of that pretty cold musk scent at all.

ETA : Lab Description. Edited March 22, 2008 by Arcy

[kizery]

In the imp, Phobos smells like lemon candy . On application, I think the lemongrass smell is coming through. I agree with some of the other reviewers that this smells like lemon cleaning fluid, which I’m not thrilled with. During dry-down it softens to a scent of lemon tea. Pleasant, but I’m still not sold on this. As dry-down continues the lemon scent continues to soften, and sweeten, so that it is reminiscent of lemon candy again. On the whole, an uncomplicated scent that is perfect for those who love lemon. I think I would prefer it mixed with something else.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Lemongrass and grapefruit

 

Wet: I love this scent, I love lemongrass. Reminds me of a brighter Lush Avobath.

 

Drydown: This is a great scent for when I'm feeling down in the dumps, very cheery and bright. Full of citrus.

3.5 outta 5

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Lemon verbena + lemon grass.

 

Wet: LV and LG still by far the strongest, but the grapefruit has emerged a bit, and slowly the musk is coming out as well. This is a really interesting oil - I think in a good way.

 

Dry: Musk is stronger. The other notes have faded except the LG is still potent.

 

Summary: Lemongrass and musk. Nice, but I'd like some floral. Could be good for layering.

[bookandbroom]

It took me two tries to figure out that the weird, rough-edged, not-entirely-citrus scent I was getting from this was, in fact, the smell of a bowl of Froot Loops. Every so often the lemongrass/lemon verbena stage a minor coup and take over the cereal, but mostly I smell like Saturday morning and watching cartoons!

 

Oh, skin chemistry. Such a wacky thing.

[Brighid]

Imp: Froot Loops.

 

I haven't quite worked up the courage to actually put it on yet. I don't exactly fancy smelling like Froot Loops.

[ouch!]

Phobos...

 

I love lemongrass...alot. Not really on my skin though. This is the first time I've worn an oil that is dominated by Lemon.

 

When wet, indeed Yes. This is a massive whoosh of lemongrass/Verbena. I don't get any grapefruit from this blend at all..

 

When it starts to dry the White musk comes out, and the lemon zesty side of thing fades.. It just leaves behind a very faint lemony white musk.

 

It's not really anything special to be honest.

It fades very fast!!!

 

Edited for typos DOI!

Edited July 16, 2009 by ouch!

[megank4]

This reminds me strongly of Antonino (White musk, wild plum, vetiver, black coconut, verbena, fig, and lavender)

I guess it must be the white musk and verbena. Since I already have a bottle of Antonino, which I like better, I don't think I need this one.

[greenranger]

*reads the scent notes* There was musk in this? Where?

 

On me, wet, this was Sweet Lemon. I could picture a whole bowl full of sliced up lemons with sugar poured over the top.

 

Drying, I was thinking about lemonade. Sweet and powerful lemonade, with the lemons still floating in amongst the ice.

 

When it faded, it smelled like the rind of a lemon.

[grashopper8]

Before I wrote a review, I had to search this thread for Froot Loops to see if anyone else went there.

 

2 other people have mentioned it, so I guess I'm not crazy!

 

This smells exactly like Froot Loops to me. It makes me want to smoke weed and eat a whole box of sugar cereal straight up, while watching Terminator 2.

 

I think I said too much....

 

3 out of 5 (It's fun, but I won't wear it.)

[septima_pica]

Wet, lemon drops.

 

Dry, 100% lemongrass. Nothing else is even perceptible.

[savage_rose]

Herbal Froot Loops! Froot Loop incense! Toucan Sam, are you around here somewhere?

 

I'd really love this except my skin is amping the lemon something fierce...Froot Loops and Lemon Pledge are battling it out for Scent Supremacy. The Froot Loopiness is nice, but the lemon is INTENSE, and almost gives me a headache.

[Champagne]

I love all the notes here so it`s no surprise I `m deeply enjoying this crisp, sour blend, perfect for summer. The lemongrass is amped like crazy and it`s refreshing like a popsicle smashed in your face at 12 in the afternoon on the beach! If you love You`ve been mangoed bath melt this is for you.

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: pithy grapefruit, somewhat bitter. Pucker up! I like this!

 

Wet on skin: the harshness is gone and it warms up almost immediately, still tangy but fresh from the lemongrass. It is very faint on my skin.

 

Dry: A nice musky ambergris with a pleasant citrus warmth. After a while the white musk comes out and somewhat dries the warmth leaving a bit coolness.

Phobos faded quickly after a couple of hours.

Edited August 22, 2008 by mineralfairy

[sideviewhotel]

Wow. Wet, this is aaaaaaaaaaaaaall citrus. But, as it starts to dry, the musk comes out. Not much, though. I think Phobos is too lemony for me.

 

ETA: On the drydown (well after, really) this gets BEAUTIFUL. The musk comes out to play A LOT more, which definitely tempers the OMGLEMON I get at first.

 

And (like I said in the Crowley reviews) when this mixes in the air with Crowley, homghomghomggggggggggg. Tasty. Phobos is definitely a keeper now if only for the lovely linger effect it gives after it dries and because it compliments Crowley in a most perfect way!

Edited August 29, 2008 by sideviewhotel

[skepticism]

Vial to wet to drydown: all I smelled the whole day was lemon verbena. No hints of grapefruit or musk on me. I like citrus scents, but I didn't fall in love with this one since it ended up being too simple of a scent on my skin.

[caffinatedangel]

This is lemon drops in a bottle. Either the candy, or the drink. Your pick.

 

Sweet, tangy, citrus. Gender neutral to my nose (I'd personally love to drool over a guy that smells like lemon drops). Makes me think of Dumbledore from Harry Potter (he was eating lemon drops in book one, when you first meet him.

 

It's a wet, juicy citrus splash on a summer day. I love it.

 

I was prepared to hate this scent. I hate grapefruit. I don't understand why... but I can't stand the taste, the smell, or even looking at one . But seriously, I was ready to chuck this one at my sister.

 

Fortunately I didn't have to. (My sister was sad, though. She loved it as well.) - The grapefruit blends will with other notes, and isn't offensive to me. Hurrah. Just pure yum.

Edited September 21, 2008 by CaffinatedAngel

[Lethran]

In bottle: So much citrus. O.o Wet: Even more citrus if that’s possible. This is rather like sticking your nose in a fresh cut lemon, then a grapefruit, then some more lemon. Dry: fades to verbena with a hint of musk.

[emily2531]

this reminds me of a citronella candle or maybe furniture polish. I actually sort of like it, but not for a perfume.

[femmefatale]

Wet: Lemon cleaner & fruit loops. But fizzy. Very odd.

 

As it dries, it starts to smell like lemon Pledge with something rather pleasant. What an odd scent.

 

Dried, it actually smells very nice. It's mostly lemongrass and white musk. I actually like it far moe than I expected to when I first sniffed it. It's very clean and uplifting. I'll be keeping the imp, probably not a bottle though. We'll see.

[stillalive]

lovely cool sweet citrus... similar to embalming fluid and baobhan sith. However, it has a LOT less throw than either of those, sadly.

[Iceblink]

This smells just like lemon hard candies when it's wet. It's bright and cheery and delicious. Over time, the white musk comes out, and the lemongrass--the drydown is mostly citrusy white musk. Quite nice. This reminds me a bit of Kuang Shi.

[Seismogenic]

So, yesterday we had a drill for a fake 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault and then an awareness fair showing just what kind of damage comes from that sort of earthquake. Today, we have real Santa Ana winds in the forecast. Santa Barbara is already on fire. It's going to be 90 here today. Sounds like an appropriate day for a scent based on the embodiment of fear and panic!

 

In the imp: Very sharply lemon. Not of the citrus cleaner variety, but definitely extremely lemon.

 

Wet on skin: More of an herbal lemon now, which makes sense if it's lemongrass and lemon verbena rather than straight up lemon.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, it's sweetening up quite a bit. I'm guessing that might be the work of the grapefruit and the musk. It doesn't smell overtly musky, though; it's still very citrus, which means I doubt it will last long on me. At an hour in, it's lemon hard candy dusted in powdered sugar. I'm still assuming the musk is what's making it go sweet, though it still doesn't smell musky.

 

Five hours later: Sweet and lightly musky, with a little bit of an herbal lemon edge left.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: First of all, I'm amazed that any of the citrus element in this made it to the five hour mark on me! Second of all, lemon drops do not speak to me of fear. My skin didn't want to listen to the "chilling" in the description, and I got sweet instead, which kind of goes against the concept of fear and terror. I do not necessarily wish to smell terrifying, of course, but I was looking forward to the "chilling" aspect. I certainly don't dislike the scent, but it also doesn't really do anything for me.

[kjirstiben]

Such a lemony scent... but to me, it doesn't read lemon, but instead pure lemongrass. I keep thinking of Thai food... Yum.

 

But back to the point... Phobos goes on strongly, sharply lemon--lemongrass, actually--in nature. It's so strong that it's almost too sharp at first, but as it dries down it softens.

 

After drydown, it becomes a greenly-lemongrass scent. Still citrussy in nature, but greener, softer, sweeter. Still pure lemongrass. (Still making me think of Thai food.)

 

As I wear it, it continues to get softer and greener in nature. After a few hours, the overtly lemongrass nature of this scent is replaced by the softer lemon verbena note--this is something I can wear instead of looking for something to eat!

 

I like Phobos--it's a very unique scent experience and one of the better citruses, in its long-lastingness, that I've tried to date. (Schrödinger's Cat is another one.)

[toomuch]

Definitely lemongrass as opposed to lemon the fruit. Very nice, but not strong enough for me. Perhaps I'm looking for something lemon-fruitier.