The Magi

[aedes]

An offering of frankincense, gold, and myrrh, with coriander, cumin, ambergris, white wine grape, and vanilla bean.

 

Myrrh is usually my best buddy, I love base note heavy, resinous scents and vanilla usually clings to me like a desperate lover (for good or for ill), so I thought this would be a knock out of the park.

But, whoa nelly, this smells MAS-CU-LINE on me. Way, way, way way basic, like my guy's "woodland fresh" deodorant. Strange! I can't even pick out any of the notes in the description! Goes to show you what body chemistry, and maybe coriander or ambergris, can do!

[zankoku_zen]

The Magi is an odd blend for me. The myrrh is very high pitched in this one, lending an almost 'golden metal' overtone to it. It actually makes me think of oiled gears. Perhaps a steampunk Jesus would approve?

 

Kinda fresh, kinda metal. Interesting.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A surprisingly light sweet scent, I think it’s the vanilla bean and the cumin I can smell

 

Wet on me – Sweetened washing detergent

 

Dry on me – A soft faint vanilla

 

Overall – Much lighter than I anticipated and slightly bland

 

[voodoocatwoman]

On application, I get the cola syrup that others smell, but it quickly turns very incensuous (new word). It reminds me of Midnight Mass because of the incense at the forefront. It is beautiful and very regal. Unfortunately, it is gone in a few hours. Foo for that.

[catatonic1242]

In the bottle: I get something that smells like menthol or eucalyptus, and I wonder if that's the frankincense -- I'm not familiar enough with that note to know exactly. I also get a twinge of fresh vanilla.

 

On, wet: A wild mishmash of notes. Every time I sniff it, I get a different hint of something, from vanilla to gold to white wine. It's very schizophrenic.

 

On, dry: This dries into a nice, clean smell, although I can't really pinpoint a single note. It smells like the most delicious spice cabinet. Good throw on this one, too.

 

[robozwil]

Hmm... while the notes sounded appealing in theory, the actual oil was a different event for me. This smells somewhat medicinal in the bottle, but once on I couldn't help but think of Lush's Karma in a softer form. It seemed to last forever, maybe I process frankincense or coriander with the same brain part that no longer likes patchouli. Oh well, it was worth a shot

[asciident]

Wet: Sour candy.

 

First on: Still candy, but less sour.

 

Dry: Same on drydown.

[juniperus]

bottle: delicate, what ethereal must smell like

wet: vanilla and cumin identifiable, but reticent

dry: resin sharpness wrapped in vanilla

later: the grape is now doing that overpoweringly-sweet thing on me that I despair fruit notes doing. crap.

[skylarkza]

In the bottle: It smells... clean. Like you would imagine stars smelling. I think it is the grape screaming through the myrrh.

Wet: Hmmm, still clean - but a lot more incensey. It is like the section of the local holistic fair near the frankincense and myrrh shop, but underneath the grape-clean starry smell.

Dry: Ah yes, now the grape is calming down and I smell like the best section of the holistic fair (not counting the food court). Incense and frankincense and myrrh.

Later: It fades to something that sticks close to the skin, but smells divine. More of an excuse to reapply after a few hours I guess.

 

Overall, LOVE. I am glad I bought this bottle.

 

 

[Schmoozy]

 

Bright & effervescent. I can instantly smell the white wine grape from the bottle, and then it morphs into spicy resins with touches of vanilla.

This was a huge hit for me last year, and I am soo bummed that I only bought one bottle. As it dries down the cumin and coriander become a bit more noticeable, while the white wine grape slinks to the background.

[tinyvulture]

Somehow, the combination of resins in this blend have combined to smell like…Coca Cola! Who knew that was an appropriate gift for the Christ child? Seriously, I can’t think of another comparison…it’s making me a little thirsty. After a few minutes, there is some spiciness coming out, from the coriander and cumin. Then it turns a little creamy, from the ambergris and vanilla. Now it’s like a Coke float. Sparkly, effervescent, heavy on the frankincense -- a must-have for resin lovers.

[crebbsgirl]

There is a sparkling quality to this blend that almost teeters on effervescence. Reminds me of the same quality in Faunalia from this year's Yules. It's bright, and sweet. I get a faint soapy tinge to this, but it's not overt. The frankincense doesn't go to play-doh like it usually does. I like this, but I'm not in love with it.

[nightbiscuit]

Wet, I get deep golden ambergris and resins....

and then on the drydown I am overwhelmed by soapy babypowder.

 

Quite sad. I detect none of the grape, coriander or vanilla at all!

 

EDIT: ok now I am getting vanilla. It's like a vanilla musk, with the ambergris.... this is like a candied midnight mass! But still the soapy baby powder. fail.

Edited January 22, 2010 by nightbiscuit

[benthic]

I'd forgotten about the wine grape note, and when I opened the bottle to sniff this, I honestly wondered if I had the wrong blend in the bottle, because it smells exactly like fizzy lemony soda. Now that I look at the notes list again, I recognize it as the same champagne note from Champagne and Roses. I can smell the bubbly fizz even though this note is supposed to be just the fruit itself, not champagne. It's a note I like but tend to amp a lot (I couldn't wear C&R for that reason), so let's see what this is like on.

 

On me, it's pure champagne for a minute, and then it starts to settle. The vanilla is the first note to peek through, so as this dries on my skin, it smells like vanilla champagne, which is odd and not at all what I expected but also not--bad? It's nice, just weird. I start to get a bit of coriander next, a note I'm fond of, so that's nice. There's just a hint of spice from the cumin as well. Still no resins, which is odd, but I can smell how this feels bright and golden, even though I don't get any specific note I'd call "gold."

 

I'm waiting for the champagne to fade and the rest to come through a bit more, but it's not, not yet, and it's been on a while now. It's still vanilla champagne with a tiny bit of coriander and cumin. I love frankincense and myrrh and I'm sad to not get any out of this. What I get is nice, and it's possible it will eventually settle down some more, but I think I amp white wine/white grape too much to really get all the subtlety of this blend. I kind of can't make up my mind about it; it's one of those blends where it's nice but I'm not sure I want to smell like carbonation, and I get a lot of carbonation. This needs retesting before I decide, definitely. The vanilla and spice tempers it more than C&R was, but it's still similar.

[Michi]

I never would have tried this based on the notes, but I got to sniff it last year at the Harry's/Whole Foods in Roswell (the same place that DSWC is held). It was instant love!

 

In the bottle it reminds me of ginger beer--spicy but sweet. When I first bought it that ginger beer smell stayed for about 30 minutes or so, but since it's aged it morphs much faster. It immediately goes very resiny but retains a bit of the sweetness that I loved in the bottle. (Ginger beer + incense + a bit of vanilla?) I can see how this might be masculine to some, but for me The Magi is so complex, with an underlying sweetness that keeps it from being too strong or manly (despite my usual preference for sweet, girly scents).

 

It's warm and comforting--the scent wraps around me like a blanket, or a hug from a loved one. It's actually warming on the skin, without burning me the way cinnamon or other strong spices do. So gorgeous, and has aged just beautifully!

[elka_knits]

I have decided my skin amps vanilla. At least I have to figure that is the bpal smell that hovers close to my wrists on half my scents. A lot of smells end up the same after a while so it has to be a note right? Which is fine by me cus I love it no matter what it is.

 

Okay so my bottle is well aged. Not opened to air out age but stored in a nice dark cool cigar case in closet for 3 yrs.

 

In the bottle a sharp almost painful lemon cleanser smell. Nothing about the bottle makes me want to put it on but I know I purchased it due to some resin note in description. Yep check notes listed and there is vanilla and myrrh and frankincense. I put it on and yuck lemon detergent. After a while I catch a powdery note which usually means amber. I like that amber powdery note so no complaints and HOPE for this smell.

 

The lemon is throwing me for a loop and when I put it on it had that cologne consistency ~ clear and thin easily fading into skin. Since I usually wear resinous scents that become thick and vicious and have some yellow or red stain I am confused. Hey I don't know my notes! I decide that the grape and whatever else is in there is floating on top of my precious incense scents and roll my bottle to warm and distribute notes.

 

Retry

 

Lemony but no longer detergent. An incense vibe but not heavy in your face. I feel as if this is a light summertime incense used for a cleansing ritual instead of a head shop scent. Like a sage smudge stick~ clean a bit green and incense-y. Sorry to keep harping on the incense but it is what I look for ya know and most of my perfumes contain notes that make me think of that stuff. Maybe not incense but I used to burn amber resin and myrrh and frankincense stuff so yeah.

 

But again there is whatever note my skin amps. Not reeks amps because it is a skin scent. Really close and subtle. Very much like a lot of creamy sweet scents such as Dragons Milk on me. I may get rid of this one or keep it for when the weather warms up since the lemon whiff on the well rolled application is cooling and clean.

[Aviatrix]

This was surprising! It opens up with sweet resins and an almost citrusy overtone, the origin of which I'm not sure. It could perhaps be the white wine grapes. Either way, it's very nice.

 

The sweet citrus-ness comes out even more as it dries down and I am sensing the gold note in there as well.

 

Overall, it's a very beautiful surprise hit for me, and I will treasure my little imp for a long time to come.

[lucycat]

To my surprise, the white wine grape is the most easily identifiable note here. It’s the same grape note as in Bess, one of my favorite GC blends, and it really sweetens the frankincense. Frankincense can be sharp, but it isn’t in this blend. The Magi is sweet, resinous, and sparkling.

 

I'm the first person to review The Magi in three years, and my review doesn't express how much I like this blend. See the first review on the first page, by Sarada back in 2008, which expresses, better than I can, what I like about The Magi.

[sprout]

Cumin and grape give me pause, however, someone kindly gave me a sample imp, well aged, I'm guessing it's the 2008 version?

 

It's identifiable as champagne when wet, not grapey as I feared.

 

Early wet to dry phase, the frankincense and myrrh come to the champagne party. I also detect a metallic note, could it be the gold?

 

Drying, the ambergris is apparent and ties all these notes together seamlessly. I don't appreciate any coriander or Cumin, but I can't say I've smelled those singly.

 

Drydown phase is a beautiful ambergris and vanilla bean, lovely, ethereal.

 

Being the ambergris whore, I must say this is going to be a full bottle purchase. I just hope that the 2016 ages to become the masterpiece that I received in frimp.

[sasqa9]

Warm, smoky resins and vanilla, swirled with red fruity wine.

 

(2016 version) This a complex, gorgeous blend. It's elegant, yet comfortable and easy to wear.

 

The wet phase is challenging. In the bottle, it's a sour red wine and doesn't get much better on the skin. It's the same red wine in Black Tower, though the two scents are completely different. Thankfully the 'too much wine' phase is very brief.

 

As it dries, wow, it blooms into a soft, smooth, warm resin. It's smoky, lightly spiced, even a bit 'snowy', giving it a holiday feel. There's a hint of red fruitedness, sophisticated like fine wine. It's magical. It morphs toward vanilla as it fades. So pretty. This may be in my top ten. The Magi took me by total surprise.

Edited April 9, 2017 by sasqa9

[VetchVesper]

This is the 2016 version. I'll add the 2017 version later.

 

This was a bottle buy for me last year. It's a lovely, snuggly resin scent, but it has a brightness to it that I just love. It does, indeed, have a shining gold quality. I like the smell of frankincense, but find it often turns to baby powder on me. In this blend though, the frankincense smells authentic, soft, and dusty and a little bit sweet. It grounds everything, while the ambergris and tart, white grape give the scent a lift and sparkle. I suspect the "gold" in this is amber. I don't really get the cumin or coriander, and the vanilla bean only serves to add some sweetness from what I can tell. I'm curious to see if those notes are more prominent in 2017's version. This does seem very appropriate to Christmas, and if you are a resin lover, you probably want to check this one out.

[LiberAmoris]

2017 version:

 

Wet, the white grape and coriander are must prominent, but they quickly move aside for the frankincense and myrrh. This does smell like a golden Midnight Mass. The ambergris and vanilla bean are particularly nice in rounding out the other notes. This is a nice golden incense blend, topical for Yule but would be nice year round for those who love sweet incense with light spices.