Cairo

[Alchemy21599]

The essence of holy Kyphi, beloved incense of the Egyptian Gods.

In the imp: amber, resin, honey, figs, clove. Very sweet.

Wet: honey, figs, clove. Very sweet, fruity and exotic.

Dry: Uh, oh. What was so lovely has turned to powdery musk. Strong powdery musk.

Not for me. Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[maewitch]

I'm getting lemongrass and a generally syrupy sort of incense note. Is there frankincense in this?

 

There's something in this that reminds me a bit of Shub - perhaps they share a component. I can't say I really like this one that much. It's too sweet, and something in it is pitching a tent high in my nose.

 

I think I will have to retry this at some point, but for now I'm not feeling the love.

[Thaleia]

I actually have no idea what Kyphi smells like, but it sounds very exotic. I used to want to be an Egyptologist, so it's only fitting that I get to try this out at some point. This was a frimp from the Lab, so yay.

 

In the vial, I get a spicy, citrusy resin, vaguely reminiscent of Ravenous, but lighter. This isn't really what Cairo smells like, but if it did, I would definitely consider going back there to visit. Once on, it's very spicy-citrus, like cloves stuck in an orange (though this is more lemon than orange) around the holidays. This is Ravenous without the patchouli headache, so I might be able to wear this one.

 

Wow, another surprise from the Lab that I wouldn't have thought to try on my own. I don't know that I'd get a big bottle, but I'm keeping the imp. 3.75.

[niter]

Imp

The oil in this imp is among the most golden colored oils that I have seen from the lab to date. I am picking up something thicker scent that keeps changing each time I try to figure out what it is. Amber? Lotus? Myrrh? There is also a resiny/citrus note that is faintly there.

 

Wet

The thick smells is quite unique to me, yet familar. Instead of a new note, I feel like this is something I know blending differently than I have tried before. On my wrist this is thick, a smokey inscense spice, and has the brightness of lemon. The lemon is borderline furniture polish, but the thick spice and a subtle sweetness are keeping it in line now.

 

Dry

I am almost certain I smell some take on myrrh. This is a very pretty, exotic blend yet I have other myrrh that are more my personality. For anyone who tends to like a thicker, smoky blend I would highly suggest you try this. The lemon stays in the nature of true lemon on my skin, but it settles down and plays nice with the resin scents.

[bifemmefatale]

I've made Kyphi incense before, and it's heavenly, a blend of resins, spices, honey, wine and raisins. So that's what I was expecting when I traded for this imp.

 

In the bottle: Spices, incense and wine, as expected. On: Spices, incense and....Lemon Pledge?!? The hell? *goes to look up Kyphi recipes* Ah-ha! Apparently, there are three existing ancient recipes for Kyphi, and the Lab is working with a different one than I did. Dioscorides' recipe calls for lemongrass, mine doesn't.

 

A while later, the lemon scent has died down and the incense is coming out, along with....musk and lotus? Something like that. Nice, but I'm not sure this one's a keeper. Fooey.

[filigree_shadow]

Had absolutely no idea what to expect from Cairo. At first I didn't like it -- it smelled a bit sharp to me. Not like fruits or even like incense, actually a little edgy. It made me feel a little uneasy. However, as it dried I started to like it more.

 

It's been about 3 hours since I put it on both wrists, and I still don't know what I'm smelling. It smells yellow to me. Sort of like honeyed figs and incense.

 

To me, it smells exotic, but in a rather bright way. It's intriguing, but I don't think it's for me.

[Wench457]

Cairo ITB: honey and citrus fruit with spices. Love this!

 

On: Sharp citrus and resins.

 

Dry: Lime I think, and perhaps myrrh. Very enlivening. Has a touch of cedar as well perhaps. Warm and dusty smelling. Unfortunately, after a mere half hour it was all resins and wood. A nice smell, but not one for me.

[jarvenpa]

Cairo was a frimp from the deliciously psychic labbies who obviously understand my tastes better than I do.

 

In the vial it smelled oddly of sweet mint, and something else--lemon, a lot of spiciness. The sweet mint smell vanishes very quickly and the deeper, complex, and thoroughly delicious mingling of smokey, sweetness and spiciness waft about. Maybe some amber? I do love amber, but there is a lot of other deliciousness going on here.

 

I love it. Thrust wrist under partner's nose. "well, at least it doesn't smell of flowers" (oh dear, years with the man and now I learn he hates my lovely floral fragrances?)

 

Thrust wrist under youngest son's nose. He pretends to want to lick my wrists. From this child, who has Down Syndrome and is very direct, this is a positive response.

 

I wouldn't care if they hated it.

 

I have no idea what's in this blend, but I do know I love it; it reaches depths in my soul, it makes me purr. If this is what Cairo really smells like I should be trying to visit Egypt very soon.

[feline.by.design]

This smells like doughnuts.

 

Oh wait, now that it's on my skin, it's changing. Hmm... Okay, it smells like honeybuns. Honeybuns served in a floral field, which masks much of the initial honeybun fragrance.

 

Cairo was a free imp from the Lab which I've (finally) been able to try now. On my skin, Cairo is definitely a sweet scent, and once given time, the amber radiates and creates a resiny smell that overpowers most of the top notes I smelled earlier. I still get a vague honeyed smell, but the amber is thicker. Normally, I don't mind, as I'm a big fan of amber, but I think I would have liked a longer time with the initial scent.

 

I'm going to be holding onto this frimp to see what else Cairo has in store for me. As an amber scent, it's quite nice, and it's different enough from the other amber scents I have to keep. I don't find it too cloying on me.

 

Actually, after about ten minutes of settling, Cairo moves into a softer fragrance that allows the showcase of the citrus/lemon note and honey. Rockin'.

 

-doreen

Edited April 4, 2006 by feline.by.design

[Nekomata]

I love this. Fresh it's sweet and foody in scent. It reminds me of powdered doughnuts and honey. It gets more lemony when it dries, with a powdery finish.

[themerrybaker]

I get intense lemon. Yellow, syrupy, skin-staining (literally) lemon. It takes a while to settle down, but then a more complex wood/incense undertone wanders along. Not for everyday, but good for getting the Mellow Yellow vibe on.

 

 

 

After several hours, I got only a bit of the long-awaited doughnut smell mentioned in the above reviews. I'm keeping my imp in the car, anyway, because it seems to be the perfect scent to wear when you are pulled over for speeding......

Edited April 21, 2006 by themerrybaker

[Zeljana]

in the bottle and wet on skin Cairo smells like an exotic fruits syrup. dry, it turns incensy and I love it! there is still sweetness I could live without but overall this is a very nice summery scent. It's very suggestive, too. Makes me think of a walk through the markets of Cairo full of ripe fruits with a faint scent of incense pervading the air.

 

edit: this is incredibly long lasting - 12 hours after applying it's still there.

Edited April 21, 2006 by Kosyena

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Honey and fruit. I can't pin down what kind of fruit- some sort of citrus or maybe pineapple.

 

On me: Lemon incense. But not fresh lemon- more like lemon scented cleaning supplies.

[sarada]

I always swore I wouldn't use the word "lemony" in a review if I could avoid but but I just don't know what else to say!

 

I have not been able to try Kyphi incense but I'd really love to, despite the slightly "ugh" feeling I get when I think about the combined scent of sticky-sweet honey, raisins and wine with my beloved resins.

 

The strong dark lemon-honey scent is a bit too foody for my tastes, reminding me more of a cup of herbal tea that you'd have to choke down when you're sick (I'm not a lemon-honey fan, you see). But, no, I think I can see where there's a sharp sinus-clearing note in there that is almost like camphor or mint as well.

 

There's a bit of a spicy wood scent that could be myrrh or it could just be a wood like cedar combined with some gentle spices.

 

It is a bit more incensy as it dries but that lemony (I said it again!) note is just so strong...I'm also reminded of a lemon balm rub that I used from time to time for muscular aches. Lemongrass perhaps.

 

Despite the fact that everyone who passes by me will probably just smell that sharp lemony note, I do like to sniff this as it evolves. It is strong, which is a big plus for me, and as I wear it I think that my resin-friendly skin brings out more of the sweet resiny-woody scents rather than that lemon note. Honey tends to also be a note that plays well with others on me, though I rarely seek it out because of its sweet and foody connotations.

 

If this was darker and smokier, more like incense, I would be all over it. But as it is, about a half-hour into wear it is really nice on me and I'll definitely keep some around.

[Medici]

In the imp: That's super strong! It's like a resin-dipped chocolate. And it's bright yellow on the imp rod and thick in consistency. Oi vey! Bit of citrus too in there... iiiinteresting.

 

Wet: Orange and wax! And its still bright yellow on my skin too. I find that funny for some reason... it really is super thick in consistency.

 

Drydown: Orange and plastic eraser. Ok, that's a no go for me. It's tangy and it's making my nose tingle, which is nice - a great scent to wake up to.

 

Verdict: Is it for me? No. I think I'm having a bad resin day. When this blend finally calms down a bit, it goes a little powdery, but I think I'd already decided in the wet stage that Cairo and I were not meant to be.

 

Goodbye little imp, may your journeys be great.

[opaleyes]

Well darn. I should have read the reviews on this one before I bought it, as the site description really doesn't give much info.

 

Wet: very strong, something spicy with a hint of cocoa.

 

Dry: pure lemon and honey, with that same something spicy. This reminds me very much of some medicinal cough drops my mom got me once. They burned a hole in my tongue. Sadly, I'm just about as fond of Cairo.

 

Too bad, really. I've always been fascinated with Egypt. I like the spice, and I like the honey, but lemon just doesn't work on me.

[BrightRedScream]

When I smell this I get:

 

- honey

- lemon

- something sweet underneath - maybe lotus?

- a SMIDGE of cocoa

 

On my skin though, all I get is lemons?

 

I'll keep the imp and use it up..but I don't think I'll be wanting this in a bottle..

On me I don't get any of those lovely scents that people are talking about

[Shollin]

First sniff: My concept of incense clearly doesn’t extend to Kyphi. I’ve never smelled anything quite like this, and I definitely wouldn’t have classified it as incense. It doesn’t even smell resinous – it’s dark, liquid-smooth and sweet, almost candylike.

 

Wearing: Smooth, sweet, dark and mysterious. Goes sweeter and more syrupy as it dries… but the dry scent is somehow reminiscent of… coconut?

[melrose]

Things that make you go ''hmmmm.''

 

First on, Lemon Pledge. There is a sweet, complex scent underneath, but the Lemon Pledge whaps it upside the head, and it retreats.

 

After it dries, a mix of sweet food and spices, still with a lemon bent - it's okay, but my nose doesn't know quite how to handle this. I do know I expected Cairo to evoke dryness or hot sunshine, and this definitely doesn't. I can see how it might smell like a bazaar.

 

Interesting, but not me.

[Trixie]

Mmmmmm, finally a new-agey scent I can wear that doesn't overpower me!

 

I don't know if I smell the wood others have mentioned, but I do smell something spicy, some nag champa, something lemony and maybe some sandlewood. I'm very fond of Cairo, it's very balanced and rubs my spirit exactly the right way. I'm the kind of person that likes the idea of incense, but always gets overwhelmed by burning it -- it's just too much and too chokey; Cairo gives me exactly what I want out of an incense scent-experience but without the smoke. It's like walking into a peaceful room where nag was burned earlier, without the actual burning. I LOVE it!

[astridclaire]

I have smelled burning kyphi before, and I have read various recipes for it because I've always wanted to make my own, so I had a preconceived notion of what this oil should smell like.

 

In the Imp: It smells sweet and raisiny with some resins in the background-- pretty much what I was expecting.

 

On Wet: The raisins turn into lemons covered by a layer of powdery incense smoke. How strange!

 

It's nice, but I was hoping for more of a honey, resin smoke, raisin, wine sort of thing... more of a honeyed purple-ish scent. This is all golden yellow. It does make me feel more awake though and suddenly I want to clean the house!

 

I don't think I like it enough to buy a bottle, but I'll keep the imp around for my major house cleaning days.

[urbanruralferal]

when this first hit my wrists, I smelled cardamom and fenugreek scuttling down the dry hot street talking animatedly! strange for a perfume. those turn a corner and up walks up a friendly citrus to greet me, orange and his honey friend they want to show me around the city! I agree and we go to a little cafe where we are served this lighter-than-air, not-too-sweet dessert made of orange and rose water, delightful. we consider whether or not to order a coffee, but decide against. After all this is a very non-urgent visit. On our way to the lodgings, a slight breeze picks up, and blows the scent of blooming almond through the streets. I turn around to ask my citrus guide where the trees are, but he and honey are lagging aways back, and the almond breeze pushes me lightly towards a dry fountain that sits in the middle of a deserted public square. I am left, alone.

[eviltemptressdq]

this is a very spicey incense smell... with a bit of citrus? Lemon? orange? it isn't a bad scent, per se, I'm just not an incense lover... Sort of smells like air freshener or cleaning products even (with that spicey citrus).

 

ah well! off to the swap pile!

[lunareclipse]

In the imp: Sweet and sultry, almost overpoweringly so - syrupy figs and honey, loaded with spice. A tiny bit of citrus too.

 

Wet: Still very sweet, but now something woody - cedar maybe? is making itself known, balancing the sweetness with a dry powdery scent. The citrus is pretty much gone.

 

Drydown: The woody scent gets stronger, and resins (amber and myrrh?) make this a well-balanced, if strong, perfume. I have to be in just the right mood for this one; if I'm not, I perceive it as cloying and overwhelming instead of sweet and strong.

[Melantha]

Citrus-y incense that didn't like my skin. Too strong.