Helios

[Invidiana]

HELIOS
The Sun, the source of light, by beauty's pow'r
Once am'rous grew; then hear the Sun's amour.
Venus, and Mars, with his far-piercing eyes
This God first spy'd; this God first all things spies.
Stung at the sight, and swift on mischief bent,
To haughty Juno's shapeless son he went:
The Goddess, and her God gallant betray'd,
And told the cuckold, where their pranks were play'd.
Poor Vulcan soon desir'd to hear no more,
He drop'd his hammer, and he shook all o'er:
Then courage takes, and full of vengeful ire
He heaves the bellows, and blows fierce the fire:
>From liquid brass, tho' sure, yet subtile snares
He forms, and next a wond'rous net prepares,
Drawn with such curious art, so nicely sly,
Unseen the mashes cheat the searching eye.
Not half so thin their webs the spiders weave,
Which the most wary, buzzing prey deceive.
These chains, obedient to the touch, he spread
In secret foldings o'er the conscious bed:
The conscious bed again was quickly prest
By the fond pair, in lawless raptures blest.

Mars wonder'd at his Cytherea's charms,
More fast than ever lock'd within her arms.
While Vulcan th' iv'ry doors unbarr'd with care,
Then call'd the Gods to view the sportive pair:
The Gods throng'd in, and saw in open day,
Where Mars, and beauty's queen, all naked, lay.
O! shameful sight, if shameful that we name,
Which Gods with envy view'd, and could not blame;
But, for the pleasure, wish'd to bear the shame.
Each Deity, with laughter tir'd, departs,
Yet all still laugh'd at Vulcan in their hearts.

Thro' Heav'n the news of this surprizal run,
But Venus did not thus forget the Sun.
He, who stol'n transports idly had betray'd,
By a betrayer was in kind repay'd.
What now avails, great God, thy piercing blaze,
That youth, and beauty, and those golden rays?
Thou, who can'st warm this universe alone,
Feel'st now a warmth more pow'rful than thy own:
And those bright eyes, which all things should survey,
Know not from fair Leucothoe to stray.
The lamp of light, for human good design'd,
Is to one virgin miserly confin'd.
Sometimes too early rise thy eastern beams,
Sometimes too late they set in western streams:
'Tis then her beauty thy swift course delays,
And gives to winter skies long summer days.
Now in thy face thy love-sick mind appears,
And spreads thro' impious nations empty fears:
For when thy beamless head is wrapt in night,
Poor mortals tremble in despair of light.
'Tis not the moon, that o'er thee casts a veil
'Tis love alone, which makes thy looks so pale.
Leucothoe is grown thy only care,
Not Phaeton's fair mother now is fair.
The youthful Rhodos moves no tender thought,
And beauteous Porsa is at last forgot.
Fond Clytie, scorn'd, yet lov'd, and sought thy bed,
Ev'n then thy heart for other virgins bled.
Leucothoe has all thy soul possest,
And chas'd each rival passion from thy breast.
To this bright nymph Eurynome gave birth
In the blest confines of the spicy Earth.
Excelling others, she herself beheld
By her own blooming daughter far excell'd.
The sire was Orchamus, whose vast command,
The sev'nth from Belus, rul'd the Persian Land.

Deep in cool vales, beneath th' Hesperian sky,
For the Sun's fiery steeds the pastures lye.
Ambrosia there they eat, and thence they gain
New vigour, and their daily toils sustain.
While thus on heav'nly food the coursers fed,
And night, around, her gloomy empire spread,
The God assum'd the mother's shape and air,
And pass'd, unheeded, to his darling fair.
Close by a lamp, with maids encompass'd round,
The royal spinster, full employ'd, he found:
Then cry'd, A-while from work, my daughter, rest;
And, like a mother, scarce her lips he prest.
Servants retire!- nor secrets dare to hear,
Intrusted only to a daughter's ear.
They swift obey'd: not one, suspicious, thought
The secret, which their mistress would be taught.
Then he: since now no witnesses are near,
Behold! the God, who guides the various year!
The world's vast eye, of light the source serene,
Who all things sees, by whom are all things seen.
Believe me, nymph! (for I the truth have show'd)
Thy charms have pow'r to charm so great a God.
Confus'd, she heard him his soft passion tell,
And on the floor, untwirl'd, the spindle fell:
Still from the sweet confusion some new grace
Blush'd out by stealth, and languish'd in her face.
The lover, now inflam'd, himself put on,
And out at once the God, all-radiant, shone.
The virgin startled at his alter'd form,
Too weak to bear a God's impetuous storm:
No more against the dazling youth she strove,
But silent yielded, and indulg'd his love.

The searing brightness of the sun: Gum Arabic, frankincense, liquid copal, cistus, neroli, golden cedarwood, and saffron.

Wow. I have to say, and not just because my heritage is Greek, that all the scents in this series are just fantastic. Beth really has managed to capture the searing brightness of the sun in Helios without burning any nostrils. This is a gorgeous, shining, exotic resinous scent, bolder than Clytie but every bit as evocative and compelling. The frankincense and copal are really the two key players at the forefront here, really shining in all their glory. Like the frankincense in Clytie, neither the frankincense or copal here is dark and brooding (though I love those versions too), but rather proud and shining, with the same "liquid gold" feel as Clytie. I love gum mastic and gum Arabic, and can definitely smell the smooth sweetness of it here as well. The resins are backed by sensual cedarwood (which surprisingly behaves on me) and saffron, and there is just a breath of florals in the background that is discernible but not overbearing. Another winner from this series! Edited March 21, 2010 by Shollin

[angelicruin]

This is a dark, sensual scent on my skin. Frankincense, saffron, and cedar are strongest on my skin. The gum arabic adds just a little sweetness to the scent. Definitely a keeper.

[skyelyric]

This totally makes up for the Clytie decant epic fail.

 

In the imp and wet there's something sharply herbal and astringent, it's like piney tree sap in the sun to me. I tested this as soon as it got here, and it was more of the same, gorgeous sweet spicy pine/fir (maybe the copal and cedar blending?). I put a small test spot near my elbow, and I could smell it constantly, for HOURS, through a shower. Great throw, great longevity, very masculine-smelling to me, but I couldn't stop sniffing it.

 

So of course I jump on a bottle on the sales page, then go to wear my decant again and it's changed! After settling for a couple days it's lost its throw. I smell the same bright astringency wet, but it dries into something much softer and smoother, and much more private. Although I loved my aura of spicy trees, this gentler, quieter Helios is much more everyday wearable.

[Thursdae]

Helios is like being French-kissed under the orange glow of a setting sun. You want to let your eyes close but the light is too beautiful.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh Helios - on me you are frankincense, cedarwood and saffron. Loads of it.

 

Not typically I associate with the sun.

[edenssixthday]

Helios - This is a gorgeous predominantly frankincense scent. It reminds me a lot of The Magician, only more bright and golden. It's mostly frankincence, copal, and cedar on my skin, with the perfectly-sized, small hint of saffron. It's golden, slightly husky from the frankincense, and really lovely. It layers beautifully with Clytie, but I prefer both Clytie and Helios on their own. If you don't like frankincense, cedar or saffron, I would stay away from this one. If you like them, this could be a winner for you.

[sqwook]

Oh my god.

 

This is an amazing, magnificent spiced amber. Warm, rich, thick, exotic.

I believe it must be the copal that's standing out most for me. This would be especially amazing in fall and winter, and it's pretty great even right now (spring). And I think it could work equally well for a man or a woman, somehow - that's usually not the case for most scents I like.

Ridiculously delicious ambery wonderfulness.

 

I think this is what I had always hoped The Lion would be (which I finally had to admit to myself always sours on my skin, much to my chagrin). This reminds me most of Jacob's Ladder, perhaps?

 

I'd get a bottle immediately if it weren't part of a set, so I'll have to ponder... how much money is in my dear little paypal?

[Blood onmy hands]

Hmm... why does this smell like sour pine on me? :/ I put this on and it's like I dumped pine-sol on to my arm. Exactly like pine-sol. I thought that I loved all of the notes in this, but the combination is doing something awful on my skin. After about 20 minutes, it starts to lose the heavy pine-sol smell and morphs into a dry, slightly powdery woods scent with sweet, dry, spicy saffron.

 

Helios, as it dries down, is a warm, powdery, dry woods and spice scent. It's all cedar and saffron on me, it seems. I wish that I got more of the frankincense & copal from this one.

 

I might keep my decant, if only to see if it gets better & more resinous with some aging. As it is now, though, I hate the early pine-sol stage and don't love the powdery drydown either...

Edited May 6, 2010 by Little Bird

[yeahbutnobut]

Helios

 

In the decant: ohhhh…glorious frankincense with a tinge of citrus!

Wet on skin: frankincense, saffron, cedar, neroli…reminds me of Labores Solis and No 93 Engine.

Dry on skin: gorgeous frankincense and saffron. This is a wonderful golden sunny scent. The resins are strongest, especially the frankincense, which smells really sappy and almost like fresh pine resin, backed up by the smokier copal. The saffron adds a golden, dry, arid touch, it’s very strong here. The cedar forms a lovely solid base for the glowing notes, whilst neroli adds a lovely flash of citrus. This is absolutely stunning. It’s a strong, powerful sun scent.

After a while: this becomes very similar to Zenobia, the same frankincense, saffron and slightly woodsy base. This doesn’t have the shadowy patchouli and clove, this is brighter, more golden, and with a different type of spice to it. It smells dry and sandy, a true desert spice scent. This is the sun at its fiercest, not sweetened with amber or heliotrope, but fiery, but not harsh. I love how warm this scent is, how vividly golden-yellow it is.

Verdict: yet again, Beth successfully bottles sunshine in scent. This is what I wanted to smell in Gold Phoenix. Golden resins heated by saffron, with a piercing note of neroli, and a bit of dry wood to ground it. This is the summer sun at midday in the desert, the sun laid bare. Commaning, sometimes unforgiving, its blinding light dominates all and its presence demands to be worshipped…yet this is also warm, uplifting and inviting, especially at drydown, when it softens, turning to the mellow golden shades of late afternoon. It’s a perfect antidote to damp, wet grey days. Compared to Ra, Sol Invictus and Labores Solis, I’d say this is more like LS but without all the dark eclipsing notes, and it’s a lot heavier on the frankincense. I have a feeling that, like LS, this will become spectacular with age.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? definitely-I need at least two bottles.

If you like this, try: Labores Solis, No 93 Engine, Zenobia, Robotic Scarab, Sol Invictus, Ra, Sol

[milo]

This is predominantly frankincense from wet to dry. I get a bit of woody cedar and some citrussy sweetness, which I don't know where it is coming from. Kind of reminds me of Zenobia, Sportive Sun, Sol Invictus, but this is really all about the frankincense here. Quite nice, but I don't think I need a bottle. I'll certainly enjoy the imp while it lasts.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A surprisingly aggressive incense scent

 

Wet on me – Again, quite an aggressive incense scent

 

Dry on me – The only scent I get from this blend is the incense notes

 

Overall – One dimensional on my skin

[sprocket21]

This is an incredibly nice scent. Very pine-y, which I assume is the frankincense based upon ybnb's review. However, after ten minutes or so...POOF. Gone. Sadface.

[tinyvulture]

On first application, heavy resin, pine and cedar notes give this oil a very masculine feeling. It’s a bold, strong scent. Light, citrusy neroli and sweet saffron pop up after a few minutes and make it a little more playful. Makes me think of a forest at sunset. Golden light shining on towering trees.