Philologus

[ami226]

Ancient books, crackled parchment, faded incense, and candle wax.

On the skin: I can definitely smell something slightly cologney and some wax. Kind of a sweetish scent. Definitely not something I'd wear.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Light, clean and airy, with a faint incense sweetness. The airy note is like nothing I've smelled, and since I've never smelled parchment, that must be it.

 

On skin: The parchment note is quite vague: it is faintly papery, but almost imperceptible. The faded incense and candle wax add a light, pleasing sweetness, but apart from that, this is a clean, faded and almost "empty" scent. It does evoke books -- but brand new books. Nothing old, ancient or mystical about them. The incense notes strengthen and warm over time, but not enough to lift the blend out of blandness. I can barely smell it most times. Philologus also resembles a simpler, diluted version of Mr. Ibis.

Colour impression is the ivory-white of new, high-quality archival paper.

 

Verdict: This is a clean, airy, light blend with a touch of delicious sweetness. But I like more substantial scents, and Philologus is virtually negligible. This vampire is certainly bookish, but unassuming and colourless... and ultimately uninteresting. (And I like the bookish types! Ah well.) Mr. Ibis is turning out to be a better parchment blend, so I've no reason to hang on to Philologus.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Clean aquatic cologne

 

Wet: Clean, crisp. Airy with some aquatic-ness

 

Drydown: I really like this! I'm genuinely surprised! It's clean and airy. I don't really have anything like it. The closest thing is probably Aeaea, but that's not quite right.

 

Overall: This is pretty pleasant! Not at all what I was expecting. I don't really get any books. Maybe a teeny bit of wax or incense. A great warm weather scent, but I have to say it's not what I had been looking for. I'll probably keep the decant for now though. It fills a niche Aeaea doesn't.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Parchment, maybe wax, but mostly a familiar, thick mustiness that I can't quite name. It's ... not that pleasant, actually.

 

On me: This musty scent is so familiar—but I still can't pin it down. I think I got the same sort of impression from the early stages of Chaos Theory VI: Amber 100, so maybe that's it—but it's hardly a useful comparison.There's dust, must, wax, and maybe some leather here; much of that unpleasant mustiness fades during drydown but not all, and what remains is smoky candles in an old library: warm beeswax, dusty parchment, a touch of smoke, but an undercurrent of a fuggy unaired back room. It made the room I was in smell quietly fantastic, bookish and beautiful, but on my skin the mustiness never fades away quite enough. Throw and wearlength are moderate to low.

 

Verdict: I want to like this so badly, and it has some aspects which I could love—but again, that mustiness kills it. I don't get the cologne that others report, and it is pretty similar to the notes and inspiration, but it goes a little bit wrong and I don't know if I can get past that. I'll hold on to my bottle for now, and retest later.

 

ETA: A year has tamed this scent somewhat: it remains musty in its early stages, but that fades after drydown. What it leaves behind is a sheaf of parchment, a wide and mellow creamy scent, dark but not particularly complex, Lurid Library's broader cousin. I love Lurid Library, but I also like its delicacy, its sense of individual pages being turned; Philologus is similar enough to be redundant, but not as nice. I'll finally trade it away.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Juushika

[voodoobaby]

This was a lot cleaner and more pungent than I was expecting. Odd! It's kind of musky and cologne-y at first with some sort of airy quality, and I'm not sure if I feel comfortable wearing it. It doesn't seem like a "me" kind of scent.

 

A vague sort of leathery smell (probably parchment) starts coming out after a while, and this is rather nice, though it is backed by that quite masculine muskiness. Still undecided on whether I would wear this.

 

I think, however, I would LOVE to smell it on a guy and cuddle up with him. It's kind of comforting and just a tiny bit sexy, in a nerdy, quiet professor sort of way. I think I have the right guy in mind, too; now to convince him to wear it for me.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells strangely aquatic on me. Not sure why. Smells kind of like an aquatic note and candle wax. It's not bad at all -- it smells sort of lazy but fresh at the same time -- but it's more of my husband's sort of scent than mine. I let him try it, and he said that he likes it, but he has other BPAL oils he likes better. So I guess this one isn't a keeper for us.

[rayvn1]

I had a very similar reaction to Vega, this scent was oddly..hollow smelling. Never tried anything like it. Light, sweet wax note that maade it reminiscent of my dreaded Ichabod Crane but without the muguet that made that one go wonky. This is quite pleasant and has a light smokiness to it and a touch of incense. It's a very cooling scent but the candle wax note that doesn't tend to work on me got a little too strong towards the end.

[Altaira]

Sigh. I was really hoping this would work out. I really like the dusty book scent in Misk U and M&J Port Jelly; I was hoping for more of that note. I didn't find it here. I didn't find any of the listed notes. What I found was a faint, vaguely masculine cologne.

 

If you removed all the Egyptian Musk from Mr. Ibis, you would get something similar to Philologus. But Mr. Ibis is my favorite because of the EM and not having it feels empty.

[calivianya]

Philologus is making me terribly sad. I'm not sure what it is that I'm getting from this, but something smells a little off. It smells vaguely dirt-ish in the imp to me, and on the skin it does smell very dusty. I'm not getting the sweet note I've seen mentioned in this thread, sad.y I'm not getting much more than old dust.

[grrrlennyl]

Philologus

 

On: Musty paper and faint incense notes.

1 hour in: Surprisingly perfumey. A bit soapy. Still rather dry and powdery, but definitely smells generally like a perfume.

2 hours in: Still about the same.

6 hours in: A powdery, soapy perfume.

Overall: This didn't develop very nicely on me.

[Diva Urd]

In the bottle: VERY cologne-y - but this smells like a very NICE cologne and I was looking for something tending into manly territory

 

On: Sweet incense-y cologne. This may not be terribly unconventional, but I LOVE sniffing my wrist. There may be just a hint of leather to this, and I think I also detect just a smidgen of musk. Very nice on me, but man, if the husband's skin doesn't eat it...

 

Later: This is incense-fest 2011 with a hint of musk... but I do believe I spy some parchment! Yes, this is going to receive much love in this household

 

On the husband: Turns faint very quickly, but that might have been because I didn't apply a lot, and because he did a lot of stuff after I applied it, like prepping food, going to the bathroom, washing his hands (he might have gotten some water on his wrist, too)... At any rate, it does smell nice on him, too! Hope I can get him to wear it more often!

Edited June 6, 2011 by Diva Urd

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: Ancient books? Faded incense? Candle wax? How could I not love this? Alas... I would love this if I could smell any of those notes, but all I smell is vetiver. Or at least it's that salty, meaty smell I associate with vetiver. I was not expecting this at all, and I'm extremely wary of putting this on my skin. But, I will be brave.

 

Wet: Well, okay... the salty, meaty smell is lightening up, and something softer and sweeter and almost floral is coming out. Definitely turning into that masculine cologne that other people get. But, it's so faint already!

 

Dry: What the hell? Now this is smelling aquatic. And others have mentioned an aquatic note, too. How do ancient books, faded incense, and candle wax translate into aquatic? In any case, that must've been where I was getting the salt from. So, yeah, this is a salty aquatic and somewhat soapy cologne. Maybe with a hint of wax, but no books, no incense. I am not a happy camper.

 

An Hour Later: The same, though less salty and more... not exactly musky, but skin-like, if that makes sense.

 

Overall: Add me to the list of people disappointed by this blend. It's a fine men's cologne, but I didn't want men's cologne. I wanted ancient books and faded incense and candle wax. Sigh!

[achromance]

In the vial: I mostly pick up the incence at this time, and maybe some of the candle wax. On a secont sniff I also start to pick up the ancient books.

 

On my wrist: Still candle wax and incence. Quite pretty. Reminds me of the indoors scenery in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: candlelit studies and shelves filled with old books. It presents an atmosphere of concentration and immersing. With time, it seems to end up just a candle wax scent.

[_shell_bells]

I got this bottle simply to go with my Vampires Don't Sleep Alone collection. Based on the notes I just knew I wasn't going to like it and got a bottle with about an imp in it as a swap.

 

I need to stop thinking I know what I like...Yep, that's what I need to do. I don't get any of the listed notes. It smells like expensive cologne. Almost a uni-sex like cologne though. I'm definitely going to wear it and now I'm probably going to need another bottle. The closest I can link this smell to books is thinking it would smell great on a college professor.. A young very hot professor though

 

Mmm, I can't stop smelling my wrist. It's enough to make me wish I was still married and had a husband to slather this on. Almost, hehe. But for now I think I'll just wear it myself.

 

I'm not good at notes but this smells like musk and wood to me. Maybe cedar or redwood. It has something softening it up but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is. I'd think it's a floral but I'm just not sure.

 

Whatever it is it's wonderful.

 

Edit to add: It's been about an hour now since I put this one and I can now smell something that reminds me of a used book store. It's soft and very slightly musty. It's a pleasant smell. I'm still pretty in love with this scent and intend to get a full or at least fuller bottle as soon as I can

Edited August 4, 2011 by _shell_bells

[Urpflanze]

It looks like Philologus is quite the heartbreaker around here.

 

I almost overlooked him after the first wear. I'm not typically crazy about candle wax. I like no. 93 engine and lights of men's lives, but I don't love them. Philologus adds a metallic note to the candlewax and incense. Fortunately, I love the iron metallic in The Ninth Cage and Iron Phoenix v.2. This reminds me of them even more than the wax scents.

 

Here the metal is married with something soft and bookish. A perfect mix of cologney iron metal, sweet dusty wax and soft faded incenses. Its just a little musty or dusty which I find comforting; also, it balances the fresh wet edge of the scent. Miskatonic University doesn't smell remotely bookish until a few hours in, but this one is masculinely bookish from the get go and softens to a wax and incense scent after three or four hours. Medium wear and throw. I wear it all the time. I can't get enough of it!

 

You know how some scents you really love to smell but then never reach for and others you like just fine at first but then find yourself wearing them every day? Philologus was like that for me. It suits me.

 

Bottomline: this is my favorite BPAL for day/work wear. Best suited for metal and wax lovers.

[sharkdiver]

This blend is actually one of my favorite BPAL blends! I must have magic skin chemistry, because this scent is gorgeous on me, not masculine at all! it's actually light, with a touch of floral and that aquatic note comes out a bit. around the edges, I can pick up the hints of paper, and candlewax, but this scent is so beautiful on me...

 

I haven't yet tried it on DH, but I just might do it! I'm curious to see if it's a whole difference scent on him.

Edited October 7, 2011 by sharkdiver

[bpalscentsual]

I have to agree with whoever said 'furniture polish', except for me, the second I opened the bottle, something in the perfume went up and punched me in the back of the nose like a flint knife to my sinuses, so hard it made me gag and tear up.

 

I rimmed the bottle on my wrist and it only got worse, and then it had incredible staying power after I tried washing it off!

 

This isn't as detailed as my other reviews because I was plain disappointed by this. I just want to smell like a library! It must be the incense, but I got the same nostril-punching note from Agnes Nutter.

 

In the future, I'm going to be buying as many decants of LEs that I can before actually purchasing a bottle, just so I avoid situations like this. And I'm going to read the reviews on the forums! Perhaps figure out whatever that specific scent is that left me reeling in the most horrible way.

[catalyst]

I like this one. Like, not completely love, but it's good and a keeper. Unsure about getting a whole bottle, I think I'll try it a couple more times before deciding.

 

Wet, it's a clean and warm blend of resin incense (like frankincense and myrrh type incense, maybe a tiny bit of rose or nag champa or something sweeter), a little beeswax, and something that must be the parchment or a light wood of some kind. As it dries and fades, the incense comes up more, which is the main reason I'm unsure about getting a bottle. Several hours later the only thing left is a tiny bit of what I think is the frankincense and a little beeswax.

 

Good, not great. I liked it, though.

[Vocabulous]

I absolutely love this scent - it's one of my favorite BPAL perfumes. I get on my skin (even after drydown) exactly what I get from the bottle - brittle parchment, burning candles, a bit of musky incense, and ancient dust. But I have a funky chemistry, so it must just play well with my body. I'm really glad too, because it's an incredibly sexy smell.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Very light at first, clean and peppery.

 

Drydown: Clean and soft...sort of like tissues? Then, lightly incense-y, which really adds a sense of atmosphere to the blend.

 

Dry: Clean smoke and candle wax with a touch of peppery parchment. It fades rather quickly unfortunately.

 

 

 

 

7 out of 10 bones

Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24

[madscientistdh]

I finally got around to reviewing this one! I decided to wear it today because I had a test hoping it'd help me out. Purchased this a long time ago from Sir Galahad the Awesome, and the label says it was decanted from Absinthetics. I have no complaint.

 

In Bottle: Musky, musty, slightly sharp herbal note

 

On Skin: Dry herbal, almost... waxy? A cool metal tone in it that reminds me of Kataniya, the Clockwork Woman, and an undertone of a less-overpowering Bluebeard- must be vetiver?

 

Drydown: At first it was balmlike, and had a warm creaminess to it like smelling melting candlewax and the hint of flame. As it warmed to my body it became like a powdery version of Kataniya, then mellowed into this gorgeous old book scent. The almost vanilla scent of old books and warm wax! What a beautiful scent.

 

Verdict: While it didn't help me with my test, I still found it absolutely wonderful as a scent. I usually wear this with my more scholarly cosplays, too.

Edited October 16, 2012 by madscientistdh

[ladymeag]

I'm working through my backlog of reviews. I keep meaning to post them and then I don't.

 

In the Bottle: Cologne-y books - really like a very well dressed gentleman's library. So much hope!

On Me: Wet, I can smell the books and incense but as it dries down the parchment and candlewax come up to take this to dust and soap. I have noted issues with both wax and honey scents, so it's not a surprise, it's just a little sad. Without the candlewax? I think it might have been my sought-after book scent.

Spouse smells: sweat and candied orange peel. I have no idea how but this was the description I got when I asked.

[Alaeidrel]

The scent I get from this is amazing, but so confusing compared to the notes. It's sweet men's cologne, fresh and clean. I get hints of... aquatics? and mossy earth? from it when it's wet. As it dries it gets lighter and sweeter - maybe that's the beeswax, and what I'm getting as 'earth' is the books. Either way I love it and need more.

 

Edited:
A few weeks later, this is still one of my favorite scents. It's very subtle but it still has an amazing throw on my skin - a single drop rubbed between two wrists wafts past me every time I move my arms. I'm definitely getting more of the beeswax now, and it's less aquatic. It's amazing and I'm so glad I picked up a partial.

[Aviatrix]

This starts out a little cologney, but after a while it fades into a sweet incense with a touch of the beloved BPAL book note. I am also getting a very faint sweetness that must be the candle wax.

It takes a little while for it to become really good, but once it does, I really like it

[Numanoid]

In the bottle - Yep, I also get that cologne-y scent everyone else is smelling, but there is something "dry" about it.

 

On skin - Still has that cologne smell....not much else. Not getting wax, parchment, or incense.

 

Dry down - Hmm, this isn't for me. Was hoping for more of a book/wax kind of scent. But just smells like a man's cologne. So, this would be good for a guy, not me.