Phantasm

[telesilla]

This delicate, spectral perfume gives rise to an eerie distortion of of the senses. It bestows an ephemeral, ghostly, and truly haunting quality to your presence. Green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine and neroli.

This was on my wish list because it sounded like a really nice light summery scent, even if it has jasmine in it.

In the bottle and wet: Lemony! Far more lemony than I expected from just the verbena although I know that neroli can be pretty citrusy at times.

Dry: The lemon's fading some and I think I can smell the neroli and something a tiny bit bitter that might be the tea. Sadly I can also smell the jasmine.

A few minutes later: Lemon soap. Not a terrible lemon soap, but soapy enough that I don't like it. Nancy says she's not interested either, so this one is a swap/sell candidate as well. And I think I need to just accept that anything with jasmine in it simply doesn't work on me.

[sookster]

ooooohhh no....too much jasmine for my liking and not enuff lemon

 

if the notes were reversed....more lemony goodness and less jasmine; it might have worked for me...extremely strong but not in a good way for my chemistry....

[rainbow]

This is a lovely fresh and clean scent for the summer.

 

In the bottle: green tea and jasmine. Very nice- the sharpness of the green tea really compliments the heady-floral jasmine.

 

Wearing- As I'm wearing the green tea scent fades and the lemon develops. This smells very fresh, very clean, and very summery. I really like it. After the lemon faded I was left with a warm and comforting summery jasmine scent.

 

Overall, very nice, and I think it would be especially nice made into a lotion, which I intend to do with mine.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: The sharp bite of neroli hides beneath the lemon and green tea. It's a very distorted fragrance; lemon mingled with other sharp notes. Reminds me a bit of lemonade, with green notes.

On me: It fades down to a very faint lemon. Indeed a ghostly scent - it vanishes and reappears on the skin so constantly that I find myself wondering if I'm even smelling it, or merely recalling the memory of the perfume. It's a nice enough scent, but this isn't a quality I search for in my perfume, so off it goes.

[isyche]

Phantasm was lagniappe from the lab....I wouldn't have ordered it because I fear jasmine, but I tried it.

 

It's a light, fresh, floaty lemon and tea on me at first, similar to Shanghai, which I like. However, the jasmine comes out later and starts to dominate with that evil rice/soap smell (although it is lighter/fresher than jasmine usually is on me). I prefer Shanghai, since jasmine hates me.

Edited July 28, 2005 by isyche

[gdogs]

i could have sworn i had reviewed this. ... *scritches head*

 

when i was a girl, i read all the little house on the prairie books. in one of them, laura talks about her teacher, who smells like lemon verbena. i have grown lemon verbena for years, and would rub the leaves on me, wishing the scent would stay more than 10 minutes. always looking for that school teacher's lemon verbena scent.

 

 

i think i've found it. phantasm IS lemon verbena. fresh, bright and a greenish yellow. although the verbena part of it fades somewhat after drydown, there is still that herby, lemony loveliness. i get the bitter part of the lemon rind, which seems to give phantasm more throw than i expected. and it lasts longer on me than any of the other light summery scents i've been experimenting with lately.

 

i do not get any jasmine (thank you, beth!!!) nor do i get neroli. just lovely, lovely lemon verbena.

 

i pray my imp lasts until the weather cools - or at least until i can hunt some of this down on the swaps page. because this may be THE fragrance i want to wear for until the air crisps.

[jewelbug]

This blend attracted me because it sounded so refreshingly herbal in the description. I mean, I have been busting to try some of the tea scents, I think i really like jasmine, and have an interest in herb gardening. This seemed right up my alley. But in the bottle, all I could think was "cat piss." God, I feel like a horrible dirty traitor for saying that about any of Beth's blends. But this hit me completely the wrong way. I braved it out and tried it, and while the original ick-factor of it did fade (but only to a slightly diluted cat piss), the whole experience was tainted by my first impression. While I generally try to disagree with the cliché (usually successfully), first impressions really can matter. I don't know if I'm just having nose issues today or what. But I really can't bring myself to try this. Ever. Again. This is SO not for me.

 

*edited for typos and emphasis

Edited August 15, 2005 by jewelbug

[Sara]

How I got it: The wonderful Finny tossed me a couple of freebies and this was one of them.

 

First sniff: Oooh, lemony!

 

Second sniff: Hey...what's that behind the lemon? Hmm..it's kind of "animal" feeling. After reading the description again, five minutes ago, it falls into place. That be the jasmine.

 

Swipe: *BAM* That's lemon power for you baby. I'm one of the few peeps (I guess) who never associates lemon with cleaner. Lemon to me is "lemon candy" and rather nice in a "pick me up" sort of way. At first it's just all lemon candy with that animal (jasmine) smell in the background. I had my bf sniff it and he coughed a little.

 

Drydown: I kinda stopped paying attention and don't really know when the lemon disappears. It's been less than an hour since I reapplied and it's gone now..such is the way of lemon. So what's left behind is this sweet perfume of flowers...normally "flowers" is kinda well.. old or cheap feeling to me. But like, nah, I think the jasmine really helps to ground it and make more... um... just more. I like it. It feels good on me and I can't stop sniffing myself.

 

Overall:

[matilda]

Phantasm was a generous gift from the lab - many thanks!

 

The description is right on mark - this is one delicate blend. I haven't tried Arachne, but this seems like it should be similar. Like a cobweb, it's thin, beautiful, and frail. It seems that it's always in danger of just evaporating or falling away.

 

It's a nice refreshing scent, I definitely get the green tea and lemon verbena over anything else. I don't smell neroli at all, but I'm not quite sure what it smells like, so perhaps it's there and I just don't recognize it. The jasmine is there, but quite faint. Unfortunately, jasmine is such an unpleasant experience to me, that even in very small doses like this blend, it's all I can think about. Tragically, it came and muddled up what would have been a very beautiful web.

[Phaedra]

I got this one in a swap. Wet this is a fresh clean citrus- lime I think. This goes on smelling like lime and is a bit soapy. After a few minutes a light floral comes through but it still has a biting edge to it. After about thrity minutes this turns dusty and powdery. This one is okay but nothing really special for my tastes.

[Voleuse]

Definitely a more complex smell than the ones I tried previously. The jasmine is obvious immediately, and then a hint of the lemon verbena. I'm not sure what neroli smells like, so I can't speak to that, but I didn't catch the green tea right away.

 

Over time, the lemon overpowers the jasmine, and then it evokes a sunny room, with freshly polished furniture. It's only later that the green tea starts to come out. The jasmine returns, too, but it's the green tea that takes over. Nice.

 

I really like the scent, but I think I'd want something a little warmer, perfume-wise.

[carolinachiquita]

I was really disappointed with Phantasm. This was a frimp from the lab and I read the description before applying it and thought that I would really like it as I think I am leaning towards things with verbana and green tea in them. However I found it to be quite overpowering and cloying (Is that a word?). It must be the neroli that disagree's with me as I also didn't get on with ultraviolet.

 

Edited September 18, 2005 by carolinachiquita

[AlaskaSnows]

I now get to be the one happily saying this was a lab frimp I never would have bought but am SOOOO happy with (THANKS!!)

 

In the Bottle: Flowery Lemon floor cleaner.

 

Dry: the most light, delicious, happy scent! I didn't get lemon tea until I saw it in another review, and yep, lemon tea in a lovely cup next to a vase of assorted flowers, freshly cut.

 

SO NICE! So fresh and clean without that dryer sheet smell, so bright and ready for the day. LOVE it.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Lemonade. Not too sweet, but definitely not the pure citrus scent. There's an undertone of jasmine... kind of reminding me of those moroccan drinks you can sometimes get at middle eastern grocery stores.

 

First on: Again, my skin brings forth the jasmine hard-core... but this is actually a pretty nice blend. All too often I just end up smelling like pure jasmine, but not this time. There's a faint bitterness from the tea and a light note of citrus.

 

Dry: Faded quickly to a faint, soapy, lemon-tea scent.

 

Overall: See, this is what I was hoping Dorian would be like. Mmm-mmm good.

[Chantarelle]

I love the way this smelled in the bottle and on first application - a bright, biting lemon scent with a little bit of depth.

 

Sadly, as it got comfortable on my body it turned into a flowery soap. Definitely not for me.

[shayelea]

In the bottle: Very lemony and faintly green.

 

Wet: The lemon is still sharp and tangy, but it acquires a bit of sweetness, too. This is very light, almost non-existant on me. It's pretty, but I don't know that it's something I'd want to wear all the time. Still, it might work for aromatherapy.

 

Drydown: The lemon gets a little mellower. Very nice. ETA: Ah, damn. I spoke too soon. The jasmine came out after a couple hours and sort of attacked. I don't like the drydown at all on me.

[atthis_uk]

Vial: Strong lemon, hint of neroli.

 

Wet: I can only smell the lemon verbena. Fortunately I love lemon.

 

Drydown: As soon as it started drying it turned into lemon-scented soap.

[ancilla_morte]

this is way lemon-ey on me. way way too much lemon, not unpleasant but annoying. Like a lemon cough drop smell. but it is rather sweet. unless it is a skittles kind of candy lemon smell, or a perfect lemonade lemon, lemon and I don't get along so well. I wish I could have liked it, though.

Edited November 9, 2005 by ancilla

[Nemesister]

when fresh this is pure jasmine. when a bit older it is more lemony. i have 2 bottles at dofferent stages just so i can compare! it's a perfect summer scent and for those who love lush it smells so similar to flying fox.

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: a lemony-green sort of smell.

 

On: The verbena is definitely the dominant note on me. I much prefer lemon verbena to straight lemon (the latter is more likely to be lemon-pledge, while verbena stays in the sweet, natural lemon phase). As it dries down, I catch a hint of jasmine and tea... but it's mainly a sweet lemon blend on my skin.

 

A very uplifting, springy blend.

[cantabile]

in vial: LEMON VERBENA. I heart lemon verbena, so this was a good sign.

 

just applied: ...LEMON VERBENA. And a bit of jasmine.

 

drying down: LEMON VERBENA, more jasmine, and maybe a touch of green tea. It doesn't really scream "hey, look at me, I'm green tea!", but it helps anchor things nicely.

 

dry: LEMON VERBENA, but given depth and staying power by the jasmine and green tea. I can't really pick out the neroli, but it's not a note I'm very familiar with anyway (I've smelled the essential oil by itself, but I have trouble picking it out in blends sometimes).

 

verdict: I'm very fond of Phantasm. It's a great mood-lifter for me, and gives me a lot of energy. It seems like a lot of people have trouble with it fading lickety-split, but I still catch whiffs of it on me hours later. My chemistry is weird.

 

5ml at some point soon, since I have, like, a couple of drops at the moment.

[mandragora]

Phantasm. I love this scent. Can't stop sniffing my wrists. Softly sweet lemon with a hint of green tea. A lovely clean citrusy scent. This one's a keeper.

 

ETA: Waiting impatiently for my 5ml bottle

 

ETAA: Got my 5ml bottle from the lab!

Edited January 25, 2006 by mandragora

[moon_lemming]

And with the help of Phantasm, I can safely conclude that jasmine and I do not get along. It overpowers everything else in the blend, which would be okay if it didn't smell so soapy on me. I think I'll be avoiding jasmine in the future.

[yeahbutnobut]

Phantasm

 

In the imp: tangy green tea with jasmine! Jasmine tea, if you like, but freshly picked as opposed to dry tea and jasmine.

Wet on skin: the green tea sharpens up on my skin-now I get the lemon verbena as well.

Dry: this isn’t bad-it’s a light, gentle yet tart scent. The tea and verbena first hit, but the jasmine is there, smoothing it out, adding its floral touch. I also get the neroli, which is somewhere in between sharp and floral-it’s not very strong in here but I definitely smell that orange blossom tang. This is quite nice!

After a while: after 30-45 mins, this sharpens up a bit more. The verbena comes to the fore, its herbal-lemon scent is now quite strong, and I think it’s mixed with the green tea note. The jasmine isn’t as noticeable any more. It’s a bit dry at this stage, and the sharpness is a bit too much now, it’s not the delicate balance of tangy notes and soft floral notes the scent had when first applied. At times it also reminds me of those lemon scented serviettes you get in planes and Chinese restaurants...

Verdict: a little note: I’m one of the lucky few whose skin doesn’t turn jasmine into disaster, and it’s a note I’m very fond of. This is a pleasant green tea and jasmine scent, light and delicate but with a definite tart bite to it. I like the way the sharp, tangy, fresh green tea and verbena (and neroli-which isn’t too strong here) contrasts with the smooth, heady and floral jasmine note. I notice there’s a nice balance of scents in here-all the notes can be smelt equally. It does get a bit drier and sharper smelling on drydown, it’s not as nice as the initial wet-just dry stage. It’s not an OMFG wow scent like some others but it’s a lovely scent none the less, it would be lovely for spring, I think. I’ll keep the imp.

[Fefferbella]

Frimp from the lab:

Sweet Jasmine tea!

 

A light floral scent, perfect from springtime. Jasmine note goes slightly powdery on me.