Tacitus' Phoenix

[Lycanthrope]

TACITUS’ PHOENIX
That it is a creature sacred to the sun, differing from all other birds in its beak and in the tints of its plumage, is held unanimously by those who have described its nature. As to the number of years it lives, there are various accounts. The general tradition says five hundred years. Some maintain that it is seen at intervals of fourteen hundred and sixty-one years, and that the former birds flew into the city called Heliopolis successively in the reigns of Sesostris, Amasis, and Ptolemy, the third king of the Macedonian dynasty, with a multitude of companion birds marvelling at the novelty of the appearance. But all antiquity is of course obscure. From Ptolemy to Tiberius was a period of less than five hundred years. Consequently some have supposed that this was a spurious phoenix, not from the regions of Arabia, and with none of the instincts which ancient tradition has attributed to the bird. For when the number of years is completed and death is near, the phoenix, it is said, builds a nest in the land of its birth and infuses into it a germ of life from which an offspring arises, whose first care, when fledged, is to bury its father. This is not rashly done, but taking up a load of myrrh and having tried its strength by a long flight, as soon as it is equal to the burden and to the journey, it carries its father's body, bears it to the altar of the Sun, and leaves it to the flames. All this is full of doubt and legendary exaggeration. Still, there is no question that the bird is occasionally seen in Egypt.
- Tacitus, Annals

The Incense of the Altar of the Sun: ambrette seed, olibanum, benzoin, labdanum, galbanum, frankincense, calamus, clove bud, and orange peel.

Wet: Smells a bit like Aveda's Sapmoss, but this was always galbanum in my experience. On my skin this starts to develop a very strange pathway towards being a smoky, highly resinous slightly spicy orange-whispered clove. The overall tone of the scent is very much lighter orange-yellow with a bit of gold flakes showered in. It overall has a sharper resin tempered with only a hint of sweet orange. I like it, but it's also not a very 'pretty' scent. It's quite warm, orange and glowy.

[tinyvulture]

Frankincense is the dominant note for me (Or is it olibanum? I thought they were the same thing), with the warmth of ambrette seed, and a touch of that "Coca-cola" scent that I sometimes get from resinous blends. I wasn't smelling the orange peel and clove at first, but I notice them after a few minutes when the frankincense mellows slightly. Reminiscent of an orange-clove soap I have (Lush, I think.) I'd love a candle with this scent, and it's quite pretty and comforting as a perfume oil as well.

 

ETA Good staying power!

Edited November 25, 2013 by tinyvulture

[Dark Alice]

Tacitus phoenix=pickles. Frankincense and pickles to be exact. Not. a. fan.

[MuskWitch]

I get clove, a hint of orange peel, all backed by a beautiful and strong (not scent-wise, but strong, masculine-wise) blend of the remaining notes, can't really pick out any of them individually (maybe that's because I'm not familiar with them all, but I like it!). This one says "I want to get closer to that guy, he smells wonderful!"

[zankoku_zen]

Orange peel, sharp frankincense, and galbanum.

 

This one is a sharp resin on me, and smells both golden green. There's a slight smokiness after it dries, but overall this is not a blend for me.

 

PASS.

[SophieCedar]

OMG this is the unexpected win of the group. I thought for sure something in Tacitus' Phoenix was gonna go wrong on me..but I was wrong instead. Warm incense-y amber and clove with touches of orange peel. this is reminding me of LUSH's Icon for some reason. Yes, actually, its exactly that. Icon freaks rejoice!

[Ethaisa]

Clove and moss and bitter orange - pith rather than peel. There's a sharp rawness to it so I think I'll set this aside for a bit and see how it settles out.

[Caper]

Whoa! Ugh, sharp and strong and bitter. Green and smoky? A vague hint of clove and orange at the end. This is the only fail out of all the phoenixes for me.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: A little sweet, a lot sharp, with a bit of bitterness at the end (like maybe the pith of the orange). And I definitely get the clove.

 

Wet on skin: Green, herbal, and still very bitter.

 

Dried down: This is still really sharp and bitter. I'm getting faint whiffs of sweetness here and there, of notes I really wish would stand out more, but they stay hidden.

 

Throw: More bitter than pretty. But there's a little hint of prettiness.

 

Verdict: * 1/* No, no, no. Not for me.

[windbourne]

I think that, to really love this, you should probably at least be able to tolerate and ideally enjoy galbanum and the peculiar greenish lilt that it adds to everything it touches. As it happens, I have ended up really liking it, so I find this melange of tree resins and the slightest hint of orange and clove to be delightful and very wearable. The galbanum fades after a while to a light and spicy haze, but the clove comes out a lot more after it starts drying, to the point where it's twinned with the quasi-wintergreenish olibanum for staying power.

 

That's where this ends up on me, a mild cool goldgreen scent that lingers quietly on my skin for a few hours before fading out. I don't think I need a bottle, but it's really lovely.

 

(As a side note, I can see where comparisons to Icon might occur, but the orange in that is wayyy stronger and it's a lot deeper on me because of the sandalwood/myrrh one-two punch. Similar families, though. Sweetish resinous goodness. Mmm.)

[Sakura Tsukikage]

This smelled so sharp and green at first sniff that I was a little scared of it, but on me, I actually really love it. It's a fresh, green, spicy resinous sort of blend with a nice smoky sweetness that probably comes from the ambrette seed (?), calamus, benzoin, and clove. It's not too heavy, and it has this sharpness that's not too sharp, and almost smells honeyed to me. The greenness (which I figure is the galbanum, since I recognize that green bright feeling from other perfumes) with the ambrette seed and calamus, burns off to take a back seat fairly quickly, and gets smoother. I don't get a lot of orange, but it feels like it's brightening things up. I think the main note I get is frankincense/olibanum, but it's sweet, spicy, and still somehow fresh.

 

I like it a lot! Not sure if I'll seek out more than this decant, but I'm definitely going to use it up.

[Mokiefraggle]

Just got this one today, and I'm very glad I chose this particular Phoenix. It's pretty much perfect for me, and I might just make my fiance try some, because I think it may be equally wonderful on him.

 

Wet: it's a very green-ish resin, but there's a lot of warm sweetness behind it that keeps me from being turned off. I can get a trace of clove, orange, and the warm note of ambrette seed, something lightly smoky and very nice.

 

On my skin: green goes mostly away, though it's still there keeping things from going to just sweet. As it begins to dry down, the clove and orange come up to the front...it's a little like my favorite tea, actually. This smells amazingly like Bigelow's Constant Comment tea, and I lovelovelove it. It is absolutely deliciously wonderful. So glad I chose this for my lone bottle purchase after Christmas.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Medicinal woods with a touch of citrus

 

Wet on me - Something clean and airy with a woody background

 

Dry on me - Smoky woods with a slightly vanilla undertone

 

Overall - Different, but not really me

[milo]

Incense and resin. This is bright and shiny, like brass would smell if it had a scent. Reminds me of some of the Yule blends this year with the frankincense, one I tried yesterday, actually, The Village Legend Lives On, though this one seems to have less frank and more going on. Not for me.

[JazzieCazzie]

Bought an imp in a decant circle.

 

IN THE IMP: It's definitely resiny but not a deep resin. It's a familiar scent that I can't put my finger on.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Somehow I can't identify a single note in here. It's very well blended, very smooth, very simple. Hard to describe. There's something that's a little bit like a cleanser but not in the "stinky industrial" sense of the word. And it's oddly green and fresh for a resiny blend.

 

DRYDOWN: This goes very "green" and familiar but, again, I just can't figure out what it is that is on the edge of my brain, so this is not exactly the world's best review if I can't seem to describe what it smells like, is it? Could it be the gum that is so familiar?

 

OVERALL: Well, I don't love it enough to drive myself crazy trying to figure it out, honestly. It's not bad, it's pleasant enough, but it's not something I'd reach for in my imp box to wear again.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

[annemathematics]

I love all of the listed notes in this one. however, in the bottle and fresh and dry on my skin, it's pretty much straight up identical to my 5year old oshadhi galbanum essential oil. I can't smell anything other than the galbanum. no clove, no orange peel, no labdanum, no frankincense. no change after a few weeks of sitting in the dark. I like galbanum, but I was hoping for more of a blend.

[quickdrawkiddo]

Wet, this reminded me a lot of Mahogany Tree (possibly because I also just tried it for the first time, so it's fresh in my mind) = sweet woody incense. On the drydown, it's less woody and more citrusy -- I actually thought I got a whiff of lemon verbena in there (must be the orange peel). It's still not sweet or foody at all, just a warm, slightly woody, slightly fruity incense. I love that it stays nice and sharp and doesn't go all powdery on me like some resins have a tendency to do. If you like your resin-y scents on the woodsy, masculine side, this is a must-try. I will definitely be on the lookout for more!

[Blood onmy hands]

Smoky amber incense and a clove studded orange pomander. I always like the way that orange plays with amber/resin notes, giving them a warm, lit-from-within, glowing embers sort of feel. Turns slightly powdery on me in the drydown, a little spicier, and a bit less smoky. I love resins, so I really enjoy the Phoenix anniversary scents.