Phaon Crescent

[persianmouse]

Italian bergamot and neroli with marigold, white jasmine, Himalayan cedar, lemon peel, and a drop of tobacco absolute.

Generally speaking, I am not a jasmine kind of girl, nor is jasmine a mouse kind of flower. Me and jasmine have a long-standing arrangement to Agree to Disagree, and try to stay out of each other's way, save for a few illiciate rendevous, such as with Lush's Flying Fox (that wanton strumpet), that I dare not admit to in the harsh light of day.

But kittens, this is a jasmine I can really cuddle the fuck out of. It reminiscent of Flying Fox, and is a very natural and laid back floral smell, like not a bouquet of different flowers kind of floral, or a grandma/old-timey prostitute kind of floral, but like 'walking past the actual blooms on a warm evening stroll' kind of floral.

Funny thing is, most of these notes are not my scene (with the exception of the tobacco, which is an occasional ally, but it's really a minor player in this scentshow). Phaon Cresent is really just a big old stew of Things I Don't Like (not hate, just don't like) That Don't Work On Me...but yet somehow all comes together in way I end up really liking, and that really works for me. It's like...you know that Celebrity You Can't Stand, but they're in that One Thing where's they're really good, where they inexplicably shine? Yeah, it's like that.

[Blood onmy hands]

I tend to hate bpal's jasmine and lemon notes, but this isn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting it to be. It starts off as a very tart, sour lemon that reminds me of bitter lemon pith more than juice or zest. The jasmine is yellowy and sort of creamy and soft smelling; definitely not the sour, aggressive variety that I'm used to in bpal scents.
In the drydown, Phaon Crescent really does smell like the herbal scent of marigolds and a slight darkness from the tobacco, mixed with that yellowy, soft floral and a hint of lemon dish soap. It's not bad at all. Sort of creamy and clean smelling, like an expensive French hand soap.

[radioaction]

Juicy, complex citrus when wet. Jasmine leads on the dry down, but well supported by bitter citrus and a little woodiness.

 

I debated adding this to my Meta order but I'm glad I did. I'm discovering how much I love jasmine. Here it plays lead but with a stunning supporting cast that brings out the best in the jasmine while packing plenty of their own punch.

[ReallyZeb]

Killer Jasmine Of Doom

 

I had to try because everything else sounded so wonderful but alas, floral cat pee is all I get. Damn.

[zankoku_zen]

Lemon, bergamot, hints of neroli, jasmine and cedar.

 

Phaon is essentially a lemony sort of floral blend, with enough of the neroli and jasmine peeping through that it isn't completely lemony. The cedar adds a warm base to it all. And while this is summery and pleasant, I still amp up the jasmine on the drydown and this is not my type of scene.

 

Phaon is also suffering from the comparison of me testing Star Promenade at the moment, which means that its really having trouble competing at this point.

[Astarial]

In the imp, I get jasmine and cedar.

 

Wet on my skin, this is lemony jasmine and marigold, though something about it is making me think of lilac. The neroli and bergamot help make it richer and more complex. I don't get much cedar, but either that or the tobacco is hanging around in back with a little kick. It's a nice, citrusy floral. Would probably make a good summer scent.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Jasmine and citrus.

 

Wet on skin: Lemony jasmine. I'm liking this a lot more than I expected. The jasmine stands out a lot, but I love it.

 

Dried down: Hmmm, same as before, but this is fading on me awfully fast.

 

Throw: Not much, all jasmine.

 

Verdict: **** This is really nice, but I think I'll be happy with my decant. For now, at least. I may hunt down a bottle of this later.

[surlygurl]

I generally like bpal's jasmine note as well as their lemon/ lemon peel note. But together? No no no no no. GC's with that combo have never worked on me. I picked up a tested pack of decants and figured all the other notes would break up the dastardly duo, but no dice. There was one part, just before it disappeared, when it smelled pleasant. This is why tester packs exist.

[Lady_Fire]

This was a really fresh, bright jasmine while it was wet. Once it dried the jasmines died and took on the dreaded cat pee note Sad, because it was very pretty in the wet stage..

[Jangzonrice]

Wet: bright jasmine in your face with cedar and neroli tagging along at a distance. --> not really digging this so far. it smells like an elderly lady's Sunday church perfume.

 

Dry: now it changed to a peppery lilac...? I happen to hate lilac. also, now the cedar is starting to smell like pencil shavings.

 

This is a definite pass for me!

Edited October 14, 2014 by Jangzonrice

[mymymai]

• ITI: Oh, now that's a really lovely bergamot! Often, the Lab's bergamot notes are shy are retiring, but this one is grand and showy, flanked gorgeously by cedar, neroli, and thick tobacco. Wow!

Wet: It's similar to what I get in the imp, but the lemon peel peaks though, as does that icky jasmine note that just smells like cheap Glade air freshener. Thankfully, the bergamot and neroli are strong enough to rival the jasmine. I'm keeping the fingers crossed that the jasmine note dies down.

Dry: Nope, it's all jasmine air freshener. Boo.

[milo]

Well, I'm pretty well getting jasmine from wet to dry. It's quite pretty, this white jasmine, it's a bit different from the Lab's usual jasmine note, which is very pee-like. This is more like the tiny white flowers that I'm used to, which reminds me, I accidently left my jasmine outside. I'm sure it's dead with the -17 we had last week. Damn. This is pretty, but too heady for me.