Bartholomaeus Anglicus’ Phoenix

[Courtney North]

Phoenix is a bird, and there is but one of that kind in all the wide world. Therefore lewd men wonder thereof, and among the Arabs, there this bird is bred, he is called singular–alone. The philosopher speaketh of this bird and saith that phoenix is a bird without make, and liveth three hundred or five hundred years: when the which years are past, and he feeleth his own default and feebleness, he maketh a nest of right sweet-smelling sticks, that are full dry, and in summer when the western wind blows, the sticks and the nest are set on fire with burning heat of the sun, and burn strongly. Then this bird phoenix cometh willfully into the burning nest, and is there burnt to ashes among these burning sticks, and within three days a little worm is gendered of the ashes, and waxeth little and little, and taketh feathers and is shapen and turned to a bird. Ambrose saith the same in the Hexameron: Of the humours or ashes of phoenix ariseth a new bird and waxeth, and in space of time he is clothed with feathers and wings and restored into the kind of a bird, and is the most fairest bird that is, most like to the peacock in feathers, and loveth the wilderness, and gathereth his meat of clean grains and fruits. Alan speaketh of this bird and saith, that when the highest bishop Onyas builded a temple in the city of Heliopolis in Egypt, to the likeness of the temple in Jerusalem, on the first day of Easter, when he had gathered much sweet-smelling wood, and set it on fire upon the altar to offer sacrifice, to all men’s sight such a bird came suddenly, and fell into the middle of the fire, and was burnt anon to ashes in the fire of the sacrifice, and the ashes abode there, and were busily kept and saved by the commandments of the priests, and within three days, of these ashes was bred a little worm, that took the shape of a bird at the last, and flew into the wilderness.

The fire of the sacrifice: scorched, honeyed cedar and carob wood aflame with amber, cinnamon, and red sandalwood.

Got this today!
In the bottle, very spicy. You could definitely tell that there was cinnamon in there. The woods (cedar over carob) were pretty heavy, too. The "black/burny"-ness was present, as well. Didn't get a big whiff of amber - I had to really smell deeply.

 

I put it on. Smells like an autumn festival had a bonfire. The "flame" is strong with this one - but not in a super overpowering way. Still not getting much amber - the carob wood is stronger than the cedar wood now.

 

I've waited awhile (an hour and a half) - still going strong. I was afraid that the throw wouldn't be good on it, but it's actually gotten kind of stronger smelling since it's been worn.... I get a strong whiff every now and then while typing, and it kind of gently lingers in between. As for scents, amber and sandalwood take the front stage, with a present cinnamon (not very strong, but you can pick it apart) background. The cedar is poking a little ahead of the carob wood, and it's still got that smoky "bonfire" smell going. Before, it smelled like an active fire - now that it's set in, it smells like a smouldering fire.

[Haltija]

This is the one!

 

I have been trying a ton of Phoenix blends since 2013 and I have yet to own a full bottle of one, that is changing with this one. This is the first one I will upgrade to a bottle because I just can't even handle how amazing it is on me. Something about it is very "active fire" like the review above. In the decant I can distinctly smell the cedar and cinnamon, nothing else really. On the skin the cedar is so gorgeous blended with the cinnamon and amber, no pencil shaving smell here. It smells smoldering, red, bright and very addictive. The first thing that exited my mouth was "This smells like it belongs in Harry Potter"....

 

Just perfect!

[Christina Huizar]

Ooooh, this is lovely. Smoke and cinnamon and amber, in that order. Mmmmhmmmm. I definitely need a bottle of this. I'm a sucker for cinnamon and feel fortunate that I'm not at all sensitive to it. I'm wearing this to bed tonight so I can drift off smelling its deliciousness.

[JazzieCazzie]

My only note of concern going into this was the carob wood, because just the word "wood" (unless it has "sandal" ahead of it) can be weird on me.

 

IMP: COME TO MAMA ALL THE SMELLS. This is amazing in the imp. Resiny and rich and sweet but not too sweet.

 

WET: Lovely lovely lovely. The cedar, amber, sandalwood and cinnamon, all among my very favorite notes, blend so exquisitely. This is rich and unique and yet subtle at the same time. It's really a work of art.

 

DRY: On the one hand, this is absolutely freaking glorious on me. Yet ... dabbed into the crook of my arm where there is no room for dealbreaking notes to hide ... at the end of the drydown, when we're at the point that this is what I will smell like, there is that slightly-too-sweet wood note on me (which I have to assume is the carob) that does the same thing myrrh sometimes does ... making it powdery.

 

OVERALL: The imp is definitely a keeper because this is so interesting and awesome ... I have a feeling if I only dab it on my wrists it will be totally wearable. But I think I will hold off on making it a big bottle buy because of the powdery drydown. If that morphs again unexpectedly in the next few hours, I could change my mind.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Wow, that wood really is honeyed and scorched, but in a really good way! The cinnamon is immediately evident, and lovely, not foodie at all. I like this. The wood isn't taking over.

 

 

Dry: This is much woodier when it dries than what I generally like. However I do like it. It's so unique. Hard to describe what those adjectives of "scorched, honeyed" have done to the woods, but it's beautiful. No pencil shavings here, and just the right amount of sweetness to make this into something I can wear. I think I will be searching out more. This is my second favourite of the Phoenixes I tried this year.

[zankoku_zen]

WOOD IN YOUR FACE. This is masculine red sandalwood and cedar. This smells to me like a really expensive Japanese #2 pencil. The type that was kept in a sandalwood box and is only used to draw on top of a woodblock for a Shunga drawing about phalluses. Great throw, good wearlength.

 

Cedar, sandalwood, in your face.

[Blood onmy hands]

Bartholomaeus Anglicus' Phoenix actually smells very similar to Mandeville's Phoenix, likely because they both share a strong red sandalwood note. This doesn't have Mandeville's sweet myrrh and warm, cinnamon-ish clove, but has a very light sweetness from the honeyed cedar and a hint of warm, actual cinnamon (but those notes are barely there, this is almost a red sandalwood single note on my skin). It does have a quality that reminds me of sandalwood boxes and sharpening pencils, as other reviewers have mentioned. A few of the times that I've worn this, it actually reminded me of the Disappointing Pencil single note.
It's all smooth sandalwood and a hint of that honeyed cedar in the drydown, less incensey and without the hint of smoke from Mandeville. I like this blend, as red sandalwood is one of the few sandalwood notes that doesn't turn to baby powder on my skin.

[Lucchesa]

Oh my, this is beautiful. I never got much cinnamon, but the scorched honeyed cedar was much lighter than I was imagining, not campfire like at all, and no pencil shavings from the cedar or sandalwood. On the whole there was an airy feel to the blend. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long on me at all. Stupid middle-aged skin soaking another lovely oil into oblivion.