Swift as Light, Beauteous in Color, Charming in Song

[aphrodite]

The bird flutters round us, swift as light, beauteous in color, charming in song.

 

Wild musk with flickers of neroli, mallow, and graceful magnolia, alight with orange blossom and sweet with honey.

This one is stunning in its simplicity. It's a creamy (hi, mallow flower), bright (neroli/orange blossom), honeyed scent; sweet, but in a purely natural and non-cloying way, like a stroll through a blooming orchard in which much pollination is taking place.

[Jenjin]

Florals, deepened by musk, I can pull out each of the notes. Golden, orange blossom honey runs through a breezy, sunlit meadow. The magnolia blossoms are full and dripping their nectar, while bees buzz from blossom-to-blossom with their musky, pollen covered legs. Ah, this one is GORGEOUS late springtime. Frolicking through the grassy hillsides with my full, ruffled skirts. Tumbling down the velvet, mallow creaminess and winding up into a beautiful, sunlit fragrance that takes my breath away. Swift as Light is a phoenix masterpiece that I must have.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Jenjin

[freyasfae]

I thought this was a beeswax scent before I reread the description and realized it was honey! Maybe it's the waxy magnolia that makes it more beeswax than honey to me. Either way, it's gorgeous, it reminds me of the lupers, but without a sort of foodie element.

[sprout]

In the imp, Honeyed florals

Wet: creamy florals, Orange Blossom Honey and a hint of mallow (more floral, not foodie)

Dry: magnolia petals, waxy and dripping with honey. So, a creamier The Bride with honey instead of sugar and orange blossom bringing an orange Creamsicle impression, from a distance, the wild Musk is apparent and it's glorious,

I have to qualify my review to state that orange blossom tends to be sweet on me.

 

Wow, I was worried about the neroli but it isn't sharp at all.

 

If Muse of Fire and The Bride had a Honey covered Creamsicle baby, this is what that baby smells like.

 

Must. have. full bottle.

Edit to add, late drydown is Honey covered marshmallows. Love this!

Edited December 19, 2016 by sprout

[sunlitgarden]

In the decant: Hmm. I'm not even really sure how to describe what I am smelling here. "Bittersweet"? There's definitely musk. There are a lot of musks used in BPAL, I know, but of the three I smell most commonly (white/red/black) this is closest to white, but it smells "dirty" almost? Not in a metaphorical way--literally kind of like dirt, but not wet soil, dry soil. There are sweet florals, but something (I think the neroli) is keeping the whole thing from going too overly sweet. It gives it kind of a bitter undertone actually, bitter in the back of my throat.

On my skin: I get a lot of bitter neroli right away, but then that starts to back off and I get more of the sweet notes. The throw is floral and sweet and makes me think of flowers and honey being sold in a market. I didn't like this right away when I put it on, but I am liking it as it dries. I think this is one of the scents where I like the throw-scent better than the "sniffing my arm closely" scent. Which is okay, really, I should probably be sniffing my arm less in general, most people think it's weird. It's just that I get more of the bitter neroli when I sniff my arm closely, whereas all the notes are blended better in the whiffs I get of it and it's a lot sweeter. I think I like this better than The Bride for honey/magnolia/musk; that scent was quite light on me but this one packs more of a punch.

Overall, this seems rather Lupercalia-like to me, with the musk and flowers. If you tend to love those sorts of scents you'll probably like this one too!

[roseus]

Mostly golden, bright florals. The mallow makes it a little creamy, and the honey is apparent. It's a big, bold scent but not in an aggressive way. The wild musk is interesting because it is so different from the other notes, it smells distinctly "brown" to me (I don't have much experience with actual brown musks however).

[gloame]

I can't place it, but I'm getting some foody scent that's not your typical gourmand. I'm thinking... lemon and popcorn shrimp? Gosh, my nose does the weirdest things sometimes. I bought this one for the magnolia note because I grew up in Alabama and I love magnolias, but I don't think this is going to be the magnolia blend for me. The neroli is strong throughout, but it's going lemony on me and I'm still reminded of the popcorn shrimp.

 

LEMON MAYO!!! That's what I'm thinking of! That'll be the neroli and mallow. It's a nice scent, but it's not working on my skin.

[SophieCedar]

This is my favorite of the Phoenixes. Sweet, resinous, bright, charming, glowing. Granted I'm a fool for anything with mallow, but it really shines in this blend. Mallow deepens in the drydown, as the neroli and orange blossom burn off, but its still delightful!

 

ETA: In regards to drydown, I must remark that I've never seen magnolia more beautifully gilded in my life. This is multiple bottle worthy!

Edited December 27, 2016 by SophieCedar

[zankoku_zen]

Honeyed neroli and orange blossom on a bed of musk. This smells like honey, oranges, with musk on the drydown. Lovely and bright.

[Foodie]

When someone said that Swift as Light, Beauteous in Color, Charming in Song is a Phoenix masterpiece... They were right on. This is immediately one of my favorite BPALs ever.

When first applied the musk and neroli are strongest and kinda sharp for about 30 seconds... and then the soft mallow becomes apparent. As it dries the golden honey gets stronger too, making the scent very creamy and glowing. The magnolia and musk keep it from being foodie or creamsicle-like.

This scent has a joyful, dreamy, enchanted feeling. I need backups. ❤

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Mainly warm, thick honey, with just a breath of florals to keep it from smelling *too* much like an apiary. There's something wonderfully wild and nutty-smelling, too, which could be either the "wild musk" or the mallow, which I don't think I've ever smelled before.

 

Wet: There are so many new-to-me notes here, it's a bit difficult to describe what I'm smelling. There's a warm, snuggly, almost nutty scent at the base, which I thiiiiiink might be the same musk as in Coyote. A complex, bright, and brisk zinginess flirts in and out, which could be either the magnolia, the neroli, the orange blossom, or some combination thereof. Not definitively citrus, but it it's got a similar uplifting feel to it. Rich white florals are barely noticeable at first, but come to be a main player within a few minutes, melding beautifully with the honey. It's become a soft, voluptuous, white-gold scent.

 

Dry: From afar, it's the lovely gilded magnolia-with-a-hint-of-neroli-and-honey that so many other people are getting. Up close, it's much more uplifting and citrus-dominant, but with a much toned-down version of the wild musk still present. After several hours, it dries down to a musky honey - less sultry than Womb Furie, brighter and less smoky than The Lights of Men's Lives (which is beeswax and not honey, but still pretty similar), but similar to both, albeit softer than either. There might still be the faintest breath of mallow hanging around, or that could be me remembering them so fondly.

[Blood onmy hands]

I originally got a decant of this that's rather strong on the orange blossom/neroli. I bought a full bottle that was backordered and delayed, and my bottle is very light on the orange blossom/neroli and really strong on the honey musk. I enjoy the decant, but I also enjoy the full bottle, though they're rather different from each other.

There's a little hint of juicy orange when this is first applied, but it quickly settles into a warm, heavy, sweet, creamy honey with a slightly sharp musk (that works for me with the intense sweetness) and hint of soft magnolia.

 

I got this because I loved the honey and magnolia of The Bride. Swift as Light is much more of a sweet, sexy, thick honey and not very floral, though (at least in-bottle and not in-earlier-decant). The Bride is much more of a clean, floral, dainty/innocent fragrance. Swift leans more gourmand.

[theredkilt]

It's a rich floral dipped in honey musk. Reminds me of honey rice crispies. As time goes by, it settles into a neroli creamy honey musk. There's a note that stands out and doesn't sit well with me (not the honey), neroli or orange blossom maybe. If you're crazy about floral honey blends, get this!

[achildoftime]

It's a very bright, creamy floral. I mostly get magnolia, neroli, and honey. The musk was the first thing out of the gate, but disappeared as quickly as it arrived. It really does feel like a magnolia was just bathed in honey, with neroli on the side. I typically try to stay away from mallow anything because it ends up way too sweet, but it is behaving quite nicely. I can see why so many look to it for creaminess.

 

It really is just a truly soft and sweet floral for the rest of the time. It's feminine to be sure and stays pretty close to the skin. It's not something I'd wear a whole lot because florals aren't really my go-to, but this is really beautiful and will fill that need nicely.

[Lucchesa]

For something light and creamy and lovely, it lasts a long time on my skin, which usually sucks such blends into oblivion. This is the only decant I own with mallow -- I was thinking marshmallow before I checked the notes -- so I didn't know what to expect, but it's lovely and I will have to look for more. I don't get any bitterness from the neroli; it's all dreamy orange blossom. Sweet, light and ethereal but it sticks around -- this stuff is great!

[Soupy Twist]

Musk in the bottle with a little stinky jasmine (is that the magnolia?). I had to slather twice to detect anything on my wrist. Neroli wet, which dries to a cloying honey rather than the lovely perfumy honey of Honeyed Apple.