annemathematics Report post Posted December 14, 2016 The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? The Bird of Paradise, the holy swan of song! On the car of Thespis he sat in the guise of a chattering raven, and flapped his black wings, smeared with the lees of wine; over the sounding harp of Iceland swept the swan's red beak; on Shakespeare's shoulder he sat in the guise of Odin's raven, and whispered in the poet's ear "Immortality!" and at the minstrels' feast he fluttered through the halls of the Wartburg. Night-black feathers of patchouli slick with Oman frankincense, opoponax resinoid, King mandarin, polished terebinth, sweet myrrh, and lavender. I reallly love this dapper glossy raven. the more I wear it, the bigger the love grows. very juicy mandarin swirled with lavender and a touch of sweet pine over dark patch-centric resins. this is a mood brightener for me, each time I've worn it. the opening reminds me of a non-sugared Pere Noel, with the citrus-lavender combo, only here instead of candy and anise, it's dark, rich (but not entirely without sweetness) patchouli with resins and the barest hint of pine. this wasn't at all what I expected (I anticipated dark and brooding) but I'm so happy to have my expectations dashed and blown away. what a beauty! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AmyO'Shields Report post Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) I just wanted to stop by and say this: If you are wary of the mandarin note in this, don't be. It is gorgeous and velvety and melds perfectly. I have had problems with the king mandarin note going sharp and/or rancid in the past which made me wary of this but I am glad I got a decant. This just ousted something from my top 20 list. Edited December 19, 2016 by Herb Girl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted December 29, 2016 Ooooh! Mandarin, touches of pine, patchouli and resin. Mmmm, yes. This smells like a different darker and more resiny version of Pallas Athene, which is one of my favorite blends. This is the masculine version of Pallas Athene with the addition of pine and patchouli. Good throw and wear length. Would consider at least a partial bottle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JazzieCazzie Report post Posted January 20, 2017 I took my chance on this because of patchouli, frankincense, opoponax, myrrh and lavender. I didn't know enough about terebinth to have an opinion. And I just prayed I wouldn't amp the mandarin. But guess what I amped? IN THE IMP: Something I can't quite put my finger on (maybe the terebinth?) along with mandarin, which I can only describe as richly, roundly fruity but also slightly metallic and shiny. Applied VERY lightly to wrist and crook of arm. WET: MANDARIN MANDARIN MANDARIN!!! The super-orange overwhelms everything else thanks/no thanks to my stupid body chemistry. The wealth of other notes that convinced me to get/try this teased me fleetingly then ran away from the super-orange. DRYDOWN: Nope. It does quiet down to something slightly sweeter (am thinking the myrrh was at work here) but in the end, on me it was candied orange peel and nicely-scented orange dishwashing liquid. Into the swap/sale bag with these sweetie pies to find a new home that loves orange. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lizabelle Report post Posted February 2, 2017 Oh my goodness. Up to this point every single king mandarin note has shown up as lemon on my skin, so smelling this incredible juicy orange is a surprise. It's a very sweet, true orange with no peel to be found, just fruit. Over time the resins start to weave into the brightness of the orange and create something unlike anything I've smelled before. It's simultaneously light and dark, deep and soft. The myrrh/opoponax/lavender combo is absolutely stunning and just gets velvetier and more intense over time. Seriously starting to think opoponax is my magic spell that makes everything gorgeous--I wonder if there's a single note out there? I'm so glad I took a chance on this bottle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blood onmy hands Report post Posted February 16, 2017 I don't like my bottle of this at all, and it makes me so sad. I love the name, the notes, the label... but it smells like fireplace ashes, fizzy-sweet lime soda, and soap. The drydown has a weird undertone of baby oil and baby powder. Not good at all to my nose. Maybe some sour pine as it dries down, but mostly it just makes me think of a harsh, bleach-laden, corrosive soap... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theredkilt Report post Posted February 20, 2017 What a beautiful beginning: a smoky plum (???), could be the opoponax, and traces of myrrh and mandarin. This calms down as it dries and i smell some soapiness creeping in (lavender ?) and the mandarin note wears off completely soon afterwards. Semi-sweet Opoponax and something else clean is what stays on my skin. Win! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zorra Report post Posted September 20, 2017 (edited) I am going to give this more time, but two weeks after my bottle arrived it still smells like candy. I think it's the mandarin note, but it doesn't smell like mandarin at all, it smells like artificial mandarin candy. I love mandarin in scents, but this is still so horrible on me I have to wash it off. ETA: OK, after I washed it off the remains weren't so bad, so I put it back on but much less than I usually wear. The screaming of the mandarin might be its collaboration with lavender. With less on my skin I am getting something wood, the pine perhaps? I really want to love this one, so I am giving it time. Edited September 20, 2017 by Zorra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ramblingrambler Report post Posted September 21, 2017 I hate to say it, and I don't know what it is or why it happens, but something about this on me reminds me of Raid! How sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
