Delphi

[AlaskaSnows]

Delphi: The smoke of Sacred Incense of Apollo twined through laurel branches, bay, and honey wine.

 

I love the incense, I love the honey wine... but the bay adds a completely unnecessary aromatic note that kinds of ruins this. Still nice, just not the masterpiece it could have been.

Edited February 14, 2006 by AlaskaSnows

[inkmonkeys]

I will edit this later to add a more complete review once I have this back in my hands, but I feel compelled to say now:

 

I got this as a frimp and would not have thought of trying it based on the notes.

This was the single most evocative and transforming BPAL scent experience I've ever had, so much so that despite the fact that my BF hated it I need to have a bottle and experience this scent again and again. Something in Delphi transports me and connects with me and I have no idea what it is. It's haunting and compelling.

 

Definitely one to try.

[smelly]

If fair is foul and foul is fair, then Delphi is fair, because it's really, really foul.

 

Editing to say something that makes more sense: I guess it's the bay that people are talking about, but there's a note in here that I really dislike. It's more like a fume, than a note, to me. In bottle, on skin, dry. I couldn't wait long enough to see if it would go away. The closest thing I can think of is quinine.

Edited March 9, 2006 by smelly

[dragonryder]

Very strong smoky herbal upon opening. I was hoping the honey would present itself after awhile, but the bay definitely won out. This is not really one for me. So onward we go.......

[marzstar]

1st impression::

mm what is that? it's familiar. . . fruit rollups!

 

as it dries::

ok getting spicier. fruit rollups with clove. ha. interesting. . . . &not bad.

 

(more later)

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Wow, this is one of the most unusual BPALs I have *ever* tried, and that's saying something! The honey is really strong and sweet in the topnotes, but there's a sharp herbal edge like Brian's spice cabinet. I'm amazed at how *strong* it is. I don't think I can wear it, but I love the fact that it does somehow smell foreign, like a scent you would discover traveling through an ancient land...

[Meg]

In the bottle: Honey and rather strong herbs.

 

Wet: Honey becoming richer and more waxy, with laurel and bay mixing to it.

 

Drydown: It dries down into a rather waxy scent, like beeswax and honey. The herbs have gone to the background and only give a slightly fresh edge to the honey, and there's a slightly smoky quality to it.

 

Overall: A very rich honey wax scent that reminds me of a delicious summer. It's very pleasant and certainly is reminiscent of Greece. While it's a pretty simple blend, I find it very yummy.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: Bad pizza. Yeasty & herby.

 

Wet On My Flesh: It's making my eyes tear. Eww. The things I go through for these reviews.

 

Drying Down: I have *no* earthly idea on how to describe this, other than BAD. There's a yeasty smell under the bay.

 

Hour To Integrate: Moldy bread. A good, hearty, loaf of penicillin.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: This is one of those scents that I can't imagine for the life of me someone actually wearing, or even wanting. I didn't smell *any* incense that I'm familiar with, and the bay was just overpowering for the most part. I'll probably toss this into the frimpage pile, if no one wants it as a swapper.

[Celestyna]

smells like soy sauce.

ew ew ew.

it does die down a bit, but still.

[PirateMaggie]

This was a frimp from the Lab. Not a scent I'd have tried on my own, but it turns out to be wonderful.

 

Wet, it smells like a less alcoholic tej (Ethiopian honey wine) and incense smoke with a green-and-gold undertone (the laurels and bay). Throw is huge and the smell is strong; I was walking around in a cloud of honey-smell.

 

Dry, the scents mingle. The smoky honey note is predominant without being cloying, and the laurel and bay give it a clean green woodsiness. Wonderful. I can't stop smelling my own wrist.

 

This really lasts--I fell asleep with it on, and am still getting wafts of honey, and something that smells like a subtler version of the musk in Spellbound. Definitely a keeper and a big bottle smell.

 

edited for clarity

Edited April 6, 2006 by PirateMaggie

[Inanna9]

Oh man, I love this. I didn't really expect to.

 

The honey is sweet and just a little spicy, toned down by the strong green of the laurel and bay. I'm not getting nearly the strong, fermented wine note I was expecting. But there's just enough of a hint of incense and alcohol to make this feel like an offering.

 

This absolutely feels like a ritual scent to me. I've been steeping myself in the Greek and Roman pantheon lately, so I am thrilled to finally be able to try this. I'll be placing this alongside Rome (love!) on my big bottle list.

[gwyllgi]

When I first opened the imp, the cloying scent of grape soda billyclubbed me and left me reeling. Perhaps the only thing that had me actually applying it was my policy of trying everything, whether I liked it in the imp or not.

 

Words cannot express how happy I am that I tried it.

 

Within two minutes of applying it to my wrist, I'd added it to my oil burner and put it at the top of my list for bottles.

 

After the initial blast of grape!!!, it mellows very quickly into a smoky, woodsy scent, like the crackle of a spark under dry autumn leaves. The smoky/woodsy scent begins a flirtation with a hint of sweetness, not quite grape or wine, not quite honey, but which reminds me of seafoam candy. As the hours pass, it deepens into a lovely light, sweet smoke over a rounder note that I wouldn't identify as honey wine if not for the description, but which is nevertheless beautiful and fey.

 

My skin usually devours scents, but Delphi lingers forever; today, I applied it lightly roughly 13 hours ago, and I still get the full, round scent - admittedly it's a full, round scent about an inch away from my skin, but it's still a full, round scent and not whiffs so faint they may only be the tease of memory.

[yeahbutnobut]

Delphi

 

In the imp: herbs! This is very, very strongly herbal, almost savoury. That's definitely the bay. It reminds me very slightly of another Greek-themed scent, maybe Temple Greek?

Wet on skin: what the…cheese?! I kid ye not. I smell parmesan here! Herbal parmesan cheese!

Dry on skin: goodness me, this is strong, strong stuff. Very herbal and intense. It's not as cheesy as before but I still get hints of mature cheese here and there. But now the scent is predominantly bay (ie super-concentrated uber-bay, not just a nice herbal sprinkling of the stuff. Something that would smell nicer in food, not perfume!) and I am getting a little bit of honey wine, reminiscent of Tum. I'm hoping this honey sweetens the overall savoury scent I'm getting!

After a while: it hasn't morphed for the better, it seems. It still has that sharp, savoury, slightly cheesy feel to it, despite the presence of the honey wine. In fact it's a dirty cheese scent, like foot sweat! Ick. This honey didn't strengthen much to overpower the intense herbal scent.

After a few hours? Still herbal, sour, sweaty/cheesy honeyed wine.

Verdict: I have no idea what went wrong here. I really wanted to love a scent named after Delphi. I normally love incense and honey-wine scents, and I don't seem to have a problem with bay. I also love Mediterranean herbal scents that remind me of those balmy evenings in Greece. But this turned to something truly awful on me…rotting sweaty cheese! I'm serious! It's a sharp, powerful, savoury scent, herbal and overwhelming, and foody, but in a savoury sense. It's bay leaves on steroids. Even the gentle honeyed wine scent behind it won't temper it. And it has a cheesy tone to it which just won't budge…and it's a sour cheese, almost like sweaty socks. I don't know what component turned evil in here but I'm afraid this is going straight to swaps.

To sum it up in a smiley:

Edited April 19, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[juniperus]

Bottle: sharp, sharp bay.

Wet: bay and the sweet of the honey. It's sharp to the point of an aggressive scent, if that makes sense.

Dry: it's assailing my sinuses from two fronts - aiee! one two sharp, the other too sweet!

Later: the bay is so strong I need to wash, I can't wait.

[Zeljana]

This is so much better than I expected. If ancient legends had a scent this would be it! The scent of wine, honey and sundried herbs in the Mediterranean.

It's fairly strong wet on skin, but dried it's fantastic. Wine is dominant, than incense and herbs take over and then the circle repeats.

The oil has a ritual quality to it and I don't think it is an every day scent.

Delphi is the result of our favorite perfumer's great skill.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

can't place any notes - almost bothers my nose/throat. Very sharp scent.

 

wet:

pungent, sharp - not pleasant at all to start with. Is it the bay that I don't like? maybe the laurel?

 

dry:

I can smell something good underneath what I don't like (which isn't as harsh now). But I can't wait around for it. I think I need to wash this off.

 

overall:

very first one I can't stand at all. Sigh. (bound to happen eventually!)

 

rating: 2/10

Edited May 8, 2006 by HennaFairy

[kourika]

I received Delphi as a frimp in a sale, and it's turned out to be a wonderful find because I wouldn't have chosen it for myself!

 

Initially, Delphi was very herbal, and I really didn't think I'd like it because it was so herbal and green it made me sneeze. However, once it dried down, the blend mellows into a sweet, gentle smell that feels like scents on a breeze.

 

It's not the most feminine scent in the BPAL collection, but it's worth a try for anyone looking for a more subtle sweet scent!

[Nekomata]

Wet: Overwhelming sno-cone scent. Seriously! It smells just like blue and red sno-cones! Very strong!

Dry: Sharp, herbal, kinda citrusy. This would be a good room scent, but it's not great as a perfume for me.

[provocateur]

In bottle: Honey wine. There's also something soft underlying the background.

 

On skin, wet: Laurel and bay. Heavy on the bay.

 

On skin, dry: Laurel - which then morphs to sweet cloying honey. Lots of cloying honey.

Conclusion: I'm learning that there are only a very select amount of blends where honey actually works with me. This, sadly, is not one of them.

 

Rating: 0/5

[shadith]

On application I get a bitter green note- I'm not sure if it is the bay or laurel, I can't identify it (I know dried bay leaves only from cooking). It's not unpleasant, but it is very strong and overpowers the honey.

 

After about 30 minutes it sweetens up and mellows a little and becomes a herby and somewhat spicy honey.

 

I'm not sure if it is something I would wear. I like the scent, but sometimes I had the impression that a slightly sour smell wafted up from where I applied it, which would be unpleasant in public. Apart from that I'm not sure in which situation/mood I could wear this, but maybe I'll keep the imp to find out.

Edited June 27, 2006 by shadith

[sh1mm3r]

I got an imp of this in my continuing effort to try all the blends with honey in them.

 

In the bottle, I smell the incense very strongly.

 

Applied, it is green and spicy. It turns almost herblike as it dries, and then BAM! Rancid fruit. Ah, must be the wine part of the honey wine. It never agrees with my skin.

 

I never really end up smelling the honey in this one. Off to the swap pile.

[edenssixthday]

Delphi - Oh. From the first time I open the vial, I can instantly tell this one is not for me. The powerful and cloyingly sweet scent of grapes bursts out of the imp, doing some thankfully non-permanent damage to my nose. The scent reminds me instantly of Tum in it’s cloying, sweet “grapeness” and in the way it makes me recoil. Apparently I’m a glutton for punishment, because even though I find the scent completely unworthy of my skin, it’s still BPAL, which means I have to give it a test run. Sure enough, it does the same thing on my skin – turns to overly-ripe, fermented grapes. I’m guessing that’s the “honey wine” smell the scent is supposed to have. On me, it’s just fermented grapes. As the scent dries down, I can detect the tiniest touch of incense beneath the fermented grape smell, but it doesn’t improve the scent in the least. Turns out this is one of the few BPAL blends I just can’t keep on my skin, and I have to wash it off. Fortunately, as I’m moving around doing things, I don’t smell it. I really only smell it when I purposefully try to smell it on my skin. To the swap pile!

[cranberry]

Initially, this is all sharp herbs and grapes. The herbs are astringent and the grapes are juicy and deep purple. After its been on a bit, I’m getting traces of honey and incense. It’s slightly sweet and a bit smoky. The incense note reminds me a bit of the note in Gypsy Queen (which to my nose also has a bit of a grape scent to it). The longer its on, the more I like it. Gypsy Queen is a lot sweeter and highly floral, but for reason this reminds me of it. There are clear differences but there is something similar, but for the life of me I can’t nail it down if its more than the incense note. Maybe it’s just that. Regardless, I like it.

[Miseraya]

Got this one in a swap, thank you!

 

Well, let me preface this by saying I am divorced, for many very good reasons. The reason for this caveat will become clear very soon.

 

In the imp: Sharp and bitter green... there's something else in there...

 

On my wrist: Sharp and something else... sour... boozy... Oh ack, it's honey mead. Oh bleh this smells like my wedding....

 

Summary: There is I am certain, many people who will love this smell. It has potential. However, on me it conjures up some really yucky memories and it doesn't play nice with me. Much like the ex husband.

 

Off to the swaps.

[whitecrow0]

In the bottle: Whoah. Strong. Honeyed, herby incense. It's thick; pungent. A little bit soapy, but there's nothing sweet about it, except perhaps far back in the honey. The first time I sniffed this, I was certain it wouldn't work. But I had to try it, because I am a sucker for Apollo.

 

Wet: Mmmmmmmmm! Sweet honey, with a touch of green to it. Much lighter than in the imp. I find it rather mouth-watering. I feel stickily sensual and really quite earthy, rather than sky-god spiritual.

 

Drying: I used to have a box in which I kept hand-rolled beeswax candles. Every time I opened the box, I got a delicious sniff that powdered a bit as the candles aged. That's what I'm smelling on my skin; warmth, industry, the by-products of plants and flowers. It's heavy, overlaid with a touch of green that adds to the kitcheny/outdoor feel. This is a scent for the sun, for activity and joy. It's a scent for meditation, as well. It's a scent for stories.

 

Afternotes: This is still in my top three with Absinthe and Chimera. I really like the honey smell. It reminds me a bit of some hippie and head shops I've been in; it reminds me a bit of the Medieval Fair. Delphi is a scent I can imagine using not only on my skin, but as a room/ritual scent. It's evocative, foriegn and mysterious. Dusky and fey. It calls to mind the slant of sun on a late summer afternoon. Do you know that scene in Legend, where Lily is moving through the meadow towards the forest while large tufts of ethereal cottonwood drift and dance in the air? That is also what I imagine. I imagine ancient feasts and ancient prayers. The flicker of torch on stone. Columns and statues reaching up to the heavens. The set of eyes not-quite-human deigning to make a bargain. The scent is deep, resonant and strong. The throw is fairly powerful; one needs just the smallest touch on the skin, and it lasts and lasts and lasts.

 

I just took a romp with my dogs, and Delphi works with the activity, the community and love. It works with their dusty doggy smell. However, it really works with cuddling my cat in the sun.

 

Scott-sniff: N/A

 

Verdict: Keep imp.