Delphi

[akiko]

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

I got this as a frimp from the lab. I was wondering if it could be mislabeled, because I get NO incense out of it, nor honeywine, nor laurel.

Imp: rose. I doublechecked the description, and there's no rose in it. My SO said he smelled some incense, but I just don't.

Wet: Rose. Just rose, and the nasty fakey rose that rose always turns to on me.

Dry: Still rose. Nothing else.

I see a few other people got a mystery rose scent, too, so I know I'm not just hallucinating. I'll see what happens as this gets older, I guess.

Edited 3/12/08: Mystery rose is still there, but I'm starting to get more of the honey now. Still, not something I'd wear on a regular basis, so off it goes to the swap box. Edited March 12, 2008 by Winterwind

[CrazyPretzel]

I can't pick out bay or laurel in Delphi, and on me there's just a touch of incense. Right out of the imp it's an attention-grabber, though: a sweet and tart wine scent that doesn't go sour. I've just got a dab on the back of hand to skin-test it and my nose has been glued to the spot, so clearly I like it. Something about it smells very familiar to me but I can't quite place it... something soporific. Magical and intoxicating. I would definitely wear this for ritual.

[JennyGardener]

Ah, Delphi! The priestess sits surrounded by roses and beeswax candles. The rose in Delphi (surprisingly) stays true on me, and never turns to soap. That alone makes it wonderful. But then add in the pleasant lightness of beeswax, the scent of honeybees, and you couldn't have a more uplifting blend. It's very sacred, but also deeply joyful. I, too, will wear Delphi in a ritual sense. It's too holy for just every day.

[purplemoonshoes]

Rose rose rose in the imp. Bay and rose on my skin. Nice, but a little commercial. Fades very quickly.

[suki]

in the imp: like cough medicine. or poison. or both.

 

wet on skin: like bug spray with rose afterthought. i can't *believe* how awful this is on me!

 

dry down: the rose comes out more, but it's like rose poured into cold and flu formula. it's sticky sweet and grape-y and just really really unpleasant.

 

in all: whoa. this has GOT to go.

 

 

 

[donnatron]

Imp: That red rope licorice you (used to?) buy at gas stations in small towns. The type that is about a metre long and wrapped in cellophane and draped over a holder near the cash register.

 

Wet: That same licorice scent with a bit of synthetic watermelon.

 

Dry: Red licorice through and through. It's comforting in a nostalgic way, but I'm sure that few others hold the same nostalgia value for red rope licorice.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: I might try it in the bath but I don't think Delphi and I will be meeting much in the future.

[ranyart]

I can smell the honey wine before I even open the imp! Wow.

In the imp: STRONG honey wine with a hint of bay leaf.

 

Wet: More very strong honey wine scent. This is like the super-sweet Polish mead I had at the beer fest this past fall. I'm starting to smell the bay and laurel a bit more, but I worry that this may be too cloyingly sweet for me. I'll see what happens.

 

Dry: While the other notes came into play a bit more as Delphi dried down, this remains mostly a very sweet, boozy honey scent on me. I'm impressed at the difference between this and the Lab's straight honey note; you can tell that it's based on alcohol.

 

I worried that Delphi might be a bit too sweet for me, and I'm not quite sure if that's the case or not. I enjoyed wearing it, but I never quite got a feel for how this particular blend works for me. I'm sure I'll use up the imp I have, because it's a fun scent to wear during the day, but I may not need more than that.

I will say that this lasted a good while on me - about eight hours, I think.

[sapote3]

I got this in an imp lot and opened this unresearched, and then said, outloud, "What the hell?" and slathered it on my wrist immediately. The first in-vial whiff is pungent and green; not piney, but strong the way pine can be. It immediately started resolving on my skin into a spicy smell, not the least bit sweet or musky, with a little bite like the acidic note in celery or lovage. My first guess for the sweet note was hyssop; I also wondered if there was basil in it, since to me this smells of clean, well-used kitchens. That must be the bay.

 

I could smell the smoke once I read the lab description, but wouldn't have called the sharpness of the smell that before. Now, after about forty minutes, the honey wine has amped, to the point where it's mostly honey smoke. It smells amazing. I was just commenting to someone earlier how I don't like most "perfumey" smells - this is the least perfumey smell I've ever smelled. I wish the honey wouldn't amp so much on me, but this is really wonderful stuff.

[Suu4LC]

I gotta be honest. This smells wretched to me in the imp. Almost like...olive juice? Kind of like a dirty martini! Where the heck is this coming from? Blech. But, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I have to try this out.

 

On my skin I think I maybe smell a little honey in there? Maybe? Sort of? Still, it mostly feels like olive juice and incense, and it is not my thing at ALL.

 

I let this dry all the way to be sure, and it needs to be washed off now. Totally not for me. Strong, and sour, and to be swapped to somebody who will give it the love that I can't!

Edited March 14, 2008 by Suu4LC

[savage_rose]

This smells like fermented fruit wet, and a lighter version of fermented fruit as it dries. Maybe that's the honey wine? It's very sweet, but the fermented aspected adds a dirty, sourness that sounds unappealing but actually adds a good balance. I can sense a bit of that mysterious rose underneath. Hmmm, I think I like this.

[Lamia]

Smells like spoiled honey in the bottle, on my skin the honey disappears almost instantly. I'm guessing that the scent I cannot identify is the laurel.

 

It's sweet, without being cloying, and not unpleasant.

[Kabooki]

When I fist smelled the bottle I thought I was going to hate it as it was very spicy, I'm glad I didn't let that one whiff stop me from putting it on.

 

On my skin I smell Sweet Honey with some bay? spices in the background. Its gives me the feeling of wearing long robes and just dancing in a field of grass as silly as that sounds. Its sweet but not in an over bearing way.

 

This is def one that will be going in my rotation

[tartchef]

The mere mention of honey wine was enough to make me want to try Delphi - it brings back very fond memories of my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago, and the big carafes of tej we used to split...

 

Woo... I can definitely see where folks are getting rose - the initial volley is a thick slap of sticky incense with a strong perfumey-rose note... not rose exactly, but very close. Myrrh, I suspect - it's a note similar to one I get in Cairo & Penitence. Fortunately for me, it dies down quickly, and I'm left with an incredible bittersweet smoke & honey scent. It's heady & strong, like too much incense in a small, warm room. The laurel & bay were thrown on the brazier, too, and the sap is smoking, leaving an acrid taste in my mouth. The honey wine is thick & raisiny, but not cloying, thanks to all the smoke.

 

This is not for the faint of heart - Delphi is an all-encompassing scent, atmospheric & heady. It's decent & holy at the same time, a nifty trick, if you ask me. As hokey as it sounds, this would be a great scent to wear when going out to eat, where the menu is spicy & exotic - the honey wine adds just enough sweetness to keep Delphi from clashing with the aromas of the food, and I bet it would smell amazing with a pile of warm injera & misir wat...

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Medium golden brown oil, rather thick. Sweet, in a sort of heavy, languid manner, harshly herbal bay and lighter laurel, and SMOKE over spicy incense.

 

Wet: Sweeter, more richly honeyed, with a fermented alcoholic tang that cuts nicely through some of the smoke and herbs. No longer overwhelmingly smoky and spicy, though the notes are still strong. The bay holds, but is slightly softer, though undeniably masculine. The laurel has gained a crisp, almost citrusy edge.

 

Dry: This had gone remarkably dry and woody, almost oaky I'd say; definitely branches of laurel, not leaves, and a dry, stern bay leaf. Incense and smoke and sweet-heady mead vie for second place behind. Only a hint of lighter notes from the laurel and honey remain.

 

Later: Smoky incense, dry woods and dusty, deep bay leaf. Sweetness from the boozy, honeyed mead; it's definitely one of the strongest honey scents I've tried. All fresher and crisper notes GONE.

 

Summary: In the final drydown, this becomes a soft, sweet, smoky blend of incensey woods and rich, honeyed mead with the faintest twhisp of herbal bay. Unisex. It's sweet enough to be feminine, but the smoky woods and hint of herbs could work on well on a man. Moderate throw and great lasting power.

 

I really liked how this morphed; it did so considerably but the end product I found quite pleasant. Too much smoke and incense for my tests, but a gorgeous tribute to Delphi and a must-try for all honey lovers.

[kjirstiben]

A winner! Strangely compelling...

 

In the imp: Weird! Sweet, almost gin-like scent. I realized later it was the honey wine I was smelling.

 

Initial application: Very floral, with a slightly tart berry note. Then... the honey wine comes back out.

 

After a while: A little like lemon and cranberries, but with a boozy backdrop.

 

Overall impression: I love this; can't quite identify what I'm smelling. It's so different. Citrussy, piney, herbal and alcolholic but blended together for a compelling, tart, heady scent.

 

Delphi was on my "to try" list, but I didn't purchase it in my first go-round because I got scared by the reviews I'd been reading about how wine can go very bad with some skin chemistry. Apparently this is not a problem of mine--it just rounded out the scent and gave it a truly unique pungent tone. I'm starting to suspect that "boozy" notes work on me.

 

I'll definitely be getting a bottle of this one.

[greenranger]

In the imp, sweeeet honey wine and leaves. I think I've smelled honey wine in other things, but, wow.

 

 

On me, the leaves come forward more with the incense, but, the honey wine is still sweetening it up. It has left the overpowering sweetness behind, though, and is much more reasonable.

 

Drying, well, I guess there *is* rose somewhere in this blend, 'cause it just amped. Grrr. Roses and a touch of honey wine. The rose isn't truly overwhelming, only sort of overwhelming, so there must only be a little bit of rose. The other scents are keeping the rose just barely reined in from the screaming rose that sometimes erupts on my skin. Hopefully it will burn off soon.

 

 

Ok, bay coming forward slightly again with they honey and incense...I think this might work in spite of the rose, at least for using the imp. I'm not sure about loving it enough for a bottle. Stupid skin amping rose...sigh.

 

 

Actually, once the rose burns off, it reminds me a little of a honey wine version of Athens, with a little less throw.

 

~edit~So, I ended up ordering a bottle of this. Then I remembered that I had smelled rose, and wondered what I was thinking. Well, here it is several months later, and I'm not getting rose much at all, except maybe the impression of a dewy tea rose somewhere in the room. This is sweet honey wine with bay leaves and a hint of incense. It is a more wet scent than Mead moon, if that makes any sense. It also has more throw on me. Compared to Gluhwein, Delphi is more honey wine and leaves, and less honey. Gluhwein is wine, honey and spice drying down to just honey with some spices.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Aerinha

[jehrichardson]

In the Imp: Rich and sweet, but bright rather than warm. Honey, wine, and the fresh bite of blueberries. How odd.

 

On the Skin: Wine, blueberries, and a spicy herbal side note. Must be the bay. Ah, now here comes a bit of smoke... just the barest whisp.

 

After a while: Flowers and incense! I often get that from the honey note, so it's hardly surprising.

 

Verdict: Love it! Keeper.

Edited August 1, 2008 by j4r

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Smoky incense with some bright, fruity sweet scent mixed in.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a bit astringent when I apply it. It’s just a tiny bit smoky and sweet, but very sharp. There’s definitely a green scent in there as well.

 

After a few minutes: This is a very interesting blend… it’s a bit dry with a smoky, herbal, and slightly sweet feel. The honey wine is there, but it’s light. The bay is probably adding the herbal note to the scent, and smoky incense is mixing nicely with everything else.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very pretty scent. It seems very golden and dry to me… when I close my eyes, it makes me think of sand and warm breezes. It’s herbal, but not in a bitter way, and is very smoky and complex. The slight sweetness makes it very pleasant, and it really is more of a honey wine than honey note (slightly sweet, but fermented).

[mylogicsaysburnsendmeaway]

On me, the green/ earthy bay & laurel is strong for an hour or two. It’s interesting, nice, but I’m not sure I want to smell like it. Then honey wine with incense takes front stage over bay & laurel, with the wine note coming and going. I don’t really like the wine note, too fruity/ tangy, it distracts me from enjoying the honey and incense. After a few more hours it is mainly honeyed incense that’s heaven, with subdued bay and laurel and the wine note occasionally poping in. After 9 hours the honey is still there- sweet, powdery, sweaty maybe this is the “post- coital” smell reviewers get from O. This stage is gorgeous sexy.

 

I decided to age it to see if the wine note would die, or at least back down and to let the incense and honey get stronger.

 

**After aging my imp 6 weeks, the honey and incense is there in the first stage with the laurel and bay. And as before the honey and incense become more prominent after a couple of hours of wear. And the wine note is undetectable! The laurel and bay have also really grown on me. This is divine and totally wearable. The honeyed incense just needs to get a little stronger with age. This is so evocative of a ancient Greek temple.

[skepticism]

Vial: Honey! But it's not a sweet honey. It's almost sour, as if mixed with berries. Honey wine, nomnom.

 

Wet: Honey with an incense undertone.

 

Dry: I was worried that the laurel and bay wouldn't come through, but they've arrived. The honey wine has now moved to the back and the incense, laurel, and bay have taken over.

 

I was really surprised with the evolution of this scent from vial to drydown. It was interesting to smell nothing but fermented honey at first, then all incense/bay/laurel in the end. I really like this smell, but I wouldn't wear it. I would probably burn it in my tart burner in the winter, though.

[zankoku_zen]

This, oddly enough, smelled like raisins in honey when I first applied it. I get a citrusy honey incense. I mean, honey is there. It's a little too sweet for me, but interesting nonetheless.

[Czarina]

Oooof!

 

The laurel and the bay are overwhelmingly strong in this imp, on application, and on drydown. Not for the faint of heart indeed. The astringency of the bay plays very strongly against the honey wine. The incense doesn't quite tie it well together.

 

Not for me.

[ouch!]

Wow it seems like this oils is a complete chameleon, the reviews are so different!!

 

For me? Anything with incense I'm gonna try regardless..(I'm not too fond of honey)

 

This when fisrt applied is a very boozy/wine flavoured honey..and it's very strong. There is a herbal background to it and I'm not sure if I'm used to this kind of smell. It's the same sort of boozy honey that's in Athens...I grew to like that in the end.

 

This scent truly becomes more beautiful as it dries on me, the incense wafts everynow and then with the honey, the booze backs off which I'm thankful for, and the bay/green element to this has also gone.

 

So..it dries to a very sweet honeyed Incense. It's a nice honey, a very soft powdery honey. My body chemistry amps sweet things like crazy so.. this becomes a strange combination that seems to work. I won't be getting a bottle of this but glad I got to try it.

[femmefatale]

At first it's really icky. Lots of very off smelling bay. As it dries it becomes a very odd smelling rose. Not unpleasant at all, just odd. I also catch a bit of honey. No incense for me though.

It's very nice and I think would be great around the holidays, though it's just not me.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: I'm not sure how it's possible for this to be sharp and syrupy and earthy all at once, but it totally is. Each time I sniff I think something different.

Fresh on the skin: It's strange how decadent it smells, given that Apollo is the god of moderation. I can definitely smell the wine in this, slightly sour, honey-sweet, and extremely heady. It also strikes me as slightly floral at the edges, the sweet syrupy kind, which surprises me given that there aren't any listed in the notes.

20 minutes later: Zeus, this is strong. I think the waft is giving me a headache, and close the wrist there's a sharp perfumey herbal soap thing happening. Golden sour-sweet syrupy wine, and a lot of it.

40 minutes later: It's reminding me of something really specific, but I just can't think of it. It goes surprisingly well with the lilac linger in the air of the Dragon's Blood I tried earlier, given that I'm so far not super fond of either of them separately.

1 hour later: I have no idea how this is as floral as it is on me. I'm getting pretty much all fragrant, syrupy honey wine a generous splash of rosewater, mayyyyybe with a bit of incense powdering down in the back.

3 hours later: Still all heady honey wine and rosewater.

8 hours later: This has faded down to a reasonably nice, light, thick honey scenet, close to the wrist.

 

Verdict: Not as pleasant as I'd hoped, not as unpleasant as I'd feared. Heady and a little headache inducing, all that syrupy sour-sweet honey wine and the confusingly perfumey rosewater and incense. As you can probably tell from the number of times I've used it so far, if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be "syrupy." I'll probably keep it and try it again

 

One word: syrupy. Yes, I really felt the need to say it again.