Goliath Birdwing

[stellamaris]

GOLIATH BIRDWING
White sage, lemongrass, lemon balm, dusty beige musk, and drops of anise.

I have been really impressed with how quickly my orders are getting to me, I had been told that often there is a monumental wait time, but I have not experienced this yet.

My Goliath Birdwing landed yesterday. It's quite lemoney and nice, a good change from Lemon Bats as it doesn't have the sweet vanilla note. Don't smell the anise yet, but I have only had it on for about 2 hours. After about an hour it settles down to a medium musk. Wait...maybe that's the anise, I will have to reapply and let it sit.

[countessmouse]

Vaguely reminiscent of a lemon drop at first but, like stellamaris, it has settled down to a musky, lightly lemon fragrance. I'm not unhappy about anise's failure to show since I don't often do well with that note.

 

Alas, I wish it had more staying power. It's so light that I'm worried I won't be able to smell it in about an hour.

[edenssixthday]

Goliath Birdwing - This goes on with a nice blast of herbal lemon and sage, but the musk immediately jumps in and makes it smell a bit weird on me. After it dries down, it smells like the Murphy's Oil Soap I use to wash my floors.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not usually a fan of green or lemony scents, but I actually kinda like this one. Lemongrass is often pretty blechy on me, but it's kept in check here. The anise gives it a bit of a twang -- smells like a tangy lemon scent. Greener than lemon usually is. It's kinda cute.

[Iceblink]

The lemongrass in Goliath Birdwing is *really* strong and herbal, and the presence of the anise makes this even herbier. I picked up a little more lemonyness as it dried, and a hint of sage. The combination is making this smell like a really great cleaning product. I'd love for my dishes or laundry to smell this fresh and good--but I don't think I like it much on my skin.

[Antoinette]

In the imp - lemon! Bright and fresh. Lovely.

 

Wet - lemony zip. I get no anise but can detect the musk.

 

Dry down - musky lemon. Musk is not a fave for me, so my decant will be enough. This is very pretty, though.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Antoinette

[Little Bird]

:love!:

 

Goliath Birdwing seems to have something similar to the cool, watery, cologne-like something that I love in Plague Doctor v10. It's so amazingly smooth and slightly chilly (makes me think of water and the smoothest, almost incensey sandalwood), with a hint of sweet lemon.

 

I expected to hate this, because I don't usually enjoy sage or lemon, but the beige musk must *really* be working for me.

 

I'm going to buy a couple bottles of this, though I'm not sure whether I'll wear it myself or slather it on my husband all summer... it's an amazing, summery cologne smell to me.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Little Bird

[saralaughs]

Musky, lemon anise. Clean musk, a bit powdery with a lemon/anise tinge.

[JLH]

If you're a citrus fan, you should definitely get some of this blend. This is a fresh, tart (but not sharp) lemon scent. The sage makes this scent just a bit green and the anise and musk give it a bit of a dusky, dry feel. As it dries the anise comes out. In some ways, this reminds me of Knockout Drops, but with the sweetness of the mint, white chocolate, and meringue replaced by the herbal sage and soft musk. It smells almost aquatic on me, and it's very fresh and clean. I could see this being worn by a man or woman on a hot summer day. It's very refreshing.

[midnight_aeval]

This is a light, airy, refreshing blend. It does have a 'clean/soap' edge to it. Reminds me of freshly washed clothes on a clothesline being dried by a summer wind.

 

It does have an aquatic/cool scent to it. I could see this being a good scent for a man on a hot summer day!

Edited July 17, 2011 by Midnight Aeval

[milo]

At first, crisp citrussy cologne, not unlike something you'd find in a body spray but in a good way if that makes sense. Dry, less lemon and more sage and musk. Still refreshing and would be lovely on a hot day if we ever get any around here.

[ami226]

Hello musky lemon! This is very much lemon on me. Thankfully it doesn't seem to turn too artificial on me. After a bit I can smell a bit of the herbs. It is becoming more of a musky lemon with some herbs mixed in. Could be an interesting drink.

 

Interesting scent that is perfect for summertime.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh Goliath, you start out as lemons thanks to the verbena and lemongrass, but then quickly as you dry you become more of a musky anise/sage blend. And the lemongrass sticks around just enough to make you weird.

 

PASS.

[angelamaria]

In decant: yellow and bright citrusy floral. Slightly chilly, for some reason.

 

Wet on skin: I seem to be amping the lemon almost something fierce. Very, very lemony, but not bitter-sour or pledgey so far, slightly sweet but not going over to the foody/pastry side. Slightly green, too. It's like Lemon-scented Sticky Bat without being creamy. Slightly aquatic as it dries, and I'm kind of liking that note. Surprisingly somewhat promising at this stage.

 

Dry: nice lemon/aquatic blend, pretty much the counterpart of Lemon-scented Sticky Bat without the vanilla, although this does have a smoothness to it that helps bring that tart lemon down. I'm not quite sure if I'll get a bottle just yet, but this is good! Later on, it's even more of an aquatic lemon, and now it reminds me of a less creamy Zephyr, or...well, something that I really liked when I was newly testing BPAL!

 

Verdict: I deathmatched this against Zephyr and LSSB, and while LSSB is still a no-go for me, Goliath Birdwing is a bit too close to Zephyr for me. It's less floral, less creamy, but fresher and more aquatic. Overall this will have to be a pass.

 

Edit for a verdict update!

Edited July 31, 2011 by angelamaria

[a_llb]

In vial: Lemony.

Wet: More lemon.

Dry: Insubstantial lemon spray, misty and g-o-n-e.

 

 

Verdict: Never got anyhing but lemon, which I don't usually like straight-up in perfume. I can do lemon meringue, and verbena, but by its lonesome it despises me. The feeling's mutual.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Lots of lemon!

 

Wet: Lemon and anise.

 

The dry-down: The lemon notes are not so strong no, but the anise is still present. The sage is there, but faint. I'm not sure what dusty beige musk should smell like. Lemon notes don't work on me as well as they used to, and lemongrass is not a fave note. I knew all that going in, but still decided to try this.

[InvidiaBlue]

I'm not that great at reviewing and don't do it very often, but I just wanted to mention my thoughts on the artwork. I looked up the Goliath Birdwing, and most of the pictures are of a butterfly that is mostly yellow-green/lime green with some black. The scent description, and indeed the scent itself, fit this image perfectly. Light, citrussy, fresh. So I can't figure out why the female (the male is the colorful one) of this species was chosen for the artwork. Just doesn't fit imo.

 

The scent itself does not beckon for me to try it, so I'll be passing this along. I also notice how faint it is, even from the bottle. Having a fairly weak sense of smell, I know that even if I do try it, it will disappear almost instantly.

 

 

 

Okay, I decided to try it anyway. It smells very nice, sweeter and softer than in the bottle. Must be the "dusty beige musk". But as Iceblink said, it's sort of a smell you'd prefer in your laundry, not the "oooh smell me!" kind. Can BPTP make this in a detergent? It would be the most amazing detergent-type smell I could use for clothes. Maybe one day they'll go awesome-crazy and make a Candy Butcher detergent.

Edited August 9, 2011 by InvidiaBlue

[moosue]

This smells a lot like a shampoo I've had before. Maybe Biolage but more lemony?

At any rate, it smells like shampoo. Fresh and clean.

It starts out a tiny bit Pledgey but that quickly turns to a soft, clean citrus scent with a soft white musk making it smell "pretty".

After an hour or so, anise starts to come out with a vengeance. Anise quickly takes over the entire blend and I'm left with anise with a tiny bit of lemon.

 

Doesn't last particularly long, maybe 2-3 hours. It's okay but not something I'd reach for ever.

[edenssixthday]

Goliath Birdwing - This opens up with the clear, sweet scent of sage and bright, herbal lemongrass, but very, very, VERY quickly turns into the scent of soap -- bright, citrusy dish soap. I am positive it's the musk going bad on my skin. I tried it in my hair, but it's not even much better there. It just really smells soapy to my nose. I do not like at all, which is sad because I usually enjoy lemongrass.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Hmm, this smells a bit like lemon-scented cleaning supplies on first sniff. I think it might be the combination of lemongrass, lemon balm, and perhaps even the sage. The is a slight dustiness from the sage as I sniff longer. I get this image not of a butterfly but of a white lace ensconced attic room that has been freshly dusted with lemon-scented Pledge.

 

Wet: I get sage and lemon, but a thick lemon, which must be from the balm. It still reminds be of certain clearing products, but it isn't necessarily a bad association.

 

Dry: Lemony sage, but still very much cleaning supplies. This is a no-go for me.

[Aveya]

Imp : Clean, bright, poppy.

Skin Initial: Lemony clean.

Skin Dryer: Lemon balm must smell clean, since a scent earlier I tried had the same sort of feel. This is clean clean clean with a faint waft of white herbal (sage I suppose), on a backdrop of... fuzzy.

 

Neat soft scent. Not for me, but I think others could like it. The lemon fades off for me pretty fast, leaving a vague floral clean air.

[Lucchesa]

Goliath Birdwing is quiet on me. I was afraid that lemongrass plus lemon balm would equal lemon Pledge, but the citrusy herbs stayed very mellow. Unfortunately, so did everything else. I guess this is one of those seamless blends where it's hard to identify the separate ingredients, but I would have enjoyed more pronounced sage and anise notes. It's pretty in the imp, but I felt like my skin was damping it down.