Hetairae

[Coldfire]

The sublimely beautiful, fiercely independent, impeccably cultured, fascinatingly worldly and witty courtesans of ancient Greece. A seductive and dazzling blend of golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig and clove, and a blushing touch of ylang ylang.

 

Imp: Sweet. Honey sweet
Wet on me: now I'm getting the Ylang ylang stepping all over the honey
Drying Down: honey fig over a woody note (patchouli?)
Dry: mostly honey on me. I don't do well with most honey scents.

[celestia]

♔ Hetairae

 

In the bottle: Honey wine and soapy white florals

 

Wet: It’s definitely a honeyed floral- but it’s kind of an ‘off’ or sickly sweet honey that’s been fermented and almost turned into a wine, it definitely does not start out as a fresh honey by any stretch. There’s also a whiff of dried fig, not the fruity creamy fig I get from Love and Sleep, I think this one has attached itself to the patchouli because it smells slightly greenier and a little dirty, though that could be the clove, which reacts horribly with my chemistry. It actually kind of smells a like the dirty green fig note in The Hanging Gardens? I also get stinky sweaty florals, which I can only assume to be the ylang ylang… probably also married to clove and patchouli ..of which they and I are not the best of friends. Alas!

 

Drydown: The drydown is more forgiving and kinder to me. I get a very floral dominant blend with a tinge of gentle, floral honey. It’s nowhere near as cocky and flamboyant as it opened with. I’m also starting to get a sweet rose note caused by the florals and honey reacting to the clove and patchouli.. how strange, that burns off quickly though, and I’m left with spicy clovey honey with a tint of fragrant ylang ylang. The clove behaves and only aides to keep the scent gently, and warmly spiced. This end phase is definitely much nicer!

 

TL;DR: Honey clove wine, dirty fig and sweaty ylang ylang.

Edited November 27, 2016 by celestia

[roseus]

The ylang ylang sweetened by the honey is the strongest aspect to me. The honey was very strong at first, and almost threatened to take over but then settled. I get just a little patchouli and clove underneath to ground the scent. Quite sensual and heady.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Nutty! And sweet, Quite yummy, actually. I had to look up the notes, as somehow this translated to nuts and honey on my skin. I think it must be the earthy patchouli combines with one of the other notes - maybe the fig? That makes this smell nutty. Really interesting. The floral notes from the ylang ylang are really nice. I like it.

 

 

Dry: I had forgotten how candy-sweet ylang ylang dries down to on me. Not unpleasant, but sweeter than I like. It's a strange combination with the patchouli, which is now dry and earthy rather than nutty. I can't detect any of the other notes, I don't even get the sense that any of the sweetness is coming from the honey, it's just ylang ylang and really dry patch. OK, but not my favourite.

[lizabelle]

This is gorgeous, and now that I'm looking at the notes I can't believe there's ylang in here. I like the note fine but it and my skin don't really get along--it usually amps heavily and drowns out anything else. In this blend the honey dominates, and it's the soft, floral honey of Les Bijoux. There's definitely clove, fig, and a flower (which must be ylang, color me surprised!) in here, but they're all soft and mild, tempered by the beautiful light honey note. The patch is also pleasantly honeyed, providing a great deep earthiness under everything. This is definitely getting a bottle purchase from me.

[freyasfae]

This has so many death notes for me, yet altogether it really works! It's well blended and surprisingly light - more glittery than dense metal. Sublime and cultured it is!

[sisterbastard]

First impression: Fresh, very female, confident.

 

Wet: I can really smell the honey and clove, with a floral backdrop (I suck at recognizing specific flowers). It's very spicy-sweet overall. I like it.

 

Dry: This is a nice one as it dries. The "fiery patchouli" combined with the clove is a really essential rebuttal to the heavy sweetness of the honey, which almost has an herbal quality. I would expect the fig to come out as it truly dries. After about an hour: First the patchouli and clove get even more hot, and then the fig comes out a little to lend it some nice raisiny-ness. As previously mentioned, this is an exceedingly confident and feminine scent. I'm on the fence about the heaviness of the honey, but I like that it's a very real honey. I want to put it in some tea.

 

I'll probably pass this one along, but I enjoyed testing it.

[ramblingrambler]

On me this is all honey and fig. Much too sweet and pronounced for me! I smell no patch or clove throughout wear. Somewhere into drydown it becomes slightly musty, which I attribute to either fig or honey since I get this reaction to both if they're prominent notes. For those into either, this blend should work for you!

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Ylang ylang and honey, with just a bit of patchouli, clove, and fig.

 

Wet: Ylang ylang and honey, followed by the warmth of the patchouli and clove. After a bit, the fig starts to peek out.

 

Dry: The patchouli and clove gain prominence, and the fig also plays a greater role in this phase, although it's still a background note on me. Patchouli, clove, and honey end up being the main players after a few hours of wear.

 

Verdict: I originally wanted to try this to see if the patchouli + fig combo would remind me of A Moment in Time, and I like clove. This isn't unpleasant, but it's not really me, either. I'm glad I was able to try it, though!

[achildoftime]

I must say, I was expecting more patchouli in this, but all I'm getting is the honey and ylang ylang. Between the patch and clove, I was sure this was going to be spicier or more earthy. For me at least, i just get resinous honey. It's pretty and golden, but took me by surprise a bit.

[Eis Hexe]

One of my favorites so far. 

I worried I'd smell too strongly of patchouli, so this was a gamble.  My husband loathes that scent.

A first sniff while it's in the bottle gave me a whiff of juicy figs, honey and clove. 

A swipe on the skin and the sweet notes are still the most prominent.  Most perfume oils sweeten up as soon as they make contact with my skin.

As it dries the oil begins releasing some of that unique loveliness that is ylang ylang, and I can detect a bit of the patchouli. 

After everything has dried down I'm left smelling deliciously.  The honeyed fig blends in perfectly with the ylang ylang and clove, and the patchouli gives it all a drop of earthiness.  It's spicy, sexy and not overly strong.

Since honeyed figs were a common dessert item at Greek, Etruscan and Roman feasts, I think this scent does a wonderful job of evoking the imagery of the hetairae lounging on the couches at celebratory banquets or the feasts that opened religious festivals.  Those companions of upper class men were often dressed to the nines in rich hues of purples (considering how expensive purple was in the ancient world this says something!) and other vibrant colors.  Their hair was curled and styled, their nails manicured and painted, and their faces made up with the cosmetics of the day. 

Most excellent!

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Honey with an undercurrent of spice and an additional non-sweet grounding note (probably the patchouli). 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's the honey and ylang ylang who show up first. Even after it dries, it's a strong ylang ylang floral honey, though I can detect the clove if I put my nose right up to my skin. 

 

Slowly, after about another twenty minutes, the ylang ylang starts to temper itself, and I can pick out the patchouli in addition to the clove. Still, the clove and patchouli are quite close to my skin while the ylang ylang and honey amp like it's their job. 

 

Another few minutes, and I think I can start to detect the fig, too: there's a sweetness that's deeper than the honey. 

 

All in all, it turns into a lovely, deep, grounded honey scent. However, I definitely don't love the phase that's dominated by the ylang ylang, and in fact, I could probably do without this note (in this blend) altogether. But I might also be bitter because by the time the ylang ylang dies down, so does much of this scent's throw on me.

[gothteacup]

With the “fiery” patchouli and clove notes listed, I was expecting something dark and spicy. I was pleasantly surprised to find this to be warm (not spicy) and, if Hetairae represented a color, it would be in the golden/marigold/saffron range.

 

Lots of rich honey and sweet fig. Patchouli is warm and mellow, and there is just a little touch of clove. The ylang ylang is so pretty, and as this dries it becomes more prominent. 
 

my take: a sweet, warm honey scent that gives a perfect stage for ylang ylang to demurely expose themselves.

[Lucchesa]

I would like Hetairae more without the ylang ylang.  Which is probably true of any scent containing ylang ylang.  There is something red and fiery about this scent, almost like a cayenne note, with lots of honey and fig, fairly subdued patch and clove, and too much ylang ylang.  Perfect if you like florals in your honey.  

[Rane.]

I have an imp of this. Warm, yummy honey, with subtle earthy patchouli. A touch of fig, with a slap of clove on top, fading into sweet ylang-ylang. Enjoyable but think I would pass. It's unisex, a little too food smelling to me.

[Cali]

i'm getting some kind of spices(?) at first. Kind of like a slap of clove, amps up the golden honey, then followed by whafts of that fig, patchouli and ylang ylang in waves. This doesn't really come together and stays kinda jumbled on my skin, as if the notes just don't want to connect on my skin. 

The honey with clove ends up taking this over which is unfortunately not my favourite, but it's very quiet and somehow not an edible-kinda honey?