Thaleia

[Northernskygal]

... A vivacious, dazzling, merry scent: honey, ylang ylang, apricot, ciste, blood orange and gardenia with earthy, warm tonka.

Thaleia tickles my nose! I think it is the blood orange/gardenia combo, it is so.. bright and unusual. I sadly get little to no honey or tonka. This is primarily a fruity floral on me. I smell.. like you could lick me. The fruit in this is so ripe and perfect. After about 5 minutes though.. this gets a lil.. funky on me, and not in a good way. It's a fun scent, just not something I need to keep around.

[bryghtrose]

This is such an interesting perfume.

When it's wet, at first, it's a very high, orange floral. Fruity, but with a bit of gardenia. Then it mellows a bit, and the tonka, honey and ylang-ylang come out. It's earthy and feminine at the same time. It lasts and lasts, and it has a bit of a throw.

Wearing it makes me smile.

[prettybird]

I kept wondering what made this smell so foody, but it's the honey and blood orange. It is a very down to earth scent, which is very appropriate. It also makes me feel oddly creative. As far as the notes go, I don't get the gardenia, but apparently it's not my night for florals. Very fun, overall.

[Pendragon]

In the imp: Fruity, particularly apricot and blood orange.

 

Wet: Fruity but with a sharp citrus edge from the orange.

 

Dry: The earthiness and Ylang Ylang starts to come out now, and it seems such a complex variety of scents!

 

Verdict: Yum! A fruity yet tangy, very happy scent! I can't smell the Tonka in this however.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: fizzy orange sweets and old-fashioned bright pink bubble gum.

 

Wet: cloying ylang-ylang and gardenia with juicy orange. I do like the citrus but the combo is a little overpowering.

 

After a few minutes: Still with that bubble-gummy edge that I just don't like. It's starting to drown out the orange too.

 

Drydown: eek, nope, the citrus is gone and it's ylang-ylang in hellish proportions. Swaps!

[Limelight]

I just love this, and I can't believe I'm saying that about something with gardenia or ylang ylang in it. I don't get any balsamic/resin flavor from the ciste and Thaleia isn't bubblegummy or earthy on me. I think the blood orange and the honey really come out here, with some leveling from the tonka, and it's just a happy, warm, sweet scent, one to keep around. It ranks alongside Clio as my favorite Muse perfume.

[maribouquet]

Warm, lightly sun-sweetened apricot. I can't pick out the tonka, but it's doing a fantastic job of keeping everything grounded and balanced. I may need a bottle to go in my 'antidepressant' section with Aglaea and Silence.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Slightly citric flower.

Wet: The blood orange sings on high over the other notes.

Drydown: The orange has faded to a mere shimmer over the gardenia and tonka.

Dry: Interesting. It's very well-blended -the honey and apricot give it just a slight stickiness, while the gardenia restrains the fruits from going hogwild.

 

My rating: 3/5. Ultimately, I don't think I'd wear it, but it's a very pretty scent.

[TereFaerie]

Very pretty, sweet and almost fruity, which keeps it light and bright, but unlike many fruity scents, it doesn't go plastic on me. I do love gardenia, and it loves me, so that's proabbly why I like it so much.

 

Reminds me a bit of Shattered, but warmer and fruitier. It almost smells orange, the color, not the fruit.

I would buy a more of this for sure, since it works very well with my skin. Is it too late to get a bottle?

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle:

Honeyed fruit, mostly orange. The base notes are more complex and well blended, but very yummy. Teeny bit floral.

 

Wet on skin:

A little bit bitter for a second, then warm and smooth honey with gardenia and orange. Still very complex base notes.

 

Dry on skin:

The gardenia has calmed down again and we're back to honeyed orange with a lot more apricot.

 

Very yummy - sweet, fruity and floral.

[mhickle]

There is a sharpness to Thaleia when I first sniff it in the bottle and then put it on. Then, a moment later, I get something like mint (even though there's nothing minty listed!).

 

This dries down into a light, summery floral fruit on me. I'm definitely getting some orange, but a warm orange. And a little powder. I like it, even though it's not like something I would normally wear.

[Lamia]

Pleasant and cheerful. Entirely as expected, while a reasonably quick fade.

[taramarie]

In the imp and wet on my skin, Thaleia is mostly gardenia and very pretty. As it dries, a bubblegum note starts to show. Did lotus blossom crash the party? Dry, it's just orange. This is nice but I'll pass it on.

Edited July 18, 2008 by whiterosepetals

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Dark honey/light amber oil. Strongly sweet, floral, and fruity. Apricot, honey, blood orange and gardenia pop out. Faint ylang ylang. Very feminine.

 

Wet: More floral, sharper, brighter - greener, almost. Much less heavily sweet. The potent white gardenia takes the fore immediately but there is a resiny scent with it, maybe the ciste? that addes a lovely freshness. Still, the sweet and fruity notes are quite apparent below.

 

Dry: Um, whoa. Tonka, ciste, and musk have taken over - what a transformation. This is earthy, sweet, resiny, a little green. But mostly deep and sexy. The tonka is not the buttery sweet foody type, but as claimed, warm and earthy. Faint hints of floral (ylang ylang amped so that's it just behind gardenia). The honey stands out nicely now, but the apricot's a ghost and the blood orange's vanished.

 

Later: Um, I think this may be hormonal chemistry thing because everything seems to dry down similarly on me lately - ie to resiny super strong woodsy musk. I'm not complaining, as it's sexy and delicious, but weird. No change over time, other than honey amping a bit. Actually, this reminds me a lot of Honey SN drydown.

 

Summary: The tonka, musk, and ciste provide a deeply earthy and resinous base that almost makes me think patchouli; it's warm, rich and utterly sexy. Sticky, golden honey lies just on top, with lighter notes of overripe apricot and faint, feminine gardenia. A tiny wisp of heady ylang ylang peeks out, but it lies close to the skin and behaves. Sophisticated and womanly. Amazing throw and lasting power.

 

It's just a bit too heavy and rich for my tastes, but very lovely on the whole. I'm glad that a generous BPALer (thanks again heysunshine!) sent some for me to try; it greatly surprised me and exceeded my expectations. BPAL, how you surprise me time and time again.

Edited July 27, 2008 by fairnymph

[metaldog32]

I ended up getting a bottle of Thaleia because she was becoming discontinued and because of her blood orange. Absolutely LOVE blood orange and I figured it would be a good bet that she would work for me considering I love her citrus, her floral (gardenia) and her sweetness honey and tonka.

 

This will be the first time I test her out.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Interestingly enough the prominent notes that I register are the honey, a tinge of apricot and some floral..I think it’s the ylang ylang actually..which is surprising because gardenia is usually something I can pick up from the get-go. Hmm…very interesting…

 

I wonder what ciste is???

 

Applied wet on skin: Quick flash of that yummy blood orange but really it’s more apricot driven with the honey and tonka actually…gardenia where are you????

 

Ten minutes later-This really is a bit earthy on me and I think it has to do with the honey and tonka and blood orange..on me it’s not really a high super fruity floral..more like a deeper sweet floral because of the honey..the ylang ylang couples with it and the tonka to give it depth and the blood orange and apricot just flit with subtlety on the perimeter. Suprisingly..my gardenia is kind of MIA..which disappoints me a bit but I’m still liking what I’m smelling.

 

This is similar in feel for me as my oldie but goodie Hetairae,,the honey gives it depth.

 

Sometimes after this point the gardenia peeks out through the layer of honey and ylang ylang..other times she’s just a wisp.

 

Lasting power on this is about 4+hours with the drydown basically a steady but soft waft of the honey-ed fruit and the floral ground in the background.

 

Bottom Line: I actually really do like this blend; it’s has decent throw on me and I quite like it for the summer when I want to wear a floral that isn’t cool but one that exudes a bit of a sultry sweetness. Sure Thaleia is all smiles but she has a flirty side too and that’s what makes her so likeable. I think she will work well in Indian summer as well.

[maika]

In the imp...honeycomb. This could be a worry, I don't tend to do well with heavily foody scents. Will try it on though..

 

Wet, oooh...the honeycomb is totally gone, now I smell oranges...and something else...of course, apricots.

 

Dry, I can smell the ylang ylang, and I love ylang ylang. This is lovely, but still just a tad too foody for me. I will keep the imp though, and try it again, somehow though, it's just not me.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very fruity, warm honey with citrus.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very sunny, warm, fruity scent with a gentle heaping of sweet honey. The apricot is the main fruit, though there is a touch of citrus. It’s not just honey and fruit, though… the ylang ylang and gardenia are peeking in as well, and the tonka makes a nice base for the scent. But mostly it’s a very high fruity scent blended with honey and accented by creamy flowers and a warm tonka base.

 

After a few minutes: The honey in this has become the main note, and it’s rather cloying on me. The ylang ylang is also stronger now, and the apricot and citrus has faded quite a bit. It’s a very warm honey scent accented by ylang ylang and a hint of sweet fruit. The tonka’s all but disappeared.

 

Overall Impressions: If you like the lab’s honey note, try this blend… it’s more complex than that, but honey is what I mostly get from Thaleia. There is quite a bit of apricot and tonka at first, though they faded to the background rather quickly. The ylang ylang isn’t overpowering, but is blended well with the honey. It’s a very complex honey scent on the sweeter side.

[voodoocatwoman]

So beautiful! The scent is popping with gardenia, apricot and honey. I don't pick up any citrus. I love gardenia and it is prominent.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Yummy honey, orange, and apricot.

 

Wet: Lots and lots of the blood orange! A bit sharp, but the honey is starting to smooth it out.

 

The dry-down: This is pretty much blood orange on me all the time. The honey and apricot and tonka are keeping it mellow, though. There might be a faint hint of the gardenia. I love to eat blood oranges in the winter-time and it's wonderful to find a good scent of blood oranges. And that I really like Thalia as the muse of comedy (though not so much the pastoral poetry, which is fine, just in small does) makes me happy that I love this oil.

[Janegodzilla]

I got this one as a gimp from arboretum on livejournal. In the bottle, I loved it – Thaleia smelled almost like SweetTarts to me, fun and bright and candy-like, very very sweet. When I put it on, the “sweet” clarified into honey, flowers, and fruit, with a zippy hint of citrus lurking around in the background. It was very pretty and girly, and I liked how happy it smelled.

 

Unfortunately, Thaleia faded fast on me, and it seemed like the citrus notes I liked were the ones to go first. The florals went next, and before I lost her entirely Thaleia smelled like peaches and baby powder on me. Not unpleasant, exactly, just not very me. I suspect I’ll need to give her another try, just because I’ve realized that I’m the sort of person whose skin chemistry is strongly affected by hormones and monthly timing and several other fruity/flowery scents I tried around the same time went completely bonkers on me in a similar way.

 

 

[Schmoozy]

 

My imp of this is super aged. I have had for over 4 years, and am just now getting to test it.

Honeyed blood orange with apricot and tonka. The honey is rich, thick and extremely sweet. The apricot and blood orange pair well together & somehow the tonka adds a little spice and seems to temper the sweetness of the honey. This is stunning.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: A note I don't seem to encounter often enough; apricot! Apricot and ylang ylang, and a touch of honey. A sweet, floral apricot scent.

 

Dry: Smells almost spot-on to the wet stage, but I think the honey note is stronger now.

 

I bought a bottle of this right before it was discontinued, and I'm so happy with how it smells aged. Beautiful!