Polyhymnia

[MissMercurial]

... Orris root, white sage, rowan bark and red sandalwood, with myrrh, rosemary, lemon balm and honeysuckle.

Ordered an imp from the lab just before it was discontinued.
This started as a wonderful lemon balm, which smells fresh like lemons, but much warmer and almost earthy. Then, in the span of a few minutes, it turned to Johnson and Johnson's baby powder . I think it was the orris root - the same happened with Vampire Tears, which has iris in it.

[matokie]

Polyhymnia has long been my favorite Muse, ever since I saw a statue of her at the Getty Villa when I was a teenager. I visited the Villa for the first time in ten years just a couple weekends ago while vacationing in LA and was happy to see that she is still in her proper place there and as beautiful as ever.

 

After I got home from my trip I decided I would finally check out the BPAL Web site after hearing my friends talk about it for ages, and there on the Shiny & New page was notice that there was a Polyhymnia scent...that had just been discontinued! I quickly got myself oriented on the forums so I could find an imp and purchase it (along with a handful more, bien sur!).

 

All this to say that I had some pretty high expectations for Polyhymnia, and I am happy to say I love this scent. It is tart and citrusy on my skin without going to the overt lemon that some other reviewers have described. The honeysuckle adds some gentle sweetness for me, and the rich myrrh undertones are really starting to come out now that it's been on my wrists for a couple hours. A little powdery yes, but more in a Lush bath bomb way than in a baby powder way. My Muse, she does not disappoint.

[KassiK]

In the imp: smells like itself - sweet and light smelling

wet on skin: lemon + that sweet smell makes for a sweet and sour blend that balances itself nicely. The sweet smell (I believe it's honeysuckle) isn't syrupy, but light, but for anyone who lemon does badly on, I could see this turning too lemony at this point.

drydown: lemon has calmed down quite a bit and the bottom notes are starting to come out more (definitely can tell the rosemary, but it's not overwhelming) + the sharp white sage note as well.

 

I'm undecided on this. I'm definitely keeping the imp around since it didn't turn into a disaster on my skin, but no big bottle for me for now.

Edited April 8, 2008 by KassiK

[zankoku_zen]

I got this mainly because I've tried all the other muses. I had given up hope of trying this one out because it wasn't very popular and it was discontinued before I realised I missed testing it.

 

On me, this is pure sandalwood with a touch of floral sweetness.

 

Ah yes, I smell like a dirty hippie. Which is totally a no-go for me.

[savage_rose]

This is gorgeous in the bottle, sweet and bracing all at once. But on, somehow the citrus and sage combine to form cat pee on my skin. Not good.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Herbs and lemon.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells a lot like Lush’s Narcotick: it’s very herbal with a bit of lemon. But this also has a subtle warm undertone to it which is nice. It’s subtly sweet and almost unisex in feel.

 

After a few minutes: The warmer notes have come out quite a bit now. The myrrh, bark and sandalwood are stronger and blend nicely with the lemon balm. The herbal notes are still there, but they’ve retreated to the background. It’s a warm and slightly woody lemony scent now. For some reason I’m also getting a rubbery type of scent from it.

 

Overall Impressions: This starts out as very herbal, and then transforms into something a bit warmer and creamier. The lemon is strong throughout, but retreats a little after a couple of hours. It’s a warm, bright scent, but I get an unfortunate rubber undertone from it. However, that may just be my chemistry. If you like herbal, lemon-dominated blends, this blend is worth a try.

[milica]

I got this one as a frimp, and though it would be great, I've read the description before I tested it...

but no, something went wrong after first few minutes, I'm guessing orris root or bark, because everything else works just fine with my skin chemistry. It was just terrible, nothing to like here. I think I have at least one more note of doom.

 

swap pile.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's lovely lemon.

 

Wet on the skin, lemon, myrrh, and rosemary. Dry down, still mainly a lemon scent on my skin (which I love) and a bit more powdery.

[bubblefish]

I'm getting a lovely delicate floral at first whiff, but then it deepens as it's balanced out by a faint herby spice smell that is equally delicate. And then, at the very tail end, with a bit of concentration, I can pick out a hint of lemon.

[HKB]

Smells like lemongrass to me, a little more powdery and dry though.

[countessmouse]

I love scents with honeysuckle, but I have to live through about 10 minutes of smelling like a wad of chewing tobacco before the other notes beat it into submission. After the initial blast of complete meh, it morphed into a mostly floral scent with a touch of powder (orris root?) before finally settling on a mix of sandalwood, myrrh and a touch of citrus. Pretty, but with a very, very light throw. This may not be around in the next few hours.

[aquazoo]

Gentle and subtle. Woody.

[Lucchesa]

Testing blind, the only element I identified with certainty in Polyhymnia (a very aged imp by now) is the myrrh.  My impression was herbal, myrrh, and some floral that is not obnoxious on me (honeysuckle, as it turns out.  Check.). When I know it's there, my nose can find the lemon balm, but it's very subtle.  I'm not getting a lot of red sandalwood -- it's definitely not doing the #2 pencil thing -- but the powdery orris root is probably the dominant note here.  I suspect the top notes have dampened in the last decade, but while subtle, this is still a beguiling blend, and it has good wear length.  I'm so grateful to the generous forumite who frimped me this in an art swap, but I don't imagine reaching for it much, so I will put it in my swaps so someone else can satisfy their curiosity.