Orpheus

[juniperus]

Pale musk, green mandarin, neroli, benzoin, citrus peel, blue lavender, narcissus, stephanotis, crushed green stems, willow branch and cedar.

 

Bottle: floral and very pale green, sharp but not Sharp (if that makes sense)

Wet: I can pick out the citrus peel, the stems, and floral (not sweet floral, mind you, but a present flower-ness lingering in the background)

Dry: the sharpness of fresh spring green stems and leaves, still soft but that pale green sharpness of the inside of a dandelion stem straw.

Later: there is a hidden woody center, here, but it's faint. this feel classical to me, very Roman, complex, and fresh. and it's a fresh I can wear, as opposed to all of the aquatic notes that give me such glorious sinus headaches.

[steffanina]

Orpheus-

 

In Bottle: Very grassy, with a touch of aquatic and citrus.

 

Wet: Kind of musty-grassy. I'm hoping that will fade or mellow out.

 

Dry: It does mellow out, and I'm left with a very pleasant floral aquatic. One of the nicer aquatics I've found. I'm not sure it's one I'll wear often, but I'll be glad to know it's there if I'm in the mood for an aquatic I can wear.

 

Overall: Conditional but I'll probably keep it.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: green herbal, lavender and a wee hint of citrus.

 

Wet: much more floral than I expected.

 

Dry: I tried this scent twice because I *should* love it. However, there is something that is giving me a headache. Off to swaps.

[slave1]

ORPHEUS

 

In Bottle: Earthy floral

 

On Skin: I get a blast of earthy planty extreme with my first sniff. But soon afterward the florals amp and it becomes a beautiful perfumey blend. It’s a dry scent, powdery and also sharp. Very well blended, I can barely pick out the individual notes. I do smell florals, and a citrus spike with a soft musk undertone. The earthy notes are still very present as well. I get a green feel from this for sure. I also get a soapy feel from this, it is very clean. Unfortunetly the soapy tone is a bit too sharp on me. But about ten minutes into drydown it does level out and the benzoin resin helps soften it. A very pretty scent but not quite me. For people who love florals, sharp scents and outdoorsy feel. Strong throw and average to long wearlength.

[supremegoddessofall]

Soap, but pretty soap. I'm mostly getting the lavendar and musk. Little bit of "tree" in the background that makes this fairly crisp. Not getting the citrus or neroli at all.

[mountainwitch]

There is some lovely stuff in this. Something in it smells woody and sharp on me, but not in a good way. It’s just a little bitter and off-putting, as if it's been left in a cedar chest too long. Ultimately the sharpness fades, leaving a complex and interesting floral. It's just not for me.

[SevenSins]

Something in this one does not like my skin. I don't usually do herbally, green scents very well, and this one is no exception. I wanted so much to like it, but it's not for me.

[Voleuse]

This is very, very, very green on first sniff. "Crushed green stems" is exactly right. I can barely smell anything else, though after a moment, I catch a hint of something floral in the background. This is so fresh-smelling, I'm tempted to sneeze.

 

After a while, I start to get an odd powdery note--it's quite clean, especially mixed in with the greenery. Overall, it's a calming and clean scent, but not something to which I'm particularly drawn.

[myoubi]

I got this as a sniffy from eviltemptressdq, thanks everso and mmmm... I am content.

 

So far I'm 3 for 3 on the Salon blends (Lucretia, Great Cry, and now this). I'm seriously considering this as a big bottle purchase. It starts off quite green, and crisp but I don't get the sharpness that others complain of; as it driesit retains its green quality, but the floral notes emerge, couched in resiny softness and laid over a hint of musk.

 

Due to a few overenthusiastic first ventures I've learned not to trust my first impressions until I have fourth impressions to back them up; but this is really looking like it'll be a bottle. I could stand smelling like this every day.

[phedre]

I'm one of those "oh sharp! eep!" complainers I'm afraid. I got a lot of green, sharp, aquatic notes on this without any of the florals to soften them up. Ah well.. swaps pile!

[jasmine]

This is an extraordinarily sharp smell on the wand -- highly herbal and green, with a trace of something citrusy. When it touches my skin, I detect cut grass.

 

Given some time on my wrist, an unobtrusive floral (narcissus?) saunters through the sharp, complex scent, but it isn't interested in overpowering the blend. This smells complex and vegetative enough to be a Rappacini blend, but it doesn't have the unpleasantness that Mandrake or Sundew do -- it's just attractive enough to be a perfume instead of a disaster.

 

As a perfume, however, it is highly unusual. This is almost entirely upper notes on my skin, with nothing lower to balance them, as the cedar is barely detectable. It's a pale yellow smell of crushed vegetation; it hints at floralness, but doesn't seem like a floral. Without smelling soapy in the slightest, it smells clean and fresh, like a cold dawn along wildflowers. It strikes me as feminine -- an arch, elegant feminine that carries a certain magnetism despite a lack of warmth.

 

Given time, it fades into a greenish-yellow blend that retains its freshness while losing some of its complexity. Now, it's more like midmorning sun across a field than like the dawn. I don't think the scent is much of a match for the painting, but it has a charm all its own.

 

This scent has the distinctiveness and the complexity to make a good signature scent for someone else. On the whole, I don't see myself wearing Orpheus on a routine basis, but I might pick it up on days when I feel poetic or particularly independent.

 

One last addendum: after six hours or so, when I thought this scent had basically worn off, I washed my arms. Bizarrely, something about this process -- the water? the friction? an eerie confluence with Dove? -- re-awoke Orpheus in a new form as a woody, resinous scent. It doesn't smell half bad in this form, either, but... that is incredibly, incredibly strange.

[maijasu]

This is very green and grassy on me. It's very clean smelling and a little bit sharp, but not too sharp. After drying awhile, it mellows out and a sweet floral peeks through. I don't get any cedar from it at all. It's gorgeous, and I can see myself gravitating toward this blend during the springtime, so I will save my imp to use then.

[moon_lemming]

In the bottle, this is a pretty, bright, clean-smelling herbal scent with a touch of floral goodness. I love it. On me, one of the flowers -- who knows which one, they pretty much all keel me ded -- amps up a little bit, but not so much that I want to hose myself down.

 

As it dries, Orpheous stays sweet and bright; there's a touch of astrigency, but it's not bad. This is what F5 would smell like if we didn't already have an F5.

Edited December 20, 2006 by karen

[forspecial_plate]

Orpheus is fresh and green smelling, just like lots of others said. There's something in it that reminds me a lot of a commercial perfume, maybe the lavender or benzoin, or maybe just the combination of notes. After a while some of the sharp pointy notes become more rounded out, and it's sweeter but still has that green feel to it. It reminds me of the Apothecary although I didn't do a side-by-side test of the two. I like it enough to keep the Imp around, maybe not enough to buy a bottle.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Quiet, gentle, pale and watery and a hint of citrus.

 

Wearing: It’s a beautifully clean, soft scent with a tinge of sadness. The artwork shows Orpheus charming the beasts; I’m trying to remember the myth, and whether the beast-charming happened before or after he lost Eurydice in the underworld, because this scent speaks quietly of loss. The white musk blossoms as it dries. Just lovely.

[Lionesse]

In the bottle: sharp, green herbal

wet: herbal, sweet... its becoming too sweet

dry: ugh, sickly sweet, i think its the lavender

 

Orpheus, its not you. Its me. I just don't mix well with florals!

 

*sigh*

[GypsyRoseRed]

On me, Orpheus quickly turns into straight-up lavender, without any of the other notes even showing up. Boo hooo. Too sharp and heavy for me, I'm afraid.

[Em-]

Green, green, green. This scent is so perfectly attuned to the image it represents it is staggering - the papyrus, the lute, the critters...

 

This is a very herbal, green scent, but it is not overtly masculine - at least not to me, then again, I like a lot of "masculine" scents. I'm having a very difficult time describing it, to be honest. But it is very fresh, and evocative, and I like it a lot.

[crazyredhead17]

In the imp, this smells like green florals - kind of like the back end of a floral case where the buckets of greens are kept - it's clean, strong scents of green, with florals wafting through.

 

Wet, on my skin: Headache inducing lavender, with greens in the background.

 

Lavender just doesn't play well on my skin, and this blend is no exception.

[hackess]

Imp: Nondescript. I can't pick anything out of it.

 

Wet: It's almost fruity! Very pretty - tiny blossoms and a sharp green note underneath -- freshly cut grass?

 

Dry: Something almost like incense. It feels like a ritual (this is a strange reaction for me to have to a scent). A very creamy, smooth floral; not too sharp or perfumed. Not bad, but not my thing.

[aine]

This really is "crushed green stems" with a smattering of floral notes rounding out the edges. There's something that makes me think of water although it's not a watery note. It smells alive and I almost want to say 'clean' but I worry that that might hint at soapiness and I don't find this soapy at all.

 

Orpheus is a perfect scent for after a shower. I can definitely see the Ides of March comparisons but this is much prettier. Whereas Ides is a very traditional fragrance, this is fresh and modern. It is what I would like my hair to smell like forever more..... (okay even I think that's a weird way to review a fragrance - but it's true)

[The_Merf]

myoubi sent me a sniffie of this months ago, and I was intrigued by the lemon in the blend, so I was happy to be able to give it another go at ECWC. I don't know if it was the age of the tester versus the age of my sniffie, but the lemon was not as pronounced on this second try. It was, however, certainly still there, though a bouquet of green herbs matched it in terms of strength. On both tries, the dry-down was highlighted by the stephanotis flowers. I got very few wooded notes out of my tries, even with the more aged decant. It's very much a fresh citrus/green scent with a floral drydown.

[jolarocknrolla]

Green, aquatic and cutrus with a hint of watery floral. Not as aquatic as Door13 and more floral than Kiyohime, but sort of related to those, with a more green herbal tinge to it. More fresh and less musty than some florals tend to get ... it actually reminds me a tiny bit of Lush Avobath, only much more complex! If you ilke greenery, you will like this.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Crushed green stems indeed!

 

On Skin: Crushed green stems, slightly woody, slightly musky

 

On Drydown: The crushed green stem aspect dies down a bit, I get more of the musk and wood, with a touch of sweetness

 

Verdict: This is a very GREEN scent on me. Not entirely pleased with it, but I think it would be dynamite on a boy. I have no reason to think it is particularly masculine, but I think it would appeal more to a guy's sense of smell. In any case, off to try it on the husband!

[hipslike___cinderella]

Orpheus is supery-dupery green, sharp, clean, and a little herbal. I love lavender, and I think that combined with the green stems provides a soothing quality in this. It's relatively strong right away, and generally masculine, although I try to avoid using gender adjectives. More flowers blossom up here and there as it wears on, but it's very green, almost vegetative florals. I like Orpheus, even though it's not something I want to wear. I can't pinpoint it; maybe it's just too green for me (I didn't know that would ever happen ). Still, pleasantly unique, as I don't think I've sniffed a BPAL similar to this one before.