Lyonesse

[shadow]

Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss.

I was very surprised by this one. Normally amber takes over a scent and leaves me with powder. This did something entirely different. I never got the separate notes, I ended up with a beautiful golden wood. It was like blonde woods and just a little hint of alcohol (scotch?), and maybe even a touch of tobacco. Very beautiful, but not what I was expecting at all.

[Shannihilation]

OMG. In the bottle this is soft and deep and "golden". It's very warm and sexy. And on my skin it gets even better. Soft and spicy and warm and very sexy!! It's a very tropical scent. Sunshine and warm breezes and waves lapping at the shore.

 

I love this. Wow.

[lysithea]

This has soared into my Top 10 favs!

 

A warm, golden, sexy caress upon my skin. The amber does not go powder overload. Vanilla is toned down with spice. That musk is oh so sexy. *Swoon*

It is beachy. I'm surprised how the orris plays off the sandalwood. Usually, orris amps to the n-th degree on me.

 

If you're dithering on ordering this, just jump on in (to a 5ml. that is!) because Lyonnesse is fine!

 

May appeal to lovers of Morocco, Antique Lace - yet, it is a very unique blend.

[atlaswinks]

This is my new favorite!

 

10/10

 

If Black Pearl had an orgy with Morocco, Snake Oil, & Antique Lace, this would be their love child.

 

This is a complex but perfectly blended scent. All the notes do not fight with each other, but instead blend into something better than you can imagine. It is sexy and mysterious and spicy and warm and herbal and resinous and sweet in a hint of rich butterscotch kind of way. There is also a sweet tropical beach note as well as a floral whiff and the balance of the Musk and Amber and Sandalwood are wonderful!

 

All in all, I can't stop sniffing my wrist and hand. I liked it quite a bit on first sniff - and the longer I wear it the more I love it. 1 hour later it is even more lovely. I will definately buy a large bottle in my next order.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Vanilla, sandalwood and musk

 

On Skin: I LOVE IT!!! This scent has won my heart, I want gallons of it!!! My husband took one sniff and his eyes lit up like I’ve never seen! An obvious YES! The vanilla and sandalwood are strongest, two of my favorite notes on both myself and him. He says he thinks it’s a little more feminie, so I think I’ll wear it and “manage” to rub a little off on him. The musk adds to the velvet texture of this scent… mixed with the amber, orris and other resinous darker notes it just seems so soft, innocently seductive and drop dead beautiful. I don’t smell the lily amazingly, it must be very light. The sea moss is also very, very faint giving just a echo of an aquatic feel. The vanilla covers everything in a creamy sauce that sweetens it all. It reminds me of a stronger and more complex Monsterbait Underpants. I love it completely. Light to medium throw, average to long wearlength.

[LittleGreyKitten]

This is a really lovely blend. The vanilla is a strong creamy base, and the most prominent note on me. The ambergris is what I suspect is the powdery thing I'm noticing- not bad powdery, but yes, powdery. Or possibly the grey amber. Or maybe both together. Anyway, it's totally pretty and feminine. I will have to wait and see if I use it enough to do it justice.

 

4 out of 5.

[Em-]

Sweet, cloying skin musk - absolutely sensual and delightful, with a drop of honeyed vanilla.

 

On me, at least. So glad I bought a bottle.

[Little Bird]

This scent has changed so much.  In 2006, it had lots of a warm vanilla-amber presence, and the vanilla was very noticeable, golden, and sweet, almost honeyed and nutty smelling, and very creamy.  The other notes swirled together to add a salty, cold aquatic and soapy floral presence, giving it a clean counterpart to the sweet vanilla amber.

 

In contrast, I've received a 2019 frimp of this, direct from the lab, and there's none of that vanilla at all.  There's lots of bright soapiness, like sniffing Zest, Dial and Irish Spring, and some powderiness in the drydown, but I wouldn't call it creamy or sweet anymore.  Aged for 3 months, this is still a whole lot of soap and no vanilla.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Little Bird

[Fyre_in_Winter]

Lyonesse has dethroned Perversion as my all-time favorite scent. I think I may have found my signature scent. This is gorgeousness, bottled. It is the perfect balance of amber, vanilla, sweet musk, and a hint of.... something ethereal.

 

ETA: Oh yeah, this is The One. It's perfect for any occasion and has decent lasting power. *@^#&$, this smells so good.............

Edited February 14, 2007 by Fyre_in_Winter

[azhure]

In the vial: Liquid gold. I can think of no other way to describe it.

 

Wet: My skin eats this scent at first, so it remains very close to the skin at first. It almost smells like honey to me, but deeper and more mysterious.

 

Drydown: Musky liquid gold. It smells like a dream of an ancient place.

 

Verdict: I am in love. Completely unlike any other scent I've ever tried.

[Miss Lynx]

Whoa. This is stunning. I was a little bit afraid of it because of the lily and the orris, neither of which are usually very good on me, but... whoa.

 

It's a lot more conventionally perfumey than most scents I like, but we're not talking drugstore perfume here. We're talking some kind of super-high-end, many-hundreds-of-dollars-a-bottle, available-only-in-exclusive-boutiques type perfume. Seriously, this needs to live in a fancy cut-glass bottle or something.

 

It's got the sort of warm amber-musk base that so many of my favourite scents do, but a really elegant, refined version of that. The floral element is there, but it's not overpowering -- it's absolutely perfectly balanced with the resinous notes. And I can get a faint hint of something aquatic in it, but it doesn't smell fake and nasty like aquatics usually do on me. It smells like -- I don't know, the rays of the setting sun reflected on an otherworldly ocean full of water lilies, or something like that.

 

It's very golden, glowing scent, but ethereal and otherworldly at the same time. Like the scent of some kind of solar faery queen. It's quietly elegant, and commanding at the same time. Its only downside is that it doesn't last too long, but it's lovely enough to be worth reapplying.

 

All I can say is... wow. It's not my usual kind of scent, but I don't care. This is one of the Lab's most outstanding accomplishments.

 

Grade: A

[CLFilm]

I second the golden, glowing sunset comment from above. If Et Lux Fuit is mid-day, mid-summer sun (which it is on me), Lyonesse is what happens when that summer starts to fade to fall and the sun begins to set early over the mountains and lakes.

 

It starts out all vanilla on me - almost a vanilla extract smell, and then the amber comes out to play, with just a waft of florals all around. It's like Antique Lace crossed with Jacob's Ladder with just a bit of Al Araaf (the lily bit). This is so well blended and gorgeous - even though it kind of reminds me of several things, it is very much its own blend and a spectactular one at that. I agree with everyone's "ethereal" comments too. The only way I can describe it is that it's tough to pin down yet it smells like home. A classic.

 

Great throw so far - not too light, not too strong.

 

(My mom called it a "girly bedroom" scent - for what that's worth. )

[crescentwench]

In the imp it's creamy and sweet, i don't catch any of the florals.

 

Wet, the amber and musk come out to playtoo. Yum! On me this is the way I had hoped 'o' or "snake oil" would smell. It's sweet, but not so sweet that I feel like a cake. It's not floral on me at all really, and the moss is there just enough to ground it and keep it from being too foody.

 

It's faint, but with a good bit of throw. my skin sucks up most scents so you have to be reallyclose to the skin to smell, but this floats just a bit above. It'll be a great compliment to some of the more masculine scents that I like to wear.

 

Definately a bottle on this one!!

[Faeried]

Vanilla, then a hint of musk...with more vanilla. I know there are other scents in this but they all seemed to hide from me on this one. I'm undecided about this one, as I'm very much sold on Snake Oil, which is a lovely vanilla on me. So, this will have to go in the maybe pile for now.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

if amber, honey, skin musk and BPAL Vanilla are all good things for you, then try this. you'll love it.

 

if, however, those are the notes you were hoping would be faint, and that the

lily, white sandalwood, orris root & sea moss would be the dominant scents... (like i did) then... not so much.

 

after about an hour, i get a vanilla-sandalwood-lily scent that is okay, but that first hour of O-with-less-honey-and-more-powder doesn't make the rest worth it.

i'm grateful to the forumite who sent me a sniffy in a swap, but this is not for me.

 

i feel like i'm wearing someone else's perfume.

i'll bet, though, that on the right chemistry, this would smell amazing.

Edited October 5, 2006 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is very, very masculine

 

once applied i can smell the sandalwood and ambergris...this is a very delicate

and light blend...aquatic...a touch of sweet vanilla...

 

while this is really lovely it fades far too quickly...i think this might be a perfect scent for a really super, steamy, hot, sultry day...i shall revisit it then

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: warm, spicy vanilla, reminiscent of my beloved Dorian and Snake Oil.

 

Initial application: oof, it suddenly goes all manly on me! A nice kind of manly, but manly all the same.

 

Drydown: ah, okay, it's settling down a bit. This is a beautiful blend, definitely a must for fans of vanilla. I'm not getting any of the floral notes, it's just a delicious mix of vanilla, spices, and musk. Nice, soft throw, but the fade is surprisingly quick, usually vanillas stay with me for a while. It's a little too close to Dorian for me to want to buy a 5ml just yet, but it's gorgeous all the same.

 

Smiley rating:

[theseagrows]

i am in love with this one- there is a soft, warm vanilla. the musk and the delicate white sandalwood blend perfectly with the vanilla. i can't really smell the lily or sea moss at all, and am not sure about the other notes. all i know is this is gorgeous and warm.

 

trying again 18 years later, thanks to a frimp: i get a lot of lily, orris, ambergris  and sea moss this time along with vanilla. it's like a vanilla aquatic. pretty but, too aquatic for me.

Edited yesterday at 04:40 AM by theseagrows

[Bagfish]

I tried Lyonesse the day it arrived, but I think I had nose overload as I didn't particularly like it. However, on giving it a second chance today with a whole arm to itself rather than being crowded by other scents, Lyonesse blossoms like a shy girl asked to dance at the ball.

 

The BPAL that this reminds me most of is Mouses Long and Sad Tale, but I like this far better. This is because the florals are far more muted and the scent is much more grounded, which allows the creamy amber and vanilla to emerge along with a slight salty edge - sea moss? The scent stays close to my skin, it is very comfortable to wear and would be a fantastic scent for days when I don't feel like shouting that I'm wearing perfume.

 

This really is very beautiful, but I shall decide if I need a bottle by seeing how often I reach for the imp as it may not quite be "me"

 

Edited July 2007 to add: I used three imps of Lyonnesse so decided a bottle was in order The odd thing is that the scent in the bottle has a definite caramel tone to it which initially really put me off as I can't wear BPAL caramel scents. I was all ready to complain, but gave it a go. The caramel smell disappears after five minutes and the gorgeousness of Lyonesse appears so if this has happened to you, don't be put off, Lyonesse is still there, just hidden by caramel.

Edited July 13, 2007 by Bagfish

[Summerpixy]

Upon dabbing this on I was astonished by how very good it was... and I've been wearing it for the last few days... I think I may need a bottle before I run out of this imp.

 

In short.. very, very good, if you like the sweetness and musk of Dorian, you are sure to love this one too.

[lookingglass]

I had no idea that I would fall so hard for this scent. I bought it for my stargazer lovin sister, but of course, I had to try it!

 

Foamy, delicious ambergris mixed with creamy lily and a brightness that is undeniably floral, but is fresh, invigorating, and hard to place, exactly. It is definitely an accord. Lovely.

 

Drying out, the amber and vanilla rise and melt beautifully with the musk. It is a similar combination to Mouse's Long Sad Tale, or Morocco, but I love Lyonesse most of all...It works so well with my skin. I have been waiting for a scent that I could put on fresh out of the shower that retains that clean feeling while being sweet and resinous at the same time. Lyonesse is that scent...the perfect scent for me. Clean, soft, sophisticated, and exotic. Like being on a sea sprayed cliffside, with the wind whiping through my loose hair...

 

This is a master blend, indeed, and is now in my Top 10...

 

So happy I have a bottle!

Edited January 7, 2007 by lookingglass

[Nepthys]

I had a very different reaction to it than most described here - on me this is almost pure lily and musk, with maybe just a breath of vanilla. Quite powdery and a little old-fashioned. It smells much like some perfume that was popular in the 80's, I can't think of the name. Anyhow I was quite to disappointed that the amber and sandalwood, my favorite notes, were MIA. This is pretty but not really my thing... I'll use up the imp but that's it for me and Lyonesse.

[PilotKitten]

Hrm... a bright vanilla is the predominant note when on wet. After the drydown, it's still the vanilla but creamier and muskier. This blend is okay for an amber, but there's others that I prefer more.

[euterpe414]

This is so sophisticated and sensual! I am glad I bought a bottle of this unsniffed! It reminds me of a lighter, creamier version of Lucretia, actually- still the uber classy feel of Lucretia with an added golden warmth and creaminess. I put this on today as the weather was grey and damp, and it is brightening my mood and making me want to curl up with a good book under a blanket. A good feeling indeed. To sum it all up- Perfect! I only wish I knew enough to order a 10ml when they were still around.

 

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

This scent starts out soft, and reminds me alittle of Jacob's Ladder. A gentle, ambery scent with a rounded quality of something almost lemony. The vanilla is very prominent and lovely. Although I am generally sort of 'on the fence' about vanilla blends and typically not wowed by them, I'd reccomend this one to a vanilla fan.

 

Very nice, but as I have a partially full bottle of Jacob's Ladder that's pretty similiar (and seemingly more complex on my skin chemistry), I will probably part with the imp.

 

Court

Edited November 4, 2006 by Court Analyst/Strategist