Fascinum

[DangerInRed]

Hic habitat felicitas! The penis was a potent and popular symbol of good fortune, strength, power, and fertility in ancient Rome. Images of phalluses adorned Roman homes and shops, bringing the positive energy that the symbol represents into the lives of the inhabitants.

Golden amber, golden musk, litsea cubeba, cedar, and saffron.

At first sniff, my first thoughts were golden incense. I thought it might have been too incensey for me.


Once on, Fascinum still smells like a rich golden incense, with a hint of sweetness. For a few minutes, something in it reminded me of Snow Angel (weird)! Also, there's one note that smells a bit out of place...kind of like...babies?

Uh oh, I think my nose might be borked on that account. Maybe I should try this after a while of not having just washed my hands with Johnson's Baby Soap (don't ask).

Will update with a second wearing, but for now, incense/resin lovers, this blend is for you!

[akiko]

I tossed an imp of this into my last order, because of the amber. Glad I did

 

Imp: incensey, ambery

 

Wet: Goes through a mossy, citrusy/clean stage, then becomes incensey-clean

 

Dry: softly resinous. I like it.

 

I also attacked my husband with this, because I like the Pit & the Pendulum on him. On him, it doesn't get the citrus stage, and it goes to a sexy, soft resin or incense.

 

It's a great unisex scent for resin lovers, much softer than P&P.

[Beatrice33]

This one is beautiful. I agree that it's unisex. Hubby wasn't willing to try it on yesterday, but he loved the smell on me, and I know it will smell divine on him when he's willing. It's very well blended--smooth amber deepended by the cedar and saffron and lifted slightly by the herbally litsea cubeba. Quite a stunner, really.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Indeed, herbal incense with something almost suggesting citrus (though not quite, on me).

 

The Cedar makes me take this as very much an outdoor scent.

 

Strong, rugged woman. Barbara Stanwyck.

 

Definitely unisex.

Edited January 31, 2008 by Heavenlyrabbit

[slave1]

FASCINUM

 

In Bottle: Cedar and amber

 

On Skin: Ooo… a very golden and deep scent. The amber is gorgeous and warm… the perfect resin, the musk draping the skin in a soft velvety coating… The cedar is clean and woody with an incense feel. The litsea cubeba is citrusy and bright. The saffron provides a very light and modest spice in the background. Overall this scent is very warm and comforting. I like that although it feel dark, there are the notes that cut through it and make the scent stand out. It is also perfect for a man or woman. It is a good universal scent that can be worn anytime and by anyone. It’s got just the right amount of throw, not overwhelming or too perfumey. I would even love this as a room scent. It’s just so pleasant. Medium throw and average wearlength.

[alicia_stardust]

Overall, Fascinum is dry and golden. The sharp, dry cedar and the warm amber almost make this an incense fragrance, but not quite. The litsea cubeba adds an almost lemon-evergreen hint, but it is subdued in comparison to the amber and cedar. The saffron adds a warm, hay-like, exotic spice to this.

 

Together, all of the notes in Fascinum combine to form a warm and alluring fragrance. It is dry, golden, exotic, and has a strong throw. I do agree that this is gender neutral, but to be honest I think I like it best on a guy. It just has that sort of vibe to it. =)

[filigree_shadow]

I really like this. Love the amber and musk combination, and the saffron with it is exactly perfect. My husband likes to wear cedar scents, so the cedar in this reminds me of him. That makes the scent very endearing to me.

 

Don't know if this was supposed to be for men, but I'm totally going to wear it. It's so warm and rich, and I swear, the amount of spice is ideal. Absolutely exactly the kind of spice I like in a perfume.

 

Another one for the bottle list.

[heathercaley]

Mmmm.. Incense and saffron mellowed with the amber. The cedar isn't too dominant, which I love. I thought that I was smelling clove or cinnamon, but I guess that was the saffron all along. This is gorgeous!!!

 

I completely agree with it being uni-sex...this might smell amazing on my husband!!

 

Wow.. it's all cedar on my husband, and spicy on me!! interesting....

[sookster]

 

straight sniff from imp is a heady, resinous blend...

 

once applied the saffron and amber swirl together with what is, indeed,

a truly golden musk; some spiciness takes tops this off nicely

...very unique and different and the artist has truly

captured power and fertility in fascinum

[AEris]

This is an earthy incense (not because of patchouli or anything, but the cedar gives a hint of woodiness). The amber and musk are sweet and creamy but in the background, not trying to take center stage. I'm interested in the way that the hay-like saffron complements the fresh cedar. Fascinum sweetens up a bit as it dries down, and the amber and musk come out a bit more. I like it - not love, but it's charming all the same.

 

3.7 out of 5

[Miss Lynx]

I like most of the notes listed in this, apart from initially not being sure what litsea cubeba was, so I ignored the penisy aspect of the description, because it sounded like it ought to work fine on me.

 

But on first contact, it really does smell pretty definitely like a men's scent. A really nice, dead sexy men's scent, of the throw-anyone-who's-wearing-this-into-the-bedroom-NOW sort, but still a men's scent.

 

After a little while, though, it smells less overly masculine, and a lemony sort of scent comes out -- I guess that's the litsea cubeba? I googled it and apparently it's supposed to smell lemony. Now it's kind of like amber with lemon drops, though still not a bad scent.

 

Eventually it fades down to being more of a generic amber-musk, a little like haunted.

 

All in all, not bad, but not great. I have enough amber-musk scents that work better on me than this one does that I probably won't be keeping it - at least, not for myself. But I may keep it around to dab on the boy on occasion...

 

Grade: B

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Lots of cedar. A prick of citrus.

 

Wet: Fascinating, Fascinum: you do not remind me of the smell of a real penis. Instead, you have a complicated background with a diva named Litsea Cubeba singing opera in front of the many members of the chorus.

 

Drydown: I knew that my skin amped cedar. Having never (knowingly) worn a blend with litsea cubeba in it, I was astonished to find that on me, the initial stages of this amp that insanely, too. In fact, the first half-hour, easily, smelled more lemony than some blends I've tried with lemongrass or lemon verbena in them. (I thought it must have real lemon in it somewhere, honestly, but that's a phallacy.)

 

Once that burns off, I'm left with sweet amber close to my skin, and a dry, smoky saffron on top. This is almost like a GC Valentine of Rome, in fact; the two go through similar stages -- a forceful entry with a thrust of one or two prominent notes, then a subtle sweet-dry climax.

 

Verdict: I won't go to ridickulous lengths to stock up on this, but I think I actually like it better than V of R. Very unisex! For the next Meet'n'Sniff, I should see if I can get my boy to come.

[black_and_bloom]

Fascinum is such a well-blended scent - as distinctive as many of the notes are, it's difficult to pick them out. Overall, it's really a warm and sexy with the amber and the musk drying down to be the most prominent notes. I don't get the cedar, saffron, or incense impression that others have noted.

 

It's a keeper - it seems like Fascinum will be a scent that will appeal to me in many different moods.

[slittlecrowrussell]

Oh Gods do I love this scent.... and amber doesn't even reach its full potential until its aged... I can't imagine how good it will smell in a year. I like Golden Priapus a lot and I find Fascinum to be similar to it, but somehow more complex. The amber and musk blend gorgeously in Fascinum, and the cedar and slight citrus tang add enough weight to keep them from getting powdery. I find saffron to have a slight wintergreeny edge to it that can be weird in some blends, but when balanced by a little bit of wood is unusual and compelling. Fascinum is lovely on a man, but if you're a strong kind of woman who is feminine without being girly-girl, it's a great scent too.

 

Here's the thing that breaks my heart about Fascinum ... it doesn't last on me... it was gone in about half an hour no matter how much I tried to find ways to get it to linger... I'm SO sad...

[tartchef]

Oh, this is SO close to working... the amber & litsea cubeba are unfortunately not playing well together, and I'm lost in a funk of powdery sweetness & harsh lemon/pine The two are in fisticuffs, drowning out the cedar & musk, and saffron's cowering in the corner somewhere... The maddening thing is, I can tell that this would be gorgeous if the two top notes would keep it down - I mean come on, amber & cedar? With musk & saffron? I'll stash this away for a few weeks & see if a bit of aging brings things into perspective - right now, I need to wash this off...

[Little Bird]

Fascinum was my favorite of the new Ars Amatoria scents when I sniffed them in their imp vials. In the vial, this smells kind of like spicy cola and dry, slightly sharp cedar. Spicy and woodsy. On my skin at first, this goes a bit funky, with the amber throwing out a punch of baby powder and something turning momentarily sharp and bitter. It quickly mellows down though, and the sweet, spicy saffron is the dominating note for me. Saffron with a slight, dry woodiness underneath. I also keep catching hints of something that smells like lemon zest. Overall, this is a warm and spicy scent on me. It might even be a little too spicy for me, because it starts to give me a headachey feeling after a while, as my skin amps it into something cinnamon-like and overwhelming.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Amber and cedar

 

Wet: Amber and incense/cedar.

 

Drydown: A very nice 'warm' scent. I think I'd love this on a cold dreary day. It's comforting.

3.0 outta 5

[waffelo13]

I get so happy when I find an easily accessible GC scent that I adore! Fascinum is one of them...

It is warm and spicy, very complex. On my skin, this scent is the love child of Morocco and Mum Moon - just lovely.

I suspect this will age beautifully, too.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Familiar, but hard to place. Woody and herbal. Wet: Oddly spicey. Something aftershave like. It’s sharp and vaguely sweet, pleasantly ambery, a very warm, yet outdoorsy scent. It is masculine, vaguely sexy, and smells like herbs, moss, and cedar. Dry: Mostly sweet, sweet amber.

[hkhm]

imp: strong musk and amber.

 

wet: this is far nicer once applied. the amber and cedar blend nicely wile the musk provides the background and the saffron adds a nice warm spiciness.

 

dry: this is sorta sweetish once dry, like a sweet amber and saffron scent. the musk is very light and the cedar has pretty much disappeared.

[savage_rose]

This smells like cinnamon musk on me. It's okay, but isn't that striking a scent on me and it fades quickly. Sigh.

[Bagfish]

A pretty, spicy golden scent with a musky resinous heart. It is a hot and dry sort of spicyness and conjures up visions of desert sands and bedouin tents in my head. Very nice imagery and a lovely smell. Definitely the best of this round of new GC scents and one of the first Love Potions to work on me.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: Hmm. This is way more traditional cologne than I was expecting. I'm a bit scared that it may be a sneeze trigger.

 

Wet on skin: Holy musk, Batman! This smells like an old man's cologne on first application. I'm really hoping that the amber starts to round this and I get some wood notes. But if it doesn't develop quickly it may be a wash-off on me. We'll see how long I can hold out.

 

Early dry down (10 minute mark): Thank goodness, this is toning down some. The throw off my wrists smells like a "chypre" style perfume -- specifically is reminds me of Ma Griffe by Carven, which I used to buy in Canada and wore in high school (it's not available in the states). I stopped wearing it because of the sneeze factor, but this seems to be playing nicely with my sinuses so far. Holding my wrists up to my nose, however, produces a slightly different scent. I'm getting cedar mixed with powdery amber on the left and almost straight-up musk on the right. The saffron has not yet appeared unless it's adding to powder whiff on the left wrist.

 

Late dry down (half an hour): Hmm. I thought this was starting to work, but I was wrong. All the right notes are there (amber, woods, saffron), but somehow the musk is winning and making me smell like a middle school boy drenched in the celebrity perfume du jour. The waft is pretty strong and it's making my throat feel tight.

 

Sadly, this is a wash-off scent for me.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Spicy, warm, and golden. Slightly sweet. Musk, amber, cinnamon and saffron.

[stardreamer]

In the imp / fresh on: Cedar! Also noticeably masculine, but not so much so as to make me uncomfortable.

 

Drydown: Still mostly cedar, but I can also pick up the amber underneath, and something spicy that's probably the saffron. "Litsea cubeba" is supposed to be lemony; I'm not getting much of that, and the musk is just a ground for the rest, not noticeable in itself.

 

Long-term: Wow, usually going out in the heat makes scents fade faster. This one intensified instead! Still quite masculine, but in a way that says "tomboy" rather than "butch". After a while, the amber sweetens on my skin; this becomes more noticeable after several hours as the cedar fades back. Staying power is very good, still quite present after 10 hours, though the throw is mostly gone by then.

 

Bottom line: Not surprisingly, this reminds me of Golden Priapus minus the vanilla note. And it works just as well for me; a girly-girl would probably not be comfortable with this blend, but I've got enough Inner Bitch to wear it as a power scent. Definite keeper!