Aelopile

[Vega]

Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud.

Sniffed: Glowing, smooth resins laced with citrus and verbena.

On skin: For a brief spell, Aelopile was a lovely mix of deep, golden resins and thin, shining citrus and verbena; shining and cold like polished metal, thin and almost metallic but still managing to be fruity-sweet. But it changed dramatically upon drydown: the complexity vanished, leaving a hollow, sour citrus note. I can smell a ghost of the former resinous beauty, but Aelopile is mostly just unpleasant brassy tartness. Ugh, I fear it's the verbena and unidentifed "citrus" turning nasty...

Verdict: Unfortunately, Aelopile is one of those rare blends that smells one thing in the imp, and another thing on my skin. I'm disappointed that the goodness was so fleeting and the verbena ended up turning sour. Oh well, for swaps.

[ModderRhu]

in imp: all citrus! bright

 

wet on skin: still citrus, but can tell there's other stuff in there. it's deeper.

 

initial drydown: something in here reminds me of food. like, dinner. like, savory. weird. i've heard oud can have some strange odor profiles, so that must be it. it's also kinda juicy. definitely woody, but not obnoxious. muted woods.

 

late drydown: the citrus has totally burned off. i'm left with hot, buttered wood. salty and creamy. all i'm getting right now is the wood and labdanum. smells creamy like sandalwood, but not as sour. i like!

Edited January 20, 2011 by ModderRhu

[LightLikeKnives]

The onset of this is LOUD and on my skin, it smells like artificial, sugary candy. Yuck. After two hours, it mellows out to a sweeter psuedo-musk, although it has some teeth to it. It makes me feel strong and gregarious. The ending scent is a wonderful sweet-spicy-woodsy aroma that I positively love. However, I couldn't stand the onset.

[countessmouse]

OMG I love this! Oddly smoky and citrusy in the imp and wet on my skin, but after a few minutes it's nothing but resiny amber, verbena and citrus with just a tiny, tiny hint of cedar. I am so thankful the wood didn't take over and make me smell like an ashtray!

 

Off to get a bottle of this one...

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: Warm, woodsy, slightly spicy, slightly green lemon. So basically, I can pick out all of the notes! It's sort of like Lemon Pledge - or rather, like wood freshly polished with Lemon Pledge. It's nice. The first time I sniffed it, it somehow reminded me of my boyfriend, though he doesn't wear cologne, or smell naturally of lemons.

 

Wet: Lemon. Lemon lemon lemon. And then: laundry detergent. There's another scent here that I am trying hard to ignore, but I can't anymore: it smells like semen. Maybe that's why it reminded me of my boyfriend? One other person has mentioned this in the reviews, so I guess I'm not totally insane. The woodsiness slowly start to come back on the drydown.

 

Dry: Still vaguely reminds me of semen, but not as much as before. It's gotten a bit closer to what it was in the imp, but the lemon is still the dominant note. And it's now a cooler scent as opposed to a warm one. There's a very slight sweetness, which I can only smell if I breathe in really deeply. And it's a little powdery.

 

An Hour Later: Soft, slightly woodsy lemon. It's a clean skin scent - that's the best way I can describe it.

 

Overall: Kind of nice, but I'm not sure it's for me. I prefer my lemon scents sweet and creamy. I think I'll test this on the boyfriend before swapping it. Don't think I'll tell him about the "semen note" though...

[cheetah_pita]

Prior notions: No clue what amber, labdanum or oud smell like, but I love citrus and cedar's definitely a friend, as long as it doesn't get too strong.

 

Wet: warmth. slightly metallic-y, similar to the beginning of Phoenix Steamworks.

Dry: hello cedar! extremely strong.

After 15 minutes: cedar is still there, not as strong as before, but definitely there.

After 1 hour: ...still cedar. If there's something else going on, my nose is too noobish to tell.

 

Conclusions: Aw! I really wanted the citrus to come out. Maybe I'll try it again in a couple weeks, see if things change. I really like the opening note of warmth, I wish it would stick around some more, but if Aelopile is just cedar cedar cedar it's going in the swap pile

[Gateau]

In the imp -- lemony iced tea

 

Wet -- juicy wet iced tea with lemon and sugar. It warms up and rounds out quickly with the amber.

 

Dry -- the amber keeps mellowing out the lovely lemony citrus notes, including the cedar. A nice clean warm smell. It fades out, but leaves me with a scent that for some reason reminds me of having a drink before dinner after a day at the beach and a nice cleansing shower in the Caribbean -- probably the mixture of light citrus and warm woods of the deck furniture.

 

I liked this a lot more than I'd expected to, very wearable. Citrus plus amber is a winner.

[Urpflanze]

Aelopile reminds me a great deal of Robotic Scarab, one of my favorite scents, which is strange because, as listed, they share no notes. They share a concept, though; golden steamworky goodness. They start out very different, Aelopile as mostly citrus, R.S. as mostly leather. But on my skin they settle down to very similar scents: combining spicy warm resin and fresh, clean, glossy, oiled metal. Very rich. Unisex. Stupendous.

[maoric]

In the vial: Lemon/orange polish over wood and metal.

 

Freshly applied: OOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAAANGE. I hope this mellows in a moment when it starts to dry!

 

Drying: And right out the door went the orange, though he left behind a calling card to remind me he was there. There's something underneath that's very resin-like, probably the amber and maybe the labdanum?

 

Later: The amber has greatly sweetened the remaining citrus scent, leading to a very nice spiced citrus smell that doesn't smell too foody or like a cleaning product. Nobody is around me to comment on the throw length, but I definitely really like this scent.

 

Most likely a bottle contender for me

[Lyssa]

In the imp, it smelled like a thick, spicy, citrusy resin. I definitely get the furniture polish vibe.

 

This is totally not orange on me. There are some hints of it, but the citruses I get are lemon and lime. I think this is mostly lime for me. I'm wondering if this is the verbena, the citrus, or both. I get a tiny hint of the pencil shaving feeling, enough to make me kind of dislike it. It makes me feel like I have them on my hands and need to wipe them.

 

I definitely get a very sweet citrus and some amber, which I like, but it doesn't drown out what I'm guessing is cedar enough.

 

My dad used to work at a telescope company, and he has a brass refracting telescope. When I was a kid, it used to be in the living room. I remember watching TV while my mom cleaned, and she'd use some sort of citrus-scented polish on it. Aelopile actually does remind me of that, weirdly enough. The polish is cleaner-like and brassy, the wood makes it sort of chemical-like to me, and I can't get that telescope out of my head. As the scent matures on my skin, more of the woods come out to play. I think it's nice, but it's just not my bag, baby.

 

When I get the whiffs of citrus, I like it. Unfortunately, those whiffs are kind of few and far between. I'd rather smell it on the boyfriend (Maoric, above ), which is good because it's one of his favorites.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Lyssa

[Drae]

In the imp: This smells like a lemon/orange citrus blend gone "off", and a bit bathroom cleaner.

On my skin: Still a stinging, sour lemon, but it does smell less 'wrong' than in the imp. I hadn't really understood when people would describe a scent as "effervescent" until now, this is reminding me of a citrus alka-seltzer freshly dropped into bathroom cleaner or furniture polish :/ The cedar is in the background, keeping things pretty masculine.

15 mins later: There you are, Amber. The astringency of the citrus has been mellowed and sweetened by the amber, but Aelopile has now gone into powdered laundry detergent territory as well. Not a big fan.

 

Verdict: Going by notes alone (and minus cedar) this should have worked for me, but I can't help but associate it with cleaning products/detergent/cough drops. Also, I can't really smell it 20 mins after application, but I can sense that it's still strong, really odd. Glad to try it but passing the imp along.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Drae

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): On first sniff, the oud and labdanum feature prominently. With some concentration, I can discern the verbena and the citrus.

 

Wet: This scent is much lighter on my skin than in the vial. The oud, amber, and labdanum still feature prominently, but the verbena is quickly making itself more apparent. It's rich and exotic without being cloying or stifling.

 

Dry: While drying, the scent takes on more of a bright overtone with the verbena carrying the scent; however, after over an hour of drying, the oud and amber with just the slightest hint of verbena linger on my skin. It's a great feminine scent.

[Eliyetres]

Sour metallic scent, I feel like it's more of a masculine scent, not for me. I think it could have worked if it wasn't for the lemon!

[lilyliza]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Deep, almost smoky woods, a healthy helping of citrus and verbena, and some faint amber in the background.

 

On my skin, wet: This definitely reminds of steampunk, wood and gears. The amber and citrus brighten and sweeten the scent enough for it to be unisex. I'm not sure how I feel about the amber/citrus combination though.

 

Drydown: Smoky wood and a beautiful amber note makes this smell grounded, warm, and welcoming. The citrus has died down to the point where it's just subtly brightening up the overall effect.

 

Dry: Mostly amber with a tiny bit of wood and citrus left in the background.

 

I thought it was nice. I could see myself wearing this on days when I'm in a certain mood.

[persephonehazard]

In the imp I'm getting cedar and amber, I think. My lack of experience means I can't be certain, but it's certainly a little incensey and a little woody and very sharp. When I slap a little on wet it's all citrus - very orangey but with a heaviness to it, like if you were burning orange oil. The more it dries the stronger that gets, till all I have is ORANGES ORANGES ORANGES very heavily all down my right arm.

 

After a while this fades out into some kind of dingy floral that I can't really pinpoint yet, though it may have something to do with amber. I'm dying to figure out what it is that amber smells like, but I really am very new to all this. I've no clue what oud is like either, but there's a strange bitter note to this that could well be that. I think I may even be getting cedar, though this isn't anything like as woody as I'd secretly hoped - must keep an eye out for something that really is woody and give it a go!

 

All in all, this hasn't clicked with me. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either - though there's a chance that this is one of a couple of scents I've tried so far that will benefit from a re-test once my nose is a little more experienced.

[Teaotter]

Wet: Citrus! Strong, in-your-face lemon verbena and another citrus note I can't place.

 

Drydown: The amber and labdanum come out in a lovely, smooth resinous wave. There is something almost powdery-feeling about the amber. There is a faint bitter note, probably from the oud, that keeps this from being sweet. Instead, it's this complex golden, spicy, resinous mix.

 

Verdict: This reminds me a great deal of my beloved Leo 2007 (notes: Egyptian amber, walnut bark, chamomile, frankincense, and saffron) in the amber and spiciness, but Aelopile has an additional citrus tang. The throw is moderate, and it lasts well on me.

 

Another winner in the Steamworks category for me!

 

Edited for html coding fail.

Edited January 17, 2012 by TeaOtter

[Kayah]

Wet this smells EXACTLY like the resinous fresh in-the-shell,in-the-flowerhead sunflower seeds. To a T.

As it starts to dry down the verbena comes out and makes it a little more citrusy, but from top to bottom, this smells like fresh sunflower seeds being eaten straight from the head..

 

Lovely

[sessile]

at first: CITRUSSSSS. a bit like a lemonhead.

 

later: the citrus fades down into verbena/cedar. the oud/labdanum is nice and soft/slightly powdery, not an overpowering wood scent. the amber is more in the background, imparting a slightly higher note than the other resins.

 

really pleasant scent, perfect for the fall. since it's spring i'll probably kind of sit on it until then, but really - so, so nice. probably a great unisex fragrance.

 

note: this scent really showed me the importance of applying fragrances to pulse points, and liberally. this smelled TOTALLY different when i applied to somewhere else on me (my knee, as i was running out of spots to test) with just a couple of stripes. there, the wood notes were prominent, overpowering, and therefore unpleasant/headache-inducing. glad i gave this a second chance.

[jkfagtongpun]

Frimp from the lab - woohoo, been wanting to try something from Steamworks for some time!!

 

In the imp I smelled only cedar.

 

As soon as it touched my skin it turned straight to lemon. There was a sweet woody smell behind the lemon but the lemon was too overpowering.

 

Drydown the citrus moves right to the back and it begins to smell a bit resinous with the sweet woody smell being able to come to the front.

 

It didn't last long and didn't have much throw. It's a nice scent but doesn't 'wow' me.

 

Editing to say... er... three months later, I don't know if it was my state of mind or the scent just needed a few months to unfold but, I can't stop wearing this. The lemon doesn't dominate on application anymore and overall it is still woody, slightly sweet and warm... kind of dusty in a warm afternoon kind of way. The amber is the more dominant note now and backed by the wood and slight citrusy smell I get now, it's GOOD. I might even buy a 5ml. I just wish it lasted a bit longer and had better throw. No one's perfect though.

Edited May 4, 2012 by trumpette

[captnklaus]

This scent is one of my all time favourite comfort scents. I love how its a lovely red as well, makes it easy to find in my imp box ;3

 

In the imp I get the woods and the warmth from the amber, with a drop of citrus. On my skin, there is no citrus at all. Actually, for the first half hour maybe there is this really strange note that gives me a very ... Ahem, a very interesting scent association. And it makes me wonder why I keep picking it up.

 

But then I remember. After that first stage passes, Aelopile becomes this beautiful spicy, creamy cedar wood that I just cannot get enough of. I especially love wearing this with a t-shirt on. I slather it on my chest and after its been warmed and passed that initial weird stage? I pull my shirt collar over my nose and take deep breaths- instant calm.

 

I love this scent and will be getting a bottle of this sometime, especially for those days I just need something comforting. And probably fairly soon, considering my imp is almost gone.

 

 

EDIT: Months later and I've figured out what the heck is giving me that weird scent association- it's the verbena! I finally tested another scent with a dominant verbena note and it has that same odd scent to it. So for Aelopile to be comforting and bearable, I need to wait for the verbena to take a back seat to everything else.

Edited November 17, 2012 by captnklaus

[Monster]

Allllll verbena with some wood notes. This smells very masculine to my nose. All of these notes are ones I typically love...just not in this blend. Hmmm Oh well :/

[Mechanical Death]

I swear I have smelled something almost exactly like this before. I can not for the life of me place my finger on it.

 

Imp-- Procured as a lovely surprise addition from one of my ebay purchases *cuddles imp* I have been lusting after most of the steamworks series, so I was very excited to try this out.

 

in vial-- lemmon tea and honey, and something else. Very citrus, somewhat sweet, another review said smooth-- I would have to agree. It's hard to pick out any one thing. It's very smooth. I smell some light vanilla, but usually when I smell vanilla in the imp/bottle it's amber.

 

wet on my skin-- woah, that smells like Dorian! Holy shit! *sniff sniff* no for real, like exactly, or at least Dorian's very close cousin.

 

As it dries, the Dorian similarity fades a bit, and just lingers underneath. It's the Verbena I have decided. There is definitely verbena in Dorian in the tea note, or very possibly the fougere but there is verbena *somewhere* in that scent and we all know it . Still, The two have an uncanny similarity and it goes past the verbena. Take Dorian, add wood-- Voila! Aelopile. Not that I'm complaining. I love these types of scents.

 

The woods come out more as it dries, which are lovely. They are medium woody scents-- not too dark, not heavy. They add just enough of that character but you don't feel like you're in a workshop or in a forest of musty damp trees. I don't get anything metalic about the scent, which I'm glad for. The citrus is tart enough. The amber is there just under the surface acting as a blender for the lemon and wood, and keeps the whole thing balanced and creamy. It's not dusty at all. I do detect the labdanum which gives the scent a bit of a resinous and sweet quality.

 

Oddly enough, as it dries further the woods fade and the citruses become more dominant again and the Dorian comparison becomes much more apt.

I'm glad I got to try this, but if the drydown for my chemistry ends up staying at the Dorian's Copy Cat, then I don't need a bottle.

[lainevierge]

It's amazing how much this smells like brass and steam. Unfortunately, citrus doesn't work well on me and it's starting to overwhelm everything. After a few minutes all I'm smelling is something akin to a sweaty gym mat. Gross, I know. This is why I can't do citrus scents. I wish the amber came out more.

 

Really lovely scent for those who can wear citrus and cedar. Still amazed at how much it smells just like metal and steam when it's wet on my skin.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Mellow citrus.

 

Drydown: Soft, restrained citrus. Verbena and perhaps bergamot or neroli. Something fuzzy and delicate too, possibly the oud. Brassy.

 

Dry: Still mainly a soft citrus blend, but more complex now. There’s a warm woodsy element and a hint of very light resin. I’m not really picking up any amber. Light and soft, bright and smooth. Deeper and more resinous as the day goes on.

[Wren12]

In the imp...a huge burst of citrus, which after further sniffing reveals a warm wooden base with a touch of bitterness.

 

On wet...the cedar blooms as the oil is spread, with a melange of citrus providing the top notes. There is a slightly resinous quality behind the wood and citrus, bitter, almost myrrh like.

 

On dry...the citrus really dominates this blend. The cedar is still there, but whispering sweet nothings behind the sharp citrus. The slight bitter resin provides a dark backing to the whole. It does temper some of the serious citrus that is center stage.

 

I also learned something testing thus one. Did you guys know that oud is also called agar wood and is created when a certain species of tree is infected by a virus? The virus spreads to the heart wood of the tree and as the tree combats it it creates the aromatic compounds that make up the resin used in performer! It explains the slightly incense resin, myrrh-ish thing I noted.

 

All in all...pretty brash citrus. Some throw, decent sticking power. Just maybe a little one note for me. It's nice, but I'm trying to be brutal in culling my imps so most likely a swapper.

 

ETA: oh, its got amber, normally that's a death note for me...but here I'm not getting very much of it. Also, the cedar becomes more apparent after some time, but...still a swapper.

Edited January 20, 2013 by Wren12