Phobos

[wickedgoddess]

Twin to Deimos and child of War, Phobos is the embodiment of terror and mortal fear. Chilling white musk, lemon verbena, white grapefruit and lemongrass.

Origin - part of the discontinued circular swap

Wet - lemon and a tiny bit of grapefruit.

Dry - similar in a way to Yuki-Onna. Lemon's not a great note on me, and I don't like grapefruit, so this isn't going to be one of my faves. Still, I am glad I got a chance to try it.

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2 . Edited December 13, 2005 by Shollin

[Little Bird]

Wow. This is intense, hyper citrus. I don't normally like citrus scents, and this embodies all of the sharpness that I find so off-putting.

 

It smells very lemony, but it's more like true lemon than lemon verbena or lemongrass on me. It's like slicing open a fresh lemon and cramming it in your mouth to taste all of the sour bitterness.

 

In the drydown, grapefruit comes out a bit, and it turns on me as it always does. Something about grapefruit just smells very bitter and dirty on me.

 

I washed this one off. Bitter, dirty lemons and I don't get along.

[PurringPulsar]

Phobos

 

In the imp: sherbet lemons! Pure sherbet lemons with that fizzy sherbet note and candied lemon.

Wet on skin: lemongrass! Citrus! tangy and zesty! This is really delicious and sparky!

Dry on skin: the lemongrass note is very strong but mingles nicely with the other citrusy notes-the verbena and the grapefruit. I think the musk is adding something soft and almost velvety at the bottom of the scent, smoothing out the sharp citrus notes in here, adding a nice soft base contrasting the lemony tartness.

After a while: the herbal lemon scents (verbena and lemongrass) settle down into a greener citronella like scent, with grapefruit adding it's tang, and soft white musk under it all. (I wonder if this keeps away mozzies?)

Verdict: this is the most pleasant of the lemon-themed discontinued scents I've tried so far. It doesn't go soapy on me or fade too fast, there's a nice musk note anchoring the lemony notes down. It also resembles sherbet lemons at the beginning, which I love. I may want to track down an imp of this one day, it's a lovely perky citrus scent.

[themerrybaker]

2006 Version

In the great grapefruit sniff-off: Phobos is Ozone Grapefruit. If the Grapefruit Guys existed this would be an analogy to Scary Spice of the Girls!

 

 

 

No sweetness here: slightly bitter, very tart, perhaps lemon-oily citrus goodness. As it dries, there is a green, weedy undertone.

 

 

 

Phobos is a very interesting and evocative scent, but not very "perfumey". I think this would be better as a lotion.

[filigree_shadow]

At first this scent is too much lemon for me, but it seems like a sweet lemon, not a tart lemon. Kind of like those candy lemon drops. When it's dry, a green herbiness emerges, but it's still sweet. The grapefruit is doing something funky to it when it's dry -- I can still mostly smell lemon, but it's got a little twang to it. A bit of discord.

 

I think this would be a good scent for people who like lemon and herbs.

[terrierhead]

Lovely, refreshing and businesslike. I enjoy the lemoniness of Phobos, and the grapefruit grounds it so it's not too sweet or sour. Something in this - the white musk? - really holds the scent to my skin for hours. This is definitely a keeper.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

lemon verbena and grapefruit

 

wet:

same

 

dry:

very nice, strong on the lemon verbena

 

overall:

nice!! (finally a lemon verbena that works for me! yay!)

 

rating: 8/10

[crescentwench]

Initial sniff: smells just like my Burt's Bees natural bug repellant - must be the lemongrass or the lemon verbena

 

initial application: yup. just the same

 

after a while: The grapefruit come out - it goes sort of powedery and warm on me, similar to amber but with more of a kick and a hint of citrusy goodness. After a while this fades some, but it smells very similar to the way Stardust did on me, but cooler. It doesn't have the warm-boozy bit that Stardust has.

 

 

I like this one, although it's a bit to pungent on me to be used as a summer scent, which was my inital hope.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Lemon verbena like whoa! Very aggressive.

 

Wet: Lemon verbena and... ooh, surprise, here comes the grapefruit! and lemongrass!

 

Drydown: Mostly lemongrass now, which isn't really an improvement over the lemon verbena. There's a touch of something sweet in the background, the grapefruit, I'd venture. As it warms up, it's certain that there's some grapefruit in there, but it's hidden between all that lemon verbena and lemongrass. I get hints of bitter grapefruit peel from time to time, to remind me that it's still there.

 

Overall: There's a richness here that's very pleasant deep under the lemongrass and verbena, which I think must be the grapefruit. I don't smell the musk, which is a good thing as I don't like white musk very much - it goes well with citrus, though. This certainly isn't the smell of fear, though, unless we're speaking the fear of mosquitoes. It's a pleasant blend, but it does remind me too much of anti-mosquito oils. The end is also quite disappointing, once everything has lifted, I'm left with a perfumy, ambery scent. Ick.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is delightfully refreshing lemon, lemons and more lemons....gorgeous!!

this scent was made for me as the musk intertwines with lemon verbena and lemongrass making this an absolute dream for a summertime fragrance...grapefruity beyond

belief .... i am thrilled i ordered a big bottle .... i will wear it in good health all summer long most definitely

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Extra lemony lemon!

 

On wet: Sharp lemon, a sliver of what I'm thinking is grapefruit, and the barest whisper of white musk lurking underneath.

 

Drydown: The musk has risen up to form a partnership with those incredibly bright, yet slightly tamer citrus notes. It's become a sweeter, faintly powdery scent, reminiscent of those hard lemon drops you'd get in a tin, all dusted with icing sugar. Very straightforward, but also very yummy.

 

Overall: I'm a huge white musk fan, so this blend was destined to please. It's uncomplicated, fresh, and lasted for *hours*! Especially gorgeous in this disgustingly humid weather. A strong 4/5.

[ChupaChup]

Another great summer scent, Phobos is chilly citrus with BPAL's divine white musk. This lasts surprisingly well for a citrus scent and then fades down to a soft lemon sugar skin scent. This never goes Pledge on me so I hate to call it lemon at all, but hopefully you know what I mean.

[cybra111]

Phobos

 

In the bottle: Lemon with an undercurrent of a light oil.

 

On me: Lemon, and it always goes well on my skin. Grapefruit adds its fresh tartness and musk keeps this from being too one dimensional. Sadly this quickly faded. I think I will give this one more try.

[maewitch]

I love citrus scents, especially in the summer. Nothing more refreshing. The only downside is that some of them tend to fade especially fast (lime) and they can lack depth (ok, not anything I've tried from BPAL, but in theory).

 

Phobos is subtle and complex. The grapefruit is sweet and tart at the same time, fading quickly to reveal the peppery astringency of the lemongrass and verbena. Those notes in turn are supported by the white musk, which is not so much chilling as it is warm and sweet. A wonderful juxtaposition of notes that I wasn't expecting at all.

 

Fabulous.

[Caltha]

Phobos

Lemongrass, nothing but lemongrass! I do like lemongrass, but I think I prefer the fresh, citrusy lemongrass of thai food to the scent note which is more dry, grassy, aromatic and herbal. Nonetheless, I do like it. But where did the other notes go?

[storme]

In the imp: lemon sorbet! This is a very sweet lemon scent.

 

On me, wet: oooh, immediately sharper, to my relief. Still vaguely candy-ish, though - like a sour candy.

 

On me, dry: hmm, this takes a while to stop being candyish, and by then it's mostly just a slightly sweet white musk scent. enh.

 

Verdict: Nice enough. if a bit sweet, and I have better scents for the times when I would want this sort of scent.

[Voleuse]

The lemon verbena is sweet and strong in this scent, and actually reminds me a bit of lemon jellybeans. There's something cleaner behind it--the lemongrass, I think, and perhaps the grapefruit--but it's obscured by the candy-sweetness.

 

After a while, I get more of the bitter-tart grapefruit, but the jellybeans stay dominant. I also start to get something that smells like dishwater. Ah, well. Off to swaps!

[alasindocs]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

And in my new quest to expand my horizons, I have now vowed to try the frimps when I get them and not let them languish, because one never knows when something will suprise one.

 

First sniff...lemon.

 

Application - LEMON....And this is LEMON with a twist of lemon.

 

This is so strong on me it is just dreadful, it made my nostrils burn with the strong lemony lemon.

 

My chemistry amps lemon as it is.

 

If you love lemon, and lemon loves you. You've hit the lemon load!

[theseagrows]

when sniffing the imp, all i can smell is the lemon verbena, but i like lemony scents, so it's all good to me. on my skin it fades to pretty much lemon and white musk. it has good throw and smells good from afar, but when i actually sniff my wrist there is an underlying slight sourness, maybe the lemongrass? but i don't know if it's enough to prevent me from wearing it or not.

 

very clean, fresh scent, in the same vein as embalming fluid.

[maijasu]

The lemongrass is so overpowering on me, I can't smell any of the other notes. I do like lemongrass but was looking for something a bit more complex. It has very strong throw and is very refreshing. I may keep my imp and use it on hot days when other perfumes would disappear, but this one isn't love at first sniff.

[Celogrl]

Lemon wonder in a bottle! I received an imp of this in a swap and am SO glad I did. The verbena, grapefruit and lemon are sharp, not overly sweet, and the musk is just barely discernable. It's a terrific balance of all its components and very refreshing today, now that it's 103 degrees!

[hologhost]

Very verbina and very astringent. Not for me! I like citrus, but this is too bitter.

[ellemir]

As a teenager I bought a hand blended Lemon Verbena cologne in a beautiful huge glass bottle from a spanish village street fair. I loved it, kept it carefully and it was my signature scent for years.

More than 20 years later this seems exactly the same. It's instant happiness in a bottle.

This screams Lemon Verbena to me and will be my perfect summer feel good scent.

The touch of lemongrass and oter notes make it far more interesting on drydown. Even better than my memories.

 

This one will entail several hoarded bottles because I wouldn't be able to bear it being discontinued again.

 

It may even be the scent that convinces me to slather.

[sofiaviolet]

Lemon, wow. The musk comes through a bit on my skin, but it's still all lemon, really. I can't smell any lemongrass, good thing as I don't like it. No grapefruit, either.

 

This is like June Gloom, but GC.

[edenssixthday]

Phobos is a very crisp, white scent. The use of the word “chilling” in the scent description is very appropriate. When I first apply this blend, it is entirely white musk and grapefruit on me. It’s almost crystalline in its clearness and sharpness. White musk fades on me within a few minutes in almost every case, and Phobos is no exception. Grapefruit is also a scent that fades on me quickly, and again, it happens in this blend, too. I don’t smell the verbena or lemongrass at all in this blend. This scent disappears on my skin within 10 minutes, which means it’s not one I’d ever use as a perfume, but I would be thrilled to have a shower gel or shampoo that smelled like this – it would really wake me up in the morning, as it’s a nice, bright, crisp scent. Sadly, it’s just not for me. If I’m going to reapply and reapply any grapefruit scent, it’s going to be Cheshire Cat, not Phobos.