Cairo

[modernsaints]

The essence of holy Kyphi, beloved incense of the Egyptian Gods.

For a split second there it was glorious lemon cookie - you know the ones, they've got powdered sugar on them - AGH IT WAS SO DELICIOUS.

Now it's lemon Pledge. Oh. I've never had a blend do that on me before. Yay. Edited September 27, 2007 by Shollin

[forspecial_plate]

This smells really good.....deep and somewhat fruity, but incense-y at the same time. It smells complex, like there are a lot of notes that I just can't identify. I remembered something about raisins when I read about kyphi, so maybe that's why I almost smell raisins or currants mixed in here. Later as it dries/warms up, I smell roses drifting in and out of the mix. Overall, it's a nice strong scent, long lasting, incense-y, and somewhat bolder than Philosopher In Meditation (which also has kyphi, I think?). I like this, but it's not shouting at me to get a whole bottle.

[Jheya]

In the imp: Sherbet incense.

 

On skin: This smelt quite sweet whilst in the imp, but there's a sour tang to that sweetness now that it's applied on skin. The sparkling note isn't so much like sherbet now, but more of a spiciness, like the ginger I get from other BPAL blends.

 

~10 minutes: The ginger smell is still the dominant note, but it's smoothed out a little, and is no longer quite as sharp.

 

~30 minutes: Sweet ginger with a touch of incense in the background. Not upleasant, but not my kind of scent either.

[goth_huntress]

Rich and spiritual. I can feel the ages and the muses love this one.

[fiddlefox]

In the imp I didn't really like it, reminded me of some orage flavored medicine. On. Not bad, tangeriney with spices. Nice but not really me. Off to swaps

[WidgetAlley]

Acquired this in my quest for spicy goodness.

 

Imp: Lemon curd or syrup, honey and spice, spice, spice. Cloves? And definitely grapes as well. Myrrh or frankincense or something resiny, as well, and possibly amber.

 

Wet: This is a thick, very resinous oil, and it's sticky on my skin, which is unusual. It also smells almost metholated-- not minty, but bright and tingly like mint. There's definitely clove and cinnamon and lemon. At first it smells almost exactly like Ricola Cough Drops, actually, but then it starts to mellow and the citrus recedes, leaving a much tamer scent-- like soft lemon jellies and the dust of a marketplace and carpets in an incense shop. As much as that imagery appeals to me, I'm not really jiving with it, but I guess I'll let it sit for a while. And hoo boy, is it strong.

 

Dry: Strong, sweet, dry, fruity incense, thick and resinous but not terribly unusual. I'm a waffler on this one. It's not one I'd wear every day, nor is it an instant love, but for some reason I think it would be good to wear while traveling, and I might hang on to it for that purpose. I think the throw on this one is the strongest I've ever smelled. I smell like incense, my room smells like incense, even the hall outside my room smells like incense!

 

Verdict: *shrug*

[ariosa]

Lemon and spices, lovely but it's just too much on my skin. It is nice, but just too much. Too sweet, too cloying and I'm afraid this isn't something I can wear. Off to swaps it goes.

[Elizabethm]

This smells exactly like incense to me with just a little sour note.

 

Incense in a Salem witchy shop.

 

I wouldn't wear this personally because it smells *just* like a stick of incense to me (nag champa almost?) I will sniff it often though because I have great memories of drifting around Salem in the fall and still do often and this reminds me what Crow Haven used to smell like.

[stardreamer]

In the imp and fresh on: Holy lemon drop, Batman! It's extremely citrusy, but also sweet -- lemon candy rather than lemon juice. Also a hint of something green-smelling underneath that I can't pin down.

 

For once, my skin's tendency to eat citrus scents works in my favor. The overpowering lemon dies back within half an hour or so, and the spices come out to play, with some spicy floral as well -- carnation or marigold maybe, which is probably the green I caught earlier.

 

Once it hits that point, there's not much further change -- and I like it a LOT better than the lemon-drop phase. There's still something sweet under the spiciness; it reminds me of Morocco, or Queen of Sheba with less cinnamon and no almonds. Staying power seems decent, although I can't give a true estimate because I touched it up partway thru the evening. Bottom line: this isn't going to be a top favorite, but I like it much more than I first thought I was going to. Definitely worth keeping and using up.

[ravenfeathers]

first of all, i had no idea what kyphi was, so i had to wiki:

 

All recipes for kyphi mention wine, honey and raisins. Other identifiable ingredients include

 

* cinnamon and cassia bark,

* the aromatic rhizomes of cyperus and sweet flag,

* cedar,

* juniper berry, and

* resins and gums such as frankincense, myrrh, benzoin resin and mastic.

 

 

 

sounds good, right?

 

in the bottle sharp! wow, really pretty, sort of fruity but with a hard, hard punch in the snoot!

wet on skin this sounds weird, but this smells like lemon, mostly. and something green.

dry on skin i can't actually stop sniffing myself. it's not exactly lemon, but it's quite bright and tart. it's nothing like the wiki ingredients at all except maybe whiffs of cedar and benzoin. it's not spicy, but it's rich and golden and really, really beautiful. TONS of throw.

 

i really thought this would be spicy and pungent. it's not what i was expecting at all, but it's super nice.

[Lunaratu]

This is sweet, tangy, and smoky. It almost seems like a grapefruit type of sweet tanginess however and I’m not that great a fan of grapefruit. This is definitely a bright sunny yellow scent but I have to admit I was hoping for something not so, well, tangy when I tried this—something more incense and smoky like was what I was hoping for. It’s not a bad scent just not for me.

Rating: 3/5

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Something woody, yet sweet.

 

Wet:

Mostly lemony citrus, which isn't really a bad thing.

 

Dry:

This stays very lemony as it dries down, but gets a little fuller and sweeter. Not what I expected, but again, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Jocelyn]

Unfortunately, this smells like cat pee on me. Swapping for sure.

[odalisque]

In the imp: Sw-sw-sw-sweeeeeeet!

 

On, wet: Still very sweet. It smells bright golden to me -- much like the color of the oil itself is bright golden.

 

Drydown: It mellows some, but still really really sweet, and strong. It smells extremely like my India Temple incense. (I wonder what that note is? Some kind of lotus?) I love that incense, but I love it wafting through an entire room, and I never realized till I tried Cairo how much the smoky dryness of actually burning India Temple cuts its almost glorpy sweetness.

 

Right there on my body, and exhibiting its massive throw, and without heavier notes to bring it down a little, it's just too much for me -- kind of like being in beautiful bright streaming sunlight for too long. It might mellow itself down even further given enough time, but I just wasn't able to keep it on any longer to find out. Swap pile.

Edited December 30, 2007 by odalisque

[Czarina]

In the imp: WEIRD. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Wet: Honey beeswax and lemon.

Drydown: honey incense with a lemon chaser. ETA: as drydown continues, I'm getting a spice--coriander or possibly cardamom.

 

Yeah, I see where people are getting Lemon Pledge (beeswax+lemon), but I'm not quite there.

 

I like it well enough to keep the imp, but not to buy a bottle, I think, unless it morphs considerably over the next two hours.

 

Good throw.

Edited January 2, 2008 by Czarina

[akiko]

I only found out what kyphi was by reading this thread and the google. But it sounded like something I could do, so I got an imp.

 

Imp: fruity incense.

 

Wet: sweet and still some incense. There's a stage when it gets a bit spicy. Throw during this stage is pretty high.

 

Dry: Soft incense, maybe a touch of the soft spiciness in Bengal. I like it, but I don't think I need a bottle, though I could change my mind later.

[Gwydion]

In bottle; Very strong incense smell, with a definite Middle Eastern feel. Wet: Grapes. Incensey grapes. Dry: Lots of throw. It settles down into a strong, pleasant incense. I’m actually really liking this, even though it’s initial smell was so unpromising.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Kind of foody but with a hint of furniture polish. I smell figs and lemons?

 

Wet: LEMONHEADS candy!! Sweet and sour lemon. Overpowering.

 

Dry: Now it's gone incense-y, but there's a plastic crayon thing going on in the background. Interestingly, sniffing different spots on my arm produces different variations of this fragrance. Incense in one spot, honey in another...

 

Definitely a keeper- I want to try this again and see if there is any change.

[MaeKitty]

In the Bottle: Incense

On Me: Warm incense and skin. It's not the smoke of the incense, but rather the resins themselves, as they warm. This is a lovely scent. Unfortunately, not a lot of throw

[djsiberia]

after reading some reviews in another forum topic else where, i thought this might be more incense like than lemons. it doesn't quite compare to arcana, this sorta takes a down turn on me.

 

will not purchase bottle.

[Magda]

Wet, right out of the bottle, it's all grapes on me. Then it turns into grapes mixed with cocoa powder, which is odd. It turns to lemon after about ten minutes, then a beautiful, light incense ten minutes after that. Sadly, in another ten minutes it's gone entirely. I would have liked a lot more of its final stage.

[lilirose]

My husband and I used to blend our own incense before having an asthmatic child, which put a stop to any kind of smoke in the house. Kyphi was one of our favourites to make, though the ingredients can be hard to find and blend properly.

 

Anyway, I somehow missed the fact that Cairo=kyphi until I got this as a frimp.

 

It's a bit hard for me to break it down to those who haven't smelled kyphi incense before. It is, I feel, very difficult to accurately reproduce the smell of incense smoke in an oil, since, well- incense is smoke, and oil is oil. (I know, you're thinking "No sh*t, Captain Obvious!")

 

Regardless, I like Cairo very much. It's a bit sweeter than my usual blend of kyphi, with less juniper, and it's not particularly smoky, but still, I was thinking "kyphi" before I checked the description.

 

Unfortunately Cairo doesn't seem to have much throw or staying power on my skin- but I might just be having an off day, I don't know? I do like this and will be keeping the imp and considering a 5ml.

[passionsast]

Both in the bottle and on my skin this one smells like weakly brewed lipton tea. It's really sort of comforting but I have to have my face in my wrist to smell it.

[cassandrakfreaq]

this smells nothing like lemons to me its very sweet and incense-like yet its not an incence that I have smelled before. this has a definite aged smell to it. Its ok so far we will see when I am less hormonal what this does.

[savage_rose]

It smells like a very sweet lemongrass burning, while one eats lemonheads and drinks lemonade. A little sweet, a little herbal, VERY lemon.