Andreiphontes

[thekittenkat]

ANDREIPHONTÊS
Destroyer of Men
Tonka, benzoin, black sandalwood, and nutmeg.

Truth to tell, I was somewhat concerned about the black sandalwood, as it's not a scent note that I have ever tried before, at least I think not. But no worries, as the sandalwood is present, but as a bottom note. Andreiphontes is yet another oil that's well-blended, and doesn't really morph, from the first sniff of the bottle, all the way to the dry-down. It's also another high and bright scent, which I attribute to the benzoin. The tonka adds a lovely sweetness, and the nutmeg a needed touch, just a hint mind you, of a rich spice. Another perfume oil that I would regard as unisex.

[Lucretia]

If I didn't know better I could have sworn there was leather in here, maybe it's because my nose has come to associate a lot of these notes with leather scents.

 

First on I think I'm getting a lot of tonka and benzoin. It's a little bit medicinal maybe, with a hint of sweetness. I would definitely agree that it's a unisex scent and I think some ladies could really pull this off. I'm not 100 percent sure I can pull it off though. Somehow it reminds of the smell you get from fresh ballpoint pen ink. I think I need to spend more time getting to know this one. I might end up loving it, but at the moment I'm not quite sure where I stand on it. I think this would make a good scent for a night out at the club rather than a daytime scent.

[edenssixthday]

Andreiphontes - This smells like cheap men's soap-on-a-rope from the clearance bin at Ross.

[iiinterstate]

In the bottle: This smells a little masculine. I think its the sandalwood.

 

On me: Happily, I get a lot more of the other notes upon application. Something about the nutmeg makes this more gender neutral. I can pick out the benzoin and tonka too, but this is waaaay lighter than I anticipated.

 

After awhile: Still very faint. Weird, because usually I get a lot of wear out of these notes. I'll come back to it after it has had some time to settle. My overall impression is positive though. Just wimpy.

[blktauna]

When I popped the top I knew I'd smelled this before, but it was evading me where...

At first I thought it was just a more robust version of the bee and bicycle sandalwood Chinese soap. Then the image popped into my head, yes, this smells exactly like my mum's Oil of Olay...

 

weird.

Not exactly what I think of for Destroyer of Men... well not in the conventional sense.

[Wwindy]

This reminds me a little of a stripped-down, simplified Raven Moon -- a similar feel, but more direct and, er, manly. (surprise! ) Unfortunately, after a little while something here turns plasticky on my skin. I'm surprised, as I don't think I've ever had trouble with any of the listed notes before -- maybe it's the "black" aspect of the sandalwood?

Edited February 21, 2010 by Wwindy

[prunesnprisms]

Tested this one on the boy and it immediately went to baby powder on my fingertips and on his wrist. Fortunately we had some oil-based makeup remover very close by. He requests no more benzoin, please.

 

[PeshaRocha]

Love it!

 

It's a bit sharp and strong in the bottle and while wet, but after drydown, that goes away. Then it's beautifully balanced, warm and soft, somehow animalistic in a very good way, like a beloved (clean) pet curled up in your lap. It is, unsurprisingly, on the masculine side but to me is still unisex. I'll definitely be wearing this one!

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Benzoin, the blend smells a bit medicinal.

Wet on skin: Benzoin, still, but I also get the heavy fragrant wood of the black sandalwood note.

Dry on skin: The sweetness of tonka comes out, accompanied by a note of spice (the nutmeg!).

Final thoughts: I suspected this blend would be extra spicy & heavy, but it is instead pretty light. It doesn't have a strong throw or much lasting power, unfortunately. I find that it would be a great scent for layering for now, & perhalps some aging will help the blend develop more.

[Saya]

This is a very light, sweet, powdery scent. I thought this would be incredible but instead it's almost sickly sweet. Not for me, off to swaps.

[forspecial_plate]

I am sorry to say that this doesn't work for me. It sounded so good, but it smells overwhelmingly like black musk......I guess that's part of the blackened sandalwood. Too powdery and kind of papery, which turns me off usually. I want to smell the other notes so I will hold onto my decant and maybe it will work out eventually. Or I might swap it, I'm not sure yet.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Baby powder with a hint of warm spice.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells clean and powdery, with a hint of sandalwood and sweet spice in the background. Sandalwood scented baby powder, perhaps.

 

After a little while: This gets even more powdery as I wear it. It’s all baby powder now with just a hint of sandalwood. Very disappointing!

 

Overall Impressions: This is just too powdery on me, and too dry. I don’t get any creaminess from the tonka and there’s only a hint of the nutmeg at the beginning. Ah, well.

 

[Little Bird]

In the bottle and on my skin, this is all baby powder all the time . I have a problem with some sandalwood notes going powdery on my skin, but this is extra powdery. It smells like an explosion of clean, soft, white baby powder. I hate baby powder, so I had to scrub this off after an hour... Andreiphontes is definitely not a keeper for me.

[gypsyjolie]

A powdery black musk, sandalwood and dry sweetish nutmeg spice. It's sweetened a bit by the benzoin/tonka but it's very dry. It does smell like a high end beauty product (I get the Oil of Olay reference above, but this is better). Still a tinge sharp or soapy on me, especially as I've had it on for a while. Black musk lovers should try it!

[Dark Alice]

This just might be bottleworthy. Light powdery black musk with Sandalwood. It's just very light though...I can barely smell it. I think I need a partial to age b/c I think this will be amazing.

[musichappens]

This blend is so extremely faint on my skin that I have to put my nose right on top of where I applied it in order to smell a hint of anything. When doing this, the only note that I am able to detect at all is the black sandalwood. I have a feeling that if this was a bit stronger, it would have been amazing.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

 

Hmm... "Destroyer of Men"? I don't think so!

 

On me, this is very faint and not as grunty as I expected it to be. The black sandalwood in combination with the nutmeg gives a slight peppery spiciness, but the benzoin is adding a medicinal overtone that's not very nice. The tonka never really made an appearance, which is a shame because a bit of sweetness would have been nice here. I'm not getting any baby powderiness, although it is very dry. Overall, nothing particularly outstanding about this one.

[tajana]

Wet: MMmMMmm, spicy nutmeg! And charred, smoky wood... a rich, deep sandalwood. I can smell the benzoin and tonka in the back, just starting to add a bit of incensey vanillic creaminess. Throw seems pretty normal so far.

 

Dry: Oh no, nutmeg, sandalwood! You're fading! And what's that in your place? What smells like black musk, benzoin, and tonka. Hey, I wanted black sandalwood, not black MUSK! Black musk goes powdery on me, which is what this is doing. And the sweet, smoky vanilla-ness of the benzoin and tonka really take over to create a perversely sweet yet masculine scent. Whoever said this smells like manly soap is right. It smells like manly vanilla incense soap.

 

Overall: I amp vanilla like notes quite often, and tonka and benzoin both fall under that category. I also don't do well with black musk, and I could swear that there's black musk in here. Andreiphontes just isn't for me. I predict that age will be really kind to him and this will smell way better in six month's time, but I'm not intrigued enough to wait that long.

[Ondine]

Not exactly like, but in a very close family to, LUSH's American Cream (which has benzoin and vanilla in it). This would make a nice layering note with American Cream.

[crebbsgirl]

I agree with previous reviewers that this isn't nearly as dark as I expected it to be. The blackened sandalwood goes a little powdery here, and the tonka and benzoin add a vanillic sweetness and depth. The nutmeg is almost non-existent on me. All in all, this is really quite light and it seems to be fading quickly.

[Iceblink]

Wow--this is really sweet for the god of war. Mostly nutmeg and tonka with dry, musky sandalwood underneath. I agree that it has a tendency to smell like baby powder...maybe with some aging the musk and sandalwood will come out a bit more.

[wl552]

Upon first application, all I can really smell is the dryness of the sandalwood. I don't mind it so much on certain occasions, so though I'm not thrilled with it, it's not horrible. It stayed pretty "woody" for most of the time, but now several hours later the dryness of the wood has softened somewhat and it's become much more rounded and much more wearable. It's not an immediate love, but I'll hold onto my bottle and see how it is in a few months.

[Gwydion]

 

In bottle: Surprisingly sweet. The tonka, benzion, nutmeg combination is lovely. The sandalwood gives gentle support. Wet: There’s a touch more sandalwood on the skin. This blend is really about the benzoin. It is not as strong on my skin as in the bottle and is less unusual. I’m a touch disappointed. Dry: More sandalwood than when first applied. It’s a pleasant incense blend, but nothing stunning.

 

[marcielynnt]

This would seem to be one of those scents, like Anne Bonny, that I'm just not able to really smell. In the decant I smell next to nothing, and I pick up even less on my skin, wet. Dry I can, perhaps, detect just a hint of spice and wood, so mild that I can't really say for sure if it's the oil, or the remnants of the soap I used earlier.

 

I'm sad. I'd had very high hopes for this one.

[angelicruin]

Quite dry and medicinal....and peppery. Fades pretty fast.