The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair

[KesHiro]

THE HARP OF CNOC I'CHOSGAIR
Gofraidh Fion O Dalaigh
Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair, you who bring sleep
to eyes long sleepless;
sweet subtle, plangent, glad, cooling grave.
Excellent instrument with smooth gentle curve,
trilling under red fingers,
musician that has charmed us,
red, lion-like of full melody.

You who lure the bird from the flock,
you who refresh the mind,
brown spotted one of sweet words,
ardent, wondrous, passionate.
You who heal every wounded warrior,
joy and allurement to women,
familiar guide over the dark blue water,
mystic sweet sounding music.

You who silence every instrument of music,
yourself a sweet plaintive instrument,
dweller among the Race of Conn,
instrument yellow-brown and firm.
The one darling of sages,
restless, smooth, sweet of tune,
crimson star above the Fairy Hills,
breast jewel of High Kings.

Sweet tender flowers, brown harp of Diarmaid,
shape not unloved by hosts, voice of cuckoos in May!
I have not heard music ever such as your frame makes
since the time of the Fairy People,
fair brown many coloured bough,
gentle, powerful, glorious.

Sound of the calm wave on the beach,
pure shadowing tree of pure music,
carousals are drunk in your company,
voice of the swan over shining streams.
Cry of the Fairy Women from the Fairy Hill of Ler,
no melody can match you,
every house is sweet stringed through your guidance,
you the pinnacle of harp music.

Gilded amber, tiare, golden sandalwood, vanilla, cardamom, and tagetes.

I’ve been on the look out for a nice spicy creamy scent for the warmer months and when I saw the notes for the Harp, I decided to order a bottle unsniffed. This impulsive action has turned out to be one of my more rewarding risks.

In the bottle, I get a creamy floral (probably the tiare), vanilla, and a very faint green note. This green note is vaguely herbal and leafy and probably comes from the tagetes (marigold) note. Wet, it’s almost the same except I think I get a touch of sandalwood.

Once the drydown begins, I get tiare, vanilla, and the cardamom begins to emerge. It’s not strong, so if you dislike spices fear not! It hangs in the background, rounding out the scent. The marigold gets a bit stronger than I would like but it isn’t offensive and it doesn’t overtake the scent, almost fading away once dry. After the drydown, I’m left with a creamy golden vanilla with a hint of cardamom that adds a bit of spice and the barest hint of marigold (I have to stick my nose against my skin to pick it up).

This is absolutely gorgeous! It is in the same family as The Girl and Okayaki and would appeal to mainstream perfume fans while remaining uniquely BPAL. It stays pretty close to the skin, which I prefer to oils with a massive throw, but it’s still going strong after two and half hours of wear. I know it sounds strange, but if the perfect golden harp had a scent, it would definitely be this. For the first time since Snow White, I’m contemplating a back up bottle. It’s that beautiful.

Edited to add: Oh lord. I had no idea I was first. I hope the review proves helpful!

[kikithepirate]

This was a surprise hit out of my recent order. It's a tiny bit soapy upon first application, but in dry-down, it becomes a beautiful, sweet, almost slightly musky scent. I wouldn't really define this as a floral -- certainly nothing about it smells like flowers, exactly, but there is something there that hints lightly of springtime. Considering the precense of amber AND vanilla, I'm going to guess that this bottle will age really, really nicely. It's a very wearable perfume, perfect for spring.

[edenssixthday]

The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair - I've been looking for years for the perfect vanilla-sandalwood scent. I have finally found it. There's the slightest bit of soapiness to this scent when sniffed up close, so I just won't sniff up close! Otherwise, it's a gorgeous GORGEOUS GORGEOUS vanilla-sandalwood with a warm touch of spicy cardamom and the fainest breath of amber. It's positively divine.

[mamoyer]

When I first applied this, my nose was overwhelmed with a green, bitter, powdery floral scent, a bit like a dandelion (it was probably the marigold and the powdery part coming from the amber). I was SO disappointed. Not unpleasant, just not what I expected. Then, after about 10-20 minutes, it settled into an absolutely beautiful and soft vanilla sandlewood.

 

I agree with other reviewers that up close, you can smell a little soapiness, so I wouldn't advise huffing up close like it's crack, which is what I do with some blends *coughCAKESMASHcough*, but the scent wafting around you is gorgeous, warm, and light. Reminds me of a sun-lit meadow in the pleasant warmth of early afternoon. There are marigolds and daisies and gardenias blooming, and you're 12 again wearing your Easter dress and bonnet (with white patent-leather shoes), and you're being slightly rebellious by laying on your back in the grass despite wearing your good new clothes.

 

:D

[CynicalPink]

Bottle: Vanilla and something kinda dusty. Amber or something else?

 

Wet: This smells a little like a bar I remember going to. I was really little and it was rented out for a post-wake get together...Pipe tobacco! Like the stuff my uncle smokes! That's what it smells like. That's not a bad thing, just nothing even close to what I expected.

 

Drydown: Vanilla sandalwood is what I know it actually it. But when I sniff my wrist, I think of dry blond wood that's been kept in a box with dried flowers for a very long time.

 

Overall: It's like nothing else I own. It's a very dry scent, but what I think I like most is the image it puts in my head. It smells like opening an old wooden chest in your grandparents' attic and finding treasures from the past. Specifically, a very pretty blond wood harp that still plays a beautiful tune. It smells like happy treasures from the past. I'm keeping it.

[hlemonds]

Oh my, this is just lovely.

 

Initially i was a bit dissappointed. I dabbed some oil from the cap onto my arm, and it was so faint! It was a delicious, warm, golden-vanilla-sandalwood, but faint. Then it began to warm on my skin, and lordy me, it bloomed! I think that the foremost note i am smelling is Tiare, a very smooth, creamy floral. And beneath the Tiare is a *hint* of something almost spicy, perhaps the marigold (tagetes)? And rounding it out is the glorious, ever so slightly creamy, a maybe the tiniest bit sweet, vanilla sandalwood. This is just lovely. At first it had almost zero throw, but now that it has bloomed on my skin i can smell it wafting up from the test spot on my arm. Just lovely. I am glad to have a bottle, with one more on the way. I may indeed need another.

[cfrancesca]

In the bottle I get sandalwood, slightly medicinal amber, and tiare. The scent strongly reminds me of this Hawaiian Tiare hair stuff I used to regularly use.

 

On my skin it turns into a creamy, ambery/sandalwood tiare scent, I get very little vanilla from it I think it adds a little creaminess. I'm not getting any cardamom...wow, I'm really amping the tiare.

 

I went through a tiare phase a couple years ago and have recently noticed it can be a little to heavy a flower for me. This smells very beachy and tropical because of the tiare, I think this is will be a nice spring/summer floral blend if you like tiare.

 

I'm a little disappointed this turned into a mostly tiare scent on me, I definitely won't be needing the back-up bottle I have coming I may not end up not keeping this one either, I'm starting to get a headache from it.

 

ETA: I started getting a little more vanilla and amber the longer I wore it, but still a lot tiare.

Edited March 19, 2010 by cfrancesca

[fairnymph]

Sweet, spicy, warm, woody with a bit of tangy brightness from the tagetes. The tiare (i.e. gardenia) is surprisingly light - still bright and white - but more lush than overpowering. The amber strikes me as the 'perfumey' sort, and the sandalwood is strong and dry, a bit sawdusty. Combined with the vanilla, the latter two elements remind me a bit of Ü.

 

Sweeter and smoother - much more amber and vanilla (a rich, bourbon vanilla bean extract type), and the dry, hot edge of the cardamom has become richly warm and exotic. The tagetes is lighter, and its sourness clashes oddly with the other notes on my skin - even though it's usually a note I love, right now it's not meshing. The sandalwood is warmer and muskier and less drily woody. The gardenia amps, as most florals do on my skin, and it's a little TOO bright, but just barely - it's by no means dominating. I'd say this blend is pretty well balanced, but not yet cohesive.

 

This is a powerful one, throw-wise - I keep geting heady wafts of it. The gardenia (very white and very bright, but still behaving), amber (heavy and rich but not at all powdery), tagetes (tangy and velvety) and cardamom (spicy and sexy in a gourmand way) have all amped up quite a bit, while the sandalwood has smoothed out, become more musky, and lost its dry sawdust edge. Likewise, the vanilla, while no stronger - is better - it's not just sweet, in fact it's a little less sweet - but it's deeper and more complex a note, with a boozy edge. This blend has finally come together, and beautifully so. It reminds me of a more complex (more herbal, more floral) less sweet and less vanillic Lamia. Intense throw and fanastic longevity, too.

 

Not at all my style, but one I predict will be very popular.

 

ETA: I layered Lamia with Dreadful Lies, and got something VERY similar. I knew there was another blend Harp reminded me of! And DL is definitely it, much more so than Lamia. It's 80% DL and 15% Lamia with 5% Other.

Edited March 19, 2010 by fairnymph

[Invidiana]

This is simply a masterpiece: rich, thick, golden, creamy, sweet, even exotic. It starts out as mostly sandalwood and then blossoms into the most amazing vanillaed amber poured over golden sandalwood with just a hint of spice, which along with the tiare (one of my favorite floral notes ever) in the background contributes to the exotic element. The vanilla in this is a to-die-for buttery vanilla that's very well balanced with the amber and sandalwood. There are very few blends I hoard, but this one has easily made the cut. I will definitely be stocking up on more before it's gone.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Invidiana

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is golden smelling. Amber is dominant, but the vanilla sure tries. It’s more than a little decadent in a slyly sexy way. I’m liking the cardamom in this and the vaguely cake approach to the incense blend. Wet: This is what incense would smell like if it were a cake. No really. It’s peculiar and delicate, but surprisingly pervasive. It stays amber dominant. Dry: Ah. There’s the sandalwood, at play with the lavender. It’s a pleasantly woody insense blend. It’s not as interesting as it was wet, but it is quite pretty.

[angelicruin]

Oooh, indeed a gorgeous blend. Amber, sandalwood, and vanilla define this blend on my skin. As it begins to dry I pick up the spicy cardamom note as well.

 

Delicate and feminine. My favorite of this year's Irish Bard scents.

Edited March 21, 2010 by angelicruin

[trinitysite]

This is great! I think I was expecting something more floral/green, but what I got is even better. It starts out as a little too woody for me, and I initially worried that it would turn out too masculine. The vanilla comes out pretty quickly, and it turns into some sort of spicy-vanilla that's a little foody...an overcomplicated homemade frosting recipe, and I do mean that as a compliment. I think I'd be happy if it stayed there and keep it as something to wear occasionally, but eventually some of the flowers do come out, and now I think this is going to be my favorite for a while. The sort of not-too-spicy/not-too-floral mix that I'm always searching for.

 

I'm going to go with the consensus on this review thread.

[hhg]

Wow, a lighter version of my beloved Bakeneko!

 

On my skin, wet Harp is cardamom and amber with just a touch of plastic ... the latter made me wonder whether Harp was going to be added to the swap box. But the plastic vanishes quickly and I get full-on Bakeneko (sans the tangerine and tea) for about an hour, with a drydown into a lovely vanilla/cardamom cloud. Amber almost always goes powdery on me, but I love it and am delighted to find another blend where the spices seem to beat back the powder invasion.

 

Bakeneko has been a winter season favorite of mine for a few years, but I find it a bit cloying when the temps and humidity start to rise -- and we don't get a lot of dry, cool months in S. Florida so it hasn't been getting the wear time it deserves since I moved here. I'm going to give harp a few more trial runs, but I suspect I've found my warm weather cardamom scent. I am very happy :-)

 

 

[Lorelai1945]

Hmmmm...In the imp, this really reminds me of another Bpal, but I can't think of which one. When it's wet, I smell a kind of...a medicinal, alcoholly smell. That gets better as it dries down, and I'm left with something barely floral and what I think is the amber. Ooh! OH! I know what is reminds me of! Fresh tombstone- the woody smell. Must be the sandalwood. It comes out and kind of separates itself from the crowd. It gets faint very quickly, and I don't get nearly as much vanilla as I was hoping for. I neither love nor hate it, but I've learned my lesson and will keep it around for a while and retest.

 

So...I set it aside for a week or so, and I tried it again this evening. It's a bit sweeter and creamier, and the dry woodsiness is less present. It's still very faint, but it's better...I'll keep testing.

Edited April 6, 2010 by VioletFemme

[MamaMoth]

This smells a lot like Morocco with a little dash of added floral aspect. Creamy and soft, a little dusty, with gentle cardamom spicy-freshness. I can't think of any other way to describe it, besides: Morocco and soft florals!

 

It's soft and gentle and feminine. I can't really pinpoint the florals but they are pretty nonoffensive as far as florals go. I can see where this one might be a hit, but it's a little... hmm... demure for my taste.

[Venneh]

...Oh my. In my tester, I'm getting the sweet lovechild of L'Estate and The Girl; golden vanilla musk. UNF. On my skin, I'm getting a spicier scent, which I think is the tiare, tagetes, and cardamom combining. ...I may be damning my skin chemistry for this if it keeps up the way it is. Goddamnit, spicy floral, pretty similar to Okayaki, argh argh argh argh argh what happened to the L'Estate and The Girl love child I was getting prior?! Not for me, but at least I dodged this bullet.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Venneh

[wl552]

This is so very beautiful. The other reviewers are more descriptive, so I'll just say it's gorgeous, warm, golden. Vanilla is the prominent note on me, but it's nothing close to straight up vanilla. I can't really describe it. But it's so good I ordered a backup bottle; which I rarely end up doing. Yes, it's that good. Definitely a top ten scent.

[bonny]

oh, god. seriously, if you are on the fence about this one, BUY IT, because people like me will snatch up your unloved bottles for backups in no time.

 

this made it's way to my top five instantly. it's a cousin of mouse's long and sad tale, with the amber and vanilla, but where mouse's is all soft sweetness this is a little more alluring, a bit more sophisticated and deep. mostly creamy vanilla and powdery amber up close, but as i move around i get these amaing spicy wafts of the tiare and cardamom. the floral note is almost reminding me of carnation? i wish it lasted a but longer but i have absolutely no problem slathering and reapplying this. this is going to age amazingly, but it's already gorgeous. i often have trouble with 'new' vanilla (i'm talking to you, brand new black lace) but this didn't go plasticky or weird on me at all- it's wearable right away, and i'm so glad.

 

I LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE THIS.

[Suusje]

This smells incredible. Just gorgeous. It's slightly powdery when first applied but it turns into a gorgeous tiare, vanilla and amber scent....

 

[Cheri]

Darn, this is probably the most sexy scent I have ever tried. All I really smell is spicy vanilla so far, but then it just came out of the mailbox a half hour ago. I don't get any flowers from this, which is ok with me. Not that I don't like flowers, but I can always use a good vanilla. I'm not getting a lot of throw. For me it's one of those get up close and sniff me scents. And sniffing is all I've been doing since I put the Harp on. It's so gorgeous!

[Dark Alice]

I see why this was named after a harp. The first thing I thought was this is what the delicate music from a harp would smell like. Light, powdery, slightly sweet. (at least that's what I thought when it was in the bottle) Unfortunately on the dry down this smells like cheap commercial perfume with amber and hints of vanilla. I am going to age this and see if it get's any better. If not...it goes up for sale/swap.

[theasylph]

When I smell the bottle I barely smell anything. It is so incredibly light. When I put this on my skin I smell a spicy floral, slightly ambery rubbery vanilla. Sometimes when I freshly apply it I get a feeling of sweet pipe tobacco being smoked 100 feet away from me. It's very subtle. Actually, it's so subtle, it's barely there. Did I get a weak batch or something? This is the first BPAL I've worn where I can't smell I'm wearing it mere minutes after I put it on. When I huff my wrist, though it's a beautiful comfort scent. I wish this was louder, a lot louder because I would love to amp the **** outta this. Grrrr. Wonder if it'll get stronger with some aging and settling? It's seriously like a quarter of the strength of every other BPAL I've ever tried. Maybe I'm just immune to this one. Weird. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Edited April 4, 2010 by theasylph

[Rheliwen]

Exactly like l'Estate...exactly. That sweet, honeyed, floral amber that's understated and demure.

 

When I tried the tester at Sakura Con it was much heavier on the sandalwood, and I loved it. This bottle is totally different.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Rheliwen

[Leopard403]

Oh, LOVE! This is quite uncomplicated, as on my skin it smells just like monoi oil. There is a bite of sharp incense/resins when first applied and I was worried about that, since amber and I don't get along, but this settles down into gorgeous tiare. (Truly, I did a side-by-side blind test with Harp and my bottle of Julphia's monoi oil, and they are indistinguishable.) Luckily I ADORE the scent of monoi, so I am one happy camper.

Edited April 6, 2010 by Leopard403

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like cool, slightly powdery vanilla-amber.

 

On my skin, The Harp smells mostly of creamy, sweet, tropical monoi oil, with a hint of cool vanilla-amber and a touch of smooth, powdery sandalwood. It smells like laying out on a beach on a cool night and staring up at a black sky full of stars. I can imagine a young woman wearing this out to a romantic dinner on a tropical island (and I'll be taking this with me on my next vacation, for sure). It's very pretty and romantic.

 

I like this scent a lot. I just wish that it had better throw and staying power. Even if I slather this on, it still clings close to my skin and only lasts about an hour. Still, it's pretty enough that it's worth reapplying, and I'm happy to have a bottle. I'll just save it for special occassions.