Narkissos

[fairnymph]

NARKISSOS
Thus did the nymphs in vain caress the boy,
He still was lovely, but he still was coy;
When one fair virgin of the slighted train
Thus pray'd the Gods, provok'd by his disdain,
"Oh may he love like me, and love like me in vain!"
Rhamnusia pity'd the neglected fair,
And with just vengeance answer'd to her pray'r.
There stands a fountain in a darksom wood,
Nor stain'd with falling leaves nor rising mud;
Untroubled by the breath of winds it rests,
Unsully'd by the touch of men or beasts;
High bow'rs of shady trees above it grow,
And rising grass and chearful greens below.
Pleas'd with the form and coolness of the place,
And over-heated by the morning chace,
Narcissus on the grassie verdure lyes:
But whilst within the chrystal fount he tries
To quench his heat, he feels new heats arise.
For as his own bright image he survey'd,
He fell in love with the fantastick shade;
And o'er the fair resemblance hung unmov'd,
Nor knew, fond youth! it was himself he lov'd.
The well-turn'd neck and shoulders he descries,
The spacious forehead, and the sparkling eyes;
The hands that Bacchus might not scorn to show,
And hair that round Apollo's head might flow;
With all the purple youthfulness of face,
That gently blushes in the wat'ry glass.
By his own flames consum'd the lover lyes,
And gives himself the wound by which he dies.
To the cold water oft he joins his lips,
Oft catching at the beauteous shade he dips
His arms, as often from himself he slips.

Nor knows he who it is his arms pursue
With eager clasps, but loves he knows not who.

What could, fond youth, this helpless passion move?
What kindled in thee this unpity'd love?
Thy own warm blush within the water glows,
With thee the colour'd shadow comes and goes,
Its empty being on thy self relies;
Step thou aside, and the frail charmer dies.

Still o'er the fountain's wat'ry gleam he stood,
Mindless of sleep, and negligent of food;
Still view'd his face, and languish'd as he view'd.
At length he rais'd his head, and thus began
To vent his griefs, and tell the woods his pain.
"You trees," says he, "and thou surrounding grove,
Who oft have been the kindly scenes of love,
Tell me, if e'er within your shades did lye
A youth so tortur'd, so perplex'd as I?
I, who before me see the charming fair,
Whilst there he stands, and yet he stands not there:
In such a maze of love my thoughts are lost:
And yet no bulwark'd town, nor distant coast,
Preserves the beauteous youth from being seen,
No mountains rise, nor oceans flow between.
A shallow water hinders my embrace;
And yet the lovely mimick wears a face
That kindly smiles, and when I bend to join
My lips to his, he fondly bends to mine.
Hear, gentle youth, and pity my complaint,
Come from thy well, thou fair inhabitant.
My charms an easy conquest have obtain'd
O'er other hearts, by thee alone disdain'd.
But why should I despair? I'm sure he burns
With equal flames, and languishes by turns.
When-e'er I stoop, he offers at a kiss,
And when my arms I stretch, he stretches his.
His eye with pleasure on my face he keeps,
He smiles my smiles, and when I weep he weeps.
When e'er I speak, his moving lips appear
To utter something, which I cannot hear.

"Ah wretched me! I now begin too late
To find out all the long-perplex'd deceit;
It is my self I love, my self I see;
The gay delusion is a part of me.
I kindle up the fires by which I burn,
And my own beauties from the well return.
Whom should I court? how utter my complaint?
Enjoyment but produces my restraint,
And too much plenty makes me die for want.
How gladly would I from my self remove!
And at a distance set the thing I love.
My breast is warm'd with such unusual fire,
I wish him absent whom I most desire.
And now I faint with grief; my fate draws nigh;
In all the pride of blooming youth I die.
Death will the sorrows of my heart relieve.
Oh might the visionary youth survive,
I should with joy my latest breath resign!
But oh! I see his fate involv'd in mine."

This said, the weeping youth again return'd
To the clear fountain, where again he burn'd;
His tears defac'd the surface of the well,
With circle after circle, as they fell:
And now the lovely face but half appears,
O'er-run with wrinkles, and deform'd with tears.
"Ah whither," cries Narcissus, "dost thou fly?
Let me still feed the flame by which I die;
Let me still see, tho' I'm no further blest."
Then rends his garment off, and beats his breast:
His naked bosom redden'd with the blow,
In such a blush as purple clusters show,
Ere yet the sun's autumnal heats refine
Their sprightly juice, and mellow it to wine.
The glowing beauties of his breast he spies,
And with a new redoubled passion dies.
As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run,
And trickle into drops before the sun;
So melts the youth, and languishes away,
His beauty withers, and his limbs decay;
And none of those attractive charms remain,
To which the slighted Echo su'd in vain.

She saw him in his present misery,
Whom, spight of all her wrongs, she griev'd to see.
She answer'd sadly to the lover's moan,
Sigh'd back his sighs, and groan'd to ev'ry groan:
"Ah youth! belov'd in vain," Narcissus cries;
"Ah youth! belov'd in vain," the nymph replies.
"Farewel," says he; the parting sound scarce fell
>From his faint lips, but she reply'd, "farewel."
Then on th' wholsome earth he gasping lyes,
'Till death shuts up those self-admiring eyes.
To the cold shades his flitting ghost retires,
And in the Stygian waves it self admires.

For him the Naiads and the Dryads mourn,
Whom the sad Echo answers in her turn;
And now the sister-nymphs prepare his urn:
When, looking for his corps, they only found
A rising stalk, with yellow blossoms crown'd.

Gently blushing vanilla, haughty opoponax, duosmon, oude, and narcissus.

Floral - in that rotten floral way I've been getting in many of the recent LE blends, a few of the Lupers included, and here I'm guessing narcissus is the culprit. Narcissus is never a note I like - usually it's sharp and harsh, but I prefer that to this heady, sour rotten note. The oude is very green and adds to the overall sour feel, I think. I don't know what duosmon is, but the only thing I could find from googling claimed it was either dill, anise, or cumin. I do get something a bit pickly, so it could be there is some dill here. Sadly, I'm not getting any vanilla. I am definitely getting some of the dusty opoponax (i.e. myrrh), however. This is an odd, jumbled blend that's I guess sort of masculine (appropriately), but not at all beautiful. I'm scared to skin test it.

Better - I get some of the vanilla now, which I do think is 'gently blushing' - it's a light sort, almost floral like vanilla orchid, with a delicate sweetness. The narcissus is still rotting flowers, but the oude has smoothed out into a pleasantly green and woody note that's fresh but also adds depth. The mystery note now smells a little anise like, and for some reason this blend DOES remind me of Pink Mood (even though it feels utterly different), so I think that yes, anise is the duosmon here. The myrrh is still here, but no stronger, thank god - this is fresher and more balanced on my skin.

Apparently narcissus now smells like lilac on my skin. This is the same foul note from Penis Admiration and is likewise dominating all the other notes on my skin - although a bit of that strange anisey note comes through too, and it's just as revolting. The myrrh has amped a little, particularly its dark, bitter aspect. The oude is overwhelmed, sadly. I can pick out more vanilla now, but as in Pink Mood, it seems to combine with the anisey note in a cloying and unpleasant manner - sickly sweet and anisey/spicy.

This is going a bit soapy, and the overwhelming rotten-floral narcissus over cloying rich vanilla-anise (honestly, the vanilla is more like tonka here to my nose, or a fake vanillin note) darkened by bitter, dusty myrrh is making me feel nauseated, and the fresh, smooth green oude wood is not nearly enough to make this bearable. Masculine, definitely. Strong throw and longevity.
If you like Penis Admiration and Pink Mood, give it a go, but personally I'm headed to the sink.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Shollin

[angelicruin]

I agree with fairnymph that there is definitely an anise-like note in this blend that is very reminiscent of Pink Mood, but as a lover of Pink Mood and Anise in general, I quite like this blend.

 

The floral is almost non-existent on my skin. I can just barely register something vaguely floral on the dry down. I'm getting mostly spice, anise, and vanilla notes.

 

This dries down to creamy anise with light spice and very faint floral.

 

 

 

 

[Leopard403]

I need to put this away for a few weeks, because right now, on my skin, all I smell is A-1 Steak Sauce.

[ellebelle]

Wow. Wet, this is .... awful on me. There is a sharp, burning note in this that drowns out everything else. Whatever it is, it is the same note that I smell in the wet stage of Black Orchid v3 that I thought was vetiver, but not I am not so sure. No vanilla, no narcissus (which tends to be bearably sharp on me - I love in First Soft Snow). Just .... the smell of burning.

 

As it dries, I get the vanilla and a touch of some powdery, herbal combination. It actually settles down nicely! Into a slinky, femme fatale blend with just a hint of the sharpness in the back. Yes, all in all, this reminds me strongly of Black Orchid v3 on my skin.

 

I think I like it! If I can get through the wet stage of OMG BURNING.

 

ETA: The burning, and yes definitely anise-y smell is back. BOO.

 

ETA2: Hours later, it still smells like burning! If only it smelled like that smell in the middle of the dry down. Alas, to the swaps.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Ellebelle

[hhg]

Well, I hate to be harsh but this doesn't work on me at all. On my skin, Narkissos smells as if you somehow had managed to set a huge pile of baby powder on fire, and then tried to put it out with the slimy water from a vase of flowers that were a few days past their prime.

[Invidiana]

Am I the only one who is absolutely loving this blend?

*looks around*

*hears crickets*

I now waive responsibility for any permanent looks of shock acquired from reading this review. That said, it's like a lovely syrupy caramelized wood on me. No anise, no sharpness, nothing like that on my skin. I don't get much narcissus--just a tad wet but it quickly fades, which I have no problem with. After that it's dark and gorgeous opoponax that's got this caramelized quality to it, maybe as a result of blending with the wood or just because of the nature of this species of opoponax. I love oude and this is a rich, warm and sensual kind that does not disappoint. I have no idea what duosmon is and I basically scoured the internet for it, but whatever it is it's only contributing to the beauty of this on me; maybe that's what gives it the caramelly smell, who knows. Finally I do get the vanilla in the background which adds a velvety rich softness to the background. Overall, this is gorgeously dark and has a delicious bite, and I love it.

 

[crebbsgirl]

So it looks like fairnymph and I have exactly the opposite tastes! Where Echo was an utter fail for me, I am swooning over Narkissos.

 

Immediately, I get vanilla and oppoponax. A sweet, deep scent, but not dark! I get hints of narcissus but it never overtakes the blend for me. I also get a vague impression of spice, but nothing is jumping out as ANISE!!! on me. This is definitely more masculine than Echo, but infinitely more wearable for me.

[zankoku_zen]

Well damn.

 

I sort of expected to hate this, but ... uhh.... this is like...

 

Okay, I get vanilla, green woods and *GASP* a narcissus that smells very much like .... DAFFODIL. I kid you not. On wet, it is definitely more incense, and that's pretty much the smell for about an hour. And then *BOOM* it turns into a sweet, green daffodil-like floral blend. I swear there is some sort of citrus in it, because both wet and dry, I get the most amazing whiffs of something that smells like orange. And like the orange note is like the one found in Orange. Sweet, juicy, delicious.

 

GENIUS! :love!:

 

Okay, I am now going to go off and find some unloved Narkissos out there. Because apparently, we were totally meant to be. Oh skin chemistry, I have railed against you time and time again, but in this case, I think you've made up for some of those times where everyone was getting something delectable, and I was getting something... well, not what everyone else was.

 

 

[surf-tormented]

I think this poor perfume is getting a bad rap. Oh, Narkissos, I know you are egotistical and go on my skin like a rancid hairspray...but that is only for a few scant moments...then you morph into a very heady sophisticated floral...ok, the scant moment is more like a 1/2 hour...but still!

 

I like the way this smells, even the hairspray starter note isn't as bad on me as the same note in Sugar Moon and Ether...except this one blends in after awhile to make a very impressive floral on me. It's strong, it's not your baby sister's flower perfume, but it is pretty and lovely. Slightly smokey, slightly strong night blooming flowers, exotic blooms, dark greens and wood. I also smell the orange and daffodil that the previous review smelled. Maybe our skin chemistries are similar? Of course, loving opoponax like I do doesn't hurt!

 

Everyone should give this a try if you get a sample and leave it on. Don't dismiss it wet on your skin, give it time to work its magic. It reminds me of heavy humid florals around a pond and fitting, since the Waterhouse painting on the label reflects that. Even the wood is more like trees that grow around a pond.

 

This one is a winner and I noticed some other people (wrote my review with only the memory of Fair Nymph's and others bad reviews) agree with me. Well, I think most people don't like this, so you can buy or trade on the cheap! Double win!

Edited May 3, 2010 by Madame Nyx

[Little Bird]

Narkissos is like a sickly sweet, cloying floral with a touch of smoke on my skin. The narcissus adds a heavy, yellow floral feel to the blend while the opoponax and vanilla go intensely sweet. Something is lending a dark, sharp smokiness to the blend as well that reminds me of burning leaves in the fall. Every once in a while, I find that the scent also smells sharply soapy to me.

 

All in all, this smells so sweet that it makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach, and I don't like the soapy-smoky-sharpness to it either. It has stages where it smells kinda similar to LUSH's Vanillary scent (which I lovelovelove), but even then it's still way too sweet and there's something a bit off about it.

 

Narkissos is very heavy and sickening on my skin. It's like it's overly sweet and overly sharp on me at the same time

[Koumori]

I tried to wear Narkissos along with Echo, but regretfully, I had to wash them off. Narkissos overwhelmed Echo completely, and the combination of the two was uneasy and intensely sweet. Syrupy, and not in a way I found pleasant. I think I was hoping for more vanilla, but what I get is a viciously sweet floral with a burnt edge to it. This scent seems to be dividing reviewers right down the line.. I'm sad I fall on the "no" side, but there it is. I think that whatever opoponax is, it may just be a note that doesn't work for me, as I think it's a common thread in a number of blends I've recently tried and haven't loved.

[milo]

In the imp, this is bee-oo-ti-ful As it dries, the narcissus really amps on my skin, though it isn't that bothersome. It's pretty much a creamy narcissus now. Not really my style, kind of honey-like in a way. After going for a run, I NEEDED a bottle of this. It was so musky, sweet, the narcissus had faded. This didn't last. Maybe the heat of my body while running amped other notes? Anyways, once I cooled off, the narcissu was back. Soo, I'm left with a blend that I love only when my body is heated up.. I will try again, maybe, something will happen with age. Narcissus rarely works on me, but when it does, its fabulous. I wish it didn't amp here. Depending on Echo, I may get a set, as it is gorgeous when I'm warm. For now I'll enjoy the imp, especially in the heat of summer.

[pinkgyrl]

I love this! I've already sought out a back-up bottle, and I hardly ever can afford to do that or am compelled to do that. I get a delicate light floral - with a hint of citrus - and then a headiness that is not overbearing - it actually reminds me of CC: Female and Haloes (only with orange instead of apricot). It's so creamy and pretty without being dated - Adore

[ChaosKitty]

I LOVE this! Wet, it is a bit sharp and resiny, but it dries down to a sweet vanilla-floral scent that reminds me a lot of lily of the valley rather than narcissus. I don't usually like florals, but this one is lovely! I would put it in the same scent category as Hope and Faith, or Haloes and Bijoux Y'ha N'thlei. Different scent, but same scent family.

 

[Schmoozy]

Spicy florals and creamy vanilla. Upon drydown a slight citrus note appears and tempers the spice. I like it but not enough to upgrade to a bottle.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Suprsingly green and sappy

 

Wet on me - Something more resinous and smoky comes through (the oud?)

 

Dry on me - A dry brown skin musk sort of scent with touches of sweetness from the vanilla

 

Overall - I was hoping for more vanilla and somehow this never sat quite right with me.

[rayvn1]

This really should have worked I love the notes and it seemed like it would be total win, but not so. Went hardcore floral with powdery vanilla way in the background. To the swaps!

[filigree_shadow]

Whoa, lots of heady floral here. Kind of a smoky heady floral.

The narcissus is a little too strong in this for me.