Sibyl

[Ashenrook]

SIBYL
This play was good enough for us, Harry. It was Romeo and Juliet. I must admit that I was rather annoyed at the idea of seeing Shakespeare done in such a wretched hole of a place. Still, I felt interested, in a sort of way. At any rate, I determined to wait for the first act. There was a dreadful orchestra, presided over by a young Hebrew who sat at a cracked piano, that nearly drove me away, but at last the drop-scene was drawn up and the play began. Romeo was a stout elderly gentleman, with corked eyebrows, a husky tragedy voice, and a figure like a beer-barrel. Mercutio was almost as bad. He was played by the low-comedian, who had introduced gags of his own and was on most friendly terms with the pit. They were both as grotesque as the scenery, and that looked as if it had come out of a country-booth. But Juliet! Harry, imagine a girl, hardly seventeen years of age, with a little, flowerlike face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark-brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose. She was the loveliest thing I had ever seen in my life. You said to me once that pathos left you unmoved, but that beauty, mere beauty, could fill your eyes with tears. I tell you, Harry, I could hardly see this girl for the mist of tears that came across me. And her voice--I never heard such a voice. It was very low at first, with deep mellow notes that seemed to fall singly upon one's ear. Then it became a little louder, and sounded like a flute or a distant hautboy. In the garden-scene it had all the tremulous ecstasy that one hears just before dawn when nightingales are singing. There were moments, later on, when it had the wild passion of violins. You know how a voice can stir one. Your voice and the voice of Sibyl Vane are two things that I shall never forget. When I close my eyes, I hear them, and each of them says something different. I don't know which to follow. Why should I not love her? Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life. Night after night I go to see her play. One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen. I have seen her die in the gloom of an Italian tomb, sucking the poison from her lover's lips. I have watched her wandering through the forest of Arden, disguised as a pretty boy in hose and doublet and dainty cap. She has been mad, and has come into the presence of a guilty king, and given him rue to wear and bitter herbs to taste of. She has been innocent, and the black hands of jealousy have crushed her reedlike throat. I have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one's imagination. They are limited to their century. No glamour ever transfigures them. One knows their minds as easily as one knows their bonnets. One can always find them. There is no mystery in any of them. They ride in the park in the morning and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon. They have their stereotyped smile and their fashionable manner. They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is! Harry! why didn't you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress?

Bourbon vanilla, Egyptian musk, olibanum, summer honey, white tea, Spanish mandarin, tea rose, cognac, and a faint trace of prussic acid.

In the Bottle
Refined vanilla, a breath of mandarin, and the barest traces of cognac and tea.

On Skin: Wet
Oh... This is just heart-breakingly beautiful. White tea comes to the front, wreathed in velvety bourbon vanilla, with a ghost of tea rose in the background. I am rather impressed that the rose is being so well-behaved as it is! A few minutes later, you can detect the sweetness of the honey overlaying the sunniness of the mandarin. It's just all so gorgeous... It's as if you are having afternoon tea in a drawing room, seated on a plush sofa in front of a huge open french window – the day is sunny and beautiful (much like how WeHo was today, minus the heat...) with birds chirping and the scent of orange trees drifting in on the breeze.

On Skin: Dry
The tea rose starts coming to the surface more, accompanied by a glass of sophisticated cognac. The vanilla and the achingly beautiful note of white tea still flit in the background.

Afternotes
Much of the same in the drydown phase, but with a trifle of the olibanum and Egyptian musk in the background. Just as beautiful, and delicate, as before.

Verdict
On an American scholastic grading scale, I would give this an A+.

This, easily, makes one of my top five scents and I am thoroughly impressed by the Lab by making this absolutely perfect compliment to Dorian. And even though there's honey in it, it is behaving gorgeously and the rose does not overwhelm. I cannot say how much I adore this scent.

- - - -

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This is really beautiful. Initially it smelled like nothing, then it bloomed into a luscious tea with honey, and mandarin that is almost lemony. That's how it smells when I sniff my skin. While I sat around, I got wafts of egyptian musk and warm vanilla. Thank god I didn't smell any tea rose. There is a very faint floral element but I don't recognize it as rose. Now that it has dried down, my skin smells like skin musk, warm vanilla and lemon sugar.

 

 

I'm so lucky I got a bottle of this (thanks to my wonderful angel, devilot)

[scrappy]

Wet on the skin I'm getting mandarin, tea and a bit of honey. Dries down after about an hour to a gorgeous vanilla with a hint of musk. Luckily for me the rose never really came out (which is amazing since I tend to amp rose to high heaven) and the honey was very well-behaved.

[tarotgirl99]

This reminds me of Jingo-Kogo with the lightest hint of rose. It's creamy, sexy, and incredibly well blended--I get mostly vanilla and mandarin but I know the musk tea, rose, and some very well-behaved honey undergird the mix, as well. No hint of the cognac has entered my nostrils.

 

At first I thought I'd have to slather this (it's very light in the bottle), but it blossoms on the skin in a way that just melts me.

 

The rose blooms as time goes by. Fortunately, I like rose, but I liked Sibyl better in her earlier, creamy mandarin incarnation.

 

Not sure if my wonderful Sibyl angel wants to be named, but I thank her with great sincerity and gratitude, whenever I can pull myself away from huffing my wrist, that is.

 

Updated to add that I wore this to a wedding last weekend. It was just PERFECT.

Edited October 12, 2010 by tarotgirl

[ami226]

Wow! This smells quite a bit like a Dorian CT I used to have, only this has a lovely hint of creamy vanilla!

 

Such a comforting scent. It smells to me like a muskier Dorian with a different creamy vanilla. Slightly lemony?

 

Wow, this gets even creamier/lovelier as time goes on! If you are a fan of The Girl, I think you will quite like this scent!

 

To my lovely Sibyl angel.... You are amazingly awesome!

 

-ETA- If you like Sibyl, you might want to try the Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair. They are quite similar to me!

Edited June 5, 2011 by Catseyes

[plainjean]

This is absolutely stunning. In the bottle, I get mostly the mandarin and the vanilla. On the skin, though, it's a beautiful musky, faintly citrusy, creamy honeyed tea. The rose seems to be a single tea rose, wafting about in the background. It's the quintessential Victorian drawing room, bottled. Though it is extremely similar to Dorian, I feel like they complement each other beautifully, rather than compete with one another to be the best vanilla-and-tea-and-musk scent.

 

A million thanks to my wonderful Sibyl angel.

 

ETA: By the end of the day, I think I caught a faint whiff of cognac. It was very, very light though. Barely perceptible.

Edited October 5, 2010 by plainjean

[Lorelai1945]

Oh. my. goodness. This is so incredibly beautiful. It is creamy, honeyed, gently citrus-y tea. It is a lot like Dorian with a soft mandarin in place of the lavender. It's feminine and so, so pretty. It's a bit musky, a bit sweet, and extremely gentle. I actually can't pick out the tea rose, so on my skin it's blending nicely with the other notes. I am SO happy that someone was kind enough to pick me up a bottle!! Definitely the best new Bpal I have tried in a while.

[violetblue]

Definitely the best new Bpal I have tried in a while.

THIS!!!!

If Sibyl and BPTPs Candied Apple hadn't been so amazing on me, I would have started to have a complex seeing so many (I am looking at you, Tombeur, Lilith's Tea Party , Black Lace, The Girl, and Infernal Lover) that haven't worked for me the last few months. Sibyl is another morpher on me, thick rich vanilla one minute, soft floral with tea the next. I really love this and the label is gorgeous. I thank my angel from the bottom of my heart for picking this up for me.

Edited October 4, 2010 by violetblue

[Invidiana]

I absolutely adore this. It's like Joyful Moon's diabolical older sister. It's sweet rose tea in the bottle, but on my skin it blossoms into a deep, sophisticated honeyed vanilla backed by the musk and olibanum and traces of the tea, rose and mandarin that add to its uniqueness of character. This is not one of those overwhelming dry rose blends at all; it's really dominated by the vanilla, honey and resin with a veil of warm and sensual Egyptian musk. The rose is a soft accent in the background as it is in Joyful Moon and while it supports the blend it doesn't overwhelm it in the least. The creaminess and honey/resinous aspects really shine as it dries down further, yet it still retains an air of something sinister in the background. It brings to mind the immaculate face of Marie Antoinette with a poisonous glimmer in her eye.

Much, much to my wonderful Sibyl angel!

Edited October 4, 2010 by Invidiana

[angelicruin]

Definitely Dorian-like on my skin.

 

I mainly get the tea, mandarin and vanilla on me with just a faint scent of rose in the background. Smells absolutely amazing on me. :wub2:

[pinkgyrl]

I am so glad that I had an

 

 

This is so beautiful in an almost aching way. It is definitely reminiscent of Dorian - but a delicate and more feminine version. At first, I could smell a lot of citrus - the mandarin - vanilla, and a floral that I couldn't decipher without looking at the description again (after I looked for rose - it slightly reminded me of the rose in Pink Snowballs before it blended into the other notes).

 

Now, Sybil has gently settled into a warm vanilla tea - with just a hint of musk and with just a faint whiff of citrus here and there (almost a citrus-sugar). After a longer while, I do get just a touch of a bitter note - not unpleasant but just something to remind you that not all is sweet and nice. It is so well-blended and just utterly lovely.

Edited October 6, 2010 by GirlinDenial

[cometgirl21]

I was so excited that I found someone to pick me up a bottle and I couldn't wait to try it.

 

In the bottle: I get a lighter version of Dorian, which is my favorite BPAL next to Snake Oil so I had high expecations.

 

On my skin: The first few minutes of this on my skin are not pleasant. After about five minutes, it's a soft rose scent. Darn you tea rose. Why must you take this over? Every other note was perfect and while I was worried about the rose, I didn't expect it to take it over. It doesn't whack me over the head and it's soft, but I can't stand rose. About an hour later I'm getting a little bit of the honey, but the scent is starting to fade. I'm honestly not sure about this. While it's actually a rose I can wear, I don't care for florals.

[jizatt]

I dont get rose or honey really - I do get the comparisons to Dorian though. Must be a similarity in the musk. This is a feminine Dorian without the heavy vanilla overtone, replaced by a light fruitiness.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

To preface this review, I must confess that I'm not a big Dorian fan.. I remember trying it once, a while back, and not being particularly impressed - so the whole "partner to Dorian" thing didn't influence me at all. That said, on with the review!

 

When it's wet on my skin at first, I get the lovely mandarin and the Egyptian musk is also quite present. As it starts to dry down (within less than a minute) the honey emerges and a waft of the white tea also appears, and the vanilla is trying to peek out but not quite getting there. Then... dun dun dun... tea rose joins the stage. Oh.. hello tea rose, what did you do with all those other notes, you nasty bully!!

 

Five minutes in, and pretty much everything else is gone now.. just the tea rose remains. It's a dusky/musky kind of rose, which in itself is quite nice, but I'm not a big rose fan and I hate that it always amps itself over everything else on me. If I try real hard, I can detect a hint of the mandarin and honey, maaaaaaaaaybe the cognac, and the vanilla is still putting up a brave fight to try and get out, but alas.. the evil tea rose triumphs over everything.

 

One hour later, and Sybil has faded down to a very pretty dusky rose with a slight background of mandarin on a musky base. So nothing really changed for me - sadly - and even more sadly, this has become a bit "old-lady's poutpourri" like on my skin. I knew this one was going to be a risk, because of the rose, but when I saw all those other gorgeous notes that I love - cognac, mandarin, and bourbon vanilla - I just had to give it a try. I don't hate this, it's just not my style of perfume. I can see why so many others are loving it though - it is beautifully feminine without being girly, and dusky/sensual without being smutty. Alas poor Sybil - I don't think you will be staying with me.

 

Last but not least.. thank you to my WeHo angel for picking up a bottle for me

 

EDIT = SIX WEEKS LATER!

So I decided to give Sybil a chance, and tucked her away for a while. What a difference a few weeks make! Now the tea rose has mellowed right out, to the point where it's hardly noticeable. What I'm getting now is a lovely dusky musk/vanilla with the beautiful warm cognac and a hint of honey - it's absolutely beautiful on my skin. I'm definitely keeping this now

.

Edited November 27, 2010 by sunshinedaisybliss

[cfrancesca]

I get a sweet, slightly creamy vanilla and Egyptian musk base with soft cognac, lots of mandarin tea lightly sweetened with honey, hints of rose and unfortunately for me, lots of olibanum (both in the bottle and on my skin). Since it's not a note I particularly love, my nose kind of zeros in on it. I don't do too well with frankincense blends with citrus or vanilla, they have a tendency to turn slightly bitter on my skin. I wish it smelled like Dorian on me, I find Dorian to be sweeter and more vanilla on the dry-down.

 

I'm a little disappointed with it, I was hoping for more rose, bourbon vanilla and Egyptian musk. I'm pretty sure it's the olibanum that's ruining it for me, it's quite strong on my skin and overtakes the entire blend.

[Cheri]

I don't get any comparisons to Dorian with Sibyl. What I smell is some mandarin and rose when it's wet, and then when it dries, I get similarities to Liz if you layered a little rose with it. It certainly isn't as leathery as Liz, but similar. It also reminds me of the rose in Pink Snowballs. Thanks to my swapper for giving me the opportunity to try this. I like it. Considering it has rose in it, it's very wearable for me, since rose isn't a note I can normally wear.

[opticnerd]

I don't get Dorian from this, but I do get one of my favorite blends in there just a bit with the white tea/mandarin/vanilla notes- Lady Lilith! This blend doesn't have the tangy red musk of Lady Lilith, and it has just a bit more prominent rose note. I hate rose. I amp the hell out of rose. But there are a few rosy blends I can do. This is one of them. It is similar to Alice in the rose department, the rose is blended well with soft and creamy notes, and as the previous poster said, its a rose note similar to Pink Snowballs (which is the only rose-heavy blend that smells good on me).

 

This is a lovely, subtle, delicate scent and even rose haters may find it to be a keeper!

[countessmouse]

This is a very interesting scent, and not in a bad way! Lots of vanilla, musk, and mandarin with just a hint of the cognac and some florals. Thankfully, I didn't get that weird smell that I often do when tea is present, but I'm thinking that the acid adds just a bit of "ozone" to the whole thing. Pretty good throw, too.

 

Overall, it's unusual and I like it!

[zankoku_zen]

Sibyl, you and I can't be friends. Even though we both like Dorian.

 

So you have this giant hit of acid on wet, and it calms down as you dry down. I get hints of Dorian, vanilla and highly acidic lemon.

 

Sorry, you're way too sour for me.

[edenssixthday]

Sibyl - I am sooo grateful to my WeHo angel for having the opportunity to try this. It is one of the prettiest BPALs of the year, if not of all time. I it so much! The Egyptian musk and vanilla are the strongest notes on me and they blend beautifully. The honey is thankfully not the one that smells like poopy diapers on me! It's not strong, but gives the scent a hint of sweetness that the vanilla can't do on its own. The mandarin lends the scent just the right amount of brightness, and the tea rose is faint, but gives the scent the faintest hint of dry powderiness (in a good way!) It's mostly the Egyptian musk and vanilla, though, and it's heavenly. Absolutely heavenly.

[milo]

At first, this is kind of like Dorian, but more delicate, with a bit more tea, and less citrus, or maybe it's different. An orange citrus rather than lemon. As it dries, a honey note comes out, and this is very reminiscent of Gennivre, a scent that I regret swapping away. This is a very beautiful, delicate blend. Feminine, a bit musky and pretty much wearable anywhere. I'm so grateful that someone sold their bottle to me, as this is love. It really does suit spring or summer, I think rather than fall, but I still love it!

[Little Bird]

Sibyl is kind of like the tea from Dorian mixed with the tobacco stained linen of Black Lace, sprinkled with a sour rose perfume and then tossed into an ash tray. It has a sour, dirty, gritty quality that I'm not liking so much. I'm not sure what is giving me that sour tobacco quality, unless it is the 'prussic acid.' I expected something sweeter from the tea rose, vanilla, honey and tea, but I don't smell any honey here and the rose is more sharp & sour than tea rose usually is on my skin.

This is definitely not the girly vanilla, tea and rose scent I was hoping for. I guess the cognac and prussic acid are giving this a sour, gritty, pukey quality on my skin.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Little Bird

[ivyandpeony]

When I first sniffed Sibyl in the bottle, it reminded me of White Rose from the BPTP rose duo - and for about the first 30 minutes it smelled very similar on me. I think maybe the tea note is similar and I was amping the rose while it was drying down. Once it had time to settle on my skin, it started to morph into something different from White Rose and became a deep vanilla musk with hints of honey and rose. I love BPAL's cognac note(s) so was a teeny bit disappointed that I couldn't really detect it, but who knows what will happen with some aging &/or a different week of the month - it's a beautiful thing

[crebbsgirl]

I get vanilla and musk mostly here. There is a hint of cognac and honey underneath. It's sweet and cozily sexy if that makes sense. As it wears, the tea rose comes out a little more, but it doesn't amp like rose has been known to do on my skin. There's a smoky quality to this at a length. But not if I put my nose up to my skin. I do get a similarity to Dorian, but I wouldn't say you'd mistake the two for each other.

[Dark Alice]

Like most things life I can't predict how things are going to go...however...with this scent I knew where it would go. Right back in the swap box. This is soft tea rose...which makes it bearable...however the honey, musk and vanilla make this a soft, subtly sweet tea rose scent. Not bad...however tea rose is a note that I hate with a passion and it is something I amp. This is going to have to come off soon...I am getting nauseous. *sigh*