Aphrogenes

[Amaranthus]

Foam Born
Orris root, iris, white honey, white sandalwood, coconut, and cherry blossom.

Aphrogenes is nice.

It starts off smelling of iris and coconut, similar to Black Pearl from the Bewitching Brews category, only without the hazelnut or musk.

There is an airy cherry blossom note floating behind the iris and coconut. The florals are not sharp.

The honey note is light and closely tied to the floral notes, unlike other honey scents where the honey smells golden and viscous (e.g. Door or Valse Finale et Apothéose).

I was worried that the white sandalwood note would take over and smell unpleasantly dry, but it is not a note that stands out. The white sandalwood tempers the coconut, keeping the coconut from smelling tropical or gourmand.

This perfume makes me think of pale silk, or a very expensive face cream. It is light and soft.

The perfume lasted on my skin through most of my workday. After about nine hours I can smell coconut, sandalwood, and a faint trace of honey lingering on my wrist. The iris and cherry blossom went away within the first few hours.

[Evilynn]

in the bottle: white honey, white sandalwood, cherry blossom and orris

wet on the skin: out of the gate it's white sandalwood and honey with cherry blossom and orris taking a back seat. Within the first 15 minutes the Iris gets a little overwhelming, but does a quick dash to the finish line and vanishes (thankfully) within the hour.

drydown: sandalwood, honey and coconut and pale floral. The ultimate drydown seems to be honeyed white sandalwood with a bit of coconut and cherry blossom. The coconut and sandalwood balance eachother out very nicely.

 

This is a nice clean smelling (without going soapy) scent, a bit more unusual than a regular pale floral. It is rather pretty and while the dry down is a little on the faint side, I like it well enough to keep my bottle.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting orris root and coconut. Coconut is one of my DEATH notes, so this will probably not end well. On my skin, all coconut, all the time. Not betting on seeing too many changes to this, because my skin amps the fuck out of coconut. So, if you amp coconut, this may be all you get out of the blend.

[megank4]

Interesting. The start of this is very much Lights of Men's Lives, but then it fades.

[edenssixthday]

Aphrogenes - Very pretty in the bottle. It smells like iris and coconut. When I put it on, the orris becomes the dominant note. Now, I love orris' dry powdery scent, but blended with the iris and coconut (which are both soft and slightly powdery on me), it's almost too powdery, and I can't smell any of the other notes at all. When it dries down, it becomes an incredibly subtle scent, and about two hours into wear time, I realize that I can actually smell the faintest trace of white sandalwood, but at this point, it's accompanied only by the orris. At no point do I ever smell cherry blossom or honey. I think people who like coconut, orris, and subtle fragrances may enjoy this one a lot. I agree with the first reviewer that it's reminiscent of Black Pearl, so if you like that one, you'll likely like this one, as well.

[cherrycherry]

This is sweet, feminine and beautiful. I'm starting to get a real thing for orris and this blend is enabling me all the more. Also reminds me of Black Pearl.

[tarotgirl99]

On me this is the ultimate scent of clean. Cotton and powdery, especially for the first few hours when it reminds me a bit of Love's Baby Soft, of which I was never much of a fan. It eventually dries down to something subtle and pleasant. I will keep the imp, but...

[angelicruin]

Orris and coconut mostly on me. Fades on my skin REALLY fast.

[Shealynne]

In the imp: CHERRY BLOSSOM..... and orris.

Wet: cherry blossom baby power?

Dry: Powder. Just powder.

I'll probably keep the imp, but I'm not seeing a bottle in the future.

[strahlend]

Skin testing a decant – yep, this is creamy and pretty. Not overly coconut or honey. I'm guessing it's the sandalwood and orris together that makes this so smooth and warm and light. The longer it's on the more sandalwood I'm smelling. I like that, so this is working nicely for me. I asked my partner to do a sniff test and he actually liked it, not his usual ambivalent "meh" either. I double checked even. Since he usually doesn't care at all what I smell like, a positive response combined with my already pleasant feelings toward this scent means I'll be looking for a bottle.

[cameroncrazed]

Wow! Beautiful. I'm going to need to get a bottle

 

In decant: honey and coconut.

 

Wet on skin: holy love child of O and Black Pearl. Seriously. It's very much a honey vanilla'd Black Pearl - which is perfect for me.

 

Dry on skin: Great blend of scents. In order of what I can smell/strongest notes: iris, orris root, cherry blossom, coconut. Very soft and feminine and really, really pretty. It behaves so well on my skin, and I absolutely adore it

[cfrancesca]

This is mainly a dusty orris and soft, sweet coconut scent on me, I get hints of cherry blossom once in a while. It reminds me of a sweeter, softer Black Pearl. I had high hopes for this one, but though it's a pretty scent, the orris is just too strong for my tastes.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this is all softly powdery, sweet orris (which always smells like violet candies to me).

On my skin, Aphrogenes is so sweet that it's nauseating. It's orris backed up by sugary honey and intensely sweet coconut. Too much.

Orris is sweet to begin with (and I love it in blends like Staged Moon Landing), so the other notes here just make it unbearably sweet for me. It's like violet candies drenched in honey and buckets of sugar syrup. Makes me feel ill, and I usually enjoy sweet/foodie blends.

[jizatt]

First off, I Love this one. But it is very similar to Black Pearl on my skin. Almost identical, but maybe a bit sweeter. Its that gorgeous coconut/orris/iris/white musky thing that I love, but better =) BTW - I dont smell specifically honey or cherry blossom here.

 

Black Pearl - Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.

Aphrogenes - Orris root, iris, white honey, white sandalwood, coconut, and cherry blossom.

[MCS4096]

This is very closely related to Black Pearl and Staged Moon Landing. It has the same dusty orris note. As such it's very pretty, soft and comforting. I have a bottle of Staged Moon Landing so I'm not sure I'd need this one.. but I might do a Death Match between them since I do love me some orris I generally dont like honey in blends, but this one is very light on it, and I really just get a nice mixing of the orris and sandalwood with a hint of coconut.

[Invidiana]

This makes me drift away to a happy place. It's very soft and dreamy, like lying down on fresh white sheets in gentle sunlight, though there's no linen note in here. I can amp orris to a high degree sometimes but it stays subdued enough, and I think it's the soft coconut and cherry blossom that create that dreamy feeling. The sandalwood is ethereal and slightly musky as sandalwood often tends to dry down on me, and a gentle sweetness is added by the honey. It's one of the--count 'em--three winners out of my sea of Lupercalia decants. Those don't include the handful of bottles I was positive enough about to spring for unsniffed, of course.

[surlygurl]

This looked like it would be stronger than it is. It's very soft orris and something sharp-plasticy at first. It then morphs into a clean orris/coconut/iris with a touch of blossoms. It does remind me of Black Pearl. Quite nice, but not spectacular.

[Dark Alice]

This is exactly what I wanted Black Pearl to smell like. This coconut/orris root combo is working well for me. It's so clean and light...and the cherry blossom is not taking over and trying to kill me. This may be bottle worthy.

[Sabir]

I adore white sandalwood, honey, coconut and cherry blossom. This blend should have worked on me, but alas it does not.

 

It's mostly Orris and Iris on me, which is a pleasant feminine scent, just not what I was hoping for. I get small hints of the honey and coconut. The sandalwood might be there too, but its hard to pick out. I can't get any cherry blossom out of this at all! That makes me a sad panda.

[pinkstardust420]

A creamier, airier, softer, more sensual version of Black Pearl. This is simply gorgeous and may just be my new favorite BPAL scent!! I love it!!

[zankoku_zen]

Coconut with whiffs of iris and cherry blossom, with some orris peaking out. The orris gives the iris/cherry blossoms a sharper edge.

 

Boo. I know I amp up coconut, but the whiffs of iris and cherry blossom are very tantalizing. This makes me think of things that are soft, like tissue paper.

[milo]

Wet, buttery coconut, very reminiscent of Tiki Princess. Dry, still the coconut, like Tiki Princess only not as 'coconutty', with other notes playing nicely with the base coconut. After a bit, the sandalwood comes out. Did I mention that I LOVE sandalwood? Still a bit tropical, but it's quite nice with the added woody feel to this blend. I had written this off in the imp, as I didn't like the smell of it, but on my skin, it just blooms with my fave sandalwood coming to the forefront. I was worried about the cherry blossom, but I don't smell it at all. I guess I'll just add this to my swap page, as I'm too late to purchase a bottle. Very nice!

[Balame]

In the Imp: One page of reviews, really? I would've thought this one would be a killer for most people. It's stunning. I definitely see the similarities to Black Pearl, which is one of my favorite scents to this day, except Aph is softer. I thought Pearl was gentle to start, but this goes a step further. Since it lacks the hazelnut there's not at all the boozy feeling. It makes me think of white silk blowing in an early evening breeze, innocent yet seductive.

 

Wet: Still has that tropical feel. It's delicious but not in a foody way, more like you want to lick someone's skin... the orris takes the place of the white musk as the base in this and it has a pleasantly powdery vibe rather than being "old". It does possess more of a floral than Pearl (despite its iris), but even as someone who dislikes florals it's too delicate to be bothersome. I think mainly because the sandalwood lingers in the back, grounding this from becoming too sweet.

 

Dry: This makes me conjure up applying sunscreen/tanning oil at the beach, but as I happen to love that feeling it's very pleasant. I certainly get coconut oil but it's very realistic and light hearted, not chemical at all. It's just so good, and the similarity to Black Pearl is uncanny.

 

Overall: As much as I love BP, I have to admit there's been more than one occasion where I've wished it was just a tad gentler, and this is exactly what Aphrogenes delivers. I'll eventually have to seek out a bottle because I would wear the heck out of this, but I can live with BP's slightly rougher vibe until I have the extra funds.

[sunlitgarden]

This is a decant that's been sitting in my imp box for a while. I think it was an extra someone tossed into a sale/swap package, rather than something I ordered, but thanks, whoever gave it to me! From looking at the notes, they're pretty much all things I enjoy.

In the decant: this reminds me a little of Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom to be honest. I think it's because of the cherry blossom and sandalwood notes here. But I also smell the sweet honey and iris/orris, which is more powdery to me than floral.

On my skin: I smell the coconut more now, but to me it doesn't smell like a dessert coconut or suntan lotion. The cherry blossom is smelling more like cherry fruit than it does in Aizen-Myoo. This is a pretty, delicate scent. For a bit, it reminds me a little of a craft store like Michael's. That "craft store" association doesn't last too long, though.

This is nice, but I think I prefer Dia for non-tropical coconut and Silver Phoenix for orris. Still, I'm glad I got the chance to try it, and I'll probably keep the decant.

[VetchVesper]

Very pretty, hazy, floral.  I was thinking it smelled like it had soft white musk in it and almond, but that didn't seem quite right.  Looking at the notes, I realize it's a powdery orris with the coconut.  It's not super sweet though, and has enough going on that it's not floral overkill for me.  Creamy and dreamy.  Perfect for spring.