The Phoenix At Dawn

[Eemia]

The pearly, opalescent flames of the morning: pink rose, apricot, orange blossom, carnation, red sandalwood, lemon blossom, rose musk, Madagascar vanilla, white wine grape, pink grapefruit, and white patchouli. This Phoenix embodies liberty, renewal, vitality, and creativity.

I've never been too big on fruity/floral scents but I love this one. It opens up as a grapefruit tinged pink apple, not too citrusy or tart. The fruit aspect smells delicate and a little sweet, a little fleshy. I don't know why it reminds me of apples but it does. At least that's the association I get from that type of soft, pale fruit scent. I expected the rose to amp on me (it usually does) but it's dampened down and blends into the other florals. Everything is creamy and plush without being too heavy or serious. The overall floral tone is more flirty or romantic in some way. It's all very complete and harmonious... I'm not picking out one thing or another as it wears on me. The transition into a muskier dry down is equally nice. I never notice when it happens but the flowers in bloom and saucy fruits beginning stage always lasts for a good few hours. It's not as flighty as some of my other fruit blends. So that's awesome, a fruit fragrance with lasting power. Anyway, when it fades I notice more sweetness and a lot less floral. There's a non-powdery musk, some hints of wood, and maybe something resembling incense. Frustratingly hard to describe but it still smells amazing.

This is much more unassuming on my skin than most fruit fragrances tend to be. It's interesting, not something that usually comes to my mind when I describe a scent that I would put in the pretty category. I have a sad, neglected bottle of Dolce & Gabbana's Rose The One perfume sitting in my room somewhere (a random gift that I've only worn once) and this reminds me of a more personality ridden and complex version of that. They're not all that similar on my skin but they share the same light hearted, feminine, seamless fruity/floral vibe. Actually I doubt they smell anything alike but every time I wear this one I flash back to my D&G experience. I don't like the generic quality that the D&G type of fragrance has, but I've always liked the idea of something like that. The blend into the crowd sensation that makes me feel like ninety percent of the girls I pass at the mall. But of course I don't really want that, so this is my substitute fade-into-the-clutter fragrance, except it's not. I can still smell like a fruity/floral girl without feeling like a clone.

So this has become a favorite of mine and I just love that it's so PRETTY.

[Magycmyste]

I got this bottle more for what this Phoenix represents than the scent. I didn't think I'd be too crazy about a lot of the fruity scent notes, but surprisingly, I'm happy with it.

 

In the bottle: I smell fruit. Mostly the grapefruit, a little sweetened. There might be a little apricot and vanilla in there, but I can't quite tell.

 

Wet on skin: Still, grapefruit, but with more of the orange and lemon blossoms, and I think a hint of the sandalwood coming through

 

Dry: I'm definitely getting more of the sandalwood now, with a little of the rose. There's still a little of the sweet, sugary smell, but I'm not sure what - It could be the apricot or vanilla again - I'm just not sure.

 

Throw: I don't have to hold my wrist up in order to smell this one, but it's not overpowering either. I haven't worn it around other people yet, so I'm not sure how far away it can be smelled.

 

Verdict: I like this one a lot, even the fruity part when wet. It's a nice, bright scent, and the fade to sandalwood and floral is comforting for me. I'm hoping to get some creative work done before I go out this evening, so we'll see if this Phoenix will perch on my shoulder.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Magycmyste

[Sidhechaos]

pink rose, apricot, orange blossom, carnation, red sandalwood, lemon blossom, rose musk, Madagascar vanilla, white wine grape, pink grapefruit, and white patchouli. This Phoenix embodies liberty, renewal, vitality, and creativity.

 

 

 

I was lucky to just pick this up from a forum member this week (the package came today) I don't know if it is because it is well aged or perhaps it was formulated in a different batch from the ones that other reviewers acquired, but I am getting very different fragrance notes than many people have mentioned. Then again my chemistry tends to be a bit wonky. I have a tendency to amp florals like a bullet train.

 

Right out of the bottle this is an amazing balanced blend of faint citrus with a spicy floral balance and a mild sweetness. The apricot definitely shows up which I'm very happy with. Usually rose and patchouli can become almost sickening on me, the rose being that very old lady potpourri scent :ack:and patchouli just flat out being overwhelming head shop stank. I'm barely even noticing the patchouli here, just a very faint incense note.

 

Further on into dry down it continues to be a mild citrus and sweet mild florals and develops a lovely creamy note to it. I am so delighted I took a chance on buying this and wish now I would be able to acquire more bottles, this is lovely for a springtime or early summer scent especially considering the humidity and heat in Indiana. It has a very light throw however and I'm hoping that my skin won't totally suck it up and it will be one of those that needs frequent application.

[mymymai]

ITB: This has delicious tones of citrus (grapefruit and orange mostly), vanilla, and wine underneath. Normally, I'm not a fine of wine notes, but it works really well in the bottle so far, partly because it seems to have the effervescence of Beth's champagne notes.

 

Wet: Strong lemon and orange blossoms blossom, followed by tones of grapefruit, rose musk, orange, and a touch of vanilla. It's bright and invigorating.

 

Dry: It's sweet with tones of grapefruit, orange blossom, rose musk, and a dash of vanilla. It's a lovely scent all around.

Edited December 10, 2013 by mymymai

[Zii]

Wet: I like most citrus scented cleaning products, but this one made me cringe. No dry down is worth smelling like this. Screaming white floral, soapy grapefruit and something that reminds me of my nana's coppertone sunscreen. Off my skin right now.

[trinitysite]

I get orange blossom and other citrusy dominant notes, maybe sandalwood/vanilla toning them down a little. It actually smells a little like Lush's karma bubble bath, since I have trouble picking the patchouli note out of either. And patchouli amps like crazy on me...not always a problem because I like it (damn hippie) but having patchouli non-prominently in the mix is even better. (And it seems like "white patchouli" is the key here, as well.) This scent is so optimistic and energetic and darn happy.

[Soupy Twist]

A pure spicy single-note ginger with a touch of fizz. A blessing for me because I don't care for a bunch of the other notes!

[Juliamon]

Frimped to me, I never would have picked this myself due to "rose" appearing more than once in the scent description. Roses and I do not get along and have ruined many a scent for me, even when not listed as a note (LUSH's Cardamom Coffee I'm looking at you).

 

In the imp: not a whole lot of scent, but grape and grapefruit lead, with some citrus blossoms behind.

 

Wet: .....bubblegum? Fruity, powdery (sandalwood?) hollow gumballs from a machine. I first tried this blindly one night and assumed there was lotus in it, but even now with the notes right in front of me I still swear there's lotus in here. Maybe it's the rose musk? It's sweet and only vaguely floral to me.

 

Dry: Vanilla emerges faintly, but otherwise very little change. A deep sniff picks up a bit of floral that might be rose or carnation, but only then.

 

While I don't hate it, it's still a light skin scent that went so weird on me as to not smell like any of the listed notes at all. Perhaps age has not been kind to this imp. Perhaps it's mislabeled, though the initial sniff doesn't seem to indicate so. It's a mystery to be passed on to someone else.

[Lucchesa]

I am not a morning person, so maybe this was never going to work. The Phoenix at Dawn smells like very expensive French-milled soap on me. High-pitched citrusy floral, no patchouli or sandalwood in evidence, but I would have guessed there was white musk in here. I agree that the white wine grape is like the champagne note here, and that is not usually a success on my skin. Glad I got to try it, but I'll be passing this one on.