Sphaeromachia Gaumeri

[absinthetics]

Iris, iced lemon peel, anise seed, red current, coriander, cilantro, and white musk.

Iced lemon peel is the first thing to hit the nose. Next there is the wite musk and red current. The cilantro is hiding in there under the lemon peel which gives it a really neat depth. I'm not usually a fan of lemon scents but this one is really lovely. I can't wait to skin test.

[orata]

A pleasant surprise: this smells like a big glass of lemonade! Or lemon meringue pie! The anise, coriander, and cilantro were the notes I was most iffy about, but I don't really smell those aside from a soft greenness and the sense that the scent is more complex than just plain lemon. Somehow, from the description, I didn't think it was going to be so lemon-heavy, but it is definitely the most prominent note, with red currant as a close second adding a tangy red-fruitiness. Smells really delicious, and the lemon is sort of light and watery, not sharp. If I still had my decant of Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, I'd want to deathmatch them, but I swapped that away a while ago and can't compare side by side.

[livingdead71]

Sweet, sugary lemonade! I love lemon scents and this one does not disappoint! Red currant is also a good note for me...here it reminds me a bit of Cheshire Cat, another favorite! Sphaeromachia Gaumeri is definitely bottle worthy! Try if you like Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, SB4, Skytyping with Chemtrails, or Cheshire Cat.

[ModderRhu]

Bitter currant with lovely bright lemon zest. Yet there's something weirdly vegetable about this scent. Like most of the 2012 Metamorphosis series, I'd describe it as planty.

[astarinel]

The lemon scent is definitely the strongest part of this blend wet.

 

It reminds me of the sugared lemon in Sticky Bat, but with kind of a vaguely spicy tartness about it. There's something odd in the background that is keeping me from entirely liking this, maybe the coriander and cilantro? I do really love this lemon note -- a lot of lemony scents can go sharp/cleaner on me, and this is definitely more of a lemonade candy lemon. I'll stick with Sticky Bat for sugary lemony goodness, but this is probably my favorite of the metamorphosis scents this year.

[Monday]

In the decant: Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

On my skin wet: Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

On my skin dry: Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

 

Conclusion: This is Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat disguised as a butterfly. I disliked the lemon scent in LSSB because it didn't smell like actual lemon but of lemon-detergent, Sphaeromachia Gaumeri is so similar it's freaky. Anyways if you missed out on LSSB this is your chance.

Sphaeromachia Gaumeri is a bit disappointing though as the notes suggest something more unique.

[ReallyZeb]

In the decant: Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

On my skin wet: Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

On my skin dry: Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

 

Conclusion: This is Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat disguised as a butterfly. I disliked the lemon scent in LSSB because it didn't smell like actual lemon but of lemon-detergent, Sphaeromachia Gaumeri is so similar it's freaky. Anyways if you missed out on LSSB this is your chance.

Sphaeromachia Gaumeri is a bit disappointing though as the notes suggest something more unique.

I've tried them both next to each other and for me this is way nicer than Sticky Bat - the lemon I find lighter and less sweet with a lovely kick of coriander in the background just freshening it up. Happily for me I don;t get much iris, which was the note I was worrying about as florals don't often get on with me. I may have to get the bottle of this.

[mymymai]

ITI: Lemon peel icing, cilantro, and coriander. It’s unique and intriguing.

 

Wet: Yes, it’s clearly icing that is super heavy on lemon peel. This is followed closely by the coriander, and just a touch of musk. As it dries, it reminds me of those hard lemon candies in a spice shop. Yummy!

 

Dry: The dry down is sweet, like lemon pastry with some musk and coriander. I don’t get much cilantro or anise seed, although there might be a little currant. I like it, as does the my husband. He thinks it smells like yummy tea.

[OctoberGwen]

I love this. I get primarily lemon and red currant grounded with white musk. There's a hint of Other Things in the background, but I detect no coriander, anise, or (thank God) cilantro per se. It has a beautiful depth to it. I will definitely use up my imp this summer.

 

 

ETA: Later, this took on a strange quality in the far drydown: not plasticky exactly, but close.

 

EATA: This is another Metamorphosis that I wish remained in the wet stage one me. I adore the iced lemon peel, red currant, and hint of white musk that I get initially, but when the other elements come out later it turns into something I dislike on my skin.

Edited June 6, 2012 by OctoberGwen

[Little Bird]

I really only picked up a bottle of this one for the label. Iris, lemon, red currant, coriander and cilantro are all potential Notes of Disaster for me, so I didn't have much hope for this scent. But it's not so bad. It's mostly iris and lemon with a little bit of anise and white musk.

 

The lemon part of this reminds me of Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, like it's somewhere between lemon ice and lemon flavored gummi bears. But the iris makes it more perfumey and sharp and less edible smelling. As it dries down, it's less sharp and turns slightly baby powdery, and I can smell a hint of the anise as well (but it's just a small amount of anise; I'm not sure I'd even notice it was here at all if I wasn't searching it out). After an hour, it's just a hint of something like faint lemon dish soap on my skin.

 

I like my lemon scents to be sweeter and paired with vanilla, so this one doesn't work for me, but it isn't awful.

[lohengrin]

In the decant: Mostly this is lemon and musk, with just a hint of iris.

 

On skin, wet: The same three notes as in the vial, but the iris is more dominant.

 

On skin, dry: And the iris is entirely gone! ... But nothing new has made an appearance, so it's just lemon and musk.

 

After an hour: This is more Whitechapel than Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat on me. Either way, though, it's nothing new or special. :/

[stellamaris]

This does remind me of Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, but it's very thin and pale in comparison. As I have a few bottle of LSSB around, which I greatly prefer, I won't go for this. It's too light and airy for me.

[zankoku_zen]

Lemon, plus hints of iris and currant. As it dries, the iris and white musk become more predominant but there is still a wisp of berry sweetness. I am beginning to suspect that my skin does NOT like iris, even though I have an intellectual predilection for it.

 

Lemon Scented Sticky Bat - but more floral, and less lemon.

[milo]

Refreshing, kind of lemony with sugary ice, with a touch of mint. I like this, great for summer, though there are citrus blends that I do like better, so an upgrade is not necessary.

[Invidiana]

Here comes the deathly kind of lemon to haunt me again. I tend to amp lemon peel notes as opposed to the juice and I definitely do here. I think, however, it's the cilantro that really does me in. I don't like to eat it or smell it, and unforunately it just doesn't go away. I can pick up traces of the other notes but the lemon and cilantro are just too kitchen-prep for me.

[Dark Alice]

The lemon in this is WAY TOO STRONG! The icy note comes through along with the white musk..but the lemon turns this scent into a fancy lemon version of joy on my skin. No bueno.

[zeldaZ4]

Delicious!!! My fave so far of the Metamorphosis series. Starts off as lemon icing with warm sugar underneath, then morphs into lemon gummy Lifesavers, becoming warmer and yummier as the day wears on. Like a Lemon Poppyseed cupcake from Gigi's Cupcakes covered in a perfect mound of decadent lemon buttercream frosting. I want to eat my wrist!!! Definitely getting at least one bottle of this!

Edited August 29, 2012 by zeldaZ4

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Musty lemon peel all the way!

 

Wet: More of the same, with a faint hint of the spices.

 

The dry-down: This has not morphed as it dried. Not my thing. Never got even a hint of the current.

[animalcule]

I'm surprised this isn't more popular, it's one of my summer favorites. But then, it contains a whole lot of personal 'win' notes, and I find that they combine beautifully in this blend. I didn't like Lemon Sticky Bat at all, found it totally insipid, but I love this.

 

On me it's mostly iris, sugar, lemon and white musk, with detectable anise. The herbs stay in the background but give it a hint of green. I don't get any red current.

Edited September 16, 2013 by animalcule

[Alaeidrel]

...this is cheap jellybeans. Pure jelly beans. 0.o

[sunlitgarden]

I got a decant of this when it came out, but I realized it's been sitting in my imp box without a review for all this time...

In the decant: This is a bit hard to describe, but it's kind of a combination of sweet and green/herbal. I can smell the lemon, and a bit of savoriness from the coriander/cilantro. Overall the scent is very light.

On my skin: light, sweet lemon/musk primarily. It almost smells like there's chamomile in here? It's airy and herbal, but overall fairly faint. Perhaps this decant is just too aged. To me this smells more like lemongrass than LEMON, which is usually a lot "louder", but that might be due to age.

Tea-like lemon with light herbal greenery. This reminds me of either an herbal tea or what a "natural" cleaning product, like Seventh Generation, would smell like, though it's a bit sweeter and softer than that, especially as it dries.

Edited March 6, 2016 by sunlitgarden

[splendidissima]

Sugared herbal lemon! Oh, this is fun; I'm so glad I snagged a bottle on Etsy. I don't really get red currant or anise or even the iris - which I was a little worried about, since I'm not big on florals! But this is a cool, pale, lightly sweet (not overly sweet) lemon, with whispers of tea-like herbs in the background. It'll be a great summer scent, I think!