Saint-Germain

[luxuria]

... He is a Hermetic Magician's hero for the ages, and his scent is an elegant, timeless, truly refined cologne, bold yet classic: gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses.

This doesn't smell as "fancy" as Wilde but I kinda get the same vibe. I also don't like it as well. I wonder if it's because of the absence of tonka bean. It's definitely masculine but I wouldn't see it as IMPOSSIBLE for a woman to pull off, just difficult..

I definitely smell the amber in this, which gives it a slightly incense-y feel (same thing with O, but not as extreme here.) I also smell the mosses (which, mind you, just HATE my skin chemistry) so, so far there are two negatives. The lavender and carnation lighten this considerably and despite the other notes this doesn't smell overwhelmingly organic. I still kind of get a cologne vibe. I smell the lavender more than the carnation for sure, but the carnation is still detectable if you search for it.

Nice, but not my favorite. Another must-try if you're looking for a masculine BPAL scent, but might not be as heavy as you like if you're a fan of amber and moss.

[inkstone]

This was a giftie from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Very green, with some lavendar. Hmm...

 

Wet: My nose is confused. It's lightly masculine in the green floral sort of way. I'm very confused.

 

Drydown: The amber's definitely there, mingling with the combined scent of lavendar and carnation. I'm impressed that I can't pick out one of those over the other. The moss hangs out in the background and doesn't really pop out much.

 

Final thoughts: This is a nice, light clean scent. It's masculine, but it's not too masculine and I think plenty of women can wear. Alas, this isn't really my thing.

[Will]

I had high hopes for this one since I love amber and moss. . . and after trying it a couple times I've already ordered a larger bottle.

In the bottle: I get mostly the green and floral character, carnations and lavendar, rounded out by more herbal notes.

Initially on application: Floral and just a touch of amber. . . YUM

On drydown: Amber comes out more as the florals fade, some lingering green and woody note from the moss, I assume.

 

This overall is one of my favorite BPALs so far, although I admit my experience is limited. This actually reminds me of Dior's Dune for women, which I think is the floral and amber note, but the mosses make it more masculine. So, I would have no problem with this on a woman. In fact, I am going to see if I can get my sweetie to try it on later.

 

Free associating, this reminds me of a firelit study, with warm polished wood, a lot of books, and a night breeze blowing in from the garden. It's a clean, light scent, very sophisticated. If I had to assign it a color I would say blonde oak and candlelight gold.

[reina]

After the lavender dies down, it turns sweet-ish. I think it's the amber. It's a lovely scent, but on a man. I'm giving this imp (along with Chypre) to a guy I'm dating. totally sexy, he smells so good as is, now he'll smell even better!

[Falathwen]

I chose this for my husband (and also tried it myself.) He was amused because St. Germaine appears in a role playing book he has been reading through at the moment! On my husband this blend was very well balanced when wet. It did indeed have the freshness and bite of a traditional men’s cologne. The lavender and carnation were the strongest notes on him, while the mosses and amber were a greeness and sweetness in the background. Like most of the scents he has tried, this faded fast on his skin.

 

That fast fade seems to be a peculiarity I do not share because St. Germaine lasted fairly well on me, at least a couple of hours. In fact, I had a -completely- different experience with this blend. On me, when wet, the mosses were dominant. In fact, my first impression was that this was the fragrance of a yew bush, very deep and evergreen. Then the carnation and lavender come through the greenery by turns, first the sweet spiciness a bit stronger and then the clean sharpness. It was a very brisk scent when wet but softened as it dried, possibly due to the amber, though that never took over as it has a tendency to do on my skin. This dried down to a soft green scent, rather like Old Dublin, which seems too strange to be true.

[Northernminx]

Lavender and carnation at first, refined, spicey and once again I sit there wondering how lavender can ever be masculine. The amber just totally refines this, a gorgeous high class but reserved scent. This is what I think I wanted King of Diamonds to turn into but it never quite did for me. It fades quickly on me, but I'm keeping the imp for one of "my boys" to try as it's just simply stunning.

[phaedrine]

Smells lovely in the bottle, herby and greeny golden. It mellows a bit upon wear, but retains that greeny-golden smell. I like it, it's light, but not too light, and very refined.

 

I think this will be wonderful in warmer weather, another "light but not girly" blend that I think I'll reach for often when it feels too hot and oppressive to reach for the warm and spicy blends!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Golden and glorious amber.

 

Second Impression: This is very masculine amber, but it's got to be my favorite amber incarnation to date. The amber is tempered very well by the carnation, which adds a spicy kick and mosses which keeps it grounded and from getting sweet. I don't get much lavender, which is good as it's not a favorite of mine.

 

Final Analysis: So happy to have a bottle of this. It might be too masculine for some ladies, but I love it on me.

[siriusstar]

When I opened the imp, I thought it was unremarkable; just a standard perfume or cologne, but woah did that change!

 

For awhile it turned all lavender, quite nice, but not what I was expecting. But THEN it turned into this soft delicious leather-wood scent that is exactly the scent of the character I bought this to inspire. It is sensuous in the extreme, like making love in a library, or with a man who works closely with books.

 

I agree that it is masculine, but not unwearably so. I like it on me, but I think it's turning me on too much!

 

ETA: Just a drop or two on a coat sleve is heavenly for days. My #1 favorite! May it never be dicontinued!

Edited April 5, 2005 by siriusstar

[plumerai]

My experience has been NOTHING like what others have said! I'm smelling nutmeg, clove, a warm buttery feeling. I'd wonder if the imp were mislabeled were it not for the carnations that come out on drydown.

 

Vascillates between masculine and feminine, but the slightly powdery drydown tips it a bit toward the feminine . There's a solidity to it, and a complexity that almost becomes too complex as times goes on; it's difficult to pick out any particular notes.

 

Even with my different experience, the images conjured are much the same: intelligence, literacy, strength without being rigid. I picture a man in a sweater who miraculously doesn't look dorky in it.

[laochodia]

This was a scent i wanted to like....and it ended with me running for soap and hot water.

in the bottle- amber and moss.

on my skin- This turns so overpowerfully masculine that I can't distinguish different notes. This takes masculine past the repulsion point, on my skin. My eyes started actually tearing. Saint Germain does not like me.

[Fulltiltredhead]

I'm amazed to read about how it's so very masculine. I put it on the boy and it turned really, really floral on him. Beautiful, warm, rich, and very female.

 

I'm going to try it on him again soon and we'll see.

 

ADDED April 15:

 

It turns very sweet and very flowery on my boy, almost immediately. He can't wear it.

 

I haven't tried yet.

[anmorata]

Saint-Germain:

Wet: This just screams of cologne, to me. Like Old Spice. Is that cedar I smell?

Drydown: The carnation comes up, but this smells like.. the smell of a man's skin just after shaving. That's it. right on the money.

Longterm wear: I couldn't wear this for more than 1/2 hour. It was most definitely not me. I'd love it on my husband, though.

[eadavenp]

This was really masculine on me, im not the best at notes, but i definitely get the lavendar. I like lavendar a lot, but not enough to enjoy the masculinity of this one on my skin. I may try to get my boyfriend to wear it... or i might keep my imp to dab on a sleepless night.

[dreamingjune]

Wow. As soon as I opened this one I wanted to jump in. It is sooo fresh without smelling like citrus cleaner or overpowering men's cologne. definitely the perfect balance of herbaceous, green, clean floral, and incense. I would certainly classify it as a masculine scent, but certainly doesn't have the predictable feel of most masculine scents. It reminds me very much of Bulgari Black. Utterly unique, fresh, intoxicating, and just dark enough.

 

I really can't speak highly enough of this one. I think it is quickly making it's way to the top of my favorite scent list.

[LiberAmoris]

Oooooh…Saint-Germain smells like boys who read lots of books!! *remembers mother once told her she was book- and boy-crazy* Makes me want to go get my boyfriend and my library card…!

 

This is good stuff. It seems like the counterpart to The Caterpillar, which I also really like. The amber, carnation, and lavender are most prominent on me, although taken altogether, they make a delicious combination that I doubt I could dissect without the list of notes. It’s got a bit of a bay rum vibe to it (perhaps there’s a hint of lime in there as well?) but of course, it’s BPAL, so it’s much more evocative than that.

 

I also think this would be tremendous on anyone: man, woman, or child! It strikes me as traditionally ‘masculine’ in perfumery terms but is very, very lovely by any standards.

[yaluna]

On the first whiff, it smells like I've been in the kitchen all day! Wet, the strongest smell is nutmeg and allspice, with something green underneath, and a touch of wood. The nutmeg and allspice fades a little on drydown, and the sharpness of the green peeks through a tad. After a while the woodiness also comes out to play, and helps to tie everything together. Overall I like it, but not on me, it's a little too masculine.

[Bard]

I was very intrigued by this scent when it came out and added it to that month's order. However I've only gotten to this one just now.

 

On application, my immediate thought is it's conservative and very masculine. It reminds me--pleasantly--of Old Spice, but with subtlely different character. Yes, very much like a commercial men's cologne, but with a depth that I ascribe to the use of organic oils versus synthetics. It's very nice wet, and it feels extremely stately and dignified.

 

As it dries however, the base notes die away and this becomes very sweet and lavender with a hint of sharpness. I was a bit put off by the change, as it suddenly reminded me of baby wipes.

 

Which leads me to quite a conundrum: I want to love this scent, and in fact I do love it initially, but I'm unsure about the later stages of the fragrance. Ideally, I would love to perform an alchemical experiment with this, and apply this in the presence of 3 or 4 BPAL ladies. I'd be very curious is they get the same sense of "Eau de Chiffons de Bébé," or if it's merely my own nose's sensitivity to lavender.

 

At very least, it merits another trial.

 

 

Saint-Germain Haiku,

When nine-hundred years

Old you reach, only wish you

Smelled this good, you shall!

[atomic*orange]

bottle: Astringent lavender cushioned by soft amber.

 

wet/dry: Heavy on the lavender, which fades into the background as the carnation pops up. The amber reminds me of Brisingamen, but here underlying the amber there's something green yet earthy--the mosses. This scent is smooth with an edge, sharp and soft at the same time. Not overtly masculine, rather overtly self-possessed. Saint-Germain would be Brisingamen's wry, sophisticated sibling.

 

Well, it was nice while it lasted--in an hour it's faded into pencil shavings, heavy on the graphite.

[cormeretrix]

*sings loudly and off key* "listerine, listerine, you make me feel so mean..."

 

yep. listerine again. just like puck. maybe it's the mossy element in each?

 

or perhaps i'm just a weirdo?

 

i'd like to test it on a guy and see if it's as astringent-y on a man.

[theshapeshifter]

A generous lagniappe from the lab.

 

In the imp: On first sniff, it smelled VERY masculine to me - so much so that I nearly just put it aside for my husband rather than try it on myself. Hubby sniffed it (before either of us had seen a scent description) and said "Oooh, mossy".

 

Initial application: Definitely a "men's-cologne" smell, but not as strong as it initially seemed. Hard to pick out individual notes when it's wet.

 

Drydown: It's not too masculine for me after all; I'd say this is very unisex. I'm getting fresh lavender, and something that I though was a very mellow patchouli until I re-read the description... I'm thinking it's the amber and moss working together. Definitely something earthy-incensey.

 

I like this a lot, and would definitely wear it again. Next up: trying it on the boy. If he likes it too (he hasn't tried any BPALs yet), then I definitely foresee a 5 ml at some point.

[olympia301]

This is a good scent. I really don't see anything outstanding about it, however. It dries down pleasantly enough and it lingers. Why I don't just get all excited about it is anyone's guess. I think I detect something Icky in the background, maybe that's my opinion of the original St. Germain. Maybe it's the hard way it first goes on, that is pretty astringent, an assault to my nose. From then on It just doesn't seem to go anywhere. I know that isn't a very scientific explanation, but...I don't have any better explanation for you. Here is the lab description:" gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses. " This should be a wonderful scent for me, but it isn't.

 

ETA:

Tried it again, after getting another imp from a swapbuddy. Same reaction. Lord, I have tried to love this scent, the ingredients are right up my ally, the St. Germain character is one of my favorites but yet...it comes off as "little old lady perfume" on me. No zing, too fusty. Into the swap pile with you, St. Germain. I know someone out there loves you.

Edited May 10, 2005 by olympia301

[shelldoo]

yup, yup, yup, green, leafy, lavander. in the background of the green earthy notes i think i detect a tad of pepper, or something peppery.FRESH, this is extremely masculine, yet one i would wear also.

[aritei]

I really need a man to wear this. Yum!

[helarctos]

I concur with all the reviews that call Saint-Germain green and soapy. It's compelling but not overstated. A great masculine scent.