Herodotus' Phoenix

[Lycanthrope]

HERODOTUS’ PHOENIX
They have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen, except in pictures. Indeed it is a great rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of Heliopolis) once in five hundred years, when the old phoenix dies. Its size and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow:- The plumage is partly red, partly golden, while the general make and size are almost exactly that of the eagle. They tell a story of what this bird does, which does not seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings the parent bird, all plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and there buries the body. In order to bring him, they say, he first forms a ball of myrrh as big as he finds that he can carry; then he hollows out the ball, and puts his parent inside, after which he covers over the opening with fresh myrrh, and the ball is then of exactly the same weight as at first; so he brings it to Egypt, plastered over as I have said, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun. Such is the story they tell of the doings of this bird.
- Herodotus, Histories

A fragrant shroud: myrrh from Yemen, Oman, and West Africa with a touch of copal and frankincense.

These came in record time. Phoenixes in my mailbox!

Wet, this is a sweet, rich and complicated myrrh. Almost like the SN Myrrh topnote.
Immediately on the skin, it does not disappoint as a swirl of deep, chewy, brown-singed sweet sticky myrrh heading more on the side of smoky rather than sweet or pungent, arises from the tiniest drop on the back of my hand.
Over time, it starts to lighten just a touch but is not really heavy on the copal or frankincense. I think both of these sweeter resins give a touch of levity and an even, slightly bright high resin note to what would be a murky, mysterious, excessively but wonderfully dark swirl of myrrh. It's magnificently striking and I like this more then Penitence. All things considered, however, I would probably not need more than one bottle of this, as a tiny spot has refrickudiculous throw!

This is a touch more complex than the myrrh SN but any and all myrrh lovers must try this!

[tinyvulture]

I just tested Tacitus' Phoenix before this one, and I love how they are both deep, complex resinous blends, yet totally different. Tacitus is all frankincense on me, while Herodotus here is a sweet mixture of myrrh and copal. I swear I'm noticing something tropical-fruity in the background, as well. The frankincense is noticeably absent. This is a warm, welcoming scent.

 

Great throw, great staying power, and it gets sweeter over time.

Edited November 25, 2013 by tinyvulture

[MCS4096]

MMmmmm

 

The Golgothan Myrrh SN is deep, rosey, and sweet, with an almost candied-fruit aspect, while Herodotus' Phoenix is brighter, from the addition of a frankincense that's related to the Olibanum SN-- green and sappy. The "chewy" (that is such a perfect term for it!) myrrh bottom note is glorious, but it's the other two, lighter resins, that fill this blend out. It's like a glowing, golden-brown orb of resin warming in your palm.

 

Just beautiful!

[HerbGirl]

Yessss...gorgeous chewy myrrh! I love this! I'm not a huge fan of Frankincense but its really a perfect accent to the myrrh...this is deep, sweet, resiny perfection!!!

[stellamaris]

This is delicious and smokey, strangely I smell something sharp and fruity? Am I broken?

I think this one will surely sate my frankincense love this season

[LadyMedb]

Very, very incense-headshoppy. I especially like the warm franken-myrrh. However, this is nothing that the lab has not done before (I miss my bottle of Cathedral, and this is reminding me to buy more!), so I'm not as captivated as I want to be.

[mymymai]

ITB: Sweet myrrh, frankincense, and copal. It smells like Christmas Mass, but a bit heavier on the copal.

 

Wet: The myrrh has quite a bit of depth to this scent once on the skin. There is a lovely woodsiness to this, especially when combined with the frankincense and copal. It's round, resinous, sweet, and rich. Brilliant!

 

Dry: It's gets a little creamier and sweeter...and faintly floral as it dries. It is still absolutely brilliant and I know it will age very, very well.

[SophieCedar]

Ok... so when I saw the description for Herodotus' Phoenix, I messaged a bpal friend saying "WIN FOR TEAM RESIN!"

 

Not disappointed. This is a delicious combination for resin freaks like me. I dare say almost edible. Honestly its making my mouth water. Go figure.

 

Anyways, warm middle depth myrrh mixed with an almost floral combination of frankincense and copal. If you like the incense notes of Dia de los Muertos, I would say try this.

[kbrighton]

I've been looking for the perfect myrrh blend for a long time. When I read the notes for Herodotus' Phoenix I was hopeful, now that I have a decant I am ecstatic! This is a complex myrrh with just enough copal and frankincense to brighten it.

 

Fantastic!

[Ethaisa]

This is myrrh cubed, with just a hint of smoke and that sap-like stickiness I associate with copal. Full bodied, rich and glorious. Brilliant, complex blend.

[Caper]

This is gorgeous, velvety myrrh with a touch of other notes to give it complexity. This is what I wanted the SN Myrrh to be, because generally I adore myrrh, but not in the SN! This, however, is a bottle for sure..

 

I thought it might be like Midnight Mass, or Cathedral, but this is warmer and deeper than either of those.

 

Love. love, love, love.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Caper

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Myrrh and frankincense, smoky and spicy (honestly, I'm not entirely sure I can tell the difference between myrrh and frankincense - I'll need to smell them separately sometime). There's also a bit of warmth to it, which I'm not sure if it comes from the copal or not.

 

Wet on skin: Definitely heavy on the myrrh and frankincense. This is very pretty.

 

Dried down: Ah, there's the special. This actually reminds me a bit of Heretic now. The frankincense (I think) has faded back just a smidge, and there's a sweetness in the background instead - I get what people are saying about a vanilla-y, tropical-fruit sweetness. It's reminiscent of dried coconut. OR something else, I'm not remembering - it's the sort of subtle sweetness you only get from fruit when it's dried out and jerky-like.

 

Throw: This has some decent throw to it. I get that sweetness more than anything else.

 

Verdict: **** 1/*. I think I want a bottle of this, but it seems like there are so many that are similar to this. And yet, I think I still want the bottle. This only thing keeping this from a full five stars was me wondering - is this really that special that I need a bottle?

[Dark Alice]

This is what I wanted Penitence, Heretic, and Midnight Mass to smell on me. Smooth delicious myrrh, frankincense, and copal keeping it slightly sweet and spicy. I love this bottle. I will keep it, and pet it, and call it George forever!

[Teaotter]

Wet: sweet cola. Seriously fizzy, sweet cola. o.O

 

Drydown: the cola note steps back but never entirely goes away. More of the sweet-smoky myrrh comes forward. This reminds me of Priala, though I'll have to test them side by side to see if they're really that similar.

 

Medium throw, sweet and smoky.

[zankoku_zen]

Root beer-like resin that smoulders into sweet-smoky myrrh.

 

Resin lovers take note!

[JazzieCazzie]

Got an imp in an Anniversary decant circle.

 

IN THE IMP: Super-de-duper frankincense.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: OMG frankincense at first. Then I start getting the sweetness of the copal and more of the myrrh-comfort scent. Peaceful and medicinal.

 

DRYDOWN: Ever-so-slightly boozy for some reason, at first. Despite the three myrrhs, the dreaded "sweat socks" myrrh note is very much in the background, at the bottom of the laundry bin. For the most part I am getting comforting myrrh.

 

OVERALL: I loves me this a lot. I would probably not look for more because I have quite the collection of blends that feature frankincense and myrrh and don't need to spend money on more, but this imp will get used. If you like Midnight Mass, Penitence, and the other churchy scents, this will be devilishly good for you!

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 4.8

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A very sweet smooth myrrh with just a hint of copal

 

Wet on me - A soft green resin combination, round and smooth and rich

 

Dry on me - Warm rich smoothly rounded resins

 

Overall - I'm not normally one for an out and out resin, but this is lovely

[Zii]

Wet: This Myrrh is almost honeyed. There is a spiciness to it that reminds me of nothing else but my friends ginger ale starters that was ginger root, honey, water and sugar. It's also starting to burn a little. Odd, seeing as I've never had issues with any of these notes before.

 

This itches too much... To the bathroom. Glad it's not a scent I was thrilled about anyway. it's just a bit too sweet.

[milo]

Resin Heaven!! Lot's of myrhh and frankincense here, folks, and with a touch of vanilla, though that's probably the honey. Some resin's remind me of Christmas, and though there is lots here, this one more reminds me of a cross between Le Lugugre Gondola and Schwarzer Mond. I like this, but I rarely wear the frank and myrhh scents that I have, and more around Christmas. This is quite nice, but a little goes a long way.

[OctoberGwen]

I love resiny blends, but apparently this is too straight-up resin for me. I am getting way more frankincense than myrrh; this is not at all sweet on me and in fact is pretty masculine. Too much so.

 

I need my non-amber resins to be tempered with something else, apparently.

Edited May 19, 2014 by OctoberGwen

[Balame]

This is too gorgeous. The myrrh is so rich it smells like golden honey, while the frankincense and copal brighten it up. The frankincense actually verges on giving it a metallic vibe, like a sun-warmed brass - but it's backed by that deep (and yes, "chewy") sweetness. I love resins so this is a big winner for me. It's like the cheery, charismatic brother to gloomy/sexy Penitence or Midnight Mass. It makes me think of a hot day in the Middle East... which is most days I suppose, heh. There's a vibrancy and energy to Herodotus, yet it still feels like an "old soul" and a bit mysterious. Beautiful.