Hesiod's Phoenix

[Little Bird]

Golden amber, bourbon vanilla, and sweet oudh.

 

I read that there was a lot of batch variations with this scent, and I'm not sure which version my decant is from. Mine is mostly a light, powdery amber with a hint of a chemical-y edge that reminds me of bugspray (which I get from some companies' oud notes). I don't really smell any vanilla. Faint and only lasts about an hour on my skin.

[bulletslc]

OMG! THIS iz the amber scent Ive been searching for! My wee decant wont last me long . I need a big bottle of this.

 

Managed to score half a bottle. I will treasure this one. So beautiful and snuggly.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Bulletslc

[heatherovka]

I had to test this a few times before I could form a good opinion. It really had me stumped for a while. I sought this one out because I amber and saw it recommended for amber lovers.

 

I dislike the scent in the vial and during the wet stage. I guess that would be the oudh. I am not very familiar with that note, but I think it smells off to me. Chemically, sharp, almost acrid? It isn't terrible, but I don't find it to be very pleasant.

 

The magic comes once the oil warms and soaks into my skin. That unpleasantness gradually fades away. Then I get the wonderful amber I expected, along with a beautiful, deep vanilla. I'm not sure if the oudh is still there or if it has just changed to something I like (a lot) better.

 

It doesn't have a lot of throw and it is a soft, quiet, snuggly yet sophisticated scent. It fades within a couple of hours, and after that I get occasional and fleeting ghostly wafts of lovely fragrance that seem to come out of no where. The amber is rich and spicy and I do think it is similar to Amber Sultan.

 

It is really nice. I'll definitely use up my decant.

Edited November 25, 2014 by heatherovka

[aiobhan]

This scent is everything I want in a perfume. Dark, warm, sweet, soft, and cozy.

 

On me, the three notes blend seamlessly and change very little, just warming up and encompassing me in a cozy cocoon of amber, dark vanilla, and oudh. I love it so much.

[LiberAmoris]

I picked up a bottle of Hesiod's Phoenix in 2013 and have been enjoying it ever since, but never reviewed it. I concur with my colleagues, this is SO good. Amber, vanilla, and oudh—it's honestly tough to go wrong with that slate. On my skin, when I take in a deep breath it's like a dreamy, caramelized, vanilla-soaked wood. In the air, it smells a bit like a toasted marshmallow. One of the best amber scents in my collection.

[Veronica]

Sweet, golden amber and vanilla. A richer Lyonnesse.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: (The oil is a beautiful red colour which makes me happy) very amber dominant. I am really hoping for a lot of vanilla out of this one, so hoping the amber settles so I can smell the other notes.

 

Dry: This is so lovely. I think my favourite amber blend to date. And it is for sure an amber dominant blend, not vanilla. The vanilla and oudh only serve to back up the amber in this blend, on me. It's sweet and feminine and lovely, and I am glad I scored a bottle!

[Lucchesa]

I was generously frimped a tester of Hesiod's Phoenix, and it's perfectly lovely. There's nothing scary about the oudh here; it's not at all indolic like, on me, the oudh in Nevertheless She Persisted or Gaspar of India. Warm amber, warm vanilla, no throw but pretty good wear length. Sweet snuggly amber goodness.

[Honey]

It is such a simple blend, but it's not boring at all: Golden resinous amber, sensual vanilla and powdery balsamic oudh.

It is very sweet, dry and perfumey. The amber is quite strong in this one, and it takes a while for the vanilla to get noticed on my skin when wearing it.

 

The components blend into each other during drydown to form a really pretty oriental backdrop - it's warm, snuggly, rich and almost like caramel.

It doesn't have a powerful throw, so you can totally wear this on those days when you don't want to overpower your nose or your surroundings but get a nice waft of perfume every once in a while.

It's also perfect for layering with other simpler blends. I'm wearing it with Hohensalzburg Fortress (chocolate and white amber) today, and the ambers just melt really beautifully into each other and support the chocolate and vanilla notes even better. I also think any blend with a gourmand vanilla would be perfect to layer this with.

 

So happy I have a bottle of this!

[Riezky]

On 1/13/2015 at 8:41 PM, LiberAmoris said:

dreamy, caramelized, vanilla-soaked wood

I don’t think I can describe it any better than this! Cozy, low throw, but lasts several hours. One of my favorites, up there with L’Estate and Amaterasu v3.

[ND¢]

If you like this, you might also like the smell of Brunette Wig Spray. The amber and sweet oudh is very reminiscent. 

[Amoraexcena]

When autumn hits, I always gravitate toward the golden resins. A few years ago I went on a bit of an amber/resin spree - I wanted to find the "perfect amber" blend for me. I knew I loved Haloes and L'estate, but they weren't quite as resin-forward as I wanted sometimes. 

 

Hesiod's Phoenix and La Lugubre Gondola are the two syrupy-sweet, yet not foody, rich resins I like most. I adore the scent of Lyonesse, but it unfortunately burns on my skin for some reason. Hesiod's is a little less sweet than Gondola on my skin, a tad more woody-oudh-forward, but very much in the same scent family. As many have mentioned before, they're beautiful alongside Implacable Beautiful Tyrant hair gloss, which is my favourite HG of all time (and I heard Ted made some more recently, waiting on labels... I TRULY TRULY hope I can snag a bottle when they restock, because I'm almost out). Walking through the park painted in fall colours, dry leaves underfoot, with Hesiod's or Gondola + IBT HG gently wafting around me is such an experience.