Oberon

[theredkilt]

Orchid, white musk, and bergamot wafting over juniper berries, with a gentle touch of soft, earthy patchouli.

 

Clean floral musky scent. Borders on baby-wipes type of smell. I find it unisex, to be honest. Perfect for office wear.

[quickdrawkiddo]

If I'd checked the notes in this one first, I would've applied with caution since white musk is a note o' death on me. I can never pick it out, it's just always present in the blends that don't work on me. Unfortunately this is one of the worst offenders. I put it on and immediately said "ew, I smell like an old lady." I couldn't pick any individual notes out, it was just musty and perfumey and powdery. White musk must be *very* different on the majority of BPAL land because I would never call this one unisex. I got one of my friends to sniff me and she confirmed that it was a bit "church basement".

 

Interestingly, when I woke up the next day, all the white musk had evaporated but the florals were still present and rather lovely. But 24 hours is way too long to wait for a scent to become bearable. Nope.

[velvet]

just after application it smells like clean musk, and i get the light floral notes which are very pleasant. unfortunately, it is starting to turn into cleaning solution/ dryer sheets. bummer. i really liked it before it was on my skin.

[bellumed]

Very clean and light, juuuuuust this side of dryer sheets—-but that’s never bothered me. Unisex, almost asexual. All white musk with an undertone of patchouli that keeps it from going sharp and high-pitched as white musk tends to do.

 

I dig it.

[mymymai]

ITI: Oh, that's pleasant. The orchid is soft and well balanced with the white musk, which is followed by faint wafts of patchouli, bergamot and a green note (although not nearly as strong as a regular Lab's juniper note).

 

Wet: On my skin, it's mellow yet slightly sweet floral paired softly with lazy bergamot and a lovely white musk. Lovely.

 

Dry: Even though it's fact, the scent is absolutely divine on my skin. The orchid is delicate yet regal, white the musk paired with the patchouli gives it a lovely base that is both feminine and deeply earthy in all the right ways. Gorgeous scent!

[carbonatedmariticide]

got this as a gift with a recent order, and though i gave it to my fiance who has a certain infatuation with oberon as a concept, i gave it a try today just to say i did. didn't expect much but was i surprised!

 

in the bottle, i found it earthy and musky, and wet it held that for a moment or two but then it turned shockingly feminine on me, very juniper and orchid. i'm usually not a fan of feminine scents, but this one is absolutely delicious on me. i don't have more astute terms for it, but man, oh man! i love this scent. it has a pretty decent throw, too.

[Veronica]

Warm, sweet musk, with a floral hint of orchid and juicy berry. Patchouli is not too overpowering, but may be too warm for me--something very sweet comes out on this for me. Remind me of Thanksgiving/Christmas.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Cologney and musky, with a vague floral sweetness.

 

Wet on my skin: A burst of orchid and earth, with some juniper and a faintly citrusy tang.

 

Dry: This is really nice. I was looking forward to this one, and it does not disappoint! The orchid smells true to life, and it's got this earthy, juniper bark base which makes it more of a grounded scent than an ethereal one. The citrus has all but disappeared now, but that's alright because the other notes in this are so nice. The throw is mostly orchid, and the rest is more of a skin scent. I happen to love orchid flowers, and I'd never tried a perfume with them in it before. I smell like the orchid tables in my favourite plant nursery, which then brings about the scent memory of walking through them with my dad when I was a child. I may end up getting more imps of this, if not a bottle.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Mostly orchid and white musk... I'm not really getting the other notes from the imp.

 

Wet: Orchid is the dominant note, followed by the white musk and juniper berries, and finally, the bergamot. This smells like a heady, but clean floral scent.

 

Dry: The juniper berry note has become a lot more prominent, but I still get a lot of the orchid and white musk. The orchid is softer and less in-your-face now, and the bergamot note is content with its background role. There is a hint of the patchouli in the background, but it is very light.

 

Verdict: Orchid isn't a floral that I'm particularly fond of, but if you're looking for a clean floral scent, give this one a try.

[Nicnivin]

Well, this is certainly an interesting scent, and one that's rather perfectly suited to a Faerie King. It's androgynous, both floral and citrusy, with that bergamot tang that I think Victorian dandies must have bathed in. I can picture very elfin, fae men (like the Rivendell archers) wearing this with panache, but it wouldn't suit my wood-chopping, bearded husband.

[PrinceofcatS]

I'm agreeing with the person above me. This actually reminded me more of Jareth than the Jareth perfume did? I get a strong, stronger junipery white musk from this one, too strong and too masculine for me, with orchid floating above it, and something faintly nature-feeling, almost a dirt scent, which is the most wearable patchouli tends to be on me (I usually hate it). The orchid came out a lot more as I wore it, but it still overall feels like a mysterious Faerie King. I picture someone illuminated by moonlight very intensely wooing me, standing upon the moss outside my bedroom window, and orchid and swirls of white musk all around clouding my judgment. I love orchid, but this one is gonna go to my best guy friend. It feels too masc for me. I really want an orchid-dominant scent but this is not the one.

[Cali]

Oooh! A very masculine, warm, floral and musky. Green. Honestly I'm getting imagery in my head of a handsome man lying on a bed of flowers, berrybushes growing a few metres away.

Very sexy. A bit citrusy, and cologney but not too much and it doesn't drown the rest of the notes. Pretty!!

[Soupy Twist]

No, it's just honeysuckle. I thought I might hate this immediately, but there's no patchouli at all. And the Lab's jasmine note hates me, so this is even more astonishing.

It does dry to a sickly sweetness, which might be the white musk. Still, considering what I was anticipating, "slightly too sweet/powdery floral" is a big step up.

[liebchen]

i got an imp of this with an order. from the notes, i would think i would like it. i have tried it a couple of times and just can't let it drydown and morph; maybe it would improve then. but it smells WAY way too much like amarige givenchy, which is a perfume that my mum used to wear (WAY way too much of) when i was a child, and i have never been able to stand the smell. so...big nope to this.

[Teamama]

Oberon is another BPAL white musk I can wear. The wet & early dry-down stages are a bit screechy, as white musk tends to be on me. Once the patchouli starts to emerge, though, Oberon is lovely! The juniper & bergamot are green, orchid & patchouli are rich & strong. Unexpected win!

[sisterbastard]

First impression: Floral and foresty, but also dark and clean. So good. Surprised to enjoy floral so much.

 

Wet: Can't identify the most forward scent. Like rose, but really clean. Other flowers take a backseat to it, but they're still there. It's complex.

 

Dry: After about an hour, the dark, night-time feel that I love fades and just leaves sweetness behind. A little too sweet at that point. I would prefer some more grounding. I don't get anything masculine at all from this one - it's pure floral, but nice, like walking through a wild garden in the very, very early morning, when it's still dark and there's dew on the ground. I'll be revisiting this one for further notes, though. I don't think I'm getting everything I can from it.

 

ETA: I suspect my skin amps really sweet notes. I can't smell the juniper or patchouli in this at ALL.

Edited March 15, 2017 by sisterbastard

[Lucchesa]

I think my gender-fluid son might find this unisex (the way he finds my black brocade jacket unisex), but I don't think my husband would go for this. It's beautiful on me, though. Like the previous reviewer, I didn't get any juniper or much patchouli, though the latter may be grounding the later stages. At first it was all floral -- I'm sure I couldn't tell you what an orchid smells like, I'll have to cross compare with another orchid scent to parse it out. As it dried down, the clean mix of white musk and bergamot became more and more prominent until ultimately the orchid had faded completely, replaced by musky bergamot. Lovely in every stage.

[roseus]

Patchouli has been going a little flat and wonky on me lately, but I love orchid and this scent in the imp was so beautiful! Very fresh and floaty. On my skin I get a clean white musk, made soft and natural with the bergamot and orchid. As it dries it gets a touch softer and earthier but just as lovely.

[garbagewitch]

Sweet and crisp! I'm not super familiar with the scent of juniper berries, but I’m guessing this is juniper berries mingling with bergamot. It gets a little more floral as it dries down, but stays very light and crisp. If the patchouli and white musk are around, they’re too well-blended into the other notes for me to pick them out individually. With the way other very light, airy scents have gone on me, though, I suspect they might be responsible for keeping this one from feeling like it’s about to turn into soap or just float away.

Oberon is cool and clean and refreshing in a way that makes me imagine a stream running through the woods, tempting you to wade in on a warm day: the gentle babble of flowing water, the way the sunlight glints off the surface, the perfect clarity that lets you see straight down to the pebbles lining the bottom. I really wouldn’t be surprised to find a fae king or a river god smelling like this; it’s just the right blend of innocuous and inviting, refinement with a touch of nature. The fairy queen’s consort is a good fit for this, but if I was going to assign a character to this scent, my first choice would probably be Haku, the dragon from Spirited Away.

I don’t typically like very clean scents on myself, but I’ve been wanting something crisp and fresh to wear in hot weather and I think Oberon is it for me. It straddles the line between perfumey and natural really well, manages to be clean without ever veering into soapy, and feels ethereal without seeming like it’s going to disappear. It's pretty much everything I wanted out of a ~refreshing~ scent.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Orchid, with hints of other notes playing in the background. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, orchid surfaces first. As it dries, some note -- probably bergamot, though I can't detect it independently -- brightens the floral. 

 

Given some time to develop on my skin, the white musk emerges to soften the floral and fruits. This trend continues, making the scent itself less intense (note: it was pretty light and fresh to begin with) while simultaneously giving it more throw (this is a normal white musk thing for me). It's basically like orchid and bergamot are riding this delightful little ray of white musk.

 

This would probably make a nice summer scent. The white musk gives me an impression of it being a less sweet, more-stereotypically-unisex version of Katharina. I mean, they're different scents, obviously, but I feel like the times I'd choose to wear them would be similar. That said, I'm going to hang on to my imp for another several months to give myself a chance to test that hypothesis. 

[Greenwoodtree]

Cant believe

Ive never tested this before. Or if I did, it didnt smell like this! Thankfully with changing body chemistry (menopause) I think I can wear some of these notes!

This is sweet, lovely, and feminine. I honestly dont normally like scents with that description. A keeper for sure.

[Brigdh]

In bottle: The musk and patchouli combine into a leather-like scent, with a fruity note that’s probably the bergamot and/or juniper berries. Not great, it’s simultaneously sour and fruit punchy.

Wet: Dominated by a gorgeous soft warm musk, a skin-like scent, with just a hint of something spicy. There’s a little bit of floral there too, rounding out the scent.

Dry: It goes through a fruity-floral stage that is just *really* unappealing. It reminds me of cheap Bath and Body Works fragrances from the 90s, like Sun-Ripened Raspberry or Country Apple (remember those?). After a few hours it reverts into a very nice musk-dominated scent, but I can’t wait through that fruit-floral phase every time. Ugh.    

[FebruaryOwen]

I received this imp in a swap.  I'm a big fan of Shakespeare and fae royalty, and bergamot is one of my favorite scents.  I'm a bit wary of patchouli.

In bottle: This is different for sure.  I can't figure out what it smells like!  A bit sunscreen-y, fruity.  Can't decide if I love it or hate it.

On skin: I'm liking it, though I can't for the life of me pick anything out.  It smells delightful though.  Almost watery but not in a bad way.  

After a few hours: Unfortunately I don't love what it morphed to; it's a bit too watery.

I'm going to keep the imp and retest it at some point, because I think I haven't decided fully yet whether I like it.

[alouettesque]

Oberon really took me on a journey. I loved it in the imp (although I couldn't figure out what I was smelling at all!) and then I was a bit disappointed when I initially smelled it on my skin. After it dried down, though, the earthiness came through and I really fell in love. It smells like turning over a wet log on a rainy day--not moldy decay but just... rich earthiness. Combined with the floral notes, it really calls to mind dark, early spring.

 

For the first hour, it smells like fantasy petrichor, like getting lost in the woods while it's raining and stumbling into a field of hyacinths. The earthiness starts to fade faster than I would like and it turns into a clean, artisinal soap smell, although that association might just be because I used to use an artisinal juniper berry soap. Over the next few hours, it faded until I couldn't smell it at all, but by then it was just vaguely clean and herbal so I wasn't really loving it anyway. 

 

Even though I wasn't in love with it near the end, I do really want to smell that first hour of it again. I'm definitely going to have my partner try this on to see how it smells on them.

[torikitty]

This totally reminds me of a sunscreen lotion. There's a vague white floral and clean smell. It fades fairly quickly. I think my chemistry doesn't know what to do with this. It's pretty, but I can see it smelling a lot better on someone else.