Oberon

[OriginalWacky]

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

Bottle (Imp): SLightly green and flowery.

Just On: Pretty green, a bit flowery.

An hour or two later: Green soap.

Around 6 hours: Soapy soap soap soap.

12 hours: Is there a song about soap? Cuz I could sing it now. But I won't subject you to that.

Overall: I'ma bummin, because this is alllllll soap on my skin.

After reading other reviews: I'm in the minority, but this is not a scent for me.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Beautiful orchid and bergamot (bergamot gives this a lovely citrus note that blends rather creamily into the orchid and musk) with the undertones of patchouli. A bit powdery to be sure, but if you like powdery scents it's quite lovely.

 

On me: The white musk and the orchid are so lovely together; this is a very delicate and 'fae' scent. The blend of the floral orchid and citrus orchid, mingling with white musk, bring a warm midsummer's night to mind. The patchouli is quite faint, but provides a grounding earth base for the other notes to spring from.

[gangstaknitta]

This smells like a masculine, clean woody floral in the bottle.

On my skin, all of the woody notes and some pine come out...definitely very masculine.

Sadly, patchouli and pine don't agree with me at all. It smells like a less musky version of abercrombie & fitch's woods. Do they even make that anymore?

[LiberAmoris]

Oberon is a sexy musky blend. I catch a bit of juniper and a bit of bergamot, but mostly I get the musk and some wood notes. The patchouli comes out more the longer I wear it, but I wish it was even more prominent. It is a little bit soapy, mostly because of the combo of the musk and bergamot, I think. It has a freshly-scrubbed masculine vibe to it, like aftershave in heaven.

 

This would be drool-inducing on a guy. I think I will be passing my imp on to my boyfriend with a warning about not wearing it out in public.

[LyndaM]

This didn't do much for me, I could hardly smell it on myself; but on my husband, it was amazing. It blended so perfectly with his chemistry, and just became him, but better. He loves it too, I think we've found his scent. It smells far better on him than any department store cologne he has ever tried; there is no comparison.

 

It's so well blended, on him I can't pick out any single note.

 

This is definitely going to be a big bottle purchase. I'll stockpile this one. I want him to smell this way always.

[PurringPulsar]

Oberon

 

In the imp: tangy, yet dark. Must be the bergamot and juniper, with the patchouli in the background.

Wet on skin: fizzy and tangy! It's a very fresh, almost ozone like citrus, with a hint of something that could be orchid, with that velvety white musk scent which I like.

Dry on skin: mmm, this is quite nice! The bergamot and juniper make this scent very fresh and cool, the patchouli's in the background, adding depth to the scent, orchid smoothes it out, and the musk here is airy and sparkling. It's an interesting blend that is shimmering and effervescent, and unisex too. Something about this scent reminds me of rain showers.

After a while: why is it that most ozone-citrus blends eventually turn to washing powder on me? Storm Moon did that to me in a big way, this one doesn't have the same 'yeesh! detergent!' reaction I had with SM, but I'm getting a scent reminiscent of clean laundry or lemon washing up liquid. It smells soapy. It's not bad, but not what I expected-I was hoping for more of a patchouli-musk scent.

Verdict: at first, this is a pleasant, fresh, bright scent. Sparkling and tangy, it has citrus-fruit notes and a gentle musk with an undertone of patchouli. It reminds me of springtime, of sudden summer showers-it has an ozone-like quality to it that makes me think of refreshing showers of rain on a warm day. It seems like a good everyday scent, almost like a citrus cologne scent, and it's certainly unisex-I think this will smell just as good on a man as it does on me. I'm not sure it's a 'me' scent-and after a while it starts to smell a bit like washing up liquid. So, for now I shall swap it, and maybe try it again another time because I think this will be one of those scents that smells better in spring and summer.

 

Edit: I just thought I'd add that the drydown after a few hours is lovely! It's a soft, clean musk scent. Like a clean laundry scent with a hint of powdery musk. Very nice! This is my favourite part of the scent so far.

Edited September 23, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[Little Bird]

I don't smell any juniper berry or patchouli in this. Oberon is a feminine, floral, soapy scent on me. The orchid is very perfumey, sharp, and smells of department store white floral perfume, and the bergamot is strangely soapy, like lemon dish soap.

 

Too sharp and soapy for me.

Edited June 6, 2011 by Little Bird

[McPagangrrl]

This has the same soft floralish powdery finish on me as Alice does, but with a more masculine undertone (the patchouli + juniper, mayhaps). It is missing the honeyed carnation of the Alice but basically Oberon = Alice for Men.

 

I like it for my boyfriend, but I would also wear it myself.

[Orodemniades]

Wet: lemon handiwipes! I knew there was a reason this reminded me of my youth, hehe. It's a powdery lemon, though...wonder what it will change to?

 

Drydown: no change, although it does become sweeter. It's just like Crabtree and Evelyn's Nantucket or Briar powders. It's nice, but...no.

 

Oro

[hangingfire]

In the imp: Earthy (patchouli), musky florals, with a dash of bergamot. Not noticing the juniper so much.

 

On, wet: Primarily bergamot underscored with patchouli, accented by the orchid.

 

Drydown: Hmm. There's something weird going on with the juniper; it's not doing the pleasant thing it did with Twenty-One, and seems to be adding a slightly chemical, sour note to the bergamot-floral-patchouli mix.

 

This is an interesting scent, but I'm not sure if it's working on me. I may get the husband to try it instead.

[Momijizukamori]

In the bottle, sweet and somwhat citrusy, with a hint of cool earthiness.

 

On me, overwhelmingly lemon soap - there was a hint of something else when I first put it on, but it disappeared a minute later underneath the soapiness. Not an unpleasant lemon-soap smell, but I had high hopes for this one. Oh well...

[herdivineshadow]

I get mostly a clean lemony scent with a small hint of musk from this. It's a tad masculine, but not overpoweringly so, so I could still wear it happily though it would probably smell better on one of my housemates.

[polydactyl]

Wet, it smells sharp and pine-resinous, with a underlying sweetness. The sharpness is obviously the juniper; it's very zippy and refreshing, slightly ozone-like (like gin!). The sweetness is probably due to the orchid. It's reminiscent of something in Psyche; a light, delicate scent, but in Oberon it's not as strong and therefore not very floral.

 

As it dries, the juniper is taken over by a clean, clear musk, although the scent remains crisp and green-smelling. It's like a good aftershave, which is why I think that this oil seems more masculine than feminine. It would make a very good scent for a man who wants to be debonair and sophisticated.

[Fefferbella]

Very masculine green spicey scent.

 

This smells heavenly on my man. Clean, crisp and sexy.

 

On my skin... soap.

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: Oh, this is beautiful! Wow. It’s odd that a scent can be both ethereal and earthy. I can smell the juniper and orchid and patchouli, but the patchouli is so delicate that I would describe it as white.

Applied: OMG. This is beautiful. This is so a crossover scent; I could wear this as well as a guy. It’s just creamy and airy—earthy and ethereal—it smells like opposites, but all in white. Wow. I have to get a bottle of this one—it’s incredible. I would wear this on a day where I wanted to feel calm and spiritual, even if I wasn’t, because this scent would snap me into it anyway. It is a wee bit powdery, but who cares? It’s gorgeous!

On a scale of 1 to 5: 5!!

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Musk and flowers.

 

Dry: Musk and subtle flowers. Maybe a bit of salt? Has a nice depth, it is almost unisex. very nice!

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Spicy, like bay rum (or is it "rhum"?).

 

On the wrist: Still spicy, but with a whiff of ozone and sea breeze. Very much a guy scent, like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

Later: Settles down into a slightly spicy soap scent, but very pleasant. Reminds me of my dad when he used to wear Old Spice. And it lasts surprisingly long -- I put it on before bed last night, and that was eleven hours ago. I can still smell it in the air around me, so it has good throw.

[judas_kiss]

Got this from a generous forumite in a sale/swap.

 

Imp: This is slightly salty and malevolently playful. Hmm...I'm intrigued.

 

On (wet): HELLO Ozone. I usually hate, nay loathe, ozone scents, but this one works extremely well on my hubby. There is a slight hint of patchouli, and the floral is a lovely one. This is dead-on with what I would expect Oberon to smell like.

 

Dry: As a student of drama (way back in my heady days), I used to use perfume to create a scent for the character I was playing...to help bring her to life. Oh, Beth, if only you had been around when I was playing Ophelia way, way back in the day...

 

This scent is SO perfect. The light flower (orchid, I believe?), the herbal-greeness of the juniper and bergamot...down to the playful sexuality of the musk and tinge of malevolence lent by the patchouli.

 

Overall, I think this is a nice men's scent. I would not wear this myself, but it does smell great on DH. I think I'll keep it and make him wear it when he's feeling petty. (The imp will be gone fairly quickly, methinks.)

[rhapsodomancy]

I'm dying to try all the Illyria scents--this is my first one.

 

I'd read in quite a few of the earlier reviews that this is a more masculine scent. It is, but then I quite enjoy masculine scents, so that's never a deterrent. After wearing this for a few hours, I've come to quite like it, but I'm not sure if I'd want to wear it myself (though I'd most definitely want to get close to a guy wearing it!)

 

In the imp: men's cologne and flowers.

Initial reaction after putting it on: eeek! Lilies! Thankfully that faded almost immediately into a "men's shaving cream" smell, with a hint of smoke. There is something citrus under the surface vying for attention--the Bergamot, perhaps? This stayed quite strong for a while.

 

After a few hours: Scent has calmed down a bit, though still quite present. I agree with an earlier review that likened this to a laundry smell--indeed! Clean laundry with something playful underneath.

 

I'm still undecided about this one. I like the scent, (and I think it is very aptly named), but I'm still unsure if I would wear it. I need to track down an attractive man to try this out on!

 

Edit (next day): I kept smelling this on the coat I was wearing yesterday and had to put it on again. It has, in fact, won me over. I can also detect more of the notes than before--will definitely hold on to this.

Edited January 8, 2006 by rhapsodomancy

[lookingglass]

Fresh, but still very enchanting and sexy. I'll be making DH aftershave with this one for sure.

[Miss Lynx]

Alas. I had high hopes for this one, as it has a lot of things I like in it -- juniper, bergamot, white musk, patchouli... Orchid would normally worry me, due to my skin's tendency to amp florals, but I figured since this is theoretically a men's scent the floral component couldn't be too strong, could it?

 

Oh, yes. Oh, yes it could.

 

In the imp the balance between the notes was fine, but once on my skin, the orchid rose up like Godzilla and stomped all the other notes into submission. I can just barely detect some white musk and patchouli cringing in the background, but no juniper or bergamot as far as I can tell. Overwhelmingly, this is The Orchid Show, and my overall impression is of a powdery, somewhat old-lady-ish heavy floral perfume.

 

I cannot, in my wildest imaginings, picture a guy wearing this. Though I suppose skin chemistry can work wonders. I do find that with time, the orchid is beginning to wear down a bit, and I suppose if that trend continues it might eventually become a little more gender-neutral. But I don't think I have the patience to wait for that.

 

Goodbye to the fairy king.

 

Grade: D

[Abbie]

Oberon is my favorite Shakespeare character, whether portrayed by the droolable Rupert Everett, or the semi-droolable comic character in the Gaiman/Reiber "Books of Magic". So here goes.

 

In the imp: Soft, sweet, and musky. I'd swear I'm picking up lotus, but no trace of juniper or bergamot etc.

 

First on: Ack! Citronella bug spray! This is a bizarre morph... it must be the bergamot, but usually bergamot smells bitter to me, not insect-repellant. Very weird.

 

Dry: Back to sweet. But

 

Overall? Not for me.

[Caltha]

Oberon

I got this as a freebie although I might have picked it up by myself sooner or later. Glad I didn't since it doesn't work on my skin. Flowers rarely do. I get sharp, spicy, citrusy, woody, soapy floral perfume drying to even sharper soap. Warm, woody, spicy soap but still soap. Weirdly, in the long run it morphs to honey-drenched incense without any of the soapy sharpness.

[girlmadasbirds]

very green and very soapy with a spicy note. not for me.

[Diva Urd]

I was kind of wary of this when I got it, since my nose isn't too fond of citrussy smells and this contains bergamot, so you can color me somewhat prejudiced in Oberon's case.

 

Upon trying out: Yup, citrus and not much more. It takes about an hour for the bergamot to fade away enough so the other notes come into play, and then, it is pretty nice, even though it doesn't rock my socks. Will see whether this might work a bit better as a room scent than on me, but so far, I have to say I don't think I'll order any more of this.