He Came in the Radiance of Paradise

[sunlitgarden]

The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? He sang to thee the Marseillaise, and thou kissedst the pen that fell from his wing; he came in the radiance of Paradise, and perchance thou didst turn away from him towards the sparrow who sat with tinsel on his wings.

 

Lyrical palmarosa suffused with white sandalwood, amyris, bergamot, and rose geranium.

I'm not familiar with palmarosa or amyris, but I like the other notes, so I decided to take a chance on this blend. Wikipedia says palmarosa is a grass with the oil's scent similar to roses and amyris is a type of resin.

In the decant: I mainly smell sandalwood with a rosy floral in the background (though I assume it's the palmarosa and rose geranium and not actually rose). I also can detect a "brightness" from the bergamot, but it's not a very strong note at this stage. Sometimes sandalwood can smell dry and dusty to me but this doesn't really smell like that. It's a strong hit of the "spicy", aromatic part of the sandalwood.

On my skin: Fresh on my skin, the "rose-like" notes smell less like rose on my skin than they did in the decant. In fact, I barely smell anything like rose at all. Sandalwood is still the dominant note, but I am also getting a bit of bitterness from the resin (amyris) maybe? After a few minutes, I am starting to smell the bergamot a bit more, or what I assume is it, giving the scent a bit of a lemony note. There's also a faint smell of like dried grass? Maybe that's part of the palmarosa?

As it dries down more, this is kind of reminding me of a cross between a tea blend and an incense -- unsteeped/unburned (like sniffing a container of tea and a container of incense, near each other). I like the scent though, especially the sandalwood in the beginning. It goes more from incense towards tea with the "dried grass+lemony" smell as it dries down, but I still get some wafts of the aromatic sandalwood. I was hoping to get more of the roselike notes on my skin though; they're barely there at all, unfortunately.

[zankoku_zen]

Cirtusy bergamot, rose geranium, and a touch of sandalwood. This one smelled citrusy, herbal and a touch of woodiness. It was light incense, and was really pretty. Medium throw and wear length.

[Little Bird]

Baby powdery white sandalwood, lemony bergamot and a touch of herbal, green geranium. Very natural and soft. Dries down to a slightly smoky sandalwood incense and powder. Only lasts about an hour and clings very close to the skin.

[Melani Robison]

I have no idea what witchery my skin is doing to this scent but I get something very like peanut butter when I first apply it. It's nutty and oily, and just very much like a jar of natural peanut butter. So weird. When it dries down the rose geranium takes center stage and it's just very much a one note, pleasantly acerbic geranium scent. It has a really strong throw and lasts forever. I'm not sure that the drydown is worth that weird first phase though.

[lizabelle]

Oh, this is one of those "I'm at a loss for words" scents. I've said it before but I'm a huge geranium fan and would probably buy just about anything with them included. This is a Geranium scent, with a capital G. Spicy, lemony/peppery geranium with a side of geranium and extra geranium on top. The bergamot is intensely fresh and lovely blended in with it. Over time it settles down enough that the sandalwood can come in, and it's a beautiful dry powdery one. Very fresh and more unisex than it sounds.

[ramblingrambler]

This smells exactly like my nightly face oil application, but it could be that most components are in both this fragrance as well as my moisturizer (which I make every few months in a huge batch). Curious to know if Beth's blend has anything added to it, or what quality oils she's using, as this could easily be slathered on the face for the same benefits mine should provide. (Bergamot is photosensitizing, however, so if you try this, though at my extreme caution, don't go out in the sun without sunscreen! ) My partner comments every night that my face smells *so* good, so clearly this fragrance smells just as good!

 

To my nose, it smells like rose geranium is the most prominent note followed by palmarosa in almost the same quantity then bergamot. White Sandalwood is there, but it's a background to temper this bright, bright (he did come in radiance, after all!) yellow-green-gold scent into something not purely grass and citrus. Lovely, and good for the skin and heart (amyris is indicated for depression and anti-anxiety), too!

For me, this is an aromatherapy scent more than a perfume. Recommended for anyone who wants/needs peace and joy.