Delphi

[slave1]

DELPHI: The smoke of Sacred Incense of Apollo twined through laurel branches, bay, and honey wine. (Gender neutral)

 

In Bottle: Laurel and honey.

 

On Skin: I don’t like this combination. While I am a huge fan of honey, smelling it mixed with laurel just doesn’t work well. The scent seems funky and doesn’t meld right. It smells pungent and even a bit metallic which makes me a little sick. Sorry, this one doesn’t work for me at all.

[pekeana]

Delphi smells overwhelmingly metallic and green to me, and it's making my eyes water in a bad way. I don't get any of the notes, but it's got to be washed off because it's making my allergies flare up.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Delphi appears to be one of these blends where it's impossible to be indifferent: you either love it or you don't.

 

Unfortunately, I am in the "don't" category. Honey blends, of any kind, just do not agree with me.

[bodegaselkie]

Delphi is one of the first BPAL scents that really evoked a sense of place for me. I've never been to Delphi, but I dream of one day going there.

 

This evokes, for me, laurel wreaths worn on the head, and honey wine. Sitting outdoors in the hot Grecian wind, blowing through the bay trees, and then going into a temple where more wine and fresh bread have been laid out as an offering.

 

At first, the bay/laurel and honey do not blend well on me, and I get that sour smell some have noted. But BPAL's honey scents work beautifully on me, and before long this had meshed very nicely and I couldn't stop sniffing myself. After a couple of hours it developed a yeasty smell, which I attribute to the "honey wine," though it also reminded me of bread.

 

Delicious... I can't wait to wear it again!

[joseybird]

Something...honey...and something very dizzying (wine?)...wow--I smell the incense now, mixed with the honey, and swirls of smoke...

 

This is a wonderful scent--incredibly evocative of ancient outdoor festivities and intoxication!

[tempete]

Delphi opened with a strongly acrid, bitter herbal note, which thankfully lightened and allowed the other notes to come through. The end result was smoky honey wine exhibiting traces of spices and herbs. Unfortunately, honey and wine do not fare well on my skin, but I'm sure that this would be beautiful and interesting on someone else.

[Little Bird]

This is such an odd scent. When I first applied Delphi, it smelled like honey and spicy Italian food. Now, I love smelling like food - if that food is of the dessert variety. Delphi is foodie, but not in a dessert way. In the drydown it reminded me of some spicy honey glaze that my mother uses when she grills chicken sometimes. ...Not something I particularly want to smell like...

 

This is definitely unique for a fragrance.

[shelldoo]

wow in teh vial this is familiar i think it has a similar wine note to f54

 

wet: wow again it is all bay, green, not sweet at all like in the vial

 

as it dries, how intresting this one is the bay settled after a few minutes, it became a supporting actor instead of the headliner it is so weird when my hand is back away from my nose i get alot of the wine smell, but up close i get the honey laurel, teh laurel almost goes pencilish on me but stops right at the edge, so i am unsure of it, but then a few seconds later it settles down into a woody, honey wine scent. i actually have never smelled anything similar, i am waffling and not sure if it is a keeper or not i am thinking it is.

[k00kaburra]

Is anyone else tail-twitching excited by the promise of honey-wine?

In bottle: Oh, funky foody smell! Bay leaves drizzled in honey, with a bottle of rich red wine sitting nearby. This oil actually inspires a real craving for Italian food.

On me: It still smells like an Italian kitchen to me. I picture a rich honey sauce and dark red wine in a goblet, waiting to be consumed. This might make an excellent room scent - get people hungry and anxious - but it doesn't work as a perfume for me. The greens in this blend - laurel, bay, etc - grow stronger as it dries, but it never becomes something I want to wear.

[elphaba]

I got Delphi as lagniappe from the lab. I probably would have tried it on my own at some point, but it was low on the list as the description sounded nice, but not compelling.

 

On the imp wand and just on, Delphi had a sharp, possibly fruity note I couldn't identify, backed by a warm resiny/incensey scent. After about five minutes, I reread the description and realized that the top note was the honey wine. Alas, this wasn't the sweet honey mead I'd just smelled in Hellcat. Delphi's honey wine seemed to have turned to vinegar.

 

I left the blend on for about four hours and the vinegary top note never went away. It's a shame because I really liked it aside from that. I'm going to save this imp for now and try it again when the weather is a bit cooler. I can't shake the feeling that my chemistry is playing havoc with something that might otherwise be beautiful.

[OdetteOdile]

Delphi

This one didn't work on me at all. It developed an odd, strong aquatic sweetness with an animal note that reminded me of wet fur or wet wool.

I think the bay didn't agree with me - it has a sort of evergreen sharpness and in general, evergreen scents don't like my skin.

It reminds me a bit of Athens (which makes sense - they both have honey and wine notes) but this is much sharper and more masculine.

[tart]

Wet: EW! This is sharp and bad smelling.

Drying: Delphi's sharpness fades. I can smell the sweetness of the honey, but I can still smell something really sour. I don't like this.

Dry: I guess this reminds me of a really sour fruit rollup sort of thing that my dad would bring back from Iran. I'm going to wash this off.

Verdict: Delphi is not for me.

[sarahj]

Delphi

 

freebie from the lab...how do they know??

 

in vial: strong honey wine

 

wet: spicy honey and bay

 

dry: slightly masculine, lovely combination of spice, incense, and sweet honey. Lasts about 5 hours.

 

verdict: I must have a big bottle! And I must try this on my husband!

[dcmo]

I absolutely love honey, but my skin likes to amp up the "green" scents. This one is completely laurel and bay for me, and my honey has gone into hiding. As it dries down, the honey pops up slightly which is really nice but still a very biting green scent overall. I'm sorry, not a "green" girl

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Honey wine and bay.

 

Wearing: This is lovely! The honey wine and the bay make a lovely balanced sweet/green scent. As it dries, the honey note wins out, leaving only a memory of the green...

 

Final Impressions: I'm surprised that so many people have described this as masculine... on me, it is a sweet green scent that I would describe as "pretty."

[jewelbug]

I bought this as a "for him" scent, based on a bunch of the reviews, but we both tried it to compare.

 

Bottle: I can definitely smell the bay, but mostly it smells like a sweet fermenting cider, which must be the honeyed wine note.

 

On skin Wet:

Him: womanish floral incense. Very UNmanly

Me: Soap, with a bay tang.

 

Dry, Early:

Him: Stays flowery, girly and gets a bit powdery. Poor boy.

Me: Generic Soap. It gets to smell like a better soap in about an hour, but soap nonetheless. Also gets a bit powdery.

 

Dry, Late (about 4 hours):

He: It has moved to a woodier note--the laurel branches?--but its still too girly for him to wear successfully, and its fading quickly at this point.

Me: Still sweetly detectable. I finally can smell the sweet honey coming through the "girly" powder smell. By 5 hrs, it's like mildly spiced mead with incense in the back. This is what I expected of Delphi all along. Why did it take so long to get to it? It has great staying power on me, but most of that time is too soapy/powdery.

 

Overall: On hubby it was just laughable. And I simply can't wait out 4-5 hours of powdery to get to the yummy honey mead smell. To the swaps.

 

ETA: I tried this for a second time, and it didn't dothe generic soap thing on me. It was actually quite like a spiced honey wine with bay leaves (like i was expecint the first time). And it dried down to something very close to honeysuckles and incense. Cool. It really is nice, but also has an edge that really isn't "me". Don't know how to describe it.

Edited August 17, 2005 by jewelbug

[Krista]

The smoke in the description really scared me away from Delphi. I sniffed this imp certain that I would recoil in disgust, as I usually do with anything that is described as smoky.

 

It's very nice. There is a bit of smoke in it, but it's not overwhelming. Delphi is sort of fruity and juicy as well as dry and smoky. It doesn't smell as nice on my skin, however. It goes more green and dry. Not as juicy and pretty as it was in the bottle. I do like this, but I won't be keeping my imp.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - surprisingly sour honey.

 

Dry - as this dries this becomes Athens lite. I love Athens enough to have a bottle of it, but this is like a pale imitation. It's neither as strong nor as complex. I don't get any smoke or incense from this, just honey and wine. Pleasant enough, but so light I can barely smell it, even though it does seem to last a few hours.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: something very woodsy - the laurel I expect.

 

On skin initially: Definately laurel, as it become strongly woodsy, with an almost antiseptic undertone to it.

 

After an hour: The antiseptic undertone fades, softened a bit by a hint of bay. I've not scented any wine notes in this, so it has settled to a strongly laurel scent with just a touch of bay. A nice scent, but not a keeper.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: Wine, which is very sour and pungent and not at all honey, and woods, which I'm guessing is the laurel branches and bay.

 

Wet: Sour and gross. However, it dries, and changes, rapidly...

 

Dry: When I smell my skin the scent is softer, slightly sweeter, and very woodsy and musty; but the throw is very juicy and grape. The pungent wine is still there in the background, keeping the scent from being potentially lovely. I'm still not getting any honey. It reminds me strongly of a perfume my grandmother wears.

 

An hour later: I couldn't stand to leave it on for an hour; I've already washed it off.

 

Overall: Delphi, meet swap pile. You'll make a grandmother very happy.

[LiberAmoris]

Cider with honey and bay. Delphi just does not develop well on my skin. I think this could be a great autumn scent on the right person, as it is slightly reminiscent of bonfires, but on me it smells sort of like sweet potatoes.

[slugbait]

The honey must have amped itself on me because that is all I can smell when I wear this. It kind of reminds me of Kali, just not as complex. It does have a mustiness to this from the moment I opened it even after it dries. It is reminding me of mushrooms. This isn't working out in me at all. Into the swap pile she goes.

[evil_laugher]

I had an imp of this that had completely shattered and dried all over an envelope before I had gotten it, and the sweet smell of honey everywhere was lovely. But when I got the imp in decent condition and tried it on, the honey turns to a musky blood scent on my skin. That with the wine doesn't make a good combination. It's not bad, but, hmm, too "musky" for me.

[donsixgun]

The Laurel in this ruined it for me. Its all I smell, with a sweet-sour hint of the honey wine. Ill have to pass.

[gangstaknitta]

In bottle: Overwhelmingly bay; a little bit of wine and even less honey. Overall, a very comfortable scent.

 

Wet: very very honey, with a bit of wine immediately; it soon fades and the bay comes out as the strongest note.

 

Dry: a sweet honey and dark herb scent. It's a little powdery. Make that a lot powdery. I really like the honey, but not so much the "powder."