Like the Very Gods

[zankoku_zen]

Shuddering, sweat-warmed skin gleaming with sheer musk, honeyed olive blossoms, vanilla cedar, white sandalwood, and orris butter.

Edited March 8, 2021 by zankoku_zen

[Rane.]

This one is a shifter. Smells different every time I sniff it. In the bottle there is that lovely incense note, white sandalwood, mixing so well with the orris butter. I also smell the honeyed olive blossoms. The vanilla cedar is so gentle, it's almost ghostly. Not picking up much musk at first, but as it fades it starts to come out. Overall, the smell is gentle, but maybe my nose has been sniffing too long. Haha

Edited April 9, 2021 by Rane.
*typo

[tyche]

Like the Very Gods is unique for my collection. It's woody, like an ancient dry tree in the sun. There is absolutely a warmth to the scent and I think of it as a summertime bottle. It stays close to the skin. I don't catch any honey, but the olive blossoms are there. 

[VetchVesper]

Beautiful.  Fruity, golden, floral honey was my first impression.  The fruitiness made me think of warm, glowing peaches, but that wasn't quite right.  Looking at the notes, I realize what I'm smelling is olive blossom, the same note found in Defutata.  I'm also getting a touch of the skin musk, which, for once, is playing nice with me.  I don't get sandalwood or vanilla cedar, but perhaps those notes will strengthen once the blend settles in and ages some.  If you're worried about powdery orris, don't be.  Golden, sultry, sexy, and slinky close to the skin.

[esqueish]

I've never quite understood the appeal of musks, but this one may have changed my mind. Very much a "my skin but better" blend, as if I've only been eating healthy fruits for ages and had an epic love sesh that worked me into a languid sweat. I suspect this will bloom beautifully in warmer weather under silky garments, appropriate for the office and date nights alike.

[Casablanca]

Gorgeous blend. From the first application, the sheer musk stands out, soothed and sweetened with honey and orris butter, warmed with cedar and vanilla. The olive flowers are also prominent, and I can find sandalwood if I go looking — a bit of pale, serene, grainy-wood presence at the bottom.

 

This has a Mediterranean vibe that is at once sexy and calming. It could be the scent of a Grecian beach populated with beautiful people wearing softly blowing white linen.

 

This doesn't change on me after drydown, except to soften considerably and... develop some fig? I'm not sure if it's how the other notes are combining on my skin, but sometime after this dries, I keep picking up fig.

 

Pleased to have gotten to try this one.

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by Casablanca

[zankoku_zen]

Olive blossoms over musk, cedar, and a whiff of sandalwood. Very Mediterranean in vibe, sexy and effortlessly cool. The equivalent of wearing white linen on against the adriatric blue of the sea. Medium throw and wear length.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Orris butter and musk. Maybe a touch of sweetness.

 

On my skin:

 

I must be getting something of olive blossom, honey, and sandalwood because this is exactly the same vibe I love about Defututa though the particulars of the scent are a bit different. As it dries, I also get some of the skin musk love I get from La Petite Mort. What I'm actually feeling is what I experience sometimes the morning after I've worn Defututa the evening before (back when, you know, people went places in the evening). It's damn sexy.

 

Like, I love Defututa. I looooooovveee this. 

[Jenjin]

OH my this is STUNNING! A literal summer masterpiece. I'm a little confused by the notes, but perhaps my palette isn't as sophisticated as it could be. I don't have anything like this and am running to the lab because I need this in my life forever. I'm getting something like the smell of muscat grapes, plump and shiny on the vine. It must be the olive blossoms, which I don't have much experience with, but am in bespotted love. I've only got a bottle sniffy right now, and can't wait to slather. 

[puellacaerulea]

I called Fragment 38 from last year's Lupers Defututa 2.0. This is Defututa 3.0. It's a really lovely warm, sweetened skin musk with a distinct olive blossom note -- rich and floral, but not cloying or in-your-face. I can't specifically point out the sandalwood, cedar, or orris, but there's a depth to this scent that takes it beyond floral + skin musk territory; meanwhile, there's no powdery orris to be found here. Despite the light musk, olive blossom, and woods, I wouldn't call this a heavy scent -- I agree with the above reviewers that there's a summery, Mediterranean vibe to this scent. It's like they took the best parts of Defututa and Like A Girl and merged them. This'll definitely be a bottle purchase for me.

[feyofthefellwood]

This is so pretty and delicate. The olive blossoms have an almost citrusy quality. I don't think I've ever smelled olive blossoms IRL, but this note reminds me of linden tree blossoms, which I love. Skin musk notes can go a little soapy on me, but the other notes in this keep the scent from veering too far that way; when it dries down after a few hours, it just smells like clean skin with some mysterious loveliness thrown in. Because it's such a light and inoffensive scent, this is perfect for work. It lasts all day. The clean and honeyed florals quality of it reminds me a bit of Elf, which is one of my all-time favorites.

 

I also compared this to Defututa (and of course decided they are both so good I'll have to have both eventually). This is lighter and breezier than Defututa, which is more sultry and heady. A daytime scent to Defututa's nighttime, perhaps.

[supreme_c0rt]

I smell very little else but a delicate, sheer skin musk combined with a pale creamy floral. It feels very washed out on the wet stage and I am struggling to get a read on any notes at all. There's a twangy note that flits here and there that is reading a bit funky like celery seed. Occasionally I'll get wafts of pretty, slightly fruity, flushed skin musk but this comes and goes. There's a fleshiness to it that Snake Oil has, but toned way way down.

 

Fully dry, the orris butter comes to the front with a rich creaminess and we get a bit more volume. Still a subdued blend. Fully dry, I get the impression of a much lighter Morocco with less spice. It's an interesting blend and I do like it, just wish there was a little more oomph. If you like Morocco and want something more subtle you'd probably like this.

[starbrow]

Love at first sniff. This was one of those bottles I opened up, inhaled, and immediately swooned over. I am immediately transported to places of smooth olive oil tranquility, like Hanerot Halalu and Olisbos, with the sex appeal of a Defutata or a Morocco. I even get some of the saint-and-sinner dichotomy of Cat Event Exorcist.

 

But in spite of any comparisons, Like the Very Gods is very much its own creation with its own unique attractions. Smooth, creamy layers underpin the soft dribbles of honey over delicately blended olive blossom, without any of it going into a gourmand place. The olive blossom leans away from floral and more toward the silkiness of an exquisitely light and fragrant olive oil. When combined with a sweet skin musk and whipped-cream orris butter, it gives the impression of oils scraped over warm skin as a holy incense burns in the air and fragrant breezes waft from the nearby vineyards and shores. Am I picturing Greek baths? You bet I am.

 

What amazes me is how gossamer each of these potentials suckerpunch notes is, yet the amalgamation has plenty of presence on my skin. I am equally content huffing my wrist and just letting the blend drift around me. 'Clean' is usually a loaded word when it comes to scents, yet I was worried this would have feral, sweaty, haven't-bathed-for-days B.O. funk to it, and instead, I am in a Greek bathhouse, surrounded by good clean skin and the most primal of skin-care components. Both atmospheric and something I WANT to smell like. Unf. 

 

I couldn't be more pleased about a blind bottle headed my way. Need need need this in my life.

[Lucchesa]

I got a testable empty of this from my fab decanter who must have known I would enjoy it. I usually avoid olive blossom as it goes straight to soap on me, but this is lovely. It’s one of those scents that are like how skin would smell in paradise. Lightly honeyed, sheer, effortlessly sexy. Staying power is only average — Judgmental Longhorn on the other wrist far outlasted it. But the low throw and sunny vibe would make it a perfect work scent. No one else needs to know you’re channeling your inner Eve. 

[theseagrows]

this was one of my most anticipated lupercalias of 2021. i love all of these notes. it opens with the sheer musk and honeyed olive blossoms-it's gorgeous. a bit later i get the other notes, but they're a nice melange and none of them seem to stand out strongly on their own. this is gorgeous on a warm day. i want to go on vacation to a warm climate and wear this. this one is really lovely!

[Snuffleupagus]

A viridescent rustle of olive blossoms sings from the end of the wand cap. Skin and scent bloom velvet petals sunning under breathy citrus musk. A trembling web thread of cedar lies in wait for a sandalwood snack.

[pommelo]

Agree with all the above reviews - it blends really well into a golden warm mediterranean sunshiney flush. But for me it somehow evokes a scent memory of ..a shopping mall? Like one of those really bougie ones with classy room smells. ..maybe Zara? Just for that reason alone I cannot see myself wearing this 

[roseus]

In the imp this is a gorgeous Mediterranean garden. Sun-soaked and heady. On my skin it's less about those olive blossoms, more a gossamer musky-vanilla sandalwood incense. I was concerned about the orris butter but it's not coming through on me, at least not in a way that is unpleasant. As it dries the throw becomes quite soft on me, it has an airy this-is-my-natural-scent quality to it. 

[Rayleigh]

Sniffing from the vial, this had a sweaty top note that made me nervous. Fortunately, none of that is present on the skin. It turns into a golden, musky vanilla. The olive blossom gives it a lightly fruity cast. The woods are subtle -- I like cedar and wouldn't mind if it were stronger, but if anyone is leery of finding pencil shavings here, there is nothing like that here. I hope the wood notes strengthen with time, but even if this stays exactly as it is, I'm enjoying it immensely. Airy, golden, and effortlessly pretty.

[Meirion]

Oh, she's sweet! I think "honeyed" blossoms are reading on my skin as sugared blossoms -- I don't get any discernable honey note, just an almost gourmand sweetness. I'm not picking up an olive oil quality from the olive blossoms, just airy white florals. Nothing sweaty either. Actually, this is a dead ringer for In Omnibas Caritas (honey and mallow flower, sugar cane, white sandalwood, orris, and vanilla bean), so if you were longing for a full bottle of that one, this might scratch the itch. 

[Honey]

This was such a positive surprise to me. The scent actually came through with what I had hoped but not dared to dream it would be.

There's a very sweet, light musk that's definitely that skin-but-better scent that works for any occasion.

Olive blossoms are always great, and honeyed blossoms bring another sweet element that's just gorgeous in this blend.

It's an airy, sweet and light floral that's perfect for spring or summer. It's creamy, golden and something I feel the need to slather on - just need to upgrade to a bottle first.

Even though I have lots of scents in the "creamy vanilla, light floral, soft musk" category, this is really unique and lovely.

I don't get heavy woody notes, so I think they just ground this blend beautifully without being too overwhelming.

 

During drydown, the floral notes get a bit more golden and spicy, the skin musk gets deeper and a bit more sexy.

I don't get any sickening oris butter - if it's there, it's well blended and behaves on my skin for once.

[Bassmastadroog]

A very olive forward, lightly sweet but not gourmand, airy scent.

 

Very clean but absolutely not soapy. Beautiful, ethereal. Olive blossom is one of my favorite scents on earth and I live to see it in scents but it doesn’t happen often. This is just to die for.

 

Immediately ordered a second bottle after trying my original blind bottle.

[Estamets]

Elegant honey marshmallows, served alongside chilled peaches and bright berries and exotic flowers that have never seen a garden, and a lover’s dewy skin in golden sunlight. 
 

This one is almost painfully beautiful. The honey is so light it’s closer to spun sugar. There’s a ripeness that suggests perfectly pregnant fruit without being “fruity”. The cedar and sandalwood prevent it from going gourmand without dominating, or even being recognizable. There is a floral hint to this, but it’s incredibly well behaved- this is certainly not a “floral” scent.  Perfectly blended to my taste: the whole is so rich it’s hard to believe it’s made of distinct parts. 
 

This is my skin, but during an avant-garde sex scene in a french film. 
 

brb, buying a back up bottle while I still can!

 

ETA: maybe it’s mango, not peach. Papaya? 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Estamets

[tinyvulture]

This is tough to identify, maybe it’s the olive blossom? Or the sweat? Because it feels sweet but also briney and salty, and also creamy from the orris butter. (I don’t like dry orris but I do like orris butter, weird.)  I’m not getting any cedar or sandalwood. I keep coming back for another sniff! I think it’s a keeper!

[aphrodisms]

Very smooth but bright honeyed skin musk. Definitely reminiscent of Like a Girl, but less rounded and more fruity, in a way. Lovely and well-blended.