Sweet Hyspithillia

[Seajewel]

Nine fragrances for nine positions: pulsating red musk, thick golden honey, a slap of leather, filthy patchouli, pious frankincense, frothy ambergris, sweet vanilla, gritty cacao, and fiery red tobacco. 

[Little Bird]

I love all of these notes, but they play out strangely on my skin here and this scent isn't at all what I was expecting.  Somehow this smells like a chocolate bar studded with sour herbs and the watery, fresh quality of ambergris.  I expected something much darker and heavier.  As it dries down, it smells like a cup of watery black tea with a little sugar and honey and a backdrop of the leather, patchouli and tobacco melding together in a gritty, masculine, smoky character.  Having tea with a man in a leather jacket with the scent of smoke clinging to it (a bit like cigarette smoke, but not that harsh or sharp).  A half hour in, I'm still getting that watery and clean impression and the smoky new leather jacket.

I wanted this to be sweeter than it is and I don't get any of the red musk, which I love and which my skin usually amps up.  It's overall more clean and bright than I was expecting.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Little Bird

[starbrow]

I'm in love from the first sniff! This is one of those classic sweet red musk blends that manages to smell both a little purple (red tobacco? cacao?) and a little silvery (frank and musky ambergris). It reads just as extravagant and layered as you would expect from that list of notes, but it is somehow not overwhelming; the blend is very skillful, and I'm sure it will age like a dream.

 

The red musk and its sultry spice sings forward, sweetened considerably by the vanilla and honey, but the honey also behaves itself and doesn't scream or go floral. Fresh, the resins are on the lighter side, and should deepen over time. The leather's not quite a slap in the face, more like a cheeky touch, and I like it that way. This is a much more mild orgy of red musk/leather/honey than Bright Red Dildo, for those who have tried that one and found it A LOT to handle. (me!) 

 

At the moment, patchouli and frankencense are background notes, smooth and silky, with the dry patch and unsweet cacoa darkening the blend but perhaps not as much as you might expect! The red tobacco is gorgeous, by the way. It is softer and less brazen than the French Tobacco, dry, but also spicier. If you enjoy a dry heat to your tobacco, this one is a great one.

 

I think fans of The Elephant is Slow to Mate from Lupers 2020 should give Sweet Hyspithillia a whirl. It's gorgeous and rightly so. Everything good you think it would be from the notes, it is and more. One bottle for me, possibly backup worthy!

[roseus]

This is rich but not heavy. The red musk is really fruity and gives a bit of buoyancy to the heavier notes, along with the honey and vanilla. The base notes are really well blended but if I sniff deeply I can pick them out individually. They have an elegant earthy quality. I'd say it's a cousin to scents like Night and What You Want and Being Happy Are Two Quite Different Things. A red fruitiness over rich brown notes. 

[LavenderCoffee]

I agree with the What You Want comparison - the honey sweetened red musk with tobacco and frankincense create a very similar impression, but it's not as overtly smoky. It seems odd that there isn't actually any fruit in this! The "slap of leather" is a great description too, because there is definitely leather in the mix, but it doesn't dominate the blend. It lands in a fully incensey place after a couple hours, and I can't decide if it's more like Elephant or Snaky-Hair’d, or somewhere in between.

It's like a sexy 13, except it's only 9, and I'm enjoying it. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by LavenderCoffee

[Poenari]

I applied my decant without rereading the notes first, just to get a blank first impression. Red musk and cacao - hello! I initially forgot this has a cacao note, but then remembered that's why I went for a decant rather than a blind bottle.

 

After drydown, this settles on my skin to a lovely melange of red musk with some sweetness from the vanilla, honey, and ambergris, and just the right touches of patchouli, frankincense, and tobacco that keep it in my wheelhouse. Thankfully the leather never makes an appearance (another reason for my blind bottle hesitation.) 

 

This is a lovely scent! I already have other more beloved red musk blends so can pass on a bottle, but will slather my decant to abandon! 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Poenari
Autocorrect fail

[Casablanca]

(I have to say, before the review: When I read this scent's description, the "pious frankincense" made me laugh. Missionary position?)

 

Honeyed red musk with an earthy patchouli and smooth vanilla, mostly. But there's clearly a lot going on here: I can pick out the leather and frankincense, and, after a few minutes, the cacao. 

 

When cacao makes its appearance, it doesn't mess around (so to speak)... The blend goes perhaps most strongly cacao for me, although the musk is nearly neck-and-neck.

 

I could imagine a lot of red musk lovers enjoying this one, depending on how one's chemistry juggles the notes.

[theseagrows]

this one starts as a honeyed cacao and red musk with a hint of patchouli. very chocolaty at first, but that dissipates some after awhile. after being on the skin about 10-20 minutes i get the vanilla and a small hint of leather. the tobacco comes out more later, but it's subtle. this is primarily a honeyed red musk with chocolate on me. the red musk is balanced, and does not overwhelm as it can sometimes. i like this one a lot-it's cozy.

[MamaMoth]

this is a hard one to pin down.  that's a lot of notes, which can sometimes overwhelm my poor snoot.  this one is complex and layered, and it's hard to pick apart.  but it's fascinating seeing how different notes pop for different people. 

 

on me, red musk, cacao, and tobacco seem to take the forefront.  there's a spicy-red tone, i'm guessing from that red tobacco?  just a hint of honeyed sweetness, but most of the sweetness seems like it comes from the tobacco. as it dries, the vanilla rounds it out and cushions the spice.  there's a patchouli backbone, but it's not really coming forward. leather always scares me but it's not popping out for me in this one.  it gets a little bit of a powdery incense vibe in the background as it dries down further... frankincense?  who knows at this point. 

 

beyond all that, there's a lot more going on here that i can't pick apart at all. but this is really nice! i am undecided about picking up a bottle, which usually means i can skip it.  but i bet i will use up my decant. 

 

[milo]

At first, this is all about the cacao. I’m not sure why, but the blend smells kind of fruity to me.  It stays kind of a mixed up fruity chocolate blend, but hours later, in the middle of the night twelve plus hours after I applied, it is a lovely sweet, incense red musk.  I love it now, but it takes too flippin long to get there.😆

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet red musk and tobacco, patchouli and resins. Great throw and wear length.