egyptian evenings
Aug. 25th, 2012 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
st_emmaThanks to the miracle of decant circles, I was able to pick up a rather sizable number of samples of Possets' Egyptian Evenings collection. When I first heard about the concept - and that it would involve a lot of resins - I was stoked. I love resins! So how good was it?
The Eye of Horus. A heady mix of labdanum and black amber. It has a certain bitter undernote upon application that takes a good couple of hours to fade. Once it does, only a smooth, almost glossy golden brown smell is left. Yes, that's synesthetic. It's that kind of scent. I'm trying to figure out if I really like it. I bet it would smell amazing on my husband, though.
Kohl. A dark, mysterious and utterly gorgeous concoction of amber and copal simmering over figs.
Bastet. Something like vanilla, but not quite vanilla, merges with strong tea, and they alternate between fighting for dominance and just twining around each other. In the distant background, there is smoke. Intriguing.
Serqet is a gorgeous velvety musk, with just the merest hint of lemon.
Lotus of the Nile. It's perfumes like this which make me reconsider my whole kneejerk dislike of florals. This is a gorgeous aquatic floral with the faintest hint of incense in the background. Unexpectedly lovely.
Evil Eye. Smoke and ginger, it manages to be acrid and foody without smelling like someone's burned dinner. I don't have anything else like this in my collection, and I'm rather liking it.
Nile. A cool, calming aquatic with just the teensiest hint of refreshing mint. I'd imagine this one is quite nice on 40-degree summer days.
Faience. A high, kind of fruity, kind of tart incense that somehow manages to smell both blue and ceramically delicate.
Kyphi. Dark figs, lightened only slightly by spices. Unobjectionable, but not terribly interesting, either.
Hatshepsut. Dark, mysterious, indefinably, oilily resinous, with the amber adding a note of sweetness. And yet somehow quite captivating. Gorgeous.
Nefertiti. Delicious, almost vanilla musk, lightened by the palest of teas.
Canopic Box. An awesomely gorgeous collection of woods that's marred for a good hour by one shrill olfactory note - I'm assuming it's camphor. It's very high-pitched, whatever it is. It dies down after a couple of hours, and while it doesn't quite blend in, the other notes drown it out a little, rendering the scent wearable. But I had such high hopes for this one, to have it be merely "wearable" is a disappointment.
The Crown of the Serpent. Another brilliant scent marred by one note that just doesn't work on me. In this case, that note smells uncannily like cat urine and lasts for just under an hour before fading into the smoke-and-dragon's blood lusciousness that is the rest of the scent.
The Crown of the Vulture. Is dark, dreamy myrrh, copal and amber, backlit by patchouli. Its sheer awesomeness is dimmed only by the fact that it fades very quickly on my skin. While it is there, it is heaven.
Some of them (Evil Eye, Bastet, Lotus of the Nile) are wonderful and not quite like anything else in my collection. Some (Kohl, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Serqet, The Crown of the Vulture) are from families that are well-represented in my collection, but are nevertheless awesome and fun to wear. Some (The Eye of Horus, Canopic Box, The Crown of the Serpent) are otherwise gorgeous scents that are marred on my skin by one discordant note.
I'm thinking that Evil Eye, Hatshepsut and Bastet may be big bottle worthy, although I'll have to spend a bit more time with Bastet to be sure. Possets is having a sale through September 1, so I have some time to decide.
The Eye of Horus. A heady mix of labdanum and black amber. It has a certain bitter undernote upon application that takes a good couple of hours to fade. Once it does, only a smooth, almost glossy golden brown smell is left. Yes, that's synesthetic. It's that kind of scent. I'm trying to figure out if I really like it. I bet it would smell amazing on my husband, though.
Kohl. A dark, mysterious and utterly gorgeous concoction of amber and copal simmering over figs.
Bastet. Something like vanilla, but not quite vanilla, merges with strong tea, and they alternate between fighting for dominance and just twining around each other. In the distant background, there is smoke. Intriguing.
Serqet is a gorgeous velvety musk, with just the merest hint of lemon.
Lotus of the Nile. It's perfumes like this which make me reconsider my whole kneejerk dislike of florals. This is a gorgeous aquatic floral with the faintest hint of incense in the background. Unexpectedly lovely.
Evil Eye. Smoke and ginger, it manages to be acrid and foody without smelling like someone's burned dinner. I don't have anything else like this in my collection, and I'm rather liking it.
Nile. A cool, calming aquatic with just the teensiest hint of refreshing mint. I'd imagine this one is quite nice on 40-degree summer days.
Faience. A high, kind of fruity, kind of tart incense that somehow manages to smell both blue and ceramically delicate.
Kyphi. Dark figs, lightened only slightly by spices. Unobjectionable, but not terribly interesting, either.
Hatshepsut. Dark, mysterious, indefinably, oilily resinous, with the amber adding a note of sweetness. And yet somehow quite captivating. Gorgeous.
Nefertiti. Delicious, almost vanilla musk, lightened by the palest of teas.
Canopic Box. An awesomely gorgeous collection of woods that's marred for a good hour by one shrill olfactory note - I'm assuming it's camphor. It's very high-pitched, whatever it is. It dies down after a couple of hours, and while it doesn't quite blend in, the other notes drown it out a little, rendering the scent wearable. But I had such high hopes for this one, to have it be merely "wearable" is a disappointment.
The Crown of the Serpent. Another brilliant scent marred by one note that just doesn't work on me. In this case, that note smells uncannily like cat urine and lasts for just under an hour before fading into the smoke-and-dragon's blood lusciousness that is the rest of the scent.
The Crown of the Vulture. Is dark, dreamy myrrh, copal and amber, backlit by patchouli. Its sheer awesomeness is dimmed only by the fact that it fades very quickly on my skin. While it is there, it is heaven.
Some of them (Evil Eye, Bastet, Lotus of the Nile) are wonderful and not quite like anything else in my collection. Some (Kohl, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Serqet, The Crown of the Vulture) are from families that are well-represented in my collection, but are nevertheless awesome and fun to wear. Some (The Eye of Horus, Canopic Box, The Crown of the Serpent) are otherwise gorgeous scents that are marred on my skin by one discordant note.
I'm thinking that Evil Eye, Hatshepsut and Bastet may be big bottle worthy, although I'll have to spend a bit more time with Bastet to be sure. Possets is having a sale through September 1, so I have some time to decide.
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