Friday, April 30, 2010

Ode to Lyra


LYRA

"A rich, full-bodied, sweetly tinged amber, floral fragrance that evokes the essence of Fall with its warm sensuality. Through a veil of tropical flowers, the amber and somewhat licorice tinted base glows leaving a dry down trail of light citrus so as not to allow the amber to overpower." and "The glowing amber floral fragrance exudes an ethereal waft of a bonfire note arising then transitioning in a light citrusy orange drink at the end of my sensory-awakening tramp in the cool, late October forest."
~ Victoria Austin, Sniffapalooza Magazine

Fragrance family: FLORAL, ORIENTAL


The sweet headiness of this botanical natural perfume lies in the melding of Jasmine and Ylang Ylang at the heart. In aromatherapy circles these essences are considered relaxing, euphoric and strong aphrodisiacs. The word aphrodisiac comes from the name of the Greek Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.


"...vivacious, euphoric affair with the immediacy of flowers, especially the fresh, almost fruity piquancy of what seems like orange blossom, jasmine and tropical ylang ylang singing out of the bottle like alto voices in melodious thirds. Inspired by the brightness of the night-sky asteroid near Vega but also the heroine of the book "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman, the floriental Lyra is shining with its own bright veneer. This white floral composition is especially appreciated in a natural blend as there is none of the florist shop headspace of department store fragrances: rather the blossoms exude a deeper, more solid, hefty presence in the accompaniment of a classic warm base of ambery resins and hesperidic overtures. Perhaps the only drawback is the rather limited lasting power, but this is something that can be easily amended by re-application."
~ Elena Vosnaki, Perfume Shrine

There are twenty different essential oils, absolutes and C02 extractions in this perfume. The solid and liquid perfume versions have been created by hand utilizing pure, plant essences. Main notes include: Amber Accord, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang and Citrus. Many experience an anise note, although there is no anise or fennel in the ingredients.


"Lyra is described as a "veil of tropical flowers, [with an] amber base, and an effervescent twilight of citrus notes." It is an extraordinarily lovely and subtle creation, completely wearable at all times, and smells to me less like a perfume and more the way I wish I actually smelled. It evokes the sweet, soft scent of a beloved child's skin."
~ Heather, Memory and Desire

The fluid liquid fragrance is in a base of organic grain and grape alcohol available in samples packs, a 1 gram glass vial and the French, Chanel type, flacon.

"Lyra is orange and bergamot over amber. According to the website there are tropical flowers in there, but I don't get much, certainly not anything that I would normally think of as tropical: no hothouse gardenia, no over-the-top tuberose. I could be crazy but I think there's a touch of heliotrope in there. It's tropical in that bright, sparkling way that Patou did with Colony, but there's no pineapple."
~ Tom, Perfume Smellin' Things

I created an amber accord in the base of this fragrance that is a sumptuous perfume on it's own and appears in other fragrances as well, like Aurora.

"Lyra- This one feels complex and multifaceted. There's a candied orange in there that doesn't become too sweet. Unlike Tom, I did get the tropical flowers, and surprisingly enough- I liked it. A lot. Out of the four here, Lyra is the strongest and most tenacious, but it stays close enough to the skin to make it very wearable."
~ Gaia, The Non-Blonde

Reviews:
Scent Hive
Perfume Shrine
Memory and Desire
Perfume Smellin' Things
The Non-Blonde

Images: Solid and liquid photo montages and vanilla beans by Roxana Villa, Illumination by Greg Spalenka

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