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Thoughts on Philosykos?

post #1 of 30
11/1/05 at 7:44pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to the kind scentemental, I have Philosykos on my wrist as I'm typing this. I read the pyramid notes and fig leaf is one of them. However, I'll be damned if there isn't a peach or apricot note in there somewhere. To my nose, it smells exactly like the soft, fuzzy skin of a ripe peach that you're about to bite into. I'm not much for fruity scents, but this is awesome. It doesn't smell synthetic like other fruity frags, which tend to smell like Jolly Rancher's candy. It's realistic and smells like an actual peach. When I close my eyes, I just want to take a bite out of my arm because it's that good. It's a perfect frag for spring/summer frag IMO. It's fresh and a tad sweet. Does anybody else make the peach connection or am I just crazy?
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post #2 of 30
11/1/05 at 8:14pm
I get peach, and like you, this is one of VERY few "fruit" fragrances I like.

My co-workers went nuts over this one. A unique and wonderful scent.
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post #3 of 30
11/1/05 at 8:39pm
Philosykos, ah, the beauty.

Teflondog, you made me go get my bottle and bring it to the computer. I don't get the peach, but at the same time I see what you mean--there is something that is fuzzy fruit skin right there in the first hit as you start to inhale. I guess we all know about the fig part of this scent, and that is how the inhale finishes for me, but there's such a wonderful quality of anticipation of delight that this scent gives, just like the touch and sensations of peaches just before you sink teeth in all the way to the pit.

Spring and fall are my favorite times for Philosykos, for what that's worth. Stuff lasts forever on me and my sweaters too. It is one of the first niche scents I bought, but still I put off buying it. Something about it is so perfect and ideal that that made me want to buy other stuff first. As if getting this perfection would be routine. But I got it and it lead me on the path to Diptyque love.

Thanks for the great observation about the peach!
--Chris
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post #4 of 30
11/1/05 at 9:16pm
I second Chris's closing sentiments. Excellent call teflondog. At the risk, however, of splitting hairs, I would actually call it more of a nectarine note. This note is typical of the exquisite and magical unbearable lightness of being that makes up this fragrance.

I find that *Philosykos* starts of with a vegetal leafy greeness that is ever so slightly astringent and is closer to the smell of the totality of a fig tree's various scents--from the fruit to the leaves--than any of the other fig scents on the market. Part of its lightness, which is lacking in most other fig scents, is due precisely to that fruit note and, as it continues to drydown, to the bouyant, sunny fig note that is never leaden, and that is interlaced with an increasingly preceptible, almost ethereal, muskiness that's not really derived from musk; it's more of a white musk, but not really a white musk; it's also and actually more of a fully mellowed out lavender note, that's not exactly a lavender note per se but like a fully mellowed out lavender note; that is, it smells beautiful like fully mellowed-out lavender does when it mellows out. I am thinking especially of the way *Arome 3* mellows out here. It's a lot of things, but it's nothing really, specifically, just like the scent of a fig is like nothing else, really. Figs can only really be described as figgy. If there were fruit trees on Mars, they'd be fig trees. If you've ever actually seen a fig tree, you know how plausible this statement is. Figs have, *Philosykos* is, an other worldly scent.

*Philosykos* is, finally, airy, ethereal summer fruit and vegetal greeness softened, mellowed, transfigured, purified, and made white by late afternoon Mediterranean wind and sun. It's fig tree and its fruit magically transformed into scent. It's a truly benchmark scent in this sense and a beautiful one to boot.

/me
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post #5 of 30
11/1/05 at 10:00pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your input guys. I love reading all of your interpretations of different scents. It gives me a new perspective on things. At the moment I can't get enough of Philosykos and I think I will be wearing it on my wrist a lot.
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post #6 of 30
11/1/05 at 11:36pm
I LURVE Philosykos but don't get any peach. It's the fuzziness of green figs to my nose... And the milky sap from picking them - sticky in burning in reality, but in this perfume it's interpreted as coconut milk note.
It might be skin chemistry, but I smell no peach at all - just green figs, fig leaves, coconut milk, cedar and white musk.
It's a true perfection and is great in sizzling hot summer days.
I can't get enough of it and almost "drink" it!
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post #7 of 30
11/2/05 at 5:50am
This is a very Mediterranean scent but the topnotes remind me an early morning in spring in a forest in my native Finland. The mid- and basenotes brings me to a late summer evening in Southern Italy. Wearing this is like travelling both in time, through seasons and also from north to south.

I can't detect a peachnote, as scentemental already stated, figs (and fig leafs) only smell like figs.

I love it in spring and autumn and it also works very well on dry summer days. It gets a bit to sweet for my taste in very hot and humid weather.
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post #8 of 30
11/2/05 at 12:38pm
nice, lovely however, it does not last long on me and on my wife.
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post #9 of 30
11/2/05 at 12:52pm
One of my summer fragrances - keeps one from wilting & sweating in the hot, humid Chicago heat.
I get more of an "orangey" neroli-type of dry-down with Philosykos. It's also very similar to Marc Jacobs for men, although not quite as loud with the coconut note.
My favorites, though, are Tam Dao & Eau De Elide - that lavender dry-down just knocks me out! I used to like nag champa notes in certain fragrances, and then I bought Eau De Elide at Aedes & fell instantly in love.
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post #10 of 30
11/2/05 at 12:55pm
I don't own a bottle but I do prefer it to L'Artisan's Premier Figuier. Philosykos is a great spring and summer scent. Body Time's Green Fig oil is very similar.
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post #11 of 30
11/2/05 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 
Upon closer inspection, I've noticed a hint of coconut in the topnotes but it is really subtle. Diptyque makes some really nice scents. I like Tam Dao a lot also.
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post #12 of 30
11/2/05 at 5:37pm
Philosykos is pretty good, as is Premier Figuier.
But when I smell them, I can only form the opinion that they're an incomplete version of the masculine scent that Salvatore Ferragamo Pour Homme is.
Renato
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post #13 of 30
7/13/06 at 11:00am
First off i want to say sorry if some of you are bothered that i brought back an old topic, but i had to do it.

So i bought my first bottle of Philosykos today. I have been looking for a scent that is good for the summer and also good for other occasions. I read lots of reviews from the directory here and i found out that Dyptique, which i had never heard of before, is sold not to far away.

But i did not anticipate the reaction i had. Upon first smelling it on paper, i thought "wow this reminds me of my uncle's farm in Italy". I sprayed it on my wrist and went browsing for 20 minutes or so inside the store. The scent became so sweet and so rich, but not the over-powering kind. It became heaven in a scent.

I immediately went back and bought a bottle. As soon as i arrived in the car, i applied a few sprays and off i went! I am now typing this in my office and i can smell this beautiful fragrance on me and i have fallen in love.
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post #14 of 30
7/13/06 at 11:18am
the first impression when I smelled Philosykos: it smells not of fruits and flowers but of garden where trees and vegetables grow.
something very green, very natural...
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post #15 of 30
7/13/06 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by J-Shock

I immediately went back and bought a bottle. As soon as i arrived in the car, i applied a few sprays and off i went! I am now typing this in my office and i can smell this beautiful fragrance on me and i have fallen in love.

Cool, J-Shock! That's the way!

These are the greatest moments in the scent hunt. Oh to fall for a scent completely--would that it would happen as often as once a month.

Philosykos is surely a great one. If you get around to smelling the other Diptyques, I'll value your thoughts and reviews.

Wear it and have fine health.
--Chris
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post #16 of 30
7/14/06 at 1:01am
I really like Philosykos a lot. To me it evokes broken twigs, leaves and earth. Very natural-smelling. The freshness is ideal for summer.
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post #17 of 30
7/14/06 at 6:50am
i got Philosykos in the dead cold of winter and thought that it take me to nicer place... but the drydown started to induce a headache-y feeling... to me it was thin and shrill, a world away from the warmth of the sandalwood at the base of Premier Figuier. now i've revisited it this summer and it's a really pleasant experience all the way through in the heat and humidity here in new york city.
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post #18 of 30
7/14/06 at 7:51am
I'm glad that this thread got revived. It contains the enthusiastic and helpful reviews that I love about Basenotes. And I love Philosykos. That green opening is second to none, and the drydown is sublime. I wear it in all seasons...
It is one of those scents that seems to provoke memories and associations for all kinds of people - probably because it is such a natural smelling fragrance.

I think it will be my SOTD.

-Slim
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post #19 of 30
7/14/06 at 7:52am
I've got a sample of phylosikos and really enjoy it! It takes me back to my vacations along greek and sicilian coast... Probably I'll go for a full bottle one day!
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post #20 of 30
7/14/06 at 10:29am
I want to buy
Philosykos edt or Premier Figuier
But cannot decide which one.
I am afraid of this drydown of Philosykos, this coco nut smell which in hot weather could be cloying
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post #21 of 30
7/14/06 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamerII

I want to buy
Philosykos edt or Premier Figuier
But cannot decide which one.
I am afraid of this drydown of Philosykos, this coco nut smell which in hot weather could be cloying

There is a coconut smell in there for sure, but I wouldn't call it "cloying" at all. My only complaint would be it's a bit weak and with poor longevity.
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post #22 of 30
7/14/06 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
I forgot all about this thread. Thanks for reviving it. To this day, my impressions about it remain the same. To my nose, it still smells like ripe peach skin. Longevity isn't the greatest, but on clothes it lasts well into the next day. It's an excellent summer fragrance; not overpowering and not sickeningly sweet. IMO, this is one unisex frag that doesn't lean more towards the masculine or feminine side. It can be enjoyed equally by both genders.
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post #23 of 30
7/14/06 at 12:00pm
Yeah i smell the peach that you describe but its very faint. The coconut smell is really nice for the summer. I reall enjoy it.

My only grief is the longevity of the fragrance. It doesnt last long at all on my skin. A few hours max. But still one of the most enjoyable scents ever!
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post #24 of 30
7/14/06 at 1:03pm
I am much more of reviving old threads than starting new ones as we get to go back and see the progression of thought from the great collective wisdom of BN. This is one of my favorite alltime scents. I think the 'coconut note' is sort of a knee jerk reaction to something in there but when you get down to it it isn't that at all. THe fleshy fruit finish is there. How fun to see my good friend Scentemental suggest 'nectorine' over 'peach'. I must have missed that earlier.

This fragrance definitly needs a hot summer or warm spring day to realize the potentional of the fantasy it suggests. I wear this to any al fresco occasion in the summer months and dream of being on a greek hillside at a houseparty or picnic...
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post #25 of 30
7/18/06 at 12:18pm
Is this unisex, i have never sampled it before, and may try it on my travels!

is it masculine?
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post #26 of 30
7/18/06 at 12:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Markinlondon

Is this unisex, i have never sampled it before, and may try it on my travels!

is it masculine?

It's not really masculine or feminine. Or even unisex. It's like a completely natural smell of leaves, trees and earth.
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post #27 of 30
7/18/06 at 12:38pm
I LOVE the topnotes, but after that it's just so-so. Really pitiful sillage and the longevity is poor also. That face that I'm considering a purchase anyways speaks well of the amazing imagery that the topnotes inspire. It is certainly, imo, the best fig scent around. Everyone should at least try this scent!
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post #28 of 30
7/18/06 at 9:25pm
It last forever on my skin, I'm very surprised about the longevity problems mentioned here. It developes better on me in warmer and more humid weather, my only complaint is that it is somewhat one-dimensional when it is cold. The perfect summer scent IMO! Green, wet but not grassy!
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post #29 of 30
7/18/06 at 11:34pm
I have been using Philosykos here in the Singapore heat, and it's wonderful.

I bought a bottle of Tam dao and got a sample of every other Diptyque frag. i'll write up a review of each, though please note that it'll be relevant to hot and humid Singapore weather.
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post #30 of 30
7/19/06 at 12:59am
yep, please do rashkae, never sampled any of their range, and i have a dyptique shop not far from me!
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