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Elixir (Penhaligon) and its Eucalyptus Steam note

post #1 of 12
3/30/10 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
I cracked open my bottle of Elixir recently and have so far worn it 3 times. The first was on a cold, cloudy day. The second was on a dry, hot day with a good breeze. Today I'm wearing it on a cool rainy morning with colder temps and hail predicted in the afternoon. The eucalyptus steam topnote in Elixir is a real nose-grabber - aromatic, pungent, veering very close to the medicinal. I notice subtle differences according to weather as to how I'm reacting to it. Surprisingly, the hot-dry wear was my favorite so far. I was afraid that Elixir might turn out to be too much a winter-holiday kind of cliche, but I am proving myself wrong. Today, because of the moisture in the air, I'm getting the gist of the "steam" part of this. Very enjoyable scent and much more versatile than I'd first thought.
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post #2 of 12
3/30/10 at 10:03am
You and I are on the same page. I got a bottle for Christmas, and I totally love it, but I don't know how far away from the holidays I can go without it seeming "forced"... Then again it's probably all in my mind. The tea-texture of Elixir makes it warm and inviting, and I do think that I could justify wearing this on a spring or fall day. Summer seems a bit out of place to me.

I think I just picked my SOTD...
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post #3 of 12
3/30/10 at 10:29am
I love Elixir, but like Scentronic, for some reason I have strong cold-weather associations with it. I think I may pick up a bottle when next year's winter chill arrives, but for now, we're too deep into spring.
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post #4 of 12
3/30/10 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
I myself think that Elixir would be icky on warm/humid days. Hot and dry and breezy was fabulous though. I did open my bottle way after Christmas though, so I don't have too many wreath-and-jingle bells associations with it. More like a Chinese New Year thing for me - just happened to co-incide with my opening the bottle, but the Year of the Tiger seems to fit Elixir very well.
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post #5 of 12
3/30/10 at 8:52pm
I totally see what you mean Jardanel, that spiciness in Elixir combined with the watery eucalyptus is a bit out-of-place in warm weather - which made it hard for me to justify a FB for me.

There are many warm-weather-friendly eucalyptus fragrances you might want to try, to satisfy your cravings. Have you smelled the one by Thymes?
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post #6 of 12
3/30/10 at 11:28pm
I am a big fan of Elixir, and I think I agree it's a cooler weather fragrance, but, more than that, it's an evening fragrance, I could never imagine wearing this during the day.
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post #7 of 12
3/31/10 at 3:03am
Cold weather indeed. Very cold weather.
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post #8 of 12
3/31/10 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 
The opinions seem to be running high in favor of Elixir as a cold-weather pleasure. But try it in bone-dry heat with an insistent wind - think sirocco, think shifting sands - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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post #9 of 12
3/31/10 at 10:32am
I have trouble with Elixir. For the first minute on my skin, it has a variety of incredible notes. I love it. Then, ROSEWOOD appears, in all its heady, sweet, uber-opulent "glory"... and it just gets too much for me. I wonder if anyone else notices the rosewood. It doesn't get many comments.
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post #10 of 12
3/31/10 at 1:04pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm ody, that's a very interesting thing you're picking up on. I don't get rosewood, not outright anyway. There's a cinnamon that joins the euc pretty fast - maybe that's the point at which I should see if I can discern rosewood, since it too has a sweetly spicy edge.
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post #11 of 12
3/31/10 at 1:34pm
Having smelled rosewood EO, the scent is "locked" into my memory. Now I can detect it in several fragrances. It reminds me of furniture polish and old woody/leather chairs.
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post #12 of 12
3/31/10 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Rosewood is locked into my memory too, ody. I had a relative who traveled a great deal in the Far East and had a rosewood chest in her home. It was so elaborately carved that the dragon motif seemed to jump to life when you looked at it. On the rare occasions when I was present as the chest was opened, I got a waft of rosewood that seems to have insinuated itself permanently.
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