Oleander the Great w/ SWS

[Beccah]

 

Artwork Courtesy of Lynryd-Jym Narciso!

 

Truly one of the longest shadows cast upon recorded history is that of the warrior king Alexander III of Macedon, whom all refer to as Alexander the Great. His influence upon the world's cultures is a wide swath of numerous elements, some of which we feature in this fragrance: created to assist you in your decisive battles. To provide you the conquering advantage, we have enhanced this regal scent with our exclusive SWIMMING WITH SHARKS pheromone blend, specifically designed to calm the rough waters of the business world.

A fresh and clean blending of olive blossom – a native plant of Greece and a major part of their commerce and culture since pre-recorded history — with apricot, a fruit which was not known to that nation until Alexander the Great introduced it sometime after 300 BC, along with herbal accents of ginger and thyme. The scent also features a touch of white oleander, also a native plant of Greece, growing wildly in profusion in the hills, and interestingly enough, smells similar to the combination of olive and apricot all on its own. It's also a deadly poison...someone should have warned Alexander not to suck on the leaves.

 

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Magickal Meanings of Ingredients:
OLIVE BLOSSOM ~ Peace, power, potency, fertility, healing, protection, lust.
OLEANDER ~ A poisonous plant with the traditional meaning of “caution, beware”.
APRICOT ~ Love, love, love! Romance, passion, femininity.
AMBER ~ Fertility, creativity, love, luck, riches.
GINGER ~ Fiery and fortifying, induces passion. Intensifies love spells and success spells. Love, money, success, power. Ginger increases sensitivity in the erogenous zones.
THYME ~ Protection from negativity, rejuvenating. Health, healing, sleep, psychic power enhancement, love, purification, courage.

[luna65]

I think, as with the original, this is a fragrance which served to convert me to the notion of the clean neutral kind of work scent; as I never thought I'd ever be interested in that kind of scent.  I really like that particular aspect of it, so clean and smooth and just slightly sweet - but only the tiniest hint of sweetness.  A natural kind of sweetness.  For me it's a great example of Mara's acumen because of the balance the notes achieve in the blending; I can really appreciate how well this is constructed.  There's a fruity-herbal kind of vibe but it's not obviously that type of scent.

 

I think it's perfect to keep on hand for when you know you're going to have those kind of work events where you want to get along with everybody, want things to go smoothly, want to make a good impression with a kind of calm assurance.  Or are just desiring to give that kind of professional impression no matter the context.

[Eastwood22]

I put this on three different times today, and each time it was a burst of freshness. I wish my house and clothes smelled this way all the time. My skin seems to be eating it, or it's just not as bold and determined as the scents I generally wear. I can't say that I wish I needed a "clean, neutral kind of work scent," as @luna65 called it, I just don't have that kind of life/job, but I believe this is a "Closer" scent for sure. I'd buy anything from someone who smelled this good. It's refined, classy, subtle and alluring at the same time. I imagine the person wearing it would have great advice, professionally, and would know all kinds of things that I don't. Luna's review is perfect in describing the vibe. I don't know if I'd reach for it, but I'm not ruling out the FB possibility, either. I'm not sure if I want to try it on myself again next week or give it to my man to try. This could be the "man who just showered and got dressed at the gym" scent vibe he's referenced.

[halo0073]

On me this wears pretty feminine. Opens with a hit of clean fresh florals. The freshness changes to a subtle sweetness. Very clean all the way through. Softens up considerably in long dry down. It honestly reminds me of a less potent, less sharp Sneaky Clean. Truly not unisex on me. Smells like an expensive femme floral soap skin scent on me.

[quietguy]

I once again agree with Luna's review. This is a very smooth scent - "clean and neutral" as Luna states. The sweetness is very light and is a very natural sweetness, not at all like the very cloying sweetness of some commercial mens colognes. The scent is a little on what I would describe as the "soft" side but it is certainly masculine enough for any guy.  I can however see where that soft/neutral feel combined with a touch of sweetness could work for a female. 

 

Like Luna states, this is a good work scent. 

[greenappletart]

I was somewhat hesitant to try this one as it has several notes (ginger, apricot, and amber) that can turn very unpleasant on me.I thought I would give it a shot, though, since I'm not very familiar with oleander as a note and was curious as to how it would smell. Surprisingly, all the notes behaved this time. I'm never quite sure the reasons why they occasionally work, but I'm glad they did. My main impressions of Oleander the Great were bright, warm, and planty. It was golden in the way hot sunshine is. Ginger always reads as warm to me. I realize how weird this is going to sound, but it reminded me a little of the produce section of the grocery store, if the produce section smelled like a good perfume. I think it must be the combination of apricot, thyme, ginger, and olive. It has a creaminess that is more of a lotion type creaminess than a foody one. There are hints of floral, but for most of its wear they remain unisex. It isn't until the very, very long drydown that the floral starts to turn a little feminine. As others have said this is a clean neutral scent, and would be fantastic for work, which, of course, matches very well with the phero. 

Edited April 8, 2019 by greenappletart

[Lainey]

This is the most inoffensive scent I have ever smelled in my life. I can't imagine anyone thinking anything of it other than, "oh, that's pleasant," if they notice it at all. It's very faint on me. It's nice, though. It's like the "discreet packaging" of the scent world. It's kind of hard to believe oleanders are poisonous with how mild it is! Now I want to smell the actual flower.

 

Did anyone else read (or watch the movie) "White Oleander?" 

[hedgehog]

My bottle of Oleander got a bit overlooked until now - I’m always jumping between certain scents I get periodically obsessed with so sometimes bottles get forgotten!
 

This is very light and neutral - I don’t know if I’m noseblind to something or if it’s just really light and unobtrusive.  This could easily be mistaken for soap or just a general natural “clean” vibe.  Not the more in-your-face laundry kind of clean, but more subtle and natural, like clean air.  You could 100% get away with this even in workplaces that discourage perfume.  
 

This and Gossamer Threads are the ultimate “stealth phero” scents for me. They don’t feel like perfume at all, but the scent still leaves the desired impression.   In this case: clean, fresh, and pleasant.