Sphinx Hommage a Greta Garbo

A true fruity-floral with both elements clearly in sync. 50/50. It’s as far away from my type of perfume as you can possibly get, but it is very well made. Balanced. It’s more on the sweeter than the fresher side, but the florals make it more than just tolerable. It’s beautiful. Very soft, clean and utterly pleasing if you like a well-behaved scent that makes you feel both put together and chic. But once again, I cannot see it representing Greta Garbo. She had an edge of something mystical about her and was indeed mythical, just like a spinx is a mythical creature. There is nothing mysterious or even remotely intriquing about this one. But it does smell good and could be an easy grab on days where you really don’t want to think to much about what scent you’re wearing.

Very fresh but Sphinx don't get along with my skintype. I often have problems with citrus-notes and the Yuzu don't make magic on me. Middle- and basenote gives fresh modern halfwaysweet flowers with a splash of Patchouli, cedar and Musk. Lovely! Worth trying if you like perfum's with citruses in topnote. Superfräsch men Sphinx funkar inte på mig. Jag har problem med citrusnoter i parfymer tyvärr, de blir inte bra på mig, helt enkelt. Mellan och basnot ger fräscha, moderna halvsöta blomtoner med en dos Patchouli, Cederträ och Musk. Suverän! Värd att prova om du gillar parfymer där citrustoner ingår i toppnoten.

Boring? I don’t think harmony is boring. Didn’t you ever felt ”amused to death” by all those entertaining, sex appealing, original in a commercial way perfumes nowadays? This one is pure classic. I am happy to discover a quiet, elegant and comfortable perfume. Not suitable for a party of course, but for a working day, for an artist student or librarian. I have a feeling it helps me to clear my mind and to improve my efficiency and creativity :)))))). It recalls in my imagination Greta Garbo, but also Maria Curie.

This reminds me somewhat of L'eau d'Issey (I guess it is the lotus-peony-rose combination). Does it evoke Greta Garbo to me? No. It is a pretty, clean scent? Yes. Would I ever get a full bottle? No. Next.

I've tried all three Garbo frags. I think Sphinx is the one I like least. It cost under £1.00 for a 5ml sample and, sadly, it smells as cheap as you'd expect. The other frags smell vintage to me and evoke the 1920s or 1930s but this smells like another vintage to me and it evokes 1980s onwards. The top notes tickle my nose and make me want to sneeze. I think of oriental flowers and fabric softener and visualise 1980s 'padded-shoulder power-dressing' maybe because that's when I first smelt oriental flower scented fabric softener? I also catch an oily whiff of hairspray (mum's hairspray, 1980s again). The hairspray leads down towards more waxy flowers, a hint of vomit, and something chemical, maybe the disinfectant used to mop up the vomit? Sphinx, to me, smells unsophisticated or even sleazy, cheap, earthy, trollopy. For me it says 'hen-party in Prague' (1990s?). It evokes an image of 'binge drinkers' (2000s?) sleeping off their booze in a police cell or hospital emergency room. The other Garbo frags are unisex but this one is 'women only' and a specific type of woman too, one who is definitely NOT a lady (either because she lacks the sophistication to be one or because she is too independent to get pinned down as one). I am mystified how this 'in your face' fragrance relates to Garbo or the Sphinx. I suppose the Sphinx said 'answer my question, gimme what I want, or I will kill you' and from 1980s onwards 'girl power' was usually women claiming the right to be as angry, violent, offensive and loutish as men if they pleased so maybe a brassy scent is right for a Sphinx and for Garbo if she is claimed as an 'empowered' woman? I am a Feminist but I would never wear this and I would probably avoid sharing space with anyone wearing it. I suppose a confident woman could wear it in a spirit of irony and defiance but she would still smell like laundry products.