Golden Cattleya

Intoxicatingly sweet, seductive, surprisingly spicy essence of sunshine. A big bouncy bodacious yellow-floral with enough adult bite to cure any sceptic, and raise a smile from even the most blase cynic like me. No shy flower this: it's huge, almost bossy, grand expansive sillage and thick pillowy almost-waxy petals all the way down. Reads very very femme to me, but anyone with the desire for a barnstorming, honeyed, almost honeysuckle jungle idyll done for grown-ups might find its hothouse-flower power alluring. The sheer floral-ness is almost overwhelming, with a rich round vanillic character, underlaid with warm - almost musky - undefined spiciness. Not a single note of coldness or harshness anywhere to be found; some of the spice hints at earth, but there's no muddiness or green to it either. Overall - both lush and luscious, and this sort of hyper-sensual sweetness often grates on me, but here I swoon and follow it right down the tropic-jungle path. Smelling it blind I kept thinking 'wow, this is like Mardi Gras but even better' and seeing the pyramid, I can see why - it's more complex and less minimal than MG's simple orange blossom-vanilla-musk, so the journey is more interesting, but it shares the same rollicking, fleshy, sensuous, easy-drawl feel. Wowsers. Truly impressive. Occupies the same sort of mental niche for me as Bianchi Under My Skin or Papillon's Bengale Rouge - honeydripping charmers to make even the bleakest day happy. Vast performance and longevity all add up to amazing value, too - if you can keep up with its almost overwhelming insistence that you GO OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN! Scent avatar: Jane Russell in 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' - fully adult bump 'n grind with real muscle, a dirty laugh and legs for days - but always staying classy and optimistic. Bravo!

This is what I imagine a bee-filled flower garden at the peak of spring smelling like. This scent is amazing. The opening is an explosion of honey, cream-soda and orange blossom. The honey here is incredibly rich and deep, while the cream soda is slightly synthetic but very sweet and creamy. They compliment each other incredibly well. Then there's the orange blossom which holds these two together. The orange blossom differs itself from the typical middle-eastern orange blossom (the kind they put in foods eg. exotic craft coffees at hipster-y cafes or shalab) by having this rounded off warm floral feeling. When you dig you can find narcissus and it's balanced just enough to give great depth here. During the dry down a feminine vintage vibe that comes on and it's not my favorite. I think it's the combination of the sandalwood creeping up and the orange blossom changing its scent which create this almond-cream "aunt-like" accord. It overpowers the beautiful floral honey too much and distorts the profile. This isn't quite my style, though I'd love to smell this on a woman (or even a man!). In my head, this was made for a beautiful person with a smile that radiates a solar warmth :')

Honey is not the easiest note on my skin, and at the first moments I thought that Golden Cattleya would be another honey scent that I couldn't wear. Right after spraying it's kind of dusty, as if it was covered in pollen all over, which I'm not the biggest fan of. But luckily I was wrong. This honey is smells very natural, but doesn't turn musty, dirty or overwhelming on me. After about 20 minutes the dust settles and the perfume becomes really beautiful. Creamy vanilla and honey sweetness combined with juicy ripe oranges and their blossoms. A touch of narcissus and amber for even more warmth. And that cream soda note! It's so good, sweet and fizzy and almost drinkable. But this is an equally floral and gourmand fragrance, so the overall impression is not like you spilled a drink on yourself. This is not necessarily a summer fragrance, but it makes me think of summer. It's so warm, it feels like laying in the sun with blooming flowers around you, like the essence of summer. Golden Cattleya is a rich fragrance, but not as loud as Red Cattleya or Blackbird by the same house. This is softer and rounder in character with no sharpness at all. My favorite by Olympic Orchids!

I am so excited that this beautiful line of perfumes is finally on Fragrantica! Although undoubtedly sweet, Golden Cattleya completely lacks the banal, boring, everything-smells-the-same element of most contemporary sweet scents because it literally seems to sparkle. That "sparkling" note is one I can detect in several of the Olympic Orchid "orchid" perfumes, perhaps the perfumer's version of the famed "guerlinade", but one completely original and her own. Its addictive - I may well have to have all her orchid scents! Golden Cattleya is also inexplicably honeyed, fruity ,flowery and yet resin-y/woody at the same time- its truly unlike anything else I have. The symphony of notes goes on and on and on, with beautiful sillage and 8 hour plus lasting power. It has garnered a ton of compliments, and all my other perfumes are languishing for want of attention these days, because I consider Golden Cattleya one of the very best things I have smelled or worn in years. A perfume blog I read referred to the perfumer, Ellen Covey, as a genius. You know what? I couldn't agree more!

I was initially curious about Ellen Covey to compare to her original Bat, now called Night Flyer, to the current Zoologist Bat. Turns out her Golden Cattaleya is everything I wanted from Zoologist Bee! This is gorgeous, golden honey, pollen, beeswax (although that's not a listen note), languid sexy sun drenched. It's somehow both fresh and unctuous. I feel more like a queen bee than a worker bee. This feels like a gold weather scent, but I can't wait to smell it on skin that's been baking in the sun. Some of the sexiness reminds me of what I remember about MFK Absolue Pour Le Soir. I'm amazed at the variety of Dr Covey's creations. I'm going to do a direct comparison with Golden Cattaleya and Bee soon. Update: I wore Bee and Golden Cattaleya on each arm. It was heavenly. I still think they are very similar and either could have been called Bee. Golden Cattaleya is less intense with the honey/pollen/wax and a bit lighter, fresher, and more complex. It also lasted way longer on me. I think Golden Cattaleya is my queen bee!

I used to absolutely love cream soda as kid and would drink it all the time, so I'm very pleased that the cream soda accord in this is everything I wanted it to be and more. Still, I wouldn't quite call this photorealistic, but the vanilla in this perfume crisp, airy, but also rich bordering on creamy, like how you would find in cream soda. Additionally, Golden Cattleya's honeyed sweetness, lactonic white florals and warm resins, create this dense and creamy, almost buttery, base, which adds alot of weight and depth. The citrus really takes a backseat, though, as it's almost undetectable to me. Overall, Golden Cattleya is a very interesting and complex creamy floral vanilla fragrance that is still very approacable and pleasing to the nose. The longevity is also great, for I could still smell this days after spraying it on clothes. The sillage is more moderate but still good, as it creates a nice scent bubble for a few hours.

Golden Cattleya is a honey fragrance done right. The labdanum and sandalwood notes add the right amount of balsamic smokiness to the honey. The african orange flower and the narcissus note, I am guessing, add a floral richness that balances it out beautifully. I cant detect any sweetness on my skin except maybe at the end of the scent life. Totally unisex and has very good projection, comfortable arms length. Women seem to like it on me as I got quite a few compliments on it at a friends wedding I wore it to. 7-8 hours longevity as well. Guys, dont let the fragrantica women classification make you skip this. Golden Cattleya is a rich, dense, balsamic honey fragrance that just screams class and I guarantee you nobody else will be smelling like you. Very much impressed and absolutely recommend it.

so lovely. rich thick clouds of yellow pollen, honeysuckle and orange blossom, fat bumble bees sipping at a glass of cream soda warming in the sun. i love honey scents but unfortunately most turn pissy on my skin-- not golden cattleya! sweet and decadent, it's not really suitable for warmer weather, but that's okay. there's something very nostalgic about it for me, something (i'm not sure what-- the dusty aspect of the pollen in the drydown?) reminds me of a perfume my mother used to wear when i was a kid. i wouldn't say it has a vintage feel overall but there is a little bit of "old lady perfume" dna in there that might not play well with others. good price point for the strength of the fragrance. 8/10

almost ten years that i've discovered this brand and I'm still amazed by how incredibly bold and good are they creation. A big loud peal of mainly narcissus and daffodil mixed with lovely orange flowers in an intoxicating and dazzling way, almost overwhelming. It feels freakishly ancient, like a pure gold parure of an antique sovereign. The honey and amber are constant players here but always displaying at different strengths, each glistening slowly over time and then vibrating in a slightly different way. This kind of perfume who makes you think about the necessity to ever after still try something else and just keep this one forever. Amazing

A busy bee, bouncing from flower to flower, collecting nectar and covered in pollen and sunshine. Yellow florals, honey, cream soda, orange flowers. Powdery pollen. Warm amber. Super sweet, but this doesn't quite smell like a dessert to me, as the florals are just as pronounced as the honey. The fragrance is rich and bright, and when coupled with the strong sillage and lengthy longevity, it's bold. As with all Olympic Orchids, this is parfum and over-spraying would lead to think this is cloying, but I don't find it cloying at all with the right dose. A light spray is perfect for summer. I can't wait for the winter to end, to wear this more.

A magical potion. I got a sample in another Olympic Orchids order and bought it as soon as possible. It has everything I like in a perfume. Wearing this one if like being surrounded by a golden aura of sunshine. Sweet and fizzy orange blossom, slightly bitter narcissus, honeyed vanilla, the sweet soda accord on an amber background. It's loud and bold. An instant mood lifter. Longevity is excellent (my hairs still smell after shampoo, that's some crazy longevity here). And it is not even expensive... Because of some new USPS regulations the house is not shipping internationally anymore (with the possible exception of Canada). How sad.

I have been keeping orchids for many years. For me the orchid perfumes of Olympic Orchids accurately represent both the beauty and the complexity of orchid fragrances. Golden Cattleya is rich and heady just like the flower with the added depth of labdanum, amber and sandalwood. Golden Cattleya is a scent I would feel comfortable wearing day or night, anytime of the year, in any situation. When I wear this fragrance I am surrounded, but never overpowered by a golden scent and visual aura. A great synesthetic experience!

This is FANTASTIC. Really really good stuff, and I don't use those adjectives lightly. Perfectly sweet clear honey and cream soda, with some fresh OJ, just the right size bouquet and a grounding base. Uncomplicated but still interesting and luxe, Golden Cattleya really does feel golden. It is successful in riding that line of making you want to eat your wrist without actually smelling all that foody. Performance is moderate and non-irritating.

Golden Cattleya is phenomenal, my favourite of all the Olympic Orchids I've tested so far. Narcissus and orange blossom drizzled with insanely intense honey, and finished with a dusting of fuzzy pollen. The composition is sweet, but not sugary. A must-try for honey lovers. Performs well longevity wise, 6 hours later it's still going strong. I think I'll be needing a full bottle of this!

Maybe the sparkling note is cream soda Moyra? Fantastic stuff. I don't want anyone to find this one...Bravo! Bravo! Shhhhhhhh.........

Honey with some others scents that reminds me HONEY...LOL. If you like honey, go ahead. It is an exotic and well done perfume.

Golden Cattleya showcases the delivery of alleged notes with flair. Ellen truly is masterful of incorporating unique or unusual themes in her creations, and I'm pleased to report that this is indeed cream soda and honey, with warm florals. The orange is very much a "sweet orange", not tangerine, mandarin or whatnot, it's true orange. It's incredibly sweet throughout it's layers, with the honey being quite noticable. The cream soda is absolutely realistic and convincing, it's one that I'm sure most people would find distinct, even were it not for the description. It doesn't smell like ice cream or baked goods, it's decidedly cream soda. Vanilla in this isn't the artifical vanilla in many other fragrances at large currently, it's more pleasing to the nose and smells softer by a level, but somehow richer. This was perfect in the cold, damp air of winter outside, though it radiates indoors or in warmer settings. When I showered this "reignited" and I was steamed in a dense, humid cloud for minutes, it took 2 washes and a good scrubbing to remove (this is far from a "scrubber" though). I'd be amiss not to note the substantial longevity. It embeds itself. The sillage isn't insane however, it's gracefully noticable within a close range, and is more of a skin-scent after 3 or 4 hours (at least on me). I personally will need to be in a particular mood to reach for this as it can be a bit overwhelming I'd imagine, especially on warm days. The honey, the soda, sweet orange, vanilla and soft sandalwood are perfect...but I think I prefer a bit of something rougher alongside my gourmands. This could be a primary scent for someone who wants a sweet, rounded and unique gourmond. It stands out among Ellen's other fragrances containing particularly rough/rugged notes and I believe it really does highlight the range of this special niche house. I'm a bit surprised more Fragranticans didn't vote this for "winter", to me GC is the warm douse of smooth, warm, sticky sweetness that lifts the spirits in the gloom. Very glad I tried this!

After gratefully recieving a sample packet, from Ms Covey, my husband and i have tested through the group and found gem after gem. Tonight, it is a little balmy and the air is humid, breezy, but not hot. A good friend and i both donned GC and immediately noticed a brightening citrusy note in the beginning. As it settled, i left the room, and as she & i would walk past one another we'd love the gorgeous trail we would encounter. It excited us both! Among the lush honey, labdanum, and amber, there seemed to be a powerful olfactory effect taking place. A sense of nag champa incense perhaps? GC becomes exotic, and captures a feel of almost "taboo" in the sudden warmth, excitement, and racing heart that brought me back to the seductive and rushing anticipation of a youth sneaking into a "smoke shop" and discovering many, but never all of its forbidden delights. After this initial sensation began to wane, i enjoyed my stay in the beautiful golden haze, a light sandalwood, and barely detectable incense note appeared, and the scent slowly began to shift into a sensuous languidity like the aftermath of said forbidden delights.. lingering in the air, seducing with a memory, making me want to lift my hair, bare my neck to the breeze and close my eyes. Maybe just drift of into the sweet, exotic, goden siren song. My husband immediately fell for this "sirens song", on myself, as well as on him. we will be purchasing fb's in the near future. I would recommend trying all of the line. The quality is right here.

Ladies and gentleman, the talent of Ms Ellen Covey doesn't need any special introduction. These are some of the best scents in the market. I have a lot of respect for her work. The analogy is perfect. It indeed reminds you of the golden color due to its warm sweetness and smooth texture on skin. It starts off sweet with a honeyed amber which is devoid of its resinoid accord, the soapy jasmine like daffodil hit me with a strong floral wave and it is a very strong note in itself. It smells like lavender mixed with jasmine. The honey s sweet not dark and greenish like forest honey. Sandal is very apparent in the background but reamins mostly as a soft creamy woodiness with slight dryness. The vanilla is dominant throughout it is bitter smoky and creamy giving it the touch of a gourmand. It is purely unisex but would smell gorgeous on a woman. Not a very unique offering from OO but a scent well done. Considering the price and longevity and compliments this can compete with many expensive scents in the market. I wish the sandalwood note was more powerful to tone the sweetness down but I don't mind it at all. Catch me on Exotic Scents @ youtube

I wanted it because of the honey notes and it's the overall coziness that convinced me to keep it. My impression of honey in Cattleya was: not hyperrealistic and lacking any animalic quality. The latter one is not completely true, just spray some on your hair and let it dry down a bit, you may get a tiniest fraction of this specific undertone. In general I find this honey here noticeable, but not overpowering all the other ingredients, it's actually mixed with a slightly fizzy creaminess that I interpret as the concept of cream soda. Somewhere in the background hovers a suggestion of flowers and wood complimenting the sweetness. Overall it's a soft, creamy and comforting fragrance with a perfectly balanced amount of sweetness. Probably one of the brand's tamest, but not corny, and it still doesn't tick all the boxes of a classic gourmand. Even though it's marketed as feminine, I think some men could actually like it and use it with confidence.