Sonnet XVII

There is a reason that this brilliant, wonderful fragrance has far more fans than it does reviews. It's a difficult to make real criticism of something that's stylistically an outlier in any particular artform. It is like seeing The Holy Mountain as a teenager. Without a point of reference it is difficult to make any substantial criticisms and even more difficult to convey its characteristics in a review without any real point of reference. How does one explain the art of Adolf Wölfli to someone who is totally unfamiliar with his art? One can only either attempt at great lengths to explain minute details that will miss the big picture or use overly simplistic language that can only describe the experience of seeing his art without actually describing it. Sonnet XVII is just like that. Extremely nontraditional and violently beautiful. I strongly recommend anyone sample this fragrance and not assume my review is enough. To offer a very simplistic impression of the fragrance: It's dry and fruity with leathery floral characteristics underpinned by a strong fizzy-fresh and overtly moldy foundation with a heft of upturned damp earth and lichen. Comparisons are quite useless, but Mitsouko and 1000 certainly share an ethereal something with Sonnet XVII. The cherry on top is that it's quite wearable in any weather.

Sonnet XVII is an extremely underrated and underappreciated gem from Ellen. The overall composition is stunning, quite complex, and very well blended, to my nose it is resinous and intriguing, with the main accord of beautiful ambergris, vetiver, and floral notes. There's a hint of exotic fruits and earthiness in the background but they are inoffensive to my nose. Absolutely zero funkiness, no manure, or barnyard type funk, most definitely not as animalic or funky as Rania J's stuff, which I also love. The price per ml to Performance ratio is absolutely unbelievable, like many other of her creations this gem is also a beast mode on my skins, has great projection and longevity over 12hr+. The perfume rating of 3.20 out of 5 from this site is absolutely garbage fake news, so glad I went with my instinct and gave this one a go! You could wear this one all season long, anytime and in any occasions! It is potent enough to cut through the cold but not cloying or overpowering in the summer heat. This one gets 4.5 out of 5 from me, just as great as the Devil Scent project lineup, if you're a fan of the Dev series you should sample and try out this one, highly recommended!

Looking at the previous reviews and comments, I'm glad of the way Sonnet XVII develops, or rather blooms, on my skin. On me it starts with a very heavy helping of recently-dried cow dung (once a country bumpkin, always a country bumpkin...) and upturned roots. I see how it would present a challenge for many people. However, something fruity soon starts snaking its way across, until it unfolds into gloriously dry, apricot-y, leathery osmanthus. This stage lasts for hours and radiates moderately around me. At the end of the day I still get tea and apricot whiffs, along with roots and mosses. Wearing this is like making a journey from soil to flower to soil again, and this is probably why I keep being drawn to it. I think you can still get a 3ml spray sample from the Olympic Orchids website if you fancy trying it out. If you are after a comparison, perhaps think Patou's 1000 on steroids, less perfum-y and more natural.

Many of the ingredients in this are so far out of the realm of my experience that I really have no idea what I'm smelling. It does open with a strong whiff of dairy farm on a warm day and then I get a very rich, unusual floral. This lasted over 9 hours for me and might have gone longer had I not showered it off. The far drydown is what I'm guessing is the ambergris (still a bit fecal), spikenard and a musk I can actually live with, not liking 'white laundry' musks. The drydown is very reminiscent of some high end Tibetan incenses I have. This perfume is very earthy, animalic and yet fresh at the same time. A very strange and very beautiful perfume. This is going straight to my want list! edit: I have got it bad for this one. If you can wait out that super indolic opening (which I happen to love), you will be rewarded with a stunningly beautiful fruity-floral heart.

It is a beautiful fragrance, I would agree with a breath in and breath out comment. It is champa and spikenyard, and osmanthus that play it together, interchanging with each breath. It is a sweet fragrance, spicy, outwordly, it is extroverted in nature. I loved the concept, and wanted to try it. I love Ellen's ambergis, and each component ofthis perfume is something I would look forward. Spikenard is one of my favorite oils, calming in nature, and strangely familiar in smell. No farm smell here to me, and i would not call it animalistic, strangely it is more heavy honey rich flower smell just right before they are getting ready to fully bloom. I love Patou 1000, so I am in. I might even consider getting a full bottle. I just need to wear it more. Another perfume I am thinking here is Memo Inle, probably because of osmanthus note, and musky and woody accords.