Sphinx Elixir

I'm kicking off the week today with Sphinx Elixir by Sphinx Fragrances. From what I understand, this is the house's most masculine fragrance, with deep, dark, animalic qualities. I have so far been very impressed with what the house has to offer, but I haven't yet seen how they handle animalic or leathery notes. If they do that as well as they do sweet and fresh accords, I'll be in for a treat. Let's get into it. Scent: The opening is citrusy, animalic, and leathery. The primary notes I get are bergamot, civet, leather, and davana. The strongest of the notes are the civet and the bergamot. The civet is what I noticed first, with a strong wave of animalic tone. Not in a bad way, but in a very masculine and bold way. I've experienced very challenging civet notes, and that's not what I get here. Coming in right behind the civet is the bergamot with a citrusy and fresh accord with spicy and aromatic undertones. The bergamot helps to offset the strong animalic tones from the civet and add balance to the opening. Up next is the leather and davana. The leather pairs well with the civet, being that they're in the same family of notes, and gives the opening a distinctly leathery accord. Lastly, the davana rounds out the opening with a green, herbaceous, and slightly bitter tone punctuated by an underlying sweet and fruity accord. The dry down is animalic, woody, and leather. The primary notes I get are leather, Haitian vetiver, amber, and oud. The strongest of the notes are the leather and Haitian vetiver. The leather, to me, has completely melded with the civet in the dry down and gives the same punchy, animalic, leather tone, but I can't distinguish between the two like I could in the opening. Meanwhile, the Haitian vetiver has risen to the top to provide a sizable dose of woodiness accented by the usual green and smoky undertones that Haitian vetiver is known for. This is followed by the oud and amber. The oud adds more woodiness to the base, but in a dark and funky way, in contrast to the vetiver. It's not overly funky like some natural oud notes can be, but it definitely has that natural oud accord to it, and gives it a bit of a Middle Eastern flair. Lastly, the amber lingers far in the background to add just a touch of sweet, balsamic depth. I also get just a hint of powdery freshness from the musk in the base. This fragrance, particularly the dry down, does remind me quite a bit of By Kilian's Dark Lord. Performance: Initial projection within the first hour is nuclear and can easily fill a room. Sillage matches that energy with an intensely strong scent trail. After about 3-4 hours, the projection and sillage were largely unchanged. At the 7-8 hour mark, the projection was still over 6 feet, and the scent trail was still easily noticeable. The fragrance didn't become a skin scent until after the 12-hour mark. When to wear: Spinx Elixir is a fall/winter fragrance that is best suited for evening wear. It is dark, intense, and commands attention. It is not the type of fragrance that I would wear casually, but for special or formal occasions, it would be a knockout. The only way I would see this working as an office fragrance would be paired with a suit and tie, and even then, you should go light on the sprays. Blind buy: I wouldn't necessarily call this a safe blind buy, because it's not going to be for everyone. As I stated before, to my nose, it's like a more animalic Dark Lord from By Kilian. So if that's your jam, or you like super masculine, animalic, dark, woody fragrances, Sphinx Elixir is worth checking out. Final verdict: Of all the Sphinx fragrances I've tried so far, Sphinx Elixir has left the biggest impression on me. Based on the past fragrances, I was not expecting something so niche and complex; my assumption was proven wrong. Sphinx Elixir is a masterfully blended, uber-masculine fragrance that stands out in the crowd and commands attention from the room when you walk in. Performance was also stronger than anything from the house I've tried so far; nuclear projection and scent trails for the first few hours, and lasting at least 12 hours before fading away. Versatility for fragrances like this is limited. This is not a casual wearing fragrance, and is best reserved for those special or formal occasions in the cooler months, for when you undoubtedly want to leave an impression. In the same way, mass-appealing is not what I would call this fragrance. It's not for everyone. It's for those brave individuals who want a bold and daring fragrance that will announce their arrival. In conclusion, Sphinx Elixir is a spectacular fragrance, and if I didn't already have Dark Lord on my buy list, I would be adding this to my collection immediately. I honestly might still buy Sphinx Elixir just because it's a good value for the money, and would be a good stand-in for when I want that Dark Lord DNA but don't want to spray my actual bottle of Dark Lord (it's expensive). If you're man enough, give Sphinx Elixir a try. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 10/10 Sillage: 10/10

This has more of a lemon fragrance than a bergamot fragrance but it doesn't out shine the rest of the notes. At first sniff I catch the lemon, pepper, and a little wood, which catches your attention. As it settles it gives me a less sweeter, but stronger Pegasus Exclusif which I own, and I would absolutely own both. When it comes to performance I hate to admit it but it easily out performs Pegasus Exclusif. THE SILLAGE: (on clothes) is enormous for 4 hours, Strong for 12 hours easy, and moderate for 24+ hours and leaves a great trail. I tested this out at work today(car dealership), I got 3 compliments, one from a customer sitting at my desk, another from a coworker (27female) who walked in the office I was in(She walked straight to me and said "It has to be you who Im smelling, took a sniff , OMG it is you, I would love that as a candle, bed spray, and air freshener."), third came from another coworker (50s female) who was walking behind me about 10-15ft away, caught up to me in the break room and said "I followed your scent here just to tell you, that is one of your best Colognes so far. lol THE LONGEVITY: on skin is easily 12+ hours(not projecting just skin scent), the longevity on clothing is still going as if I just sprayed it and is the key reason behind the 10 hour strong Sillage. This is full bottle, and back up bottle worthy. These were my spray points: On skin was all pulse points one spray each point(6 sprays) On clothing was LR collar, back collar, LR shoulder, and mid chest. (6 sprays) This is how I test all the time, it helps me gauge how I will need to spray in the future if I decide to purchase. SIDE NOTE: I do not recommend this amount of sprays if you work in an office, my showroom floor is huge enough where I wont choke anyone out.

Sphinx Elixir arrives as an initial blast of pink pepper, bergamot, and davana. It is very bracing and hits my olfactory system like a whiff of smelling salts. I almost felt as though I had made a terrible mistake when I first sprayed this on myself, but in about ~45 minutes the scent morphs into another creature entirely. The shocking opening is contrasted by the comfortable and addictive dry-down. After initially scratching you and roaring, Sphinx Elixir retracts its claws to curl up on your chest and emit a heavenly purr. This fragrance follows you around all day with monstrous lasting power and above average sillage. You won’t fumigate anyone, but you will be noticed. In the heart notes, a leathery magnolia blooms. The musk in the base is warm and sensual, and the salty richness of the ambergris blends really well with my skin. The lingering scent is heavy on the leather and oud. Hints of an amber accord keep things more approachable. I have fallen deeply in love with this fragrance. It makes me feel self-assured and confident. I find myself reaching for Sphinx Elixir frequently because of its impressive versatility and longevity. I've found that it performs well in both warmer and colder weather, although you really want to be careful with the trigger in warm temperatures. Truly the full package. I detect all of the listed notes aside from the civet and rosemary.

Incredible fragrance. This is the definition of a completed fragrance. Well intentioned and expertly executed. I got a sample with another purchase and immediately knew I had to pick up a full bottle. In the first 30 minutes I get a soft, rounded spicy pink pepper with the leather peeking through. It's a bit musky, but the musk is a creamy dark musk and blends perfectly with the touch of civet. As it dries down, the leather gets a bit more pronounced. The spicyness fades slightly and the amber and vetiver step in to warm this up. The musk stays throughout and oud lends more of a sweetness to the overall experience. Easily an all day fragrance. I sprayed this on around 7am before work. Went to bed around 10pm and it was still on my skin. This lasts DAYS on clothes so be mindful bc you may need to toss that hoodie in the laundry before wearing it again. Office (maybe only 2-3 sprays), date night, and outdoor events suit this fragrance perfectly. Because of how well blended this is, you can dress this up or down. I suggest wearing a sample first and if it suits your nose, pull the trigger on a full bottle.

Fragrantica misses the rock rose (labdanum) and frankincense (olibanum) making the “mystery note”. Both notes are prominent to my nose and should be listed above. Incense notes like this can range between Smokey and resinous: I find them to be in the middle leaning resinous in this fragrance. Otherwise it’s a very unique and smooth blend. I get a lot of green (davana?) and leather in the open. It’s middle weight—not dark, like the bottle suggests, nor a freshie. It’s a smooth, sweet (amber), and resinous (incense) leather freshened up with a bit (green and citric notes) and dirtied a hint with musk. (I think the “musky” note is earthy vetiver, civet, oud, and ambergris all swirling in the base. It’s so smooth none of these notes stick out to my nose). A very unique, versatile, and bold scent. You won’t smell like anyone else. Whether that’s good or bad is really up to you. I find it matching dressed up situation more myself as this will draw attention.