Kyphi Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes 2011

Kyphi by Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes

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5.7 / 10 58 Ratings

A perfume by Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes for women and men, released in 2011. The scent is resinous-spicy. It is still in production.

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Main accords

Resinous

Spicy

Woody

Earthy

Oriental

Fragrance Notes

Calamus

Spices

Labdanum

Beeswax

Cassia

Cyperus

Frankincense

Lemon grass Saffron

Saffron

Spikenard

Wild orange Benzoin

Benzoin

Henna

Juniper berry Myrrh

Myrrh

Perfumer

Dr. Ellen Covey

Ratings

Scent

5.758 Ratings

Longevity

7.748 Ratings

Sillage

6.546 Ratings

Bottle

6.235 Ratings

Value for money

5.714 Ratings

Submitted by DeGe53, last update on 06/13/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/04/2025

4
Bottle 5
Sillage 6
Longevity 8
Scent

kittea
58 Reviews

kittea

1

orange cola, as poured by Osiris

I know citrus really easily ends up in 'functional fragrance' territory for a lot of people. But while lemon has that association for me, orange never did, at least not until Kyphi. Something about the waxiness and woodiness in the background of this orange in particular hits right at my memory of polishing wooden furniture to help my mum get ready for company. It's not necessarily bad, just unusual.

I've never smelled kyphi incense before, but just based on this, it seems like ancient Egyptian temples must have smelled a lot like Coca-Cola. Resin is not present so much as spices are, and the particular blend of spices ends up smelling very drinkable. The waxiness in the background anchors it to keep it from going into straight-up soda territory, and what you get is a sort of fun little tension between ancient and modern, like some ancient Egyptian version of a Renaissance faire.

02/21/2025

3
Pricing 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 4
Scent

LastWonder
483 Reviews

LastWonder

1

Bug Spray and Wood Polish had a Baby

This fragrance is a 100% natural mix of resins, oils, and absolutes to make a liquid version of the incense that was used in ancient Egypt. I found this fragrance reminds me of wood polish spray mixed with all natural bug spray. The beeswax is super heavy and the citrus notes make it super aromatic. So you get waxy bug spray for a fragrance. The wax will slowly ease up while the aromatic citrus and lemon grass will become more prominent but the wax will always remain the background weighing this fragrance down.

This fragrance is very aromatic, it has a strong projection where you will leave a scent trail behind you. This fragrance lasted about 7 hours on my skin. There are several sizes and prices available starting at 5ml for $18, 15ml for $35, 30ml for $65, and 100ml for $120.

03/31/2016

9
Sillage 10
Longevity 5
Scent

ScentFan
334 Reviews

ScentFan

Helpful Review 4

Ancient Egypt

I am thrilled to have found this recreation of a perfume from ancient Egypt. Kyphi is the latin version of a Greek translation of the Egyptian word, Kapet (incense). I first read about it as the perfumed unguent found in Tutankamen's tomb. Observers thought it had a smell similar to Valerian, an herb good for calming nerves or promoting sleep. It does. Now the main ingredient is thought to be its more expensive relative, Spikenard--not specifically listed among our notes, but I have a sample of Spikenard and the earthy, resinous smell is very close to this scent's dominant note. Coconut and frankincense were also thought to be present in the unguent from the tomb. Beeswax stands in for coconut here. The spices are aromatic and pungent. Kyphi was known to have been used as a temple incense. Various recipes for it exist in ancient Greek, Egyptian and Jewish texts. In the Bible, a version of it was used to anoint the feet of Jesus. Based on my research, this is a very well-done version of this scent, an "all-natural mix of resins, essential oils, and absolutes." Strangely, the first potent sniff took me straight to ancient Egypt as if I were standing in the temple, or in a crowd with cones of unguent melting on their heads. Labdanum, Myrrh and Frankincense are strong and Calamus (palm leaf) lends a bit of greenness. Perhaps, in combination, they mimic Spikenard's intensely organic aroma. Needless to say, Kyphi is an acquired taste. Not something most modern westerners would wear. Think of the complex and interesting Slumberhouse scents, multiplied by a thousand. I'll try it for meditation or perhaps in combination with a potent floral. Few may find it wearable, but it's worth smelling, if only to be among the pharaohs for a time.