Tattered Lace - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

First sniff: 
Something resin-y, maybe frankincense or a fairly delicate patchouli. That's the wand. In the vial I can small something foody - it's almost like a sweet custard, like the way a continental slice smells.

First applied: 
There's that custard smell again, now with a very slight lemony tinge. The resin is there too and it's strong enough that it made me sneeze when I sniffed it closely. It seems to blend nicely with the food note/s though, so hopefully this isn't going to be some big hippie nightmare.

After 30 minutes: 
This has faded a lot - for something so potent when first applied it's really quite faint now. I can smell it when I move my wrist around close to my face but that's about it. Now it's more of a vanilla scent, still a little of the sweet custard note but the resin has pretty much gone.

After 3 hours: 
Almost gone. There's a faint whiff of sweet vanilla when I sniff my wrist closely, but that's about it.

Longevity: 
Maybe 2.5 hours, tops.

Actual notes/description: 
An allegory of Victorian melancholia: tea-stained bourbon vanilla, with white cognac, coconut bark, Oman frankincense, and woodmoss over opium tar-stained silk.

Availability: 
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
Limited Edition - Dark Delicacies Retail Exclusive 2011
Not readily available. Might pick up in private sales.

Little Flora - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Little Flora
Turn of the Screw
Yule 2012
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Peonies and cream. 

I've tried this out a few times since I got it late last year, but I've put of including it in my daily reviews because there just isn't much to say about it. This is a highly perfumey, super creamy floral. It doesn't change on me at all from go to whoa. It lasts for hours and hours - I could still smell it when I moved my wrists around 12 hours after applying. The sillage is high-ish, and when I tried it this most recent time I actually spilled a dab on myself while applying and it smelled really strong for a long time.

Little Flora is an ultra-feminine perfume in the vein of something like Wiggle Perfume's Buxom, though without that one's complexity. I like those kinds of perfumes, which is just as well.

As an aside, I find the label on this one really creepy. There is just something about pictures of old-fashioned little girls that makes me think of dolls, and there are few things that give me the heebie jeebies as much as dolls do.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 222!

Catch Up Post #8

Delightful Rot Poisonous Dream - The blackberry musk of of a sweet dream, distorted by cool mint and black oud.
This is a synthetic smelling soapy perfume. It smells like an old lady rose-scented soap set that's been gathering dust on the shelf of a country chemist for at least 10 years. Sillage is fairly low and longevity is low to medium. It was gone in about 4 hours, and I can't say I was sorry to see it go. 2/5

Deep Midnight Perfume Nivens - Nivens will lead you down a rabbit hole to tasty helpings of sweet creamy pastries, cakes and sticky puddings, topped off with plump wild berries and a touch of spices and soft florals. Fresh, sweet, and delicious!
This smells really synthetic to me, as most of Deep Midnight's perfumes tend to do. The smell is nuts, coffee and cream to my nose and it's all a bit sickly. The dry down is a slightly sickly creamy milk scent. This was pretty gross, to be honest. And of course, because I didn't like it, it hung around for ages - about 8 hours. Thankfully the sillage was lowish, so I wasn't inflicting it on anyone else. 1/5

Solstice Scents Violet Truffle - Dark chocolate, violet, violet leaf and vanilla absolute.
This is a sweet chocolate floral that reminds me a bit of Serendipitous. It goes a wee bit dusty in the first few minutes but doesn't stay that way for too long, maybe 10 minutes or so. I was just starting to decide that I didn't like this at all when it morphed into a vanilla base and became quite perfumey and pretty. The dust note was still there, but low key. In the end I liked this one quite a bit after the first half hour, but I doubt I'd buy a full size. 3/5

Possets Lovechild: Sweetbaby - Vanilla concentrated with lavender and amber.
At first this is sickly sweet - all lollies and baby chunder, and I almost washed it off. However, I stuck it out for the cause and it mellowed after half an hour or so to a sweet, creamy vanilla - somewhat similar to Courtly Love though more foody and not quite as perfumey. This one had average lasting time on the wrists - maybe 6 hours - but I also dabbed a little in my cleavage (oo-er missus!) and it really stuck around in there.  I was catching whiffs of it 12 or more hours later. This one's a clinger. 3/5


Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Regan A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis.
A very heady powdery floral, pretty and old-fashioned, but nothing remarkable. I feel like I've smelled versions of this a million times. Sillage is highish and it lasted most of the day - not really an office perfume. Meh. 2/5


Days 217 - 221!

The Shadowy and the Sublime - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
The Shadowy and The Sublime
Gothic Literature Vol 1
Halloweenie 2010
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
A sudden and shocking insight into the vast, ineffable, overwhelming power of Nature, stirred by a vision or experience of perfected beauty and perfected terror, that changes the soul irretrievably. An epiphany: Moroccan amber, wisteria, ambergris accord, white rose, magnolia, white mint, angelica, bergamot, and myrrh.

When I first got this, I adored it. This is what I wrote about it back then. 

Anything that includes wisteria, white rose, magnolia... I'm there. It doesn't disappoint either. This is a gorgeous creamy white floral with no really dominant notes that I could distinguish. It's beautifully blended, with a medium throw and reasonable staying power. I wish BPAL would do more of these gentle florals, because they're obviously really good at it.  

Unfortunately, once this perfume had aged a year or so, the amber became really prominent and pretty much took over the 'gentle floral' entirely, and I'm a bit devo because it was so, so beautiful before. Although I can still smell the floral notes, it's mostly just amber, and a really heady kind that makes me feel a bit headachy and nauseated after a while. It's been a long time since I last wore it, but I pulled it out to compare with Estella, hoping that further ageing had mellowed it somewhat. Not to be. This perfume has very high sillage and lasts for ages - I put a teeny amount on my wrist in the morning and when I woke the following day I could still smell traces of it. It's a clinger. I loved you once, lady, but you got old. :-(

Rating: 
2/5

Day 216! 

Catch Up Post #5

Haus of Gloi The Brier Path - Sun drenched trail leading to a day dream of ripe berries and woods rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream.
Very fruity, floral, but I don't get any of the forest, woody, dark amber, etc. It's odd - it smells like an old lady floral with a potent fruity top note. Considering how fruity it is, I actually quite like it, but I don't need a full bottle. 3/5

Twyla Perfumes Migraineur - A blend of essential oils, including clary sage and cannabis flower oil. 
This is one of Twyla's aromatherapy blends and I originally got this sample not for headaches, but to see if it would do anything to help me sleep. It smells herby and mellow, very smooth and soothing. As with Solstice Scents Quiet Night, I don't think it did anything to help me get to sleep, but I do think it helped me stay asleep. 3/5

Possets Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn - Red musk, rockrose, benzoin.
Weirdly sweet and grassy smelling, slightly medicinal and went dusty quite quickly. Within a couple of hours it was gone. It didn't impress me. 2/5

Villainess Crushed - Crushed black raspberry against dark chocolate and serrated sandalwood.
In the vial this is ah-maazing. It smells like a double coated Cherry Ripe and the berry and chocolate is beautifully blended. On the skin it kind of falls over a bit - it's slightly insipid and doesn't last very long at all. Such a shame. I think this would be one that would be better in a soap form. 3/5

Arcana Puppy Kisses - A batter of rich cream, soft coconut milk, rice syrup, copaiba balsam, massoia bark and milky pearl musk is gently licked with sweet peppermint, sugared bayberry, and the tiniest smooches of Oregon lavender and Dalmatian sage.
Look, I get the futility of buying a perfume that smells like dog and then complaining that it smells like dog. But seriously, this smells like dog. The first notes are lavender and sage, then the coconut came out after about half an hour. The dry down is a sicky milk smell. Guys, it smells like dog! 1/5

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snow White 2008 - Flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night blooming flowers. 
This was given to me a couple of years ago by a lovely girl from Livejournal's Aussie BPAL community, and I ADORE it. It's a chilly, ever-so-slightly floral, ever-so-slightly mint perfume that doesn't change much as it dries down. It lasts for hours and a little dab is enough, which is why I still have this tiny imp going. Of course, I'm pretty stingy about how often I use it. 5/5

@CandidaVirgo Cinnamon Donuts - Notes unknown, cinnamon obviously, almond, maybe ginger as well?
In the bottle and the opening note on the skin is strongly almond, but that mellows fairly quickly. I didn't love this one as much as I did Candi's Chocolate Macaron, but to be fair I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon. I'm sure there is ginger in here too, but that might just be because I'm associating the spiciness with baking products like gingerbread. 3/5

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snow White 2012 - Notes as above. 
I had to buy this given my love for the 2008 version. It came out in 2010 as well but I dithered too long about buying it and missed that one. This one is slightly heavier on the floral than 2008 and doesn't have the same depth. It makes me think of a perfume clone - "If you like Chanel No. 5, you'll love etc..." like you get in the front bins at Priceline. It could just need ageing, though. I'm putting this one away for a while. 2/5

Haus of Gloi Vice - Steam billows rolling off a vessel of fresh made Turkish coffee, marshmallow goo tainted by graham cracker crumbs, toasted hazelnuts and blanketed in black chocolate.
Heavy on the coffee, but becomes more chocolatey on me as it dries down. This is the ultimate foody scent - rich and fairly potent. One of my favourites. 5/5

Enchanticals Mermaid Cove -  Wisteria, lilac, frangipani, oakmoss, pineapple, aquatic notes.
A really pretty, slightly watery white floral. It's like a lush garden after a heavy rain. 4/5

Days 186-195!

Blood Kiss - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Blood Kiss
Bewitching Brews
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk. 

This is a spicy vanilla with a sour note that is probably the clove. Not quite a scrubber but not pleasant. The dry down is slightly sweeter but that clove still comes through enough to be irritating. And of course, because I don't really like it the sillage is fairly high and it lasted 8+ hours on me. *sigh*

Rating: 
1/5

Day 181!

Catch Up Post # 4

Aaaagh! How did I get nearly two weeks worth of review notes piled up without making new posts? My mum is here for her yearly visit at the moment and she's gone to the casino for the afternoon so I'm grabbing the time while I can. I have just been flat chat with work lately and when I get home I'm too tired to do anything. I may not be back on track until after the end of the financial year when hopefully work will quiet down a bit.

BPAL Defututa - Olive blossom, honey, smoky vanilla, cinnamon, jasmine, sandalwood and champaca flower. 
There is nothing unique about this, but it's a really pretty honeyed white floral with a slightly spicy vanilla dry down. Sillage and longevity are quite high - it's one of those ones that will make you sneeze if you're prone to perfume sensitivity. 3/5

BPAL The Lights of Men's Lives - The wax and smoke of millions upon millions of candles illuminating the walls of Death's shadowy cave, some tall, straight, and strong blazing with the fire of life, others dim and guttering.
One of my first BPALs and stil one of my favourites - I don't know why I don't have a full bottle of this. It's a smokey honey scent that lasts for hours. I'm not generally a fan of honey perfumes but I do tend to like BPAL's. 4/5

Paintbox Soapworks Tw*twaffle - Buttery waffles, black cherries, warm maple syrup and shame. 
I wanted so much to like this, but it just smells too synthetic. It's really strong too - it gave me a bit of a headache. The cherry note (which smells a bit almondy) is overwhelming and gave me a bit of a headache. Bummer. 1/5

Possets Custance (The Man of Law's Tale) - Sandalwood combined with a drop of Oude infusion, a kiss of tobacco flower, and a light dusting of dry incense.
What I mostly got was incense, but it's not too heady and the tobacco flower seems to add a bit of floral to it. It's not one I'd seek out, but I quite liked wearing it on the day. 3/5

Possets 301- Musk and cashmeran. 
This is a really lovely, simple musk perfume. It doesn't change on me from start to finish, but it's comforting and warm and I enjoyed it a lot. It's quite strong and lasted most of the day. 4/5

Sarawen Girl on Fire -  Wild strawberries gathered from the forest blend with the comforting scent of leather hunting boots, and in her hair a very faint hint of sweet forest herbals.
In the bottle the strawberry smells a bit fake and cloying, but once applied it's actually lovely. It blends beautifully with the leather and the green foresty note, preventing it from being too fruity. Sillage was medium and it lasted about 6 hours or so. Really like this one - could be a full bottle. 4/5

Sarawen Scandal in London -  Feminine lilac and ylang ylang flowers blends with feisty dragonsblood with a light hint of eastern sandalwood. A touch of Holmes' favourite tobacco tops off this sultry floriental perfume.
Another Sarawen winner. I love me a floriental - they're probably overall my favourite kind of perfume. It reminds me a little of Givenchy Ysatis. The dragonsblood and tobacco add a smoothing element to stop it from being a full on heady floral. Nonetheless the sillage is pretty high making this more suitable for evening when you're on the prowl than knocking everyone out in the office. Love it. 4/5

Firebird Woodsmoke & Vanilla - Spicy, smoky, resinous, warm and sweet- with notes of frankincense and myrrh, fir needles, balsam and cedar, on a soft base of vanilla and honey.
I have a few of these 'sitting by the fire' kind of perfumes and this one is probably my favourite. It smells like a bonfire out in the forest - I can definitely smell the fir. The vanilla stops it from being too strong or too masculine. It's warm and cosy and one of those ones to wear when you're snuggled up in a giant aran jumper. 4/5  

BPAL Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal - A deranged darling, sweet and sociopathic! Clotted vanilla cream, pink pepper, grapefruit, blood lily, red ginger, English pear, and lemon-squeezed candyfloss!
I hate this perfume, I have had it for several years and have always hated it. I keep it because I love the name, though. I pulled it out for the first time in at least a year to try it because I though ageing might have improved it a little. Nope. It smells like vomited up canned fruit and turned cream. Gross. Still love the name, though. 1/5

Arcana Vulgar -  Dirty cherry with dark chocolate, vanilla-infused marshmallow, honey, pepper, patchouli and a hint of smoky bacon. 
So for years I've been banging on about wanting a bacon-scented perfume. Now I have one, and guess what - smelling like you've been rolling around in your breakfast is not that great. The cherry dominates in the bottle, but once applied the bacon really comes out, and it's slightly sharp and acrid. There's a very bitter chocolate note that might be what's adding to the sharpness. The dry down is sweeter as the vanilla and honey come out and the bacon subsides to a faint smokiness. I could get to like that part of it but it doesn't last all that long. It had pretty much disappeared entirely within 3 hours. 2/5

BPAL Mad Kate - Honeycomb, red currant, freesia, vanilla, rose geranium, thyme, and gardenia.
Honeyed floral - another pretty BPAL honey scent. The gardenia is the most dominant for a while, but the dry down actually smells like chocolate. Weird since it's not listed in the notes. The sillage is high before it dries down - that gardenia packs a punch. I like this, but I don't love it. 3/5

BPAL Saint Foutin de Varailles - Beeswax, frankincense, dried rose petals, and a dribble of wine.
Again with that honey note! Somehow I seem to have collected a good number of BPAL honey perfumes and tested them all at the same time. Weird. This one is quite similar to The Light of Men's Lives, and come to think of it might be the reason I don't have a full bottle of that. The wine adds a bit of a boozy element to it though, so it's not exactly the same. Sillage is high and longevity is good - I wore this all day and could still smell traces of it on my wrist the next morning. 4/5

Darling Clandestine What Mandy Makes - What Mandy Makes is deep, vague, very smoky, very potent, with undertones of Oriental musk. It has a cucumber topnote, though there's no "cucumber" fragrance ingredient. The drydown is smoky sweet. A perfectly unisex fragrance.
Cucumber always smells like melon to me - in the bottle and when first applied I smell melon. It's pretty and summery but it deepens quite quickly to a smokey musk. It's lovely would be perfect on either a man or a woman but it fades and disappears annoyingly fast. This is one to reapply frequently. 3/5 

Days 161 to 173!

White Rabbit - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details:
White Rabbit
Mad Tea Party
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen.

In the imp I get spicy, gingery honeyed vanilla. The tea comes out once applied to my wrist, but it smells like a very weak, milky tea at first - more like just sweet milk, really - like how hot milk generally smells sweeter than regular cold milk. The pepper is there and it made my nose twitch a little.

The tea comes out more strongly in the dry down for a while and then the perfume is pretty true to the description, but not really my cup of tea (see what I did there!). I like it a lot more after an hour or so when it morphs again to a sweet honey vanilla - it's quite nice and pretty much stays that way. Sillage was medium to low - it stayed fairly close to the skin after the initial burst of activity on application for 10 minutes or so. Longevity was medium also - about 6 hours.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 142!

Baneberry - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Baneberry
Rappaccini's Garden
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes:
A poisonous fruit-bearing member of the buttercup family. The scent, like the plant, is dark green, herbal and plump with bulging black fruit. 

Erg. This is one of those BPALs that just turns into a smooshy mess on me. In the vial I can smell a herby green note and a sweet, berry-like fruitiness. Once applied it's just a giant fruit salad. Not for me at all. Sillage and longevity were medium - it lasted about 6 hours or so. We all know how I feel about fruit scents - enough said here.

Rating: 
1/5

Day 133!

Womb Furie - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Womb Furie
Lupercalia (Valentine) 2010
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Oh, that wily womb! Hippocrates and his followers considered the womb a mobile creature, causing mayhem as it writhed its way through a woman's body. Sometimes this ornery organ, due to lack of sexual activity, would create conflicts within a woman's system or would become blocked itself, causing anxiety, nervousness, water retention, and sleeplessness. With the assistance of doctors, nursemaids, hand tools, or, occasionally, self-manipulation, this vexing condition could be alleviated through hysterical paroxysms. Or, as we call it nowadays: orgasm. An itch that needs to be scratched: Snake Oil and three types of honey.

This perfume is a gentler version of Snake Oil, with the honey softening the head kicking element of the original. In the bottle it smells like sweet incense, and applied the honey and vanilla come out. It's so beautiful, I sniff myself nonstop like a creeper whenever I wear this. It's been brought back a few times, though sadly not this year or I would have bought another bottle - hopefully next Valentine's Day. I had a bit of a rave about it way back when I first got it, and I would say my thoughts from there still stand.

Sillage is medium, certainly not as strong as Snake Oil. Longevity is also excellent - again I could smell it the morning after I'd applied it. This is a good evening perfume if you are after having people sniff your pulse points all night, for sure.

Rating: 
5/5

Day 126!

Snake Oil - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Snake Oil
Ars Amatoria
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes:
By far our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesion oils sugared with vanilla. 

It's been a long time since I wore some of my classic favourites, so I dragged a couple out for a run around the block, starting with Snake Oil. It's no surprise this is BPAL's most popular perfume - it's awesome. It's one of the few I ever get asked about when I wear it. My bottle is from December 2009, so it's aged a bit and I can't remember what new Snake Oil smells like. I have been intending to get a back up bottle sometime, but their shipping is so ridiculous (both cost and length of time) that I only order from them once or twice a year.

Anyway, Snake Oil is a sweet incensey perfume, very deep and sexy. I sent a sample to Nadja who said it reminded her of something else but she couldn't think what, and I've been having that same problem for years. It reminds me of one of those headkicking orientals from the 80s - like Shalimar or Opium, but it's neither of those. Damned if I can figure it out. The sillage on this is high - it's definitely not one for work if you sit in close proximity to others. Lasting power is excellent too. I put it on in the early morning and could still smell it the next day when I got up.

This is one perfume that I think everyone should try - you might hate it, but you might just fall in love.

Rating: 
5/5

Day 125!

Black Lotus - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Black Lotus 
Rappaccini's Garden
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes:
Born in the shadows of a Temple to Set, this corrupted Egyptian scent evokes images of black pyramids, river demons, and bleak, deadly desert sands. Black lotus flower, amber, myrrh and sandalwood.

Well, for me this doesn't evoke images of river demons so much as old ladies wearing waaaay too much perfume. This is an extremely strong, cloying, sweet floral. In the imp it's candy-like, very sweet and a bit sickly. I thought I could smell something faintly almond in the background but if that was ever there it was gone once I applied it. This is an old lady perfume, but not in the good way (I do love me some classic old lady fragrances). It's that nightmare one you don't want to get stuck next to someone wearing on a long bus trip or you'll be sneezing and headachey all day. As for the smell itself, lotus always smells a bit like rose to me so I find it similar to any number of cloying rose-ish floral scents. And yet another of those BPAL mish-mash perfumes that just seems like a bunch of things randomly thrown together. Eugh. Longevity and sillage are pretty high - this one screams that it's coming in the room.

Rating:
1/5

Day 111!

Neutral - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Neutral
The RPG Series
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
A flawless skin musk. 

We all know that some perfumes can evoke strong feelings. In the vial, Neutral almost smells like nothing. It's well-named, actually. On the skin it's kind of like a really mild soap, but as soon as I applied it I started to feel weirdly uncomfortable and creeped out. It was the strangest thing. The scent doesn't change at all from wet to dry. It smelled clean and soapy and should have been completely inoffensive and a bit dull, but I just kept having this weird urge to get it off me. After a couple of hours I was tired and wanted to go to bed but I couldn't bring myself to go with this perfume still on me so I scrubbed it off. And then I felt shuddery and strange, like I'd just barely missed walking into a massive spider web or found out a plane I'd missed had crashed.

It occurred to me later what made me feel uneasy about this perfume - to me, it smells exactly how I'd imagine a serial killer to smell.

Rating: 
1/5 *shudder*

Day 97!

Black Pearl - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Black Pearl
Bewitching Brews
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.

In the imp this is a sweet, candy-ish coconut, like a particularly froofy cocktail. Once applied, the sweet tropical coconut smell is still there but there's also a note that smells vaguely synthetic, like you sometimes find with really cheap makeup products. It's quite odd, and not all that pleasant. I wonder if it's the iris? It's kind of floral, but not really - very hard to pin down. I don't get the hazelnut at all, and I was a bit surprised by that because that's usually a  note that tends to be fairly dominant on me. The dry down is a slightly floral, watery musk. Sillage isn't high and it doesn't last long either. Kind of a dud, really.

Rating:
2/5

Day 72!

Vasilissa - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Vasilissa
Marchen
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
She herself had cheeks like blood and milk and grew every day more and more beautiful: creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine. 

There’s something about this that reminds me a little of yesterday’s Puce!, though this is not nearly as sickly. In the vial I can smell something sort of woody and slightly medicinal – I think that is the myrrh. On the skin, it smells like a sweet musky confectioner’s vanilla, the kind you’d find in a pudding. Odd since vanilla is not mentioned as a note – maybe it’s the pink musk? The jasmine adds a note of white floral as well. The dry down is sweet musk and lasts about 3 hours. Sillage is medium. 

Rating:
2/5 Eh, not hating it, not loving it.

Day 65!

Bliss - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Bliss
Bewitching Brews
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate.

Well. It's chocolate. Aside from a very faint herbal note in the vial, there's really nothing more to this than rich chocolate all the way through. If you like chocolate scents, you'll probably like this one. If you don't, you definitely won't.

I wasn't overly jazzed by this, but I have been buying and trying a ton of chocolate scents lately and as much as I love them, I'm kind of over them for now. I need to put them all away and come back to them when the weather is colder. The sillage was medium - not crazy, but I could definitely smell it in the air around myself for quite some time. It lasted quite a long time - at least 7 or 8 hours.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 54!

Spellbound - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

*I'm still a couple of days behind after bailing during the heat, and I probably won't catch up on that (or comments and other people's blogs) until the weekend. But I haven't forgotten you! 

Details: 
Spellbound
Ars Amatoria
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Perfectly enchanting! An irresistably sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk.

In the vial I was confused about this before I looked at the notes.

"Smells like rose. Wait... is it? No... maybe lotus? No, wait - I'm sure that's rose. Noodles, what does this smell like?"
"Niceness."
"Thanks. Super helpful."

It's kind of rose, but kind of not. It's more of a super musky sweet oriental than overtly floral. Very feminine, very sexified - a good perfume for a night out when you're frocked up and have got the spanx and your fanciest earrings out. The dry down brings the rose out a bit more for a while, but that doesn't last more than an hour, and then it's back to musk. This perfume has quite a lot of throw and lasts for ages - I was pretty conscious of it most of the day and wondering if I'd gone a bit OTT with it. On the downside, for the first hour or so it made me feel a bit sneezy. I wouldn't buy a full bottle of this because I don't frock up very often and it's not the kind of thing I'd just wear out and about, but I do like it quite a bit.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 51!

Pink Snowballs 2012 - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Honestly, it's late at night, I've had a few wines, and I can't be arsed getting up and taking a picture - here's a Google image of 'pink snowballs'. 

Details: 
Pink Snowballs
Yule 2012
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging!

In the vial this is vanilla with a chilly, sort of mint note. Wet on skin the rose comes out as well, and it’s a bright, cold girly scent. I’d say this is quite young – I could see Noodles pulling this off nicely. The rose goes powdery fairly quickly and stays that way for quite a while, but it mellows nicely eventually with a lovely musk note. The sillage is fairly low but it has really good longevity – I could still smell it on my wrist at the end of the work day. 

Rating: 
2/5 I think I’ll put this one away and age it for a while. I like the opening quite a bit, but I’m not keen on the powdery dry down bit in the middle before it finally goes to a musky rose. BPALs generally age well, so hopefully it will improve if it’s tucked away for a few months.

Day  50!

Vice - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Vice 
Sin & Salvation
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Voluptuous and indulgent! A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom.


In the vial this smells like chocolate and something medicinally herbal – it’s quite masculine. Once applied it becomes... well, I don’t know if anyone else has this experience but there are quite a few BPAL scents that just turn into a generic mash of smells on me, and this is one of them. It smells of nothing in particular, it’s neither pleasant or unpleasant, it’s just there. The dry down was the same – I couldn’t pick out a single note or compare it to anything aside from the other BPALs that have this effect on me. Sillage and longevity was medium.

Rating:
2/5 Not a scrubber, so I wouldn't give it a 1, but... meh.

Day 48!

Dee - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Dee
Bewitching Brews
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
John Dee: master of science, alchemy and magic. Hermetic philospher in the schools of Rosicrucian Christian Mysticism and Platonic-Pythagorean doctrine, and Queen Elizabeth's astrologer, advisor, cryptologist and spy. With Edward Kelly, he created a field of study and work in Angelic Evocation, and isolated the Angelic language: Enochian. His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. 

I had an imp of Dee a couple of years ago and I remember I liked it enough that I was considering a full size bottle at one point. This time around I’m not so enamoured of it. In the imp and when first applied, it reminded me a lot of some kind of common 1970s cologne – the kind my dad would have been wearing back in the day. It’s a little bit sweet as well, like there’s cologne mixed with baby powder. When I looked up the notes I realised why – my dad used to wear English Leather and this is pretty much exactly what it smells like. When I smell this I think of terrible 1970s Cleo centrefolds (you’d have to be a 35+ Aussie to get that), dad shorts with socks and sandals, Abba, olive green and orange kitchen decor, and rissoles. It’s... well, it’s daggy. That’s pretty much it.

What I think of when I smell this perfume (that's my brother mid 1970s)

Rating:

2/5

Day 37!