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! 

Swimming Horses - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Swimming Horses
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Water lily accord, ginger lily, magnolia, seaweed absolute, choya nakh, white musk accord, and ozone.

I had no expectation of liking this. I bought it because it has seaweed absolute and choya nakh, which is 'the aroma of roasted seashells' and I just had to smell that. I was actually a bit scared of it at first, because I had a horrible thought that it might be fishy.

It's not fishy, thankfully. In the vial it's very fresh and light, almost nothing - ozone, I guess. Once applied it's more beachy. I hate the beach, not least the smell, but this was actually... not unpleasant. To me it smelled like fresh clean air with just a hint of something floral in the breeze. This was a sample from before Twyla increased the strength of her perfumes, and it disappeared fairly quickly on me - within a couple of hours. It's not a bad perfume if you like that sort of thing, but it's not for me.

I gave this sample to my friend Jacquie, who loves these kinds of ozone/seaside perfumes. Her reaction after applying to her wrist: "Oh, this is nice!" *sniff sniff* "Oh wow, I really like this!" *sniff sniff* "Oh my god, I LOVE this!" So there you go - if you like those kinds of perfumes, check this one out.

Rating:
Me: 2/5
Jacquie: 4.5/5

Day 128!

Jazz Funeral - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Jazz Funeral 
Ars Moriendi
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish moss. 

For a long time, Jazz Funeral was my favourite BPAL, but then I discovered more and more of their fragrances and then branched out into other indie perfume oil shops, and this one was pushed aside and forgotten. I pulled it out today because I was testing some Black Baccara scents and one of them made me think of this. It's still as lovely as I remember it being.

In the bottle, it smells like damp dirt and wet grass (I guess that's the moss). Applied, the floral comes out, though the dirt note is definitely there. Something - maybe the dirt - gives the flowers a note of decay. You know when there's a vase of lush white flowers that's been around for a few days and they are just beginning to die? You can still smell the perfume of them, but it's beginning to fade and turn just a little? That's what this is like. It sounds awful, but it somehow works - I adore this perfume. The damp earth recedes as it dries down, and it becomes more of a white floral, but still with that element of decay. The bourbon and - I assume - the bay rum give it a bit of warmth and depth. The sillage is in the head kicker category - I stopped wearing this at work a long time ago because a lady who sat a couple of desks away from me complained that it gave her a headache. Lasting power is long too - I've had this on for about 6 hours and it still smells quite strong.

Rating:
5/5 I'm glad I was prompted to pull this out again - I forgot how much I loved it.

Day 19!