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! 

Daydream Nation - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Daydream Nation
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Musk seed, nagramotha, cardamom, dark patchouli, myrrh, clove, pomegranate accord, spice, amber and rose otto.

This is quite sweet in the vial, not in a sugary way but like the kind of spices you get in rice pudding. Applied to skin this is very heavy on the patchouli - at least for me. I'm not a patchouli fan, as you'd know if you read this blog regularly, and even though Twyla uses one of the few patchoulis I can tolerate, this one is too much for me, especially blended with amber. There's a spiciness to it and something that smells a bit like hay. It's very hippie-ish and could be worn by either men or women. I found this quite strong - the sillage is high for a Twyla perfume (it's one of the newer stronger versions), and it lasted a good 7 or 8 hours.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 131!

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!

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!

Breathless - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Breathless
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 

A scent inspired by the Jean-Luc Godard movie; a little romantic, a little smutty, a little noir and very very French. Red and white rose, vintage patchouli, myrrh, cacao absolute, bourbon vanilla, and sandalwood. This scent is absolutely beautiful, with neither the rose nor the patchouli overwhelming, balanced by a healthy dose of deep, dark chocolate.  The rose is steam-distilled and very smooth, the patchouli vintage and ultra-dark, complex and wine-like in its scent and body. The myrrh adds depth while and the cacao is rich and bittersweet.  Bourbon vanilla adds a lovely non-cloying and richness only real vanilla can achieve while sandalwood rounds it out with a lovely woody creaminess. You don't want to skip this one, even if you think you don't like patchouli!

In the vial I smell bitter dark chocolate and patchouli. It’s very dark and somewhat masculine. Once applied, the rose is detectable, but the patchouli really amps on my skin, and it almost gets to the point where it’s too much for me. As it dries down, the chocolate comes out again, but it’s smoother this time, still dark but not bitter, warmed and softened by the vanilla and sandalwood. Like the majority of Twyla’s scents, this one sits close to the skin, but the lasting power was pretty good – I could still smell it 6 hours later. I liked this quite a lot, but probably not enough for a full bottle, as that patchouli would no doubt get to me after a while. I think this would be an amazing scent for a man, and once again I must lament that I don’t have one to test these kinds of things on. SAD FACE. 

Rating: 

3/5

Day 38!