forspecial_plate

I'm really enjoying Carceri D'Invenzione lately, not that I ever stopped liking it, but I did sort of rediscover it. There's something about this scent that seems cozy and snuggly with the chill in the air and falling leaves. Warm, soft woods, sweet and spicy.

It took a few tries, but I've decided I like this scent. The problem is that it's so faint I can barely smell it, unless I sniff up close. But that's not always a bad thing. Here and there I get just the lightest wafts, teasing and tantalizing, but dark.

The first time I tried it, I thought of Pit And The Pendulum right away, but much softer. I still smell the woods and incense, but this is actually different from Pit And Pendulum, and most other incensey oils. I think what I'm smelling is the same opoponax that's in Ligur, underneath sophisticated woods. It's kind of a classy scent, and makes me think of formal occasions. One thing is for sure....if I decide that I really like it, I'm going to need more than just a decant. Like I said, it's extremely faint on my skin, so I have to decide if it would be worth it. It's a little stronger than Heavenly Love And Earthly Love (which, although beautiful, was so faint there's no point in me even wearing it), but not by much.

Edit: I forgot to mention that 'chill air'. It's definitely there, but I don't think of ozone. If so, it's so masterfully blended that it's nearly undectable.....just enough to lend a swirl of chilly air. This scent is elegant and dark.

This scent is superbly blended, and none of the notes really stands out, but there are hints of everything listed. Somehow when I wear this, I'm reminded strongly of Djinn, although the Scarab is more polished and less smokey/firey. It's kind of glossy and shiny. It took me a few tries to accept this scent, but once I did, there was no turning back. I like it!

Totally not what I expected. This scent is bright green and fresh, with just a little 'bite' that makes me think of a hint of frost on leaves. The woods are very elusive. I do understand the soap and cologne comparisons. Overall, I really like this, although usually the viney green scents are not that exciting to me. I feel like I want more than a decant, except the scent vanishes from my skin in about 3 or 4 hours. Still no sandalwood to be found, I guess it's there and I'm just not picking up on it. I may want some more of this....at least another decant.

edit to add, this has become a big favorite. It does last a long time, and over time more of the complexity comes out. I think I can even detect the burnt wood note. In the earlier stages there seems to be a slight touch of mint or snow. Overall, a really great scent that turned me back on to green viney blends.

This is one of my favorites of all the Pumpkin patch's that I've tried. It reminds me of the others, but I really like the supporting notes in this. Aside from the familiar buttery pumpkin note, I smell mostly woods and tonka, and just a hint of leather. Somehow the woods smell earthy, and in fact, this is close to what I wanted Shattered Pumpkin to smell like. This is a winner!

I'm afraid I made the wrong choice in going straight for 5ml of this. It just doesn't work for my nose. I really thought I was all about darker scents, but this is just too rooty. I smell a big galbanum component, which isn't listed, but it really stands out and smells a lot like galbanum essential oil. It's a rooty, dark brown and green kind of scent that lasts and lasts, and doesn't seem to lose much strength, until I'm just not interested in wearing it any more. I do get the comparisons to Death Of Autumn, but I far prefer that blend. This one will most likely have to find a new home!

It actually took a few months for the patchouli to settle down enough....for a long time, I didn't think I'd be liking this scent. The patchouli was just a little too sour and woody, and combined with the rose, kind of turned me off. But I tried Frederic today and found it to be a very pleasant ambery/woody/musky scent. It was the promise of amber musk that drew me to this scent in the first place, and I think it's a blend that overall is going to age well. My only complaint is that I have several other "masculine" (if you call this masculine, which I do) blends that stand out more, and have more originality. But this is nice enough to keep around, even if I end up decanting some out to swap.

I got to try this recently, and I think it's a real winner. Very golden, musky, amber....spicy. I get a big hit of pine, and not much cedar at all when I wore it. It's pretty strong, and lasted for hours on my skin, which eventually made me a little weary of it. I think applied more lightly it would be a perfect scent, and I wouldn't really need a big bottle. An imp would be just right.

Bolded the ones available as imps, straight from the lab:

Bow And Crown Of Conquest

Snake Oil (depending on who you ask)

Pickled Imp (currently limited edition, in the Carnaval Diabolique section)

Golden Priapus (doesn't get much more macho than that, at least as far as concept)

Blood Kiss (dries down to a satisfying dude-fume)

Voodoo (see Blood Kiss)

Death Adder (also LE from the Carnaval)

Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller (not exactly macho, but not sweet by any means)

Wulric The Wolfman (also from the Carnaval, looks like you might want to search for some decants)

Snake Charmer (good luck)

Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener (if you like root beer!)

Crowley (not available as an imp, but an excellent masculine/not sweet scent....I forgot it had vanilla until I did a search)

Hellhound On My Trail (again, good luck....but this is a good one)

Quincey Morris (mostly leather, glorious, soft, not exactly sweet, and also good luck finding this one)

Tombstone (haven't actually tried this myself, but it's legendary among the bpal dude-fumes)

I mostly mentioned the ones I like, and I didn't even put tonka into the search, which is a vanilla-like note that would bring up more results. Anyway you might also check out Theodosius from the Carnaval, although I find this to be on the sweeter side. I'm sure others will have even more suggestions!

I only have the green Oblivion. However....I thought I was the only one that got sweetness out of it! After it has been on my skin for a while, this marshmallow-like note comes out, which I thought very odd. Not really fruity, but who knows.....

From the description and other reviews (especially tartchef's, since I sometimes feel that she's a scent twin!), I thought for sure I would like this, but not so. Hastur really, really didn't work for me at all. I found it very dark, oppressive and cloying, not in a sweet way but in a chemical way. It reminds me of some kind of harsh chemical cleaner......or something familiar, that I just couldn't pinpoint....but not good, either way. Usually I do like dark scents, but not in this case. I left it on for a long time, too, thinking it couldn't stay that horrible for the whole time, but it really didn't change at all. Just not a scent for me, I guess! Maybe I'll have better luck with Ligur.

I'm glad I got this, although it's a little hard to describe, and it changes as I wear it. It seems brighter and more tart than the older Blood Moon, with some sweetness, but also dry, if that makes sense at all. There is something floral deep in the mix that turns slightly soapy, but not so much that it ruins the scent. I also smell something that's in Sagittarius from last year, maybe they share an herbal note? But mostly it's musk, lunar oils, and I guess incense, but this doesn't strike me as an incense-focused blend. It's a bright red night-time scent, tinged with blood. It does fade kind of fast on my skin but overall, I like it! Oh and I agree that somehow it's similar to last year's Hunter Moon, but more red, and more of a night scent. I would call it neutral, not really masc. or feminine.

This is very similar to Samhain and Samhainophobia on me. The difference for me is that Fearful Pleasure is slightly sweeter and more apple-y (but a tart apple, not a red delicious sort of smell) than Samhain. But it's got the same spices and Autumn vibe to it. So if Samhain was too husky for you, you might try Fearful Pleasure as an alternative It's pretty but certainly won't take my Autumn scent crown from Samhain

I had the exact opposite experience, with Samhain being very sweet, but Fearful Pleasure being balanced just right with the oakmoss and smokey notes! Really, Fearful Pleasure smells just like simmering spicy apple cider (which is one of my favorite smells in the world), and now that it's been on my skin for a while, I can pick out the oakmoss and woods just a little bit. A truly amazing scent, and I will need some of this! And thanks, moonarcana, for letting me try yours!

This is just wonderful. Just the right balance between the different notes. Not too metallic, but it's there. I love vetiver, and it's there too. I smell the moss, too, but not so much the sandalwood. I was slightly worried that the white sandalwood would be papery, but it's not at all. I love this scent!!

The Shattered Pumpkin is another one of those uniquely odd scents. I've never smelled anything like it in a perfume! (unfortunately, this wasn't in a good way at all for me, but I can imagine others liking it a lot)

At first, I could smell the nice leather that reminded me of Quincey Morris. Then.....I don't know why, but it kept reminding me of Gunpowder.....carrots and breakfast cereal, kind of nutty.....I blame the pumpkin. Oh, no! This was one of the rare instances where I had to wash off bpal. The rotting dirt note was too much and the whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way, and made me a little sickly. Also I kept picturing the oozing shattered pumpkin on the label. I must say, this is a unique scent, and very much captures the concept, but I just don't think this one is for me!

Thanks, Deyja!

I'd love to see the art for Hessian Of The Hollow, if anyone has a chance to share a pic! I absolutely love the Goblin Rider bottle.

 

 

Do you have a pic of the Goblin Rider?

No, I don't...I just saw it in the East Cost Will Call photos.

Is there anything at all that smells like Tiki King?

 

The King reminded me of Havana and Intrigue, but I have a weird nose.

Sorry this reply is so late, but Tiki King smells a lot like the Salon scent Satan and Death with Sin Intervening. They have the same lemony-resiny feel, but Tiki King has more coconut. I haven't tried Havana but I can see the Intrigue comparison, too.

How funny....I just came here to post about Tiki King, and right at the top of the page I see someone asking about it! Anyway, I put on Incantation today, and realized it reminds me a lot of Tiki King, minus the coconut (and probably heavier on the lemon).

I have a bottle of Hellhound on My Trail, and I'm absolutely in love with it. Alas, I only bought one. For future reference, can anyone recommend other scents that are similar?

 

Thank you!

When I tried Hellhound I immediately thought of the bay rum in Baron Samedi (without the almond in BS), plus the ginger and vanilla of Pickled Imp. The galangal in Hellhound tickles my nose like ginger, a sneezing smiley would be appropriate! [edit: I see now that Pickled Imp doesn't have ginger listed.....Shub-Niggurath might be a better ginger comparison, but Hellhound still reminds me of Pickled Imp too.....complicated enough??]

And although I disagree with some of the comparisons, ivyandpeony's list is indeed impressive! (it really doesn't matter if I agree w/others' impressions, if it works for some people, it works!)

To simplify:

Tiki King: Incantation

Hellhound On My Trail: Baron Samedi, Pickled Imp, Shub-Niggurath

I'd love to see the art for Hessian Of The Hollow, if anyone has a chance to share a pic! I absolutely love the Goblin Rider bottle.

biz4brent, how does it smell? Do you have any that's more recent, that you can compare it to? (not urgent, I'm just curious...)

This is light, sweet, and slightly powdery. I think the musk is what I smell, mostly. It's slightly green and pleasant, nothing offensive at all, but just not exciting to me. I am in the process of paring down my collection, and this doesn't compete with other scents that I love. It kind of reminds me of Buck Moon.

I have to say from a perfume standpoint, this is one of the strangest things I've smelled yet! It's light and sweet, with a bit of fruit. The apple stands out at the beginning, but backs off and then the carrot comes out. Later as it dries, it definitely smells like sweet carroty oats. Very, very unusual! If I wore this and a stranger stood next to me, I simply can't imagine what they would make of it. I agree that it's like a sweet, whole grain breakfast scent. For anyone who has wanted a carrot cake scent, this might be a close match, although it's not cakey or spicy. But I can't remember another perfume with this much carrot, ever.

As a habitual over-analyzer, I think that's what we're doing here. I understand why some people would really want to know the answers to these questions. Personally, I just trust the lab. When I think about my favorite bpal perfumes, I can honestly say I've never smelled or encountered any other perfume oil blends that evoke the feelings that they do. If someone handed me an unlabeled bottle of Djinn (before I tried it), and didn't give me any idea of what it was, the memory of that scent would still haunt me as it does, and I would go to great lengths to obtain it. Add the descriptions and inspirations for the scents, and how well they are conveyed through scent, and I'm sold.

If I learned that Pumpkin Cheesecake was made up of some stock fragrance blends called pumpkin, cheesecake, spice, and graham cracker.....I would still love it. Beth is an artist. I don't question her media, I just indulge myself and find wonder and beauty in her creations.

As for other perfume companies that I love (CBIHP is one of them), they are also wonderful, yet truly different in character from Black Phoenix.

I was scouring the web for info about CB I Hate Perfume when I came across this thread: http://www.atforumz.com/archive/index.php/t-307395.html

 

*snip*

 

In my honest opinion, all of you can make as good, or maybe even better, blends as BPAL if you buy and mix your own bases.

 

*snip*

I call bullshit on that. People have tried to emulate the lab's scents, yet the sheer size of this very forum speaks for the high quality of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and its following. If it were that easy, well......we would see more of it, wouldn't we? Maybe that's false reasoning, and I can only speak for myself, but the lab has truly won my heart, and it's not an exaggeration to say they changed my life. I've smelled other perfumes that remind me of Black Phoenix, but that doesn't make me run to their web sites buying more. In fact, it's just the opposite. Find your own voice!

I apologize if I sound like a crazed fan-boy, and I'm not trying to stomp on questioning opinions. I'm just feeling more vocal than usual right now.

I'm glad I waited to review this. At first it is very spicy and fiery, and I wasn't sure I'd want to wear it. But after a while I noticed the spices backed off, and then it was wonderful. It's very close to being too butch and nearly turned into a sort of 'after-shave' scent. But the red-ness and spicy-ness give it just enough kick to keep it interesting. It reminds me a bit of Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn.....except I like this even more! I don't know that I will wear this regularly, but definitely enough to keep my bottle. Oh and this bottle is at least 2 years old (it's a 10ml), and still very, very potent.

Bat-Woman......just look at the painting, that's what it smells like!

Actually.....there are a couple from the Salon that could apply here. Silence could work. I've only tried Fox Fires On New Year's Eve briefly, one time, but looking at the art, I would call it a night scent. And possibly Bat.