Black Opal

[blackrayne]

A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire.

In the vial: Very soft, and light, to the point where I can barely notice it... either my nose is very, very stuffed up, or this is so delicate that it really is this light smelling.

On my skin, it is also very light, and I could almost swear I smell vanilla and a hint of coconut. But I could be totally off with this one.

I am going to reapply after showering (I now have roughly 6 or 7 different BPAL blends on, so my nose could just have stopped working)... and I will update this review ASAP.

EDIT:

Freshly showered, sinuses mostly cleared up, I am still getting a very light, pale sort of scent from this, even with having slathered quite a bit on me. Definitely vanilla, not too sure about the coconut now, though. A hint of something dark, but what I have no idea. It's totally lovely, even with it being as light as it is. I have only had it on a few minutes and I really have to sniff close to smell it. Edited August 23, 2008 by quantum spice

[Lilithlefay]

This is so insanely beautiful!!!! Initially when I put it on there is a crispness to it, but not in a citrus scent, then there is a mild dirt scent similar to how the dirt in zombie smells on me, but it is very light and not strong at all. There is also a creaminess to it, I think there is a little vanilla in here but I'm not sure, maybe a light floral as well. This is a very difficult scent for me to describe but it is insanely beautiful!!! The scent isn't real strong and is pretty light, but it did last quite a while on me, couple of hours at least. Order many many bottles of this!!!

 

edit to say that the crispness does go away after about 10 minutes leaving the creamy dirt scent.

Edited August 12, 2005 by Lilithlefay

[olympia301]

 

Black Opal was born a legend. Sweet and creamy yet with a float of musk underneath it all. Don't go snuffing after it like a pig after truffles...let it come to you through the atmosphere then the entrancement starts. Black Opal is long lasting, almost pure and virginal but womanly at once. There is a plant-like but not green component to it (which reminds me of one of the elements in Incantation and House of Night), you will know it when you smell it, it's like a wall to hold the rest of the scent in place.

 

Somehow I get the impression of either Halloween or ghosts from Black Opal: excitement, dress as someone else, a fabric smell, the scent of the unfamiliar but wonderful like the way costumes smelled in the box when you were a kid. This one has an undeniably autumnal air, that part of Fall that we all love the most but can't define. I would say that it would be just fine in any other season, too; it has: the sharp sophistication of Winter, the hope and depth of spring, and the heat and sex of summer. But I am so happy that I got this at the end of summer and the beginning of Fall. It is divine layered with The Hesperides, but should be enjoyed by itself.

 

Black Opal is a real treasure. I can only say the scents that are closest to it in my mind are: Aquilino's Pink Sugar, The Body Perfumery's Basmati, Skindazzles Pink Sugar type, or FeMaldictions Courtesan's Gaillo. Every one of those is a beauty. However, Beth does it better and more subtly. That's what makes BPAL enchanting. This is a semi-sharp musk and candy sweet scent, like the ones I mentioned above, but they are a cruder approximation of Black Opal. BPAL's Black Opal is the magic, the imagination, and the art and science of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab developing from an exceptional scent-maker to a legend. Black Opal is excellent.

 

______________________________________________________________________

*Please please please, if you don't like Incantation or House of Night, give Black Opal a try. Like a great chef, Beth can make you like no love things that you swore you hated. So don't get put off by my comparisons. Try it for yourself.

 

P.S. I have noticed a camphor smell at the beginning of the wet phase of Black Opal. That seems to go away as it dries and I think it is the "minty" scent that some people are talking about here.

Edited October 3, 2005 by olympia301

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - I smell a bit of vanilla, and…darkness. If darkness had a smell it would be this.

 

Dry - maybe it's not vanilla, it might be tonka. Whatever it is, it almost entirely disappears once it touches my skin. Slowly it starts to come back as….powder. Powder with a tiny bit of tonka. Oops, tonka's gone too. That's it folks, it's gone to powder on my skin. Shows over here....nothing more to see.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet vanilla. YUM!

 

On Skin: All I smell is vanilla. I’ve read others reviews and I don’t smell any citrus or other notes they mention. It is pure sweet vanilla. It is very light though… it reminds me of a few of the DSH vanillas. I like it since it’s pretty and soft, but it fades quite quickly. I’m not sure the description fits it either, fire? I don’t smell fire at all.

[vyvyan]

Gift imp from the lab - I probably wouldn't have ordered this ("geological? whaa?"), and that's a sad, sad thing.

 

Wet - vanilla, maybe a little coconut and something a little sharp. I'm not great at picking out notes, but there's an edge to this scent. The vanilla isn't foody at *all* - I dislike foody scents with passion, and I'm loving this.

 

As it dries, it softens a bit more - the edge fades, but stays present; this is vanilla with a dark underlayer. Sweet without being innocent, sexy but not actively sultry, this is subtle and gorgeous.

 

Soft, soft, soft, and not much throw. I think I may need a big bottle of this, and I may also have to make myself some lotion, to keep this scent around longer. Thank you, lab!

 

Edited - actually, this stuck around a surprisingly long time, for as soft a scent as it is. Impressive!

Edited August 30, 2005 by vyvyan

[pink.owl]

Black Opal is beautiful. I was instantly curious about this scent, as I am an October baby, and have always loved my birthstone with a passion! This amazing masterpiece truly lives up to my high expectations.

 

It is truly soft, as in black silk velvet soft. I get a coconut "feel" from it, while not being able to place any one scent as an ingredient. I honestly never get a powder phase, but it is seriously soft. Black Opal has a soft sexiness about it, sophisticated. Like a woman who knows she is deadly gorgeous, but never really "throws" it out there. What I'm trying to say is that I love this scent and I highly reccomend it, hopefully I made at least a little sense!

Edited August 29, 2005 by pink.owl

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Vanilla embraces the dark side. Antique Lace's evil twin.

 

Second Impression: I don't think Black Opal is meant to be as sweet as my skin turns it. Sweet and dark, this smells like a blend of rich vanilla and tonka. I also smell some type of skin musk. It started off quite dark until my skin got ahold of it. Vanilla is usually so innocent and foody, but this scent is not.

 

Final Analysis: Vanilla suited up for seduction in a deep and shimmering veil with nothing but dark eyeliner and glittering eyes showing.

[summer]

Mmmm. Sweet. Creamy. This is so divinely delicate, sweet, and creamy. It's so light . . . it's almost like a whisper. But there is something about it that's a wee bit dark. Just a vague shadow of, like, the depths of the ocean. I almost think it smells a little bit aquatic, but only around the edges where the scent starts to fade into nothingness . . . predominantly, this is light, floaty, sweet, and creamy.

 

I really like it. Quite a comfort scent.

[minilux]

Unfortunately, my chemistry amps vanilla like crazy, so this basically ended up smelling like vanilla-flavored White Light on me. Sweet, light, floral and powdery are not my things at all, but I suspect Black Opal will be incredibly popular because I'm a weirdo who rarely likes the most popular scents.

[Electra]

Vanilla and...something mineral. How interesting! I've never smelled anything even remotely like this before. I'm fascinated by it. As it dries down the vanilla has all but disappeared and the mineral scent has come to the forefront.

 

Neat. I'm not sure if I need a big bottle or not, but what a cool conceptual scent! I really like it.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Soft and light. Very difficult to describe. A bit powdery.

 

On me: I wouldn't say there's a dirt note in this, but it does smell very dusty. It's also very light and powdery - a hint musky - overall the embodiment of soft, but with those powders and that dustiness it definitely suits some sort of rock. I keep hoping for the jagged black fire to appear. The closest thing to it is a light creaminess that I find intriguing; so I will keep this scent and continue to attempt to unlock its mystery.

[oakmoss]

This scent is quite mysterious... At first sniff and application, I thought I had it pegged as a soft, simple powdery floral, with some vanilla notes. But as it warmed and ripened on my skin over an hour or two, it was as if faint sharper notes sparkled here and there -- ahhh, there's the fire in the opal! Turning my wrist from side to side and letting the scent waft up, it's whispery soft, then stronger, then soft again, just like the fire in an opal appearing and disappearing. This could easily be a scent worn every day without offending anyone, and yet, perhaps layered with some other more spicy or more floral scent, could really pack a punch. It's elegant and elusive and I think I love it.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

This is definitely vanilla and floral and somewhat powdery to me. A very different venture from the scents I have tried thus far. I only wish it had a bit more umph and throw to it. My scale of 1-5 ....4

[Imbrium]

Okay, I knew I had to have Black Opal as soon as it came out, even before reviews went up - something about its description made me know I'd love it.

Let me tell you, it does not disappoint.

 

Black Opal starts out a bit powdery for my taste, but moves quickly out of that stage. It's a creamy vanilla, not too sweet, with a hint of the same musk I smell in Dorian and Ice Queen. I completely agree with reviewers who've compared it to Antique Lace - it's a darker, more grown up Antique Lace.

 

It does stay very close to the skin, but it doesn't fade quickly - it's just one of those second-skin type scents.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Imbrium

[Lorencita]

Perfect, this is a 10 ml repurchase for sure. This is creamy, elegant... just perfect.

[Eldritch]

In bottle: ooo. smells promising. Like sparkling...I don't know what. I get a hint of floral, which is very worrisome for me, but there's a lot of notes in here. Very complex and sophisticated smelling.

 

Wet: I get a stringent whip of florals again but then it's gone. This is....ellusive. Like dark glass. It threatens to be expensive old lady scent, but it isn't because everything is blended so well and the florals are so buried under everything else.

 

Dry down: This is really light, now. I thought I rather doused my wrist in it, but now it's very faint. This is a black sequin scent. Glammy sophisticated but really muted. Not screaming Fancy Party! like Nosferatu, but very soft. Almost powdery now that I think of it.

 

Dry: Yay! Elegant femme perfume without being floral! it's very subtle, and it almost borders on powdery now and then, but it's settled into this really light, vaguely sweet scent. Maybe some amber? I am horrible at pickign out notes, but this is Hi I Am A LADY, DAMMIT, scent. Not a masculine trace or rough corner to be seen. A Lady, mind you, not a vixen or a harlot or a girl or a chick, a lady. This is the polished lady with the impeccable skirt suit/evening gown with silk blouses and modestly plunging necklines and french lace undergarments.And pearls. Lots of classy pearl. This might become my interview scent. Very subtle and refined and classy.

[lysithea]

This really is an elegant perfume.

A dark vanilla musk - but oh so light and delicate. But, truly it's also deep. Such a paradox. What contradiction. I also get the "mineral" whiff, so faint it barely whispers.

 

This holds close to your skin like a secret.

[laochodia]

Sweet, rich, creamy, with a teensy hint of spice and musk--just enough to make you inhale deeply and get whomped with the vanilla. This is both a comfort scent and a seduction scent. It starts slow and soft, and before you realize it, your wrist keeps returning to your nose and strangers are drawn to you like a moth to a flame. This is wonderful.

 

 

(It's really hard to type with one hand glued to nose.)

[amrita]

I also get the faint dirt smell-- and an almost sharp green smell. But the greenness isn't bitter or herbally-- it's like someone ripped a rainsoaked leaf in half a few feet away from me. These notes disappear in under a minute, and the rest of the drydown passes through various stages of a slightly squatic, sweet blue green vanilla.

 

It is warm and fresh... kind of like sitting out on a grassy hill in the sun, with a warm ocean breeze flying by-- only without the smell of grass or salt.

 

This is definitely a 'second skin' type of scent. Initially it is has relatively decent throw on me, but after the drydown it just clings, sweetly and gently. I typically have to go light on the BPAL, but I could get away with slathering this.

 

When I stick my nose to my wrist and inhale deeply, I imagine I smell a familiar floral, or even a spice, but it's nothing I recognize from other BPAL blends.

 

I haven't been buying many bottles lately, but this might warrant one!

[shelldoo]

when this imp came it was the first thing from my order i tried. in the vial a vanillay musk

 

wet it is very true to in the vial except i get the impression it is tonka not straight vanilla. tonka and a soft skin type musk

 

as it dries it doesn't change much, it is a soft sexy scent, like a slinky black cat stretching in front of the fire. soft, smooth, it is more tonka on me then straight vanilla, altho sometimes i do get vanilla, so i am thinking it is a tonka/vanilla/musk blend

[wolfie13]

In the imp: very soft and light - musk, a bit of a floral aspect with a touch of vanilla.

 

Upon wearing: Whoa - totally different. Much more vanilla, no floral, and a sharp "mineral" note that is actually fairly prevalent on me!

 

It's kind of 50% vanilla and 50% rocks. But clean rocks. Like by a stream.

 

It's very different and completely embodies the concept, but on my skin it's just not a keeper.

[sarada]

This is the scent I was most looking forward to from recent updates because the description was so beautiful and evocative. I think of stretches of cave glittering white with calcified crystal formations reflected in perfectly clear cold underground streams. I think of the scent of cold rocks and earth. And I knew that whatever the scent wound up being, that I would have to give it a try.

 

I think a lot of the other reviews have described it well: there's a chilly vanilla and a warm light musk, and a bit of a mineral smoothness. It strikes me as far more white than black. I think of rock formations that look like candlewax, dripping from the points of stalactites. I have always thought that if I were able to taste those sort of chalky white crystals they would be something like this. There's a faint whiff of powdery cold sweetness...then the nuzzling warmth of white fur.

 

It is subtle and doesn't have a lot of throw on me but thanks to the musky underlayer it sticks around for awhile. I know that I'll have to use a lot of this to get the kind of cloud of scent around me that I like so I ordered a bottle after my first sniff, anticipating that I'll use this a lot in the winter. I think it would work all year round though, as a cooling blend when it's warm and a warming blend when it's cool! It has a very classic perfume quality to it (without being "perfumey") but I think that this will be a very popular fragrance...it's not my typical style but it's so unusual that I find it compelling. And it's the kind of thing that I've been favoring for nighttime wear lately so I look forward to really getting to know this fragrance.

[spanishviolet]

Vanilla on a winter's day ... This reminds me of a perfume I wore in high school, but less over-the-top, more sophisticated. I guess that comes from a white musk?

 

I'll have to agree with all the earlier reviews - sticks close to the skin, embodies a cool mineral beauty. Very calming & elegant. Definitely a keeper!

[gothiccastle]

Very light and lovely. Both wet and dry, it reminds me of a light version of "Eternity".

 

Yea, this is one to get in a 5ml for sure.