Black Phoenix

[almosthuman]

Our signature oil. A dark, languid scent. Promotes hedonistic tendencies and extreme self-love. You won't stop kissing mirrors for a month.

This is the first BPAL scent i ever put on my skin and i love it. In the bottle it was a bit too deep of a smell for me, but i put it on thinking maybe my boyfriend would like it and ended up loving it.

It's a dark, soothing smell. It reminds me of my grandparents house (which i always thought smelled good)

[sedona]

This one was a frimp from a sales post

 

In the imp - Sweet cherry liqueur

 

Wet - Same cherry with a woody base, maybe sandalwood? This smells very black and sticky if that makes sense.

 

Wearing - Cherry fades to leave a dark, musky floral. Black Phoenix is perfumy smoky as opposed to bonfire smoky.

 

This blend shifts and morphs as the different notes come into play. I don't think I'd use a 5ml but I'll certainly keep BPAL's namesake in my collection!

[stasha]

Diabolus scents just have not worked for me yet! The cherry is way overwhelming in the bottle, almost to the point of cough syrup. Wet on skin the sandalwood and I know this is weird but I can almost detect mint? Dry it kind of reverts back to cough syrup but this time it's cough syrup flavored incense. This is a surprising dislike considering the notes generally work fine with me and with how many good reviews it's received.

 

Another Diabolus imp to the swap pile.

[goth_huntress]

I'm not sure what's in it, but I really like it. I can smell almonds for sure, and maybe some cinnamon. I think I'll buy a bottle for all my BPAL friends.

[grimalcat]

I absolutely adore this scent. I have it in a locket in my car and have gotten tons of complements on it.

 

To me it smells like incense. Not burning incense, per say. More like a room where dark, black chery incense has been burned continually for days...months...years until the smell has seeped into the walls and the fabrics and the people who live or work there combining them into a mystery.

 

In fact, there is a little shop in my town that smells just like this. Everytime I walk in the door I want to wander through the "employee only" areas just to see what it is that goes on back there in that old building.

 

I know...strange, but the scent just makes me think of dark secret things that people only talk about in whispers while quietly blushing.

 

When I wear it I feel super sexy and mysterious. Like a black cat at night. It is unbelievably wonderful in my opinion. I can honestly say that I hope to never run out of the stuff.

[Trish]

In the imp: Almond. Or cherry. Hopefully the former - neither particularly likes me, but almond at least sometimes surprises me.

 

Wet: Same.

 

Drydown: Ok there is something in here besides almond, something floral. I suspect it may be rose. *2 minutes later* Yep, definitely rose.

 

Dry: Amazingly the almond has been beaten into submission. Unfortunately it was by the rose. Somewhat powdery rose.

 

5 minutes later: Rose talcum powder. I'm thinking there is amber in this.

 

5 more minutes: Straight out talcum powder.

 

Almond, rose and amber. This didn't have a hope in hell of working on me did it.

[poisons_sanity]

I smell candy! This would be a pretty good scent for me, since everyone who knows me, knows of my horrible addiction to candy. Seriously, it's bad. Anywhoo, this definitely smells of candy and lots of cherry, kind of like the cherry in Neo-Tokyo. Very deep and dark.

[euterpe414]

I get a lot of almond with this one initially, but then as it dries a certain herbal quality comes forth. I'd almost want to say that there is some myrrh in here as well, but I am not quite sure. It takes on a more incense like quality when it's dry, but with the almond still floating on top. I don't get a lot of fruit like others have said; this blend is not sweet on me in the least.

 

This scent really makes me feel sexy. It is very dark and luxurious, and brings to mind images of lounging around on lavish cushions...definitely where I'd like to be right now Even though it's a really sexy scent, I think it's quite appropriate for all occasions. I could defnitely wear this one in my pajamas! This was one of the first imps I tried two years ago, and I'm glad I finally got around to ordering a bottle because it's realyl quite fabulous.

[spessartine]

On me this scent is like a very dark, spicy cola syrup. I get the cherry and almond notes, but it's blended very densely so that I get the odd waft of those layered over a treacly darkness. Not usually my thing, but I'm getting to like it as an every-now-and-again scent, because after a while the resin in it starts to come forward from behind the almond. I certainly want another imp of this, though probably not a bottle.

[underline2]

In the imp:

Robitussen. Cherry Robitussen. With some dark musky note behind it all.

 

Wet:

Softly cherried black incense/musk. A bit of vanilla. It's sweet, but not foody at all. More like a fruity black tea.

 

Dry:

A little bit of almond comes out, but it's mainly heady, dark sweetness. It seems like a good oil to wear to, say, a nightclub, or a particularly flirty date.

 

Overall:

It's darkly bold and sugary, primarily. It's also extremely feminine and sexy with just a touch of girliness. But not young, Lolita-type girliness.

 

This is pure Dorothy Parker in full vixen mode.

[radishbaby]

In the Imp : Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Omg it smells like spun sugar. Don't get me wrong - I *love* spun sugar scents but this wasn't what I was expecting at all. So far this scent seems a lot brighter than the dark, "languid" scent I was anticipating. Lets see how this goes shall we?

 

Wet : Dear god I think they got these mixed up! This is Alice! Only it's an Alice that's fighting her way tooth and nail to make herself be known and isn't fading away like the real one did on me.

 

Dry Down : I put this on right before walking to the grocery store and one it had time to dry a bit I kept getting whiffs here and there of its incredibly sugary smell. It's an ambery sort of sugar that's not thick or heavy but rich and pure.

 

Some Time Later : My grandmother came in to hive me a few hangers when I was putting up the laundry and said that the new perfume "smelled like sweat" and was absolutely revolting when she smelled my wrists. This kind of blew me away as to me the sugar has settled into a more sweet after the incense stick has burned away kind of warm, almost smokey smell. I guess this is just my body chemistry going awry? I should mention that this also has an incredible staying power as I put this on hours and hours ago and it's stayed through thick and thin through out the day.

 

Over all : Black Phoenix was kind of a disappointment. I was expecting something very dark and lovely and instead I got something that apparently smells salty and smokey in a bad way. I'll be keeping my imp anyway I think because honestly I really do like sugary scents from time to time and this one fulfills all my requirements and then some although I think I'll turn to calling it Alice's Evil Twin since the resemblance is uncanny. It just looks like I won't be able to wear it around others - but then again I'm sure we all have a scent like that by now in out collection right?

[ravenfeathers]

black phoenix

 

in the bottle wow. it's incredibly warmly spicy, RICH, and completely marvelous.

wet on skin ew. the spiciness in this flees away and it becomes a very heavy, chartreuse smelling potion, not unlike an expensive but rather overly-strong cologne

dry on skin huh. well, it's still cologne-y, but there's a bit of something spicy, maybe clove? it sweetens up the whole thing a bit, but only makes it tolerable, not enjoyable. i smell like one of those cologne bathers without the headache induction.

two hours later nope. now it's just faded and the spicy smell is gone again. gutted. i swooned over this in the bottle.

[Honeygirl]

Black Phoenix

 

Bottle: Sweet Berry with what I feel like is a sweet cassia/cinnamon

 

Wet: Not berry, cherry! I still get the cinnamon, but it's slightly spicy, not as sweet.

 

Dry: The spiciness goes away and I'm left with sweet cherry that is beautiful!

 

4 outta 5

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: Sweeeeeet. Fruit and... uh... marzipan? Not what I was exppecting...

 

On/wet: Marzipan. Overwhelmingly marzipan.

 

Drydown: There's cherries in here... wow, where did they come from? I think it's too sweet for me, personally, because the cherries are sweet, sweet, sugary cherries--and they don't like me.

[dragonofinfinity]

accidentaly tried on the wrong day (was going to try it on the weekend, but didnt read the imp labels and ended up wearing it today instead).

 

fresh on it was a sort of spicy, with a hint of sweetness.

 

it faded to a sweetness with a spicy hint.

 

overall, it is a changable scent, but with the sweet/spicy combination (on me al least) it works quite well.

 

given that putting it on was an accident (and in a quantity i would never normaly try a new scent in), i was worried that it it would turn to mush.

it is almost a love, but im going to haft to have another try.

[hkhm]

imp: like a hard cherry and plum candy, nice and boozy.

 

wet: whoooo! very strong cherry brandy. there's a sort of powdery scent behind it though. let's say it's the scent of cherry brandy talc if it existed.

 

dry: after a while this smells like sweet cherry roses. i'm just not a rose person. oh well.

[Dinerdulcinea]

This is interesting. I had a very strong initial scent-memory with this one:

 

in the imp AND on wet: Straight up cherry Dr.'s office lollipop. You know the kind. There was the red one, the orange one, the yellow one, the green one, and the purple one (which almost nobody ever wanted). This is the red one. Exactly.

 

Interestingly (an unpleasantly, though I also wouldn't want to smell like the Dr.'s office lollipop), the scent begins an immediate transormation in which the dreaded bad-and-insanely-domineering florals beat the brilliant red lollipop into submission without mercy. Within the brief span of ten minutes they pass through "grandma's bathroom" and "grandma's attic" straight into...(do not pass GO)...slightly medicated talcum powder.

 

BLECH!

 

Not for me. Glad I got to try it though.

[SarahScent44]

In imp, this is sweet, and vanilla-fruity.

 

On, Black Phoenix is smokier, but still has that vanilla-fruity smell.

 

Once it's dry, it's really strange, almost sharp - there's a sweetness deep down, but there's a sharpness on top that's really strange. I'm on the fence with this one, which is a shame - I was looking forward to kissing mirrors!!

[lefthandmade]

i can smell the almonds when it's wet, but it dries quickly and turns into smoky rose, but not a soft and comforting rose, it's haunting and sharp, though beautiful. sweet but not too sweet. sharp but not too sharp. i can sense incense or spice in there somewhere, and i think amber. wow. i don't know what i expected but this wasn't it.

i'm not disappointed, i'm pleasantly surprised.

this is soft pink. my favorite shade of pink, but with a twist.

oh yeah. i'm definitely licking the mirror. this one isn't kidding around. a 5ml order is already on its way. this one is in my definite top five.

 

edit for typo

Edited October 29, 2007 by lefthandmade

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Mmmmmm...wet this is the almondy marzipan smell of Dana O'Shee with spices and dark resiny incense. A smoky, sweet, and smoldering smell. This is a perfect combination. The almonds do mainly disappear to the background once it dries, and what is left is dark incense smoke and fiery embers. This is a classy evening scent. Smooth and streamlined. Exceptionally complex. I can see why this is the signature scent of BPAL. A new all time favorite!!

[alicia_stardust]

BLACK PHOENIX

 

This starts out with the scent of tangy, juicy cherries and very quickly becomes a cherry-almond scent. After a while I start to smell a dark musk, the slightest hint of spice, and a sort of smoky scent that reminds me of opium. All of these things lay over the top of a floral and possibly a resin. Whatever it is, this makes for a very complex, heady, and sensual scent.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Yum!

 

Dark and languid, huh? A sweet cherry and almond scent is not what I would have thought of. This smells like almond and cherry over a base of incense.

 

Lovely, but the cherry fades very very quickly.

[alhbooks]

Straight to almond extract on me, unfortunately, at least the aged version I just tried. Sigh...

[coraa]

Vial: Cherry coke! Some faint almond, but mostly... cherry coke.

 

Wet: Mmm, almond coming up. Still a deep, fruity cherry, with a lot of sweetness behind it.

 

Drydown: Yup, still almond-cherry-vanilla, with maybe a hint of spice in the background -- cinnamon? cloves? Sweetening, as most things do on my skin.

 

Dry: The sharpness of the almond and cherry scents has mellowed out quite a bit, and now I can smell more vanilla. And a sweetness like brown sugar, and maybe a hint of musk and the breath of spices. Very very nice. I keep sniffing my wrist and smiling.

[synestheticheart]

In the imp: Almond and sweet.

Wet on skin: Still almond.

Dry: Almond and cherry...much like the scent of Jergen's Original Lotion in Cherry Almond. Hmm...

 

 

Edit: The scent has definitely grown on me. I even got a complement that I smelled good!

Edited December 5, 2007 by synestheticheart