Black Phoenix

[eeyorefl]

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

Wet: LEMON and INCENSE

Initial Drydown: POWDER and INCENSE and ROSES ROSES ROSES

Final Morph: a little of all of the above, but softer.



Note: In the imp, all almonds and cherries, but I Never smell that on my skin!

[sparkybish]

Imp: Cherries, with a more complex warmness underneath

Wet: Oh! Cherry almond goodness, with a spiciness! this is what I thought Bathsheba was going to smell like

Dry: It's a bit powdery, but still lovely. Every once in a while I catch a whiff of it and think "What smells so good? oh it's me!!"

[Coldfire]

From an imp pack on a recent order:

 

 

Imp:Heavy cherry almonf with a whiff of lemon

Wet on me:More lemony now but still has that

almond cherry in it.

Drying Down: Powder ?

Dry: No lemon, no almond,

just powder. I like powder but was hoping for something more

Throw:Barely any on me. Stay: Not long either

 

This imp might make a good home for someone else or on a swap list.

[Indigo78]

I imagined this would be heavy incense. It'll be something dark, smoky, resinous from beginning to finish. Right? No.

In the Imp this is sweet, fresh almonds, backed by a sharpness. Once on my skin, there's a chemically smell that gets into my nose and stays there each time I sniff. There are wafts of Lemon here and there, but that overriding sharp note is still the deal-breaker for me.

Edited June 15, 2008 by Indig0

[darharper]

In imp: Sugar coated almonds.

 

Wet: It was all almond with a bit of cherry mixed in. Very very sweet.

 

Dry: Still incredibly sweet. Lots of throw.

 

After an hour: Had to wash it off. It was so incredibly sweet that I just couldn't stand it. Not for me. Off to swaps.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Normally, no listed notes = I don't go for it. However, this one was on the list when I was making a big purchase, and I thought well, why not? It'll be a good test of my IDing skills! Not to mention the fact that it's one of those you probably just have to try at least once.

 

In the imp: Whoah momma. Almond. Bakewell tart. Almond. ALMOND.

 

On the wrist, wet: For science! Almond, still, but... more complex. Much more complex. It's not bitter or sharp anymore, it's... almost green... hard to say what I'm picking up on other than almond, but still, there's something there.

 

Twenty minutes later: Well, the almond's gone... this is dark and musky and a bit... sticky. And - a heads up to those with sensitive skin - it itches a little, and this is the first one to do so. This is on the back of my hand (where I have very thin skin) so it might do better elsewhere, but still. I'm really not sure about this - I can't decide what it smells like - and unfortunately my initial reaction is that I don't like it. Oh well.

 

Verdict: Swap pile.

 

Tl;Dr: A powerful almond that fades into something musky and dark. Beware those with sensitive skin.

[Andrea912]

At first I liked the almond scent; nice and subtle. But then, as it dried, it got more incensy. Not for me.

[Tilby]

Dark and delicious, like chocolate covered cherries and something more sinister like arsenic. Isn't arsenic supposed to taste like almonds? I don't get the roses that some have, or anything lemon-like. Final verdict is a yummy chocolate cherry coated almond scent of death. Must have more!

[savage_rose]

Pure candied dark cherry, which of course means it turns to powder on my skin. Oh well...at least the oil itself smells delightful!

[Heeroluva]

Sigh, this is another one that I had such high hopes for. In the bottle it smells like cherries, but with a floral back notes that that give is a bit of sinisterness.

Wet it ramps up a ton, is almost like walking into a perfume store. But as it dries down it gets weaker and eventually turns to floral powder on me.

[AthenaRose]

Interesting. To me, Black Phoenix smells similar to Hecate and Blood, both of which i really enjoy.

 

Wet, i'm getting a strong cherry almond dragon's blood. After a while it dries down to what appears to be a softer incensy floraly musky myrrh.

 

Lots of depth and quite a range from wet to dry.

 

3/5

Edited July 30, 2008 by AthenaRose

[Delirium1009]

(this review is for an aged imp of this scent)

 

In bottle/imp: Fizzy black cherries.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a fizzy but grounded scent. It either has cherry or almond in it. If it’s almond though, there’s another note in here giving it a slightly fruity quality. I get a little patchouli in the background, and warm musk. I smell something lightly resinous as well.

 

After a little while: This blend has turned a little powdery on me now. It’s a powdery, spiced cherry scent with patchouli and musk in the background, and maybe frankincense. It’s not really sweet any longer, but has a nice thick quality to it. Very complex.

 

Overall Impressions: This is one of those oils that really blend into your skin, it seems. It’s a nice cherry/almond fizzy scent at first with some nice musk and resin in the background (and I don’t even really mind the patchouli) but it morphs into something a little less sweet and drier. It’s still thick and dark smelling though, and a great signature oil for bpal!

[sweetsiryn]

I thought this oil was rather "mature" and strong at first - like something for an older person - and I didn't really like it. But as with Muse, I gave it a second chance due to my depleting supplies of Kali and Wanda. I grew to like it though, and once the scent mellows down a little, it's very unique.

 

In the imp: Strong scent of almonds or rather almond paste/marzipan above everything else in the vial... quite overwhelming and sharp.

 

On my skin: A rather warm oil to begin with, it burns a bit on my skin, especially on the insides of the elbows... cinnamon oil? The almond smell is still strong, but the other notes, possibly sandalwood, musk, cloves and other spices start to come forth as my skin absorbs and warms the scent. It becomes rather sexy and dark and exotic... very spicy. A bit incense-y too.

 

Very complex and mysterious. I wouldn't mind a bottle of it.

Edited August 28, 2008 by SweetSiryn

[megank4]

Hmm, this smells warm and spicy to me. Perhaps spicy almonds?

Very nice.

[gingiemay]

Wet - Dark, cherry, a bit of power. Possibly some spice. Intruiging.

 

Wet on skin - A dry, spicy cherry.

 

Dry on skin - Ugh, baby powder, baby powder, baby powder. This has so much promise in the bottle, but is just awful on me.

[Iceblink]

Cherry almond with spices coming forward after a while. I like this a lot but something in it doesn't like my skin.

[OhioSky]

Oh man, I've never posted a review of this?

 

I was leery of buying this since I have a very picky nose and there were no individual notes listed. I really have no direction to go on to describe what I first smelled. Incense, of some dark and overwhelmingly heady sort. Patchouli, and maybe myrrh. This and Hellcat are the only two scents that have ever done this to me, but they were both so overwhelmingly incensy that I couldn't wear them. At all.

 

So I threw it aside for a few months, and then tried it again. By this time, it smelled wonderful in the imp!! Cherry almond goodness. It was beautiful.

But it all but disappeared on the drydown. I couldn't find it on my skin 2 hours after applying. I was a sad Sky.

[rayvn1]

I can't believe I never reviewed this! This was one of my very first imps (a frimp from the lab, I think). It is a warm, sexy, slightly fruity blend on me. Nice!

[Suu4LC]

Oooo wow, this smells good in the imp! Sexy cherry almond!!!

 

Similar on the skin-sexy cherry almond with something darker and deeper in it.

 

As it dries though, it goes SUPER powdery. Almost all sweet powder, with hints of cherry and almond. Not that sexy scent I loved in the imp!

[lainevierge]

Wow, this keeps morphing on me.

 

In the imp it smelled like almonds, but on my skin it switched to roses & almonds. The roses are dried though, which is a good thing since those are pretty much the only ones I'll tolerate. I'm also getting lemon, something green & herbal, vanilla and musk.

 

Essentially, each time I sniff my wrist I smell something different. Crazy!

[stillalive]

wow. too complex to describe. My first impression was that of the antimicrobial soap/lotion in doctor's office... but it's also a very dark fruit, slightly astringent. I can see how it would smell like Coca Cola, licorice, or cleaning products. Hm.

[crebbsgirl]

Predominantly cherry cola, with a rose kick. My skin doesn't like roses, and this is no exception.

[unlaced]

As soon as I opened the imp my first thought was "wow, this smells like massage oil that I have!" (Karma Sutra Sweet Almond massage oil) and I had to get out the bottle to sniff it and it does smell almost exactly like it though the BPAL oil smells a bit more perfume-y... leading me to believe there is some almond in this.

 

On my skin some other elements start to come out... I can't really be more specific because I can't really pin anything down. It smells just the tiniest bit powdery but it's not bad. Maybe there's some cherry in there...? but not bright, fruity cherry. It's dark and sexy...

 

Also... some spicy, incense-y sort of smell a bit later. Every time I sniff my wrist it's different!

 

This is a very "wow" scent... dead sexy... and very very strong! apply in moderation! I am a slatherer and this is one of the oils with which I have to resist my urge and use just a drop at each wrist and maaaaybe a bit on my neck.

 

I didn't get any rose at all from this. Usually rose and my skin chemistry do not play nice together but I didn't have any problems at all.

Edited February 15, 2009 by unlaced

[femmefatale]

Order of events:

 

All cherries and almond. Ew. I don't like almond.

 

Generic perfume

 

Powedery generic perfume

 

Rose scented powdery perfume

 

Hubby's grandma

 

<scrubs arm furiously with soap>

 

 

So either hubby's grandma is one sexy bitch and no one told us or it's just not sexy on me.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[Nidaba]

Heh, I love reading how different this scent is on everyone.

 

Wet: Sweet almond and something really heavy and thick. Almost reminded me of patchouli but I don't think that is it.

 

Drying: Something spicy has come out. Now it smells like almond, cinnamon? and still that heavy scent. Also a touch of cherry and cola.

 

Dry: Going powdery, and mainly spicy now.

 

I don't love this, but my husband just told me I smelled good on his own. That has only happened a very few times before so I think I will keep at least my imp.

 

ETA: Nevermind, way too powdery now. I keep sneezing.

Edited January 19, 2009 by Nidaba