Red Phoenix

[pekeana]

A celebration of three years of decadence, determination, death and rebirth. Red musk, tonka, Chinese cassia, mandarin, patchouli, benzoin, wild plum and tobacco.

At first, Red Phoenix is all "holy mother of patchouli" in my face, but then it settles down into a smooth, sultry spice blend. When I sniff it up close, all I can smell is patchouli, but farther away, I smell all the spiciness and soft fruit. Edited December 28, 2005 by Shollin

[ancilla_morte]

I can't really smell patchouli in this. I hated the way it smelled in the bottle. definitely a scent you can't just sniff, you have to put it on, just like Three Witches.

 

this is what I wish Blood Moon would smell like. I love Red Phoenix. It is powerful, spicy, exotic.

Cinnamon but not overpoweringly dry like Blood Moon was, even though it reminds me a lot of Blood Moon. sweetened just enough, and amped up with other spices and florals.

 

and perfect 'natural' skin scent. very sexy!

 

ADDED Jan. 17:

 

I was really disappointed with Red Phoenix.

It did just what Blood Moon did with me. a heaping tablespoon of dry bitter cinnamon in your mouth.

this is better than Blood Moon in the sense that I can smell floral and sweeter notes that balance out the bitterness.

 

but still. off to the swap pile.

Edited December 28, 2005 by ancilla

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle: Spicy patchouli... really can't smell much else.

 

On: It burns, it burns! I'm assuming that's the cassia. Oddly, I've never had that reaction to cinnamon (and I've tried almost all the BPAL cinnamon blends)... come to think of it, I haven't had a painful reaction to *any* BPAL before. But this one definitely stings.

 

Smellwise... it's OK. But so similar to Blood Moon and a bunch of other spicy scents, it's not really standing out for me. Which is probably a good thing, since wearing it is a bit uncomfortable for me...

[Diana]

I swear I must have either a mutant nose or mutant chemistry.

 

Putting it on & in the bottle, it reminds me of "new" Samhain. Like watered down cinnamon. After a few minutes, it starts to get a weird, wet, funky fruit note to it. It smells a lot like the pear note that BPAL uses a lot, and which I dislike. It smells tart and a little overly sweet, and in combination with the cassia, it's a bit plasticky and sour. I'm guessing the culprit is the plum, which is odd because it usually agrees with my skin a lot more than this.

 

After 2 or so hours, the sour-tart-sweet smell dissipates greatly, to my pleasure. I'm still not getting patchouli or tonka or tobacco (WHY NOT???). It seems to have gone a bit more perfumey, but not overly so. It's the red musk finally warming up and getting into the action. I like this stage a lot more. Still, there's a lingering sourness in the background, but it's not as bad as the wet & initial drydown stages.

 

The jury is out on this one. I really want to love it, but the weird sourness is quite off-putting. I think I need to try it a few more times, and perhaps let it sit for a few weeks to see my opinion of it changes with some time.

[LiberAmoris]

Yep, Red Phoenix bears a great resemblance to Blood Moon, in fact, to me it smells like a cross between Blood Moon and Snake Charmer. It's much warmer and sweeter than the Lunacy oil, though, and the plum gives it a fruity kick. I love the resiny fruity blends so this one is right up my alley.

 

However, my skin absolutely eats up Red Phoenix and after an hour it's barely there. If I want to enjoy this one, I'll have to slather. Not a problem.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Spicy musk.

 

On Skin: This is a very deep spicy resin scent. Very red!! I think I can smell cinnamon in there, even though it’s not listed as an ingredient. My nose burns a little if I sniff too close. I can’t smell the mandarin, but the plum is there although it is soft and not juicy. The benzoin and tonka sweeten it up a bit, and the patchouli is luckily a background note. I also don’t notice the tobacco note right away which is rare for me in scents with it as a note. Usually it overwhelms me. Wow, this is a very strong and spicy scent, a bit too much for me I think.

[zenvodunista]

this is what i wished Blood Moon had been. Blood Moon didn't work on me in the slightest, but Red Phoenix! oh!

 

it starts out spicy and becomes a plummy sweetness, followed by a dark roundness that hints at chocolate edges. it must the tonka doing this, combined with the patchouli. moments of bright mandarin in the early stage, later on i can't pick apart the scent.

 

god, this is sexy and intriguing! i can't stop sniffing myself.

 

i am soooo glad i ordered two bottles.

 

n.

[AliBabble]

at first sniff, red phoenix is reminiscent of blood moon - a lighter, "fresher" blood moon. out of the bottle it actually reminds me of blood moon mixed with cherry cola (the plum, perhaps?).

on my skin i get maybe the faintest whiff of tobacco, but it actually reminds me of blood moon mixed with ginger ale!?! - don't know why it is reminding me of sodapop - i mean it in a spicy, refreshing way, not an overly sweet way. it's quite nice actually, but extremely subtle.

as it dries down, it is very light - not a deep cinnamon anymore.

whereas blood moon has more "solidity", red phoenix strikes me as much more feathery and fleeting. but pretty nonetheless.

[aidenraine]

I just don't understand it, all of the ingredients are something I like and have worked for me in the past, but together on my skin this is scary.

 

It's somehow like body odor and something medicinal/sickly at the same time. I also get a strong sense of a fake/plasticky cinnamon.

 

The body odor reminds me of the way dragon's blood can react on my skin when mixed with some ingredients. It's almost spicy, but not quite. Resinous is also not quite the right term.

 

I do know that in my attempt to understand this blend I've sniffed it far more than I'd like and really, I'd prefer to be scrubbing my wrists and not going in for another sniff.

 

From a distance I get something soapy, like Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

[shelldoo]

ok first off since i was hearing so much about this being related to blood moon, i pulled out my bottle to test them side by side.

in the bottle: red phoenix is similar yet, sweeter then blood moon. it is has a very strong cassia note. i love me some spices.

 

wet: still strong cassia. also heavy on the patchouli. it is sweeter then blood moon. i am assuming from the plum, possibly due to the benzoin. either way a sweetish, spicey, patchouli.

 

as it dries it softens, the musk plays out. the tonka travels in whisps, occassionally i detect it, but not intentionally. red moon was way resinous in comparison. certainly the cassia is similar, and possibly the musk. but red phoenix is more refined, and friendlier.

[arabella]

First Impression: Oily cinnamon.

 

Dries down to: Fades rather quickly and then I can't pick anything out at all except a slightly spicy benzoin and tobacco. Finally, the tobacco fades and I'm left with a very faint and slightly spicy scent - barely detectable.

 

Additional Comments: I can't figure this one out. When I first got it, I opened it and was really glad I had decided to order it since it smelled so good. Then, when I went to do a more in-depth test of it the next day, it was just a muddled mess. I love patchouli but can't pick it out and I don't detect any fruitiness at all. The mental image I get is of one of those perfume test strips you get in magazines, three years after it was put in a book, to be used as a bookmark, that I never got around to reading. You know it's supposed to smell good but it's just impossible to tell. I don't understand how it could be so different from one day to the next. I'm hoping aging will help.

 

Lasted: Barely half an hour.

 

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

[gingersnapp]

I don't really know what it is that I'm smelling, but I know that I like it. There is another BPAL blend that smells very similar to this, but for the life of me I can't recall what it is.

 

It's definitely a spicy oriental blend, as others have mentioned. But it's blended so well, I can't identify individual notes. I know there's the cassia/cinnamon in there, and red musk, but other than that, it's just so gorgeously harmonious I can't pick them out on their own.

 

Beautiful. Strong. Powerful. I love it.

[turbojenn]

Wow....its as if Beth crafted this one exactly for me...it is so beautiful on my skin, and just keeps morphing all day, I am so glad to have this one! The scent lasted a good 12 hours on me yesterday too!

 

It starts wet as an acidic cassia, something earathy behind it. An hour later, the cassia has faded and the patchouli comes forward ever so slightly, so be nudged by a slight sweet plum....and then after a couple of hours....ahhhhhh, the red musk, which I so adore, and is married well here with the patchouli.

 

This is one of those scents that feels exactly in tune with my body, and my idea of how I want to smell.

[Fefferbella]

I love this scent!

 

Sweet and spicey patchouli and a hint of rich juicy fruits. It's delicious and sexy.

I can sorta see why people have compared this to Blood Moon (which I love), but Red Phoenix is much more feminine and complex on my skin than Blood Moon.

[feline.by.design]

Whoa, hello cassia!

 

Red Phoenix is definitely spicy. I had applied the fragrance before going out for some nighthaunting, and it was a good choice. The cassia is very strong, though, even to the point of drowning out the patchouli.

 

During the wear, I noted a powdery scent underneath the cassia. I'm not sure exactly where that came from, perhaps the tobacco? I hadn't received such a powdery reaction from other tobacco scents, though, so I'm still unsure.

 

Since there are a lot of comparisons between Red Phoenix and Blood Moon in this thread, allow me to add my two scents. Blood Moon doesn't reach the strongarm of spice Red Phoenix does. It's a lighter scent in comparison. For me, I enjoy both, but they reflect different moods. Red Phoenix is nice, but I wouldn't think of wearing this to my job, nor to class. It's strictly night-on-the-town wear for me. Blood Moon is more versatile in that aspect, because it isn't as heavy or overpowering.

 

I still need to review Blood Moon, which I've been enjoying since my first application.

 

Red Phoenix is nice, but I'm glad I only purchased one bottle, because I don't think I'll be wearing this terribly often, unless 2006 becomes the Year of Nightclubbing.

 

-doreen

[Phaedra]

Wet this is a bit spicy and sweet. I can smell the red musk with a hint of warmth beneath it. When first on it smells the same- a bit spicy and warm and almost dusty too. It mellows into a warm, earthy, sweet blend. Very sensual and comforting, quite nice. I'm not crazy about the spicy stage in the beginning but love the middle and dry down stages so I'll keep it.

[Stumbeline]

I smell like total patchouli. I'm beginning to realize that patchouli and I may not get along. I wish I got more of the cassia, tonka, and plum as I adore those. I wish I even got a really spicy smell from it. But I just get patchouli. As it dries down I do smell plum, and I like this stage better. It's pretty, I'm glad I ordered a bottle and tried it, but it's not me and it's off to swaps.

[paradoxicaljlb]

For the first 30-45 minutes, all I get is itchy skin and cassia (cinnamon, whatever) with something a little more tart behind it.

 

Things get a little fruity (plum) and citrusy (mandarin) for the next 15 minutes.

 

But after that's burned off, I adore the smell of the ashes. It reminds me a little of how Love in the Asylumn dries down: sweet, spicy, warm, and a little powdery. Like others I can't pick out the notes.

 

Red Phoenix lasts about 3-4 hours on my skin. I'm keeping my bottle.

[Sheila]

In the bottle this smells like cinnamon. Ruh roh. Not my favorite note.

 

On, the cinnamon disappears quickly. Phew! It's replaced by patchouli (but it's a light patchouli) and a bit of musk and plum.

 

I don't get any tonka (which is too bad) or florals, and the plum is very faint. This is a bit one-dimensional on me, and surprisingly quite light. I like it, but I think I'll swap it to someone who loves it.

[cuervosueno]

Ah Red Phoenix--as lovely as Pink Phoenix is not, on me anyway!

 

I had high hopes for this, and while it won't become an all time favorite, I will keep the bottle and enjoy it. and the only reason its not a favorite is because its not as strong as I would like on me, and it fades fairly quickly--is down to the aforementioned "skin scent" in about 2 hours, and I'm a total scent slut--I want it strong, in-your-face, advertising, not subtle!

 

In the bottle, I get mostly cassia (which my American nose can't tell from cinnamon either). I don't get pachouli, and in fact, the pachouli never really makes an appearence for me, or not a discenerable one anyway.

 

Its pretty true when on my skin, though it becomes rounder, if that makes sense--less spice dominated. I can smell the plum which gives it a voluptuous note--the blend smells spicy, red, full and juicy. In fact, if I were going to name it, I'd name it Harlot or Bordello--not that it is anything like bordello (which didn't work for me) but because it makes me imagine a lush-bodied woman naked in a room with lots of gilding and red velvet.

 

Now if it were only stronger, it would become a true fave! But I like it quite a bit nonethless.

[parrot_suspect]

The notes for Red Phoenix sounded great, so I bought it. Unfortunately, it just isn't that great on my skin. It smells like a watered-down spice tea type of fragrance -- and it's EXACTLY the same as Blood Moon on me.

 

I guess I just don't care for these "mildly spicy" blends. Give me Gingerbread Poppet, or Sin, any day!

[alicia_stardust]

*swoon*

 

I have been completely surprised again. Here I am, this watery light blue aquatic Pisces-type...and all my most favorite scents are warm, red, and spicy.

 

In the bottle Red Phoenix reminds me of Blood Moon and possibly even Snake Charmer minus the sweetness.

 

On my skin, Red Phoenix just blooms into this red, warm, spicy, earthy scent that just melts me into puddles. I will hoarde this like a madwoman and enjoy every second I am wearing it. Love it!

 

I gave this a 5 out of 5 stars!

[Rhowan]

* RED PHOENIX *

 

In the bottle: Warm, spiciness - very sesual.

 

Wet: Cassia and Cinnamon jump out the second this hit my skin! The cinnamon is a warm, wet cinnamon - not a dry, powder cinnamon spice. After a second I can catch a bit of plum and mandarin- I think I am going to love this one!!!

 

Dry down: As minutes pass, the cinnamon and cassia mellow a bit and the rest of the notes come out to play! After time, this becomes rounded and all the scents blend perfectly. The musk and patchouli work well with the cassia and cinnamon to give it a good strong base smell and then the tonka, mandarin and wild plum, sweeten it up a bit. I can just barely get a hint of tonka itself and *maybe* the benzoin? tabacco? There is a note way down deep in this that I can't quite put my finger on.

 

Conclusion: Red Phoenix is *THE* perfume to wear if you are planning a seduction! Preiviously, I thought it was Sin - not anymore. This is a confident, yet warm and inviting scent. A little goes a very long way, it has good throw and good staying power. I need a second bottle - definitely!

[foxroses]

oh man, i need a bottle of this like whoa!

 

i think tonka and benzoin are things that Love Me A Lot, because jacob's ladder = the first 5mL i ever bought. and aeval and a few other things with tonka really like me as well.

 

on first application this is really spicy, but there's something really lovely and sweet underneath - definitely the benzoin and tonka, but probably the musk, too. i don't really smell patchouli, i just know it's there because it adds some richness that i recognize. i'm not sure i specifiically get mandarin or plum either, but i'm sure it adds to the sweetness.

 

it fades in about 5-10 min to a much sweeter scent, almost all the spicy goes away except for a lingering touch, and its just. so. perfect.

Edited January 18, 2006 by Shollin

[xoe]

Red Phoenix, I love you.

 

At the very beginning, this is 100% cassia. Smells like cinnamon, but not quite the same. Then it morphs and slowly becomes absolutely beautiful. Mature and fantastic. I stepped outside after having put this on and the air around me smelled so alluring. This one has amazing wafting power.

 

It goes through a very plummy phase on my skin. and settles down to a rich, complex tobacco mixture.

 

Thanks Lab!