Red Phoenix

[e_miche]

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

I'm going to break the trend here: To me, Red Phoenix is Sexy Beltane. Granted, I haven't smelled Blood Moon.

Initially I was afraid of the red musk- I thought it would overpower it. But no. This is a gorgeous scent- not overly spicy on me (Snake Oil is spicier).
To me, it exudes a quiet, yet powerful confidence- the kind you have when you've gone through the wringer and come out the other side stronger, and sexier.
I'd love to see this become a catalog scent. But for now, I'm going to track down one or two more bottles. Edited January 18, 2006 by Shollin

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Dark (especially after the sweetness of its Pink sister). Patchouli is the only thing I can identify, but definitely not the only thing there.

Wet on me - Almost entirely patchouli, with something else that's sharp but familiar.

Dry on me - As it dries the patchouli becomes softer and the red musk becomes noticable, but with a slightly powdery feel.

[lysithea]

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

 

Initially, I wasn't too sure if I could handle this when sniffing from the bottle. It had a spicy, strong undertone to it that I didn't find pleasant. From the notes, it appeared that this should work on my skin, so I gave it a test drive.

 

A bit darker than I expected. It seems a bit discordant at first. There is an undertone that I'm not entirely keen on. I am hoping that it goes away once dry.

 

This is spicy - in a non-traditionally spicy way. It has a pronounced deep cinnamon-esque scent - different from the cassia and cinnamon I've encountered before. This seems dark and gritty to me. I wonder if that might be the patchouli doing this. Otherwise, I can't pick up a single twinge of the patchouli at all in this.

 

Usually, red musk is one of my favorite notes. I can sense it here, but it feels different to me. I wonder if it's the slight citrus twist that's keeping it cool and unsweetened on my skin.

 

I will agree with the Blood Moon comparisons. This is lighter without the deep musk of Blood Moon - and the cinnamon is less in-your-face.

 

On the drydown, I am left with a slight - and I do mean ever so slight - vanilla feel. Thank you tonka. But primarily, the lingering aftereffects are musky plum covered tobacco.

 

This is probably the first blend that tobacco has come out to play for me.

 

Overall, I am glad to have a bottle of this. I don't know if it will go into my regular rotation. It feels like a "special occasion" scent to me. Perfect for a seduction or when I need an extra boost of feminine wiles to get what I want.

[AngellicMystique]

Smoky, but spicy and fruity.

 

I know this will sound corny, but this is what I always imagined the incense burning next to the wise man in old Kung Fu movies smells like.

 

This is a sweet and spicy scent that stays with me. It's very similar to the aroma I carry after being in the same room as burning incense.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: a bit of plum, a bit of patchouli, and a LOT of dry wood.

 

Dry: a lot of cinnamon and dry woody musk, a bit of fruit. I think this needs some aging, at least I hope it ages, as this has the potential to be beautiful.

[crescentwench]

i'm starting to see a trend in tabacco notes on my skin - they go sort of a sicky sweet smell that just ruins everything else. At first this smelled like rotten fruit, a think that's the plum and tabacoo, then it dried to what would have been an amazing musky spice if it hadn't still had that miasma of rotten something behind it. alas, off to the swap pile, to one of you who has fallen in love.

[desu]

In the bottle: Sweet-n-spicy rubbing alcohol -- huh?

 

On my skin: Spicy, dark, delicious! There's a certain sharpness while wet, but it gradually warms up to a warm, musky patchouli.

[Finny]

In the bottle this smells a lot like Blood Moon.

 

On, it is very different. No mellowing warm sweetness. Sharper, the cassia is really strong on me. I have found another note that hates my skin.

 

And I thought for sure it would be a winner.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - the first note out of the bottle is cinnamon, which of course isn't really cinnamon at all, but cassia. Behind that is something slightly dusty smelling. I'm at a loss as to what that would be.

 

Dry - I have been chalking that dusty note up to rose, because I get it in a lot of rose blends, but this is the same note, so I am going to have to revisit what does and doesn't work on me. I fear it may be the tonka, because this smells very similiar to the way the Love in the Asylum smelled on me, and ultimately I had to give it up. I so dearly wanted this to work on me; I LOVE red musk and cassia and patchouli and benzoin...it should have been perfect. But lo, the red musk isn't coming out to play, and all I am getting now is cinnamon and dust. I guess I am still searching for that perfect red musk blend....

 

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

[jazlyn]

Wow, I just did a review of Blood Moon and Red Phoenix is very similar; Red Phoenix isn't as musky and not quite as strong though. I really like the mandarin in this, but... ::sigh:: I don't think this one is for me.

[ladymissspyder]

I'm having a very hard time picking out individual notes...a spicy (cassia?) fruit (plum?) with an undercurrent of something creamy (tonka?) and a waft of smokiness (tobacco?).

 

I love it. It's like a sweeter, sexier version of Anne Bonny on me. Very wearable and sultry. It's definitely a keeper, and one of the best BPAL scents I've tried.

[bicyclette]

In the bottle ALL I can smell is the cassia. Damn! It doesn't smell sweet at all, just kind of dark and harsh. When I first sniffed it I was a bit worried, but I'm glad I didn't write it off because the second it hits my skin it morphs into a wonderfully complex, sexy blend. The cassia tones way down and I get a strong fruity, citrusy note that must be the mandarin. Cinnamony orange, yum! Eventually, the tonka and benzoin emerge and it dries down to a sweet, almost creamy base where it stays for quite some time. Red Phoenix has great throw and staying power on me and I've been getting lots of "you smell GOOD!" when I wear it.

 

I love this and I need to track down some more!

[silver_springs]

So I bought a bottle off of Ebay and got a pretty good deal. I figured I had gotten Pink Phoenix, so why not try Red Phoenix?

 

I think I can simply summarize Red Phoenix as "Not me.". Because while I didn't hate it, I didn't really like it either.

 

The whole underlying scent smelt like dirt. And I'm not into the dirt, peppery smell. I do like spicey scents but more along the lines of sweet spicey.

 

Well I guess I shouldn't feel too bad for it not working because it had very limited staying power as well. Within an hour and a 1/2 only a hint of it was left.

 

It was a try and miss. But hey that happens. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do with my bottle, I know I won't wear it again. Eh maybe I'll swap it in the future and hopefully it'll go to someone it does fit. I'll stick with Pink when it comes to the Phoenix scents.

 

4.5/10

 

Edit- Eep, it wasn't cinnamon afterall! Ok so at least now I know that I don't like cassia which smells like cinnamon.

Edited January 21, 2006 by silver_springs

[theshapeshifter]

Initial application: Cassia, cassia, cassia - did I mention cassia? It's cinnamon-like, but neither a red-hots candy smell nor the really woody cinnamon-stick smell. I can't make out any of the other notes, really, but there's a strangely... plasticy?... undertone to it, that I can't quite place.

 

Drydown: After about 15 minutes, I start to get the other notes, but this just doesn't seem to agree with me. They're all notes that in theory I love, but somehow on my skin it just seems like they're all fighting with each other here.

 

Eventually, after about an hour and a half, I start to get a mellow, lovely patchouli, but it's hard to find under everything else that's going on.

 

Woe. I really wanted to love this! From all these positive reviews, though, I'm clearly the anomaly, so hopefully it'll find a happier home.

[oatmealneko]

Far frutier than I had expected, which is a good thing. Patchouli & I don't mix well.

 

Plum & mandarin first & strongest, it's fruity when wet, I detect a bit of musk & cassia, but it's just not there. In between wet to dry is where I thought it was going to go all musky/spicy/earthy - fruit fades, then it returns, the drydown is different than what I thought it would be.

 

Definitely mandarin/plum, cassia (spicy but not so much), red musk - fruity/spicy/musky, if the patchouli is there, it's slightly earthy, but it's far far in the background.

 

Overall, very pleased with it. Didn't disappoint, but it's probably not going to work with everyone. It's a lot more complex than I thought it would be.

Edited January 18, 2006 by oatmealneko

[SeaMonkey]

Cassia and bug spray.

 

The cassia does eventually start to fade, so does the scent. I was hoping for more tobacco. Lesson to me, stay away from cinnamon and cassia

[Saliekat]

In the bottle -

Cinnamon, fruits, maybe a bit of bark or some herbs. I get a hint of almond every now and then, too.

 

Wet on the skin -

Spicy and hot - it *almost* tingles on my skin and I was worried it might cause a rash but it was fine. The fruit rounds it out and the patchouli is almost undetectable, which is great because normally patchouli amps right up on me and overpowers the other notes.

 

Dry -

Dries down to a soft, creamy cinnamon - not sweet like cinnamon toast, but more like a cinnamon stick. It's not overly strong and doesn't have much throw but it does last quite well.

 

Le boyf says -

"It's a shame the NHS can't afford it - they could use it to wake people out of comas. 3 out of 10, but I like smelling salts so..."

 

 

This is inoffensive and quite nice, but doesn't blow my socks off.

 

ETA although, it is growing on me quite quickly

Edited January 18, 2006 by Saliekat

[LittleGreyKitten]

Huh. I thought I was nuts for getting cinnamon out of this, with no cinnamon in the mix. I'm glad someone mentioned that's the cassia. Good to know. I'm not a huge fan of cinnamony smells, I must admit.I smell no patchouli in it, but that's just me.

 

Wet, this is a smoky, slightly sweet dusty smelling scent to me, but that's reaching desperately for something besides cinnamon.

 

Dry, it goes pure soap. Why? Who knows. But it transforms into a sharp acrid soap smell with cinnamon on top. Weirdness. And it only gets soapier as time passes. I have a strong feeling it's the fruit reacting poorly- I've found with every fruity BPAL mix something bizarre has happened with the scent after it starts drying on me.

 

For me, I'd have to give it a 2 out of 5 since it just was not happening mixed with my skin. If it had stayed the original smoky cinnamon I'd have liked it much better.

Edited January 19, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[yeahbutnobut]

Red Phoenix

 

In the imp: cinnamon! Well, it's cassia, but that's very much like cinnamon to me. It reminds me of Blood Moon, but lighter and a bit fruitier-I can smell plum and patchouli here too.

Wet on skin: whoa, here comes the plum and patchouli-and tobacco too, and musk! The cassia sticks around, but now the other notes join the party.

Dry on skin: this is gorgeous! Now, all the notes are nicely balanced. It's a delightful mix of sweet plum, earthy patchouli, smoky tobacco, spicy cassia, and deep red musk. The tobacco's a tad stronger than I expected, but in here it works nicely. I think the mandarin adds the barest touch of fruity tang to it all, and there is a resemblance to Blood Moon, without it being totally identical.

After a while: it's interesting what the plum and tobacco are doing here-they seem to be teaming up to add a dark, sweet, earthy-and, yes ashy-scent. I think patchouli may be contributing to this unusual, but pleasant (and appropriate) effect. The scent is bright and fiery with flames of red musk, mandarin and spice surrounding the darker, deeper ashes of tobacco and plummy patchouli. At one point, I get something that reminds me of geranium, which is odd…but I like it!

Then after an hour or so, the blend lightens and lifts like the wisps of scented smoke from a fire. It's like incense. When I sniff, a cloud of tobacco-patchouli hits first, then clearing to reveal a core of fruity red musk with sweet benzoin and plum. It's amazing, the way the imagery of the phoenix is made into scent in such a vivid way.

The final drydown is a gorgeous smoky musk. I think this will be fabulous as an autumn scent.

Verdict: this is my favourite Phoenix, and the blend that captures the essence and imagery of this mythical bird so well! It starts off with a burst of spicy cassia and when applied to skin, all the other notes come out-the musk and the plum, the mandarin and the cassia with a smoky backdrop of tobacco and patchouli-it's like smoke and fire in scent. Eventually, the ashy scent of tobacco becomes more evident, the scent smouldering like the last embers of the fire, and it ends with wisps of tobacco and patchouli rising like smoke to reveal a core of vibrant, fruity red musk which then strengthens once more as the phoenix is reborn. It's quite an experience to have such imagery in a fragrance, and a wonderful scent as well. If Fawkes had a scent-this would be it. I think this will be lovely in autumn, with it's smoky red warmth. A very impressive, evocative scent and very true to it's name.

[Miss Lynx]

This. Is. Absolutely. Divine.

 

Up until now, when I heard about people ordering multiple bottles of favourite LEs, I thought that was a bit much. Now I wish I'd gotten multiples of this. It may well be tied with Bewitched for the title of my favourite BPAL ever.

 

Like YeahButNoBut said, it really does evoke the feeling of a phoenix. It's very red and fiery, but not in a harsh way -- it feels warm and vibrant and magical. It's an absolutely perfect blend of spicy/fruity/musky/incensey. The different notes blend and balance each other wonderfully, with no one note ever totally dominant, but all of them subtly shifting in and out like gently flickering flames.

 

I keep thinking it reminds me of other BPAL scents, but not solely of any one. It's a bit like Chimera, a bit like Scherezade, a bit like Fenris Wolf, a bit like Vixen -- and all of those are A scents for me.

 

The only downside to this scent might well be that it's almost too good -- I am having trouble concentrating on work or anything else because I keep needing to repeatedly sniff my wrists.

 

If it makes a comeback for next year's BPALiversary, I am definitely buying multiple bottles.

 

Grade: A+

[Kiera]

I wanted to like this, I love tonka and patchouli. But, all I smell is cinnamon (I'm assuming its the cassia) and chemicals. It never changed on my skin either. I tried it once, and just couldn't stand it at all.

[Dolly Dimple]

I've been very very lax at reviewing lately. But I'm trying on Red Phoenix for the first time this morning, and this is one perfume that I have to declare my love for. I was a little bit uncertain because of the tonka and mandarin, two notes that don't usually work on my skin. But I think they must be the notes balancing out the red musk and plum - this really reminds me of Scherezade, but whereas that's all red musk on me (which I *love*), this is much more complex.

 

The longer I wear it, the more citrussy it gets - again, this would normally be for me, but the musk stops it smelling like Orange Cif (my usual mandarin experience). I want to slather this everywhere! Really, really hope that this might make a guest appearance at the next anniversary...

 

Overall, I'd give this 4.5/5.

[rinoastar]

In the bottle: This has an enormous amount of throw. It's faintly sickly-sweet and definitely has patchouli in it. I'm in for a wild ride

Wet: There's a strange herb in it, spicy and sweet, but the patchouli is beginning already to smell like rotting leaves. It's got a faint whiff of cinnamon or something similar.

Dry: Sweetened slightly. This one blooms, and the longer I have it on, the more layers begin to show. I can't put my nose to my wrist because it's strong and has a hell of a kick. There's a cloying patchouli sweetness in the background, but the spice and light florals are very pretty. There's a faint whiff of tangerine rind sneaking around, keeping the patchouli stink from becoming too noticeable.

 

Overall, this one is okay. A better-for-my-chemistry scent than Black Phoenix, not as pretty as Pink. It's a "going clubbing" kind of scent, and has heavy throw with a nice long stay. I'd give it a 3.25-3.5/5.

[theseagrows]

this is a warm spicy fruity-floral on me. when i first put it on it is way too strong and i believe the patchouli (which i often dont like) and the cassia come out as the strongest notes. cinnamon generally doesnt work on me, so this one didnt either. it doesnt smell bad at all on me, it's just not my cup of tea...too earthy and cinnamony. as it dries i smell more of the tonka/plum and i like it more, but it's still not really my thing. i also get a soapy tinge as it dries down.

[elphaba]

I appear to have fairly different chemistry than most reviewers on this one. For me, the primary notes to come out were cassia and mandarin. I can tell the other notes are there, but they don't really assert themselves. They just keep Red Phoenix from becoming a bowl of Christmas potpourri...which it decidedly is not.

 

The image I get from Red Phoenix is a gorgeous woman in a red cheongsam, embroidered with a dragon (or a phoenix!) in gold thread. The scent is exotic and sexy and a little bit dangerous. I love it.