Phantom

[oakmoss]

Myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose and ylang ylang.

...for some reason, when I apply this, I smell -- exactly nothing!  It's the strangest thing.  In the bottle I can sense myrrh, musk, something powdery and a shimmer of golden warmth, but on my skin...even applied lavishly...I can't smell a thing! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had to quote from this review, because I had the exact opposite thing happen! I couldn't smell anything at all in the bottle -- I mean, NOTHING -- it could have been water. But as soon as I put it on my skin, it bloomed into warmth and spice and velvet-black roses. I'd say this Phantom does indeed fade and reappear at her own will, true to her name. But so beautiful when she does materialize....

[girlmadasbirds]

i'm not getting anything floral or incensey from this... just a slightly sweet, yet acrid smell and something woodsy. definitely not for me.

[Nadirah]

Ok this is weird, I didnt look at the description at all, I just put this one on. I double checked the imp just to make sure I wasnt trying on something else. Yup its Phantom. WHat I get is lemongrass, myrrh, mint and something lightly floral. I really like this. Its very pleasing but I could've sworn there was something minty in this! Maybe my nose is out of whack, its just what I'm smelling. This is a beautiful scent, wonderful for summer A new favorite!

[Lori]

Mmmmmm….this smells like an elegant elderly lady, wearing expensive perfume, while smoking a pipe of tobacco…I know, strange…but, I love it!!! Maybe that is my projected image of me in the future (although I can't smoke cause of bad lungs, but...)

 

It smells like Hearth, one of my top five fave BPAL scents of ALL TIME, mixed with my fave flowers, Rose and Ylang Ylang. Yum! Just yum is all I can iterate right now. *loves this one*

Edited August 28, 2005 by Lori

[Blood onmy hands]

I've tried Phantom several times, at various times of the month. I wanted to give it a fair shot because it is one of my friend's all-time favorite BPAL scents.

 

This just does not stay on my skin at all. There is a split second of spicy myrrh and then it morphs into baby powder and disappears. Very much the phantom perfume. I almost like it just for that comparison. Like a real phantom, appearing in a sudden moment of clarity and then disappearing, leaving you with a few moments of lingering aftershock. The it's just gone. A passing memory.

 

The imp will be going back to my dear friend though. I like a perfume that I can smell for more than 10 minutes and this is just lacking any sort of staying power once it hits my skin.

[LyndaM]

Phantom (strangely, since it isn't listed as a note) smells of violets to me, and gets very powdery on drydown. I love roses, but for some reason I'm only getting the barest whiff of them, here. It's also pretty light with my chemistry, and I prefer more oomph. Very nice, unique and pretty, but just not what I was looking for.

[coulrophobe]

Preconceived notions: This is one of those blends that could go either way on me - I adore most musk scents, but attar of rose is usually horrible on me, and myrrh has a tendency to go somewhat maple-syrupish on my skin. We shall see.

 

In the imp: Huh... this smells a bit fresher and more airy than I expected - I think it's the attar of rose doing it.

 

On: The fleeting "fresh" sensation is gone, and now I'm smelling musk - it's a soft, deep dusky musk, so I'm going to guess that it's black (I'm very grateful that my chemistry doesn't change black musk to a feral/cat pee scent, as I know that's how it goes on some people!). I can smell a bit of myrrh - but it's a small enough amount that it stays sweet, incensey, and vaguely spicy, rather than being overwhelmingly syrupy. The attar of rose and ylang ylang are quite faint on me, and blend in well with the warmer notes. All in all, I'm surprised at how good this is with my chemistry - not an all-time favorite, but great for when I want to feel all dark and mysterious!

[brownbear]

This one is full of notes that I really like. At first it's a pretty, elegant, floral blend. It changes over time on my skin. Usually certain roses amp way up on my skin, but this one didn't do that. After about 40 minutes this one smells exactly like beeswax on me. hmmm

[em_h]

Lovely rich floral smell in the vial. On first skin contact, there's an unexpected nutty scent, and some greenness. The rose slowly comes back, though, and it turns into a nice variant on rose-and-incense, deep and rich, with moderately good staying power. A keeper, definitely.

[Fefferbella]

Musk and ylang ylang... Perfection on my skin...

 

 

This is an amazing scent!

 

 

10ml, here I come!

[cupide430]

Phantom

 

I tried Phantom and Lust tonight and wondered why they smelled similar... looking at the notes, they share musk, myrrh, and ylang ylang as components. Phantom is sweeter and more powdery than Lust by a longshot. There's a hint of some sort of plasticky bandaid note in the background with a sweet powdery rosy floral on top. This is a better rose for me than most, but the bandaid note would keep it from being a real keeper for me.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Mrryh, alcohol... lemon rind?

 

Dry: Sweet myrrh, and sorry I can't tell much else, other than it smells like your average men's cologne, very subtle and unassuming.

[urraca]

Dark musk *and* ylang ylang? What was I thinking? Actually, the ylang ylang isn't detectable in this, nor is the attar of rose. It is the myrrh that is giving me a headache, as it sometimes does. Too bad, because I love myrrh.

[malanna]

This starts out highly astringent, then highly astringent soap. This stage is dominated by the myrrh. The soap likeness disappears, then returns--the soap likeness coming from the rose. Then the dark musk comes out, hanging out with the myrrh and a bit of the ylang ylang. Phantom reminds me of another scent that was a similar color (brown)--Kabuki. There is a bit of a licorice impression, except powder/rose-scented. I really didn't like Phantom, for the licorice and powder and dark musk. Still, thanks to the lab for giving me the opportunity to try this.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of myrrh and rose, with a bit of sweet ylang ylang. interesting.

on: this is rosy and oddly salty. there's an incensy feel to it.

1.5 hours later: very faint. roses with myrrh.

2 hours later: this is soft and warm. sweeter than at first. flowers and incense.

overall: this just isn't something i would wear, but it's very pretty once it mellows out.

[silver_springs]

Phantom was straight-up baby powder when on wet and stayed that way for the drydown.

 

That's all there really is to say about it. I guess my skin chemistry didn't agree with Phantom.

[yeahbutnobut]

Phantom

 

In the imp: rich, dark, heady and musky myrrh and rose and ylang. Reminiscent of Wicked and La Petite Mort.

Wet on skin: whoa, the dark musk in this is strong, it's like black musk! It's a sweet, dark, intense scent, with floral and myrrh notes.

Dry on skin: mmm, I like it. This is a refined, dark, feminine scent, very much like Wicked and a little bit like Arabian Nights but darker and with a twist of deep musk-bonded with the myrrh it makes for an intensely dark, shadowy, sleek and sweet background for the heady florals of rose and ylang ylang. It's a scent that's domineering, and powerful, yet also exotic and sensual.

After a while: the musk has really taken over…I quite like the musk in this-it's intense, no holds barred, black musk, sweet and slick, slightly smoky. The rose and ylang add their powerful floral presence, the myrrh adds more of a dark and viscous sweetness to the scent. There's a real sense of swirling, enchanting and dark mystery to the scent-this is the scent of a sorceress, I think.

Verdict: this is an incredibly potent and heady mix of rich floral notes with sweet, sticky myrrh and a swirl of powerful dark musk. This scent is mature and confident, very feminine but in no way girlie-this is the scent of a grown up, powerful woman who holds mysterious secrets. Sensual, alluring and sleek, but with a definite feel of something more occult, hinting at dark enchantments. It has a similar scent/feel to things like Haunted, La Petite Mort, Wicked and Arabian Nights. I don't think I need a bottle but I really like this scent and I will keep the imp.

[Silverstrike]

The first thing that hits me when I put Phantom on is musk--dark, rich musk, mixed with something not floral (is that the myrrh?). After awhile, the musk becomes a little powdery on me, and I get some sort of rose and something else (not very descriptive, I know, but I'm not sure what they are!). This is a very pretty perfume, moreso for someone who really enjoys heavy scents, maybe Oriental scents?

[Thaleia]

I have to ask myself why, when I opened the vial I received from the Lab, did Phantom smell like salad dressing? I had to take a second and third whiff before I got a sort of astringent, floral smell out of the bottle. Which is really strange, because when I put it on, it's nothing at all like salad dressing, thankfully. It's a muskier, sharper version of Wicked, but it smells very similar. And because I like Wicked, I'm predisposed to liking this one already.

 

It's definitely a musky, incensey rose, reminiscent of Wicked and All Saints (and maybe even Nyx), but I do prefer my roses without the musk. This one's okay, though. I don't know how to describe what the musk is doing to the scent, but it's sort of making it sweeter and more sensual in a way I'd prefer not to have. I'll stick with Wicked, but this scent's still pretty decent. 7/10.

[nancybridget]

This reminds me of Indian women. Spices from cooking, and burned incense, mixed with a soft rose soap.

 

Funny you should mention Indian women, because this totally reminds me of my Indian MIL. To me it's myrrh, ginger, and incense. Yum! This is a great scent for cold, snowy days. Kinda makes me want a cup of Mom's Chai...

[amrita]

When Phantom is wet, the combination of myrrh and ylang ylang are too sweet and unctuous for me. Once the ylang ylang evaporates, it smells very incensey and I swear that I smell sandalwood. At that point it swings from being too sweet to too masculine.

 

The rose is very subtle; it's usually a problem note for me, but not with Phantom. In any case, this blend is definitely not me.

[storme]

In the bottle: hmm, incensey and sweet.

 

On me: Ouch, instant powder explosion. I smell like someone dropped a thurible on a very clean baby. Fades down to a not unpleasant but still incense-dominated scent, a bit too sweet for my taste.

Edited February 24, 2006 by storme

[feline.by.design]

Yegads, this is sweet.

 

Yegads, there's the rose.

 

Nah, Phantom isn't me. The fragrance starts off really sweet, then the rose takes over, creating this powdery, feminine fragrance that doesn't work with me. It actually smells like deodorant.

 

I could see this smelling really good on someone else, but not, nope not, me. I'm normally not this terse with reviews, but... I can't say much more except what I've said.

 

-doreen

[tinyvulture]

Ylang ylang is the star here. Ylang ylang is weird on me – sometimes it smells sexy and exotic, but sometimes it smells like nail polish remover! Here, the rose keeps it under control. It smells vaguely Indian, like the soaps section at an Indian grocery. The two florals blend nicely, and there’s a little warmth from the musk. But, I’m missing out on the myrrh. I think the spiciness of the ylang ylang is covering it up. Pretty, powdery and feminine.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

very musky and old/dusty smelling, with a hint of something else

 

wet:

very musky.

 

dry:

still very musky, with dried roses & lily of the valley almost. After several hours, it smells like a dusty dried floral arrangement

 

overall:

stronger/heavier than I prefer. I may pass this on.

 

rating 4/10

Edited May 8, 2006 by HennaFairy