Black Dahlia

[Firewaver]

Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose.

Lol... hello jasmine! We meet for the second time this evening, fancy that!

I just tested follow me boy, and this smells quite close. This is a little heavier on the jasmine. I like jasmine, but sometimes with bpal, jasmine notes always stick out and drown out any complexity the scent might otherwise have.

Soo.. when it comes to bpal, i try to stay away from having more than one jasmine scent. This might be a keeper in that sense, but if you aren't a jasmine fan, I don't recommend it!

[quimerula]

Wet I can smell magnolia and orchid, followed by the star anise with a smoky touch like the one you can smell in The Caterpillar.

As it dries down I get rose and amber too, but it looses a bit of the initial throw.

This one is an intense floral for an outstanding woman.

[Fefferbella]

This is way too floral on my skin. I was hoping for more anise and amber, but sadly the floral was overpowering.

 

off to the swap pile.

[Fleurdelys]

This is a lovely, lovely scent! It's a warm, smooth floral. It's definitely an evening out perfume. I can picture Billie Holiday smelling like this, when she's onstage in a slinky gown, and wearing a magnolia in her hair.

The magnolia and jasmine are the most prominent notes here, with very little change on the drydown.

The rose and orchid peek through just a bit, enough to ground the sweeter flowers. The amber gives this scent a warm backing. It also gives the scent good staying power.

Overall, this is a really romantic floral scent, and is not at all sweet. The best way to describe an attitude with this scent is sultry and sophisticated.

Edited November 14, 2005 by Fleurdelys

[vesper]

Violets. All I can smell in the imp, wet on skin, or dry on skin is violets.

 

I like violets, so I like this one. Not what I expected, though.

[lookingglass]

It is a sharp, but white floral...almost citrusy at first, becoming more creamy...the jasmine blooming realistically. Drying I do detect some light rose...and it's a little powdery...that would be the amber...slightly spicy...more mature. It's alive but deeeeep...a large, bloom, placed on a well stocked vanity, slowly fading...

 

ETA: named my black Great Dane puppy Dahlia

Edited November 13, 2013 by lookingglass

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: smells like a pretty, but garden variety (ha!) rose.

Applied: Still smells like rose to me. At first it has a bit of a plasticky undertone to it, but that doesn’t last long. It has kind of an interesting effect that I can only call “rose swirl”: when I sniff it, I can picture a rose-colored spiral. Hm. First time I’ve gotten such a clear mental picture from a blend. Unfortunately, although I get a mental picture thing going on, I am not picking up on anything but rose in the blend.

It’s nice, but a little meh.

(Note: It looks like it might be an old imp, though, so I might have to try this again later if I can get my hands on a fresher one.)

On a scale of 1 to 5: 2.

[Voleuse]

This is a gorgeous, dusky floral blend on first application. I definitely detect the jasmine first, but orchid is there as well. There's also something else in the blend, almost spicy, that I can't quite identify.

 

I wish I could identify magnolia--it might be the creamy floral I'm starting to detect, but I'm not sure. Over time, the amber asserts itself, warming the blend perfectly.

 

Overall, this is a warm, sultry floral that I really like, but I don't think it's one I would wear often.

[SeaMonkey]

I find this very relaxing. It reminds me of one of the sleep blends. I get jasmine and orchid. The black amber is subtle, and the rose and violet stays in the background

[BlackDahlia]

In the imp ~ Amber tones with magnolia. Very pretty. Stronger than I imagined it would be... (which is a good thing...)

 

Wet ~ Magnolia blending with Jasmine. The amber tones waaaayyyy down on me.

 

On the drydown ~ Lovely magnolias and jasmine with a hint of powdery, gorgeous, darkened amber. *inhales deeply*

 

I like this one. And I am much relieved ~ considering the name of this blend.

 

It is a keeper for me!

[Abbie]

In the imp: Mmm... sexy and rich. Mostly jasmine, but I swear my nose picks up the slightest trace of that stuff, so take that for what its worth. I would not associate this with an unpleasant murder at all... it's like a fortune-tellers booth.

 

First on: Odd, normally my skin plays up jasmine, but this time I'm getting more orchideousness and magniolasticity (I totally just invented those words, W00T!) It's a little sweeter, a little more powdery, than in the vial. Maybe a hint of something spicy... could that be the amber?

 

Dry: Mellow... oddly, this reminds me of Magdalene, which must be the roses coming forward.

 

Overall: Not bad at all. Probably a keeper, though not a big-bottler.

[WidgetAlley]

Frimp in a swap. I'm in the minority, I know, but I love jasmine, so I have high hopes for this one.

 

In the Imp: Rose, jasmine, and magnolia. Very similar to Mata Hari, only without the bitter coffee note, or the dry background woods. This smells very lush and juicy and just a touch smoky to me (must be the amber), like a luxurious soap. (In doing a side-by-side, in-the-Imp comparison, I noticed that Mata Hari is less jasmine and more rose, whereas Black Dahlia is all jasmine, all the time.)

 

Wet: A burst of jasmine, which is quickly toned down by the almost-soapy rose. There's a "wet" floral in here somewhere, too, maybe the orchid, and the delicate white full-bodied scent of the magnolia. I can smell the amber lurking somewhere in the background, that sort of purry golden fuzz that's more of a feeling than a smell. Unabashedly floral, but not in a screamingly high-pitched way, rather a velvety one. Extremely femme and "classic" without being nauseating or cloying. On me, I admit, it's close to a jasmine SN, everything else plays a fairly faint supporting role, but I'm okay with that. Jasmine and I have an arrangement... it likes me, I like it. We're good friends.

 

Dry: More of the same. Clean, rich flowers on a bed of increasingly sweet amber. I don't get a shadowed or threatened feel from this at all; if anything, it's delicate and soft. For some reason, I have the mad urge to scent my hair with this... not my body, so much, just my hair.

 

This is very pretty, but kind of indistinguishable from a lot of other jasmine blends, on my skin at least. The Boy, however, expressed a fondness for it, so I will probably keep it and wear it around him. It's by no means a bad scent, it just serves as a reminder that florals are not and probably never really will be my thing.

[LiberAmoris]

Black Dahlia is one of the blends that I feel a little trepidation in wearing because of the namesake. It's really a very lush magnolia and jasmine blend, though, and very pretty. It doesn't feel dark or haunted to me, just mysterious and sensual.

 

I love magnolia, so this is a keeper for me. I can't wait to dab this on this summer and go out.

[Thaleia]

When I ordered this scent, all I really knew about the namesake was that there's a film being made about the Black Dahlia case (starring Josh Hartnett, Hilary Swank, and Scarlett Johansson, click here for more information). So, I read up on the case and ... well, I won't lie and say it didn't freak the shit out of me, because it did, but this scent really evokes the sophisticated, vintage glamour of Hollywood that was, unfortunately, lost on Beth Short. This is what her life could have been. All of that aside, though, this is very innocent, hopeful, but there's something lurking in the background that portends tragedy, which is, I guess, what could be said about many people in old Hollywood ... they didn't come to such unfortunate ends, obviously, but all the same, they had their issues. Who doesn't? Creamy magnolia, rose, and jasmine with just a touch of orchid and dark amber that makes me feel like a star.

 

Is it wrong on some level that this has become an instant favourite? I swear, I'm not morbid, but this is love. 10/10.

[Chrysantza]

This is somewhat sharp in the imp but dries down to a very pretty, sweet, light floral. I can smell the magnolias and jasmine, and the amber adds a nice balance. I'm not sure if I want to get a bottle but I will probably keep the imp.

[storme]

In the bottle: acidic florals.

 

On me: acrid, acidic florals, drying down to a baby powder-scent I guess I should blame on the jasmine. I get a faint hint over the top of how it might smell to other people - the magnolia and rose, at least - which makes it even more heartbreaking.

[girlmadasbirds]

too heavy on the jasmine for me :/

[undream]

having had problems with jasmine - namely that i love it but find it turns in a bad way on my skin - i was hopeful that this blend would be the one jasmine oil that works on me. &it kind of is. in a way.

 

in the imp, it is a soft, pretty perfume. i can detect no one single note, but it does remind me of any lovely feminine perfume one might find at the store. on, the jasmine comes out! &it is warmed by something, but i am not sure what? it gives off a warm, sweet throw, and there is another flower in there, faint, behind the jasmine, tempering it - but i am not sure which floral it is!

 

the jasmine does go a little like hairspray for me, as per usual, for a bit, but it is transient; the other notes ground it somehow and keep it from getting out of hand, creating a scent that is simply beautiful.

 

i do not know that i would invest in a bottle had someone not sent me one, but i will enjoy it while i have it.

[jidabug]

This starts out as beautiful jasmine and tropical flowers. But unfortunately, the rose once again takes over and turns it soapy. I love jasmine, but so many of the jasmine fragrances include rose, that the field of good ones has been severely limited for me. Too bad, because this one started out so promisingly.

[nancybridget]

It's a pretty blend, but the jasmine totally overtakes all of the other flowers and even the amber.

 

I wish jasmine could play fair, but she's a selfish beast when she's involved in some BPALs.

[joiedecombat]

Black Dahlia started out very promising on me, all creamy, heavy flowers, a very lush scent. If you can call a perfume secretive, this one is - it's a scent for a sophisticated, confident woman who is powerful in her femininity.

 

...And then the jasmine kicks in and, as it always does on me, goes acrid and powdery and commercial-perfumey.

 

Sigh.

[juniperus]

Wet: magnolia, yes, and the jasmine, but also orchid and a hint of the rose

Dry: Much more of the rose, the jasmine isn't trying to take over, and the magnolia making a strong showing. really lovely.

Later: same, with some of the amber peeking through, and the bit of sweet the jasmine lends isn't as large or cloying as it tends to turn on me, so I'm pleased. really very lovely, but we know how I feel about rich, darker rose blends.

[Isuke]

Like Hell's Belle, I can smell the lush magnolias....but here, the scent is more a sexy, heady floral. It doesn't give me the power rush of it's sister-scent, but it still wins in my mind. It starts smoky and heady on my skin, then dries to a warm smolder.

[eviltemptressdq]

i smell something sweet... the magnolia? orchid? Not sure, but I'm THRILLED, because Jasmine (though I love it) tends to TAKE OVER whenever it is in the mix, and it doesn't on this one! HOORAY! I can smell it there, but it isn't the ONLY thing. Black Dahlia is A-OK in my book!

[Nekomata]

Ugh, jasmine. Very bitter and overly floral on my skin. >_< Kinda headache inducing. I think I'll give this to one of my many jasmin loving friends.