The Phantom Calliope

[LizziesLuck]

Ghostly, glowing, sweet and dark: black cherry, patchouli, cassis, cardamom and verbena.

 

The Original:

 

Wet: Pure Cassis. I amp it like crazy at first, so this is to be expected. Cassis is a favourite note so I'm not even mad at it.

Dry: Gorgeous Cassis with undertones of lemon verbena. This reminds me of Monster Bait: Underbed (which is also almost purely Cassis on me) and since I only have one bottle of that and wish I had more, I do believe I will need a bottle of this as well. I do hope that the new version of this is the same. Notes listed are the same so I figure there's a good chance!

 

 

ETA: I purchased a bottle of 2015

 

I get a lot more of the black cherry out of this, with the same spice. It's beautiful, but very different from the original, to me. It may change with age. I actually love it more.

[vanilla323]

This is for the 2015 release.

 

In the bottle I get kind of a bitter cherry.

 

On the skin it starts off as a strong dark cherry scent which is awesome because it's nothing like cough syrup (thank goodness). It's a real rich wild dark cherry.

 

As it dries down I smell the cassis and cardamom coming forward and they make it even more dark and devilish. Don't really smell patchouli or verbena at all maybe it's hiding deep down and will come out with aging. This is no sweet foodie scent, no way. It's a grown up, sexy, daring cherry scent that I am really loving. I only dabbed a little on and it has amazing throw and staying power.

 

Very glad I took a chance on this baby, love the artwork as well. So beautiful and haunting.

[izile]

2015 version:

 

in the vial: patchouli, spicy and some dark fruits

 

wet: hellow black cherry! is that cinnamon? It smells a lot more like cinnamon than cardamom, no verbena, and the cassis seems to have blended into the black cherry, definite patchouli.

 

dry: spice up front, fruity in the back now. I still smell cinnamon, which is weird. The verbena is hanging out way in the background, but is there if you look for it. Black cherry and cassis seem to be blended, but still slightly distinctive. Fairly sweet, but not overly so, and the patchouli has calmed down nicely.

 

I'll keep my decant, but that's enough for me.

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: Lots of cherry, cardamom, and cinnamon, with just a bit of verbana. The spices in this one are heavy and make the scent smell dark.

 

Wet: Cherry and cardamom reign. The spices grow stronger as they sit on my skin, and my skin is starting to tingle in the area where this was applied. I hope this doesn't end up burning and leaving a welt.

 

Dry: Yep, it's burning and has left a big red spot on my arm. I can't smell anything but spices now.

 

Verdict: My sensitive skin cannot tolerate the spices in this one. I won't be hanging onto my decant.

[astarinel]

Dark spiced cherry lemon!

 

... I guess that sounds weird, but I actually rather like this. Verbena has a tendency to go all stompyboots over all the other notes in blends, and the dark spicy cherry is actually managing to keep it in check for once. I don't get much patchouli, but the scent verges more on "dark" than "sweet" and I'm guessing it's contributing to that.

 

I don't recall loving this last time I tried it when the Carnival was out originally, but I think I rather like it now, at least enough to keep my decant around and see if I manage to use it up.

[Nemi25]

Remember the FireBall candy? Don't know if that still smells and tastes the same as the last time I had one must have been 25 years ago But well, that's exactly what it smells like to me.

 

Lots of cinnamon when in the bottle. On the skin there's still cinnamon mostly but also the cherry starts to come out. I'd describe this scent as a very spicy-cinnamon'ish cherry.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Nemi25

[milo]

Absolutely horrible on me. Cherry scents are either amazing (Gothabilly) or disgusting (Black Phoenix and this one). Fake cherry, with spices and patchouli. None of which go together. A BIG miss.

[sarandipitee]

Cinnamon is loved by me and my skin so the only thing I can smell from the start is a big old blast of cinnamon hearts candy. The verbena softens the blunt and rowdy cassis and mellows the overall feel. Then the cherry peeps through and it becomes a dark, rich spicy fruit.

 

sadly drydown is basically powder spicy cherry powder. Though, I'm thinking with age this will lessen because of the patch. Keeping my decant and debating a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

2015 version.

 

I don't think the previous release was this cassis dominant. I got a whiff of verbena on wet, but its been a pretty straightforward cassis/patchouli dark velvety scent. Think like dark violet purple in color. Maybe a touch of black cherry for sweetness.

 

I can see how it would seem like cinnamon candy hearts. It's got a rich, heated spiciness to it.

 

Cassis, patchouli, dark violet.

[Astarial]

Bug spray! Ack!

 

But I tried it on anyway, because hey, it might morph... and it did, happily! After a few minutes, the verbena bug spray quiets way the hell down and it turns into a kind of... syrupy cinnamon candy. Definitely reminds me of the cinnamon hearts too. It's not really fruity at all, but I think the fruits contribute to that sweetness and keep it dark and rich rather than overwhelmingly spicy.

 

Not something I need a bottle of, but certainly nicer than my first impression.

[welcometothefamily]

Oh god no.

 

It's all cherry and cinnamon (must be the cardomom) in the bottle and it's all cherry and cinnamon on my skin. Maybe a touch of the lemon verbena on drydown. The combination is nauseating.

 

I've only tested this once but once was enough to know that I never want it on my skin again.

[stellamaris]

I dunno, clearly I am not living in the same world with the above posters, but then again, Black Phoenix is one of my favorites. Cherry and I get along famously.

I like this version better than the previous incarnation, the verbena is more of a back note whereas in the older version it was more up front.

This is dark and gorgeous. It's reminding me of Bat of Wealth, and is going right to the top of the Short List.

[Malaena]

This one is very weird on me. At no point do I detect ANY of the listed notes. I smell musty wood and root beer.

[Aviatrix]

I am not getting a huge lot of patchouli from this, surprisingly. It has a strong cherry note and a little verbena. Something citrusy. The cardamom spices it up nicely.

The cherry is a little too sweet for me, but otherwise it is a pretty and festive blend. Not spooky at all!

[agirlnamedfury]

This review is based on a 2015 decant. I haven't tried the original.

 

I love this! Spicy, fruity, and sensual. Cinnamon isn't listed as one of the notes, but I'd swear it's in there... it has that warm spiciness, and maybe some of that is from the cardamom, but that's not the first thing I'd guess. The cherry and cassis aren't as strong as I expected after the wet stage. Mostly patchouli and spice.

 

Are you sure this doesn't have cinnamon in it??? It smells just like it on me, which is a GOOD THING... I adore the smell of cinnamon but have sensitive skin and have developed reactions to cinnamon/cassia blends before. It's great that this seems to work for me and my skin.

 

 

This has a fair amount of staying power, too -- I applied it before work this morning and can still smell a hint of it more than 12 hours later. This one may be full-bottle worthy.

[Spaztic]

This one starts out smelling like fruit roll-ups came out with a Cherry Cinnamon flavour, which must be what the Cherry and Cassis do for me.

As it drys down it becomes less fruity, but the cassis sticks around and something becomes kind smokey on me .

Not too sure what the dry down mixture is, I don't really get patchouli but it might just be really well blended and I'm not 100% sure what Cardamom smells like and I don't notice any citrus feel from the verbena.

The overall feel of this (when dry) is a dark, smokey, slightly fruity sexy fragrance. Really like it!

[torikitty]

In the bottle: nice, sweet, and fruity

Wet on the skin: like candied fruit mixed with lemon pledge, minus the artificialness. I did have a slight burning sensation, I'm guessing from the cinnamon.

Drydown: I amped the patchouli like crazy! I enjoyed it wet, and *I* can still smell some of the fruit, but husband is only picking up patchouli.

 

Sadly, with the skin reaction, and amping patchouli; this is going into the swap pile.

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Straight onto skin: Eeeek! Cherry cough syrup! Wow, if I hadn't already slathered it all over both wrists by the time I smelled the cough syrup I might have put this one off for a couple of tests. But I've committed now... so, here we go. The very strong, sweet cherry smell quickly begins to be tempered by what I initially thought was cinnamon (after checking the notes, it's apparently cardamom, nose fail) and eventually gets a bit darker when the patchouli and cassis kick in. I had to look up cassis, so I found out it's black currant. There is definitely another darker, berry-like smell mingling with the cherry. The verbena shows up last and give the whole thing the 'glowing, otherworldly' vibe from the description. I was really impressed with that, every time I think something in the description is just there for effect, it turns out it's actually somehow captured in the scent. I thought with the cherry it might be similar enough to Blood Kiss but I think I may like it better The throw started out very strong at first, and began declining slowly after around 3 hours of wear. I kept catching sniffs of the scent moving around. 7 hours later and it's mostly a skin scent. Also, sometime about this perfume seems very familiar to me, some random memory it's bringing to mind that I can't figure out, it drove me nuts all day trying to think of it. Oh and in a review someone also said it smells like a craft store and I get that too. Like Michaels at Christmas, in a good way. Love it!

Edited May 30, 2016 by Mermaid-on-Land

[Casablanca]

2015

 

Preconceptions: I've been wanting a spiced black cherry, or I wouldn't have risked both patchouli and verbena. I can occasionally -- but more often don't -- get along with patchouli. Verbena I like, but it has a way of taking over. In this case I was thinking the verbena might instead help these heavy notes, and also might not be able to dominate them. This might be a high-impact brew all around. Mostly I'm concerned about the patch.

This goes on a deep, lush, and earthy black cherry-cassis, syrupy and wantonly spiced. The verbena is light -- very light at first -- and a welcome lift for the heavyweight other notes. However, as this starts its drydown, the verbena strengthens and gives this a temporary medicinal quality. I think the combo of lemon and cherry syrup brings this blend right up against every sort of non-menthol cough suppressant, and it's probably going to remind some people of that, but the spice keeps it apart in my mind.

The patchouli is well-blended, but is both grounding and repellent, in the way it often is for me. In this case, though, I think aging might fix it -- the cherry is so strong now, I think it might hold up OK over time. During drydown the patch settles, and so does my stomach.

This smells like blackened red and dark maroon.

[Coldfire]

Bottle: Dark, sweet and a slight hint of earthiness. heady to the nose.
Wet on Me: still heady and lovely. that medicinal dark formula vicks 44 cherry scent
Drying Down: aww yeah the patchouli is starting to make itself known under my nose sop dark sharp cherry and the sweetness of cassis doing some dirty dancing with the patchouli.
Dry: this is almost sinister in that dark dark cherry/cassis/spicy/patchouli blend. So loving this!!!!