Black Rose

[carolinachiquita]

Exquisitely melancholy. The background scent to an ancient exequies. Heavy, dark and floral: a blend of roses, with a touch of amber and musk.

In the Bottle: Roses and a musky scent.

On Skin: Roses Roses Roses and some incense.

On Drydown: This is a very elegant and quite dark scent. It made me feel very grown up but it is very sombre.

Verdict: This is one of the first scents with roses in that I actually like, normally they are too floral for me but this one is just exquisite. However it is very sombre and I think it depthened (is that a word) the sorrowful mood I was in. Having said that though it is a really nice scent and I like it a lot!

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

This musky rose scent is quite lovely. (It is hard for this reviewer to wear rose scents). The amber rounds it out into a lovely blend that has a good amount of throw to it. Unfortunately the staying power is not nearly long enough in my opinion. I wish it had more umph. My scale on 1-5 ....3

[matilda]

In my last order, the lab gifted me with several rose blends. Because of this I am discovering a new-found love of roses. I must say, though, that the admiration has come in spite of this blend.

 

Wet, Black Rose is sharp and sweet. There's something very pungent about it and I can feel it in the inside of my nose the way I can feel eucalyptus (not that it smells of eucalyptus, mind.) Oh, I hate to say it but it's almost like roses in a rubbish bin!

 

As it dries, most of unpleasantries from the wet stage fade, but I'm still left smelling of roses that have gone a bit off.

 

Needless to say, I'll be sending her off to a better home.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: Strong rose, but... a little sweet, somehow.

 

Wet: Still very rose, but the musk is standing out and saving it from becoming too much rose, or worse yet, soapy.

 

Dry: Soap made a brief appearance, but as the drydown continued, it died away. The scent is flatter now, darker and more husky. This isn't a vibrant, lush red rose; it truly is a black rose, slightly withered, very dry... lying limp over a grave that had been filled three days before. It's nicer than I expected it to be, though I'm still not entirely sure about rose scents in general.

 

An hour later: It's crossed over that line of too much rose, and the darkness and musk has ebbed off slightly... but it's still nice.

 

Overall: This is definitely the nicest rose blend I've tried so far, so I think I'll keep it as my one rose perfume... at least until I find a prettier one.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: roses, warm and dark.

 

wet on skin: This is a nice rose. It's not all WHAM! ROSES UP YOUR ASS! It's slightly spicy, slightly musky. A very heady scent.

 

dry: The spicy bits have intensified a little, which is very nice. There's also a small hint of sweetness, like sugared rose petal candy.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: PICKLED roses. Really. I can TASTE them!! Somewhere between a dill and a sweet. This is so weird.

 

Dry: Dry pickling spice next to a dried rose... this just does not go well with my or my nose, sadly.

[puck_nc]

It's rose. It must be tried.

 

Origin: Part of my very first LJ purchase.

 

In the Bottle: It's an enticing, spicy aroma, roses drunk on a humid summer night.

 

Wet: Hey, where'd the rose go? It's all musk now!

 

Drydown: And this was my first experience with what my skin does to musk. Even the tiniest bit, my skin revs it up until I feel like I'm wearing the cheapest of dime-store colognes.

 

Verdict: This one got sold fast.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: Cool Whip... with a little greenery behind it.

 

Wet: Dry, dusty something. Not roses straight out yet, but still okay.

 

Drydown: Powdery note on top, dusty rose underneath, and a soft musk twisting the rose a little bit.

 

Overall: Not something I'd normally like. Cathedral will work in it's stead.

Edited September 25, 2005 by PixieSkull

[Miyabi]

in the imp: sweet musk and amber. No rose.

 

wet, on skin: the rose creeps out a little bit, but not too much.

 

drydown: eeeeew. it's roses and pee. eeeww.

 

Got two imps of this, and now they're off to swaps.

[Phaedra]

This is a lovely, rich, lush rose and is quite gorgeous!! It's similar to Blood Rose but without the sweet cherry/wood/dry note of dragon's blood. This is somewhat mysterious too. I think this will be good to wear at night or in cool weather. I am a MAJOR rose lover and this one is absolutely stellar!! I think I'll have to order a bottle of this at some point.

[LyndaM]

It pains me, but I have to finally admit that amber doesn't agree with me. I adore roses and love musk, but the little bit of amber here makes this go all powdery on drydown. I loved it wet, though.

 

Update nearly 2 years later: My tastes have done a complete 180. I adore Black Rose and I adore amber.

Edited June 17, 2007 by LyndaM

[Cesare]

Wet: Candy rose with a musk backdrop.

 

Dry: The amber starts to develop once it's on. I like the amber and musk a lot, but the rose sweetness in this one is a little too strong. I keep sniffing it hoping that the amber will get more intense compared to the rose, but the rose keeps winning. I already have enough rose scents, so I don't really need an oil that mostly turns to sweet rose on me.

 

Nice, but not for me.

[ancilla_morte]

in bottle: a deep rich dark chocolate mint...hmm. with rose of course.

 

wet on skin: hmm......... very sharp. I'm kind of afraid it is going to bloom into an awful terrible ROSE MONSTER. It's like the calm before the storm. Luckily, I like rose. But more young fresh sweet roses than heavy spicy old lady roses. I'm smelling all sorts of roses. a rose geranium smell, lemony-rose, sharp sharp sharp rose (who knew there was a sharp rose??) in the middle is almost a yummy spicy rose, then at the end I can smell the lemon-ey rose.

this is very dark. very sinister, but seems like it could be kind of annoying and suffocating. this stuff is so strong! it stays in your nose for a while after sniffing it. I probably should not have put so much on, but my mom is cooking sausage so I wouldn't have been able to smell it otherwise.

 

I don't know. there seems to be a generic dollar store synthetic rose smell that I just don't really like. I might have to give this a try later.

[Chrysantza]

In the bottle: Rosy, rosy, rich and spicy.

 

Wet: A potent, sultry rose with spicy undertones.

 

Dry: Beautifully rosy with an undercurrent of spices. Unlike most blends with a resin, the amber didn't amp up and dominate the blend. I suppose because there is just enough amber and musk to provide a background to the dominant rose note.

 

This is a dark and slightly dangerous rose - not the dewy, pink rose that is Moon Rose but more of a femme fatale, deep blood-red rose. The amber and musk add depth and somehow make it smell even more rosy while preventing it from going soapy on me.

 

Verdict: Bottle, oh yes. I love how floral and rosy, yet how rich and sophisticated, this one is. A real winner!

[theseagrows]

rose scents tend to be hit or miss on me, as ive said many a time before. black rose is no different. at first it is very strong and powdery-rosy. not what i like at all, as it fades the musk settles down and smells less powdery, and it's a nice scent, but just not really me, so it's off to the swap pile.

[merivelle]

I love the smell of real, live roses, but rose scented perfumes can be tricky! This one is very strong, but unique. It's rose with maybe musk and amber. It's a strong scent, so I use it sparingly,and one application can last all day. It's a plus for rose lovers.

[silverlilac]

I do adore a good rose scent, and though many turn somewhat soapy on me (as does this for a short period of time) I don't mind that. This, while not a mindblowingly different kind of rose scent, is different enough to be worth choosing over another. It's true rose, with something dark menacing just below the surface. It's strong without being too strong, and lasts extremely well on my skin.

 

I hope to use up my imp, and if this scent grows on me anymore, I may get a bottle.

[gangstaknitta]

In bottle: a gorgeous dark, dark rose; it almost smells like it has honey in it, but I know it's the amber

 

Wet: the rose smells very ripe and dark and honeyed; kind of like red roses when they just start to wilt and smell a little pungent but still very rosy. I remember my father's rose garden would smell like this in late july.

 

Dry: the amber goes powdery (actually, the rose probably added to that as rose tends to go powdery too). the rose note fades a good deal. so sad.

[tarotgirl99]

Rose is not an everyday scent for me, but I like it once in a while--if it doesn't turn soapy. I was still looking for a BPAL rose scent when I tried Black Rose.

 

It is perfectly named. When I was young I thought the dramatic Spanish dancer in red and black on the Maja soap labels was all that was beautiful and passionate--but I didn't like the smell of Maja. I imagined it smelling just like Black Rose--drenchingly, excitingly romantic with black lace mantilla dipping and sweeping. An intense, vibrant but dark rose...

 

I don't need a bottle of this stuff--I don't want to be a diva on a regular basis--but for the times that I do, I'm glad I have an imp of Black Rose.

 

Now I need the black lace mantilla.

Edited January 4, 2006 by tarotgirl

[desu]

With a name like Black Rose with amber as component, I can't say I was surprised when this turned to musky, powdery soap on my skin.

[Voleuse]

This is actually a heavy green when I first apply it--it's vegetative and thick, but not particularly floral. As it dries, I get a sharper hint of amber, and it becomes more floral, but I can't actually catch any roses. It actually gets muddier as it dries, too.

 

This is definitely a melancholy and funereal sort of scent, but it puzzles me. I like rose blends, but I don't get a hint of rose at all.

[sookster]

roses,roses,roses with amber and musk......beautifully done~~

this scent is thick and gorgeous....like a mistress in all her glory

slapping her crop against her latex laden hand preparing for her

next sub.....i do believe this might be key to my next excursion

love this !!!!

[mexicat]

This is straight-up Roses N' Baby Oil on me...drys down to: Roses,Baby Oil, And..POTATO!!!! A definite NO.

[konekoshadow]

Smells sharp and sweet in the bottle. Wet, it's spicy greens. Odd. Dries to a nice rose scent, then changes into soapy/powdery ROSE. Ugh. Did not work well at all. Pity.

[LiberAmoris]

Black Rose is a straightforward mix of rose, amber, and musk, absolutely as described. It does remind me of Blood Rose without the dragon's blood (as has been mentioned a couple of times already in this thread) and of Beatrice as well, for some reason.

 

So simple and so gorgeous. It's been the rare BPAL blend with rose as a primary ingredient that I haven't gone batsh*t over. And to think when I first started wearing BPAL, I thought I didn't like rose at all!

 

Yep, this goes on my list for a bigger bottle...once I get through some of my other rosey bottles. Though I do recall reading that rose ages particularly well....