Black Lace

[Lysi]

The embodiment of Victorian funereal elegance. A delicate sugar-spun vanilla cream cotton, stained by tobacco and incense smoke, Indian musk, and drops of cognac.

Just got my bottle from DD today. I figured that I had heard about this scent enough times on the forum that I could risk buying it unsniffed, and it does have several notes that are great on me. Impressions:

In the bottle: Something STRONG is attacking my nose...it smells really sharp, boozy to the point of crossing over into medicinal. I'm gonna take a stab and say it's the cognac.

Wet: Exactly the same, if anything the medicinal/boozy note amps for the first 10-15 minutes.

Dry: Booziness calms down some and I get a little more vanilla now, but the cognac is still predominant and not playing nicely with my skin.

This smells very much like the Vanilla CT I got (and recently sold), so I guess at least now I know there was cognac alongside the vanilla there and that I should stay away from it from now on. I'll see if it morphs any more later today but for now I'm thinking this one is probably going to end up on my sales page as well. Boo.

[redderz]

I have a bottle of Black Lace from last year, and one that arrived yesterday. There is a BIG difference between my aged one and the new one! I get the apple from the new one too, which confused me for a bit, but I'm an apple fan so it wasn't bad at all! Once it dries, the apple fades and I get a slightly sugared Black Lace scent.

 

I love this scent so much. It's a total comfort scent for me. *clutches her bottles tightly*

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Dark Deliacies.

 

First sniff:

 

Clean laundry? Detergent? Something a little bit sweet and minty in the background. No idea what that is. In the bottle, this immediately makes me think of doing laundry. More the scent of powdered laundry detergent than clean, crisp sheets.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Definitely different on my skin. It's like a distant cousin of White Rabbit, without the ginger (which smells like lemon) note and with less sweetness/milkiness. I'm still getting clean laundry, but it's sweeter, softer and more comforting now. This isn't bad, but so far I prefer White Rabbit.

 

Dry down:

 

Very similar to White Rabbit's drydown on me. It has that crisp linen scent (no more laundry detergent; the sheets are clean and dry and folded now) with a milky, sugary tea note over top, which is strange since there's no tea listed in Black Lace. Maybe I should say that it smells like the milky, sugary tea note in White Rabbit, which doesn't exactly smell like an actual cup of tea to me.

 

It's not exactly the same as White Rabbit, but it's hard to pin down what's different here. I think it may be that White Rabbit has a slight pepper and ginger scent on the drydown that's absent in Black Lace.

 

This is sweeter, smoother and prettier on the drydown than in the wet stages. The drydown is fairly close to what I was expecting, although I don't get the cognac noted in the description. I think if the cognac had made an appearance, it would have made Black Lace a little more unique and a little more interesting for me. With the cognac, this could have been a more grown up, sophisticated version of White Rabbit, but as it is, Black Lace just doesn't differentiate itself for me.

 

The bottom line:

 

If I didn't already have White Rabbit, I think I would probably keep this, but I'm trying hard to keep my collection reasonably under control and they're just too similar to keep both. Since I prefer White Rabbit's wet stage and it's drydown (it's a close call, though), I'll be sending Black Lace onto a new home.

[mxtine]

Black Lace, you definitely live up to the hype!

 

I found a decant of the original version of Black Lace (not apple version--which is great b/c I don't really like apple scents). Initially it's very cologney but something I find comforting. It smells a lot like an Estee Lauder perfume my mom wore, maybe Knowing?

 

It's so perfect in it's simplicity. It's incensey without being smokey, boozy without being cloying, warm and fuzzy with just the right amount of smooth, creamy vanilla. I love the cotton/linen accord in this blend. I was wary of trying this for a long time because I was afraid it would smell like dryer sheets. It's absolutely beautiful. A+++

 

ETA...this stuff has some great throw!

Edited November 5, 2010 by mxtine

[joyellen]

Resurrected. Aged 1 year.

 

Let me preface this by saying that fresh, this was just too much for me. The tobacco and incense were all I could smell and they were far too strong for my liking. One tiny dot applied from the tip of a toothpick was bordering on Too Much Perfume. I put it away with the intent to eventually sell or swap it, but when I was finally going to, I sniffed it again and realized that it had changed with age.

 

In the bottle: Musky, sweet, and a bit incensey. I think I can smell the cotton. I'm vaguely reminded of dryer sheets. I hope this doesn't end up like linen, because linen doesn't like my skin.

 

Wet: Indian musk is the dominant note. Tobacco and incense are grounding it, keeping the musk from becoming overwhelming. I can also smell the sugar-spun vanilla cotton, but it's far in the background. Musk is definitely the most prominent note.

 

Drydown: After about 10-15 minutes, the musk calms down and that vanilla cotton sweetens up nicely. I love that the tobacco, incense and cognac combination isn't overpowering. It's very smooth.

 

After about an hour, the tobacco and incense are starting to fade a bit. Now it's a faintly spicy vanilla blanketed in a dusting of sugar. Holy cow! I wish I could immediately fast forward to this point because I'm loving it.

 

Although it's sweet because of the sugar-spun vanilla cotton, Black Lace could very easily be a unisex scent. In fact, I'm going to ask my boyfriend to try it tonight. I'm really glad I gave it time to age because it went from overpoweringly smoky to a smooth, well-rounded scent. I don't think I'd reach for this oil on a regular basis, but I'm definitely glad I gave it a chance to come into its own with age. I think I'll enjoy this most during cold weather.

[lothien]

THIS. This is what I expected Black Lace to smell like.

 

I am one of those who got an appley bottle from DD earlier this year. I let it sit for several months, thinking that maybe the apple would fade, but no, not really. Still hit with apple every time I opened it to sniff. On the skin it remained same as in the bottle. I was disappointed...

Recently, I found a bottle on LJ of the non-apple version, and though I am on a perfume-buying moratorium, I had to pick it up.

 

It is exactly as the description led me to believe it would smell - vanilla-ish cotton, lovely tobacco and incense. There is some cognac (I don't really find it boozy, but I love BPAL's cognac note, so I may be biased, there), and nice deep musk that makes its appearance as the other notes settle in.

Dry, it doesn't morph much, though the cotton aspect fades a bit.

 

Overall, sweet and comforting, and definitely one of my favorite BPAL scents.

I have a bit from the bottle of the apple one I sold to someone who would appreciate it more, and I would not guess that these are the same perfume. Wacky, but I am very glad I tried again; this one is really beautiful.

Edited December 8, 2010 by dragonsidhe

[Icekitten]

Aahh I didnt even review my love! ^^

 

The first time i got Black Lace was from a very sweet girl from my country we were swapping some stuff and i wanted to know what the fuss was all about Black Lace.

 

In the decant and even after i put it on my skin, i just thought this is sooo not me.

This is a perfect man perfume the one that is gonna turn your head to look at him mmm so sexy!!

So i thought i will give it to my sexy boyfriend ^^.

 

But after i got home (i was having a sniff n meet with my friends) the scent was changed to the most wonderful lovely and mindblowing scent that i ever had on!!

 

It comforts me and reminds me of days that were easy and sunny.

So everytime i put this on i just dream away and think of the most lovely things.

 

To you my love, i will wear thee forever....

(untill it's gone and need me a bottle ^^)

 

I did gave a blurry review of the 2007 version

But for me Black Lace started out a bit strong male colony after a while this get a little less strong and more vanilla comes out.

It's a very sexy perfume, and has the perfect name for it

 

The 2009 version:

I just got 2 bottles from Darkdel they arrived a week ago and stayed at my friends house.

Yesterday i finally picked them up and instant slatherd it all over my arm.

I wonderd if i would get the same apple scent some people get, but i dont at all!

To me this is very simulair to the 2007 version

Colony, vanilla, sweet and smokey (incense)

I dont get any spicy, boozy or apple notes from this.

Cant make a better discription then :love!:

[angburfield]

Black lace is my all time, go to sexy evening out scent. Elegant, classy, a little old world and refined yet heady and takes over the room. The smoky vanilla blended with tobacco, cognac and incense are topped off and perfectly blended with a deep sensual musk. What to wear when you are in a little black dress..killer heels and red lipstick (with black lace underneath of course). One of my top 10 Bpals.

[strahlend]

It's been a year since my initial review and apparently aging has dramatically changed my experience of this scent, so this is an update. This is one of those scents that makes me think that my nose is living on some other planet. I have two bottles of the older Res version (before the apple issue came up) and they both smell the same to me, so it's not a batch thing. I swear that when I put this on all I smell is black musk with a rich, dark vanilla undertone.

This is a strong scent and it lasts a good long while. I like it quite well. I wish I could smell for a moment any of the listed notes or anything like what other people mention though, that would be cool too.

Edited March 20, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[grrrlennyl]

Black Lace

 

On: I can definitely get the cotton and sugar, but there's something light and almost fruity that I can't identify. Very pretty.

1 hour in: Sweet incense, tobacco, and cognac.

3 hours in: Sweeter now and mostly an incense scent.

26 hours in: Vaguely sweet with a bit of incense.

Overall: This one definitely lasts, but it isn't really me.

[revinn]

I smell like an ashtray..with the faintest bit of vanilla BARELY detectable close to the skin.

 

I suspect that tobacco, a note I have little experience with, amps on my skin. I'll age this for a few more months and see if it improves!

[calivianya]

I'm glad I had the opportunity to try this blend.

 

I cannot compare Antique Lace and Black Lace, but I can provide counterpoints to Red Lace. Black Lace is more aloof and elegant than Red Lace. Red Lace is candy sweet, but while I can smell the vanilla cotton note here, Black Lace is overall not a sweet scent on my skin. I am mostly getting tobacco and musk, and the combination is delicious. I'm afraid I'm going to have to search down a bottle now.

[angelamaria]

In tester: funereal and heady; that first whiff reminded me solidly of Annabel Lee. Elegant and almost aloof; creamy but also cologney, somehow. There's that definite incense and Indian musk tones. Not very promising, but we'll see!

 

Wet on skin: whew, hello incense. I know there's no mention of it in the notes, but I am getting vetiver from this....which is not promising in the slightest. Also some patchouli? My nose can interchange the two scents sometimes. This is definitely on the dark/black side.

 

Dry: ah, powdery patchouli now, I think! Over the times I've given patchouli blends a try, I usually end up with some powder, in varying degrees. Given that these types of notes are so popular in the community, I can get the demand for this; and even though I don't usually like patchouli, and I usually hate vetiver, I can say that this IS pretty. But...it's going to powder fairly quickly, just a few minutes drying and everything else seems to have gotten swamped by it. Oh well!

 

Verdict: as I said, I can understand the demand for this blend, but thankfully this is not something I would wear, or can even wear. Very pretty, though!

[invisible iris]

This is the 2010 version with no apple.

 

In the Bottle: Musk and cognac, so potent and heady that it's difficult to distinguish notes, sweetened slightly with vanilla. At first I worry that it’ll give me a headache, but it doesn't.

 

On skin: I get a cream cotton note--the cotton is more of a texture for me, not a "clean linen" note--with darker incensey/musky/tobacco swirling around behind it… and a boozy, brain-tickling cognac. It’s still very “bam,” heady and woozy in this stage.

 

Dry: Prominent notes of tobbaco and boozy cognac, with sweet cottony vanilla and an unobtrusive but haunting musk. The headyness has really calmed at this point. For a while I thought it had faded down to a relatively light scent because it didn't seem intense when I put my nose close to my wrist. But then I realized that my skin was giving off huge wafts of dramatic but at the same time delicate throw. The cream cotton has a definite feminine and almost velvety texture. I agree that this scent is more aloof than Red Lace, Black Lace is elegant and buttoned-up, high-waisted or corseted sensuality. Victorian gothic in style, a scent that makes me feel underdressed and in the wrong context, like instead of sitting at home I should be at a dimly-lit salon where somebody is solving a murder mystery.

 

Verdict: I don’t know how often I’ll wear this, as it’s got a more formal vibe than I normally go for. But I think it's lovely and I’ll be glad to have my bottle for special occasions.

[Vega]

Reviewing the original 13th Anniversary version.

 

Sniffed: The sweet sugar of Antique Lace, but darkened.

 

On skin: I thought the pure fluffy-sugar-sweetness of Antique Lace was quite boring. So I was ecstatic that Black Lace is Antique Lace taken to a whole 'notha level -- to a fantastic level, in fact! The simple, sweet powdery sugar is darkened and smoothened by the other notes, which, while contributing a distinct rich scent, are all a bit too blended and obscured for me to distinguish, though I think I can identify the incense and tobacco. The sugar remains the dominant note, a sweet haze through which the deeper notes are faintly distinguishable. Black Lace is a languorous, blurry scent, rounded without edges; it is overall warm, dark and cozy, sweet in both a sugary and non-sugary way. I'm not even sure what colour impression I'm getting -- perhaps a curious blend of sheer, delicate dark-red-and-black lace seen through a smoky-blue haze?

 

Verdict: "Languorously decadent" is my short description of Black Lace! After the disappointment of Antique Lace, I'm so glad to find a sugary blend that I like. Black Lace is the perfect mix of sweet light sugar and dark depth. Seems that I do gravitate to the darker blends, after all.

[troublehunter]

The 'non-apple' version:

 

I had some preconceived notion of what Black Lace would smell like. A friend told me it was pretty 'perfume-y' when first sniffed and applied, but after dry-down, it's a nice substitute for Antique Lace.

 

She was absolutely right!

 

I received a bottle of this before an imp, and upon sniffing, I almost instantly decided it wasn't for me. My nose isn't very good at discerning notes at all, and this just smelled like perfume to me. It's quite strong and smells exactly like what I'd expect perfume to smell like.

 

It's the same when I applied it, and quite strong.

 

After reading reviews, I see some other people have had some morphing happy after 10-15 minutes. It seemed to take about half an hour for me, but it did indeed morph. The scent settled into something really pleasant and really, really reminiscent of Antique Lace. Sniffing it after an hour, I pretty much couldn't tell the difference between the two laces. (Again, my nose isn't so great at discerning scents so how similar they are is probably exaggerated here, but to me, it's a perfect substitute!)

 

I'm anticipating myself being too impatient to wait out the half hour for this to settle and might not end up using Black Lace enough to justify owning a bottle. It's absolutely perfect after it morphs on my skin, though!

[Honey]

Testing from an empty bottle..

 

 

Bottle: Clean, crisp apples wrapped in smoke and earth. Light and fresh and dark and smokey at the same time.

 

On skin: Like tobacco swirls that hit clean crisp green apples. Could be less heavy on the tobacco for my taste, though. Only slightly sweet but have a faint burned sugar sensation.. that's why I have to think of roasted apples or something. Hmm, how odd. Not unpleasant, but not what I expected. There is also a menthol undertone.. I guess that this with the apple note was used to create that clean linen scent. It's something else but it still reminds me of Samhain.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I have heard about this scent since I joined the forum, and when I saw an imp up for grabs, I jumped. I'm actually kind of hoping that I don't like it simply because it's kind of hard to find.

 

Wet: Incense and vanilla, slight hint of cognac. Wow. I'm not usually a huge incense fan, but this is really pretty.

 

Dry down: The incense fades a little, and the vanilla sweetens up with a little more cognac. I'm really quite liking this!

 

Dry: The incense comes back out to play and so does the tobacco, tempering out the sweetness of the vanilla.

 

Final thoughts: The lasting power and throw on this are quite amazing. A drop is *almost* too much, which is excellent because my decant will last longer, prolonging the inevitable search for this beautiful scent.

 

Verdict: Hoarding.

[mistressfizz]

This is the res, non-apple version.

 

Sniff: Dark and warm, a mixture of amber and tobacco. The tobacco is quite sooty and smokey.

 

Wet: The tobacco is not as strong now, the blend as a whole seems to lighten on my skin. There's a hint of vanilla, not too sugary or girly, but a nice offset to an otherwise dark scent. In the background, I detect a sharpness, I think that must be from the cognac. I get a very hazy, blurry impression from this phase.

 

Dry: As it dries, this gets progressively lighter and sweeter. The tobacco has turned dusty, almost like incense. There's a tiny hint of citrus or some other fruit that emerges, mixed with the vanilla. A very interesting blend, I think I like the wet phase best, but overall it's a terrific embodiment of the "black lace" concept. Dark and moody, spiked with sweet!

[Monday]

Got a bottle of the resurrected non-apple version. In the bottle this is a light feminine perfume.

On my skin it blooms into a sugary floral it does remind me a bit of cotton candy but it's not a foody scent. Then the tobacco pops up plus some incense. The tobacco isn't overpowering the scent though it blends beautifully with the vanilla and cognac.

I like this more than I thought I would (I'm not a tobacco-fan) this is a very sophisticated scent it's beautiful but also not quite me.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): It smells like cotton infused with a heady vanilla while the incense and the tobacco wind slowly along the top notes. There is a little greenness to the scent, which might be the cognac.

 

Wet: The cotton is much stronger on my skin. The vanilla and a bit of incense just peak out. There is just the slightest hint of cream.

 

Dry: Unfortunately, the scent did not hold up to my 15 hour day + workout. I reapplied, so this is a quick dry evaluation. It smells like crisp, clean cotton that has been wrapped around creamy vanilla tarts. There is still a lovely hint of incense and musk that makes it smell slightly exotic and deliriously complex. The more it dries, the stronger the cognac becomes. It’s a rather intriguing scent and I would certainly wear it more often if I had more.

[Incendiare]

The very first impression of Black Lace that I got was cologne. It's probably the sharp cotton note mixed in with the musk. Wet, it's the same. But after a few minutes, it lightens up at bit. I can't smell the vanilla straight up but I'm guessing that the softer, warmer notes such as the vanilla and cream are pulling the other aggressive notes back. This has some seriously insane throw. I actually really like this one, but I especially like it layered over Black Heart. Glad I swiped a bottle of this one. It's a type of blend that I don't normally go for but it's ultra unique, dark, and mysterious.

[OctoberGwen]

I looked forward to this one quite a lot, but when I finally got my hands on some I was disappointed.

 

Something in here doesn't work for me; it may be the linen note or possibly the cognac; whatever it is, it's sharp and unpleasant on my skin and I don't care for it at all.

 

I'll stick with my beloved Red Lace...the Black just isn't for me.

[detritius]

This is a lot muskier than I expected, and a lot stronger. It dries down to something very, very nice -- like a very refined and feminine cross between Snake Oil and Hellfire -- but I have to remember not to apply it to heavily in the future.

[Smaragdina]

I somehow, magically, managed to snag a full bottle of the original Black Lace. Unsniffed, because I've seen so many people sing its praises and because every note sounds like HEAVEN on me.

 

It does not disappoint.

 

It's such a strange scent, though! In the bottle it's cottony, powdery incense with a sharp note that's similar to Hellfire. Nothing special. Wet, the same. It's faint on my wrist and rather conventional. But as I go about my day I get the most magical whiffs of this deep, rich, gorgeous golden vanilla scent. I don't quite know how to describe it. The vanilla and deep golden musk and incense are on top, the tobacco is sweet and grounding, and there's flashes of cognac and dusty stained linen. The sweetness mellows and grows thoughout the day and it ends up as this lovely round warm sexy musk/vanilla. On my wrist up close, it's still golden powdery-sweet; it's nice. But the actual scent...dear god.

 

It's almost like Morocco, if Morocco traded in the spicy sun-kissed exoticism for a corset and velvet opera gloves. It's that same sexy, musk-tinged, luxurious warmth.

 

It's dark and sweet and romantic and all victorian elegance. It's tea in a gorgeous gothic English mansion, where the widowed lady of the house serves you crumbling molasses cookies and cognac on her fine china and monogramned linens gone yellow with age. Her black mourning dress is long-skirted and high-collared, with jet embroidery; her pearls are lovely. She's younger than you might expect and beautiful behind the veil, in a librarian-esque sort of way. If it weren't for all her dignity and propriety you'd wonder, for a moment, if those rumors about cyanide in her husband's tea were true. You'd wonder if she's trying to seduce you. Steal your inheritance and ruin you for every other woman. And you wouldn't mind. That's the smell of Black Lace. It's utterly WONDERFUL.

 

Oh, and it lasts forever too.

 

I have found my holy grail.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Smaragdina