Black Lace

[thekittenkat]

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.

In the bottle: Mostly the vanilla and the musk.

Wet: Wow, that's some tobacco! A nice cigar tobacco, but where did my lovely vanilla and musk go?

The dry-down: Things are starting to blend together much more so, although the tobacco is still a very prominent note. I was hoping for more of what I smelled in the bottle, the vanilla and musk. I may try layering this with Dorian or Snake Oil and see what happens. And of course, I can always put it in my scent locket. (So grateful that the Trading Post has those for us.) I'm also going to try this on the bf, as this seems like a very masculine scent on me. (Considering that in Victorian times, at least amongst the upper classes, women did not attend funerals, I should not have been surprised by this oil.)


ETA: A couple of hours later, the tobacco note quieted down somewhat, and this became as lovely as I would hoped it would be. If I can find a good single note vanilla musk to layer on top, I think this would work perfectly on me. Until then I may have to banish it to the scent locket, alas. Edited June 27, 2009 by Shollin

[Gin]

Black Lace

 

I can see why Black Lace is a fan favorite. In the bottle it's crazy-musky, on the skin, it goes from musky to tobacco and cotton candy. And vanilla. Lovely, lovely vanilla. I can see where others have found it to be not unlike Dorian + Antique Lace. Pretty, and not as dark and heavy as I had expected.

[Coldfire]

 

 

Imp: old dusty and musty sweet with the tobacco

Wet on me: I get the vanilla and cognac, but the sweetness is cut by the tobacco.

Drying Down: This is not overpowering. It's still all of the above, blended wonderfully.

Dry: This is a grande old dame who brought out her finest from years gone by, a tad dusty, but no less beautiful, seductive and charming all at once. So glad I got to try this one.

 

[Lorelai1945]

Ooooh! Hello lacy, powdery vanilla-cotton smell from Antique Lace! This reminds me a lot of AL, only a little bit darker, which I'm guessing is the tobacco giving it an edge. It's very soft on me- my skin kind of wants to suck it up (just like it does AL). It isn't as vanilla to me as I had originally hoped it would be, but I can detect a faint bit of it somewhere in there. I really love this- I don't know if I'd call it outright sexy, but there's a way that this stays close to my skin that sort of gives it that feel.

 

The only problem now is...what happens when I run out? : (

 

 

ETA: Big thanks to ifinena for giving me the chance to try this!

Edited November 17, 2009 by VioletFemme

[jtb2008]

Black Lace is one of my favorite oils, although it doesn't get worn a lot due to not having much.

I get a lot of tobacco and incense in the bottle and on the skin. Not much of the vanilla in either. It becomes a lot 'heavier' as it dries and the incense and musk come out more.

 

I so wish I had more of this. I it a LOT.

[Invidiana]

Though it's incensey out of the bottle, you really need to wait for Black Lace to dry down to get its full beauty. It's after it dries that the incense gives way to a gorgeous smoky vanilla, which must be the vanilla cream mixing with the tobacco, the come-hither warmth of musk and just a *hint* of booze that isn't overpowering at all. This is just lovely, dark and complex and has a simultaneous depth and ethereal quality to it, like actual black lace. Gorgeous!

Edited December 3, 2009 by Invidiana

[donnatron]

imp: I don't like this at all in the imp. I get watery tobacco and a bit of linen.

 

Wet: The vanilla blooms on the skin and I get a hint of the cognac. This morphs a lot.

 

Dry: I understand why this is such a popular oil but I don't think it's for me. I get a soft, pretty vanilla--really similar to the vanilla in Dorian--with a dry tobacco, a touch of booze and incredibly dry linen. This is the type of scent that has an okay throw but is so powdery close up that my mouth goes dry smelling it. There is something beautiful and skin close about this.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: It's pretty and works and I'll probably keep the imp but it's not really fabulous enough to warrant hunting down a bottle. It's like a drier Lilith Victoria which I vastly prefer.

[Violaine]

Quite redundant for me to even post a review of this much-revered scent, but... well, unfortunately, it's utter love for me. I received this in a wonderful swap from Deek, and I'm so happy to have my little imp!

 

On me, it's absolutely Antique Lace, except... with a bit of the innocence sliced off and replaced with some bad girl. It's almost a little trashy on me, like something a teenage girl swiped from her mother's dressing table. But it's creamy and sugary and deliciously dark. I'm not sure than I can pick out any one note except maybe the tobacco, but it's just magnificent as a whole.

 

I can't help but see a black lace lingerie-clad woman lounging on a leather armchair and tempting a gorgeous man in a suit who happens to be smoking a cigar and drinking cognac. Oh yes. One day I shall have a bottle. One day.

[opticnerd]

This blend is basically a darker Antique Lace on me. It has the sugary creamy vanilla cotton of Antique Lace, but darkened dramatically with plenty of tobacco. I do get hints of incense and musk, but primarily sweet-vanilla cotton and tobacco. The cognac isn't noticeable on my skin once dried.

Its truly lovely and creates a sexy, sleek and somber mood. Elegant indeed.

[cuervosueno]

How odd to think I never reviewed this, given it is a favorite of mine, but since I just got a new bottle from Dark Delicacies, let me review it now and make a comparison between the aged and fresh BL. Actually, they aren't to different, but still...

 

Old (Aged) Dark Lace:

Opening the imp, I get a blast of sweet golden booziness. I'm not a booze lover in perfume, but this is rich golden vanilla booziness, like the best bourbon vanilla ever (though it is sweeter than a traditional bourbon vanilla--the cognac I assume). It does have just a hint--like an afterimage--of floral when wet, and it is at this stage that it most resembles Antique Lace, though a grown up, slightly drunk, and very sexy Antique Lace. the tobacco never shows up as a distinct note to me, but it is something that gives this a golden feel (which, now that I think of it, is pretty much a "blonde tabac" note to me). It is very rich and sweet, and reminds me of a deep amber color. I also don't get incense as a separate note, but it is part of the dark sweet blend, that has a slightly smoky impression (while smelling nothing like smoke)

 

One thing I like about it is that it lasts and lasts, and is rich and sweet on, and while it is nothing like any commercial perfume I've tried, it gives the impression of a very rich and expensive eau de perfum.

 

I get a lot of compliments when I wear it.

 

Fresh Dark Lace:

Blast of booziness again when opening the bottle, but this time it is a little rawer edged, not as smooth. While it is very similar on, the floral is more than an afterimage here--it is stronger and slightly powdery. This reminds me more of a floral incense--you know how the ashes of incense hold the scent but is more powdery? Like that. It reminds me more of cloth holding with incense ash on it rather than incense itself, and more than an actual floral. there was something in it that I was almost reading as leather--just the tiniest hint--but now after sniffing it for awhile I don't get that, but I think I can smell the tobacco a bit more in this one, which is a somewhat masculine note that I might be interpreting as as leather.

 

It is a bit brighter than aged, and as I said the floral part is a bit stronger, but mostly what I note is that the individual notes are more distinct in BL when it is fresh, but aged, it is just one gorgeous harmonic whole that is richer and has more depth than the fresher bottle.

 

So yeah, I'm stashing this baby away, since I can wear my aged BL when I need a BL fix.

Edited December 13, 2009 by cuervosueno

[greenranger]

I'm so glad I got to try this, since I had thought that it was forever beyond my reach!

 

This is the new 2009 batch. I've just opened the box and can't wait to try it.

 

I can smell the alcohol, and to me that gives it a more perfumy feel than many BPAL oils have, at least at the start.

 

The vanilla and cognac are the most apparent on me, though I can smell the tobacco and incense. I like it, though I suspect that love will come much later, after it has had a chance to age, and after it is no longer available again. =)

~edit~

Y'know, this is doing the strangest thing...when I sniff my arm I smell almost nothing at all, but, there's this utterly enchanting scent somewhere around me...

I think that I am beginning to see what all the fuss was about.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2009 by Aerinha

[ravenfeathers]

this is going to be a hard review to do, mainly because i can totally taste this blend. does that happen to other people? some blends seem to leach through the skin like pretty DMSO and become a taste sensation as well as a nice smell. well, except that i've yet to have this happen and taste good.

 

in the bottle hm. sweet, feminine, very inoffensive and "perfume-y". it's got a very alcohol-y smelling base, which makes it smell more like a conventional perfume than most. it's putting me in mind of phoenix steamworks. not that it smells like PS, just that it has that very classic perfume feel.

wet on skin cotton, vanilla, cream, cotton, cream, cotton, vanilla, cream, cream... wash, rinse, repeat

dry on skin fun morphing happening now. the incense keeps wafting by in a big hurry to get somewhere else. when it dashes through, it really tempers the soft, girly sweetness of the wet phase. just a hint of musk here keeping it slightly dirty. the cognac note is giving it just a hint of alcohol whiff, keeping it well within that classic perfume box.

 

may i just say that as pretty as this is to sniff (although not, at present, exactly my thing; aging will tell the full tale here), it tastes awful!!!

 

i passed on black lace when it came to DD the first time because i was sure it wouldn't work on me. i couldn't pass up a second chance on such a rare and loved bottle, but now i've got confirmation that it's Not Quite My Thing, at least fresh. into the bottle cellar it goes for a bit and i'll see where it goes.

[topaz]

Wet (in the bottle and on th skin): Urf- this smells like my grandma's powder puff. I swear she had that same powder for 20+ years so it was all dusty and musty from living in the bathroom.

 

Dry: Ohhh! Much better! Creamy rich tobacco and what I gather is the cognac in the background. This is a girly scent for sure and while it isn't my usual type of scent, it will sub nicely for my original Victoria's Secret perfume when I want to feel all frilly (with a funeral edge LOL)

[kohimame]

Hmm, I can't quite make up my mind about Black Lace...

 

Going on wet, it's very strong. Like a musky, slightly floral men's cologne. As it dries, it softens up slightly, but not enough to take away that edge. I could see a tall, elegant woman with dark hair and piercing eyes sweeping into a cocktail party slathering this on. I just wish that the vanilla that everyone keeps mentioning would pop her head up.

 

I guess I could let this age for awhile and see what happens, but I don't think it will work between us

 

Edit: I just need to freaking wait a day or two before I post about scents. This has grown on me so much!

Edited December 24, 2009 by Kohimame

[papermaker]

This is for the 2009 batch: Thanks to Beth and the lav bringing this back for newbs like me to own. When I open the bottle, it is a blast of cognac. Once I get it on though it totally blossoms into something else: It is a sexy sweet vanilla, with tobacco and incense dirtying up the vanilla cream cotton. I think I need another bottle. I've tried it aged. and that is really good too. One for now, and one to look forward to.

[manusdei]

earlier this week i received a bottle of the new batch in the mail - it has the dark grey-blue label.

 

in the bottle, it's a lot sharper than my old one. i remember my old bottle being sharper when i first got it, but i don't know that it smelled exactly the same as this. upon application, it's definitely a little more cognac-linen than tobacco-vanilla-incense - for some reason, it almost smells like Dorian to me, with that tobacco-vanilla smell hiding somewhere underneath it...

 

upon drydown, it's a lot sweeter than my old black lace. very very similar, but more sweet - vanilla and cognac.

 

so yeah. i really like this, but to my nose it's a little different. unfortunately for me, less of the dry, musky, smoky incense smell i love so much : (. however, it's different in a way that any slight batch difference might be, not in a way that it has been possibly changed... rolling the bottle well seems to help it along as well. i'm really grateful that dd & beth & the lab even made this available again, so i'm crossing my fingers that if i sit around on it for awhile, some of the cognac will burn off & it will deepen up with age.

[abejita]

Huh. This is interesting. My first bottle of Black Lace was good, but not spectacular. It should have been awesome on me, but just not quite. I aged it and it's nicer now, but still not what I was hoping for. However, the new batch is exactly what I was hoping for. It's not an aging thing, I don't think, it must be a slight batch variation. This is more like the dark Antique Lace I'd been wanting. The vanilla cream is sweeter, the tobacco and incense contrast perfectly. Now I finally get Black Lace.

[Suusje]

Absolutely gorgeous. Smokey, sexy vanilla musk. I'm completely mesmerized.

[jeaniejenks]

Ooooh voluptuous & elegant. Conjures up the most exclusive, expensive Parisian brothel, with whiffs of Havana cigar tobacco and rare cognac along with the lady's musky perfumes. It denotes the elegance of the ladies' lace and ostrich feather costumes too & i just love it. V long lasting. I'm sooooo happy Beth resurrected this in my lifetime!

[Cheri]

12/2009 Version: Oh my gosh, I really think I like this new version better than my aged bottle of Black Lace. It seems to have more vanilla and cognac, which to me interprets as warmer than my older one. I could sniff this all night.

 

It smells like the difference between using pure vanilla extract instead of immitation vanilla for baking. I'm not sure what else is different about it, but whatever it is its GOOD.

Edited December 30, 2009 by Cheri

[ralenth]

12/2009 version

 

Boozy and perfumey, very strong throw. This Black Lace is a little more overwhelming than I remember the older version being. I'm hoping this bottle settles down, because I'm getting drunken old lady here. BINGO!

[unlaced]

2009 version

 

In the bottle it smells like soap. Seriously... soap. WTF? When I put it on it smells super perfumey but less like soap. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but the longer I keep it on the more I can smell some vanilla cream peeking out under there. There may be hope yet. The longer I keep it on the less perfumey-sharp it gets and the more it smells like a mellowed vanilla cream. I'm not getting much of the other elements (unless the perfumeyness is the cognac going crazy). I think this needs some time to age.

[kisha]

I got the soap that unlaced got upon first sniff, and the wet stages after application as well. I don't drink, but I think I know boozy when I smell it, and I get a fairly boozy smell also. Once dry, however, I do get a really nice, sort of powdery Antique Lace sort of smell. It's like all of the elements that stained the creamy vanilla cotton evaporated. I love this one and am very glad I'm getting a chance to own a bottle of this!

[Pottersville]

Oh, my ... I can't believe I never reviewed this one!!! I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an original Black Lace and a back up bottle from a generous forumite. That didn't stop me from buying another bottle when it reappeared on the Dark Delicacies site, however. There is a distinct difference between the two batches .... and it's one I hope is resolved with aging as I prefer the initial batch. Both have a lovely, aromatic quality that I think comes from the cognac and an overt "feeling" of cotton. In the original batch, however, the tobacco is much more resonant and the musk and incense come across more forcefully to keep the vanilla cream cotton in check. The new batch has all of the same elements, but the balance has shifted much more toward the vanilla cream cotton, which makes it smell more like Yankee Candle's Clean Cotton! Mind you, I like YC Clean Cotton! I just prefer to scent my room with it rather than my person.

[Dark Alice]

Black Lace: How do I love the new formulation let me count the ways....

 

1. MUCH Less tobacco and incense....

 

2. MUCH less vanilla cotton...

 

3. The perfect blend of tobacco, cognac and vanilla, with just the barest hints of cotton. I just love this bottle and I am so glad that I could fall in love with this scent again!