Metal Phoenix

[Lycanthrope]

Tenacity, force, strength, stability, and determination: Chinese musk and gleaming white metal with honeysuckle, rose mallow, verbena, and carnation.

I didn't see a prior review of this up... so here goes.

Metal Phoenix smells very faintly citrussy and airy-sweet in the bottle. On me, it has that burnished metal note present in Bed of Nails, Torture Queen, sort of a faint airy musk. This is followed with very soft, sweet florals, kind of like the aura of scent around a cold flower, if that makes sense. There's a little spice from the carnation but it's not very potent. It seems to be very light, and over time there's a veeeery slight powder-sweetness at the extreme drydown.

Very good, but with less floral than I'd like, and more nice balance between mild citrus ozone and bright cold florals.

[hkhm]

bottle: i get mainly musk, honeysuckle and carnations.

 

wet: this is the scent of a robotic carnation. seriosly, it's carnations with a metallic tang to them.

 

dry: metallic flowers. as odd as this sounds, this is an incredibly delicate scent.

[greenranger]

Y'know, this may be the first honeysuckle scent I have tested where I actually smell the honeysuckle? Honeysuckle, carnations and metal, with verbena.

 

I ...think I like this...Clean and airy, a little spicy, slightly sweet. This feels springlike to me...which could be the basis for a very bad pun, considering it is metal phoenix.

 

I'll need to try it again when my skin is less dry and the scent will have a chance of lasting. Right now with my very dry skin, it didn't las long at all, but, many scents that normally last on me have not been lately.

[twilighteyes]

I am not getting the florals or spice from this one -- but I agree that the metal note is similar to the Torture Queen. A somewhat, in my opinion, masculine scent, it is still one of my favorites of this year's Phoenix scents.

[suki]

in the decant i got this sweet, almost "buttery" (but NOT foodie) metalic/ozone/not-quite-aquatic thing going on. complex, and yet i knew immediately this was not the whole story.

 

wet on my skin, i got a hint of that musk some people have mentioned, and the not-quite-aqua continued on it's course.

 

in the dry down it became that beautiful-and yes, delicate-metallic note that i first experienced in Needle in a Haystack. it's *almost* a lemon note, only it's not- it's burnished metal.

 

in all, i had intentions of getting a full bottle of this for spell work no matter what it smelled like. i also was hesitant about the metal, because i'm a silversmith- i work with metal all day long, and so didn't really feel like i needed to smell it even MORE. however, this manages to keep an essence of what real metal smells like when i'm working with it, and yet make it smell far more ephemeral and delicate than *I* smell at the end of a long day in the studio. in short- a total treasure.

 

 

[femmefatale]

This is actually far more delicate than I expected. To me it's not so much hard metal as it is a cold shimmery white, slightly ghostly.

 

At first it is a bit bathroomy, which ozones tend to do on me, then it goes a bit high class perfumey. As it dries further it sweetens a bit from the honeysuckly and the carnation comes out a little, adding just the barest hint of spice.

 

When it first hit my skin I thought I wouldn't like it, but as it dried I really began to like it. It stays close to the skin and is definitely a scent that's all for hubby to smell, not one to attract attention. I will most likely get a bottle to complete my set.

 

ETA: After trying it again, it was just so-so. Pretty, but a bit perfumey for me. I will keep the imp, but skip the bottle (luckily though at least my decant is in a bottle so I can look at the pretty label LOL).

Edited December 30, 2008 by Femme_Fatale

[iiinterstate]

I agree with all the reviewers who compare Metal Phoenix to Torture Queen, and I really like it.

It's light and airy, but somehow gender neutral. The ozone/floral combination also reminds me of Szepasszony a little bit. Here's hoping the honeysuckle stays mellow.

 

 

 

eeeesh. after about 15 minutes this goes crazy amplifying soap on me. too bad

[binaryfaerie]

Metal Phoenix smells like a lighter, airier version of Kataniya the Clockwork Woman (which is one of my favorite BPALs of all time.) Unfortunately for me, it seems to share a certain note in common with a lot of the aquatics that I've tried, which made it turn a little bleach-y on me. After a few hours, the aquatic note faded away. This is a cool, delicate scent that fades fairly quickly (or did on me, anyway.)

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very metallic and citrusy with an almost creamy note to it.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells very bright and citrusy with an underlying floral tone. I think it’s the metal note, but there’s something in this scent that’s almost salty and ozone-y, and something else almost creamy. This is reminding me a little of The Sea Foams Milk.

 

After a little while: This has blended together quite nicely. It’s smooth, bright, slightly floral and citrusy, and just a touch warm and golden. It’s a womanly metal fragrance.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is bright, well blended, and just a touch warm. It’s a definite metal scent, but it’s much more feminine than the other lab metal scents I’ve tried. The floral notes in this are very subtle, but they’re there. I really like this one.

[Mathenia]

I got mine in the mail today. After letting it thaw out , I gave it a shake and opened it up. Love the scent in the bottle! A little citrus, a little spice, a little honeysuckle, an edge of ozone and metal. Really well balanced, I thought. The metal came strongly to the front when first on, but on drydown it turned into a delicate filigree of silver and tiny flowers. Very pretty, definitely a keeper, but more of a spring/summer scent for me, I think.

[kelpsoda]

I really like this one. It's fresh and clean, with a hint of flowers and very light citrus. I do get a metallic scent after awhile, but it's balanced out with the flowers and ozone.

Edited January 1, 2009 by kelp

[persianmouse]

Metal Phoenix smells like Skittles and hot buttered popcorn.

 

I get no metal, no carnation, no honeysuckle, no musk.

 

Just Skittles sprinkled over hot buttered popcorn.

 

....LOLWUT? This is so weird.

 

I wish I could describe it further, but, uh, that's all I got. Skittles and popcorn.

[schackjj]

Well, this one was a surprise. Wet, I got metal, metal, and more metal. Bleah. Drydown? Still lots of metal with a bit of musk.

 

Late drydown, say 5-6 hours in, my nose stumbled over my wrist again. What have we here??

OMFG, musk, musk, glorious muuuusk!!!!!!! *sings offkey and bangs BPAL cup*

 

I would happily belly flop into a poolful of this and paddle around for the rest of my days :thud:

[zankoku_zen]

This one has the same metallic note as Bed of Nails and Torture Queen - but it's more delicate and airy. There's a faint musk scent to it - but again, lighter and crisper.

 

On the whole this is a very pleasant metallic blend, and I would use it as a starter for anyone that wanted to try a metallic blend but was too afraid to do so.

[caitilarkin]

This is my first experience with the Lab's metal note.

 

In the imp: Ozone and light florals

 

Wet on skin: Ah, here come the honeysuckle and the musk. And the metal note, which registered as ozone to me at first, is very delicate, as others have said.

 

Dry on skin: Now slightly warmer and spicier from the carnation--absolutely beautiful.

 

Time to try more blends with metal, because this one's gorgeous!

[jade_starlight]

Hmm, it's very light and sweet at first, but then the honeysuckle pulls out the stompy boots and starts to polka all over everything else. Which isn't really bad, since I like honeysuckle, but it's not what I was expecting.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Ooh. This is nice, a little sweet, a little floral, but very very mellow.

Fresh on the skin: Perfumey in a light floral way, a little spicy, quite pretty. I'd say it's really not me despite being so pretty, but I can't stop sniffing it.

10 minutes later: Christ, this is gorgeous. Maybe it's not me, but I seriously adore it anyway. It's so... classy. Sweetness from the honeysuckle -- but the fresh, springlike kind, not at all cloying, spice from the carnation, brightness from the verbena and metal, all bound up in a beautifully-blended base of musk. So, so beautiful.

20 minutes later: If I didn't think it would drive the people around me crazy, I would be okay with my entire world smelling like this. It's just, I know that if someone near me has strong perfume on that I hate, it's can be a day-ruining experience, and I'd rather not do that to someone else. And this is interesting enough that I can see some people hating it, even though I adore it.

1 hour later: Fuck, so beautiful.

2 hours later: This is so pretty! So, so pretty!

3 hours later: This is primarily a light, delicate musk, now. Still beautiful.

4 hours later: Hmm. A fast fade, but it's still lovely.

10 hours later: Fast fade, perhaps, but a nice long linger. Mmmmm.

 

Verdict: I really love this, and it has the distinction of being the first Anniversary scent that I need more of. But will I get one, or two? Decisions, decisions. ETA: Did a full application the next day. I still love this scent, but I think it's because I sort of think it's something my mom would wear. So maybe only one bottle. Still, it's truly beautiful.

 

One phrase: Delicate floral musk.

[steelxrose]

Metal Phoenix spends its first six hours mimicking Phoenix Steamworks on me. I'd spent my workday sniffing my arm to see if there was a change? nope. Until I got home, upon which I find a slightly metal tang with an overtone of light airiness.

 

Very nice. But I think I'll stick with just a decant.

[neddykapoozle]

This one caught my eye when I first ordered my decant set, and has become my favorite of the ones tested so far.

 

Metal Phoenix brings to mind little flowers frosted in silver, very delicate and light, but stunningly gorgeous and ephemeral.

 

This starts with the softly burnished silver in front, with the ozone and citrus being really delicate, not headachy at all. The florals sweeten it up.

 

The wearlength isn't all that long, but it's so pretty and different from anything I have that I must have a bottle. The lingering sweet silvery gorgeousness is worth it, and reapplying it will be a delight.

 

I will be getting a bottle.

 

Oh, and rose mallow? are you that delicious wonder that is making that almost buttery, but not quite note I can sniff sometimes? you are divine, whoever you are. Must find more blends with that note.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Extremely pale lemon-yellow nearly colourless oil. Surprisingly soft, delicate, and feminine. Slightly sweet mallow and honeysuckle, gentle carnation, with a tang of smooth metal.

 

Wet: Much more floral with a hint of powder, a slight kick from the carnation, and some herbal undertones - the verbena I guess, which is only vaguely lemony. Sadly, less metallic.

 

Dry: Slow to dry, but the flowers amp as it does. What I thought was powder is soap, and that's common with honeysuckle on me. This reminds me a bit of the Torture Queen (white amber maybe?).

 

Later: There's a weird sweetness that isn't just honeysuckle and mallow, and is vaguely creamy and foody. Orchid or vanilla flower? I also really suspect white amber's powdery warmth.

 

Summary: Sweet, gentle, and powdery-warm but clean and pure as well. Mostly delicate florals stand out - sweet powdered honeysuckle, soft mallow and carnation, and only a hint of white metal. The musk is there but muted, blended. Moderate throw & longevity.

 

My favourite of the phoenixes, but still not really a win for me (a shame, because I love metal for a variety of reasons). I think without the powder (i.e. honeysuckle), I could be convinced.

 

[sookster]

 

straight sniff from imp this is kind of a coconut note??? huh?

 

once applied that buttery coconut note is gone (amen!) and loads of honeysuckle and carnation...

quite pretty and vivacious....the musk note works well....too bad this does not work well with

my chemistry.....

[nekogrrl]

In imp: Yay metallics!!

 

Wet on skin: Here, my husband and I split in opinion. I smell straight metallics with a bit of musk. He smells metallics with a nasty floral undertone due to the carnation.

 

Dry on skin: He still gets the icky florals. I still get the metallics with musk. Maybe a bit of spicy carnation, but nothing like he's describing.

 

10 minutes later: Lovely, lovely metallics. The throw isn't strong at all.

 

Even though hubby doesn't particularly like it, I think I'm going to get a bottle. I think this has aging potential.

[nellieburger]

In the decant: A sweet, silvery, delicious bouquet of assorted florals.

 

Wet on skin: White musk moves into the foreground.

 

Dry on skin: A sweet, white musk. Soft and feminine! LIKE! Gotta get a bottle!

Edited January 11, 2009 by nellieburger

[mgrazulis]

In the vial: powdery carnation and honeysuckle, the mallow is sweet with a metal tang

Wet on skin: a bit of greenish lemon from verbena, the florals amplify

Dry: More freshness from the musk, the powderiness is less apparent. I don't know where the sweetness comes from--but it's there on my skin at this stage. This is where I wish the metal were a bit more out there--but just doesn't come out on my skin. Still pretty sharp on the florals, metal note is interesting. But overall this is really too cologney and high pitched for my floral tastes!

I'm glad I got a decant to try this...it captured my interest with the metal note and the rose mallow. Just not for me!!!

Edited January 12, 2009 by mineralfairy

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

 

Decant: White honeysuckle and the verbena and the ghosts of white metal

Wet on Me: Carnation honeysuckle and the rose mallow

Drying Down: The musk comes quietly forward to play. The floral has throttled back just a bit and it’s blending nicely with ghosts of white metal

Dry: gentle, quiet. All blending nicely together on my wrist. Not overpowering or overwhelming. This is something I will wear on an elegant evening. So glad I got this.