Black Widow Circus

[hkhm]

bottle: this has a deep aroma, almost like a musk with an undertone of something fruity.

 

wet: something lightly spicy is warming here, like a softly spicy flower, sort of the way voodoo lily or cobra lily smell like a spicy florals without smelling like lily at all (on me at least).

 

dry: this sticks very close to the skin, very little throw, but stays a good while. this has a lightly spicy floral musk scent, absolutely lovely (especially considering i don't care much for florals!).

[thekittenkat]

And the last CD prototype that we tested at SEWC. I got vetiver and smoke, and then some florals and a sweetness. Confusing but interesting. I would like to try this again when it comes out.

[edenssixthday]

Black Widow Circus - I tried this one after trying a ton of other scents at Convergence, so my nose wasn't good at picking out individual notes, but I really liked the scent. It was a definite favorite among the preview/prototype scents that were out for testing at C15. My notes indicate that it's a sweet candy scent, that's warm, with a touch of both dustiness and spiciness. The dustiness has more of a feel of age and memories rather than thick, heavy dust (a la Rat King). It's really a wonderful scent and I can't wait for the next CD update!!!

[myth]

I tested a proto of this at SEWC and I have to say it was one of my favorites of the night. However, I didn't get floral [florals=DOOM on me, I amp them like crazy] or candy from it. Right off the top I got anise/licorice, and a little while later I overheard Andra saying the same to someone else. Once it dried down I had a harder time pinning notes, and I was testing so many other things at the same time that it probably wouldn't be accurate for me to even guess at them. The dry down reminded me a lot of the Velvet Panther / Melainis family of scents though, so I think I'm gonna love this one.

[anomie]

I feel a little guilty that I'm reviewing these prototypes when I am so very, very bad at detecting notes. But here goes! (And thanks, bpal twitter contest!)

 

Bottle: Heavy smoke over fruits.

 

Wet: Oh my god, blackcurrant. That's what I'm getting - that musty berry smell. And a whiff of something brighter - cherries, maybe, or a juicy raspberry.

 

Drydown: I look away for five minutes and it's morphed almost entirely. There's a note of spice over a cottony bedding, and almost a soapy undertone. I am so confused. Intrigued, but confused. I'll be really interested to see what the actual notes are on this one and how far off I am!

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Wine and something baked-goodish, like maybe tonka.

 

Wet: Floral, kind of a dragon's blood impression only the oil's not red. Lots of wood, though, light wood like sandalwood or cedar.

 

Half an hour: Oh, my. I get sandalwood and wine, with something menthol like maybe patchouli or possibly balsam. This is really nice.

 

One hour: Wow, I really love this. It's blended so nicely, though, that I can't make out any individual notes. It seems like it still has a rounded patchouli-esque note, and some wood, probably cedar. It's resonant, just a touch on the dry side, and not at all sweet or spicy.

 

Two and a half hours: I still really love this, and it still reads like patchouli and cedar to me, only very delicately and tastefully so.

 

I don't get anything like the previous reviewers; chalk it up to my weird chemistry, I guess.

 

[zankoku_zen]

I think this has black plum, a hint of smoke and some anise seed/licorice. There's a cotton/linen note to this, as well as some incense... which was more prominent on the wet stage, almost spicy at this point.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Vetiver and sweet florals with a fruitiness, almost like cherry.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells of floral cherry, though very green as well with a slight twinge of vetiver lurking. The cherry-like note could be something else… it’s fruity but red with a distinct tartness. Overall this scent seems very high with not a lot of deep notes.

 

After a little while: The vetiver comes back out after this dries a little and really takes over the blend from then on. To me it smells like a lot of dry black musk and vetiver with some light florals and a hint of that tart fruit in the background.

 

Overall Impressions: This starts out very fruity and floral, but after it dries it definitely becomes a very dark and sinister blend. The vetiver and musk are very dry, with just enough of the floral and fruit notes peeking through to give it a slight feminine tone.

 

[cfrancesca]

In the bottle it's dark, earthy fruits. On my skin, I'm getting smokey (tobacco) spicy apples, plum and vetiver. It captures the scent of a Black Widow Circus perfectly! As it dries the dark smokiness and earthiness start to fade and fruit come out more, it settles into a delicious spicy plum/apple and vetiver scent and it's not sweet but just a little tart. I also detect a teeny bit of balsam and mint in there.. really nice. Not much throw but it lasts.

 

Edited March 13, 2010 by cfrancesca

[ljaylh]

Thank you to the lovely cfrancesca for passing a tester of this to me!

 

Hmmm.. I'm also getting the dark, earthy fruits that others have mentioned. My guess is plum, but not the sweet variety - this is an evil, dark and smokey plum. If not plum, then possibly blackberry, it's hard to tell - the almost-cherry-like top end of the fruit in the wet and early dry stages suggests plum, but when it dries down the fruit turns a little sharper like blackberry. I guess I'll just have to wait and see when it gets released and we know what the notes are!

 

I definitely detect an undercurrent of mint - it adds a cool touch to everything, without being overly minty, but the mint didn't stick around long past the dry-down. Apple? Maybe - and patchouli? Possibly - but there's a dustiness and slight spice here that I don't normally get from patchouli. Perhaps a teensy touch of wood, not sure on that one - there's definitely something dark and solid underneath the dark fruit. Overall this is a red/purple kind of blend, I wouldn't put it in the 'candy' category because it's not really going sweet on my skin - it's keeping a lovely dark smokiness. This kind of reminds me a little of Countess Willie with her musk + plum combination, but there's no chocolate in here.

 

I bet this one's going to be insanely popular - it's quite intriguing and mysteriously alluring, much like the black widow herself

[Dark Alice]

This one is truly a morpher. I was graciously gifted with a tester of this from the AWESOME CHESHIRECAT!

 

This definitely has my beloved dark plum note. With something slightly cooling. I won't say mint..but it's definitely cooling. This also has to have a bit of star anise or a licorice note in here somewhere (as my skin amps this) There is a slight floral note..but it is so light and unobtrusive I barely notice it. I definitely see why this is called Black Widow Circus. I can't wait till this scent comes out!

[Schmoozy]

Like others I can identify lush, ripe dark fruits. Plums, cherries and perhaps berries. I also get soft florals, touches of cold, and a definite smoky note underlying it all. After drydown the florals move into the background and that unmistakeable scent of star anise aka black licorice mingles with the fruits.

I can't pinpoint the florals or the cold note. I want to say mint, but it doesn't come across as sweet. I tend to associate mint with a certain sweetness. It's almost liek a blast of cool air sweeps through the blend.

[myth]

Almost medicinal; something that smells like anise. Also perhaps a dark fruitiness in the background. Loses its sharpness and sweetens as it begins to dry, moving from medicinal to candylike. It keeps making me think of that Fruit Stripe gum. I actually kind of like this, even though that doesn’t sound good.

[crebbsgirl]

I received a tester of this from the wonderful bookandbroom! I get plum, incense and some sort of dark floral. Maybe dragon's blood? There's anise in here too, and some sort of wood. But I cannot pinpoint the type. This is a very intriguing scent, but I can't decide if I like it or not. There's something off-putting about this.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from The_Witching_Hour.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

This is one of those scents that could be awesome or could go all wrong on me, but I'm more than willing to take the chance. I love the lab's black plum note and most of the other notes people are getting sound good, but I'm a little worried about the florals (which the lovely lady I got this from tells me she doesn't get) and the anise (which is iffy at best and a death note at worst).

 

First sniff:

 

Some sort of dark fruits, licorice (this is the dominant note for me) and something almost minty. It's vaguely similar to Chaotic v3, but with fruit and some smokiness added. This isn't my normal sort of scent, but I'm kind of liking this for some reason. My mom, on the other hand, thinks it doesn't smell very good, but we have opposite taste in scents (she's into florals and light, delicate, feminine scents while I prefer dark, heavy, gender-neutral to masculine scents).

 

Wet on skin:

 

Fruit Stripe gum!

 

Dry down:

 

The initial drydown on Black Widow Circus is a dark, rich licorice with a hint of dark fruits (black plum, maybe some cherry). I don't normally do licorice scents (the only one that's ever worked on me is Le Pere Fouettard), but I like it on me at this point. Maybe not for every day, but it is something I'd wear and enjoy.

 

The late drydown, though...that's another story. It's beautiful! I'd assumed that it was going to stay true to the darkly fruity licorice and didn't bother sniffing it again for a while. Then I sniffed it again on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. It turned from evil, dark licorice and fruit into a rich, deep blood red and deep purple fruit blend (I'm still getting plum, maybe some cherry and even a hint of wine) with a hint of spice and anise.

 

The bottom line:

 

Black Widow Circus is going to make a perfect addition to the CD line. It's very true to the concept. Dark, sensual, a little bit evil.

 

I'm really enjoying this. I'm glad that The_Witching_Hour decided to offer it up to me because I'm not sure whether I would have actively sought it out on my own.

[mxtine]

Initially, this smells like evil green herbs and anise. Almost like a shot of absinthe mixed with anisette. On my skin, it's a very light herbal-dark plum scent. I love how this herbaceous-ness keeps the plum from turning into prune juice like some of the Lab's plum scents do. I'm getting a very faint spearmint note from this, but it's only something I notice when smelling up close.

 

Ultimately, it's not something I would normally reach for but it's strangely alluring. It doesn't have a lot of throw, sadly.