The Black Temple Burlesque Troupe

[Verios]

Cacao, black musk, and tobacco absolute.

This was my first introduction to BPAL--and what an introduction! This has to be one of my favorite smells, ever--it's a rich chocolate, without getting too foody/sweet...I can definitely smell the tobacco (my skin loves tobacco scents), and that and the black musk add a wonderful edginess to this. I love the way these notes blend with one another!

The only issue I have when I wear this scent (and it lasts all day), is that I find myself surreptitiously sneaking sniffs of my arm!

[TulaMontage]

In the imp - Chocolate musk! I don't think I like musk... It always pinches at my nostrils, but I hadn't realised it properly until now, when there are no other notes to blame it on or hide beneath.

 

Wet - Chocolate leather! Woaaaaaaa. What a deep, sultry and downright raunchy scent. I am glad the headache musk has sulked into the background. I was very worried about that. It's sweaty and sexy!

 

Dry - It took forever to dry! And the musk is back. But you know what, I can live with it. This is just such a sexy scent. It's melted chocolate slathered over a sensual musky woman dressed in fine leather and sucking on a sweet cigarette. It's gorgeous, and I will be wearing it when my boyfriend gets home

 

Verdict - I need to find a bottle of this beauty!

Edited April 12, 2010 by TulaMontage

[iiinterstate]

I was so close to selling this off because it didn't work on me when it was fresh.

 

When I tested it today, it started off predominately chocolate, which I don't really like. Too cloying. But within ten minutes it had become dark and smoky and sexy. Its the chocolate blend for people who don't like chocolate.

[gchris]

A very thick dark oil. First sniff reminds me faintly of chocolate and something else which I'm sure are the tobacco and black musk. I must say this blend is not for everyone and not for the faint of heart.

[moosue]

I am the aforementioned faint of heart. This blend is definitely not for me.

Chocolate is a note I love, and I get none of it in this. Instead I get a heavy, foreboding tobacco and black musk. It's very dark smelling (and looking, for that matter).

It smells like the bad guy in a very dark action movie.

[mhickle]

As a burlesque performer, I had to have this, and do sometimes wear it for shows. It's chocolately, but not too foody because the musk and tobacco absolute keep it firmly in sexy territory. The cacao takes a bit of a backseat to the other two components. It gets a little bit sweeter on my skin, but still never wanders into being a dessert.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: nose away from my arm it smells like coco puffs! Up close, coco-puffs sopping in black musk instead of milk with a dirty man watching me while he smokes a pipe. This is turning into a bizarre dream.

 

Drydown: Went through a pure coco puffs stage, but settled nicely as the tobacco absolute and black musk takes more of a hold. There's a fresh plant smell in the background that I contribute to the tobacco.. but wait, they said cacao so that could me in husk cocoa.. anyways. It's not just all chocolate and smutty musk. yay!

Edited October 27, 2010 by SophieCedar

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Blended black muck and tobacco, with a hint of cocoa

Wet on skin: The blend is spicy on my skin. I get hints of cardamom that I can smell through the black musk & tobacco combo.

Dry on skin: Musky cocoa and tobacco.

Final thoughts: This is a pretty potent dark oil! The thick oil separates naturally, so it's better to gently roll and heat the bottle between your palms before applying. It may stain the skin, but it's a small price to pay for the drydown! A dry musky cocoa, slightly sweetened and stained with tobacco. It's not foody at all. I don't use it much often, but when I do, it makes me feel comforted, warm (and slightly evil).

Try if you like: 13, Boomslang

[Nadirah]

Smokey Tobacco and vanilla with leather. BTBT is wonderful, long lasting and sexy. The one part of it I am not too fond of is how ooie gooie the oil is. It stains my hands. When I apply the oil I find the best way is behind my neck in my hair. This way it warms up and is not sticky on my skin. I have rather thick dark hair so it works best for me this way. This is something worth having or at least trying out once in your life.

[subtlesiren]

Sad, sad day. I was so excited when I won this on eBay. But I think this scent was the final nail in musk's coffin. In the bottle, I get mostly cacao, no tobacco, and powdery musk. Before I even put it on, I knew it was going to go the route Haunted did: sickly sweet baby powder. And it did. I am so disappointed. BPAL is definitely educating me on what works and doesn't work, and for some reason I thought that musk worked on me. Alas, I will be sending these ladies off to a new home.

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: A dark, almost boozy chocolate - like those booze-filled chocolates you can buy in gift packs around Christmas. The black musk smells more like red musk to me, though it's probably just the sweetness of the cacao that's tricking my nose into thinking that. The tobacco is the least noticeable note, but it's definitely there, smooth and smoky. This is delectable.

 

Wet: The cacao mellows out quite a bit, letting the black musk come to the foreground. It still smells like red musk, but it's getting darker and grittier, at least. The tobacco's just hanging on. And there's something a little sharp and cold about this, like there's a hint of menthol or something.

 

Dry: Huh. Is there any anise in this? Because I'm smelling anise. Otherwise, the black musk actually smells like black musk now, very dark and earthy. The cacao is pretty much gone. And the tobacco is mostly just a vague smoky presence now.

 

An Hour Later: More like three hours later, oops. It smells like a cigar, and luckily I happen to love the smell of cigars! It's sweet, smooth, smoky, and warm. Obviously, the tobacco has become the dominant note... but it's still different from most tobacco notes I've smelled. It's sweeter. I suppose that's thanks to the cacao - which doesn't smell like chocolate in the least anymore.

 

Overall: It started off nice, and ended up even nicer! I could do without that phantom anise note, but it wears off quickly enough. I'll absolutely be using up my decant, and if I ever have an opportunity to get a bottle, I can't see myself passing it up.

[ziggystardust13]

I have wanted to try this so bad and I was lucky enough to receive a frimp from a fellow forum member!

 

This is what I hoped Velvet would smell like, which was the biggest disappointment to me.

 

Its soft and rounded but it has that smoky sexiness that I LOVE. This is the most wearable chocolate I've found to date. Out of the bottle chocolate was dominant and I didn't think it would be wearable at all. But once I tested it on my skin the smokiness emerged. I really like this and its different from anything else I have.

 

WIN!

 

Update: this smells exactly like Bvlgari Notte. I have both and they smell exactly the same!

Edited November 3, 2011 by ziggystardust13

[OctoberGwen]

I love this, and I'm not a tobacco fan. It's like Snake Oil's raven haired, heavily tattooed, body pierced cousin.

 

Niiiiiiiice.

[persephonehazard]

Imp - I can definitely smell chocolate here but in a dark, heavy, spiced way. More than anything else it reminds me of crème de cacao and other chocolate liqueurs I've tried. There's something really very insistent here.

 

Wet - It holds true initially, though it's beginning to take on a slightly more floral, 'perfumed' note floating somewhere above the chocolate.

 

Initial drydown - Definitely floralated! It's started to overwhelm the chocolate, actually, which is a shame as I really liked that. Is this lavender? Something like that, anyway; I'm dying to get better at picking out individual flower and herb scents. Hmm...yes, definitely lavender; it reminds me of insomnia. And yeah, that's now basically all I can smell. I like lavender well enough, I suppose, but...come back chocolate! :'(

 

And then I go off out shopping, and as I check up on it occasionally it seems to be developing into a rather night floral blend that I wish I was skilled enough to identify. I can't help but be disappointed, though, as I did so very much love it in the imp. Happily, though, I'm getting the tobacco now - another scent I love very much.

 

Just as I'm walking home I raise my wrist to my nose on the off-chance and oh! joy of joys! the chocolate is back! I'm sat here now, maybe four hours after application, and while it's faint it's definitely got that dark cacao aroma back to it. I do wish it had more depth, more throw, more strength, but I'm happy enough all the same.

[calivianya]

I just have to say that chocolate/cocoa NEVER works for me in perfumes. Never, never, never. It turns into foody grossness and I don't want to smell like food. That being said, this blend does NOT smell like food. It smells like sexy. The tobacco and black musk keep the chocolate in check and make this officially the only cocoa blend I have been able to wear from Black Phoenix thus far. It's a winner, and damn is it a sexy winner.

[boxinghelena]

The Black Temple Burlesque Troupe:

 

I knew this wouldn't work on me but thought I'd give it a try. Turned straight to baby powder on me. Yick!

 

Swap/Sales pile for sure.

[cherrycherry]

Good lord, this is such a heavy blend. So dark. I love it! I get mostly black musk, which reminds me of Panther Moon I get the cocoa and the tobacco abs also, but it's the musk that dominates. This is an empowering, sensual blend. I need another bottle, NOW!

[jolarocknrolla]

cocoa, incense and ... carmine lipstick?? Something in there reminds me of the smell of the lipstick my Grandma used to use (by Coty) ... strange.

[Dedee]

My first 2012 Yule to try: Of course after reading all the previous year reviews I couldn't wait and ripped the box open!

 

wet: a dark chocolate covereed cigarette

 

on skin: literally a sweet cigarette that has been drowned in chocolate. It's beautiful but my skin starts to amp up the musk in it and tries to turn it to powder.

 

dry down: I do smell anise too, like licorice is trying to claw its way to the front!

 

Verdict: it is lovely and dark, but I think I need to let the bottle settle for a few days. After that maybe the baby powder part of dry down will fade away

Edited November 28, 2012 by Dedee

[stellamaris]

Oh my. There are not enough words to heap the love I feel for this properly. This. Is. Heaven.

The first Thirteen I ever ordered on my own was last year, it had a black label with 13 on it in red. I smell distinct similarities between those two, I loved that one and was lucky enough to be gifted a back up.

I swear there is a light patchouli in this, surely amber as it goes powdery at the end, but not obnoxious baby powder, more like real amber resin that's been in a box for a long time. Whatever it is, there is also a dark chocolate, the same as that 13. I could wear this all night and all day

 

I will never be able to hoard enough of this...

 

it is lovely, and surely dark, but not too heavy. I see this one as feminine, the 13 is more unisex.

Edited November 30, 2012 by stellamaris

[witchling]

i was hoping for what the above review described so i immediately ordered a bottle unsniffed...

so sad... after testing it, it went straight to pure baby powder on me. bf said it was like "secret doedorant. i really should have known, given my history with black musks. off to sales...

[boomtownrat]

Having never tested or smelled the old incarnation of BTBT, I ordered a bottle because it sounded like it could be a hybrid of Gelt and Haunted. That's almost exactly what I get on my skin. It's off the mail truck yesterday and I must note that my hormones might be skewing it somewhat.

 

I expected the oil to be dark, but it's fairly light against my skin. The burst of cacao grabs my nose first and soon the black musk is right alongside it, making me think of dancing girls on a stage bumping each other out of the way in pursuit of the spotlight. Cured tobacco leaves come out after it's dry, about ten minutes after application. As an ex-smoker, this doesn't bother me because it's not the smell of tobacco on fire. The black musk does turn a bit powdery in the way it usually does on me, but no baby powder ever smelled that good. I would swear there is a tiny bit of amber in this. After about twenty minutes to half an hour, it's smoothed out into a gloriously well-blended scent.

 

My visual associations with this are deep cocoa-coloured velvet; a glass of brandy (not that it smells like brandy, but that's what I'm seeing); and a lock of wavy black hair falling down across a pair of blood-red lips smiling against snow-white skin. Ooo, and as it moves further into the dry-down I can see black-clad figures on a dim dance floor. It's as if my favourite goth night from the '90s has been captured in a bottle. (Thank you, Beth! I've been looking for a scent that would do that!) Right now I'm listening to a playlist that includes Marc Almond and Lycia, both of which are perfect musical accompaniments to this scent.

 

In other words, BTBT is sensual and alluring, but not overpowering. I think I could get away with wearing it to work in my offbeat office full of creative misfits because there's a softness to it.

 

One bottle probably won't be enough for me, and I'm not one for buying a lot of backups.

[fiddlehead]

When I first put it on I get a really true cocoa scent. Dry and not at all sweet. Kind of like the cocoa in #occupywallstreet.

 

After it's had time to dry it starts to lose the cocoa. It begins to remind me strongly of another BPAL oil I like. Finally, I realized that this is very like Dracul. This has the black musk and tobacco with cocoa. Dracul is black musk and tobacco with mint, fir, balsam of Peru, Cumin, bitter clove and orange blossom. I'll have to try Dracul again for comparison. In my memory, Dracul loses most of the other notes pretty fast and drys down into what I'm getting on the dry-down of BTBT. I wonder if the cocoa is gone for good.

 

I like this, of course. I can see how some might get a baby powder note, but there's something else going on here (the tobacco, maybe) that saves it. It's got a really classic perfume vibe going on. Warm, sultry and grown-up. Very appropriate for a burlesque troop. These ladies have been around the block a few times

[Mechanical Death]

Goth in a bottle.

Omg.

Delicious tobacco with the lemony black musk and chocolate--- heaven!!!

 

Black musk has this way of becoming dark, sinister and slightly lemon tinted. It's like citrus incense on my skin. This is definitely my new fave. Need more. Like now. Horde horde horde! <3

[tawaen]

Wow, wow, wow! Ok, so this is the Yule 2012 release. I've never smelled the older version; this is BTBT fresh from the lab.

 

Wet, it's very dark cocoa and musk, with a sweet note (tobacco, probably). It's almost overwhelming... a little goes a long way! The notes are very distinct when it's first put on.

 

After an hour or so the cocoa is the dominant note, but the musk and tobacco are blending in much more smoothly. It's gotten so much sweeter as it dries down. And after about two hours I can't distinguish the notes, it's just a sweet, dark and sexy blend of the original. Very distinctive and lovely! Definitely a "I'm gonna get lucky" kind of scent. In a classy way.

 

This is seriously beautiful. I keep sniffing myself. :-)