The Black Temple Burlesque Troupe

[skyelyric]

Cacao, black musk, and tobacco absolute.

 

 

 

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

Ok, that totally explains it, did not know black musk went lemony and I was very confused about what I'd put on ...I just got my decant and dove in. Wet and first applied it was...inappropriate tootsie rolls--the cocoa is very distinct, but there's an air of raunch behind it that keeps this from turning into foodie hell. The cocoa burns off very quickly, and what's left is sweet and musky and a bit citrusy. I was worried about the tobacco because it doesn't generally work on me, but this is staying mellow, rather than amping up to choke me. I'm not sure this will be a favorite, but it's so interesting and hard to pin down I keep sniffing my arm.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): I get cocoa and darkly masculine musk. Yummy.

 

Wet: Cocoa, something slightly boozy now, and thick tobacco.

 

Dry: It's sweeter now when dry, something like light cocoa powder, tobacco, and a touch of fruit. Very nice.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Musk, Musk, Musk, Musk! Yep, that’s musk. The strong cacao note blends with this beautifully, with the tobacco as a soft accent. I thing this would be gorgeous on most people, but it’s likely too much musk for me. Wet: Still strongly black musk dominant. The cacao is stronger and more separate on the skin. The tobacco is still soft, but a touch more distinct. These notes work well together, but it’s a bit intense on my skin. Dry: Mostly musk with a ghost of the other elements.

[astarinel]

This is one of those blends where I can smell all the individual notes, but they all still meld together really well.

 

Dark musk is not one of my favorites, it can go a bit strong and sharp on my skin, and unfortunately that's keeping this blend from really being for me. I am glad I tried it however, and I'm going to pass the imp along to my boyfriend, because I find it pretty unisex but still sexy and a skin scent.

 

I don't get the lemony aspect of the musk other people have mentioned, but the cacao is a really nice, slightly bitter chocolate, definitely not very foody. I'm not the biggest fan of tobacco notes, but here it melds really nicely with the other notes. It's not a me blend, but I can see why other people love it, and it's certainly very unique. I'm glad I tried it this time after passing on it a couple years ago and sort of regretting that after it became so sought-after.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I've recently discovered that I sadly amp tobacco, so I'm slightly nervous about BTBT turning into a tobacco SN.

 

Wet: Skyelyric was right. This is inappropriate Tootsie Rolls when wet

 

Dry down: It mellows out into something much less foody and more sexy. The tobacco is behaving itself and the musk has just a slight citrus tinge to it.

 

Dry: This turns chocolate-powdery after about an hour and a half, but it's still quite nice.

 

Final thoughts: I bet with a little age this is awesome, but I don't think I'll need a bottle.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp!

[Wren12]

2009 Version:

 

Chocolate...lovely lovely chocolate in the imp, on my skin, on the dry down...with just the slightest tinge of musk, deepened by a boozey note and tinged with smokey tobacco. I adore it.

 

2012 version:

 

In the imp: Holy black musk batman. It's almost verbena, it's so lemony!

 

On Wet: The chocolate pops its head out...but it is mainly being aggressively smothered to death under a black musk pillow (can I mention here I usually adore all the lab's musk?)

 

On dry: Yup, that's black musk.

 

About 1.5 hours in the musk backs it on up and the chocolate finally gets to breathe a little...it's still twitching under that pillow. I like it much better now. I think this may be a case of 'needs to age.' I like the 2009 version so very much I'm tucking this baby into the keep section and waiting for it to get wonderful, which I'm sure it will.

[PumpkinGuts]

This is too dark for me. *cough*

Heavily peppered chocolate, tobacco, dark musk, and something lemony. The chocolate doesn't stick around very long, and I'm not enough a fan of

tobacco to enjoy it without any kind of balancing sweetness. It goes the road of baby powdery BO on the drydown, as I also experienced with Snake Oil.

Relieved I didn't spring for a bottle on LJ before its re-release!

[zankoku_zen]

2012 version

 

Okay, so the original 2009 version went powdery, and this one definitely is strong on the lemon component, so its an odd mix of lemon-musk with hints of cacao. ....

 

In other words, this sort of reminds me to a cross between Lemon Scented Sticky Bat and Batty.

 

Lemon, musk, cocoa.

[Dark Alice]

2012 version: This version is more lemony than the 2009. The musk is prevalent, the cacao is definitely prevalent. The powdery note that I love in the original is lessened here. Glad I got the imp. I can use it to refill my bottles after aging it for a few months.

[Poenari]

I didn't try the earlier version, but after reading all the raves I was determined not to miss it this time and ordered a decant. I was surprised when I tried it, as it reminds me very much of another perfume oil that I have, but I cannot figure out which one. In any event, this is very lemony at first, with the musk and a slight cocoa darkening it. At first, I thought that this was a complete failure, as I don't particularly care for citrus scents, although after about an hour the lemon had dried down enough for the musk to show itself more prominently. Either way, it's just not a "hit" for me, as I have many other scents that work far better.

[Circaea]

I was afraid of the tobacco in this, but I didn't need to be. It smells like Playful Wooden Mallets layered with Boomslang when freshly applied. Dries to a soft smokey, slightly powdery sarsparilla. It's a good everyday scent.

[tziporra]

Black Temple Burlesque made me cry.

 

The notes! They look great! In the bottle it's all yumminess and cocoa goodness!

 

I put it on and at first I get Gelt, which is good because that is very nice on my skin, but not complicated enough to suit me.

 

And then things go horribly wrong.

 

I have never had the plastic experience until tonight. I didn't know what "plastic" meant. But now I do! What note is that? There are only three listed and the chocolate is usually fine! Very very bad.

[venusinfurs]

I can't decide if I like this or not. Most scents go sickenly sweet on me, but the notes in this blend didn't at all. I smelled sharp masculine notes, definitely musk and citrus, and a bitter cocoa smell, like coffee or unsweetened cocoa powder. Not really my usual, but nice. Then for awhile I thought I smelled like an ashtray?? Ick! That went away and left a bit of a dark scent behind, which I am fond of. I got a lot of male attention while wearing it though, so I guess men's cologne and ashtray is a hit with them! I'm going to let it sit for awhile. It strikes me as a blend that would get better with age.

Edited February 1, 2013 by venusinfurs

[fufu_berry]

Mmm, lemony musk and cocoa. This is the rare scent that smells sweet without being cloying or foody to me. It's a little powdery, but for some reason I like it here. It's very sexy and forward feeling - a great going-out scent. Very glad I swapped for this!

[yakiguri]

I probably knew I shouldn't have grabbed a bottle of this unsniffed considering my love/hate relationship with black musk, and the oft-noted lemon note, but I couldn't resist. Of course, Black Temple Burlesque Troupe starts with a nose piercingly acrid powder note which I definitely know is the black musk and lemon. After a long, LONG drydown the tobacco and chocolate make themselves known and wrestle the powder into submission. What I'm left with is actually quite lovely, if still a bit more powdery than I prefer. If I didn't have to wait nearly two hours for this phase to happen it wouldn't be so bad, but...

 

I'm hoping a long stay in the aging box will round out BTBT's notes more, especially the black musk. If not, off to swaps she goes.

 

EDIT 10/06/13: Nope, aging didn't help--still the same acridness as before, even with shaking/rolling prior to application. I give up on black musk.

Edited October 6, 2013 by thatbrownelf

[mistressfizz]

2012 Version: Cocoa powder, bitter yet pleasant, lightly sprinkled with spicy earth tones, like clove, opium, tobacco. As it dries, becomes more musky and dark, with a hint of sharpness, almost like alcohol or very dry cologne. I'm not really getting the lemon note, maybe the black musk is more tame on my skin. This is actually lighter than I expected and one of the few chocolate blends that work on me.

[EmDPhoenix]

Why oh why did I only get one bottle!!

This is gorgeous!! On me the cacao fades into the black musk(which I just recently discovered I love) and the tobacco kinda spices it up. This is very SEXY but in a different way then say snake oil. This is more beautiful women in a tux kinda sexy.

I've got to fine more, one bottle just won't do.

 

ETA: Ok sooo I got my hands on another bottle!! Yay!!

 

The odd thing is my bottle has a ton of "sludge" at the bottle and the new one none at all. Anyone have the sludgie stuff at the bottom? Think it's the cocoa...I may stay on the look out for more blends with sludge it's yummy!

Edited February 22, 2013 by EmDPhoenix

[kashmira]

I bought this bottle unsniffed. However, based on the notes and my general ability to handle unusual scents, I thought this would be a winner. From all the reviews and the scent description, it seemed like it would work like a charm. It does..but only after about 2 hours. For the first two hours, this scent just becomes a pervasive funkadelic smell -- I can't tell if it is the tobacco or the black musk(or perhaps their powers combined), but whatever it is, my body is wafting Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch for 2 hours. I've never become nauseous due to a scent, but this one does it to me.

 

But then, just before I give up hope, the scent just turns into this wonderful combination of despair and desire and utter sensuality. I receive so many compliments 2+ hrs after applying. It really captures an 'old school' goth club scent. I'm hoping that 6+ months of aging might reduce the funk and increase the sultry-ness.

[bellumed]

In imp: Hmm, smoky chocolate. This could be good.

 

On me: Whoa. That's... different. Herbal-metallic lemon Play-doh. Smells sort of like a combination between Embalming Fluid and the TAL Steady Work. A few hours later, the chocolate has come out a bit, but in a very dry, powdery form.

 

Not for me, I'm thinking.

[AmyO'Shields]

The decant that I was gifted in a decant package was the new incarnation and smelled amazing! So...that means the oil wasn't aged...

 

I bought a bottle...

 

Tested it after a week and it smelled like fresh doggie doo...WHY?

 

I will be retesting again soon...fingers crossed!

 

Lol...retested after 2 months...yum o just as hoped. :-) I still can't believe how it smelled on me fresh...shudder

 

ETA - 22 Nov 2013 I cannot wear this. It starts out yummy and then something about my chemistry turns it funky under tbe beautiful cocoa and black musk. :-(

Edited November 23, 2013 by Herb Girl

[tharsei-thanate]

Bought a decant of the 2012 version from kawaiiferreto!

 

Been interested in this for a while despite the fact that, while I haven't tried many of them, the chocolate blends and tobacco blends I've tried haven't quite worked out on me.

 

But I have to say, this isn't bad! Maybe it's because my decant doesn't seem to have any sludge but the cocoa is being reasonable. In fact, this is sweet, perfumey tobacco smoke wafting over a thin layer of sulty cocoa all wrapped in musk. Very sexy, very sweet, yet not all that foody.

 

I honestly didn't think I'd like it this much. I'll have to do more tests to make sure today isn't a fluke, but if this blend keeps getting along with my skin I may have to go looking for a bottle. (:

[milo]

This is the 2012 version. Pretty much the same as the previous incarnations, which I now have a bottle and a half left of. Love this blend, sultry black musk and tobacco, but it is made sweet with the cacao. I'd love to smell this on a guy and see what their chemistry does to it. I do think at least 6 months of aging brings out the scent that I know and like.

Edited March 23, 2013 by milo

[ajcj213499]

This is completely different from what I was expecting after reading the reviews. It starts out with a strong cocoa note backed by musk and then fades down to a wonderful, warm, sweet musk. Some people find black musk to be dirty, but it's my favorite of the musks, not at all sharp or too bright like white musk. This is a wonderful skin scent, and lasts quite a bit too. Even my husband (who merely tolerates most of my perfume mania) said he really liked it.

[symphonyinsilence]

I'm not getting the unisex part everyone's talking about...I think it might translate a little sweet on a man.

 

This is sexy in a very womanly burlesque kinda way.

 

It's all cacao, tobacco and incense on me. I love it!

[Missy_killer]

To my nose: Sweet and smokey! The tobacco and cacao are what I KNOW I can smell. Black musk has a tendency to go terrible on my skin, but I'm hoping that this one will behave. Also my skin tends to hate tobacco/tobacco hates my skin, so...this scent really sounds like a winner for me, right?

 

On: Very sweet chocolate and tobacco. I don't remember the first stafe being this sweet. The tobacco is surely getting stronger and more powerful by the second, please hang in there cacao! Don't let the evil T bully you!! But sadly, as almost always, the tobacco wins and I smell like and ashtray. I guess I should realize soon that Tobacco Absolute is a death note of mine, but I really want it to love me.

 

And then..No..Don't tell me... I smell Dragon's Blood in here?! Whyyyy? BTBT smells on me like you're having a smoke and have to reapply your lipstick every three seconds because you keep seeing lipstick-marks on the cigarette, but you want your lips to look perfect because your love interest just walked by so you want to look as sultry as you can and pout dem lips a little extra. DB always make me think of lipsticks, that is why I drew this scenario in my head..

 

I went out for a walk, thinking this might be one of those scents that work best on me when I wear them outside, hoping that the icky DB and tobacco would step aside for a bit. but no, no change. This will end up in my swap-pile.

 

Edited to add: this is the 2009-version

Edited October 16, 2013 by Missy_killer