Silver Phoenix

[Coldfire]

Opalescent orris shimmering through a blend of mallow, moonflower, wild pear, iris, starwort, juniper, and mugwort.

Decant: white flowers in the evening. Not too sweet not too overpowering or cloying
Wet on Me: still lovely evening white flowers. Seductive and heady but not at all overpowering.
Drying Down: this lightens out a bit and becomes this petals on the breeze scent.
Dry: There but not there but ooo there it is again. lovely. Wonderful. A Winner!

[suki]

first off, i want to say that as a silversmith, i felt that it was pretty much necessary that i get a hold of this oil. my own relationship with the metal is complex, and the stakes are high we'll see how it measures up compared to my very intimate relationship with this most precious metal...

 

in the bottle: i'm getting the strange but delicate scent of mallow, a sweet gentle whiff that reminds me of incense i used in high school so i'm betting that's the moonflower and a hint that peeks in that's almost like...dirty socks. i'd bet money that's the mugwort

 

wet on skin: the moonflower dominates. i have to say i usually don't do florals except for very specific rose or ciolet blends. this one, so far, is holding my attention, though.

 

dry down: this scent is a morpher, not from stage to stage, but from minute to minute. moonflower is the dominant note, but trails of pear come in for a moment then flits off again. something that reminds me of vanilla flower rears it's head (starwort? mallow?) then vanishes again.

 

in all: beautiful, etheric and hard to capture in a still state, this oil perfectly reflects my darling metal. whether i'm a girl that can wear something this light is another question, but this scent encourages me to contemplate this question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2010 by VioletChaos

[Wildbriar]

I've always dreamt of having a white-flower night garden where I grow varieties of flowers that blom in the dark. In my mind the flowers glow by starlight, and the garden smells exactly like Silver Phoenix! This is a sweet, floral, delicate blend with a hint of powdery earth. Truly beautiful!

[fairnymph]

Lightly sweet, soft, and powdery - I definitely get the violety-orris, iris, and pear as well as the clean moonflower - some of other rather luminescent slightly herbal notes, but nothing distinguishable.

 

Sweeter, richer/deeper, fruitier. so much delicious pear! A lot of mallow comes through and a touch of juniper, and some citrusy herbal notes - there is a gentle fresh/bright aspect to this. The powdery orris family notes are subtle, very white but not overbearing. The general feel here reminds me of The Girl, and like that scent this has notes that should result in doom but yet the scent works.

 

Dries almost instantly. The sweet-violet thing reminds me a bit of Faith, but more fruity, more luminescent (almost feels like a lunar blend to me), much less violety powder and less sweet - so altogether superior in my book. The moonflower keeps this feeling clean and light, but isn't going to soap on me - miraculous!

 

Soft powdery, vaguely fruity, vaguely citrusy/woodsy fresh violet. It's very clean, soft, light and feminine - not shiny, more of a gentle lustre. Low throw and it fades a lot - this is a slatherer that requires reapplying. I am totally surprised by how this worked on me considering my hatred of orris and how generally poorly moonflower works on me. It really reminds me of the Lunacies, like a Violet Moon if there were one, and it's a bit like Blue Moons 04 & 07.

 

A very pleasant surprise!

[crebbsgirl]

This does remind me of a fruitier version of Faith. Sweet and luminescent, I cannot immediately distinguish the individual notes but if I start hunting for them, I can find them. The orris is indeed violet-like here. I do agree with the comparisons to The Girl. However, I find this to be a little sweeter and less "perfumey" than I found The Girl to be. The pear and moonflower are predominant notes on me, with orris providing a powdery undertone. I like it, but not as much as I thought I would.

[zankoku_zen]

ORRIS attack! So this is white floral sharpness. I got a hint of juniper and violet on wet, but then the violet and orris combined into this sharp, sour, sort of pearlescent but kinda high pitched white floral that is attempting to stab my nose every time I take a whiff of it.

 

Made.of.fail.

[CiaoBonefish]

Oh my, oh my. So glad I ordered this last minute (impulse buy)! I was really spot on.

 

My first thoughts on this scent were mainly, "Hmmm. Silver? Metallic? I don't know if that is me." After reading reviews, however, I became intrigued as to how "silver" might smell.

 

In the bottle this is very herbal. It's a transparent green smell with a flash of yellow here and there. I'm smelling the orris and moonflower for sure, a slight hint of juniper, and perhaps a hint of pear in this (I love BPAL's pear note but you don't come across it very often) adding a lovely sweetness. The orris, or is it mugwort? is giving a slight sourness though. Rather like cilantro, but not in a bad way. Very herbal and yummy.

 

On my skin it's more or less the same scent, but now the notes are blending so seamlessly together that I cannot even pick them apart! This also sweetens and the sour note I had before is gone. Wow. So deliciously pretty and light and herbal floral. Definitely my favorite kind of scent.

 

I'm getting very much the violet vibe others have talked about, without really smelling pure violet. It's more just a violet feel if that makes any sense. Others have also compared this to Black Opal and I REALLY REALLY get that comparison. The first time I wore it I thought it smelled exactly like Black Opal, but after wearing it more often I can see just how different they truly are. Black Opal IS one of my favorites, but I think Silver Phoenix surpasses it by far.

 

On a final note. This really does smell like silver! Elusive, gleaming, delicate, beautiful, and just mesmerizing. I have one bottle now, but I may track another later on depending on how fast I go through this

 

[benthic]

Ah! Now I know what mallow smells like. When I dabbed this on, I got "Metal Phoenix" right away without being able to identify why. That would be why; they both have a strong mallow note and a metallic sheen. This reminds me a lot of a less sweet Metal Phoenix (and a less masculine/sharp Tin Phoenix as well). It definitely does smell like silver, shiny and smooth and light. It's well-blended and beautiful. Strangely, though, it's just not doing much for me. It might be because I prefer Metal Phoenix; I've been generally disappointed in other metallic blends since I tried it (Tin and Silver Phoenixes, Phosphorus v.5). There is something about this one that's just barely on the wrong side of cloying, while MP manages to fall just barely on the right side. I'm thrilled I got to try this (unexpectedly; it was a frimp) but I don't think it's something I'll wear, even though I can appreciate the beauty of it and how well it fits the theme.

[theandorran]

I've been so looking forward to this!

 

Bottle: Hard to describe, a bright and shining scent, slightly floral. A little bit of fruitiness. It's really well blended -- you can't really pick out one note or another, just an impression.

 

Wet: Turns kind of green and Rappaccini's Gardeny-y. Mugwort, I think, comes out very strongly.

 

Dry: Mmm. This is where the pear really comes through. It smells very sweet and pear-like, like the candied pears my mom makes. A little bit of vanilla (mallow?), and just a hint of juniper.

 

A+++, well done, lab.

[ravenscanary]

Source: Circle decant

 

In the decant: bright, sweet herbal. I can't pick out any particular notes.

 

Wet: ...fruity marshmallow? I think? It's very sweet, light, and very powdery. I do get a little pear, but none of the other notes are clear to me.

 

Dry: I'm not sure if it's the nature of the scent that makes me think it's so powdery - it's certainly light/clean/fresh/sweet - all of which tend to be associated with powder in my instinctive brain, so that may be it. It's very airy; I don't get a strong feeling for any kind of base note. I like my scents a little more solid - I suppose I was expecting something a little more sharp. Luckily, Tin Phoenix gave me the oomph I wanted.

 

Notes: For such a light scent, it has pretty decent wear and throw.

[Argentwolf]

I really wanted to like this one, because I don't run into pear a whole lot as a component, and when it works it's really divine. However, this one didn't click with me. The pear and moonflower were almost sickeningly sweet and cloying, and eventually succumbed to the fate of all the phoenixes on me, turning into generic cologne and fading away.

 

I do give it major props for giving an aura of sweet, gleaming silver -- so themewise, it captured the aura of silver quite well.

[grnwoodtree]

Ahhh...received this as a frimp from someone in a swap thread...wish I could recall who!

 

This is a beauty - it has all the complexity, but none of the bad amping or morphing!

It feels light, herbal, and slightly wet, shining, and indeed silvery...another of BPAL's scents that truly gives me a vision.

 

It also reminds me faintly of a perfume oil I used several years ago called Spring Rain...I ran out of it, or got rid of it because it got too old, but it was a refreshing, bright, springy scent that always bolstered my spirits. That's what this does.

 

Its a very complex and unique herbal scent, with undertone of a light incense. I hope I can find a bottle!!

[arlith]

This is quite sweet and light on me. A little floral, without being overly floral. There's nothing in the scent that I can really identify as being the strongest note on me. It feels very girly and dainty. It doesn't have any metallic-ness to it. Its what I would imagine a fairly sophisticated 13 year old would wear.

 

Its not something I would wear on a regular basis (I mostly stick to patchouli based stuff), so I'm glad I just have a decant of it. Its nice enough though, that I'll keep it and occasionally pull it out of the box. It works pretty well as a spring scent, and probably will be a good one when its really hot out and I don't want anything heavy on.

 

 

[MichelleB675]

I bought this on impulse, based on the reviews.

 

In the bottle it smells so pretty. It smells shimmery, silvery. I can smell the pear and florals, but they blend together beautifully and do remind me of silver.

 

I wore this a few times when I first got it, and it went through a dirty, kinda smoky phase that I hated. I was pretty much ready to sell or swap it. But I got distracted by other scents and forgot about it. I decided to try it again today to see how it has aged over the last couple of months, and that phase has softened so nicely. Where it was dirty/smoky before it is now fluffy and.. I don't want to say powdery.. it's more poofy.

 

It's like a lovely poofy cloud with gleaming silver lining.

 

I am so glad I decided to keep it.

[Deiicide]

When I first tried this ,a familiar scent wafted about me. Where have I smelled something like this and then it hit me! It's a more etheral Black Moon (06') on me. I covet that bottle, so to find something so similar to me in reach and taste is amazing. Thanks to the lab for this, now if you'll just excuse my nose and wrist.

 

 

[reynardine]

This was a very white scent, very dry, and somewhat metallic. Whatever that metal note is, it doesn’t work at all on my skin.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells a bit like violets to me too. I like the moonflower and pear -- it smells sheer and sparkly. It's a bright, sweet, smooth scent. Very reminiscent of silver.

 

I like this scent, so I've worn it a couple of times. Whenever I wear it, I enjoy it for the first hour or so, but it's kinda strong, and I get a little tired of smelling it after a while. Except it doesn't go away. For hours.

 

This is one of those strange perfumes for me that's one that I like... but in small doses. So it ends up being something I don't really wear.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Violet and marshmallows, plus a bite of juniper.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells very much so of smooth, cool violet mushed together with some marshmallow and a clean floral note. This scent doesn’t seem to blend together well to my nose and reminds me very much of a Yankee Candle store, when you sniff one thing but end up smelling dozens of other scents at the same time, too.

 

After a little while: This definitely blends better as I wear it. It’s now more like orris marshmallows, almost like violet just a bit more watery, cool, and powdery.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is nice, but it’s not a wow scent on me. It smells disjointed at first with a mash of mismatched notes. However, after a while the orris and mallow blend together nicely and the other notes fade into the background.

[Electric Maenad]

My first impression of this from the decant was candied violets and chilled pears, which is slightly weird because violet isn't listed in the notes. It's a very spacy blend - the visual that springs to mind is icy rings of, yes, opalescent mist around a full moon on a very cold winter night. It has a sedative effect like TKO, but unlike TKO, it doesn't make me sleepy. This makes me feel calm, but in a highly alert way.

 

It doesn't last terribly long, unfortunately. I still like it, because it's the most psychically charged non-TAL I've ever tried.

[sunlitgarden]

Silver Phoenix

 

I'm mainly getting the orris as a discernible note. It's nice and light and shimmery-feeling, soft, almost powdery but in a good way. This was how I had hoped Great Grey Witch would be, but there were some notes in that blend that went weird on my skin. Silver Phoenix is lovely.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Odd, never smelled anything like it -- but I don't recognize most of the notes. It does have a metallic, inorganic flavour. A bit creamy.

 

On skin: Sweet, but not in a floral or fruity way that I know of -- maybe resinous? Has a smooth, thick, creamy flavour; a "close" and thick scent, but not really cloying. It gets a bit sweeter over time, but otherwise doesn't change much. I'm really at a loss as to describe it. It does faintly evoke the liquid solidity of metal.

 

Verdict: All I can say is: Unusual. Not unpleasant, but I didn't really like this kind of sweetness. The Alchemical Phoenixes I've tried have been strange and distinctive in a not-so-appealing way, and Silver Phoenix is no different. Ah well.

[grrrlennyl]

Silver Phoenix

 

On: Earthy notes. Plantlike with a hint of sweetness. Very pretty.

1 hour in: Opalescent is a good word to describe this. It's sort of sweet, definitely white, and the notes seem to be swirling (peacefully) around each other. It's hard for me to pick anything in particular out.

1.5 hours in: Sweet, earthy flowers.

2 hours in: Still about the same. These flowers are pretty heady.

3 hours in: Much lighter and softer. Floral.

4 hours in: Floral and slightly sweet.

Overall: This is pretty, but not something I'd wear often.

[gchris]

smells crisp and clean, like lettuce and/or cucumber although I know those notes are not listed. On skin smells different, hard to describe, almost chemical rather than organic. I was raised in Texas, and we had these bugs called "stink" bugs. I don't know if that was the actual name but that is what we called them. Anyway, when you squished them, the smell of the insides is what gave them their name. I never really thought it stunk but was strong. This scent to me smells like that, like the inside of stink bug. I know that sounds terrible but its really not.

This is now changing on my skin into something more floral and a little sweeter. Very light, almost etheral. My association with stink bugs though is killing this for me.

[Lyssa]

Silver Phoenix definitely evokes the feeling of silver. It's cold, clear, crisp, delicate, and shimmering.

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. I thought maybe it was the orris, but The Silver Apple of the Moon has orris and doesn't react this way on me. At first, Silver Phoenix is lovely and gleaming and elegant, but on me it morphs into sickly, powdery, sour flowers. I don't get much of the sweetness others have mentioned, and I only experience a hint of the pear right at the very beginning of wear. I had to wash it off after about two and a half hours because it started to make me sneeze and just wasn't getting any better.

 

It had real potential, just not for my chemistry. I'm thankful I still have my Silver Apple.

[bellumed]

I feel somewhat hampered in this review by the fact that I… don’t really know what half these notes smell like, haha. But I’ll do my best.

 

Sweet in a high-pitched way, delicate. The pear is also present (and lovely!). A “white” scent, shimmering in a way that makes me think of Unicorn Tears lipstick by Too Faced. Comforting on skin, somehow like falling onto a bed made of pillows. Hyperfeminine. I'm also reminded of LPMP's Upstairs, Downstairs. That is a lavender and mint blend, but somehow this feels the same.

 

I understand what was meant above, referring to this as “chemical,” but it doesn’t read in a bad way to me, more like a pointed floral. Yes, I like this.