Tin Phoenix

[fairnymph]

Pale metals, crackling ozone, hyssop, white mint, tonka, and lemongrass.

Ozone and chrome with light mint and a fair bit of lemongrass. There is sweetness from the tonka, but it's not too heavy. I'm thrilled with how the ozone and metal are the strongest notes.

Wayyyyy more lemongrass, by far the strongest note, and then the hyssop is also apparent, and almost sort of grassy here - a very pleasant, fressh green note. Still lots of ozone, but less metal. The white mint is still there, lightly, no less or more than in the bottle. This is almost aquatic - it's very light, fresh, luminous, clean - if the lemongrass calms down I'll be a happy girl.

More metal (yay!), but the lemongrass is still really strong, and the tonka has amped on me, becoming slightly buttery, and much too sweet and rich altoegther. I also particularly dislike tonka + lemony notes for some reason - I find it an unpleasant combination. The mint, which was never strong, has faded under the dual assault of lemongrass and tonka.

This is going suprisingly musky on me, and the metals have returned are beautiful. Definitely silvertone/chrome, which is my favourite metal note. This is not a dull scent at all. The tonka has faded and lost its initial heaviness, and the lemongrass is now a supporting player instead of an attention whore.

The final drydown is quite nice. The lemongrass finally burns off and the tonka smooths out, and most wonderfully, the metals really amp up. I also get some white amber, so this reminds me of a sweeter, citrusy Torture Queen or actually it reminds me most of the House of Mirrors - it's very unisex. I wish there were more of a mint presence, but I'm pleased with the green-herbalness of the hyssop. The middle stages had me hating this, but now I'm thinking it's quite nice. Great throw and good longevity. Edited March 20, 2010 by Shollin

[Moryssa]

I'm really glad I don't read the reviews here before I do my testing, for the most part. I'm also glad I didn't check the notes in this one before I sniffed it and thought it interesting enough for a full skin test. Because ozone is one of the notes that make me nauseous and occasionally triggers a migraine... and with all the "This is very ozone-y" reviews, I would have put this aside and never even looked at it again.

 

I don't smell ozone. At all. It's lemony, and I get a sort of effervescent fizziness that someone earlier mentioned, but no ozone. Thank GOD! I really like this a lot, but it's hard to pin down exactly what I'm smelling. I'm definitely keeping the imp... and now I have to decide quick if I like it enough to add a bottle to my collection.

 

--M

 

[captainecchi]

I'm always wary of lemon or lemongrass notes, because on my skin they have a tendency to drown out anything else in a blend, and then disappear, leaving nothing in their wake.

 

But I decided to give this one a try, because I'm always curious about metallic notes, and because the seller I bought this from was selling other Phoenixes I was more eager to try.

 

In the decant: Oh, hello there, Mr. Herbal McLemon.

 

On my skin, wet: First impression: lemon sherbets, Dumbledore's favorite candy. Second impression: Ricola Honey & Echinacea cough drops. Reminds me a bit of Old Man Ackerman's Instructional Toys, which I tried recently.

 

On my skin, dry: Going, going... gone. In a pale yellow pouf of lemon scent, but gone no less.

 

Verdict: Yeah, lemon is still a.... lemon, on me. Sigh. I'll probably try this again when my sinuses calm down from whatever they're on about right now, because hope springs eternal. But I foresee a swap in the future, nonetheless.

Edited February 2, 2010 by CaptainEcchi

[crebbsgirl]

Okay, surprisingly enough I liked this one more than I thought I was going to. Its a sweet, light scent that goes high-pitched but soft on me. I was expecting something a little more harsh what with the metals and mint and lemongrass, but it wasn't sharp on me outside of the initial wet stage. I think the mint did a lot to soften this, so that it the ozone wasn't screaming on my skin.

[Argentwolf]

I guess I mostly get ozone and lemony lemongrass. It's not anything that stands out too terribly, for me.

[thebirdofhermes]

In bottle: Mint mint mint mint lemon mint mint. ...Also a bit of an ozone tinge to it.

 

Wet: LEMON! All lemon candy, all the time. Tonka seems to go candy-like on me. The lemon is keeping it to something I'd actually wear, though. Making me a bit hungry, however, because it's reminding me of these sour lemon drops I used to adore and can't remember who made them. There's something lingering at the edges of the scent... perhaps the mint and ozone? I'm not sure. Mostly lemon candy. Can't say I'll object if it stays this way, but I kind of want metal from this.

 

Dry: You know the saying, "Be careful what you wish for?"

 

Totally does not apply here.

 

It's got an herbal-citrus-mint overtone to it, but mostly? Metal. The kind of metal that makes my teeth ache if I leave my arms too near my nose. There's a sharp clean feeling coming from the ozone, but mostly this is biting metal. It actually leaves a faint taste in my mouth after deep huffing of my arm. Let me tell you, this makes me inordinately happy. I love me some metal, which is part of why I broke down and ordered all seven alchemical phoenixes. I'm glad I did, because my original list was going to be Copper, Iron, and Quicksilver.

[filigree_shadow]

This is why you should always try whatever BPAL perfumes you can get your hands on.

I don't like ANY of those notes except tonka. Not a fan of metallics or ozone, mint is meh, and I actively avoid lemongrass. I didn't expect to like this.

 

But this ended up being my favorite Phoenix for this year. The lemongrass is sweet and soft, not harsh and bug-candley at all. I don't really smell anything that seems metallic or electric (like ozone)... just soft and a little earthy with that interesting lemongrass over the top. Fresh and pleasant, and nice in the summertime. It doesn't smell like a winter scent to me -- definitely summertime.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Mint and lemon, thin and cool and metallic-tangy.

 

On skin: A dry, thin, hollow scent, perhaps a bit bitter. Feels a little airy and brittle. Lemongrass and mint are the stand-out notes (my skin tends to amp the former), and there may be a hint of ozone. But Tin Phoenix really fading very fast and becoming barely detectable. I think the metallic and minty notes are the culprits, as Mechanical Phoenix, The Robotic Scarab and Hypothermia pulled the same stunt on my skin. This blend ends up lemony, maybe mellowed by the other notes, but ultimately nondescript.

Colour impression is a dilute, translucent lemon-yellow.

 

Verdict: Sadly, this is the latest mint/metallic blend to go AWOL on my skin, and confirms that these notes really don't do anything for me. If I keep skin-testing, yet can never remember how a blend smells -- as was the case with Tin Phoenix -- it's time for it to go.

[grrrlennyl]

Tin Phoenix

 

On: Lovely. So much white mint. Smooth, bright, and slightly sweet. I can barely catch a bit of lemongrass.

1 hour in: Uh oh. There's an odd, not-nice smell to this. This is going to be an obscure reference, but it reminds me of the mushroom in the scratch and sniff book, Little Bunny Follows His Nose. Well, that and a hint of tonka.

1.5 hours in: This has changed again. The metals and ozone have come forward, and that mushroom scent is in the background.

2 hours in: Still that mushroom scent and ozone.

3 hours in: The mushroom scent is gone and I'm mostly getting ozone.

4 hours in: Metals and ozone with a hint of lemongrass. Very soft.

Overall: When wet, this is definitely something I would wear. Dry, it just isn't me.

[gchris]

Strong lemon and light florals. The lemongrass is so strong, but I love lemongrass. I smell the ozone, and maybe the metals which translates into a slightly chemical air scent. Mixed with the lemongrass it smells a lot like a bathroom cleaner. Oh man, that metal smell is getting stronger. This is not working for me. I am going to abort mission. I don't want to see where this goes, its bad enough right now.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Very chilly. Lemon and cold air.

 

Wearing: Lemon and mint, warming up just a little, but still the general impression is “chilly.” It takes an hour or so for the grounded sweetness of the tonka to develop, but it makes for a very pleasant warm undertone. I wasn’t super impressed with the initial chilly lemon, but now I keep happily revisiting my wrist.

[virusq]

BOTTLE: Lemongrass! It's a green lemon smell, not hard lemons like lemonade or lemon pledge. It's soft and herbal.

 

WET: On me, it's much more lemon pledge. It's not bad, though. I like lemon pledge. My sister says it smells like lemon balm, and she has this giant happy smile plastered across her face while saying it. There is a very crisp ... metal smell, there. I don't know if it's ozone or ... someone said chrome, earlier, but tin may not be all that far off. It's a very light, cool metal smell under the lemon. I'm digging this one, which is a good thing, since I tried it on from the bottle and got it all over the place. ^^;

 

DRY: Alight, it's been about an hour since I put it on. The lemongrass has faded back a bit, but it is still predominant. I can smell the mint peaking through, just a tiny bit, since I'm looking for it. The metal tinge has given way to baby-powder, though.

 

Tin Phoenix is my favorite so far, but I really wish things would stop turning into baby-powder on my skin. :\

[theredkilt]

Lemon, sharp salty sea weeds and mint. The salty sea weed note is very sharp and even unbearable. It dies down and the mint freshness starts to emerge; but there's still the sharp salty weed that puts me off. I will wait to test this during summer time.

Edited January 11, 2015 by theredkilt