Black Death

[persianmouse]

BLACK DEATH
East African patchouli, bay, tobacco, golden amber, blackened sandalwood, orange peel, lemon verbena, clove, and a touch of lime.

Oh, dearie me, this is definitely the darker, more sinister sister of the Black family. This is Bellatrix Black, all full of murder and malevolence.

Simultaneously more imposing and lurking than either Black Lace or Black Heart, the bay, tobacco and clove are the most prominent notes, and I actually don't get much patchouli at all from it. There's a faint whiff of it, like if you went through an old, packed away trunk full of your old goth clothes from high school, when you bathed in a kiddie pool of patchouli every night.

I'm going to try mixing all three Black Sisters tomorrow, and will edit this review with my thoughts on that.

[Xanon]

Again... Mail-box unrest disclaimer. (I have had these out of the box for all of an hour now.)

 

Bottle: BAY! Clove, some very blackened sandalwood, and citrus like WHOA! Hello masculine.

 

Wet: Wow, my skin SUCKED the "blackened" out of the sandalwood. Yumm, this is smelling nommy! Dark sexy!

 

Drying: Bay and lime, sweetened ever-so-slightly by the orange peal and patchouli. Clove and tobacco are hanging out with the un-blackened sandalwood. This too is a really well blended scent.

 

Dry (about 20 minutes in): Now I get this faintest hints of the golden amber. Clove and orange peal (with a touch of lime) are mingling nicely with the bay, tobacco and sandalwood (still of the un-blackened persuasion). Also hints of patchouli. Nice.

 

Overall: This blend hangs closer on my skin, probably 3 inches to smell. I thought that this blend would not work for me.. I was unsure of the bay and tobacco, and the blackened sandalwood. Turns out that I really love this blend! If you liked Hell Gate of Ireland, you should seriously consider getting this one too. I feel that this one will age really nicely! I am also anxious to try this layered with both Black Heart and Black Lace (in combination of 2 and all 3)!

 

ETA: Layered with Black lace... amazingly dark and sexy! The cream in Black Lace mixed in with Black Death is super swoon worthy. DH kissed my hand last night, pulled my hand back and huffed the spot where I had mixed the two. "Mmmm, that smells great!" and then more kisses.

Edited January 22, 2010 by Xanon

[MCS4096]

A masculine edge certainly, but still very sweet beneath it. As soon as it's on my skin it's the bay I smell followed by the clove and sandalwood. The lemon verbena and lime are there, but only adding a fresh bite to the blend. As persianmouse said the patchouli is very faint. The amber is just holding it all together.. and it's VERY wearable

 

The overall feel is that of a deep, dark, sweet core with a fresh blast over the top.

[angelicruin]

I get very heavy clove and tobacco in this blend. Will have to re-test once it settles more (just received today) to see what other notes may emerge.

[MamaMoth]

In bottle: slightly bitter. clove and bay, a little bit of scorchy sandalwood

wet on skin: Clove and bay are vying for attention at first, but then the tobacco starts to bloom out and sweeten it almost immediately. The blackened sandalwood is there, but it softens up up to become gently woody and smoky, and it mingles with the tobacco beautifully. Patchouli is hanging out in the background there doin it's earthy/woody thing, but not really hogging the show.

dry: Clove and bay are still at the forefront, but they're not too domineering. I can smell the sandalwood behind them, with a very light "burnt" vibe to it. The patch is there but it's not obvious to me. Take that with a grain of salt: I love patchouli and always yearn for more presence. The tobacco kind of hovers in a thin haze over everything.

 

This is so rich! It has depth and darkness, but it's not oppressive in the slightest. I can't ever really smell the lemon verbena or lime, which was a disappointment at first. But I think that's part of the reason why this doesn't feel too heavy; they're in there keeping things fresh. The amber doesn't really let itself be known until extended drydown, after an hour or so. It takes on a softly resinous-powdery edge then, but I mean that in a good way. All the notes really do blend in the best possible way here.

 

Clove can be so domineering on my skin, but it really shines here!

 

Black Death is dark but not heavy, spicy but not too spicy, woody, a little bit earthy, a little sweet and a little bitter. I think I'm in love with this.

 

eta: After a full day of wear, it reminds me a little of Mr. Jacquel. I debated adding Mr. Jacquel to my last order, and now I'm glad I didn't as I prefer Black Death.

Edited January 27, 2010 by MamaMoth

[Cheri]

I was a bit nervous about ordering Black Death, but its the one I like the best as an individual scent. It smells kind of like root beer on me, definitely a dark and sinister blend. I love it when the clove comes out as its drying, but other than that none of the other notes jump out. Its very well blended, and I'm happy I took a chance on it. Love it.

 

Edit: As its drying, it reminds me of Knick Knack, which I love but only have an imp of, so I'm even more happy to have this.

Edited January 23, 2010 by Cheri

[edenssixthday]

Black Death - This is super-heavy on the patchouli and blackened sandalwood on me. There's the lightest hint of clove spicing things up, and I occasionally think I smell a thin slice of lime peeking through, but by the time I catch on to it, it's gone again. There's a hint of bitter orange peel, too, which doesn't sweeten up the scent at all, but adds a bit of texture. It's a deep, heavy, sexy scent, and I really think I like it!

 

When layered with Black Heart, amazing things happen. The sweetness of Black Heart rounds out the rough, dark, patchouliness of Black Death, while the rough, dark, patchouliness of Black Death tempers the sweetness of Black Heart. When layered, the dry-down becomes mostly a honey-sweet verbena over a dark-fruit patchouli. I love these two fragrances together.

[Schmoozy]

 

While I don't tend to love blends with patchouli, every once in awhile, they really sing on my skin. Black Death is one of those times it sings. Mainly this is clove & blackened sandalwood with orange and lemon verbena. I find the golden amber adds just the smallest touch of sweetness to a blend that is very dark, heavy and rich. It's almost liek a cup of really strong chai has been altered ever so slightly. The labels to Black Death and Black Heart are beautiful, and I just layered all three together...OMG. *swoons* *faints* STUNNING.

[Blood onmy hands]

My first thought was that this reminds me of Voodoo. It's dark, sexy, and smells almost edible, like something I'd want to drink (I do think that it smells a little like cola with lime). The clove note is really strong on me (a dry, masculine, sweet clove smell), but I can pick out the patchouli, amber, sandalwood, and a hint of lime as well. My skin amps up spice notes, so the drydown turns more clove-heavy than I would like, but it's still wonderful.

 

Black Death is dark, spicy, earthy, resinous (the mix of amber and sandalwood here is gorgeous), and smooth. I was worried that this would be too citrussy, but I can only smell the "touch of lime" in the mix.

 

I don't care for this layered with Black Lace or Black Heart, but I love it on its own, and it smells especially wonderful on my husband.

[tielan]

This isn't just a whiff of the Orient like Black Lace - spices, incense, sandalwood - but a full-blown Indian temple crowded with worshippers to Shiva, their voices lifting in a constant babble of prayer. I get incense (probably the patchouli and sandalwood) and tobacco, and while the lime isn't distinct, I suspect it's what's anchoring this. The drydown is smoky and herbal, but a good, strong herbal - a branch of bay leaves being burned with a single tobacco leaf in the middle.

 

I'll have to try this layered with Black Heart, which has incense-y fruity notes on me. Should prove interesting!

 

I'd love to have a guy I could slather this on, and then jump!

 

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Lemon verbana, citrus, spices.

Wet on skin: The citrus is slowly mixed with wood, cloves and tobacco.

Dry on skin: Smoky woods, heavy cloves (their scent amps on my skin), tobacco, with a slight citrus twist.

CJ's final thoughts: Well, this is not your happy sunshine citrus blend. This is a dark, smoky, beautiful blend. It would suit a man well (my man, for sure!), but leans toward the unisex. To try it with Black Lace now...

Try if you like: Torture King, Knucklebones (if you also like rum).

[milo]

Wow this is one dark blend! Wet, it is pretty musky and I want to say 'woody', too and masculine. It dries to a rather perfumey blend, and there is something here that is not sitting well with me. I want to say ambergris, but it couldn't be. Something here is giving it the perfumey quality that smells kind of like the fake quality of Axe blends. Layered with Black Lace, the BL seems to dominate, thankfully. I will give Black Death a chance, however, and I *just* got it today, so maybe it needs to settle. Hopefully I can revise the review, as I really do love a lot of notes here...

[Iceblink]

Mmm...this smells WARM...and like a good men's cologne or really quality incense. Heavy on the sandalwood and tobacco with a twist of the citruses to give it a brighter edge. I get a whiff of clove deep down underneath. This may be a little too masculine for me but it's beautifully blended and overall really nice.

[dawndie]

In bottle: dark plum

 

On skin: lots of sweet dark fruit with a bit of earthiness from the patchouli and sandalwood

 

Half-hour later: dark and moody, but still nicely sweetened with fruit

 

In conclusion: my skin is notorious for turning what might be borderline masculine scents into aftershavey cologne, but this one is great. Dark and sweet and luscious, along the lines of Hellion and Crypt Queen.

[lahdeedah]

Color me disappointed. With so many positive reviews I eagerly awaited my decant. Immediately after applying I was feeling very concerned about how this scent would play out. Super dark, tobacco and patchouli (I think) amping like whoa. I just smell weird and artificial, like a funky candle shop. I gave it an hour or two to see if it would develop into anything more pleasant, but alas. This really was the first BPAL I tried which made me feel compelled to wash it off ASAP. Off to potential swap pile.

[CitizenBree]

In the imp, all the scents at the end of the description are strong. Clove, lime, orange. I'm thinking i'm not going to like it. But I put it on anyway because I want to see how it tunrs out.

 

On wet...THERE'S the patchouli. Oh yea, I'm really not going to like this. But, I'm too lazy to get up to wash my hands.

 

An hour later...WOW. everything is blended and it's really beautiful. Nothing comes out stronger than any other scent. The clove has added sweetness to the patchouli I think that brings about a nice balanced scent.

 

After what started as disappointment, changed into love. I think i'm going to buy a bottle. I also didn't try layering yet, but I've got the scents on different body parts so I can get a little of the effect and it is going to be wonderful.

[kerikeri]

Dark, dusty tobacco, sandalwood and clove. These are all notes that work well on me, if leaning a bit masculine, and this is just on the edge of how dark a scent I can wear without feeling like I'm wearing cologne.

 

Layering with Black Heart makes it sweeter, obviously, and also brings out the citrus notes I couldn't really smell before. It's an interesting combination and makes both a little more wearable than they are individually for me. Gets even nicer as it dries-- the candy sweetness of Black Heart plays off the clove and sandalwood in Black Death really wonderfully, resulting in a scent that's both shadowy and alluring. I don't know if I'd want to buy two scents just to layer them, but it's tempting.

Edited February 15, 2010 by kerikeri

[captainecchi]

In the decant: I get similar notes to Black Lace - fruity and a little boozy.

 

On my skin, wet: The fruitiness fades, and it quickly becomes a very pleasant, woodsy mix of sandalwood, patchouli, and amber. There's a little smokiness there, too - thank you, tobacco. It actually reminds me of a balsam-y incense I had as a teenager. I can't really smell the clove, but it makes itself apparent by giving me contact dermatitis on my neck. Grr. Clearly I'll have to put more lotion on when I wear this one.

 

On my skin, dry: This dries astonishingly quickly into a gentler version of the above. I was actually expecting more throw and lasting power from something with so many powerful base notes, but it's not overwhelming.

 

Verdict: So far, I like - it's one of the better woodsy scents I've tried, and the patchouli is quite well behaved. If I layered the three Blacks, I imagine this would be the base note, with Black Lace providing the heart notes. (Still haven't tried Black Heart - that's next).

[veronicafranco]

oh. this smells like a beautiful jamaican guy.

uh, full disclosure, i'm married to a beautiful jamaican guy and he doesn't smell like this. (he is not (yet) much for the bpal.) but i sure wish he'd wear some black death!

 

this is dark but creamy (tobacco plus amber), with pops of spicy patch/sandalwood/clove and lemon/lime. i don't get a lot of citrus at all - i guess it's blended in there well. a bolder woman than i am could definitely pull this scent off, but i do get a strongly masculine vibe.

 

the three scents layered together are fab. yesterday i also tried just black heart + black death, and although they don't sound at all like they would layer beautifully (to me, anyway), they are glorious together!

[musichappens]

At first this smelled like cola on me! Fizziness and all, which is really weird. That went away within a couple of minutes, though, and was replaced by darkness. The patchouli, tobacco and clove notes seem to be the most dominant on my skin because I can't smell anything else. I agree with others that this is a very sexy blend, but unfortunately it's not for me.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle beautifully blended! with a strong whiffly sniff, i'm getting dirty patchouli, resinous amber, a generalized citrus, and just a touch of spicy clove. wow, fantastic.

wet on skin it goes through a little bit of an icky patchouli phase wet, the same filthygross patchouli from goblin. it evens out really quickly, though and settles back into a glossy, gorgeous, and brightly resinous blend that's fairly seamless. guh, i love the tiny snootch of clove in this so much! it balances the citrus so beautifully!

dry on skin not a morpher, the citruses burn off a touch and the tobacco and sandalwood peep out a little more. wow, now i'm really loving the tobacco. this is the definitive BPAL tobacco and it's freaking amazing.

 

i love black death and i'm freaking out because this is seriously putting itself up as a contender in my top spot. O_o

[SophieCedar]

Iiinnnterllestiiinggg. And diabolical. This is black magic during an oppressively humid night. Every note can be easily defined. This stays true from imp to finish. Gives off the smell of a dark & stormy, mixed with bay rum, wafting off a man that lives off a straight syrupy fruit diet that oozes from his pores. whoa!

[Invidiana]

I've been tempted to layer the Blacks like everyone else, but each is just so gorgeous on its own I really want to enjoy them individually. This is definitely the darkest one if the name doesn't give that away immediately. Wet I get lots of the amber and clove; as it dries down the patchouli and blackened sandalwood really work their magic and make this all gorgeously mysterious and sinister. The tobacco adds the perfect smoky background for a scent like this. There's also a hint of tang from what must be the orange peel, lemon verbena and lime, but thankfully they're behaving and taking a backseat like they should, letting the amber and dakrer notes really shine. A very "me" blend and very darkly beautiful.

[arlith]

I've tried this a few times now, and finally ended up dousing myself heavily with it (normally I apply oils pretty sparingly).

 

Clove normally amps a bit on me, here it stays nice. Its an earthy clove, with some fruity sweetness. Its not particularily dark and sinister on me, but its not light either. It comes across as a spicy slightly sweet unisex scent. There's no scorched or smokiness to be found on me (which is good).

 

My skin eats it up pretty quickly though. By the end of the day, there's just a faint hint of it on my skin, I have to stick my nose right on my skin and breath in deep to get any hint of it. If it was longer lasting, I'd seriously consider getting a whole bottle (I bought a decant). There are too many other scents that smell fabulous and last all day on me for me to buy more of this. I really like it though, its different from everything else I have.

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, so this totally doesn't work on me. I get BAY, patchouli and sandalwood. Where is the tobacco? The lime? Lemon verbena? Clove? All of these elements called to me.

 

And now, they aren't here!