Black Pearl

[erraticprophet]

Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.

Initial Impression: coconut, musk, iris

On Wet: iris, creamy coconut, musk

On Dry: creamy coconut and musk

Final Impression: Never smelled any hazelnut as far as I could tell. I really loved this one. It was luscious and decadent!

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 4.5

[YoakeNoKami]

The same all the way through on me--coconut, with this faint splash of fresh iris.

ETA: Not catching any of the white musk, thank goodness, so no sudden outbursts of sneezing.

Edited January 13, 2008 by YoakeNoKami

[MaeKitty]

In the Bottle: Coconut, musk and a floral. Yum. Piratey!

On Me: Smells like Malibu and pineapple tastes Yummy. The hazelnut is really lovely in the background here. It gives it a bit of depth and warmth. This is going to be a fun scent to wear in the summer

Edited January 30, 2008 by MaevanKayt

[Shannihilation]

In the bottle this is definitely coconut. And the musk. Everyone says that Snow White has coconut in it and I don't get that at all, but I have no problems finding it in this one!

 

On my skin this is still predominantly coconut,but not foody. And it dries down to this soft, powdery (but not baby powder), lovely scent. And it has some fabulous wear time. I put it on at around 2:00 yesterday afternoon and could still smell it when I went to bed at 11:00 pm. This is really beautiful.

[hkhm]

imp: strong iris and musk. i get no coconut of hazelnut from this at all.

 

wet: this reminds me a little bit of a murder of crows but i like it better. a floral i actually like sniffing!

 

dry: deep iris with a swish of musk. yet another i think i'll be needing a bottle of...

[snapesbabe]

Like the advert says:

Malibu, the sun always shine when it pour!

Smells just like Malibu, and therefore has the association of a Caribbean evening on the lash for me.

 

As such, Black Pearl always makes me smile

Edited February 18, 2008 by S.B.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Fruity, juicy coconut.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very fruity scent. I have no idea what the note is that’s doing it since it doesn’t really smell floral. The coconut is strong, but there’s a dripping, sweet and tart quality to this blend as well. There is a little nuttiness, but this isn’t a creamy scent like I was expecting.

 

After a little while: The coconut has faded a bit, and I’m left with a slightly tart sweet fruity floral scent with a slightly warm base. The iris is much stronger now, but it’s blended nicely with everything else so this isn’t really a flower-dominated blend. Instead, it has a crystalline sparkling type of quality to it due to the mix of the white musk with the warmer notes of coconut and hazelnut. It’s slightly tart and powdery, but not in a generic baby powder way.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is not what I was expecting at all: I thought it would be much smoother and creamier, but it’s rather tart and sweet. The mix of notes creates an interesting effect… it’s very hard to describe. The notes all come through, but this is blended to the point that they all combine to create something more than the sum of the blend’s parts.

[pinkstardust420]

OHHHHHHHHHHHH I bought this as a imp, and I wish I got it full size! GORGEOUS! I was hoping I was going to sniff coconut in this as a dominant scent and I do. Not strong, but it's a sexy, sweet coconut, white musk and a little something extra in there (Iris maybe?) that just brings this GORGEOUS fragrance to another level! I dont get any hazelnut in this blend.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Sweet musk

 

Wet: Very sweet musk with creaminess, but no coconut.

 

Drydown: I really wanted coconut from this, so I'm disappointed. I'm gonna hold on to it for a while, see if it ages.

2.5 outta 5

Edited February 29, 2008 by Honeygirl

[nali]

My impression in the imp was that of coconut blended with something I couldn't put my finger on.

 

Immediately after application, this was a lovely coconut with salt and spice behind it, exactly as I hoped it would be. A bitter, nutty note rapidly emerged, however, which I first thought was the hazelnut. I soon revised my assessment to Florentine iris. Ugh, bitter, strong floral with something I'd much prefer to be smelling in the background.

 

The horrible iris continued to dominate, but I stuck with it for some hours in hopes that it would fade. It didn't appreciably, so I finally gave up and went to scrub it off. I wasn't able to get rid of it entirely, but my skin was left smelling deliciously warm and spicy. I don't think I'm willing to go to the lengths of applying perfume and washing it off in hopes of leaving something that smells nice, though.

[gchris]

IN Vial: creamy goodness

 

On Skin: Still creamy, lightly sweet, right up to the line of being foody but without being. I smell the hazelnut but the other notes are well blended and I cannot distinguish them.

 

Later: The cocnut is coming out more but it is light and not very sweet, more like fresh coconut than sweet coconut flavored something. The hazelnut is carrying on still and has remained the note I detect the strongest. This has an overall butterscotch scent to it.

[deweydecimal]

On me, this scent is very sweet and tropical. It makes me think of summer and laying by a pool (which is great right now, when it's raining outside). Definitely a warm-weather scent.

 

I smell the coconut for sure, and everything else for me is a creamy backdrop. It is a little reminiscent of suntan oil, but not in a overwhelming or bad way. Also, I get no floral from this at all, which is great because florals do really bad things on my skin.

 

This isn't a big bottle for me, but I'll definitely use up the imp during the summer!

[hellomoonglow]

Divine! Wonderful! Outstanding! This could possibly be my new Antique Lace! I smell something like vanilla, but not quite. I'd say it's deeper. Some floral, but not overwhelming. This has a very complex scent, like all the notes are vying for attention but somehow, are all behaving and melding together. I need a bucket of this! Delicious!

 

ADDED April 28:

 

Update that the second imp I have of this smelled very soapy and plasticy. Weird. Now I don't know what to do! Buy a bottle? Keep smelling imps? Advice anyone???

Edited July 2, 2008 by Shollin

[writergal969]

In the vial I'm getting coconut and white musk. Pleasant, but maybe a bit too sweet? On my skin I suddenly smell divine pure coconut for a second, but the hazelnut has made an appearance and what I can only guess to be the iris. It's very soft, almost difficult to smell on my skin. I love that I can smell the coconut still, and that some of the sweetness has faded. When I think of coconut, I don't think of sugary confection, I think of what it tastes like to eat a freshly cracked coconut. Not a great throw, and it already seems to be fading on me, but I enjoy the combination in this imp. I think if I wear it frequently, I'll grow to love it more. In fact, the harder I sniff my arm to find it, the more I love the coconut note. I would give my left pinkie toe for a single note of coconut methinks.

 

Anyway, I'm going to give it a 4 out of 5, simply because I am a coconut whore. I'll be giving this guy a few more test runs as it begins to warm up outside.

[Dracoo9]

I bought this as an imp from the lab a month or so ago, dissapointed that it didnt have that coconut scent to it like I was hoping for. But I've worn it recently to find that coconut has finally surfaced.

 

Before all I got was the iris, which I dont hate but I'm not a real floral person unless theres something else non floral-esq in the blend. Now I get coconut, iris and everynow and again hazelnut, something I didnt get at all before. I also think that my skin sucks up certain musks and I think white musk may be one of them because I only got maybe a small hint of it before wondering if I actually smelt it at all, if that makes sence.

 

I'm definently getting a bottle of this when I can because the older it gets the more amazing and beutiful it seems to be. 4.8/5

[Aldercy]

Got this one courtesy of Caspian Grey, and I'm really fond of it so far. My first experience with Black Pearl involved an accidental dousing when I too violently uncapped the imp and splashed an all-too-precious amount on my shirt. In large amounts, this was an unpleasant scent, but since then I've tried it (more gracefully) and it's really working for me. Breezy, summery, faintly creamy, with a warm, dark whiff of coconut. It definitely changes on me after a few minutes, and becomes more floral, which is actually an unexpected improvement. Every time I got a hint of it later, I was almost newly surprised each time how much I enjoyed it.

 

My only complaint is that my skin inhales this oil. It fades faster than any other one I've tried.

[thatpirategirl]

I was eager to try this scent, since coconut is my favorite note and I'm on the hunt for my perfect coconut BPAL.

 

As soon as I opened the bottle, I knew I was in love with this one. It's sweet, warm coconut and hazelnut. It doesn't really give a beachy, tropical impression for me -- more like the scent of a little town by the sea. But perfectly lazy and delicious!

 

It lasted about an hour on me before fading away to a weird soapiness. So the hunt for the perfect coconut doesn't end with Black Pearl. But I still think I'll use up my imp on sunny afternoons...

Edited May 8, 2008 by thatpirategirl

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is very light - mostly iris.

 

On my skin, the coconut come through just a little, but it's still mostly iris.

 

When it dries, it's completely iris and musk - light, nice, but not for me.

[naiade]

Something smells a bit off and plasticky... perhaps the hazelnut. But the coconut and iris and sweet and creamy and dreamy. Such a pity.

[greenranger]

In the imp, I couldn't smell much of anything.

 

On me, wet, I can smell coconut.

 

Drying, on me, maybe there's a floral coming forward...Iris? The coconut just...faded. It might be a slight sweetness lingering in the background, but, it isn't identifiably "coconut" anymore.

 

Actually, I don't think I can pull any one note out anymore. It's light and sweet and different from anything else I have tried so far. I'll use the imp and see how I feel about it over time.

[TooMuchTemptation]

I think I tried an imp of Black Pearl a long time ago and liked, but didn't love it, and so swapped away. Later, I'm looking at the notes and reading the reviews, and I wondered why I did, so I put it back on the wishlist, and arranged a swap.

 

Sniffing the bottle, this smells quite sharply of white musk, which is fine because I love the "clean" quality that white musk has for me. On second sniff, I get what I think is a hint of iris followed swiftly by a touch of something that I can't figure out. I keep opening the bottle and sniffing to figure it out. It's hazelnut, but it smells-boozy. Like hazelnut liqueur, but also in a way like rum. I'm not sure what's making it smell like that to my nose, but it's interesting. I'm not really getting the coconut scent in this like I remember.

 

Wet on my skin, no boozy smell, which is fine. A light coconut scent comes up, but what I mostly sniff is the white musk (love!) and the iris, which don't recall smelling before this. I really like what's happening as it warms.

 

Dry on my skin it's-summery. The white musk settles into my skin and does its thing of smelling like freshly bathed skin, the coconut mostly disappears except to keep the musk from getting soapy, and I can't really smell the iris anymore. Maybe the iris is what's giving my nose the faint impression of water in this scent. But I smell good. I smell like I took a shower half hour ago, put on tiny bit of cocoa butter lotion, and am now sitting in the sun. It's not a loud scent on my skin, it's the kind of thing you'd have to nuzzle close to really notice, but I love it. This is one of the blends where the musk I love on me is not overwhelmed by the behavior of the other ingredients. I have a bottle of this, but I think I'm going to need more.

[Myrrha]

Wet -- Can smell the coconut but it isn’t as sun-lotion like as I feared it might be. It is dryer and blended with other notes. Slightly foody-vanilla aspect to it. Perfume-y. That must be the Iris.

 

5 minutes -- Sweet! And it has that smooth, rounded glorious beauty that a pearl has. I like this one! Oddly, I think I can make out a little bit of violet in the blend. It is the kind of scent where the notes really blend and add up to something unique.

 

15 minutes -- softens out . Yummy. Sweet but just perfum-y enough to balance that. Usually I like scents that are a bit more reserved than this one is, but I can tell I am going to be wearing it sometimes just to sniff. Might be a good passion potion too.

 

1 hour -- still lovely. On me the iris is coming out more. The musk and iris must be working with my body chemistry as this is not turning or doing anything odd. I like this much better than Blood Pearl. It is a little lighter and sweeter with no soapiness as it wears on.

 

EDIT: I love it when the rag-ends of a scent that linger after a few hours wear still smell good. This one just gets softer and softer and seems almost more enticing as it wears away.

Edited June 19, 2008 by Myrrha

[Andrea912]

Bottle: Yum; reminds me of the Caribbean.

 

Wet: Nice; coconut and hazelnut are a beautiful combination; smells exotic, but not in a Arabian Nights way; more like lounging on the beach of St. Maarten.

 

Two hours later: I don't love it as much as I did earlier because it has dried to a powdery smell; I think it's the white musk.

 

Verdict: I'll keep working with it, but if I keep ending up with the baby powder smell, I might have to swap this out...

[lilirose]

In the imp: Soft musk

 

On skin, wet: Coconut and soft musk

 

Drydown: The coconut and musk blend into a scent that is unique, non-foody, somehow regal, and utterly gorgeous. I wish it had a bit more throw and staying power, though.

 

Will keep the imp and consider a 5ml.

[stillalive]

reminds me of tropical sunscreen... makes me want to go get a bottle of the huge sweet-smelling sunscreen and cover myself in it, except this is better! SoI guess I'll get a bottle of this instead. I have synesthesia, and this is EXACTLY what the song "He's a Pirate" has always smelled like to me combined with Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen. The coconut is very understated. I adore this and need a big bottle NOW.

 

ETA: and it stays on me too! Longer than anything but Bengal and Blood Kiss, at least. Which is freaking amazing, especially since it's not heavily spiced.