Witchcraft Scene

[OctoberGwen]

Attributed to Luis Paret y Alcaza
Black lily and black pepper with narcissus, white musk, and white sandalwood.

Lawd, lawd, this is pretty. Very much a classic perfume vibe with the high toned florals, the dry white sandalwood, and my beloved white musk - but with an unexpected kick from the black pepper. In the middle stage I get something that almost has an astringent quality, but then it smooths out again and settles into a slightly musky, slightly spicy floral.

If you like lily and/or narcissus, you should try this.

[Aviatrix]

A very beautiful blend. I can pick out the white flowers, and the pepper gives it just a little bit of zest that I quite like. It feels somewhat funereal, so I'm not sure when I would get around to wearing it, to be honest.

I like the juxtaposition of white and black notes in this blend, fitting for the concept picture.

[sprout]

In vitro- musk, pepper

 

Wet- lofty white florals, zingy musk, the combined effect smells like classic cologne on a sexy, sophisticated man. The contrast of the pepper and sandalwood is almost buzzing, like t.v. static

 

Drying- black pepper, effervescent musk, florals. The floral notes are clearly white, I'm guessing Narcissus primarily as lily usually smells different, but it's presence may be lending a creamy aspect to the composition, or is that the sandalwood?

 

Drydown- this reads masculine to me. Peppery, musky, aloof. I would have guessed ambergris but it isn't in the listed notes. Not quite an aquatic but "perfumey"

 

Final analysis- this reminds me of a classic man's perfume, not quite aquatic but astringent, cool, edgy and airy. Musk tends to amp on me, so this may skew my review. This musk reads more black to me than white. I imagine that this would be sublime on a man. It's too high brow for my usual wearing but I'll keep the imp. This is one of those compositions you can use when you want to introduce BPAL to other people who like mainstream perfume. Or if you want to smell like you're wearing designer perfume from a fancy Parfum house. I'll be treasuring my imp, however I have to be in a certain mood to wear this.

Edited November 30, 2015 by sprout

[zankoku_zen]

Black pepper and lily.

 

This is so not working for me. I am amping up the black pepper and its just overwhelming everything else.

 

SKIN CHEMISTRY FAIL.

[milo]

I can hardly get anything to test out of this sniffy, but seems to be mostly sandalwood and dark florals. Not for me.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is awful on me. A mess of sharp things thrown over powder. White sandalwood gives this a dusty base of baby powder, the white musk and narcissus smell like sharp, cheap, drugstore white floral perfume with an edge of soapiness, and then the black pepper (which is a note I usually enjoy) just smells harsh and out of place with all of the white notes. This was a scrubber for me.

[Cali]

This brings a punch! This is an evil, evil witch. Very very sharp. Sharp florals, sharp and cold sandalwood and a thick layer of pepper.
Interesting, but not for me.