2009: Wool Phoenix

[Tramp]

In 2009, Dirty South Will call began (we love you, Lisa!), and we were voted Best Scent Indulgence for Your Inner Goth by the Village Voice. E! filmed at Los Angeles Lunacy for That Morning Show, and now that I think of it, I dont know that I ever actually saw that episode.

That year, we commemorated the 200th birthday of the death of Edgar Allan Poe at a Dark Delicacies event with Gris Grimly, and thanks to our Who Killed Amanda Palmer series, I was given the inestimable gift of conceiving of a scent based on cupcake spatter pattern analysis.

Our Hellboy line premiered in summer of 2009, and not only was the process of translating Hellboy into scent an absolute thrill, I am also now blessed by the inexplicable joy of being able to see a frog in a teacup on our labels every day. I am always deeply moved by Mike Mignolas art and storytelling, and every year I look forward to his October horror film recommendations.

The Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire was hosted in Innsmouth that year, and the skies over BPAL were filled with the screeches of magah birds and howling servitors.

Cigar smoke wafting over Georgia peaches, black goat wool, and a dollop of Mason and Jenkins Port jelly.

First on it smells like a fruity, tobacco, Sugar Skull. Definitely has that mapley/caramel sugar note. I'm not getting a lot of peaches more of a mash of juicy red berries. The fruits fade out pretty fast and am mostly left with what I'm convinced is some cousin of Sugar Skull with a hint of fruit and sweet tobacco.

[zankoku_zen]

Peaches, cranberry jelly, and a touch of smoke. This one smells like a Yuletide version of a Miskatonic Valley blend. Juicy fruity, and a touch of sugar and darkness. Good throw and wear length.

[Dark Alice]

This is sweet Georgia peaches swirling in Bourbon sitting on a mahogany table with lit cigar. It's just lovely. But my decant is all I will need.

[LiberAmoris]

Wool Phoenix is a fuzzy peach and port scent with a drift of cigar smoke making itself known from time to time. It smells like it could be one of the Peach Pit scents! There could be even more peach for me personally, as I love that note. But this is well-blended, with a lot of balance between the notes. The goat's wool and cigar notes aren't overwhelming on me, but come out more strongly on drydown, reminding me just a smidge of the goat/cigarillo combo in The Jeweled Spider.

[VetchVesper]

Looots of dark, sticky tobacco smell on me with a heaping helping of grape jelly. It's a wierd combo to me, but almost works. Then the wool note meets my chemistry and it's all down hill. Ah well...

[Blood onmy hands]

Plasticy peach and that cranberry jelly scent of Mason & Jenkin's. As the fruits fade, the cigar smoke comes out more and more, and smells warm and sweetly smoky, with a hint of ashes. Not much throw and fades very quickly on me, after the initial, intense burst of fruitiness.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Mmm, the tobacco in this is delicious. Chewy, and with the addition of fruit, almost tropical. I adore the combo. There's a hint of smoke with the tobacco and fruit. I can't actually pick out peach vs. jelly, but it's fruity and tobacco-y and wonderful. Very light though, not much throw so far.

 

 

Dry: Very light tobacco and sweet fruit. It feels really tropical. It somehow reminds me a bit of Santo Domingo, from the Wanderlust line. I will have to compare the two. I really do like this though. It smells like vacation.

[roseus]

Mmm chewy tobacco and peach! Jammy and a little smoky. Evocative, but not quite me enough to keep.

[gloame]

Something about the Lab's cigar note really gets me. I can't say I like cigar smoke IRL, but here it just gives everything an, IDK, almost a tanginess. The goat wool too. I would never have expected to like this, but I bought it at willcall and couldn't be happier.

Where I'd wear it: Summer fun fairs

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle

A sweet cigar, peaches, and something boozy.

 

Wet on skin

This is so, so gorgeous. It isn't a sticky sweet peach, more like whiskey or bourbon mixed with some peach juice, and a cigar to finish things off.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

This gets more complex and more mellow as it dries down. Still boozy but not sharp at all, and the tobacco is sweet and warm, not ashy. The fruits are still there but the overall effect is kind of hazy.

 

Thoughts

My favorite of the 15th anniversary scents, by a mile. I just ordered a backup bottle in the nick of time. Definitely good if your skin amps tobacco and you enjoy it.