BPAL Reviews XIII
More reviews of scents from the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab follow. I'm doing these in ever larger batches because frankly, I forget to do them for days at a time. So, without further ado I present you with a week's worth at least.
Al Shairan, Lab description: "The enemy of God, also named Iblis, He Who Despaired of the Mercy of God. Al-Shairan is the leader of the Jinn, a tempter who whispers false suggestions to men enticing them into evil and perfidious acts, and is the sworn enemy of all of Adam’s children. His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes."
From the description alone, that sounds like quite a tangle of scents. And it sounds delicious!
I can immediately tell this is going to be a horse-stunner. In the bottle, it's a medicinal blend of cloves and orange and patchouli, with a dash of cinnamon. Stinky. I'm not sure about this.
It smells much the same on my skin. The clove and cinnamon and patchouli all blend to make a solid foundation, while the orange skates around on top. This is like a wickedly spiced cider, with a wedge of orange to tart it up. It smells more than a little like ginger beer, and reminds me of the time I tried to drink some of that crap and nearly choked. A nice smell, but not foody in a way you'd ever, ever want to put in your mouth.
This is really nice, but it's a little too spicy for me at the outset. I can see using it to punch up something that's just kind of lying there, though, because it's a very nice scent.
I like it but on me it never seems to decide quite what it wants to do. It wears down to an incensey and faint spice finish, and it smells like there's some amber in this, way underneath. Quite pleasant once it's settled down. Doesn't last all that long, though. It starts out powerful, but spends its force quickly.
Iambe, Lab description: "Daughter of Pan and Echo and dear friend to Demeter. When Demeter was mourning the abduction of her daughter, Iambe was the only creature in heaven and earth that was able to lend cheer and laughter to the grieving mother. Her scent is one of comfort, beauty and joy: Sudanese amber, patchouli, rose, gardenia, gladiola and white tea."
I've had this one forever, and it's bugging me, so I'll review it. I could use a little comfort, beauty, and joy myself.
In the bottle, it's juicy and wet, a pinkish-gold smell like wet flowers. It's very clean, with a dash of something high and soft that is almost like cucumber or melon. The tea, perhaps. It's quite floral, so I'm uncertain of this one.
On, the trio of flowers come right out. I'm just not getting the earthy bloom of patchouli, nor the warm light of amber. Instead, what I'm getting as they blend is an atrocious ammonia smell like acrid human piss (not that super-sharp cat piss, or burning-rubber dog piss, but sour human piss). If I don't sniff it too close, it's not bad, but it's still very floral.
It's a good smell, sort of floral and pleasant, as long as you don't go cuddling up to it. Then it smells like pee. Which is sad, because I wanted to like it. As it settles, it becomes a powdery floral - no surprise, but sad, considering this had other ingredients that I had hoped would bottom it out.
Blood Amber, Lab description: "Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin."
I love dragon's blood and I love amber, so I fail to see how this could screw up on me. In the bottle it's sweet and cool, a light dragon's blood blended with a very pure and airy amber.
On, it's great. A very fine amber blends perfectly with the dragon's blood and warms it up to a luminously red scent. The aromas of the two -- powdery amber with its whiff of spice and juicy dragon's blood with its fruity edge -- blend beautifully, making this a fine, rich scent without a tremendous amount of throw. It's a sensual, spicy smell, inviting and warm, and just the slightest bit playful.
Really, really nice. It smells almost exactly like I imagined it would, only brighter - both the dragon's blood and the amber used here are toward the lighter end. It gets really warm and fuzzy as it dries, quite incense-like, actually. It darkens and deepens as it goes on, from red-gold to a golden brown; so very, very fine. This is to the nose as lush and guilty a delight as the tactile pleasure of fine, long-fiber velvet. To me it seems like a very warm and safe and embracing scent; protective.
For a rarity, it's a scent that only gets more beautiful as it ages. Hours later, it's become a sweet, fuzzy, warmly cuddlesome scent with just a hint of dignified poise around the edges.
Truly lovely, a very simple and uncomplicated scent that is nevertheless quite alluring.
Bengal, Lab description: "A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger."
Wet, this is honey, clove, and ginger, quite rich and creamy, like spicy, creamy chai. Delightful. It smells a little like The Lion and Silk Road, it shares that round, grassy, birdseedy note, only here it's much more forward and spicy. It lasts through the whole life of the perfume, too. Very nice.
On, it deepens. The cinnamon comes out in a red rasp, cut with an edge of what I think is the peppers. The pepper is not a dominant note, it's just supplies some jazz. Really, the cinnamon is like a screen of scent, and everything else comes through it; it's a subtle but very dominant smell. Underneath it all is a very soft, yellow musk that melds with the whiff of honey to cream all the spices together.
I don't like cinnamon quite as much as this blend asks me to, but it's beautiful nevertheless. This is a spicy, lively, invigorating scent, a scent to inspire curiosity and excitement. It's beautiful and intriguing, and just a little sexy. Recommended for those who like spicy, exotic blends. The mix of musk and ginger is most alluring.
Titus Andronicus, Lab description: "Dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot."
This is really nice in the bottle. A warm and citric cologne with just a touch of incense.
It hits the skin and the frankincense and sandalwood come out together. The musk and amber are both heavier notes, staying behind the others, and close in. The outer edge of the throw is a beautiful sandalwood/orange blend whose woody notes keep it from smelling objectionably citric. It verges into vanilla at times. Close in it's kind of sour, the sharpness of the bergamot and neroli only occasionally letting the other scents through.
Once it dries, though, the citrus does its fugitive thing and it ends up smelling plain and powdery, like old incense that's lost a lot of its punch. It had a lot of promise, but as with a lot of scents lately my chemistry just isn't playing nice and letting its full potential through.
A solid blend overall. Unisex, definitely, and one that could easily go powdery or baby-oil if you have chemistry that dislikes any of the notes.
Two, Five, and Seven, Lab description: "A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose . . . and just an itty bitty bit of green grass."
In the bottle, it's rose, sweet, sweet rose, with a cloying, fruity edge to it. I'm leery of trying this because it's so juicy and bubblegummy.
On, good God that rose is strong! It starts as an intense, spicy rose scent with more flair than subtlety, a charismatic, laughing rose with a heady and intriguing throw. It smooths to a silken red rose with a touch of dewy sweetness. That shades into a clean, white rose with a bit of blushing pink, a very new rose. It fades to a pale version of the initial spicy rose. It's interesting how the smell, while remaining essentially the same, slowly shifts as the oil wears down.
Not my favorite rose scent; it lacks the subtlety on me that I demand in a floral. Still, a wonderful exercise of the perfumer's art, a single-note symphony that changes a great deal within its boundaries. Those seeking a rose single-note on the sweeter and more full-bodied side might want to look into this one. It's powerful stuff as it opens, and the continuing orchestration is hardly what you could call understated.
Juke Joint, Lab description: "A bawdy, gleefully wicked and unruly scent: Kentucky Bourbon, sugar and a sprig of mint."
Whiskey and mint in the bottle, a drinkable smell, Juke Joint warms to a delicious spicy mint with a hint of sassafras and just a brush of smoke. This one feels cold in the back of my throat when I sniff it. The throw is sasparilla, reminds me a lot of Laudanum. Boozy but pleasant, a laid-back scent with a casual flair that reminds me of Doc Holliday in Tombstone. Someone who knows how to have a good time and looks damn good doing it, even if they are driving themselves into an early grave.
This tones down after a bit into a less sharply minty scent; just a sweet boozy scent that lingers. It's a little dry and powdery, but it's a spiced powder that I don't really mind. On extreme weardown, it's sawdusty and root-beery. Very . . . well, kinda hayseed, actually. I like it, in a "Let's close the blinds, lock the doors, and secretly watch Roadhouse!" kind of way. At this stage, it lasts a long, long time. Unisex, agreeable, and just a little sexy.
And that's all for my perfume snobbery tonight. Nothing in this batch particularly leaped out at me, which is unfortunate but bound to happen now and then. I'm for bed now, and hopefully an end to this headache that's been brewing all day.
Tiny scent icons are courtesy of Penance's BPAL Icons and Diana's BPAL icons.
Al Shairan, Lab description: "The enemy of God, also named Iblis, He Who Despaired of the Mercy of God. Al-Shairan is the leader of the Jinn, a tempter who whispers false suggestions to men enticing them into evil and perfidious acts, and is the sworn enemy of all of Adam’s children. His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes."
From the description alone, that sounds like quite a tangle of scents. And it sounds delicious!
I can immediately tell this is going to be a horse-stunner. In the bottle, it's a medicinal blend of cloves and orange and patchouli, with a dash of cinnamon. Stinky. I'm not sure about this.
It smells much the same on my skin. The clove and cinnamon and patchouli all blend to make a solid foundation, while the orange skates around on top. This is like a wickedly spiced cider, with a wedge of orange to tart it up. It smells more than a little like ginger beer, and reminds me of the time I tried to drink some of that crap and nearly choked. A nice smell, but not foody in a way you'd ever, ever want to put in your mouth.
This is really nice, but it's a little too spicy for me at the outset. I can see using it to punch up something that's just kind of lying there, though, because it's a very nice scent.
I like it but on me it never seems to decide quite what it wants to do. It wears down to an incensey and faint spice finish, and it smells like there's some amber in this, way underneath. Quite pleasant once it's settled down. Doesn't last all that long, though. It starts out powerful, but spends its force quickly.
Iambe, Lab description: "Daughter of Pan and Echo and dear friend to Demeter. When Demeter was mourning the abduction of her daughter, Iambe was the only creature in heaven and earth that was able to lend cheer and laughter to the grieving mother. Her scent is one of comfort, beauty and joy: Sudanese amber, patchouli, rose, gardenia, gladiola and white tea."
I've had this one forever, and it's bugging me, so I'll review it. I could use a little comfort, beauty, and joy myself.
In the bottle, it's juicy and wet, a pinkish-gold smell like wet flowers. It's very clean, with a dash of something high and soft that is almost like cucumber or melon. The tea, perhaps. It's quite floral, so I'm uncertain of this one.
On, the trio of flowers come right out. I'm just not getting the earthy bloom of patchouli, nor the warm light of amber. Instead, what I'm getting as they blend is an atrocious ammonia smell like acrid human piss (not that super-sharp cat piss, or burning-rubber dog piss, but sour human piss). If I don't sniff it too close, it's not bad, but it's still very floral.
It's a good smell, sort of floral and pleasant, as long as you don't go cuddling up to it. Then it smells like pee. Which is sad, because I wanted to like it. As it settles, it becomes a powdery floral - no surprise, but sad, considering this had other ingredients that I had hoped would bottom it out.
Blood Amber, Lab description: "Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin."
I love dragon's blood and I love amber, so I fail to see how this could screw up on me. In the bottle it's sweet and cool, a light dragon's blood blended with a very pure and airy amber.
On, it's great. A very fine amber blends perfectly with the dragon's blood and warms it up to a luminously red scent. The aromas of the two -- powdery amber with its whiff of spice and juicy dragon's blood with its fruity edge -- blend beautifully, making this a fine, rich scent without a tremendous amount of throw. It's a sensual, spicy smell, inviting and warm, and just the slightest bit playful.
Really, really nice. It smells almost exactly like I imagined it would, only brighter - both the dragon's blood and the amber used here are toward the lighter end. It gets really warm and fuzzy as it dries, quite incense-like, actually. It darkens and deepens as it goes on, from red-gold to a golden brown; so very, very fine. This is to the nose as lush and guilty a delight as the tactile pleasure of fine, long-fiber velvet. To me it seems like a very warm and safe and embracing scent; protective.
For a rarity, it's a scent that only gets more beautiful as it ages. Hours later, it's become a sweet, fuzzy, warmly cuddlesome scent with just a hint of dignified poise around the edges.
Truly lovely, a very simple and uncomplicated scent that is nevertheless quite alluring.
Bengal, Lab description: "A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger."
Wet, this is honey, clove, and ginger, quite rich and creamy, like spicy, creamy chai. Delightful. It smells a little like The Lion and Silk Road, it shares that round, grassy, birdseedy note, only here it's much more forward and spicy. It lasts through the whole life of the perfume, too. Very nice.
On, it deepens. The cinnamon comes out in a red rasp, cut with an edge of what I think is the peppers. The pepper is not a dominant note, it's just supplies some jazz. Really, the cinnamon is like a screen of scent, and everything else comes through it; it's a subtle but very dominant smell. Underneath it all is a very soft, yellow musk that melds with the whiff of honey to cream all the spices together.
I don't like cinnamon quite as much as this blend asks me to, but it's beautiful nevertheless. This is a spicy, lively, invigorating scent, a scent to inspire curiosity and excitement. It's beautiful and intriguing, and just a little sexy. Recommended for those who like spicy, exotic blends. The mix of musk and ginger is most alluring.
Titus Andronicus, Lab description: "Dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot."
This is really nice in the bottle. A warm and citric cologne with just a touch of incense.
It hits the skin and the frankincense and sandalwood come out together. The musk and amber are both heavier notes, staying behind the others, and close in. The outer edge of the throw is a beautiful sandalwood/orange blend whose woody notes keep it from smelling objectionably citric. It verges into vanilla at times. Close in it's kind of sour, the sharpness of the bergamot and neroli only occasionally letting the other scents through.
Once it dries, though, the citrus does its fugitive thing and it ends up smelling plain and powdery, like old incense that's lost a lot of its punch. It had a lot of promise, but as with a lot of scents lately my chemistry just isn't playing nice and letting its full potential through.
A solid blend overall. Unisex, definitely, and one that could easily go powdery or baby-oil if you have chemistry that dislikes any of the notes.
Two, Five, and Seven, Lab description: "A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose . . . and just an itty bitty bit of green grass."
In the bottle, it's rose, sweet, sweet rose, with a cloying, fruity edge to it. I'm leery of trying this because it's so juicy and bubblegummy.
On, good God that rose is strong! It starts as an intense, spicy rose scent with more flair than subtlety, a charismatic, laughing rose with a heady and intriguing throw. It smooths to a silken red rose with a touch of dewy sweetness. That shades into a clean, white rose with a bit of blushing pink, a very new rose. It fades to a pale version of the initial spicy rose. It's interesting how the smell, while remaining essentially the same, slowly shifts as the oil wears down.
Not my favorite rose scent; it lacks the subtlety on me that I demand in a floral. Still, a wonderful exercise of the perfumer's art, a single-note symphony that changes a great deal within its boundaries. Those seeking a rose single-note on the sweeter and more full-bodied side might want to look into this one. It's powerful stuff as it opens, and the continuing orchestration is hardly what you could call understated.
Juke Joint, Lab description: "A bawdy, gleefully wicked and unruly scent: Kentucky Bourbon, sugar and a sprig of mint."
Whiskey and mint in the bottle, a drinkable smell, Juke Joint warms to a delicious spicy mint with a hint of sassafras and just a brush of smoke. This one feels cold in the back of my throat when I sniff it. The throw is sasparilla, reminds me a lot of Laudanum. Boozy but pleasant, a laid-back scent with a casual flair that reminds me of Doc Holliday in Tombstone. Someone who knows how to have a good time and looks damn good doing it, even if they are driving themselves into an early grave.
This tones down after a bit into a less sharply minty scent; just a sweet boozy scent that lingers. It's a little dry and powdery, but it's a spiced powder that I don't really mind. On extreme weardown, it's sawdusty and root-beery. Very . . . well, kinda hayseed, actually. I like it, in a "Let's close the blinds, lock the doors, and secretly watch Roadhouse!" kind of way. At this stage, it lasts a long, long time. Unisex, agreeable, and just a little sexy.
And that's all for my perfume snobbery tonight. Nothing in this batch particularly leaped out at me, which is unfortunate but bound to happen now and then. I'm for bed now, and hopefully an end to this headache that's been brewing all day.
Tiny scent icons are courtesy of Penance's BPAL Icons and Diana's BPAL icons.