Batty

[anaengel]

This year's Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Halloween scent for Dark Delicacies! Dark and fuzzy, yet also dapper and debonair! If Fred Astaire was a werebat, he'd totally smell like this: dark chocolate, black oudh, tonka absolute, cassia, white oleander, sandalwood, and free-tailed bat musk. Artwork by Manda Lander!

OK bear with me. This is the first time I've done a review and so here goes. I'm also adding how it went on my daughter because I so want her skin chemistry for this scent.

Smelling it from the bottle, I got lots of chocolate first, then it smelled like sticking my nose in the trick or treat bag after the end of trick or treating itself. My daughter swore she smelled chocolate and black licorice. She didn't like that, but I loved the smell.

I put it on both of us, and we both first got the smell of chocolate and black licorice. Maybe someone else can tell me what of those would bring out that scent, but it did go away quickly. From here, I went to chocolate and a bit of floral, while she started smelling all dark chocolate. As it dried down, I went to baby powder and lost all chocolate scent. She started going chocolate and woody.

She went to bed that night and finally said she was getting a faint powder but, it was a pretty flower scent to it with the chocolate. The floral faintly came back to me after that, but I also started getting more of a vanilla scent. I reapplied it a little before I went to work and got lots of compliments. But, I think this is going to my daughter. She likes it and it does smell good on her.

 

Update 2014- Since doing this post, I've learned a lot more about how things smell on me. I also learned to make sure to wait a little while before testing a new bottle. I am now getting separation from the chocolate, so I have to remember to turn my bottle upside down before I put some on or I won't get any chocolate from it.

 

This still smells pretty close to what it did when I first got it in the bottle. After that, we have some changes. Once it goes on me, I get a dark chocolate and oudh scent. I am still getting a faint anise scent along with it. But, as it dries, that fades away. Then, it's all chocolate, sandalwood (doing it's baby powder thing on me, boo), oudh and the floral. In the end, it goes to a vanillaish scent that just has to be the tonka. Yes, this scent still lasts a long time on me, moreso now than it did when I first got it. It has grown on me over the years and does get worn from time to time.

[sfsassy]

Smells like a chocolate Tootsie Roll. Much better than what I was expecting.

[stellamaris]

This is such a cute one. Very chocolate like the one in this years 13 at the top, changes to a nice cologney thing, very wearable.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Strange to say, but it's almost a morpher. I get something masculine, then a hint of chocolate, then smoke, then a cologne/floral touch.

 

On me: Opens up as smoke and fuzzy musk, a deep warm scent. Then there's a hint of oleander and an encroaching generic floral perfume/cologne—and it never goes away. The cologne deepens out into something more masculine, refined, and dark, but it's at its heart a traditional drugstore scent, and stays that way indefinitely. Throw is low.

 

Verdict: Disappointed would be putting it mildly. There's a lot of promise in the vial, where I can smell almost all of the notes, but on the skin this is cologne all the way. It's a better cologne than I usually get from BPAL, but still nothing desirable or special. I may try this on fabric, to see if the vial complexity will sustain. But so far, Batty is headed to swaps.

 

2018 update: 7 years have done this some good. The chocolate has gained a stronger voice, and reminds me of The Seekim (cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash), a non-foodie, complicated cocoa which is spiced and dry. But Batty's cologne remains forefront, more overtly perfumey and masculine than The Seekim.  "If Fred Astaire was a werebat" is a spot-on fit now.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Juushika

[sunshinedaisybliss]

First up - if you get a bottle of Batty, make sure you roll the oil before testing! I didn't at first, and I got a weird floral/cologne smell out of it.. not at all what I was expecting.. and then I realised HEY ALL THE CHOCOLATE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE!!!! Yep, I mean ALL the chocolate was at the bottom. As in, a big thick sludge of it.

 

So once that blonde moment of mine was over, I got to smell Batty in all its chocolately goodness - and what a relief! There's a lovely dark chocolate note, but it's slightly bitter rather than sweet - and the lack of vanilla or other 'foody' notes in Batty allows the chocolate to keep that dark/bitter tone rather than going all candy-like - the tonka adds that nice vanilla-like flavour but not the actual vanilla smell.

 

Oudh, how I love thee with your sweet smokey woody sexyvelvet tones. Oudh makes everything better - even dark chocolate. And who knows what bat musk smells like (well, Robin probably has a fair idea) - but there definitely is a furry/musky tone behind the chocolate.. and the sandalwood is in there too, as a lovely balance to all that dark business. The sandalwood definitely makes everything a bit powdery, but not in a bad way - just in.. err.. a sandalwood kind of way. There is a slight peppery spiciness if I really pay attention, but I'm not noticing the cassia as a stand-out - that's is a good thing since cassia pretty much ruined MB Underbed for me.

 

About 10 minutes in, and the fragrance changes quite a bit - what started out as a blast of dark chocolate musk softens up and settles back, and that's when the oleander starts to come into play.. and it's not as sweet as I was expecting - instead, it's slightly sharp and cologne-y. Luckily it's not enough to completely ruin Batty for me, but I would be a lot happier if the oleander would just bugger off because it has kinda spoiled the nice smells I had going on before it arrived. And once again I am wishing I had a Note Removal Machine*^TM, because I just know that Batty would be all kinds of awesome on me if I could just get that oleander out of it.

 

Overall, Batty is a weird little scent - I think it probably needs just the right skin chemistry to get the notes to balance out nicely.. I amp the floral aspect a bit too much, unfortunately. It's not a horrible smell.. it's just not something I think I will wear a lot. In the end it wears down to a soft, powdery, dusky tone with a very dry floral top note - it really is quite nice but not what I was hoping for. I think I'll stash it away for a bit of aging, and see what happens - fingers crossed that pesky oleander will go away!

 

*not related to The Cult's Love Removal Machine, which has been known to distract even the most pure of women. Or is that Ian Astbury in his leather pants? I dunno.. I'm all distracted now.

[thekittenkat]

The label is very amusing!

 

In the bottle: More like a dark baking chocolate or cocoa powder, after a careful rolling so that the gloopy chocolate bits would mix in, but there's other notes hiding in the depths.

 

Wet: Not really a sweet chocolate at all, and the oleander is rather present.

 

The dry-down: This reminds me of the 13 series, with all the different notes mixed in with the chocolate/cocoa note, thus saving it from being too foodie! (Mind you, I like foodie chocolate scents, but it's nice to have a non-foodie take once in a while.) The oleander seems to be retreating a bit, and the sandalwood and musk are giving Batty an interesting depth. This may work better on the bf.

[Rho]

Yep, you've got to mix up the chocolate in this oil; it's just like a lava lamp in my decant!

 

In the decant: Smells like chocolate baking squares. There are spices and musk swirling in the background.

 

Wet: Reminds me very much of the only 13 I've smelled (May 2011). It's unsweetened chocolate in a haze of spice and a brown musk that's furry (like the one in Brown Jenkin).

 

Dry: Definitely like a lighter version of 13 May 2011. It's not overwhelmingly chocolate, though the chocolate is obvious. The florals and sandalwood combine into something perfumey. Batty is totally a viable, and wearable body scent for me.

 

Overall: Interesting, but kind of confusing. It just skirts the line of being foody, but isn't firmly in any other category either. I'd wear it, but it's not my favorite.

 

3/5

[a_llb]

In bottle: Thick chocolate, rich & spicy. Definitely needed to roll the bottle before applcation.

Wet: Hazy florals & cassia, it does seem quite smoky at first. There is a powdery edge from the sandalwood, it seems musty almost.

Dry: The chocolate all but disappears, leaving the oleander & heavily musky woods to duke it out.

 

Verdict: Reminds me of old lady perfume, like there is something sickly underneath it almost... I don't like it at all. There is a tang to the musk that turns my stomach.

[milo]

Wet, it's kind of a boozy chocolate. The booziness kind of reminds me of Storyville at this point, only with cocoa. This fades to an earthy, musky cocoa blend, not unlike some of the '13's that are out there. I wish it stayed how it was wet, but still, this is OK, and I'll certainly enjoy my decant!

[Little Bird]

The artwork for this is really cute. I don't think that the scent is a keeper for me, though. It reminds me of The Last Unicorn, which also didn't work for me, in that it was like chocolate mixed with things that didn't smell right paired with chocolate. The mix of oleander and musk, I think, is going slightly soapy on me, into a clean & musky floral smell. Then there's the light sweetness of the chocolate. As it dries down, some of the soapy clean aspect fades away and I'm getting more of a baby powdery sandalwood + light chocolate. It's almost total baby powder after about 15 minutes.

 

Batty is surprisingly light on me, clinging very close to the skin and only lasting about an hour overall. I'm also surprised that I don't get any spice/cassia, because it's usually a strong note on me.

 

This is mostly clean floral and baby powdery sandalwood on me

[angelicruin]

Definitely Tootsie Roll on me with a bit of wood note. Starts to go powdery after a while.

[Teaotter]

Dark chocolate, and a woody note I would've sworn was patchouli. It's probably the oudh and the sandalwood playing tricks on me. There is some fuzzy musk in there, but it stays in the background with the other notes.

 

This one stays true all the way through on me. Throw is pretty mild.

[zankoku_zen]

Dark chocolate, wood and that furry bat musk. On the drydown I get some of the cassia, and the light cologne note. Slightly masculine, playful and debonair.

[angelamaria]

In bottle: dark and fuzzy is quite right! Chocolate and tonka, with sandalwood and white oleander, and musk wrapping them all snuggly. This is definitely "batty"! In a good way, of course. This is like a super super cute bat (the artwork is cute too!).

 

Wet on skin: yummy chocolate and musk, and a definitely masculine tonka. Therefore, this is definitely a masculine blend (which is only fitting, I suppose) although the white oleander helps give it a bit of a feminine vibe to bring it a bit closer to a unisex scent. I suppose whether you get masculine or feminine really depends on your skin chemistry! It's a bit "woody" as well, thanks to the oudh and sandalwood. It's warm and fuzzy all right, pleasant and cozy.

 

Dry: surprisingly light throw, or maybe my skin is eating this up. Back in the bottle I was thinking this may be one of those blends you must put only a small amount of, but I'm seeing that isn't the case. The white oleander is not very distinguishable now, leaving this a quite masculine blend with my kind of skin chemistry. There's yummy chocolate tonka and sandalwood, maybe a hint of the cassia for a slight spice. This will probably age pretty well.

 

Verdict: very lovely blend, but not something I will wear myself. I wouldn't mind smelling this on a guy, for sure.

[burymestanding]

I should preface this by saying that I'm somewhat paranoid about "masculine" scents. I have a complex. Whatever. I also haven't had a lot of luck with anything chocolate-y. So, I was a little wary of trying Batty. But, the outside of the decant smelled so awesome that I put on my Big Girl Pants and gave it a go.

 

Initially, it was very heavy on the chocolate, but it faded into the background quickly. Ultimately, I was left with a warm, heady incense smoke type of smell, with a little cocoa, a little musk, and the faintest hint of a really nice men's cologne. It wasn't like, "OMG YOU SMELL LIKE A DUDE" ....it was more "Hey, was there a very classy man walking through the room a half hour ago?".

 

I really like this scent. It's dark, but not brooding or spooky. It's definitely unisex, but I feel like I can pull it off. A very pleasant surprise, all in all.

[SurrealReality]

After noticing that several of the above reviews mentioned 'masculine' and 'cologne-like' I realized that Batty was probably doomed to fail on me. I am never lucky enough to amp chocolate or vanilla/tonka, but masculine notes seam to love my skin

 

However, this appears to be the one exception! Smells like cocoa powder and oleander in the bottle…. pretty, but perhaps too sharp for me. On my skin it becomes a gorgeous fusion of cocoa, sandalwood, tonka, and just a hint of a very soft, furry musk. Sexy, dark, and sweet (but not quite sweet enough to be considered foody). Nothing sharp or cologne-like about it and definitely not masculine

 

LOVE!!!

[Monday]

In the tester this smells of slightly salty chocolate.

On my skin it warms up to a lovely lavender sandalwood+ tonka scent. It reminds me a bit of Tree of Life which also starts out with a hint of chocolate which later on disappears and the tonka gives it the same fuzzy vibe.

For some reason I don't smell oleander but lavender. This is probably due to the fact that I have no clue what oleander smells like though.

It reminds me a bit of my beloved Saint-Germain when it's dry. It's borderline masculine but I wouldn't hesitate to wear it. It's gorgeous!

[aphrodite]

At first this was chocolate, and underneath it all I can still smell some chocolatey tonka-y goodness trying to come out. But mostly I'm getting the smell of the aftershave or cologne my grandpa wore when I was younger. It's not necessarily a bad smell, but it's masculine and evocative and not for me. I wish I could place which note smells like this, as it's not the first time this has happened, but I can't remember which other scents contained this note. Sigh. Off to the swaps.

[Wren12]

O.M.G.

 

This is just amazing in the bottle, on wet and on dry!

 

In the bottle it is a wonderful chocolate a la many of the 13's nice, dark, and sweet at the same time.

 

On wet the chocolate warms and the tonka makes itself known, in a wonderful subtle note. The oleander and oudh mix together well, canceling out any worrisome floral notes.

 

Dry this really shines. I have no idea what bat musk smells like but if this is it I need to find some little sky rats and rub them all over my body. The musk mixes with the chocolate and imparts an amazing, sexy note to this already awesome mix. The cassia becomes noticeable at this stage, but it is perfect, not like, OMG HAI CINNAMON, but just a warming note, lifting the tonka, chocolate and musk off the skin. It is bloody brilliant and I am SO HAPPY I have a bottle now (Thanks Agameofthree).

 

Don't forget, this one needs to be rolled in the hands before it is applied, the chocolate sinks to the bottom. I forgot the first time I put it on and it was still amazing, but after I rolled it (it's fun to see all the chocolate bits in suspension) it was that much better.

 

Easily one of my top 5 scents. Easily.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Wren12

[Lycanthrope]

Briefly:

 

Chocolate musk, with a much more commercial-type vibe. The cocoa burns off within the first hour and what is left is the musky sandalwood. It reminds me very strongly of Primal Element's Ariel.

[Numanoid]

Ok...been wanting to try this, so finally bought a bottle, gave it a good roll/shake to make sure it was all nicely mixed, as from reading above reviews!!

 

In Bottle: Yep, a nice, pale chocolate scent....and pale as in not BOOM in your face chocolate, but tame. I love chocolate blends, so had to try this one!!

 

On Skin: Like others said, I instantly get a cologne/masculine scent out of this, but still not cray manly. Stays close to the skin

 

Drydown: No more chocolate but can detect the hints of oudh and musk. Sadly this ends up as an odd cologne on me. Needs a new home!

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Lots of sandalwood with strong tonka support. Oudh and musk are gentler, but also good support. The dark chocolate makes a lovely counterpoint with cassia support. The Oleander is barely there, but distinct. Wet: The chocolate and cassia come out more on the skin, becoming strongest, with the sandalwood a close second and the musk third. The oleander weaves through everything as it warms up, delicate, but clear and clean. Dry: Mostly oudh, with some musk and sandalwood.

[bellumed]

If Tootsie Roll Industries put out a cologne, this would be it. The chocolate slowly burns off on drydown, leaving behind “fuzzy” oudh and musk. Oleander sneaks up and takes over (accompanied by sandalwood), a clean and floral note that doesn’t lessen the masculinity. Not for me but nice.