thekittenkat

1st, my mini-review from DSWC: Cold Sniff: ivy, ivy, ivy Wet: fig is coming out and maple leaf, too Dry: mostly ivy and dry leaves; would like to re-test, as I think I like it, but am not sure Now for a more in-depth review: In the bottle: There's the crisp ivy note, rather akin to the ivy that I cut & tear down from Mr. Kat's house's brick walls (it's trying to sneak in through the windows), but slightly gentled by what must be the honeyed fig. Wet: The ivy calms down as the maple leaf moves into the foreground. The dry-down: Quite the morpher, as I'm now getting a hint of the dirt and the cypress, and a slight whiff of something (can't imagine what note is causing this) slightly soapy and aquatic. But the longer I wear it the more the crisp green bitterness of the fresh ivy returns. Not sure that I like it on me. It's a very masculine scent. ETA: I should note that my skin usually loves all these notes, all but the ivy and the cypress. Of course, the 2 notes that I am sure of, end up dominating the scent, sadly.

Cold sniff of the tealight: All the spices found in pumpkin spice, well blended. Lit: The spices now feel warm in the air, as though they have been toating gently by a small fire in the hearth. Very pleasant, and nothing at all like a crafts store.

Cold sniff: All the notes. On the hair: Can still detect all the notes, but on my long, dry, colored hair, this gloss sinks right into the hair stands. It's subtle, but the honey and apple are the most obvious notes as it dries.

Cold sniff of unlit tealight: Mostly the dark incense, but w/ a hint of the leaf note. Lit: Much the same as when not lit. These fallen leaves have been rained upon, as there's a curious hint of an aquatic note amongst the dark incense notes, which themselves are not overpowering in the least. I like the leaf note, and the incense notes of myrrh, opoponax, and labdanum. It's a nice but gentle scent.

Cold sniff of the unlit tealight: Mostly the pine pitch and the frank. Lit: The pine needles, the golden-red pine sap, and the champaca make their presence known, giving the tealight a round, warm, golden scent, rather different from the cold sniff scent. This is a gentle scent, as though one brought in a few bits of the piney woods in autumn and sprinkled some spices on the pine bark and branch, and then lit an unscented candle. A very pleasant scent, not overpowering.

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE BATH OIL Dive into an invigorating icy vanilla mint bath! Shea oil, olive oil, apricot kernel oil, fractionated coconut oil, rosehip seed, evening primrose oil, vitamin E, isopropyl myristate, glycereth-7-cocoate (derived from coconut), oleth 3, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume blends. Do note that I don't use this as a bath oil, but as an after-shower "lotion". The first sniff as I pop the cap is very vanilla minty, more minty than vanilla though. It's a nice thick oil in texture, and does not run as quickly as some of the other bath oils. On the other hand, it does take a little bit more rubbing in to get it to sink it. As with all Post bath oils, it leaves my skin smoother and softer, and does not act in a sticky fashion. On my skin, it's more minty in scent than vanilla, but it's still very nice! It's refreshing, and I will get a lot of use of this in the warmer weather.

This is for the 2014 version. In the bottle: Freshly-mown hay, drying in the sun, that smells as if someone had sprinkled patch, herbs, and a few grains of gunpowder amongst the tied stacks. Wet: The gunpowder has come into its own, wafting above the other notes. The dry-down: Now the gunpowder has settled back down to mix and meld w/ the other notes. It's just a tad on the sweet side, and therefore I would say, on my skin, this is a little different from the 2009 gift-with-purchase imp. My review of the 2009 version can be found by scrolling up. I still like it; it's unisex, certainly. ETA: thanks to Beth for bringing this back.

This review is for the 2014 version. In the bottle: I can deduce all the notes, very elegant. Wet: It's turning a little sweeter, but still is this gentle mix of musk, vanilla, cocoa, leaves, and the amber incense. The dry-down: Really liked when I tested it at DSWC, but not as sure now. The amber incense, white musk, and leaves have come forward, and the vanilla-infused white cocoa has somewhat retreated to the background, only to add a faint touch of sweetness. Hours later: It finally turned a bit powdery, which is a problem that I have w/ amber. Still a pleasant scent for both autumn and winter. Not sure that this is quite as good as the 2011 version; will have to do a death-match to see.

I have just a little bit in a bottle from a decant circle. I used it today, as I didn't have time to wash my hair, and yet wanted something to tame it. My hair has color in it, is dry on the ends, and can be oily near the scalp. It's very long, fine and thin. This HG seemed to weigh the hair down more than other HGs that I have used, w/ only four sprays, but the scent is wonderful. The fig note is dark but not too juicy, and the sandalwood note keeps the sweetness in check. I think that would this scent would work well any perfume oil that has a strong fig note present.

This is for the 2014 version. Here are my thoughts from the DSWC: Cold Sniff: sweet rotting fruit; worried abt trying this Wet: fermentation goes away, not bad The Dry-Down: wonderfulness! Sugar Skull in past years has been very faint sugared fruit on me, but this year is just what I was hoping for, for a long time; one bottle bought, maybe a back-up? Further thoughts: I see that I liked the 2012 version, but 2014 is so much better! XOMom thought that this was the best Sugar Skull by far and I agree. I did another test drive this past Wednesday. I put a dab on one wrist, another in the hollow of my throat, and wiped my fingers through my hair early that morning. I put a dab on the other wrist around 6 PM. Attended the Sir Paul concert that night--3 hrs of dancing and singing and sweating and cheering and clapping along to the great music. When I woke up the next morning, I still could smell the lovely Sugar Skull on both wrists. So, major staying power. Also, this could be a great enabler to bpal for any one, girl child to senior citizen, who likes sweet fruit perfumes.

Just sniffing from the bottle, I get the sweetened flowers, only slightly undercut by the zesty bergamot. Once on my hair, the bergamot is more obvious, but the sweet florals are still present. This will be a great spring/summer scent, sweet yet refreshing. I love honeysuckle and camellia, and adore sweet scents, so this was a must-try.

I always wonder how long is long? I have a BPTP order that has been "Pending" since July 30th. To me, that is long, but in the grand scheme of things, I guess it really isn't! Try the contact form here: http://blackphoenixtradingpost.com/contact/ That's a while, unless something is back-ordered?

KHRYSOPÊLÊX Helmed in Gold Caraway, amber, saffron, bergamot, and neroli. Here's another that I was dubious of trying. Only the neroli is a good note on me under usual circumstances. Amber is a love, but sometimes turns to powder, and bergamot can become sharpish. Now that I've gone over the failings of my skin chemistry, no surprise here, this really didn't work on me. As expected the neroli sweetened the blend up, but the caraway was very very present, with its usual anise-like scent. (One that I don't like nor does it like me.) As this dried down, the amber became powdery. A ote seemingly missing was the bergamot, so that was surprising. I will say that this has a golden quality to it, because of the saffron, but I would not compare it to, say, Gold Phoenix. If the amber and the neroli had been more dominant, this could have been very nice. Anything like a little anise on me goes a long way.

In the decant: Berries in the salty sea air. Wet: The sea air, but not very salty. The dry-down: Now it's a bit more like the cold sniff, of the berries in the sea air. Nice, but maybe not bottle-worthy. Not sure where the other notes were, but they weren't to be found.

In the decant: Mint, citrus, tea leaf. Wet: Sharp green tea leaf, backed by the green mint. The dry-down: Everything calmed down to a generic tea scent, with a small slice of something citrus floating on top. Pleasant. I love citrus scents, but they just don't work as well as they should on me any more. I keep hoping, though!

In the decant: Black tea with vanilla. Wet: Now there's a hint of lemon from the bergamot. The dry-down: Lemony (but only slightly) black tea with a drop or two of vanilla for a sweetener. The patch and balsam were not present, so color me a little disappointed. I have other tea scents that I like better.

In the imp: Chamomile and champaca. Wet: Now some hints of the vanilla appear. The dry-down: Just a touch of black nutmeg and the powder of the amber threatens. It's a nice skin scent, but nothing that I really need.

In the decant: Honeyed mimosa flowers. It's a light honey. Wet: There's just a hint of something green, herbal, sharp now, but it's already mellowing. The dry-down: Back to how it smelled in the decant. I like it. Might get a bottle, as we had a mimosa tree in the backyard for a while when I was a child, so this is somewhat evocative of old memories, long ago and far away.

In the imp: Sharp yet bittersweet: apple peel, woods, ash. Wet: Like others have said, somewhat like AHE, but w/ a tart green apple. The dry-down: My skin just drinks this in! I like the woods and green apple, but I have to slather! Not sure of a bottle. Best in the dry-down, though.

In the imp: This is another one of Beth's exquisite creations where the notes blend together to start with, swirling about the opium poppy. Wet: Opium poppy w/ hints of the other notes, esp. the smoke. The dry-down: Not a morpher. A skin scent. The opium poppy is the strongest note, yet it is held in check by all the other notes. I like it, but not sure of a bottle.

In the imp: The florals, drenched in the fig milk that contains a drop of vanilla. Wet: The fig milk is more creamy now. The dry-down: In the dry-down, the flowers come on more strongly, but are still somewhat muted by the creaminess of the fig milk. The vanilla is not foodie, but adds just a bit of sweetness. Lovely--I may have to add this to my collection.

In the imp: The fruits are being supported by the other notes; I rather like, so far. Wet: Lots of mango and fig, and some cold green tea. The dry-down: Much as when wet. Not really getting the patch, hazelnut cream, or white chocolate, which are all fave noes. Debating a bottle.

In the imp: Chamomile and champaca. Wet: Now some hints of the vanilla appear. The dry-down: Just a touch of black nutmeg and the powder of the amber threatens. It's a nice skin scent, but nothing that I really need.

In the imp: Light honey, something green and leafy, faint hint of chocolate. Wet: Yum! Much as on cold sniff, only moreso! And with added chocolate. The dry-down: I liked this better in the wet stage. Now I get a whiff of the greenish nightshade, then a whiff of chocolate, then a whiff of chocolate. It's like they were happy together at first, but now the three notes are playing a power game. I still like it, and am debating a bottle.

In the imp: Mostly bamboo, but it's cut and dried, not fresh and growing. Wet: Now the bamboo is coming alive, and the frank and cedar and honey are deep in the mix, but rising. The dry-down: As this dried, the bamboo kept being fresh but starting to dry out, and the myrrh and beeswax came to life. This is a lovely scent, well-blended. I'm usually wary of bamboo, as it can turn to a very green and murky aquatic, but the strong notes in this blend kept from that direction. It's a springtime woody resin!