zankoku_zen

Brown musk, hay, and leather. mr. zee_zee says this smells like almonds. The musk is nice and soft, and the leather is definitely soft brown leather. Low throw, good wear length.

Oh wow. I think so far, this may be my standout Luper aside from Snake's Kiss. It's this warm, spicy, sophisticated amber chypre. It smells like a gender neutral cologne but the amber warms it up a bit. You can smell the patchouli but it's pretty low down, and just adding a smidge to the amber. UGH. Love this. Good throw, medium wear length.

Dark, smoky oudh that smells like it has jasmine in it, and doing unpleasant things to my skin at the moment. I occasionally get whiffs of carnation but then something smoky and oily underneath. Great throw, of course. Yeah, this isn't working for me at all.

A red-musk version of Vixen. I get a citrusy edge to the red musk. Red musk lovers take note. Good throw and wear length.

Rice milk, cardamom, ginger. This reminded me a little to Dana O'Shea but with cardamom and ginger instead of almond and honey. It was like an Asian version, and slightly spicier because of the ginger. Comforting, milky, skin soft. Medium throw and wear length.

Strawberry candy and a whiff of cherry blossoms. This is mainly all strawberry on me. Sweet, candy, strawberry. Good throw and wear length.

Caramelized tonka and sandalwood. This is more 'caramel' than I expected it to. There's a smokiness to this blend. Good throw and wear length.

Amber, orris, and vanilla narcissus. This smells like a white floral with an amber undertone. But I get a distinctive "ivory" impression. Waxy white florals. Medium throw and wear length.

There was a reason he hid me in Lakeside, wasnt there? There was a reason nobody should have been able to find me here. Hinzelmann said nothing. He unhooked a heavy black poker from its place on the wall, and he prodded at the fire with it, sending up a cloud of orange sparks and smoke. This is my home, he said, petulantly. Its a good town. Perfect wholesomeness: green grass, summer daisies, spring daffodils, and bake sale cookies bought with blood and terror, all frozen beneath a sheet of thick black ice. This smells like a fresh aquatic lake, with green grass and florals being the most prominent notes other than "icy water" but you do occasional get the whiff of something else. Like blood. Great atmospheric. Good throw and wear length.

Lavender, plum blossom, and crystal musk. This is a perfumey-lavender blend. Delicate, calming, feminine. Medium throw and wear length.

Honeyed beeswax. This reminds me to a softer version of the Light of Men's Lives. Medium throw and wear length.

Silk, wood and a dash of aquatics. This one has great throw. It's a very fabric + wood blend, and its a sophisticated neutral. Great throw and good wear length.

Almond rice milk with a tinge of red currants. This is mainly an almond rice milk with just a bit of a fruity red currant edge. Medium throw and wear length.

Cake, amber, and gingerbread. This one has a touch of cardamom, and then cake and amber. Good throw and wear length.

Jasmine, orange blossom, woods and blue musk. This one is a sleepy jasmine blend. It's very green and clean. Medium throw and wear length.

Dead leaves, patchouli and licorice. It's an earthy patch and licorice blend over dead leaves. Woodsy, patchy, licorice. Medium throw and wear length.

Rosewood, amber, and vanilla. This is a sophisticated slightly rosy wood blend. Smoky, woody, perfumey. Good throw and wear length.

Plum, honey, green tea and citrus. This one is a bit of a morpher. On wet, the jasmine is more prominent, but as it dries the plum blossom makes more of an appearance and the green tea comes in adding a bit of freshness to it. Plummy white blossoms, green tea, and a swirl of honey. Good throw and wear length.

Soft jasmine, opoponax and oudh. This one is a smoky white jasmine. Great throw and wear length.

Dandelion, grass, and a touch of white pepper. Green, grassy, clean. Great throw and wear length.

Honeysuckle, gardenia, and greens. Fresh, floral, clean. Great throw and wear length.

As another Con season descends upon us (this year well be at Midsummer Scream, Dragon Con, and NYCC), we at the Lab offer the following extra enticement to come visit our tiny, fragrant island of tranquility in the midst of those teeming masses. All it will cost is your soul. Just kidding, mostly! At our convention appearances and Los Angeles Lunacy events, youll find a gorgeous black tome on display, hand-crafted by McCall Company. Sign our tenebrous guestbook with your name and email address (plus any additional love notes), and not only will you receive our occasional email newsletter youll be entered to win one free bottle of a scent thats impossible to obtain any other way. Thats right, the following blend will never be available for sale on Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs site. So go right ahead: take a deep breath, steel your nerve, and sign our Black Book. Hand-tooled leather and gold leaf, yellowed pages smeared with a sliver of black ink, and dusty balsam, all bound with a dark, smoky oudh. Black Book is like a mix of Burning Book and Two Ply Bristol. I get a nice worn leather, heavy paper and ink, and a touch of smoky oudh. It's much softer than either Burning Book or Two Ply Bristol ever were on my skin and much more wearable. It's got a medium throw, but after about two hours it has definitely become more of a skin scent on me. Bullet dodged?

Dirt, mushrooms, and sweet musk. Medium throw and wear length.

Coconut, champaca and black musk. This is a black coconut blend. Smoky, musky, sexy coconut. Good throw and wear length.

On wet, there's a giant hit of blueberry/lilac fruitiness. This dries down to lilac-tobacco dominant blend, with just blueberry flirting about the edges. I am, in fact, getting a ton of lilac from this. Not at all what I expected. Medium throw and wear length.