Black Narcissus

[byrdie]

Note ~ This was apparently a limited edition single note because it's rather rare. I received an imp decant of it as an extra gift during a swap with the marvelous lavinia, a enthusiast of my reviews who wanted to see what I would say about this one.

 

Vial ~ Cold, alien tropical fruit.

 

Wet ~ I wasn't already familiar with the flower, so all i got off my first sniffs were "an acceptable floral. I guess this is what black narcissus smells like."

 

Drying ~ It's turned sweet, almost fruity on me. It's definitely a floral, but I find it's falling into a musky-fruity category. It's also light, airy and a little cold-smelling.

 

Drydown ~ I've been wanting to nickname it Follow Me Boy; despite the fact that said name is taken. This scent is quite sexy, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if black narcissus was one of the notes in the discontinued French Creole blend.

 

Dry ~ It's pretty much staying as is, which makes me happy. I still can't get over how cold a scent this is, though - I wouldn't have expected that from the name.

 

Fade ~ It starts to turn a bit sharp and incensy, and then blunts into something almost plastic, but not quite. After about three hours it turns into rather a non-entity -- something happened on my skin and left a residual impression, but nothing substantial. In the meantime, my skin in starting to prickle.

 

Final thoughts ~ Since this is a single note, I suspect that I'll have a prayer of tracking down a version of comparable enough quality for my nose. However, I'd also be curious about oils where black narcissus is the only or primary floral - they should prove interesting.

Edited February 28, 2005 by byrdie

[UltraViolet]

BPAL blends which use Black Narcissus as one of it's ingredients: Hades, Hunger, Languor

 

In the bottle

This is a clear colored single note. It smells a bit green, and a bit like fresh dill with an earthy musky scent in the background.

On

This is a different smelling floral that has a sharpness to it. It's a fresh scent likegreen grass at times. It smells almost like a male scent, no sweetness to it.

30 minutes

It doesn't change on my skin at 30 minutes but my skin does seem to drink it all up so this is one I'd have to re-apply.

Throw:

average

Scent category:

Floral

Summary

It's surprisingly piercing in the bottle then it warms a tad on my skin but it isn't sweet at all. It smells like it looks.

Purchase again?

Yes. It's so different, and intriguing.

1-5 rating (5 being best)

3