Black Phoenix

[larkredblade]

Our signature oil. A dark, languid scent. Promotes hedonistic tendencies and extreme self-love. You won't stop kissing mirrors for a month.

I wanted to love this one.

In the vial, I smelled almond extract. Once on, I could still smell the almond, and something sweet like cherries. I still wasn't sure if I liked it or not at this point -- it usually takes at least a whole day for me to decide since scents change on me while I wear them.

The drydown though -- crumbled to baby powder. This one just doesn't seem to work with my chemistry darnit! I envy those who can wear it!

[Theravada]

In the bottle this smelled SO damned good. Dark, syrupy cherries and heady musks. I couldn't wait to try it.

 

Black Phoenix hit my skin and instantly turned into pure baby powder. I mean, not even a hint of cherry or anything else fighting to survive. My skin just ATE Black Phoenix

 

I am so crushed, I've never had this happen with any of the other blends

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: OMG, what is that? I've smelled it before somewhere. I have to hit the forum reviews for just a second. Licorice, but not licorice, which means that it's anise or one of those other funky bottles of spice that I never touch. Also, it smells like the generic Nightquil I had--horrid stuff that. I'm not a big fan of licorice smells, but I'm willing to try it on and hope it calms down a little.

 

Wet: Licorice and...yes, cherries. Also some almond. And, no, none of these are scents that I put up with too well. I couldn't handle The Red Queen because of the cherries. Snow White got dumped because of the almond. It's not bad, it's just that for some reason these scents really bother me. Either they don't smell good on me or they don't smell good to me. I haven't figured out which one of those applies quite yet, though.

 

Dry down: Candy sweet fruits with...Now, I know. It's Good and Plenties. Those little, hard licorice candies that come in pink and white. On my arm. With some cinnamon. Every smell in the world that has a tendency to bother me. Not the lab's fault. Just what I get for being sensitive to these kind od smells.

 

Dry: Now it's died down to just the Good and Plenty scent. Hmmm, not my favorite scent in the entire world. Not at all. I'll throw this at the boy and see if he likes it. It's not the scent that's the problem, though, just the way I react to it.

[luxuria]

I could have sworn I reviewed this..guess not!

 

This starts out like extreme almond extract, with a slight hint of something darker and what smells like hairspray in the background. As it dries, the 'something darker' comes out more as well as some cherry, leaving this smelling like smoky almonds and cherry. Luckily, the hairspray smell disappeared completely. Later on, I swear a floral peeks out..smells a lot like rose, but it could be something else. I really like this! It's very unique and sweet, but not foody due to the floral and underlying musk. This is on my 5ml wish list!

 

This is also, however, a "going out" scent to me..and I don't have very many of those, so that's saying a lot.

Edited January 10, 2005 by luxuria

[FireInCairo]

This scent is VERY cherry on me at first- but the dry down is much different. It goes very musky ..almost ambery. I love this. It's actually quite sexy. So- it is a keeper for sure...

[lunalight7]

Black Phoenix was a freebie from the Lab!

 

I like this one...from the bottle, it was all almond extract but quickly changed into a powdery-incense-y-pretty scent that is definitely dark and musky on me. I like musky scents and this one is more interesting than traditional musk scents. I also have Forbidden fruit on the same arm and the two smell nice together (Have to remember this combo!). I cant wait to see how Black Phoenix morphs over time. For now, it's a keeper.

[Lucretia]

Nice almondy scent at first, very bitter, a hint of cherry. i like it alot at this stage. However, after 20minutes or so I get some sort of fruit or floral that tones the almond way down and gives it that babypowdery scent.

alas, this one ended up too light and sweet on me.

[isyche]

Black Phoenix started out with that almond extract/cherry smell everyone has noted, then changed to something cherry cola-ish, and finally went baby powder with a vengeance. Only it was too-sweet sickening baby powder, and I had to wash it off.

 

Ah well, back to swap with it.

[fairywingmaker]

Almonds, smokey floral, a hint of cherrieness. Almost a Dragons Blood scent on my skin. There is a little powderyness that makes me think there might be a rose in there. All in all, I'm glad I got an imp of this. It was fun to try, but not an everyday scent for me.

[silverangel]

Deep smoky cherry and berries! I am SO in love! Why did I not order the lab's signature scent in my very first order anyway? I adore glampyre for sending me this as part of my swap faery pressie. (I think that's who sent it to me. if i'm wrong then it was kate). Anyway, whoever sent it to me...WOOHOO thanks! Smells SOOO good, deep, dark club kind of scent. The kind of scent you wear when you're on the prowl, wearing a short skirt with nothing underneath it and looking for someone to pull into a dark corner and have your way with.

[Falathwen]

This was a gift from the lab. When I was first applying this blend it smelled just like Marachino cherries, as someone mentioned above. Then I started to detect almond and a smoky, rather bitter note which I am assuming was dark musk. As it dried the musk mellowed and the other notes blended more and more. A rose note became more prominent…combined with the other notes it seemed like a blood red rose. Very rich. Unlike other rose blends, this went neither sour or powdery on me. This scent was intense, but stayed close to my skin and lasted a long time. I was not kissing mirrors, but it did make me feel beautiful.

[VelvetSky]

Black Phoenix is a gift from the Lab, and I'm ever so grateful to be able to try their signature blend.

 

This is a very sexy, womanly scent. I like the way BP makes me feel when I wear it. As others have said so well, this blend stays very close to the skin....it's very intimate and personal, although it's potent.

 

This is liquor-y cherries and pipe smoke, and some kind of wood, like stepping into The Old Curiosity Shop. As it warms, I get a lot of incense in this blend, and some kind of sinister flower. Extremely sensual and amorous.

 

I usually cannot wear a vanilla fragrance, but the vanilla I detect on BP's drydown is very subtle and calm. It goes a bit soapy at the very end, but overall stays very rich and true.

 

I'm loving it.

[feline.by.design]

Ah, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's signature scent. I wish it worked with me.

 

When I first applied the imp, I could smell the almonds. Not being much for almond scents, I was worried, but still hopeful. The hope died about a minute later.

 

I don't know what it is, but I smell something that reminds me of this certain type of nail polish remover. There is a kind of alcohol scent that really doesn't work with me. I'm not certain what note it is, but I've found it in some other fragrances, I think Has No Hanna was one, and it really didn't appeal to me one bit.

 

Yes, the maraschino cherries smell upon the first sniff, I got that, too. If there are cherries in this oil, well, they don't work well with me normally either.

 

I've worn it for thirty minutes, and the almond scent does back down, but the alcohol-esque scent is more prominent, mixed with a barely detectable sweet vanilla base. Also, I'm noting a rose fragrance coming forth in the drydown. I'm not a big fan of roses, either.

 

I'm afraid this one isn't going to be a keeper, but I'm always glad to test something I haven't before, and I'm happy that the Lab sent me this (twice) as a freebie. If this oil has almond, cherry and rose notes, I'm surprised that I didn't combust since those notes are typically on my list of no-nos. But for those of you who possess tastes that cater to those types of fragrances, I'm sure you'll love it.

 

Even though I don't like Black Phoenix, I can tell that it's a well-made oil, considering that the teensy swab of oil I applied is still going long and strong, and plus... well, it's made from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. You know they don't play.

 

-doreen

[Belladonnastrap]

This smells like a lovely almond soaked flower but it turned my skin into a flaming effgy of pink and burned so I didn't get a chance to try it as much as I did. It smells VERY almondy and musky though, very dark. It's quite strong in the vial but alas not for me.

[rainbow]

In the bottle and wet on the skin- cherries! Very fruity indeed. As I get it on it's more almond and cinnamon, and a bit less cherry. The cherry is still there, but tempered by the almonds and cinnamon.

 

Wearing- hmmmm...this reminds me a bit of Seraglio. It smells like a powdery rose with cinnamon and almonds, and it smells a bit like almond cookies. Black Phoenix and Seraglio share that same warm, comforting, almond-cinnamon goodness.

 

Ultimately this turned into a very comforting powdery almond floral on me. I really, really like it. All of the components are scents that work well on me. For me it's the perfect comfort scent. Definitely a winner.

[allelujiah]

This started out as almonds on me. All I could smell were sweet almonds at first, which soon turned bitter.

 

This perfume is dark and sexy, something to wear out on the prowl.

After several hours the mix of almonds and spice turned very much into a powdery incense.

 

It wasn't headshop calibre or anything, I just smelled like I had dabbled myrrh on myself over some talc. I think my hormones may have affected this one, and I will try it again some other time of the month. I really liked this scent though, it made me think of brown velvets and the like.

[Rusalka]

This was a very unusual experience for me.

 

I despise licorice, can't ordinarily abide even the smell of it; I'm not very fond of cherry, as a scent, either. But this arrived as a freebie with my order -- thank you, Lab! -- and I was hardly about to let it go untried.

 

In the bottle, the scent was so strong as to be almost overpowering: heavily cherry/licorice, and even after first applying it, I could hardly detect the almond that so many people have mentioned. But this was the strange thing: even though I was pretty sure I didn't like the scent, I couldn't stop sniffing at it.

 

I'm still experiencing it as the opposite of an allergy: its effect on my mood is bouying, and the scent itself proves addictive. I wish I knew what, exactly, was in there to prompt that response...

 

But the whole thing has mellowed down very pleasantly, now; most of the licorice is gone, and the scent is more of a warm floral -- someone mentioned blood rose, and that must be it. On the other hand, my husband swears it smells like cinnamon. Even long after, it remains a very potent scent -- and from only a miniscule application.

[diabolique]

this smelled very dark brown with a tinge of green to me. in the vial, it was a heady, smoky almond. this wasn't necessarily bad, but i don't particularly want to smell like almonds. on my skin, something turned sharp and powdery. ick. this wasn't a keeper for me. i really can't do almond blends.

[Jasminepearls]

On me, this smalls of deep cark cherries, almonds and wine. It quickly turns to an almond/molasses scent with something slightly sour and dark underneath, it reminds me of a demon smoking pipe tobacco.

This is a beautifully blended scent, but the notes are not compatible with me. I can't handle the sour smell.

[surf-tormented]

This smells like Snake Oil without the notes I like in Snake Oil. It's creamy sweet on my skin and makes me want to wash my skin instead of kissing a mirror. Yuck.

 

The almond, wine and sugar are really disagreeing with me. It seems full of notes I can't stand. At the end, it begins to sour somewhat, which I actually like, but the wait time is too long for that final nice note.

 

I didn't get any of the cool tabacco or wood notes. I wish I did. I got vanilla cherry with a little tiny bit of spice and a buttery wine/nut smell.

 

Icky. Sorry. I have to say it again. Icky. Not as icky as Jack, but in the same club.

 

I would think their signature scent would be a lot darker than this.

[JazzieCazzie]

A frimp from the Lab ... I'd been warned by those who knew my tastes (I HATE cherry, probably my least favorite BPAL note, and can't stand almond either) that it probably wouldn't be much to my liking, but felt that since it's the Lab's signature scent and I love the Lab, I owed it to them to give it a go without washing it off and I'm actually glad that I did because I think if nothing else it has given me more tolerance to wait till drydown ...

 

BOTTLE: My first hit was cherry-ew, which is better than CHERRY!-EWWWWWWWWWW ... but it was interweaved with enough other notes that I thought it might morph upon application/drydown. I still didn't have enough guts to go more than wrists ...

WET: Cherry, yes, and also almond ... two scents that don't do it for me ... but also some other notes ... vanilla, maybe? And definitely something spicy/woody like perhaps sandalwood or something? There was a vibe of something I liked enough that I didn't scrunch my face.

DRYDOWN: The cherry is almost totally gone and to be honest so is the almond ... this is nice. Not "wear it all the time and get more" nice but definitely "I don't not like it" nice. VERY baby powder (what note is it that does that? Anyone know???) with a little spicy kick.

LATER DRYDOWN: The more it dries down, the more I like it. Odd. Right now, about two hours later, I actually ... um ... maybe love it. I think it needs to be applied sparingly, though ... I might actually buy another imp!

 

SUMMATION: A real eye-opener and a lesson to wait out any scent that doesn't make me want to immediately lose my lunch (eg Kitsune-Tsuke, Maened, Fae or Red Queen).

[tempete]

Black Phoenix is an almost overwhelming burst of luscious cherries and sweet almonds when wet, but this intense sweetness begins to fade away almost immediately. Next, a faint woody note makes an appearance, accompanied by hints of incense and booziness. I don't smell the rose that other reviewers wrote about, and I believe that I may be the only reviewer to smell wood, so I'm wondering if rosewood is part of this blend since my body chemistry loves to amp up woody notes. Sometimes, I get whiffs of chocolate in the final drydown, but this doesn't happen every time I wear this scent.

 

In any case, Black Phoenix is a bit of a puzzle to me. It doesn't make me swoon with delight - in fact, the sweet sweet sweet cherry and almond wet stage nearly made me scrub it off the first time that I wore Black Phoenix - but I don't seem to want to trade away my last remaining imp, and when I wear it, I can't help sniffing my wrists continually. I doubt that I would buy a bottle of this, but I think that I'll keep an imp around for when I'm in the mood for something different.

[Wren]

In The Imp: Mmmm. A musty sweetness that I can't place.

 

Wet On Skin: Still musty, but it sharpens slightly. I can almost smell something green in there, like a hint of forest in the middle of a wisewoman's kitchen. Maybe there's roses in her front yard.

 

Dried: Very herby, and the rose/forest comes out even more. Smells like midafternoon on a sunny day.

 

Overall Opinion: It smelled a little too masculine on me at first, but it's a very nice scent. Once it dried down, it became more rosy and feminine.

[Morgan]

First Sniff: Almond oil. Pure Almond.

 

On my skin: Almonds mixed with sickeningly sweet cherries.

 

After 1 hour: It' less sweet now and more bitter.

 

Final verdict: I did not like this one at all. It way too sweet/bitter on my skin.

[lysithea]

in bottle: this smells so familiar to me. rich cherry and the overwhelming scent of almonds. can't wait to put it on.

wet: wet this is truly delicious. i love the cherry and the sugared almond underneath. i keep sniffing it to enjoy the complexity of this scent.

 

dry: oh no...i do not like the dry down. where did the cherry and almond go? after a few minutes, this smelled like a hope chest full of dead crushed roses and old tobacco. my body chemistry has ruined this one for me.

overall impression: i had such high hopes for this one. i really wanted the cherry almond tartness to linger a while. unfortunately, my body chemistry rebelled. i think that i will probably try it one more time just to be sure, but this might have to go to swaps.