Black Orchid

[Ina Garten Davita]

LOVE LOVE LOVE! It's a really deep orchid, which brings to mind a darker version of Phantom Queen. The darkness in this, I believe, is that I can smell the rich, moist soil. It's not overt like in Penny Dreadful, but it's there underneath the flower, just as you would find it in nature. The longer dry down reveals a sophisticated and rather sexy perfume. Something to wear for a sparkling night out. It's got really good throw and staying power. Love-Ly!

[shelldoo]

i looove this one, it is like black rose's orchid counterpart.

 

in the bottle it is a deep velevty orchid note

 

wet it inteinsifies, become very orchid, but there is a deepness, a darkness that makes this irresistable. there is also some type of "grain" type note, reminding me of oats, or something homey like that.

 

as it dries it softens and becomes a deep, rich, velvety, orchid. it is very sexy and one of those that makes me wanna sniff my wrist all day.

 

i do believe this has something in common w/ m.u. possibly a *dust* type note, i don't quite know but there is something similar

Edited April 5, 2006 by shelldoo

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a word or two: Orchid!

 

Preconceived notions: Based on the reviews so far, an earthy orchid!

 

In the decant: Orchid and... dirt. A bit more dirt than orchid, and a dirt similar to Zombi -- as in, a dirt that hates me.

 

On skin, wet: Orchid! A very rich, warm and earthy orchid still in the soil. The earthy note(s) aren't so similar to those/that in Zombi, at least in that they/it doesn't hate me.

 

On skin, dry: Very perfumey, but in the same way Jacob's Ladder is -- which is, not in a Macy's-perfume-counter way. A bit green, also, so that it reminds me of an entire flower in its soil.

 

Conclusion: Absolutely lovely and, as Andrabell said, very sophisticated. I couldn't see myself wearing it daily, but it'd be perfect for occasions when I'm forced to dress up (as in, if I smelled like Black Orchid while wearing a dressy, er, dress, I wouldn't mind the dress as much). Hopefully Beth releases it soon, and that she doesn't make many changes to the scent in my decant!

[zillah37]

In the vial: Oh my. Flowers and dirt. Wow. This smells like I've been digging my hands in the dirt in early spring when the flowers are just starting to pop up. Mmm. So interesting.

 

On my skin: Um. What's this? It smells like dirty licorice. Something dirty. I'm not getting any of the orchid which is a light scent on it's on, so I'm not surprised the dirt is all I'm getting. I have to press my nose against my skin to smell any of it. Really, in the end, it smells like fertilizer. Which I'm not so much about.

 

The verdict: Thumbs down on my skin. In the vial it's awesome. On my skin, not so much.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Soapy floral

 

On Skin: At first it is an obvious floral. There is a slight ozoney/soapy note. I also get a little of a dirt/earth note. This is quite nice, very purple in feel… dark and exotic. I get a similar feel to Zombie since Zombie also has a slight dirty aquatic note as well. Intersting… I do like the orchid note in this better than the rose in Zombie though. Florals always feel elegant to me, it’s just a mindset I guess… but I get the womanly elegant feel from this blend as well. It has a medium throw, and average staying power. I like it, but the dirt note gets to be a bit much after a while. I just don’t like smelling earthy or dirty, even if it’s a clean note of either.

[clover]

Sniffing from the bottle: A very perfumey perfume. Sort of reminiscent of a power scent from the 1980s. It's got that fuzziness to it.

 

Upon application: Defnitely floral...but not what I would normally think of as orchid. I generally think of orchid as sweet and vaguely curry-esque...but this is a clear, piercing kind of floral. With a black earthiness surrounding it, that I have to think is black patchouli.

 

After a few minutes: My general impression is sweaty white hot-house florals in a haze of pot smoke.

 

Conclusion: A lovely, evocative scent - but not for every day. I'd save it for special occasions. Perfect for a night out.

[mandragora]

This is just lovely. In the imp, very fresh perfumey floral. Wet on my skin, it turns to a very soft yet clear almost ozone-y scent. Later, it dries down to a rich, deep earthy smelling orchid. A scent that is meant to be worn on beautiful starlit evenings. I can't wait until it is released by the lab. It's just absolutely divine, I give it a 5/5.

Edited April 4, 2006 by mandragora

[LittleGreyKitten]

Hmm. This is almost too deep and earthy- at least I'm not loving the orchid smell dirtied up. I love Regan, which is very orchid, but this one is not grabbing me yet. It's very dark smelling, very sweet, with wet dirt smell underlying all. The pure orchid in there is lovely, for sure. It's just the dirt I'm not loving, ya know?

 

I'll play with it more- it may grow on me, ya never know. For now, it's going to have to get a 3 out of 5.

[olympia301]

 

Very hot and heavy classic perfume. I smell a lot of musk in it (I don't get dirt though). Exceptionally long lasting, too. This is very formal to my taste and it is a special night out blend which would be at home in the fanciest of restaurants under candlelight.

 

My only reservation about it is that it is pretty generic to my nose, it doesn't have a particular personality which I admire so much in many of BPAL blends, and I would never have guessed that this is orchid unless I had read the label on the bottle.

Edited April 6, 2006 by olympia301

[elspeth]

I could really get into this flower! The only drawback for me is that the earthy tones in it seem to be very prominent on my skin. The flower is very lovely but I have never really cared for fresh earth. That is exactly what this smells like. If you like gardening you will like this scent!

[GemmaCat]

I won a 5ml bottle of this in the forum raffle and it arrived today. I definitely need to sample this again, but so far I'm getting deep, heady orchid and an underlying soap smell.

 

The soapy undertone gives the whole perfume a feel of really expensive shower gel, and makes me feel super clean, like I just stepped out of a luxurious spa. I'm not getting the earthy notes that others detected, though.

 

The throw on this is out of this world! I put a tiny drop on the back of my hand, and everytime I move I can smell it wafting up as strongly as if I'd liberally applied it to my pulse points.

 

Definitely a true orchid, and very dark, but I'm torn as to whether this is a keeper.

[PurringPulsar]

Black Orchid

 

In the imp: dark, rich, perfume-y floral with a hint of something which reminds me of…medicine for colds. It’s almost like a cherry-menthol scent? Weird.

Wet on skin: whoa, this darkens and becomes very dry! I get a hint of dust and dry leaves now, along with the orchid. Is that tobacco I also smell here?

Dry: mmm, interesting. This is an odd scent on me! First I get a blast of something fresh and airy, but also slightly medicinal-like menthol or eucalyptus, it’s also quite bitter, and it’s also metallic, and very cold. Then I get dry leaves, autumnal decayed leaves (which isn’t too bad a scent!) with hints of tobacco or patchouli-smoky and dark, a bit earthy but not blatantly dirty…sandwiched between these two notes is the deep, rich orchid-a heady floral with a perfume-y feel to it. But this note is fleeting…this scent, on my skin, is dominated by metallic coldness and dusty darkness obscuring the orchid.

After a while: over time, this odd ‘metallic’ note morphs into something which really reminds me of traditional or mainstream perfume. It’s that sharp note that I’ve smelt in many perfumes-I can’t tell what it is though, but it’s almost ozone like. It’s not as bad or as medicinal as it was before-it’s still a tad metallic and brassy though. Underneath it is the scent of dust, dried leaves and flowers-the orchid, so fresh before, now smells like it’s been dried, but still keeps it’s scent. I also get a slight leather like undertone.

I think the scent seems to becoming more balanced and the notes merge nicely over time. After an hour, the scent is almost like a perfume-counter fragrance, very grown up and mature, but with a cool, metallic scent to it gliding like liquid mercury over a heady darkness of dry orchid tinged with earth and smoke. It really reminds me of a perfume or two that I’ve smelt before.

After a few hours, the scent is fainter, and I get a faint whiff of that dark, smoky, perfume-y scent. I’m sure there’s a little bit of tobacco here because I’m getting hints of it in the drydown-but unfortunately it translates to bar smoke and perfume in here.

Verdict: I’m not sure if I really like this-I was hoping I would since this is a rare scent and I love Shadow Witch Orchid, but this one was very strange on my skin. I got the orchid, but it was veiled by a cold, piercing note which at times was medicinal, and at other times it was metallic. I also got a musty earth note underneath with hints of dry leaves and tobacco. The orchid is there but the other notes tend to get in the way. Eventually the scent becomes very perfumey in feel, like traditional perfume on a leather bag or jacket with a brassy top note and hints of tobacco smoke. It’s not bad, but it’s not really my thing. Shame really, I wanted to love this, but I’ll stick to Shadow Witch when I need an orchid fix.

Emoticon rating:

[Medici]

In the imp: Orchids and dirt.

 

Wet: A bunch more orchids… like getting beaten around the head with a bouquet of them, and I’m yelling, “Stop! Stop! It’s too much floral!” and it’s not stopping. In fact, I think I’ve been smothered with said bouquet. Whoy. I’ve met the uber orchid.

 

Drydown: Tentatively, I get the arm another whiff. It’s relaxed (a little) into a dusted, subdued perfume counter at the local department store.

 

Verdict: It is way too floral for me. This is the kind of thing I can’t wear around my mom because it’ll trigger her migraines. (And I do have to keep that in mind when selecting certain scents… as long as I live here, anyway.) The throw is crazy strong, and while I feel that the scent is very true to the actual flower, it’s just not me.

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Dark and earthy orchid. Is there a dirt note in this?

 

On my skin: The dirt note is still there, but much more subdued. Mostly, it's kind of a soapy orchid. It smells a lot like expensive soap.

 

Drydown: Still orchid soap, but a lot lighter. It fades pretty quickly on my skin, but most everything does.

[Rhowan]

I am not usually an orchid fan, but then I wasn't much of a Lotus fan until I tried black lotus, so, I decided to give the orchid a spin!

 

When this was first wet on my skin, it smelled like any other orchid that I don't really like. Kind of bright and overpowering. After it started to dry down, it started to darken.

 

At complete dry down, Black Orchid is beautiful, it is dark and sullen - a black flower for a dark bride. It isn't bright or bold but a sinuous, earthy smelling orchid. It is very beautiful.

 

When or if this is ever released, I will definitely be getting at least a 5ml. The throw is good - not overpowering like most orchids would be (at least to me) but just a enough of a throw to make people lean into you subconciously. LONG wear - could smell it almost 24 hrs. later. I love this scent!

 

 

 

efs

Edited May 4, 2006 by Rhowan

[filigree_shadow]

Got an imp of this in a swap from the lovely Ryvre.

 

Black Orchid smells very perfumey to me. It's not really overtly floral or creamy, and it's not sharp either. Dark perfumey. I don't smell any dirt, which surprises me because that one always shows up strongly on me if it's there at all.

 

It reminds me a lot of a scent I'm familiar with, and I thought it might be Prada perfume, so I put a tiny dab of it on my other arm. Yep, that's what Black Orchid reminds me of. Prada has no orchid in it, but it's that same stinging, kind of metallic, haughty expensive perfume scent. But Black Orchid, unsurprisingly, is much better. Much better. I would get a big bottle of this right now if I could.

[desu]

In the imp: A dark, sweet smell, somewhat perfumey.

 

On my skin: Nothing special. It's a tad soapy on me and the floral appears to have disappeared.

 

Later on: I kept smelling this exotic incensey smell while websurfing. At first I thought it was coming from one of my boxes of incense, but found none of them on the desk. Then I gave my arm a sniff and was pleasantly surprised to find this orchid decided to bloom after all. Not as sweet as it is in the imp, this is dark and spicy now. The throw is really excellent, too. I could see myself buying a bottle of this one.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a pretty floral.

on: a nice orchid with a touch of tangy, almost fruity, floral.

3 hours later: a soft orchid.

5.5 hours later: soft, powdery orchid.

overall: this is really pretty, but shadow witch orchid smells better on me.

[edenssixthday]

Black Orchid - I’m very sad to say that on my skin, it doesn’t smell like orchid at all. I think the only other BPAL orchid scent I’ve tried is Shadow Witch Orchid, which is a gorgeous orchid that reminds me of Hawaii, but Black Orchid just smells dark, dirty, thick and heavy-floral on me. We had orchids in our front-office bouquet at work this week, so I sniffed the orchids, and they were gorgeous, once again whisking me away to Hawaii. Then I sniffed the Black Orchid, and there was absolutely nothing in common with the beautiful fresh orchids I just smelled. Black Orchid is apparently a scent that just doesn’t work on me. I even tried layering it with Black Orchid body butter from The Coconut Hut, and it still didn’t work well on me at all. Hopefully I can swap it for another unreleased that will work better on me.

[Little Bird]

I had such high hopes for this one, because orchid is one of the few florals that I have had good luck with. I loved the black orchid in Phantom Queen, The Premature Burial, and Shadow Witch Orchid.

 

Unfortunately, this is much more perfumey on me than the orchid that I've come to love. I like florals that actually smell like flowers... I don't like scents that smell like floral perfume. And this is the sort of sharp, heady floral scent that makes me think of the dozens of cliche floral perfumes that line up department store shelves every day. I digress.

 

On me... this smells like floral. Not really like the orchid note that I've come to recognize, just that nondescript floral mishmash. Perfumey and kind of metallic floral. It smells lush and slightly fruity for a second, but then morphs into that classic perfume scent that I loathe. The drydown is slightly powdery. It's not necessarily an overpowering fragrance, but it's strong enough to give me a headache.

 

Black Orchid was a huge disappointment for me but at least there are still plenty of yummy orchid scents in the BPAL lineup that I *can* wear.

[brownbear]

When wet it's perfumey. As it dries it goes to a sophisticated floral. It smells like a freshly cut bouquet of flowers. It fades a bit on me and goes a bit powdery.

My roommate really likes it, which is surprising since he doesn't like florals. He said he didn't know what it smelled like, but he liked it.

[sofiaviolet]

Maybe I'm strange, but I just don't like orchid. Giving this a shot, however...

 

This is hard to smell, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's a sharp floral. Velvety and dark but not all that pleasant.

[Shollin]

First sniff: A fantastically soft blanket of deep purple blossoms. I could happily roll around in this.

 

Wearing: Oh BABY. Orchid is one of my favorite floral scents, and this is just gorgeous. It’s very close-clinging, not much waft… someone would have to get right up to my neck to smell it, but I’m OK with that.

[Reedsong]

"HELLO!" screams this blend on my skin. "I AM A LARGE PERFUME-Y ORCHID!! DID YOU SMELL THAT? NO?! *WAFT WAFT WAFT* HOW ABOUT NOW??"

 

So..yeah. My skin amps this one just a tad. It's good for when I'm jogging and want to be enveloped in a haze of scent that will help me forget how much it hurts to jog.

 

This is a dark, perfume-y floral, and is almost exactly how I expected the blend to smell, from the name. I'm pleased that my imp is going to last forever because I only need a little bit.

[supremegoddessofall]

There was barely enough to test, but it is indeed, orchid. A dark orchid, subtle and mysterious. Pretty.