Phantom

[allamanda]

All look and likeness caught from earth,
All accident of kin and birth,
Had pass'd away. There was no trace
Of aught on that illuminated face,
Upraised beneath the rifted stone
But of one spirit all her own;--
She, she herself, and only she,
Shone through her body visibly.

Myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose and ylang ylang.

Smelt lovely in the bottle and when first applied... but totally different on both. Once applied I could smell the ylang ylang but everything else just blended to a lovely sweet smell. As it is drying I am smelling violets as well as rose. Really nice but can't understand why I am smelling parma violets so strongly when they aren't in there. This feels like a memory perfume, like a flashback in time. I really love it. An hour later I still can't stop sniffing this, definitely a keeper, I want to smother myself in it.

The above was my first try of Phantom. Weeks later I still love it and have ordered more. It is a really comforting smell!

[Shollin]

Put this one on today as I try a different one each day if I can (yesterday was a Le Serpent qui Danse day-lovely) Out of the bottle I smell violets big time (& I adore violet) but on my skin it's strange. Imagine if you will a buttery violet?! It's not sickly sweet as violet can sometimes be, it's a very mellow violet smell, with a buttery softness, bordering on the foodie type smell I get from Hellfire. It reminds me of baby smell a bit- that milky babay smell mixed with violets. Pleasant, but not one I'd get a big bottle of as it's more my sister's kind of smell than mine.

 

EDIT: Moved Gothabillywench's review to here as we had two Phantom threads. --Shollin

[twistygirl]

Ah, I knew I'd love this one before I even smelled it, just based upon the notes.

 

This is so deep, rich and warm. I can barely detect the rose and ylang-ylang, but I can tell they're there, because there's something that is softening the myrrh and dark musk. It's neither sweet nor violet-smelling on me... just warmth and richness. This is absolutely glorious.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: I can't believe this has only 3 reviews. This should be on everyone's love-it list!

 

Second Impression: Phantom is deep and mysterious but also the height of elegance. This has to be the single most elegant of Beth's blends. A perfect warm myrrh note blending with a sexy but not sexual musk refined by lush rose and sweet ylang ylang. I've never smelled anything like this.

 

Final Analysis: I wouldn't consider myself elegant (way too short) but this makes me feel positively "night at the opera".

[tempete]

The notes in Phantom emerge in stages on me.

 

I smell myrrh most strongly at first. At this stage, Phantom smells like a lighter version of La Petite Mort without the ylang ylang.

 

Then the musk comes out, although the myrrh is still present as an undercurrent. I'm pretty sure that it's not red musk, because it doesn't smell like the musk in Scherezade or Glasya. I think that it may be dark musk, which didn't work well on me in Hecate. This is my least favourite stage.

 

Several hours later, I can smell the attar of rose and more faintly, the ylang ylang. I catch whiffs of the myrrh note, which seem to ground the florals. I can't detect any musk at this point.

 

The initial stage and drydown of Phantom are gorgeous, but I just don't know if I'll be able to get over the musk stage. I'll have to use the imp more before I can come to a final decision.

[phaedrine]

On me, Phantom is a rich, soft, comforting scent.

 

It feels like burning your favorite incense, then pulling a blanket out of the dryer and wrapping up in it. Very warm goldenbrown comforting.

 

After a few hours, it fades down to a subtle, inoffensive rose. I'm not one for florals, but I didn't mind it.

 

It only lasts about 4 hours on me, which is sad, but this is one I'd be happy to reapply, or put on before curling up in bed to read and nap.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab!

 

First sniff:

 

Myrrh on the first sniff, then the musk, attar of rose and ylang-ylang. The rose is very powdery to my nose in that way that always seems to ruin rose scents for me, but the myrrh and musk are nice.

 

Wet on skin:

 

This is really confusing smelling...it's spicy and resiny but musky and powdery at the same time. Phantom also appears to be making me cough for some reason...I'm thinking it's the rose. I don't dislike this, but it's just not quite me. It's the rose that throws me off, I think. I've never been fond of the smell of roses.

 

Dry down:

 

Myrrh, musk and a background of baby powder that the rose is responsible for. Something about this scent is making me cough like crazy, so I guess it's a good thing it's not really me.

 

The bottom line:

 

This definitely isn't me because of the rose and on top of that I appear to be allergic to it, so it's off to swaps with Phantom.

[sarada]

All of the notes in this are things that I like in many other blends -- myrrh, often comes out nice and dark and incensy -- musk, i was afraid of at first but have enjoyed in many blends where it lends a richness and depth -- attar of rose, well, i love rose in all forms! -- and ylang ylang is present in a great many of my favorites even though it's overpowering on its own.

 

But for some reason, when I apply this, I smell -- exactly nothing! It's the strangest thing. In the bottle I can sense myrrh, musk, something powdery and a shimmer of golden warmth, but on my skin...even applied lavishly...I can't smell a thing! There's a slight afterthought of incense, but very little else. I will have to try it again some other time. I applied this after the scent I had put on in the morning had long since faded away, so perhaps there was still some residue on my skin doing battle with it. I DO overdo it with scents, but I can still usually still pick them out.

 

But in the bottle it doesn't strike me as what I had imagined based on the notes -- attar of rose and ylang ylang would normally come across as much louder notes, much more fragrant and darkly floral, yet I can't detect them at all. The myrrh and dark musk are nice but on their own they don't suit me. I will try it some more but I don't think that it will work out for me. A phantom, indeed -- an elusive scent that I cannot quite grab a hold of! Definitely best for those who like more subtle incensy tones...but I seem to need ones with a stronger kick.

[surf-tormented]

Is it myrrh that turns into hairspray on my wrist? I hope not. I ordered a bottle of Anubis, so I hope that isn't the case.

 

It does smell good once the hairspray smell blends into floral, but it is really light. I can barely smell it now and it is turning to powder rather quickly on me. I could smell ylang ylang and rose.

 

I may try this on my clothes and see if the Phantom stays longer.

 

I have tons of Ylang Ylang Myrrh by B&BW in my closet right now and this is close enough that I don't think I need the imp.

Edited January 10, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[stardreamer]

Not much to be said about this one. Once again, rose + musk = floral soap on me, with an overtone of green this time. Also, my skin is eating it; the first application barely hung around for a couple of hours. I went back and reapplied it a bit more heavily, just to check, and once again it's fading fast. No need even to make R. sniff this one, it's a swapper.

[Witch's Dagger]

Phantom

 

This was a freebie in one of my orders.

 

Preconceived notions: The notes to me sounded dark, but the reviews made it sound like a sweet floral. Guess we’ll see!

 

In the vial: I get a spicy, citrusy myrrh, right off the bat. Again (I’ve written several of the same type of review today) it’s got a kind of soporific feel to it. I could see using it to help fall asleep, or to make someone else fall asleep against their will. Unlike the others with this “in the vial” effect (Ulalume, Despair), this one doesn’t seem to be luring anywhere except sleep. It does seem sinister, though.

 

On me: Ooh! Curry! I love this. This reminds me of a much better “Femme” by Rochas, which I discovered when I lived in France. I really like the curry note, though I should note that I don’t smell exactly like Indian cooking. It is still nicer than the dry powder on its own. I could keep smelling my wrists for days. I should also note that I’m not getting any of the ylang ylang, nor the rose as such, though something about the quality of the spice reminds me of Harlot, and I think that’s the rose. Very nice. Extremely well blended.

 

Later: It’s starting to fade - I’m not sure how much time has gone by, but it’s been long enough. The scent really didn’t morph much on me.

 

Overall: It’s a keeper! I’m not sure I’ll get a big bottle, but this one will definitely be on my “wear occasionally” list.

[subbes]

Phantom seemed to vanish very quickly on my skin, which is a pity because I really liked the scent once it had dried. However, I tested it next to a wrist of Wicked, which has tremendous 'throw' on me, so Phantom may just be more subtle.

 

It started off ylang-ylang and musk-y, and then deepened to a rose in the background and high notes (if that can be used to describe it) of myrrh, glittering on top. As it faded, I was getting only the faintest whiffs of the scent, but I did like it. Resinous yet not too syrupy. Musk in the background.

 

I really hope I can train my body chemistry to not make it disappear! I liked what my chemistry did with the dry-down, enhancing some scents (so I don't know if a scent locket would work right now), but not that it made the whole scent vanish fast.

 

 

I layered Wicked over this this morning, and the two scents combine to a myrrh-rose scent. If you like myrrh and rose, layer these two. The other notes (jasmine from the Wicked, ylang-ylang and musk from the Phantom) stop the whole from becoming too overpowering.

[cuervosueno]

I'm on a reviewing kick, found this in my swap bowl, didn't remember trying it, so thought, well, hell, why not?

Keep in mind I didn't even look it up, so I had no idea what was it in when I tried it, and boy, was I surprised!

In the bottle and wet it smelled like wood with a hint of smoke, though there was also a green note to it. Interesting, I thought. (now, knowing what's in it, I imagine at least some of what I was smelling was the myrrh. I'm not sure what kind of myrrh the lab uses, but it rarely works on me in bpal blends, though I love myrrh resin and I have a perfume that is single-note myrrh from a place in arizona that works just fine).

then, aaacckkkk!

attack of the hostile florals!

I suppose its ylang ylang which rarely works for me, but like some others, what I smell is violets. It smells like violet soap. I don't like floral soap.

back into the swap bowl for this one!

[Falathwen]

This was a generous gift from the lab. I am finding that dark scents work well with my skin chemistry, though they are not the blends I was originally drawn to. On my skin this blend is like a sister of Czernobog It is dark and sweet and somehow almost woodsy. The shadowy myrrh and musk dominate, while the rose and ylang ylang are noticeable in the background. It is a powerfully stroong blend and lasts a very long while

[Phaedra]

On me this is a very soft rose and powdery myrrh blend. It's quite lovely and very feminine but it smells very similar to Blood Rose. Since I have a bottle of Blood Rose I'll be swapping this one.

[olympia301]

Boom, Boom, babycakes, and bombs away! This is one sex-aye blend. It smells very much to me like a man's aftershave, but he would have to be one cocky sucker, nothing suave or mysterious about this guy. I doubt he would own a dinner jacket but ooo la la! Since I have no compunction about stealing men's scents if I like the way they smell, this one is a keeper for me.

 

Phantom has some real staying power. I put it on when I started gardening and it is still there, very noticeably so. I am sure I smell the Ylang-ylang, but it has been bullied into playing with a kind of menthol backlash which was popular in the '50's (old Aqua Velva). Some classic spice here (Old Spice). Very nice blend. Makes me feel nostalgic for the Cold War and Strategic Air Command (Peace is Our Bag).

 

I didn't think I'd like Dark Musk, but this is nice.

 

*The icon is of an F-4 Phantom airplane.

Edited May 6, 2005 by olympia301

[glampyre]

Phantom is deep, dark, and sexy. I love this! It has two of my most favorite all-time faves, ylang-ylang and a very dark musk. Also some very high, clear rose. Lovely!!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Floral and musk.

 

On Skin: Very light… I was expecting a stronger, darker scent. Very pretty… the rose and ylang ylang give it an extreme feminine edge while the myrrh and musk give it a spicy depth. The rose note lasts the longest… I wish it had better staying power, it seems to fade completely after 5 minutes.

[fragrantgrasse]

Fossicking through my basket of imps and I come upon not one but two Phantoms. In the vial they each appear completely different. One is a very pale gold and one is a deep dark almost wine color.

 

Smelling from each of the vials it is hard to discern any particualr scent at all from either one.

 

I apply one to each hand and sniff. No similarities between the two - not at all! In fact I feel as if I have wandered into the Bermuda Triangle of perfume and trying to get a fix on any of the individual notes I begin to feel......lost!

 

Now I am smelling while reading the description of the oils in Phantom and this is creating total and complete chaos between my right & left brain functions! Where am I? Which end is up?

 

 

The oils: myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose (a combination of sandalwood and rose) and ylang ylang are blended so seamlessly that I can not, for the life of me, pick out any one of them!

 

I am left wondering if either of these are Phantom?

[quikslvr]

Rose! Old rose. Light, ethereal, powdery aging rose. Warm, sophisticated, elegant. Office wear acceptable.

[Janie]

I was expecting something darker and more dramatic. Instead, Phantom is almost a phantom scent. It is light, but not underwhelming. It is beautifully blended - none of the darker elements overwhelm the florals. Then again, none of the florals go all Big Ass Floral on me. Thank goodness.

 

It dries down to a ghostly, soft, powdery rose.

 

It has reasonable wear, but minimal sillage. In saying that though, I must add that I only put a smidgin on for sampling purposes.

[quinctia]

Wow, I was glancing at the reviews as I went to type mine up and I had to pick my imp back up and sniff it again. I was surprised to see that there were some florals in here, and that some people were picking them up over the musk and myrrh.

 

But I do get a whiff of floral in the imp. Wow.

 

I'm starting to think my skin eats all flowers. I get mostly musk on my skin, from the second I apply it, through the drying and all. I have a hint of the myrrh, too. This isn't as strong as Voodoo, but it's definitely a darker sort of scent on me. Actually, I tried it right after Voodoo, and I thought that on me it's almost a lighter, gentler scent that's very similar to Voodoo, without the incense notes.

[JazzieCazzie]

While this was yummy yum yum when wet, with all sorts of spicy and ineffable promise, on drydown it went wonky, salty and old-lady powdery ...

 

ON a scale of 1-5 I give it a meh 3 and put it in the swap pile.

[slugbait]

A freebie from the Lab.

 

In the imp, it smells of the perfume bottles that my grandmother has on her vanity. On my skin it turns into: baby wipes and maple syrup. Is there geranium in this? Hmmm. I’m guessing its the myrrh turning into maple syrup, but I could be wrong. After drying down it still smells like baby wipes but not maple syrup, but the same sweet smell of when my radiator on my car was leaking fluid. Not something I want to smells like. Hopefully this will smell wonderful on someone else, but I really can’t wear this one. Sorry! Into the swap pile.

[donsixgun]

This reminds me of Indian women. Spices from cooking, and burned incense, mixed with a soft rose soap. This is the way my mother's old boss' mother smelled. Its nice, but certainly not for me. Much too feminine.