Phantom

[lothien]

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

Yeah, somebody needs to pull this thread out of "Discontinued" cuz it isn't anymore. ^^
Unless there is something I should know, in which case I need to stock up...

Wow. This was one of the first scents I tried when I came to BPAL. It was one that stood out in a big batch of noob imps I bought from another forumite. As was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, nothing has edges - it is so well blended that it makes it difficult to pick out notes (er, keeping in mind that I love everything in here ^^). It's rosy and musky, but no one stand in front. It's so comforting and warm. I do have to admit, my mom wears (wore? I'm not sure how often she does perfume anymore) Patou Joy parfum which she would let me wear on fancy occasions, and I have a warm spot for rose.
Dark musk is still my favorite BPAL musk, and the depth of the blend in the dry stage is wonderful, having an almost carnationy feeling (!!yum!!). I think that was one of my best surprises from this one: I get a whiff of carnation mimic!
Once in a while the damned chemistry thing actually falls butter-side up!

I was very sad when I discovered that it was discontinued, and wasn't into tracking down that sort of thing at that point. BPAL has loads of nice roses, I was sure I would find another. I like rose, and the DH likes rose, but I need a rose that has a lot of accompaniment. This continued to be a favorite even after I tried a lot of others.

I was overjoyed when the Lab brought it back! I didn't buy a bottle right away because I still had about half an imp left and it wasn't dire. Now I have a bottle. ^^
So I tried out the new one, hoping it would have the same balance as the old and I wouldn't have to age it forever to get the same loveliness.
No waiting necessary! The imp I have is 05 or 06, and I cannot notice an appreciable difference from this, except that the rose scent is a tiny bit more crisp in the new one and I have no problem with that at all. It still has that carnation spiciness to it, something I was afraid might be different new.
I'm so glad to have at least one bottle and I am going to make sure to add one to a Lab order now and then, and put them away.

ETA I have to come back and say how nice this is again. It just doesn't morph much on me. Lovely, warm, dark, spicy rose. Lasts forever. Never got a second bottle because it just takes a drop. =) Edited December 20, 2009 by Shollin

[topazphoenix]

Wet: smells like The Unicorn. Dry: Going powdery. We've got myrrh, and bits of rose, and the ylang ylang sort of pulls everything upward. I can't smell the musk in this one.

[wldhrsjen3]

In the bottle: dark, somber florals with a hint of musky melancholy.

 

On my skin: a dark crimson rose with bruised petals slowly going black. I catch a hint of velvet musk like the rustle of an old gown across a dusty ballroom.

 

And then, sadly, it turns to powder and old soap.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Ylang Ylang and myrrh

 

Wet: Ylang Ylang and rose. That was interesting

 

Drydown: Rose...

 

Bah!

[Lamia]

Thick rose and ylang ylang. One of the better rose scents out there.

[Calligrafiti]

Imp: Dark floral with a bit of a kick (maybe the ylang ylang?)

 

Wet: The rose comes out pretty strongly. I like rose, though, so that works for me.

 

Dry: Rose scented soap. Not bad, per se, but I could get the same effect by washing with rose soap from the co-op up the road from me. So, not a keeper.

[Invidiana]

The rose isn't in your face, the myrrh sweetens it up a bit, and the musk is lovely. Not sure if this particular blend is "me", but there's something mysterious about it that's going to make me try it again.

[donnatron]

Imp: I get the musk and the rose.

 

Wet: The rose develops right away and this becomes a sweet, red rose sort of scent. The musk takes awhile to bloom, as does the myrrh.

 

Dry: Well, this was a total surprise. I thought Phantom was a light, grapefruit-based blend. This is sensual and ferocious and a little dangerous. Very similar to other blends I have bottles of (Spellbound and Lust) but compelling on its own. This smells like something a dangerous woman would wear.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: Too similar to other scents to justify a bottle but surprisingly wearable and pretty.

[Lucretia]

I get primarily ylang ylang from this one, with maybe a tint bit of rose and a healthy amount of myrrh. Unfortunately I don't much care for ylang ylang... the drydown has more rose in it, but it's still not doing much for me. If you like ylang ylang though I'd think this would be a winner.

[voorishsign]

A frimp from a forumite! The description sounds very promising.

 

In the bottle: Light rose, myrrh and a hint of musk.

 

On wet: very light. Resins and musk are noticeable, rose is very distant. Ylang ylang lightens it all up a little.

 

Drydown: Huh. Mostly rose and ylang ylang, slightly depened by the resins and the musk. Very nice, but fleeting - which suits the name, I suppose. Very nice, but not a keeper.

[crebbsgirl]

Note: my skin tends to amp the hell out of Rose. That said...

 

ROSE!!!!! Screaming, ammonia-like ROSE!!!! on my skin. Well, that was disappointing. I can just barely detect the myrrh and musk underneath. Luckily, the ylang ylang is completely overshadowed by the rose here.

[prisca]

Phantom opens with fascinating and deep animalic notes, dusty feline hair. After about ten minutes you begin to smell the heart notes that contain a hint of gold-honeyed ylang and a powerful and fantastic powdery rose attar, one of the most pleasant roses I have ever tried. The undertones of sandalwood add a creamy softness to the blend.

It you love rose -as I do-, you won't loose this blend.

Edited August 11, 2010 by prisca

[cupcakegernade]

Out of the imp, this mostly attar of rose and myrrh, and it is some what bright. After applied to my skin, the dark musk emerges and darkens things up a bit. It is a bit hard to describe, but it is stale and fresh at the same time. As it drys on my skin, it becomes a dusty rose. It is nice, but I am not sure it is something I will reach for.

Edited December 11, 2010 by scopoliacarniolica

[Incendiare]

Musky rose in the imp. Wet, the ylang ylang comes out but it's very faint. The rose is still in control. I can't pick up on any myrrh and the musk note has weakened. There is a point when the ylang ylang and rose are more balanced, but as time goes on, the rose grabs the spotlight back. Fifteen minutes in, it's basically nothing but rose, but it's not like one of those simple, yet stunning roses in Peacock Queen or Rose Red, it's sharper and just kind of there. I get the same result from a few other blends that contain a plethora of notes plus rose. All the other notes drop like flies and eventually leave the rose all alone. Seraglio, for example, did the exact same thing. As much as I like rose, this isn't my thing.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: mmmm.. dark musk I love you. This scent is simple and the notes compliment each other perfectly. It's singing on my skin. The myrrh is amped by the musk, the attar of rose offers a feminine touch without squashing the sexy image and the ylang ylang..well it makes this intoxicating to me.

Drydown: the rose and myrrh goes a bit powdery on me. What a shame! I think I would have preferred black rose over attar but then again if we're talking phantoms in the victorian sense, I would expect attar of rose. Oh well!

[Suu4LC]

Ooo pretty-in the imp this is a deep, musky, incensey rose! Lovely! Sexy rose, not old lady rose!

 

Yep, on my skin this is a smoky, musky, hazy rose with a touch of sweetness. Sometimes rose goes a bit *off* on my skin...like, I get an odd sourness. I am getting a little of that here, though not terribly.

 

On full drydown though that oddness went away, and I am left with a beautiful rose scent. A little dark, a little sweet-not you grandma's rose! I don't know if I would buy a bottle of this, but I'd probably snag a partial if I saw one!

[Vega]

Sniffed: Dark and shadowed, with breath of spectral florals.

 

On skin: Musk is the dominant note, black, thick and smothering like a covering of fur. Myrrh adds a bit of contrast, and the rose and ylang ylang form a higher layer of bright, spectral florals. Even so, Phantom is mostly heavy, pungent black musk unsettled by the brighter notes. Czernobog is a similarly dark and musky blend, although Phantom is a bit more discordant. Colour impression is dark brown-black that is unsettlingly spectral at the same time -- possibly phantom-like?

 

Verdict: Not for me. I like musks, but Phantom is too dark and aggressive.

[sarandipitee]

OMG. I have never, ever found a rose blend that works on me. Until now.

 

Every other blend containing roses tends to just SCREAM soapy florals. What works here is the dark musk and myrrh - on my skin, the same myrrh that is in my beloved Fetish.Goth. Even after almost 30 min of drydown the rose is kept in check and the ylang ylang doesn't really make an appearance. I will most definitely be getting this in bottle form.

 

Thanks labbies for frimping me this x2 this past order!! LOVE this scent.

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the imp: Oil is clear and amber in color. The fragrance isn't particularly floral - it's mostly incensey myrrh and musk. But if I keep sniffing, I do pick up a little rose.

 

On me, wet: Much the same, although I don't have to try, to be able to smell the rose. And there's a bit of ylang ylang too, being uncharacteristically discreet.

 

After 15 minutes: For a couple of minutes as it began to dry, the ylang ylang started to dominate, but now rose has taken the lead, which to me of course is a good thing. All of the other notes are still very much present as well, though. This isn't a fresh green rose fragrance, but a dark and mysterious one perfectly evocative of the name. Lovely, sultry, sexy, a little spicy in an incensey way. Like the ghost of Cleopatra.

 

After 30 minutes: My first thought is that this is almost a single-note rose scent now, with just a little myrrh and musk whispering in the background. But the longer I sniff at my wrist, the more I notice them. The ylang ylang has given up and gone away. Overall, this is softer and more subtle than many rose perfumes are.

 

After 1 hour: The rose is fading, allowing the myrrh and musk to take the lead again. This blend doesn't exactly morph - it does retain a consistent character. What it does is, it emphasizes different notes at different times.

 

After 2 hours: Mostly incensey myrrh and musk now. There's only a faint trace of rose left.

 

After 3 hours: Same as above.

After 4 hours: Same as above.

 

After 8 hours: The rose has faded away, but the myrrh and musk are still clearly discernible.

 

After 11 hours: The musk lingers on long after all the other notes have vanished. It makes for a pleasant and long-lasting finale.

 

(ETA) Verdict: The Phantom here is of course The Phantom of the Opera - with a red rose held in front of his mask as in the logo for the play. (And accompanied by the ghost of Cleopatra.) Lovely, intriguing, fairly unisex, and fully-realized in concept.

 

My rating: 4.5 stars

Edited April 17, 2012 by Ghost of a Rose

[calivianya]

Replace the ylang ylang with red wine and you have Lilith. I really like Lilith, so I knew I had to give this a try as they are very similar in components.

 

Well, for the similarity in components, they are absolutely nothing alike. Lilith is darkly sexual and sinuous on me, where this is more feminine and girly. It is very sweet and flowery, and I don't think it's my kind of perfume. It also goes powdery on the drydown...

[Monday]

Testing an aged imp of Phantom. Myrrh, soft rose and ylang ylang. Very pretty and comfy, slightly powdery dry-down. Aging definitely helps the blend come together, I might get a bottle but I don't know if I can wait until it ages into this gorgeousness.

[ccelaya]

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

 

Wet - Myrrh and dark musk

 

On Skin - Rose and ylang ylang softer the heavy resins.

 

Dry - All I Smell is the Rose.

 

This scent does not work from my skin type but if you like dark floral scents this may be the one for you

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Sweet musk (unfortunately I think it's black musk, which doesn't work on me), rose soap, and ylang ylang incense. Sweet and feminine but not really my thing at this point.

 

Wet: Sometimes roses have a component that makes them smell almost nutty or grainy, and the combination of that with the soapiness makes them resemble the kind of bar soap you can buy with little chunks of scrubby in it (don't ask me how I can smell the nubbins, I just can! ) That is almost exactly what I'm getting here. All rose soap and loofah chunks, all the time.

 

Dry: When dry, the ylang ylang comes up over the rose to create a really pretty, sweet floral juiciness, and some dry spice and maybe... hmmm... Siberian musk instead of black musk? It's cuddly and a bit spicy. I did not expect this to be much more than soap, since rose is frequently overpowering on me, but this is actually very nice!

[Mokiefraggle]

Frimp from my big 10 imp purchase--not something I'd pick for myself, but something I'm not averse to trying. I'm still trying to figure out if I amp rose or not, though this is only my second scent with rose in it, so I'm still testing that particular theory. If I do, it's not to a terrible degree, judging by the way this and Ossa Arida react on my skin.

 

In the imp, I get slightly less rose, more musk and myrrh. It's a deep scent, not heavy, not too sweet, but pleasantly dark.

 

On my skin, it's a bit more rose, though not cloyingly so. The musk is just a little bit softly powdery, and I can still make out the myrrh and now a bit of smoky ylang-ylang. It's a sweeter, slightly softer scent on my skin, very pretty and perhaps a bit more feminine than I'd usually wear; I'm more an incense, resin, red musk, woodsy person, and when I do wear a floral scent, I'm usually a white florals type, but I think this is something I could wear when feeling girly.

 

Jury's still out on whether or not I'm amping the rose...I honestly can't tell. The rose in Phantom, like Ossa Arida, seems to be pretty well in the forefront of the scent in the imp, so I'd only assume it would be on my skin as well. Maybe these are bad choices to try and figure this out...

[mymymai]

• ITI: Mechanical oil, ozone, myrrh, and ylang ylang. How odd.

Wet: The impression is of something wet, dark, hidden in the hoods, slightly wavering, and just characteristic of ectoplasmic energy. I wouldn't have guessed that the combination of notes would yield that, but I do think the dark musk, really earthy, although patchouli-esque myrrh, and attar of rose yield a really haunting base, while the ylang ylang add s an ephemeral, ozone quality to the scent as a whole. I like it!

Dry: I just get myrrh and attar of rose. Honestly, I'm really impressed that the scent has lasted 17 hours. Wow.