Black Dahlia

[jj_j]

From the Sin and Salvation collection:

 

Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose.

 

Prefaced with a reminder that my chemistry typically has problems with jasmine; you may want to take this into consideration, or even disregard, my review unless you have a similary tendency.

 

Orchids. Roses. Oh, and now the amber's starting to warm up and make itself known. <sigh of pleasure>

 

I can't believe that I've had this on for five minutes and the jasmine hasn't clawed its way to the top to generously give me the usual headache. The magnolia took a while to make itself known, but when it did - divine white blooms that smell big enough to cover a dinner plate, and transmitting almost effortlessly a sense of velvety petals with berry-coloured hearts.

 

Complex and definitive, Black Dahlia turned out to be about the orchid, magnolia and amber, rather than having jasmine and rose take the lead. I'm not sure how Beth managed, since those two scents tend to dominate blends quite easily, but this a different kind of floral than we typically see.

 

I'd consider a bottle, but can guarantee I'd use the whole imp.

[chai_girl]

I am loving this scent!

 

At first sniff, it seemed kind florally and soft.

 

When I first put it on, there was a sharp high note, the magnolia I think. I was a bit worried that it was going to stay there but it soon blended down into the amber and other florals.

 

It has been a couple of hours and they have all blended beautifully into a soft warm floral...without being too florally. I don't typically like floral scents but the amber in this warms them up and keeps the scent from being too sweet. The magnolia gives a light, uplifting scent that makes it good for summer and the amber gives it the touch of shadow that I like in my scents. The best of both worlds!

 

edited to add- I ordered a big bottle of this. I want it in an candle...this would make a gorgeous candle. But then, I have a weakness for magnolias...When I was in college, the main mall had magnolia trees down the middle. I'd pick a bloom and bring it back to my dorm room and it would scent the room for a week!

Edited June 26, 2004 by chai_girl

[Shollin]

First sniff: The same cool, dark jasmine as in Wicked, softly surrounded by an aura of darker flowers. Black Dahlia to me sounds like the codename of a female spy or assassin, and I can so picture her wearing this scent – the victims have half a second to wonder “Oh my, what’s that lovely fragrance?” as she sneaks up behind them (all in black, of course) with her garrotte. (I've since looked her up and discovered that Black Dahlia was the victim, not the killer... but that first impression remains.)

 

Wearing: Very reminiscent of Wicked – I’ll have to wear them against each other one of these days and pick one. The flowers are chilly but velvet-soft, with big showy petals. Hey, that’s magnolia, I recognise it from my great-uncle’s yard – this reminds me so much of hiding out inside one of his big sprawling magnolia trees with a book… lying on a wide branch in the cover of the leaves, and no one could see me from outside. After it dries down a bit the rose starts to take over… a sinister black rose like the killer’s calling card. (Yes, I’ve gone back to the murderess from my great-uncle’s back yard. Don’t ask me how my brain works.) I think I do prefer Wicked, as the rose isn’t quite so rosey and I’m not a fan – but this is still lovely.

[allamanda]

Black Dahlia

 

When first applied I can smell jasmine and rose, very sweet. In the background there is a peppery effect, like ginger. This is almost like a marriage of Queen Mab and Kitsune-Tsuki.

 

As this dries it darkens and the amber twists the scent so the similarity to the above fades considerably.

 

Once this has been on for a couple of hours it is a beautiful, soft blend of sweet florals but on my skin I can also still smell ginger; raw, freshly grated ginger that makes my nose and mouth tingle. Perhaps Kumiho joined the marriage….

 

I have tested this perfume 4 times. The first time it seemed decaying and sour, but all subsequent applications have given the stunning sweet floral with fresh, peppery ginger. I love the smell, but am slightly concerned that even my mouth and tongue tingle with this one!

 

ETA Because for some reason I included plum, which I didn't smell....

Edited September 13, 2004 by allamanda

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Voluptuous, creamy magnolias and jasmine out of the bottle.

 

Second Impression: All of the notes are masterfully blended so that nothing takes away from the dreamy magnolias. Even the jasmine, which can overpower the strongest of scents has a very gentle touch here.

 

Final Analysis: I couldn't wait to try this, I posted about wanting a magnolia scent shortly before the update. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect scent. The dry down is fresh lush magnolia blossom still on the tree, just like outside around the pool at this very moment. I'm thrilled.

[blackrayne]

The jasmine was the first identifiable scent in this sultry blend. Magnolia is second, followed them by the black amber.

 

I love how intoxicating this scent is, but the amber is, as always, disagreeing with my sinuses.

 

*curses sinuses to hell and back*

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: Mmm. Jasmine, first and foremost. I'm not sure I quite recognize what magnolia blooms smell like, so I can't say for sure that I smell them. But this is most certainly jasmine. Sweet, like a walk down the road in the little township we used to live in on the lake .. the roads were often lined in jasmine that would scent the air for months.

 

Wet: Still sweet and floral .. I assume this is more the magnolia than the jasmine now as the smell warms. The amber is also making its presence known, wonderfully. I can really see liking this one. I don't even smell rose in this actually, which is a relief.

 

Wearing: There's something I can't decipher coming up in this now. Not an unpleasant scent, but just a note I can't figure out. Overall, though, I really like this. I'm not sure if I'll keep it around long, as I already have so many floral scents, and I'd really rather just find a few I like a lot than 300 I like in general .. but this is a contender.

[Astburygrrl]

I received this as a freebie imp & I wanted to love this one too..but sadly I will swap this one out..

 

Wet: Rose Rose Rose...thats all I smell.

 

Afterhours: Rose laced w/ baby powder..I smell nothing else. =/

 

I tried so hard to love this one..I even slathered it on someone else and smelled it, but alas, it smelled the same. *sighs* I like this scent on someone other than myself...its very feminine & soft...very little girl pefume-y to me.

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Jasmine.

 

Drydown

 

I have no idea what magnolias smell like but I think I can smell them over the jasmine. It's a rich, smooth smell that banishes the initial sharpness that I usually hate before jasmine dries on my skin. I can catch a hint of rose, but only just. This is a light scent that reminds me of Pele.

 

After a While

 

Other than the fact that it faded quite quickly this hasn't changed at all.

 

 

Final Verdict

 

I really like this. I may have to compare this with Pele before I decide to buy a bigger quantity but it's a bottle of tranquil loveliness.

[reina]

just from the description, I felt that this would be too sweet for me, and it was.

from the moment I put this on it got sweeter and heavier by the minute, and 20 minutes later I washed it off. I could still smell it on my skin, but most of it was gone, luckily.

Off to swaps.

[Lorencita]

I ordered this for the description. I love it! It is so nice and sweet, very femenine. It starts off really sweet, but quickly calms down... another keeper!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a very sultry floral, with a bit of sweetness underneath. this is gorgeous.

on: mmm...i love this. definitely sultry, like flowers that have been sitting out in the sun all day. there is also a tinge of sweetness. another sexy scent.

1 hour later: wow, this is unreal. so beautiful and almost a bit on the soapy side. it's a very clean scent, not overpowering or biting or anything like that.

2.5 hours later: gorgeous. much sweeter, but the flowers are still very much present.

overall: i really like this one, but not enough to buy a bottle. i'm also not sure if i'll repurchase it in imp form. however, i'll really enjoy using up the imp i have.

[lorajc]

I don't know what magnolias smell like, but they are the only note in this blend that is unknown to my nose. I love orchid, star jasmine and amber. This was a well blended scent. I think the magnolia was strongest on the top note. I did not care for the top note as I did the dry down on this one. I wore this on an extremely humid day and it was light enough for a warm day. The amber just grounds this scent and does not overwhelm. I could pick out the jasmine and orchid a bit in this, but again it is well blended. I don't usually go for florals, unless it's a fruity floral, but I liked this one cuz I tend to like florals grounded with amber. I thought this was very pretty.

Edited September 30, 2005 by Shollin

[Tesseljoan]

It's easy to write a review if you love a scent, it's harder f you don't, because I don't want to hurt any of the creators of a particular perfume.... But the hardest is when a scent is so non-descript that you don't have anything useful to say about it then...: it smells like flowers.

 

Final verdict: Not my thing, obviously. Sorry.

[renaissancerouge]

Black Dahlia is tan peligrosa! This really is a wicked, lush scent. I was wary of yet another magnolia blend warring with my esteem for Sacred Whore, but this has a pink-smoggy-sunset bouquet to offset said bloom.

 

For some reason I think Anita Ekberg would have worn a scent like this to dance in the Trevi fountain. Mmmm...the cocktail era in a bottle.

[sarabeegee]

On me, Black Dahlia smells not dark at all, but like a clean, white, daytime floral perfume, ladylike and subdued. I definitely smell the magnolia and a bit of amber when it dries down, which is very nice, but not at all what I would associate with "Black Dahlia." It is a very pleasant floral, but not anything spectacular.

[asa805]

I love this. At first smell it is overpowering jasmine. Soon the jasmine falls to the wayside and magnolia, orchid and black amber come through. I didnt get much rose in this but thats good as i am not the biggest rose fan. The drydown on this is very very nice. Its definatley a dark evil floral blend. I feel wicked in this. Would be great for a date.

 

[Electra]

Mmmm. Now *this* I like very much. A positively gorgeous rich, old-fashioned floral with a powdery drydown. Lovely. This one is a keeper.

 

Edit: I freaking love this scent. I'm sitting here with my nose glued to my wrist. It's beautiful and ladylike yet calming and soothing at the same time. Definite 5 mL purchase.

Edited August 22, 2004 by Electra

[supervillainess]

It's easy to write a review if you love a scent, it's harder f you don't, because I don't want to hurt any of the creators of a particular perfume.... But the hardest is when a scent is so non-descript that you don't have anything useful to say about it then...: it smells like flowers.

 

Final verdict: Not my thing, obviously. Sorry.

This was much the same impression I had at first. OOB I was totally not impressed with Black Dahlia. Wussy girly *bland* floral that I quickly overlooked in favor of Kali and Brimstone. It was the last of my Imps that I even tried, and it's been something like 3 weeks so...

 

I got it out today on a whim. I'm feeling slagged, so I excavated the fancy pretty underthings and went for a girly floral.

 

Totally surprised me once I got it on.

 

Wet, was very sharp overwhelming notes - probably the Jasmine (from what you guys have said), quickly followed by Magnolia. My overall impression was Pele, only effervescent and much more vibrant (ironically). That bubbly bright haze of sharp florals lasted longer on me than Pele did too, but now that it's allll the way dried down I'm really smelling the amber which I'm not so crazy about. Amber makes me feel geriatric somehow. So... between white florals, Pele is probably still my prevailing fave. Especially since I'm not picking up on anything off/evil/dischordant in Blach Dahlia. Will so totally eke my entire imp though!

 

p.s. firstest review - do I pass?

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Ok, you guys know from my thread in Randomness that I made the mistake of reading about the Black Dahlia case and am now utterly spooked--to the point that I'm tempted to toss the imp out my window, unsniffed. However, 1. I can't waste good BPAL, and 2. the late Beth Short (R.I.P., sweetie) would find some other way to haunt me until I deal with this. Soooo--deep breath--here goes.

 

Magnolias...warm and deep and sad, a bit like Eternal. I grew up with magnolias in my grandma's garden, and here they are, in all their glory, along with hothouse flowers that are less natural but still lovely. A beautiful floral, wistful and retro. Yep, this captures Ms. Short very well, the 1940s wannabe Hollywood starlet. But--HA! I don't like magnolias, so I have a legitimate excuse to swap! Whew.

[Ishtar]

When I first read the description for Black Dahlia, I thought "Ooh, magnolia! I have to have it!!!"

The intial wet stage is very nice, a "classic" floral blend, slightly old-fashioned but not old ladyish. Alas, as soon as it dries down, Black Dahlia turns into a generic floral, slightly powdery and a little bland. Nice, but not really attention-grabbing.

[tempete]

Since I do not like pure floral scents that much, I had high hopes that the black amber would ground the florals nicely. Alas, Black Dahlia powdered out on me within ten minutes or so. I think that's a personal record for me.

 

Edited to add that after several hours, Black Dahlia morphed into a black amber note that was very lovely (no florals were detectable at this point). A roundabout way to achieve an amber single note...

Edited October 11, 2004 by tempete

[OdetteOdile]

Light floral with gardenia under that.

VERY good scent for an old Hollywood mood - has a lovely, retro, super-feminine smell. Warm and sweet and flowery - but with a green undertone tempering it.

[Caitfish]

LUSH - the word must have been invented to describe Ms. Black.

 

In the bottle, she's a nicely blended floral, jasmine, definately - but the magnolia's also present. Not a lot else is discernable at this stage.

 

I literally doused myself in this because I was on my way to the gym and I HATE smelling sweaty men beside me on the ellipticals. I know that strong perfume is annoying at the gym, too - but I hate all of the yuppies that I run with, so I don't mind forcing a bit of BPAL on them. It's certainly much better than I would otherwise smell.

 

Oh - the perfume, right...

 

Okay, on - I don't know why everyone else is "jasminified" because on me, this is MAGNOLIA all the way. Have y'all ever smelled magnolias? Very distinctive, very lush, and more fresh where jasmine is sultry. I guess magnolia is sultry, too - but in her own way. Dominating magnolias wafting on a mist of jasmine, the faintest hint of amber.

 

As this wears, I want to say that I smell something... fruity? In the distance-wafts, though when I smell directly at my wrist, that fruit (something like strawberries) morphs back into fat, lush floral. The effect is a delicious one. Turned quite a few middle aged male yuppie heads, she did.

 

Yeah, I'll need a big bottle of this. This is the uncompromising southern belle all the way - the one that sweats and blooms in the heat, rather than wilting away. A very, very ladylike smell.

[JazzieCazzie]

Wow ... this scent is not so much a fragrance as an experience ... but admittedly I put on a lot for a first time ...

 

BOTTLE: Glorious, glorious, glorious scent! It was really transporting ... I love BPAL florals, and this one hit me immediately as one of Beth's best ... rich and lovely without being overpowering. I had thought I sensed lilac or gardenia, but am guessing it was either the magnolia or the orchid ...

 

Though I am usually restrained putting on a new scent before going out for the day (in this case to work), I dabbed wrists, crooks of arms, behind ears and cleavage.

 

WET: Just amazing. It really lifted me up with images of spring, summer vacations, and primping before a big night out filled with promise ... Such a sultry, sexy scent (yeah, probably not right for work ... luckily I am currently alone in my quad of carrils ... sp? ... so it didn't distract anyone). This reminds me a lot of my beloved Veil, but without the sandalwood that offsets the pure floral lushness.

 

DRYDOWN: This one has MAJOR legs ... I kept getting little whiffs of myself all day and evening and even at night (I put it on around 8 a.m.) I could still smell it on my wrists and crooks. (I didn't sniff my cleavage )

 

I would probably not wear it to work again for fear of distracting others and giving them the wrong idea LOL ... but to me this is an IDEAL scent for anyone planning a "big" night ... it's like a floral version of Chanel No. 5 in the sense that, to me, that scent was what I thought of as "little sexy black dress, pearls and lace underwear underneath in anticipation of removal of little black dress."

 

It would make a divine bath oil ... I am putting it on my January big bottle order list with that in mind.