Mechanical Phoenix

[blu°]

A mechanical construct: illustrating strong work ethic, determination, creativity, and innovation.
Copper gears, brass cogs, fused wiring, scorched iron, and motor oil.

This was a lot nicer than I had thought. I usually don't like ozone or cologne-like blends much, but what ozone is in Mechanical Phoenix is nicely grounded and the cologne note is light and bright. Although they aren't really similar scent-wise, I get a similar feeling from this as from House of Mirrors.

There's a really nice vetiver in Mechanical Phoenix, if I'm not mistaken, but the total really is more than its components in here. It's lovely. Very much a working blend, metal, oil, drops of sweat. I've already swapped my decant, but if I'd tried it before agreeing to swap, I'd probably kept it for a while. I won't bother to find another one as it really isn't something I'd wear. However, if I had somebody, like, a guy, I'd be tempted to make him wear this and only this. Edited January 11, 2008 by Shollin

[taramarie]

On me, Mechanical Phoenix is an ozone cologne. It was nice but I was hoping for the metallic notes. I guess they don't go well with my skin chemistry. Still, I'll keep this one around.

[Czarina]

I took a brief sniff of this when it first arrived and found it a little offputting.

 

In the bottle: men's cologne, by which I mean ozone, bay rum, and maybe lime.

Wet: the same men's cologne, only the ozone is fading.

Drydown: there's the motor oil. Wow. And the metal.

 

This makes me think of Socialist Realist art--How The Steel Was Tempered and all that.

 

Despite my initial reaction when it first arrived, this so works on me. This is definitely a scent that the Czar would wear without protest also.

Edited January 21, 2008 by Czarina

[Desanera]

This is cologne on me. Men's cologne. It's a really nice men's cologne, more clean without the murky undertone most colognes have, but no brass, no ozone, no wire, no gears. Just cologne.

 

It's sort of the note behind the dry leaves in October.

 

I just wish I knew what that note was so I could avoid this in further blends, unless I want to smell like a nice men's cologne. It's a good smell, and I will not mind wearing it at all. But when you expect a mechanical phoenix, all brass gears and oil, and get nice smelling boi instead, it's a slight letdown. Sigh.

[tartchef]

Phew! On me, Mechanical Phoenix is all Man-fume - hyper-masculine ozone, amping to 11. I can appreciate it intellectually, but on me, it just smells all wrong, like I'm trying to jam my Rubenesque curves into boy-cut jeans 2 sizes too small...

 

On DH, there's that same ozone punch, but his chemistry brings out the oil & hot metal that I so sadly missed. It's still manlyman, but very wearable. We have a friend who teaches welding that really needs to try this...

[scarletgenesis]

Mechanical Phoenix starts out very cologne-y, all ozone and lime (or something like it). But on drydown, some of the fused wiring and metal comes out. I'd like a bit more metal and oil, but this is pretty nice. I love that it's very different from anything else I own. I wore it to fence today and felt very strong and focused.

 

I bet this would be dead sexy on a man. Too bad my husband won't touch cologne or anything scented (other than scented bath products, strangely).

 

Anyway, this may sound gross, but I was sweating some from fencing, and it made this come out even better.

 

And I LOVE the steampunk-ness of it all!

[mspixieears]

Admittedly I just got this for completion’s sake, not at all being keen on the sound of the notes. It’s very manly smelling, like cologne but I don’t get the notes listed at all. I hate to say it but it just smells like a cheap man’s cologne to my untrained nose.

[lainevierge]

I was just about to write ozone off as a killer note for me, but it's not all that bad in this blend. I get the "man cologne" description that mostly everyone else cited, but when this dries on me it turns in to a green and herbal scent with the tiniest hint of the fused wires, brass cogs and so forth.

 

On my husband it's sexy as hell, but fades so quickly that I have to get very close to him to enjoy it. Naturally, he doesn't mind at all.

[fountaingrl]

Oh NOES! I am in love with another LE! I got a decant of this from my amazing Switch Witch, and I *never* would have thought it would work on me but it does! I can smell the heat, and the tang of the copper, and the men's cologne on me goes rich and deep and amazing, not at all like CK1 or generic body spray or manfume, OOOOOH this is so good.

 

Ok Firefly fans?? This is what Kaylee would smell like if she stole a little bit of the doc's cologne, it would turn sweet on her and she would still smell like the hot engine? YEP, IT SMELLS LIKE THAT.

 

Oh lord. Off to troll the swaps board to try to score more.

[River]

I ordered a bottle of this unsniffed, and... wow.

 

At first, it smells kind of cologne-y on me, but in a good way - I like it, actually. It only takes a couple of minutes to change, though, fading into a sweet brass. I didn't look at the description before I tested it, but the only name I could come up with for the smell was "brass"!

 

I really, really like this. It's definitely a keeper. I've always liked the smell of metal and motor oil (weird, I know ).

[The March Hare]

I love this scent and I really can't explain why! It's something that's so odd that I can't believe that I like it, but I do!

 

Wet on skin: GAH, gaggaggag. Men's cologne. Very strong men's cologne.

 

Dry down: Pure metal. Like I rubbed coins all over me.

 

About 6 hours later: It's morphed into the most beautiful musk scent I've ever smelled. No manly cologne, no metal, just a slightly feminine musk scent.

 

The morphing on this one is insane. I've never had a BPAL morph so much.

[vulturekisses]

I'm really new to BPAL and reviewing, so I haven't yet learned how to identify individual notes yet and this is my first review ever. But I got Mechanical Phoenix because I loved the description, and I have to say that I really like this scent! It's not what I expected, but it still pleasantly surprised me and it grew on me.

 

In the bottle: Like men's shaving cream! It smells really fresh and clean, and kinda cool. I don't know if that's the "ozone" that other folks are talking about. It's really light!

 

Wet on skin: It still had the shaving cream smell, and I had to keep from resting my chin on my hand like I usually do because the scent was a bit overpowering for the first hour or so (or maybe I just put too much on my wrist, lol). I was kind of worried that I wouldn't get to smell the mechanical notes as mentioned in the description, but found it pleasing anyway.

 

Right now, about 5 hours later: It smells like an electric pencil sharpener to me! And the shaving cream smell is still there in the background, but now I'm getting warm metal and pencil dust. As someone who's spent hours hunched over a desk with a mountain of colored pencils, my wrist right now make me think of those days spent drawing at the desk -- and since I've been doing almost exclusively digital art in the last couple years due to a lack of space, I really missed having that smell around while I worked on art.

 

Conclusion: I still kinda hoped I'd get the steampunky notes from this but an arty scent works just fine for me too. It definitely speaks creativity and innovation to me, and I plan to wear this on nights where I'm stuck at the desk with my tablet and a drawing program open for hours. It's a definite keeper!

[zankoku_zen]

This one on me was pure male cologne. The ozone was very predominant, but very masculine. I didn't get any of the 'steel' or 'metal' connotations on this one.

 

Unfortunately, it isn't the kind of scent that the hubby is interested in wearing. But on the right guy - comandeering, cool, and yet very passionate. It makes me think of Clive Owen, and that is never a bad thing.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Fresh, clean masculine cologne with ozone and musk. Mmm!

 

Wet: Same. Good throw. It's amazing how clean this is to me without being soapy. It's a bit herbal and floral, too. And the ozone is sharp, I can see how it is 'metallic' but it's really NICE.

 

Dry: Slow drying oil, and it amps as it dries. This reminds of Archangel Winter, Sea of Glass, and even Usher a bit - all slightly masculine but verging on unisex scents I love. But this is more manly.

 

Summary: Sexy, manly musk, metallic ozone, herbs and a wee touch of flowers and woods make delicious, shower-fresh masculine cologne.

 

Getting a bottle for the man in my life!

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is sharp, light, metallic - not unpleasant.

 

In my skin, it's very light, but there's a warmth - I was VERY wary of this, but it's surprisingly nice - but I'm at a loss to describe it.

 

Weirdly enough, I get the "mechanical" aspect the most when it's dry - it's a little acrid, very sharp, very bright. It's amazing, but not for me.

[LupaWulf]

I love mechanical scents! As strange as it is, I really enjoy spending breaks down in the vehicle shop or at least around my mechanic buddies. I love those oil and metallic notes.

 

Mechanical phoenix does have the brassie metallic notes at first. On me it seems to be a more feminine scent, I don't get much of the masculine cologne type that many have found in their reviews. I have something like metal with sugar or something going on.

 

It's not bad, but I wish it was a little dry-er and more masculine smelling. Then again, I would be content with a scent along the lines of "Mechanic at Work." I truly wish I had Czarina's drydown with all of the motor oil and metallic scents. All and all I do like the scent. It's not bad, but not as I was so hoping...

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Ozone-y warmth.

Wet: Ozone/aquatic warmth. Very masculine-cologne in feeling.

Drydown: The ozone is less sharp now, and the vaguely warm quality is brushing to the surface.

Dry: Warmed ozone.

 

 

My rating: 3/5. I don't think this is my thing, but I kind of want to douse a guy in it and see what happens.

[Little Bird]

This is my definite favorite of the Phoenix-type blends. It smells nothing like "copper gears, brass cogs, fused wiring, scorched iron, and motor oil" to me though. I was actually hoping that I would get a bit of the metal and motor oil smell, because I have a thing for that rugged mechanic smell (thanks to my ex-love always working on cars).

 

Mechanical Phoenix starts off as a cold, almost ozone-y men's cologne, a bit sharp but not unpleasant. In the drydown, this actually starts to smell rather resinous to me though, in a powdery, warm, sweetened, and slightly wooden sort of way. It still smells masculine to me, but not so much that I wouldn't wear it myself.

 

This is a really interesting scent. I love how it starts off smelling like cold ozone cologne on me and then dries down to warm resinous-woods-goodness. I'm going to have to track down a bottle of this one.

[slave1]

MECHANICAL PHOENIX

 

In Bottle: Dark cologne

 

On Skin: This is a masculine scent to an extreme. I love how it is warm and cold at the same time. Cold metal but warm from use… Metal is one of my favorite things in the world. I sew metal onto my clothing, braid it into my hair, cover everything I can in it... and this scent completely gives me that same thrill. While it is masculine, it is so intriguing that I know I’d wear it myself. It has the dark motor oil in the back ground, the smell of electricity and a bit of smoke… it smells like metal hard at work. I am so impressed Beth was able to create a scent like this that completely encases that feeling. It’s not pretty and it’s not something I’d wear on a night out on the town, but it’s a scent that is almost like aromatherapy to me since I love metal and the feelings it gives me so much. This is a scent everyone needs to at least sniff, because it is a true work of art. Strong throw to start but mellows out. Fairly long wearlength.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Bottle

This one's cologney, but there's a hint of something else: like the description says, something almost metallic and garageish. Comparing it to Kataniya (the other "mechanical" LE I can think of), yep: there is a definite similarity, though this is far more ozonic and woody rather than sharply floral. It's bolder than Kataniya, and the ozonics and citrus notes make it a bit stronger: it's not as pretty and floral.

 

On Me

Okay, consider me in love here! It's initially ozonic, with a sharp hit of lemon verbana or bergamot, there's a woodiness, too-- it's like cologne-- but made of good quality ingredients.

 

After awhile, it calms down a bit, and the sharpness softens, and I am getting a lovely garagey smell-- motor oil and hot metals-- probably moreso with this than I did with Kataniya-- combined with the general ozonic notes.

 

It last awhile, and it appears to be a compliment-getter for me: people are genuinely interested in this one, and it's been tried on a couple of guys and they've liked it, too, though it takes differently to them: one was a bit woodier, one was a bit more lemony. On me is seems to go a bit dryer and the dull metal/oil notes come out. Given my love for scents that are different, not overly girly, and the fact that anything mechanical grabs my interest, what can I say? I adore.

 

 

(I can't believe I'm only reviewing this NOW: I bought my bottle AAAAAGES ago!)

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

It smells oddly... like a fresh floral and citrus, and metal. I'm intrigued!

 

First on:

It smells slightly like cologne and cool metal on me – how strange!

 

Dry:

After 10 mins, it really does remind me of the scent of greasy metal – I'm impressed.

 

20-30 mins later, ”mechanical” is the only appropriate word for this scent. Amazing.

 

Finally:

I'm impressed. By default, this goes to the boyfriend, but damn, it's almost a keeper for me personally! But no, it was intended as a gift.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Extreme masculine cologne manfume. Wait, something is odd here. Smells slick and oily, like motor oil. No metal, but very oily as long as it is wet. Might be nice on a good looking, bare chested machanic splattered with motor oil.

Not on me though. I dont mind masculine scents on me but this is a bit too much. My chemistry turns it into manly deodorant with suntan lotion But it gets points for staying power, it is resisting my attempts to wash it off very valiantly.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Very little, perhaps something a little cologney

 

Wet on me – Oddly fresh and green, but with an under current of motor oil

 

Dry on me – My skin chemistry seems to be turning every thing to musk at the moment. Randomly this seems to become a sweet, but dry, musk – to me reminiscent of some of the more ‘woodland animal musk’ type blends

 

Overall – As it stands I like this. It’s warm and comforting in a masculine, but my skin chemistry and hormones are completely out of whack at the moment so it may be worthwhile trying again in a couple of months when things have settled down

[persianmouse]

Mechanical Phoenix: All manly and dirty and grungy with a splash of classic men's cologne to try and cover it up. Whereas Pollution was Sexy White-Collar Dad, MP is Sexy Blue-Collar Dad. Yummy.

[Eemia]

I was putting off trying this for a long time because of the metallic notes, even though I've owned it for awhile. The idea of a metallic fragrance was just creating images of being shocked by metal door handles (which happens to me a lot), or of having metal dental tools in my mouth when I go to the dentist. But after trying some of the metallic scents in the Steamworks collection (which I loved!) I decided to come back and give this a shot. I think I finally am realizing that metallic smells aren't sharp and acid-scented on my skin. They're very slick and beautiful.

 

This is smooth and bright, but there is nothing hard edged about the brightness. It is masculine, but I can still pull off wearing it. This is probably the most masculine fragrance I've ever worn. But I don't think it smells like cologne. All that bright, slick, golden fragrance gives way to a completely different tone as it settles. Later on when it dries it becomes a musky, nearly powdery scent.

 

I'm happy I finally wore this one, and I'm absolutely going to keep it.