White Phoenix

[Salsa Shark]

White, for acting in good conscience and doing our best to give back to the community.
Frangipani, magnolia, cotton flower, osmanthus, crystal musk, ambrette, white orchid, sugar cane, davana, white sandalwood, petitgrain, lavender, and lotus root.

This morphed quite a bit on me, and there were gorgeous moments when the orchid and magnolia each took centre stage, but in general, it felt as if there were just too many notes not sitting well with each other. I usually don't have a problem with lavender, but with the white musk it just became a bit too cloying and soapy. I also have to be careful with white sandalwood, as unless it's with the right notes it goes weird and buttery, which it did here, and added to the crazy lavender/musk mess it was just... really not something I could wear.

Which is a shame, because there were moments when it was fabulous, and exactly what I wanted it to be. Unfortunately my chemistry decided to amp up the three notes which didn't want to play nicely together.

[theseagrows]

this is mostly white florals with an ozonic and effervescent quality to it. i think i smell the white orchid, lotus and white sandalwood, but it's really difficult to pick out notes. it's nice but not that remarkable on me, so i will swap it.

Edited August 6, 2014 by theseagrows

[vintagedlust]

This morphed quite a bit on me as well. In the bottle and when first applied it smelled very...perfumey I guess is the best word to describe it. At first it's sharp in my nose, almost the way some lunacies are for me. So maybe it's the lotus root?

 

After an hour it settled down and is now delicious and creamy and sweet. I can only guess that that is the cotton flower and sugar cane coming out and maybe the musk? I think I can smell a slightly woodish component to it thanks to the sandalwood.

 

Overall rating from 1-5? Probably a 3.5 with points taken off bc the initial smell is too sharp for me. I'll definitely continue to wear this though.

[bryghtrose]

There's something in the initial whiff that I'm not quite liking-- it might be the frangipani or the lotus root.

Once it gets on my skin the mystery note gets absorbed by the musk.

And then everything turns powdery.

[cranberry]

When first applied, this smells of orchid, lotus and lavender, underlain by soft white musk. This is so pretty. For a sec, this made me think of a much aged Lotus Moon. But only for a second.

 

As it dries, it deepens and there’s sandalwood and sugar too. But still the sweet lavender and other flowers remain. This is light, pretty, and sweet. Just gorgeous.

 

This also reminds me of Yvaine, but softer and sweeter. I’m so glad that I have a bottle.

[Little Bird]

This starts off as a white-floral-mess on my skin. Sharp and chemical smelling. In the drydown, the lavender and perhaps the sugar cane try to come in and do damage control, and this sweetens up quite a bit. I think that I can smell a powdery, grounding sort of sandalwood here as well.

 

White Phoenix winds up smelling of sharp white flowers & musk, softened by a sweeter lavender, laying on a powdery base. It's definitely not my sort of fragrance, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be either.

[Czarina]

In the bottle: wet cigarettes. ??

Wet: drugstore perfume floral.

Drydown: aldehydes gradually morphing into baby powder.

 

This one so does not work on me. Sigh. I suppose there will be other takers.

[PurringPulsar]

White Phoenix

 

In the bottle: cotton, lavender and osmanthus. Very pretty, but it could go either way.

Wet on skin: lavender and magnolia…this reminds me of Yvaine!

Dry on skin: this is very pretty! The combination of lavender, magnolia and crystalline musk instantly brings to mind Yvaine (a favourite of mine). I can also smell the osmanthus, a crisp clean white scent which might be cotton flower (reminds me of washed cotton), and also a hint of the spice others mention, which I'm sure is the sandalwood (white sandalwood SN had a mild spice to it which I love). I think I can also smell the woodsy-neroli scent of petitgrain. This is a white, pure, clean scent, fresh and sparkling but also warm.

After a while: now that the lavender's gone, this scent is now very white indeed…though not snowy-cold, this is warm whiteness. Clean and almost hinting at washed linen but not quite. The osmanthus is there but doesn't amp, nor does the magnolia, or the other flowers-in fact, all the floral notes are very well balanced. The musk and sandalwood ground this scent beautifully.

It's not long before a bit of sweetness appears, undoubtedly the sugar cane. The scent also becomes a lot crisper, drier and breezier at this point. Feathery and white.

Verdict: this is my favourite of the 07 phoenix scents. Still doesn’t hold a candle to Priala, my favourite BPAL phoenix scent of all, but this is a gorgeous scent of purity, cleanliness and light. It reminds me of a brighter version of Yvaine, with it’s crystalline lavender, and then turns into a scent of brilliant whiteness which smells a little bit woody, floral and white musk with a hint of white cloth. It's like warm sheets of Egyptian cotton, so soft and luxurious. There's a very clean scent to this that is dry, makes me think of clean clothes but doesn't smell like the other laundry/clean/aquatic ozone scents. the drydown is sweeter, a bit more of the musk and sugar cane comes out now. This is quite a beautiful scent and it makes me feel calmed and uplifted. It’s a luminous, bright and lovely fragrance that’ll be perfect for summer.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? yes! This is my favourite of the 07 phoenix scents.

If you like this, try: Yvaine, Kindly Moon, Brides of Dracula, Zephyr, Dirty, Mr Ibis

[blu°]

I first didn't like this, agreed on a swap, tested it again and now regret to be swapping it. But that's the BPAL life, as we know it, don't we.

 

White Phoenix really is quite perfumey on first sniff and first wearing. I had been hoping for some sweetness from the frangipani, something more luminous in a juicy-wet way. But this is all powdery sandalwood and crystal musk. However, something about the fragrance sticking to my clothes kept making me want to sniff them close. I think I felt analytically challenged by it, lol.

 

It definitely smells white. The night after the first testing, it was still on my clothes when I went to bed and on falling asleep I kept seeing 'white'. An incredibly pure and deep white. Kind of chalky-creamy, very dense, yet soft. Like humid chalk maybe.

 

It bears some similarity with White Light, but if anything is even whiter than that. White Light opposed to White Phoenix has a bit of yellow while this is so white it's almost blue, but never really gets there.

 

If I had kept it, it would have been a scent for occasions. Like when I wanted to feel pure and ethical, or to use during my so far fruitless attempts to meditate. This should really help to imagine a white wall.

 

I'm not too sad to be swapping it, though, as it really wasn't my type of scent perfume-wise, and I still have Meditation, White Light and Snow White to use on the occasions I'd have kept White Phoenix for.

 

Whatever, it is an incredible rendition of the concept and the color, so if you get a chance to try a decant, don't let it pass by.

[Epiphany]

Lovely.

In the bottle, I suddenly understand what crystal musk smells like, this...clear, cold, musk. Rather than a fuzzy musk. There is also the sweetness of sugar-cane, which is not at all overwhelming.

 

Wet on, subtle and soft...and when I say soft, I mean it evokes images of downy clouds and feathers. Magnolia is a scent that I love, and it begins to come through.

 

As it dries the davana and ambrette, I think, help to give it a certain sharp floral-ness, without it being too flowery. It is very well balanced for such a white scent (I have been discovering that white florals like to take over on me). The lavender here is also very nice--it is not the harsh lavender that I sometimes experience.

 

This is a very...grown up scent, I think. It makes me want to sit up straight and hold my head high. I also feel a bit as if I should be wearing a white gown and sitting on a cloud with a lyre, but that's just me.

 

My only complaint is that it seems to fade off bloody fast. Foo.

[SarahScent44]

In imp, the best way I can describe it is breathy, but not suffocating - but I can't pick up individual notes.

 

On my skin, I get just a hint of the musks, and the sweet tropical scent of frangipani and magnolia - it's getting nicer.

 

When it dries, it's soft and almost dry - the lotus root and the sandalwood are the most prominent. It's nice, but not for me.

[gchris]

In Vial: Light herbal floral

 

On Skin: Lightly sweet and fruity. Gradually getting stronger and more floral

 

Drydown: This has morphed into a soapy floral. Lightly sweet

[Eros]

In the bottle- Soft, slightly sweet and herbal.

 

On skin- Sweetens a bit, there are hints of musk, sugar cane and amber. There's a feeling of cold, not minty, no eucalyptus, either, just cold. The rest of the notes blend so well it's hard to pick them out. Dries down to a softly sweet, white scent, fluffy almost, if that makes sense. Nice throw and wears for hours. On me, similar to both Black Opal and Black Lace. Elegant, ethereal and quite lovely.

[slave1]

WHITE PHOENIX

 

In Bottle: Sugary floral

 

On Skin: Ok, I know I’m odd, but this scent totally reminds me of the sweet novelty erasers I had as a kid. And that’s a food thing, I thought they smelled better than anything! I would collect them and sit there smelling them all day at school. Now back to the real world… I smell the sweet sugar cane, pure yum and mixed with the lotus root the scent has a candy like quality. The crystal musk is clear yet soft, one of the best musks around. The florals are all very evenly matched and not heavy at all. The sandalwood is also kept in check, sometimes it has a tendency to go soapy on me, but here it’s just a soft woody background note. I’m most happy that the lavender doesn’t amp on me, because it usually does and it’s usually quite sour. But here it blends with the other florals just perfectly. The resinous notes are velvety and deep, taking this scent to a level I love. There is a creaminess to this scent that just melts everything together and makes it one of the calmest and most relaxing scents I’ve ever smelled. The throw is very light and the wearlength is short to average.

[LupaWulf]

White phoenix smells a lot like a very light musk on me. It's there, but not screamingly out there. I really don't get much other than a traditional light scent. It's very elegant and makes me think of some lovely extravagant white silk dress and walking around as a debutant. Everything smells very light, like clean fresh laundry.

 

Unfortunatly it does not last long on my skin at all.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Sweet soap and what I would say was the musk from Antique Lace

 

Wet on me – The initial hit is pure AL, but then it goes quite sharp and floral

 

Dry on me – The florals fade to leave a soft slightly sweet white musk and just a hint of frangipani

 

Overall – I like this, I may try layering it with AL to see if it will just add a little support to the sweetness

[bookofblues]

Here we go. The quick and dirty on White Phoenix for me. Cool floral. Very floral. Definitely some sweetness to it. I think this one is waaaaay too perfumey, but I had to try it. Dries down pretty much all flowers and disappears in about 2 hours. Not for me, but perfect for the friend who let me try it.

[persianmouse]

White Phoenix: Sweet (but not cloy of foody) Sandlewood. Light but not airy, but still very strong. Perhpas it's better to say gentle and strong. I smell the sandlewood, magnolia and sugar cane the most. No lavender at all. I think this is the scent I get the most compliments on when I wear it.

[FandF]

dial? Lever 2000? Wet. Blends and dries into something warm and sandalwoodish. Total dry down gets a flower note I don't like. Shoot, I really thought this was going to work on me. This starts as a nice soap scent that is familiar, but not something I would use in a scent locket. the total dry down is a fail on me.

[girlygirl]

Very soft clean floral. The lavender fades too quickly for my liking but it would be a nice summer blend even so.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Fresh, clean white floral.

 

Wet: Slightly sweet, quite light. A tad soapy. Headier. The frangipani, sugar cane, davana and lotus root come to the fore.

 

Dry: Dries very quickly. The magnolia, musk and sandalwood have emerged, but none are overwhelming; I like that this is such a well-blended floral on me. I think it's the cotton flower that's going soapy on me.

 

Summary: It's quite a feminine, traditional perfume-y white floral, and it has great throw and wearlength once it dries a bit.

 

Nice, but not my thing.

[mspixieears]

Beautiful, clean florals. I think I mainly smell the magnolia first up which is a bit of a surprise as usually my skin amps things like frangipani. Really gorgeous scent, might even be worth getting a bottle of it. I do wish the frangipani and magnolia were more dominant, as the white sandalwood comes into play, giving the floral nature of the fragrance an interesting edge.

[jentifer]

A very smooth floral. While not quite sweet, it's one of those scents you'd want them to make dryer sheets from.

[Greensleeves]

This review won't be quite as good as my other reviews because I only got to try it tonight at a friend's house.

 

I was really excited to try this because it had lavender listed as a note and it's a goal of mine to try everything the Lab has ever made that lists lavender as a note, but this didn't turn out so well on me. I'm quite glad I had the opportunity to try some of my friend's imp because the conclusion I reached is that I would not want to own this, so my friend saved me having to purchase a decant and being disappointed.

 

In the bottle: tangy floral citrus lavender similar to Villain

 

Wet: Huge amount of floral amping, lavender no longer identifiable, has a huge and puffy floral throw on my skin similar to Twilight, which I also didn't like.

 

Dry: Several minutes of strong ammonia dwindling to dusty, musty florals. A very dry, very unsatisfying pale grey/white/beige sort of scent.

[Indigo78]

Cottonflower is the most prominent note in this when I sniff the bottle. White Phoenix is light, airy and ethereal while wet on the skin. Lavander (an occasional problem-note for me) is apparent only when I huff my skin. At arm's length, this just wispy and sexy, with Sandalwood dancing about on tippy-toes (for once - normally it stomps on my skin). The blends is so well blended, and distinguishing the notes is a challenge. Somehow it manages to be girly, sexy, mature and grounded all at once. Dizzying? Yeah.

The Lotus is sweet and very un-bubblegummy, which makes me happy as well. This is what I'd call a work/school/close-quarters type of scent, in that it is unique enough to be signature yet still probably "acceptable" to untrained noses. Even though it is a little "laundry" at times, this one's a keeper. I'm glad to have found a bottle.