Black Cat

[Argentwolf]

A very tricky kitty, indeed. Used most often as a key to bringing back the joy one needs to have in life in order for living to feel worthwhile. Brings back a sense of delight in simple pleasures, and creates a surge of childlike curiosity and a youthful sense of fun. This blend can also be used to reverse troublesome lesser crossings, create a playful air of catlike sexuality, and, because cats will be cats, it can also be used to throw minor, irritating or bothersome hexes, causing small amounts of chaos and disruption to your foes.

I get a lot of mint -- as in spearmint, a sweetly herbal scent. As it dries, I get maybe a hint of lemon, and a bit of a...fuzzy note. Not exactly powdery, but more like the light fuzz atop a cat's head; that sort of aura.

While the scent itself isn't really my cup of tea, I think it's a really cute concept, and it was definitely worth a try! Edited October 12, 2009 by Argentwolf

[het4377]

Wet: yup, minty with a touch of herbal/lemongrass and earthyness. Maybe a little rose as well - maybe.

Dry: has pretty good throw, and morphs very little, staying tru to the initial notes of dirt, earthy mint, rose and lemongrass.

Overall: Pretty, I just love minty blends, but the herbal notes in this along with the rose just make this blend seem a little off to my sensibilities.

 

[Invidiana]

Very rose-y, and while there I'll stress there is no BPAL that ventures into old-lady rose territory, it's just too strong a rose for me, like sticking my nose directly in a bouquet of them. Too bad because I love black cats, ah well *sigh*

[Aldercy]

I had high hopes (I don't know what I expected, now that I try to remember), but Black Cat is mostly oily red rose and sharp, witty herbs. It's a little strong for me, I'm afraid, and doesn't call to mind the feline sort of attitude I had wanted.

[changeling]

Mine is an older bottle, so please keep in mind that age may be a factor in my review (the. bottle's. age. ).

 

In the bottle: A sharp, clean scent

 

Wet: Sharp, minty and green, with a light overtone--ordinarily I would describe it as "misty", but in this case, I think "fuzzy" is more appropriate.

 

Dry: The sharp note has nearly swamped out the rest; only hints of a warmer undertone remain.

 

 

[DeltaCat]

Very much a rose scent wet. When it dries I do get a very slight lemon/citrus scent along with the rose. No mint though. Salem approved

[hkhm]

imp: soft, sweet herbal.

 

wet: rose. whatever else might be in this scent is drowned out by rose.

 

dry: it takes forever for the rose to drydown and fade, but it never leaves completely. there is a nice herbal scent in the background but i can't appreciate it with the rose.

[summertimecrime]

Another imp I was gifted by the ridiculously kind ephemera:

 

In the imp, I caught a whiff of VERY overpowering rose-dusty rose, actually. Wet, I'm still getting roses but now there's a sharp herbal scent coming through..drydown, as I have experienced with almost every BPAL oil I have tried, POWDER POWDER POWDER with the occasional burst of dried roses & herbs. It had a lot of throw for me, which is unfortunate because I did not like this scent at all, and it stuck around until my shower the following morning. Not for me.

[girasol]

I actually bought an imp of Black Cat in my very first order, but I ended up swapping it out because it was kind of powdery and florally-blah and just didn't excite me. But somebody (can't remember who, shame on me) frimped me some recently, and I decided to wear it today because I was feeling a little down and figured some happy-making mojo would be no bad thing.

 

Well, since then - someone told me I smell great, I got some really nice compliments on a work project I just completed, and a lovely BPALer left me some sweet feedback on my feedback page.

 

The joy has been brought, y'all. The notes may not thrill me, but this stuff works!

[Redillon]

Okay, I get the mint. And it's kinda nice. I'm not a minty person. There's some herbs floating in there too. I'm getting wafts of rose and it's not a terrible rose scent since it's mingling with the mint. It's a fresher scent. I'm gonna enjoy my imp but I don't feel the need for a bottle.

[BuxomM]

It's fresh and bright and powdery.

[misamisa01]

When I first put this on it was "hello, I'm SOAP" and from that I assumed that it had a rose note as pretty much all rose notes seem to go soapy on me.

 

After a while, though, the soap faded and the scent became herbal followed by a slight hint of mint.

 

Unfortunately the soap came back, but not as strong and I could actually smell the rose in it. The rose, herbs, and mint blended together (but you could point out each one) but had an overtone of soap with a touch of powder.

 

Sadly, this scent is not for me.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Rose soap, and mint. Not for me.

[Caerphilly]

I like this one. Not just for the name. :b

 

Definite roses. Pink possibly. Slightly sweet. And definitely has amber. This has the distinct scent of the powdery yumminess. There's something else that makes this not unbareably sweet, but a bit more grounded. Myrrh maybe. Smells watery more than powdery.

 

Love it! If you are a rose lover, definitely worth a try. I'll use up my imp, but I have other rose and amber scents that I prefer.

[crebbsgirl]

Roses and a hint of mint for me. This is powdery and sweet, with just a hint of soap. There's an herbal tone to this that is not agreeing with my skin chemistry.

[biocarolyn]

OK- so I have had this imp laying around for forever, and I couldn't remember what it was supposed to smell like, but had some vague notion that "mischievous" was the basic concept. I;m headed out to a concert that I am too tired to go to, and work ruined my appetite for it. But I /want/ to go, and enjoy.

 

So I tried it. What's crazy is my first thought when I sniffed wasn't scent but just lighthearted joy. Then I sniffed- light minty herbalness, with a tinge of something sweet (lotus?) and a background of dry roses. Not my usual thing, but the impression is so wonderful, I'm pondering a bottle. I'm just amazed.

[countessmouse]

Fuzzy rose and herbs, very little of the mint other testers have mentioned. Overall, very nice and soft - kind of like a kitty!

[Dracen]

This was a frimp in a previous order and I have to say I love it. The scent is herbal and heavily rosy, and on me reminds me a lot of the soap I use, clean and rosy. It does smell like it has amber yet it never goes powdery on me like most blends with amber do, so I don't know. I'm not really getting the mint others are smelling but mint is not one I tend to amp.

 

It might be a placebo effect but I do find I feel happier, enjoy things more, and have greater confidence when I wear it. It's become one of my favorite scents to wear when I need to attend a social event or on days I'm struggling with a troublesome writing assignment or feeling overall down.

 

I'm definitely getting a bottle with my next order.

Edited April 13, 2011 by Dracen

[cherrycherry]

Herbal, minted roses. The rose takes a backseat but is still definitely there. The mint isn't INYOURFACEMINT! it's more subtle and refreshing. I bet this stuff is excellent for concentration too, I can see me using it before needing to work on something important and when writing. Very nice and I will be upgrading to a 5ml on my next order.

 

Here, kitty kitty!

[TheFrenchWaffle]

In the imp: Mint along with a collection of herbs. Interesting...

Wet: The rose blossoms on my skin with the mint in the background occasionally stepping forward to play with the rose. Quite lovely, one drop goes a long way.

Dry: A beautiful rose with some herb/spice, thank you skin for not screwing things up.

 

Final verdict: I do like this scent, the perfect thing to keep me from going completely bonkers during finals week. Simply fantastic. Not sure about a whole bottle though, this imp should last me a while.

 

edit: a friend asked me why I smelled like soap. I asked if it was a bad thing and she replied that no, I smelled like a nice rose soap. I'm not sure if that's quite the effect I'm going for...

Edited August 7, 2011 by TheFrenchWaffle

[Incendiare]

Herbal, earthy, and rosy. The roses actually come last for me. I find the dryness of the herbs and slight medicinal touch of menthol too distracting to notice the rose that much.

[CathyCR13]

I used to work in a witchcraft/metaphysical supply shop. All of the candles, incenses, oils and herbs blended together to create a unique aroma that everyone loved. Sadly, that shop closed a few years ago and I have never been able to recreate that scent. Yesterday I put on a little Black Cat and low and behold, there it was! The scent of the place I loved right there on my wrist!

 

Honestly, I can't pick out any one note because the scent memory it triggered for me was so intense. Not to sound like a complete sap, but it literally brought tears to my eyes. I will be purchasing a bottle of Black Cat. In my mind, that's what magic smells like.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): My first impression is that is a wonderfully clean and feminine scent. It reminds me of light powder and budding roses. On additional sniffs, I can discern mint and a bit of oriental spiciness.

Wet: The mint comes to the forefront on my skin and rose seems to be the note that has take back stage. I do get a lovely mingling of the oriental spices with the mint, and just a touch of powder rounding off the scent.

Dry: (15 minutes) The rose has warmed up more on my skin so that it competes on an even par with the mint. There is just the slightest hint of spice. There still is a powderiness as a secondary note, but it isn’t overt, which is pleasing. At the dry stage, this scent is very light and feminine.

[persephonehazard]

Imp and then on wet - Lemon and, I fear, chemicals. It's not unpleasant, but it's not quite what I expected. And there's something oddly familiar about it...

 

Very initial drydown - Oh THAT'S what it is! This is suddenly, unmistakably, citronella. It reminds me of torturous camping trips with my parents as a teenager, stuck in a tent in the rain on the Isle of Wight having an argument and surrounded by a perpetual fog of mosquito repellent.

 

A little while later it has warmed up a bit and is less citronella, more like a thin sheen of surprisingly gentle lemon over my skin. I vaguely think there's something salty there too, but that might just be my own natural scent.

 

I'm then unable to track the drydown closely for a while, because I go to bed instead. As I drift off to sleep I can barely smell it, the throw already vanishing. By the time I wake up in the morning it's disappeared completely, not even a whisper left on my wrist.

 

If I ever get into swapping - or, for that matter, have enough stuff that I sell any of it off - I suspect this one will go. For now, though, I shall give it 2/5 (because I am saving 1/5 for things that turn actively repugnant when I put them on) and leave it to linger in the box for a bit. Maybe I could use it in the summer as a mosquito repellent?

[relax]

Metalic, cool, biting rose.