On Darkness

[mazikeen]

An embrace: black poppy, lavender, thick black incense, black amber, rose geranium, Brazilian rosewood, and benzoin.

Length: Just what I want. 8 hours later and it's still going strong.

Throw: Again, just what I want. I can smell myself as I move through my day, but I don't fear that I'll overpower those around me.

Impressions: Dark, but not too dark that I can't wear it in summer. It feels feminine, without smelling like anything traditionally "feminine." Like an antique dress of dark burgundy or purple velvet. Someone mentioned "Victorian," and yes, I can totally see that.


I like! I'll wear!

[tragedy]

At first the rose geranium is forefront, I cant smell much else, which is fine because I love geranium and this is the first oil Ive tried with it in it.

On drydown amber comes out into play and something sweet (although I'm not sure whats giving the sweetness)

Very nice and well blended.

Adding to my "loved" list!

[Invidiana]

Forget what it says in the description, this smells like a dark, intoxicating blend of berries, evergreens and anise. Maybe the black poppy and incense comprise the anise part, the geranium and sweet benzoin give the illusion of berries and the rosewood and lavender hint at evergreens. Whatever this is, on me it just morphs into something AMAZING--a wintry and ever so slightly slightly spicy pitch-darkness.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Invidiana

[Schmoozy]

 

On initial application this is all rose geranium and lavender. It is very herbal, but underneath the herbal is a sweet, resinous wood mishmash of notes. It almost becomes fruity, before the incense fully kicks in. After drydown, black amber and benzoin swoop in to add a girly sweet twist to the herbal and resin background. I crave a touch more lavender, but I'll take what I can get.

[greenranger]

Despite the notes, on me, this smells like it should be some creamy hot drink served at some upscale coffeehouse. Not coffee or chocolate, obviously, but, if someone served me something steaming in a hot mug that smelled like this? I'd drink it. Seriously. This is seriously delish, and I am absolutely kicking myself for not getting some last year. Why? WHY did I wait?

 

*sob*

 

*deep sniff of arm*

 

*sigh*

 

I am really serious in that without the list of notes given I would have been totally off the wall and guessing things like vanilla, honey and steamed foamed milk. The lavender I might possibly have gotten...maybe. Then I would have been completely stumped, since I couldn't possibly want to drink something with rosewood or geranium in it, could I? I amp roses, normally, and I am getting no rose whatsoever from this.

 

This is not a floral on me.

 

This made me thirsty and I had to go make myself cocoa to take the place of the mysterious hot drink that I wasn't going to be getting because the drink does not exist.*

 

How did I get a foodie scent from this list of notes? I am completely confused. Happy, but, confused. I may need more bottles.

 

* I have it. I need a London Fog Latte. This is why I must be thinking of a drink. There's no tea in this, but, there's Lavender in that drink...and maybe the Bergamot in the Earl Grey tea and the Geranium in this are close enough for my nose to confuse them. Beyond that I have no idea, except that it feels creamy and warm.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Aerinha

[Jammies]

In the bottle, this is all lavender.

 

Wet, the geranium starts to peer out.

 

Dry, it's definitely an embrace--dark, cuddly lavender and geranium with a pure, sweet note saving it from being completely herbal (which I would have liked as well, but the sugary part was unexpected and gorgeous).

 

Somehow, it makes me think of sugared flowers on a very fancy cake, and I may need two bottles.

[strahlend]

I wanted to give this a try since I love lavender. Unfortunately all I'm really getting is the rose geranium

[Saya]

I was so disappointed when I missed out on this blend last year, I was excited to try the 2009 version.

 

At first this is a light floral blend, but quickly the other notes come out and it becomes, rich, dark, and sweet. I'm not sure what it is about the combination of these notes, but this works in a really beautiful way for me. Define bottle purchase.

[Prism]

2008 Version

in bottle - lavender, amber, incense, what i guess is poppy or rose geranium. hints of woods.

wet - lavender and amber. but it's definately a "dark" scent, and the incense/poppy are still there. I'm not getting any of the woodsy scents. though.

dry - mostly lavender and amber and this is well dark. it's not too different from wet, other than i can smell rosewood now. I'd almost give this a "fruity" quality.

 

rating - 5/10

 

2009 Version

 

in bottle - amber, geranium, poppy, lavender, incense. No real hints of woods here.

wet - this is much more poppy, rose geranium, and much less lavender but that's still strong, and much less incense/amber.

dry - about the same as wet here.

 

rating - 5/10

 

In short- the 2009 version is much more floral on me than 2008. 2008 has a lot more amber than 2009.

Edited January 23, 2010 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[HamletsKeeper]

Ok so black poppy + rose geranium = celery. And since celery is the one vegetable that makes me violently gag I really dont' think I want a bottle of celery.

[musichappens]

At first all I could smell was the rose geranium & the Brazilian rosewood and it felt very heavy. Now that I've had it on for a little while it's calmed down a bit and the black amber, lavender, thick black incense seem to be rounding it out. I don't think it's bottle worthy, but once my sniffie is gone I'll probably look for a full decant to keep on hand.

[impolight]

It's all in the name...

Dark, syrupy blackish red. Dark, dark wood.

Smoke from burnt caramel hanging in the air...

Blood-red flowers, lightly dusted with cocoa,

and pounded to a pulp in a wooden bowl...

Haughty corruption in a confessional.

The bejeweled finger of an assassin.

A midnight ride in the trunk of a car...

The blackest of amusements.

[edenssixthday]

On Darkness - I didn't care for the first release of this scent, but I can't get enough of the 2009 version. Rose Geranium is my #1 all-time favorite note, and I get so excited when I see it in blends. I was scared about the lavender in this blend, as it's one of my worst notes, but somehow they work together gorgeously. I mostly smell the rose geranium, lavender, poppy, and rosewood. I can't get over how they blend together to make a scent that is so beautifully heavy, woody, and floral at the same time. It's like no other perfume I've ever smelled -- very unique. I really love this one!

[juniperus]

Bottle: sharp lavender swirled in blackness.

Wet: both darker and sharper, the the added sharpness is something coming up behind the lavender that I can't quite place.

Dry: oh sharp, oh ouch, oh headache!

Later: no, no, no, and no again.

[anomie]

In the imp: A very dark floral. Definitely smelling the lavender right out front.

 

Wet: Sharp and metallic overlay on the floral. Maybe my nose is broken today. Still quite dark. It's getting sweeter, though. I'm getting a lot of the rosewood and what I think is the benzoin.

 

Drying: Syrupy. Hints of something really wonderful dark and mellow underneath a sickly sweetness.

 

Later: The sweetness has died down. I can't pick out the individual notes but this is complex enough to hang onto for a while.

Edited December 21, 2009 by Nomie

[DeltaCat]

Amber, rose, incense, a wee bit of lavender . very nicely blended. A wee bit on the strong side though.

[aquazoo]

A pretty, slightly powdery floral. The powder fades and they are heavy incense and florals. Then they start to get a little salty.

 

[bellevivre]

rosewood big time... it reminds me of a really posh soap some victorian lady would use...it's kinda 'meh' to me- I mean, it's really pretty, but it's just not ME

[misscoldheart]

Wow, this one is really beautiful. In the bottle it smells pretty good, but nothing like what it comes to on the skin. It's hard to figure out what this reminds me of, but it has a complex fruity floral sweetness that is very unique and certainly different than other bpals I've tried so far. It seems like an appropriate "holiday" scent without being too festive. It definitely evokes colder weather for me and I cannot imagine wearing it in warmer seasons due to the sweetness, although it isn't too heavy.

I think this is nice but I haven't decided if this is one I would wear often enough to hang on to.

Edited January 14, 2010 by misscoldheart

[ImperatrixMundi]

The rosewood and rose geranium almost tricked me into thinking this actually does contain rose. No. But in the first half hour after application they form an almost credible substitute that is just a bit too woody and green for rose. A bit of lavender joins the mix and there is a smooth and sweet background.

 

After the initial phase it gets hard to describe. What was the background before becomes a very sweet and smooth scent and I can not pick out anything specific except maybe for the poppy. But it does not become as dominantly soapy as other poppy blends. Leaves an ochre-brown color impression. Very sweet, mellow and rounded. Very strong and lasting throw.

 

Unique, actually very pretty and smooth scent. As misscoldheart says above, it is different from other bpals I have tried so far. I was happy to test it but at the end of the day it does not fall into the range of scents that I would wear regularly.

[fairnymph]

Straw coloured oil. Wow! Tons and tons and TONS of geranium! This is the strongest geranium scent I have ever smelled in BPAL. How exciting! It's also very sweet from the benzoin, richy honey-ish, almost a crystallized honey note, and I think the black amber is contributing some sweetness. I get the lavender too, a very nice lavender. The poppy and rosewood and incense are a little too dry/dusty but are tolerably light.

 

Even sweeter, TOO sweet. I think more from the black amber (this is always really sweet on me) than the benzoin - it's a little sickly. Also, this is INSTANTLY powdery on my skin from the damn poppy and incense, and drier and dustier from the rosewood, too. Damn. The lavender is the same note from TKO, in fact, the way it's sweetened also is very reminiscent of TKO. Sweet lavender unfortunately makes me feel ill. The geranium (which is utterly gorgeous) is trying valiantly to make this blend work but in vain.

 

Soooo strong. Soooo sweet. And sooooo powdery. It is actually dark in feel, a horrible evil dark strong sweet powder. The lavender has amped up a bit, and it's just FOUL sweetened like this ( I also hate TKO). Overall this really reminds me of TKO + geranium + evil incense. And it's making me feel ill so I'm off to the sink.

 

[voodoocatwoman]

I don't have the slightest idea what any of this is but I can say this about it:

 

It's pungent and rotten sweet.

 

YUCK!!!!

[SophieCedar]

I really like this. Seems pretty perfect for me!

 

This goes on really thick, like I spread corn syrup on my arm. The black poppy and thick black incense gives me that dragons blood feeling. I can't really detect the lavender all that much but I'm sure it's contributing here! Color impression is a thick purple to brownish green. Kinda like an oak moss's fruity floral cousin?

[countessmouse]

I am sooooo terribly disappointed in this one because all of the notes sounded wonderful. On me, nothing but ashy rose geranium that is so overpowering I had to go wash it off because I was getting a headache. Thank god I discovered this before I put a bid on a bottle on ebay.

[theseagrows]

hm, something in this has a sweet, fruity plasticky smell, similar to plum. luckily, the poppy is subtle, because poppy doesn't often work with my skin chemistry. something in this off though, maybe it's the rose wood. it smells like a very sweet, bordering on fruity resin. it really does smell like incense, kind of like this cherry champa i tried once. all in all, it's not for me.