Economic Recovery

[boomtownrat]

ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Make a purchase at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday, and receive a free imp of ECONOMIC RECOVERY: a fun little blend of traditional money-generating herbs, resins, and flowers, including patchouli, ambrette seed, bergamot, Irish moss, rice flower, and thyme.

This smells earthy and sweet at the same time, as the notes suggest. It's almost as if a head shop and an Asian market coexisted within the same space.

Usually patchouli and bergamot are both notes that dominate everything else on my skin, but in this case it all sings more or less in unison. For now I'm not familiar enough with all of the notes to know what's what, but it positively blooms from a mossy beginning into a warm, sweet, comforting scent as it dries. Patchouli - a soft one - Irish moss, and thyme are the notes I pick out most easily.

I think Economic Recovery would be a good scent to wear on New Year's Day... to bring on prosperity in the new year, of course.

[zombiewench]

This is very nice! Very earthy, with a bit of sweetness up close. It reminds me of all the new age and witchy stores my mom would always take us to when I was growing up, which makes me happy, and something about it is very calming.

 

On me it has HUGE throw - from just a dot on the back of my hand!

 

I really like this one, it's so lovely!

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Herbs paired with sweetened patchouli. A hint of spice and cocoa just beneath the surface.

 

Drydown: Warm, fuzzy, and sort of juicy. Still mainly herbs and patchouli, but they’re now brightened by bergamot. The cocoa vibe I was getting becomes more resinous, so I’m guessing myrrh is in the mix too.

 

Dry: Cozy resins, including amber (or perhaps that's the ambrette seed) and chocolaty myrrh, robust patchouli, tart bergamot, and a sparse sprinkle of herbs and moss. Complex, cuddly, and invigorating.

[Mokiefraggle]

I adore this once it's dry on my skin; it's a warm and slightly resinous scent, and I agree with BoneBone24 that I get a sort of cocoa scent out of it. It's also perhaps the strongest throw I've ever gotten from a BPAL; I can get a whiff of it off my wrist without having it anywhere near my face.

 

In the imp: eh. Men's cologne sort of scent, albeit with a lot of layers I can find familiar and know I like. I can smell a surprisingly light whiff of woody patchouli, and the sort of dusty scent of myrrh, and an amber-ish smell that I can only presume to be the ambrette seed. I'm pretty sure that the bergamot (and possibly the thyme, since I've known thyme to be a bit citrusy) is a big part of why it's sorta cologne-y, as there's a smoky citrus quality that's definitely giving the vibe.

 

Wet on skin: again, it's men's cologne. Not quite as rough as Highwayman, which tends to be a scent I frequently equate to men's cologne, but it definitely smells like something I'd expect to catch walking through the men's section at Macy's. It's definitely softer already, though; the scents are very much improved with the application of body heat. The bergamot and thyme isn't nearly as citrusy, and there's much less of a bitter note to the bergamot. It's also more smoky, but in a pleasant way rather than smelling like actual smoke.

 

Dry-down: oh, yes. I like this now. Amber, something chocolatey, a pleasing base of patchouli, a bit of myrrh, and a sort of smoky note with the last of the bergamot citrus. I can even smell a bit more of the thyme, but like the herb when dried rather than the fresh, citrus-herbal smell of it. Nice, nice--I kinda wish there was a way to get a big bottle of it.

 

ETA: so, I wore this when visiting a friend I haven't seen in a few months the other day, and he hugged me, stepped back, hugged me again, and proclaimed that I "smelled really good!", so I think this is definitely a keeper!

Edited February 22, 2013 by Mokiefraggle

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Patchouli dominant with ambrette support. The feel is strongly resinous The moss is a week second with bergamot third. The flowers are delicate and not well differentiated. There is a slightly chalky feel to the herbs. Wet: The patchouli is a little less intense on the skin. The herbal elements are a bit stronger, though it’s still resin dominant with the moss now in strong support. The flowers are softer. It’s better than in the imp, but it’s not really gelling with my skin chemistry. Dry: pPatchouli with some herbs. Not really my thing.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Deliciously patchouli with a nip of citrus.

 

Wet: Patchouli-herb. It's a little bit sharp, but herbal patchouli can be really nice on me, so I'm hoping.

 

One hour: The patchouli and citrus have blended and quieted. There's something warm and sweet in here, I'm not sure what, that makes me want to huff it continuously. It's sort of musky and honeyish, with a dry wood element as well.

 

Five hours: The musky-honey-wood impression continues. It reminds me in the best of all possible ways of a ferret, and of that sweet-musky weaseljuice impression I got from Frumious Bandersnatch.

 

I have really enjoyed this one and I will definitely wear it on appropriate occasions. If I could get it in a bottle, I'd buy one right away!

[Numanoid]

Was frimped this..so here goes:

 

Wet in vial: Hmmm...a slightly spicy No. 2 pencil.

 

On Skin: Same kind of herb-y pencil smell.

 

Drydown: Pencil smell fades, but still there. Softens a bit and get a little more sweetness..I don't get patchouli at all out of this, which is kind of good, since I really HATE that note. Very faint and not much throw on me.

[crebbsgirl]

Patchouli, moss and flowers on me. Thus comes off as a little perfume-y, but I dig it. Something is a little reminiscent of The Caterpillar on my skin, but I may be making that up in my head. I like this, and would wear it often if I had more!

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet mossy patchouli. This smells herby, and sort of like money. Old money, but pleasantly so.

 

I'd definitely use this like a Conjure Bag blend.

[Circaea]

Received this as a generous frimp from a swap. ZOMG. This smells exactly like the head shops on Haight street. I am so homesick right now. It's pure Nag Champa smoke, to my nose. Wish I could take a bath in it.

[hexnut]

ECONOMIC RECOVERY

 

Not really a blind test because I knew this was in my order, but I didn't look up the description beforehand. The oil in the imp was light brown and slightly viscous.

 

 

In Vitro Herby or minty.

 

Wet Fresh on this was a rich resinous blend. After a minute there was a woody note that I figured for patchouli. A few minutes later it was definitely woody and sweet and developed some throw.

 

Drying Sniffed up close this was woody, but a half meter away it was sweet resin. I was really digging it until the end of the hour when it faded, got much less sweet, and...crap! Faint plastic.

 

Before unfurling the imp label that night I put on a bit more and got floral-ish sweet spice. The reveal wasn't a surprise. I won't wear Economic Recovery because Patchouli is a cruel lover and also that damned plastic note, but I think I'll put it on the bills in my emergency cash stash. I used to do that with cinnamon oil when I was a kid.

 

 

71

Edited May 28, 2013 by hexnut

[absinthetics]

I just wanted to mention that wow! Has this aged awesomely. It is sweet and soft and pretty. Resinous and woody but with a soft sweet side. Lovely!

[brilliantcat]

I'm having difficulty picking out discrete notes in this. It's sort of woody, herby, and resiny. There's almost a creamy edge to it. Euh, it's going kind of pencil shavings on me. It started off really nice and then warped into unpleasant.

[Lucchesa]

Testing blind, I would have said Economic Recovery was frankincense and patchouli with a sweet floral.  Rice flower, that.  Not seeing frank mentioned by anyone else weakens my resolve a bit, but that's what it smelled like to me.  It's good.  It's a little rough and dirty, then it evens out into woody patch with musky ambrette, sweet rice flower and herbs.  I don't get any bergamot whatsoever. 

[bellumed]

Ambrette seed and patchouli stand out immediately - this reminds me of The Triumph of Death, another blend with those two notes. Otherwise, though, Economic Recovery reads more like the TALs I've smelled than a perfume... which makes sense given the premise.

 

Earthy and herbal-sweet on skin, then it grows darker (muskier?) and more bitter over time. Much like the hedonic treadmill at the heart of capitalism! Or something like that.  The end result actually smells more like a perfume than it did in the imp, probably the patchouli coming to the forefront. 

 

10 years later, this has aged very nicely.