Black Annis

[lizabelle]

... Black Annis' perfume is a mixture of damp cave lichen and oak leaf with a hint of vetiver, civet and anise.

 

Pardon my pun; this is indeed a black anise. The vetiver and civet are strong and sharp, and the anise is gooey without being overly sweet. It has a good amount of throw and staying power. It actually has a strong woody character to it, and I can imagine someone more masculine could easily pull this off. It actually reads more like something designed for a man to my nose!

 

I have to say that something in here puts me off, and I don't like it as much as I expected to. It's definitely sharp and bold--I don't usually consider myself retiring when it comes to scent, but this is really an attention-getter.

[achildoftime]

If you like vetiver and anise this one is absolutely for you. Vetiver is really quite strong on me, so I'm not surprised it's very dominant. The anise comes through though, and gives it a bit of a bite. If vetiver doesn't tend to overwhelm on you, and you like something that leans deeper and traditionally masculine it might be worth a shot.

[cassiejaynebunk]

Ashes and earth and little sweetness which I wasnt expecting. I dont really get the anise but maybe thats the sweet that i smell. I kind of like it.

[doomsday_disco]

I am afraid of this one. Leaf notes can either smell like bell peppers on me or give me a headache, I am not a fan of anise or civet, and vetiver and I are usually not friends.

In the imp: Anise, moss, and vetiver. I am afraid.

 

Wet: The anise note takes the center stage. I can also smell the vetiver and moss. Then, I get the musky civet.

 

Dry: The moss has decided to come out more, which I think tends to happen with moss notes on me. It’s muskier now, thanks to the civet, a little smoky from the vetiver, and I’m still getting lots of anise, but it’s smoother during this stage of the scent. After a while, it ends up being mostly musky moss, leaf, and grassy vetiver on me.

 

Verdict: Black Annis was not nearly as menacing as I thought it would be. It’s not something I’d wear, but I feel like the description was more intimidating than the perfume oil itself.

[clockworkcrypt]

I love love love this scent

 

Wet: Something deep and what I can only describe as nutty. The anise is peeking through but the vetiver and civet are holding it back.

Dry Down: The sweetness of the Anise begins to peek through, sweet and musky, like a boiling pot of anise in a witch's hut in a swamp. Deep and sweet and wild, with just a hint of that nutty flavour Absolutely beautiful.

After a few hours this becomes a lovely sweet note, with the anise sticking around for the longest. Theres something mysterious and dangerous to this, that just draws me in.

After a few hours this is mostly a sugary sweet anise that hangs close to my skin. It's divine honestly I just want to cover everything I own in it. Every stage of this is distinct yet beautiful.

Edited August 16, 2018 by clockworkcrypt

[Lucchesa]

Like d_d above, I was afraid of Black Annis. But as my tastes have darkened and I have grown to love vetiver a lot of the time, I decided I should really give this a try, since I do love the anise note. What was really scared of, though, was the civet. I tested this alongside Debauchery, my first two civet blends, and just as musk doesn't smell like rutting stags, civet does not bring anal glands to mind. It's dark and musky but the oakmoss is stronger here; there's not a lot of vetiver or anise, but they give this blend its character, a smoky licorice sweetness. I really enjoyed this a great deal more than I expected to and am considering a bottle; its only drawback is that it doesn't have a lot of staying power on my skin.

[Cali]

And here I thought I had reviewed this before! 

Well, the notes certainly scared me, but it sure isn't as frightening as I had anticipated. Expect strong vetiver in this though, that's for sure.

The anise reminds me of what we used to put in our warm milk before we went to bed sometimes. Gotta be honest, got over that pretty quickly, but it sure didn't help I was actually super lactose intolerant. 
Anyway, to me this is somewhat "cozy". A dark, winter night, maybe with dark intentions...? Hm. Masculine, but soft. Sweet, but with this underlying murkiness.

[CharB]

I love this one! Anise is definitely the dominating note, but I can detect a bit of the foresty elements too. The oak leaf, lichen, and vetiver.. Im not entirely certain how civet musk works its magic, but I suspect its what gives the scent a nice rounded feel, and contributes to its depth. 

[IoPan]

Black Annis:

 

I am a big fan of all things black licorice, so I was excited to try this one.

 

In the bottle: I can definitely smell the anise, and it's surprisingly sweet and thick, with a bitter-earthy undertone that’s very appealing to me. Interested to see what this does on my skin.

 

Wet: Interesting… my first impression wet is of sweet black licorice and leather, even though there is no leather note in the blend. That must be the vetiver and civet interacting. It quickly settles into a warm-spicy smell with the anise very much forward. So far, so good.

 

Dry: Interesting… it goes from a sugary, sweet anise to a nice, complex, bitter anise on dry-down. I am getting a little of the oak, vetiver, and civet now that it’s dry. These are very much supporting cast for the anise, which is the real star of the show. It has also lightened up considerably on dry-down, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s so close to one-note on me that I don’t want to just smell like an angry Good ’N Plenty everywhere I go.

 

After 30 minutes: this settles down to a mostly oak moss/oak leaf scent with the faintest hint of vetiver and civet, barely enough to anchor the oakey notes. The anise is still there, but you have to be right up close to pick it up at all. After wearing for a while, it’s an extremely light scent on me, yet still distinctive. The kind of fragrance that will just barely reach another person without overwhelming anyone’s senses. It has a fresh quality to it without taking on that soapy/body-washy character the “fresh” spectrum of fragrances sometimes have.

 

It’s so light on me that I think it’s the kind I’ll need to re-apply a few times throughout the day, but I appreciate it for its distinctive yet unobtrusive character. It’s the kind of oil I’ll wear at writers’ conferences once conferences come back in a post-covid world.

 

It’s unisex tending toward masculine, which is exactly what I love. I’ll order a full-sized bottle.

Edited February 15, 2021 by IoPan

[DiesMali]

HOLY HECK HOW DID I NEVER TRY OR REVIEW THIS BEFORE? OMG. I'm gonna preface this review by stating I need a bottle of this yesterday. 

In the imp: Thick, dark, spicy-musky anise. 

 

Wet on my skin: Thick, dark, spicy-sweet anise with a musky, feral edge to it. Oh, it's gorgeous even at this early stage!

 

Dry: This scent doesn't change a whole lot for the first hour or two. It remains that thick, dark, sweet anise with a feral musk, now with the dark vetiver forest and deceptively soft clumps of lichen and oak leaves, which combine to be quite reminiscent of oakmoss. These are all notes that are generally good to great on me, and SOMEHOW I skipped trying this one for years, even though I got my first imp of it in...2015. Oops. Anyway! I like this even better when dry, because those oakmossy oak-lichen and vetiver notes are *such* a fantastic complement to the sharp, spicy-sweet, feral duet of anise and civet. It's a dark, dangerous, probably seductive blend whose seductive properties I wouldn't mind testing at some point. At least, I'd be seduced a bit if someone I was getting to know wore this. Maybe it'll work the opposite way...? 

Time to go order some GCs this week, I guess! Black Annis can't ride alone.

[torischroeder9]

I tried this a long time ago. Like in 200..7?

 

In the imp: Anise and civet in a black licorice cat pee kind of way. 

 

On my skin:

 

First, though I like black licorice for eating, this is scary enough to make me hesitate putting it on my skin. Civet and anise and a little bit of vetiver, in a "how the heck is vetiver the top note in this perfume" kind of way. As it dries, I get a whiff of drier lichen and oak leaf. 

 

This is really strong and really anisey and really giving a more traditionally masculine vibe (IDK why, last I checked black licorice was not typically culturally gendered) on me. I do not like it. I think this is probably a well constructed and well blended perfume, but it's really just not to my personal taste. 

[LavenderCoffee]

I love anise and licorice root, and Black Annis certainly has a rooty, earthy feel. On my skin, it's primarily a warm musk accentuated by vetiver and anise. There is a nice hint of something cave-y and mossy if I lean in close. A very pleasant scent even though it's slightly feral. 

[AbbyNormal]

Years ago, when I was first learning about BPAL I would have taken one look at the scent description and wrinkled my nose, and if I had somehow been convinced to give it a sniff I would have done it but run away rather quickly. I guess my tastes have changed over the years, or I’ve just become able to appreciate different scents better, and now I’m really happy I tried this one. 
 

In the imp: dirty licorice, but not in a bad way if that makes any sense. It’s dark, murky green (scent, not color), woody and dangerous smelling, with a child’s licorice candy that was dropped in a dirty puddle when they were snatched. 

Wet: this is so much sweeter than the imp would have you believe. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still dark and foreboding, but it manages to be sweet about it. The licorice is still there, but it’s toned down significantly. 
 

Dry: this is fantastic! It doesn’t have a lot of throw but when I put my arm up to my nose I get a light, spicy, musky (maybe the civet, this is my first civet that I know of) with just a whisper of licorice. 
 

This was quite a ride, and now I’m cursing past me for not trying more stuff at the one Lunacy event I was able to attend a few years ago. I kept to my “safe” scents and missed out on so much 😭

 

I don’t know yet if this is big bottle worthy for me, but I’m going to enjoy the hell out of the imp while I can. *edit* I just checked and I have a second imp of this! I thought it was one of my duplicates, and I may have gotten a little more excited than I expected when I saw the second one. At least it gives me a bit longer to decide if I need a bottle. 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by AbbyNormal