Black Swallowtail

[fetish911]

Licorice bark with freesia, jungle orchids, elemi, Bulgarian rose otto, and jasmine sambac.

Wet I get a whiff of licorice, and something sweet, the freesia I do believe. This smells fantastic on me! I sometimes can't wear jasmine but this is so well blended I don't even notice it. This to me smells like bubbles . I know that sounds weird, but it for some reason reminds me of a Lush bubble bar. It's nice and strong too. I keep catching whiffs.
As it dries it stays strong and has not morphed. I love love love this scent the longer I have it on. It's such a pretty/clean scent. I'm not sure what the rose otto smells like alone,but I think it's giving this a bit of a softness, while I can still smell the licorice and freesia they just somehow work nicely together. Jasmine I really wouldn't know is in here if I didn't see the notes, so jasmine haters don't be afraid! Absolute beautiful scent. Bottle worthy for me for sure!

[patina]

Beautiful. Licorice bark and freesia are strong on the first application and it's a bit soapy at first, but the soapiness disappears, leaving a clean, pretty scent that is dark and sheer, fluttery almost. The jasmine behaves itself. The scent on the whole is quite sweet.

[kittsu]

On first application it's very soapy, but it dries down and the freesia, orchid and jasmine come out to play. A few hours later I realize that I'm wearing an amped up version of Vampire Tears - which I have a small hoarding problem with...no wonder I like Black Swallowtail. It's Vampire Tears' big sister.

[Balame]

Oof, I’m not a licorice fan, and this is definitely a licorice-heavy blend.

 

Despite that, “sheer” is a good word for it, as patina said. It smells like airy licorice soap bubbles, and for once the florals aren’t making a strong appearance. It has a silvery-black color association in my head and something of a sparkly quality. But it’s not much more complex than that (on me at least).

 

I’m glad I’m not getting beat down by the florals, but can’t say it suits my taste.

[DJ Sin]

In the wet stage it is a very licorice-heavy blend

 

drying down it is morphing to a spicy floral on me. I am glad that I took a chance on this one. Will report later as it dries down more

 

It reminds me of Lysander.....

[FragranceLush]

Weird - I usually like licorice in blends but this is all rich, heady florals to my nose - just the opposite of what everyone else is getting? Weird nose!

[Little Bird]

Black Swallowtail is my least favorite of this year's moths & butterflies offerings. In the bottle and on my skin, this smells primarily of dryer sheets. It's intensely dry, sharp, high pitched, white soapiness. I can smell a hint of licorice underneath the soapiness, but it smells weird and dirty/off in this blend (like the smell of dust when you first turn on the heater in winter). The drydown is mostly the same soapiness and dust, but also something very sour that reminds me of red currant or rosehips.

This is unwearable to me and makes me feel sick to my stomach.

[Leopard403]

This is weeeeeird. But good! I was hesitant because licorice in any iteration usually overpowers everything, but this is so well blended. If I think about it I notice licorice, but it settles down into something just glorious. Not too clean, not too floral This scent reminds me of something, but WHAT? It's a good association, whatever it is. I need a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

You're an odd duck Blackswallowtail. Not going to lie.

 

I get creamy white orchids, licorice, hints of cool freesia and jasmine/rose. By all accounts, I should hate you. In fact with the rose, jasmine, fresia and licorice, the only things missing to the party are coconut and leather and this would be an unbearable blend. In fact, you have enough components that I dislike that if you were a high school girl, you should be the type that I'd find annoying simply based on the description.

 

Instead, I find you more like the high school friend that you came to realize you should find annoying but it strangely quirky and okay in fact. Perhaps best to be enjoyed in small doses.

 

Odd, quirky, licorice.

[SophieCedar]

This is Butterflies Flowers and Jewels attending without the high-pitched notes. Honestly I love it. Completely not bothered by the licorice. If this was a blind bottle test I'm sure I wouldn't be able to easily identify the licorice. Its freesia up-front for me!

[annemathematics]

Initially this is beautiful licorice and the sebstverliebt jasmine being stunning and gorgeous and delicious, but there's a strong bright white soapy presence that prevents me from loving this fully. I don't hate it either, but I have to sit and think about it, waffling and teetering.

 

After an hour, this bright white soapy settles in and the soapy goes away and I love this. I'm hoping that a bit of aging will shift the scent so it's like this sooner in the dry down, if not immediately upon application.

 

I count this scent as a keeper either way.

 

The licorice adds a bright royal purple element and the jasmine a sweet creaminess. My nose only knows that there's rose because my eyeballs read it on the website.

[Astarial]

In the imp, this is floral and watery, with a champagne sort of bubbliness.

 

Wet, it's... fizzy? Like Question Mark, it also reminds me of stardust, but without the tobacco note. I actually can't pick out any of the actual listed notes - just SN Champagne. And it stays that way the whole time.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Flowers, followed by a hit of licorice.

 

Wet on skin: This is a lovely, dark floral.

 

Dried down: Still a sexy, dark floral. I was afraid the licorice bark was going to take over, but it dances in the background and pushes the florals forward beautifully.

 

Throw: This has a little bit of throw. I like it, but it also reminds me of department store perfume at the same time.

 

Verdict: **** I really, really like this, but there's something putting me off from loving it. I'm not sure what. I don't think I'm ready to go after a bottle yet. We'll see how the decant ages, and if I need to get a bottle later, though.

[surlygurl]

This is the one I was looking forward to the most because of the heady jungle florals. Licorice is also a fave, so I couldn't wait to try it.

 

Fresh on, I get a mix of the 2 major components. Individual florals are non-existent. As it dries it is less of a mix and more floral with a powdery sweetness. Maybe I simply don't know what freesias or elemi smell like, but it is a high pitched smell with the licorice bark toning it all down. Until it doesn't. But that's ok, because it is a somewhat sharp but very pretty blend. Just not for me.

[milo]

Heady floral at first. The licorice bark comes out in a bit, and adds a nice dimension to the blend. This is soft and pretty, and quite different from anything I've tried. There is a bit of a department store cologne vibe, but it's still pretty. Something I don't think I'd reach for that often, but I wouldn't turn it down if it happen to drop on my lap.

[mymymai]

• ITI: heady jasmine sambac, tempered licorice, a jumble of florals, and something that reads as slightly animalistic. Intriguing. It's much more feral than I would expect for a butterfly-type scent.

Wet: The jasmine sambac is a bit stronger on my skin, but it's certainly a more feminine variety of sambac. The licorice is more star anise than licorice candy, and the entire scent seems powdered by orchids and a really delightful freesia note.

Dry: The scent doesn't have a great deal of throw for long. Once it has been dried for four hours, I have to be right up on my wrist to detect much. When there, it's the slight animalistic, floral note with powdered freesia and only the vaguest impression of anise.

[Mokiefraggle]

I...really don't get much licorice at all out of this. At least, not anything immediately identifiable as licorice, or even as licorice root, which I know smells slightly different from the scent of the candy.

 

In the bottle and wet, I get a lot of freesia, some elemi (I think; smells a lot like part of the floral in Lyonesse), and possibly some of the jasmine. No rose or orchid--at least, not strongly enough to notice it--which lays to rest my belief I amp rose, apparently. There's a sort of sweet note behind the flowers that might be the licorice root, but I can barely notice it. It's mostly lush, sweet, slightly tart floral on me, not too light, but lacking in heavy throw.

 

Dry, it gets a little less tart, with perhaps a tiny bit more licorice root behind the floral, as it does become steadily more grounded and rounded as it dries, but it's still mainly a lush floral that clings close to the skin. I like it, and I'm glad there's nothing that smells like a rope of licorice to it, though I would've liked to be able to smell more than a trace of licorice root. Unlike the candy, I actually like the scent of licorice root, and was hoping to get a bit of it in here.

 

I like it more than enough to wear it, and be glad I have a bottle, but it's not really quite what I was expecting.

[Lucchesa]

_{I was hoping Black Swallowtail would be really licorice forward, but instead it's all tropical flowers on me, mainly freesia and orchid. The jasmine is well-behaved enough not to ruin this for me if the licorice had been more prominent, but it's not. I'm never able to differentiate any rose. The late drydown is beautiful, with a vanilla tinge and a floaty breath of tropical florals, but I just don't wear tropical florals or white florals or unadulterated florals of any kind, and since the licorice is practically MIA on me, that's what this is.}

[VetchVesper]

Strange and ephemeral.  I do smell the licorice at first, but it's thin and airy, mixing with a light musk that does remind me of, as someone stated earlier,  soap bubbles.  Not "soap" mind you, but specifically the bubbles.   Looking at the notes, I realize its the elemi that is giving it that strange, aldehyde quality.  It's delicate and a bit otherworldly.  There are hints of something darker underneath, but I don't smell recognizable flowers.  This smells like it should be chilled, if that makes ANY sense.  The licorice goes away, and mostly, I'm left with a shadowy elemi scent.  Interesting, but I"m regretting gambling on a bottle.  C'est la vie.  🦋

 

ETA - This has grown on me.  I've finally learned to identify freesia, and I can smell it in the mix.  This is very floral and soft, but it's got a shadowy depth that keeps it from going girlish or prim.  I still can't identify the rose otto and jasmine sambac, but I think they must lend the blend some of that gentle mystique.  I'm also getting a consistent thread of licorice throughout the wear; it's just not the foody/black licorice I'm used to.  It's subdued.  Very nice for spring. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by VetchVesper

[ralenth]

Licorice forward at the beginning, mellows to a sultry, shadowy floral.

[doomsday_disco]

It's orchid and freesia out of the gate, a bit of of licorice bark that's not full-on licorice, and some brightness from the elemi. The jasmine ends up joining the party, but it's not a bully here (at least not from the amount in this tester). On me, the orchid and freesia dominate throughout wear, with the freesia becoming more high-pitched over time, accompanied by the bright elemi.

 

This one isn't in my wheelhouse, but it was still fun to try it. I wouldn't have expected a scent with a first note of licorice bark to not be particularly licorice-y!

Edited January 26, 2022 by doomsday_disco

[skyturtles]

I purchased this bottle as a gift to my mother. The licorice reads more like anise to me in reality, perhaps a result of combining it with so many florals. Usually I'm not a fan of florals, but something about this just works really well. The jasmine isn't overpowering. This is my first experience with elemi, and from what I just gathered, it's similar to frankincense, and I LOVE frankincense, so maybe that's what's pulling everything together for me. In all honesty, I was sad to give this away... If I ever come across it again, I'm probably going to snag it!