Formula 54

[UltraViolet]

Visions of smeared candy red lipstick, torn fishnet and searching, sunken eyes. The scent of an all-nighter: cognac, tobacco flower, dark musk, black rose and clove.

The bottle is gorgeous it's cobalt blue but has a long neck which snakes up and theres a cobalt blue glass ball on top of the stopper. There's also what looks like a stamped wax number "54" on it so it looks kind of like something you'd fnd at an archeological dig almost.
The smell is great. Initially it smells like herby floral cherry, but darker red cherry, sweeter, and smokier. It's such a strange yet addictive combination.
The cherry is very "throw-y" it's so throwy that you don't smell it when you take a whiff of your wrist, but you do smell it when you life your head back up.
This is nice, I really like this blend.

[Penance]

I've been meaning to review this one for ages and it kept slipping my mind, but there's no time like the present, eh?

 

Origin:

 

1/3 oz from the Lab, 1 dram from supervillainess and imps from NorthernMinx and Fairywingmaker.

 

First sniff:

 

The cognac is extremely strong right out of the bottle. It has a very distinctive cheryish brandy kind of smell to it that I'm sure must be what everyone is smelling when they say they get cherries from F54. I can just barely smell a bit of musk and clove under the cognac and, all together, they make one very dark, sexy, sophisticated, expensive smelling perfume. I feel elegant just smelling this. The strange thing is that I initially had no interest at all in trying this one because of the rose and the price involved in trying something that might not work, but I got an imp from NorthernMinx and it as love at first sniff and I got lucky enough to snag the last bottle the Lab had.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Cognac is still the predominant note here, but the slight cherry edge to it is disappearing almost immediately and letting through the tobacco flower and musk. This, to me, smells like a high-end nightclub where a woman in black is sitting in a dark corner, sipping brandy and smoking French cigarettes with red-smudged lips. This is so grown-up smelling and sophisticated that it just floors me. This is totally unlike any other scent I've ever worn.

 

Dry down:

 

This is cognac with a sprinkling of tobacco and clove over a bed of deep black rose petals. Everything about this blend screams debauched sophistication in the best possible way. I feel elegant but not untouchable in this, like I could start the evening perfectly coiffed and made up and end the night with my hair and clothes in disarray with black-ringed eyes and smell the part from start to finish and that is absolutely amazing to me. This is so gorgeous on so many levels. F54 mellows as it dries, getting deeper and richer, like the cognac it smells of and does it absolutely beautifully.

 

The bottom line:

 

F54 manages to be both sophisticated and debased, elegant but not untouchable, at the same time. Everything about it screams debauched sophistication and, strangely enough, makes me feel beautiful in a way that something more untouchable and pristine couldn't. This is sophistication that's been brought to its knees and made even more beautiful through its imperfection. It feels real in a way that so many of my other sophisticated scents don't and even a tiny bit lasts for ages. A masterpiece and one of my most well-loved BPAL scents.

[shelldoo]

wow I knew from the description I would love this scent I love the smokey boozy type it is simply gorgeous. the notes are very well blended. Difficult to seperate them. i can smell the fruity sweetness first I do not know that I would say cherry though. then faintly i smell a smoky boozy type scent. although not like a night club more like an intimate party. on me this is pretty strong and has quite a throw. Wonder how long the scent will last? I wish it were still available as all I have is a wee imp

[Gin]

This is syrupy-sweet, but quickly morphs into bubblegum. A weird, pink, boozy bubblegum. Oddly enough, when it dries down, it's lovely. The cloves pop out over the sweetness and then it goes almost powdery. This is way more sophisticated than I expected. I'm not sure this is something I would buy or wear often, but I'm very grateful to grrrlennyl for sending me the imp.

[scourgeotheseas]

Formula 54

 

I was so excited to finally get my hands on this!

 

In the bottle: Cherry coke and booze. In fact, my first thought was "eggnog?" and I think it was the heady cognac component.

 

On me/wet: Booze, baby powder, and this warm, sexy version of...cherry coke. That fades quite quickly and becomes a boozy, sexy, slightly floral, slightly smoky scent. Wow! Complex and morphable.

 

Drydown: The amazing thing about this blend is the difference between it in the bottle and on the skin. The syrupy sweet bottle scent has been replaced but a richer, sexier yet still sweet scent. That being said, I'm reminded of baby powder when I sniff this on myself. Rather than being a dirty, come hither scent, this one comes off as rather regal on me. Expensive. Grand. I think.

 

I think this is a beautiful mix, but my skin doesn't realize the full potential.

[Belladonnastrap]

Do you guys remember when Times Square here in New York City wasn't quite so wholesome? When a regular sight was hookers on the corner, dirty old men leering and seedy porn theaters? Forumla 54 invokes that. It's such a SEEDY sort of scent, I think its the combination of tobacco and flowers. There's a sense of debauched innocence in it.

 

At first sniff all I could smell was the tobacco flower which really put me off as I'm not particularly fond of smelling like a cigarette. Once the oil hits my skin I get..cherries. Cherries and booze and cigarettes...which basically means I smelled like Humbert Humbert's car after he and Lolita got busy.

 

On drydown any sort of sweetness disappears and I get a strong, almost sicking tobacco scent and nothing else. It's been proven that I have bizzare body chemistry so maybe that's it. Needless to say Forumla 54 isn't my bag.

 

If you like most of Beth's "darker" blends (ie Wanda, Hellfire, Perversion) give this a try if you can find it

[Pixie-elf]

Formula 54... I won this Implet in a contest run by Monet, and I like it a lot.

 

In the Vial:

 

Wet: A little Tart almost, but sweet... I think it's the Cognac. I think I can also smell the black rose.

 

Dry: Wow, this is SO sexy... It's very similar to Hell's Belle in terms of scent. It's sweet, Smoky, and yummy all around! Herby Floral Cherry like Ultraviolet and others described is a good way to pinpoint what it is.

 

Conclusion: This is really good, but, I think since Hell's Belle is so close to this I'll use it once I run out, and only use F54 for special occasions... Being that F54 costs so much I just don't have the money to buy a bottle if it came back... But it's still wonderful.

 

If you want a similar Non-LE: Try Hell's Belle. They're very similar.

Edited April 14, 2005 by Pixie-elf

[sarada]

Thank you to the kind and generous forum members who hooked me up!

 

I was well aware of the lab when this came out, but completely oblivious of the forum. So I missed out!

 

I recently realized that wine and tobacco scents do marvelous, amazing things on my skin, some months after putting those notes on my list of things I was not interested in. While I still dislike rummy smells, wine smells are marvelous indeed, but what really does me in is the gritty, smoky sexiness of tobacco scents. God I hate it when it's burning -- I get very sick around cigarette/pipe smoke, but as a perfume, it's ~marvelous~.

 

The main impression that I get is the clinging scent of clove cigarette smoke to clothing drenched in musky body heat. I really do get the impression of lipstick from this. When I waved it under a friend's nose they picked up the bubblegummy note and it comes across to me as a sticky wet lipstick smack -- but not powdery, happily. I do feel a hint of that cherry bubblegum lingering around the edge, like the imprint of red lips on a glass, but it's not overwhelming. Instead the deep spicy clove scent is the strongest on me.

 

I hope that the samples I obtained will last me awhile as I know we might not get a shot at a scent like this again. There's definitely nothing else like this out of the....260+ scents here that I've tried! But if Hell's Belle is at all similar I'd better hook myself up with some of that and find out!

Edited April 27, 2005 by sarada

[girlmadasbirds]

wow, i love this! cognac with a smoky rose/clove smell... i'm really happy to have been able to try this! now to hunt for either another imp or a 5mL (hey, a girl can dream)

[LunaSea]

I'm kind of disappointed to be in the minority on this one. In the bottle it smells sweet and boozy - good sign! Plus, I like clove and musk seems to like me, so things were looking good.

 

Wet on the skin, the clove starts to come out, with something else - the tobacco flower? Something I couldn't name. However, within just a few minutes it started to turn powdery. But not just straight powder, this floral powder that reminds me of a (rose?) dusting powder my grandmother used to have. And under that, a bit of clove. I think I am just destined to not wear anything with rose in it. Sigh.

 

But I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to try it!

[nevermore]

For the first while on my skin, Formula 54 is lovely - sweet, little alcholic, not too floral. But then it dries down, and all I can smell is rose and smoke. My skin tends to amp up roses in anything, and F54 is no exception. It's a shame - I'd love it if the rose weren't so prominant on me.

 

I'm still glad I got to try this one, but it seems I just can't wear it. Darn.

[violetblue]

OMFGBBQ!!!!

This is just AMAZING! Got an imp from eta:Beth(I had Ultraviolet here when I posted, but looking back, it had to be Beth) and and kicking myself HARD for not ordering it when it was availible!!!

It's erotic, sexy, and just plain KILLER! Spicy without being in your face and sensual with its sweetness. I can't believe it will never be made again!!!

Edited August 14, 2010 by violetblue

[joseybird]

Note: I only sniffed from RHM's imp. She has only a bit left and it's precious!

 

F54 to me has a similar feel as Perversion, although F54 seems more chaotic and dirty. I mainly got tobacco, clove, and something floral, though I couldn't identify the floral from my few sniffs. I love perversion, and I love tobacco, so if this was still available or if it were possible to get ahold of this for a reasonable price, I'd be all for it, but I'm not in a frenzy to aquire some, even though it is lovely.

 

I think Beth mentioned that this can't be made anymore because the kind of tobacco used in it went poof.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - boozy. Mmm, I love my boozy scents.

 

Dry - as it dries I get an intoxicating mix of booze, musk, tobacco and a waxy smell of lipstick. Yeah, this smells like a night in the clubs all right, and it's really delicious. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long at all. I like this an awful lot, but I don't love it, which is good, because I would hate to fall in love with this scent. I think it's the waxy note, which reminds me of those big wax lips, that is putting me off. I'm definitely keeping the imp though, and saving it for nights when I need a litle something special.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[mobilejessie]

I got an imp in a swap just the other day and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. The clove is the only note I can pick out, and that's probably the most appealing part. It smells slightly boozy, slightly incense-like, and slightly something else that I can't place. I'm really enjoying the sweetness of f54, and it's cut nicely by the musk. Plus, my fiancé's response to my shoving my hand under his nose was "oh my god, that smells great!"

 

However, f54 is just a bit "perfum-y" for me in a way that's hard to pinpoint. I really like foody and/or incensy scents, and this has something in it that doesn't appeal to me. I'll definitely try the imp again to see how I feel later.

[donsixgun]

I dont know why, but this smelled like grape on me. Very odd. I guess im lucky that I dont really care for it, cause I know its near-impossible to come by.

[blackrayne]

Wow.

 

I was totally expecting something dark and clovey and musky and expected this to totally hate me, but it is sweet and playful and boozy but not in the sense I expected it to be. Drying down a bit of the clove is peeking out, but it's not very dominant at all.

 

I'm almost sad that I never did get a bottle of this beautiful scent, but I will certainly cherish the imps I have of it.

[spanishviolet]

Yum!

 

Clovey, rosey, musky, amazing. The mixture of the rose, tobacco flower & musk lingers on me for hours, whereas most of my beloved bpal needs to be reapplied after two.

 

This didn't seem decadent to me so much as full-bodied, womanly, intense (never overpowering, but always full of life). Just wearing it made the evening special - I waited to try my imp until a worthy occasion came along, & now I'm glad. I might not pay e-bay prices for a bottle, but I can definitely see why someone with a bit more expendable income than me would! This imp will be treasured for as long as possible ...

[coulrophobe]

I'm still amazed and grateful that I was able to obtain a bottle of F54 without bankrupting myself. I had heard of the lab when this came out, but hadn't gotten around to ordering (and didn't know about the forum) due to a change in jobs, and when I was more stable it was too late... I feel quite privileged to get my hands on one of these rare bottles.

 

Fresh from the post office this morning:

 

Ripping into the package, I smell roses - usually a bad sign for me, but this is different, kind of the wine & roses scent I get from Lilith.

 

Opening the roller bottle (I had it transferred from the cobalt stopper-bottle to minimize leakage during shipping), it smells quite fruity. I know others have said cherry, but I don't usually like cherry... I can't quite put my finger on what this smells like, but it's definitely juicy and red.

 

On skin: A lovely complex blend; the smokiness really comes out on my skin. This manages to be vampy yet refined; I don't get the torn fishnets and desperation from the description. It's definitely dark and sexy, but elegant - not a trashy bit about it. The image that's coming to mind is Angelina Jolie in the black leather evening gown she wore to the premiere of (I think) Mr. and Mrs. Smith - a mix of an elegant cut and a naughty material. F54 is like that strong, sexy, unabashedly feminine, with a gleefully naughty streak. I'll be treasuring this one.

 

[zillah37]

I was lucky enough to get an imp of this from bloodroseflower not long ago. I'd heard about the scent, the rariety of it, and the love for it. I stuck it on the wishlist, but never expected to fullfill that wish. But I got to and I am *so* glad I did.

 

This is warm and sultry and so very feminine. The cherry is there, but it's got this warmth to it from the cloves. And the tobacco just plays so well here. It's very sweet in the vial, but it tones down fast on my skin and just leaves me feeling sexy and powerful.

 

I am definitely going to wear this when I need an extra kick of sexy woman. <g>

[Little Bird]

I'm going to edit this, now that I have my own bottle ($476 on ebay for a less-than-half-full-partial bottle? why yes, I am insane). Now that I can actually slather this oil at my leisure, sit with it for a while, and really study it, it's not as amazing as I once thought it was. Actually, it's pretty fantastic in the bottle and not-so-great on my skin.

 

In the bottle, it's mostly boozy, and reminds me of champagne, with hints of darkness behind that crystal clear booziness. In the bottle - Champagne (maybe with a hint of sour black cherry in the boozy mix), a hint of dark red, damp rose, and a sense that there is something dark and brooding underneath the scent. When I think of 'cognac,' I think of the awful Imp of the Perverse blend, but I love the boozy element in F54.

 

On me, the booze (which I actually like *a lot*) disappears and the perfumey black musk and tobacco smoke jump to the front of the stage, with the slightly sour rose hovering in the background now. Over time, the clove and tobacco flower seem to mellow into something like slightly spicy, dry tobacco leaves. Mostly it's just perfumey black musk with a dry, bitter spiciness underneath. It's actually an incredibly smoky & musky blend on my skin.

 

I want the rose and cognac to stick around and sweeten things up, but I get nothing but warm smoke swirling around black musk after a half hour or so (and black musk is one of my least favorite bpal notes).

 

Still, I'm really happy to finally have a bottle. It'll be fun to decant out and I'll save the bottle in memory of this rarity

Edited May 22, 2008 by Tania

[loveandprozak]

Hmm... I seem to get slightly different things in this than the listed notes.

 

Wet: Cherry. A dark black cherry with some sweet warmth behind it.

 

1 minute - 10 minutes: Heliotrope. Lots of powdery sweet vanilla-like heliotrope dominating the scent. The cherry scent is still here, but it's now definitely playing "second fiddle" to the heliotrope.

 

10 minutes - 1 hour: Clove begins to peak through. It never dominates or overpowers the blend, but instead remains in the background, kind of spicing up the cherry. I might smell a little bit of leather mixed in with the clove. Still predominantly cherry.

 

1 hour - drydown: This scent becomes quite faint and cherry-like at this stage. It's sweet and pleasant.

 

I find F54 to be a very nice fragrance, and if it was available I'd probably get a bottle. That being said, there are quite a few BPALs I like better, so I really would not be moved to pay the tremendous amounts of money people do to get a full bottle of this. I'll probably give another swipe with the imp and then pass it on, without regret, to a friend.

[olympia301]

 

This opens up with a swirl of juiciest red fruit. then it simmers down to a calm, balmy sort of a mix with a lot of suave fatty smell (which is actually an entrancing thing...the best parts of the fatty smell). This is a brash, stable, sharpish phase and it is hard to sort out here as all the notes are demanding your undivided attention. I can imagine there is clove in here as well as the red fruit. There is enough beauty to rise above the fray, but enough chaos to keep it interesting and keep you on your toes.

 

If Formula 54 were to come back tomorrow, would I pay any price for it? If I gave up my all time favorite BPAL so that I could have Formula 54 would I do it? The answer to both of those questions is no. So much legend has surrounded this scent that it is hard to smell it objectively. It is likable, even lovable. I don't get the connection to Perversion except in the most tenuous ways, though. Perversion has a more unified character despite the disparate ingredients, and not so much collision as I smell in here.

 

The drydown is something of a disappointment, it goes to indefinable light clove/incense/resin/hard red candy and ends up cloying instead of making me yearn for the bumptious top notes. However, lest you think the drydown is a failure, there is a very pretty rose note which I can only smell when I go outdoors which holds up the structure. The longevity of this blend should be admired as well. Just a dab has lasted strongly for hours.

 

I think this was a very good scent which fit into the character of the time it was created. I think Beth has become so much the superior perfumer since creating Formula 54 that this one could be looked at as the height of Beth's powers circa 2003-4 but but but...she has gotten far better since then.

 

What, pray tell, could be better? Snow White is one that springs to mind as excelling Formula 54. So I will leave the legend at the landmark. I am very happy I got to smell it once in my life.

Edited November 26, 2005 by olympia301

[gingersnapp]

This is sweet smoky sexy. It reminds me of when I used to DJ and would crawl home at dawn, covered in sweet sweat and clove smoke, limp hair, smeared makeup, and happy as hell.

[Em-]

Cherries, clove smoke and lust.

 

If I could get my hands on some of Formula 54 without having to forgo so many other wonderful things just to apare the dollars from my budget, then I surely would, because I do love this scent.

 

As it is, I am just happy to have tried it. Thank you Oly, for the opportunity.