Blacker than the Raven Wings of Midnight

[Jennifurious]

The scent of Ligeia reborn: black tea leaf fougere with black sandalwood, opalescent vanilla, osmanthus, 18-year aged Indonesian patchouli, and the suggestion of ancient incense smoke.

This. Is. Magnificent. I will try my best to do it some justice. This is deep dark patchouli with the roundest, most gorgeous vanilla I've ever encountered. It's rich and thick like pudding, I could feel it in my mouth. I know that sounds odd, but I swear it's true. I don't know if it's the fougere or the osmanthus adding a type of floral sweetness to the mix but it's a lovely addition. I've read several reviews alluding to an overwhelming anise note. I don't get that really. It's more of an insinuation. I actually think it's from the blackness of the patchouli mixed with the sweeter elements. Very evocative of its inspiration. This perfume is simply a beautiful revelation. I'm in love. It is just that damned good.

[LiberAmoris]

Blacker than the Raven Wings of Midnight is like a list of my dream notes, but when I first tested it...it didn't hit me the way I'd hoped it would. I set it aside for a few days and tested again today. It opens with a smell that reminds me of tempera paint, a scent from childhood that I've always loved—I think it's something about the way the patchouli and black tea leaf fougere are colliding. That burns off quickly and then it's like the most heavenly burnished patchouli and sandalwood, with the vanilla and osmanthus cutting through the darkness like shimmering beams. The fougere is stunning, and the suggestion of incense is just that—like the smell of incense in a room where it's been burned, but is not currently burning.

 

As it dries down, it's almost intoxicating. Equal parts elegant and earthy, polished and primal. The fougere is gone within twenty minutes, leaving a tracery of tea leaves in the bottom of the cup. The patchouli mingles with the sandalwood and incense and vanilla and stays close. The osmanthus stitches them together with barely-there gossamer. I get no anise or licorice note at all. After a couple of hours, it's a very faint sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla skin scent. Gorgeous.

[Lady_Fire]

This was straight black licorice on me. It actually made me feel slightly sick. Eventually (after more than an hour) the licorice scent faded and I was left with a gorgeous fougere. I never really got the vanilla and there wasnt even a hint of incense. The patch and licorice were the main notes on me. I'm going to let it settle for a bit then retest and pray the anise note calms down.

 

I revisted this today and got much less of the anise scent. I am hopeful that it will continue to fade as it ages so the other notes will come out more. It was more sweet and earthy this time around. Really nice actually. I will give it another test in a month or two!

Edited January 27, 2015 by Lady_Fire

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: This is a first- a scent that morphs just while I'm *sniffing* it in the bottle. First I got the black licorice thing for a few seconds. Then I keep sniffing and something sweet and vaguely fruity emerged. Then it changed AGAIN and became creamy and dusty (the vanilla and incense?).

 

Wet On Skin: The black tea is prevalent now. I recognize this tea note as the one from Time's Infliction Of Eternity.

 

Dry Down: The tea is still the dominant note, but it's lost it's acrid edge, which is great. It's also gained a lemon-y aspect so that, yes, this smells something like tea with lemon. I'm bewildered as to where all those other notes went, though!

 

In All: Low throw. I'm truly perplexed. Those other notes are hiding in there somewhere. I'll let this age and re-test later. I won't object to a "black tea single note". However, given the amazing note-list for this scent, I have to say I'll be more than a bit disappointed if those other elements don't eventually come out to play.

[strahlend]

My first impression was that it smelled a lot like rootbeer. In the drydown it reminds me a lot of Snake Oil in that the dominating notes (vanilla, patchouli, incense) notes seem really similar.

[HerbGirl]

This is the black tea from Furo...that smells like anise/licorice to me. :-( I am glad i got to try it but that tea smothers the other notes for me.

[Myria Jean]

I expected the patchouli to be overwhelming, but it sits in the background elegantly while the black tea fougere and osthmanthus shimmer. There are no harsh edges or heaviness at all.

[lady_pandora]

I didn't actually mean to test this last night. I'd tested Some Strangeness in the Proportion earlier in the evening, it had mostly worn off, and now I was just sort of milling around the apartment and thought, "Hey, why don't I put on one of the other oils in this order, just for kicks." Blacker than the Raven Wings of Midnight smelled the best in the vial, so on it went.

 

Initially, wet on my skin, there was something almost minty going on. I then proceeded to forget about it, wander into another room, and then WHOOMP, I was hit by a gorgeous cloud of awesomeness. It was mostly black tea (with no lemon, and lady_pandora sings for joy), with sweet incensiness in the background. It's a little smoky too. Like Strangeness, it's really well-blended, and it's hard to pick out all the notes at a casual sniff because they're harmonizing so well. This is a sophisticated lady, but she's kicking back. I can't shake a mental image of an alternate plot for "Ligeia," where Lady Li sits smoking in an elegant tea shop, dishing with Rowena about how that mopey boy was never really worth it anyway, and they should go paint the town.

 

The black tea is the earlier stage on me, and then the later stage is mostly the patchouli and vanilla. The patchouli is so soft and round, not dirty at all like patch can sometimes be. Hell, it had the biggest excuse in the world to be dirty, given that the scent is based on a scene where a woman rises from the dead, but it's more of a sexy skin scent here. It blends so well with the vanilla that you can't really tell where one ends and the other begins. I can't make out sandalwood as a separate note. I mean, I don't doubt that it's here, but I can't pick it out, a far cry from Strangeness, where I amped it hard.

 

What's most surprising about Raven Wings is how comfortable it is. I'd been expecting something really heavy and oppressive, again, based on the scene from the story as much as anything else, but instead this is just so damn wearable. It's a goth tea house in the beginning, and cuddly in the end. And more than a little decadent. And relaxing. When I went to bed last night, I didn't even feel the urge to put on my usual sleep oil; I just curled up with my Raven Wings-scented arm close to my face and snuggled in. I really like this. I really like Strangeness too, but intuition tells me I'm going to wear this one more.

[stellamaris]

Whoa. This is awesome. It's familiar but very hard to nail down. Thank heavens, no anise or licorice, just very round vanilla wet, that morphs into an amazing incense perfume. This smells like Greenwich Village in the 1970's to me, it's very evocative, sort of stormy and wet, but also sophisticated and cool. Creamy somewhere too. This is what Mick Jagger's scarf would have smelled like walking down Christopher Street by Seventh Avenue in 1972. Gorgeous.

Edited December 19, 2014 by stellamaris

[patina]

Light and airy black tea. Apparently black sandalwood smells clean to me. This is so well blended I can't really separate the patchouli or vanilla even though they're certainly there and they become more prominent as the scent wears on. I get the same almost-anise sense I get with Nightsbridge. Maybe this has Nag Champa? If Visions of Autumn VII was too smoky-woodsy for you or you just want something that smells like night air this might work.

 

So: night time, darkness, clean, cozy, mysterious

Related Scents: Nightsbridge, Visions of Autumn VII, Noctiphobia, black patchouli, nag champa, The White Rabbit

Edited December 24, 2014 by patina

[fiddlehead]

I was afraid that this would be another patchouli heavy blend. I love patch, but I have enough of it already. I put this on and almost immediately recognize it as something very familiar. Something I really like from BPAL. So as not to ruin it for anyone...

 

 

 

After a few minutes I realized that this reminds me of White Rabbit. This is a more restrained, smoother version of White Rabbit, at least to my nose. I LOVE it! I don't know if it's the tea note, the vanilla or what. Very curious to see if others smell the same connection.

 

[Allumina]

This is interesting and well blended. I had high hopes for this one as I love patch and smoke, but have trouble with amping anything sweet and haven't had luck with a tea blend yet. In the bottle, the Red Lantern note that I noticed when my bottle first arrived has burned off, but there's definitely something suggestive of caramel. On, this morphs pretty quickly. At first, there's a faint note of sweet cough syrup, but thankfully it mostly fades to black tea and sweet incense. (I suspect with aging that cough syrup note will fade more.) On drydown, the tea note is still there, but mixed with the incense and patch. It's really well blended- I'm sure I can probably smell all the notes, but the overall impression is just of dark, slightly smoky, slightly sweet, not too strong incense. Low-medium throw. This will probably age beautifully.

 

I was secretly rubbing my hands together in glee at all the complaints that it smelled too much like straight up licorice, because I love licorice/anise and would douse myself in a anise-tea-incense oil. Sadly, I get zero anise. I guess whatever note is causing that impression for some folks isn't hitting me the same way. Thankfully I also don't get any nag champa, which I'm not a fan of but others also seem to be smelling. (I also do not get White Rabbit from this, but neither ginger nor honey play nice on me, so take that as you will.)

 

This is how I imagine Dorian (which smells like soapy, headachey super-sugar grossness on me) smells on other people.

[riddel]

Oh, dear. This one is not for me.

 

I smell the black tea, patchouli, and something that smells like black licorice, but they're combining in a way that smells... asceptic. Like a hospital. Or rubbery, like bandaids. I don't know how or why, but I work in a hospital and I often come home smelling similar to this. But take my review with a grain of salt. Others are obviously smelling something different. I think, too, that I just don't get along well with tea + vanilla-type scents. I don't like Dorian or White Rabbit, either, and both of those are quite beloved.

Edited December 29, 2014 by riddel

[AmyAngel]

In the bottle, light tea with just a slight hint of anise. Almost floral, and far lighter than I'd expected it to be. On me, much the same. Tea, touch of licorice, starting to smell warmer as it's settling in. So far, so good! As it's drying down more, I'm still getting tea, just a slight hint of smoke, and the anise there keeping it feeling ethereal. It's beautiful. I'm getting no patchouli at all. If I sniff deeply I get a touch of the nastiness that I've discovered sandalwood turns into on me, but the nice parts are drowning that out. After a few more minutes, still much the same, but I think the patchouli is starting to give just a hint of groundedness to the scent. The throw is kind of cooling, though up close it's got a warmer feel. I think this would work for just about any season.

 

I feel like I've smelled other BPAL's with a similar feel, but I'm really loving this one and am glad I went for a bottle unsniffed! Definitely a keeper.

 

Edit: Having slathered this a couple times, I'm still very glad I got a bottle. Even in late dry down it's mostly a light slightly licorice sweet tea with vanilla, and a roundedness underneath from the patchouli, that doesn't actually read as patchouli. Low throw, but it lingers quietly close to the skin for several hours. Very pretty, and I've gotten three compliments on it today!

Edited March 3, 2015 by AmyAngel

[aiobhan]

I don't know what's going on with this on me, but it's turned super sour. Like... it smells like sour greens and plasticky vanilla. So disappointed.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Vanilla and Patchouli dominant. They do rather well together. Sandalwood supports the patchouli. Osmanthus and tea tie things together and smooth the edges. Incense threads through it. It may be a little too much incense for me. Wet: Chalkier in the skin, with patchouli strongly dominant, the other incense lining up in support. The tea is second strongest with vanilla and osmanthus in support. It is too strong for my skin, but would go well on someone with a gentler natural scent. Dry: Mostly sandalwood and patchouli.

[skyelyric]

My first thought opening the decant was 'Good lord, I want to drink this!' There's almost a fruity quality, or the rich syrupy feel that O has, even though the scent itself isn't at all similar. It's really impossible for me to pick out distinct notes in this, it just smells a little incensy and very opulent. I generally amp patch (and love it) so the fact that I can't pick it out is a little disconcerting.

 

The drydown is mostly soft, woody incense, not a whole lot of throw on me, and not a ton of staying power. It's a very pretty scent while it's there, but not something I need to track down a bottle of.

[Haltija]

I just am having awful luck with these Ligeia and Anniversary blends on my skin.

 

I was for sure this would be a winner but alas it was not. Beautiful in the decant and so beautiful on me for the first 15 minutes. I love every single note in this and I love how the black tea almost smells like licorice because I love that in my perfumes as of late. The moment this fully dried and for the rest of the time it lingered on me it smelled like a cleaner. Like some sort of fancy pretty bathroom cleaner! UGH! Will send this decant to a better home

Edited December 29, 2014 by Haltija

[quickdrawkiddo]

Allumina hit it on the head -- this is exactly what I imagine Dorian smells like on everyone else. For me the black tea note was more prominent in the beginning, and then it morphed pretty quickly into a sexy vanilla/incense (and this is from someone with a contentious relationship with vanilla). My first thought was that this must be what people love about Dorian, and my second was that I can see this being VERY popular. Apparently not everyone is having the same reaction I did! Oh well, more for me

[zankoku_zen]

Licorice and black tea. This one starts off as fairly licorice smell, and on the drydown I get hints of black tea and patchouli. It's got a low throw and after an hour I get almost nothing.

 

Dark licorice and soft patchouli.

[theseagrows]

ooh i've been gravitating towards osmanthus prominent scents, and this may be one? at least at first. the beginning opens up with tea and osmanthus and a hint of smoke. it's very tea-like to start and a bit later the sandalwood and vanilla come through a bit and warm it up some. then the osmanthus really seems to bloom even more after awhile, very nice! i don't really seem to get any patchouli, maybe it's subtle in this. i really like this scent, not going to get a bottle, but will keep my decant when i want to reach for an osmanthus/tea scent.

[JasminDreams2010]

Another fan of blacker than the raven wings of midnight! I'm glad because I bought a bottle unsniffed because it had sandalwood and vanilla. It isn't strongly either of those notes but I love it anyway.

In the bottle, it's rather a cool, strong tea scent.

On my skin, something instantly goes "black"- this color description to me perfectly matches the scent. It's dark patchouli but it isn't rude hippie patchouli. It's something like the patchouli in feed me and fill me with pleasure- but it's cut with something musky that doesn't carry the respiratory problems I sometimes have with musk.

 

The effect is indeed dark, sultry hair, billowing clouds of incense, and perhaps the osmanthus or tea note is what adds a little of an olfactory sparkle to it, lending an air of mystery.

 

My personal theory on this piece is that possibly Lady Ligeia never existed, that the narrator had channeled some eerie, Hitchcock/Vertigo/Pygmalion ideal feminine presence- an ideal so strong that it stifled the narrator's actual marriage, compelling the narrator to murder Rowena.

 

This is what that haunted goddess smells like, if only in the unreliable protagonist's mind.

 

As an odd, pale girl with dark hair, it aesthetically suits me.

Keeping.

Edited January 7, 2015 by JasminDreams2010

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Black sandalwood and deep patchouli along with a bit of fougere and a hint of vanilla. The combination of black sandalwood and patchouli remind me of Black Silk.

Wet: The black tea leaf fougere seems to be the most prominent note once this hits my skin. I am also getting some of the sandalwood and patchouli. As usual, the black tea part of the fougere is veering into black licorice territory, but it hasn't turned to full-on black licorice yet. The vanilla has decided to peek out, but it is rather light.

Dry: No black licorice during this phase. Huzzah! The blend is a lot smoother now. I can smell the black sandalwood and the patchouli (which isn't a dirty patch) the most, followed by the fougere. The vanilla is stronger than it was during the wet phase, but it still isn't a main player. I can also smell the incense smoke.

Verdict: I like this, but I am not sure that I need a bottle of this (since it does have a few notes in common with Black Silk). I will probably do a full-day test of this one before it goes away just to be sure, but at the moment, I think my half decant will suffice.

Edited January 12, 2015 by dementia_divine

[EphemeralFey]

In the imp: I get vanilla, patchouli and the faint scent of black licorice jelly beans (not in your face black jellybeans, more like walking into a room that has been gently fragranced by an open bowl of black jellybeans). If I linger on my imp sniff I get hints of sandalwood at the end. While a sweet scent, it does not verge into the territory of foody saccharine sweet.

 

On me: Not super sweet black licorice jellybeans. When I asked the BF to smell this, he said it smelled like spicy floral potpourri that you find at Christmas time.

 

After a while: No morphing, just continued on with the black jellybean smell. Never became overwhelming or super sweet. I got decent throw from my test patch.

 

Thoughts: Not sure how I feel about this. I like the smell, and taste, of black jellybeans and it doesn't smell bad on me. Just not sure if I want to smell like black jellybeans. This imp may get turned into an emulsified sugar scrub scent or whipped body butter scent.

[DevilsCandyCane]

I was really disappointed with this when I first got my decants, but I've rediscovered them some weeks later and it seems to have settled into something quite nice

 

I'm not really a fan of Snake Oil, but this slightly reminds me of it, in a more complex, interesting way. It's got the patchouli/vanilla Snake Oil thing going on, but the black tea just adds a bit of something - I love tea scents The incense smoke comes out for a decent period as it begins to dry, and I love that, it's not headshop incense at all, just a sort of dark, evocative smokiness. I don't really get the licorice jellybeans thing other people have mentioned, and for that I'm grateful! My only complaint would be that it has a little hint of soapiness, getting progressively stronger, which was my annoyance about Fettered in the Shackles too

 

Overall it's nice, but I won't be chasing down a bottle!