The Phoenix, Having Burst Her Shell

[ReallyZeb]

A perfume of freedom, regeneration, and renewal: bitter orange and tangerine with warm patchouli, tobacco absolute, glittering amber, and white musk.

This starts with the bitter orange note which is lovely. Once dry it rounds out and darkens somewhat - the orange is still there but it has taken a woody, masculine turn. The patchouli doesn't make itself stand out although I presume it's responsible for that. After an hour or so I can pick out the underlying tobacco. I can't find the amber or musk at all.

This would smell really good on a man I think, but I'm unsure if it will suit me - but I will keep it to see if aging changes it.

[OctoberGwen]

I was thrilled to see another blend featuring orange, and the combination of notes looked almost too good to be true: it's like a "who's who" of some of my very favorite notes. This does not disappoint.

 

Beautiful deep orange/tangerine over that magnificent patch and a whiff of tobacco to open, then as it dries down I get a lovely, dusty amber. I'm not picking up the white musk per se but I can sense it's there. I do not find this blend to be overly masculine at all, probably because of the sweetness of the citrus combo. I think this is gorgeous, one of my favorite anniversary scents to date. My only complaint is that it doesn't last all day.

[annemathematics]

the TAL attraction oil hooked me on bpal orange scents, then eastern comma hooked me on orange and tobacco.

 

so when I saw this scent, with the listed notes, it was Run Not Walk into my cart.

 

now it's arrived, and it's still settling from travel, but it's lovely. the citrus is bright and sweet and fairly mellow. on my skin, this is mostly patch and musk aka musky patch with a bright glimmer of the citrus notes. it feels like a distant relative of so below (for the patch) and eastern comma (for the citrus with tobacco), although it's very much its own scent. soft and warm and wearable. rather than a newly emerging phoenix, I get more of a cozy nesting feel. I love it.

Edited February 15, 2015 by annemathematics

[aiobhan]

Initial application: Dark, sweet orange and tangerine. Tobacco is sharp (as it is wont to do on me) but not - for the first time - overwhelming. No Amber as of yet. Some spicy patchouli.

 

After a while: TOBACCO NO! It's getting too strong for my tastes. The patchouli is coming out more as well, but it is definitely dominated by orange/tangerine.

 

An hour or so later: spicy dark orange. I think this is nice but I feel like it would work much better on my husband.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Bright orange rind and dry earth. Tart and brown.

 

Drydown: The orange/tangerine blossoms, becoming juicier and slightly sweeter. The earthiness becomes warm and enticing, carried by a touch of oddly wispy amber. The tobacco’s smokiness balances out the juicy orange, while gritty patchouli rumbles beneath.

 

Dry: Oooh! The notes are melding together now and the result is something woody and comforting. Dry, grounded, dusty, and earthy, with the tiniest hint of tangerine. Delightfully complex. It reminds of a relaxed and zen version of the Dodo. Like he went on a month long retreat and found himself. No more anger, no more crazy. Just chill. ...Yep, he’s now a dirty hippy

 

 

8 out of 10 bones

[Violaine]

This is pretty much straight up, perfectly balanced orange and amber to me. It's so nice!

[Myria Jean]

A dark smoky orange that isn't too sweet or too bitter. It's warm and comforting on a rainy day while making me feel like I should bundle up and go play in the mud.

I did not expect to like this - I got the decant for my partner - and now I want lots.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Myria Jean

[Ilex]

I have been looking for a patchoulli citrus scent for a while, there is a soap I like that is orange and patch, and I was hoping for something that matches that.

 

In the bottle I was dubious. Really fakey jolly rancher orange.

 

But, on, another story. I can definitely pick out the tangerine versus the orange, it kind of gives the orange an edge. But its not fruity, the amber is definitely in the house. I'm noticing the amber more than the patch, but both are in play, the patch is a good base note here, it doesn't overwhelm. I don't get any musk (thank heavens). You really do have to like amber though, that is the dominant player, especially in the longer dry down when the citrus receeds.

 

This is excellent in the first while. I'm afraid in the far dry down though amber does what it is wont to do on my skin which is have a play doh party. Which is a pity. I'm glad I have a bottle though, its really fabulous up until then.

[HerbGirl]

Beautiful orange/patchouli scent. I am sure the amber and tobacco will become stronger as this ages but i am hoping it stays just like this, orange and patchouli.

[sunqist]

Mmm. This is exactly what I wanted Eastern Comma to be. I found that to be a bit dusty and overwhelmed by the hay, but this is straight up smouldering dark orange. The patchouli really makes the difference for me. I didn't get a ton of amber or musk, but they're definitely there, making themselves known. I do find that the orange disipates after a few hours, leaving a slightly powdery patchouli, with just the barest hint of citrus if you really snuffle it. I think my best course of action would be to get a bottle and and slather it, reapplying throughout the day. That way I can probably use it up before the citrus notes age out. Yes, that is exactly what I will do.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Mostly bright, effervescent citrus, but complicated by a sweet, slightly earthy base.

 

Wet: The sweetness is much more prominent. At first I thought this was the patchouli or the tobacco, but nope, it's my old friend amber, my first BPAL love! It keeps the citrus from going sour or the patch from going dirty. My goodness, this is delicious. The patch and tobacco are still there in the base, keeping things nicely smoky and mysterious, but overall, I would call this a citrus-amber scent.

 

Dry: Amber, with a surprisingly tenacious hint of patchouli hanging around.

[Atrous]

The bitterness of the orange and the sweetness of the tangerine strike a nice balance.

As this is drying down I can smell patch, amber, tobacco individually but once it dries they all swirl together with those lovely citrus notes dancing on top.

I never do get any white musk but that's okay because this is beautiful just the way it is.

I'm expecting this to age wonderfully.

[Haltija]

This smells like a more tobacco based version of Hunger from the GC to my nose and on my skin. I am not the biggest fan of Hunger but this is actually really pleasant in the decant and when it is wet on the skin. But toward the dry down it turns a little funky and it's upsetting because I adore patchouli and tobacco blends. But sadly this is not for me.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Haltija

[marared]

This smells like Copper Phoenix with patchouli, and the orange gives it the same high-pitched gack that I didn't like in CP either. I'm going to pop it in the closet for a year or two to see if it mellows out with time.

[LiberAmoris]

Yep, The Phoenix, Having Burst Her Shell is good. The orange and tangerine are a great pairing with the patchouli and amber. The tobacco note isn't strong on me, and the white musk is hard for me to even detect, although there's something smooth and soft mellowing out the brightness of the citrus, so maybe that's it. It's like if Sin (minus the cinnamon) and Eastern Comma had a baby!

[Coldfire]

Decant: I get the bitter orange, tobacco and patch dark citrus

Wet on Me: Less of the orange and more tobacco patch

Drying Down: Patchouli with the faintest traces of the orange/tangerine and ghost whispers of the tobacco

Dry: dry patch with that lovely bitter orange and the faintest of tobacco. this is actual LOVE on my skin!

 

Might be bottle worthy!

[zankoku_zen]

I get bitter orange and tangerine on wet, but this dries to a musky amber and patchouli. It's woodsy, feminine, and red-orange in vibe to me. Sort of sassy.

 

I have no idea what BPAL amber note Beth has used in the anniversaries but it really blooms on my skin.

 

Citrus, musk, amber.

[somacat]

I was worried after having a few bad musk/amber experiences, but this was so warm and lovely. Strong orange with spicy (not headshoppy but fine) incense smoking through and rounded by a raspy deep patchouli. I needs more!!!

[radioaction]

There's something so comforting about this scent. It starts out a little harsh (in the cleaner kind of way) but quickly evolves into a complex, creamy blend of earthy patchouli and tobacco and juicy, slightly bitter orange. It's warm and lush with moderate throw. Didn't expect to love this but it proved decidedly bottle worthy!

[stellamaris]

This is just beautiful. The orange and the cold patchouli blend perfectly with everything else, this is smooth and glorious. If it wasn't for Lupers I'd buy 47 bottles.

[Balame]

Sexxxxyyyy.

 

Not being more coherent yet because this is freakin' delicious.

Okay. Deep (sweet-smelling) breaths.

 

Bitter but juicy orange peel with super woodsy patchouli. Like the same "eyes roll in the back of your head" seductive and dark patch that's in La Mano del Destino (probably because it's paired with tobacco, too).

This is pretty much ALL about the orange and patch to me, but if I really concentrate I can find some musk adding to the full, rich quality of this blend.

Then finally I can pick out the amber which is strangely but wondrously sweet, spicy and fierce. Even pulsating, fiery.

 

It's good. So good. You know the picture used for the retail blend, Lucifer? This one?

Well, I was sadly let down with Lucifer. It was a shame because I adore that piece of art and based on the notes - vetiver, patch, amber - it should've been awesome.

But alas, all I got was muddled sweetness in a lifeless forest. Nothing really stood out and it felt surprisingly bland.

 

But this. THIS is something. It's intense, creamy, spicy, woodsy. I feel both heat and cold, passion and power.

This might not be the complete Franz von Stuck painting, but I'll be damned if it isn't Lucifer's entrancing, orange-gold gaze rimmed with darkness.

 

I'm so tempted to get more of this, but I feel like I'm already hoarding too many orange/dark woods blends (Nefarious Plan, Satan & Death w/ Sin, Eastern Comma, Kagema, so shameful stopping now...)

It's clearly a known weakness of mine, but I don't know. When this is fully dry (30 min+) I do lose out on a lot of the... aggression?

The patch isn't "WOODS&BARK&FOREST" but just "some woodsiness" and the orange isn't "BITTERORANGEPEEL" but "kinda' sweet orange."

 

I'm thinking I might be able to keep it in that stage if I use it in my diffuser, though, and my home will smell like sexy woods and angsty fallen angels if that's the case.

Definitely worth a shot, so "more" it is!

 

 

[Geminirubyshoes]

A bottle of this was gifted to me by Heartflood and I adore it. In the bottle it smells like fresh squeezed tangerine juice with patchouli oil but on my skin its an entirely different experience. The patchouli becomes the primary note (I agree with the woodsy deep patchouli that everyone wlse has described). I get the amber a little on the dry down and its a resinous, warm amber not a sweet powdery one at all. The tangerine rounds it out. I can't find any white musk. This is a very different bpal for me and I am enjoying it immensely.

[milo]

Warm resins and spices to me. Nice.

[tinyvulture]

BITTER orange is right. It's not a sweet citrus at all. The patchouli is DARK, earthy. Little bit of warm amber. But mostly, citrus and patchouli, so raw and almost harsh. But I like it.

[Clavis]

Now that it's had a couple years to age...

This starts as a dry-ish orange, not a sweet juicy orange. As it dries a dusty sandalwood comes out with a trace of patchouli warming and spicing it up. The patch isn't dirty, just a warm spice. The tobacco and musk lurkg in the background and giving it a base although they peek out a bit more as it ages on your skin. Overall the scent is a bit dusty and dry but NOT powdery.

 

I like this! It's dark and heady, yet still fresh enough for spring and summer. Many of the BPAL scents work in specific seasons and not so well in others. This one would work well in ANY season. A true year-round scent.