Black Bar

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

An obfuscating scent, blocking a sharp, startling burst of fragrance: smoky patchouli, opoponax, ebony musk, and clove layered over King mandarin, pink grapefruit, Damascan plum, and cardamom.

I had to wear this one two days in a row to get a good feel for it. It goes on wet with a gritty patchouli blackness- the "dark and dirty" I associate with #occupywallstreet. That fades fairly quickly, leaving a black shadowy darkness. As soon as it starts drying, what shows up?

Juicy pink and red, plump and rich and full. It is lush and shining almost - or would be if the darkness weren't layered on top.

As the pink unfolds to a deep ruddy juicy- blackness sits right on top. So all day I would catch just little flashes of that, hiding behind the steady, sweet shadow that hangs on the skin. Medium throw although I wore it light, lasted about 9 hours for me.

This is very definitely appropriate to the name: the black bar covering up the juicy naughty bits!


Verdict from me: A darker, more contrasted and nuanced relative of Phantom Calliope. And I think I just might love it.

[zankoku_zen]

Black Bar reminds me to Black Supermoon, with some Phantom Calliope thrown in.

 

On wet, its all smoky patchouli, ebony musk and a whiff of cardamom. It's dark and inky. As it dries, some of the fruit starts to pop up like mandarin, plum, and a trace of grapefruit.

 

This is dark shadows over some dark purple citrus. If you loved Black Supermoon, and enjoy dark smoky blends, give this a whirl.

[sarandipitee]

This is a dark, sweetened and smokey patch. Sweet for me because I associate Opoponax with cola. The clove is very present, as is the musk (and it's the musk that can be a little headachey for me). I don't get any fruit at all (even on drydown) but the musk calms itself down so it's more wearable.

 

I still think I'll have to swap this one out though. It's gorgeous if love you smokey, musky patch blends.

[Little Bird]

I wish that I could kick the citrus notes out of this scent. It starts off all plush, resinous, slightly powdery, thick black musk sweetened with the syrupy, resinous opoponax. The patchouli adds a lovely, dark earthiness that's like burning patchouli incense. And then a weird, sour grapefruit comes in and adds a sharp, sour pulse to the whole thing. I want it to stay dark and thick and sweet, but the bright citrus ruins it for me and makes it feel discordant.

[starbrow]

Very, very interesting. The patchouli is super thick and rich, not dirty, and the resins dripping, and the black musk grounds it all almost in a Raven Moon kind of way. But the peeks behind the dark notes are definitely naughty and perhaps not fit for all viewers. Something really tart and sour, and something juicy and bawdy and fruity. I might not have guessed plum, which I was hoping for a big old hit of. But it does smell darkly fruity beneath the obscuring view of the dour patch and resins. I am not sure exactly when I would wear this, but I want to sit with it for a while and see where it lands in my repertoire.

[Madame Mew]

I blind bottled this due to the "dark" comments, which it is! Kind of an evil vibe, which I love. It's really purple/citrus/patchouli.