Philopannyx

[Seajewel]

Photos like this remind me why I named my child after a night goddess. Sweet ink black musk and sugared violets with lavender, deep purple tea roses, champaca absolute, red benzoin, 13-year aged patchouli, and myrrh.

[whipwaif]

oh this is just beautiful. immediately I pick up the sweetness of the inky musk, resinous benzoin, and VIOLETS. 💜

 

the patchouli is there, but to me it's soft and grounding. the labbies weren't kidding when they said sugared violets, but it's not cloying in the slightest. after letting it settle, I'm able to pick out the rose and champaca more distinctly, but not really getting the lavender and myrrh. (my skin eats these) but do not fret, every note blends so beautifully here it makes my nose cry happy tears. 

 

overall it's a delectable creamy floral with a dark & sticky base. perfect for the transition to teenager-hood, and for goth date night lol. glad this was a blind buy!

 

 

[Jenjin]

Wow! Beautiful! this is addicting, can't stop smelling myself. I can see this becoming a signature sent for many BPAListas. Hauntingly gothic, sexy and feathery feminine, the opening is elegant and resinous. Once it settles, the notes dance together so magically, i'm seriously loving the wafts of champa incense swirling. I'm getting classic vibes from this, but its never powdery or overpowering. Perfect for nighttime romps of all kinds, date night, wanderings or drippy, black candle burning. Slather this to give yourself those exotic queenie priestess vibes, romantic and timeless like a midnight eclipse. So far i've declined a bottle upgrade. While I do admire its vampy, seductive elegant notes, panny is a little TOO heady for me. I will definitely keep sampling my decant before the lil's go away, just.in.case.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Jenjin

[starbrow]

There is something very classic about this blend and I don't know if it's all the sophisticated florals, the purplyness of it all, or the way the notes come together to make Good Perfume. This is giving me Old Hollywood siren, very feminine and elegant, smoky and with kohl-rimmed eyes. In that sense, Philopannyx absoutely hits its mark: it is a shadowed black-and-white beauty, playing with shades of purple and flowery touches to bring out even more of its depths.

 

I think the violets are being a little aggressive for my taste, so I don't know if I need a full bottle, but I really love the black musk and aged patchouli grounding it all, and the roses for once are in excellent harmony with everything else. I don't smell much lavender here, but I do get the, erm, unfortunate red benzoin band-aid effect emerging on my skin after some time. The champaca and myrrh are playing nicely, but the violets and benzoin are not, and in the end, those sabotage Philopannyx for me and my skin. Maybe you'll have better luck!

[Tamarinda]

With my body chemistry, Philopannyx smells more like a mood than anything identifiable. I cannot isolate any of the notes. Then again, I have no idea what violets smell like, so maybe it smells heavily of perfumey violets? 

 

Either way, I agree with Starbrow that this is an old Hollywood scent. This is Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa in Casablanca. It is heady, romantic, with a dark melancholy. 

 

Philopannyx is also aggressive, with ridiculous sillage and wear time. I don't think I tested it too heavily. Only two dips of my decant stick. But lemme tell you. This lasted well over 24 hours. The left arm of my cardigan still smells of it after three days. I put that cardigan on yesterday evening to visit my compost bin and the smell is so strong that it infected my arm and I could still smell this perfume even when I took off the cardigan.

 

Not really sure how I feel about this. I'll try it again in two weeks or so.

[Irish Sea Mermaid]

This may be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever smelled.

 

It’s sweet but almost smoky with the thread of incense. There’s also a hint of the “juiciness” I find in The elephant is slow to mate. But instead of a “red” scent  it’s definitely Purple!

 

I can’t stop sniffing myself! Definitely getting a back up bottle! 
 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by Irish Sea Mermaid

[patina]

The inky black part is gorgeous. It's got a soft brushed by a raven's wing feel. The sense of purple fruit is good too.

 

This is very perfumy, surprisingly perfumy for a Lilith. It must be the champa that makes me think there's jasmine here. It doesn't smell like jasmine exactly, but it's close enough. Also I think my chemistry might not be playing nice with the lavender. Boo  It's still gorgeous, just a bit "scratchy."

 

Now to age and see how it works.

 

The comparison to The Elephant is Slow to Mate is apt, though this is somewhat less over the top. That one also threw me off a bit with how very perfumy it was.

 

Edit: If I didn't know better I would swear up and down that there's vetiver here. There's no char but the patchouli may be standing in for vetiver.

 

Months later:

Much better. Before it was screaming perfume, now it's Violet jelly with soft roses and maybe a hint of woody patchouli. Of course dark resins and black musk turn to candy on me.

Edited March 4, 2022 by patina

[Fefi]

Have you ever smelled the Nag Champa incense by the brand Satya (The one in the blue box)? This smells very reminiscent of it so if you know the one and smelled it you can get an idea of what this will smell like. 

I don't really get any lavender at all, but I do get the sugared violets that come in waves and the champaca for sure. The rose blends in with the patchouli too (which isn't very potent at all) and overall this smells really, really lovely and it does have some lasting power, I can smell it HOURS after applying a small amount, and has medium throw. 

[rivetted]

UGH

Philopannyx is just so gorgeous smelling in the bottle.

 

inky dark blue & purple. so lovely.

 

unfortunately the very first time i tried to wear this on my skin (when it was fresh from the mail....) it turned to soap on my skin. 😭

 

whhyyyyy

 

i will be greedily holding on to this and re-testing every so often...... i hope with some more ageing on this that my skin chemistry maybe works better with this one.....

[zankoku_zen]

Red benzoin, roses, musk and smoky resins. This is basically a darker red/black musk to me. Medium throw, good wear length.

[VetchVesper]

Anyone else getting a Lucille Sharpe vibe from this?  Not the same, but for me, it scratches the same itch. I think it's the gothy roses, perfumey floral quality, mixing with the resins. Lucille Sharpe if she lived in the 80's and was really into The Cure.  More in your face and heavier on the incense---and on the eyeliner. I dig it.
 

Nicely blended.  A little scratchy, from the resins, and powdery from the violet and black musk. I really like the way the champaca is mixing with the roses.  It's sort of plush velvet and soapy hippy (but in the best way?).  Very interesting and not something I've smelled before. Can't wait to see how my bottle settles in.   

[groovyrooby]

This went through a lot of stages on me, and I loved them all. Started woody & spicy - like lavender & licorice, deep purple. Just a hint of floral. Then it mellowed into a soft, muffled wood, and while I was sad to lose that trace of floral, I was contented by the thought that I was making peace with myrrh. But oh gosh, the final dry down of this was sweet, sugary roses, much like The Hierophant and the The Empress. Not too dark, but maybe a little brooding. Unapologetically.

 

It smells like part teen angst, part teen zeal, embraced and touted proudly. This is one of my favorite Liliths this year. I will probably go big on this one.

 

[tinyvulture]

Here’s the black musk I recognize from In Night When All Colors to Black are Cast (one of my fave), and sugared violets – I’m such a sucker for sugared florals. There’s a whisper of sweet lavender, and the cola-like benzoin. Black as night but sweet and comforting, this one. So, so pretty. I’ll have to wear it to bed and see what my dreams are like.

[LavenderCoffee]

I worried about black musk stomping over everything here, but I need not have, since my skin loves champaca and the musk is forced to play second fiddle. The overall effect of this blend for me is a soft violet champaca musk over patch and dark dramatic roses. Torn about upgrading it and running out of time to decide! 

 

ETA: Oh hey look it's 2 years later and I did indeed get a bottle. This is ridiculously gorgeous - there's a huge rush of sweet lavender tinged purple floral in the wet phase that I don't remember getting when I first acquired this, and it just keeps getting better as it wears. Black musk and champaca should never have worked for me, but that delicious base of patchouli and resins is perfection and everything just clicks. It's also very big scent and I always put too much on, but oh well 😅

Edited March 4 by LavenderCoffee

[Beary Strange]

In the bottle: noticeable roses, but not harsh ones, along with myrrh and patchouli

 

Wet: myrrh, lavender, and champaca are at the forefront at this stage. I also smell something sweet that could either be the benzoin or the sugared portion of the sugared violets. Not really getting much musk or violet itself right now.

 

Dry: as this dries down, the roses start to really dominate the blend (without going harsh, which ❤️), but I am also getting violets, and I can still smell the myrrh. The black musk also showed up and it sits in the background, adding to the ambiance, along with the champaca and patchouli. The benzoin isn't really there for me on the initial dry down, but starts to show back up over time, adding a pleasant sweetness to the scent.

 

This is really beautiful, and I would say a darkly feminine blend. I definitely get beautiful goth villainess from it. And I love how it's so rose forward, which I would usually hate, but the rest of the blend calms the roses down to a point that I can enjoy them, instead of feeling like I'm being suffocated by them. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Beary Strange

[Little Bird]

Philopannyx is such a huge letdown to me.  I should love this based on the notes.  I love dark, resinous florals, but I don't get any resin or floral here.  This is like black musk single note on me, and it goes super sour, dry, dusty, and powdery smelling on my skin.  I get no florals, no myrrh and no patchouli.  I don't know if something is off with my bottle or what.

[alyelle]

In the imp: Sugared violets, champaca, benzoin and a scattering of rose petals.

 

Wet: Sugar dusted roses over a smooth base of myrrh and patchouli, top notes of champaca

 

Dry: This has such a weirdly amnesiac quality to it - I've worn it about four times and can simply never recall to mind how it behaves the first few minutes of wear. Thank goodness for written testing notes! It settles down into a blend of rose, patchouli, violet, and all things good, and lasts for around 6 hours depending on the weather (it seems to fade more quickly in the heat). Medium throw, at least for the early stages of morph.

 

Stars: ★★★★

[Lucchesa]

Violet and champaca are Notes I Avoid so I wouldn't have tried this if it hadn't been frimped to me.  It's actually surprisingly lovely.  The violets are more bright than powdery, and while the violet and rose combo is definitely old fashioned, it's not old lady.  In fact it's kind of a curious blend of classic floral perfume and headshop incense.  LavenderCoffee's description nails the drydown for me:  soft violet champaca musk over patch and dark dramatic roses.  Which is not my thing, so I'll be passing this decant on, but I can appreciate its beauty!