After my disappointment at hearing that the Black Baccara was permanently closing down, I decided to try out some samples from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. I was overwhelmed by both how close the samples were to the descriptions on the website and how many I genuinely loved the smell of.
One particular scent called The Chicken Legged Hut, based on the tale of Baba Yaga, intoxicated me so much that I bought the full 5ml bottle of it with the second lot of samples I ordered. I just can't get enough of it (and my husband says it really suits me so that's always a good thing).
I have done a little review below of each sample, but do bare in mind that they will smell different on different people and that my descriptions are also really weird since I'm a synaesthete and mainly judge smells by their shape and colour rather than their actual smell sometimes!
Baba Yaga - I can't quite make up my mind about this one as it's a really strange scent. To me, it smells floral and medicinal (like a chemical smell) with something sharp and fresh poking through.
Black Lotus - A very strong, almost overpowering scent on me. Darkly sweet and little fruity.
Black Pearl - A very strange scent which I can't make up my mind up about either. I definitely get the coconut and hazelnut that's meant to be there as well as a neutral soap scent. The only bad thing is that I think I'm allergic to it. I get an itch wherever I put it on my skin. I've always said that I was allergic to coconut, but no-one believes me!
Bliss - Smells like sugar cookies in the bottle and rich milk chocolate on my skin. I like the smell although the constant smell of sweet chocolate can put me off food when I'm wearing it which isn't very good. Maybe a good scent to wear if you're on a diet! Haha.
Blood Lotus - Smells dark, floral and electric in the bottle and, on my skin, gives of a light but strong nostalgic smell which is very fruity and sweet, almost like a child's fruit drink.
The Chicken Legged Hut - My absolute favourite so far. Both in the bottle and on my skin, it's smells like strong spices perfectly mixed with the heavy smell of honey. The 'sun-dried thatching' is definitely there too in the form of a burnt, woody aftersmell. It's a decadent, indulgent, almost ticklish scent.
Djinn - A strong, masculine scent. I love the initial smoldering smell, but the scent turns soapy after a minute on my skin which I'm not too keen on. Also, people think you're saying that you smell of 'Gin' unless you spell it out!
Event Horizon - I mainly bought this because of it's name (I love the film with the same title and a science fiction themed perfume was too fun an idea to pass on). To me, it's a strong, purple and red smell. It's quite close to the smell of a traditional perfume for my usual taste, but it's very pleasant; dark and fresh. It's not very strong on my skin unfortunately.
Fire For Thy Stepmother's Daughters - A really nice burning scent. A good replacement for Black Baccara's Ancient Fire although not quite the same obviously.
Lightning - A fresh cool scent. Very clean and light.
The Lights of Men's Lives - A strong, fleshy smell with a tiny bit of something sweet like vanilla or spice. There's a hint something smokey there too.
Rumpelstilzchen - My second favourite BPAL scent I've tried so far. A manly, foresty smell with hints of spice and wood. It goes really well on my skin.
The Sea Foams Blood - Does what it says on the tin: a fresh, strong ocean scent with a hint of metal aftersmell. Very pleasant.
Yorick - I really like this one. Fresh, floral and mossy, but somehow almost a bit foosty and musty. A sad, blue smell.
Interesting that you describe the scents in colours :). Green scents often refers as grassy, but I wonder how red and purple smells for you, sweet and little dense perhaps?
ReplyDeleteWishing you a lovely weekend!
Oh, and I'm so looking forward to my purchase I did at your etsy :)
I would say red and purple is definitely 'dense', and maybe fresh for me, but not sweet. Sweet smells tends to look more pink or peach than red to me.
DeleteI just saw your post about the etsy items! I'm glad they all arrived ok :) x
I love how creative the names are! The tale of Baba Yaga used to terrify me when I was a child, but considering it has a burnt, woody aftersmell (my faovourite!), I might face the demons of the past ;)
ReplyDeleteYou made Fire for the Stepmother's Daughters and Rumpelstilzchen sound very tempting too! Great reviews!
Thanks, miss! Yes, Rumpelstilzchen is an awesome scent. I might have to buy the full version actually, I like it so much.
DeleteI have been thinking so long that I should order those perfumes, well.. maybe some day. Bliss and Yorick sound interesting! :)
ReplyDeleteYou should! Yorick is lovely. Bliss is pretty full-on, but it's the best chocolate scented perfume I've come across yet. It must be a difficult scent to make. I guess that's why all 'chocolate'-scented candles smell like soap. Eugh!
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