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joiedecombatSo I caved in and ordered four Black Phoenix samples via eBay, since the lab takes for-freaking-ever to ship. I got the set mostly for Embalming Fluid, but it also included Silentium Amoris, Kurukulla, and Melpomene.
Since the power outages and now the impossibility of actually getting any gas in my car have me not-at-work, I have been experimenting. I'm not clueful enough to be able to identify the various notes in any given perfume, but I am definitely understanding now why there's such a thriving trade community for this stuff.
Embalming Fluid, despite the unappetizing name, I will definitely keep. It's very lemony and sweetsharp, but it mellows out some on my skin and the white musk comes out - or at least, I assume it's the white musk that smooths out the scent. It's a clean scent, sweet but not floral, like lemonade flavored lightly with something exotic.
Silentium Amoris is rose and ylang ylang, not that I know what ylang ylang smells like. It's very, very rose, and it's a good rose, but I'm coming to the conclusion that rose isn't a good scent for me... not because it doesn't smell good, but because it's a sophisticated, mature scent and not really what I want to smell like, in general. Anyhow, this one's discontinued, so it should be relatively easy to trade.
Kurukulla is rose and lotus, and apparently it's the lotus that makes it smell bubblegum-sweet in the bottle. On me, the rose comes out and makes it a rich, fruity scent, but again, rose isn't quite me. Still, I may hang on to this one. It certainly stays on my skin - even after a shower, I can catch a whiff of its sweetness where I tested it on myself yesterday.
Edit to add: I suspect if I hadn't had that shower I'd still be able to smell this - it's still just barely there. I can't speak for the other two but it definitely has more staying power than Melpomene, which is fine since I like it better.
Melpomene is what I'm trying now. It smells very cologney in the bottle, sharp and strong and herbal and masculine. On my skin it gets progressively sweeter, not feminine but less masculine, though still herbal. It "throws" more from my skin than the others - a little dab would probably be more than enough. Haven't made up my mind whether or not I want to keep or trade it.
Edit to add: about nine hours later, I can only barely smell it. It continued to mellow and sweeten on my skin and grew into a nice fragrance, but not one I care to keep. Definitely going to trade this one.
As the fact that I'm posting from home may indicate, my broadband is back. It cut out on me twice last night, once for about twenty minutes and then again at 11:30 until sometime midmorning today. But it's been stable since then, and the TV reception has improved, so I think I'm good. However, my car is almost out of gas and considering that the lines for the stations that don't have their pumps roped off are backed up to the far end of creation, I'm not going to be able to get gas anytime soon. So I called in to work. I feel bad about it, but it's really beyond my control right now.
Since the power outages and now the impossibility of actually getting any gas in my car have me not-at-work, I have been experimenting. I'm not clueful enough to be able to identify the various notes in any given perfume, but I am definitely understanding now why there's such a thriving trade community for this stuff.
Embalming Fluid, despite the unappetizing name, I will definitely keep. It's very lemony and sweetsharp, but it mellows out some on my skin and the white musk comes out - or at least, I assume it's the white musk that smooths out the scent. It's a clean scent, sweet but not floral, like lemonade flavored lightly with something exotic.
Silentium Amoris is rose and ylang ylang, not that I know what ylang ylang smells like. It's very, very rose, and it's a good rose, but I'm coming to the conclusion that rose isn't a good scent for me... not because it doesn't smell good, but because it's a sophisticated, mature scent and not really what I want to smell like, in general. Anyhow, this one's discontinued, so it should be relatively easy to trade.
Kurukulla is rose and lotus, and apparently it's the lotus that makes it smell bubblegum-sweet in the bottle. On me, the rose comes out and makes it a rich, fruity scent, but again, rose isn't quite me. Still, I may hang on to this one. It certainly stays on my skin - even after a shower, I can catch a whiff of its sweetness where I tested it on myself yesterday.
Edit to add: I suspect if I hadn't had that shower I'd still be able to smell this - it's still just barely there. I can't speak for the other two but it definitely has more staying power than Melpomene, which is fine since I like it better.
Melpomene is what I'm trying now. It smells very cologney in the bottle, sharp and strong and herbal and masculine. On my skin it gets progressively sweeter, not feminine but less masculine, though still herbal. It "throws" more from my skin than the others - a little dab would probably be more than enough. Haven't made up my mind whether or not I want to keep or trade it.
Edit to add: about nine hours later, I can only barely smell it. It continued to mellow and sweeten on my skin and grew into a nice fragrance, but not one I care to keep. Definitely going to trade this one.
As the fact that I'm posting from home may indicate, my broadband is back. It cut out on me twice last night, once for about twenty minutes and then again at 11:30 until sometime midmorning today. But it's been stable since then, and the TV reception has improved, so I think I'm good. However, my car is almost out of gas and considering that the lines for the stations that don't have their pumps roped off are backed up to the far end of creation, I'm not going to be able to get gas anytime soon. So I called in to work. I feel bad about it, but it's really beyond my control right now.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-01 10:12 pm (UTC)Also, will be beating Paypal into shape tomorrow and then purchasing Intrigue, Masquerade, and Mata Hari if my Ebay bid goes through. And Highwayman.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-01 10:20 pm (UTC)Some five hours after initial application, Melpomene has smoothed out completely and the herbal tone no longer tries to conflict with the sweetness... it's become a cleaner scent. But I'm definitely going to trade it; at no point does it really grab me, and I think it's still a bit too masculine for me.
Also I'm salivating all over Sugar Skull and Devil's Night from the new set of LEs on the site, but between the fact that I already have an order coming and the fact that they're LEs, I'm trying to refrain. I only have so much spare money, after all. Instead I'm composing a big list of the scents I want to try out, and once I figure out which I'd most like to try (and make up my mind about Kurukulla and decide on whether or not I want to keep it or give it to
no subject
Date: 2005-09-03 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-03 01:39 am (UTC)I'm still experimenting with the BPAL samples to see what agrees with me - my lab order consists of The Apothecary (herbal), Dragon's Hide (dragon's blood resin, leather and smoke; it probably won't suit me but I'm deeply curious), Lightning (ozone and aquatics), The Lion (amber and warm scents), Neo-Tokyo (ozone, bamboo, light florals), New Orleans (jasmine and honeysuckle), Seraphim (floral and incense), Sudha Segara (milk and honey), and Tintagel (lots of elements, mostly herbal/woody - might be too masculine for me, but again, curious).