C

[journal]

CANDY PHOENIX
limited edition
anniversary 08 

A dusky, effervescent mix of pomegranate and black currant candies, with a dusting of sugared pear and white apple.  

Although it's a sugar scent, it's more fruity/berry and not at all as sweet as I thought it would be. It's very good and definitely in the candy category with SUGAR SCULL and it's very like STICKY PILLOWCASE, only not on the strawberry side.
 

CHAOS THEORY IV: EDGE OF CHAOS
Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct.

Most common allergens have been omitted from the experiment. No pennyroyal, no nuts, no cinnamon, no cassia. Regardless, if you have any sensitivities, please do not participate in Chaos Theory. The contents of the oils are not recorded [that’s the whole point!] and we will not be able to answer questions about specific bottles of CT4 or guarantee that an allergen is not present in your order.

By purchasing CT:4, you agree to absolve Black Phoenix of any responsibility related to an allergic reaction to one of the oils in this series.

Please make a responsible choice, and use caution and discretion when ordering. This is intended to be a fun, exciting project. Please bear in mind that all Black Phoenix oils are made in an environment that contains nuts, both literally and figuratively.


The Chaos blends were created by both myself and Mister Constantine, with a handful contributed by Teddy, so you get an extra dose of chaos!

LXXVII
This one is very fruity/berry and i'm not ruling out some musk in here. And tea. It's a little like DORIAN only with berries/fruits. It's very good.

Glad I decided to play and i'm gonna pretend this is the one that was destined to come to me.

It dries down to pure DORIAN, almost a little too much for me. I'm not really a DORIAN fan from before. Not sure what to do with it but I can always let it sit for a while and try it later. It wasn't that bad, before drydown it was downright gorgeous for a while. 

I gave the roller bottle to ziza. Maybe, if she likes it that much, she gets the bottle for xmas. Ooooor maybe i'll sell it on ebay muahaha
 

MLXXXV (1085)
I think my last shot at the chaos theory just hit jackpot. This one is berry/fruity and I suspect red musk, which was a huge wish with me. I can't say what kind of berries or fruits because it's not strawberry, and it's not in the grape or citrus family either. It's sweet and gorgeous and has me thinking about papaya or something in that direction. I also get a hint of wood, after testing it a few times and comparing it to others (CRAWDADDY DREAM and HORN OF AMALTHEA, the three of them are kinda similar)There is also a tiny hint of bubble gum but not in the lotus way because I amp lotus like nobody's business, so by now it would be, if not screaming, at least talking very loud and very fast. This bubble gum is pink and in the background, barely detectable behind the fruity/musky thing. But I can't know for sure what's in this.

All I can say with certainty is that this is absolutely fabulous and my nose has been glued to my arm for the last ten minutes.

CHAOS THEORY V: RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY V4
The Snake Oil Series

LVIII (58)
it's pretty powerful and I can say right now that I don't get snake oil from sniffing the bottle at all. My thoughts go to teak or some kind of exotic wood though. On I get a little bubblegum.

CLXII (162)
a little green and a little strange but I get snake oil after drydown although it keeps the green. I was thinking grass and leather for a second. On a snake oil base of course.

 

 

CHRYSANTHEMUM MOON
a little lunacy 

Your attention is diverted from the pleasures of the Midway and the curiosities within the colossal 13-in-1 by the pressure of a long fingered and lily-white hand on your elbow. You turn and see a woman staring at you. Her hair is raven black, and she possesses all the fragile beauty of a fine porcelain doll. Lazily, she hands you a gold-dusted, sun-yellow chrysanthemum. She tosses her head towards a small indigo and crimson striped tent that stands just off of the Midway and gestures for you to come closer. Her scent is bewitching, almost intoxicating: a sensual incense of crushed mums, red ginger, and pulsing musk. You are overcome with a surge of desire, and like a silent siren, she compels you to follow.

As you approach the tent, you see that softly glowing lanterns illuminate a gilded wooden sign that reads, “Chrysanthemum Moon”. The tent is unlike any other that you have seen in the Carnaval: it is tiny, small enough to hold one or two bodies in comfort, and as you pass through the entryway, you see nothing at all within the space save for a framed piece of ragged parchment that reads,

“Then Helen, daughter of Zeus, turned to new thoughts. Presently she cast a drug into the wine whereof they drank, a drug to lull all pain and anger, and bring forgetfulness of every sorrow. Whoso should drink a draught thereof, when it is mingled in the bowl, on that day he would let no tear fall down his cheeks, not though his mother and his father died, not though men slew his brother or dear son with the sword before his face, and his own eyes beheld it.”

As your eyes pass over the black ink, the ground before you abruptly opens like a hideous yawning mouth, revealing a pitch black stairwell that leads directly underground. Turning back to find your guide, you realize that she has vanished.

Still clutching the golden chrysanthemum, you descend into the earth on well-worn steps of grey clay. The only light comes from the bottom of the stairs: a guttering oil lamp that stands as a sentinel before a heavy wooden door. You push it open, and move into a vast, dimly lit room. The ceiling is low and intimate, the walls are terraced with wooden berths and riddled with shadowy alcoves, and the air is thick with leaden brown opium smoke that hangs thickly over a seductive mixture of red musk, body-warmed perfume, and hypnotic Eastern flowers. Ornate braziers of burning charcoal are filled with smoldering poppy tar that punctuates the gloom with bursts of strange, surreal flames.

As your eyes adjust, you see that among the thick, plush cushions and elaborate brocade blankets strewn across the floor, bodies writhe. Some lie in hebetudinous repose, heads thrown back in quiet delirium, others sit transfixed like crouching beasts. Flashes of fire burst in tiny circles of bloody light as metal pipes are lit. Sluggish, slurring voices coalesce into a hypnotic susurration. Your mind becomes unfocused, your thoughts abstracted. The scents, the sounds, and the darkness envelop you, and you find yourself falling - falling endlessly into a dream within a thousand dreams. 

I know I shouldn't test these things when I have a migraine but I couldn't help myself. At first it was very overwhelming and I was thinking intoxicating but now, after drydown, it has to be one of the most gorgeous i've had the pleasure of sniffing yet -with a possible exception of RED PHOENIX. They're not alike at all even if they have the red musk in common though. This one is much more sofisticated and complex.

I'll test it from skratch when i'm not on migraine medication but the fact that I wasn't put off in spite of that tells me this is one of the best buys ever.

COUNTESS WILLIE
the district

Sophisticated, dramatic, well-traveled, glamorous, and worldly, Countess Willie V. Piazza, owner of the French Studio, was a trendsetter in style and fashion. Countess Willie was an educated woman, a patron of the arts, and possessed an impressive library of rare volumes. She featured many historic jazz musicians in her House, including Tony Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton. Unlike many of her counterparts, she was known for having a kind heart and a generous, loving nature. She was fiercely protective: when a patron of her establishment, the nephew of a prominent New Orleans cleric, committed a heinous act of sadism against one of her ladies, Countess Willie shot him dead.

Chocolate plum musk, red musk, amaretto, candied fruits, and red ginger.

Her first impression is strange and made me think about vegetables like celery or parsley or something like that but it didn't take her long to melt into my skin in heavenly fruity red musk. Mm gorgeous is your name, countess.

 

COUPLE CONSULTING AN ENPON
Orange blossom, blackberry, amber mint, and red sandalwood.  

Ooh minty! It's better than I expected though, it's little head shop-y actually..

second try and I don't know where I got the mint from because I sure don't get any now. I do get the head shop though, and a sweet something that is possibly blackberry since that's the only sweet thing on the menu. It dies down pretty quickly. Third try and I get red musk on SMUT level. It's absolutely gorgeous and also the only Shunga that fits me.

 

CREEPY 2009
limited editions
halloweenies

A return of 2006's Ridiculous Scent! As creepy as Spooky was spooky, this is the scent of butterscotch-kissed, caramel-smothered red apples spiked with a blast of coconut rum.

Apple and caramel. This one is a very nice apple scent.