Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab • All Saints • Fragrances

Where To Buy?

*TOP REVIEWER* LadyMedb on 1/23/2007 1:57:00 PM more reviews by LadyMedb

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Other, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

This goes insanely soapy on me for nearly the first hour, but then afterwards (miracle!) dries down to a beautiful and mysterious floral incense - a little dry, a little powdery, slightly potpourri like, very sweet and compelling. I think my skin reacts to the lily of the valley, but then my natural chemistry with rose and frankincense takes over, and the whole thing becomes balanced and sensuous. It smells like one's hair smells after one has been in a room with rose incense. It's very beautiful, and I'll be wearing it, but I do need time to let it dry down before I go out.



EDIT - I just couldn't take the long dry-down. One lippy off. What a heartbreaker.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Maximina on 3/31/2006 12:18:00 PM more reviews by Maximina

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Based on a venerable French pontifical incense blend: monastic frankincense and myrrh, Damascus rose, Russian gardenia, cassia, and lily of the valley wafting on a chill Autumn wind. A celebration of the glory and suffering of the saints and matryrs of the Church.This is insanely gourmand both in the vial and on the skin. I must have an imp of the older version b/c the bread note (more like lemon scone note) is there loud and clear. All Saints makes me think of New Orleans and those fried doughs though I am sure the connection is probably a malapropism of me with the name. In the vial it is fried dough mixed with the smell of lemon cleaner from Bourbon Street ... not a good thing but not the worst either. On the skin the bready note stays for a while and then morphs into a pretty, clear, gentle, sweet, zesty floral. Eventually it becomes a soapy floral which is really shower fresh yet musky at the same time - sort of like pot pourri. Totally unexpected and rather nice. Mild tempered. Breath deeply and the incense note is there although not immediately apparent on my skin at any stage.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* nancybridget02091979 on 3/19/2006 10:36:00 PM more reviews by nancybridget02091979

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

Incense and Rose. All Saint's a rich, velvety scent, which makes me want to snuggle close to someone near and dear telling ghost stories by a campfire before the first frost. It's was a dark and stormy night...

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* haloinrverse on 1/17/2006 2:43:00 AM more reviews by haloinrverse

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

this review is for all saints 2005
notes: Based on a venerable French pontifical incense blend: monastic frankincense, myrrh, Damascus rose, Russian gardenia, cassia, lily of the valley wafting on a chill Autumn wind.

in the vial: the scent in the vial is absolutely no indication of what this truly smells of. odd, since i can usually pick out a few predominant notes at this point. if i had to reach for a description, id say that it smells like a heady spiced wine (?) with a hint of vegetation. frankly, it smells awful in the vial.

wet on skin: it could be that my sniffer is shot, because all i can smell at this point is sweet green rose with a bit of really yummy spice, which i assume is the myrrh and frankincense peeking out. if so, the way the rose (and other undetected notes) tempers them is absolutely amazing.

dry down: this stays nearly the same on my skin after drying down. i do smell a vague floral accord other than the rose. theres a touch of smooth fragrant tobacco.

intended emotions: "A celebration of the glory and suffering of the saints and matryrs of the Church."

invoked emotions: i grew up christian (but not catholic) so i dont have much knowledge about saints or the particular incenses that are associated with different situations. it definitely puts me in a fall mood.

verdict: dark, smooth and beyond beautiful. im sometimes wary of incense scents because they can be harsh or boring. once applied, theres nothing off about this scent.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

metaldog32 on 11/12/2005 11:55:00 AM more reviews by metaldog32

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

All Saints-2004 version

I got this late last year..or maybe it was early THIS year..from a wonderful forumite...this was one of the very first fragrance oils I ever got from BPAL..and I waited for the right time of year to wear it. November 1st has come and gone..and I have been wearing All Saintsoff and on since then..trying to figure out if what I "thought" I was smelling..well..was accurate..at least to my nose.

Well..enough stalling..I have SO many more wonderful smellies to try!!!

________________________________________________________________

Initial sniff:Notice..I said sniff..not sniff from bottle opened..no..I just mean sniffing the bottle. Yeahbutnobut put it aptly..All Saints sort of reminds me of Rose Cross...something about the frankincense and myrhh obviously..and this is what had me stumped for so long..I THOUGHT they smelled similar..but I wasn't sure if it was actually true..or just me and my wonky imagination. Glad to know..some other people made the same association.

Sniffed from open bottle:Okay..so it smells very resinous..yep..the frankincense and myrhh...interestingly enough I also get a floral..but not so much rose..more lily..and the buttery/foody note some people register clearly with the 2004 version..I don't really get that much at all...just barely. But I do remember when I smelled this the first time I got it..I registered the buttery/foody note immediately..hmm..maybe my nose is broken???

Applied wet on skin:Incense/resins are forceful..yet beautiful..and interwoven in that is the rose/lily..and here at this stage..at the tail end I do register indeed that buttery/foody note!! Most dominant here are the resins and that buttery note..not so much floral.

Couple of minutes drying on skin:Incense still here..but now the floral is warming up into the mix a bit more prominently..again..I get more lily than rose..if I inhale deeply the buttery note is gone and it is replaced by a bit of smoky sweetness..I don't know if this can be attributed to the lily or rose...it is beautiful though...

Drydown:Incense with a touch of smoky sweetness..and the lily/rose wafting in and out softly...

I did a comparison of All Saints and Rose Cross. On me All Saints had more of the lily making it's presence known..so although they did share a similar feel..they are two definitely distinctive fragrances. Funny..on me Rose Cross is the more diminutive of fragrances..while on my sister..she just radiates that fragrance beautifully.

Lasting power is very good...7+hours..and throw on me is impressive.

Bottom Line:All Saints 2004 is a beautiful incensy blend perfect for fall and winter. Think I might have found my scent that encapsulates autumn to a "T" for me..a definitel keeper.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Scarlettfish on 10/19/2005 10:49:00 PM more reviews by Scarlettfish

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

2005 version

Reviewing this again because it is the reforumalated Halloween 2005 version.

This is just as gorgeous as the 2004 version, although slightly different.

The bread top note of the 2004 version is gone. Rather, in the wet stage, this is a full and luscious rose blend, with a bit of lily there too. Overall, I found this far more floral than the 2004 version, but the drydown is oddly similar. The incense really comes out after an hour or so, and it smells like exactly like flowers sitting in church at the altar, surrounded by wafting incense. It's just as lovely and atmospheric as the 2004 version, but is probably slightly more floral and I don't get the hint of the Eucharist that I did in the 2004 version. I loved 2004, but 2005 is even better

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Scarlettfish on 10/2/2005 8:30:00 PM more reviews by Scarlettfish

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

All Saints is a very appropriate name for this scent because it smells just like a church. Fragrant incense, with whiffs of the flowers that sit on the altar. I can't pick out a particular floral, except perhaps for lily of the valley, because they are well blended and convey a sense of flowers rather than one specific flower in itself. There is something vaguely foody about this - I agree, almost like bread baking - which just adds to the almost sacred nature of this blend because it is very reminisicent of the Catholic communion. It's really evocative and beautifully blended. Definitely a good autumn-y scent.

NOTE: This is a review of the 2004 formulation. The scent has been reformulated for the 2005 Autumn LE collection.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rydenfan2 on 3/24/2005 7:44:00 PM more reviews by rydenfan2

Age: Unknown   Skin: Combination   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

I wish this wasn't a limited edition. In the bottle, it has a butterscotch note mixed with incense. On the drydown the butterscotch note retreats and all I smell is sweet smoky incense. One of my favorite BPAL oils!

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* shriekingviolet on 3/12/2005 3:01:00 AM more reviews by shriekingviolet

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

Wet this smelled incredibly buttery which wasn't what I was expecting from the description. Butter, a bit of smoke and dry leaves. The butter notes backed off once it was dry though, and the smokiness was kicked up several notches and some of the floral notes began to peek through. Didn't smell much myrrh, but I smelled lots frankincense which bummed me a bit as I'm not too wild about frankincense in large doses as it's a bit too dry for me. The floral notes that I could make out were the lily of the valley and the rose, which really had me thinking that All Saints would not be the scent for me as those are the two floral notes I hate the most. Disappointing because I wanted so much to like All Saints!

Very fortunately, the scent morphed again after an hour or so. The myrrh finall made an appearance and drove the dreadful rose and lily of the valley notes away, creating the most gorgeous incense blend I've ever been exposed to. Smoky, deep, & rich with just the right touch of sweetness. Utterly lovely, and this stage lingered for hours until it finally faded away.


While the opening stages of this blend didn't appeal to me, my bottle of All Saints' is definitely a keeper! So glad to have it!

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No