Bastet

This is one of my favorite scents of all time, so much so that I wish I could find a non-BPAL dupe so I could turn more people on to it. Bastet has a "cool breeze on a summer day" quality to it, not in a crisp or refreshing way, but in that there's a warmth that's always there but lifted up by the airy softer notes. It's mostly linear, in a good way, once everything warms up and gets going. The lotus in this is a fruity one, reminiscent of classic pink bubblegum. The saffron is warm and airy and a little creamy. The almond is creamy, keeping the composition from being too dry. The cardamom is there, but it's more of a background player, just adding a little citrusy earthy spice. The myrrh is bright and clear, and tones down the sweetness just enough. The Egyptian musk and warm amber really bring everything together and warm everything up. I wear this one year-round. In the summer, I dab on just a drop or few, and the humid air really turns up the creaminess. In the winter, I apply a bit more and the lotus really pops. It lasts up to 12 hours on my skin, fading down to a skin scent about 7 hours in. Edit: I don't know WHAT happened to the fragrance note ranking on here, there must be a glitch or something. Notes have actually dropped off and even when I try and re-rate them as 3, they only reappear with a score of 1.

Layer with BPAL's 'Scheherezade' to get chased down and asked what you're wearing!

In the bottle, the almond gives the perfume an astringent cherry-like scent. On initial application the almond warms up and I get a nice spicy amber-y impression that smells beautifully oriental. On dry-down it's a warm spicy skin-scent that I'd consider it quite seductive. If that was the entirety of my experience with this perfume I would be in love, this would be my signature, and you couldn't pry this from my cold dead hands. In my opinion, the balance of spice to musk is beautiful, and it's blended wonderfully. Unfortunately, this one has a strong play-doh smell on my skin, which several bpal perfumes do :( As an addendum: I've also had friends say it's too musky and animalic for them, or they were put off by the almond/cherry astringent scent in the bottle. So it really is a matter of skin chemistry and personal preference.

The almond in this is pretty bitter and acrid, and the musk is... unpleasant. Sweaty. Grody. Extremely not a fan, especially for the first few hours. But I slept a full 8 hours after trying it on, and I had put it on a few hours before even that, and when I woke up my wrists smelled?? Incredible??? It had morphed over many, many hours into a creamy, delicious saffron smell that was only noticeable with my nose right up against my wrist. So, uh... I guess if you buy it, maybe consider putting it on the night before a steamy morning date? If you're into those? I'll pass, though.

Fragrance Review For Bastet Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Notes Lotus Amber Musk Saffron Myrrh Almond Cardamom Bastet is a pretty G rated and yet lovely Oriental fragrance. It's not complex, it's linear and the scents come through loud and clear but there is hardly any depth or even as much longevity as I like in my fragrances. As it is, it makes a decent intro to Oriental fragrances for beginners. The fragrance is meant to evoke the Egyptian Cat Goddess. She was the patroness of royal families of pharaohs and their dynasties. Cats were worshipped in Ancient Egypt the way cows were worshipped in India. Cats were believed to be magical, and in fact not even cats as we see them today, but supernatural beings who were actually sent by the gods - in this case the Goddess Bastet - to protect the household. The musk note in this scent is like smelling a cat's head. It smells just like a cat when you hold them close enough for you to smell them. Some cats, unfortunately, have that "mange" scent, which I was afraid this would smell like as it's an indie and Gothic fragrance line, but I was pleased to discover this turned out to be a sweet and light floral Oriental amber based perfume. The spiciness in this fragrance is an aroma of cardamom and saffron, ginger and spices. This smells like an Egyptian restaurant kitchen. The saffron is floral but spicy and the cardamom is sweet but spicy at the same time. In addition, there's almonds. A nutty almond scent to complete the "kitchen" scent. Not quite a bakery shop. It's definitely a spice rack scent. The floral note of lotus flower is perfect Lotus or water lilies blossomed along the Nile river in ancient Egypt. They were considered narcotic (like opium poppy) and were used for perfumery, cooking and even just as an aphrodisiac or recreational drug. Egyptians had to walk into the shallow part of the Nile to get to the lotus to collect them. It is the signature Oriental flower. Nenuphar the French call it. The lotus is quite evident at one point during the performance of this perfume. It's a lovely light aquatic lotus. Smells just a bit sweet. The atmosphere is set and it does smell like ancient Egypt, though not quite as evocative as Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermes or Cleopatra by Tocca. The dry down is musk and amber Usually amber and musk create a dark almost oily or rubbery type of scent. The musk is still there and it's as I described - an animalic cat like skin scent. On me this is mostly an amber. The amber is the dominant master note in this fragrance. It's a warm resinous golden amber. Beautiful and aromatic, unisex, spicy, floral and musky. Bastet is a really beautiful perfume if you give her a chance.