Black Lotus

This perfume was purchased in an effort to construct a collection of 4 for life. In purchasing this perfume, I was attempting to find a rose or red-flowered scent. Indeed, I found this scent to satisfy my need for this field of fragrance. Initially, I was hoping to conclude my search at 3 perfumes. However, I wanted to provide focus to a more feminine side of me by purchasing a perfume that would be feminine or non-binary in nature. Thus, I looked to a scent that I personally associate with femininity: roses. In searching for a perfume, the cost was important to me as this smell was to be the position of a casual and personal romantic scent that I wanted to portray. At first, I found this perfume to be complex, but several scents stand out. Otherwise, the cost of 90 from Sephora was satisfactory to me. Roses are mixed with leathers when you smell the cap of the bottle. Otherwise, this scent mixed well with my skin into the leather side. I don't know if the smell is considered musk (I haven't tried to smell physical musk) but it may conclude on the skin as a musky skin that alludes to the aforementioned roses. A note for the spraying of this perfume: this perfume has a long spray time compared to other perfume bottles. Hence, you get a lot of perfume from one press of the spray. Two different ways to mitigate this so that perfume is not wasted is to slowly press it as you wave the spray over the desired part of skin. So, the neck was easier to use this motion as I just have to simply wave my hand, with the bottle in hand, while looking up so that I could spray a good amount of perfume on a wide area of real estate. The other method was to press the spray halfway onto one portion of the skin, such as the wrist of one hand, and then spray the other half onto my neck. If you want to have a perfume that reminds one of roses, then get this perfume. I also recommend this perfume to masculine people who wish to take that first step into a more feminine perfume.

For me this is an EXOTIC ROSE fragrance. I love rose fragrances, from light and airy to deep and intoxicating cords...Rose perfumes is something I am drawn to. I decided to wait to write a review for Floral street perfume, this is a London based fragrance company, relatively new and their fragrances are very contemporary. I visited their Covent garden store last January and their 'floristas' are very knowledgeable and know great customer service, warm and inviting. So that was a BIG PLUS. Since I love roses I was immediately drawn to Black Lotus and it was love a first spritz. I usually wear spicey, deep, floral fragrances during the colder months and Black lotus would have to be the Sexy Rebel Rose that I was looking for. This perfume is really not for someone who prefers the sweet gourmand because this is a mature bold scent. The saffron opening could get bitter at first but when the fragrance settles the deep spicey Rose comes out, I could not detect the pepper. There is a sweetness in Black lotus, but it is caramelised sweetness which goes well with the leather cord. The leather cord tied with spiced sweet rose for me is very sexy. The musk that some reviewers can detect might come from both saffron and leather cord. Black lotus is a fragrance that also requires patience. It evolves, and I love the projection and the longevity. This smells amazing within time and best worn during colder months. The heat will overwhelm this fragrance, but cool weather helps his fragrance to radiate.

Bit of an odd one out in Floral Street's lineup (possibly explains the disproportionately negative reviews...) but a welcome addition nonetheless. The basics: Strong leather and rose initially, which I enjoy. The patchouli shyly emerges after about half an hour, possibly sweetened by the cherry. I don't get any of the other listed notes, though this isn't necessarily a bad thing (sometimes I enjoy simplicity lol). Fades to a skin scent after around 4 hours, which is pretty decent longevity in my opinion. Reminds me of: You've found yourself in a bar where a Crowbar cover band has just finished their set and dozens of overheating, leather-clad moshers are making a break for the smoking area. Though you're sat at the bar with your whiskey and cherry coke (a single, since you wanted to be "sensible" tonight), the venue is small enough that you can smell the rose perfume of the women as they inch past you with a polite "'scuse me". You note with amusement that there is patchouli incense burning behind the bar, probably to cover up the sweaty aftermath of the mosh pit that you were too scared to jump into. You promise yourself that you'll join in during the next set.

Caveat: I love woodsy incense fragrances and resins. Leather is fine, tobacco is great. As touched on by other reviewers, this one will definitely be a hit or miss. For me, this is a hit. This one is very dual in nature. It has on the one hand a smoky resin with some pipe tobacco and the leather on me is not overwhelming. I am getting more of an incense vibe. On the other hand, we have some fresh juicy cherry and that hint of violet that welcomes spring. It's not quite 50/50%. The smoke does tend to overpower but the hint of fruity/floral comes off to me as a strawberry incense. Because it's surrounded by smoky tobacco and resin, it just makes it even more fresh and creamy like a berry doused in sugar and cream. I hope more than anything I can get away with this at work. It really works on my chemistry, as I seem to ignore any aldehydes or white florals and project away anything vaguely spice or stone fruit such as peach and cherry. It's worth a try for you but I really love this and can't stop being infatuated with Black Lotus.

The reviews prove this is not a crowd pleasing scent. Perhaps then, it is a scent for those who care not for your opinion, only seeking to please their own nose. It is reminiscent in my eyes of the dizzying fragrances of the 70s and 80s, not necessarily in smell, but certainly in presence. The scent is best described as a leather, cigarette, dry rose fragrance. There is nothing fresh about it. It cannot (unfortunately) be worn with much success in the summer, so resides firmly in winter or autumn. You cannot wear this if you like to fade into the background, or if you prefer for your perfume to not slap the face of passers by. It will last for absolutely ages, whole days certainly without any need to top it up. Needless to say it is one of my favourite fragrances of all time. I would tentatively go as far as saying it’s the one i could never live without. I just hope that its unpopularity does not lead to it’s discontinuation, as has been the case with my old favourite, decadence by Marc Jacobs.

I am so impressed by this house. I own three of their perfumes- Iris Goddess, Black Lotus and London Poppy. Firstly the bottles are beautiful. They were also designed so that the darker the background colour of the bottle the darker the fragrance. They are also reasonably priced, £55 for a 50ml bottle, with an option of a travel size 10ml for £20. All the perfumes I have tried from Floral Street really bloom on the skin and I think the lasting power is very good. Floral Street list the following "Key Ingredients" on their site - Black Cherry, Red Reppercorn, Saffron Centifolia Rose, Black Violet Accord, Narcotic Musk Flower, Patchouli Fraction, Labdanum, Black Leather. This is a leather scent to me, with the rose and violet adding a lovely floral edge to it. I don't detect the black cherry, which I was pleased about as fruity scents don't appeal to me. This lasts on skin all day, but doesn't feel overwhelming at all.

I love this perfume. To me it’s a super sexy nighttime fragrance - a smoky, leathery, patchouli rose. The notes are blended beautifully; the spices tingle in the opening, leading to a blooming rose, and a dark base of leather and patchouli . It definitely stands out from the rest of the Floral Street line up, so I wouldn’t get it if you’re more drawn to the sweeter florals they have like Wonderland Peony or Wild Vanilla Orchid. But for those that like the heavier leather unisex perfumes, give this a go. Performance is also excellent, I can still smell it the day after I wear it. I really can't understand why this is rated so low. There are a lot of rose/patchouli scents out there that have a solid rating; sure, some of them are better than this, but a lot are not. I think if this was from an 'edgier' niche brand it would rate way higher. Maybe people just don't expect darker scents with this house?

Ya know, when I first saw this, I was really excited. I thought it was a bit different, I know similar things exist, but the note combinations were promising. I bought it. I HATED IT. All I got was ash, sharp, acidic rose and sickly fruit, but I appreciated the strength it had. It's still one of the most powerful ones in my arsenal. Cut to almost a year later. My perfume collection has grown quite a bit. I've had a lot of time to expand my tastes and open my nostrils. The perfume has been macerating quietly all this time. Today I was feeling adventurous and gave it another spritz. It's fabulous, it's enchanting. it's got waxy, creamy, powdery flowers, topped with syrupy cherries. It's got a lovely base of dry, earthy leather and incense and the smell of lipstick or setting powder. On clothes it is more subdued and closer to a chypre-rose smell. but it's such a sensory entanglement, I just love it!

Ignore the bad reviews if this sounds like your bag, I think it's because this house mainly makes perfumes that are much more in the light/crowd-pleaser floral-fruity realm and this smells a little more like something that would appeal to niche perfume enjoyers. Nothing at all wrong with the former, of course, but gotta consider the audience when you see more mixed ratings on here. I get a smoky, spiced leathery violet that still retains a youthful and feminine edge from the prominent rose and cherry. Emphasis on leather and rose, those are the two most prominent. Never feels cloying or syrupy. It's dry and earthy and sexy and dignified. I am pleasantly surprised because until now I've been disinterested about everything from this house, and it seems their core audience doesn't care for it much either. To each their own, I really think this is something rather special compared to the rest.

Got in a Discovery set after a positive experience with a free sample of Sunflower floral. I tried all of the set but kept coming back to this smoky rose.to me, its smells like a bitter chocolate incense with strawberry and musk. I get almost a dark creamy strawberry shake in a cloud of sweet smoke. I love this fragrance. I do well with spicy fragrances. Im not surprised i like it more than other reviewers. Be warned if you dont do well with smoke. A velvety cloud of smoke and chocolate, rose, and berry. I smell very little else on the fragram. No leather or cherry or pepper. There seem to be some balsam notes whisked in with the darkness. I think Black Lotus would be what a succubus would wear to lure you to condemnation willingly. Evaporating into nothingness in a billow of Black Lotus would be my way to go. I consider myself lucky and this is a rival now to my top 2 fragrances.

Black Lotus opens up harsh, pungent, and medicinal. Right off the bat, it reminds me of an oud fragrance from Mancera/Montale. That pungency wears off pretty quick, but this does retain a mildly sour quality throughout the entire wear. I don't get much rose or violet from this. Mainly, I get a dirty, sexy leather. On my skin, the patchouli gives this a smooth, faint cocoa powdery facet that I really enjoy. This is super strong and lasts forever. I wore it on a warm day and I loved it. I even got compliments from a couple of strangers (you can smell this through a mask very easily). This smells even better in cool weather. This is very unique and it is definitely not a safe blind buy. This is a scent I crave more and more...love this stuff.

Wore this from the sampler pack last night and found it not so much overpowering as I did a bit loud. I may have oversprayed, but I smelt it leaving a trail behind me which I did admittedly enjoy. As with my wearing last year, I'm still strong reminded of Guerlain's Encens Mythique d'Orient just that this has less rose and aldehydes. This has a strong, strong does of saffron and spicy pink pepper. It's intriguing and not like much else out there. Even if just stopping by, this is a real treat to test. I may attempt buying a 10mL of this. I wouldn't wear it too often, it's a bit of a special fragrance for special appropriate situations.

This smells pretty straightforward. I get a big hit of saffron followed shortly by rose, pepper and leather. I cant say I detect any black cherry or musk flower (I don't know why they don't just say musk!). First and foremost this is a saffron scent. It is a wonderfully unisex dark scent. The saffron seems to intensify and the rose quickly step back. That's a real shame for me as a rose fan. It fades away with the saffron, leather and pepper at equal strength. This combination of notes smells curiously close to oud to my humble nose. Dry as the desert. Sadly this lovely has only moderate longevity and sillage on me.

Opens with an industrial blast of metal and burnt leather and resolves into a rich dark saffron rose. No doubt the opening deters the timid, but it is worth it for the evolution into a complex dark smoky rose if you can be patient and enjoy the journey. (Similar burnt quality to the opening of All Good Things, but that transforms into candyfloss and talc as its party tricky, whereas BL shape-shifts into something much more opulent). Might conventionally be thought of as cold weather scent, but actually it works really well on a hot evening adding a provocative dose of intensity to proceedings.

Black Lotus is everything I wanted from MAC My Heroine! Caustic, aggressive, unrelenting, but still wearable. It's black as pitch and off-putting in the kind of way that keeps you coming back. Heaps and heaps of bitter and sharp saffron, dry cracked leather, thick patchouli sludge, sketchy black market mineral incense smoke, and just the slightest mercy of soft and sweet rose and cherry. There's also something savory in here, like roasted peanuts. I absolutely love it, it's my favorite Floral Street and has also climbed to the top of my avant-garde perfume list.

Very modem take on a chypre perfume. To me I got a mossy spicy violet note. This perfume is very unisex but if your super girly this frag may end up wearing you more then you it. It’s long lasting and powerful this smell and cut through rain and large crowds. I get a orrisroot/ one moss smell which I think is used to create the leather fantasy note ( I assume this even more as I usually can’t handle the smell of leather ...) do not wear in summer- it’s the perfume equivalent of wearing all leather jumpsuit in the heat.

Sometimes the rose in a perfume can give off a gasoline type opening. I get that with this. But, I have always loved this beauty. It's FSs nod to the saffron, rose, patchouli offering many houses have their version of. In other words, it's not very original, BUT it very good, nonetheless. The rose/patchouli drydown is wonderful. Very sexy and unisex. I love it so much I have an extra FB macerating in my drawer. If you like the notes listed, give it a try.

Punk rock in a bottle, certainly not trying to be a scent for everybody and very unapologetic in its boldness. The leathery metallic notes sometimes overwhelm those dark and sultry variants on cherry and rose, but other times dry down to properly display each note. The perfect scent for a night out at the pub or going to see a rock gig, best paired with a leather jacket, fishnets, Doc Martens and a Sex Pistols tshirt.

Upon first spray I was frankly overwhelmed. Sooo smoky! But 2hrs later I find myself sniffing my wrist again and again, and catching lovely whiffs as I move. I already own Rose Oud by Yves Rocher which in my opinion is very much like Black Lotus, but I wish I had this instead. So warm and rich! My boyfriend won't like it, he prefers gourmand crowd pleasers (I don't, obviously) so I'd have to wear it just for me.

I bought the Floral Street Sample Set from Mecca and discovered this little gem. On me it’s a leathery musky rose (more of a dark red rose) with a hint of cherry. I can also detect oud notes in the dry down. Although it is a heavy fragrance the sillage is not that strong. Definitely for the colder months as you need the dry cold air to handle this scent. One of my new favourites.