Blood and Judgement So Well Commedled Pefume Oil by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Blood and Judgement So Well Commedled ($23) is part of the Lilith 2015 limited edition perfume oil collection, created to celebrate the birthday of the daughter of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's (BPAL) creative force of nature, Elizabeth Barrial. I say force of of nature mainly because of how prolific she is in creating a myriad of scents that continue to bring me back each year to acquire a few more. BPAL's catalog is truly staggering.

This year I wanted to venture outside of the traditionally Halloween influenced or gourmand scents and expand my horizons, which resulted in taking a chance on Blood and Judgement so Well Commedled. Here is a glimpse of what inspired this particular blend:

This year, Lilith started cultivating a love of Shakespeare, especially Hamlet. Man, this kid loves that play. I assumed, when we started talking about Shakespeare’s works, that she’d love the comedies, particularly Midsummer Night’s Dream and all its attendant fairies. Nope; it’s all about the mopey Prince of Denmark and his teen angst. 

When she started at her Shakespeare summer camp this year, one of her teachers asked which characters she liked best. She replied, “Horatio.”
“Horatio? But he doesn’t have many lines, does he? Why do you like him so much?”

“He’s Hamlet’s best friend, he’s always there for Hamlet, and he’s the only one that doesn’t die.”  A little kid’s interpretation of Hamlet’s BFF. A scent of kindness and devotion, friendship and loyalty.

Lilith watching Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet with her trusty sidekick, Wednesday. (Source)

Notes:  soft brown leather and brushed suede with bourbon vanilla, toasted almond, tonka bean, and amber.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this one, having not tried any of BPAL's leather scents. I'm a fan of amber and almond seemed fairly safe, so I tossed the dice.  And, I won. This one plays nicely with my skin chemistry and it truly smells like suede to me:  soft, brown, comforting, and unisex.  

I cannot tell individual notes and it does not morph wildly on me, although reviews on BPAL's forum are all over the place. Some people smell gasoline, some cherry almond, and there were more than a few comments on it smelling sharp, but I had none of those issues. There is no accounting for skin chemistry, I guess.  My favorite comment from the BPAL forum:

"There's a touch of sharpness from the bourbon vanilla and/or almond if I get close, but basically I'm trailing a cloud of "I am a good person" smell." -a little too imp-ulsive

I like mixing my BPAL oils with jojoba oil and applying them on still damp skin fresh from the shower, and when I do that I get an all day but soft fragrance. Blood and Lust So Well Commedled does not overwhelm even straight from the bottle and has good longevity but low throw.  I'm very happy I stepped outside of my comfort zone with this one, definitely a nice addition to my collection.