Unsurprising confession time: I feel a deep sense of anxiety and guilt about my spending habits--I'm sure I'm not alone in this among the people who read or write beauty blogs. In this new year, I want to do my best to get rid of the subpar items in my collection, limit my purchases to no more than a couple of items per month, and actually enjoy and review the things I have, rather than lusting after the latest and greatest. While I enjoy what I own, of course, I feel ashamed at how much stuff I've acquired, and how much money, time, and mental energy I've spent acquiring it. For instance, I'm pretty sure, though I haven't counted to be certain, that I have enough perfume samples and testers squirreled away that I could write a review a day for the next year and not run out of stuff to write about.
Yes, it is a hobby, but I don't want to feel controlled or owned by my hobby, and sometimes I do feel that way when I think about how much I own, or read about some irresistible 50% or 75% off sale online that makes me lunge for my credit card. I don't want to feel like an ashamed hoarder when I think of my collection; I want to feel like a mistress of my domain, with a well-curated, high-quality, well-loved collection of scents/lipsticks/eyeshadows/what have you.
Finding myself looking forward to browsing last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales made me feel extra-conflicted about this, and yet what did I do on Black Friday but go out and immediately place an order I'd been holding off on, with the express purpose of acquiring a special sample, Progressus, from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab? Ugh. I'll start working on paring down soon, for real. Anyone else in this boat, or are you all the restrained, thoughtful consumers that I am not?
Price: No longer available, but this was a free 1 mL sample of perfume oil with any purchase made on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday 2013. I don't know if orders placed on that Sunday received it as well.
Samples: N/A
Shipping: See our company overview post about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.
Description from the website: "Make a purchase at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday, and receive a free imp of PROGRESSUS: a blend of Solar oils believed to generate abundance, augment success, and bestow good fortune, including golden amber, honey laurel, heliotrope, saffron, and Atlas cedar."
My thoughts:
Surprisingly soft! Somehow I was expecting this to be a bit sharp from the amber, but it's as smooshy, gentle, and soft as a down comforter. If you're looking for a traditional top-heart-basenote pyramid, you won't find much in the topnote department here.
The clear, reddish oil smells quite strongly of saffron, reminding me of Indian grocery stores, on a deep, warm base of resinous amber and dry cedar. It's a perfume version of saffron kulfi, though much less sweet, more floral-inflected than milky.
The heliotrope adds a flowery almondy-vanilla undertone as the scent dries, and there's a certain herbal overtone that I suppose is either the nonspecific "blend of Solar oils" or the specific note of honey laurel.
Overall, once dried, it still seems like mostly a saffron scent to me, reminding me of Violette Market's Splendor and Magnificence, though less sweet, less "pretty," more woodsy. The dry cedar wood, amber, and heliotrope combine to make a smooth, creamy but non-foody base that the saffron floats on, with the cedar being the next most predominant note to my nose, after the saffron. Lovely, distinctive, neither overly sweet nor overly "adventurous."
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