Sed Non Satiata
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Sed Non Satiata is quite the morpher, cycling quickly through several stages on the skin. The opening is quite characteristically BPAL in that it features a big dose of that slightly witchy house brew of sharp honey, bubblegummy red musk, and headshop patchouli. (It is basically the same opening as in other BPALs such as Bloodlust and Malice). This eau de BPAL comes on strong at first, blasting the sinuses with a slightly headachy mixture of sharp and sweet resin that catches at the throat.

Many people have described this scent as possessing a strong peanut butter facet. But honestly, I think either someone just said this once and now everyone feels they have to repeat it or there is an especially esoteric brand of peanut butter out there that I have not yet inhaled in the name of science. The searing floral honey and resin blast softens about an hour in, turning into a bewilderingly pretty base of creamy vanilla, fluffy musk, fruit, and flowers. The patchouli self-soothes into an earthy, fertile smell that smells more like chocolate than herb, melting down seamlessly into a cushiony musk. Oh dear, time for that cashmere shawl cliché once again, I’m afraid – Sed Non Satiata was born to live in the fibers of your favorite winter woolies.

In the far drydown of the scent, one last surprise – the aroma of salty, warm skin. Although far from dirty, there is something very sensual and earthy about the musk used here. It makes me think of the silty funk of ambergris or hina musk, the Indian attar that mixes ambery resins with ambrette seed, sharp herbs, and aromatics for an effect that comes close to a properly furry animal musk. Sed Non Satiata gains my admiration for performing a balletic turn from headshop to frothy cream to sensual skin musk. In surprising the wearer with its minute twists and turns, Sed Non Satiata is anything but your average indie headshop affair.