Sky City (After)

“Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Sky City (After) Review”

Sky City (After) is one of those perfumes that gives you a clear idea of its style from very little information. The note list is brief, woodsy notes and resin, and the main accord picture follows that lead: woody first, amber second, balsamic underneath. That usually means a fragrance built around texture and atmosphere rather than lots of moving parts. In this case, the available profile points to a scent that wears dark, warm and fairly dense.

What stands out most is how dry the composition seems. Even with amber in the structure, this does not look like a plush vanilla amber or a sweetened oriental. It reads more like polished woods coated in resin, with a soft balsamic undertone giving the scent body and persistence. If you enjoy perfumes that feel shadowy, slightly smoky in mood, or quietly dramatic, this kind of profile can be very appealing. If you want sparkle, freshness or obvious contrast between top and base, it may feel too narrow.

That narrower structure is not necessarily a flaw. Some wearers actively want a perfume that commits to one atmosphere and stays there. Sky City (After) looks like that sort of fragrance. Instead of unfolding through fruit, florals and musk, it seems built to hold onto a woody amber mood from start to finish. The resin note is likely doing a lot of the work here, thickening the woods and giving the perfume its balsamic edge. On skin, that can come across as smooth, warm and slightly mysterious, though not especially transparent.

Performance is one of the more notable parts of the profile. The available wear votes suggest strong projection and, for some users, very long wear. The sample size is tiny, so that should not be treated as a guarantee, but it does suggest this is not a shy skin scent. For shoppers who enjoy presence and persistence, that may be a point in its favour. For anyone sensitive to heavy woods or resinous perfumes, it is a reason to test first and apply with restraint.

This scent also sits in a more collectible corner of the BPAL catalogue. It was linked to the Boom! Studios Irredeemable line, with Sky City (Before) and Sky City (After) noted as C2E2 exclusives. That context fits the perfume itself. It feels less like an all-purpose woody fragrance and more like a character piece, something specific in mood and probably best appreciated by people who already know they enjoy BPAL's darker, more atmospheric style.

As a buying decision, the main question is simple: do you want resinous woods with weight, or do you want a more flexible everyday woody scent? If the first option sounds right, Sky City (After) has a coherent profile and the kind of presence that resin lovers often look for. If you prefer cleaner woods, brighter structure or easy blind buys, this is probably a sample-first fragrance. The public rating picture is mixed, and with such a small amount of user feedback, caution makes more sense than hype.