Vicomte de Valmont

[Finny]

Rake, scoundrel, demon in a frock coat. Devilishly seductive, ultimately tragic; a villain undone and redeemed by love. Based on an 18th century gentlemen’s cologne: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary.

Very masculine, haughty, and sharp.

This captures Valmont completely, someone who cares only for himself. It is a scoundrel in a bottle, haughty, villainous, and of course, devastatingly attractive.

The mint is sharp and cool. The musk is deep, rich. The orange blossom and rosemary add a sharp citrus kick.

I like this, not for me, but on a man it would smell wonderful. Too bad hubby likes the sweet scents. The 13 year old has asked if he can have it though, he says "it is very manly". Edited September 29, 2005 by Shollin

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Yowza that is strong ambergris!

 

After 15 minutes- ::sniff:: This has that olive juice smell to it so it must have oakmoss in it. ::sniff:: yep- Ambergris and oakmoss all the way. This sort of smells like a cross between Bayou and a dirty martini.

 

After an hour- The mint and orange blossom has come out a bit but I still don't smell any of the jasmine, geranium and rosemary. This is not as eye bulging strong as it was when I first put it on but it does still smell like a dirty martini to me.

 

Summery- Shaken, not stirred. I can't help but think of James Bond when I smell this. I am not to keen on smelling like a martini though. This one is getting swapped.

[Nepthys]

I got this as a freebie with my new BPAL shirt but had been thinking about getting it anyhow. It just sounded so dashing. However... sexy as this is, it is complete overkill on me. Just from opening the imp to sniff it and some getting on my finger, then transferred to my collarbone, resulted in a powerful aura of scent that clung to me for hours. It smells very much like a department store cologne and has some delectable notes, but I would only wear this if I could turn down the intensity a few notches. As is, it reminds me of obnoxiously persistent nightclub guys who drown themselves in cologne.

[slave1]

In Bottle: MAN! Sandalwood, musk… mmmm…

 

On Skin: This is the sexiest men’s scent I’ve smelled yet. Beautiful. It just drips “man”. I will be making my husband try this one for sure. I don’t smell the orange at all… but the rest of the scents melt together so well and make a perfect overall scent! Ladies, make your men try this!

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - gift imp from the lab.

 

Wet - this smells very much like commercial men's cologne, and not in a pleasant way.

 

Dry - Ugh, I really dislike this. It smells like cheap cologne and I am allergic to it, just as I am to cheap cologne. I go wash it off…it's still there. Wash it off a second time....now the musk is the most prominent. Wash it off a third time....yep, that's musk alright!

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 1.

[gingersnapp]

This is very, very masculine... not in that fun androgynous way. I couldn't really identify any of the individual notes, but I had bought it for the rose geranium. Unfortunately it didn't really pop out on me with my skin chemisty.

[olympia301]

 

This is indeed the one and only scent from BPAL which I would not consider wearing just because it's too masculine. It is fabulously sexy, long lasting, cool smelling, modern yet very old fashioned (in a highly attractive way).

 

I can smell the lavender and orange blossoms in here and the rest of it all blend so well together that you cannot pull them apart. It smells like some of the high priced "Great Fragrance House" scents without the "got a bottle brush stuck up my sinuses and it's rotating, owwww!" feeling you get from "commercial" brands. Tommy H., Ralph L., and the rest of the bunch just cannot make a cologne this manly which won't hurt your "delicate nasal passages" and last this long.

 

I would say without reservation, that if I wanted to convince a man that BPAL is manly enough for any male, I would give him Vicomte de Valmont, and then become appropriately smug in a thoroughly womanly way.

 

 

That is indeed a portrait of the Vicomte of Valmont.

Edited July 4, 2005 by olympia301

[Lycanthrope]

This is my first BPAL oil review, ever. These little buggers are STRONG. Pried open an imp and put a little on my wrist.

 

In the Bottle:

Sharp, sweet, minty musk. Maybe a hint of balsamic florals. Perhaps a touch of soapiness, but overall... sharp, potent, biting.

 

Wet, on Skin:

The musk sings - it's a very aquatic, wet, cold musk that, accompanied by sharp lavender, makes for a very vicious feeling aroma. I'm liking how the herbiness of the blend rises up, makes a bit of a preface to the cold, chilly pull of the white musk.

 

Drying Down:

As it dries, the floral aspect makes way for the very solid, resonating musk. It appears to sweeten over time. I'm finding it's losing the complexity I liked from before.

 

Over Time:

I am a guy, but I think this scent is too manly for me, in that it evolves and settles into a very green and watery musk that is way too potent for me to get away with.

 

Final Verdict?

Not bad, definitely very masculine, if you're a musk-wearin', predatory kind of guy, which I'm not.

[QueenFae]

A strongly aquatic, refined gentleman's cologne. It's sharp and clean and reminiscent of a father's aftershave. It's a bit too much like stuff you can buy at the drugstore, I'm a bigger fan of the spicier, complex men's scents, like Skadi. But, don't get me wrong, I certainly wouldn't kick my man out of bed if he was wearing this.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Aftershave.

 

In the imp/bottle: This is absolutely a men's cologne. It actually smells of high-end aftershave.

 

On skin, wet: Mint, rosemary, jasmine and white sandalwood. Not bad, but very aftershave-esque.

 

On skin, dry: This seems very aquatic to me, and very clean. I'm almost positive I'd smelled an aftershave very much like this, but I wouldn't even begin to know where.

 

Conclusion: A candle scented like this would be great. I'd definitely buy one. But as for wearing it on my skin? Definitely not. Since I'm single, I won't be keeping this to try on a boy.

Edited June 1, 2008 by Aredhel

[Northernminx]

This is Villain's somewhat more sophisticated cousin and quite a good friend of Mr. Dorian. Between the three of them a woman would never make it out of the house.

 

While initially "department store cologne" this is far more complex than any department store cologne could hope to be. Lavender layers over a spice of jasmine and carmation but these aren't feminine florals. White musk makes this sophisticated and a touch of mint, rosemary, and the faintest hint of sandalwood both soften this and make it masculine.

 

He may not be Dorian, but he's probably the man that introduced you to him.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Cologne!

 

Just On: Definitely cologne.

 

An hour or two later: Oh yah, this is cologne.

 

Around 6 hours: Cologne.

 

12 hours: Faded cologne.

 

Overall: I would love to smell this on my Dad.

 

After reading other reviews: Although it is masculine, I can wear this (I used to dab on my Dad's cologne every so often, so I'm not afraid to 'smell like a guy'). Probably not something I'd reach for often though.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Sharp, extremely masculine scent. Orange blossom, spanish moss, mints, and sandalwood. It reminds me of an extremely astringent aftershave. I can't detect any sort of florals in this blend.

 

On me: This is giviing me a bit of a headache, which I wonder at, because I don't remember having any troubles with these notes before. I'm suspecting that perhaps many of today's modern colonges descend from recipes similar to this, for it smells heavily of the men's half of Sephora's fragrance walls. I might try to convince the boyfriend to give it a shot, but unlike my previous partner this boy is not much into picky perfume oils. If he can't spray it, he won't bother with it.

[loveandprozak]

This one did so little for me, I can't even bring myself to try to break it down note-wise. It smells like a very generic men's cologne, particularly one pre-1990's aquatic craze. It's dry and musky. Definitely not for me.

[teaketcha]

without even trying to get technical in my analysis of this, as i am completely unqualified, i just have to say that i absolutely love this scent. i got it for my honey but started wearing it myself. it smells distantly related to the cologne he always wears (curve) so i thought he would like it (and he does, very much). i want to EAT him when he has it on, but trying it over a hot weekend, it faded off him quickly. wearing it myself, i love how it starts out sharp and high, citrusy and mellows into something more complex and divine and mellows further and lasts into what i THOUGHT was patchouli but i guess is the sandalwood / musk / rosemary / etc blend that wow, i just ... wow.

 

i will buy a bottle of this and make it into a spray for him for sure, that way it will be sure to last on him. its amazing. i just want to eat his face and lick the paint off the walls. this stuff makes me crazy. nothing has ever brought the phrase or desire to "lick paint off the walls" before.

 

i have to add, several people have likened this to dept store cologne and although i said it smells related to curve, it is so much more sophisticated and not commercial. as you would expect BPAL to be.

 

eta 2/17/06: just wanted to follow up on this. i did make a spray cologne for him of this. and it lasts on him now. and he *wears* it! this is my favorite bpal. it was the first bpal scent i knew i had to have, and it was the second one i ever smelled, and its totally perfect. reading the scent description, i would never choose it based on notes NOW, but im so so glad i have it.

Edited February 17, 2006 by ketalady

[Little Bird]

In the vial, I'm assaulted by a sharp citrus smell. I was shocked to find that there aren't any citrus notes listed. It's possible that I'm smelling the mix of orange blossom and moss to get that sharp, sour fragrance. It reminds me of Shanghai, if Shanghai had more of a cool, men's cologne feel to it.

 

On my skin, I really like this, though it is a sharper scent than I'd normally go for. It smells sexy, confident, and clean. This is well-blended and I can't pick out any one of the listed notes. It smells clean and musky (and not soapy at all), yet it's deep and slightly spicy in that way that men's cologne sometimes smell spicy (not in a foodie way at all). It gets a bit sweeter as it sits on my skin, but it never wanders into that too-sweet territory. It has a bit of a dark, mysterious feel about it too.

 

Vicomte de Valmont is one of my favorites of bpal's masculine geared blends, probably because it does smell very masculine. This is one that I'd happily give a sample of to the men in my life.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Little Bird

[BlueStar]

This bad daddy is distinctely male. The lab's description is dead on with this one.

 

In the Bottle: Minty sandalwood and orangey moss. This smells exotic.

 

Wet on Skin: Musky mossy horny little ditty. Warms up nice and comes through as a swirling dervish of male sensuality.

 

Dry down: Wow I thought 18th Century gentlemen were kind of foppy. This is definitely manly and rugged. Despite the jasmine it still smells very male on me. I miss most of the notes once it warms up and dries. I definitely get the moss, ambergris, jasmine, geranium but they are muted and part and parcel to the whole effect which is totally balls out sexy.

[~AmusedMuse~]

Most Definitely masculine and dark and sexy.....Advice, slather it on him and dive in. Musky and amber are the prominent notes here. Whatever else is added makes it the bomb. My scale of 1-5....5

[LyndaM]

On my husband, this smells very similar to Drakkar Noir. Delicious and we both love it. It's just a leeetle too masculine for me to wear, but perfect on him. His favorite BPAL thus far.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - the deodorant my brother used over enthusiastically in his teenage years.

Wet on me - as above, but the orange blossom and mint are present in the background

Dry on me - soft powdery florals, backed by the cleaness of the mint, not what I expected at all.

[urraca]

A classic men's cologne but ten times better than commercial ones because Beth's use of real oils rather than chemicals. Very white-musky. A great thing to use to ween your guy off Aramis

[quikslvr]

Whoa! Way commercial men's cologne/aftershave, upmarket. All citrus and white musk at first. Sharp. Snobby. Very masculine. Aquatic. I feel like I recognize it, but don't know where from. Once it settles down, it's a bit less sharp and more acceptable, though that's when the mints come forward. At turns, I think I'd like this on a man, and at other times, I think I'd consider it too haughty. Hard to say.

Edited October 28, 2005 by quikslvr

[brownbear]

I was testing this out on me one morning and the male friend that I carpool with sometimes laughed at me and asked if I was wearing men's cologne. I told him what it was called and he said, "What? Aqua Velva?" Anyway, it is definitely a masculine cologne type scent. It is also definitely an aquatic type men's scent. I have to say of the manly ones this isn't one that I'd really even care to smell on a guy. There's others that I like better.

[Chas]

I received this as a frimp with my most recent order. It's overwhelmingly masculine. I handed it to my husband, and told him I'd like to smell it on him. He dabbed some on his neck, and wow! This is sex in a vial. I'll be ordering him a bottle with my next order. I love it!

 

Of course, in true guy fashion, he just smiled and nodded. Maybe it's all the turkey he ate today...

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: I got this one because I love oakmoss. It smells like Cool Water for men. Seriously. It reminds me of my high school boyfriend, which I can't decide if that's good or bad.

 

First on: Ok, the potent-ness has worn down a bit, and it's not as cologne smelling as it was in the bottle. It still has that Cool Water scent to it, but I can tell that it will most likely start to fade and change into something else.

 

Drydown: Yup. It still has a base of that same scent, but it's got more of an aquatic tang to it now. It's a really great scent, and I imagine it'd be great on a guy. Unfortunately, it reminds me of the ex, and I think there's too many bad memories there to want to be reminded of him anymore.