[blackrayne]

VILLAIN

A classic Victorian men's cologne: a lavender fougere, with hints of lilac, lime, and citrus musk.

From Diabolus...

*drool*

I think Chris smells divine in this one...classically masculine, a far cry from today's over-produced, artificial-ingredient filled colognes too many men bathe in thinking that it will make women swoon all over them (sorry, the women are swooning from how obnoxiously overpowering you smell! :P ). This makes you want to get up close to the man wearing it and just sniff him for hours.

[jj_j]

I hope Beth doesn't let Ted wear any of the guys' scents she's been making lately. It would have to be annoying to beat away the hordes of women surrounding him, and that's just unfair considering all the work she puts into these scents before they go on someone.

Lavender, but not bitter, astringent lavender. Sweetened with limes and lilac, it's still very masculine, and not just because of the musk. There are other lavender-based colognes out there, but this isn't overpowering, artificial, or common.

[clephan]

This perfume converted Jef from being kind of amused at my fervour for BPAL to understanding it completely! On him it smells sophisticated, elegant and regal, and goes perfectly with a gothed-up outfit. I've ordered him a bottle for V'day :P

ADDED June 10:

I know I've already reviewed this one for when Jef wore it!

But on me, this is pure seaside. None of the actual elements listed get a look in - it's sunny blue sea water with a breeze blowing over it. I can almost hear seagulls.

It's rather lovely though. Makes me want to go to the beach...

This post has been edited by Shollin: 08 December 2004 - 08:34 PM

[cookie]

Woweewowow. This is good on gals, too! Something (maybe the lilac?) helps sweeten it up a little on me. I love lavender fougere, but rarely find it smelling as fresh as this -- its commonly found in dept store men's colognes which - as jj_j noted - are waaaay too strong/chemical-ly (blech). I'm so happy I finally found a lavender fougere that I can wear. Next order shall definitely include a 5 ml!

[Alice Aforethought]

I'm not really too keen on this one on me, but on Simon it is fabulous. A beautiful, refreshing lavender, not too sweetened or overly citrussy, but alive and slightly spicy, with the musk providing a lovely raised-eyebrow-come-hither undertone. Definitely with Clephan on the sophisticated side of it. A sort of vaguely detached amusement there, perhaps? Oh and definitely lacy cuffs.

This post has been edited by Alice Aforethought: 14 February 2004 - 03:55 PM

[Pandorra]

This smells just like the typical men's cologne you get at the dept. store counter. Thats not a bad thing, it's quite nice. Lime? But not strong lime, its definitely balanced with everything else. My dad and mum even liked it, and it was nice on The Man. I can see wearing this to go out with the In Laws or a job interview, etc.

EDIT: I merged this post into the existing Villain review thread. --Shollin

[Lars Thorson]

I have to be honest, my expectations were VERY low for this one... I mean, come on, lavender?!? and lilac?!? in a men's scent??? No F*ing way... shows what I know :D

I actually like it. No notes that I can pin down, but just a nice scent in general, something I'd be comfortable wearing out and about. What really sold me was my GF's reaction: " You, me. Bedroom. NOW" :P

She says it triggers that whole "nose-crotch connection." About a 9.5 on a scale of 1-10. If this scent walked by in a bar she'd have to get up and follow. And I'm not allowed to wear it if I go out clubbing without her.

Also ran it by a couple of male friends after I made it out of the house... general consensus is that every man should own some of this.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that it faded to nonexistence after about 4 hours. May have to carry an Imp to reapply when going out for an all-nighter.

Update:Let a friend of mine use this before we went to the club last night. He's a great guy, but tends to be incredibly shy. Stuff worked wonders for him... the mistresses were passing him around as the playtoy of the night. :D

This post has been edited by Lars Thorson: 30 March 2004 - 10:56 AM

[TygherRayn]

Ahhh, Villain. Jason can be my villain any day, so long as he wears this. Oh, I about knocked him over when we had this on, and it stayed yummy the whole day long. It was simply fabulous. :P

I can smell the citrus in it, and the musk. I don't quite catch the lavender fougere, but that's not a problem really, with how this all blends together.

Having tried it on myself, I can say this is definitely one Jason will have to use up himself. It's nice, but almost baby-wipe sweet on me .. not an appealing thing to say the least.

[Vaniclion]

I. Love. Villain.

This is the one scent, with possibile exception of Embalming Fluid, that I've yet tried that I will /deffinitely/ be purchasing at least a 5ml bottle of.

It smells like a very complex, rich aftershave. It's spicy and yet citrusy and altogether delicious.

I wore it the other day to a family gathering and recieved many good compliments on it, after I shoved my wrist in everyone's face demanding 'SMELL ME!!' :P

I like shocking my family, and gleefully telling them I was wearing Villain gave me a good giggle.

This post has been edited by Vaniclion: 11 May 2004 - 10:46 AM

[hypothermya]

After hearing all of this positive stuff about Villain, I decided that I had to get ahold of an imp for my boyfriend. Plus, who can go wrong with a scent that has lime? I mean, really! (I'm a fiend for anything with lime in it).

When this arrived in the mail, it had leaked aout half of the contents out and I could smell it the instant I opened it up.

In the Bottle

First thing I smell is that pungent lavender smell... I'm beginning to think that this one will give me headaches if I'm around it too long. The more of Beth's scents that I try that have lavender (Twilight, Azazel, this...), the more I'm convinced. But beneath the lavender is a yummy citrus scent, nice and strong. Smells great.

Showed this to the boyfriend and two friends of mine at the same time. Matt, one of the friends, took one sniff and said, "Oh, this is good! Can I eat it?" He even made movements to hide it away behind the couch he was sitting on. When it got to my boyfriend, he gave it a sniff and made minimal comments about it smelling good. Goes to show a difference in taste, I suppose.

Wearing It

When my boyfriend puts this on, it's a very strong lavender smell with a sweetness to it (the lilac perhaps?). The citrus dies out real fast, and the only thing that's left is a musky lavender sweet smell. It lasted about half a day before it was gone, so that's another mark for a man's scent with staying power.

Nice, but not very impressive on him. I'd love to see how this smells on someone else though (although he might just get jealous if I tried). I think that this is another one that'll be going out for trade (or maybe I'll just send it off to Vaniclion if no one else wants a half full imp). Either way, not for me.

This post has been edited by hypothermya: 27 May 2004 - 01:11 AM

[minilux]

I was so excited to get my wayward February order, because I was dying to try Villain. It is as delicious as I hoped, but unfortunately the musk did its usual dirty trick of turning to baby powder on me. So, now I have hopes for Whitechapel which is in a recent order, though if that doesn't work, I may ask Beth if I can commission her to make a Villain without the musk (maybe a Rascal or Scalawag).

[AnimeKitten]

In the bottle: Cheap aftershave

On me: Dries into a nice masculine cologne scent. Fresh and sex, but not quite me. May have to persuade Jos to try it on- take the imp with me to meet him on thusday. If he likes it, he'll get a big bottle next celebation we have

[slotown]

When I applied this one, I liked this combination of floral and musk. As it dried, I started getting a bit of the citrus, tho never very much. At about 45 minutes, it had settled into a fairly traditional musk with nice floral accents. It went over pretty well at the office. Lots of compliaments. By early afternoon, it was down to the musk. No more traces of floral or citrus that I could detect. Still smelled very nice, tho.

Overall, I think this is a safe, predictable scent. It smells great at every stage (wet, dry, fading), smells great up close, and smells great in a passing whiff (or so I'm told). It's traditional enough to wear in any environment. Maybe not exotic enough to go trolling but it certainly won't turn anyone off.

I think this will be a "default" scent I wear when I can't decide what to wear and need to get moving.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: hmmm...interesting. i get hints of the lilac, the lime, and the musk. this is either going to be fabulous on me or be a nightmare.
more to come...
on: this is sharp, but floral. i think i'm smelling mostly lavender, but i could be mistaken.
1 hour later: this is so soft and gorgeous that it is unbelievable. it is nothing like the scent when it was wet. i think that i'm just smelling lilac and it is wonderful.
4.5 hours later: very soft and floral, and only a touch sweet, which is impressive. very nice. not masculine at all.
overall: while this isn't a favorite, i do like it a lot. i won't be buying a bottle, but i'll definitely enjoy using up my imp.

[Bard]

The term villain comes from villein, which refers to the peasantry. In Shakespeare's day, it was the equivalent of calling someone an unwashed boor. I find it oddly amusing that our language has twisted the word over the years to give it an altogether different connotation. Villain--the word--in our modern vernacular contains an element of diabolical charm and sophistication, and Villain, the fragrance is certainly a sophisticated medley of scents. This is a truly Victorian Villain, blue-blooded and black-hearted. I'm rather glad all things considered that the fragrance went that route rather than 'midden heaps and pig wallows,' and so etymology can be excused.

In the bottle: "Mmm... nice." None of the notes jump out at me. It smells, as others have said, very much like an over-the-counter men's cologne. It's striking, but conservative. Sometimes a little conservatism can be good.

On my skin: I still can't pick out the individual notes. It smells lovely, and it feels quite formal to me. Having no ladies present to test the aforementioned "nose-to-crotch" factor, I shall have to save that experiment for another time.

After a few hours: What remains is a dusty scent, reminiscent of gentlemen's talc. It's not at all unpleasant. It reminds me in many ways, of a late night coming home from the theatre. This scent isn't so formal that it would be out of place in a daily setting, but I'll be saving mine for opera night.

Would anyone like to go to the opera?

All around this is a phenomenal scent. Every man should own a bottle of this.

Villain Haiku:
Passing Baker Street--
He tips his hat in homage
to his enemy.


Your humble and obedient Renaissance Man,

Bard

[madame royale]

Villain is Victorian in all of the classic Victorian ways: stiff, proper, buttoned-up. This strikes me as being a scent for a man who cares about his toilette. There’s nothing harsh about Villain—all smooth and soft. Lavender is the predominant note, with the musk giving it depth. Unfortunately, the citrus (lime, was it?) fades quite fast. On me, it smells like expensive Fortnum & Mason lavender soap, on Monsieur Royale, it smells très soigné. I would have him wear this on civilized and formal occasions. His response? *shrug* "Smells good." High praise from him. 5 ml is on order.

[NoirRosaleen]

This is absolutely bizarre. I considered getting Villian, didn*t, and it got thrown in as a freebie anyway.

Wait, it gets better!

In the bottle, it smelled quite lovely - nice strong lavender, with something(s) I couldn*t identify right offhand making a lovely mix.

On boy: Soap. And it lasted five seconds.

On *me*: Soap, and it lasted 10 seconds!

Now, I *know* my body chemistry is different from Daris*, but I swear, it smelled like we*d just come out of the shower after using Irish Spring or something together, and faded just as quickly as real soap does, too. Such a pity...

...and so bizarre!

Off to trade it goes.

Kethry

[Northernminx]

homygod....

I tried this last night before going to bed on me. I was thinking "lavender, feh, it can't possibly be that mascu.." I did not get overly far into that statement as a quick sniff of my wrist erased that thought.

A gentleman in velvet coat and a top hat, cane in hand. Classy, suave, a little dangerous and utterly sophisticated. If this smells half as wonderful on Jake I will quite happily beat the women off him so he can wear it.

[chop-chop]

This scent is filed under "Stuff my girlfriend received from her orders that she has passed down to me." She informed me that it was one of the more mainstream-smelling scents. When I first smelled it a little bell rang off in my head because I smelled it before but I didn't remember where.

After I applied it and wore it for an hour or so I finally remembered what the scent was. It smelled exactly like an old cologne I had as a kid that was from Hot Topic (back when it was a sorta' surfer shop rather than the punkish/gothish it is today).

I spent years lamenting the fact I no longer had that stuff around and now that I found the exact same scent I will be ordering a big bottle of it on my next order (which is still about five orders-for-my-girlfriend away in order to retain the proper ratio of 15 to 1).

Anyway, the actual scent itself was definitely masculine but retains just enough sweetness to stay out of that whole "manly macho male" zone, I was also happy that it lasted a large chunk of the day as well. It definitely makes me feel like I've been sitting at the beach on a windy day.


Meanwhile, at home...
What's with the 15 to 1 order ratio crack? - 8>:O *(|:oc[]~[ ) <-- Computer!

8>:I& O:|)* - It was a charming attempt at humor by exaggerating the amount of oils bought for you as compared to ones bought for me. Hyperbole is an often favored tactic of humorists.

Well I don't care for it! - 8>3O <o3|)* - No harm was meant I assure you!

Yeah, well you better- - 8>:O ~*(|:o - Here, smell Villain on me.

You better hug me you tasty-smelling super man! - 88O| (3|)* - Works every time.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Lime and Lavender. How is this supposed to be a masculine fragrance smelling so nice and pretty like that?

On Me: Oh! That's why! This is rather strong, and the lime and lavender really are spicy and I can almost smell allspice in here as well. I was wrong, what smelled so feminine in the bottle is totally masculine on me.

Happy girl! I like sultry, spicey, masculine scents. This is gorgeous! This is also VERY sexy! I want to smell it on my hubby, but I don't really need to in order to tell just how sexy this would be on him as well. Very, Very, Very sexy! Purrr!

Yup, need a big bottle of this one too!

[Penance]

Got this as part of the lagniappe from my last order received from the Lab. :P

First sniff:

Wow, this is nothing like what I imagined it would be like, based on the description. I can smell a little bit of all the notes in this, which is a bit surprising since there's usually one or two that don't quite stand out to my nose. This blend is simultaneously floral, musky and citrusy and would probably smell fantastic on a guy. :D

Wet on skin:

Very light but also very pleasant. This smells like men's cologne in such a good way, not the way Vicomte de Valmont smelled like generic men's cologne, more in a comforting way that I suspect means it reminds me of someone I can't remember by anything other than smell...perhaps my grandfather who died when I was very young. The musk and lime are prominent, but the other notes are peeking out in the background. This is really nice...I wouldn't say it's sexy, at least not to me...it's just...comforting.

Dry down:

Mainly musk, citrus and lilac now. This is a very comforting male smell for me, which is surprising considering that I had pegged Villain as the oil most likely to intensely disagree with me from this order. I'm glad I gave it a shot instead of passing on it immediately. I don't think my boy will be wearing this one; it seems more like the kind of scent I would put on before bed when I need an olfactory security blanket.

The bottom line:

A surprise winner, and I do mean surprise. I never expectedto be able to tolerate this one, let alone love it. :D

[Madame Nyx]

Villain, my poor Villain.

I bought this for my bf for Xmas and then he tells me, "I don't wear perfume oils anymore."

It broke my heart.

Not knowing any other guys or gals who would want it, I think I made K's Xmas by mailing it today to a guy who will wear it and not just stare at it like it's the devil.

It's a fab scent. When first applied, smells a lot like Victorian violet/lavender mints, if you have ever had those. The fancy ones in the round tins. The lime and minty note blended very well with the lavender and lilac, first smelling a lot like a men's cologne, but then turning into a violet scent. So lime + mint + lavender + lilac = violet? Weird. This lasted for about 3-4 hours until it faded down to a nice babypowdered flower smell, like one newly shower-scrubbed with a violet or lavender soap.

I loved it, but due to the sadness and lack of excitement from the boy, I gave it up for Xmas. Sniff.

I would think this would smell best on a man, but the right kind of girl could pull it off nicely! :P

[t3andcrumpets]

Holy hell, Villain has made me rethink my hatred of lavender.

In the vial, I'm not at all sure about it, but I've learned the hard way to test everything. So on it goes.

On me, it's all about the sex. The lavender is soft and sweet, and I get whiffs of lime and other citrus, along with a touch of musk and a spattering of lilac -- I definitely get the Whitechapel vibe, only not nearly as strong or with the overwhelming floral.

Overall, a soft, winsomely sexy blend that I'm going to hoard.

[sh1mm3r]

Wet - this smelled a lot like a disinfecting spray, Lysol maybe? I could smell the lime and lavender the most.

Drying - Still very fresh and clean, but not as potent. The lilac starts to come through.

Dry - It turned really powdery on me, and the lilac really came through. Unlike other scents that have turned powdery, this isn't sweet at all. If I were going to rename the scent to what it smells like on me, it would be more like "Victorian Gentleman" or something similar. It is at the same time tame and old-fashioned, with a little bit of pretentiousness, but still masculine. But the kind of masculine where he has spent time making sure his clothes and mustache are perfect, rather than chopping down trees and saving small children from fires.

[yaluna]

This was a gimp from my most recent order, so I really had no expectations for this.

I just spilled about half of it on my leg, soo right now the smell is pretty strong.

Wet: Bug Spray.
Dry: Softer bug spray. It's a very clean bug spray, though. While it doesn't smell horrid, I don't think I'll order a bottle of this.