[samarablackcat]

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Giant Vulva

Skin musk, sugar cane, honey, beeswax, vanilla flower, and copal.

In the bottle:

Warm, glowing, creamy, the color of fine ivory silk. Similar to the color of the label, but with less green.

Wet:

Sweet, like the aroma of making sugar cookies...sugar cane, honey and vanilla flower melding together, the skin musk, honey and beeswax keeping it grounded, with copal ever-so-slightly raising its head.

Dry: The copal is most predominate on me as it dries. Copal lovers, like me, rejoice! for the warmth of the copal will warm you when the nights are cold. The honey and beeswax are subtle; they help to keep this grounded. Earthy (not like dirt. Sensual). The scent is sweet, but not cloying. It wants to stay close, but not so close it goes unannounced. Gently wafting, surrounding my space with gentle nudges of desire.

This scent makes me imagine lying in a large, feather bed, with sheets of the finest Egyptian cotton, natural in color, so smooth on my skin. Resins burning, filling my space with their smoke. Candles burning low, creating soft amber light. Soft, silky and with the promise of secrets not yet spoken.

I believe this will age beautifully. If you were hoping for Glowing Vulva Redux, this is not that scent. But it is a glorious, sultry and sensual scent on its own. So glad I purchased a bottle, and will be adding at least one more to my collection.

[adeia64]

Yes! I just got this in the mail today!

In the bottle: MUSK, a little incense, a smidgen floral.

Wet: The musk is still really prominent, but the honey and vanilla flower start to come out a little more. Reminds me a little of Arcana's Queen Crossbones, only without the coconut.

Drying: As the notes start to balance a little, I think: Wow, this is a very womanly scent.

Dry: The vanilla flower, honey, and sugar cane come into the foreground, and the copal and musk waft sensuously in the background. Beautiful. Very sophisticated.

[mparker]

In the bottle and wet, it strikes me as smelling like sugar-coated beeswax candles. Oh….it’s so gooooood! I want to lick my arm! That stage is fleeting , which doesn’t surprise me because when something is that beautiful it tends to be (and oh, I can’t wait to try this in the scent locket). I know make a similar comparison about a lot of blends, but wet, this reminds me strongly of the drydown of No. 93 Engine.

As it dries it starts toning down into something really pleasant. The skin musk, which I adore, is very much present, and the copal adds both a bright smokiness (those who have burned actual copal will know what I mean) and a depth to it. The combination here is incredible. I can't smell the waft very well (Having totally snorted and huffed at my arm while it was strong and ruined my nose for that), but my boyfriend said he could definitely smell something good.

It dries down to something faint and close to the skin, soft and beautiful but intimate. I am hoping that aging will give this a bit more potency as the copal develops, because it really is gorgeous, and it makes me so sad when it fades all too soon (about 4 or 5 hours, though I can still smell it a bit).


(Edited to add: Hrm...wore this today, same application regimen and all, and it's acting odd, giving me the cheap-wax fake-vanilla scent that I get now and again with other blends. This one MAY be one of those temperamental blends that can go glorious or annoying depending on the day/mood/time in cycle/position of the planets. However, it is remaining quite sweetly lovely in my Clocket, though the musk is toned down this way.)

This post has been edited by mparker: 29 January 2009 - 06:14 PM

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: a "wet" floral, with a bit of spice. i assume this aqua note will evaporate, since there's nothing close to it listed in the notes.

wet on skin: much the same

dry down: i think it's the skin musk note i was reading as aquatic earlier. in fact, it's pretty much the only note i'm getting- no beeswax, no vanilla flower, just the skin musk.

in all: i agree with samarablackcat: if you were hoping for something along the lines of Glowing Vulva, this is not it. as a close to the skin white musk, there's potential. but it's a scent i feel needs to age before i'll really know what it's all about.


ETA:a while after writing this review, the musk npote went from being close to the skin to amping incredibly- so the throw is a morpher. i only put on a tiny drop, so beware- this is NOT an oil to slather, or you'll be sorry!

This post has been edited by VioletChaos: 23 January 2009 - 05:11 PM

[Femme_Fatale]

Oh wow. Gorgeous.
It's more incensey than I expected, which I love. I would definitely say the the copal is the powerhouse in this at first, but as it starts to dry I catch hints of the vanilla and sugar cane (though this is in no way a sweet scent). The beeswax flows in and out and the honey stays somewhat subdued. Beneath all this the copal stays pretty consistent, plus what I think is the skin musk.

I really love this. It's a good anytime of the year scent, though I don't think it would be a daily scent for me. It's a bit too sexed up woman for an every day scent.

[ElinaMakropulos]

Absolutely gorgeous skin scent. Right out of the bottle I get skin musk and a light citrusy something or other - copal? And then it all melds together on my skin into a sweet, slightly musky incensey floral, without being overtly floral.

If Snake Oil is sexy black leather and a whip, Giant Vulva is nothing at all - the sexiest outfit of them all

[hkhm]

bottle: sugary honey with musk. this is the scent of sexy.

wet: the copal warms up pretty instantly on my skin but quikly subsides back to that rich, sexy, honeyed musk.

dry: the beeswax scent finally appears which gives this a warm richness. it's still all deliciously sexy musk but it seems warmer, more golden somehow.

[Cheri]

Giant Vulva sure is a sexy scent and lasts a long time. It's creamy, musky and for some reason reminds me of Illustrated Woman while it's wet.

I am loving this scent already, and I bet it's going to get even better after it's aged. When it dries I smell creamy musky citrus and I'll probably need to order another one before the Lupercalia update goes away.

[capnlizaveta]

So. I'm generally a lurker, and my nose is pretty unsophisticated. But I'm completely nutzz for the shungas from last year and bought a ton this year. Since they just arrived and I know people are anxious for reviews, I thought I should try to contribute something useful for once. Unfortunately, I'm a lurker for a reason because, as I said, my nose is pretty not-so-great at this. So I'm going to not even try to talk about notes or whatever, but rather provide you with my thought process as I put this on.

To begin this sort of review, a brief story. Yesterday, while looking for downloads of my favorite Japanese boy band's TV show (yes, that is my other hobby and yes, I am a huge nerd), I came upon something. You know how sometimes fanfiction writers just go nuts with things, and have tag lines like "The quintessential what-if: what if the WWE was at the Battle of Fredericksburg??" Well, I got sucked in by the boy band equivalent - basically, what if these five pretty boy idols were samurai back in the warring states period. Now, I don't even like samurai, particularly. I studied Japanese and I'm obsessed with pretty boy idols (I call them boys even though they're in their 20s because "man band" just sounds silly), but really all I want to see is them getting attacked by animals or maybe eating things or something. I'm not really into all the historical and samurai business. But for whatever reason I was intrigued and started reading. And kept reading. And couldn't stop.

Because you know what? Somewhere amongst all the yukata fabric-clutching, tatami mat burn-getting, soulful staring, candlelit library-sitting, provocative shamisen-playing, and (of course) hott hott historical man-on-man action, I realized that even though I am usually super-embarrassed by my penchant for romance novels and their ilk, IT WAS AWESOME. And I read the hell out of it.

So, then today rolls around. I get my box in the mail (yay!) and immediately rip it open and bust out mah beloved Japanese old tymey porn oils. I put on Giant Vulva.

For the first few minutes, it was a dead ringer for the Illustrated Woman, as Cheri said above. Then it starts to dry. Then it starts to waft around. Then my imagination starts to go into overdrive.

Even though it's inspired by a vulva, to me this is the scent of the pretty, pretty servant boy furtively sneaking into the samurai quarters with a dim lantern, snuffing it out as he closes the paper door behind him, crawling through air thick with that little bit of smoke and a faint scent of the trees outside the open window, then accidentally knocking over a vase full of flowers and waking up the pretty, pretty samurai boy. Followed by lots of clothes doffing and futon mussing and embarrassed fumbling. And then they totally do it. And then the room smells like my wrist does right now.

Whew! Where did that come from? This is by far my longest post (and most embarrassing), but if it'll convince anyone to buy this oil it'll have been worth it. Because seriously. Buy it. Buy it and wear it and then write lots of idol boy erotic fanfiction that I will pretend to ignore but actually read feverishly in secret.

For real. Go buy it.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Sweet waxy honey and sugar cane, with the vanilla flower and copal supporting it. I could almost eat this. I love the bee smell. Wet: More copal than in the bottle, but the bee scents are still dominant. I’m not a floral person, but the vanilla flower is so delicate and right here I can’t fault it. The skin musk is understated. It somehow manages to be vaguely citrusy with being citrus. Dry: All I can think of is beehives in early spring.

[Quem]

This is my first review, and my nose is not what you'd call terribly refined. But I shall do my best.

In the bottle: Sweet musky spicy(?) beeswax. Is that the copal that's making me think 'spicy'? Whatever it is, it's yummy.

Wet: A little more creamy and not quite as spicy as in the bottle.

Dry: Sweet, but not sugary sweet, creamy, musky and incensey. It reminds me a bit of No. 93 Engine but sexier. Like No. 93 Engine left the workshop, went home and put on her lacy underthings. I think I loves it.

[valentina]

Well, at least on my skin, vanilla flower does not equate to vanilla. It equates more towards to other florals, perhaps in an orchid-exotic sort of way. And my skin does not like that sort of floral, not at all. Nuts. And my skin also amps the crap out of anything vaguely floral, overpowering all the other elements of a scent. Double nuts.

So on me, that means that GV gets super-intense, in a sort of bitter, grassy way. It takes a long time to burn off that element, and then I get the pretty, honeyed incense notes that everyone is talking about. But it takes way too long.

For anyone whose skin does not do unmerciful things to this fragrance, it should be lovely for you. I had such high hopes, but if I want my honey fix, I'll just grab a bottle of O!

[boggy]

In the bottle: flat ginger ale (not ginger beer- just a bit of some spice)

Wet: hardly any throw, sweet with just a hint of spice.

Dry: This is a VERY LIGHT fragrance. A bit more of floral/sweet/melon emerges. No matter how much you spill on yourself, the scent stays close to wrist. Reminds me of Vaseline Intensive Care hand lotion or shampoo. Gone in 1 hr. Really not getting sex appeal from this, more of a dryer sheet vibe. But hey, clean and static free is sexy, right?


Out of 5 - this is a 2

My 80 year old mom liked it (disturbing eh?), she said it reminded her of a very watered down Black Opal.

This post has been edited by boggy: 30 January 2009 - 07:33 PM

[crebbsgirl]

This is indeed a warm and glowing scent. The copal in particular is a standout here. Wet, the honey and copal are predominant, lending a thick sweetness to the blend. As it dries, the honey loses some of it's sweetness and the skin musk and beeswax become more prevalent. Overall, it's very much a skin scent, smelling natural but better. My SO was particularly enamoured and was snuggling quite close the entire evening. I should note that though the honey/vanilla/musk combo is similar to O, on me this is an entirely different scent. I would put it in the same family.

[naeelah]

This is just as fabulous as I'd hoped it would be. Initially, the skin musk is strongest, supported by sugar, honey, and beeswax. The vanilla flower is equally strong, and it's light and sweet, with only a faint vanilla quality.

This is very different from other beeswax and honey scents, which is good news for fellow wax addicts, because it's something new to add to the collection. It's hard for me to describe. When I first smelled Lady Una, I thought it had a kind of magical quality, unlike anything I'd smelled before. This is like that.

The honey is light and sweet, like the honey in Stardust scents. It's not at all heavy or cloying, and it's definitely distinct from the beeswax. The wax note is weaker than the honey note, just anchoring the blend. This is definitely a skin musk and vanilla flower scent, colored by honey and sugar. What I think is the copal is providing a distinct base to the scent. It's powdery but solid, a bit similar to some ambers.

If you're a fan of honey scents or want one that isn't too heavy, definitely try this. It's the sort of scent that blends into the skin and smells almost natural, rather than like you're wearing a perfume.

The closest point of comparison is O, but they definitely don't smell just alike. I found O to be thick, heavy, sickeningly cloying baby powder. Giant Vulva is lighter and more elegant.

This post has been edited by naeelah: 31 January 2009 - 07:08 PM

[BlackLace]

In the bottle: this has a very strong scnet that reminds me a lot of the beach. It's kinds coconutty... I don't know where that's coming from. It's also heavily musky and sweet. I get hints of sugar and honey.

Wet on skin: At first, this is way too much for me. It smells really smutty, and I don't mean like Bpal's Smut, I mean like sleazy. It reminds me of some greasy guy in an old cadillac with naked girl air fresheners dangling from his rear view mirror. Or like an "adult shop". Definite feelings fo sleazy sex. It kind of magically warps you back to your sleaziest sex moment. This gets better real quick though. I guess that was just my skin's initial reaction. After about 15 minutes it calms down and I get a resiny, musky vanilla/honey sweetness.Heavy on the honey. Which is good because I really like honey. The scent has a "golden amber color" feel, but reminds me nothing of Glowing Vulva. It has a soft, sexy ambery creaminess hidden in the background. It still smells like sex, but not in a biological way, something just reminds me of sex here. But instead of it being sleazy, it's turned into something erotic. I'm getting a bit aroused.

Drydown: This has gotten mighty gorgeous. Very resiny- it reminds me of amber, so perhaps that's the copal? It's a bit woodsy too. Still golden and sweet.

Overall: Once it gets past that sleazy phase, it's true love. I don't see it as a "light" scent, which I've noticed some reviewers have, but perhaps I'm amping something here. My skin likes to be a bit dramatic.

[Dark Alice]

First of all...the label art although gorgeous is not work appropriate apparently upon further examination of the bottle. I also love skin musk and copal so I am so glad that I was able to obtain a bottle of this.

Wet: this starts out with a strong kick of copal....it's pretty...but overwhelming.

However, as this dries....the copal is tamed down by something....vanilla and beeswax.... I think.

This has totally lightened up on my skin...the copal is there but the skin musk and vanilla are keeping it at bay making it sweet, tangy, with just a hint of spice. This scent is staying close to the skin...which is why I love skin musk.

Final Thoughts: Definitive winner!

ETA: This perfume has an extremely long throw...I put it on at 12pm and now at 5pm it's still there....but my gorgeous vanilla, copal, skin musk is gone. The honey and beeswax have kicked in and smell okay...a little funky? I hope aging this will mellow it out so that it becomes something I can love.

This post has been edited by Dark Alice: 04 February 2009 - 09:54 PM

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Ok.. my bottle finally arrived today so of course I went for the dab straight away.. hoping for vanilla honey beeswax goodness. So where's this floral thing coming from? On my skin, it's almost gardenia or jasmine-like in its intensity.. what IS that?!? Is it the copal?

This is really disappointing.. I've had it on for 2 hours now, and it's very very faint now on my skin, but I'm still getting a very strong white floral fragrance, no musky incense or beeswax creaminess at all. I'm not sure that I'm going to love this

EDIT: two days later, I give it another try. It's like a whole different perfume!! Now it's all honey and beeswax, creamy and soft.. that 'white floral' thing is still there, but in the background. So I just wanted to come back and edit my first review in case other people have the same experience as I did - if that's you.. give it another try on another day and maybe you'll see it differently. I guess this must be sensitive to skin/body vibes, or at least it must be with me. Maybe I will love this!

This post has been edited by sunshinedaisybliss: 07 February 2009 - 04:54 AM

[Jessica]

Sugary honey musk. This smells so good on the skin, I can't even describe it. For a bit after it is applied there is a fresh, sharp note (copal?) that is pleasant and lovely and fades after a bit of drying down. What remains is a warm, soft musk that is sweet with honey.

A definite winner. Love!

[TereFaerie]

Loving the Giant Vulva! I can't stop thinking of the picture, which makes me laugh.
As far as the scent itself is concerned, it is basically a sweet copal on me, but there's nothing wrong with that. It has the incense sort of spice that I liked in Xiuhtecutli, but without the headachy floral or intense citrus. The honey and vanilla flower that I loved in Harikata make a nice base for the copal as it dries down. Surprisingly, it is a close to the skin scent, musky, which also mellows the copal.

I may have to get a bottle of this one!

ADDED Sept. 23:

Can I say I adore this scent? Took me long enough to finally commit, and I've only got the one half-decant, so I'll have to be on the lookout for a bottle.

The skin musk and cane sugar ground the smokiness of the copal. Copal is the strongest note, which is fine with me. Most people have never even smelled copal, so I get a lot of compliments on the sweet, rich, smoky scent wafting off my pulse points.

Some people might think this is too sexy for day, but I love it. It keeps me going around 3pm when all I want to do is take a nap.

[Aerinha]

It doesn't smell like I expected, actually.

It smells a bit like I expected Flowering Chrysanthemums to smell. If I didn't have the list of notes I would have been completely off base in my guess. If I look for them, I do find the skin musk, the beeswax and a bit of the honey. There is a slight resemblance to Luperci to my nose at least, which makes sense since they have notes in common...

...except that on my walk I was thinking it resembled Luperci without the beeswax or ivy. But it has beeswax, so I guess it just isn't as prominent here.

It is complex and one of the stronger ones of this set of decants, at least on me.

-edit many hours later- it has been hours and hours since I put this on and I can still smell it. It has faded, somewhat, and maybe the scent has also smoothed out. However, I can still smell this 9 hours later. I think I may have a winner.

This post has been edited by Aerinha: 08 February 2009 - 02:25 AM

[j4r]

In the bottle, it smells like an expensive beeswax candle.

Freshly applied, the vanilla flower appears with a strengthening of the honey notes.

Given a few minutes to calm down, the sweet richness of the copal and the skin musk predominate.

This is sexy and rich and smooth and amazing!

[FallDaze]

In the imp-> Everything is very well blended. I can pick out a hint of the skin musk and something sweet, which I'm thinking is the sugar cane. Not a terribly sharp scent, but I was expecting something a litter creamier. I get a very, very faint astringent vibe from this.

Wet-> Slightly...woodsy? I'm guessing that's the copal coming out. The vanilla flower has decided to make an appearance as well. The musk is still present, but not overly so. That stringent vibe is backing off as well. Still more sugar cane than honey though, and just a whiff of beeswax. A very light scent.

After a while-> A creamy, smokey, golden glowing honeyed vanilla. A very, very lovely scent. Light, warm and intimate. I love it. I'll have to test it again to see if it's something that I would wear often though.

After an even longer while-> This has pretty good staying power. Still soft and subtle, but it's taken on a bit of a plastic twinge... I'll have to see what happens during the re-test.

[Chas]

I'm wearing this for the second time today, and this is a morpher. The components in here are very sensitive to changes in body chemistry and hormones.

Last week when I wore it, I got mostly skin musk. I could tell there was sugar cane and honey, because the sweetness took the edge off the musk, but it was pure, sexy musk. Very womanly, very sex.

Today, when I put it on, the sugar cane bapped me over the head and demanded my attention. The musk is still there, making the sugar cane spicy instead of overly sweet, and there's a slightly fruity waft. It's still very sexy, but it's not as in your face. It's got a gentler feel to it.

This post has been edited by Chas: 09 February 2009 - 04:03 PM

[Yoginispirit]

Ohhhh Ahhhh...

Giant Vulva is YUMMY!
At first it was all beeswax and honey which was nice but sort of 'meh'. But after a few minutes it got all flushed and sexy as the skin musk made an appearance. There's also something very *clean* about this- not really soapy nor dryer sheets- more like clean linens that have been rolled around in all night long.

Just so lovely- man, this just might call for a second bottle if the boy likes it as much as I do