VetchVesper

Wanda - (similar to whip, but a little more complex, with WINE)  Along with Loviatar, she has become something of a 21st century Patron Goddess of all Dominatrixes. While Loviatar is the Goddess of Pain, Wanda govens Control. She is the breathtakingly beautiful sable-wrapped marble queen of Sacher-Masoch’s fantasies. Her scent is a deep red merlot with a faint hint of leather, sexual musk and body heat over crushed roses, violets and myrtle.

The Obsidian Widow - (same vein as Wanda, so to speak , but more floral.) Pinot noir, dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose

Bright Red Dildo - (if you like sweeter, less floral scents.  LE Luper, but probably not hard to find.) Red leather and honey.

Non-Compliant - (I personally love this one, but it does have an odd, vomit note that comes out strong on some folks.  You've been warned.  😜) Sugar and bile, leather and blood, honey and rum, shredded patchouli and vetiver, tobacco and lime.

The Old Robber Woman - (LE Yule.  Might be a tad hard to find, but great if you want to play up the mechanic aspect vs. the sex.  Leans a little masculine.  Gnome is good for this too, but is more friendly and leaning cute.) Dust, rags, leather, and shining steel.

Fragrances that lean simple, and you might consider as a base to build on top of - 

Iago - very hard, black leather

London - a good tea rose

Hunter - clove and worn leather (It makes me think of clove cigarettes and a leather jacket.  I use this one when I write for one of my characters.  I mix it with Galvanic Goggles.  )

Fighter and Rogue -  (RPG scents are created to be simple and mixable with other RPG scents, so you can find fun flavor combos.    I personally enjoy adding Evil to just about everything.)

Weeeeeeed.   And incense.  I swear I get dragon's blood.  The myrrh is rich, dark, and thick, and after the weed burns off, about half an hour in, I'm left with a sweet, sludgey incense vibe that I adore.  To me, this is not nearly as hippie as SN Blacklight Reactive Poster (which I also have and adore) but has more of an old world vibe once it's dried down.  Something about this incense works with crumbling gargoyles and vaulted cathedral ceilings, at least in my brain.  Very happy to have found a bottle.

I also have to say, I'm always amused by how some folks seem nose blind to the weed smell, and some just get whacked right in the face with it.  The Stoned Griffin is a most mysterious creature!   

Really lovely.  I'm pretty sure I'm getting grey amber and/or ambergris, but that might just be because this reminds me so much The Gloomy Day.  Canis Major is fuzzy and soft and warm, like a cozy, angora sweater.  I'm also getting maybe a teensy hint of vanilla?  After a few minutes, something bright and a bit citrusy comes up from underneath.  My brain says bergamot, but it's not always trustworthy.      The citrus begins to go bubble gummy, but always stays below the amber, just adding a little lift to the scent. 

Honestly -- I just watched ParaNorman this week and was revisiting my bottle of Bub, and the undercurrent I'm getting is sorta Bub-like.  So, the odd, sweet, playfulness of Bub, underneath a big thick layer of amber angora sweater.  There ya have it folks!

This comes across as oddly Christmassy?  I think because I'm getting a lot of fig and cloves.  It also smells very "red."  I get almost a perfumey apple cider or Gluhwein vibe.  There's a touch of something lightly woody at the beginning, which I don't really care for, but it goes away quickly.   I can pick out the amber, but I don't really smell patchouli, unless it had something to do with the flash of woodiness I got at first sniff. This is actually reminding me a bit of Brisingamen.  Perhaps Freya wearing Brisingamen, VERY drunk on Gluwein.   

Occasionally, I see scents described as "balsamic," and I get that here.  It's kind of tangy, tart and very slightly sweet.  (Lol.  Just saw "tanginess" used as a descriptor above, so I guess I'm not the only one.)   I think I'll leave this lady in her tent, but glad to have gotten to try this one.  

On 11/27/2020 at 12:58 AM, Lucchesa said:

I was only baking for myself and my kids, so I only made one pie.  Pumpkin with a cocoa crust.  The crust was good and easy, made in the food processor.  I'm sure the filling would have been good too if I hadn't forgotten to put the sugar in.  It wasn't terrible; we put powdered sugar on top. 

Lol.  A very healthy pumpkin pie!  The cocoa crust sounds like a good idea though.  I'll have to try that some time.  I'm a fan of any excuse to add chocolate.  

I wore Indulgence today, b/c I needed some.    Today was crisp and clear in Houston as well, and I did some drawing in the sunshine outside.  I kept getting wafts of incense and thinking my neighbors were burning it (their a bit hippieish) then I realized it was me.      I did 45 mins of yoga today, and it was nice to get in some good stretching and do some self checking.

@Madame Mew  Good on you for holding down the fort at work.  Hope you get some quality R&R for it.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!  I managed 30 mins of yoga today while wearing a Possets perfume, Mary Queen of Scotts.  It's buttery shortbread and it's added a little bit of comfort to my day.  Hope you are all doing well.   🦃 

@Lucchesa How'd your pies come out?  Should there be a BPAL's to bake to recommendation thread?

Urgh.  Prodigal forumite here, crawling back.    No work out today, but yesterday I did walk for half an hour, and Saturday, my husband and I explored a lovely park in the area.  It had hills!  When you live in Houston, that's pretty exciting.  😜  Anywho, walked an hour, dodging the occasional bicyclist, and that was fun.  Can't remember what fume I was wearing, but I've been favoring more comfort blends lately.  Sarah, from the Pretty Deadly series has been striking my fancy.  It's like soft leather and the nicest baby powder ever.  

I will work out tomorrow if it kills me.  Even if it kills me, I'll post from beyond the grave.   

Take care ladies, and thanks for keeping this going.  You are bad-asses.   

1 hour ago, Laughing Seagull said:

 

That's such a kind offer!  😭  If you do that, I'll gladly buy the rest of the bottle off of you if I end up liking it.

 

I really hope it works out for me - in part because of course I love when stuff works out, in part because I'd feel crappy about making you go through the effort for nothing, and in part, of course, because chill urban vampires are hot.

No worries!  I'll just be happy to share it with someone. It's been lonely and languishing on my sales page for a while, and the VILF's don't get enough love

Ugh. Sorry I've been MIA. I HAVE actually been working out... mostly. Walks, gardening, more walks. Tuesday I walked in the park wearing Cassiopeia. The weather was beautiful, and the backwoods trails have grown up quite a bit sonce they're less frequented.  There are these little lavender flowers everywhere, and I have no idea what they are.  I'll try to post a pic I took tomorrow. 

Today I walked in my neighborhood wearing Laura Belle McDaniel, wanting to love it very badly, but never quite getting there. 

On Halloween I must have burned tons of calories shoveling all that candy into my mouth.

You ladies rock for keeping this going, and rock even more for keeping up with your excercise!  Thank you.

@Laughing Seagull Actually, good point. I'd be happy to frimp you a bit of Transeo with your decants. See how you like it. 

@Laughing Seagull Seems like you're narrowing down what you like, and you've got some good choices for future orders!  Sorry red musk is a no go and Tavern of Hell was disaster.   I will say, Tavern of Hell was kinda the wild card I threw in there.  I thought you might dig the lavender and orange blossom, and it's got kind of an unusual list of notes.  If you don't mind holding on to things, you might test again in a year or so.  It's got so much going on, I think it needs time to settle.  With age, mine went from smelling like vomit, to a dark, verging on masculine gardenia.  But then, maybe you don't like tobacco?  

Yay for Envy!    It's one of my favorite lavenders too, but I think it's not perfumey enough for a lot of folks. 

Anywho, it struck me you might enjoy the champagne note, since you like citrus and the bite of ginger.  Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat smells like sparkly lemon lime candy.  Bon Vivant is a bit drier and less sweet.  More bitey, but also fizzy.

Seems like you definitely like tangerine, so check out Azathoth if you think you might like cedar. 

I think you might really like Juliet, based on you liking the Queen of Hearts, but Tamora was heavier on the heliotrope, at least, to my nose.

You might also check out juniper, based on you loving Thanatopsis.  I bet you would like Cooling Breeze from last years Lupers, and you might like Transeo.  Oberon is a nice, spritely juniper with fruity overtones.  Nice for Christmas.  You might also like Jersey Devil.   I actually don't have tons of luck with juniper, but I love me some fizzy gin!  The note shows up every once in a while and might also be worth watching for.  

P.S.  That Red Mandarin, French Lavender, and Juniper Menage a Trois might be right up your alley. 

PPS  Actually, just noticed you were looking for a wine note, so I'm going to shamelessly flaunt my wares.  I have a partial of Transeo, if you're interested.  I've been trying to find it a loving home for a while.  It was left overs from a decant circle I ran, and very much not my bag, but it might be yours.    No worries if you aren't interested.  💗 

On me this is good apple spice cake with the foodiness level turned down a notch.  The spices smell a tad dusty and make me think of amber, which is probably why this is reminding me of a foodier Poison Apple.  This is sort of a classy take on apple cinnamon, with warm, dry cardamom instead of cinnamon.  

I can see why folks looking for something super cakey would be disappointed here, but for a lovely warm apple-spice scent, this is quite nice.  Also, a good foody scent for those who don't generally like foody scents.  Alas, I'm just not much for smelling like apples.  Off to swaps!

I've discovered I rather like the mix of lavender with these darker, earthier notes, but the vetiver in this is just not quite behaving.  It reminds me of chicory and retains a bitterness on my skin that, though in the background, keeps disrupting the warm, earthy lavender and creamy sweetness going on.  Unfortunate, because without that, I think this would be a total winner.  

Other notes - I don't really pick up carnation.  The tobacco is warm and dark vs. the sweet, chewy kind.  Vanilla shows up to just add a hint of sweetness.  I don't really notice the musk except at the beginning, when I got sort of a sweatiness to the blend I didn't care for.  That went away after a few minutes though.  There is a nice balance between the notes.  Gender neutral, leaning a titch masculine b/c of the mean ol' vetiver.    Sigh.... Guess, I'll be passing on my bottle.

On 10/13/2020 at 2:38 PM, Reina Blood said:

I'm looking for a smoky, rich coconut, maybe with a touch of amber and/or floral. If you met me in the flesh, you'd think I was the last person on earth who you'd expect to wear coconut well, and it was a real surprise for me. But I accidentally learned a few years back (in Bath & Body Works, of all places) that my skin chemistry and coconut just love each other, as long as the blend isn't too tropical or (non-coconut) fruity, and I've been on the hunt for the perfect blend ever since. I see a lot of coconut-containing BPAL blends about which reviewers complain that the coconut is either very subtle or absent, and I'm not sure where to turn. Help!

I really love Goblin, and I would highly recommend if you like patchouli.  I was also kind of amazed by my well aged decant of Elegba recently.  Originally, it was a nice coconut rum mixed drink smell and I liked it, but I was happy with the imp.  It's become much richer with aging, going from Malibu, to a rich, dark, almost buttery coconut rum.  It's very sweet, but the tobacco gives it a nice chewiness, and it's gone on my big bottle list..  If you want a dark coconut that's less obviously foody and/or boozy, you might try Brown Jenkins.  

ETA - You might also like Red Lantern (caramelly coconut) and Death Adder.  (I'm focusing more on your "rich" and "smoky" descriptors than your "amber" or "florals."  You might also check out Lamia.  It didn't work for me, but it's got your amber, your florals, and I wouldn't call it tropical.   

Eusapia features lilac, white tea, and beeswax. It's a reoccuring Yule.  The Gambols of Ghosts was a 2016 Halloweenie. (Rivulets of beeswax and amber flame illuminating a pale blue midnight, eddying with phantom violets, olive blossom, and moss)

The florals aren't prominent in Gambols, but if you can't do lilac, skip Eusapia. 

I'll second V'al Hanissim. 

Cheery, red, and sweet, with what smells like a little bit of evergreen bite in the background.  (I guess that's how my nose is reading the mead fizz.)  This smells Christmassy, but in an unexpected way. No cinnamon and not what I think of as foody, though there's a sense of stewed fruit. 

If you are looking for a cheery, non-traditional Christmas scent, give this a sniff!

Sticky grape juice!  The plum and wine are very prominent in the bottle, but once it hits my skin, the oudh shows up. It's nice here, smoky, spicey, woody, and sans any barnyard. Overall, I get a deep red and purple incense vibe that reminds me of Purple Phoenix without the florals. 

P.S. As I'm writing this review, I'm at the park, and a honey bee just landed on me. So there you go: Cassiopeia -- bee approved.

Soooo much amber.  Not a bad thing, especially if you like amber.    Also, I'm getting black musk?  Maybe it's just the dark, powdery feel.  It reminds me a bit of a manly Haunted.

Once Scholar's Tower hits my skin, I'm getting something that does distinctly remind me of gear lubricant and polish.  This still smells high class though, and old world - like walking into a clockmaker's shop vs. a mechanic's shop.  The woods (mostly mahogany) support the other notes and stay behind the amber on me, but the frankincense starts to come forward after a bit, so there's a very nice, fuzzy sort of resin thing going on.  The sort of place this perfume makes me think of would probably have lots of books, but I don't smell books per se.  This feels very steam punk.  

Scholar's Tower would be very nice on a gentleman, but I'm happy to dab some on too.  Cozy and refined, a bit subdued, with a bit of an intriguing oddity from the whiffs of metal and machinery.  If you love amber, and the other notes sound appealing, this is one to check out.  

ETA:  Agreeing with Dancing Raven.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit of sage in this, giving it that hint of bitter metal smell.

If you like foresty smells with your dirt, you might try Burial. I really love Deep in Earth which features rose geranium and isn't as perfumey as actual rose. Destroying Angel is another good one. You might actually try Orc - leather, musk, and zucchini, I believe, which is WAY more lovely than it sounds.  Robin Goodfellow is sort of dusty and green. Just for a good, simple patch, I'd second The Coiled Serpent and you might also like Baba Yaga.  Despite the listed "flowers," it's not a floral, and I find it very comforting. Lastly, you can't buy imps of it, but The Rat Speakers is a really beautiful dirt scent. 

ETA:  Just wanted to mention Single Note: Mud Mingled Boot Slush, in case they bring it out again the Yules. (I keep hoping. )  It's mint and mud and ozone, and I kinda love it!

Weeee!  Got my bottle fresh from the mail and am ready to slather and review.  If this changes much in the next few weeks (after settling), I'll update.  

First sniff - this is very much a dead leaves scent, but a promising one, where the cologney cardamom is softened slightly by warmer notes.  It's reminding me a touch of Dead Leaves & Sugared Cardamom in the bottle, but I like this better.

On my skin - Whoo!  An imediate burst of earthy greenness.  Oh yes.  I do like this.  Interesting and unique.  I DO smell the bay.  Sort of a dry, green sharpness that is quite prominent at first. The carrot seed provides a subtle sweetness.  FLM is becoming less earthy quickly, and and the amber and ambergis are creeping to the front.  This is a lot less dead leaves leaves now, and I would no longer describe it as cologney.  More snuggly.  I can tell the cinnamon's in there as sort of a brown fuzziness mixing with soft moss but it's not taking over. (I was hoping for Ceylon, and that's what I'm getting  ) This is really lovely.  I'm still getting a teensy hint of something a bit alcoholic that reminds me of cognac.  Perhaps some sharpness from the vetiver?  I have mixed results with vetiver, but this is behaving itself.   And I do catch a hint of the tobacco flower.  Everything is extremely well blended, but there's a lot going on.

About 15 mins in and the tobacco flower is continuing to come forward.  Dry, soft and smooth.  This is gorgeous so far.  No blind bottle regrets.  The amber, moss, and cinnamon really give it a plush, fuzzy feel that I expect more from warm perfumes, but this feels cool overall.  Cool browns and greens - very autumnal, but not a dead leaves scent.  I'd say this is gender neutral, but I would hang all over a man who smelled like this.  I hope it will stay this pleasant as it dries down and last many hours.  One caveat -- this feels a bit tingly on my skin, but I put it in a delicate area, and I'm not getting any redness.  Still, if you're extremely sensitive, you might want to wait and see if others have any problems. 🍃 🍁 🍂

Woohoo! Great job everyone!  

@Amazonia Muscle weighs more than fat, and it also eats fat for breakfast!  (Seriously.  Science says so... kinda.  😜 )

Sort of random, but I've been in the mood for Halloween nostalgia and have been enjoying watching The Addams family.  The actor who plays Gomez, John Astin, is apparently Buddhist and practices random yoga positions in the show.  Fun and rather impressive when he reads his morning newspapers while standing on his head.  

I was a bum yesterday, but the day before I walked and jogged intermittently for 45 mins.  Today I walked for half an hour and did yardwork for at least another half hour while wearing Dead Leaves, Bourbon Vetiver, Nagarmotha, and Vanilla Absolute.  Something about the fragrance reminds me of burning hair.  😕 Probably the bourbon vetiver.  Ah well, can't win 'em all.  

@Laughing Seagull  That sounds like a good smattering of different stuff to enjoy.    Fighter is very much musk and a prominent middle of the road leather.  Paladin's leather note is more subtle, as is Manhattan's. Iago is STRONG, shiny black leather.  Too masculine for my tastes, but on some people it's not as harsh.  Keep in mind, with a lot of BPAL's notes, including musk, leather, patchouli, and tea, there are different types.  The descriptors often do matter, and you may like brown leather but not black leather.  Or you may find you like white patchouli, but not red patchouli.  Just things to keep in mind if you didn't know it already.   

So I started this thread September 25th and realized I am 32 days in!  So - time to tally my results.  But first - I shall build suspense with a bit of yacking.

I was under the weather yesterday, so I only did 20 minutes of yoga on extra wimp mode, but hey, at least I peeled myself off the couch.   

Today I did an hour more of heavy yardwork.  My back yard is rather large and very neglected, so I've been chopping down saplings and trimming hedges and dragging stuff out for the trash.  It's starting to look respectable again.  I wore Dead Leaves, Coconut, and Champaca Blossom for the task.  It's an odd little scent that has really grown on me.  Alas, I'm down to the dregs of my decant, but it's nice to make room for new imps!

@Seajewel - Awesome job on that extra mile!  I hope you have great luck with your new doctor, but if your shoulder keeps giving you trouble, maybe you could alternate your jogging with less impact exercises?  Great to see you getting back into your stride though. 

@Lucchesa I still have a teeeensy bit of the October decant you sent me.    I was going to finish it off, but now I want to save it to compare to this years.  Your weather sounds beautiful.  I'm in the wrong city for loving the kind of weather I do. 

@Amazonia It's nice to be appreciated.  😜

@Kelthara Hope you are doing well.    Looking forward to you rejoining us when you feel up to it.  You too @a_bear and @Supertrooper Omni!  

So, time for RESULTS!  My goals were originally to work out 3 days a week (changed to 5 later), lose 5 lbs by the end of October, and get my back less achy.  

_________________________________________ Insert Drum Roll _____________________________________________

I did not make the 5 days a week goal, but I did make the 3 days goal, except for the week I was MIA for unpleasant stuff.     But even with the interim, I did at least 20 minutes of exercise  17 of my 32 days.  Given I was getting next to no exercise before this challenge (unless couch sitting is considered a sport?) I think that's a pretty big gain.    My back does indeed feel better.  My flexibility has improved, and I'm more aware of my posture.  I've gotten quite a bit done around my house, and I have lost....3 lbs without changing my very naughty eating habits.  

I also discovered that "A Kneeling Child Watches a Ghost Devil..." smells AMAZEBALLS with "Aperatos Eros;"  that I desperately need to explore BPAL's cream cheese note.  (Thank you, Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookie) and that I might need more Dead Leaves, Coconut, and Champaca Blossom.     

For official workout blends I think I liked Destroying Angel, Machu Pichu, Wanda, and Red Patchouli, Nutmeg, and Oud the best.  DA because it expressed itself so differently outdoors in the cold air and seemed outdoorsy without smelling like forest.  MP because it all around pleasant, non-offensive (in case you're in the gym) and actually improves on me when sweaty, RPN&O because it was so grounding, solid, and still sexy, (for yoga) and Wanda because I just couldn't help feeling like a decadent bad ass while wearing it.   

So - MY NEW 30 DAY GOAL!  I'm gonna do those 5 days a week, dang it.  Loose another 5 lbs.  (I'd like to lose a total of 30.)  And I'd like to step up my Yoga game to focus more on strength training.  (Madame_Mew, you're inspiring me.   )

I think this one has improved with age, and I'm beginning to suspect dragon's blood ripens well.  (My decant of SN Stageblood has also aged to delectability.  ) 

When I first got my decant of Witch Riding a Dragon, the dragon's blood was not the obvious note to me.  Now, it's taken a front seat, which for me, is great.    It comes across as syrupy and a bit incensey.  I don't get powdery, but that might be the aging at work.  The charred notes supporting it strengthen the burning incense vibe and grow stronger as it wears so that there's almost a briquette thing going on in behind the sweetness.  I wouldn't categorize this as woody though, and I don't get much patchouli either.  I could see this fitting in with the Crimson Peak line; it's got that kind of vibe.  it last 8+ hours on me.  I'm a fan, but you probably have to enjoy DB to enjoy this one.  But hey, it is a witch riding a DRAGON.   

@Madame Mew Wow!  Congrats on the pose!  Certainly something to crow about!  (Sorry, my brain has apparently been stuck in "dad joke" mode the last few days.)  That is impressive though. I'm pretty sure that would become face plant mode for me real quick.

I love dragon's blood!  It usually comes across as sweet and incensey to me, though I know others report cherry and florals. I've also found a lot of variation in different perfumer's versions of it, leading me to think it's a blend of some sort. 

I did 20 minutes of walking yesterday and 30+ minutes of heavy yard work. My tummy muscles are sore.  Apparently, I have some, so I guess that's good. I wore Sixteen92's The Bell Witch (Sweet cider barrels, orchard wood, blond tobacco leaf, cave and forest moss, glowing pumpkin, dry leaves, turned earth).  It's very nice, but reminds me of several of their other fall blends. I might have to do a smell off between them.