Yvaine

[voodoocatwoman]

The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia.

Why hello there Lavender.

[Ceri]

In the vial: Lavender

 

Wet: Sharp, green, astringent lavender

 

Dry: Wow. A total transformation. This is like walking into a garden at twilight. Absolutely beautiful.

 

Overall: I'm not a fan of floral but this is stunning! If you don't usually like floral, you must try this!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I had no idea this had magnolia in it until I looked at the listing of the scent notes. I get mostly loud, take no prisoners, no holds barred, herbal, freshly plucked outta the garden blue lavender! If I concentrate when I smell it on my skin I can pick out the magnolia (at one point in my late teens I wore this single note magnolia oil sometimes...) but it blends so superbly with the lavender that it just serves to embolden and enhance that one note! This is gorgeous! I love lavender, and this is about as good as it gets...it's like lavender single note on crack! Huzzah!

[Jammies]

This is one of the very few lavender scents that doesn't make me sleepy. I love that lavender will do that for me--I've never needed sleeping pills! Sometimes, though, I like to wear lavender during the day, and drooling on my keyboard is sort of frowned upon at work. Yvaine is a sharp, light lavender. Somehow, the magnolia makes it a sparkly lavender. If Twilight vampires wore lavender, this is what I would smell like!

[WidgetAlley]

Dude, the art on these bottles is adorable! I wish I could have posters of them, that would be awesome.

 

Bottle: That beautiful, astringent-but-gentle blue lavender I remember from Orpheus. It's totally different from the lavender in Pontia, which was sharper and more aggressive to my nose. Buried way down underneath all that is just the tiniest hint of creamy sweetness and musk.

 

Wet: Lavender, and then swelling up and overtaking it-- huge white beautiful magnolia blooms, a dead ringer for the real thing. The lavender gives it a truly crystalline quality, making it clearer, sharper and brighter than just a single-note magnolia. Definitely floral, but nighttime floral. There's a decent throw of sugared magnolia and musk, which is always a bonus. It's perfumey, but it's so airy and cool and sophisticated you don't even care. Lush. Lush is a good word for this. It's like a pale blue velvet.

 

Dry: After trying her the first time and having her be lavender-lavender-poofgone! on my skin, I really didn't expect to like Yvaine very much. But I do. She makes me feel like a princess, but not necessarily in a cute way... on my skin, this blend is all powdered sugar, night musk, and just a sprinkling of lavender and magnolia. It's regal, cool and warm at the same time, insanely gorgeous and not at all the type of thing I wear, but so beautiful and attention-grabbing and wearable I really doubt I'll be swapping her. This will be an awesome formal occasions perfume, and for any other time when I feel like

[Tanya]

On me, this starts lavender, stays lavender and finishes lavender. Aggressive, headbanging lavender. Where did that come from? It's a nice fragrance, but doesn't do it for me as a perfume. I will use it as a pillow scent to get the most of this scent.

[topazphoenix]

I know a lot of people have been saying Yvaine is extremely lavender, and I don't have a problem with that, as lavender is one of my favorite scents, but to me Yvaine is really different than straight up lavender. It's tempered by sweetness and a hint of powder. There's some other floral in there that rounds it out. I'm terrible at naming notes, bah. Must be the wisteria. It starts out sharp but on the drydown gets sweeter. Yvaine was one of my first bottles, I need to get a backup. Definately lives up to its name. I ordered Stardust and I'm going to read it while wearing this scent, lol.

Edited July 10, 2009 by AmandaKay

[angelicruin]

Upon sniffing the imp, I am getting mostly lavender.

 

Wet on the skin, lavender. As it dries, I get a bit of the magnolia, but Lavender defines this scent for me.

 

[Eucatastrophe]

As with the others I'm definitely getting lavender as well, but the lavender is tempered with something sweet. It's lovely.

 

The only thing I'm worried about is that this seems to be heading into "air freshener" territory with me. *crosses fingers*

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Very sweet magnolia,with lovely lavender lurking underneath.

 

Wet: The lavender is very strong and obvious. But there's still the sweetness of the magnolia swirling about.

 

The dry-down: The lavender and the magnolia are starting to blend now. I also get the feeling, the sense, that if I close my eyes, I'm outside, underneath the starry sky, standing on the lawn just next to a lavender bed, and there's a wonderful magnolia tree nearby, blooming away merrily and tempting me to climb its branches just to get closer to the stars. There's a gentle breeze, as well, moving through the lavender bed and causing the flowers and the leaves of the magnolia tree to rustle softly.

 

This lovely scent is very evocative of a spring night in the Deep South. And I should know, because that's where I live.

[Gin]

I was hesitant to try Yvaine. Lavender tends to go stinky-BO on me, but the reviews convinced me to try it anyway. And it works. It's still lavender, but cool lavender, not the cloying BO kind. My first wearng of Yvane gave me nothing but cold, clear lavender. On the second wearing I got more florals (nothing I could name, just wafts of flowers). I wore it to bed, and between the breeze from the window fan and the Yvaine, I felt like I was outside in a garden at twilight.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Crazy lavender. Not a crazy amount of lavender but rather a scent that I identify as lavender but there's something in it that makes it smell a little off kilter.

 

Wet: Flat gingerale. I actually like the scent of flat gingerale so I'm digging it.

 

Dry: This is what it says it is. Musky, soft magnolia spiked with lavender. Very womanly and sultry. A little chilly an distant--I like wearing this at work or with difficult clients. I think it's suitably remote. It's also completely unique which is something I've been noticing about the Stardust scents lately; there is nothing that can approximate or smell like this anywhere else in the catalogue whether GC or LE. It's a gorgeous scent.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: I always forget how much I love Yvainne (considering that I've had the bottle more than a year and have yet to review it) and I think it's just because she's a little sharp edged for my usual mood/presentation. I adore wearing this scent for occasions where I have to be severe but I think I should branch out and just try it on average, everday days.

[jizatt]

This is one of those that I seriously can barely smell on my skin. I applied it twice now, and if I stick my nose directly to my wrist and hyperventilate, I can tell theres something there, but its not nearly strong enough to pick out notes. The grindhouse ladies all did this on my skin too -- and everyone else has such beautiful reviews. I LOVE Lavender, so I'm really very sad that this doesn't show up on me =(

[skylarkza]

In the bottle: It smells like a lavender bush after the rain. Far more earthy than I would imagine for a star. (Then again, I associate lavendar with chameleons and chameleons are not very star-like)

 

Wet: The lavender is still there and still strong, but I think that the magnolia may be coming out to play. It is less earthy lavender bush and more otherworldly lavender now.

 

Dry: The lavender fades to the background to ground the cool, crisp scents of the other florals. This is like a clear starry night when the stars are glittery and so far away and you are very aware of their distance. Perfect for this scent!

 

After a while: Hmmmm... still lavender. But with something brighter and colder peeking out. Cool and aloof. But very nice!

[CynicalPink]

I'm going to have to break ranks here and admit that this really isn't a very lavender scent on me.

 

Oh it's there, but the vibe I get more than anything out of this on my skin is a cool dreamy musk. Magnolia is a very heady flower, so that's probably where it comes from, but if I had one wish it would be for *more* lavender in Yvaine!

 

Overall, I like this scent and find myself reaching for it pretty often since I bought a bottle without a trial decant. But yeah, be ready for more musk than expected if you amp flowers the way I do.

[tajana]

In the imp, this smells like a lot of lavender, cold and blue. Wet, though, it instantly softens. It's a pretty union of lavender and soft, pretty, magnolia... lush, but lighter, more ethereal than usual. Magnolia is typically heady with a bit of a "high"/sharp edge, yet somehow sultry on me, but this incarnation is much gentler. I also get a lot of light, sweet, clean musk. The overall effect is chilly and lovely. Sadly, though, it's fleeting. The strength of the lavender fades exponentially, and the magnolia turns to indistinct pale floral musk that fades to a vague skin scent, literally, within 10 minutes. It seems very appropriate for the namesake, but it seems I'd have to slather on half a bottle to get much out of Yvaine.

[Venneh]

In the decant, I get a really sharp scent; not quite sure what it is. Maybe the lavender? I get it on my skin, too, but it's very, very faint; I had to apply a pretty large amount out of the decant to get anything. Whatever's in here, my skin is swallowing it up like nobody's business, which is disappointing, as I wanted this to work so badly.

 

There's probably someone out there who'll love this more than I do, so she's going to the swaps. Sorry, girl, but you're just too timid. You might be a cousin to the King of Hearts, with the lavender.

[HamletsKeeper]

I will say straight up this would probably have been the last scent I would have ever bought for myself. But there had been so many recs for this scent I at least had to give it a hearing. I'm glad I did....

 

In two words this scent is for me....Lavender Cream. Sweet, luscious and vanilla tainted. I have no idea what magnolia smells like as a scent but it does a wonderful impression of whipped cream with vanilla essence and a touch of sugar on my skin.

 

I don't get crystalline, night or anything remotely starish from it but it's beautiful nonetheless. So much so that lavender (which is usually damp & musty to me) is clean, sharp and exactly what lavender should be.

 

Bottle Sniff Lavender but not your garden variety. This one is less herbal and very clear and high. No cheap soaps or potpourri here. Underneath it you can just get a whiff of something else, it's soft and luscious and adds depth.

 

Wet on skin Typically lavender takes centre stage and pretty much stays there for the first 10 minutes. I really encourage you though to let it get past this stage.

 

Drydown The lavender is balanced out by the magnolia and they begin a peaceful cohabitation. As I said before the only words I have to describe the result is whipped lavender cream.

 

A very unusual scent and not even remotely like any other lavender scent you may smelt in your life. For me it's a winner, not only because I like the way it smells but also because it has incredible staying power. I could still smell this clearly several hours after application.

 

Revisited This scent shines in extreme drydown, it's pleasant enough in the beginning but about an hour in is where the magnolia's bloom and I get that creamy lushness with just a topnote of lavender which creates a very exotic scent you almost can't place. If someone didn't tell me what was in it, I wouldn't be able to pick it. I think magnolia is a love note for me and overall I do enjoy this scent incredibly. It has great staying power for me and just seems to amp and throw more as it ages. I wore it to bed last night and had a beautiful sleep but I really enjoy it as a daytime scent too. I can see myself buying more of this and I want to hug the person who frimped it to me

Edited October 14, 2009 by HamletsKeeper

[levelek]

I've been looking forward to this scent so much. It turned into a near obsession. And lo, today Yvaine graced me with her presence in a decant!

 

In the vial: strong lavender, with sweet magnolia twirling around it - it could be heady but I can sense the cool, crystalline night. This is going to be just as gorgeous as everyone said!

 

On the skin: lavender soap.

 

Yep, that's it. I am heartbroken!

[crebbsgirl]

Just.... WOW!

 

This is a creamy lavender blend, but not sugary sweet. The magnolia cuts the sharpness of the lavender nicely. I quite like this indeed. It's cool and dreamy. Soft and a little ethereal. I typically associate stars with something sharp or bright, and this is neither, but still very evocative of the concept.

[AstraeaSophia]

I got an almost-full bottle of this from fellow BPALer TrailerTrashPrincess. She is teh awesome. I've been wanting to try the Stardust scents for ages.

 

Sniff: Nighttime florals, for sure. The lavender is practically licking my face off.

 

Wet: I can finally smell the magnolia in the scent. It's rounding out the sharp edges of the lavender, which is good news. I love lavender, but just not that much. The magnolia makes it feel warmer.

 

Drydown: OMG SO MUCH BETTER. The difference between bottle and dry is very noticeable. The lavender is still a big player, but magnolia makes it more rounded. This is not the cold, crystalline scent I expected from the description, but I'm almost glad it isn't. Yvaine may be a star, but she's too fiery to come off as totally cold. The drydown is almost like sitting on a hill in the nighttime and catching a whiff of flowers on the wind while you're stargazing.

 

Totally dry: Yvaine. Totally Yvaine. Fragility emulating strength and succeeding. Like a mouse pretending to be a lion and getting away with it. I had to wait until drydown was totally finished to feel that this was a fae scent, but now I am convinced.

 

Verdict: This scent makes me feel strong, but not in a masculine way. I'm glad I have a virtually full bottle of this, because boy, will I be taking advantage of it. The smell is enveloping me, which is good because I don't really want something light and unnoticeable. However, I do wish it evoked "star" just a little more. I think I have my own biases with lavender scents that keep me from associating that smell with anything astral. Still, like I said, I will get much use out of this one and will most likely buy another bottle when this one's finished. I feel like this is the "casual" star scent where as the others sound more serious, and I like that about Yvaine. Four out of five yummies (I'd give 4.5 if I could).

 

:yum: :yum:

[Luhtarian]

I love this. I was concerned about the lavender, but it's not at all prominent on me. The result is a very clean, cool scent with more complexity than I usually find in a "clean" smelling perfume. The florals are present but not overpowering. It lasts a good long time on me, although it's never overpoweringly strong.

[gingiemay]

This is a lush, gorgeous floral that is not your typical floral. It is soft and clean, with lavender that is not too sharp. It is sweetened and tempered by the magnolia. This is feminine and fey, but elegant at the same time. It certainly evokes a garden at night.

[devilot]

Yvaine

In the Vial: Lavender.

 

Wet: Shockingly, still lavender.

 

Drydown: Starts to sweeten just a tad. Not TKO sweet, mind you, much subtler. Feels somehow "blue," like cornflower blue.

 

Verdict: I'm not the biggest fan of lavender, but surprisingly, I enjoy this blend. Not enough for a 5ml, and honestly, probably not even enough to hang onto this imp. Hmm. Guess I'll keep it for now? Still, I'm glad I got to try it!

[Ceisdein]

In Bottle: Lavender. There's something else there but I can't quite nail it down because lavender keeps slapping me and screaming Pay Attention.

 

Wet: Lavender. Sharp, scary, strong lavender. Lavender is sitting up on her high horse poking me with a fondue fork. Impressive throw.

 

5 minutes: Maybe I'm just extra attuned to lavender because that's all I can smell. In the whole room. My salsa is even coming off as slightly lavender flavored.

 

15 minutes: Oh, it's calming down! Musk? Maybe. Something rich in the background. Some other florals are finally making an appearance as well, sweetening things up a bit.

 

1 hour +: Um. Wondrous. That attacking lavender has faded down and rolled together with the musk and sweetness delivery a blue, creamy, nectarous tone. It's not stomping around the room any more but it still has decent throw and a few hours later I'm still catching whiffs of it without huffing my wrists.

 

Overall: It's great. Dark but not heavy, bright but not piercing, not to cold, not to warm. Perfectly neutral in the best, best possible sense. Nighttime at a perfect 72 degrees. When I run out of this bottle I'll buy it again.