Venice

[Stumbeline]

A complex, voluptuous scent that captures the robust beauty and of the Italian Renaissance: lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf.

I really wanted this to be red currant and lemon on me. The thought of those two together literally makes my mouth water.

Unfortunately it was JASMINE (yes! in all caps!) once again. At first it was a juicy, tarted-up rose that I liked a whole lot. But eventually just jasmine. I did like the initial smell enough that I'll retry it before it goes into the swap box, but I was disappointed.

[slugbait]

A generous freebie from the lab.

 

In the imp, this smells like tart fruit; citrusy. It makes my mouth water. On my skin I can smell berries or some kind of red juicy fruits coming into to play, but faintly. As this dries, the berries and citrus fade. It begins to get floral. Do I smell water lilies? This changes into a lighter version of a water lily body spray I loved, then it got discontinued. After an hour, it turns to powder then vanishes. I would love this if it would have lasted longer. But since I don’t want to reapply every hour, I’m sending this one off.

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle: Mostly sweet florals, very heady and complex. I think I'm getting the wisteria and the jasmine, with a hint of rose.

 

Wet: There's an astringent note amidst the sweetness now, which I think is maybe the lemon or the currant coming through. I'm getting the rose strongly as a sort of after-scent that lingers after I've stopped sniffing.

 

Drydown: Still an astringent sweetness, which I hesitate to call soapiness. It might verge on smelling like rose-scented soap, maybe.

 

And okay, fifteen minutes later, the sandalwood has emerged, turning the scent musky instead of sour, which is weird but appreciated. Wait -- but only on one wrist. The hell?

 

And now it's gone, a minute later. Bizarre. Just lemony-rose, now, with a deep, non-sweet floral/fruity background that I can't identify, and is probably the orris or the waterlily, since I wouldn't recognize either smell by name.

 

Six hours later, the scent is lingering, very solidly that unidentifiable mix of floral and sweet and fruit and something else. It's kind of cloying and making me sick to my stomach. Not a keeper for me.

 

Boo! I was really anticipating this one, and I bought a 5ml (untested) at the Black Broom. What a newbie mistake...

Edited July 8, 2005 by sophia_helix

[OdetteOdile]

Venice

 

Initial impression: Oh dear, does this have civet in it? It smells very feral on me - I'm a little worried about having put it on before work. Then I remembered that strong jasmine sometimes does have an animal smell on me - that must be the dominant note in this.

Eventually the red current started coming out much more strongly, which I love. Tart berries.

Two hours later, I had a warm, pretty berry scent, with a plum base.

Eventually the rose came out under that & gave it a more floral texture.

Nice.

I could happily wear this if I was at home during the initial feral dry-down half-hour.

[sookster]

very soapy and florally with my chemistry...a touch of citrus pops out after awhile...

hmmmmmm.....too many florals for me.....sweet florals, i should say

 

just turns into a mish mash of i am not sure what with my chemistry....sadly

is not working.....eeeyuck

 

i so wanted to love venice too...boo

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

fruity/perfumey

 

On

rose, jasmine, water lily are the primary players on my skin. I don't smell the currant nor the sandalwood. Wow the violet leaf just sprang up though.

 

30 minutes

The violet leaf is good and medium strong now so it balances the rose and jasmine providing more of a fresh scent to their strong perfumey floral scents.

 

Throw:

a bit more than average.

 

Scent category:

floral/fruity

 

Summary

It's more of a perfumey scent, and it is an airy and watery scent.

 

Purchase again?

No. It's nice, but too floral for me.

 

1-5 rating (5 is best)

3

[Scarlettfish]

This is a very lush, complex floral, with citrus giving it a bit of bite and preventing it from becoming too sweet. It is very well blended so no one note stands out, rather they just mesh together beautifully. It definitely evokes images of the city, and is very kinda decadent in its complexity. It is pretty much the same wet as it is dry on me. A definite big bottle for sure, this is lovely on me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A frimp from the Lab, who must know I am simply gagging to go to Venice. Since I haven't been able to go yet, my strongest association is with Jeanette Winterson's novel The Passion, which is set partially in Venice and portrays the city as alive with magick...the particular magick, I always imagine, of those of us whose element is water. So, obviously, I have lots of positive baggage in trying this scent.

 

On me, Venice is softly aquatic-floral, which is totally appropriate. The lemon and currant notes keep it interesting and distinctive, fresh enough to balance the dreaded sweet jasmine (although I wish I was getting more rose). This is feminine with a kick. Yes, I can imagine Villanelle, the gorgeous gondolier heroine of The Passion, wearing this.

 

It's not an everyday scent for me, but I am keeping Venice--it will be a hope-chest imp to wear when I finally get to Italy!

[WidgetAlley]

Venice is so complex I can't pick out a single note by itself-- which, oddly, is not something I'm fond of. I can smell florals, citrus, backed by a little spice and maybe some fruit if I close my eyes and really concentrate, but mostly it's a big muddle to my nose.

 

When applied it stays pretty much the same; I can start to smell a little bit of the jasmine and the citrus... this is a very red scent, sophisticated and grown-up. Of all the BPALs I've tried, this one smells the most commercial to me; the most generic. It is very lush, but, weirdly, it feels "thin", like over-the-counter perfumes. I by no means despise it, it's a lovely scent, it's just very much not-me. I think I will see if my grandmother likes this one, it reminds me of her; if not, I will save the Imp for formal occasions only.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Violet.

 

On Skin: The violet and violet leaf are in front. The red sandalwood gives a nice woody incensey note. The waterlily and jasmine begin to stand out, beautful fresh white notes. The lemon is also becoming more pronounced and it’s tartness is a nice compliment. The rose and wisteria are lighter and not as noticable. I don’t smell the red currant at all. This is such a complex scent but overall it’s a strong floral with a lemon edge.

[urraca]

A frimp from my wishlist from the psychic lab. I'm so glad to be able to try it.

 

The moment I apply it the combination of red currant, jasmine and lemon makes this a very tart scent, which is really quite interesting. I apprecate the way the lemon adds a sour note without really smelling like lemon. Soon however the rose comes in, possibly with some of the other flowers, and the scent sweetens up. I get a hint of violet as well. This stage is lovely too but so different.

 

Unfortunately the scent doesn't have much throw and doesn't last well on me so while I like it, I don't love it.

[sarahj]

Venice

 

in vial: lemon and jasmine

 

wet: jasmine and rose

 

dry: a nice, lemony, rosy jasmine...lasts about 5 hours

 

verdict: this is a nice floral, but doesn't excite me enough to buy a big bottle

[tsarina]

This smell is so complex. At first, I get the lemons all bright and sharp. There's something aquatic about those lemons too. I get a big rush of jasmine and then the other floral notes begin to mingle. Underneath is the dry dusty sandalwood scent. It's so elegant and it makes me think of the light at ten in the morning, water slapping against stone, branches and flowers and bright yellow lemons on the table. It is so superb.

[Little Bird]

Reading the description, this just sounds like too much floral for me.

On my skin, as usual, the jasmine is overpowering. It smells like a very hyper and searingly bright floral. I wish that I could smell lemons and currant, but they never come out to play on me.

 

After about a half hour of smelling like very strong jasmine, the blend starts to go soapy. I ended up washing it off. Jasmine soap is not my thing.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Little Bird

[AlaskaSnows]

Jasmine and Rose, in bottle and on skin. More jasmine than rose.

 

Since I am a floral nut, I like this a lot.

[TrinitySydney]

A very classy, complex, intelligent (does that make sense?) floral with a bit of something sweet (wine maybe?). This is another one that I find hard to describe, but I love it, love it, love it!!! A need a bottle or two. 10mls at least!!

[Monster]

First sniff is lemon and then....uh oh! I smell jasmine >< The lab wasn't kidding when they said "heady jasmine". Jasmine is my personal cryptonite. I need to keep it far far far away from my otherwise I'll feel sick to my stomach.

 

Unfortunatly I can't put this on my skin due to the jasmine. This imp will ahve to find a better home.

[Fefferbella]

In the vial it smells SO good. Crisp lemon and sweet floral.

 

As soon as it dried, the lemon was gone and the jasmine took over, overpowering the hint of rose.

 

Ugh Jasmine is not a good note for me

[malanna]

Whoa. Lavender. Lavender, (one of) my mortal enemy(ies). Fortunately, the lavender fades and jasmine comes to the forefront. Wait a second...that's not a good thing. But it's okay, because the orange blossom replaces the jasmine pretty soon after. This is after a few hours, and it smells like clean air, but with a hint of orange blossoms in the background. After more than five hours, this smells like orange blossoms in air freshener (which isn't necessarily a bad thing...). I'm really not getting any citrus or spice from this at all.

[ancilla_morte]

I'm so disappointed because in the vial I can smell just the kind of lemon scent that I don't like. I am so particular about my lemon. I like very light sweet fresh and clean lemon smells. not the tart bottled lemon juice from concentrate smell. I'll try it anyway.

 

wet on skin: lemon. the same lemon. but hmmm. there are a few added smells a few seconds after applying. I can smell a very dry rose, a sweet mint.

 

dry: whoa. it made a vanishing act. I can just smell a hint of lemon/rose and that's it. weird.

 

verdict: nah.. too much lemon.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Dark, minty, resinous herbal. I sometimes misread lavender as mint if it isn’t really sharp.

 

Wearing: Oh yeah, that’s definitely lavender. Lavender and orange. Very pretty! This one was Lab lagniappe and I can’t for the life of me remember why I didn’t order it myself.

[shayelea]

In the bottle: This is all bitter orange in the bottle. I like it, I'm just not sure about it as a perfume.

 

Wet: Mm, the lavender comes out more when it's wet. Bitter orange and lavender. It's nice.

 

Drydown: Hm. Still very pretty, but it smells a bit too much like a room scent, not a perfume. The jasmine and the herbs are probably making this a little too soapy on me for that.

[carolinachiquita]

I didn't like this in the bottle or on for a good few hours, I can smell the lavender in it now with a hint of orange with it and I really like it, unfortunately it has really faded on my skin so I can barely smell it. Never mind!

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Lavender, mostly, with some other herbally undertones and a jasmine base. Ever so slightly spicy.

 

First on: Usually jasmine goes "SPROING! HI ABBIE!" as soon as it gets on my skin, but not in this case. This is a strongly astringent scent, pretty much the same as in the bottle, with a LOT of throw.

 

Dry: A lot of these lavender scents seem to go rather "bath salts" on me as they dry. This one is not so bad as many but is not a favorite

[Sycorax]

Simply gorgeous!

 

Sandalwood and roses, with a slightly tart aquatic note. Lemon does very well on my skin, and in this instance I'm glad of it. This is floral, but full-bodied - definitely not old-ladyish like some florals can be. It's sexy, but in a sophisticated, old-world sort of way.

 

The only downside is that it doesn't seem to have a lot of staying power. I might have to buy a bottle regardless.