Vishpala v2

[naeelah]

Vishpala is an Indian warrior woman in some legends and a horse in others, so I thought this could end up smelling vaguely spicy and leathery and/or musky.

 

I'm half right! It smells quite similar to Nanny Ashtoreth, on me. I forgot about the part where Vishpala lost her leg and was given a "leg of iron", so stupidly, I didn't think about this being a metallic scent!

 

Vishpala starts out really strong on leather, but then light florals become apparent -- similar to the ones in Nanny Ashtoreth or maybe Galvanic Goggles. As it dries, the florals steadily overtake the leather, but a smooth, black leather note, like de Sade, remains in the background. There's a hint of metal, and it's a subtle, soft metal, like pewter. It's not bright or tangy like some metal notes.

 

So, in short, I get: leather, airy florals, iron.

 

ETA: After about an hour, the flowers fade enough to reveal a smoky base note. It must be some kind of resin, but it kind of reminds me of wood embers.

 

ETA 6/18: This smells really different to my nose now than it did when I first got it. It's better. I can definitely smell light pine now. Fairnymph describes snow slush, which I can see. I think I was smelling the snow before, thinking the leather was stronger than it is. There are definitely some light florals, and I still feel like it's the same sort of ones in the lab's "indian flowers" bouquet, because they all turn to soap. That's what this smells like on me when dry: floral soap, with a hint of snow, leather, pine, and iron.

 

Anyway, this blend is chock full of stuff that turns cool and soapy on my skin, so it's hard to differentiate. If there is indeed leather, I still think it's the De Sade variety, which -- you guessed it -- smells like soap on me.

Edited June 19, 2009 by naeelah

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Very pale yellow oil. Cold, woodsy and herbal. It definitely feels like a 'snow'/winter blend, and I get some evergreens, and something citrusy. Some sharp florals. A little sweet, the way that a lot of the winter piney blends are.

 

Wet: Juniper, pine, and that snowy 'slush' note. Less sweet, and less sharply floral, less 'hairspray'. Still mentholic, but in a nice way - not overly medicinal. Eucalyptus? The citrus strikes me as lemon or white grapefruit peel - it's zesty and subtle, not juicy.

 

Dry: It has a lightly soapy clean edge that I really like, and the pine has faded. I think the sweetness comes from a berry note, but it's so faint I can't quite pinpoint it. A bit more floral - osmanthus, I think? I also get a bit of chrysanthemum. The soapy citrus thing is a little bit sparkling - in the same way that Independent is, but this aspect is very light. I think one of the herbs in here is sage?

 

Later: I think the 'pine' note is actually tea. Going a bit musky, in a way that is new to me. A very feral, almost furry sort of musk. It's almost warm/woody/dry - it reminds me of the feel of cedar in saunas. It could actually be a dry, warm wood, and maybe the musk is separate? My nose is having difficulty differentiating.It's a definitely a unisex to masculine scent.

 

Summary: There's a smooth, oily effect that is the same combo of tea & chrysanthemum that's in Daiyu, though this is not as sweet. And then white grapefruit peel, juniper, strong osmanthus and lightly piney slushy snow. Sage (clary?) and possibly some eucalyptus, musk and dry woods.

 

naeelah got metal...and there is a weird tang that could be iron. I wouldn't have thought it myself, but I can see it potentially now. Leather, I don't get at all. It's fascinating to me how much this morphs on my skin, from something I'm not crazy about to something I quite like. It's a bit masculine for me, but sort of sexy. Very intriguing.

 

If Hunger Moon and Daiyu had boy-children, maybe.

Edited April 13, 2009 by fairnymph

[zankoku_zen]

I definitely get the pine on this. It is especially wicked strong on wet. It's spicier than usual, and as it has more of a musky base. As it dries, I get the leather and slight metallic tang to it.

 

This smells like running around dark woods with your sword unsheathed wearing leather pants. Enemies beware!

[Dark Alice]

This is the lightest pine note I have ever sniffed. I am also getting some heat/warm smell from this. I also smells some sort of wildflower This is running around the pine trees and flowers on a hot NC day.

[Little Bird]

I only had a small bit of this to test. My overall impression is that it's sharp and light on my skin.

 

I get something like sharp, cool pine here at first, with something that smells soapy. As it dries down, I get less pine and more of a perfumey floral feel, and perhaps a hint of sharp citrus. Perfumey, musky floral and a touch of sharp citrus & smoke... still a bit soapy on my skin. I don't really smell the leather that other reviewers have mentioned, but leather sometimes smells smoky on me, and something about this does smell smoky.

 

I don't care for this much. It's too sharp for me and the soapy edge doesn't work for me either.

[stellans]

When first out of the bottle, the florals in this blend have the upperhand, but they don't stand in the way of the burgeoning leather and iron notes, not at all! This is a very lovely-beginning blend, then a powerful blend, and finally a deep, resin-y blend, a journey which fascinates me. I'm going to enjoy getting to know this bottle better...and my thanks to the lovely cinderfallen, who picked this up for me at the Dark Delicacies Trunk Show last weekend! You rock!

[edenssixthday]

Vishpala v2 - This is a very perfumey scent. There may be a lot of musk and flowers in this, but the strongest note is something heavily woody, almost like sandalwood, but I think it's pine -- not like standing in a forest pine, but like standing a cabin newly built of pine wood. There's a bit of a snow/slush scent, but I could be confusing the pine scent for that, too. No wait... it's winter flowers that I'm smelling! There's something super fruity-sweet in there, too, almost citrusy, but not quite. It's a strange one. Overall, I'd say this is a perfumey-musky-woody-piney-floral and I honestly have no idea if I like it or not. I think I do, but maybe more for a room scent than a personal fragrance.