Vain Sorceress

[LiberAmoris]

Mad with power, madly in love, or just mad: a dark, spellbinding, seductively narcissistic mix of tuberose, blackened vanilla musk, caraway, white gardenia, red amber, black velvet accord, and jasmine sambac.

 

I meant to review Vain Sorceress last year, but didn't get around to it. But I should have—it's gorgeous. Definitely one of my favorites from 2013. The blackened vanilla musk and black velvet accord alone...! Tuberose, gardenia, and jasmine sambac can go either way on me, but here they're so pretty. The red amber warms everything up and the caraway adds a very slight anise note that's more herbaceous than licorice-y to my nose. It's definitely powerful (and I don't mean the throw), so there can be no sitting in the corner when you're wearing this one. This is a big personality in a bottle.

[doomsday_disco]

In the bottle: Whoa! I can definitely smell the 'black velvet accord' in this, and it is very realistic! I also smell the florals, blackened vanilla musk, and what I think is the amber note. Fortunately, I don't get any caraway from this in the bottle, and I hope it remains that way on my skin.

Wet: I'm mostly getting the floral notes from this. Although the jasmine is quite prominent on my skin, it hasn't turned into a stinky jasmine yet. The black velvet and the amber are lingering in the background. This scent is strong! The blackened vanilla musk is present, but it is not a main player on my skin. I think it's main role is to tie everything together and keep the floral notes in check.

Dry: The black velvet accord is now the dominant note, and the amber is still present. The floral notes have now taken a background role.

Verdict: I am sad that I didn't get more of the blackened vanilla musk from this, but I am glad that the caraway wasn't problematic for me. It definitely has a regal feel to it. I am going to keep it because I have nothing else like it, and I am curious to see how it ages.

[whisperstilled]

Rediscovered this one in the imp pile, and finally getting around to test!

 

Wet: Ooh. Strong wet rose, and not in a good way. Something underneath is not working here. Cherries? Maybe it's the ambeer combining with the other floral notes, but something in the vanilla has gone weirdly fruity.

 

Drying: Nope.

 

Dry: Some of the weirdness is burning off, but this one s maybe too well blended, and these notes, which sounded great on paper, are intensely not working on the skin. Sickly sweet.

[VetchVesper]

I bought this bottle second hand, and if not for Zii's review, I would have supposed it had spoiled.  Funnily enough, it smelled nice to me when it first arrived in the mail, but months later, when I got around to giving it a good test, the smell from the bottle was positively rank.  I've never refused to skin test one of BPAL's oils, but I came close this time.  It just smelled like rot and fermentation and all sorts of very not good things. Less like poo, and more like something that had been stewing in a plastic container in the sun too long.  This did NOT go away on my skin, as I'd expected it to, until I'd had it on for nearly an hour.  Then it became a semi-pleasant floral with the taint lurking beneath, and then sort of a non-descript, inoffensive, hair-sprayish floral. 

 

 

Since my initial horror, I have retested with varying results and asked others what they think.  Out of half a dozen or so friends, none have experienced the revolting aroma I have, nor do I always experience quite the degree of petrification as I did that one fateful day.  I suspect the indoles in the white florals, mixing with the unusual caraway note and hitting my nostrils just right (or wrong), are what birth this monstrous aroma. But sometimes, sniffing the bottle produces pleasant results.  And, as I write this, a dab of Vain Sorceress is wafting from the back of my hand and is quite alluring: sultry, plush, feminine - something I would wear happily. However, it did take about 5 mins of unpleasant, quazi-rot smell to get here.  It brings to mind all those evil queens and stepmothers who trapped their unsuspecting fairy-tale mates before revealing their more unpleasant natures.  😈  Vain Sorceress is certainly a scent experience: a fickle mistress of extremes.  I haven't quite decided if I want to put up with her or not for her better moods.