Vechernyaya

[lookingglass]

Three white musks with poppy and patchouli.

I keep going back and forth on this one.

I really have to slather to get the inital cold blast of the white musk. The patchouli is STRONG on me, very nutty and woody, like others have said; this is a big surprise to me, because I was expecting that characteristically earthy smell to just be binding the musks together. Ah, well.

This is quite manly for my tastes. I really didn't EXPECT this from this scent! It is like a rich old man. A damn good smelling rich old man, but STILL. When I think of a glittering star I do not think of a rich old man.

I need to just enjoy the white musk...wipe away the preconceptions. There is a creaminess there. Beth's white musk is the only one I have ever liked EVER and she is here! Center stage!

Why did someone say PEANUT BUTTER?!#%& I smell peanut butter!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think: night sky...bright stars...your beloved white musk!

I think I need an attitude adjustment.

[Gale]

This one I got an imp of, which I opened and promptly spilled all over my hands! Then I noticed how incredibly wonderful my hands smelled for the rest of the evening. Big bottle ordered right away.

 

In the bottle, Vechernyaya smells like cold, frosty musk with a little patchouli. I didn't smell any poppy (or peanut butter, thankfully!)

 

On wet, and dry 12 hours later, it smelled the same as in the bottle--it didn't morph, fade, or change in any way.

 

It is unspeakably beautiful and unlike any other BPAL scent I've tried.

[juniperus]

Bottle: Oh my! Patchouli!

Wet: The musks are stepping forward, mellowing the Good God It's Patchouli affect.

Dry: a lovely balance, golden and warm. I detect little of the poppy.

Later: I get the image of walking through a spice market at sunset - the pavement is still radiating heat form the day, all is gold-colored from the dying rays, and the spices and are perfuming the air. Complex, but mellow. Very nice.

[abberlaine]

Ooh. I'm torn on Vechernyanya.

 

Wet, it's leather-water and something strong, spicy, and sharp (the opium?). It quickly develops into a warm, strong-smelling cologne. Brought to mind is the skin of a man who's well-built, has strong-opinions, profuse body hair, and is a practitioner natural healing. Swap, swap!

 

As it dries, it gets a hell of a lot sweeter and fainter. Now, it's gone from full-fledged hippie to something that might be worn to an artisan's market. There's a bit of a licorice-like tang.

 

Soon, it develops this skin musk property that I really, really like -- I suspect it'd contribute to a killer make-out session.

 

On one hand, it's comfortable enough that I can work it, but on the other hand, I'm having trouble feeling at home with a "hippie" scent.

Edited May 2, 2006 by Abberlaine Arrol

[theseagrows]

i get a strong patchouli when i first put this on. then the musks come out more and a slightly citrus/herbal/aquatic(?) scent. it smells very much like commercial perfume on me and is very strong. it has a strong biting scent to it too. maybe that's the poppy? i dont really think this one's for me.

[Wyndi]

First impression is powder. Not that nasty baby powder smell, though. It's almost like a lightly scented body powder you'd get at a high end department store. This is my first experience with white musk and poppy both and while it's not a bad smell, it's not something I could wear all the time, if at all. If there's patchouli in here, I can't tell.

 

This is a very feminine, light, and airy smell. Something for a luxuriously appointed drawing room, perhaps. It sure does have staying power, that's for sure. And the scent hasn't evolved at all on me. It stays true from the moment I put it on until it finally fades away to soft, gentle nothingness. The overall impression is one of incredible gentleness and femininity.

 

But we all know that ain’t me.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Oh, this is pretty! It’s bright and cold and sparkling.

 

Wearing: Oh how I love white musk, and the Evening Star is a glorious pairing of airy white musk and earthy patchouli. It’s nose-ticklingly breezy.

[Nekomata]

Smells like white musk with a bit of poppy, dries to a powdery finish. Not my favorite musky scent but not bad.

[damuddymeg]

This is so not my normal kind of scent. While I love musk, especially white musk, poppy and patchouli are not scents that I typically gravitate toward. Still, it was a frimp, gotta give it a go, right?

 

in the imp: A little musk and a little floral. There's definitely patchouli, but I'm not getting the dirty, earthiness of black patchouli. This is distinctly subtle.

 

Wet: Lots of people have called this a "cool" scent, but I don't get any chill on this one. It's warm, without heavy throw even when wet. The musks are out in full-force. The poppy must be hiding.

 

Dry: The patchouli settles into a warm skin-smell upon drydown, unobtrusive and mild. The musk settles over this like a veil, smooth, soft, and approachable. The occasional breath of poppy sweetens the blend slightly from time to time. It fades gradually--after about 7 hours, I have to concentrate to smell the last faint hints.

 

However, both my husband and a coworker commented on how good I smelled today. AND, my hopeless husband (to whom things either smell good or not-so-good) picked out the musk in this blend! Who knew!?

[indicolite]

At first this smelled very very commercial-perfume: must have been the musks. It still smelled that way on paper, no matter how I sniffed. However, on me in a few minutes I got...peach! Very lovely peachlike scent, but why peach?

 

I may have been smelling something else that smelled like peach to me, but I know what patchouli smells like, and I did not think it was poppy.

 

Anyhow, I like it and want more (this was a sniff of someone else's imp).

 

ETA: A different imp is not giving me the peach note. Poppy raged, and as always, any opiates have me on my guard: you drug me, you will get me mad! But now it is settling down to musk and patchouli together, and is doing nicely - ooh, and there is the little hint I may have taken for peach before.

 

Quite a lovely blend, although I am not sure it is a daily wear one. But as previously stated, it may be nice for a make-out session.

Edited July 12, 2006 by indicolite

[The Perfumed Ferret]

This is my fav. musky scent. It's so warm and enveloping. I need a 10ml.

[Eunice]

This is good stuff! The musk is very strong but very soft. More of a delicate musk than an animal musk like Satyr. The patchouli isn't the "stinky hippy" scent at all. It lends an earthiness to the musk but doesn't overpower it at all. I only smell a little bit pf poppy but it is just enough to round this oil out. This is another scent I purchased because of American Gods and another bottle to be added to my must have list. This is an amazing opposite scent to Czernobog.

[dnipbhsw]

I'm really loving this right now. I smell mostly musk, and it's a soft, delicate musk. Some musks are so strong and feral that they just scream, "I am man!" but not this one. I find it to be warm and subtle, like the scent of skin. I think the poppy helps to sweeten it up just a enough to make it more feminine, but it is by no means a sweet scent. The patchouli takes a back seat in this blend.

 

All in all, I think this is warm and sexy and a little dark, just the way I like it. I can imagine how some might find it to be masculine, but I don't get that at all. It's beautiful and I'll be wearing it a lot.

[edenssixthday]

Vechernyaya - This is a really nice blend that changes a lot from the time I first apply it until it fades. When first applied, it smells strongly of patchouli, and it’s pleasant, but doesn’t particularly impress me. As the oil dries, it becomes musky, blending with the patchouli to create a sense of warmth and comfort, making me think of being wrapped up in animal skins by a bonfire. The muskiness is crisp and sweet, and I can’t stop smelling my skin where I applied this scent. After about 2-1/2 hours, the warm sweetness of the musk fades a lot, and the patchouli fades entirely. This is when I detect a lovely, warm floral scent on my skin – a scent I didn’t notice before. I am completely unable to identify the floral note until I look up the scent description and see that it’s poppy. The floral layered over the faint traces of musk is lovely. This is a scent that sticks very close to my skin from beginning to end, and the staying power seems to be about average on my skin.

[BrightRedScream]

So smelling this in the imp I can smell the patchouli, which is a love/hate note for me.

I like it with certain blends, and in others - it triggers migraines.

This patchouli however is being toned down by what I'm guessing is poppy.

 

While wet on the skin, I can't say that I like where this is headed...

To me it smells like too many other commercial perfumes that are out there, and actually reminds me of something that my mom used to wear that I LOATHED...

I honestly can't see this being gender neutral, because on me - all that comes out is poppy - which is insanely floral.

 

As it dried down the musks came out a bit more as well as the patchouli a TOUCH..but I still couldn't see my fiance wearing this

 

Not for me.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: No patchouli whiff and that's sort of surprising considering patchouli's tendency to win EVERY thumb war, if smells had thumbs.

 

On me: Wet, I just smell musk. As in, that's all I can smell in the world. WHOO STRONG. Fortunately it evolves into a scent safe for humans after about a minute. A light musk, complex, crisp, somehow seeming to have depth without being overpowering. The patchouli must be nearly nonexistent in this one. My fellow said he could smell it faintly, so the problem is clearly that all my... taste... is in my... mouth. Um, insert nasal equivalent. This does smell like the sort of thing you'd spend seventy bucks on in Nordstrom and get a cheaper, tawdrier scent out of (I don't know if I'm allowed to mention the one it reminds me of.) But I'll keep the imp, because there are occasions where musk would serve me well. It lasted forever, too, even through the Dr. Bronner's treatment.

[Diva Urd]

In the imp I get the musk with a very slight undertone of poppy. The patchouli is unnoticeable, even though it must be what anchors the scent on my skin, as white musks tend to be very short-lived on me.

 

On me, it's about the same - it is definitely feminine, gloriously so. However, it is also icy, no-nonsense and understated, and even though it's a rather soft and close-to-the-skin scent on me, it sticks around forever.

 

My first association when I was wearing it was "Soap opera villainess" - y'know, the lady in the elegant clothes scheming behind the other characters' backs.

 

I adore this, and I can't wait to try the other Zorya scents! I definitely want more of this!

 

EDIT 8/2009: I got another imp of this out of a swap, and in this one, the patchouli note is quite a bit more prominent than in my old imp. Just sniffing the imp actually scared me a bit, because it was so different from the one I had! However, on me, Vech still works her magic. The musks are beautifully bright and ice-cold, and the patchouli actually lends it a slightly earthy note in the background - only ever so slightly different, and still absolutely gorgeous. I really need to scrounge up some money and get a bottle of this already!

Edited August 11, 2009 by Diva Urd

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: Oooooo, this is very musky in the bottle. I’m swooning just sniffing it.

 

Wet: This is mostly musk with a touch of resin-y goodness. It is warm and dark, as if the tail end of a gorgeous sunset was personified as an equally beautiful woman.

 

Drying down: Delicious: the poppy comes out almost as a floral. The musks are still singing. I don’t smell the patchouli, but I can almost feel it there, supporting the other notes.

 

Dry: To me, this is a swoon-worthy blend. I picture a sultry woman in black velvet, whose dress flashes purple in the setting sun.

 

Later: This has settled into a heady, mature, feminine perfume on me. The musk really carries it for, though the poppy turns it into a definite, yet not soapy, floral. It’s sophisticated. I like it.

[klavierbarrette]

in the impy: not so bad...smells like trouble though (for me)

 

on skin: EEK. i'm not sure if this is musk or patchouli but i can't stand it.

 

drying down: it gets softer, the poppy comes out. i was about to put it in the swap bag, but i think i'll hang onto it.

[melrose]

I knew musks and patchouli loved me - what do you know, poppy does too!

 

This is fantastic, from first on to far drydown. It changes hardly at all, which is unusual for me. It has decent lasting power, and is a scent I can wear anywhere.

 

It's dadgum near perfect!

[kuanyin]

In the bottle and wet, this is very men's aftershave to me. And not one I would be drawn to. As it dries it becomes a woman's perfume, heavy on the perfume part. It is pretty, but too brittle for me. It seems clear, sharp and cold. I don't dislike it, but it isn't one I would want in more than an imp.

[Miss Lynx]

Unsurprisingly, this is very strongly white musk on me. The very light, powdery, feminine sort of musk, like the Body Shop's White Musk scent. I have no idea why some people are likening it to a men's scent -- on me, at least, it's hyper-feminine.

 

There's a light dusting of floral over the musks, which thankfully does not amp up horribly on my skin the way that many other florals do. I guess poppy is one of the better-behaved florals on my skin, or else maybe there just isn't very much of it in here.

 

The patchouli is barely there, just a very faint earthiness behind the flowery musk. I wouldn't have actually guessed there was any patchouli in it if the description hadn't mentioned it. It's not really enough to ground the scent much; it still comes across as very light and ethereal.

 

The overall feeling is light, wispy and cool, like an evening breeze -- suitably enough, I suppose, for its namesake. It's a pretty scent, and not unlikable by any means, but a little more conventionally "perfumey" than I usually like.

 

Grade: B

[cranberry]

In the imp: smells mainly of perfume or cologne, in the classic sense. also like clean, clear musk.

 

On the skin, wet: this reminds me of an expensive cologne, musky, rich, sensual. Classic.

 

Dry, this still smells like an expensive perfume, classic in style and structure.

 

Overall, this is a beautiful, crystalline, classic scent in a light musk that I'll enjoy when want to feel like a lady.

[steffanina]

Vechernyaya-

 

In Bottle: Something a little...perfumey, amberish, sharp.

 

Wet: This smells heavily like a commercial perfume scent to me. Doesn't appeal so far.

 

Dry: I'm getting that insect repellent cologne-y smell here. I'm not sure I can wait on the dry-down on this one...Okay, I did wait through the dry-down, and it's better, yes. Powdery, nicer, but not anything I'm going to marry. Pity, I love white musk usually.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[supremegoddessofall]

A pretty patchouli that's not overwhelming and almost has a myrrh-like quality to it. The musk isn't overwhelming.