Les Infortunes de la Vertu

[diamondstars]

A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense.

I picked this one at random to try from my bag of untested imps. So glad I did..it's a new favourite!

It smelt familiar and I couldn't figure out why, until I read the description: A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense. It's quite nostaglic this one, reminds me of when my dad used to come back from a night out wearing his ancient leather jacket, smelling of booze! Smells different on my skin though, thankfully.

Also the orange blossom always stands out for me too. Love it!

[DarkClarissa]

In Imp:Smells like freshly washed hair.

 

Wet: A lovely fresh shampoo scent. Reminds me of a specific shampoo from years ago.

 

Dry: A hint of new leather mixed with the shampoo smell. I really like this one.

 

Verdict: I'm not really getting any of the specific notes here at all, apart from a whiff of leather occasionally. This is a wonderful clean scent. It would be great after having a bath on a really hot day, when you finally feel REALLY clean to slather this all over! Yum!

 

Marks out of 10: 8

[Lamia]

In the bottle it smells like... do you remember in the 70's and 80's perfume companies used to send out sampler bottles? They'd arrive in the mail and they were always floral and underwhelming but DAMNIT they were free and so grown up! Nothing you'd wear but IT CAME IN THE MAIL! Yeah, that's what this smells like in the bottle, one of those. On skin, it smells like... celery? An unsolicited freebie perfume sample based on celery? Alas... Drydown, I guess it's a combo of leather and oakmoss. Boring. Trade bag.

[terrenity]

In the imp: Leather? Something somewhat acrid.

 

On: It blossoms out into a nice floral with a hint of leather underneath... innocent-looking, but dark.

 

Dry: And here comes the rose. Rose always amps and drowns out the other notes on me, and it happens here too. Fortunately it is willing to share the spotlight with some of the other florals, making this a very pleasant ladies' perfume. I'd classify this as a white or pink floral.

 

Overall: This will be great for days when I feel like something spring-y and flower-y, but I can't imagine getting too much wear out of it. I'll keep the imp, but don't need a bottle.

 

 

Color association: Pale pink.

[suki]

in the imp: leather, smoke, oakmoss. nice!

 

wet on skin: the leather has receded a bit, making this purely smoky oakmoss.

 

dry down: the leather returns, but more subtly. the smoke retains it's smoky glory and the oakmoss lends a slight sweetness to temper the other notes.

 

in all: usually smoke notes just smell like vetiver on me. this retains the smoke without the heavy earth-tone of vetiver. i'd personally layer this oil with something sweet, like Love's Philosophy, for contrast. but either way, it's a keeper, and not just for the BDSM crowd, either

 

 

 

 

ADDED Aug. 31:

 

in the imp: a nice green oakmoss.

 

wet on skin: the leather is coming into the mix- the oakmoss is balancing it nicely, which surprises me a little.

 

dry down: leather dominates (how appropriate! ) and i get only a hint of any floral. the oakmoss has mostly flown the coop.

 

in all: if you like leather as a note, check this out.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: I wanted to kick this when I saw the rose in it - other than that, I'm really quite tempted by the idea of a floral leather. With incense to boot, yummeh.

 

In the imp: Orange blossom and leather.

 

On the wrist, wet: Still mostly the orange blossom, but there's a leathery soapyness underneath.

 

Twenty minutes later: Lost the orange blossom, now just left with the leathery soap. Pity, this isn't gonna fly.

 

Verdict: Swap

 

Tl;Dr: Didn't work. AT ALL.

[badseed1980]

I put this one on this morning, first thing after getting dressed for work. I have my five year anniversary tonight with my boyfriend, so I want to smell GOOD for him tonight. What got me to say, "Damn, I NEED that one!" was the reviewer who (on the first page of reviews) said it reminded her of Bandit and Habanita. Now, as someone whose non-BPAL signature scent is Habanita, and who is eager to try Bandit, and who loves 1920s-1940s perfumes in general, that was a ringing endorsement for Les Infortunes. Wet and drying on me, the primary note is the leather, tempered a bit by the orange blossom. The oakmoss is just generally a grounding influence, barely there itself. But slowly, the leather seems to be disappearing on me, and I can barely smell the florals now! Oh, bummer! This one had so much promise right out of the bottle, but I can barely detect anything anymore except the gentlest whisper of flowers. This is pretty, but not noticeable enough on me. What a pity.

[tinyvulture]

at first this smells like a basic floral blend, maybe a little herbal, nothing really identifiable. but after a minute, the leather and amber come forward, followed by incense, and make it into something really interesting and sexy. i love the combination of strong masculine leather with the sweet powdery amber. i think i’ve found a floral my husband will actually wear. it’s better than any commercial cologne out there.

[Iceblink]

Slightly sweet, slightly amber-y leather. TONS of leather. I'd love to smell this on someone else besides Miss Leather Amper me.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Floral, leather, orange blossom.

 

Wet on skin - Same as in bottle, but with a tinge of baby powder.

 

Dry on skin - Orange blossom and a smoky, musky undertone. White flowers.

[rayvn1]

Ooh leather - can't go wrong with a good leather scent in my book! As it dries I get hints of the warm amber and florals. Not a whole lot of throw or staying power, but I really enjoy this one! Sexy and feminine.

[donnatron]

Imp: Mossy orange blossom.

 

Wet: LEATHER! LEATHER LEATHER LEATHER LEATHER LEATHER!!!!! So much leather! Leather wearing a leather jacket and then taking said leather jacket off and smothering the other components with it. Leather then stands on top of the jacket and laughs his evil, maniacal, leathery laugh. Basically, there's a lot of leather.

 

Dry: The leather continues to predominate. Reminds me of the leather from Buggre Alle This Bible. Sort of a dark, salty, kind of boot leather scent. It's not a dry leather, however. More of a lush, wet, clean leather scent. I can faintly smell the orange blossom but nothing else.

 

Throw: Leathery.

 

Overall: I am not all that into smelling primarily of leather. I like it as a supporting note but this is just too much leather. It trampled all over the other notes and I am not a fan. If you like leather or don't tend to amp leather then I would recommend it.

Edited February 22, 2009 by paperrose

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Oakmoss and leather with orange blossom and the slightest hint of amber. Very green and mossy, confident and masculine. The oakmoss and leather make this sharp, but the sweeter orange and amber soften that edge just a touch. Still, something about this scent makes me think of a sharpened dagger.

On, wet: Primarily the sharply green moss and softer, sweeter orange blossom, with some sensual leather beneath. The other florals are way in the background, and there's nothing incensey here yet. The amber is faint, but it's slowly warming up and turning golden. Yeah, this is a sexy, smirking, wicked villain's cologne.

On, dry: Sweet, amber-gilded flowers on a smooth base of leather, with the oakmoss still piping up sharply every now and then. Still very chypre-like and masculine, but more gentlemanly—a really appealing, smooth and sophisticated sort of blend, but that leather underneath strongly suggests (not so) hidden kinkiness and very little conscience—he's going to charm you and then do unspeakable things to you. The florals are well blended and indistinguishable from one another—there's nothing that screams "rose" or "orange blossom." Still no incense for me.

Later: Sweet amber, incense and flowers, still backed by the leather. This is much more feminine now… maybe it's the despoiled innocent, praying for forgiveness? ;-)

Overall: This is very complex and very well balanced on me. It's quite sharply masculine in the imp, with that oakmoss and leather, but once on the skin, it warms up, sweetens up and becomes more charming and androgynous. The leather note is lovely, especially after the dry down, when it's anchoring the ambery flowers and incense, but there is something unsettling about this one. It's very appealing, yet somehow… sociopathic? It's not too mannish for me to wear, but I would like to smell this one on a guy.

 

 

[BuxomM]

This is leather and moss with a light floral when dry.

[catattack]

This was a very faint scent. Considering the notes, I though this would be really powerful and intense. Unfortunately, all I got was a chemical smell.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Interesting, a soft whisper of moss and leather. Barely there and a breath of florals.

 

Wet: Rosewater and orange blossom water, a little warmth from the amber, a little tickle of incense.

 

Dry: It is so very delicate on me. That seems at odds with other reviews but there is it. Most of the notes are there and they play together nicely making a surprisingly neutral scent. Not really masculine or feminine.

 

Overall: I'm going to wear this for the day and see how it does out in the heat. I'm intrigued.

[annanwater]

Warm leathery rather sexy orange blossom scent. I was testing a few different imps, because I get overeager when I have new BPAL to try, but kept going back to sniff this one. Very comforting, slightly masculine but not enough to keep me from wearing it. I'm going to try it a few more times, but might end up with a 5ml of this.

[topazphoenix]

Orange blossom and leather with a hint of amber. Nomnomnomnomnomnomnom.

[burningbright]

The first time I wore Les Infortunes, it was nothing but sharp, bright, harsh leather for at least an hour, at which point it toned waaaay down and turned into a lovely warm-but-still-slightly-edgy amber-ish leather-ish oakmossy floral. I liked the end result, but I really wasn't sure I wanted to sit through all that LEATHERLEATHERLEATHER to get there.

 

I tried it for the second time yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised when the leather didn't blare out. Instead, I got the lovely warm fragrance right off, with a touch of that old worn-in leather jacket smell. I went around all day sniffing my wrist, feeling like I'd just spent an hour cuddled up next to my favorite guy and his cologne had rubbed off on me. The end result was warm, comfortable, and a little sexy--sort of like a woman wearing a man's shirt. As a bonus, it lasted forever--I showered and washed my hair, and I could STILL smell a little bit of this. I can definitely see this working on girls or guys, and if I had a boyfriend who smelled like this… let's just say I'd be one happy camper. I'll give it another try or two, just to make sure it doesn't morph back into that OTHER Les Infortunes, but I think it's safe to say this one's on the bottle list.

[Graphica]

in the bottle: This is the first leather-based scent in which I smell the leather right off the bat. I like. Leather, amber, incense. Comforting. Calming. Sensual. I can say with utter certainty that I long to be surrounded by this scent. Whether it works on me remains to be seen.

 

on wet: Still leather, amber, and incense. No hint of florals.

 

drydown: I'm already losing the leather and going to almost straight amber with a hint of incense. I'm starting to think that I need to research oils without amber, as I seem to amp it to the point of no return. I don't dislike the scent of amber, I just don't want it to be the only thing I smell, and on me, amber doesn't play well with others. Though I usually really dislike florals, the almost one-note-ness of the amber now makes me long for the scent of florals just to break it up.

 

one hour later: I washed my hands a couple of times for food prep and lost most of the scent, so I reapplied. On second application I get the leather more strongly immediately after application. After the second drydown I'm still smelling mostly amber, but I have to admit that, although my nose isn't pulling scents out that I can identify, there's definitely more to this than amber. The primal part of my brain, the part that has no use for words, is feeling comforted, safe, and amped -- aware, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I feel like I'm wrapped warmly in the arms of a strong man, listening to his quickened heartbeat. Flippin' amazing. Beth, I worship you.

 

end of day: The most sensual phase of this oil only lasts about ten or fifteen minutes on my skin. I like it overall, definitely. I really like it in the bottle and absolutely love it for the first ten minutes on my skin. I have to declare this a winner, but I'm going to have to try it simultaneously on and in a locket to get the full effect, I think.

 

compared to official description: I don't pick up any of the florals, which is probably a blessing. I definitely think they're there, but only evident in the in-the-bottle stage, where they add to the whole without standing out. That's really amazing to me, as florals always seem to go straight to the top of the heap when I'm wearing them, whereas here they fade completely out. I was very afraid to try an oil with rose listed, as I've had rose-based scents go cloying (and rotting) on me before, but ... this oil can do no wrong.

 

notes: I should add that this seemed masculine to me at every stage, but that only increases my enjoyment. It makes me want.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Graphica

[Venneh]

In the frimp, I'm getting what I think is the orange blossom, rose, oakmoss, and maybe the leather? Once on my skin, this becomes an amazing blend between the leather, the florals, and what I think might be the amber or the incense. The leather in this quickly and strongly amps on me, and I think I might've applied a bit too much. Going to retest after the weekend and see if I can get a better balance on me. First instinct says this is a keeper, though; whether or not I get more depends on the second test.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Venneh

[melrose]

I loves me some leather, and it loves me back. This smells freakin' GORGEOUS on me - leather with a touch of sweet spice. If only it had throw or lasting power. I must think of some way to make it last, because I slathered. This may be in my top ten.

[Juushika]

A frimp from the Lab. This is not one I would have ordered on my own—I like some of the notes (orange blossom, amber, oakmoss, incense) but others (leather, rose, florals) I dislike or are deathnotes.

 

In the vial: I get exactly what I don't want out of the blend: a cologne-like scent, dry and vaguely floral but masculine.

 

On me: The dryness of the scent dies off during drydown, and the amber and incense amp up a bit in the first half hour—they provide a firmer grounding for the airness of the florals. But this scent's perfumey, cologne-like aspects never fade. It's a dry, slightly powdery, slightly soapy mixed floral, and while the rose never amps (as it is wont to do on my skin) there's still too much floral here for me to appreciate or accurately analyze the scent.

 

Verdict: As I feared, the florals and the leather/oakmoss blend make this too much like a drugstore cologne. To my nose it's simply unpleasant, so no, I won't be keeping my imp.

Edited July 16, 2010 by Juushika

[FathomBelow]

I got this as a generous freebie from the Lab (thanks!!). I would never have ordered it myself, as some of the notes - leather? oakmoss? incense? - are a bit scary.

 

In imp: Heavy and sweet...I can definitely detect an incense-y smell. It's so heavy that it's making my stomach churn a little, actually. Definitely not something to wear on an empty stomach.

On skin: The incense and the flowers dominate, with the leather/oakmoss in the background, deepening the scent. Again, it's thick and heavy and a touch sweet. It's not masculine on me, but it's definitely not feminine in the girlish, youthful sense. The staying power is above average for me at 6 hours.

 

Strangely enough this puts me in mind of an experienced, middle-aged gypsy woman or circus fortune-teller...with oily dark skin, really heavy eyeliner, bright patterned clothes, and gold jewelry. I like it for the vividness of the image it calls up, I think it needs someone older/more experienced/more mature than me to carry it off.

[whisperstilled]

In imp: Leather, incense.

 

Wet: Green with leather, likely the moss.

 

Dry: It fades very quickly to a sort of soapy leather. Liz is still a much preferable leather scent to me. This feels like its less-attractive cousin, but I will keep it hanging around just because it's got such a good, strong leather note.