Villain

[Allumina]

A classic Victorian men’s cologne: a lavender fougere, with hints of lilac, lime, and citrus musk.

Hoping to like this one more than I did. Smells and stays, very “clean” like expensive cologne. I think it's the lavender I'm not too fond of- I get lavendar and musk and no citrus. It smells nice, it just isn't spectacular.

[Suu4LC]

This is quite masculine-a light lavander men's cologne with hints of citrus. Very pleasant, and possibly something I would hold onto to test for my boyfriend, but I am not sure this will be a "me" scent.

 

This is a bit more herbal on my skin than I would have expected. Still, I would best describe it as lavender cologne.

 

Overall, this is a very classy, dignified lavender cologne. While I would say this is a masculine blend (masculine, not manly), I can't imagine a man living nowadays who I would say is dignified and gentlemanly enough to wear it!!! Definitely still soft enough for a woman to wear. I would not purchase a bottle of it (I will stick to Yvaine for my lavender fix-I'm a girly type), this is a very lovely unisex blend.

[mazikeen]

It smells like walking into a room with an indoor pool! Chilly chlorine that's oddly comforting (I always love that chemical blast of walking near a pool). Then it turns herbal and light.

 

It's very nice. Pretty-- definitely not what I would typically think of as "masculine." Unfortunately it fades fast. Villain drops by for a memorable visit, but hightails it out the door as soon as he can.

 

Lovely, and the kind of scent I could fall head over heels in love with. However, with the super-short wearlength I just can't justify a bottle.

[GeorgeJr]

This was in the first order I ever got & I can't believe I've never reviewed it . I must make amends . I'll just start right off by saying I loved this the first time I smelled it . I was never a fan of colognes , so when I put this to my nose it was quite the revelation . Fortunately I do get all the notes from this , including a slight dose of the citrus ( mainly while it is still wet ) . This has a nice throw & good staying power on me . And this , this is the kind of floral I could wear any day . It is obviously there , but it doesn't hit you over the head with a bouquet yelling " Incoming mail " . I just love everything about this scent . I love the name & I love the ideal behind it . I can just imagine Snidely Whiplash smelling like this , or better yet my hero Vincent Price .

[isisonearth]

A wonderful spring scent for a man. Crisp lavender and lime but with a breath of spring from the lilac. It dries down to more of a slightly floral skin musk. Very dapper. It belongs on a man in a white linen suit.

[milo]

All I know is that I love this. Not on me, but on a guy. I cannot pick out notes, still not very good at this, but I do know it is very masculine. After looking, I see why I like it, as lavender and citrus are two of my faves--a no brainer. I get something sweet, not sure what that would be, but all in all, a very sexy masculine scent.

[Iceblink]

Surprisingly sweet for something inspired by a men's cologne. It's mostly musky lavender and lilac. I think the lilac is going powdery on me which is amping up the sweet factor. Very little throw on this one, but it's nice enough.

[llhorian]

Villain to me is flowery, a bit fruity, very fresh at first. I'd say clearly unisex 'cause I don't want to rule out the girls here but I can definitely see lots of guys wearing this. It mostly stays the same over drydown, gets a bit softer but still nicely fresh or crisp if you want.

I quite like it and see this working especially well on guys in spring and summer.

[Dark Alice]

This scent does not evoke it's name at all. It's light, green, and it reminds me of Tide. I love this. But it is definitely imp worthy.

 

[themerrybaker]

Gomez Addams in a bottle. Gomez is my secret crush, and this would smell great on him - but something more tisha for me, please.

[tehriaz]

hahah, what?

 

this smells like a spicy vanilla on me. WAY off. but oh my god delicious. I hope it's this good when my chemistry and nose aren't off!

[Vespar]

Luckily,I didn't have the review at hand when I wore this one,so my review is gonna be totally un-biased!

 

In the imp:Rubbing alcohol?Vodca?

 

Wet on skin:Wow,this scent really is a man's cologne.When wet,this one smells exactly like a cologne my brother or father used to have,but it's less alcoholy and has a velvet undertone that I can't quite put my finger on.It's masculine,yet very elegant.This is the perfume of a refined man in an expensive black velvet suit.

 

Less than 20 minutes later:Hmm..this one has mellowed a bit and now smells like aftershave balm to me,in a good way.To my nose,it smells like a.ll sp.i.ce cologne,and I've always loved the sweet smell of that one.

 

An hour or so later:Villain has a really strong throw.I only put on a dab and the scent wafts up to my nose even after over an hour.And I'm talking about some strong wafting here!

I noticed a note that's in Loviatar as well.I know,that these two scents are completely different and I think they have no note in common,but I get a whiff of leather from Villain,even though it's not noted in the description.Weird.

 

Verdict:It's a pretty interesting blend and I do enjoy it.I've always had a thing for men's perfume and this is one of the most beautiful manly perfumes I've ever smelled and it doesn't seem weird for me to wear it.

I wonder Villain would smell on a guy.

[chronomaster7]

Mmm my first bpal ever, it is definitely the favorite of the group I ordered. I smell like a high quality men's cologne.

[voodoocatwoman]

Wet, Villain is primarily lavender. On drydown, the musk comes forward. Someone earlier mentioned this reminding her of Old Spice After Shave. ABSOLUTELY... and it is quite comforting, because when I sniff my wrist, I am once again 4 years old and my dad has just kissed me good night on the forehead.

[MisterShrapnel]

This is totally has a polite men's fougere/cologne feel! Not particularly unusual, but the Lab sure knows how to do men's cologne classy.

On occasion I can get brief and passing similarities with clean laundry and men's shaving cream (which is when I worry that people will assume I'm wearing Axe or something and frowwwn at me) but I can't deny that this extremely pleasant. I have a weird perfectly reasonable obsession with button-down shirts, suits, etc (I probably should wear skirts and dresses more often but I love more guy-ish clothing) and this plays all over that part of my brain. Comforting and gently musky lavender, and the citrus never feels sharp, the lilac never too floral. I'm curious to see what gloriousness comes out of this on man-chemistry, but most girls should be able to rock this too.

It took a couple tries for me to reach a decision, but I believe a bottle is in order once the imp runs dry (oh why can't there be more that I absolutely hate...). Villain feels like an ideal clean-cut scent without being too sweet (Dorian) or grassy/nature-like, and it's a hell of a lot more subtle than my top top top favorite, Crowley. I find the name highly amusing as well, even if it something that only I will know about. _{You toss in a word / I'm your villain...}

Edited January 25, 2009 by MisterShrapnel

[March]

Villain is strange on me. Most BPALs are way too strong for me and I prefer to dilute them a little (or a lot - I think I diluted my Snake Oil 20 times at least, and now it goes on just perfect!), but I barely smell Villain from the imp at all!

 

When I put it on, even undiluted, it seems like there's a delay in my nose.

 

*sniff* - one mississippi, two mississippi - Hey, lavender! There you are!

 

I love it, it's not straight up lavender (which I also like a lot) but a more brooding kind of lavender. It doesn't stay around on me very long, but I like it enough to keep re-applying. In a scent locket, the throw and staying power are amplified a lot, which is perfect in my case because Villain isn't a morphing kind of scent on me anyway.

 

 

[badseed1980]

I had seen the descriptions of this scent before, but thought, "none of the men in my life would wear it, and I'm not sure I'd ever be attracted to the kind of guy who could pull it off well." I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. I just started dating a guy who wears Villain, and I'm surprised at how much I like it. It's more masculine than I expected, a little sinister, and suits him perfectly. You do not need to be the kind of guy who has an entire wardrobe of Edwardian clothing, calls himself Lord Something-Or-Other, or studies renaissance dance to wear this scent well. It's more versatile than that. I think that given the right body chemistry, any guy with self-confidence and charisma can manage it.

[theatrically]

In the imp: Lavender and musk. Not getting the citrus at all, which is a shame, as I love lime.

 

Wet: Smells kind of like bug spray--like that "skin-so-safe" stuff my mom used to make me wear in mosquito season. But not at all in a bad way.

 

Dry: Still a bit bug-spray-y, but nice, summery. My skin usually amps up florals to the nth degree, which is unfortunate since I'm not a fan of them, but I'm not getting any of that here. I don't think I'd buy a bottle but it's not at all unpleasant!

[catattack]

Imp: Lavender and men's cologne

Wet: Lavender and spice. Very masculine.

Drydown: Smells really old-fashioned. After a bit, it goes slightly soapy.

Overall: This is a clean spicy men's scent. I think I'll try this on DH.

[liquidtrance]

In bottle, a reeeally nice accented lavendar. Immediate contact, probably mostly the lilac and citrus musk, not so much the lavendar. Suprisingly nice because it is neither sickeningly sweet florals, or B&BW citrus. Wow. It continues on and gets really soft, almost powdery. The crispness of the citrus is rather lost... The lilac must be what's dominant. The lavendar never made an appearance on skin. This scent is nice, and unusual, but not everyday wear on skin. Maybe with the locket! Almost too young a scent on the skin.

[djsiberia]

its very hard to tell the notes apart since my nose decides this just smells like men's cologne

 

[ekolmus]

In the bottle: Wow, this has a cloying smell that sticks to the back of my nose. Icky. I bet that's the lilac.

 

Wet: Well, I can smell the men's cologne from here. It's much better on my wrist than in the bottle.

 

Wet, 1 minute later: Yummy! However, this is a very old-fashioned cologne, like something my BF's dad would wear.

 

Dry: Masculine, short throw. Very nice, but count me out of the nose to crotch connection camp. We'll see how it goes when I try it on the BF, but I could take or leave this one.

Edited June 24, 2009 by AnneOnymous

[tragedy]

Scared of anything with lavender or is classified as "mens cologne" but this is really nice.

The lavender is soft, I get the lime, its all blended very well and does smell like a very nice high-end cologne.

The kind that I can tolerate though!

 

(*coughs* Please noone kill me for this, but it very slightly resembles Brut, in a way, which my first ever boyfriend wore )

[Acushla]

Out of the bottle: I think I'm smelling the lilac/lavender most but the lime is definitely coming through. Very sharp and clean. I can see why this is called Villain.

 

Upon application: Yup, I'm getting bug spray pretty much exclusively, like "Off" with a hint of sophistication and fresh laundry. I really wanted this one to work on me, but alas.

[rayvn1]

What the hell was I thinking? The lab's cologne tends to go really and I mean *really* wrong on me (Famine, Toad, Dr. Jekyll, etc.) But I thought Noooooo this one will be different! Dude. It's what I assumed went wrong with Famine (vomit) in concentrated form. Yikes.