Villain

[obsidienne]

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

This reminds me of Gillette men's shaving cream. Really. Very musky and strong smelling! I can't break it down further, because that's all I can think of.

[fairestrocza]

Another entry in my Quest for the Perfect Lavender...

 

In the Imp: Delicate, light

 

Wet on Skin: Man Smell... aftershave?... a touch of spice, a hint of lavender

 

While Drying: Man Smell, a touch of soapiness, and a touch of musk

 

After a Little While: Might have to wash this off; started to really bother me, slightly headachy, and not keen on the smell At All. Washed with soap, then hand sanitizer. I prefer lemony to cologney. Might throw on some Hemlock to clear my head of Vile Villain.

 

Later: Too man-ish for me; very little lavender; might want to try on The Boy; this is the most Manish scent I have found so far, and whereas many of my favorites have been suggested as potential man scents, this one I do NOT want to wear… washing off

 

Final Thoughts: Several of the blends that I love have their fair share of 'would be great on a man' comments in the reviews, so it did not worry me that this one seemed aimed at the masculine rather than the feminine. However, this one is just NOT for me. I want to test it on The Boy (maybe his skin will fix the headachey parts, and I have a feeling it will feel more Right on him) but I am worried that I may need to toss him in the shower if it doesn't work.

Villain earns a 1/5 on me.

 

[Stormslegacy]

Very masculine. In the imp I get the strong whiff of lavender but on, it's perfectly blended. It's a little department-store-ish. There is a distinctly baby-powder type of feel to it. The lime really rounds out the lavender. Overall, this would be a nice blend for a guy. Should add, this is insanely strong with a lot of throw. I used the tiniest drop and that's all it took.

 

It's clean, fresh and manly. I'm not getting any villain from it though, maybe a very high-class kinda villain.

 

Most women would not be able to pull this one off.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Stormslegacy

[tielan]

This is weird. Most of what I'm getting from Villain is an aniseedy kind of scent with a dash of musk. Very male.

 

If this scent is truly a villain, he's the sexy, heartless kind that will seduce the heroine into bed against her better judgement (and for his own ends), and will get his come-uppance in the form of having to question his own motives at the end when she rescues the hero from him. Redeemable? Maybe. Possibly even a deeply flawed hero? A mustache-twirler, not a swashbuckler.

 

Okay, now I'm getting the lavendar.

[tajana]

<b>Wet:</b> Villain starts off with a brisk squeeze of lime: yum! Then it blends with a bit of lavender and lilac, resulting in a light, slightly herbal, 'masculine' scent.

 

<b>Dry:</b> The lime backs down a bit and what I'm left with is something that reminds me very strongly of the musky fougere element of Dorian. It's light and clean smelling, like some sort of aftershave or cologne. Unfortunately, after an hour, the musk starts warping. Most of BPAL's musks end up being pretty inconspicuous and subtle on me, but occasionally, one goes bizarre, unpleasant, and sort of... savory and meaty? That's what happens to this one. It starts to take on the aroma of lunch meat. <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_eek.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_eek.gif" />

 

<b>Overall:</b> Pleasant at first, but the weirdness that ensues after an hour is just unforgivable! It's not exciting enough for me to want to try the imp on my boyfriend, so I'm just going to send Villain packing.

 

ETA: I stand corrected. I got frimped this and tested it on the boy, and it smelled great! Fresh, light, sort of smoky anise spicy and just sharply lavender-y enough with a smooth, soft classic clean musky base.

Edited April 2, 2011 by findaghost

[Invidiana]

The first word that came to my mind when I tried this on was "lethal". It's sharp not in a overbearing way but in the sense of striking you like a dagger. It also has a hazy quality that I'm attributing to the mixture of lavender and lilac, both of which easily make me drowsy, and musk. I get a hint of lime/citrus that adds to the "dagger-ness". A great interpretation, but I could never, ever drive a car wearing this stuff.

[impolight]

:::VILLAIN:::

 

 

Villain is the sparkling pulverization of any and all misconstrued notions about the world of flowers.

the Lilac in this fragrance is, par excellence, the best of it’s kind! There is really nothing else like it in

the aromatherapeutic realm.

Villain hails back to a time of top hats, steaming towels, straight razors, pomades, pocket watches,monacles and walking sticks. Villain is the snickering fiend with the waxed moustachios, wringing his hands and watching as the steamtrain thunders ever nearer to the screaming damsel in distress trussed to the rails.

Villain was certainly inspired by the assertion of Old World charm and elegance brought into vogue

by the likes of Edouard Pinaud. Villain cuts a dashing figure as he effortlessly seduces all who cross his

path and reveals his domination by charisma, intrigue, beguilement and wit rather than brute, tactical

force or chivalry.

Villain is Heather Grey with pinstripes, ivory, bootblack, lavender, pewter, and lime green.

Villain is not to be underestimated or trifled with.

If uncomfortably stretched and manipulated, Villain could be unisex in an abstract, tongur-in-cheek

Sort of way, yet was specificallt designed, without question, for Gents.

Prepare ye for a bevy of admirers, Villain is stupendous!

 

[DeltaCat]

Very clean soapy smell. I agree with the poster who said shaving cream! I can't pick out one distinct note, they all just blend together perfectly! A manly smell, but I love it!

[irishelf]

villian

 

imp: lavender and light musk. Yum. Also a hint of lilac.

Wet: It's very faint, but there's a bit of a waxy smell to this. The citrus peeks out a bit from the musk. So far, so good.

Dry: I get the feeling in my nose that there's a minty freshness in here, but I don't actually smell mint. Overall, a delicate, clean smell with overtones of lavender and citrus. I could definitely smell this on a man, but there's a unisex quality to it that makes it work for me as well. (Considering Dorian is one of my top 3, I'm not surprised. )

 

[ralenth]

Soft, musky masculine lavender. As the evening wears on, the muskiness becomes more dominant. If I walked past a man wearing this, I'm pretty certain I'd give chase. I definitely need more of this.

[Venneh]

Pretty much lavender in the imp, probably won't end up well. On my skin, I get a bit of lilac, but the lavender is quickly taking things, as ever, to nothing. Beh.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Lavender and lime juice. Very light. Not the usual heavy lavender. And doesn't smell like an expected cologne. Just a light clean fragrance. Like a refreshing room spray.

 

Wet: Ooohh, I like this! Not masculine at all. Gender neutral I would say. Very light and crisp. Pleasant lavender and lilac. Slightly citrussy without being sweet or too much like rind. Gentle soap. Like a baby's soap, but not powdery.

 

Dry: I want a bottle. Smells like baby (as in a baby product), gender neutral cologne. That's the only way I can describe it. Oh, also smells like something i would get in Europe, a soap or deodorant, or body wash that you find in any European store for cheap. Like Fa or something.

 

Overall: Love this. Will use my imp. The description didn't sound like something I would wear. Very masculine and heavy, and I don't like lilac oil. But this is something else. Love it!

[kattharia]

Once again, Beth and co. seem to know me better then I know myself! I can just imagine the conversation;

" Here try this, I made it just for you " No, I don't like lavender " "aww come on, how many times do I have to tell you, TRUST ME" " oh ok, but you know I really hate, Hey this is NIICE"

 

In the Imp, lavender and lime juice, but strangely, I'm intrigued, not put off by the lavender. On me it starts to sweeten a bit, although I never smell Lilac per se. I would call it more gender neutral then masculine. I'd like to try this on my man, but doubt if he'd go for it, he's a patchouli man thru and thru!

Strangely, when I smell this, I picture Jason Isaacs as the oh so evil, but HOT Capt. Hook, in Peter Pan 2003.

[hmelt004]

A very urbane and sexy cologne, gentle but sneaky. I get a lot of the citrus musk and lavender, and the lime is a sharp, fresh note in the background. This is definitely unisex, but not pretty.

[strahlend]

I really love lavender, and so I love this scent. It's lavender-lavender-lavender for me... riding that line between the high sharp lavender and the super sweet.... this is the middle ground. I bought a bottle after I realized I had almost used up my imp, when the bottle got here it was so strong and piercing that I was kind of sad - it's wasn't what I had previously experienced at all. I stuck it in a drawer for six months though and now it's just as perfect as I remembered. Love!

[FathomBelow]

I adore Dorian, and Villain has that lavender fougere in common. I also quite like lime. However, lilac is a note of death on me. Then I put this on and thought, hot damn, this is good! On wet, it's lavender with a hint of lime, which cools the scent down rather than exerting any particular character of its own. After it dries, however, it does turn into straight up baby wipes.

 

Currently I'm undecided about getting rid of the imp or not. If it just stayed like it was when wet...!

[ajansuz]

This was one I bought for my husband. We had such rousing success with Calico Jack that I thought if anyone could make a scent my man will actually wear and not whinge about, BPAL is it. Success! In the imp, this smelled the most like what I associate with cologne of any BPAL scent I've sampled yet. There's a sharp, refreshing citrus tang and unmistakable lavender.

 

Wet on him the musk rears its head in a most pleasant way and harmonizes nicely with the lavender. I usually adore lilac and have no problem picking it out in a blend. It's not strong enough in this to fully assert itself, but there does seem to be something a little sweet. The citrus keeps it refreshing.

 

Dry down is where this totally shines with his body chemistry. He has gotten quite tired of me grabbing his arm randomly just to sniiiiffff tonight. It really does hearken back to a more gentlemanly time, but the gentleman is a rogue. Make no mistake. This would've been left behind faintly on a calling card left by Dr. Moriarty.

 

We both love this. It's too masculine for me to want to try. However, this will be a good alternate for nights he doesn't want to smell like a pirate. Don't worry, Jack. You're still our first love.

[SophieCedar]

This is the first scent that, on first whiff, I exclaimed that it exactly emotes the name. Musky lavender fougere with round citrus and lilac, when wet. The lime is more definable on the drydown. Strong, sinister and evil, but refined, smooth, and beguiling!

[Lydialove]

This is so nice on me, it's stupid. The lavender fougere steps into the background immediately, letting the musk and lime out to play. If you'd asked me yesterday if I liked to smell like limes I would have probably responded in the negative. Hey, guess what? I like to smell like limes!

 

It might be a little masculine at first. I don't care. Eventually it settles into a faintly herbal, faintly tart, fully beautiful musk.

 

I still have to find out if this is nice on my husband. I'm not sure I want to share this imp with him, though.

[puellacaerulea]

This is probably the first straight-up masculine (as opposed to unisex) imp I've gotten. It's definitely a classic men's-cologne type of scent, very clean (but not at all overpowering) with mostly the musk and lavender standing out, but it's better than any men's cologne I've ever smelled. Not something I could wear, but I keep the imp around just for random sniffing. If someone secretly replaced every bottle of Axe out there with Villain, the world would be a better place.

[angelicruin]

Lots of lavender in this one. It definitely has that cologne-like quality that I associate with men's scents.

[mxtine]

I think this is the only bpal lavender perfume that hasn't smelled awful on me. It's very smooth in this blend, and I love the lime note.

[Incendiare]

Sharp lavender cologne in the imp. I once hated lavender. No matter what it was blended with, it always smelled medicinal but after years and years, I have finally grown to appreciate some perfumes and products with the essential oil. Here, it's not my favourite, but it's not bad either. Wet, Villain is a bold lavender musk. The lime peeks out a bit too. Very unisex. If you like lavender, try this out. The lime gives this one an interesting twist.

[IsabelleAngeline]

So, I've had this for awhile as an imp that came in my order. I smelled it when it came in and quickly put it away, just from the smell in the imp.

 

Well, I've been searching around the forums for awhile now and in passing have seen great reviews on it. Deicding I need to try more of my imps, I look through my stash to see what I haven't given a shot. Villian. Hmmm... there must be a reason why people like it so much.

 

SO, I put it on and immediately the strong lavendar smell that put me off is gone and what's left is a light, bright, pinpoint citrus soapy smell. I had to look up the notes on this. I would never try something like this and would never imagine it would smell soapy, nor would I imagine I would actually LOVE something so soapy smelling. But I do. I absolutely love this. I can't stop sniffing myself, as if I keep forgetting what it smells like and must immediately have another amazing whiff. I know this is a "man's" perfume, but it's lovely on me. I imagine on the right guy it would be A-MAZING. Soft, intriguing, sexy, but clean. I'm normally an amber, musk, spicy, resin, rich, warm, sweet smell type of girl, but I just can't say how much I love this! So much, I had to get up and review it.

 

All I need now is a man to try it on. (and a full bottle)

[Morsigne925]

Got this to test and see if I would like it on my BF - gonna test on myself first :3

In the imp: This is exciting. I smell lavender and citrus - it reminds me of Dorian, which I love, but more fresh and not as sweet

Wet: Getting more of the citrus, especially the lime with the lilac/lavender still strong, but in the background; I am *really* loving this scent, this is going on the BF as soon as I can get him to hold still.

Drying (~1 hour): This is to me more distinctly masculine than say, Dorian - it has that light spicy background scent to it that I think of when I think of men's cologne - I *really* like this scent and I hope the BF does too because I gotta say, if he smelled like this I'd never be able to stop smelling him. It is a very sexy man smell :3

End of the day: 5 stars straight up, loved it from the imp to the drydown

 

Revisit AUG 2014:

 

Imp/Wet: Smells to me like a combo of lavender, citrus, and a bit of eucalyptus, perhaps. Quite fresh, fairly green/herbal smelling. Somewhat reminiscent of irish spring soap.

 

Drying: Smells more and more "green" whatever that means; I guess more eucalyptusy. Is that even in the notes? *looks at description* Guess not, but that's what it smells like to me. Definitely getting some lavender too - I wouldn't say it's MACHO MANLY smelling but I would not complain if a guy smelled like this. Lord knows it's x1000000000 better than the axe junk I usually smell from 4 blocks away.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Morsigne925