Villain

[Delirium1009]

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

In bottle/imp: Light, aquatic men’s cologne.

Immediately on skin: Slightly flowery and citrusy. The lavender is definitely there, as is the citrus musk.

After a few minutes: I actually like this one on me! The lavender and lilac are very light, and these two usually go VERY strong on me. The citrus musk is there, and it makes the blend less floral. It’s a gorgeous unisex scent.

Later on: This fades to a nice musky lavender scent. It’s very soft and has just a touch of citrus. I need a bottle of this!

[dzurlady]

I really loved the smell of this in the vial - predominantly lavender, with hints of lime and lilac adding depth. But on my skin it pretty much disappeared, until I slathered it on. Then it mostly disappeared, but I got lavender which threatened to go soapy, and later the soap turns into a faintly dusty musk. Very disappointing after such a lovely start! Definetly one for a scent locket.

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: Huh, smells familiar? Like salt/sea/ocean, for some reason.

 

On/wet: Faintly floral... but... really, I think it smells like something else.

 

Drydown: Okay, so it smells pretty good on me... but... and this is not a good thing--It smells just like my dad's cologne! I can see it working for a guy, or for another girl, but...err... not for me.

 

I wouldn't be able to stop laughing.

[Lethran]

Very soft and lightly floral, though managing to hint vaguely at men's cologne. Think Victorian dandy, not man's man. I can see the fluffy cravat in my head as I sniff it. The citrus saves it, I think, giving is a sort of fresh smell. Together with the lavender and lilac it smells a bit like laundry hung out to dry in the spring. Not bad, but not brilliant.

[catrinella]

Imp: Lavender and lilac with something almost minty hinting underneath.

 

Wet: Restrained lavender with a wee bit of citrusy musk coming up.

 

Drydown: The citrus is sharpening, and it's starting to smell a bit medicinal.

 

1 hour: It went soapy/cleaning product - an expensive soap, but soapy nonetheless.

 

3 hours: Very faded and smelling a bit like the lingering scent of hospital antibacterial handwash, of all things.

 

Verdict: I am really bummed by this. Villain had been near the top of my to-try list for months because it has all the notes I love. I still like Beth's "masculine" scents the best, but alas! Villain and I were not meant to be.

[grashopper8]

Wow, I think this scent totally smells AWESOME!!!

 

I'm wearing it today, I don't care that it's a men's scent. The florals in it sweeten it up just enough for me to pull it off...I hope....

 

The lime smells incredible with the lavender. Just perfect. It's like they were meant to be together.

 

The musk emulsifies the blend into perfection.

 

The only gripe I have is that it doesn't last long enough. It smells beyond awesome at the beginning, and then some of the notes fade and it turns into a nice skin scent.

 

This is a great blend, Beth is so awesome for concocting it. It smells the way men's cologne should, without harshness and fakeness and 'ugh, dude take a bath, it's cheaper!' Just a clean, fresh scent. I'm an instant fan.

 

I am making a BPAL gift pack for my dad for Christmas, and I think this may be his favorite in the bunch. Enabling I go!

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Cologne-y

 

Wet: Lavender and male cologne, citrussy lime!

 

Drydown: Oh, it goes powdery on me! I think it's something about white musky male scents, because Whitechapel does the same on me!

3.0 outta 5

[scarletgenesis]

Villain came today in a small purchase I'd made (just 6 imps). I'm feeling cruddy and have a cold, so I honestly didn't expect to be able to smell much. But I haven't worn or sniffed anything from BPAL in a few days and just wanted to smell SOMETHING. So I tried this one...

 

In bottle: woah aftershave! Spicy and very men's cologne-ish.

 

Wet, on application: Hmmm. Some nice citrus coming through now, and the cologne smell is much gentler on my skin. Much more natural than commercial colognes.

 

Drydown: I'm getting some lavender and a bit of sweet powder now, but still get the spice, musk, and a mild citrus.

 

Verdict: I bet this would smell wonderful on my husband, if he let me put anything on him. Funny, he thinks nothing of taking coconut-scented bubble baths, but says he doesn't see the point of perfumes and the like.

Very masculine and refined. I think it's rather sexy, actually. I even like it on myself, though I only used a tiny amount on each wrist this time.

 

I'm impressed that I can smell this much!

[suki]

in the imp: very much about the lavender, but with a tiny, tiny hint of the cognac found in Black Lace

 

wet on skin: more lavender, but this is definitely a male scent, like an aftershave a gent might have worn to the opera about 100 years ago.

 

dry down: while lovely, it's very male- and very grandpa. i can't possibly allow my fiance to wear this, it would be too weird.

 

 

in all: this should be worn by proper dandies and fops, but none whom i'm in love with!

 

[rhiannonsanchez]

We got this as a frimp in our last order, and I forced my husband to put it on lastnight and was so glad I did. He smelled abseloutely divine! I simply wanted to eat him up. Theres the lovely gentleman's cologne and then a strange but lovely aquatic note underneath that I dont really know where its coming from. Im definetly considering making my husband get a bottle of this.

[waternight]

In the imp: Gentle lavender, musk, vaguely citrusy

Wet: White musk and gentle lavender, with a tartness from the citrus. But the citrus doesn't really show up in its own right, just lends that tartness. To be quite honest, I find this blend unsettling.

Dry: Pretty much the same as the wet phase. Lavender/white musk with a strange citrus aura.

[hkhm]

imp: lime and lilac and perhaps lavender.

 

wet: this is all men's cologne on me.

 

dry: once dry, this is much nicer. the lime and lilac are both much stronger and very nicely blended.

[sirsaber]

When I got this I must admit I was skeptical about it. It seemed like it would be a femmy sort of scent. On however,heh I definitely could see villainy in this from a nobility sort of villainy. Its masculine but in a very refined way. I absolutely love it.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sharp classical men's cologne. Reminds me of 4711 or the men's section of a Crabtree and Evelyn.

 

Wet: Weird. I get a distinct hint of leather. This smells like the love child of Severin and Saint-Germain.

 

Dry: The leather note disappears. I think it must be the lavender I was smelling, because lavender is now the dominant note while I couldn't smell it at all before. I get a dark, murky lavender with a bit of crispness in the background.

 

Throw: Good. It's also delightfully balanced and all the elements are part of the throw, not just the lavender or the citrus musk.

 

Overall: I'm not that fussy about this on me. It's nice, it's well blended, but it's a very handsome, manly scent. I like this for daytime office wear or some other benign task, but it's not social or sex-me-up scent.

 

Unless, of course, I can get it onto the boy.

[ryokokoro]

I definitely smell every single one of these notes as it settles on my arm. Mostly floral and masculine with some citrus musk...almost androgynous actually. Not sure I'll bottle it but I'll keep the imp around, should more use change my mind.

Edited March 27, 2008 by firewoman

[kuroitsuki]

Villain is a really wonderful, delicate, refined prettyboy cologne on me. It's all citrus and lavender at first, bright and clear but not really "sharp" to my nose. It then gently mellows out into a well-blended, slightly powdery lavender-lilac-white musk scent, smooth and soft. The color that comes to mind is a lavender-tinted milky white.

 

It is very light and inoffensive -- which might be points against it for some people. Clean, mild, and quickly-fading, it's not really a good blend for making a statement. I find it incredibly comforting, though, and love to wear it for myself.

[savage_rose]

This smells like the BPAL equivalent of the Fantasy Bath scent Neptune to me! Ooh, I LOVE it. It's clean, herbal, and unisex to me. It fades all too soon though.

[greenranger]

A frimp with my latest order.

 

In the imp, definitely lavender and possibly musk?

 

Wet on me, lavender and a sort of cologne scent...interesting, and not what I expected at all. Lavender, and possibly...leather.

 

It's fading. At least it's fading to my nose. It hasn't been overwhelming at any point. It might be a scent for a day when I really want to wear perfume, but, circumstances prevent me from wearing the ones I like that have more throw. Well behaved and mannerly, at least on the surface.

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Powdery, peppery, citrusy green fresh floral

 

Wet, on me: Definite lilac and citrusy and herbal green

 

Dry, on me: Powdery, lilac and lavender, hints of citrus, still very fresh. Quite yummy, but doesn't strike me as particularly masculine. Extremely pleasant though. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. Mmmm...

 

Dry, half an hour later: Spicy lilac citrus with faint hints of lavender and fruity musk.

 

Yummy, definitely a keeper. Reminded me a bit of Saint-Germain, which I also liked.

 

[Edit] I can't believe I forgot to mention this before, but this scent smells like a much better version of the Body Shop's Eau de Zitron, a perfume oil blend they had in the mid 1990s. When they discontinued it I was very sad, so finding Villain has been a happy thing for me.

Edited July 10, 2008 by Greensleeves

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I get lavender and musk.

 

On my skin, it's herbal and warm - the lavender and the mossy-ness of the fougere are most prominent.

 

When it's dry, it's very subtle - I never got any citrus; it's all lavender and moss. This one's not for me.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Lavender and lime

 

On Application

Quite sharp and astringent. Quite strongly lavender with a sweetness beneath.

 

Dry Down

I almost get anise in the initial stages of drydown. 10 minutes in and I am really starting to like this more. It was initially a bit fragmented but has now blended to a sweet colgney floral - not startling but pleasant.

 

Rating (0-5)

3.5

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Colourless oil. Herbal lavender, but not sharp and medicinal - green and fresh and bright. Hints of citrus and musk, but rather simple.

 

Wet: Still almost lavender single note. A bit soapy, and a bit minty too. Almost medicinal, but still mostly just very herbal. I pick up a bit of that sort of sweet lime. Reminds me a bit of Wilde.

 

Dry: Definitely something minty in here, the sort of mint that I do NOT like - pennyroyal, I believe. It's amped considerably, as has the soapy note. The lavender has faded a fair deal and lime holds faintly in the distance.

 

Later: The musk here has grown over time, and is a bright, almost sharp white musk. I think, sadly, the soapy note is lilac, and that soap is has some powdery and floral nuances now. It and the musk vie with the mint and lavender for dominance.

 

Summary: Herbal lavender, bright white musk, faintly lilac-floral soap, somewhat softened, medicinal pennyroyal and a wisp of sweet lime. Masculine, soapy-clean, cologney. Decent throw, good lasting power.

 

I loved the smell in the bottle, but the pennyroyal, though it became more tolerable with time, killed this for me. It's also a bit too soapy, at least on my skin.

[coldandsleepy]

I get mainly a nice soft lavender (it's powdery, but in a good way) and a mild lime. I can't personally pick up on the lilac at all, which makes me incredibly happy because lilac makes me sneeze like it's my business.

 

This smelled a great deal like King of Hearts to me, except with lime where the cherry is in KoH. It's got a different feel than KoH-- where KoH smells very foody and feminine on me, Villain smells clean and masculine.

 

If you're a person who often shies away from lavender because you think it's too strong or medicinal, this might be a good blend for you to try.

[BohemianWeasel]

Ohhhhh, this was almost the perfect scent.

 

It seemed quite faint at first, so I put quite a bit on because the initial whiff was truly heavenly:

a delicate and intriguing musk that winds seductively around a surprisingly complementary lavender, creating a scent that is both clean, pure and very sensual.

 

But I say 'almost' perfect because there was something in it that was faintly bitter and distracting. Possibly one of the lavenders, or the lime note (which is more bitter peel than zest or juice in this blend), it had the medicinal twang of a institutional detergent, and almost marred what was otherwise a perfect blend.

However, with time the 'detergent note' fades and just leaves the most gorgeous pale green and lavender musk behind.

*sigh*

[AthenaRose]

Villain smells wonderful on my fiancé. It's soft and gentle, but mascline for sure. It smells a lot like his aftershave. What a beautiful blend!! This is one of my favourites on him.

 

4/5