Vixen

[jparrack]

Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreaker's perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli.

A sweet, strong smell that takes a while to fade. The orange is topmost, mostly as a sweetness, with patchouli playing a supporting role. The ginger starts to come out as it dries, and it becomes spicier, though the sweetness of the orange blossom continues to be topmost. Patchouli is only noticeable as a robustness to the scent that wouldn't be there otherwise; I can't really pick it out on its own.

[djsiberia]

i love the scent when i first put it on. it's balanced and then it sorta has a slight sour orange scent and then it's very light and gives me a headache. i think the orange blossom is to blame for the light sweet scent. the patchouli hasn't kicked in yet and i can smell the ginger only slightly.

 

eta: after this has been sitting around for a while, the scent isn't so orange like...its more rounded and i love it. i need to get a bottle with my next purchase and let it sit for a while before wearing it.

Edited March 1, 2008 by djsiberia

[donnatron]

Imp: Patchouli! Patchouli and a bit of a sweet candy smell that I guess is the orange blossom.

 

Wet: There may be ginger in this but my skin is having none of it. I get a patchouli-frankincense scent that throws me for a loop. I like the scent, but church incense doesn't say "Vixen" to me.

 

Dry: Now this matches the name. I get a nice base of patchouli with a floaty orange blossom and slight spiciness over top. This changes the longer I wear it and brings that wet, mossy incense-y scent that I just love. This is a very lush, feminine scent and I'm a little sad I chose to wear it to work instead of immediately over to the boy's house.

 

Throw: Tons. I was making a bagel this morning when one of my coworkers came sniffing around. She said it was very nice.

 

Overall: I may have to upgrade my imp to a bottle and then use that bottle to scent myself, my sheets, my towels, and undergarments and my cat (maybe not the cat, but I love it enough to do so).

Edited February 21, 2008 by paperrose

[angelslurry]

Received an aged frimp about the same time as my last order in which I got a new frimp, so here's to both.

 

New: Mild incense at first, no hint of ginger. Dries to something.... pretty nice, but... oh, uh oh, it's pushing the Play-doh envelope on me. Then that fades, and it's mostly powder incense. To the discard pile!

 

Aged: This one's a bit more orange zest, maybe a leeeettle ginger. I like it more, but not enough for a whole bottle.

[DarthArwen]

I was thinking of orange when I put this on my shortlist, not of orange blossom. It smells nice for me, but not incredible. I can't find the ginger. As it dries down it gets a bit dry and powdery on me.

[Reaver]

Vixen

Ars Amatoria

 

Oh my. A subtle booziness floods this scent out while it is wet, the patchouli only getting a slight look-in. Vixen indeed. The ginger is foxy, the slight floral of the blossoms managing to ground this heady mix quite evenly. The ginger means it packs a punch. Dry, this morphs into a sweet, gingery floral. Very weak, but lingers for hours. She might be a vixen, but when she’s done raping your nose with ginger, she likes to make english muffins and earl grey tea. And she alphabetises by author.

 

Conclusion: Oh why didn’t it stay in the nose-raping wet stage?

 

4/10.

[twilighteyes]

I didn't much care for this the first time I tried it. Tried it again tonight, because these scents SHOULD WORK FOR ME. I love patchouli. I love ginger. I'm good with orange and orange blossom. So it should be teh WIN!

 

And today is better.

 

I am smelling a sweetened gingery patchouli -- almost foody, like molasses cookie with a ton of ginger, but then the earthy patchouli kicks in for a bottom note.

 

Now I am loving it. Weird how the body chemistry changes during the month.

[oracle2c]

Sexy and flirty. I combine this scent with Sin for my signature scent. It never fails to get me compliments.

[bellacalla]

Very sexy. The orange definitely comes out in the orange blossom, but the ginger and patchouli keeps it from being too fresh and sunny. As it dries the oranges fade some and all three notes blend together and it becomes completely sexy and beautiful, and not heavy. Its like my ideal lacy black lingerie - super sexy, but comfy and not obvious. Love.

[Kelism]

I get just what the description says: orange/ginger/patchouli (but it doesn't scream patchouli and it's not "dirty hippy" patchouli, I think the ginger helps make it more complex). The orange there but not obvious - I'm not sure I would have labeled what I was smelling as orange until I knew there was orange in it. It's very sexy and spicey and earthy. It's very strong and bold, deep and sensual. It has kind of a punch - there is no subtle about it for me. Vixen is the perfect name, too.

[anardana]

I LOVE this scent!!!

It is warm and creamy orange-blossom perfection. Not too spicy, not too fruity.

[mazaru]

Wet: lovely! Dark, earthy, with the orange blossom forming a really delicious top note.

 

Dry: I smell like a very exciting cupboard. I'd really like to know what's in this cupboard – I'm certain it's fascinating and delicious – but, sadly, it's still a cupboard.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Really dark patchouli, fresh orange blossom, a hint of spicy ginger; in that order. A deep mahogany-coloured, syrupy oil.

 

Wet: Very sweet! Dark musk, I believe, is responsible. The ginger is the fresh sort, not the dry spicy type, and the orange blossom is exotic, like the orange blossom water used in middle eastern cooking. The dark musk/patchouli blend is much like in Mme. Moriarty, or like Smut.

 

Dry: Dries quickly, becoming a touch powdery (a dark amber perhaps?) and fading in potency dramatically - almost with in seconds. A hint of sassafras emerges, providing a light root beer note. The patchouli and ginger have become a soft shadows, and the orange blossom seems to have entirely departed.

 

Later: A bitter note has emerged, slightly smoky...ahhhh, tobacco. I don't like it, though it's close to the skin. The patchouli and musk have come back strongly and even a bit of the ginger. This is now much more like the wet stage, without the orange blossom but with the new bitter note. A unisex scent that could work on a man quite well, I think.

 

Summary: I admit I am shocked by how different this is on my skin compared to how it smelled in the bottle; it morphs in a way that really shows of a delicious blend of sweet, dark musk and earthy, warm patchouli. If the ginger and orange blossom stuck around, I might even want a bottle, but they evanesce so quickly, revealing the faint but still harshly bitter, slightly smoky, spicy and unpleasant tobacco. It's a very sweet oil, really too sweet without the fresher notes to temper it. Good throw.

Edited May 7, 2008 by fairnymph

[Lamia]

This is a favorite - sexy chocolatey oranges!

[etienne]

This is a lot like Snake Oil on me - to the extent that I had to come here to read the reviews to see if others had made that connection or if my imp was actually a mislabeled imp of Snake Oil! I get a tiny hint of orange blossom but it's very gentle behind the spicy, strong notes of it. This would have fitted in great with the Snake Pit, it's like a less smokey version of SO.

 

Very sexy, definitely instantly moves into my GC top 10 and a bottle will be ordered in due course.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Mostly I was attracted by the name and the ginger in this scent, but we used to have orange blossom in the garden and it smells divine. I'm really hoping the patchouli doesn't mess it up for me.

 

In the imp: ... Patchouli >.>

 

Okay, I can almost smell something floral and spicy on top of that, and the patchouli isn't overwhelming like the black stuff can be, but I think it's because I really know what patchouli smells like (And I'm really iffy on the stuff)

 

On the wrist, wet: Aaaaand that's patchouli. Yay. I think for a minute there I... no, wait, that's just the patchouli. It tends to smell rather burnt and unpleasant on my skin which is giving this a smoky-headiness I wasn't really after.

 

Fifteen minutes later: This might as well be a patchouli single note on me. It's nothing compared to what Snake Oil did on me, but still - I don't like patchouli.

 

Verdict: Swap pile, alas

 

Tl;Dr: Patchouli haters, stay well away.

 

EDIT: Okay, I guess this is why you should always give scents a chance ^.^

 

Fifteen minutes is far too short a dry-down for this - I left it on and after about half an hour to forty-five minutes (Patchouli loves me - I dislike it intensely) I was looking at something MUCH more managable. The ginger is still lurking in the background, but the orange blossom has come to the fore and it's actually now quite sweet and delicious, with only a vague undertone of patchouli bitter smokiness. I have learnt my lesson about patchouli blends, methinks - these babies need TIME!

 

Verdict: Upgraded to a keeper, but unsure on a bottle as of yet. The long dry-down is offputting.

 

Revised Tl;Dr: Patchouli haters stay away for the first hour. After that, now you're talking!

Edited June 4, 2008 by GentlemanCaller

[Scanmike]

I have to agree with the person who said this is alot like Snake Oil on me. In fact, it's closer to Snake Charmer than anything else. The only difference I can tell is that there is less incense in Vixen. Pretty much identical on me. I have weird chemistry, but in this case, it's a blessing!

[alicia_stardust]

Patchouli and orange blossom! This is the sexy, sultry kind of patchouli and the orange blossom adds a touch of femininity. This is flirty and sexy and will definitely get you noticed. Love this one!

[Magpie]

A lovely ginger scent. It's rich and full, but with a bite. I can hardly smell the orange blossom - in fact it smells more like a kind of baked ginger. It is lovely and deep, and definitely sexy, though my kind of sexy usually involves more florals and vanilla.

 

It doesn't change much, just stays pretty and warm. I love ginger as a scent, and this is beautiful, but it really doesn't speak to me. I think a ginger that is blended with florals or other foody scents more would suit me better, but it's just my personal preferences getting in the way of this one.

 

I think I will keep this as a nice dispassionate sexy sophisticated scent.

Edited July 24, 2008 by Magpie

[taramarie]

On me, Vixen is mostly patchouli, with the other two notes in the background. Unfortunately, I keep getting whiffs of coldsore medicine (the same thing happened with Egg Nog) so I'll have to pass this on.

[Kimbernunk]

This is interesting. It's patchouli with a strong orange blossom topnote and a bit of ginger to round stuff out. It's okay right now but it's sending signals that it wants to age for about six months and be tried again. So I will do that and likely amend the review at that point. For now, however, it's much lighter than I expected, faintly floral, faintly patchouli-woody, and slightly spicy. The throw is about average in that I get the occasional whiff of it out of nowhere but need to bring my wrist to my nose to really get a good smell. Not bottle worthy yet, but we'll see after it's aged.

[crebbsgirl]

This is another favourite, which is a little surprising given my curious affair with patchouli. I really can't stand patchouli on its own; but I'm discovering I tend to realy enjoy it in blends. The orange blossom, patchouli and ginger are all beautifully balanced here. This is an incredibly sexy scent, perfect for a night on the town.

[anguissette]

Didn't work.

I was so hoping it would work.

I was looking forward to it with great hopes.

The culprit: Patchouli.

 

I have a vial of aged Vixen that I will try, will post if it does anything different. Will be interesting to see what effect aging patchouli scents has on my patchouli problem.

[smokey188]

when this first hit my skin it was sharp and punguent and then it settled into this powdery smell that reminded me of washing powder scented toilet paper and baby wipes. i like all the individual notes in this but together with my skin chemistry it just becomes blah!

[Ohmaude]

This is almost all dark patchouli, with the bitter-tang spice of ginger in the background. I concur with others who have suggested this is very similar to Snake Oil. They must share the same patchouli note. This is a bit darker with a touch of orange blossom sweetness and not as heady-sweet and smoky as Snake Oil as it lacks the vanilla note. So if the vanilla in Snake Oil has always been a deal breaker, Vixen may be the scent you have been looking for.

 

I'm assuming I received an aged imp, thanks to a forum swap. It certainly smells aged, and I imagine that makes quite a difference.

 

I've been wearing this for an hour now and it's growing on me. Not a new or suprising scent to me, since I wear Snake Oil quite often, but it is still sniff-my-wrist-contstantly-yummy and rich. I'm definitely keeping this imp, and if I use it all, it will go on my never-ending list of GC bottles.