Le Serpent Qui Danse

[Venneh]

A sinister, darkly seductive scent inspired by poetry of Charles Baudelaire. Violet entwined with vanilla and gardenia.

Got this as a frimp recentily; in the imp, this smells like a predominantly violet blend, with vanilla and gardenia lurking underneath. On my skin, it's predominantly violet and gardenia, and it's not blending so well. We'll see how this goes, but it's not looking good. The vanilla in this goes plasticy, and with the gardenia and violet, it's just wrong. To the swaps/sales with this one. Edited December 24, 2009 by Venneh

[skylarkza]

In the imp: Gardeni... VIOLET.

 

Wet: Spicy violet.

 

Dry: Spicy violet and vanilla! This smells dark and extremely feminine.

 

Many hours later: "Smoky" vanilla. If vanilla could be a dark and deep purple-grey smoke.

[KesHiro]

Frimp in one of my orders.

 

So excited when I got this sample. Vanilla? Ooo, I like vanilla! Gardenia? Ooo, I like gardenia! Violet? Ooo . . . wait, I don't know but it sounds nice!

 

In the vial, this is "HELLO, I'M GARDENIA!!!" It's lovely but also a little scary, like an entire gardenia bush suddenly uprooting and running straight at you because it wants a hug. Eek! Wet, the violet and vanilla instantly beat it back. During the drydown phase, all three are getting punch drunk on my skin as they begin to meld together. Once dry, I'm left with violet and creamy gardenia (some of the creaminess from the vanilla and some from the bloom).

 

It's very lovely and very feminine. Sadly, I don't see myself wearing it that much. I would have loved it if there had been some wood grounding the florals but I don't really do solid florals all that often. Still, I'm keeping my imp and will use it on those days where I'm feeling super girly. If you love florals, I highly suggest trying this one!

Edited January 21, 2010 by Kejiaron

[penemuel]

I love violet, and I love vanilla. Not so much with Gardenia. This starts out as a wonderful violet scent, then after a little bit it starts to get a sour/bitter scent to it that I'm suspecting is the Gardenia. As long as I'm not sniffing too closely, it's not too bad, and after about an hour it morphs into a nice vanilla/violet scent. I think, though, that I'll stick with other scents for my violet fix. Pleasant, but not bottle-worthy for me.

[Saya]

Starts off a spicy violet, not your typical garden variety. I'm getting that and the vanilla, but no sign of gardenia. This was going strong for about two hours and then faded. Not faded away completely, just hangs close to the skin.

 

I'll keep my imp to see how often I reach for it, if I empty it then I'll get a bottle.

[Finch]

In the imp it's a very, very sharp sneeze inducing floral. Initial application on my skin it's gardenia and an unpleasant undercurrent of vanilla that reminds me of melted plastic. After an hour or two it settles down into something sort of pleasant, but not worth the wait.

[SophieCedar]

Guess I'm getting a little too bold for my britches with these experiments into hated territory (violets being one). Violet Ray gave me courage to try another blend.

 

Wet: the violet explodes. My facial expression is akin to pain & suffering inflicted by noxious farts.

 

Drydown: ok, not so bad. I survived. however this may get swapped if I don't use it for boundary pushing therapeutic purposes.

[CitizenBree]

I know I've found a winner when I can't stop smelling myself. This was one of them. I obviously have a thing for violets and this one is no different. It smells a lot like Nocturne to me, which was my very first bottle purchase. This is strong sugary violets. Also a lot like Faith. The vanilla never really warmed up to me but I imagine that's why i got a taste of sugar in this. Overall, this is a huge winner. I love it so much I might have to get a bottle even though I have other violet scents that are similar. I can't help myself.

[musichappens]

My skin amps gardenia like no tomorrow and this blend was no different. Gardenia is the main note that I get with just a hint of vanilla in the background. This was really pretty for the five minutes that it remained on my skin; I wish it lasted longer.

[moon_lemming]

Had high hopes for Le Serpent Qui Danse when I sniffed it in the imp -- violets with a sweetness underneath, yum. Like a much less candy-sweet Faith. Then I put it on my skin and one of the many florals I loathe, gardenia, took over. Nooo. If I could kick the gardenia out of this blend, it'd be a winner. It's not really BAD as is, I just don't like gardenia.

Edited March 30, 2010 by karen

[Schmoozy]

 

One of the best violets blends ever. Violet and gardenia are sweetened with vanilla. It is creamy, sweet, and slightly spicy. Neither the violet nor the gardenia take over, each one stands out on their own and I love how I can smell both seperately and also together.

[mari4212]

On wet: Peppery violet is right! I'm getting a violet and gardenia mix at first, which makes for a sharp smelling floral. My mother came through and got a hug while it was still at this stage, and she said it smelled nice. Different noses, I guess, because this is rather sharp for me.

 

Initial drydown: still rather strongly violet/gardenia, but I think the vanilla is starting to surface.

 

After ten minutes or so: Huh. If I keep my wrists away from my nose, the vanilla will waft up and play nicely, turning it into a very pretty scent. If I get too close in to my wrists, I get the gardenia instead, and it makes me want to sneeze. The violet seems to have disappeared, but it's never a strong scent on me anyway.

 

After a few hours: It's died down to a skin scent, vanilla/powdery. The gardenia seems to have finally given up the ghost, and what remains is very nice. This is probably a keeper.

 

I think gardenia is one of the notes I amp, because this is the third perfume with gardenia listed where it has either started off the strongest note, or stayed very dominant throughout. And of course, it seems like you always amp what you're not fond of, because gardenia tends to be too sharp and makes me sneeze. At least in this blend, it's not overpowering.

[ModderRhu]

Le Serpent Qui Danse

 

It's violet, vanilla, and gardenia. What's not to like? Cheerful.

[melrose]

In imp, and on, wet: Gardenia, perhaps the strongest gardenia note I've encountered in BPALs. Obnoxious.

 

Drydown: Violet tries to emerge, but gardenia puts on the smackdown.

 

Far drydown: Same thing, except vanilla puts up the futile struggle.

 

Overall: nasty gardenia.

[angelicruin]

This is mostly violet on me. There is a slight creamy quality to it, owed to the vanilla note I'm sure. It's weird because as it dries on my skin, I'm getting this candy banana scent.

[amanderinorange]

When I first received this as a frimp I was not impressed. At all. It was going to go to a friend in a care package, but lack of fundage prevented that. I'm very glad it did though, as I got a chance to try it again.

 

In the imp: A bit of a harsh floral scent, almost no vanilla. Also a bit powdery, but it's kind of appealing.

 

On skin: Mostly violet, but the vanilla is starting to warm up. It's still powdery, but it's like an expensive floral and vanilla body powder, something close to the skin that intrigues. The gardenia shows itself a bit and kind of boosts the floralness of the scent. The overall throw isn't very great, it's more of a "get close and pulls you in" sort of throw, if that makes sense.

 

An hour later: this becomes a very lovely, soft and clean vanilla floral. It's very feminine and a bit seductive. Luckily the notes play nicely and none turns sour as is often the case with florals and my skin.

 

Overall: I will definitely be ordering a bottle of this. Florals don't often work for me as they can be headache inducing, make me sneezy and turn sour on me so having this work is a real treat.

[lahdeedah]

I recently decided to try adding some violet scents to my collection after receiving some samples of a french violet perfume that I quite like, but disappears in about 30 seconds. I kid you not. Through the swaps I picked a nice little BPAL violet imp selection and this is the first one I was prepared to give a proper test.

 

In the imp:

 

Hello GARDENIA! Is there violet in here? And on wet, what is that bizarre smell? Something swampy and green, vegetal. DNW! I can handle the big gardenia punch, but this is unsettling. After a few minutes that swampy smell is still evident but only close up, and the vanilla is coming out to play, yay! As far as I can tell, this violet is shy.

 

A bit later:

 

Gardenia is settling down and this is getting prettier and prettier, though now it is basically a powdery vanilla musk on me. I can live with that.

 

Hours later:

 

Wow, I'm really surprised at the staying power of this, it's really still quite potent and I only dabbed a teensy bit on the crook of my inner arm. Really, this is sort of what I expected Dorian to smell like on me, but it turns quite masculine. I bet the two combined would be quite nice-- tone down the uber-femme quality I'm getting from this, and Dorian lasts on me FOREVER too.

 

Final analysis: I quite like this and would consider a bottle, but that first stage is pretty off-putting. And the search will continue for my one true violet scent.

[ajansuz]

In the imp, gardenia! That was all I could pick out, wet, lush gardenia.

 

Wet, gardenia! Almost cloying, sickeningly sweet gardenia.

 

Dry down, violet rises up, throttles gardenia, and throws it to the floor in the smackdown of the century. Vanilla, where are you? The flowers are getting mean.

 

An hour later, all I was left with was a faint whiff of...swimming pool at the YMCA. WTF? I don't think this one is for me.

[ofthegood]

In the imp and while still wet, this oil made my nose itch. That was probably the gardenia or the violets - some strong florals make my allergies twinge. That went away pretty quickly, and I got a sickly-sweet sugary floral scent with a note that reminds me of a tongue depressor. No, I can't really place that note - but it's a bit of wood and a bit of disinfectant.

 

A few hours later, it was mostly vanilla, and a foody vanilla at that. Maybe just a hint of floral and spice behind it. Faded, it just smells a bit like cookies. Not my favorite.

[aquazoo]

Candied violet. This is exactly like violet flavored candy. Yum! Must be the vanilla making it so tasty.

[cupcakegernade]

In the imp, this is all gardenia. Once in hits my skin though, it becomes violet. The vanilla does emerge just slightly as this warms up. This is on the verge of becoming soapy, but it never quite makes the leap. I don't get sinister or seductive from this, but it is very feminine. There is a sort of sweetness to this, like a nectar or honey sweetness. After it has dried, the gardenia reasserts itself, and gives this scent a very soft velvety feel. The sweet nectar is still going strong on this. This is nice, but I think I might like more if the vanilla was more present.

[Marina]

Initially, in the bottle and wet on my wrist, this is a perfect violet. If it stayed that way, I would snap up a bottle in an instant.

 

Unfortunately, the violet fades very quickly and never returns. This scent goes through a baby powder stage, then after a few hours becomes a sweet (but not too sweet) anonymous floral scent. I never detected the gardenias (which I also love). It has staying power, and I like it, and will use the imp, but won't buy a bottle. I'll keep searching for a long-lasting violet scent.

[KittyHawk]

I received this as a frimp from my most recent Lab purchase (thanks, Labbies!). I was really excited to try this, as it's on my wishlist. Must be kismet!

 

In the imp, this is lovely and all gardenia. Oh my, how I love gardenia.

 

Wet, all I get is soap. Soap, soap, soap. WHY?!?!?

 

Dry, it's still soap. This should have worked on me. Numb, which is also a predominantly violet scent (right?) is gorgeous on me, and vanilla and gardenia are always safe bets. Numb must have been a fluke, because the violet in Le Serpent definitely does not love me. To the swap pile.

[whataboutprom]

Wet, this smells like dish soap, maybe the original Palmolive scent? As it dries, the violet comes out and I get violet candy drenched in dish soap. Eventually a little vanilla comes out to even things out, but the dish soap smell never goes away for me.

[Tanya]

I cannot believe how much I like this. Vanilla is not always my friend, neither is gardenia, and violet can be iffy. These in combination are really nice. Quite strong at first so restrain is required. The vanilla stays strong but not syrupy sweet like some. This scent reminds me of MAC Asphalt Flower but not so chemical.