Saturnalia

[Naamah_Darling]

Unrestrained revelry, unchained licentiousness! Violet deepened with vetiver.

Umm. Smells like flowery compost.

 

On, it still smells like flowery compost. The vetiver is almost enough to rein in the violet, but not quite. It dries to a powdery compost.

 

See, this is why I rarely review violet scents. I like the smell, and in fact my underwear drawer is violet-scented, but I cannot wear the smells. They are vile on my skin. Even in scent lockets, it's a no-go.

 

Alas.

Edited May 17, 2007 by Naamah_Darling

[taramarie]

Wet, Saturnalia's musty, earthy and green, like just the leaves of the violet and no flowers at all. I guess that's the vetiver. After it's dry a while, the vetiver takes a back seat and the violets come through. Compared to Faith, Saturnalia is definitely darker and deeper violets. I like it a lot, though I like Faith a little better.

[steffanina]

Saturnalia-

 

In Bottle: Oh, what IS that? (recaps bottle, backs away, approaches again)--It's like, god, it's like something seaweedy that I'd eat in a Japanese restaurant! It's nice, though, make no mistake!

 

Wet: The dry cruelty of vetiver but tempered, greenly, with that sea-smell.

 

Dry: The smell of the sea. The smell of mermaid's tails, drying under the sun as they lie on rocks. It's really strong. I would never have guessed there was violet involved if I hadn't known, but knowing, I can see where it comes in. I can't wear this one on any regular basis--it's too eye-watering--but I will keep my little imp around for sniffing, when the mood hits.

 

Overall: Interesting but too strong for me to wear.

[moon_lemming]

To continue my trend of thinking blends smell like totally weird off-the-wall things that have no bearing on their actual content, Saturnalia reminds me of fresh corn -- the green cloak that it's wrapped in -- or pea pods while it's wet.

 

Dry, yes, it just smells GREEN and herbal, even though it's supposedly got a "purple" smell to it according to other reviewers.

 

Wait. There is a little smidge of violets in there. That must be why it smells sweetish. Oh, here we go. After about fifteen minutes, the violet is rising up and overthrowing the greenness. It's sort of morphing, I guess, into a violet scent with a smoky background. Yeah, it's like wearing Faith while sitting around a campfire.

 

Hmm. It's interesting, but I don't think I'd wear it often enough to get a bottle, at least not while I have good amounts of both Numb and Faith around.

[Victory]

Wow- miracle of miracles, a vetiver that I don't hate! Vetiver usually smells deathly on me- like a sweet stench, if that makes sense. But Saturnalia doesn't smell vetiver-y to me (or floral, for that matter). It smells woody, dark, dirt-y. It's like walking through a dark forest. At the base of the scent there's a note that may well be the violet- the more I smell it the more I think it must be, though I haven't ever smelled violet. It's almost spicy, vaguely powdery, surprisingly nice. I put Saturnalia on expecting to hate it and I don't. I don't know that I'll ever wear it again, since I have so many scents, but I'm happy to have tried it. I'm happy to have one vetiver that doesn't go bad. Yay!

[prettybird]

A freebie from the lab.

 

In the bottle: Oh, that's not okay. It smells like rotting plants. That's just not attractive.

 

On skin: Well, the rotting plant smell is... better, but it's not gone. It absolutely has to be the vetiver, because I haven't got anything else with that in it. I can't get to the violet at all.

 

Saturnalia is just not my friend. Quelle dommage!

 

EDIT: I got this out a few weeks ago to ship off to a friend, and ended up tipping some onto myself. The scent was quite different than I remembered! I think the aging really helped bring down the vetiver scent.

Edited December 26, 2007 by prettybird

[starwild]

BPAL violet is violent on me. This stuff knocked me over from the start, and unfortunately it was not a happy experience.

 

Bottle: Violet and vertiver, exactly as described.

 

Wet: Whoa, man, it's killing me already. Too strong, way too strong.

 

Drydown: When it dries, it's STILL too strong. This scent packs a punch that I can't handle, and it lasts forever. I'm afraid I'd be hiding under my bed during the Saturnalia festival.

 

This one's gotta go.

[aquazoo]

Kind of a strong herbal, almost a medicine scent. Kind of plant-like. Now I’m getting flowers, fresh flowers, the kind you don’t get for the scent. Worth another try.

[sheridankm]

Whoa. This makes my eyes water. I was expecting the violet to smell the way violet tastes in candies... but this is strongly herbal, so maybe the vetiver is dominant here. It's like being face-down in a patch of wild herbs and thorny plants... a deep, earthy smell, with crushed greenery and damp dirt. Not masculine, despite the herbiness, though it's not feminine either... not at all something I would name as a perfume or cologne smell at all, actually.

 

This is a lonely scent, one that makes me feel alone and lost rather than sexy. But if you want to feel wild (in a wood-dwelling barbarian way, I mean) and mysterious, this might be it. A little too uncivilized for the Roman festival, but the Germanic tribes might like it...

[Shitow_Haruka]

first sniff: Choward's violets - strong!

 

wet: This has amazing throw on me. (My other half - "I don't need to sniff it [proffered wrist], I can smell it from here [2 ft. away]!")

 

dry: powdery violets, thanks to the vetiver turning powdery on my skin.

 

This is very strong with amazing throw - probably best for sweaty outings!

 

(I loved it, but my DH wasn't so enthusiastic - I've figured out he doesn't like vetiver. )

[Czarina]

In the imp: mossy rocks. Lovely.

Wet: mossy rocks with violets growing on them. Lovely.

Dry: violet with a hint of powderiness.

 

Very nice on me. Interesting how the moss recedes and the violets emerge.

[Kimbernunk]

I love this. I love vetiver once it's had a chance to dry a bit.

 

In the bottle, it's like being suckerpunched with vetiver. Once I got it on and it settled a bit, the vetiver dried down to something that smells like concrete right after a thunderstorm in midsummer, humid and wet and clean and steamy. The violet tempered that with enough floral to make it smell purple on top of that. So I'd say it's a dusty purple humid scent. It's one of my favorites so far...

[hkhm]

imp: like a sultry violet.

 

wet: this at once smells like an herb shop i visited when i was about five. it smells like violets but with a strange mix of spicy, herbal medicine behind it.

 

dry: the violet has a bit of staying power in this one, almost too much. i don't think this blend is quite right for me but it's stunning nonetheless.

[Lyrical]

in the bottle: Yuck! I'm not familiar with vetiver, but if this is it, I don't like it! It smells kind of rank and weedy!

 

wet on my arm: Actually, it's not as bad on my skin - it's the violet that comes through most strongly now, although there is the occasional blast of vetiver. I love the way these perfumes seem to change like living things - first one note, then another. Yes, this is mostly violet, reminding me of small, purple sweets in my childhood. But the patch nearer my elbow has more vetiver in it! While I don't get "Unrestrained revelry" or "unchained licentiousness", it's not actually unpleasant now.

 

Almost an hour later, the vetiver is more or less gone - I have to practically press my nose to my skin to detect it. What's left is a cloud of warm, sweet, dusky violet, which I'm rather enjoying! Who would have thought it! I'm not sure how much I'll wear this, though - it's a bit overpowering!

 

3 hours later, the sweetness and intensity are fading, and what's left is still very violet, but dryer, subtle and smoky.

[lainevierge]

I'm loving the creative descriptions everyone is coming up with for this scent.

 

I just got an order I've been waiting over a month for and out of everything in the box (two bottles & nineteen imps) I chose this one to wear tonight, I don't know why.

 

That was about an hour an a half ago and I am SO IN LOVE with this scent. I cannot stop smelling my arms. It smells like DIRT and reminds me of the Botanical Garden greenhouses just before spring, a smell I have always loved.

 

I think I'm in love with both violet & vetiver notes now. This is positively orgasmic!

[filigree_shadow]

I've put off this review for a long time because I don't like writing bad reviews. Unfortunately, I have no choice here.

 

Vetiver usually smells good on me. Kind of like a husky, reedy, smoky, tall grass scent. And I almost always like violets. However. This combination? Smells like band-aids on me. Except sort of worse. My husband sniffed it and said, "Disgusting." I honestly have no idea what my skin is doing to this oil, but I do know that it hates Saturnalia for some reason.

 

I think there must be a couple of different kinds of vetiver that the Lab uses because it seems like I can remember having a problem with vetiver on another occasion and being surprised. Whatever this one is, it's the one that doesn't work on me.

[gchris]

In the vial: Very strong, woodsy and perfumey smelling

 

Wet:Smells strongly of sweet old wood and old leaves

 

Reminds me of old antiques that linger of perfume. Like going in an old house where the faintness of worn perfume pervades. Doesn't remind me of an old person, but of an old dwelling, where people once lived.

 

Drydown: strong and sweet. The sweetness is deep and rich. Remains woodsy smelling.

 

Later...the longer this sits the more I smell GRAPES! Big purple grapes. I kind of like it.

Edited January 16, 2008 by gchris

[puddingirl]

My second round of imps. As I open the bottle and take a whiff I can smell green, raw peas from their pod, eek! Perhaps it smells better on? The green isn't as strong and violet is trying to peek through, but am still not keen, hoping it's better after it has dried! Now that is has dried I can smell a nice powdry smell when my arm is by my side. At closer sniff I am getting fresh violets after a heavy rain that are surrounded by herbally grasses. The vertivert has calmed down and is hiding behind the scenes cutting away at the sweet scent. I think I will like this more as it develops over time as I can't stop sniffing my arm!

[hypatia]

In the imp: Almost aquatic, like water with plants in it. I get the "compost" effect too. Not very appealing.

 

Just on: Violets. No, vetiver -- strong dark smoky-smelling vetiver. No, violets again. No, wait...vetiver! It's like a violet/vetiver cage match on my arm! And it goes on like that for quite a while. I think I read somewhere that the scent of violets does something odd to your scent receptors so you can only perceive it intermittently; maybe that's why the two notes in Saturnalia seem to keep alternating.

 

Drydown: Violets win the cage match, but the vetiver is still making itself felt as a kind of dark shadow behind them.

 

Verdict: This is a bit odd for my taste. I'm still looking for a vetiver that really works on me; so far only Countenance Forboding Evil has come close.

[mothglitter]

This is one scent that was in my first order. Okay, I was mixed about it when I first smelled it from the bottle.

 

It smells of smoke, like campfire smoke, at first. I wasn't keen on it at all, but I dabbed it on anyway. Okay, so it continues to smell smoky for the first 15 minutes or so. After that....

 

LOVELY! The vetiver dries down into a damp, earthy scent, which complements the violet wonderfully. On drydown, the violet becomes the predominent note, touched by that terrestrial tone of vetiver, like wood violets in damp leaves, under a cloudy, rainy sky. It's not warm, but it's not cold either; it's just that perfect pitch of spring violets in a damp forest.

[ImperatrixMundi]

A strange purple scent, the vetivert is bitter as usual and mixes with the violet, which seems to be the exact opposite, scent-wise. The violet does come through but normally turns sweet and powdery. Here these two notes together turn into a bitter yet sweet, sharp and almost unpleasant smell.

 

Tried it again after a few months now to review, now the violet comes through more and the vetivert has lost some bitterness. Maybe I am just imagining things. Anyway, I will keep it some more, it is compelling in a way but can only get better with time. Bluebeard remains my favourite violet-vetivert combination.

[megank4]

I love the idea of this, but in the imp, all I can think is "Cucumber?"

came on here, searched this review for Cucumber, and was relieved that I was not the only one. Hmm, it has dried down now, less cucumber, but it is still there. Perhaps some vetiver, but no violet at all. I would keep this just for when I want to smell unusual, but there are so many others to try.

[galleywest]

Oh dear.

 

Wet, in the imp: *gack* It's sickly sweet and cloying and earthy all at once. It actually makes me gag. I think it's the violet, which seems quite strong. I'm sorry to say it, I love the name and I liked the description, but...

 

I can't....bring myself to put it on.

 

Swaps!

[Kumikais]

I got this one as a free one...

 

... I haven't even tried it on. One wiff and I wanted to wash my nose out.

 

I didn't like it at ALL. Smelled like rotting and dead grass.

[twilighteyes]

I used to think that I liked violet. One of my best friends goes by the alias of Violet, and I'm Twilight. We've been using those names on-line for about 20 years now. Over 20 years in my case. (Yes, I'm dating myself obviously.) I have always purchased violet scented things for her.

 

But something about most of the violet notes from BPAL turn my stomach and this one is no exception. It's not that they're a BAD scent -- they totally scream "VIOLET!!!!" at me -- but I think they are just too STRONG. Violent Violet.

 

This one has very much of a violet top note with an earthy bottom. But sadly nothing that I want to wear.