Saturnalia

[Aisha]

Unrestrained revelry, unchained licentiousness! Violet deepened with vetiver.

This is the first BPAL I couldn't bring myself to skin test. Got it as a frimp in a swap, which was much appreciated, but as the sort of girl who hardly ever gets along with vetiver...I recoiled just opening it.

If you love vetiver, you'll probably love this. If you don't...run away.

[girlcalledmoment]

I don't find this as abhorrant as some, probably because though I'm fairly new to BPAL, I've been collecting fragrances for years, including oddball boutique offerings that most people would blanche at. Saturnalia doesn't smell completely weird to me. It's like a quite expensive herby, savory and woody candle. The sandalwood is very dry and high in the mix, and the violet is creepy, non-sweet and rooty. I have encountered a violet like this, though much *much* sweeter, in Creed's Love in Black.

The vetiver is salty and spooky, and cloaked in must.

Weirdly, on the skin it turned out to be something entirely different than it promised wet in the vial. Sniffing from the bottle I thought it would be a green, figgy, sappy and fresh scent. My boyfriend mentioned it smelled like ladybirds.

It isn't really for me, but I think I'll include it as an extra when swapping non-BPAL scents, as I think some of my niche fragrance friends will be intrigued by this one.

2/5

Edited March 28, 2011 by girlcalledmoment

[Monday]

In the imp: i know this scent...smells of peas? yup cooked peas.

Wet: still the violet and vertiver together equal peas, rather green not perfumy at all it's slowly morphing into... earwax .

Dry: thankfully the earwax stage has passed, now it's more woodsy with green peas underneath and a tiny hint of violets.

 

Verdict: I would have liked it a bit better if it had more violets, off to trade.

[mxtine]

Finally, I get to review the perfume that makes most everyone recoil in horror. It's terrible OMG. I'm sorry to write something bad about Beth's perfumes but O.M.G. the combination of violet and vetiver is making me cry.

[Ella LaRose]

if you like vetiver then this is the scent for you! wow!! strong strong strong!

[bloody sore]

Meh. I'm usually a big fan of vetiver, but not a fan of violets. I would have never been able to pick out the violet, but now that I've read it, I can. It's there making the vetiver gross! It almost makes it remind me of chicken bullion cubes for some reason. It adds a sharp almost rancid quality that I just do not like.

[invisible iris]

Wet, this is all vetiver. Dry, it's headache-inducing, skunk-funk, crazy intense vetiver of doom. No violet that I can detect, unless that's it adding a greasy sweetness to the overall horrible, nauseating stank.

 

For me, Saturnalia does successfully evoke the BO of a Satyr, or any woodland deity categorically devoted to Assy Raunch.

 

This is traumatic vetiver. It would deter me from trying other vetiver blends had I not already experienced a few that work. My respect goes out to all the loyal vetiver lovers of this world, Saturnalia is clearly meant for you. (not for me!!!)

[holborne]

Ok, well, I opened the imp and smelled vetiver. Lots and lots and lots of vetiver. But the description says violet, which I loved, so I gamely swiped some on my hand.

 

Bad, bad, bad idea. All I smelled was vetiver; I squeaked and ran to the bathroom to scrub it off.

 

If you like vetiver, this may work really well for you. If, like me, you hate the stuff, stay far away. Preferably in another room. Yeek.

[Honey]

A frimp from lejlkwiet..

 

 

Imp: Violet. Strong, sweet and giving me this queasy feeling in my head just behind my forehead - and almost making me throw up. Seriously.

 

 

I will not put this on as I am having a serious throw-up feeling in my throat. Have to get this away from me asap.

[curlsandpearls]

Bottle: Usually I wouldn’t go for a violet-based scent, but the description (and the promise of vetiver) got to me. Straight out of the bottle, I get violets. Lots and lots of dark violets.

 

Wet: The vetiver is definitely acting on the violet in interesting ways—like it’s a foggy black ring around a field of depraved, dancing violets. With the vetiver, the violets aren’t nearly as crazy saccharine-floral as I’m used to. Color me intrigued.

 

Dry: Not sweet—surprisingly spicy. It’s not at all floral or green, just dark and gritty. Not warm enough to be musky. The spice dies down after a while, leaving a velvety, rich, intriguing blend of violet and vetiver. The violet is so not me, but it’s different and just downright interesting and so unless something goes drastically wrong in the next few hours, I’ll be hanging onto this one.

 

Later: I will say, the reason this violet scent works for me is because the vetiver is right there in the forefront, wrapping itself around the violet in sensuous ways. I cannot emphasize how prominent the vetiver is here—it is strong, yo. For those of us who love vetiver, that is Win. For those of who don’t, stay away. Also, it's got a decent throw; I only applied a little to my wrist but it's been going strong for 4+ hours. And the husband thinks it's sexy.

 

I am really loving this scent. Given that I usually avoid florals at all costs, that is the surprise of the day...

[jensdays]

I got this as a frimp, and it is the only thing I haven't been able to test. I tried, really, but the smell in the imp was just... ugh. Vile. And the little bit I got on my fingers opening the imp made me have to wash my hands, repeatedly. I have tested scents that didn't appeal to me, things that smelled downright scary. But I just can't bring myself to put this one on.

[Helas]

Ah, the infamous Saturnalia. It's been on my wishlist since I started collecting BPAL, but the reviews scared me off. Fortunately, the Lab seems quite happy to pass their unwanted vetiver samples on to me. I have found many favourites in this way.

 

Saturnalia is dark, velvety, and very, VERY intense. I can definitely see how most people would be scared off by this scent. The vetiver gives its usual impression of overgrown vegetation, but it lacks its usual lively exuberance; here, it looms darkly and malevolently, like a garden of poisonous vines. The violet is a goth violet, aggressive and a little skanky. At the same time, there is something a little old-fashioned about this scent. Perhaps the associations of violet with powder, delicate candy, and ladies' drawing-rooms are coming into play. There is a kind of faint, ghostly beauty peering out here amongst all the poisonous vegetation.

 

Saturnalia makes me think of crushed velvet drapes and ruined statues lying among abandoned gardens. Ugly but haunting. I can't see myself wearing it often, but I enjoy its evocative power.

[Lethran]

Gack! Lots and lots of vetiver, with the violet vaguely sweetening it. This is so impossible notewise that I couldn’t bear to sniff more than a few seconds and I don’rt want it anywhere near my skin

[Lavada]

Dark violet. Dirty vetiver. But something very sultry underneath. All of this is wrapped around a delicate core that smells exactly like the centre of a just-bloomed flower.

 

I love it.

[cosmoblue]

In Vial, Earthy soft violet, smells a little like peanut butter.

 

Wet, peanutbuttery grass and flowers. My daughter and husband and I all agree it is not very nice. I think it is too dirty hippie. The hubby thinks it smells like old people. Particularly old people who live in a home for old people that overuses alcohol when they are sterilizing everything.

 

Drying, the violet is becoming sweeter.

 

Dry it is a sweet dirty sexy violet but since the hubby doesn't like it at all and thinks it smells like a nursing home, I won't be wearing it much if at all.

[neuilly]

I expected to hate this. I was wrong!

 

It's still not a love, since I'm not a vetiver fan, but I find the scent quite intriguing. Vetiver and violet are so different that they create a really interesting interplay. I like the dark earthiness of the vetiver combined with the sweet lighter note of violets. I do sort of feel like I'm in a fairytale walking through the deepest part of the forest. Fun! Still I don't wear vetiver scents, but I love how evocative this is.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Strong candied violets are the top note, but the vetiver comes in as a secondary note once I recap the imp.

 

Wet: Very strong vetiver one me. The violet is so faint that I need to concentrate to pick it up.

 

Dry: More smoke and violet. I like it but my husband does not.

[kythe]

Lab freebie! On my skin it smelled exactly like bitter chopped eggplant. The drydown was dominated by rubbing alcohol. Scrubbed

[Erinofhere]

GAH!! No

I am sooo not a violet fan. Vetiver and I do not gel well together; so this is not a good scent for me. Funny thing is that violet was there at the start but when dry all I had left was slap you in the face vetiver. It's wasn't the subtle vetiver either..this was loud.

We have an elderly man who comes into my office to get us to help him with the internet. This smells like him. He is about 75 years old. It's his after shave I think I am picking up on. But it's strong and a bit off putting.

On the upside it lasted an insanely long time. I had to wash it off to get it off of me.

[heyjjudette]

This was pure nutty on me! I'm so confused!

 

I didn't get any vetiver, just a disturbing nut scent. why skin why, I wanted this to work on me!

[miamaslegi]

I'm a vetiver lover and a violet lover, so I could not pass this one up (and I had no idea that it apparently has a "bad reputation" ). I tested it out for the first time about this time last year - around Thanksgiving, I think it was. In the imp, I get mostly violet with just a whiff of vetiver deepening things up and tempering the violet's sweetness. On my skin, the vetiver steps up and is more evenly balanced with the violet, giving me an impression of dark, velvety purple and deep green-black swirled together. The smoky, woody greenness of the vetiver wonderfully grounds the violet, keeping it earthy rather than letting the violet wander off into powdery pastille territory. I knew from one test that I had to have a full bottle! This beauty is one of my very favorite GCs.

[Aviatrix]

I wanted to give this one a try since it's soon to be DC'd.

 

Caveat: I don't get along with vetiver very well. But I am attempting to find vetivers that I like, because it's such a shame to have notes that don't work, in my opinion.

 

This one was sadly no different. It feels like I am really trying to get to like vetiver blends, but it always amps on my skin and takes over the entire scent. Well, so much for the vetiver in this. Then there's the violet...

Whereas I love the sugared Parma violets in La Befana, and I have a fairly neutral relationship with the violet in The Raven, this violet is way too sharp for me.

 

Overall, this was not a success, and I had t eventually scrub it off.

[Magycmyste]

Hmmm....... will the violet dominate on me or the vetiver? Let's find out!

 

In the imp: Hmmm...... rather nice blend of mostly violets, and as the description says, deepened by vetiver.

 

Wet on skin: Just a dab on the wrist this time. The vetiver is coming out stronger on my skin, but the violets are definitely still there. In fact, the violet's turned into an almost aquatic floral. Together, it almost reminds me of wet grass, a freshly-mown lawn.

 

Dried down: This isn't really morphing, exactly, though I'm now getting a hint of soap.

 

Throw: Not a whole lot.

 

Verdict: ** Yeah, this isn't really for me.

[Alphakitty]

An impulse imp ad to my soon-to-be-discontinued order, Saturnalia turned out to be the surprise winner of the lot! In the imp it's all violet, which is nice and all... but I was hoping for a more sinister creation. And I got it!

 

You know those violet breath mints you can get in stores that tend to specialize in retro candy? That's what the violet here is like, sweet and sugary. But then the vetiver rears its head--smooth smoke and the sharp green of sticky new bark, peeled off for a child's make-believe wand. Together they remind me of playing make-believe as a kid, all soft and cheerful but always with a sinister monster in the background of our games.

 

The lasting power on this is great, I put some on before bed and the violet was still hanging around before bed. Not a lot of throw, which I actually think is a bonus on this scent: it's got a real love-it-or-hate-it vibe and I don't want to antagonize every vetiver-hater I walk by.

[Kmye Chan]

I got this one from tallan's destash - I picked it up because I remembered it had violets, and I looove me some violets.

In the imp: uuuuurgh. What is this thing? I get some violet mixed with strong, acrid, smoky woody vetiver. I'm not actually sure I want to put this on my skin but eh, FOR SCIENCE.

 

Wet: this is awful on me. Pure vetiver. It's actually making me nauseous. Scrubbing this off right away. Uuuuuurgh.