Saturnalia

[Gothabillywench]

as requested, here's it is!

 

Unrestrained revelry, unchained licentiousness! Violet deepened with vetiver.

 

How do I love thee? let me count the ways:

1- Can you say Uber violet? 2. Can you say deeply spiced violet? 3. Can you say sweetly girlish & innocent thanks to said violets with a menacing twist underneath thanks to what must be the vetiver but I swear black & blue there's a deep musk in there!..

 

So many ways to count the deep inky purple cheeky smell that is Saturnalia. So sweetly pretty but so decadently sexy! Unrestrained revelry & licentiousness indeed!!!

 

Gets the double thumbs up from my sister too who is not normally a fan of the sweetly spicy- she's a floral girl through & through (yet she like Black widow- go figure? Crazy Sagittarians!) Not for the feint hearted as it is a strong smell, fairly potent out of the bottle & lingers in a room long after you've left it. Good for the extroverted sex-Goddess who wants to tone it down a bit or for the shy girl wanting to cautiously unleash the Wench within! A good "going to a big boozy party" smell, or a lethally hot date.

[kyttikat]

I've been going through a heavy violet craving, and Saturnalia makes me happy like nothing else these days. (Well, at least like no other perfume...) It' not your typical sweet violet, nor is it a very green violet. It's more of a dark, wet violet tinged with spice. It stays close to the skin, inviting others to lean in close and take a deep whiff.

Edited February 25, 2004 by kyttikat

[trystrid]

A very romantic violet. It's not overly sweet or cloying, but it definitely has depth to it. It's difficult to describe exactly how it smells but I keep being bombarded by very strong visuals: I see ruby-red velvet dresses and shiny black mary janes. A kind of wistful, melancholy scent- like a good Smiths' song that makes you sigh and smile at the same time.

[minilux]

I love this! I've had this one lurking in the back of my mind for some time. I don't particularly like violet or vetiver, but the name and description somehow enticed me, and Beth made the decision for me by sending me an extra imp of it. I can't properly describe it, but the violet and vetiver somehow combine to make an end result that is much greater than the single notes that go into it. It's somehow soft, spicy and green without becoming at all baby powderish.

[Vicious Mistress]

I really wanted to like this one, but I can't. From the bottle, it smells like pulling plants out of fresh earth in the garden, mixed with hot green tea. But on me, it turns strongly green--too green for me. The vetiver makes itself known and then the violet comes out and sucker punches you. Very long-lasting too. I think this would smell good on a man. Just not me.

 

Edited to add that a friend of mine loved it on first sniff and it smells good on her, so it's probably just my skin.

Edited May 6, 2004 by Vicious Mistress

[woodlandnymph]

This was one of the free sample imps ear that was included in my first order. From the vial, one is hit with a wave of strong earthy tones, and vertivert. I thought this will be absolutely vile, but I tried it yesterday evening after work to see if my opinion would change. Five hours later and Saturnalia has calmed down to a mild aroma of vertivert and leather. Quite a masculine scent, but I could see where it could titter closer to a unisex perfume. It could also go nicely with Lush's Silk Underwear powder and Lush's Alkmaar soap Probably wouldn't purchase, but I will enjoy the sample.

[xoe]

Saturnalia is the perfume I've been dreaming of. It is so dark it should be criminal.

 

Maybe Elizabeth would consider making a Gallon size.

[Astarte]

Hmmn, this is an incredibly odd one, on my skin the veltiver is the strongest tone initially and it smells very clean and masculine. Then the violet comes out and spearheads the rest of the scent.

 

It didnt work on my skin at all.

[Becky]

this also did not work on me. I've had a craving for violet scents lately so I was incredibly happy when this was included as a bonus in my order. on first sniff I though it was very interesting, so different from the scents I usually like, very deep and smokey and earthy, very vetiver.

on it was all vetiver, and very strong. as it faded, after about an hour I could smell the very slightest violet, but it wasen't enough to calm down the vetiver. oh well.

[malanna]

I've never really smelled violet before, so I was a bit sad to find out I don't like violets (well, at least based on this scent). In the bottle, it has a very acridic, herby grass-treatment sort of feel. On my skin, it still stays that way (I suppose my chemistry draws out the vetiver), which I didn't really enjoy. After a few hours, the violet makes its presence known, with a wee bit of vetiver backing it up. I didn't like this, but I've got to give it points for having wafting power.

[magpiedee]

Wow. Talk about staying power! Just from opening the swap envelope, the whole room is hung with purple velvet curtains of scent just screaming "Saturnalia rocks!" I opened it at noon, put it on at 1, and at 4:30, it's still pushing to the front of the line.

 

How to describe it? If Veil is violet, this is what's under the veil. Very dark and almost furry, decadent and deep, opaque, indigo. I don't get any smoke or spice... just violet with a plush edge that must be vetiver. I have dueling mental images-- the deepest purple violet covered in hoarfrost at 3am in the snow -VS- a purple velvet chaise lounge with lots of curves and tasseled pillows. I think I like this one better than Wings of Azrael for sleeping, even. Utter yum.

 

F#cking A, I approve! Will be buying more of this delicious sauce!

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: This is not your average springtime violet. This violet is a deep dark purple and grows in the darkest scariest part of the woods under the oldest tree... by the time you find it you have clawed through so much earth and moss that when you lean in to sniff the flower, the earth and darkness are part of the scent.

 

Wearing: I never love vetiver in the bottle (insert nose wrinkle here), but I wear it well and this is no exception. On me, the violet and vetiver are perfectly balanced and as the day wears on the scent becomes softer and slightly sweet. This one has good staying power.

 

Final Impressions: Yum. I like magpiedee's adjective: Furry. So true.

[with coffee spoons]

Saturnalia smells like a lizard in the darkest depths of the darkest forest. Really. First, sniff, what should pop into my head but a lizard. A very deep green lizard. Odd, especially since I'm not generally one for whom the oils evoke such insistent images. But this is what I get--mainly a ferociously dark green vetiver with a very slight smidgeon of violet. I don't think vetiver and I get along, as it is very pronounced on me, smells masculine in a vegetatively feral way... But yes. A lizard. Not for me, but my chemistry is nothing if not bizarre.

[isyche]

"Vegetatively feral," I like that - it's exactly how this smells on me as well. Very earthy and green/brown, I don't get any violet at all. (which is sad, since magpiedee's review was so intriguing.)

 

I was curious about how vetiver would smell, but based on this I don't think I get along with it either. The initial wet smell was the most intimidating part, I had to wash it off the first time I tried this - after drydown it became more tolerable, but still too masculine and wet soil/angry vegetable for me.

[leslie260]

Oh how I love thee!

 

I was intimidated when I first smelled this in the vial. It smelled too strong and almost unpleasant. However, I finally put it on and oh my god....its perfect. It smells to me of ferns and moss in a deep, dark part of the forest where things are rotting and growing at the same time. This is one of the most complex scents that I have tried from BPAL.

 

Perfection in a bottle.

[velvet]

this scent is not for me

right when i opened the imp i wondered if i should even try it on. though i had never really smelled violet before. now i know for sure it does not work with my chemisty.

it smells very much like a forest. though unforunetly it also makes me want to sneeze (which is what i tend to do in a forest)

 

i could see how this would work for some people. would be great if you like violets... if not.... proceed with caution

 

now that i am thinking of it it might be the vertiver that is the cause of the sneezing ? just a thought

Edited July 15, 2004 by velvet

[Effluvia]

in the vial: Oh my GOD. I really, really, really don't like this so far... This is making me very queasy. I usually adore vetivert in BPAL, but I've only experienced it in the background, not IN CHARGE like this.

 

wet, on my skin: Okay, the violet is starting to peek out from behind the vetivert...it's starting to turn slightly purple. This might end up okay...this really is like you went into the forest, wandered into the deepest, darkest, most sinister-looking part of the forest, found the most sinister-looking rock on the forest floor, picked it up, and found THIS growth underneath. This is the "growth under the mask" in the Bauhaus song, "Mask". This is the darkest, most twisted fairy tale in the world.

 

dry, on my skin: Slightly faded (but not much, this one LASTS!) and powdery violet hiding sheepishly behind THE GIANT VETIVERT MONSTER.

 

I appreciate this as a brilliant work of art, but I don't particularly want to smell like this. I'll still keep it, though, because it DOES fascinate me.

[hypothermya]

I never got around to reviewing this one, but since it's out the door in a swap, I might as well.

 

First Impression

 

I recognize the violet smell right away, but then there's something a bit dirty/decaying behind it. Vetiver. The violet smells nice though, and hopefully it'll perk up a bit more when I put it on.

 

Wearing It

 

Wet and dry, the only thing that comes out is the vetiver. I remember why I don't like vetiver now: it was the one scent that made Hurricane smell so bad for me. I suspect that my skin chemistry doesn't agree with it in the least, because in the bottle it has an almost pleasant decaying scent, but on my skin it turns into something really foul. Ach. Pity.

 

 

After trying this one, I mistook the bad smell for the violets. But when I re-examined it and tried it on again, it pretty much became clear that the violets had been violently smothered beneath the vetiver. I'll have to keep trying the violet scents, but this one definitely goes into the swap pool for someone with better skin chemistry.

[Alice Aforethought]

Wow. Green and mossy, yet deep and sweetly floral at the same time. This violet isn't shy and retiring, it has turned into an ivy-violet, creeping almost imperceptively upwards, and then rampaging with an unseemly strength amongst the twisted undergrowth, only halting at the edges where the sunlight filters through.

 

There's an almost giddy feel to this one, the violet exhilarating and soporific at the same time, with the bitter, clear vetiver providing an unusual backdrop.

[slotown]

Oh, my. I hate to say anything bad but this one really doesn't work for me at all. I didn't like it in the bottle but it wouldn't have been the first time I did a complete 180 from my initial impression. Unfortunately, it didn't do any better on my wrist. in fact, it stung my nose. Seriously. I kept sniffing to see if I could figure out what I was smelling but the closest I got was "petroleum products". After about 2 minutes, I had to wash it off. I'm glad this was a freebie.

 

*added later*

 

Turns out it was the vetiver that was so overpowering. I caught whiffs of it in a couple of other scents and it was the only common note. Oddly enough, I liked the other two as the vetiver mellowed quickly and just lingered in the background.

Edited August 13, 2004 by slotown

[orangepoppy]

My first impression out of the vial and wet on the skin was a sharp, cold "nip" of a scent.....whoa! Ice cold metallic violets? As Saturnalia dried down, the coldness mellowed to more of a "clear" scent and the violet sweetened up just a bit, but not much. Mostly, this becomes a bright e x p a n s i v e clearheaded scent on me. Many hours later, I still catch a hint of sweet violets, but the coolness is still there. Not a warm scent by any stretch. I like this for summer, especially after it has dried.

[pekeana]

*twitch* I don't get along with this -- it's trying so nice to play well and nicely with my skin, but it's just making me sick.

 

Saturnalia in the vial is very dark -- it smells like you would imagine someone burying a dead body in the middle of the woods would smell like. Kind of like you've disturbed a nice, fresh patch of violets by upturning all of the earth beneath them. And, oddly enough, there's a clove-like scent behind it all that smells, yes, like the tang of blood.

 

This is an interesting, dark and menacing scent, and unfortunately, it's just not me. At all.

[ChupaChup]

I have to agree with t3andcrumpets's assessment of Saturnalia, but she said it so much better than I could. Violets don't like me and vetiver, if there is more than a tiny drop in a blend, reminds me too much of dirt. I tried to leave this one on to see if it would mellow but it stayed so sharp and "dirty" that after an hour I washed it off. Wonder of wonders, it actually smells nice on the boy. Kind of a clean fresh smell, like he just showered with some expensive shower gel.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: MMmmm...Violets and something green. I love violets!

 

On Me: Totally violets and something that has a burning smell to it. Dry woods on a flame. A small forest fire with Violets in the background.

 

Mmmmm.....lovely!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Makes me think green. Almost makes me think of cucumbers? It's so very, very green. Not really getting violet or vetiver at this point.

 

On me: Still not getting violet. I even cracked open a vial of violet oil I have to see if the problem is that I've forgotten how violet smells. No dice. There isn't a hint of that flower here. I get more of a woody forest scent from this. Whoever said

 

vegetatively feral

 

totally nailed this.