Van Van

[hlinspjalda]

A venerable voodoo blend, used for purification of the spirit and to amplify positive personal power.

Wow, I must have a bizarrely different chemistry, or something. No cookies, no cake, no lemon, no creamy safe goodness. I got swamp: sexy, dark, a little dangerous, the kind of danger you want to go up and twine your arms around and purr into its ear.

In the vial: Pungent, sharp, a little salty. Vetiver, maybe?

Wet: Whew! Sharp, woody, pungent, oaky, dirty. It smells like all the vegetation elements of a swamp. There's one note at the bottom that I really like, a sort of green citrusy one that's invigorating.

Twenty minutes: Leather, moss, wood, still the impression of vetiver, and a touch of something that might be the "bourbon vanilla" note, or maybe the "vanilla musk" one. Smoky, almost. I don't actually like the scent of this, but I notice that I keep sniffing at it anyway.

Two hours: Still leather, moss, wood, vetiver, musk, and possibly vanilla. That vanilla-musk note smells almost like smoke to me. Not bad. It's got a lot of presence, but it's not actually aggressive despite the robust components.

Three hours: Much warmer and sweeter now. There's a resin in there, but I still get moss and wood and vetiver.

Four hours: Now it smells really really good, but kind of like a really expensive and well-blended men's cologne. It would be fun to nomm on someone who smelled like this!

[jehrichardson]

In the Imp: Sweetgrass! I didn't realize that I knew what that smelled like...

 

On the Skin: Almost boozy - sweetgrass and sunshine, fermenting hay and breezes.

 

After a While: Barn on a hot day in a drought.

 

Verdict: Very nice - a great concept fragrance, but I can't see myself wanting to wear this regularly. You know, just on those days when I want to smell like barn. Hot dry barn.

[hkhm]

imp: sort of the darkness of patchouli (without being patchouli) with an herbal orange feel. i think there's vetiver here.

 

wet: this is like a light vetiver and herbal scent on me. unusual, but very appealing.

 

dry: there is something orangey here and perhaps a bit of musk. i think i might get a bottle of this!

[policyoftruth]

When first applied, it smells faintly of cake (like others mentioned) before it turned into a dark woodsy note that reminds me of Azathoth. Either way, not for me

[Ohmaude]

My imp is at least three years old, if not older.

 

It is sweetness and wonderfully calming. Centering. I wear it when I need to stop. freaking. myself. out. and think things through. It most def. has a therapeutic effect, like my other favorite voodoo oils Aunt Caroline's and High John.

 

The scent itself is vetiver and sweetgrass, and goes powdery on the dry-down, but stays awesome.

[anastasia]

I really like VanVan. I feel like it is a very grounded kind of charisma strengthener.

I like to put all of The Conjure Bag on my head but I really like to use this one in my hair products or just rub it in my hair. It makes me feel accompanied by something strong and no nonsense but also gives me a little bit of radiance and makes me feel open. To me the scent is almost pure tabacco. In a fresh leafy way. It smells potent and golden.

[GlowJob]

In the imp,this smells absolutely vile.Like a dark festering swam of lemon verbena.On my skin,this gets only slightly better-heavy patchouli with lemongrass and....sage?This one is coming soon to a frimp package near you!

[tartchef]

Using Van Van in an oil burner, strictly for intention, not scent... alternately comforting & energizing, if a bit heavy at times. I really should be concentrating on intent instead of trying to do some work while this wafts around my office, but it is doing the job nicely. I've been pulled up short by the unwelcome reappearance of some ridiculously unproductive energy, and need to deal with it firmly & confidently once & for all. It's not a violent dispersing, but more of a warm white pulse of energy flooding the dark corners & dispelling the garbage... Makes me hold my head up & face things a bit more squarely.

 

In terms of scent, this would be an utter disaster if I let it touch my skin - lemongrass, a pale vetiver, and something sort of vanilla-talc-like... an earthy Dorian, almost (she says, as one of the few that can't wear Dorian)...

 

Glad I was frimped Van Van - we'll see if I need more to keep the proverbial wolves at bay.

[voodoocatwoman]

I got vanilla from this- a smoky spiced vanilla. It lasts and lasts-- I can smell it 12 hours after initial application. Very nice.

[asciident]

Wet: Chocolate and spice?

 

First on: Hot cocoa, but wrong somehow like something spoiling it.

 

Dry: It became astringent on drydown.

[kjirstiben]

This went on in a burst of woody, vetiver-like smokiness, evergreeny, with an earthy note underneath. As it dried down, some sweetness emerged with it.

 

After a while, it becomes a pungent, sweet and herbal scent, with an evergreen-vetiver backdrop. The throw is funny, almost plasticky smelling, at this point…

 

And as time goes on, it metamorphoses into even more of a plasticky evergreen smell, and stays that way.

 

Recaplet: Funny, plasticky trees.

My rating: 2 of 5 (Meh.)

Color impression: Dark evergreen trees.

[reina]

This blend has been there to support my frazzled nerves during some really bad days, and I'm wearing it now on the second day of my period - yesterday I was flipping out completely, my emotional reactions completely out of proportion, and it went on until today... until about an hour ago when I decided to dab a little bit of Van Van on me.

 

It's such a comforting scent. it's very sweet, milky and lemony at the same time, verging on too much of a good thing - but never crossing into the realm of nauseating. This is STRONG. a dab will last you a whole day... great staying power and lots of throw. it works, and it works WELL. Extremely well. It turned days of living hell, days I was dreading at work, into days that breezed by quite easily, and often helped with PMS.

 

I'm glad to have this imp. I'm not sure I'll get a big bottle of it because it's so strong all I need right now is just an imp, but it's a treasure.

 

out of 5: 3 for scent, 6 for efficacy.

[BuxomM]

This was a frimp. It smells like something powdery with some greenery, very masculine. I prefer sweet foody scents so this didn't appeal to me.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Patchouli.

 

Wet: Patchouli.

 

Dry: slightly woody, herby, lemony, and slightly sweet. A bot powdery too. Not bad, won't keep it.

 

Overall: I hate patchouli. Patchouli overpowers everything and just stays STRONG even when I wash it off. Here, it doesn't and the blend turns..pretty.. on me. But I still cannot get through the patchouli stage and won't bother waiting.

[catattack]

Imp: Herbal

Wet: Bitter herbs. After a few minutes, it sweetened up.

Drydown: It became a sweet herbal scent. Green vanilla. For a few minutes, it goes chemically on me, then that goes away. Later, it's an interesting sweet vanill-y scent with herbs.

Overall: I need to test this again. I think it was clashing with Shroud which I was testing on my other arm. This has good throw.

[Yoginispirit]

This smelled like Pipe smoke. Yup, sweet vanilla pipesmoke. Just a tad similar to snake oil (aged) on me. *sigh* Well, I suppose it could be worse. I'll keep it around for it's luck bringing purpose.

 

ETA: Ok wow- I tried this on again out of emotional desperation upon getting my period and I have to say I felt alot better after putting it on PLUS the smell has actually *improved*. I might just have to get a 5 ml of this to use every day during my cycle!

Edited May 3, 2009 by Yoginispirit

[liquidtrance]

First impression is of… chocolate covered oranges…Or maybe jasmine-something-tea… Jasmine earl grey? Up close it smells totally different and strange. Up close it's herby and rather orange-blossomy… Has the sharp note of… God these notes are hard to name! Maybe there's ginger thats fuddling things. Ginger, a little lemon or orange blossom... As it wafts its almost got a lemon and grass scent. perhaps, lemongrass. but still that smidge of tea. Ends up as sort of a grassy cookie tea smell..

By FULL drydown, it's mostly sweet grass with just a hint of lemon. Kind of nice, actually. Not ravenous for it, but by the time its really dry its MUCH more enjoyable and lovely than wet.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, I'm getting vetiver. I think the lab loaded me down with sinister vetiverish frimps this time around.

 

On my skin, it's patchouli (and not the good kind) and brimstone/vetiver. I need to wash this stuff off. It's giving me a headache.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, I'm getting a small amount of vetiver and sweetgrass here, with vanilla musk. As it dries, the sharpness of the vetiver/sweetgrass smooths out and the vanilla comes out more. The end result is a little powdery herbal vanilla. It's not as sweet as most vanilla blends are on my skin. I was having an absolute crap day and this made me feel much better, so I'll be hanging on to it. And perhaps looking for a 5mL.

[lookingglass]

Big, bad vetiver! It's thick and rich, slightly tangy, like rich, churned earth, drying down slightly sweet and powdery. This imp will wait and be whipped out at just the right moment. Powerful stuff.

[Apple]

This is going to be strictly a scent review, because I don't think I'm going to be able to wear Van Van enough to test its Voodoo properties.

 

In the imp, the smoky vetiver is strongest. On my skin, the vetiver is still strongest, but it morphs quickly and underneath that campfire scent another note is struggling to rise up from the ashes... and in no time at all, the Baby Powder Phoenix spreads its wings and flies up my nose. This is exactly what happened with Hurricane and Iago, and I'm guessing black musk may be common to all three, since that is consistently a note of powdery doom on me.

 

I don't like the scent in this stage, but it's not terrible. However, after an hour or two, I start getting wafts of something foul... like... the rotten scent of vegetable matter fermenting between someone's teeth... someone who hasn't brushed their teeth in years and is standing too close to me in the elevator. Oh god... is that civet? I'm pretty sure it is.

 

It appears that both my skin chemistry and my nose chemistry are strongly opposed to this "venerable" blend. *sigh* And I could really use some spiritual purification and some positive personal power right about now. Ah well.

 

In sum: vetiver, black musk, and civet. If you like Hurricane or Iago (or are a member of the Civet Appreciation Society), you will probably enjoy this blend.

[cinnamonster]

I hate vetiver. This starts off as vetiver, but I'm almost loathe to say, it's nearly-wearable vetiver. I think there must be more than one kind, as one is sniff in the imp and find it so repellent I can't even try it on, and this kind which is put it on and see what happens. That kind normally burns away (as per Antonino), and indeed it does in this.

 

I feel the vetiver I hate the most is a smoky-black smell, reminiscent of the smell possessions get after being in a severe building fire (I hope none of you get to know that smell if you don't know it), this is a dark green vetiver, a fresh stick, bent and sniffed deeply. It has a sweet undertone, which amps up as the vetiver drifts away, almost rosy, but this is not floral. It has something in common with Black Cat, I don't know what it is, since I have no idea what's in that either!

 

Later it ends up vanilla-y, pleasant with good throw.

 

Does it work?

 

I'd say it does. It instantly (despite not being something I the smell of right away) makes me calmer, feel stronger, and this evening was able to deal with a situation that could have turned petty and squabbly with relative detachment. I think it lets you be less emotional to positive effect.

[Iceblink]

Dark and vetivery, although the vetiver lightens after a few minutes. Then it's kind of men's deodorant-y on me. Nope.

[Kimbernunk]

I'm going to let this one age. For a long time. Then I'll see what happens.

 

When I tried it now, it smelled woodsy and herbally and slightly grassy and very strongly like vetiver. It wasn't bad, and it was actually sort of centering, which is good because I've been very all over the place lately. Unfortunately, after about an hour and a half it turned to sweaty body odor. Like the smell of someone who's been on a treadmill for a long, long time and has been sitting around afterwards sans shower.

 

So like I said, I'm going to wait on it for a while and see what it does after a year or so. Or I'll use it in an oil burner. I don't want to smell like I've been on a treadmill unless I actually have been.

[ouch!]

I adore this blend, I've owned it for a long time but only just reviewing it now. This smells of herbs, something lemony and dry grass. Kind of like Hay Moon in my opinion. But with Van Van there's a lovely sweetness to it that stops it from being sharp.

I'm not sure of the effects but I'm wearing it today so I'll see how it goes!

 

The throw is nice too, not crazy but enought to show people you are wearing it. Yum! This is my second favourite of the Conjure Bag Oils I've tried so far. Aunt Caroline is the queen!!!