Ultraviolet

[Celune]

Electrifying, mechanized and chilly -- the scent of crushed blooms strewn on cold metal. Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint.

In Imp: eucalyptus, mint, hint of flowers
On Wet: eucalyptus, mint, slight sweetness, florals
On Dry: the mint and eucalyptus fades a bit, crushed fresh flowers, slight fresh green note

The drydown has a nice simply floral that doesn't quit smell like violets or neroli to me. It's more similar to a really soft soft faint iris. Though I do not like iris scents, this one is so light with the mixture of the eucalyptus and mint before, it's a very nice.

[cupcakegernade]

Right away I get eucalyptus and mint only, and it is quite intense. As this dries, the violet comes out little by little. The violet really softens up the sharpness of the silver mint. This id quite nice. The mint eventually tiers out and recedes to the back, making this now eucalyptus and violet combo.

[SophieCedar]

What a weird one!

Wet: Ultraviolet doesn't morph quickly but the sensation is so bizarre that you expect it to. It vibrates! The neroli amps the eucalyptus, bounces off the violet, then the whole combo b-lines up my nostrils, injected with mint. I got the sensation it was dancing around my nasal cavity and wouldn't leave.

Drydown: The eucalyptus and neroli settled...whew. It's violet and mint now with hints of eucalyptus and neroli. Actually nice, sweet, and uplifting! That was completely bizarre.

[dicyfer]

I adore this scent. It is very high energy and smells "purple". It does have some edge as others have mentioned, but when I put it on it blends into the perfect metallic scent I've been looking for! Love.

[lygophilous]

I'm of Cuban descent, and one of the things that mark my childhood so strongly is the smell of the "typical" Cuban baby cologne (which can still be purchased and, yes, I will be inflicting this scent upon my own soon-to-exist child). It smells like the most amazing sweet violets, and it covers "eau de baby" perfectly.

 

So, I've been searching for a "grown-up" version of violets for quite some time, and unfortunately, Ultraviolet, is not what I'm looking for.

 

In the imp, I sniffed no violet whatsoever. Just a strong metallic note of minty eucalyptus. I'm reminded of Vicks (another staple of my youth), and it almost burns a little in the nostrils. I was somewhat skeptical at this point, but having learned from experience, I went ahead and applied Ultraviolet to the crook of my elbow.

 

Wet on the skin, and I'm reminded of strongly scented soap and even a bit of Windex. What the heck?! My nose was definitely not off, so (like I had to do with Snake Oil), I waited again.

 

Dry on the skin, at thirty minutes, and I'm applying the scent again. It's gone super powdery, so I'm amping the amount just in case. I want to give everything the best shot possible. Another thirty minutes later, still no violet, and I'm just getting a minty-sweet-eucalyptus that has a powdery metallic tang in the back of my nose. Going to wash this off ASAP before I get a headache.

 

Overall, at the moment, and I don't think this is the scent for me. Minty-anything just turns into household cleaning products or baby powder/wipes on me. Still, I am going to wait a week, and give this another shot before I swap. So, if minty and metallic scents are your things or age well on your skin, this is the scent for you.

[Pynki]

In the Imp: OMG! MINT EUCALYPTUS! MEDICINE-Y! My son smelled it and said it smelled like chest rub. I wasn't sure I wanted to try this on quite honestly, I got it as a bonus in a swap I was in. But I read the reviews, and I was assured this would turn more violet less Vic's Vaporub.

 

Wet: Eucalyptus and mint, but it quickly settles on me.

 

Dry. The violets have come out to play. OH HOW I LOVE THE VIOLETS! I think there is still some mint in there gilding the edges of these violets though. It FEELS cold in my nose even if I can't discern it individually. there's also something else I can't quite put my finger on. It may be the neroli, and it's just the slightest bit powdery.

[tkannon]

In the bottle: mint and flower, crisp and clean

Wet: Mint and flower (now I know what violets smell like)

Dry: I can see the metallic table the violets are on and I like it. This stayed very true all day and lasted a long time. The only problem was I kept lookng around to see what smelled so good. It isn't a scent that matches me very well so I kept forgetting I was wearing it.

 

Definitely one I will keep to wear on the days it peaks my interest, but not one that I will wear daily.

[Honey]

Wow.. took me several imps and one bottle to realize that violet as a note makes me sort of sick in the head and stomach.

 

 

Imp: Strong note of eucalyptus with violet second in row. Minty allover.

 

Wet: Mainly eucalyptus with only a hint of violet.

 

Dry: Eucalyptus with a layer of sweet fresh mint and violet in the background. Strong, sharp, a bit tart. Really weird scent by itself and nothing for me I guess.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sharp! Like a bolt of lightning cracking in the sky

 

Drydown: Minty with a touch of citrus and metallic violets.

 

Dry: Icy cool bitter violets.

 

 

Wow, this absolutely smells like its name. It's a unique scent for sure. This would be wonderful on the right person, but that person just isn't me.

 

3 out of 10 bones

Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24

[sharkdiver]

Tested this this morning!

 

In the bottle: smells very strongly, almost astringent of eucalyptus and Mint, with a bit of floral peeking out in the back.

Wet on Skin: Whew! Very strong, I can definitely see the associations that were made to this smelling like a Vet's office - there;s something astrigent, and very medicinal smelling upon first application, but thankfully, this fade within the first 2 minutes, and the frosty violets come out to play

 

Dry: This. Is. Gorgeous. If you can get past the first two minutes after applying, the dry down is so worth it! This smells just like LUSH's Daddy-O shampoo

 

This is a great scent, though it doesn't have quite the staying power as some of the other BPAL scents I've tried - though it's not bad.

 

I'd rate this one: 3.5 / 5 (the lesser rating is for the initial Vet smell)

Edited January 19, 2012 by sharkdiver

[hexnut]

ULTRAVIOLET

 

In Vitro Minty eucalyptus, not at all harsh, with underlying sweetness.

 

Wet Stronger eucalyptus, still not harsh, and then floral sweetness. I huffed it again, and again the scent changed between the beginning and the end of an indrawn breath. Neat!

 

Drying Seven minutes in: Violet! Sweet like candy but not cloying. If there's neroli I can't detect it, and the eucalyptus and mint have made an early exit.

 

From here on it was all violet, all the time, and all gone after two hours.

 

I was hoping that the other notes would stick around on my skin, but as a straight-up violet perfume this is marvelous. Another oil to try again as it ages.

 

2

[loubric]

In the IMP - A very sharp mint violet. On me it's pretty much the same but with the violet being more pronounced. It actually smells like Vix vapour Rub tainted with Violet. The more it sinks into my skin the less it smells like Vix and more and more like a very dark Violet. For some reason all I can think of is Alice in Wonderland when she's talking/singing with the flowers. It's lovely, dark and mysterious

Edited August 29, 2012 by Lilly

[Eleven11]

In the bottle this one smells like fresh cat pee, I have the same problem with Roses, Pearls, and Diamonds. One I get it on though it's a nice cool violet. I got this one because of the Violet Pastilles candies I used to eat when I was younger and because I was looking for a replacement for The Coil. No luck in the replacement department but it certainly smells like violets.

[SweetBastet]

In the imp: clean, fruity, floral, bright

 

on, wet: sharper, menthol-y twist, harsh

 

drydown: sharp and minty, maybe even a little smokey?

 

dry: violet, frostminty violet.

 

2 hours: a cool, faint, scent, almost gone. Time to reapply! I like it, but I need it to last a little longer.

[sophia_p]

I originally got an imp of this because of the reviews saying it smells metallic. I figured the floral would be a subdued note, so I was pretty disappointed when all I smelled on myself was powdery, cloying violet.

 

Fortunately, this one has aged well in 8 months, and now it smells crisp and clear, with a bit of a sharpness to it-- the eucalyptus and mint. I can picture the metallic part now (though to me, it reminds me of ozone). Wearing this makes me feel very direct and no-nonsense, and I think it would be good in a business situation. And not just because it's subtle.

[theredkilt]

If you like cold, ozoney violets then it's your scent.

 

I get a generous layer of eucalyptus over fresh violets. The eucalyptus slowly goes away and i'm left with the minty violet drydown. I'm not a violet fan, but i'll gladly use up the imp i have.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: The best description I can think of for this is cold. It smells cold. Cold metal for sure, but not just slightly-cool metal, we're talking metal that was left outside overnight in winter & is now FREEZING & covered in ice. The kind of metal that you know not to touch, because your finger (or tongue, if you're that silly) will just freeze to it & become stuck. I'm really impressed with how well they've captured this, because after a few seconds of sniffing it, I'm almost starting to believe that the contents of the imp are somehow drastically below room temperature.

When trying to smell specific notes, I get the eucalyptus & mint strongest (& I think that's what's capturing the "cold" essence so well), with some neroli & a little violet in the background.

Wet on skin: Still cold, though not quite as extreme as it was in the imp. My nose is currently trying to convince my brain that something cold is REALLY on my wrist & my brain is starting to believe it! "Electrifying, mechanized and chilly" indeed!

Note-wise, the neroli has come forward quite a lot & is mixing with the mint & eucalyptus in a way that I'm not sure I like. I can't smell the violet.

Dry on skin: The neroli has the lead here & everything else has just mixed into the background. It still feels cold, but not as amazingly icy & evocative as it did at first though.

After a few hours: Gone. Completely. If I sniff really closely, I can almost smell a tiny bit of neroli, but, yeah, that's completely gone!

Verdict: Not what I was expecting! I'm not a huge fan of the dry-on-my-skin scent - it's not bad, just... it's pretty much just neroli. It was such an exciting smell in the imp though, so I'll be saving this for when I get a scent locket!

[inhumation]

in the imp and freshly applied to the skin: whoa, eucalyptus. It kinda reminds me of being in a sauna, and there's someone in there with you who is smearing really sharply medicinal oils all over themselves, clearing the sinuses of not only themselves but everyone else baking in the sauna. it becomes more mellow during drydown, the eucalyptus recedes and then you get the mint and violet. and neroli. I usually hate violets but this is kept in check by the mint. it definitely has a health spa feel to it at first but it quickly changes to a perfumey, every day "work" kinda scent. I like the dry-down better than it dry (which is all violets and neroli), but I like it enough to keep the imp.

Edited September 15, 2014 by inhumation

[quickdrawkiddo]

I was avoiding this one like the plague because violet tends to be soapy and way too sweet on me, but I got a frimp of it recently, so I figured it was time to bite the bullet!

 

Wet: cold, bracing mint. Maybe I like this after all?

 

Dry: yep, there's the violet after all. It stays "chilly" smelling so it never becomes soapy or powdery, but there's no getting around how much I dislike violet. If you like Lush's Rock Star soap, give this a try -- that was the thing that made me realize violet and I are not friends, and this is similar, to my nose. I'm not running to scrub it off, but I doubt I'll want to wear it again either so this one is off to swaps.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Mostly the "zing" of mint and eucalyptus, although perhaps a little more of the latter than the former. I'm not getting much of the florals, unless the sort of indolic taint way deep down is the neroli. (But I usually like neroli, so I'm thinking not.)

 

Wet: Eurgh, that indolic edge takes a big step forward - now it's almost exactly the scent of my guinea pig's cage, or perhaps a stable, that's in need of a good mucking-out. The sharp, cool edge of eucalyptus-and-mint-in-that-order is still there. After a few minutes, it settles down into something more recognizably like the violet pastilles that I adore. In fact, it's now almost pleasant, in an earthy sort of way. This is my first violet scent, so I gotta admit I didn't really know what to expect. I had kinda anticipated something like the above-mentioned violet pastilles, which are very light, floral, and girly-scented, but this is something almost unisex.

 

Dry: It leans more and more powdery, and then poof! it's gone. I went to test it at the four-hour mark, and nothing. It was like I hadn't even applied perfume. Can't say this one particularly wowed me.

[LoveInLettersFade]

In the bottle I wasn't sure at first if I would like this one, but it just sounded so good I decided to try it out!

First Wearing I really only get the biting eucalyptus, I don't think I smell the violet... then again I'm really not familiar with that particular scent. I'm just going to assume it's the powdery undertone that I get.

Over time Still mellow but more powdery. I actually enjoy the scent. It lasted most of my work day.

Overall While not my usual scent, I ended up liking this one a lot more than I thought I would.

 

8/10

[freyasfae]

Well, this was just soapy violets on me.

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Yay Excited to try this. I love violets! But I'm also trying this with a bit of trepidation, because eucalyptus has amped out of control on two scents already on me (and they were burning, fiery scents, wtf??). On opening the vial, I smell SNOW! It's a crisp, clear, biting wind on a snowy day! It even has that cold-burning effect of smelling it but not in an unpleasant way. Eucalyptus isn't doing the gross thing it did in Djinn thankfully. I really like the way it combines with mint here! There's just enough to kick up the 'cold' effect of the mint. This smells like frosted purple flower petals on cold metal as promised and that's so awesome! I'm loving this. The violet is the same violet note i liked in Saturnalia, but a little lighter here just because of what it's combined with. The throw is sadly not much and it doesn't last long I want to just pour it on to get more effect lol. The color to me is electric neon purple and frosted stainless steel grey. Cold and electric. So unique! Sharp, brittle, and frozen.

[achildoftime]

Wow this is sharp! It cleared out my sinuses a treat. I get the violets for sure, but the most obvious notes are the mint and eucalyptus. They are very strong and really opened my nose right up. It smells slightly medicinal, but that hardly surprises me. I'd probably never wear this out because it doesn't seem to be that kind of scent for me, but I might keep it around for when I'm a bit stuffy at home.

[milo]

I really like violet, especially in the spring. This one is mostly mint and eucalyptus at first, which is good, because I'm just getting over a nasty cold. This remains that way with only a touch of violet. I'm enjoying this, and will probably use up the imp when I have a stuffy nose.