Severin

[allamanda]

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the Father of Masochism and sexual surrender, had planned on writing six volumes of erotic literature entitled The Heritage of Cain. Only the first two volumes were completed, the more famous of the two being the notorious Venus in Furs. This novel tells the tale of a man, Severin, that enters into a relationship of slavery and increasingly debauched degradation with his mistress, Wanda. Dry black teas, Earl Gray, and leather.

When first applied I can smell tea (I cannot differentiate between white and green!) and faint citrus, possibly lemon. This is very clean and fresh, but not bitingly crisp.

As it dries there is a lovely floral underneath, I feel it is one I recognise but I can’t put a name to it, something exotic maybe gardenia, pikaki, lily or orchid, I just can’t place it. It is a clean floral, rich and heady, but not overpowering.

Once dry this is a clean tea / citrus smell (almost like a combination of Embalming Fluid and Kumiho, although not as astringent), underwritten with a lovely floral giving stunning results. I think there might be a light musk somewhere in the background, but wouldn’t swear to it.

Sadly this isn’t lasting long on me. I really like it a lot, can’t stop sniffing my arm and have reapplied twice!!

What's the betting I'll be hugely embarrassed once the official notes are advised?

See?? I still reckon there's a floral (other than bergamot) in there

EDIT: Changed topic title 'cause Sacher-Masoch is really Severin (and I'm glad to know that because I got one too), moved it to Love Potions and deleted allamanda's request that it be moved from the top of this post. --Shollin Edited September 7, 2009 by Shollin

[Shollin]

Mine also was labeled Sacher-Masoch, and I have confirmation from the Labgoddess that S-M (hee hee) and Severin are indeed the same scent.

 

First sniff: Grapefruit, I think – a bittersweet citrus that gets sweeter in the aftertaste – tickled with something very dark and masculine, but not overtly animal.

 

Wearing: The citrus takes the forefront, and now that I know it’s bergamot it makes more sense to my nose than grapefruit, because it definitely isn’t as sharp as the other grapefruit scents I’ve smelled. There’s something very dark and solid brooding underneath – not a sinister darkness, but melancholy… no, that’s not right either, because it isn’t sad, just brooding. Joseph Fiennes as Will Shakespeare, looking out the window chewing on his quill and thinking too much. While it isn’t overtly masculine on me, this scent would be devastating on a man… I suspect the dark undertone would be boosted on a guy’s skin into a full-blown brooding-poet scent and he’d smell like he should be wearing a blousy white Renaissance shirt with the big flowy sleeves.

Edited June 22, 2004 by Shollin

[Ypres Eep]

I really wanted to like this one... A long-lasting earl grey or darjeeling scent has been on my wish list forever, and I had high hopes for Severin. Captain Picard with a riding crop? Yummy (yes, I'm a huge dork) When it came as an extra in an order, I was super excited. Unfortunately, this one doesn't jive on my skin. In the bottle its a great sharp, dry leather and bergamot smell. -Sort of cold and lemony. On my skin it smells like iced tea (that's the good part) mixed with fresh, clean soap. I'm not a fan of the "clean" family of scents, so this doesn't work for me. I'm sure fans of clean smells will like it, though.

[Isis]

In the bottle: Lemony. But something else...(you know what it is but your brain can't register it!)

 

On Skin: I held my arm up to my Mom and she said it so lemony it could wake someone up from a coma. I thought it was really fresh but lacked the zing like normal lemons do, it's more like a subdued lemon rind.

 

I *think* I can detect some tea, there's something in this which makes it smell like sweat!....and i'm sure it's not me! but it makes it even better.

This scent is OLD. I mean 16th century old. Imagine walking into an open countryside bar and ordering drinks from an oak beam table. That's Severin.

There's something inside me which is telling me i've smelt this before. It's truly captivating and makes me feel weird like I want to surrender and let love take over...! lol- bizarre!

 

I hope you don't think i'm crazy, but I belive that I once had a past life...and this is exactly what it smelt like.

 

God.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: "Tea...Earl Gray...HOT." Yes, exactly. Captain Picard in his riding outfit romping around the Enterprise in the episode called "Starship Mine."

 

Second Impression: I love Earl Gray tea, this is a wonderful rendition of that fragrance.

 

Final Analysis: I really like the way this smells and the images it conjures. I'm not too sure about it as a personal fragrance but I'm going to use this in the oil burner.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this is another one that i never would have tried if the lab didn't toss it into my order. i smell a bit of lemon to this, but that's about all.

on: i can smell the leather now, but it isn't as uncomfortable to me as the leather in de sade was. it's also definitely tea-like, but i still get some lemon or other citrus, too. i like it. it's light and refreshing, but the leather keeps it from being too "clean" or simple.

1 hour later: this is really a gorgeous scent. unfortunately, it's very faint already. it would definitely need constant reapplication. it's kind of sexy, since it's so beautiful, but someone would have to be really, really close to smell it. i'm reapplying it...

2 hours later: yup, very faint. it's too bad, too, because the scent is very intriguing.

overall: i really like this one, but the staying-power is just not there. i won't be getting a bottle of it, but will use up my imp.

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: This to me is reminiscent of Villain to me .. lemony and light. It's almost tea with lemon, but I'm not sure if I'm imagining that tea or not. My initial impression was this was an almost clinical scent .. crisp and clean, like bleach, only it smells better.

 

Wet: Still lemony. I have a feeling this will smell fabulous on Jason .. however it seems to be doing a 'Villain' thing on me .. it's becoming almost lemon pledge. There's an almost acrid tone to this that bites at my nose. It's nice, but I'm just not so sure it's me.

 

Wearing: Sadly, this does like Villain does, only this is just too cold to ever play nice on my skin, whereas Villain just lemons out. I imagine though it'll be amazing on Jason though, so I'm not going to complain. Wanda's nice enough to make up for this one not working, certainly.

[Astburygrrl]

In the Bottle: Very light & fresh..I smell lemons for sure!

 

Wet: I tried this on me first and it still smells like lemons and i can pick out the Earl Grey now also. Mmmm..so good!

 

Afterhours: Strangely it has morphed into a powdery orange creme smell..not bad though! I can finally smell the musky leather rising to the top also..

 

Overall I like this..and it smells almost the same on my boyfriend, he agreed to wear it if I buy a bigger bottle of it.

[VelvetSky]

As everyone else has said, this is Earl Gray tea and lemon. A very crisp, light, pleasant unisex scent. I'm getting a bit of the leather on the drydown, but it's faint and polished, not wicked.

 

My problem with Severin is that it's a very weak scent on my skin. I think I'd like to wear this, but I'd have to reapply constantly. I need blends with a bit more "oomph".

[Lady_Ell]

This is great. I like leather scents but they're usually very strong on me. This one is a lovely combination and each ingredient keeps the other ingredients in check.

 

Application - leather and tea (per site description)

Drying - leather... not black and heavy new leather, but a lightweight and not-too-strong older leather

Dry - still leather but with a hint of lemon on top. Just a hint.

 

When Mr. L tries this on I'll update with what it does for a dude who loves DeSade.

 

I didn't think I could wear leather scents because they usually scream out of me and turn rancid. But this (so far) is calm and lovely and sophistocated.

 

ETA:

 

Mr. L tried this on and loves it. It's the summertime counterpart to DeSade, which is very strong and dark and appropriate for winter. On him the lemon is stronger than it is on me, and the leather yet again mixes with his skin chemistry to make me hang around his ears like a gnat, sniffing at him.

 

Very perfect.

Edited August 2, 2004 by ladylatemar

[pekeana]

When my order came, Beth had put an extra imp of Severin in it -- and it leaked just a tiny bit in the box. When I realized what it was, I was sad about the precious leaking -- understandably.

 

In the bottle: tea and a sweet, not quite dry leather.

 

On my fingertips: Wet, warm leather with a touch of lemon.

 

Dried: Tea leaves and leather. I like it, I love it, but not on me -- on a nice, manly guy who likes leather jackets and driving in a convertible with the top down.

 

*shifty eyes* I'm sending this to a guy I know who will appreciate it. Utterly delicious!

[minilux]

This turned out to be something very different than what I was hoping for (a nice, rich, slightly smokey black tea), but I ended up liking it anyway for very different reasons. Others have said that Arcana smells like lemon curd which I didn't get from Arcana, but am most definitely getting from Severin. On me, it's a thicker, richer, creamier lemon smell which I like very much. I'm not getting leather at all unless it's the wisp of something ever so slightly smokey that I catch every so often. Unfortunately, doesn't last very long, but I don't care, I still want a bigger bottle!

[Reinaluna]

Great scent for a man. I use it on my son.

[Effluvia]

in the vial: Sour lemon candies. Mmmmm.

 

wet, on my skin: Lemon tea...but why does this scent strike me as really fucking sexy? Oh! There's the Earl Grey...wooow, this is just REALLY fucking sexy...! This really is the perfect counterpart to Wanda; I think Beth hit her mark really well, here. Wanda is definitely the S, and Severin is definitely the M (but there's definitely some S in there ). This is clean, unisex and FUCKING WICKED in a subtle, quietly smoldering way. Mmmmmmmmm!!!!

 

dry, on my sin: Very, very, very light lemon scent. Very pleasant, beautiful lemon.

 

WOW, I think I'll buy 5mls of Wanda and Severin on my next order.

Edited July 20, 2004 by Effluvia

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Sticky, sweet lemon.

 

Drydown

 

This is a lot sweeter than I expected, at the moment it's a bit much. The lemon is dominant but there is a hint of tea.

 

After a While

 

This predictably faded very quickly, and all I got was a sickly lemon curd smell and no trace of leather.

 

Final Verdict

 

I'm really disappointed. I thought I would adore this one given all the glowing reviews. I may give it another go in the hope of detecting the leather but I fear it's destined to be swapped.

[isyche]

wet: Lemon.

 

on me: At first quite lemony, then settles down to Earl Grey tea and leather as per description. Wow, whoever said this is the smell of Rupert Giles is so right. Tea, old leather-covered books.... love it. I so wish I had a guy to try this on.

 

then: Hey, where'd it go? It faded suddenly away. Maybe my skin liked it too much. It's very faint now, but still nice.

[Lux667]

In the bottle: Uber lemon. Lemon pledge according to my sense memory, to be exact.

 

Wet: I smell like I'm wearing a bag of lemon drops. I'm not sure how I feel about this but I'm still really..lemony.

 

Dry Down: Lemon scent has backed off and the smell of the tea has come up nicely. It smells like white tea and Meyer Lemon on me, to be exact. It's a nice smell.

 

Pros: Nice after dry down. Light, crisp and soft with definate lemon and tea notes.

 

Cons: VERY lemony in the bottle and when wet on you and once you get to the good part, it fades really fast

 

Overall, not bad.

[lemonlye]

Oh, wow. I really, really like this. Leather balanced perfectly with citrus & tea - and somehow, for some reason, every time I sniff at it, my mind puts me in Great Britain. Is it the tea? Is it the elegance? Is it reminiscent of a lemon-scented furniture polish I used when working in a hotel in Scotland? I'm not sure, but it makes me very happy. Definitely want a bigger bottle. (Though I do wish it weren't *quite* so subtle...)

[feline.by.design]

This is a very peculiar fragrance. I had ordered this because I cannot resist anything that has Earl Grey in its description, even if it has leather, which at first I was very leery of.

 

The citrus is, I take it, supposed to be the bergamot in Earl Grey, however in the fragrance when I first applied Severin it kind of reminded me of... err... wood polish. But it wasn't *bad* and this sort of went away to leave me swimming in black tea and leather, with the citrus poking in here and there in the soft grey-black ocean. The tea almost reminded me of tobacco, in fact my boyfriend asked me if it was supposed to smell like tobacco.

 

Yes, it's subtle and turns very faint quite quick, but it just wouldn't be a fair representation of Severin if his namesake scent was strong and powerful, at least for the majority of the book. I'm interested in getting an imp of Wanda to compare the two fragrances now, to see if Wanda "dominates" Severin yet again.

 

This is the first fragrance from the lab that I've gotten that smells like this, tea and leather. It's very unique and I like it a lot. The fragrance is one of those where it could almost be like you're *not* wearing any oils, it's very much an oil that smells like really good skin.

 

I get the impression that a very well-learned, dignified man would be wearing this, yet he would be soft-spoken and a bit shy. Alas, I know no one who matches that description, so I will just have to buy a bottle of this for me, when finances permit. I'd love to try and use this as a home scent, as the furniture/wood polish hint might make the joint a bit classier, if that's at all possible. In the meantime, my imp shall be well-used... and abused.

 

-doreen

[JazzieCazzie]

Got an imp of this as a freebie in my most recent order ... and while I never would have chosen it on my own, I quite liked it ... for some reason, when I read leather in any scent description, I automatically thought kinky leather ... but this is more old library with rare collector's edition books leather ...

 

BOTTLE: Something citrusy and fresh yet comforting, nothing I could put my finger on. Armchair leather.

 

Applied to wrists and crooks of arm, one swipe each.

 

WET: The leather has a nice touch. Definite citrus, though I couldn't quite place which fruit ... maybe lemon except that BPAL lemon and tea scents combined generally don't work as well on me as this one does. My daughter's reaction with no prompting was "oranges and leather." My husband only smelled leather but asked to sniff twice rather than recoiling as he often does.

 

DRYDOWN: I knew this wouldn't really be me, I was more test-wearing it to figure out on whom I would regift it ... it "isn't" my husband either but it will go to someone I love (am thinking about maybe my dad getting a few imps). BUT I think it's a potentially unisex scent ... a good, sexy, solid, clean and yet comforting scent.

 

But, like many others, I found it didn't have a lot of staying power. I put it on around 6 and now, almost 9, it is gone gone gone. It would make a good room scent or candle.

 

Not a keeper for me, but simply because it's not me ... a very surprisingly likeable scent.

[phoefromelsewhere]

This as a freebie from the lab, which is great because I probably never would have gotten it on my own.

 

In the bottle: Tea, citrus (lemon/lime) and a darker note (leather).

 

Wet: Lemon tea. This is the first oil my husband ever agreed to try because he liked it in the bottle so much. That’s worth a big bottle right there.

 

Drydown: Oh, this is just lovely. Very nice after the Persephone Debacle ( ). Smells fresh and light, with a hint of darkness to keep it from floating off.

 

Later: Just gorgeous. Utterly clean, cool and warm at the same time. Like hot naked flesh getting goosebumps from a ice cube being trailed along the skin…sexual in a strange way. It doesn’t seem sexual…but it is, in the best way possible. Doesn’t last to long, will have to slather on my big bottle when I get one.

[zapevaj]

I definitely smell the tea and the leather here- to me, Severin is a very masuline, confident scent. It's also very "dry"- the colors I most associate with it are grey and black. I don't pick up any florals, or anything feminine in this scent at all- not at all right for me, but it'd be great for a really butch woman!

 

-Rae

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: I get a light tea scent with a breath of cirtus in it. Earl Grey with lemon, a biscuit on the edge of the plate. I do enjoy these tea scents.

 

Wet: Heavenly Earl Grey speaking of refinement and beautiful things. I don't like drinking this tea but, my God, it smells so damn good. There's a darker shade of scent behind the fresh, blossom of Earl Grey, but I cannot discern what it is.

 

Dry down: This one dries kinda fast. Remains Earl Grey and a tiny bit of cirtus. I do love this. It's not the same OMG! love that was Dormouse mostly because this tea scent requires some polite discretion, but I do believe that this is a scent I'd be willing to wear around all day. It stays pretty true on me, too.

 

Dry: I am a pompus English Lord, look at my powdered wing so fine. (No offense to any people who happen to be British. It's just the image in my head, very Monty Python-esque.) I drink my tea. It's Earl Grey, and I love it. Oh, the citrus is getting a little stronger now without detracting from that heavely tea smell. I must, I must, I must obtain imps of all of Beth's tea blends because OMG so good.

[xoe]

At first Severin is very citrussy, with something in the background (probably the tea & leather, huh?) But that's as far as the review can go. It lasts less than 10 minutes on my skin. Oh well.

[sarada]

I was very interested in Severin because of the Earl Grey tea mention, as that is my favorite type of tea, and a fresh canister of Earl Grey tea leaves is my favorite thing on earth. The leather note had me worried though as I always feel sick when I'm in a store with leather jackets or vests in it and I really dislike that scent.

 

In the bottle, I definitely smell my favorite tea. It has that bergamot (citrusy) hint over a nice rich tea...and there's a tang of something else, but it's not the leather jacket smell.

 

When I put it on I swear there's white wine in it. That might be the leather though -- it just comes across as wine on my skin, and to my nose. Odd. I can get the tea, but it's being drowned out in that winey smell.

 

But after about 15 minutes that dies down and I get a waft of that perfect, freshly opened tin of Earl Grey scent that I love. I savor it for awhile but it's gone in an hour. I wouldn't mind putting more on though. I would consider putting this in a lotion actually, that might extend the life. I really like Severin, and if drinking Earl Grey all day doesn't make me smell like it, maybe this will! I will get a bottle of this eventually, but I'll probably have to slather it or make a lotion, to get more than an hour's wear out of it.