Velvet

[jj_j]

Envelop yourself in the soft, sensual embrace of gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh.

The cocoa vanilla is quickly lost in the overpowering sandalwood. If the sandalwood and cocoa vanilla could balance each other, with the myrrh just biting into the sweetness, this would be stellar. Sadly, it's not.

Like pencil shavings and melted chocolate mushed together in the very dirty palm of a grade school boy.

[Shollin]

Velvet didn't work on me either. As gorgeously chocolate-spice as it is in the bottle, about thirty seconds after it hit my skin it turned to very loud sandalwood that I couldn't seem to wash off.

 

It's apparently just our skin though, because several people have said it's utterly gorgeous and sexy on them. If I want to smell like chocolate I'll take Vice any day.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

CHOCOLATE! But you can smell the myrrh and sandalwood too. Smoky and sweet.

 

After Wearing It:

Smoky and sweet, the sandalwood, myrrh and chocolate all express themselves equally here. It's not a hershey bar scent, you don't smell like a dessert. Possibly like an extremely expensive specialty chocolate, but I wouldn't put too much stress on that. It smells sophisticated and decadent. Like a lovely, heavy velvet robe. I ended up using the whole vial the day I wore it, both wearing it and burning the oil to scent my room.

 

Final Thoughts:

I think I'm in the small minority here of people who love Velvet. I haven't tried Vice yet, but this still sounds more appealing. I think it's utterly lovely, but perhaps not for a chocolate lover who wants to smell like chocolate. I bought a 5ml bottle of this.

[blackrayne]

Just wanted to add my thoughts on Velvet. I just sniffed my sample vial of it, and was overwhelmed by the chocolate scent...but not in a good way (being overwhelmed in a good way would be going outside to a nice breeze blowing the aroma from the town's chocolate factory around...it smells heavenly, as if you were about to dive into a vat of hot cocoa...mmmmmmm ). Anyway, it is an interesting blend, but not what I would expect velvet to smell like.

 

I just tested a little on my left wrist, and it is not nearly as strong as direct from the bottle.

 

Five minutes after applying, it is smoother, creamier, and much less nauseating than I first expected. Not something I will wear that often, but it seems to work ok with my body chemistry.

[viciousviolet]

Normally I don't go for foody scents. I received BPAL's Vice as a gift, and though I enjoy the scent, it's more of a comforting room fragrance to me than something I'd wear as a perfume. Velvet changed my mind. There's just enough chocolate to make this scent sensual and inviting, tempered by the perfect amount of sophisticated sandalwood. Not at all sticky, which is how I feel about most foody blends, and delightful both on the first whiff and on the drydown. I'd never guessed that the scent of cocoa could be so sexual, or could make me feel so sexy when I wear it!

[Koumori]

Velvet didn't work for me. I find that if there's myrrh in a BPAL blend, unless it's a very small part of the equation, it quickly overpowers all of the other notes when I wear it - something about my personal chemistry, I guess - and unfortunately, while myrrh is nice enough, I don't like smelling it for hours on end. On me, the cocoa and myrrh battled it out for an hour or so, and then the myrrh won.

[Nadirah]

I like Velvet, it really isnt a *foody* smell after you wear it. I like how the sandalwood and myrrh really stand up and scream at you. With a slight smell of unsweetened cocoa whispering in the backround. My only complain is that I didnt feel it lasted long enough, maybe I just wanted more.

[foolssilver]

i love velvet. on me, the cocoa is the strongest scent. on the dry-down, it is light and powdery, almost as though i've dusted myself with an expensive cocoa. (it's one of the scents i can't stop sniffing on the days i wear it!)

 

ADDED Feb. 3:

 

i think that velvet describes the scent, the scent is not reminiscent of velvet, the fabric (to me). once again, i just want to quote the description! it IS a warm, sensual embrace. a low, sweetly enveloping scent.

i am a chocolate lover, but to me this is not chocolately or foody, it's a tad nutty, like a ground cocoa bean (not like swiss miss!!)

Edited November 30, 2004 by Shollin

[lorajc]

After reading the reveiws on this, I imagined this would be much stronger. I was amazed at how light it went on. I usually think of sandalwood and myrrh scents being heavier....but again Elizabeth amazes me with her sense of balance here. I'd have to disagree with the above people that state the sandalwood stands out in this. I think the coccoa vanilla, sandalwood and myrrh are in lovely balance. I also ended up using my entire vial for one day. It actually could be a little heavier, but that won't stop me from wearing it, I'll just reapply. However, the wet scent and the drydown are not much different on this, at least on my skin it stayed pretty true to the wet scent. I have no problem wearing myrrh on my skin or any other resin scent.

[Pookymum]

You know I am so disappointed. I love love love the smell of this but it just doesn't work on me as a perfume. I found the same with Hellcat, loved the scent in the vial but it didn't suit me as a perfume. I am finding the scents I thought I would love, the musks or foody type, just aren't what I am preferring to wear, the florals and fruits. I do love the smell of this though as a room scent, chocolately and spicy, very very nice. As I said though doesn't do it for me as a perfume.

[Polexia]

YES! It IS a warm sensual embrace! Smells like yummy cocoa goodness in the vial...not sure I can detect the myrrh yet, but after 1.5 hours the sandlewood wafts up at me in such a pleasureable way. I want to totally love this scent...I need some reinforcement that it smells as good on me as I am imagining

[Pandorra]

VELVET

Initial: Cocoa and incense and, well, velvet..??? Don’t ask. It just smells velvety. Dusty things in an attic.

 

During: Sandalwood with cocoa flowing underneath. It’s a warm and cozy scent. I can’t help but feel velvety when I smell it. Power of suggestion I suppose, but it seems the way velvet would smell. A soft dark, rusty red almost brown. velvet. Its not a "foody" scent even though I can barely smell the cocoa.

 

Final: All I smell is sandalwood now. Pure sandalwood is really not my thing. Maybe with someone else’s chemistry the cocoa would linger. If someone likes sandalwood and chocolate, this would be a good thing. Sandalwood has always been a little heavy for me. I will swap this one.

[Belladonnastrap]

First sniff:

 

Like wrapping yourself in a liquid cocoon of dark chocolate. The cocoa hits me early on and only after the tenth zillion inhalation do I detect the vanilla. Sinful.

 

 

After wearing it:

 

While it smells like nothing but chocolate in the vial when I put this on the vanilla kicks in (I have noticed with any scent containing vanilla my body chemistry almost always picks up on it and makes it the dominant note) and it smelled like I had dipped myself in chocolate covered vanilla beans. The myrrh actually enchances the chcoolate smell, giving it a bit of a darker edge...most definitely living up to its name.. Again I found Velvet long lasting...I found myself catching wiffs of it more then 5 hours after application. I'll be using the imps ear up to get more a of a feel for the scent but on me it's like sinking into a dark velvety blanket.

[Scylla]

In the vial, the first thing I smelled was chocolate, but on me I don't smell it at all. The myrrh and sandalwood are all I smell.

 

I agree with Pandorra on this one. This scent reminds of of dusty old (velvet?)clothing in a long abandoned attic. You're going to laugh, but on drydown the image/feeling it evoked for me was the "Haunted Mansion" at Walt Disney World!!!

 

The more I sniff my wrist, the more it grows on me, though.

Edited April 9, 2004 by Scylla

[allamanda]

Milk chocolate with creamy-vanilla when first applied. Yum!!

 

Going incensey and very smokey as it dries (I assume that's the myrrh), with the sandalwood coming through very strongly, almost smells like cedarwood on me.

 

Some hours later this remains very dry, incensey and decidedly woody. This took me back to memories I had totally forgotten. As a small child I used to spend hours with my Father in his workshop. This is all those happy hours amongst the wood-shavings.

 

I love this smell, it makes me feel so happy.

[twistygirl]

As much as I love to eat chocolate, I never, ever went anywhere near a fragrance that contained so much as a hint of chocolate because I thought smelling like a Hershey bar would be too, too much for me.

 

Velvet has dispelled any doubts that I've had.

 

Wet, all I can smell is rich, rich cocoa, really good quality cocoa. It dried down very quickly and the vanilla and sandalwood has become more predominant. This is, on me, an incredibly soft fragrance... I needed to reapply a few times to get a really good idea of the scents. Yes, this is a very rich, bronzy-brown velvet cape. I adore the way this smells, but it is so soft on me that I think this would be another one of those I-can-smell-myself-but-nobody-else-can scents.

 

I showered with a honey-scented shower gel before applying this and the honey added an interesting twist to the cocoa/vanilla sweetness. I didn't intensify the sweetness, I think it just made it richer.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I LOVED the smell of Velvet in the vial.

 

On my skin a little less so but I think it's more of a seasonal fragrance. This scent will work best on me during the cooler months. I can just picture it: me, a warm cup of hot coco, fire in the fireplace & my sweetie.

 

I'll order a 5ml of this in the Fall.

[skg]

My first impression of Velvet in the vial was Frangelico and bittersweet cocoa.

Two things i totally adore.

 

Wet it instantly began to smell like peanut butter...gah!

 

On dry down it did mellow over time but it did take awhile and then settled down into a more bittersweet Nutella aroma.

 

Over the remainder of the day it began to go all warm and nutty on me again (no peanuts this time thankfully) with undercurrents of cocoa and sandalwood with a very slight almost peppery finish.

 

Unfortunately no myrrh notes to be found on me which is sad as I think that would have trully blanced it out for me.

 

Overall it's alright just a bit too foody for my tastes.

 

Being a wood snake i likes my smouldering woods a bit muchly.

[Lady_Ell]

Wow wow wow. Foolssilver just gave me a partial imp of Velvet to try, and I don't know how I'm going to give it back to her. I don't know how I'm going to wait for a month or two (when i have money) so I can buy a big old bottle of this stuff.

 

It's so goddang beautiful and rich and soft and really like Velvet - I imagine a deep purpley-brown colored velvet with gold highlights when the sun catches it.

 

OK - on with non-poetic review:

 

Wet/Drying - fancy cocoa... kind of milky, not bitter at all. Sweet and nice. Since I don't like chocolate this is saying something!

 

Dry - a rich sandalwood emerges and balances with the cocoa. The cocoa fades a bit with time, but the sandalwood sticks around. Since I loooooove sandalwood, this is a good thing.

 

I can't stop smelling my wrist. I described it to husband, who also loves sandalwood, as "hot chocolate with sandalwood" and he said it sounded gross (!). It is so not gross, and he will agree when he comes to visit tomorrow. And even if he still thinks it's gross, I'm going to keep wearing it because I feel soft and slithery and slinky and sophistocated in it. Even on the elliptical machine at the gym wearing a dorky T-shirt that says "Beware of Rocks" on it (geology humor, unfortunately).

 

If anyone wants to get rid of some Velvet, please PM me. I have some imps that need good homes.

[Reinaluna]

This Is one of BP's fragrances that im going to eventually get Every time I get an imp of it I alway's use it for special occasions. It is very sensual. The mix of chocolate, sandalwood,vanilla and myrrh just make such a warm sexy union! I think it going on my favorits list!

[with coffee spoons]

BPAL chocolate seems to snub me. Upon touching my skin it transforms into something more or less nutty, but certainly not chocolate. Vice turns nutty, as does Velvet to a lesser degree. I thought Bliss would be too much and thus wasn't going to get it, but I'll apparently be lucky if even it remotely resembles chocolate on me! But back to the subject at hand.

 

Velvet goes on with the slightly nutty note that Vice has on me. That combined with an equal dose of sandlewood. Both are quite soft, neither overpowers the other. Chocolate and Myrhh are MIA. It dries down to something soft, smooth, very well-balanced. The sandlewood is still there, but the nutty note has smoothed out into something I can't quite put my finger on. I would say buttercream except that it's not at all sweet. It smells like butter with a slightly vanilla powder. The color I get from this is white. Not snow white, nothing bright by any means. Whitish sweet cream butter, uncolored and unsalted. It's nice, might be nice on a cold, stay-home evening, but I don't think I'll keep it for that event. Someone else is bound to find it more attractive-- my chemistry is just bizzare

[Fulltiltredhead]

It doesn't work on me. Smells like bourboney vanilla, cedar chips, incense, wood smoke. All nice smells, but they are not me.

 

This one's got me running for the lily of the valley. Ack, give me light, give me air, I'm choking ...

 

I bet it will be a great room scent - I'm keeping the imp for that.

 

Edit: I've discovered I like this if I layer it over MMU's Chocolate Rose lotion, or if I wear a little bit of Vice with it - just a tad of something to accentuate the chocolate. Otherwise it goes too woody on me and makes me feel suffocated. (I have a hard time wearing woods although I love them on other people.)

 

Edit again: I'm CRAZY about this scent. It just took a little while to settle in for me. I've become addicted. I'm buying the big bottle!

Edited May 29, 2004 by Fulltiltredhead

[amberbella]

Aparently I'm the only one who smells peanut butter in the vial. Maybe a peanut butter cup, but definately peanut buttery for me.

 

On, the peanut butter scent quickly morphs into hot chocolate made with milk. I get a very milky version of chocolate. The chocolate is there, but it's really diluted by the vanilla and milk.

 

I love the effect of the myrrh and sandalwood....and I've never particularly liked the smell of sandal wood. They give it an old feel....and make it a but nutty at certain angles.

 

Tasty, but as the boy doesn't like me in foody scents, I'm afraid this one will be banished to the burner....I'm sure it will make the whole house smell delicious.

[la-roja]

I absolutely adore Velvet! It is my favorite BPAL scent so far (that isn't saying a whole lot, I've only tried 7 or so). I like it so much that I actually have a hard time convincing myself not to wear it so that I can try out my other imps.

 

It doesn't last as long as I would like but the wet scent is so different from the dry scent that I don't mind reapplying just to get that few minutes of wet power. It dries to a light, soft scent that you have to get close to smell but that is how I prefer to wear my scents. IMHO if someone outside of my personal space can smell me I'm wearing way too much perfume.

 

Wet: Strongly cocoa, not chocolate--there is no milky smoothness that the cocoa butter brings to chocolate--just pure, high quality cocoa. The cocoa isn't bitter smelling though; it is smoothed out by the vanilla. You can't really smell the vanilla unless you concentrate but it is there, tempering and evening out the cocoa. The sandalwood and myrrh are strong as well, not quite as strong as the cocoa but well balanced.

 

Drying: The cocoa starts to fade and the sandalwood comes to the front with the cocoa and myrrh not too far behind. The vanilla is a bit stronger but still doesn't assert itself, just hangs out in the back smoothing over the rough edges.

 

Dry: There is a strong sandalwood top note with a cocoa midground and vanilla weaving its way through sweetening and mellowing everything. The scent takes on a spicy/peppery quality. I'm not sure where the myrrh went.

 

This is not an edible smell. It is very sexy and it doesn't read as a perfume. More like a combination of my normal scent and a day spent dishing up bulk cocoa, vanilla beans, and spices. I can't get enough of it.

[upsidedown]

Velvet is positively divine; I never knew "perfume" could smell this wonderful! On me, this is all bittersweet chocolate, not at all like a chocolate bar, but instead dusky and rich and wonderful. I also got wafts of incense, which I imagine was the myrrh doing its thing, but a few hours in those were replaced by a very gentle vanilla that just smoothed the whole thing up and lightened it a little. Rooms scented with too much incense have a tendency to make my throat constrict, which is a pity, but this does no such thing. Now, nine hours after applying it, my wrist smells a little like something approaching cocoa butter, but more layered and mysterious. I'm in olafactory heaven here, Velvet is amazing.