The Raven

[edenssixthday]

Sleek, dark, and ominous. Violet and neroli mingled with iris, white sandalwood and dark musk.

The Raven - Wow, another violet blend! Yippee! I just adore violets, and I can't get enough of BPAL's pretty blends with violet in them. Violet is definitely the dominant note in this, and it's incredibly dark and deep. The violet swirls on a river of dark musk, and the other notes are barely discernible. I love this scent. It is deep, dark, mysterious, and really, really pretty. Great level of throw but moderate staying power -- it starts to fade before even an hour has passed.

[Diana]

Wet: violets + perfumey iris notes

 

Drydown: The violets actually manage to stay stronger than the iris. I have avoided a lot of iris blends because it tends to amp up, become insanely perfumey, and drown out all other notes. After a bit, the musk kicks in and lends a fresh-skin note to the blend, which ends up smelling like I had a recent shower & used a violet shower gel. Very soft & pretty!

[jakey]

The Raven

 

Musky and perfume-y. Smells like an old lady perfume, but not entirely unpleasant. It sweetens up over time. It's a floral that's unpretentious. Something I could wear to the in-laws'.

[SultryWolf]

Raven is another of my totem animals, so I had to get the scent.

 

imp: Floral, lighter than I expected. Even so, I can see a Raven spreading her wings to the sky.

on: Still floral, but with something a bit sharp. Settles quickly to a violet and gentle musk. A few hours later, it's sandalwood with an overlay of sweet floral.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Powdery violets. Yay for violets!

 

On the wrist: Powdery violets. Boo for musk!

 

Conclusion: I don't think musk likes me. Every musk thing I try smells powdery to me. Bugger.

 

Off to the swaps.

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp: Musty violets.

 

On me, wet: Sharp violets.

 

On me, dry: Sweet violets.

 

Verdict: Violets. I love them, so this is a great scent. It's like Numb's darker sister.

[Taniwha]

Fresh from the bottle, I had the same reaction I did to Sacred Whore of Babylon - strong floral with a green, leek-like undertone. Very strange. After drydown the violets amp right up so I can smell nothing else. It's too bad - there are some lovely notes in the description that I'm just not getting at all. This pretty blend is wasted on me, I guess.

[fairy]

I don't know what it was but something about this combination didn't work on me. Far away it isn't bad. Clean smelling. But if I bring my arm up to take a sniff I smell rusted metal.

[kunoichi]

From the vial, this is a cool blend of violets. On my skin, a bitter note starts to creep through along with other notes like musk, though it isn’t a dark scent on me – it’s rather odd, because it has both sweetness and bitterness to the fragrance. After a few hours on my skin, this has become a soft yet still a little bitter blend, though I’m not sure what is causing the bitterness.

[margravine]

I am so very sad that this scent didn't work for me. At first I could smell all of the elements at once and it was a bit confusing. The violet that I loved so much in Saturnalia was there, but the iris just grew stronger and stronger until all I was left with was a little hint of powdery musk behind sharp, unforgiving iris. I'm just so jealous of everyone who could smell the violets for more than a minute.

 

This is probably lovely on some, but for me it was just generically perfumey and incompatible with my chemistry.

[melrose]

First on: lovely florals, not too sweet, but definitely doesn't evoke the Raven.

 

Near drydown: OMG, the musk and sandalwood make this one gorgeous. The flowers are in the background. It smells ambery-powdery-musky-woodsy. I am in love.

 

Verdict: I almost said that it was a shame I wouldn't buy more because it pretty much disappeared after an hour. Then I realized I had spent the whole day with my nose crammed into my elbow, because the smell is so gorgeous.

 

I'm thinking bottle-worthy and slather-worthy.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, this was a very 'commercial' smelling fragrance.

 

On my skin, it turned immediately to powder.

[aquazoo]

Soft & sweet. A very “lady” sort of smell. Perhaps a young widow sitting in her lawyer’s office discussing how she can’t imagine how it all happened... A nice one on me.

[minnalavender]

The Raven was a lovely frimp.

 

Why are so many florals sad on me?

 

In the bottle: there's something wistful and nostalgic in this scent. I think that as a child I must have had perfume with violets, maybe for Easter. I can picture little white gloves, lacy sox, and patent leather Mary Janes, my white vinyl puse with the silk flowers on it...

 

But I had a happy childhood! lol

 

The Raven remains sweet, pure violets on my skin from first application to drydown.

 

Because the throw is tiny, I would give this to a very feminine little girl to wear. I might even wear it myself out of appreciation for its beauty, even though it makes me sigh.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Violet and iris, but they smell... thick, somehow. Heavier than just florals.

 

Wet: Violet and neroli make a wonderful scent, together, bittersweet and a bit green. It smells creamy.

 

Drydown: The violet starts drying down to powder, as usual, while the neroli starts mingling with something new, probably the sandalwood. The violet still dominates the blend, though, and I haven't yet had any sign of the iris, which is a relief. At complete drydown, I get a rather elegant mix of violet and neroli, with some velvetey black musk and regal sandalwood in the background.

 

Overall: A rather haughty blend, certainly sleek and dark. I can really see it worn by a very elegant woman in an expensive black dress. It's soft and seductive, heady and beautiful. A great blend, even for those that aren't huge violet fans. And my bonus is that the iris doesn't rear its powdery bitter head.

[supremegoddessofall]

I'm predicting not to like this, as violet and neroli usually do not play well with my skin at all. *sniff* Violet-scented tampon...I mean violet-scented neroli. Yick.

[Lunaratu]

I got this as a free imp with my order of The Darkling Thrush. However, while the DT smelled very old Hollywood glamour feminine on me this smelled very masculine and dark even though both oils have violet as a major component (I believe it's the musk that does it in The Raven)

 

Wet: ok, my first response was actually to wrinkle my nose a bit. This smelled like strong aftershave that doesn’t work for me. Very masculine and overpowering. Which surprise me because while in the imp it was still potent it also smelled quite good. I’m thinking something in here just doesn’t like me and my best bet is to say it’s the musk—musk has turned weird on me before. This is making me sad because when I looked at the ingredients I had such high hopes since I love delicate florals and sandalwood—that mix of the exotic/spicy into my scents usually gets me addicted. ::sigh:: I’ll just wait for this to dry and hope the musk dies down.

 

Dry: Wow, luckily this is drying down to a much gentler scent. The dark musk assault I initially got is fading. However, this still smells quite…masculine on me. I’m guessing it’s still the musk giving me that inclination but it’s making me sad. It’s also smelling a bit like soap as it’s dying down and…oh my, it’s almost gone in about ten minutes! I don’t know why but this scent just starts out way too strong, dies down to a more soapy/smoky self, and then dies quickly almost all within the first 20 minutes of applying. However, in the practically gone stage I do get a tad bit more of the florals.

 

Final Verdict: Definitely not for me. The dark musk obviously hates me and amps up to such an extreme while I can smell The Raven that the scent is practically ruined. The pretty florals only peep through when the whole scent practically disappears about 20 or 30 minutes into dry-down and there’s a trace scent there that reminds me of baby powder as well. It dries down into a dark powder that is so light that I can barely tell it’s still on my skin. The musk does die back considerably at this stage so that I actually think it’s rather pretty but it’s still barely there. ::sigh::

 

Throw: Very low. I have my nose pressed against my wrist and only then am I even picking up a trace of it.

 

Rating: 1/5

Edited October 7, 2007 by Lunaratu

[The_Merf]

This is by far the oddest BPAL trial I've had yet. I received a decant of this along with Anne Bonny from a generous forumite, and I'll be darned, I cannot tell them apart. I guess this is because of the sandalwood, and they both have this "dusky" aura to them. I guess the violet functions in the same way as the frankincense in AB. The Raven does not have as much throw as AB, and I can't detect any of the lighter notes in the blend like neroli or iris (but iris vanishes on me anyway, so that doesn't surprise me).

 

This did not smell at all like I thought it would! LOL

[jiggahava]

Hmmm. Very dark and haunting. The violet and iris combine together to make a dusky, slightly bitter floral. Or maybe it's the neroli that's making it bitter? Not sure. Either way I like it. It feels very refined and elegant, something that a woman from Victorian-era England would wear. It belongs in a Henry James novel, haha. After half an hour, the sandalwood joins in and adds a bit of woodsiness to the blend. Very nice. I can't stop sniffing my wrists.

[sofaking6]

I'm a little bummed out by The Raven.

 

I love violet and orris, and am really trying to muster up some affection for sandalwood. If anything could have done it, The Raven could have.

 

In the imp, I get a very nice blended bright floral tempered with earthiness.

 

On me, so sad, the sandalwood amps so much it all but block out the violet.

 

I do like the strong musk, although I agree with other reviewers that it's a masculine blend, it's still nice and smooth.

 

I wish I could smell the florals in this once I put it on! Argh chemistry!

[nancybridget]

Being a neroli lover, this one makes me so happy! I love the way the aromas mingle with the musk and violet and sandalwood. It's pretty and greenish, but a bot ominous at the same time. I would love to have a bath in something delicious like this. The Raven is stunning!

[yeahbutnobut]

The Raven

 

In the imp: a soft powdery violet with the scent of iris and tangy neroli underneath.

Wet on skin: violet and iris. This smells like Black Pearl with violet.

Dry on skin: violet and iris, the two notes intermingle very nicely. This is a pale, ghostly scent, very powdery and dusty. The violet gives a silvery and old fashioned scent, the iris smells almost like orris here as opposed to the almost fruity purple scent that some iris notes have. The sandalwood accentuates the dustiness and dryness of the scent, with hints of neroli here and there. I don't get musk yet.

After a while: now it smells just like those Parma Violet sweets. You know those little purple sweets that taste of sugary violet? This is exactly what it smells like now, right down to the chalky powder of the sweets themselves, and even a hint of 'fizz' provided by tangy neroli. I don't smell any dark musk here at all. Just powdered pale violet. It seems a little too cheerful for the name and theme…

Eventually this 'Parma Violet' scent becomes a very pretty violet dusted over a warm, soft sandalwood. Now this is more like it! Less sugar and more of the ghostly and dry scent I get first. It's possible that the musk may be adding depth but it's not noticeable. The drydown is a surprisingly warm sandalwood-violet scent with just a hint of dark musk.

Verdict: at first, this is all violet. Maybe a touch of orris-like iris enhancing the violet, but this is violet, powdery, dusty, pale and aloof, almost melancholy and faded, nostalgic. And then it moves away from this almost sad, faded scent into something unusually cheery-the scent of Parma Violet sweets, violets and sugar and powder and fizz. Not what I expect from a perfume called 'The Raven'. However, the drydown was much nicer when the fizzy neroli faded to leave a gorgeous violet-sandalwood fragrance, dusty and old and ghostly, and feathery-soft, with the shadow of dark musk behind it, a much more raven-like scent. I like this scent, especially after a couple of hours, but I'm not sure I'd wear it much, it smells a little old fashioned at times and sometimes a little too much like sweets…it's conflicting. So I think I'll swap/sell this.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Maybe not.

If you like this, try: Ultraviolet, Dance of Death, Le Serpent Qui Danse, Black Pearl, I Died for Beauty, Morella

[baranoouji]

In the imp, it really does smell vegetal!

 

On me, it's violet and iris. The other components didn't even stand a chance. Eventually, the violet turns powdery on me, and I smell something waxy and thick stomping around.

 

Eventually it dries to a darker musk. Not bad, but not unique with regards to what I already have.

 

For the most part... It's very strong, very in-your-face, and probably not something for me.

 

Will I keep it? Awk! Nevermore!

Edited February 6, 2007 by baranoouji

[filigree_shadow]

This is a darker violet than most of the BPAL violet blends, I think. I like it with the sandalwood. It seems like it's kind of earthy -- not in a dirty way, but in a grounded, natural way. It doesn't smell creamy or dewy or like petals like some floral blends do. It just seems wispy and darker.

 

In all the BPAL violet blends I've tried, the violet seems to be really strong on me. I think it's prettier than some other florals, so I'm not really complaining, but since they all kind of smell the same on me I think I better just pick one favorite violet one. I don't think it's this one. I think it's probably going to be either Sybaris or Morgause.

[Iceblink]

Mmm, smells like evening. Violet amps on me in every blend that contains it, so this is pretty much a violet festival, with a very faint hint of powdery iris and a teeny bit of sweetness (from the neroli?). It's very...conservative. Not loud, not overtly sensual, just a nice, polite fragrance. I think this might smell great on a certain type of man, too.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Iceblink