Velvet Bandito

[Monster]

Dust, tumbleweeds, cedar, and tobacco.

This is gonna be a short review for me....

This is a soft, potpourri clove smell on me. Normally I LOVE clove but there's just something about this that doesn't sit right with me. I decided to try it on my husband to see if I'd like it better. After wearing it all day we both came to the conculsion that it just smells like the Christmas Tree Shop (a store selling home goods over here in New England) and potpourri.
Oh well. Edited June 13, 2009 by Shollin

[copagirl]

In the imp I smelled mostly cedar, and some spices. Once on it started smelling of clove. Clove and cedar, which is nice, but dried down into pure strong clove on me. I'll use it up but no bottle for me.

[beachbabealways]

Bandito is related to Pickled Imp. PI is a bit sweet though.

I like them both.

[jewelbug]

 

Bottle: A fresh pack of clove cigarettes—the sweet tobacco/spice combo that I love.

 

Wet: You know that sweetness on the tip of your tongue that a clove leaves there before you ever even light it? This is the smell of that sweetness. I also feel like there’s a bit of a vanilla’d sasparilla vibe to this.

 

Dry: Creamy spiced vanilla tobacco. Its like sipping on a cup of creamy vanilla chai with a fresh pack of cloves next to you on the table (its not the smell of smoking cloves—it’s the smell of the unburnt cigarette).

 

Overall: This isn’t what I was expecting from the listed notes, but I’m glad I tried it because it is one of my favorite bpals EVER. I’m so excited to watch this one age. Has good staying power—about 7-8 hrs.

Edited July 2, 2009 by jewelbug

[milo]

I didn't even get a decant of Bandito, as dust notes don't really appeal to me, Tombstone was a pretty big miss on me. Wet, I get LOTS of clove, and not much else. As this blend dries, the dominant note is still clove, but the dust is coming out, and it really is a nice balance. I get a teeny bit of tobacco, and while I'm digging the bandit, it is more of a cooler weather scent to me. I hope the tobacco comes out more, as this is one of my favourite notes. I foresee great things in the future for Bandito, and look forward to trying him in a few more months when the weather is a bit cooler and he's aged a bit more.

[stellans]

Like almost everyone else who reviewed this blend, the clove upon first application is a major surprise, given the Lab's description. But the clove and spices mellow down quickly on my skin and allow some of the wood/dust to peek out, and I can't stop sniffing my Clocket! This is by far my favorite of the Velvets, and I can't believe how I almost let it get away. The cedar doesn't turn to pencil shavings, the tobacco doesn't nauseate, and the dust doesn't cause sneezing. Instead, this is a very evocative blend in that I find it really reminds me of my misspent youth and clove cigarettes, slightly dangerous young men, and hot Texas summers with the grandparents. ¡Ay caramba!

Edited August 17, 2011 by stellans

[Indigo78]

Crap. This smells good, and I just missed the curtain call. Oh, wells... bottle hunting can be fun.

 

First on this is a wonderful mixture of cloves and dust. The cedar sticks to everything else in a way I would have never imagined it could. The tobacco rounds it out beautifully. Yep- gotta get a bottle, pronto. I never would have thought cloves could be so appropriate for a humid summer, but somehow the dryness of this blend suits the weather in the best way possible. I'm enamored. Off to find some more...

Edited June 21, 2009 by Indig0

[rayvn1]

This smells very similar to the Saloon #10 spray, but I get much more clove out of this. The description of clove cigarettes sums this up pretty well. Dusty dry down. I can't see myself wearing this often because I'm just not a big clove fan

[Leopard403]

To me, Velvet Bandito is identical to Lush's Skinny Dip... which would be most excellent if I didn't find SD a tad old lady-ish for my tastes.

[valentina]

Thanks to eBay and a kind seller, I was able to get a bottle of this scent for my spouse's birthday. And of course I had to test it, even though don't like cedar or dusty scents, and from reading the reviews, I knew it had clove in it. And my skin dislikes clove.

 

So in the face of all of that, I did the ol' tootpick test and initially got that hit of clove that has already been reported by previous reviewers. I am a clove amper, so I thought it would only get stronger, but on me, it mellowed nicely in a minute or two. I am also a cedar amper, and expected it to leap out at me, and it didn't. I thought it would get acrid on me as the dust scents rose to the top, and it didn't. OMG! Good things are happening!

 

I find this scent to be a dusty, low-key clove with hints of cedar in the background. I also get a little nose tickle of tobacco. I also agree with the prior reviewers who detect a sweetness from sasparilla or tonka; for me, it adds the velvet touch to the fragrance. And it just morphs into a mellower, deeper richness as the tobacco becomes more robust. I think this is a beautifully blended scent.

 

I would happily wear this as a fall scent on a cool day when I decide to put on jeans and cowboy boots. (I may have to borrow it in October.) And naturally, it is very unisex and would smell great on a man. I am very very happy that I found a bottle.

[lilacea]

Dry clove and husky woods. Nice and smooth, like fine tobacco and clove cigarettes. But where's this carnation coming from ? There's a sweet spicey sickly scent of carnation creeping through. Pants.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is s-h-a-r-p muskiness and clove...

 

once applied....extremely sharp...dangit...i really wanted to love this and

thought most certainly it would work with my chemistry but it ends up smelling

like an old woody tavern with lots of sweaty armpits....rats

 

 

[jtb2008]

In the bottle, I get a sharp, almost spicy scent. As it dries, the cedar (?) becomes pretty strong. Not much dust or anything else really. I can't describe what I smell. Its amazing.

 

This reminds me of chocolate Necco wafers that my grandfather used to buy for me as a kid.

 

A+.

[voodoocatwoman]

Clovity MacCloverson!! This is clove spice at its pinnacle. All clove all the time!

 

Fortunately, I like clove. WOW, this is a tad strong too. If I am not careful, someone's going to try to stick me head first into an orange.

[filigree_shadow]

Yep, clove for sure. Dry wood and clove. The clove is a trifle overpowering for my taste, but I don't really like spicy scents. People who like spices should definitely try this, though. It's warm, dry, and very pleasant. It doesn't smell particularly masculine, either, if you were worried about that.

[strahlend]

Velvet Bandito makes me think of Laudanum. Spicy sweet, woodsy.

The quality of the sweetness is giving me a gut reaction that's unpleasant. I'm getting an Old Spice kind of feeling of cloying sweet spice. I don't necessarily get the sense that this is a permanent kind of association so I'm going to put it away and see if I feel differently about it later.

 

*edit

I ended up passing this bottle on. As others mention it does have a fairly strong clove element to it. I used to smoke clove cigarettes exclusively for a number of years and I don't know if that has anything to do with how I feel about clove currently but whatever it is it's just too much for me, clove seems to consistently overshadow other notes in a blend for me. I thought for sure the Bandito and I were made for each other, alas... I hope its new owner loves it more than I could.

Edited January 11, 2011 by strahlend

[Geminirubyshoes]

Dusty Carnations with a kick of spice. Very niiiiccceeeee.

Unfortunately this doesnt last long on me, my skin eats it up. It is nice for what it is though.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Spicy tobacco and cedar.

 

Wet: Hot damn! It smells like clove cigarettes!

 

Dry: It retains a lot of the clove cigarette scent but the cedar sort of smoothes it out and grounds it. It's a gorgeous blend, deep and spicy and a little woodsy and dry. Very simple but the simplicity works fabulously for it. The tumbleweeds are definitely the spicy note and I would hazard a guess they contain carnation or clove accord/oil or both.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: This is a pretty awesome scent. It's not my be all, end all of scents it is a good go to, especially on weekends and casual event where you want to smell sexy and interesting without being to professional or sleazy.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Dry, brown, crackly, a little bit sweet and a little bit smoky. It reminds me of pipesmoke.

 

Wearing: The sweetness is more pronounced on me; it’s a strange smoky sweetness with some dry wood behind it.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Sweet clove and tobacco.

Wet: The clove is super strong but delicious. This thing packs a punch.

Dry: This smells so much like my memory of the clove cigarettes my friend used to smoke. While I never really like the cigarette part of the equation, I did love the sweet smokey scent of them and it brings back sooo many good memories of that time.

Notes: It may be the memories that I associate with this scent that made me fall in love with it, but I’m so glad that it found me!

 

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from Lilyana.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

The notes in this sound good, but it didn't grab my attention all that much until I read the reviews and saw repeated mentions of it smelling like clove cigarettes. I've spent my entire BPAL fanhood obsessing over the idea of a BPAL scent that smelled like clove cigarettes and nothing else (I'm not a smoker and normally can't stand cigarette smoke, but cloves are a whole different thing, I love the smell of them and their smoke). I thought it was never going to happen. If these reviews are right I'm going to....

 

First sniff:

 

 

Oh. My. God. Clove cigarettes.

 

Wet on skin:

 

 

Seriously, this smells exactly like a combination of burning and unlit clove cigarettes in the best possible way. I don't get any wood at all from this. No cedar, no tumbleweeds (and no dust, either). Just tobacco and clove. Delicious, spicy, warm tobacco and clove.

 

Dry down:

 

This is some strong stuff! I dabbed a little on the back of one hand from the rim just to test it and I can easily smell it while writing this review. I love that because it means I can use less and worry less about using it all up.

 

The drydown on this is everything I could have asked for in a clove cigarettes scent and more, if that's even possible. It's even better than the wet stage. If you're not a fan of the smell of clove cigarettes, definitely steer clear...and you might want to anyway because, you know, more for me that way. This is all clove-tobacco goodness and it is delicious.

 

The bottom line:

 

I have this to say to everyone who wrote reviews mentioning the clove cigarettes scent of Velvet Bandito...

[dreamingjune]

In the bottle as well as before dry down this one is way more spicy than I was anticipating. Some bpal spice and cinnamon tend to end up like sweet potpourri on me, but this one is different. It smells more like cassia and clove essential oils than anything else. Like wearing a clove cigarette, but in a really wonderful way. I keep on looking for the tobacco note that I love in scents like BTBT and it is there, though hanging faintly in the background. Sometime after drydown my skin chemistry amps up whatever sweetness it can find in this and it becomes an awesomely smokey vanilla that is not too sweet or powdery. Almost like the sweetness of balsams or benzoin, with less of a green or wood note. This one is quite a winner.

[Verios]

This one surprised me (I expected to like, but not as much as I ended up doing)! On initial application, it reminded me fairly strongly of a slightly less aggressive Count Dracula (which I love too, so this wasn't a bad thing!)...much more clove than I expected.

 

However, it mellowed quickly, with a really sweet, cigar/tobacco shop tobacco note balancing out the clove nicely. I can easily see myself reaching for this often, when I'm wanting to feel confident and outgoing--but not quite aggressive enough for my Count Dracula (a bit more of an everyday scent, at least on me). I think I may need to hoard a few more bottles of this.

 

EDIT: backreading, the clove cigarette description others have mentioned is spot on (there's a bit more sweetness/something vaguely vanilla in this, but that just makes it even better)! (and explains part of my love of this scent--I remember trying clove cigarettes when I was studying in Thailand in college, and they were AMAZING. The smell brings back memories of a fantastic experience for me.)

Edited August 2, 2011 by Vashtya

[porcelina]

velvet bandito has been a favorite of mine since i first tried it a couple of years ago, so i don't know why i never got around to reviewing it! it's sooo nice, like slightly musky clove cigarettes. (oh, how i miss cloves. ) it's soft and comforting, but kind of spicy and sexy at the same time, and it seems to last quite a while! i love this stuff.

[KittyHawk]

There's something about this mixture of notes that screams "clove and carnation!" to me but I'm puzzled as to why. As others have noted, it does seem to me like a more masculine Morocco, and similar to Inez as well. I imagined VB would be more similar to my beloved Tombstone, but they are light years away from one another. No matter, I suppose; it's a beautiful woodsy spice on my skin and it lasts a very long time. Don't let the dark and dirty notes scare you away from the Bandito; it's surprisingly sweet, warm, and spicy - an inviting, cozy mix! I will put this into heavy rotation in the winter months.