Velvet Cthulhu

[edenssixthday]

Wasabi, pu-erh and Touareg teas, green cedar, myrrh, white sage, khus, frankincense, and coriander.

Velvet Cthulhu - On me, this is an incredibly bitter, green scent. It's almost astringent. The scent is highly pungent on me -- a little tiny bit on my wrists fills the entire room. I can definitely see why some people I know are raving about this one, but it's just not right on me... it feels like the bitter greenness goes wonky on my skin, even though it doesn't actually "turn" like some notes do. Overall, wearing this is not a particularly pleasant experience for me. However, I can say it has really good staying power!

[surlygurl]

Oh goody! More summer blends!

 

Fresh on, this is MINT! Not a bubble gum mint, but a mint tea filtered through something spicy/herbal - probably the wasabi. The mint is immediately tamed and the scent turns into a clear spring green / jade green scent.

 

As it dries there's a sweetness that comes out, along with a slight soapiness that doesn't last. Eventually it becomes this clean green scent with a slight kick. Then it just fades away.....

 

One the one hand, I'd like a bottle of this so I can slather; on the other hand, do I really want to spend money on a scent that disappears within the hour? Hmmmm......

Edited May 8, 2009 by surlygurl

[zankoku_zen]

This was a little bitter, zesty citrus aquatic when first applied. As it dried, it has warmed up a bit, since I get whiffs of cedar and myrrh. It still has that bitter, zesty edge which I am enjoying, but overall might be a little too much like an industrial cleanser for me to fully love.

[tartchef]

OH... oh my. Yes. A tad masculine, perhaps, but so deliciously green & stemmy & bittersweet & cool, I can overlook that... Akin to Nostrum Remedium, but without the laundry-fresh element - Velvet Cthulhu is a bit sweeter & spicier (thank you, coriander & frankincense!), faintly medicinal, but with that cool, deep shadow from the teas & khus. Can't wait to try this in the hot weather...

 

ETA: Lovers of the forum-only F5 should give this a whirl - Velvet Cthulhu's dry-down is a bit deeper, but very similar...

Edited May 19, 2009 by tartchef

[dreadpiraterustypants2]

we met, and at first,had few words-

your murky green glow draws me closer chthulhu!

that minty spark in the midst of all that moody darkness-

methinks I have a crush....

[Lamia]

This evolves a lot. It starts like musky minty tea, gets a lemony tang, and then the frankincense, coriander and sage politely say "excuse me".

 

Husband says "it smells like aftershave, with something else that is familiar but he can't remember what..."

 

This is quite charming, but I am doomed to not have Cthulhu's scents work on me. Also, I don't normally agree with the idea of summer/winter scents, but this one seems quite summery to me.

[spiresinthesnow]

It is very "green" and sharply sweet initially. Its kinda like Lush's Go Green but with something resembling a mint! Its very herbal but has a faint softly sweet smell to it. Minutes after application the sharp tang tones down slightly and it smells like a "minty" herbal salt water aquatic. This one has a bright clean scent after about an hour of wearing it, then quickly fades. I like it, but its not a favorite,... I'm more of a sucker for candy sugar and vanilla.

Edited May 21, 2009 by glasspillars

[Seismogenic]

I think I have to confess here that I've read almost no Lovecraft. In fact, the only story of his I have read is The Call of Cthulhu itself. It is not the Cthulhu aspect of this scent that intrigues me most, though the idea of a fuzzy wall hanging of an Elder God is pretty awesome. I am mostly incredibly intrigued by all of the notes, since some of them (I'm looking at you, wasabi) don't generally occur in perfume.

 

In the imp: Whoosh, definitely wasabi! Also getting the sage and the coriander and what I assume is the green cedar, since it's a little evergreen-y.

 

Wet on skin: Wasabi has calmed down already, and it's letting the tea come out. The cedar and coriander are still quite prominent, though the sage has also dropped back some.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, wasabi is perking back up, though it's not beating anything out. It blends quite well with the tea, which is not surprising. Coriander is still a major player, and cedar and sage are more relegated to the background. I'm getting a sense of something a little darker back there, which is probably frankincense and myrrh, though I can't really distinguish them at this point. At one hour in, the entire scent is much fainter, though the balance is pretty much the same as when it was freshly dry. The wasabi has maybe calmed down a little more, but that's the only difference that stands out.

 

Five hours later: Pretty much just frankincense and myrrh, and rather faintly at that.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: Velvet Cthulhu is a weird one, and I mean that in a good way! Most of the individual notes listed are clearly green things from description alone, and in combination, they really are this sort of bizarre squishy translucent yellow-green. I can't think of a better way to describe it. They are definitely the right kind of color and squishiness to be Cthulhu, and I think it's really awesome that a combination of scents can invoke such a clear image in terms of hue and texture. I like! If only it hadn't faded down to just the resins (which I like, but which are not the characteristic thing of this scent) so quickly...

[thekittenkat]

tartchef is right, this is very much like F5, except maybe even better!

 

This isn't my usual review (I'll edit this later for that), but I will just say here and now, if you like F5, order a bottle of this tonight before it comes down!

 

Also, I had to order an extra bottle of Velvet Cthulhu for the boy, as I tested it on him last night, and it smelled even better on him than me. So, that's one birthday present down for him. (And as much I loved the Feb 13 on me, it was again even better on him. He must have the perfect chemistry for these gender-neutral scents.)

[Dark Alice]

This smells like a mintier, version of That Terror! on my skin, without the smooshy kiwi! Not too bad...not too great either. Meh.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

 

 

Decant: tea and green, but not green tea

Wet on Me: swampy green, but not rank swampy green. Thick green swampy!

Drying Down: greeeeeeeeen just a lovely lovely blend of greeeeeeeeen and not sharp green. Warm greeeeeeeennnnn!

Dry: Kermit might sing that it is not easy being green…but Velvet Cthulku sure makes it seem easy! KEEPER!

 

[aquazoo]

Amazing lime after-shave delight! Fresh minty overtones. It mellows down into a lovely leafy green.

[bubblefish]

Mmm, wow. I think this has to be one of my favorites!

 

I don't get the wasabi so much as I can smell the tea. And there's a lovely blend of the sage and cedar in here. For all the ingredients, it's not that foody smelling. Whoever identified it as a very green scent is spot on. It's a nice green scent that's refreshing. And there's a hint of spice, though not in the traditional sense of spice... not sure if I'm describing that well at all!

[caitilarkin]

In the imp: Green tea and spicy wasabi, and also a little whiff of sage, my sworn enemy

 

Wet on skin: The sage is amping, but it's not going bitter as it usually does on my skin. The frankincense has also come out but isn't going sharp and powdery like it often does. So far, the only that is misbehaving is the cedar, which is threatening to morph into its hamster cage variation.

 

Dry on skin: Given about 45 minutes, the cedar and the sage miraculously calm down and this blend is beautiful--green, creamy from the teas, spicy from the wasabi and deliciously herbal. It doesn't last very long on me (about three hours) or I would be very tempted to get a bottle. But I will definitely make use of my decant.

[Blood onmy hands]

I hated the wasabi & tea combo in Nostrum Remedium, and cedar, sage, khus, and coriander are all iffy notes on my skin, so I wasn't expecting much from Velvet Cthulhu.

 

In the bottle, this smells surprisingly upbeat, fresh, and grassy. It makes me think of grass, dandelions, and lemony herbs.

 

On my skin, this is intensely lemony with a background of green, bright herbs. It smells like fresh sliced lemons and green weeds on me.

 

Unfortunately, this is too much intense lemon for me. It's hard for me to wear lemon scents, and this one is just a bit too sharp and overpowering for me. The longer this sits on my skin, the more the lemon takes over.

 

Within ten minutes, this is all lemon all the time on me, and it just gets sharper and more soured . I wish that some of the green smells had stuck around.

[yeahbutnobut]

Velvet Cthuhlu

 

In the imp: soapy green wasabi, with a resinous-smoky undertone.

Wet on skin: wasabi is turning to green washing up liquid, but I smell resins, cedar and tea.

Dry on skin: lemongrass? I now get a strong, piercing scent of lemongrass from this scent. as well as lots of wasabi, which has a soapy scent that I am not at all keen on. It’s a shame, because I do like the other notes. The green cedar has a scent of young wood, green wood that’s just been cut, green and sappy. The teas are green too, a tart crisp tea scent. I don’t smell much obvious frankincense and myrrh but I do smell hints of them, warm incense smoke with sage, under the fresh watery greens. The vetiver note is surprisingly absent, but the coriander is lovely, a blend of coriander seed and leaves. It reminds me vaguely of Silk Road, not as spicy but with a similar fresh green scent. But I am surprised at the sharp lemon verbena scent I get here, and not pleased about the soapy wasabi.

After a while: soap soap soap! The evil wasabi has eaten all the other notes-no more frankincense and myrrh, no more spices and herbs. Maybe a bit of tea, but the scent that lingers is that of washing up liquid, aka wasabi gone bad.

Verdict: this has confirmed that even a little wasabi can turn a blend to fail on me-pure and utter fail. Even the vetiver didn’t get a say in which note would amp, wasabi dominated and exterminated all the other notes in the scent with its EVIL GREEN SOAP OF DOOM scent. And there were some stunning notes in here-frankincense, myrrh, sage, coriander, smoky teas…but I didn’t get any of them thanks to that wasabi note. It was even more aggressive in here than in Nostrum Remedium or That, despite the heavier notes. I’ll have to pass this one on.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? no way!

If you like this, try: Nostrum Remedium, Sri Lanka, Silk Road, That!

[futureyuppie]

In bottle: green. Crisp lime and wasabi.

Wet: Irish Spring soap with wasabi.

Drydown: Mostly wasabi with a bit of soap, something powdery, and lime.

 

By now I should know better than to doubt Beth's ability, but I was skeptical about the wasabi in this. She nailed it. This is a great eye-opener and is super refreshing. It has a pretty strong throw- I just used two small drops and I can smell it very clearly, so I will have to use sparingly. My bottle of Velvet Cthuhlu is assured of being one of my go to scents this summer.

[moonstonemama]

in the decant: very green and herbal smelling, with a hint of incense or spice.

 

 

after applied to skin: still very green, sagey, the wasabi is starting to come out. the coriander is definitely there. there's also a sharpness to it that I can't identify.

 

15 minutes later: the sage is starting to over power just about everything else.

 

[BuxomM]

I smell wasabi, sage, and a little cedar and tea. It smells faintly citrus like lemon grass. Not a scent for me. It's very green scented.

[rayvn1]

This is an aggressively green, fresh scent. Lots of tea and wasabi. This has mellowed quite a bit since I first received my velvet decants and the cedar and sharp organic scents mix up into a very refreshing summer bpal

[caffinatedangel]

I got this out of a decant circle because the notes were too bizarre to pass up sniffing.

 

But really, this scent is truly bizarre. I put it on, on first wiff my eyes water from the tang. Minty, wasabi, whatever it makes it zesty and makes you cringe something fun. But then it dries down to a wet green scent for me. It's also a bit powerful in a sharp way. The base notes, are there any?, are lost on me. So it's all top-notes and zest. Not something I can wear often.

 

Then, suddenly, the scent is entirely gone and I wonder if I had anything on at all. o_o

 

On an amusing note, I later ended up retesting it and getting it on my skin with Velvet Pink Kitty. The combination was oddly delicious... I may be mixing like a mad scientist soon. Wow like, really delicious. *slathers both on wrist and sits sniffling in awe*

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Greenish-floral, very light and refreshing.

 

Wet: Very green, almost minty, but with a strong herbal impression and something citrusy. I like this quite a lot!

 

Half an hour: Less sweet now, more sagey, and the resin is coming out. I may be getting a hint of the wasabi, or it could be green cedar; I don't know. It's not as verdant as before, but is settling down for a long and hopefully pleasant stay.

 

One hour: Definitely a myrrh-frankincense scent on me now, but pleasant in that it's herbal rather than floral or fruity. I won't need a bottle after all, though.

 

Three hours: A very pleasant, light, warm resinous scent with touches of light herb.

 

Five and a half hours: Still quite a pleasant resin-herb scent.

 

[Diva Urd]

I received a decant of this as frimp in a swap - thank you so much, kind swapper!

 

Vial: Fresh, almost minty, tea.

On: Bitter greenness and fresh tea! Reminiscent of "Nostrum Remedium", but much greener and slightly citrussy-sour, rather than slightly honey-sweetened. The tea has a bit more body, as well.

Later: Tea with lemon and greenery for the longest time, and about four hours in, finally a bit of floral sweetening the mix. I quite enjoy it, however, as it really seems quite similar to "Nostrum Remedium" on me, I'll probably keep buying that rather than VC, as it is readily available. If fate threw a bottle at me, however, I wouldn't say no to it, and I'll definitely keep the imp around for a pick-me-up.

[ElectraV]

In the imp: Green and spicy

 

Wet: I'm really struggling to identify notes here. It's green and wet and I think I can smell the wasabi and something a little sweet.

 

Dry: Still struggling with the notes. It's very green, but that's the best I can do. Unfortunately this one didn't last very long, and I'm not sure it's me. Off to the swaps with it.

[voodoocatwoman]

What a wonderful scent. I thought I detected sweet frankincense and nothing else. Then suddenly I got a little earth from the pu-erh. Next I smelled mint. Now, it's dried to lime and a touch of sage.

 

It is fresh and lovely. It goes through a definite masculine phase but I think I can wear it nicely.

 

ETA: I am now picking up... pineapple?? And Bay rum??? I think I'm in love.

Edited December 8, 2009 by voodoocatwoman