Velvet Tiger

[ljaylh]

Spiced Satsuma orange, tangerine, rich amber, black licorice, teak, cinnamon, and vetiver.

Oh vetiver, you truly are a dark and fiendish bastard.. why do you have to dominate all the other lovely notes here? Do you have some sort of inferiority complex? It's not like we don't notice when you're around.. seriously, learn to mellow out a little.

This is a beautiful blend, but unfortunately the vetiver is just too much.. damnit.. I can only just smell the gorgeous rich orange and tangerine, and the amber has been vetivered into submission. I can't really pick up the licorice or teak at all, but the cinnamon's there. So I was hoping for orange, amber, licorice and teak with subtle vetiver and cinnamon in the background.. but instead, I got the reverse of that. If you're lucky enough to have skin that can absorb and soften the vetiver/cinnamon thing, then you're a lucky lucky sausage. I'm seriously upset about this one, I sooooooo wanted it to work for me but I don't think it's going to be a keeper

[Iceblink]

A really strong, sharp, vetiver that's very smoky--almost like vetiver meets Smokestack or Djinn. I only smell the slightest hints of orange and anise here and that only far into the drydown. No cinnamon, no teak. If you like vetiver then go for this but I'm amping it like crazy here and it's just NOT working.

[Fury]

When wet on the skin, this reminds me a lot of a delicious, exotic chocolate orange dinner mint. It might be the anise with the orange and vetiver which gives me this impression, though unfortunately, after drying it becomes very strongly vetiver and little else, maybe a little anise to round out the edges.

 

The throw on this is very mild to me, that after an hour or so it's all mild, quiet, spicy vetiver but much less potent. I'm a little disappointed that the initial scent doesn't stay the same with my skin chemistry, which is usually very sweet, but this was the first bottle I reached for our of my 15 or so 5mL order. Overall I would say this blend is smooth, smoky, spicy, primarily smelling of anise and vetiver, reminding me a little of a dirty patchouli sort of scent. I also imagine this would be delicious as a room scent.

[edenssixthday]

Velvet Tiger - When I sniff this in the bottle and first apply it, it's gross, stinky vetiver. "Wet" vetiver is one of the vilest scents on the planet, IMO. However, once vetiver dries down (on me), it turns into the most gorgeous, gravelly, rough, dark, and sexy scent. So I give this a chance even though it stinks awfully at first. Sure enough, within 20 minutes, the scent starts to take on that huskiness that I love so much about dried-down vetiver, and not long after, I notice that mixed right in with it is the bright scent of sweet orange. It's got a hint of spice about it and a smoky, woody feel and all of these scents together make it a really powerful (but not over-powering) and regal scent. It's a really amazing scent and in my opinion, a true work of art. I'm really amazed by how this one is blended. It's just so perfect. The throw is really strong when it's wet, and the wet vetiver is so offensive that I wouldn't ever apply this in or near a public place, but if I put it on at home and then go out, by the time I get where I'm going, the scent has settled down to the point where it's not overwhelming and it has a lovely level of throw. The staying power is also quite excellent. I'm very, very pleased with this blend!

[steffanina]

Velvet Tiger-

 

In Bottle: OH HAI VETIVER I C WHAT U DID THERE. I like vetiver academically; it works in some blends but if they get too masculine cologne-y I don't want to wear them. (I love Death Adder, for example.) I think I can smell sweet orange in there as well.

 

Wet: Vetiver and a smidge of orange.

 

Dry: Desert-dry, cruel vetiver, oh, you love to grab me and steal my breath away and leave me a husk. Someone come save me. Left long enough, it does dry down to have spicy-smoky notes emerge, but still chokingly dry.

 

Overall: Not a vetiver blend I can wear. But I bet it could smell awesome on someone else.

[GhillieDhu]

Um... woah. Hi, vetiver! This is a very sharp, smoky, marshy vetiver note - if you've smelled Santa Muerte, it's that same overwhelming blast that quickly dies down to a vague scorched and blackened background presence. I basically get vetiver and Constant Comment from this in the drydown... nice, but not worth smelling like a burning swamp during the wet phase, at least to me.

[iiinterstate]

I'm more afraid of Velvet Tiger than I was of Velvet Panther, and that's saying a lot. But I will be brave.

 

In the bottle: Vetiver single note. If I were a vetiver lover, this would already require 6 backups and three decants for my purse. Alas.

 

On me: Vetiver. Every so often I get a little whiff of orange in the throw, but nothing else. It amazes me that others are getting such wildly different things. Every time I bring my wrist to my face it's still HELLLOOOOO I AM VETIVER. I WILL END ALL YOU LOVE.

 

Ohwaitohwait: 15 minutes in, orange and amber and cinnamon. Now this kind reminds me of the Lion, but darker. I guess that makes some sense.

 

Part of me want to hang on to this and see how it is in a few months, but I don't know if I'll love it even then...

 

 

[zankoku_zen]

Oh hurray! This is one blend where the vetiver does not smell like smoky bacon on me. In fact, it just smells like smoke. Particularly on wet.

 

But on dry, oh baby. I get this spiced orange/tangerine with hints of amber and smoke. It's like a tiger's coat. The ORANGE with stripes of deep mysterious black. But the orange! It's bold, brilliant, smoldering, sexy.

 

I don't know how orange ages, but I will find out because what I love about this blend is not the vetiver but the spiced orange/tangerine part.

[obsidienne]

Total. Bummer. This smells like Tiger Balm on me... and I ordered 2 bottles! It's a lovely, lovely smell, but it's still Tiger Balm.

 

I'm going to age it and see what happens.

 

Basically, the vetiver completely murders all of the other notes, and all I can smell are their sad, moaning ghosts. For those who found this (like me) a vetiver-graveyard, I have tried layering this with different things, and it turns out that layering it with a vanilla or another orange-based scent works really well. I even tried it with The Body Shop's Neroli Jasmin scent and that worked out to be quite yummy (despite the fact that I find all of TBS's scents sort of fakey and too sweet and cheap-smelling). So. Not a total waste!

 

Edit: Time has mellowed this out a bit. The licorice note is now more predominant to me than vetiver, and also, marvel of all marvels, the orange now has room to breathe and show its face. That said, this does not do anything for me and doesn't blend with my chemistry to make magic, so it's gotta go.

Edited August 14, 2009 by obsidienne

[Wwindy]

I know it may have come up once or twice already in these reviews... ... but whoooooo boy, is this a snootful of burnt grass and anise when it's wet! If you can get past the initial smoky black searfest, the spiced orange does come out to play a bit, but the vetiver and licorice are absolutely dominant here. I don't seem to get much amber at all. The occasional whiffs of spicy mulled orange punch that do manage to make it through are fantastic, though...

[Mishinka]

I first sniffed this with a really bad cold and thought that in the imp Velvet Tiger smelled exactly like Constant Comment or one of those other spiced-orange black teas. Now that it's bronchitis and my nose works a little better I can still see where I got that idea. I smell orange and cinnamon very strongly, but the tea note I thought I smelled earlier is actually this dirty mix of vetiver and licorice. Vetiver is no friend of mine, so I'm a little reluctant to try it on.

 

Whoof, it's strong, though. I spritzed a little oil onto my lip when I closed the imp and the finger I wiped it off with is throwing scent like crazy. It's still not as harsh and smelly as vetiver usually is on me. I can definitely smell the teak, and a little cinnamon. There's something else a little earthy, almost musty, that I think is the play of wood and licorice. I want to say it smells a bit old-fashioned, but the era it's putting me in mind of is only about the late 1960s/1970s. Actually, it smells like the kind of basement rumpus room that would have velvet paintings of tigers on the walls. I'd expected it to be the vetiver that killed this one for me, but I can barely smell it. It's the woody licorice that amps all out of control as it dries. There's still a little spicy orange I can smell after it's set for a little while, but the spiced orange is buried under a pile of Good'n'Plenty and Red Hots candies in a wood chest. Not for me, thanks.

Edited May 9, 2009 by Mish

[Saya]

The black licorice and vetiver take everything over. I'm left with a smoky licorice scent that just doesn't do anything for me. Glad I didn't spring for a bottle of this one.

 

 

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Orange and vetiver

 

Wet: Sweet orange and vetiver.

 

Drying: Vetiver. Orange. Hint of anesthetic-ish licorice and medicinal cinnamon. In that order of strength.

 

Dry: Anise vetiver. Vetiver actually doesn't bother me, but I'm not getting much complexity from this scent. I also think it would smell better on a man than on me. I'm going to pass this along.

[Jenesis]

Vetiver isn't usually a dealbreaker for me, but it's just too strong in this blend. I don't get anything else.

[thelaurenator]

Bottle: Orange and vetiver

 

Wet: Sweet orange and vetiver.

 

Drying: Vetiver. Orange. Hint of anesthetic-ish licorice and medicinal cinnamon. In that order of strength.

 

Dry: Anise vetiver. Vetiver actually doesn't bother me, but I'm not getting much complexity from this scent. I also think it would smell better on a man than on me. I'm going to pass this along.

 

DITTO. The exact same stages happened to me, Wet to dry.

 

At first, wet, I got sweet orange and vetiver, a hint of cinnamon spice. I was thinking, "Hey, not bad! I kinda like it."

 

NOT so fast.

 

Then it turned, to nasty overpowering vetiver with some orange and the licorice started to come out along with the cinnamon. But it smelled very medicinal, oddly.

 

Dry, it was pure vetiver strengthened by medicinal black licorice. No orange or cinnamon to be found.

 

I am so sad this didn't work, because I think with either less vetiver or more orange, this would have been an amazing blend, but it seems to have failed on a lot of people.

[Spork]

Helloooooo vetiver! Immediately after applying, all vetiver all the time! But after a couple of seconds the orange appears, yes! something that can hold its own against vetiver! Mmmm, after a few minutes, orangey vetivery goodness . Usually vetiver is a deal breaker for me because it'll beat down any other scent that happens to be unlucky enough to be paired with it, but in this blend the orange sticks around and gives that vetiver a run for its money. Probably not bottle worthy, but definitely keeping the imp.

[spiresinthesnow]

Initially it smells entirely of vetiver and orange "marmalade". After it hits skin the vetiver tones down and I mostly get the orange, mandarin combination sweetened with amber with a faint veil of teak and licorice blended with specks of bitter vetiver. Later the cinnamon makes a faint appearance. Makes me think of warm tiger fur!

[YoakeNoKami]

I was looking forward to seeing how the satsuma in this one would come out, so I took a chance with the vetiver and got a decant. So.

 

Imp -- Vetiver: Hi, I am vetiver. I'll be your scent today, and I've brought my friend amber with me. Teak is around here somewhere, lemme know if you catch a whiff.

 

On/wet -- Vetiver:HI! I'm Vetiver! And this is my friend, TEAK. Say hello, teak!

Teak: HeLLO.

Vetiver: Okay, that's enough out of you, teak. Take a hike.

 

Drydown -- Vetiver: O HAI! I BE VETIVER. AND I BE ON YOUR SKIN. ALL YOUR SKIN IS BELONG TO US. * noms the bare hint of cinnamon down to nothing *

 

Me: *dies*

 

Overall: This smells like vetiver and that white powder bathtub cleanser on me. Augh. * dies again * Make it go away.... !

Edited May 22, 2009 by YoakeNoKami

[Lamia]

I was soooo hoping that the amber would be overshadowed by the other ingredients.

 

Technically, yes. Eventually.

 

In bottle and fresh on skin, this smells like saliva. DAMN YOU, AMBER, DAMN YOU SO MUCH!! Then it smells like morning mouth chewing a stick of cinnamon gum. Add some vetiver to that. Ok, finally the saliva is gone, but now it's chewy paste vetiver cinnamon gum. After an hour, my wrists smell like I have peeled a thick-skinned orange, and the mist from breaking the peel has landed on my wrist, over a mild woody vetiver.

 

Ah well.

[kohaisama]

In the imp: vetiver vetiver vetiver

 

Wet: Gods. The smokey power of vetiver is absolutely overpowering.

 

Dry: Teak and vetiver. Oh, wait, I think there's a bit of tangerine... nope. Sorry. Vetiver says NO.

 

lawdie have mercy

[MeiLin]

 

I love orange scents, so I was looking forward to this.

 

In the imp: Yep, that's orange and tangerine! Way in the back I may get the teak and the amber.

 

Wet: Orange, cinnamon--but just a little. Then comes the licorice, and it reminds me of these patches of wild plants--I don't know what they were, but they looked like mustard--that smelled heavily of licorice growing along the cliffs above the sea where I grew up in California. boom, I was right there. Scent is so amazing for that sort of thing.

 

Drydown: More teak, amber, and hello, vetiver. Orange is fading, but it's still there. Very little licorice, no cinnamon, though it may be contributing to the general glow. This is for fans of amber and vetiver, a tawny, lazy-in-the-sun smell.

 

This turned out far better than I thought it would. Possible bottle.

[lothien]

This one fascinates me. I don't know if I like it or not!

 

I was curious about the citruses here: sometimes citrus works and sometimes it's a rush to the sink...

I like the citrus - it doesn't take over the way, say, blood orange can and i don't seem to have an allergic response (*always* good! ^^ )

I am not bothered by vetivert - it tends to work for me in general without overwhelming, but I agree there is a lot of it at first.

 

What's got me walking in a circle around it is the citrus/licorice/teak combo. As someone else mentioned it has an almost tequila-like edge while it crosses over the vetivert, and I like it more once the V is burned off a little.

 

I think what i'm going to do is keep it, and open it up in a couple of months and see what it's done. Perhaps once it has aged it will blend/smooth out some. I think I would prefer if I couldn't tell where one note ended and the next begins quite-so-much.

[Ilex]

I looove this wet. The vetivert keeps things from getting sicky sweet as they often do on me. The orange is really refreshing orange when I first sniffed it I almost read it as mint, it was sharp and uplifting in the same way. The licorice and other notes keep the vetivert from masculine perfume-y washout.

 

However, when it was on for over 15 minutes, the putty note came out. I don't know what it is, but there is something in a lot of BPAL that goes to play-doh putty on me. I'm starting to wonder if its a carrier oil or something that isn't a note even. Many many blends that I love wet (like Haunted, which this reminds me off, only with oranges) do that.

 

I think it is time for a scent locket. My husband even commented that he liked it, if not for the weird play-doh thing happening. He very rarely likes scent at all, so this is a big deal.

[terrenity]

An incredibly stinky, swampy note that I can only assume is vetiver dominates from in the decant all the way through two hours of drydown. This is the first blend in my fairly extensive BPAL history that I've wanted to wash off. I didn't, because I really wanted to smell the orange-y tiger-y-ness that other people are getting, but alas. Vetiver ate the tiger for breakfast and didn't even leave the bones.

[Yoginispirit]

...this is why I love Bpal.

I got this for my bf since he likes tigers but alas he hated it- and I loved it!

Vetiver and I normally do NOT get along. I think the only blend I've liked with vetiver in so far was blood kiss and that's because it's quite buried under the other notes. It always seems to amp on me and overpower everything else. So smelling the lovely orange scent on his skin, I dabbed a little on myself. At first it was all vetiver with some nice orange. Then a strange thing happened, the vetiver began to FADE.

 

So the orange and a warmth from the amber and teak were left with only a after-smell of vetiver remained. I actually quite like it! It's a golden, spicy, woodsy orange! Not enough to track down a bottle but I will hold on to my imp

Edited August 6, 2009 by Shollin