Violens

[Imbrium]

VIOLENS
Rugged and understated: five sandalwoods, dusty leather, and light musk.

At first sniff, it is hard to identify any standout note--this smells very masculine and clean. On the skin, Violens is sandalwood; it's a very woody sandalwood, too, rather than turning powdery as sandalwood often does on me. The leather and musk are not present.

So, I decided to experiment, and somewhat forcibly applied Violens to my husband. (He's the one who brought it back from Chicago Comicon in the first place. He had to know what that meant). On him, Violens retains the more sophisticated, complexly blended scent that I get from the bottle; I'll assume that the OMG SANDALWOOD that I get is my own fault. Edited January 25, 2010 by Shollin

[femmefatale]

This is actually not as masculine (at least on me) as I expected. It's somewhat soft, very smooth, and just a bit clean smelling (but not in a cologne or soap way). The sandalwoods are just lovely and the leather isn't a sharp leather at all. As it dries more the leather is a bit stronger but isn't overpowering at all and is still more subtle than I expected.

Overall, this is a very balanced blend and I think think it's very unisex. While on the skin, I think I actually prefer this to Sachs (which I prefer wet....which sounds really dirty said outloud ).

 

I can't wait to try this on dh and see how it differs.

Edited August 22, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[angelicruin]

Inside the bottle, sandalwood and musk.

 

Wet on the skin, musk and citrus initially. Sandalwood comes out almost immediately thereafter. No leather note while wet, though I do get the "dust".

 

Dries down to sandalwood and spicy musk. The leather note eludes me with this scent. Sometimes, I can almost smell it and then just that fast it disappears.

 

 

 

 

 

[greenranger]

Wet, it is all leather.

 

Drying, the sandalwood begins to emerge.

 

Subtle, understated and warm. I think this will improve a great deal with a little bit of time.

 

This layers very well with Sachs

[ophidiae]

On me, this is soft, dusty and warm. I mainly smell sandalwood, but the leather is there just beneath it, comfortable and worn, like an old biker jacket.

 

I think I may need to get another bottle.

[crebbsgirl]

This is pretty dry to start out with. The sandalwoods are very predominant with the leather very scarce in the background. As it dries, the leather comes out a little more. The musk here is really understated. Not over the top or in your face at all. Overall this was really nice, but I think it will get even better with a little age.

[GeorgeJr]

My bottle arrived today , so here goes . In the bottle I'm hardly smelling anything . Wet on skin - First there is a burst of sandalwood with just a slight leather . Later , after it has dried the musk comes out . The musk is very close to the skin compared to the other notes . This is quite nice right now , but I agree with others in that I too think it will age into something quite worth having .

[CiCi]

Violens is a warm, soft, musky leather on me with a touch of spice. The sandalwood is light and not heavy or cloying which is a definite plus for me especially when leather is involved. I like this on me but on my husband the complexities of the fragrance really come out. This is one of those bottles that will only get better with age.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this smells like a resinous sandalwood to me, and reminds me of Magus.

 

On my skin, this goes verrry powdery. I get lots of powdery sandalwood and a sweet smelling musk. I don't smell any leather and this isn't a very dark scent on me. The drydown is like sweet baby powder and a hint of sandalwood. I feel like I'm drowning in baby powder when I wear this. I don't ever smell any leather from this, but I smell something like bright, sweet resins underneath the powder after wearing this for a couple hours.

 

Violens smells better to me than Sachs, but that isn't saying much. This scent does have great throw and staying power on me, but I don't really like it and kinda wish it wouldn't stick around. This scent is just way too powdery for me, and I don't like the odd sweetness here...

[Jettcat]

Very masculine, I knew that before I opened the package as it leaked slightly in transit.

Actually had to stay away from it for a couple of days to get a fresh take on it.

 

In the bottle: We got wood, (stop snickering)

 

Wet: Resins come out on the skin and the boldness fades quickly.

 

Dry: Almost invisible, no throw at all. I haven't tried layering them yet, but I hope both will age and recapture their boldness in the bottled state.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Shollin

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Decant: mmm sandalwoods and light whispers of the musk and leather

Wet on Me: ooooo the leather is becoming bolder.

Drying Down: wow I love Beth’s leather notes.

Dry: This is manly leather that has softened just a touch by the sandalwood. Such a keeper!

 

[voodoocatwoman]

Beautiful sandalwood and musk. I love this.

[jade_starlight]

Yep, that's sandalwood all right. Lots of sandalwood with just a hint of leather hiding in the background. It's nice, but just a bit too strong for me. Which is a pity since I love sandalwood and leather.

[Schmoozy]

 

 

Dry sandalwood, barest hints of leather and to my nose, a vanilla musk. Violens is soft, supple, dry and so damn yummy. I thought this was going to be a little more masculine, but the musk keeps it from being too "manly" I guess. I love it and combined with Sachs makes for an interesting blend of oils.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This is a beautiful sandalwood scent. It reminds me a little of Morocco with its sandalwood, musk and dryness, but it's richer and not as sweet or spicy. I can smell the different sandalwoods, and that's a really interesting effect, with some of them seeming closer and some further away. It lasts a good long time. A subtly sexy skin scent. I think this would be great for layering.

[jizatt]

oh wow -- skin testing this on myself right now, still wet but had to come post. This is so distracting on my own skin, that I may have to go to exteme measures to get hubby to try this one on his skin.

 

I smell very very smooth rich sandalwood. I dont separately smell leather but I think its what is giving the richness to what I smell. It also has that velvet quality that musks get on my skin. This may be hubby's first BPAL induction. It wont be one for my skin but i do plan to test a layer with Sachs

[zankoku_zen]

I get mostly clean musk and dusty sandalwood. If there's leather in this, I don't get any. Which is a small miracle.

[rayvn1]

mmmm spicy, dry, dusty incense and a hint of leather. Very manly and sexy. tried it on DH when he wasn't looking and it was even better on him! Going to try mixing with the lovely Sachs and see what happens.

[Lethran]

In bottle: This is really well balanced. The musk and leather are a gentle compliment to the sandalwoods. It is rather more wood than incense in affect, but that’s all to the good. Wet: I’m surprised there is no clay in this, but I guess that’s the “dusty” in the leather. It’s a little more playdoh than I expected and the musk is rather stronger on my skin. My skin is naturally musky, so it tends to multiply any musk in a blend. Given time, it looses the playdoh and the sandalwood unfold to display all sorts of fascinating complexity, from light incense to strangely sweet wood. Dry: mostly a pleasant sandalwood blend with a hint of musk. The playdoh is back, but softer.

[wolfwynd]

I just get baby powder. Even hours later.

 

Disappointed.

[Vindaloo.curry]

Bottle: strong, a little penetrating, sweet-ish. Root beer-ish impression.

Wet on skin: very, very sweet. Musk peeks out, but almost no sandalwood.

Dry: a little throw, a tiny bit of sandalwood. Nothing dry at all, which is disappointing. No dust.

 

All in all, not much like the description. (I ramp up sweet notes like crazy, but I usually amp sandalwood as well--but not this time.)

[ljaylh]

 

On my skin, the leather in this is so dusty that it's hardly discernible at all. If it wasn't a listed note, I most likely wouldn't have recognised it. The musk is very soft and slightly sweet, as are the sandalwoods.

 

Overall, this is like putting a dab of baby shampoo on my arm.

[edenssixthday]

Violens - I've been on the hunt for the perfect sandalwood scent for years and years now. I was hoping this would be it, but it looks like I need to resume my search. The sandalwood notes are really nice, but this scent has too much musk for my taste. The musk overpowers the sandalwood and combined with the leather, there's a weird, charred-meat quality to this scent that is just not quite doing it for me. I do prefer it when layered with Sachs, as the sweetness of Sachs tempers the "meaty" qualities of Sachs...but it still smells too much like barbecued meat for my taste.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Woooooooooo dang! Violens is STROOOOOONNNNG on me. This is probably the most masculine scent I have tried thus far ( Herbert West has been the only one I have really liked) and I actually kind of dig it. The leather is very faint (usually my doom note) and the sandalwoods are dry, but not powdery at all. The musk, musk musk is hardcore when I first apply it, but dry it becomes a rather pleasant smell. I'm not doing a very good job with this description but I will say that I like it much more than I expected. Now to find some Sachs...

[sithwitch13]

This gives me the "fuzzy" smell that I've come to expect from sandalwood. The leather and musk make it a little more solid, if that makes any sense. I don't think it smells particularly masculine or feminine--it's just kind of clean and cozy. And I love it.