Victorian Virgin with Cherubs: Salon Bath Oil

[forspecial_plate]

 

VICTORIAN VIRGIN WITH CHERUBS

Black Phoenix is thrilled to present our first Salon bath oil. Inspired by Albert Beck Wenzell's painting.

 

Ángelus Dómini nuntiávit Maríæ.

Et concépit de Spíritu Sancto.

Ecce ancílla Dómini.

Fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum.

Et Verbum caro factum est.

Et habitávit in nobis.

Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix.

Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi.

 

Gilded amber, white mint, white chocolate, Christmas rose, and honeysuckle.

 

Shea oil, olive oil, apricot kernel oil, fractionated coconut oil, rosehip seed, evening primrose oil, vitamin E, isopropyl myristate, glycereth-7-cocoate (derived from coconut), oleth 3, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume blends.

 

Short version: minty amber/floral (not rose) with white chocolate, hints of evergreen from the hellebore and mint. Strong enough to wear on its own, but will also layer beautifully with other Yule scents. Read on for the long version.

 

I took a bath with Victorian Virgin, and then rubbed it along my collarbones after the bath. I wanted the full-on double-rainbow all the way experience. I loved how the oil felt on my skin. My hair does get oily so I did shampoo and rinse off after the bath, and it did leave a slippery film on the tub, so be careful not to fall if you use it in the bath. On to the scent......

 

First of all, if you didn’t already know, Christmas rose isn’t really rose, it’s hellebore. This isn’t a rose scent at all. If you remember Christmas Rose, the Yule scent from 2 or 3 years ago, you might recognize it in this scent. It’s a sweet, greenish floral scent, and combined with the mint, it goes high up in my nose and reminds me a little bit of evergreen. But don’t let that scare you, I don’t think anyone is going to smell this and think, “Pine!!”. I never did pick out honeysuckle, so maybe it’s combining with the Christmas rose or just supporting the other notes.

 

Overall, this is a minty amber scent, with a big shot of the aforementioned hellebore, and I can smell the white chocolate, too. I’m not a big fan of chocolate or cocoa in my perfume (with a couple exceptions), and the white chocolate here is different. The amber/floral combination makes me think of another Yule scent from the past, When The Winter Chrysanthemums Go. It also reminds me a bit of Cloister Graveyard, which makes sense. I think this bath oil can layer really wonderfully with a lot of different Yule scents. On its own, it lasts at least a couple hours, maybe 3 or 4, but it's not quite as strong as a perfume oil. It’s still pretty strong, though.

 

This is a great interpretation, through scent, of the painting. I love the lab’s Salon scents and I hope we see more bath oils of this nature!

[Stephanielynn]

This is so lovely! I use all the bath oils as after shower moisturizers, so I can't attest to what it's like in the water. When I first put this on I get a blast of a soft honeyed floral, a touch of amber and slightly minty, cold white chocolate. After a bit the other notes move to the background and blend themselves into a beautifully multi-dimensional, (perfect) chilly white chocolate.

[Amaranthus]

I love this!

 

In the tub, it maintains a strong scent nicely even through a super long bath.

 

Applied to directly to the skin, it has a silky texture that soaks into the skin without a greasy residue, leaving behind wonderfully soft skin with a touch of pretty fragrance.

 

The scent is wonderful, a perfect blend of white chocolate, amber, and cool mint, with just the right amount of honeysuckle. If this came out as a perfume oil I would snap it up in a heartbeat. This reminds me of softer Joyful Moon, if you take away the rose and add mint.

[edenssixthday]

Victorian Virgin with Cherubs - I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! This is my favorite bath oil ever in the entire history of the universe! It's one of my all-time favorite BPAL blends. This is an incredibly well-blended mixture of amber, white mint, hellebore, and white chocolate. I never, ever smell the honeysuckle, which is awesome because I can't stand honeysuckle. I use this in the tub and I use it after a bath/shower directly on my skin as a moisturizer. I find I am not remotely as interested in my other BPAL perfume oils now that I know I can smell like this every day -- it melds with my skin chemistry in a way that it smells like natural me, only better. The amber gives it a resiny earthiness and the mint lifts it up and makes it slightly invigorating, while the white chocolate is what melds so beautifully with my skin, making it impossible to figure out where I stop and this scent begins -- which is part of what amazes me, since I don't usually wear chocolates well, but this one is just soooo pretty! The hellebore gives it the slightest bit of a floral edge, but it's grounded and tempered by the amber so it doesn't become an out-of-control floral. When I apply this directly to my skin in the morning (or blended with a bit of kukui oil for additional moisture), the scent not only lasts all day long, but it has amazing throw all day long. I'll be in the middle of doing something and catch a whiff of something that smells really, really swoon-worthy, and then am just thrilled the moment I realize it's me that I'm smelling! This scent layers well with The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair, Okayaki, and A Cold, Clear Winter's Day. I only have a 1 oz decant, but with my next BPTP order, I'm buying at least one full bottle of this. I just can't get enough of it. It's one of the best scents ever!!!

[lunaticana]

best BPAL/TP oil E V E R :heart:

this is all white chocolate and rose with fresh growing honesysuckles when just applied on my skin :love!:

and later.. that good old amber comes out!!!!

it leaves me with a mix of all these scents together with Christmas roses

Edited February 20, 2011 by lunaticana

[Gin]

First of all, the name conjures up something stuffy, maybe rosy or violet--something I wouldn't like--so I overlooked this oil. I'm pretty sure I smelled it at Dark Delicacies and realized it wasn't horrible, so I ended up ordering a bottle. The bottle sat in my cupboard for... how long now? A long, long time. Why am I so stupid sometimes? This is perfectly lovely.

Lightly minty, lightly floral, it's a little perfumey, a little foody. I'm sorry that there are so few reviews here; it makes me think that a lot of people missed out on this. (Although, it makes me extra-glad I got some since I don't know if I'd be able to find it in swaps.)

Edited April 1, 2011 by Gin

[milo]

In the bath, this is STRONG honeysuckle, and I hardly even used any, just a squirt. I do get the other notes, too, a clear mint along with the amber. It's an unusual blend, as it smells warm and cool at the same time. I wish it were a bit less on the honeysuckle, and more white chocolate showed up, as I think it would smell amazing with the mint and amber. I don't really get any Christmas rose, either, though there is some 'coldness' here as well. I'm a tad disappointed that the honeysuckle is just asserting itself here, but I still like it, and will use up my bottle for sure!

[theseagrows]

i've had this for awhile, but just finally tried it. it smells better in the bottle than it does in the bath, unfortunately. it's not bad in the bath, but it was too green/treelike for my personal tastes. when i sniffed the bottle, i got more of a chocolate-mint-floral scent, but in the bath it was pure greenery. on my skin now, i smell a pure herbal green scent, and no chocolate or amber, maybe just a hint of mint. nice but not one of my favorites.

[zankoku_zen]

White chocolate, rose and hints of amber. This is a rich, opulent, foodie blend.

 

Very pretty, very warm, very comforting.

 

I can see why this is a very sought after bath oil.

[annemathematics]

I use this as an after shower moisturizer, not in the tub.

 

as a moisturizer, it absorbs quickly and beautifully in the hair and skin, leaving both soft and smooth and not greasy or filmy.

 

the scent on me is a sweet bright floral. a hint of lovely honeysuckle softened with white chocolate and warmed by amber (doesn't go powdery). there's some brightness from the mint. sometimes mint oil can be bracing and cooling on my skin, but I've been using this in winter and I haven't had that happen here.

 

overall this is great and I'm glad to have gone through a bottle and be able to score a backup.

[Poenari]

Etsy purchase, tested on my hand straight from the cold porch: WINNING! I was hesitant about ordering this, because of the honeysuckle and hellebore. I read and re-read the reviews, and finally decided to bite the bullet and get it. I am not disappointed. On skin as a moisturizer, the mint is mild, somewhat eucalyptus in style, and I can detect the amber and a slight white chocolate. This is a lovely scent that I will enjoy as a bedtime moisturizer scent. I also think it will layer well with Skadi. Love this!