Lady Death: Savage

[LiberAmoris]

White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin.

 

I bought a bottle of Lady Death: Savage a while back (October 2013, according to my BPAL email folder) and wore it a couple of times then set it aside. I liked it fine then, but dotted a bit on this evening on a lark...and wow, time has been oh so kind to this lady. White musk and grey amber are the strongest notes on me when first applied, and there's a definite lovely resemblance to Lyonesse (one of my faves). Then the bergamot and vanilla and labdanum chime in. The styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin are tough to pick out but I feel they're there, making this into the complex beast it is. It's definitely 'perfumey' due to the white musk, but it doesn't bother me. Dry, it's an incredibly sophisticated and nuanced vanilla-white musk blend, putting commercial perfumes that have the same joinery to shame (Mon Musc A Moi, I'm looking at you!).

[ralenth]

Aged since 11/2011.

 

Bottle: Intense resinous floral.

 

Wet: Aggressive, yet feminine.

 

Drydown: She gets sweeter on the drydown, but the predominant notes are a visceral musk and amber-tinged vanilla.

 

Dry: Sweet, complex, but completely gorgeous. It is reminscent of blending Clockwork Couture: Male and Clockwork Couture: Female together.

Edited June 27, 2016 by ralenth

[writergal969]

In the bottle: Dude, I don't know how to separate these notes, only that they smell heavenly together. I almost smell lavender vanilla which is crazy talk, because no lavender in there! Maybe it's the jasmine and vanilla and begamont? Musk. I smell that and some amber. It's pretty gd amazing it what it is.

 

Wet: amber, musk, floral....super floral suddenly.

 

Drydown: Spicy, musky-amber goodness and a little woody (like dry wood though?) -- definitely the vanilla absolute and floral come out to play. It fades fairly quickly and the throw seems to go from strong to meek fairly quickly on me, but I get whiffs of it throughout the day and mmmm it's a beauty.

 

Status: Buy a backup bottle, STAT!

[stellamaris]

Wow. I never reviewed this? This is my husbands favorite BPAL outside of Hellboy. He tends to go for flowery things, and he amps the heck out of whatever jasmine is in here. I see the Wood of Jasmine, maybe that's it. Whatever it is, it's beautiful on him. I have never worn it myself, but it's his nightime go to, and it's lovely, very sweet flowery and musky. Also I might note my husband does love him some jasmine and mostly wears more feminine leaning things, but this does not make him smell effeminate. Not that it would be a bad thing for someone else, but he's sort of a hulking very butch guy, but this works on him absolutely. Making an order for my sixth bottle of this...better buy two...

[AraliaShine]

The time for negotiation has passed. Now is the time for swift & sure action. Lady Death: Savage has chosen a path

and if you find yourself standing in her way, yours may be the next body to hit the floor! It surprised me that a scent

compared with Lyonesse could present such an uncompromising character.

Yet here she is. (better haul ass!)

 

The bergamot, wormwood and caraway work together to give the gorgeous vanilla a wicked sharp/spicy green edge.

White musk is her unflinching glare.The bois de jasmin and grey amber serve to strengthen rather than soften this blend.

This warrior's stance is solid, grounded in thick, rich resins. The line she walks leans neither too feminine or masculine to

my nose, effortlessly incorporating elements common to both. Be she Lyonesse's big bad sis, or Dorian's unstoppable niece,

either way, this is one formidable sword-wielding force of nature!

 

Gotta admit, I was a bit taken aback at first, but this one's grown on me.

She's become my go-to for "once more unto the breach" situations.

[Lucchesa]

The blend Lady Death: Savage reminded me of, which hasn't been mentioned here, is Harper, and when I looked up the notes, there are some in common: the bergamot, vanilla and labdanum. I like both of these blends a lot. I was worried about the bois de jasmine, as jasmine is usually just bad on me, but the note behaved more like wood than jasmine. Wet the citrus dominates on me, then the amber and what seems more like vanilla musk than problematic white musk begin to shine. I'm frankly not sure what some of these notes smell like, but the whole is a lovely thing in that vanilla-pale musk-floral vein the Lab does so beautifully. Unfortunately my skin devours it after a couple of hours, but it is very nice while it lasts.