Venom

[HappyLoveJoy]

Venom-

Darkly seductive and lethally compelling: sinuous opponax, galbanum, dark wild berries, a drop of lush jasmine and a sliver of lime.

 

I'm only familiar with jasmine lime and berries so I can't comment on the galbanum or opponax. Over all it smells like dark grape, even though there isn't any. This just may be the combination of the berries and lime. It's a very sophisticated floral that reminds me of Dior's Poison with a more voluptuous edge. Very pretty.

[summer]

OH. This is deep and smooth, with a glimmer of tart brightness (must be from the lime). It has the feel of lotus -- smooth, round, and tart -- but does not smell like lotus. The berries sweeten it, but this is not fruity or foody. Divajen on the Lush forum compared this scent to the scent of a Lush shop -- you know, that all-consuming cacophony of tangy ballistic dust, the scent of sweet, floral, and resiny soaps all mingling together on the table, and (for me) the wooden floors. The comparison is dead-on. To me, Venom smells like LOTS of different independently wonderful, natural fragrances all giving off their perfumes in one small, inviting, deliciously-scented room.

 

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Chewy, thick and rich.

 

Second Impression: Oh my goodness, I can't believe I overlooked this scent for so long. This combination is so rich that it actually mimics a dark chocolately scent wet and on my skin until it dries down. But with none of the funky side effects that my skin gets with the cocoa scents. This is seductive, deadly so.

 

Final Analysis: The jasmine is so subtle in this, which is a blessing as jasmine can really steal the show. And berries usually hate me. But Venom is blended so exquistely, it's to die for. A must try. Go get some!!!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Berries, lime and floral.

 

On Skin: Very pretty! This reminds me of Dior’s Poison (one of my favorite scents)! It is a little sweeter though… maybe that’s the berries. The lime is very strong… interesting. The galbanum and opponax give some nice spicy resin notes. The jasmine gives it an elegant floral edge and berries make it juicy and sweet. I love this. I want a big bottle and some perfumers alchohol to make a spray.

[cuervosueno]

I decided I wanted to try this after reading the reviews, so i managed to snag an imp in a swap.

Wet: interesting, but very very faint. In the bottle I smell berries, but with something else. Put it on, and I couldn't smell it all. So I put more on where I thought I'd put it.

Wrote a review of Mantis.

Came back to this, and wow! Now I smell it! I don't remember what Poison smells like so I can't compare it to that, but it is quite complex. I don't get many individual notes at all, though there is a green freshness that is in the background--the lime I presume. The jasmine is definately there, and it is lovely--not the jasmine incense scent I sometimes get, but pure jasmine, as if I was smelling a flower. but it is also grounded...must be the resin notes.

I like it, but it is more like a commercial perfume than many BPAL scents. I don't think I'll get a bottle, but I am enjoying the imp.

And I was very interested in discovering that opponax is sweet myhrr. I have not enjoyed BPAL myhrr scents, which surprised me, because I thought I loved it. I have a bottle of pure mhyrr which I got at a store in Prescott Arizona and I love it--it is like the sweet resin of a pine tree...smells just like Flagstaff in the winter. Well, now I'm thinking the myhrr I have is probably opponax, not the more acrid myhrr. Interesting!

eta: ok, so I just looked up opponax online, and it asked me if I meant opoponax, which is sweet myhrr. Does anyone know if these are the same--just with variable spellings?

eta again: ok, so I found a thread on opoponax, but I still don't know if they are the same....but I asked, more appropriately I think, on that thread.

Edited May 20, 2005 by cuervosueno

[Blood onmy hands]

Yup. Smells just like Dior's Pure Poison fragrance (which also goes musky and overwhelmingly sharp/bitter on me). This is such an amazingly strong and overpowering scent. Reminded me of the 80's, big hair, and shoulder pads. The kind of fragrance that wears you rather than the other way around. On me it started smelling like funky throat clogging hairspray. I didn't get any berries or lime out of this at all, it was sort of sharp and musky. And it's so long lasting... it stuck around even after repeated furious hand washings as I attempted to get it off of me. I definitely want to leave this one back a few decades... it frightens me with its power.

[Orodemniades]

I'll write a better review later but Oh. My. Gods.

 

Venom is black. Deep, moist, warm black. It's the odor of an incense I used to have when I was a kid, a powerful, non-foody sweetness that reminds me of seduction and the figures of Circe and Medea and sirens singing sailors to the deep...and, actually, my icon. Let the mad Oracle of Delphi whisper in your ear...

 

Gah, why didn't I try this yesterday so I could have included in my Carnival Noir order!

 

A 10ml, perhaps two, is most definitely on the cards.

 

Oro

[elphaba]

Got this one as a frimp from the lab. Based on the notes, I probably would never have chosen it myself.

 

Venom is very strong and "perfumey," which, I'll admit, is something I have a bias against. In this case, I think the perfumey smell comes from having a lot of different notes that wouldn't naturally occur together. When I actually sit down and smell the perfume on my skin, there's absolutely nothing offensive. A lovely sweet scent hangs in the air, chilled by that hint of lime listed in the description. Objectively, I should like this a lot. I like sweet. I like powerful.

 

I just don't like this. In fact, I think it's giving me a bit of a headache. Off to swap. I'm sure someone else will love it...there's really nothing not to like.

[olympia301]

Venom is a good scent and it is gardenia and honeysuckle to me. I can well imagine that Scarlet O'Hare would favor a mighty floral like this one. Deep and steamy nights would call for a blend that is like the aftermath of a snake attack, leaving you satisfied and gasping in the wet hot night.

 

Here is what the Lab says is in it: sinuous opponax, galbanum, dark wild berries, a drop of lush jasmine and a sliver of lime. Somehow, I just get gardenia and honeysuckle. Could be my skin or my undereducated nose, but this one is for the Femme Fatale. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for with raw sex appeal. And it lasts and lasts and lasts.

[QueenFae]

I finally got my 5ml of this, and such a long time has passed since I smelled it, I actually forgot how freakin' AWESOME this scent is. It's gotta be one of the sexiest oils on me. Dark, smoky, heavenly berries with an opium like undertone. Unbelievable! I gave my imp of this to one of my non - bpal friends, and she cannot stop wearing it. Venom makes me feel sexy and alluring. LOVED IT!!

[feline.by.design]

This is really strange.

 

Venom was all happy and wonderful in the bottle and during the initial moments of skin contact.

 

But then... it got strange.

 

There's a really artificial sweetness lingering on my skin. The jasmine has gone askew, the wild berries are laughing in the background, the lime is making obscene gestures, I don't know what's going on.

 

Then it hits me.

 

My arm smells like an intensly fragranced douchebag.

 

It's quite shocking, really, to find any BPAL oils resembling feminine hygiene products, especially one that sounds so good in the descriptions. I loved lime in Whitechapel, I loved berries in Lampades and Queen of Spades, I loved jasmine in damn near anything....

 

As Venom lingers on my skin, the sweetness is toned down, but the scent overall smells sort of icky on me. The berries are still playing their wicked game with the lime, expelling a sort of sourness my nose finds most distasteful. I'm totally getting the 80s vibe that Blood onmy hands gets with this one. I think there's a lingering note reminding me of hairspray in my Venom trial.

 

Is it the notes? Is it me? In any case Venom is *not* me, so off to the Box of Banishment it goes. I'm still utterly flabberghasted at the oddness of it all. Very, very odd.

 

-doreen

[slugbait]

Venom is an extreme shape shifter on me. I was hoping this would smell like Lush’s Sex Bomb, like I read in a thread before.

 

The first time I put this on, it was so sharp I had to wash it off right away. I gave it to my fiancé because he liked the name, being a huge Spiderman fan and he loves Venom. This also smelled good on him.

 

A few weeks passed by and my BPAL stash was running low, so I raided his stash to find something to wear. I rediscovered Venom. *TMI Alert!!!* My period just happened to start that day, so when I swiped it across my wrists, it smelled glorious! While still wet I got faint berries with a touch of lime and clean musk. As it dried down, it turned into a beautiful, mysterious floral. Yet it does come across as "Be-yotch!" Oh my gosh. Why didn’t I love this before? I can’t keep wrists away from my face. So for a few days it smells great.. No old lady here.

 

*TMI Alert!!!* After my period is over, this changes again. A few days afterward, I slather some on. It smells pretty while wet, but the dry down is totally different. I kept getting whiffs of something very peculiar. It smells like… scented panty liners. Ugh! What is that?! *Looks both ways to find source* Smells wrists- that’s me! That’s Venom! Oh no!

 

I’m debating whether or not I want a bottle of this, being that it only smells good on me on certain days. I’ll keep my imp around for the time being.

 

ETA - I didn't see feline.by.design's review before I posted mine and this made me laugh:

 

My arm smells like an intensly fragranced douchebag.

 

It's quite shocking, really, to find any BPAL oils resembling feminine hygiene products, especially one that sounds so good in the descriptions.

 

It's good to know I'm not the only one that had BPAL turn into fem-hygiene products.

 

Edited July 6, 2005 by slugbait

[Celogrl]

Must. Get. More.

 

I received this from dear jj_j as a gift, and this is probably my favorite imp of all she has sent, maybe in my top 3 BPAL faves even. I did not read the lab's description before I tried it (I like to surprise myself) and I could swear that I smelled my much loved violet in here. I get a faint, but sharp touch of the lime, but on me the berries don't come across as berrylike, just a hint of sweetness. This is a perfectly blended, drop dead gorgeous fragrance and yes, I do get the reminiscent feel of Dior's Poison- but this makes Poison pale in comparison. Definitely, this will be a 10 ml bottle and will have a permanent place in my repertoire. Lovely!

[sookster]

woweeeeeeeeeee!!

 

heady florals upon application.....this is a complex blend to my shnoz and seems to warm up nicely with my chemistry

 

oddly enuff, i get not one single, solitary whiff of lime

not even a smidge...all floral....i do dig it though...can't stop sniffing my arm....love how this one warms up on me......another great smelling perfume courtesy of the lab

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

Venom is one of those scents that I've managed to completely ignore without knowing why. Opponax and galbanum are lovely but I'm guessing the jasmine and lime put me off when I first found BPAL. I'm actually quite curious about this now since it's one of those scents that got lost in the whole slew of scents BPAL has to choose from.

 

First sniff:

 

This reminds me somewhat of Queen of Spades. It's got a similar resin and purple fruit kind of smell, but with an added dose of jasmine. I actually like this quite a bit, which is surprising given how much I normally dislike jasmine.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Less like QoS now: heavier on the lime and jasmine and less resinous...it has that same odd powdery resin type of note that I recognize from Noir, although it's not exactly the same - more like in the same vein. I don't like this on me as much as I like it in the vial, which generally means it's a skin chemistry issue and not the scent itself.

 

Dry down:

 

Back to reminding me of a distant cousin of QoS. The two are definitely different, but they both have a similar feel that I like quite a bit. It's sophisticated smelling but not aloof. I like this.

 

The bottom line:

 

Another pleasant surprise. I'm amazed at how some oils turn out and Venom is one of those that caught me pleasantly off guard.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: I still don't know what opponax is, but I'm guess it's this. Almost a hint of mint, with some earthy smelling florals.

 

First on: Something in here smells like lotus. It's going all bubble gum on me. I can smell a hint of jasmine, some other florals, and that damn bubble gum.

 

Drydown: Now I can smell the lime just a touch, and the bubblegum has gone away for the most part. It's a nice floral blend with a twist.

[komakino]

Initial Impression: Dark and spicy, I can definitely smell the undertone of lime through heavy flowers. It smells of flowers and plants, but not in a heavy and sweet way but more mature and with a nice sharpness to it. I don’t usually like flowery scents but I like this.

 

After Wearing It: To my dislike, it turns sweeter with time. The smell becomes a rather heavy and sweet scent of flowers and wood and that undertone of lime I detected fades away.

 

Final Impression: It’s not sickeningly sweet like most flower scents, and I love it for that but it’s still too heavy and sweet for my taste.

[grrrlennyl]

venom

 

at first: i received this as an extra with my order. it's really hard to pick out the notes. i smell a bit of jasmine, but can't really pick out any of the other notes.

on: very warm and bright. i can definitely smell the berries and the lime, but everything else blends really well.

1 hour later: still warm, but more floral. however, the lime is still surprisingly strong.

2 hours later: sharper. almost soapy. there's still a nice, warm scent underneath.

3.5 hours later: sweeter, but still with a sharp edge to it.

overall: this is interesting, but definitely not something i would wear.

[madelf]

This is dark and sexy - jasmine, berry and something else that I can't put my finger on. Smokey, really. It has a sweetness to it, but not the sort I normally expect from berries or florals.

 

I wasn't really able to pick out notes in this blend, but I loved it. It is the perfect scent to feel like a seductive film noir heroine - the perfume exquivilent of a slinky black dress and some red lipstick.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Rather dark and spicy.

 

Just On: I can't tell what is here, but it's dark to me.

 

An hour or two later: Hmm, it's very faded already, but it still seems rather dark.

 

Around 6 hours: Venom has left my body.

 

12 hours: Uh yeah, so it's like, still gone.

 

Overall: This one went away way too fast, but was otherwise okay. Probably not a big bottle order for me.

 

After reading other reviews: I really didn't think this was any flowers, but apparently I was wrong. I like it well enough, but it's not an OMFG scent on me.

[Caltha]

Venom

 

This starts out as a very interesting and original blend I really can't make out at all. It's sweet and sour, I smell some bitter citrus, although I wouldn't say lime, and acrid herbs. It's also slightly spicy and soapy. As it dries it becomes soapier and less original, with a honey sweetness in it. I feel I have to try this again, but I doubt I will ever make out the notes or decide what I really think of it...

Edited September 6, 2005 by Caltha

[Lilithlefay]

In the imp: it smells very resiny to me, but I catch the sliver of lime and a little of the floral, but it is pretty resiny and dark.

Wet: More juicy than resiny, I can smell the berries and the jasmine. The jasmine is much stronger on the skin than in the imp. The lime is also present here.

Drydown: the jasmine fades and I can definately smell the berries now. Very juicy indeed, the jasmine has faded quite a bit. It has moved to the background of the fragrance. I can smell the lime too. It is so fruity I love it!!!

 

Such a yummy blend and the imp doesn't smell like it does on me at all. it drys drastically different. I like it.

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

Cherry, fruity florals and a hint of musk, sweet resins.

Wet, on Skin:

Sharp, citrus florals... neroli? I detect jasmine and other white florals as well.

Drying/Drydown:

Gardenia, Tuberose, Jasmine and a light citrussy musk. Under it all is a very... rich brocade of resins and amber.

Over Time/Longterm:

Sharp as a whip, still a bright, sweet white floral.

Final Verdict?

Refined, elegant, and complex. But not something I can get away with. Keeping the imp for diffusion use.

[lissamc]

Wet: Nice, surprisingly subtle. Hmm...forest...flowers...I'll have to wait for it to develop and see what happens. It seems a nice rich brown scent.

 

4 hours later: I love it! It is warm and rich, but still subtle. My skin, amplified. This could easily be a daily wear scent on me. A bit of a shape changer. I smell the warm furry resin scents, my son thought it had mint in it (the lime?), and my husband detected a talcum powder base. My daughter's friend pegged it as something she recognized, but couldn't place, so I guess it is similar to another perfume out there. In any case, I like it enough to get a bottle.

[sarahj]

Venom

 

in vial: jasmine and berries

 

wet: same

 

dry: same

 

verdict: fades quickly (in less than 3 hours)...I will use my imp but won't get too attached since it's been discontinued