Vain Sorceress

[The Poison Queen]

Mad with power, madly in love, or just mad: a dark, spellbinding, seductively narcissistic mix of tuberose, blackened vanilla musk, caraway, white gardenia, red amber, black velvet accord, and jasmine sambac.

In the bottle: Suspiciously foodie. Uh oh.

Wet: Foodie vanilla, nooo, but it mellows out into a nice floral. The tuberose is really prominent.

Dry: Mostly a soft tuberose, I do like this. I think a little aging will mellow that foodie-ish vanilla out and it will be marvelous.

[Dark Alice]

On me the Gardenia and Jasmine are STRONG! But the vanilla keeps this grounded. I smell devilish and sophisticated kind of how I imagine Malificent would smell. I am going to age this and see what it does before I get rid of it...my instincts are telling me that this is a winner.

[MiasmaResonance]

Very, very sexy. It's floral but the vanilla and leather give it a lot of depth.

 

Definitely makes a statement, and it's a very wearable floral for someone (me) who is normally a foodie.

[patina]

This smells like scorched (the red amber?) but smooth vanilla with intense white florals. The florals threaten to go all kinds of soapy and powdery but the vanilla keeps them in place. This smells like someone beautiful but very unpleasant in a ferociously, aggressively perfumy way. Vanilla's supposed to be sort of bland and pretty, right? Same thing with white florals. But this scent has claws.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about this one and whether I'd wear it often enough to warrant a bottle, but it certainly is interesting and I have to commend the Lab on the Fairy Tale Inquisition scents since the ones I've tried have perfectly captured their concepts.

 

Edit: The scent isn't as quite strong as my review makes it seem, but still, those soft white florals have claws.

 

Edit Edit: Okay, I was wrong. It dries down to something very soft and gorgeous. Vain Sorceress could be a sister to Jareth. Not that they smell alike, but they're both extremely pretty pale vanilla scents. (At least I think Jareth has vanilla...) Between the two I think I prefer Jareth though.

 

verdict: Smells pale, beautiful and heartless. Not nearly as harsh as I thought it was initially.

 

The scent doesn't remind me of Malificent really, more like Galadrial from the Lord of the Rings in her "ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR" mood.

Edited January 16, 2014 by patina

[zankoku_zen]

Epic skin chemistry fail on me. This is jasmine, tuberose and gardenia. It's like my least favorite florals tagged team my skin into something horrible.

 

SUPER PASS.

[tativa]

Wow!!! This one is GOOD. It is very different from the other tuberose blends I've tried from the lab that have failed. I can't quite pinpoint what scents are making the black velvet accord, but I swear it's there. The vanilla is very foodie and rich. I can smell a cloud of incense in the background as well. This is so evocative and perfect. I need to find a bottle or three.

[JasminDreams2010]

I can see why someone might be reminded of Maleficent with this one but to my mind the fictional character evoked by vain sorceress is Laura Palmer. Dark, scary, tragic, mad.

 

As a floral lover I purchased a bottle, un-sniffed. I'm glad that I did- though it's not really a daily scent. It shares some notes with an old favorite of mine, Dior Hypnotic Poison. It is indeed hypnotic, soft, the dark vanilla keeps the cloying florals in check. It bears some semblance to Dior but actually closer to Kat Von D's sinner perfume, but less foodie and lacks that migraine factor the commercial brands seem to induce for me. Nothing to my knowledge in the bpal catalogue like it, no comparisons here.

This might change depending on the wearer, I'm not getting a foodie scent at all, it's all bold floral and dusky amber.

 

Very pretty, but a mood scent. Not so much for wearing to church, or meeting the in- laws or hosting a company luncheon. Unless your company luncheon involves some type of weird sex-money-power scandal and you're eating sushi off someone's body.

Which, by all means, wear it, you might get promoted.

Keeper.

 

ETA- it does actually remind me of a GC blend that's been discontinued: Black Dahlia lovers might give this one a try.

Edited January 9, 2014 by JasminDreams2010

[Astarial]

I'm a little bit sad about this one - I never got any of the blackened vanilla musk or the caraway. Sorceress starts out in the decant with gardenia and amber, with the jasmine and tuberose coming out to play once on my skin - a strongly floral blend. It stays that way for much of its drydown, finishing as a sort of red and black fruit? Maybe raspberryish? I'm not sure if that might be part of the black velvet accord acting up, or just my skin chemistry or nose being odd, but it was unexpected.

 

It's nice enough, and all the notes behave themselves, but the sorceress was not quite as vain or malicious as I was expecting her to be, and I was really looking forward to that musk.

 

Edit: I tried this again, and it was allll gardenia and blackened vanilla musk. Sweet, smoky, and gorgeous. Not sure if it's a factor of age or chemistry, but I like it a whole lot more than I did at first.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Andyl

[OctoberGwen]

I loooooove this. It's a dark, sexy, complex, more-than-floral; sophisticated and smoothly dangerous blend.

 

I do not get "foody" from it, thankfully.

 

I am super happy to have found a partial bottle of this. I'll be hoarding it for occasions that call for power with a dose of sexy.

Edited January 13, 2014 by OctoberGwen

[Roogna]

foody and warm till the florals take over. the florals with underlying foodiness turns a bit ick on me, but those flowers aren't especially nice on me to begin with

[brilliantcat]

I smell mostly the blackened vanilla musk and gardenia in the decant, oh yum! On me it's mostly gardenia with a hint of jasmine that is for once behaving on me. It smells haughty, so it's certainly living up to its name! It remains a strongly gardenia blend which isn't bad at all, but not really something I'd wear.

[cinnamonster]

I received this today, I had never noticed it even before I saw it in a sale thread, but it seemed like it might work for me.

 

The notes and breaking it down:

tuberose...yes this is mainly the predominant note

 

blackened vanilla musk...this is adding a background creaminess but is certainly not foody at all to me.

 

caraway...this was there for a fleeting moment (thank you caraway for away-ing!)

 

white gardenia...it's there with the tuberose, perhaps maybe they are on equal footing. It's not a screechy white floral this, at all.

 

red amber...never experienced anything called red amber so I am not sure but it isn't really doing anything I associate with amber for me.

 

black velvet accord...there's a fuzziness to this, something at the moment I am really into at the moment (as there is in horsehoe bat), it is either coming from this or the musk

 

jasmine sambac...deep down I might just detect this. I'm saddeded to see it's in here actually, as being pregnant, I should steer clear for now if it's essential oil and not a perfume! Grrr. I won't reapply after this test.

 

How do I feel about it in general: Very happy! It has a classic feel, you could wear anywhere, it's not too ...anything really, which is not to diminish how lovely it is at all, it's just not heavy, or overly musky, or headshoppy, or too sweet, it's not work or dinner inappropriate.Tome it's a beautiful floral from a distance with a snuggly vibe up close. Go out, have a sophisticated dinner, come home, get your pj's on and snuggle up with someone you love in fresh cotton sheets and fluffy blankets.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Gorgeous jasmine sambac.

 

Wet on skin: jasmine, gardenia, a bit of tuberose, and something darkening it a bit. The black velvet accord perhaps, or the blackened vanilla musk?

 

Dried down: Same as earlier. Lovely white florals. There is the tiniest hint of vanilla if I look hard enough for it.

 

Throw: Very little. This wears very close to my skin.

 

Verdict: **** I really do like this a lot, but I don't think I'll be needing a bottle of it. The decant should be enough.

[theseagrows]

this starts off with tuberose and gardenia, with maybe the caraway supporting? there is something subtle in there that smells nutty to me. after a little while, the vanilla musk comes forth with maybe the...black velvet accord? there is something soft but rich smelling to me here, that smells floral, but it must be a mish mash of the florals with the black velvet, i am guessing. or it's a jasmine that's not going too wonky on me. this smells like a fancy soap to me, and i mean that in a good way. i really like this, i'm just not sure how much i would wear it. it's kind of an unusual scent and very pretty.

 

eta: the longer i wear this the more i love it...bottle will probably have to be purchased.

Edited January 23, 2014 by theseagrows

[aquazoo]

Soft and pleasant. It is seducive, in a quiet way.

[Atrous]

I agree with Brilliantcat that this smells haughty. With a name like Vain Sorceress that's what I was hoping for.

 

Not getting any foodie scent like some reviewers. On me its floral with hints of spiciness, but just the slightest bit of spice.

also, I'm detecting what I believe is the Black Velvet accord because I'm getting something soft and dark in the background.

 

The florals are well blended and not in your face, thank goodness. I love this

[MCS4096]

When first applied I definitely get a foodie aspect-- almost cookie-like actually, that does not agree well with the florals in my opinion. But that disappears fairly quickly, because the jasmine/magnolia/tuberose trifecta amp to high heavens. I dont get any musk or amber, which is kind of surprising actually because I had a huge glob of something in my bottle when I received it.. I poked it with a pipette and shook the bottle and now there is a resinous sediment. Hopefully aging will bring some of that out!

 

Make no mistake, this is a super-floral blend.

[blu°]

I am not wearing Vain Sorceress at this very moment, but here's what I think about it after having worn it a couple of times:

 

It smells haughty and vain, indeed, but also has a strong magical, sorcery vibe going on. Something mysterious and incense-y, possibly the combination of the heavy oriental florals with amber.

 

It is very dominated by those big name regal florals and has a purple feel to it, without really getting there note wise (no berries, no plums, you get the idea).

 

This smells much more haughty than my usual fare, but I find myself liking it a lot kinda despite myself. I think it's the grounding-softening light vanilla and that streak of mysterious incense that do it for me.

 

I usually can't do jasmine, but this is ok. I love tuberose, though, and am ok with gardenia, so maybe they make the jasmine tag along and behave on my skin.

 

While I really like it, my financial situation and the fact that I have enough perfume for three lifetimes are strong arguments against a bottle purchase, so I'll cherish my decant.

[Aviatrix]

This is quite pretty.

 

I'm definitely getting the jasmine, and I could swear the lab has nailed it on the "black velvet" accord! Somehow it feels like velvet you're smelling. (I'm not sure what tuberose smells like, so I can't comment on that). Very nice.

 

It's also a lot lighter and closer to the skin than I imagined from reading the notes. Is it just me or is it a general thing for the Fairy Tale Inquisition scents? Scrappy Damsel was lighter than I expected, too. But I digress!

 

As this dries down, I am getting more of the vanilla musk, and it rounds out the blend well.

 

Overall, it's a pretty blend that really evokes images of a velvet-clad sorceress in front of her magical mirror. I won't be needing a bottle, since it's not usually the kind of scent I wear on a regular basis, but I quite like it and am happy for my decant.

[lunaticana]

Tuberose, vanilla and jasmine sambac are pretty dominant on me and offcorse Luna LOVES it

Even that Gardenia is peeking out sometimes ... I get light little wafts of it

This is my new favorite BPAL TP scent of the year, I guess !!!

No regrets of getting it unsnffed and I could not be happier with it !!!

[mymymai]

ITI: It's floral, but oddly honeyed at the same time. Perhaps that's the vanilla musk among the tuberose, gardenia, and jasmine sambac.

 

Wet: The floral is strong, predominately white, but skews a little Glade-plug-in to me. There is a subtle sweetness to this from the vanilla musk, but the florals are just so strong that it makes the scent as a whole somewhat overbearing.

 

Dry: It's lightly floral after 12 hours, but there's something that reminds me of a honey note (I think it's the amber), that ruins the scent for me.

[suki]

In The Bottle: A floral through and through. I get a lot of tuberose in there, less gardenia than I thought I would, and at this point, no vanilla at all.

 

Wet On Skin: All tuberose, all the time. Interestingly, this isn't cloying. Usually ANY floral that is not a polite violet or a fresh rose becomes instant fail on me but this is (so far) turning a corner.

 

Dry Down: Well, if I ever want to just wear Tuberose Single Note, I think I now have a bottle. Sigh. I *was* hoping for something more, and I'll certainly age it and see what happens, but for now, it seems like the only thing happening is my new friend Tuberose.

 

:/

[milo]

Quite a pretty scent for such a wicked description:) Lots of creamy gardenia here, and what smells like rice flower. This is almost a dead ringer for Self-Portrait, which I'm sure the gardenia plays a big part in the similarities. This one is a bit too heady for me, and it doesn't really match the description of an evil sorceress.

[tharsei-thanate]

Thank you, Dark Alice, for the decant! Finally getting around to reviewing this.

 

In the imp: Bright, sweet florals, and a faint touch of vanilla. Very nice. :-)

 

Wet: Wow, this is just gorgeous. It's smooth and warm, sweet and musky. It's like walking through sun-dappled woods filled with beautiful white flowers.

 

Drydown: Much of the same. I was worried about the amber but this is still all flowers and vanilla musk with a faint touch of caraway.

 

Dry: There's a bit of powdery amber now, but luckily it's in the background. Still mostly lovely white florals and musky vanilla.

 

Verdict? I very much like this, but I don't think I'll seek out a bottle, as I already have a couple of other lovely white floral blends. I might try to snag another imp, though.

[Zii]

I gagged so hard opening the imp I could not put this on my skin for a test. Rancid carroway and headaches-ville jasmine just punched me in the face.