Ravenous

[asa805]

An utterly feral, thoroughly rousing perfume. Red patchouli sweetened by orange blossom.

I had to wear this twice to truly appreciate it. And i must say i am in love. It is such a gorgeous sexy womanly fragrance. This is definately not for a young girl. Its very very grown up and mature and confident. I feel like im wrapped up in a large red velvet blanket on a very cold night in front of a fireplace with a gorgeous dark skinned stranger. Im not a big one for pure oragne scents but this really is like orange velvet. A very smooth dark scent. I would wear this on nights i want to feel extra sexy. definatley not a day scent. Would be great for when you are ready to bring your new boyfriend to your bed. And im pretty certain he would never want to leave

[Miggins]

Wet, Ravenous is very earthy yet totally fizzy and fruity. A friend and I came up with the description of Refreshers buried in the garden! Over time, Ravenous loses its fizz somewhat and settles to an earthy, fruity and very in-your-face blend, yet oddly familiar.

[Lady_Ell]

Wet: starts out smelling just like Children's Tylenol - kind of orangey peachy and artificial

 

Drying: sweetens up a bit, and the artificial orange/candy thing goes away

 

Dry: Alls I get is VANILLA, with maybe a hint of orange blossom. No patchouli, well, maybe the barest hint to keep it from being just straight vanilla. I think it's the orange blossom. Hunger did the exact same thing. I like this a lot, but it smells almost exactly like Snake Oil on me. Weird.

 

Since I already have Snake Oil, I don't think I'll get a big bottle of this. But it certainly is nice.

[ChupaChup]

Like some of the other Vixen lovers have said above, Ravenous just feels like something is missing. That seems a little unfair, I think if I had tried Ravenous before Vixen, I proably would have been pretty impressed with it. On me, it's just a little too orange-y, like Orangina, I don't get much of the vanilla or patchouli until much later in the drydown. And I really miss that kick of ginger you get from Vixen. But if ginger isn't your thing and orange is, give this a try

[Effluvia]

in the vial: This smells like Hunger so far. It's orange with a slight strange chemically edge. I'm not sure I dig so far...let's see how this smells on my skin...

 

on my skin: The wonky, harsh chemically smell smooths out once it hits my skin. Now this smells like when you stick your nose in a container of orange flavored chewable vitamins. Hmm. I'm still not sure if I dig it. Wait, I think the vanilla is beginning to blossom. This still kinda smells like Hunger to me...that evil creamsicle vibe. I'm not sure this is very me. Unlike Hunger, however, I get whiffs reminicent of Snake Oil. That looks promising. I'll try it again later and see if my hormones have anything to do with it.

[summer]

I really like this.

 

The orange note is very true, fresh, and orange juicey, which is unusual in a perfume, but I've been looking for a truly ORANGY scent for a long time, and this one hits the mark. However, the tartness and sweetness of the orange is warmed up and fuzzed out around the edges by heady, musky patchouli. If I apply too much of this blend, I smell just exactly like a head shop, but if I'm careful, a small dab melds into my skin and just smells sweet and sexual and alive. Gorgeous.

 

It actually reminds me a bit of Lush's Karma, but it's a more vibrant, alive version.

 

[Lido]

This really does start out smelling like children's aspirin! After about ten minutes, it went through a really nice phase, the orange sweetness plus something like tobacco with a bit of anise. That stage I LOVED -- unfortunately, it didn't last very long. After that, I guess it was the red patchouli... both sweet and slightly medicinal, and then just a bit powdery on top of that. It was dramatically softer after the first thirty minutes, and all but gone after an hour. I think I have to try it again; the transitional stage was fantastic, but the others left me cold.

[Serenity]

Again, my body seems to suck up and do away with the fruit notes which I so desperately love.

 

Initially, this was lovely orange with only a hint of patchouli. Once dried, the orange has lost the battle and nothing but patchouli remains. *sigh*

[luxuria]

This starts out smelling like an orange creamsicle dropped in dandelions. The dandelion smell faded and I smell a lot of orange with some patchouli. I actually kind of like this, it's very soft.

 

Unfortunately, the orange didn't last very long, and I was left with almost pure patchouli. I am not a fan of patchouli. Thus, I am not a fan of Ravenous.

[Splendid Molerat]

Ravenous starts out like a mouth-watering aperitif, something like orange & Campari. The red patchouli adds a skin-warmth to the blend, making it very wearable.

 

Overall this reminds me of the Lagerfeld men's fragrance, but made with a feminine orange blossom rather than a bergamot top note.

[eleventhousand]

I love orange blossom, I love patchouli...but on me this smells like cough syrup.

 

[JazzieCazzie]

Received as a lovely gift from the Lab and was intrigued ... I LOVE patchouli, as they no doubt know, but while I really like the scent of orange blossom, it tends to go bubble-gummy on me much of the time ...

 

BOTTLE: Sweet and spicy and what I call the "BPAL apothecary" scent (NOT to be confused with the actual scent of BPAL's Apothecary perfume, but rather this ineffable scent which I associate in my long-ago memory with the drugstores of my youth ... I think Pekeana calls it the "plastic Band-Aid" smell ) ... but not fruity at all in the bottle.

 

Applied to wrists and crooks of arms ...

 

WET: The minute I apply it, it turns into Creamsicle. Spicy creamsicle. I actually like creamsicles so I am okay with this ...

 

DRYDOWN: Sadly, within an hour this isn't working for me. The almost inevitable bubblegumminess of the orange blossom comes up, and combines with something I can only describe as old ladyish ... it's not the patchouli, because patchouli always works really well on me. Luckily I'm not getting the St. Joseph's Baby Aspirin vibe some others got, because that would make me hurl. It's not bad enough to feel the need to run screaming into the bathroom to wash it off ... but it's enough that Ravenous will be added to my "swappies/regiftable" dish (as I've said, this is not a bad thing either ... I always feel a little greedy when I am without delicious smellies to swap and enable others with!!!)

 

REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED IN APRIL 2013:

 

It's moments like this that make me happier than ever that I am in the midst of a project that's allowing me to take an alphabetical journey through ALL of my BPAL and trying every single scent, old and new, imp and bottle, frimp and lagniappe, to see which may have changed on me with time, and also to comprehensively organize one massive swaplist and one more specific wishlist.

 

I received a frimp of Ravenous from the Lab last month, along with one other frimp that also contains orange blossom (Vixen, which I gave a 1 back in 2005 but will give another try when I get to V!).

 

While, as I mentioned above, I LOVE LOVE LOVE orange blossom in real life, most of the time in the past it has gone either bubblegum or soap on me on drydown. However, in the last few days I discovered Paramatman and it is one of my favorite BPAL scents and the OB is DIVINE on me so maybe my post-menopausal self has decided to play nice with OB now?

 

IN THE IMP: I'm not getting OB at all ... I'm getting straight out orange or, more specifically, orange peel/rind. Sharp and citrussy with a slightly soapy note.

 

Dabbed on one wrist. Not going arm crook on this one (I save that for scents I feel more confident about).

 

WET: Immediately upon application I absolutely get the "spicy creamsicle" I liked so much in 2005. More like "creamsicle snickerdoodle." I get NO patchouli on its own (I like patchouli, just not smelling it here).

 

DRYDOWN: This was the big reveal. And, happily, it remains sweetly foody on me and not bubble-gummy or soapy at all. A little powdery but in a good way. I'd call it sweet orange muffins scent. I still never got patchouli from it.

 

OVERALL: While I didn't get a true (to me) "orange blossom" note like I did with my beloved Paramatman, the sweet orange baked goods scent makes this a definite keeper and somewhat unique in my collection. It's really quite lovely. And I think Ravenous is a good name for it ... it makes me hungry!!!

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3.8 but a keeper 3.8,

Edited April 6, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[arachne]

 

I adore this fragrance! This is sensual. It starts out like chocolate covered orange slices. Yummy! Within minutes it reminds me of opium. Spicy and fruity. Mmmm, cloves stuck in an orange. As it dries the spice is softened by the patchouli, but it's more woodsy than earthy. Like sugared sandalwood. I've had it on for a few hours now and the scent is scrumptious. This works very well on me and it lasts a long while!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

In reading these reviews, I think I'm lucky Ravenous didn't do anything weird or bad on me, although it didn't do anything fantastic either. My first thought was, "Like Masquerade, but less complex." Yup. It has Masquerade's patchouli and orange blossom, without the carnation and ambergris. If you like the idea of Masquerade but can't wear carnation and/or ambergris, this is how you can still play. But since Masquerade is my favorite nighttime scent, this seemed a little tame. I wore it to work and it was nice. Eh. I think I'll send it to someone who'll find it madly sexy.

[VorpalBunny]

I got an imp of this as a gift. I love patchouli, but until this one none of the patchouli blends (including Masquerade) worked on me. It's a wonderfully, lovely scent. Patchouli, with a hint of orange, and a hint of floral. Sensual, but not overpowering. Just a touch sweet, just enough to make it feminine without being cloying. I'm enjoying it a lot.

[Fury]

Upon opening, I was quite worried. It seemed very green to me, perhaps a little bitter, though generally unpleasant. Hesitantly I applied it anyway, still uncertain, though it was much less sharp on the skin. Once it dried, I was in heaven! The spices showed up first, the orange blossom and vanilla in perfect composition underneath which followed through the entire wearing. After about an hour it became less spicy which was only slightly disappointing, the mellow sweetness I was left with was perfectly amiable.

 

After 8 hours of wear, it was still quite pleasant, though much more vanilla. Lovely! I would most definately purchase a 5 mL.

[Lucretia]

a very unusual scent to me. First orange, with something tingly. Oddly this smells somewhat anticeptic on me for the first half an hour, like orange bactine or something. This must the fizzy people were talking about. anyway, that soon fades and I'm left with a pleasnt blend of orange and smokey undertones. Overall nice, but not really "me".

[Witch's Dagger]

Ravenous

 

This was a freebie from the lab. Thanks!

 

Preconceived notions: This was not on my wishlist. I have a vague memory that it was orangy, and more animalistic than carnal and that someone was surprised by that. I have no memory, nor any record, about what notes are in this. I’m going completely by nose. Please forgive me if I sound absurd.

 

In the vial: Yep, orange. A very green orange, with the pith mixed in. There are other notes, too, but I cannot place them.

 

On me:

Yes, an animalistic orange. I’m guessing it must be civet, because none of the musks actually come out as animalistic on me - they either soften the scent (white, dark) or sharpen it (red). Civet does not do evil things on me. And in fact, “ravenous” is a good word for how I feel about this scent. The orange gives it almost a “blood” flavor, though it’s not as deep as a dragon’s blood would be. It’s sharper, fiercer, more hungry. That said, I still am not much one for orange scents.

 

In 15 minutes: (after reading description): Oh, that’s patchouli? Wow - I never figured orange and patchouli would get a civet-like smell. I must have some weird chemistry. To me, it still smells like orange and civet.

 

In 30 minutes: Okay, now it’s softer and spicier, but it’s still a civet orange.

 

In 40 minutes: Wow - sudden and complete change. Now, I’m getting the patchouli - very sharp and green, with the orange still prominent.

 

In 1 hour: It’s different again, but still only slightly. Now, the orange and patchouli are softened by something (some kind of musk, I’d guess, but possibly vanilla). It’s a much warmer, skin-like scent now. But still orange and green patchouli.

 

Overall: I like the civet-patchouli, but not the orange. I’ll be swapping this one!

Edited March 4, 2005 by Witch's Dagger

[Veracosa]

One of my friends received this and decided it wasn't for her, so she passed a 5ml on to me. I owe her now!

 

I am a big patchouli fan anyway, so I knew this one could be a definite keeper.

 

When I opened it, the first whiff made me think of those orange oil cleaning products. Not neccessarily bad, but very orange-oil powerful. I could barely smell the red patchouli.

So I gave it a whirl on my wrists, and once it dried, the orange oil smell mellowed out into a faint hint of orange, and the sultry red patchouli came out.

This one reminds me a great deal of Vixen, but it is a little simpler. I also get a faint note of unlit pipe tobacco from it; I think it is the orange that gives me this impression.

 

The husband caught a whiff of this on me this morning when I kissed him goodbye as he left for work. He paused, and took an extra minute, taking in the scent, and declared that it was "really nice," and that he "liked it." (the best descriptions can get from my man!)

 

Thank goodness I have a 5ml vial of this now!

[HappyLoveJoy]

Ravenous- I'm getting a bottle of this! I love this straight away! It's like Grand Marnier and cream combined with something that reminds me of a freshly cracked coconut: the mild sweetness of the flesh and the rough, earthy husk of the shell. If I imagine it as I smell it, I could even add a tiny sprinkle of cocoa, much in the way you'd add tiny freckles of nutmeg to eggnog. Gosh, I'm deeply in love with this! It's a scent that lasts long on my skin and it's reminiscent of Lush's Sonic Death Monkey shower gel.

 

ETA: I'm finding that my imps of Ravenous are varying a bit. I sometimes get an imp that has a band-aid undertone to it and sometimes I get a beautiful blend as I described above. I'm currently living off imps just in case I get a slightly off bottle.

Edited December 18, 2005 by HappyLoveJoy

[couscous]

I must be nuts.

 

Wet, I smell orange, patchouli and that kind of creamsicle feeling others have described.

 

But drying down, I am almost positive that I smell rose. Tea Rose.

 

Orange creamsicle rose, spiced with barely-there patchouli. There is a distinct powdery feeling to this, depsite the sharpness of an initial sniff.

 

For floral-oriental lovers without an aversion to rose.

[girlmadasbirds]

i'm not a fan of patchouli, so i was quite surprised to fall for this scent. the earthiness of the patchouli combined with the orange makes for a very pretty scent.

[sagitare]

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this one. I adore orange scents and Ravenous? Is so sexy it should come with a warning label!

 

When I first apply it I'm just hit with this bold, wet, juicy orange scent. You can taste the orange in your mouth like you've just bitten into a big, ripe wedge. It honestly takes my breath away at first because it's so visceral. I put this on and it feels like I'm slipping into a slinky silk nightie it's so smooth and sensual (or, you know, slipping out of one, heh!). Then there's the spiciness of the patchouli lurking in the background. I don't find that the normal earthiness of patchouli comes through in Ravenous. What the patchouli does here is it gives the orange depth that it wouldn't have on its own. Citrus scents can be sharp and brittle on their own but the patchouli just deepens the orange here, giving it a sexy, powdery aspect.

 

The orange and the patchouli blend beautifully. I find myself having to resist the urge to lick the inside of my own wrists! To put Ravenous into a bit of perspective, I have two other orange blends that I love: there's Cheshire Cat which, despite the fact that orange isn't listed as an ingredient, turns to a soft, pretty orange on me, much like my dear departed Justice. It's a lovely daily wear summer scent - light and clean and cheery. It's all pretty skirts and cotton tops and flip flops. Then there's Hunger, which is a stronger orange scent, smooth and sensual. It's a low-cut black Armani gown - slinky, sexy, dinner at an expensive restaurant, dancing, a night at the opera kind of scent. Grown up, womanly, strong, secure.

 

Then there's Ravenous. Ravenous is black lace garters and high heels. It's thigh-high stilletto boots and a leather corset. It's porn on the television and the whole night ahead of you.

 

Needless to say, I'll be getting a 10ml!

[Unseelie]

i really don't understand this scent, but i love it.

i really don't like patchouli, but i think this blend is - i dunno, love like rocket science.

the patchouli is tamed by the sweeter notes; orange creamsicle/vanilla velvet kept from going candystore by the patchouli spice.. and for once a patchouli that doesn't smell like dirt on me!

i can't stop sniffing it, i'm not sure if there's a flower i can't place or something new about orange blossom, but it's a really astonishing blend.

i'd reccomend this to someone who doesn't think they like patchouli but keeps wanting the deep, mystic spice experience. it's also just too well crafted to pass up; multi-note, mostly stable- it's layered rather than changing- and it's a wonderful non-main use of vanilla!

[Falathwen]

A gift from the lab…thank you! This is both sweet and sultry. It is "rousing" in a fun way, like laughing with someone you love. I would not have expected sweet citrus to blend so deliciously with earthy patchouli. It remains consistent as it dries down.