Ravenous

[nome]

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

In the bottle and wet, this is the strongest orange I've ever smelled without it smelling like orange-scented bathroom cleaner. A very nice, very juicy mandarin orange. Then after a few minutes, the patchouli warms up and blends this into a mix I can't pull apart -- a touch of citrus, definitely spicy, but something altogether different. Pretty good throw and time on the skin, before drying into a very dark, sweet food smell (but everything on my skin with a sweet note ends as vanilla).

[Innocuousmold]

Yay! Fresh from the Lab , but unfortunately only about 1/2 full .

 

I've been getting a lot of misses with my imps so this is a welcome success! I love me some orange, but a lot of times it's featured in very peppy, awake, fresh, etc perfumes. Not so in Ravenous!

 

This orange is sexy and rich with hints of vanilla. The patchouli is not hippy at all and it gives it a wonderful depth. Hoorah for an awesome use of orange!

[Trebuchet]

I'd put this in a pile to pass on, but as I was sorting through the pile this one called to me. It starts out with a very juicy orange that I really like, and then the patchouli creeps in and the whole thing turns spicy and dark before ending up a creamy-vanilla-y-orange. I get a pretty good throw with this, and it seems to last, which I really appreciate as lately I've been feeling like my skin is eating everything I put on!

 

Ultimately I don't know that I love it, but I'm going to hang on to it for now.

[becca_s]

This was a frimp from the lab, I tried it on without knowing what was in it. It turned into a soapy, powdery floral on me. After seeing that it has orange blossom in it, I can see why because orange blossom doesn't work on me at all. I don't get any patchouli from this at all.

[Kayah]

I got this as a sniffie from someone off a forum purchase (thanks someone! sorry.. forgot who by now)

and today organizing imps into their neat little categories I found it and looked at the level in the imp and thought... okay, do or die.

 

 

Do. I swiped it in the crook of my elbow - this is where I get the truest form of the scent with my skin chemistry..

 

So, I'm sitting there looking at my spreadsheet and thinking, well this is a simple fragrance, two notes.. I like Beth's simple fragrances... I sniff...

 

Patchouli.. and orange blossom. Yep that's it.

 

Patchouli.. yes, it's definitely not the gritty, or the swarthy.. it's not very dark.. but it has some heft.

The orange blossom - I am actually happy this does not go floral. It's mildly, gently sweet. Sniff more.. nice blend. It's incensy without the incense, sweet without the sugar/honey, not overly flowery despite a flower, and not very hippy despite the patch. It's floating somewhere in the middle, undulating and beckoning.. leave it to dry..

 

Read forums.

 

 

Sniff again.. yes, very nice.. definitely has staying power and I swiped the tiniest amount I scraped out.. it's skin-close now but with my slathering it'd be wafting and slapping men around everywhere I went. They'd be doing a dog Pluto floating in the air following the scent act.. Oh yeah..

 

Sniff.. so good...

 

 

Sniff...

 

 

OMG WHERE'S MY ARM I INHALED MY ARM

 

yes it's that good

[sisi33]

After my Jezebel debacle, all I can smell is baby powder- it's clinging to everything! Okay, back on topic. Mmmm, patchouli and orange! It actually smells like what it's supposed to smell like! (I blame my warped sense of smell for everything smelling oddly to me...) And it doesn't transform radically on my skin! Yummers! Perfect for fall! Medium throw, but low staying power- which means that I get to apply it more often!

 

4.5/5 Glad I gots me a bottle!

[SweetBastet]

in the imp, dark and smoky with the sharp brightness of maybe a bitter orange?

 

first on, the darkness drops away leaving a smoky scent with rich, almost sweet undertones.

 

drying: strong dark smoke again, then dropping away again. very campfirey, would smell great on a man too.

 

dry: o hai orange! glad to see you back. It definitely sweetens and brightens up the smoke, even seems somewhat floral, bordering on soapy at times

 

I'd put this as a 4 of 5, but it's also not quite my style. I'll keep my imp though, maybe sneak it onto hubby (who loves patchouli).

[madscientistdh]

Purchased from Babypopje!

 

In bottle: sweet artificial orange flavor, like those chocolate oranges you find around Christmas.

 

On skin: BLEGH! Weird scent. Reminds me of orange cleaning products and... vetiver? Weird unsettling background to this.

 

Drydown: The orange returns but gently, almost as an apology for the initial application period. By the end of the day I'm somehow a sexy creamsicle.

 

Verdict: I'm going to need to try this again to get a decent read, but as far as I can tell I'm not terribly impressed. I've read where people compare this to Vixen, and it doesn't compare in my mind/nose. Still pretty once it's dried down, so maybe I'll keep some hope alive for Ravenous.

Edited November 14, 2012 by madscientistdh

[Honey Girl]

This is my first review and my nose isn't quite refined yet.

 

Wet in the bottle it smells really strong. Too strong.

 

Dry on my skin it has a very soft smoky orangeish smell to it. It starts to smell a bit like smoky orange powder after awhile.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Honey Girl

[Lethran]

In bottle: Strongly orange blossom dominant grounded by a hint of sexy patchouli, This is lovely, but there is no chance of this working on me. Iof you love orange blossom, this is your scent.

[Teaker]

I had a weird reaction to this scent- not a skin reaction, an emotional one. I have no idea why, but I find it very upsetting. I got goosebumps and had to wash it off. It's very unsettling. It does have some similarity to Vixen, and I had no issues with that one, so I'm not sure what is up. I've tested it a couple times and had the same reaction every time.

 

I think it might be the orange blossom. It's not a favorite of mine, and here it is bitter and has a sense of movement or vibration to it. It's like a high-pitched hum, but in scent form. Like a trapped moth vibrating its wings angrily. Something angry buzzing around your head trying to sting you.

 

So this is not the scent for me, but kudos to the lab for creating quite an experience in a bottle, and for the perfume so closely matching its name!

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Orange Juice-y and sweet.

 

Drydown: Interesting. Orange blossom usually spells trouble on my skin, so I am pleasantly surprised to find that its typical soapiness is only evident in the throw, and even there it is more palatable and orange-y than usual. At the skin it’s all fresh-squeezed OJ, free of soap. There’s a deeper something grounding it, but at this point it isn’t overtly patchouli-smelling. It sort of smells like a creamsicle. A sultry creamsicle.

 

Dry: What’s this? The scent becomes crazy tingly all of a sudden. It smells very much like medicated chapstick - specifically the sticky-goopy kind that comes in a pot. There’s a mellow sweetness very similar to raw honey. If I were asked to guess at the notes I would have said orange, eucalyptus, elemi, clove, benzoin, beeswax, and black musk. It’s tingly, slightly spicy, slightly creamy, subtly sweet, and darkly smooth. What a wonderful surprise!

 

 

 

7.5 out of 10 bones

[Serena Reverberi]

Smoke. Sweet smoke. Sweet smoky sharp musk? Is this what patchouli smells like? I think I hate patchouli.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the imp: bitter orange. In the interest of honesty, I will say that when I first opened this imp, fresh from the Lab a week ago, Ravenous smelled like burned plastic.

 

The bitter orange phase lasts briefly on my skin, and then this dries down to a sour, faded, old-perfume smell. I’m always a little wary of orange blossoms. They can be lovely, as in Fae, but when I tried a frimp of Hunger fairly early in my BPAL experience last year, I got the same sourness I get from Ravenous. I’ve tried other “patchouli plus” blends such as Imp and Goblin with great success, so I can only conclude that it’s the combination of orange blossoms and patchouli that’s producing this effect.

 

As always, I appreciate the chance to try this, but Ravenous is off to the swaps.

[agirlnamedfury]

Sexy. I don't really get any orange, it's almost pure patchouli on me, but that's okay. It gets fairly powdery on me as many scents do, but I find it less offensive here than usual.

 

I actually really like this one. It sounds terrible rereading my reaction above, but whenever I wear it I feel super sultry and can't stop smelling myself, so...

[Missy_killer]

In the imp: First it smells like old lady, it's floral and very sharp. It's not at all what I like. But then I smell some orange-tasting gummy candies which smells absolutely fantastic! That's exactly what I'm looking for here.

 

On: There's that old lady again. Why can't she never leave me alone?! I've just recovered from a cold while testing this so my nose might be out of shape... but something smells very much like cinnamon. and then iron! I know I disliked Baba Yaga because of the iron part, but this is WORSE! Holy world this is strong straight up metal! It's making me feel really ill, it's not at all what I had imagined from this. Usually I don't have big issues with either red patchouli nor orange blossom, so I'm wondering where it's coming from?

 

It smells pretty good after an hour. Like warm oranges with a touch of cinnamon, I want to like this, I really do, but the iron made me feel too sick. The oil also stained my skin yellow for quite some time.

[Teamama]

Magical smell, but the orange is too strong for my cheap Scandinavian skin IT BURNS!! Had to wash it off, and the areas I applied it to are totally red (redneck city.) If you're at all sensitive, patch test this one!

 

I will have to get a scent locket if I want to wear this, or use it as a room scent. So sad! The patch and the orange come together in a resin-y, vanilla-like way that is just magic.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Teamama

[LizziesLuck]

Orange Blossom is extremely iffy on me (usually terrible, occasionally amazing) but I love patchouli, so giving this a shot with an open mind.

 

Wet: This actually smells a lot more like orange than orange blossom to me. Orange is not a good note for me either, but this is a nice, sweet, realistic orange - like freshly squeezed orange juice. Hints of the patchouli underneath. It quickly turns to chemicals though, really bitter chemicals. Pretty unpleasant, but not very strong so I will wait it out and see how it is dry.

 

Dry: Doesn't get any better. This isn't just the case of a blend I don't care for, my skin has turned this into a nasty chemical mess that no one would care for. Too bad. The juicy fresh squeezed orange juice note that I get out of the imp and for seconds before my skin ruins it is really something else.

[sunlitgarden]

Michi bought this bottle in 2012, and it smells good on her. I've never tested it on myself though, and our skin chemistries can make scents smell pretty different on us...

I'm kind of scared of patchouli in general, but in the bottle here, it doesn't smell too strong or BO-ish. It's a little bit like incense with creamy, sweet orange blossom that's kind of reminding me of a Creamsicle.

On my skin: more Creamsicle-ish orange. This is not just smelling like the orange blossom flower, but the fruit. There's a bit of the "stinky" smell that I sometimes get from white florals when I first apply this, but it's not too overwhelming.

Drying: Mostly still sweet, creamy orange blossom. If the patchouli is here, I don't smell it. It might just be giving the scent more of a "grounded" base. I've actually tried/reviewed several scents with patchouli in the past few days where I don't mind it. Maybe there's just one particular kind of patchouli that I dislike... I'm not sure. There is definitely one type that smells like BO to me - but it's not here, so yay!

[Jenjin]

FRIMP from the Lab

IN THE IMP:

Wet, bitter orange muskiness with a yellow pink cherry note

WET:

The strong orange is muscling out the patchouli at this point. Is that patchouli??? A spicy, metallic background is lurking behind the flowers. Has a bit of an "artificial" quality to it-these orange blossoms might not be real after all. Not sure about this one.

DRY:

The orange and patchouli notes settle down together in an equal way, resulting in a someone flat finish. Reminds me of drinking orange soda after it's been sitting around for a day-where's the fizz?

 

NOTES:

I can definitely see this on the right person. It has a tangy, pink-orange quality, but my thoughts turned to baby aspirin while wearing it.

RATING:

6.0

Edited May 1, 2016 by Jenjin

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: If there's any patchouli evident at this stage, I'm not smelling it. All I'm getting is orange blossom - a crisp white floral with a heady, almost creamy edge, cut by the zing of citrus.

 

Wet: A touch of patchouli, providing some grounding, spice, and (not entirely necessary) additional sweetness to what is otherwise an orange blossom SN. Understand, this isn't a bad thing at all. The orange blossom I'm getting is lush without being cloying, fresh without being aggressively citrusy. It eventually swings a little more "orange" and a little less "blossom," though.

 

Dry: Primarily soft, sweet patchouli, but the orange blossom does prove to be pretty tenacious. After about four or five hours, the orange blossom swings back towards the "blossom" end of the scale, and winds up as basically an accent for the patchouli, but discernible as itself for a remarkably long time.

[Casablanca]

I love orange blossom, and I can do red patchouli (it was fine in Anne Bonny). So although I didn't order this, and got it as a free sample, I'm not afraid of it either.

On the wand, Ravenous is a simple rustic floral: all soft reddish patchouli woods and white orange blooms. On my skin the reddish rustic quality grows a little, but the balance is close to how it was on the wand.

Ravenous is likable. I'm not excited but I like it.

Then I layered it with Jack, and I really like it. :-)

[Nikki Scarlet]

I got this one as a frimp . . . twice! The first frimp ended up being claimed by my friend who went in on the order with me. Then by the time the second one showed up, my friend gave the first one back to me saying she wasn't as into it anymore. Hoping I'll like this enough to justify owning two! I LOVE it in the imp, but have yet to test it on myself (will do so below). A little nervous about how the red patchouli will act as I've not had much luck with patchouli in the past, but all I can smell in the imp is a sweet, sweet citrus, so we'll see!

In the imp:
Seriously, this smells like the most luscious lemon meringue pie. Or some other really gourmet pastry with citrus filling. I'm surprised that this is patchouli and orange blossom, and not some full on citrus fruit with vanilla or honey or something.

On me, wet:
Now smells more like a really high quality orange candy. Om nom nom!

On me, dry:
I get little whiffs of the patchouli here and there but it's kept well in check by the lovely (and strong!) orange blossom and stays, on the whole, pretty true to how it smells in the imp. Mostly I think the patchouli just does the job of giving weight to the orange blossom, allowing it to have a deeper sweetness. Some might actually find this cloyingly sweet, but I have a hardcore sweet tooth, so for me this just smells yummy!

Verdict:
Holy crap, a patchouli scent I can actually wear! This miiiight become a full bottle purchase. I'm a bit concerned that if I wear it out in public, other people might find it a little too sickly-sticky-sweet and be put off. It does get more spicy over time though, so I may be able to get away with it. For now I'll enjoy my two frimps, and see whether I'm ready to commit to a full bottle a little further down the line.

[strick9]

Oh Ravenous, I really wanted to love you. Like really, really wanted to love you.

 

It smells heavenly in the imp. The orange blossom is tempered and grounded by the red patchouli- its mouthwateringly good, and i i don't ever want to stop smelling it. There's some creaminess, and the orange is super fresh and sweet.

 

On the skin, it stays like this, for about the first hour of wear. I was convinced that I'd found my summer scent, which has been eluding me for who knows how long. and then i amped the orange blossom and lost all the red patchouli. and everything else. I became a walking orange blossom, and i couldn't deal. I had to wash it off. It started to smell like decaying orange blossoms at that. I normally like a little bit of decay and funk in my florals, but this? No. No no no.

 

Sigh. into the pile it goes.

[achildoftime]

Orange blossom is all I get from this when it's freshly applied. Drying reveals the patch, though. The notes switch strengths, the patch is the strongest note after some wear. It's still sort of sweet, but it's definitely more earthy and woody. I wish the blossom stayed around in a greater capacity. I think it's nice, but I won't need more than my imp.