Virgo 2016

[Velvet Lilly]

Mutable Earth: the essence of duty and analysis. This is a perfume of altruism, introspection, and wisdom found from within. This blend can be utilized to enhance critical thinking, mental dexterity, and problem-solving skills, spark creativity, and sharpen the wit. Like Virgo, this scent is elegant in its presentation while unexpectedly complex in its inner composition: a dazzling chypre, glittering with sardonic humor, that is grounded by sweet aged patchouli and uplifted by lemon verbena.

First off.... this. is. Amazing. <3 :::heart eyes:::

 

In the bottle: it smells..darker then on my skin. Beautiful, heady, lemon verbena, softened with a shadowy dose of skin musk and yet, merry and elegant, just as the description says. How does she do that?!
The glitter or dazzle is very soft in this, not a forwardly fizzy scent, as some can be when she describes them that way, but it plays far underneath, down at the base of the notes.
There is something else, soothing and amber-brown in this...a whisper of wood.

Wet- same.

Dry on my skin: It's lovely, autumn foresty yellow - but just at the end of Summer, when the colors are changing but life is still vibrant. As is wears, the skin musk (?) comes forward and so does the fizz, just a wee.

Catching wiffs of this from my neck and hair the next morning, is enchanting.

I may need another bottle of this because yes.

[OctoberGwen]

Complex, cerebral, elegant, and neat...this does my firstborn Virgo child proud. Very well blended, the lemon verbena lifts what is otherwise a beautifully earthy - yet somehow bright - scent. I don't get patchouli per se but I know that is what's grounding things here, keeping it from getting too high pitched.

 

I think this would smell equally good on a man, but it's not leaning masculine. I'd wear this to a night out at the theater or a gallery opening; something sophisticated and dressy.

 

Virgo is gorgeous, and I don't have any other BPALs like it.

[catwoman30]

I bought this for myself as a birthday present since I am a Virgo. Wow...just wow. Straight from the bottle is strong lemon verbena with a touch of patchouli. When first applied the patch comes forth strong but verrrry briefly. The lemon verbena comes back and it is gorgeous..a bit creamy almost(musky).After a bit I get the effervescence that the other posters mentioned. It made me think of Pop Rocks candy. Now this doesn't smell candy-ish at all- more of an echo of it. The patchouli is very low on me and I agree there is some hidden note that creates a very round, well balanced scent. It is quite joyful in a very gentle way.Absolutely sublime.

Edited August 25, 2016 by catwoman30

[Convallaria]

I decided to buy this because I'm a Virgo, even though patchouli is more miss than hit for me. The opening is lemon verbena, but something (patchouli?) makes it smell more like a candied lemon peel than anything. It's lovely. Sadly, the mix of patchouli and "chypre" doesn't work that well for me. There isn't really an objective issue, I guess I just don't like strong, sweet patch. I thought greener parts of "chypre" would overpower it, which usually happens in my non-BPAL chypres, but not here. It goes a bit more smoky later on, but I still can't get over the phase I dislike. The verbena makes a comeback in the drydown. Nice scent, but I'm not getting anything much chypre-y about it.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Convallaria

[zankoku_zen]

Lemony chypre, and a touch of smoke, and something that is grounding and earthy. And hell, I shouldn't like this as much as I do, but I do.

 

And I'm off to slather this on mr. zee_zee because he's a Virgo, and hopefully it will work wonders on him. *fingers crossed*

[Blood onmy hands]

Lots of tart, sweet, herbal lemon verbena with a hint of dirty, dry, slightly powdery patchouli on my skin.

[patina]

I'm not a big fan of citrus though herbal citrus can be okay. I dislike most chypre scents I've tried. Patchouli is pretty good, but not always. It's surprising that this was such a winner on me.

 

It does have a lot of lemon verbena and the "candied lemon" thing is accurate. It adds a lot of sparkle and zip. Normally I associate lemon with cleaning products. And...to be honest it's not completely unlike those. But there's enough of a difference here to matter to me. There's an almost "clean" patchouli. It seems bashful, but then patchouli doesn't amp on me. But the chypre is my favorite element. It doesn't smell of all moss all the time- rather it's the best combination of woods and ferns and maybe some dusty moss, it's not clear. But it smells like a lovely backdrop of soft, tiny delicate creeping plants. Mutable earth indeed.

 

I think that there's an understanding of the sign better than that behind many other Virgo scents I've seen. I was afraid of straight up cleaning products. This lifts my mood and I feel more cheerful and alert while I'm wearing it. And yes, clean, but there's a grounding effect as well.

Edited February 13, 2017 by patina