A Savage Veil, Severe and Strong

[suki]

Black plum, 7-year aged patchouli, nutmeg, and tobacco leaf.

 

Proceeds from the sale of both of the Hymn to the Erinyes scents benefit RAINN, the United States largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, and provides programs to help survivors, prevent sexual violence, and ensure that offenders are brought to justice.

In The Bottle: the plum is definitely the dominant note here. In fact, I don't think I detect anything else at this point.

 

Wet On Skin: As the oil warms on my skin, I detect a hint of the nutmeg. Without the other notes, the two make some strange bedfellows. Far more floral and light than I'd anticipated.

Dry Down: The tobacco leaf steps in, but just a bit, to warm things up and round them out a little. This reminds me very much of a perfume I wore many years ago, Pòemé, from Estee Lauder, I think? This is a "perfumey" kind of scent, elegant, floral, light. I don't know if it's for me, but folks that like more classic perfumes are going to adore this one.

[Joyleaf_]

I also get a lot of plum in here, and something aboutbit reminds me of Lucille Sharpe. The purple note of the plum perhaps? Or maybe how much it smells like a femme fatale in a film noir? The kind that kicks ass and takes names, not so much the honeypot variant. I like it, but I suspect this will be a special occasion perfume, something to wear when the time is right.

[torikitty]

I agree with the first poster, this ends up more floral than expected. The plum isn't as apparent as it is in other dark fruit blends, nor as sweet. The patchouli and the nutmeg do this weird dance of floral vs. spicy. The tobacco comes out and adds some peppery notes. Overall, spicy, peppery, and dry.

[sprout]

This savage veil is more of a dark, velvety curtain. This is plum dominated with tobacco, patchouli, and nutmeg evenly supporting.

 

Plum tends to be sweet (tbh my skin seems to make many notes sweet) and the patchouli is smooth and more woody than dirty. I don't really perceive spice in this, it's more dry resin sweetened up by plum.

 

This could be worn by man or woman and definitely evokes a sense of darkness and brooding. I would say it's a less fruity (no pomegranate) and more unisex Moriarty. It also reminds me of a previous Pickman Gallery scent: The Witches Route (The Carcass) but where that was dry owing to the sandalwood, this is less so.

 

This is evocative and certainly befitting the Eryines. That being said, I love this and will treasure the bottle. Benefits going to help RAINN makes me happy.

Edited February 13, 2018 by sprout

[zankoku_zen]

Dark plum, tobacco, and patchouli. This is a smooth, woody patchouli, with tobacco, and plum. Darker than Mme. Moriarty. Dark, female, ready to throw a punch. Good throw and wear length.

[milo]

Another dark blend. This one also reminds me of Shadow in the Elevator at first, then fades to a soft plummy vanilla patch. I really like it at this stage, though it is pretty soft. A quick fade, even though it's pretty strong at first. Similar to Mme Moriarty as well. Not sure I need any more, as I have some dark blends similar to this, but this one is going into my 'use up' pile,

[LizziesLuck]

I love the plum and patch combo of Shadow in The Elevator. I also adore tobacco. I like nutmeg. This should be amazing on me, but lately patch (especially fresh patch) has been really iffy on me - quickly turning dry, dusty and not pleasant.

 

 

Wet: Mmm, this is a rich, chewy patchouli that I really enjoy. I think the tobacco is helping add to the sweet richness of it. And it's stunning with the plum, just like in Shadow. Actually this is kind of similar! The patch is a bit stronger in this, I think. But I will need to do a side by side for sure to satisfy my curiosity. Either way, this is pretty fantastic. Kind of wish I had blind bottled it so it could already be aging, because in a year this is going to be stunning, I think. Currently though - really like it.

 

 

Dry: This is exactly what I had hoped it would be - a dark, sultry plum scent. Plum and patch is such a killer combo, and the tobacco just makes it richer and sweeter. This is great. If you like scents like Shadow in The Elevator, or Mme. Moriarty, give this a go. I will be picking up a bottle asap.

[InaraRedCloak]

Blend released from the Lab 2018, swap arrived April 2018

In the bottle: Plum and patchouli, but resinous patchouli, not the 'green' herbal type. No spice from the sniff off the bottle, just beautiful semi-sweet dark plum/patchouli blend.

 

Wet on Skin: A 'chewy' tobacco (the kind I like) and dirty plum. Right wrist, which was applied 2nd, has a more resinous patchouli than the first wrist. I'm getting a little spice to the plum on the first wrist. I seem unimpressed, but my instincts want me to slather this on my skin. It's starting to melt into my natural scent. Gods I hope this one doesn't melt into my skin.

 

Dry 30+ mins: This totally reminds me of Black Moths without the vetiver. The plum is more prevalent. The spice comes and goes. This is very nice.

 

Worn 3+ hours: This is lovely and everything (almost) that I could want in a gothic plum. I'm just missing an incense note. The plum is dark and full, no fake, or candy scent here. The tobacco is gentle but sweet (like Dead Leaves Black Currant Tobacco Tar scent), the patchouli is a little earthy and gritty, but not oppressive. This is a beautiful black plum, gothic scent. I might have to save up for a back up bottle.

[Aveya]

Source: Lab bottle buy

Bottle sniff: Strong sweet tobaccoo

Initial Skin : This was surprisingly sweet to me. Just a gentle backdrop supporting a rich smooth patchouli and gently spiced tobacco. Plum isn't very apparent to me as a fruity note though. Just dark, feminine, smooth patchouli, slightly dusty tobacco.

Drydown: The later drydown is when I can actually detect plum proper, as a fruity note. It maintains the dark, warm, gently spiced vibe.

Late Drydown: It starts to get an almost leathery vibe on me in the late game. I'm not a huge fan of this late stage.

 

I'll be trying this out a few more times to see how it wears. That sweet mid-late stage I really enjoy. If I can get that 90% of the time this will be a keeper & stockpile for me. But if the leather-vibe sticks around I'll have to swap out.

Edited May 12, 2018 by Aveya

[bulletslc]

I adore bpal's plum notes with my whole ❤ I also love their tobbaco notes. This scent is such an amazing combo of the two it almost....nay, it DOES bring me to tears. This is a warm, soft plum, resinous witout being sharp, beauty. It's gothic without being in your face. It's not too fruity but not too tobacco/patchouli. It's absolutely perfect.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle

Plum and patchouli are the first things to hit my nose. Love.

 

Wet on skin

This is plummy without being really fruity, because the patchouli and tobacco make this deeper and darker.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

The plum and patchouli remain the strongest notes on my skin. This is a slow, smouldering patchouli and a velvety plum, complemented with tobacco and spices. I don't smell nutmeg specifically, but I do get something spicy along with the plum.

 

Thoughts

Severe and strong, indeed. Patchouli and plum are really, really gorgeous together in this blend. It's slightly sweeter than most of my patchouli blends because of the plum, but it also has that familiar throw of a good, strong, BPAL patchouli blend that I've come to know and love.