Vechernyaya

[Clementine]

Three white musks with poppy and patchouli.

I agree that this smells like a classic cologne or perfume. When I first apply it, it smells almost masculine, like an aftershave. Drydown gives it a more feminine scent. I will use my freebie imp but won't purchase a bottle. Edited July 7, 2008 by Shollin

[jasmine]

Right after application, the patchouli seems to be strongest in this blend, but then the hollowness of white musk spreads overtop, easing the earthiness of the patchouli. Between the two, the poppies spread a velvety blanket, easing both and preventing either one from being overly powerful.

 

In many blends, florals shout; the florals of Verchernyaya would never dream of doing anything so crass. This is a graceful blend that suits its name beautifully, soft and clear and stellar. As it settles into my skin, it warms softly.

 

If I wore Verchernyaya, I wouldn’t expect anyone to comment on it, or even to notice -- it is very soft and subtle. Nonetheless, it is quietly beautiful in its subtlety. I am quite surprised at how much this scent draws me.

 

This isn’t a feminine scent, but it definitely isn’t “manly”. I could imagine a man wearing this successfully... but not many of them. Given a very specific combination of arrogance and flair, it would work. (Johnny Depp could play the kind of man who would smell like this, but he hasn’t actually done so yet to the best of my knowledge... if that concept makes sense to anyone outside my head.)

 

I don’t know how often I will wear this, but it’s definitely a keeper.

[Voleuse]

Cool musk, wreathed by sweet florals. This is an airy blend, almost insubstantial, but it becomes a little more tangible over time. The musk is there, and though I can barely pinpoint the patchouli and poppies, there does seem to be depth beyond the musk. This is a gorgeous night blend, chill, sensual, and fleeting.

[Iceblink]

Manly! But only on a certain type of man. Not for me. Patchouli really jumps out on me, and I'm not a big patchouli fan (with a couple of very rare exceptions). This does have a "classic" aura about it, though.

[Loligo]

Wow, I could have sworn there was myrtle in this! Anyway, the notes all blend together to form something very dry, classic, elegant, and unisex... that smells a lot like myrtle.

[alliekat13]

This smells like a generic men's cologne. The musk dominates with the pachouli, with just a hint of poppy. Wow this is strong, the throw is intense, and it lasts and lasts. Unfortunately I wanted to wash this off, so that's not a good thing.

[filigree_shadow]

This does smell like a classic men's cologne, probably because of the patchouli and musks, but the poppy gives it an interesting edge. It smells crisper and cleaner than most patchouli scents do.

 

I bought a bottle of this because I like it so much, but the more I smell it the more I think I'd like to smell it on my husband rather than on me.

[dorothy humbird]

This reminds me quite a bit of some of my mother's perfumes. Apparently she is a big fan of the white musk. I'm no good at distinguishing poppy or, really, even patchouli, so I don't know if I am getting primarily musks and nothing else, or if it's actually blending.

 

This smells like a refined, classy and mature woman - she is in the midst of her toilette before a symphony performance of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Understated and expensive. This smell also reminds me of some kind of body powder my mother used... so, I have very older-woman associations for this scent.

 

I don't think it's really me, but it is lovely.

[Perosha]

I had no idea what white musk smelled like before trying this, or thought I didn't...

 

In the imp: DILLARD'S. Holy cow. It's the perfume section of Dillard's (or any large department store, I suppose). Smells just like what I always consider perfume to smell like, since I never wear it.

 

On my skin: It calms down a little, but it still screams Department Store Perfume Section at me like whoa. I'm not even going to wait for drydown--even if it smooths out a little, this scent in general is too "perfume"-y for me. I might buy this for my mom, though.

 

Smelled it again: hmm, it's only been about five minutes and it's getting even mellower - some of the other scents are poking through. Might turn into something really nice in an hour...but I will still think of Dillard's. Will absolutely add to my list of gift ideas, though!

[abejita]

This is entirely too perfumey for me. The musks are dry, the poppy is drier. The patchouli is tying to dirty it up a little, but it isn't working. Just not fo rme.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A barely there fuzziness from the musk

 

Wet on me – Soft, powdery poppy and dark, murky patchouli

 

Dry on me – At first the patchouli leaves a dirty streak across the blend, but it dries out to crisp clean musks

 

Overall – I like the cleaness of the dry down, but this is probably not something I would wear

[funkmoppet]

This certainly reminds me of a rich commercial perfume - but from a perfume family I like (unlike 51), so this isn't a bad thing.

 

Wet - this is potent. Big musks, big patchouli, and even bigger poppy. The poppy's a bit too much for me at this stage, and it's so strong it's almost giving me a bit of a headache (which is a good "use sparingly" warning for me). But the throw is marvelous. Gender neutral, for me, though I would seriously love this on a guy.

 

The patchouli is yummy, and the poppy finally settles down until it's a sweet, earthy warm musk. It's lovely dry.

 

This won't be a bottle for me, as it's just too strong and I simply wouldn't use it all. The imp is a keeper though. Nice!

[Meshuganah]

This is the smell of heaven on earth. In the bottle The musks pop out and you can sniff hints of warm patchouli, but the poppy is masked. On my skin after it dried for a moment the poppy litterally popped out and suddenly the smell was that of sitting in a poppy field and on a cool breeze the scent of musk and earthy patchouli. Now people's chemistry is different, on someone else it may be all musk or and even scent of all the ingredients. I really brought out the poppy, but I will say it smells so amazingm, I have found a true love.

[QueenFae]

First Impressions: Chilly, white, soft, feminine, enchanting

 

This is a very cool felling scent; ultra white and sophisticated. There is a soft floral that floats through the background. Something about this reminds me of The Evening Star, but this is definitely a bit more heady. This smells like an expensive women's perfume, but it has a certain innocence about it too. This has rather light throw, but is strong close up.

 

Very hauntingly beautiful.

[MaidenGenevive]

Vechernyaya

 

This smells like a high-end designer perfume. It's gender neutral, although it has a very masculine throw. At last, a gender neutral scent that's more masculine than feminine! This feels very classy. I can't wait to try it on my husband.

 

It's a bit hard to describe, beyond what I already said, but I'll give it a go. It's warm, but not heavy, although it's a commanding scent that isn't at all delicate. But it's not so commanding that it's suffocating. It feels sexy. And I can't stop thinking about how masculine it is. Yup, I'm definitely putting this on my husband later.

 

Oh, and as an aside, my kitty (who loves BPAL) really seems to like it.

 

[1 - Hate] .. [2 - Dislike] .. [3 - Like] .. [4 - Really Like] .. [5 - Love]

 

4 : I really hope this works on my husband, because it's definitely not for me to wear!

[LauraB]

Bother! There is a white musk blend that doesn't work on me at all, and it's this. Poppy is always an iffy note for me but the other notes looked good so I thought I'd try it. Unfortunately, on me this smells like someone's sprayed air freshner to try and hide the smell of burning plastic and it really hasn't worked...

 

Wish I got what other people are getting cos the burning plastic note gets stronger over time...this is now truly vile and I'm going to have to wash it off.

[Pottersville]

Drat! I was really hoping the patchouli in this would save me from the sweet notes. No such luck. And it's got a bit too much of the aftershave smell to it, too. Weird, I know!

[hkhm]

imp: musk and patchouli. the musk is definitely strongest here.

 

wet: gah! musk! that is... proabably... the most musk i've ever inhaled at once. i don't think i'll ever be the same.

 

dry: well... i'm sure i'll smell like musk for the next week after this test. and i think everything in the house will smell like musk too. this is for serious musk-lovers and i'm not sure i'm enough into musk to get a bottle of this. i might try layering it with other scnets though.

[alicia_stardust]

VECHERNYAYA

 

This starts out as a light, white, cold blend of musks but as soon as it warms to my skin I get a strong bloom of opium. It's very much like Sleepy Moon and Lotus Moon but with that cool blanket of white musks instead. The patchouli sits as a base to this but doesn't overpower at all. The opium is the most prominent part of this and I have really grown fond of that scent.

[Lyrical]

In the vial: like aftershave, but the nice sort of aftershave! Lots of musk and patchouli.

 

Wet on skin: spicy, masculine and sexy.

 

Dry on skin: very strong - I only need a tiny dab, whereas I normally slather. This would be nicer with more white musk and less patchouli. I'm not sure what poppy smells like, but I think it's adding a hint of rich floral without detracting from the masculinity of this scent. It's a very heady, old-fashioned aftershave! From time to time some pure, icy white musk wafts up to my nose, even though it's spicy patchouli and poppy next to the skin. I absolutely adore white musk and had high hopes for Vechernyaya, so I find this somewhat disappointing.

 

Later: This has a lot of throw, and it's weirdly compelling! It's sweeter now, and it reminds me of some aftershave my dad used to wear, which is a real turn off! This isn't what I expected at all, but I think it would be nice on a man.

 

ETA: Vechernyaya becomes rounder and smoother with age.

Edited April 28, 2008 by Lyrical

[butcherbaby]

this is a lovely little scent!

i love pretty much every musk scent i have tried so far from the lab and this is no exception. i can see how this one might smell masculine or commercial to some, but i don't get that feel- it actually is pretty light on me, a nice change from some of the heavier musks i usually love. the poppy gives it a light sweetness that makes me think of candy, somehow, even though this is not nearly as sweet as ivanushka or even chernobog on my skin. to me it is a lightly bronzed golden scent. i'm not sure of throw or weartime yet -i seem to be having issues with both this week no matter what scent i apply, so it's probably hormones or medication. i'm going to play with this a little more before i add it to the big bottle list, though i will say it is a strong contender.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is all patchouli. *sigh*

 

On my skin, it's still mainly patchouli - there's a lightness to it that I'm attributing to the poppy.

 

When it dries: oh, patchouli - why do you hate me?!

[inurbanus]

Oh, what a surprise! Who'd a thought, a patchouli blend that I can actually wear. Now, this isn't very good for the first half-hour, which is patchouli clouded with heavy musk, but then the opium comes out and takes over the blend. This is incredibly beautiful, but in a forlorn way -- it's delicate and wispy. I've been looking for a scent like this for a long time; the closest I'd come was Languor, but the floral component wasn't quite what I'd wanted. Check this one out if you're a fan of Arachne.

 

4/5

[ImperatrixMundi]

As a big fan of white musk scnets I had to try this

 

This is very intensely perfume-y. Smells like the kind of scents my mother wears, like Poison and Opium. She always puts on too much, I used to get sick sitting behind her in the car as a kid. Because of that Vechenyaya makes me a bit queasy.

 

The patchouli grouds the scent a bit but is not extremely prominent. Poppy - well I guess that is why it reminds me of Opium?

 

I wanted this to be more chilly and sweet white musk. It has been sitting around since I first tried it and the second time it was a bit better, rounder and a little lighter. So I will sit on the imp until it is well aged and maybe, just maybe, it will still turn into love

[Suu4LC]

In the imp, this is white musk with little whiffs of poppy and patchouli. It smells very gender neutral, or maybe even a little masculine.

 

This smells very cologne-y on my skin. Like nice, but generic men's cologne. One thing I will say is that this is one of the most wearable patchouli blends I have ever tested. The poppy fades very fast on my skin though.

 

Overall, this isn't something I would wear, but I think it is a very nice, light unisex cologne style blend.

Edited June 2, 2008 by Suu4LC