Vicomte de Valmont

[LushNatty]

Rake, scoundrel, demon in a frock coat. Devilishly seductive, ultimately tragic; a villain undone and redeemed by love. Based on an 18th century gentlemen’s cologne: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary.

 

In the bottle: Wow! This might be the first “men’s cologne”-type scent that I like. It’s very sweet-smelling, and there is just a hint of the men’s-cologne smell in the background.

Applied: Mmmmm. This would be a fantastic scent on a guy, and one that I would definitely get a boyfriend (if I wasn’t going through a rather lengthy dry spell at the moment.) It smells a bit like soap, but like Irish Spring or something (which I happen to really like on guys.) It’s all-around good, although it’s difficult for me to pinpoint exactly what I like about it: I think that the main things I am detecting are the orange blossom, mint and jasmine, but it’s grounded by the wood. Very nice. No wonder the Vicomte got laid so much, if he smelled like this.

Related thought: I can picture him actually believing his pledge of love for as long as the cologne lasts.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 5 (as a men’s scent).

 

ETA: Lab description.

Edited December 9, 2005 by LushNatty

[tinyvulture]

I’m just sort of “eh” on this. To me it smells like any store-bought men’s cologne. Slightly citrus-y, and mossy, with a kind of “sweaty man” undertone – is that the ambergris? Anyway, my husband absolutely adores it.

[hypatia]

Definitely in the cologne family, with that lavender-citrus-aquatic quality to it, and whiffs of jasmine in the background... yes, the Vicomte is Wilde's haughtier, airier, aristocratic French cousin. It's like Wilde minus the patchouli and thyme, which makes it less earthy and more of a traditional cologne.

 

On the whole, I think I like Wilde better. But this is nice all the same.

[Tess]

This has jasmine. I live in fear of jasmine. However, I ordered it for the boy and I couldn't resist trying it out on myself. If it goes the way I fear, at least I can wash it off...?

 

In the bottle - ...this smells almost exactly like Drakkar! *ogles* I LOVE Drakkar!!!

 

Wet - It actually doesn't smell like much of anything, just has a very faint scent of men's colonge. Must be revving up for more later.

 

Drying - The aquatic citris image is quite accurate. There's a hint of a difference from Drakkar, but it's close enough to make me want to gnaw on my own wrist. *clears her throat*

 

Dry (20 minutes) - After going through a lovely pure, light citris stage, it's dried to... exactly how Drakkar smells on me. It's a bit fainter than the colonge, but that's probably lack of the alcohol. Might need to pop this into some vodka...

 

Overall - Lovely for men, a bit too clarifying for me. The boy will highly enjoy it and I may be able to ween him off his black bottle of the expensive stuff now.

[sookster]

this is a total dude scent in a big way!!!!

i friggin love it....my man will be getting a big ol' bottle of

this lovely scent !!!! amazing!!!!!!

 

1/2 hour later....ok....i just put it on the boy.....so weird cuz it does not get amped up

at ALL on him.......it is very faint and delicate...still awesome.....we did a side by

side comparison of this on me....sweet and very cologne-like....on him....warm and sugary......

 

yes, i am still getting a big bottle for him....and me...to share.....

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I doubt Brian will like this, as he likes foody scents rather than "masculine" scents. But I'll give it a whirl...

 

...a short whirl. This smells like an expensive version of Eau de Blue Steel for Dudes--you know, generic manly perfume. It's *better* than that, of course, because it's BPAL, but that's still the feeling of it. A good one for guys who fear oils, but mine is way past that stage. And considering how I feel about jasmine and ambergris...no thanks.

[miss_rynn]

This is what a gentleman's cologne *should* smell like. Ambergris and musk, but made sharp with rosemary and sweet with a breath of flowers. Elegant, refined, and terribly, terribly seductive.

 

And you just *know* he's up to no good.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: A definite manly scent... but will that slow me down? NO! I like the guy stuff. It's hard to pick up specific notes but it is very clean and aquatic. So far a winner.

 

First on: Much the same. Reminiscent of "Cool Wave" deodorant. A very classic men's cologne/aftershave sort of smell.

 

Overall: Meh. I like but I don't love. I may see if the boy wants it, so I'll hang onto it for a bit and we'll see what the Vicomte's ultimate fate is.

[Victory]

Oh, my dear Valmont, you are indeed wicked. You smell almost exactly the way one of my exes smelled- clean and warm and comforting. And then you disappear. Why you gotta go breaking my heart like that?

[theseagrows]

this smells like commercial men's cologne at first. the color that comes to mind with this is yellow-green. im not sure why. it's very fresh and sharp and now that it's dried down i smell soapy and has a lavender-ish smell with something sweet in the background which may be the jasmine or r ose geranium.

[juniperus]

Bottle: ok, this smells like my father's foofoo juice. and that's disturbing. yai. Burberry Brit? very masculine blend.

Wet: moss and mint and jasmine with a hint of rosemary.

Dry: I can catch hints of the sandalwood and geranium now.

Later: This would smell great on my dad. Not on me, certainly, and not on Brian - that would be...ick. But the thought of my dad as a rake in a frock coat... LOL

Edited May 24, 2006 by Juniperus Intrepidus

[Aiglet]

In the imp: Wow, that's incredibly foul. It's a very "sharp" scent, almost like cat pee. But people here like it a lot, let's see what it does on my skin -- I can always wash it off, right?

 

Wet: Generic men's cologne. Not the nice upscale stuff, no, but the stuff that your high school boyfriend bought himself at the drug store, complete to the tinge of some guy-scented soap.

 

Dry-down: Smells like... summer camp! Bug spray and big green trees. Somehow, it's very comforting to me, although it's a bit weird.

 

Dry: Everything from before is gone, and now it just smells spicy and brown. (I can't pick out the notes, so I'm afraid this is as good a description as I can give.) It doesn't smell like cologne, but it definitely smells of "I'm wearing my boyfriend's shirt," although all of the sharp/nasty notes have gone away.

 

I may have to put this one in some perfumer's base to see what that does -- in the other ones I've tried it seems to make it go straight to the "dry-down/dry" scent without any intervening stages, and to call out the secondary notes a bit better.

[edenssixthday]

Vicomte de Valmont is a very masculine blend that is the most commercial men’s cologne scent I’ve encountered in Beth’s entire catalogue. It doesn’t really appeal to me at all, as I’m not a big fan of mint, moss, jasmine, or rosemary. The strongest notes seem to be the moss and rosemary, and the rest sort of hover in the background. I can say it’s very well blended, and I can imagine quite a few men I know wearing this quite well, but it’s definitely not for me. I like blends that are much prettier.

[catslash]

This was the first BPAL I tried and I loved it immediately. It is just like a commercial men's cologne right out of the imp, but that's not a bad thing to me. I've always been drawn to men's cologne, and I was delighted, after the long anticipation of my first BPAL experience, to find a beautiful blend of every cologne sample from GQ that's made me sigh in want and then sulk because the cheapest vehicle for it is still fifty bucks. I ordered a bottle last night in my very first bottle order, and I'm smirking to myself because I'm getting way better and cheaper than anything GQ could tempt me with.

 

On me, Vicomte de Valmonte becomes more distinctive. The mints leap out, sparkling pale green, with a smooth, round lavendar background balancing them out. It stays lovely and cool all the way to the end.

 

I think I know which imp is coming with me to work tomorrow!

[smallvoice]

Tested thanks to the general catalog swap quikslvr arranged!

 

From start to finish, this is Irish Spring soap on me. Once it begins to fade down some, it's nicer than the IN YOUR FACE BIOTCH! of the soapiness, but this one is being happily scrubbed off as soon as I submit this. Even the white musk didn't even this out on me.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is herbal, green, and very traditional, a light men's scent with just a touch of floral in the bottle.

 

On, the mint, rosemary, and musk come out, and there is a sweet, almost fruity afternote to this, something just barely detected, a high, bright softness that makes it absolutely fascinating.

 

It doesn't last on me. All of its promise dies under the smothering stench of expensive baby powder. Given that baby powder is one of the most unpleasant, unsexy smells in the world to me I can hardly be blamed for not enjoying this, and wiping most of it off after about an hour and a half when it showed no signs of shifting again.

 

For someone who doesn't have trouble with florals, I'll recommend this one eagerly. It's a beautiful scent, fascinating and subtle with a touch of class. A clean, light, masculine fragrance with just enough distinction to set it ahead of the pack.

[sofiaviolet]

This goes on soapy but calms down into a sweet, creamy floral. It smells like cologne and perfume together, and I think this would be a great unisex scent.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: a little like a cleaning agent. Maybe geranium and rosemary?

 

on wet:

like old man...but in a good way. Some kind of man's cologne I recognize. Old Spice? I can't recall anymore.

 

Dry: I let my hubby and my brother smell it and they sang, "byyyyyyy MENNEN!"

I guess they think it smells too much like some kind of deoderant product they are familiar with.

 

I thought it was nice, but I have been overruled...guess the hubby won't wear it now.

[sarahj]

Vicomte de Valmont

 

received in a swap

 

in imp: mint and jasmine; an interesting combination

 

wet: mint, jasmine, and moss...starting to smell very masculine

 

dry: musk and moss

 

verdict: too masculine for me, but I bet this will smell great on my husband

[PurringPulsar]

Vicomte de Valmont

 

In the imp: this reminds me of men's perfume. Or soap. Or both.

Wet on skin: men's aftershave. Can't remember which brand though.

Dry on skin: man, I smell like a man! This is just so much like aftershave…I can't tell what the notes are because they are all blended into this very perfumey overall fragrance. it's a fresh green cologne scent with a slightly sweet-aquatic base. I think I can make out the orange blossom, geranium, musk, sandalwood, moss and ambergris, but the scent most of the time is just like men's perfume.

After a while: it loses it's cologne edge after a few hours, and the drydown of this is mossy man's perfume, slightly sweet, green, and with a hint of orange blossom. But it still reminds me of something a guy should wear, not me. it also reminds me of the drydown of Wilde. The drydown becomes mossier until it fades.

Verdict: this is one of those BPAL scents which smells very masculine, not really unisex. A lot of BPAL 'manly' scents can be pulled off by me but this is just too much of a guy scent for me. it's pure aftershave on me. Sophisticated men's cologne. All the components blend together to make one scent of men's perfume, no one note stands out apart from orange blossom, and moss at the end. If I had a boyfriend right now I'd give this to him but for now it's off to swaps.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Wilde, Casanova

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[likie]

In bottle: Mint and rosemary, mostly. Pretty subtle, though this smells like something skin could change a lot. Let's find out!

 

Wet: Within seconds, it sank way into my skin until it was a little warmed up, but barely detectable. Every time I smell it, though, it seems a tiny bit sweeter. There's still a rosemary/jasminey undertone.

 

Dry: Sandalwood/musk is now dominant, with a bit of that jasmine and rosemary underneath. It isn't unlike a cologne you might buy in a department store. I don't like the dry version as much; the wet bit, though, would indeed be the perfect scent for a rather old-fashioned kind of guy (or just a prim fellow from the 1700s!). My boy is a little too rugged for this, I think.

[PilotKitten]

Oooh... WONDERFUL men's scent!! I personally love wearing these types of blends on myself and I absolutely go insane when my man is wearing them. Oh yes... definitely a bottle of this one!! I love how my favorite men's scents have this heady floral overtone to them that just manages to smell so much manlier than woods or what people generally think of as men's scents. Oh, I just can't describe it in words... it's just so scrumptious. If my husband was wearing this? I'd definitely jump him.

[supremegoddessofall]

Definitely manly. Too much ambergris in this for me, I think. I get light florals in the background, and there's a touch of something that says "foody." The mint puts a sharpness to it. Smells like aftershave to me, and not particularly good aftershave, either.

[forspecial_plate]

Wow...this is a sharp one! Sophisticated and classy come to mind, also herbal and dry. I'm getting a lot of moss, and maybe some of the geranium and rosemary. The mints come out just a little bit after a while. I don't think I can smell any jasmine at all...but it's so well blended it's hard to tell. Actually, when I read the notes, I was surprised that there were so many. And for a scent with so many notes, this does very little morphing on me.

 

VdV does smell very clean and somewhat soapy on me, but that's not a problem. I could see being in the mood for this. For some reason it keeps reminding me of Scarecrow.

[swilde]

This is so sexy on my boyfriend, especially in hot weather. With his chemistry, it ends up a very natural minty musk and always surprises me when I get close. The BPAL version of the "Axe effect."

 

Layered with De Sade, it has a bit more throw but it really is the kind of thing only I care if I smell.