Vixen

[achildoftime]

Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreaker’s perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli.

 

I have an imp so old that it's syrupy, so keep that in mind with this review.

 

I mostly get patchouli in my imp. It's pretty potent, but the orange blossom gives it some sweetness. It's not just a wall of patchouli. I'm not getting any spice from the ginger, which breaks my heart a little. I love it as a note and wish it would come out more. The patch calms down enough to highlight the orange blossom. I think it would be worth trying a newer sample and seeing if the ginger is stronger when it's fresh.

[cassiejaynebunk]

MMMMM i love love love the Labs sweet patch blends. this one i have held off on because: orange blossom BUT it's so smoothly blended in here it's gorgeous. i love this one.

[Lucchesa]

Hmm, weird. I'm not getting any ginger at all. My skin must just obliterate it. (Wouldn't be the first time.)

 

Wet, it's all patch - and this is a darker oil so be careful of potential staining. On drydown, it's Hunger grounded with some nice woody but not gnarly patchouli. I love Hunger, and Vixen, like Hunger, lasts a long time on me. Yay! If you like Hunger and are on friendly terms with patchouli, this ought to be a slam dunk.

[torischroeder9]

In the (aged) bottle: Mellow, earthy patchouli with the light floral sweetness of orange blossom and just a hint of ginger spice.

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the patchouli dominates, though this patch isn't overbearing. A minute later, the ginger starts to creep through. At this point, while the orange blossom isn't detectable on its own, something is acting to counterbalance the patchouli and ginger.

 

A few minutes later, the orange blossom does become distinct, which adds a sweetness and lightness to the blend overall.

 

This remains multi-layered on me: All 3 notes are detectable, and I think that's why I like Vixen so much. The patchouli is earthy and woodsy, without being funky (like some patchoulis can get). The orange blossom is light and sweet, which adds a touch of femininity to the blend. And the ginger is a fun, spicy note that complements both of the others.

 

Throw on me is medium, but it lasts just about forever. I've worn it to work and out for the evening. It works in both places, and when I wear Vixen, I always get compliments on how I smell.

[Vefenna]

Vixen is one of my signature scents  It's super feminine, sexy and sassy. 

Wet on skin dominant notes are patchouli and orange blossom - yum! Ginger makes it spicy. With time it all blends together into a lovely smell.  On my skin it has a great throw and stays perceptible for long, however it can be too heavy sometimes. And yes, it leaves stains.

Vixen definitely deserves a try, especially if you like patchouli or sweet, spicy scents.

[boomtownrat]

When I first popped open a frimp of Vixen, years ago, it was like someone had mixed orange and ginger into a bottle of Snake Oil. I got all of the patchouli, vanilla, and musk, even though only one of those is listed as a common note. Not every frimp leads to a bottle purchase, but Vixen did and it became one of my favourite GCs. The creamsicle Snake Oil-ness of it was a dream come true. If I had the ability to design my own scent, it would probably smell a lot like Vixen did when I first tried it. That first bottle has aged beautifully, with the patchouli becoming more prominent over the years.

 

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a GC to go along for the ride when buying a bottle of Lavender and Patchouli. As I browsed through the other patchouli scents, I was excited to find that Vixen was available. The last time I'd looked it was out of stock, so I bought a backup in case it's ever discontinued.

 

The fresh bottle has had three days to settle, so I decided to wear it today. At first I just tried it on my inner and outer wrists. Unfortunately, it's like some components were left out of this batch: just a mild, subdued ginger with a hint of orange blossom and no patchouli. There's no sign of the vanilla or musk that I smell in my older bottle and frimps of Vixen, but it goes through a phase when I get the dusty plastic that some of the Lab's sweeter vanilla notes turn into on me.

 

The smell doesn't change much after giving the bottle a vigorous shake and applying some to my forearms, which is not my usual process. I always roll a bottle between my hands, even if it's something that I'm just reapplying from earlier in the day, but I decided to shake it when the first application turned out the way it did. It's a teensy bit sweeter after a shake, but still light ginger, orange blossom, and dusty plastic.  Shaking it still more and applying it to the crooks of my elbows results in a little more sweetness. As I put some more behind my ears, I seemed to be going nose blind.

 

Maybe it's a batch variation or the Lab had to switch component providers? I did search for any notifications that the formula has changed, and I found none. This is surely not just me remembering it incorrectly, because I would never have bought a bottle if my first imp had been like this.  I'll hang on to it, though, and let it age. I'm also going to try layering it with Snake Oil.

[spookyumbrella]

The ginger in this isn't candied at all, it's hot and spicy, and it is front and center in this blend. It's darkened a bit by a faint patchouli, and gently sweetened by orange blossom, but for the first 20 minutes or so, the ginger reigns supreme. After a while, the ginger calms down, and the other notes get their time to shine, but not without losing that gingery bite. It sweetens up considerably during the wear, and I smell vanilla even though it isn't listed. The end result is like a less sweet, more biting Snake Oil. So if you like Snake Oil, you'll likely enjoy Vixen as well, as it's definitely related. 8/10 - Snake Oil with fangs

Edited August 26, 2019 by spookyumbrella

[urbanruralferal]

trying this for third time after wearing it for a couple days I have some notes.  Definitely goes on like a Snake Oil variant but waaaay more romantic.   When I say it hs a red side to it, I don't mean red musk, I mean cherry.  It goes great with tobacco, and it goes GREAT with the smell of woodsmoke permeating my boyfriend. 

It's a little nostalgic, but close enough to now to make me just want to swim in it.   It's fantastic, enough said!

[queenshaboo]

This fume is a revelation. Got it as a freebie lab imp and blind tested it and I gotta say this perfume is more than the sum of it's parts. I pride myself on having a reasonably ok nose but could not for the life of me distinguish the separate notes until I read the copy.  Blind it was a morphing melange of facets that I've never encountered together before: facets of benzoin, sugarcane, exotic spice like to nag champa but without the woody notes, coumarin (hay) and even limestone in the beginning stages.

 

Having read the copy I could distinguish the orange blossom, ginger and patchouli (patchphobes don't be afraid, I usually avoid but this is patch at it's best, melding all the other notes together in an exotic incense like haze but lacking that bitter green facet that I'm not overly fond of). The overall effect is that of a true skin musk, this smells of pure sex on my skin and it's amazing. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by queenshaboo

[skyturtles]

When I first sniffed Vixen out of the frimp, I did not really like it. It's summer at this moment, and the scent came off as disappointingly winter-like. Luckily for me, it magically sparked to life on my skin. The sweet orange is immediately noticeable, but not in a fresh or floral way. Take that orange and put it next to a pool, massage some tanning lotion on it (or SPF 50 for pale gurls like me), and let it roast in the sunshine. I'm serious, it takes me back to Girl Scout Camp - I get a slight sunscreen note and I usually hate that chemically smell (maybe it's the amber?), but it works in Vixen. It's definitely a sexy summer scent for me (good timing, BPAL!) Like, maybe I shouldn't wear this to work... it's too much fun. ^^

Edited June 13, 2021 by skyturtles

[Llanval]

Got this as a frimp from my most recent order, so it's brand new. While it isn't something I would  ever have chosen for myself.  I do like orange blossoms, ginger and patchouli, but all together? With orange blossoms leading the charge? That feels too femme for me, and I was right, but not in a "get it off my skin" way.  The orange blossoms are thick and heavy but not shouty.  But rather than a fresh, light orange blossom, these blossoms are dry and preserved, resting confidently atop a pool of swirling nag champa-like incense and earthy patchouli. The blossoms have an arid, creamy vibe, just ghosting along the edge of powdery. I did not get any of the spice or red heat from the ginger, so maybe that's a note that will get stronger with time....not that I'm keeping this imp, it's going in the swap pile.

 

It's going in the swap pile because Vixen is a weirdly, deeply nostalgic scent to me.  It's not sexy, lush or vampy to me.  Vixen is a dozen moms I knew growing up as a kid in the late 90s and early 2000s.  This is the scent-memory of many birthdays in other friend's homes, the scent-memory of getting hugs from these moms in their oversized Northern Reflections sweaters laced with this soft, heady scent on nights where parents attended at Brownie and Girl Guide meetings.  The nag champa-like underpinning walks me back to my best friend's bedroom, and its a room that no longer exists.

 

Vixen is tragically, accidentally my late 90s/early 00s childhood, so it has to go.

 

Nostalgia is a bad, bad drug.

[roseus]

In the imp, before looking at the notes I would have guessed red musk and patchouli. Sweet and musky with a dirty earthiness underneath. It is deeply familar to me in the imo, but I cannot pin it.  On my skin the orange blossom comes out, smoothing out the gnarly earthiness of the patch and adding headiness. I get a streak of hot ginger running through it. I still get some musk, though not quite sure I would pin it as red at this stage. It's heady, hazy, and sexy in an undone sort of way.

[whipwaif]

oooh. this is nastayyyy. and innocent. and dirty. and sweet. super sharp and almost green in the imp, but on the skin it mellows out beautifully. 

 

all three notes are highly discernible on me, but I'm amping the ginger hardcore. it's a hot and hazy kind of ginger which makes this simply delectable. I kind of smell like a sexy, boozy gingersnap cookie.

 

this scent is very 'RED' imo, and exactly what I would expect a sleazy BDSM dungeon to smell like. full bottle upgrade immediately.

[crow-toes]

A solid 3/5 stars from me. Warm and pleasant, very reminiscent of Terry’s chocolate orange. It smells good and doesn’t do anything funky and unexpected on my skin, but just isn’t a “me” scent.

[Tungerine]

Initially I get... bell peppers. I don't really understand what's going on here, but after a few minutes it settles down to a warm, earthy and gently spiced scent. The orange blossom isn't as strong as I'd like, but overall it's very nice. Not one of my absolute favourites, but sometimes it's just what I want.

 

Update: I actually wrote that review a while before I posted it, I just left it in my notes app because I hadn't got around to making an account. I've had the bottle 3 years I think? The orange blossom seems sweeter now, and shines through the patchouli, which has settled down to become smoother and woodier. The ginger is no longer slinking in the background but adding some sharp heat, a lovely contrast to the creamy orange blossom. It smells like the colour of a fox!

Edited October 27 by Tungerine

[Little Bird]

2024 imp.

No ginger or patchouli at all, but the orange blossom is more sugared and sweet than it was back in the day. There's a department store perfume quality to it, like golden jasmine and golden musk, but it's mostly a super sweet orange blossom that smells like sugared orange syrup with creamy petals along the edges. Very sweet, but also has a clean, perfumey-musky side to it.

[SimonsSays]

I have a seriously silly olfactory thing going on. Maybe I'm not the only one...but ...to me, this smells like a *grape* Tootsie pop!!!!!!! But then it fades to orange Tootsie pop, which is more in alignment with the notes listed, but still pretty wacky. 

 

Actually. I grew to like this candy powdery orange aroma. 

 

But I came back to add that someone told me it smells like....a freshly unboxed pocket pussy. 😂 I wouldn't know what that smells like. Someone seconded and said it smells like a sex and sexual accessories store. 

 

I don't get much of a ginger aroma from this, or much earthiness from the choolie. It mostly smells like sweet orange to me.

 

Edited June 10 by SimonsSays
Added comment

[sudenmorsian]

Vixen is one of my favorites and has been for years. Orange blossom is the dominating note on my skin being soft, light and sweet, but the sinister ginger brings some lovely spiciness. I get a hint of patchouli but it's not like a WALL of patchouli, it's sophisticated and grounding. Vixen is hot, dirty, rich and flirty.

 

 

I think Vixen is very much alike Valuable, Powerful, Deserving (Lilith 2017), which I too adore. They both share orange blossom and it's the dominating note on both for me. But when VPD is a daytime scent and suitable for office, Vixen is a nighttime scent and would wear it in a dark, intimate wine bar - Vixen is more... well, vixen.