Le Serpent Qui Danse

[eviltemptressdq]

A sinister, darkly seductive scent inspired by poetry of Charles Baudelaire. Violet entwined with vanilla and gardenia.

hmm... not sure what it was about this one, but maybe the mixture of violet and vanilla did NOT like my skin. It was overpowering! I was trying to give it a shot, and then try something else on my other wrist, and well... this one won. But not in a good way. Too strong for me! It did NOT like me at all!

[gwyllgi]

When I read the notes, I was excited to try this - violet and vanilla are all scents I've enjoyed immensely in the past and, while I'm not particularly fond of it, I don't have anything against gardenia.

 

Something about this blend just doesn't like my skin, though. I can smell the violet, I can smell the vanilla, I can smell the gardenia, all as separate notes. Somehow, though, when they mingle, my skin makes them awful, like a thin skin barely containing something rotten. I'd hoped it was a fluke the first time, but the second had the same results, which puts this imp onto my "never ever put on skin!" pile.

 

It smells just fine in the imp, darkly floral, more violet and vanilla than gardenia (which seems to be the main culprit in the stench on my skin), so I suspect this is just my skin. When I'm feeling brave, I may give this a try in a diffuser or a locket, but it'll take me a while to be willing to give this one a shot again.

[falcon in the dive]

I love their snake blends. There's something amazing and smooth that fits like another skin. But this one's more floral, almost more aquatic than snake oil. I think I like it even more. It doesn't fit as closely, but it also is lighter.

[ladymissspyder]

In imp: Choward's violet gum.

 

Wet: Choward's violet gum.

 

Drydown: ooooh. I'm still getting the sweet violet scent, but it's developing this lovely fullness that is just yummy.

 

Top notes: Choward's violet gum, amped up a bit.

 

Middle notes: Oooh, now it has a vague spiciness around the edges. My nose is STUCK to my wrist right now.

 

Base notes: A sweetly floral vanilla.

 

Throw: Medium.

 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Violet and gardenia. Two of my favorite flowers.

 

First on: The violet and gardenia blend together in a sharp floral with an underlying creaminess.

 

After a bit: Wow, this is beautiful. Very feminine and gentle and is staying very true to the initial scent.

 

After a bit more: The vanilla is coming out a bit more now, adding even more sugared creaminess to the beautiful balance of violet and gardenia.

 

This is def a keeper and on my list of 10mls to get.

[midnight_aeval]

In the vial I don't smell violets. I smell daffodils... like the kind my grandma used to keep in her garden underneath my bedroom window- I remember that scent well.

 

When I applied it, still that familiar daffodil smell... after a while it turns to a sugared violet sorta scent. I guess that's what it is really supposed to be! No gardenia here...

 

Overall I like this scent.. might be 5ml bottle worthy a little bit down the road.

[edenssixthday]

Le Serpent Qui Danse is a lovely violet scent. The gardenia and vanilla tone down the violet to keep it from being too sweet and overwhelming as replications of violet often are. It's soft and it's subtle, but it's classy and sophisticated. I wish it had a little more throw, as it stays very close to my skin. I don't foresee myself buying a full size bottle because it doesn't really have a WOW! factor to it, but it's really nice, and once I use up my imp, I may find I have to order another imp down the road.

[parrot_suspect]

I didn't think I would like Le Serpent Qui Danse. Gardenia is a note that I can rarely pull off, and my skin tends to really amp up violet. However...

 

I applied a few drops and was intrigued. A heady, floral, intoxicating scent lingered for about an hour. It was gorgeous, sultry, come-hither, and even a bit sinister, but I kept wondering, "Is this really me?" Shortly thereafter, it moved to the drydown phase. The gardenia receded to the back burner and I was left with a beautiful, rich mixture of vanilla and violet. One of the best drydowns I've experienced in quite some time -- simply stunning. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist.

 

Definitely full bottle worthy.

[columbus]

In the bottle, this one smells strongly of violet, and little else! Fortunately, I like violet (and violet likes me!), so I wasn't afraid to give this one a try.

 

While it was still wet, the two florals are really the stars of this blend. The gardenia plays nicely with the violet, so neither are too strong (which violet can be, little drama queen that he is).

 

Once it begins to dry, the vanilla comes out, and the whole thing turns into a lovely concoction. The creamy vanilla balances so well with the two floral notes. It's much softer, but still has that very subtle darkness that puts and edge to the scent.

 

Very glad I got to try this one, and I'll definitely keep it on hand!

[SultryWolf]

Arrived as a frimp with a forum purchase (thanks!)

imp and on: Strongly violet. Reminds me of something … what is it … Ah! It’s The Raven. These two are very similar; contrary to expectation, The Raven is a bit ‘lighter’ and Le Serpent a bit ‘heavier’. I don’t consciously note the vanilla, but I expect that’s what I’m getting as ‘heavier’.

Violet’s not for everyone, but I like it, and especially for layering.

[neuilly]

A floral mix of violet and gardenia. I'm enjoying the violet but sadly my skin amps gardenia and morphs gardenia...so it's now turning a bit foul smelling. However, before it started morphing on my skin it was really beautiful. I would suggest this to anyone who likes florals (and can wear gardenia).

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: crystallized violet candy.

 

Wet: uber violet.

 

Dry: Crystallized violet candy. Violet is one of those notes that can go either way for me. Some scents with a violet note are great (The Raven) and others just don't work for me. This snake will have to go dance with someone else.

[lilfaerywingz]

bottle: swirling of all 3 scents.

 

Wet: very very violet!

 

dry: still violet, tinge of gardenia…never found the vanilla

 

This is one of my favorites, but then again I am partial to violet!!

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: floral sharpness

 

wet: spicy, light floral sweetness

 

dry: sweet spiciness

 

Hubby said "YUCK! Smells like bubblegum or candy."

 

guess that is a no.

 

There were some qualities about it that did not appeal to me either. I am guessing it was the violet and gardenia that went all wonky on me. I tried my first violet scent the other day and it went sour and strange on me.

 

Oh well.

[crescentmoon]

Ewewew. Just picked an imp of Le Serpent Qui Danse at the lab last night for will call and tried it today. It turned all gross w/ my body chemistry. To my nose, it smelled like playdoh and to my husband's cheap bubblebath.

 

Sad... It sounded like it would be amazing. Oh well, off to swaps or enabling.

[maijasu]

I was really wary of this blend, since it has only florals and vanilla. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, at least on my skin. But I always try any BPAL that comes my way at least once, and in this case, my habit paid off handsomely!

 

I smell sweet, sugared violet at first, not soapy and only a teeny bit powdery. After an hour or two, it's mostly a deep, gorgeous vanilla with violet lurking in the background. I can't pick out the gardenia at all. I'll definitely hang onto my imp, and may get a bottle sometime in the future.

 

Note: This is an imp I got in a swap, and it's probably aged quite a bit, although I couldn't make a good guess as to how long. So those of you who didn't like this at first might want to try putting it away and trying again after a while.

[wanderlustlover]

In the bottle this is sharp, sweet and floral, but the moment it hits my skin it screams SOAP. Given a little time it screams SOAP, in a painful head way, but with an undercurrent of nectar scents. Toward the middle of the day, the soap scent fades, but it becomes baby powder with a faint whiff of floral at the end. Now, almost fifteen hours later, it finally smells like violet and gardenia flowers, but the it's too little too late. This one will end up in the trade or wait pile as well.

[likie]

In the bottle: Strong gardenia; smells exactly like purple cleaning solution.

 

Wet: Slightly more floral, but still the twang of cleaner. I don't really detect vanilla, just a hint of violet.

 

Dry: After ten minutes or so, twang rescinds; a little violet, mostly gardenia, and only a hint of vanilla.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

violet candy.

thankfully i don't get any gardenia out of this.

 

too sweet and pretty for me.

[shellyshells]

Le Serpent Qui Danse:

 

In the imp, violet and gardenia.

On me.... whoa that's one pungent gardenia! Violet intermingles soon after.

It mellows out during the drydown with vanilla softening it up.

I kinda like it... don't need a whole bottle of it though.

[nancybridget]

Wow! This isn't something I'd wear, but it evoked a memory response. My lovely, since passed, Irish grandmother would mix Palmolive liquid soap with some water to make me homemade bubblestuff. She'd do this in the lazy summertime when I was little, as a way for me to run around the yard and blow bubbles to my heart's content. The first sniff reminded me of that...

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: violets, mmmm lovely violets. Me likes!

 

On my skin: violets and something else, something less sweet, maybe gardenia but I'm not too familiar with the smell of gardenia so I couldn't be sure.

 

After a couple of hours: there's something annoying under the violet. Something green and a little astringent. But I can't really say what it is. The violet stays prominent but this other note makes it less perfect than Ultraviolet, for example.

 

Verdict: very nice (violets always are!) but not the perfect one for me.

[smallvoice]

I'm almost afraid to post this, because it sounds so absurd.... but I think this smells a lot like cucumber, and I've found that I do not like the scent of cucumbers. Yeah, I don't get a lot out of it, and I'm wondering if it is the gardenia giving that scent... it reminds me a little of my lovely Euphrosyne, but is not nearly as wonderful to me. (When did I start loving rose? I've never loved the scent of roses!)

 

All this talk of violet candy and violet gum makes me want to try some! I wish the violets were a little bit stronger to maybe balance and ground this, but it just doesn't smell good on me.

[Deiicide]

Going down the family scents of violet, I thought that Le Serpant would be the king of scents for me. Vanilla, Gardiana and Violet? Sign me up. I was so hoping for this oil to work upon me, but the only thing it did was give me overwhelming stomach turning violets with a bit of vanilla and gardina. It's more of a one man violet parade upon me with the other notes. I may try it again, but regretfully it doesn't work with me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I love Baudelaire. Had to give this a shot. Hmph, violet just really doesn't work too well on me. It turns into this strange sort of fake-floral with a plastic edge, like...like a My Little Pony. That's exactly what it reminds me of. The vanilla is nice but not enough to save it.