Van Van

[starfish327]

A venerable voodoo blend, used for purification of the spirit and to amplify positive personal power.

 

the impression I got opening this imp was...Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry era.

Don't ask.

Scentwise I get the feeling that if Doc Constantine took a bath and put on some Goldbond powder. It doesn't smell bad but I would layer it with something to dirty it up a bit if I wanted to wear it as a skin scent.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Deeply golden. Soft lemon and a glowing resin.

 

Drydown: Lemon and honey, spiced with jasmine and what might be patchouli. After a few minutes the vanilla joins, followed by herbs (hyssop and chamomile maybe?).

 

Dry: Lemon-honey, amber, patchouli, and herbs. Golden, glowing, sweet, fresh, and warm.

 

 

 

7.5 out of 10 bones

[loubric]

In the bottle it's very sweet and lemony with hints of amber and dusty books.

 

On me it's very herby and gold. It's very warm and spicy. Not something I would wear on a daily bais but I think if used in meditation or if I want to channel a specific purpose it can be used nicely. On drydown it's softer but still very spicy, slightly powdery.

 

I think I might try layering with something a little sweeter to balance the sharpness.

 

Layered it with some Croquet and woah that blends wonderfully.

[batsy]

In the vial: gun powder. Burning gun powder. I actually coughed.

 

On the skin: Lemon Pledge and burning gun powder. I don't know; I would certainly say this blend does not work for me. Even after dry down, it's a burning, bitter, medicinal herb scent. And that's that.

[Greenwoodtree]

Gunpowder and lemons.

 

Dry-down it becomes gunpowder, airplane exhaust (jet fuel?), and a touch of lemon.

 

Still waiting...

 

It's mellowing but that's the scent I'm getting. Not something I would wear...maybe for anointing objects, but thats it. Maybe to use on the car?

[Malaena]

This is a sharp, powdery floral that borders on plastic. Argggg!

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Slightly bitter and herbal.

Wet: Weirdly foody. Like a lemon drizzle cake.

Dry: The foodiness is all gone and it's a nice, light, sweet herbal. I'm not familiar with sweet grass so I don't know how this compares. It's not quite enough for me to wear as a daily perfume, but it's a nice cozy scent and I like to use those after a long bath so chill me out for the evening. Won't by a full bottle, but Ill definitely use the imp up.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Pure lemon oil. Something a little green and herbal underneath.

 

 

Dry: Really unpleasant on me. Smells like lemon and rotting vegetation and herbs.

[Casablanca]

Another voodoo blend with no listed notes. I've had no luck with this voodoo line so far.

First impression: citrus, in particular lemon and grapefruit, and maybe also bergamot. Then I think I smell honey, and Van Van makes a sharp turn toward lemon-honey cough drop, with maybe something green underneath, like basil and grass mixed.

The cough-drop lemon amps to high hell on me over time.

Not for me.

[lizabelle]

This is a gem. Powdery, but still warm; resiny, but not overpowering. The strongest note I detect is citrus, probably lemon as others have mentioned. I do smell honey, but it's like honey with the sweetness removed. It doesn't take over like in some honey perfumes and it's not overly sweet. There's definitely some flowers and maybe some herbs in there, but they blend in to support the lemon and resins instead of taking over. I'd believe the chamomile, because I get the same feeling from it as I do from chamomile tea. Restful but still cheery.

 

Interestingly it seems like it should have a huge presence, but the throw is actually quite small. When I get up close to my wrist it's powerful, though. I usually stay away from skin scents (if I paid for it, I don't want to be the only one who can smell it!) but this feels personal in a nice way. Definitely a golden/orange colored scent. Probably full bottle worthy for me.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A resinous, woody scent, perhaps cedar, with herbal, aromatic overtones.

 

Wet: Ah, there's the lemon! But it's a complicated, herbal lemon, like a really fancy cocktail (minus the alcoholic tang) or artisan lemonade - rosemary popped into my mind, and my boyfriend said he smelled lavender, both of which I could easily believe. The aromatic elements remain, although toned down and blending beautifully with the lemon, and the woody note that's almost definitely cedar pretty much gone entirely. It's fresh, uplifting, and intriguing. I think this one is going to be in HEAVY rotation this spring and summer.

 

Dry: The lemon burns off and a mellow, resinous scent creeps back in over time. I'm guessing this is the cedar, although it's not as distinctive as ITI. More like cedar sap/resin or amber (or even, as others have noted, honey). There's also an almost powdery sweetness - I'd believe that this is chamomile, although it's not doing the bubblegum hyper-sweetness that it does in other blends. Woot!

[gloame]

This is unique as fk. It smells like spicy grass about to catch fire. A brushfire waiting to happen. Like the potential for purification is in the scent itself. Wow. I wouldn't wear this, but I'd use it for the house for spring-spirit-cleaning.

 

Where I'd use this: Spring-spirit-cleaning the house.

[roseus]

In the imp: medicinal and sharp

 

Wet: herbal and lemony

 

Dry: Similar but it gets sharp and herbal again. I think the sharpness is coming from cedar. Not for me!

[achildoftime]

I get some musky lemon. I don't find it particularly pleasant. It's pretty astringent and smells very utilitarian for an oil. I'm only testing for smell, and it's not really for me.

[doomsday_disco]

A small amount of this oil was decanted from an imp and has aged for 4+ years.

 

In the decant: Strong musk, honey, and a resin (I'm thinking myrrh or benzoin), and some herbs. It's rather powdery.

 

Wet: Musky (maybe a brown musk – definitely not white, red, or black), resinous, and really powdery. It smells as if I've fallen into a pool of baby powder.

 

Dry: Musk and a dark resin that is still somewhat dry and sharp. The scent is still powdery on me, but not nearly as powdery as it was before. There's also a lemon-y quality to the scent.

 

Verdict: I cannot attest to its purpose, but as far as the scent is concerned, this one is too powdery and sharply resinous on me.

[h_yeti]

This smells a lot like this sachet of lemon-honey chamomile tea I've had in my tea jar for ever- warm, herbal, citrusy and kind of dusty... The honey is very subtle, just provides some gentle sweetness in the background. I found it a bit too musty and medicinal smelling to enjoy at first, but that dissipated after an hour or so and I was left with a pretty mild lemon and herbs scent. Still, not really something I feel much desire to wear again- I think I actually would have preferred it more if the lemon came off a bit fresher smelling on my skin. As it is it's just too medicinal for me!

Edited May 24, 2018 by h_yeti

[Lucchesa]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed Van Van. It's one of my power scents, and one of the few BPALs I've been complimented on at work (by someone with a keen nose, because I don't wear anything with much sillage). It's very lemony, but I would guess lemongrass or lemon verbena rather than citrus. Warm lemony herbs with dry woody herbs, honey and a little dark musk? I understand where it might strike some of you as medicinal, but on my skin it's pleasantly golden. And it gives me a psychic boost -- what more could I ask?

[Cali]

Hmm. Herbs, linen, something slightly sappy green/yellow (lime?) and something strong, sour and musky. 

 

...Agreeing with the Clint Eastwood comment above. I can't pinpoint exactly what's in here. Doesn't work for me!

[AdriaStaley]

For me this starts off in the imp as straight up lemon cookie. A juicy smell almost. It’s delicious. On the skin and when I rub my wrists together there’s a dusty-ness to it but not a bad smell almost like a dusty rose. Maybe a patchouli vibe in there too. Fresh cut pink roses is what I imagine for the rose smell I get when I get it. As the day goes on it fades nicely. Doesn’t last as long as I’d like. Some days lemon is more prominent and some the rose patchouli pops out more. Today the vanilla lemon cookie is strong. I adore it. My boyfriend absolutely goes nuts for this one on me. He calls it “that sexy lemon cookie smell” 

[VetchVesper]

Lemon grass. I know b/c unlike actual lemon, it goes weird and swampy on me. It's not terrible here, but I'm getting that undercurrent of swamp. I'm also getting some baby powder and something darker. Not for me. 

[Alisha_SBC]

This is nice. I am not expert enough to pick out scents but I get a soft sweetness from this—almost like a whiff of buttery caramel or something when I put my nose right up there and sniff deep. Maybe a hint of lemon? But this isn't foodie at all so I'm probably describing it wrong, haha. There's some powderiness—yup, like baby powder—but it isn't taking over. In my elbow I get a slightly more herbal, dare I say smoky, note. Like sage smudging almost. The citrusy backnote is definitely there but hard to identify. Lemon peel maybe, or possibly a lemony flower? I keep getting an edge of a floral but can't identify.

 

I can see why people say this is a calming scent. It is, but it's not wowing me enough to want a full bottle. I take solace in the fact that despite being powdery, its not giving me a headache at all.

 

Edit to add: Ok, as this dries down I get a soft rose. I see why people compare this to lemon sugar cookies somewhat. It's not foodie by any means but I get the impression of rose petals sprinkled atop vanilla-lemon shortbread. The smokiness in my elbow is gone. This really morphed into something quite lovely and I may need to reasses getting a full size now.

 

Forgot I reviewed this so did a more recent one 6/29/20. My opinion is pretty much unchanged:

In the imp I'm trying to identify what this smells like to me. A touch vanilla, maybe hints of something like soft leather or furry musk? My nose isn't as trained as many here, haha.

On my skin, though, this is definitely nice. A vanilla leaning scented breeze in a sunbaked field. A touch of something floral but I cannot identify what. There is a powderiness but its not baby powder, thank goodness.

This is calming and lovely.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Alisha_SBC
Further testing/wear

[silverbottle]

A little soapy-floral, a little sweet-lemony?
 

The initial scent actually reminded me of lemon drops. As time passes, it keeps that softly sweet, sort-of-lemon smell, but goes more floral and faintly soapy (in a pleasant way). It genuinely reminds me of something like expensive scented hand soap.
 

Light, comforting, clean, and uplifting. Not quite my thing, but pleasant.

[Laughing Seagull]

Delicious lemon Bundt cake and...  Something else.  I'm having trouble figuring out what the Something Else is.  Patchouli?  Vanilla going weird?  It reminds me of a component that I didn't like in Snake Oil, so I figure it must be one of those two things.

 

It's SO close to being highly enjoyable, but that "Something Else" is really bugging me.

[alyelle]

A freebie with my latest order.

 

In the imp: Smoke and brimstone, the tiniest hint of a sweet bright floral with aquatic tones - almost like a eucalypt blossom or river mint. I see some reviewers have mentioned lemon, which fills me with dread, but here goes.

 

Wet: ... fkn lemon pledge. Gasoline flower, not eucalypt, burned love letters, and lemon pledge.

 

Dry: Strong lemongrass for a short time, and then, mercifully, nothing. I never had to wash this off so it's a small step up from most lemon scents, but not at all what I was expecting/hoping for after sniffing the imp. On me, quite short lived and just a hint shy of the strong throw I got from Whitechapel, but a similar overall effect.

 

Stars: ★½ (I hate lemon unequivocally, but the initial scent was intriguing, I wish it stayed that way)

[Rane.]

The first imp I received was in 2018. I thought it smelled like off or burnt baked cookies. I received another imp recently with an order, & this smells herbal, & bright. I want to say there is lemongrass or lemon verbena in this. Something is lighting this up.