Wanda

[Lady Ravenglass]

Along with Loviatar, she has become something of a Patron Goddess of all Dominatrixes, Wanda is the breathtakingly beautiful sable-wrapped marble queen of Sacher-Masoch's fantasies. Her scent is a deep red merlot with a faint hint of leather, sexual musk and body heat over crushed roses, violets and myrtle.

In the vial, it smelt lovely - sweet and darker than normal. On the skin it stayed sweet and floral and edible. Drydown, on the other hand... I smell like the Miss Selfrige 'Heart' solid perfume! This is very odd... It's a nice smell, just not one I was expecting. I'll certainly try it again, but I don't think this is a big bottle scent for me. Apologies to Anita Blake, as this was a gift from her precious stash of Wanda!

[NoirRosaleen]

Wanda was another freebie, and all I can say is....

 

...WOW.

 

In the bottle, the red wine is very present, and it stays that way on my skin, constantly saying "Red wine! Red wine!" whenever I move - perhaps mixed with the roses I*ve seen mentioned? Up close, though, the musk and warmth can be smelt. No idea where the leather*s got to, though - I*ve worn this a few times now, and hadn*t a clue there was supposed to be leather in there.

 

Next time I*ve got extra cash, I*m buying at LEAST a 5ml. I*m so happy - I wasn*t even thinking about trying this one and it worked out so well!

 

Kethry

[Amazon]

Wanda

 

My first review...and i suck at picking out notes, so bear with me.

 

In the bottle you get a strong whiff of the merlot overlayed with the violets and what I assume is myrtle (no idea what that smells like). Very sweet and slightly heady scent.

 

On the skin wet, still very strong wine and some leather scent. Also smell a tiny chocolate scent that disappears very quickly...very nice.

 

On the drydown, the wine has mellowed up and the floral scent has come out to play a bit. No hint of the chocolate I scented and the leather is slightly present in the background.

 

Overall I LOVE this scent. Great mix of sweet and floral and has great lasting power. Not too heavy, and I love getting a whiff of it as I move. I'll be getting a bigger bottle of this down the road.

[allidavie]

This smelled exactly, exactly like nail polish remover on me from the moment I put it on. I gave it time to settle down, but still I got the acetone smell. It may be that violets and I don't get along... The first (and only) time I tried to use a Lush Bathos bubble bar I literally jumped out of the tub so I didn't have to be in the bathroom while it drained. Off to the swaps with you, Wanda!

[Camilla T]

This is a wonderful scent!!

 

In the vial it's very boozy and made me postpone trying it for a while. I was afraid it was one of those overpowering scents. But it's just lovely on the skin.

 

The merlot calms down a bit to something sweet and sharp at the same time. And then the florals come out to play. I get the scent of a wonderful deep red, almost black rose and very purple violets that mix ine the most wonderful way. It's floral but not light. It's deep and dark, but not headache inducing. This is gorgeous!!!!

 

Behind it all there is the leather - very faint on me, though. It does come out more later on when it has dried down.

 

This is a scent that makes me feel powerful and womanly, in a very grown-up way! How I love it

[lavinia]

Oh My

This has taken me quite by surprise...I am in love with Wanda! I bought this b/c of the great reviews and the fact that it has so many things in it that I adore added to the mystique of the literary reference of Wanda herself.

Okay...I knew I would like it but- hold the phones...

I need a big bottle immediately...I love everything about this one. The violets, the musk, the leather, the red wine, the rose...ahhhh...orgasmic

This one stays pretty true on me from bottle to wrist to dry-down. Purely sexual and so enticing...I feel a bit of a rush when I breathe it in.

I will definitely need more and will be wearing this one when I need to turn up the volume and the heat!

Beth, this is great perfumery at its finest...thank you

[Eldritch]

Wow, Wanda surprised me as well. I normally stay away from the "overly sexed" smells because it doesn't fit my personality. I got Wanda in a swap, however, and was very pleasently surprised.

 

In bottle: Leather and roses! Spoiled roses, maybe rotting a little in the core--is that the wine? It's a very damp, corrupted scent.

 

On applying: Wow. I've never ran across a "wine" scent that actually smelled like the physical thing. What I first thought was roses revealed itself to be unapologetic merlot on my skin. You even get that faint acidic, bottled scent as with real wine. This stage is very brief however (thankfully, because I wouldn't want to walk around smelling like a booze cabinet) and a variety of interesting things happen.

 

On dry down: Wanda is so interesting. At normal distance, I just get this pleasent wafty smell of muted leather and something subtly sweet--berries? Only when I lower my nose to my wrist do I get the sweet smell of currant. Mmm.

 

After a couple hours: The leather has a real staying power on me. Most of the wine is gone, but it's left with this nice, clean, feminine leather. Empowered yet not overpowering. Confident, with just a touch of red-berry in there somewhere.

 

Over all: I'm very pleased with this scent. I have trouble finding dark or sultry scents that don't scream "sex musk!" on me. I adore the way Wanda seperates into an subdued outer scent (leather, cool night, touch of red) and an inner, skin-contact scent (mulled wine, currant and candlelight, just a touch of defiant leather). It's a scent I wouldn't mind wearing every day, yet with that undercurrent that denotes there's more than meets the eye. It makes me wish I had an SO around who WOULD be smelling my pulsepoints. Definately getting a big bottle.

[Ishtar]

Wanda is a very red, very bold scent (well, duh, with that name, who would expect a frilly, understated fragrance?) with a definite wine note when wet. Very nice.

 

On my skin, the wine remains the most prominent note even though the musk and florals are also vying for attention. There is quite a bit going on here, I can't wait for it to settle and to see where it takes us.

 

It is only after complete drydown that the leather comes through, making Wanda less of an everyday scent than I would have initially thought. I like it a lot, but I will need to be in the right mood to wear it. It ultimately reminds me of a smoother Old Madrid.

[antimony]

The rich beautiful wine scent evaporated on my skin in the first 30 seconds, and I was *so* disappointed.

 

Then it morphed into roses and grape soda.

 

Over the next hour or so, it has become more roses and leather, and less grape. Unfortunatel, that's making it kind of dry and bitter smelling.

 

It's kind of like going to bed with someone like an ex-boyfriend, having fabulous sex, then as you lie there, realizing you don't actually like this person, and this would really be a great time for them to leave.

[Lit Chick]

I am having the oddest time with Wanda! I put her on, she vanishes. A few hours later, she's back, but not for long. She's completely abandoned my left wrist.

I can't even smell her long enough to analyze the scent!

The whiffs I do catch are very nice - a sexy musky floral that's balanced and not overdone.

I'll try her again in a few weeks - maybe my skin will behave better.

[pekeana]

In the vial, Wanda is all wine and the hot slap of leather.

 

On me, it's all wine and leather with the faintest undertone of floral and hot, wet musk. It's all about sexuality and control, and boy, do I love it. *big thumbs up* I also, after a while, get a hint of something citrus, but that might be my skin reacting to the leather notes -- I got a similar effect in Perversion and Severin.

[FireInCairo]

Wanda is very very very floral. It smells of whiskey and florals to me. I'm sure that sounds like a peculiar thing- but the blend is quite charming. It is a very complex floral as well. Many different florals are represented in this blend. The dry down is very pleasant....it goes very faint and whisper light.

[Fyre_in_Winter]

In the vial I smell the wine and heady florals, and it is very sweet. Wet on my skin it smells like grape Kool-Aid (?!) for a few seconds before it establishes itself. The floral predominates, especially the rose, which luckily the wine barely heads off. The leather was extremely light, just giving a slight roundness to the scent.

 

Wanda was much lovelier than I thought from the description, but it doesn't suit "me." As time goes on the wine becomes a bit more pronounced and I don't like it as much. Off to the swap pile.

Edited December 29, 2004 by Fyre_in_Winter

[VorpalBunny]

I see why Wanda is so popular. It smells like berry with a hint of wine (but without a booziness), like a grownup Bon Vivant, and then the leather comes out, and maybe a hint of vanilla or tonka bean or something, and then the floral comes out a bit later, faint enough to add to the complexity but nice and subtle. It is so wonderful. Wearing it, I feel sexy and empowered and feminine. I must get a big bottle of this one.

[summer]

Out of the bottle and wet on the skin, I thought this was going to be a fruity perfume. And although I've had my imp for ages, I didn't really give it a full-day's chance until yesterday, and I'm so glad I did!

 

First of all, this is one of the most long-wearing BPALs I've come across. I applied a few drops to my wrists and behind my ears at 7:30am, and I could still smell it strongly at 8:00pm. In fact, it's still detectable this morning!

 

The fragrance went through three distinct phases. Like I said, it started out fruity -- kind of red grapey and plummy. Then after about an hour, it started becoming very "perfumey," and I started to wonder if Wanda wasn't too "grown-up" smelling for me. It was most definitely the perfume of a WOMAN -- a haughty, shameless, powerful woman who gets what she wants. Strong wines & florals. I found it a bit intimidating, to tell you the truth!

 

However, as the day wore on . . . either the scent settled into me, or I settled in to it! I started feeling a lot more comfortable wearing this unapologetically feminine and sexual perfume. And the more I settled in to that notion, the more fantastic the oil started to smell on my skin. As the day wore on, some of the sharpness wore off, and it became this warm, languid floral with a kind of musky/fruity base. Absolutely gorgeous. Fortunately, this phase was the most enduring -- it easily lasted a good 6 or 7 hours.

 

I'm so pleased that I gave Wanda another chance -- it's an evokative, complex beauty. I look forward to getting to know it even better.

[etherealchild]

In The Bottle Musk......mmmmm

 

Wet I literally smell sweat. Crushed petals are coming through. Oh wow, this smells like a woman's perfumed skin right after sex. Very lusty. ::slathers on more:: This is what I imagine le Petite Mort smells like.... vauge wiff of leather in the background....

 

Drydown Wine is coming through....... I smell boozy..... which is something I'm usually trying to cover up but in this smells rich and sexy....... The myrtle and the rose smell lovely, it's an indulgent floral. The musk is faint and breathy.....

 

Two Hours Later This is a dizzying, seductive scent...... strangely I get the sense of submissive love from it..... I feel like I should be pressed face down into bed linens, not standing over a man pressing a stiletto into his chest...... I don't think that's what Beth was going for but it got interpreted on my skin that way.....

 

Verdict pretty scent, but not really me..... one of those as-the-mood-strikes-me kind of fragrences........ gorgeous none the less......

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Sweet wine with an after effect of sensual leather. Oh my god. Please let this stay true on me!!!

 

On Me: Oh My! *sniff*

 

Oh My! *sniff sniff*

 

OH MY! *sniff, purr, lick*

 

Sex in a bottle? Oh yes, oh yes! Sexy, sexy, sexy. This is sexual power, sexual heat, sexual friction. This is a boot being licked, a man on his knees begging for release, this is leather cuffs and leather corsets and riding crops! This is stilleto boots and ride-me-hard-red lips. This is men bent so that you can sit on them and shivering in delight from being dominated...

 

Err...

 

Ummm...not that I would really know anything about that.

 

Honestly....

 

Hmmmm....

 

*puts imp away for....private use. Not for use outside of.....play areas....*

 

[fairywingmaker]

This is exactly as it is described. The Merlot, and musk with florals are making themselves known as soon as I put this on my skin. Later the Leather comes up, but it's soft. This isn't a heavy scent to me. It's soft with that warm undertone.

[Julilla Regina]

Oh yeah! This is a sophisticated lady into alternative love styles, all right. A librarian by day who puts on a corset and lets 'em know who's boss at night.

 

The first thing I smelled was booze, the wine of course. It didn't take long for this to calm down and really let the leather loose. And then very gently the floral comes peeking out. It's such a well blended fragrance, it doesn't seem to change on me much like other blends have done. It's all there, perfect and smooth and sexy. This would be perfect for a hot date...erm, the kind where you know your partner is going to get lucky. I love it!

[Reinaluna]

Wanda, I dont remember reveiwing her yet so here I go. When first applied I can smell the merlot and just a little rose, I smell no leather or myrtle. This is a nice unusuale scent. I wont get a bottle but I will keep the imp.

Edited January 13, 2005 by Reinaluna

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: This smells like a really, really good red wine. With flowers.

 

Wearing: Ooh, leather! The alcoholic note stays for a few seconds, then retreats into a slight fruitiness with the flowers still backing it up. This is quite lovely.

 

Later: Smelling directly on my skin, it's dusty, powdery flowers, but around me is still the smell of the wine. The leather remains simply to thicken, deepen, and slightly darken the blend, not to jump out and make things overtly sexual.

 

Overall: Beautiful! When I'm in a super leather mood I will stick with Perversion, but if I want a little hint of it in a more feminine, sophisticated context, I will wear this.

[shelldoo]

A friend read the site description and said that one is definitely you. I love wine scents so I agreed, ordered an imp, wish I had ordered a bottle.

 

in the vial: grapey sweet grapey not really wine more like fresh grape

 

wet: still very grapey but the wine smell is starting to show up

 

dry down: the wine is a lovely sweet wine, dark swirling communion wine. there is a floral background but the leather and wine keep it from getting to girly feminine the kind of floral i don't care for, this is a dark, marture (not old) sexy floral. this fragrance could be a passion for me. I almost almost can see wanda fifghting Tintagel for #1

[tart]

Well hey, this isn't so bad! When I first applied Wanda, I said to myself, "Amazing -- you smell like you spilled red wine all over yourself!" All of the florals come out once dry, though. The floral bouquet reminds me a lot of Phantom Queen, but with the nagging insistence of leather underneath. Wanda is much lighter than I expected it would be! The wine really calms down once the oil dries, fading into a sharp top note that blends with all of the flowers.

[tempete]

Wanda started out as a splash of grape juice (as almost all wine-containing BPALs do). She then proceeded to flit through several versions - grape juice, musky rose (kind of similar to Black Rose, though the musk wasn't as strong) and grape-y rose - before settling on a juicy, slightly musky rose. The rose note goes slightly powdery, and I never really detected any leather. This final drydown actually wasn't too bad, but I really do not like smelling like grape juice, so Wanda will probably be swapped away.

[Aurelius]

When I first applied Wanda I loved it! Yum! Juicy bright merlot with an undercurrent of leather. It was really rich and naughty.

 

Sadly, on the drydown Wanda morphed. It became a bit powdery and then dissolved into cheap motel soap. Stupid skin chemistry. It really was lovely in the beginning.