Severin

[OriginalWacky]

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the Father of Masochism and sexual surrender, had planned on writing six volumes of erotic literature entitled The Heritage of Cain. Only the first two volumes were completed, the more famous of the two being the notorious Venus in Furs. This novel tells the tale of a man, Severin, that enters into a relationship of slavery and increasingly debauched degradation with his mistress, Wanda. Dry black teas, Earl Gray, and leather.

Bottle (Imp): Ooh, that's a very different scent. Sweet, tart, astringent-y? I'll have to try it.

Just On: Uh oh, astringent and bandaids. The bandaids seem to be fading though. I think I'm getting some citrus in here.

An hour or two later: It's almost gone, and I still do get some whiffs of bandaids (but not used ones). My skin seems to have soaked up everything sweet in it and left me with a bandaid smell, just like I put a bandaid on moments ago.

Around 6 hours: Now it's almost all gone, with that last bit of fresh bandaid scent. Let me explain the bandaid here. This is not old crappy smelly bandaids, just one that has been opened and JUST applied to the skin. It's not something I'd want to wear alot or something, but it's not awful either.

12 hours: It mostly faded, and that's okay with me. This doesn't jump into my top list, but I'm very happy I got to try it. I'm going to try a bit in the lamp warmer tonight, because it smells rather nice in the bottle (gifted shorty bottle).

Overall: I think it's okay, but I'm not in a hurry to pay for more. I'm extremely grateful to the forumite who gifted this to me, and if I don't feel more happy happy joy joy about it in the lamp warmer tonight, I'll be gifting it to someone unsuspecting.

After reading other reviews: I certainly didn't get the lemon everybody talked about, and I didn't really get a hint of leather or tea. Just giving it a shot in the warmer might give me those things better though. I'm rather surprised based on the description that I don't love this (well, more like it didn't love me). I do see now that it was the bergamot that I smelled that was tart and sweet (I think).

[slave1]

In Bottle: Lemon and tea.

 

On Skin: Obviously, the tea is strong in this scent. I also smell lemon strongly. The leather is less obvious and seductively in the background. I really like this scent and would love to smell it on my husband but he isn’t humoring my BPAL obsession anymore…

[tsarina]

This smells beautifully of tea, fresh hot black tea poured into the cup. You can pick up the hot smell of lemon slices dropped into the cup. In the background, there's something masculine and darker. (The leather perhaps?)

 

This scent has that first strong burst, and then settles down to be very subtle and light scent. It's lovely with that citrusy note. It's so unique, I can't decide what time of day or year it would suit best. I would love to have bubble bath or soap scented with Severin.

[quikslvr]

Lemon. Way too strong at first, then fades fast. Beautiful scent, but not me, nor long-lasting. I got no leather out of it.

[elphaba]

I'm getting to know bergamot quite well in my quest for a perfect tea scent. It seems as soon as I put on a blend containing it, I'm assaulted with LEMON. Hello bergamot.

 

While wet, Severin was strong bergamot with a nice leathery scent underneath. The leather is wonderful, but it's kind of getting lost beneath my skin's love/hate relationship with bergamot.

 

Fifteen minutes in, both the bergamot and leather have faded a bit and mingled to become a really nice, masculine scent. There's not much throw, but the scent on my skin is pronounced.

 

An hour in: The black tea has started to come out now. Everything is even fainter than before.

 

Two hours: very faint tea and leather. This is my favorite phase. I wish it was stronger. It's really barely there.

 

Three hours: more or less gone.

Edited January 26, 2006 by elphaba

[mmcfa2]

This one is the ultimate clean fresh scent for me!!

 

After trying Alice, kumiho, white rabbit, embalming fluid, empyreal mist and quite a few others in search of a fresh clean scent I got an imp of severin and almost fainted dead away. Swoon!! It's clean without being laundry, it's bright without being sour. it has a childhood pull that I can't pin down but that makes me feel really good

 

I know the story behind this scent, but to me it is sunshine and lemonhead candy folllowed by a good book and a snuggly nap

[vyvyan]

Lemon? Why is there lemon?!

 

Wet on, that's all I get. This really bright, crisp lemon scent. Nice, but I was expecting tea!

 

As it dries, the tea starts to come out a bit, but the drydown stays very stable - smells like lemon-flavored Lipton tea that some lemon-fancier has added ReaLemon to. Very dry, crisp lemon-tea-lemon scent, but I'm looking for something with a tad more of the tea and a tad less of the citrus.

[bellis]

This really is leather, tea, and lemon. Tea scents generally like me, and this is just gorgeous on my skin. The leather is rich and worn and lived in. The Earl Grey is perfect. I like this on me, but I would LOVE to have a man to put it on.

[donsixgun]

I can smell the Earl Gray, and what seems to be a hint of citrus. No sign of the leather though. It’s a fresh, mellow smell...and this is what leads to the problem...Its too mellow. In fact, I put it on, and I have to bring my wrists to my nose to smell it. And its totally faded away after a few minutes. If it had staying power on me, I would adore it. Im sending it to my sweetie.

[girlmadasbirds]

citrus tea and a new leather jacket. very interesting scent.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I love Severin. However, ours was a troubled, if not dysfunctional relationship. To be quite blunt, his "staying power" was just "meh". I tried to say it didn't matter but after straying once too often, I realized that it did.

 

I asked my BPAL sisters & brothers for advice. "Severin is my love but how can I get him to "last" longer?" I tried a few but with less than satifactory results. The scent locket put me over the edge. It kept my beloved close but we were not actually touching. That drove me crazy. I needed him to be touching me!

 

The all to wispy scent of bergamot & leather was enticing, but so elusive. A woman can only stand to be teased so much before she either walks away or submits to insanity.

 

I submitted.

[slugbait]

After putting this on, it was sharp lemon note. It smelled as if the tea was trying to get through, but it never made it because the lemon would smack it back down. Then it died. Completely. Lasted a whopping 5 minutes. My skin ate it entirely. The leather never even made a debut. How odd. This smelled nothing like the description. I blame my chemistry for this one. I really wanted a good tea scent Into the swap pile you go!

[HoneyHoneyNY]

I got this imp from an ebay lot.

 

In the imp: I can smell the citrus in this blend, that beautiful bergamot smell.

 

On my skin, the bergamot comes right out front, but I can also smell the tea, and a bit of the leather, but only a hint, and I may be imagining things. At first it smells a bit masculine, but not overtly so. I like it on me, but I could imagine it being luscious on a man.

 

As my skin warms the oils, I can pick up the leather more, a lovely almost musky skin scent. In my mind, this is like sitting in a warm leather chair having a hot cup of Earl Grey. Nothing is particularly strong, but it all blends to make an extremely lovely, sensual smell. It makes me want to curl up and purr. I'm definitely getting a big bottle of this.

[dcmo]

Severin is light, clean, and fresh smelling. Really nice for this unbearable heat we have! I do pick up the tea scent, as well as lemon and as it dries, just a touch of leather underneath. This is really nice and think it could work for a male or female. Unfortunately not as long lasting or as much throw as I would like.

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

Citrus tea. Definitely a strong black tea with a squeeze of bergamot.

Wet, on Skin:

Whoa! The tea is quite strong here, but the astringency plus a salty, darker note makes this smell very much like LUSH's Ocean Salt scrub... but just for a moment.

Drying Down:

It's heading more towards the smell of a fresh leather jacket squished between fingertips.

Dry on Skin:

Leather, mostly.

Over Time/Longterm:

Leather, but very, very faint. Severin left my skin quite rapidly.

Final Verdict?

If you like light leather scents, give Severin a shot. Not my style.

[mistri]

I could smell everything at once with this scent - the mix of tea and bergamot, and the leather, too. I was worried about it's longevity, after reading some reviews, but on me (and I'm not particularly a slatherer), this lasts as well as pretty much everything else I have. It's a light scent, sure, but I could still smell it on my wrists at the end of a day at work.

 

The scent reminds me of sipping on earl grey, while I'm reading a book. I love it! This scent has instantly jumped into my top five. I'd say top three, but Alice keeps fighting for that spot too.

Edited July 30, 2005 by mistri

[Bellatrix]

The poster right above me said it reminded them of sipping Earl Grey while reading a book, and I have to agree completely! The Earl Grey is what comes out the most on my skin, with just a hint of the leather roaming in the background. Utterly soothing. This is going on the big bottle list!

[sophia_helix]

A brief review -- I tested a dab of this quickly before swapping with a friend. On me, all about lemon, and the kind of lemon that I hate. Both Szesspazony and Embalming Fluid were a sickly lemon, and this was no exception, although it did turn more like lemon iced tea on me. A fake, over-sweet kind like canned Arizona tea, and not at all something I was into.

 

Dunno if it's lemon or tea scents that don't work for me (although the lemon in Storm Moon is wonderfully refreshing on my skin), but if lemon is a problem for you I would avoid this.

 

Luckily, Severin ended up my friend's favorite scent, so at least she's enjoying it.

[Blueelm]

As others have said, this smells like Earl Grey tea. Tea and lemon, bergamot, and even hot water. So exiting and unusual. I love tea scents, and I particularly love that this is not a tea/floral.

 

As it wears it gets more clean or fresh smelling. I get just the faintest hint of the leather. I would not call this a leathery scent at all.

 

Then it is gone. Gone within minutes. I keep re-applying because I love the scent so much. I wish this lasted

[Little Bird]

First impression of Severin: Sharp lemon. Kind of herbal. Sort of like lemon and black licorice. Reminds me of lemon cough drops. A bit gross.

 

Lemony tea and leather is not a good combination on me. Not a good combination at all. This is incredibly light, but it still smells very off on me. Very medicinal in the drydown, reminds me of band-aids.

 

15 minutes later. It's gone. I don't smell anything at all. This was probably the fastest disappearing BPAL that I've tried to date.

 

Severin is going onto my swaps list, I hope that someone else will love it.

[urraca]

This was a lab frimp and I really like it. It is the first tea scent in which I can actually detect the tea. It seems almost a miracle that Beth can make us smell like tea. First on I smell both black tea and Earl Grey tea. The tea fades and the leather comes through. It morphs from being a old book leather scent into something more like saddle leather. Really nice. But it fades quickly, alas. I wouldn't have bought this because, although I love the way Beth's masculine scents smell, I don't want to smell them on me and I don't have a suitably compliant male to slather them on (I guess I should channel my inner Wanda). But this one really is "wimpy" enough for me to wear. It is a perfect evocation of its subject and worth smelling for that alone.

[brownbear]

mmmm

 

This was so much softer, lighter, and cleaner than I expected.

I get a lot of citrus in this, either lemon or bergamot. I also get tea. No leather though.

 

This doesn't change a whole lot on my skin, but it disappears very quickly. I like this one a lot, I just wish it lasted.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: oh wow, this is gorgeous. It's all Earl Grey, strong black cups of it.

 

wet on skin: Not a hint of leather to be found, thankfully, as I was a little wary of that. I'm not ordinarily fond of leather scents. This is a lovely black tea, with the Earl Grey hints of bergamot, one of my favourite smells in the world.

 

dry: More of the same, with a slight hint of lemon. Despite the fact that I normally take my Earl Grey with cream and sugar, this is very much a keeper.

[sookster]

Tea....oh Glorious Tea with a hint of citrus and some luscious sweet white wine

Glorious is what Severin is without a doubt.

 

After some time, it turns a bit creamier and softer.

And I get just a nibble of leather to round things out.

 

an OMG scent that is, without a doubt, on the next order.

Big bottle....huge....

Edited August 30, 2005 by sookster

[gangstaknitta]

In bottle: energizing--clean, citrusy and a little bite...like ginger

 

Wet: lemon lemon lemon...still with a bit of a bite

 

Dry: this scent goes kind of rancid on me. I've never had that happen before with a blend.