Judith Victorious

[edenssixthday]

 

Judith Victorious, Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Chestnut blossom, lily of the valley, King mandarin, French magnolia, and golden musk.

 

Judith Victorious – What an interesting scent. Even though "chestnut blossom" is the first note listed, I distinctly smell chestnuts and the scent of lily of the valley immediately behind it. The mandarin is very soft, but lends a subtle touch of bright sweetness to the scent, and the magnolia's fragrance is present, but barely discernible. The golden musk must be the warm, golden scent that envelopes all the rest of the notes, pulling them together and making them actually work together. This is an incredibly strong scent – very fragrant, aromatic, and with a touch of warm goodness that comes from the chestnut note. While it's really not my type of fragrance, it’s definitely an interesting one that is very androgynous and quite unique. The sillage is incredibly strong, as is the staying power.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[filigree_shadow]

In the imp: Nutty. A little bit of mandarin.

 

Wet: Mmmm. This smells good. It kind of smells a little foody. I don't know what chestnut blossoms smell like (and actually I'm not all that sure of what chestnuts smell like either), but this smells nutty to me. Warm. Slightly musky. I can tell there's some sort of floral note in with it, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you which one.

 

Dry: This has a beautiful musk. I have a vague idea of what magnolia smells like because I we have a magnolia tree, and I know what lily of the valley smells like too. Can't pick either of them out here singly, to be honest. This is very well blended.

 

This is the scent of a woman who is feminine and strong. Someone who knows exactly how to use her womanly characteristics to their fullest advantage and does not take No for an answer. Beguiling. Lovely. I like it a lot.

[mmmitchell]

On my skin, this is a lovely citrus blend. It's not an In Your Face, zing! of an orange on me, this is more of the scent of sugared orange peel, with some slightly dark notes. In the vial and wet on my skin, I get all burnt sugared oranges, which then mellow into a very sophisticated and golden scent. Still citrus, but a soft citrus, sweetened with the blossoms of the magnolia and lily of the valley. The chestnut blossom must be what's giving me the slightly nutty "burnt" note in this. I don't get much musk, but it must be there, anchoring the whole in a very blended way.

 

I liked it as a companion to the painting, as well. I'm only slightly familiar with this piece by Lucas Cranach the Elder, but I enjoyed the way the scent tied in with it. His interpretation of Judith is interesting, and since (if I'm remembering correctly) Cranach the Elder was a well known as a painter of portraits, his Judith sports QUITE the outfit.....and the sophisticated oranges and burnt siennas featured in the painting are echoed nicely in this blend. I also got a hoot out of those gloves....I thought at first they might be some sort of horrid representation of claws, or similar, but Cranach the Elder was a pretty literal sort of painter (he did a lot of work for Martin Luther, and many pieces tied directly into the Reformation) so I think it's just a weird accessory.

 

And Judith looks like chopping the head off Holofernes was pretty much just all in a days work, ho hum.....here she is straight from a beheading, not a hair out of place, and completely unbesmirtched by blood or ickiness.

 

Despite all my talk of "sugared oranges" this is not a jam-jar of a scent. This is a grown-up orange....capable and confident. I like it a lot.

[supremegoddessofall]

Strangely foody. I get almost a hazelnut and caramel smell here. Moderately musky. Getting a touch of florals in the background, but this scent isn't what I expected at all!

[Little Bird]

Yup, like other reviewers have said, this smells rather nutty to me. Almost a burnt, woodsy sort of nutty at first, paired with a sweet citrus smack of mandarin.

 

In the drydown, this is mostly all musks and florals on me. Nothing special, but not bad either. It has something of a bright and cheery sweetness as the orange scent dances about. After fifteen minutes, this is something of a boring floral-musk perfume that I could find at any shopping mall. Not really my style.

[abejita]

Oh, my. I was going to discount this blend because I'm not the biggest citrus fan, but the chestnut blossom intrigued me. I've mentioned elsewhere on the board what a huge fan of chestnut honey I am. Apparently, chestnut blossom has the same nutty, smoky characteristic as the honey. The musk complements the chestnut blossom very well. Despite not being a huge floral fan, I like magnolia very much, and it gives a good creamy/tangy feel to the blend. I'm surprised at how the mandarin seems to be the thread holding it all together. It's unexpected, but it works.

 

The blend invokes the colors in the painting, and I like that a lot. They are colors I'm not usually so into, but here they appeal.

[julesofdenial]

I mostly only tried this because I loved the painting so much. at first sniff, before putting it on, I thought to myself "wow, I like this a lot more than I expected to." But now that it's on, I feel like I smell like a Yankee Candle store. Possibly my sinuses and/or body chemistry are out of whack today, and things will be different later? I'm hoping so, but if anyone else gets that Yankee Candle vibe, it'll make me feel a lot saner...

[euterpe414]

This one smells a lot more foody on my skin that I expected it to! I am getting a lot of mandarin with hints of nuttiness and something sugary (now what is creating that illusion to my nose, I don't know...). As it dries, the muskiness comes out bit more and the sugariness fades a bit. It is more a nutty, musky mandarin scent now. There's a hint of floral, but it is no overwhelming.

 

I have to agree with previous reviewers in saying that this blend really invokes the colors and feel of the painting. The rich orange and burgundy hues can really be detected in this blend.

 

I definitely like this one a lot. I think eventually I will get around to buying a bottle of this one, it's good stuff

[indicolite]

I agree with the reviewer who said this was like roasting chestnuts. I am, surprisingly enough, not getting even a hint of mandarin. Judith seems very foody (how can you have a woman cutting off the head of her - was it rapist? - be a FOODY blend?) I will wait around for her and if she morphs any more I will edit to report.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: oh, it’s very foody. I get caramel and nuts. Then, there’s a kind of a citrus smell as well, I reckon it must be soft mandarin. Now I’m a bit afraid of what it gonna smell like on me, because usually, caramel turns to burnt plastic on my skin.

 

On my skin: yep! Burnt plastic and mandarin. It’s a pity because the mandarin seems very lovely, and I’d adore that alone, or with something that doesn’t go all wrong on me.

 

After a couple of hours: the burnt smell is totally gone, but so is the mandarin, dammit!! It’s all floral now (lily of the valley, more than magnolia, I think).

 

Verdict: doesn’t work for me.

[PurringPulsar]

Judith Victorious

 

In the imp: buttery roasted chestnuts with a hint of flowers.

Wet on skin: roast chestnut pastries and flowers…why on earth does this smell like Jolasveinar?

Dry on skin: now I get a hint of mandarin but it's not very strong. This is mainly chestnut blossom, which in here is a blend of floral notes with roast chestnut smoke and chestnut paste, and the magnolia is probably adding more of a floral tone. I smell something almost spicy to it, like pepper or saffron, as well as a hint of lily of the valley which isn't soaping out yet. It really does smell like that French sweet chestnut paste, but with a fresh and almost cool floral note, and the weird thing is that the scent of foody smoke mingled with cool white flowers make this scent very similar to Jolasveinar. What an unusual scent!

After a while: it's still a smoky, foody floral fragrance, with a spicy nutty feel to it (I swear I smell saffron and pepper in here-why am I getting momentary flashes of curry?) with the smoky chestnut and flowers contrasting. I now smell the golden musk underneath it all, a smooth, shimmering layer. This scent does indeed bring to mind smoky browns and bright gold and smooth white. I definitely smell more magnolia now, and with the smoke, it reminds me a little bit of Trick #1.

It seems to stay pretty stable on my skin, not morphing too much, still that odd mix of dark, rich chestnuts and cool, fresh, almost aquatic perfume-y flowers, with musk and spice running through it all. But it's quite a strange perfume. The lily of the valley really has behaved itself though. The chestnuts seem to smell more burnt over time, still clashing with the flowers.

Verdict: this is one of the most unusual scents I've ever encountered. It's an odd, slightly conflicting mix of smoky-nutty-gourmand and fresh white flowers on me, with hints of spice and musk. The chestnut blossom smells like roast chestnuts and sweet marrons glaces, a foody scent which reminds me of Christmas, contrasting wildly with heady white floral notes of magnolia and lily of the valley. I think the smoky, nutty, Christmas associations of the chestnuts and the cold flowers in this scent are what make this remarkably similar to the drydown of Jolasveinar, on me anyway. But it's a very bizarre combination of scents-on the one hand you have rich smouldering chestnuts and sweet chestnut paste (it's a foody smoke with a little sweetness but no caramel) and then you have the fresh, perfumey flowers on the other. Both sides seem to clash but they don't quarrel, they seem to hold an uneasy peace in this scent-both chestnuts and flowers smelling equally strong, no overtaking by either side, but yet they don't seem to mingle very well-there's a slight dissonance here, at least on my skin. It's a unique fragrance that I've not smelt in many other places-certainly not outside BPAL-but I don't think I'd wear it much-it's a little too contradictory for me! But if you like Trick #1, this to me seems a good replacement for that scent thanks to the smoky sweet magnolia.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I'm not sure. Probably not-it's a bit of a confusing scent!

If you like this, try: Jolasveinar, Hearth 05, Trick #1 (if you can find it!)

Edited February 3, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[maijasu]

I can't stop sniffing this one. I wasn't sure what to expect, but as others have noted, this blend is surprisingly foody. It's a little bit nutty, a little bit sweet, and a little bit spicy. The musk is absolutely gorgeous, and the florals are barely detectable but are enough to keep this from being too much of a gourmand scent.

 

The scent does indeed evoke the colors and mood of the painting, and it does actually smell "victorious" to me. Another winner from the new Salons!

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Ginger, there is something citrusy in the background, but it's predominately ginger.

 

Wet on me - Still ginger appears to be the dominant scent, but slightly soapy.

 

Dry on me - Mostly lightly spiced lilies, before drying down to a barely there sweetness.

 

Overall - I like the spicy start, but I don't really get on with lilies, so this is not for me.

[siddal]

Very interesting. I would not have imagined this smelling like this at all! which is why I love to try almost anything that MIGHT work. I'm always surprised by BPAL. This is almost all sweet and spicy on my. Warm sweet spices and musk. In the imp, wet and dry. During the wet stage I could smell the mandarin as a hint of fruit, but the spiceyness predominates. Very pretty!

[wolfie13]

In the vial: I smell chestnuts balanced by mandarin. Interesting.

 

Wearing: The chestnut starts to amp on me - this particular nut note has a smoky, almost burnt quality on me that is not particulary pleasing. The orange has all but disappeared leaving just the chestnut. It smells exactly like the chestnut note in Hearth 2005 (without the accompanying sweetness that one had).

 

Drydown: After awhile, like at least an hour or more, the chestnut finally calms down, the burnt quality smoothing out, and some of the other notes become apparent. Unfortunately the note that becomes most apparent is the Lily of the Valley, which I dislike. Sadly, the mandarin never reappears, as it was a nice balancing note.

 

Interesting, but not for me.

Edited February 14, 2007 by wolfie13

[maribouquet]

Judith is very musical. You know how with some blends, on a long, slow inhale, the notes come to you in a tumbling rush like the notes of music? This is one like that: the chestnut is a warm, caramel horn, followed by the middle tones of lily, steady and high like a flute, all capped at the end with a lilting flourish of tangy citrus that is the mandarin mandolin. Heh.

 

The magnolia and musk come to life as this soaks into my skin, and all the notes are there, playing together.

 

This is beautiful. It makes me think of baroque music.

 

It also fits the colors and mood of the painting extraordinarily well: warm, brown, a little smug, the strength of blood or the red of autumn leaves, proud, composed.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very sweet with some lily.

on: super sweet. thick and syrupy.

half an hour later: a bit of powdery flowers and sweet musk.

3 hours later: a sweet, nutty scent, with a hint of flowers.

6 hours later: still a bit nutty and floral.

overall: i was not expecting this to be as sweet and nutty as it was. it's a really interesting scent and i love that the flowers emerge slowly.

[Em-]

Mmm. Nutty with a hint of spicyness, and sweet creamy florals. This is gorgeous.

[lookingglass]

This is strangely thick and sweet and light and clean. The chestnut is creamy, like a nutty coffee creamer, but the flowers are quite soapy. Even dried out, these two aspects are quite apparent at the same time. Not a lot of mandarin, which I don't care for anyway, but it does give a nice lift in some blends. This is not a top 10, but a definate keeper.

[juniperus]

Bottle: buttery and nutty...I wonder if that's the chestnut blossom with the musk. how odd.

Wet: mostly the same, but I can discern floral behind

Dry: more floral coming up from behind, but still much warmer than mere floral

Later: the almost-foody forenote has passed and this is now a lovely floral, warm, rich, no amping lily (a rarity for me)

(I'm certain my friend, a Judith scholar, will love this to pieces!)

[solcita]

A nutty, meaty sort of floral, which unfortunately makes something in my hindbrain recoil. Had to wash it off. :/

[LauraB]

How odd! Nutty toffee with floral top notes. Close to, it's foodier, and at a distance it's more floral. I either love it or hate it and right at the moment I'm not sure which - I'll either wear it all the time or not at all, and then I'll know...

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Brown.

 

In the imp: Musky chestnuts? How very odd.

 

On skin, wet: Chestnuts! Musky, floral chestnuts. Right out of the gate, it starts becoming much more a floral scent than a chestnutty scent.

 

On skin, dry: As it dries, it starts to become a very buttery, musky, nutty floral scent indeed. I don't notice/smell/catch any sign of the King mandarin, however, which is a shame: a subtle citrus quality would compliment this existing combination very well. The entire scent has an almost velvety, dark brown quality about it, which, of course, is perfectly appropriate.

 

Conclusion: A wonderfully fitting scent, and one I'm fond of, if not one I'd wear very often. I might, though, pick up a bottle eventually to use as a room scent.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Chesnut and mandarin

 

On Skin: Very chesnutty and herby... upon first application it sort of smells like salty chicken in some spicy chinese sauce. Definitely salty.

 

Thankfully, that fades. The chesnut remains though, and I get hints of the musk and something almost honey sweet.

 

On Drydown: Musky, chesnutty and again, something that reminds me to honey. It's a very heavy blend.

 

Verdict: This is a very regal, very heavy blend. Like that of a proud woman wrapped in velvet. I do get brown and red vibes from it. Even without looking at the picture, I feel like this is an excellent olfactory representation of the picture. Bravo Lab!

[jiggahava]

Honey and chesnuts. My first impression of this scent was nuts dipped in honey. I looked up the notes, and was suprised to see the nuts were chesnut blossoms, but the flower smells like the actual nut! Odd. The lily of the valley adds a soft floral note to this, and the golden musk makes this scent warm and very "skin-scent" like. This is in the same vein as Le Petit Mort or Les Bijoux, which I love dearly. The mandarin lends this scent a subtle edge of fruit, but it's more of a background note. I like this alot!