The Raven

[Monster]

Sleek, dark, and ominous. Violet and neroli mingled with iris, white sandalwood and dark musk.

Out of the bottle this one smells exactly like Mr. Bubble bubble bath...and not the newest liquid kind, but the boxed, powdery kind you used to use in the 80s

On my skin the bubbly scent fades and the violet comes out immediatly. Soon after I can smell the neroli in the backround. Unfortunatly I can't smell any of the sandalwood.
This is a scent I can see a younger girl wearing. it's a very young, playful scent. Fresh, clean and innocent smelling.
I like this a lot.

[theseagrows]

this was a weird one. when i first put it on my skin, i didnt like it at all. after it faded some it smelled like floral musky skin scent. just smelled like someone's skin who had worn something floral that had faded. if that makes any sense.

 

i attribute the skin scent to the musk, but i am not sure. after it faded i decided i liked it. i cant even pick which scents came out though- i didnt smell the violet much, so i think maybe my skin picked up more of the iris.

 

ill keep the imp but probably wont buy any bottles of this.

[Little Bird]

I'm surprised that this scent works on me, because I don't really like bpal's iris (sharp, perfumey floral) or black musk (cheap men's cologne) notes. But I don't smell anything but violet from this, and it's a sweet, dark, creamy violet. I think that the sandalwood is adding a creamy edge and some depth to the violet.

 

My husband loves this scent on me, and I like the simple, sweet violet as well.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Little Bird

[Julilla Regina]

This smelled like a very clean violet to me. There was something almost baby'ish to me about it, like the way a baby's room smells, with all the clean onesies and little zip up suits with plastic feet and powders and baby soap. I must be olfactorily challenged, because there is nothing listed in this blend that should lead one to this conclusion. It is a very nice, soothing scent. Alas, neroli never showed up on me, I'm starting to think that my skin actually dissolves any neroli scent molecules in its vicinity. Sandalwood and musk are perhaps too light to have overpowered the slightly astringent violet on me.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: A lot of dry airy musk. Undertone of violet.

 

Dry: Violet with and undertone of light airy musk. the musk is sort of a flat lifeless one though. For violet I highly prefer Serpent Qui Danse or anything else with violet, really.

[vesper]

The Raven, from "Bewitching Brews"

 

In the imp, it smealled of resin and flowers I couldn't distinguish. On me, all I could smell was the sandalwood.

 

A warm scent, nice for after the bath, but I wasn't wowed by it.

[silver_springs]

I really ended up liking The Raven. I thought it would be one of the more dark and musky scents but actually it's quite light and refreshing on me. Even slightly sweet. Lovely.

 

I can't decided if I want a big bottle now or not. On the one hand, I really do like it and could probably see myself wearing it often but on the other, I have others that I want more. So for right now it's in my "If I get some extra cash I'll buy a 5ml" category and not in my "Oh my God, I need a bottle of this right now" category. So it may be a couple of weeks or months until I order a 5ml, until then I'll enjoy my imp.

[QueenFae]

A wispy, fleeting, airy smell. It reminds me a bit of the Unicorn with a bit of a violet kick. At the same time, it has a darker ominous sort of undertone, like an unexpected surprise. Unfortunately, violet just doesn't agree with my skin, so I'll have to find this one a much better home, but a lovely idea and I'm sure it's smashing on the right skin.

[parrot_suspect]

Oooh, I like this. It starts out uber-violety, then slowly dries down to a soapy white musk, with a bit of iris and violet hovering in the background. Very clean, very easy to wear.

[puck_nc]

I put this on my wishlist early on in my BPAL experience, long before I had learned what my skin tends to do with either violet or musk.

 

Origin: Frimp from the Lab

 

In the Bottle: I can pick out the musk, violet and maybe the neroli, but overall it's more woodsy and musky than floral.

 

Wet: violent violet and sandalwood. Violet just plain hates me.

 

Drydown: Oddly enough, the musk doesn't take over like it usually does. The violent backs off some in favor of a musky sandalwood, but that bitterness hangs on.

 

Verdict: Swapped.

[Nepthys]

Mmmm. I really like this and never even noticed it in the catalogue. It was a frimp and a very nice one at that. On me the violet comes right out - and I like violet so I was pleased. Then it turned powdery and began to smell like a mix of lavender baby powder and bubble bath. That might sound sickeningly girly, but it was actually very enjoyable, perhaps because the sandalwood gave it a little depth and saved it from being too over the top feminine. This makes me think of angora sweaters, pearls, soft and girly things. Quite nice.

[coulrophobe]

The first time I tried The Raven (back in spring or early summer, I think), I remember my reaction being that it didn't smell at all dark and ominous, but rather like a soft, light floral, barely there on my wrist. Maybe I was having a bad nose day, or something, because while it's still predominantly floral on my skin, it's much more assertive.

 

The violet (and to a lesser extent, the iris) is very noticeable to me, triggering the "ooooh, purple!" response in my brain. The musk/sandalwood is very subdued on me, but provides a nice base. There's a sharpness flitting around the edges - I'm assuming that's the neroli, which is a bit troublesome with my chemistry.

 

All in all, it's a nice violet blend, but a bit strong and sharp. I think I'd like it more without the neroli, and with a bit less violet and a bit more iris. But it's still quite pleasant.

[Freyja Lux]

Very dark scent. Hard, somewhat dirty. I don't like it, since it's a bit serious and has no sensuality to it. Fun to sniff, as pretty much all of Beth's blends are, but not a perfume for me. Heavy florals and sandalwood, thats The Raven on me.

[aedes]

I think of this scent as a sexy, matte black dress that hugs all your curves. Starts off with a rush of violets (smelled like lilac to me), but once that calmed down, there was just this clean, dark (not an oxymoron! really!), chic scent. I think Audrey Hepburn could rock The Raven. It's feminine, sly, classic, and distinctive. It stays pretty close to the skin, too, so you won't worry about knocking people out at a party.

 

I think it might smell a little too "socialite" for me to buy a bottle of, but I'm hanging on to this imp!

[hypatia]

At first: Sweet violets, and lots of them. The iris is there too, lightening it up and making it airier. As it's drying, I can smell the neroli if I concentrate, but not so much after it dries. After several hours, the florals recede and the musk comes out; it ends on an almost cocoa-ish musk note, very close to the skin. One of the many good things about the scents I've tried so far is that they've completely gotten rid of my initial fear of musk. Musk and I get along very well, and The Raven is one of the blends that convinced me of that.

 

I always associate violets with my grandmother's dressing table (she had a lot of little bottles of perfume, and one of them must have been violet, because that's invariably what I picture whenever I smell violets), but The Raven has enough complexity to keep me from feeling old-ladyish when I wear it.

[Loligo]

Despite my fond childhood memories of the violets that bloomed every spring in the wood near our house, I just have to accept that violet is not a great note on me. I'm keeping Numb for linen spray and Wings of Azrael because it's so haunting and ethereal, but The Raven has got to go. It's a rich, deep, musky violet, and it's making me a bit sick to my stomach -- probably the fault of the dark musk. It's also going a bit soapy. I don't pick up the sandalwood or any of the other floral notes, not that I'm that great at identifying them.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is a wet, mossy floral with hints of violet. When first on it smells like violets with something else in the background- citrus? mint? powder? After about ten minutes this note fades and it’s pure violet! Really lovely. I think some men like this blend. Very nice blend for anyone who likes violets.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: This is nearly pure violet to me, but I believe I can detect some iris as well. It's definitetely a dusty floral - the neroli and musk are undetectable. If I were to call it a color, it is definitely a dusky violet.

On me: Beautiful violets and white sandalwood waft up from my skin as I apply The Raven. After the perfume's happily dried it is quite lovely; powdery violet and a light (yet dark!) musk. The fragrance isn't strong, but it's enough. There's still absolutely no neroli and the sandalwood's been eaten up, but it's still a dark, night-out perfume.

.

.

.

Or it would be, if it hadn't vanished within half an hour. Damn.

[carolinachiquita]

The lab description is perfect for this blend - It is very dark and sleek. It is like a sweet musk on me (It really reminds me of those sweets - parma violets!) I think that it is a really unusual and quite stunning scent. I really like this one

[zenvodunista]

i love violets and have been searchign for one that will stick to my skin. sadly, the Raven is not it. i have... issues with a lot of the musks. and dark musks hate me, they get very manly/sweaty on me, and i mean manly in that drunk fratboy kinda way.

 

so now i smell like a drunk fratboy, with the faintest air of violets at the edges.

 

 

n.

Edited November 27, 2005 by zenvodunista

[Eros]

This one is all candy-sweet florals on me. Both in the imp and on skin :l Reminds me of a particular little girl's perfume, but the name escapes me.

Also gave me a headache

[ancilla_morte]

in the vial: overpowering violets. I'm scared of violets.

wet on skin: *sigh* violets. but softer. it smells like baby lotion? love's baby soft? I'm trying to place it.

 

dry: oh shoot.. the violets have returned full force. this is definitely NOT going to work on me.

[kettu]

The Raven was the first scent I actually liked, and my liking it shocked the heck out of both me and Lynx because we both found it over-the-top floral. This was bad for her, as her skin amps florals like nothin' else. But it was pretty good for me, so I held on to the imp for several months until I realised that it was just too strong for my nose and I'd managed to acquire a good handful of imps, so I didn't feel it necessary to hold onto The Raven. It got swapped recently and I hope it is getting more love than I was able to give it.

 

Now, onto the review:

 

in the bottle and on skin: oooooeeeee! hot damn, that's potent! It's violet and black and dusky and shiny. It's ten o'clock on a mild summer night. The night-blooming flowers are scenting the air with a vengeance; the sun is below the horizon but it's not entirely dark yet. You're out walking in a comfy-but-sexy cotton summer dress, and you're being followed by a violet-adorned, shiny black Raven, who is watching you. Just watching you. Very intently.

 

The scent of the violet stayed with me for many many hours. I only had to dab just a little bit on, otherwise, it'd be just enough to edge me over into headache-land if I was leaning that way anyway.

[Saliekat]

In the imp:

Not particularly nice - tangy, a bit floral, but almost a bit off. I'm glad I swiped this on before sniffing the imp, or I might not have bothered!

 

 

Wet on the skin:

Sugared parma violets, all the way. Just like some hard candies I got in Brussels when I was a kid!

 

 

Dry:

It stays pretty true to its wet state. Just lovely, sweetie violets. I guess once it's dried it becomes more like the chalky parma violet candy I sometimes buy here, instead of the Jolly Rancher style violets I got that time as a kid.

It's very evocative of something, I forget what.

I just licked my finger and it had some on it...it even tastes a bit like the violet candy!

 

 

Le boyf says:

"In the imp, it smells like my nan, after she died. On, it smells like parma violets. Not a sharp smell, it caresses your nose with parma violets. 5 out of 10."

 

 

I can take or leave violet, but this is really nice. My best friend loves violet above all things, so I may pass this on to her.

[AngellicMystique]

The Raven smells like funeral flowers on me. I like it, but not really wild about the violet. (My skin madly amps violet.)