The Raven

[tinyvulture]

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

The violet and dark musk are an interesting combination here. I’d say the dark musk is very dark…it adds an almost ominous note to this otherwise unassuming floral. Also, I keep thinking I smell coffee beans…not sure what that is. I can’t smell the neroli or sandalwood, and I’m not familiar with the scent of iris. If you’re a big violet fan, this one’s for you. I’m not so much, so it’s off to swaps.

[n1k1ta]

I am not thrilled with The Raven. The musk note hits me in the back of the nose like the beginnings of Snake Oil. It's not pleasant. I can barely smell the florals. What I really get is the neroli and sandalwood. And while neroli and sandalwood are wonderful, it's not what I wanted from The Raven.

 

The throw is pretty weak too. I think it simmered down after an hour and I have to shove my arm under my nose to even smell this perfume. Maybe I have an old imp and a new imp of The Raven is fantastic. Or maybe, and more likely, The Raven is not for me.

[space girl lost]

floral! violets! eek!

 

aaaaand it's not horrible. i don't want to run fleeing. i'm perplexed. i'm astounded. i'm scared. i am the anti-floral queen, am i not? what the heck? there is something else in here taming down the sharpness of the violets that i normally get. i'm guessing the musk? and sandalwood? sandalwood generally turns to pee on me.

 

i'm so at a loss.

 

but yes.. tamed down violets and something clean-like. i'm guessing the neroli + musk doing something odd.

 

so confused. i just can't pick this out.

[Peaches 2]

Bewitching, indeed! In the imp, I get an almost single-note violet. On application, the florals seem to overpower the musk and sandlewood, but is so light and lovely, it doesn't matter.

 

I have a very strong scent association with this fragrance. It smells like my grandmother's bedroom of long, long ago. Sometimes, that can be a negative as in "old lady", but this time, it's not. It's just clean and light and comforting, reminding me of being a little girl cuddled up in her bed. She's been gone a few years now, and I thank Beth for bringing her back to me.

 

I don't think I'll wear it often as a personal scent, but wow, what a room fragrance for my bedroom!

[isabella]

V is for Violet.....

 

Unfortunately, it smelled wonderful in the imp...then turned into straight violet on me. I doesnt like me.

[Spring Snow]

My favorite part of The Raven is when I first put it on. It smells like a fresh, green field of violets. Lovely! But the sandalwood and musk slowly take over, and while the violet sweetness never fades, the sandalwood and musk turn it into a more sickly-sweet scent. It's not bad per say, but it's not my favorite. I'll keep my imp just for the wet stage, though.

[bookofblues]

I am a great lover of violets. I grew up on the cheapo Celestial Sky African Violet oils my dad would bring home from head shops. Discovering *good* violet scents as an adult....heaven. I adore Sybaris and Veil, and I wanted to love this too.

In the bottle violet and musk, cooler and softer than Sybaris.

On me, it starts out nicely as a cool almost watery violet (must be the iris), but on dry down, it's all baby powder until it fades away.

I'll stick to my spicy Sybaris, I think.

[JennyGardener]

I didn't really get to know this scent until I slept with it. The first day I tried it, all I could think of was violets. But in the dark...

 

I found myself thinking of Poe's poem, inspiration for this perfume. And suddenly, I was there, in the Library. The bust of Pallas sat on the bookshelf. The Raven perched atop. I could smell the heavy scent of violets and other flowers in the cast-off bouquet that lay on the reading table. I was surrounded by the delicious odors of old books (you can get that sometimes, in the stacks of a good library), evocative and sensual. I could also taste/feel the sad wistfulness of the man remembering his lost love.

 

Ah, altogether a wondrous experience! I reveled in this scent for a long time before falling asleep.

[Browneyes]

Love this It smells very true to its description on me. Fresh violets, combined with headier floral notes, sandalwood aroma and dark musk... So soft, solemn and sensual.

 

ADDED May 14:

 

Mainly sweet and powdery violets, with a shadow of wood and musk. I like powdery violets sometimes. And I like The Raven.

[jasmine]

I bought this in my first pack of imps, so I am surprised to find that I have not tried it or reviewed it yet.

 

Fresh on my skin, it is a wash of dark plant scent and very unperfumey. Given time, it loses the plant aspect and turns chemical.

 

And there it stays -- a dark, scooped-out, chemical scent. It evokes images of jagged, greenish-black leaves around the edges, but there’s nothing in the middle for them to frame or support.

 

After a time, something slowly coalesces in the center, but it’s a faint wash of violet that lacks sufficient presence to wipe out the chemical unpleasantness.

 

Later, the faint wash goes extremely pale, high-pitched, and soapy.

 

My only possible response is “meh.” If I ever meet anyone who says “The Raven is one of my favorite BPAL scents!” then I want to smell what it does on them, because this can’t possibly be what it’s supposed to do.

 

Postscript: the spot where I applied it rashed out and didn’t heal for a week. This is a scent I should never try again.

[bryghtrose]

The raven literally went straight to powder on me, albeit rich, expensive powder.

[Nia]

I'm testing this as part of a mission to see if what makes me dislike Euterpe and Terpsichore is the iris, as both go horrible on me and it is the only think they have in common. Raven and Terpsichore share neroli, but I like neroli; Raven and Euterpe have dark and white musk respetively, but so many blends have musk, and it normally goes well on me.

 

That's it. This smells exactly like Terpsichore with added violets. I can imagine that every time people say "florals don't work well on me" they mean lilies and irises. I loooove violets, and a blend with violets on it has to go really and truly awful on me to make me part with that imp.

 

After a few minutes, when it is dry, this smells like violets somehow deprived of their sweetness. It's not going to be a favourite but it was good for an experiment.

[steffanina]

The Raven-

 

In Bottle: I smell sharp metallic violets and something that smells like...like something fresh and green that's been crushed between my fingers. Like the smell of squeezing Edamame pods.

 

Wet: Dark sweetness, like Poison perfume. Still those metallic violets and that crushed green smell.

 

Dry: Wow. I think I love this. I was hoping that at some point I'd find a violet and neroli blend that worked out for me, and this is it! I love violets and wanted something that stayed like violets.

 

Overall: I love.

[MissLily]

In the bottle: A big, burly, but oddly feminine bouncer named Violet hauls me out of a barfight in a fireman's carry. While I've got my nose smashed against her armpit, I can smell a whiff of sandalwood and musk, but mostly I'm manhandled by Violet.

 

First application: The next day I see Violet at Waffle House having breakfast and apologize for my drunken behavior the night before. She smiles with frightening sweetness and pats my head. Boom, boom, boom, ow. "That's ok, kid, but don't do it again."

 

Drydown: Violet's grandma, wearing Chanel No. 5 - that's the neroli + sandalwood, I imagine.

[GoldenRubee]

The notes of The Raven sounded so beautiful that I purchased it without even trying it first. I liked eveything in it so when I went to Will Call this last time, it was the first bottle on my list. At first it is very heavy on the floral, but after the initial dry down, the floral is softer and the musk is more pronounced, which I like! I also smell a heavy freshly cut plant smell which just adds to the mystery of this scent. Overall, I am glad that I purchased it without testing it first.

[starwild]

This stuff is like a version of Saturnalia that I can actually wear!

 

Bottle: Dark and spicy, but not intimidating.

 

Wet: Neroli is whacking me over the head with a baseball bat. I love it!

 

Drydown: Spicy violets. If I had to describe this scent with one word, I'd say "harbinger". It's like a herald coming to announce the king's death, at midnight, in a haunted castle.

 

Unfortunately it turns to powder after a few hours.

 

Not my favorite, but the imagery it brings to mind is more than enough for me to keep this imp from bethany.

[Bamels]

One of my first buys, I was searching for a violet scent. When I first sniff it the violets leap out up my nose! When I put it on, the patchouli is the main runner when it is wet. As it dries the violets come out more, leaving a clean smelling mix of violets and patchouli. This is one of my favourite blends! Although I would prefer it to be stronger on my skin, and last a little longer.

[daiconharuko]

This wasn't that bad, but it reminded me too much of a frilly soap that someone might have in their guest bathroom.

[bombus]

Lots of violet and a little else. I guess I wish it were more balanced, I would like to have the neroli and musk notes to come out and at least a bit of sandalwood. I am happy to have a imp but I think that will be enough.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sweet violet and dry musk.

 

Immediately on skin: Violet is the main note, but it’s blended with the less-sweet neroli and iris. It’s a floral blend, dominated by the violet and with the dry musk in the background.

 

After a few minutes: The violet is there, but it’s a little softer now. The sandalwood seems to be adding a little complexity to the scent, and the musk is making the blend a little cooler in feeling. It’s delicate and dark at the same time.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a violet dominated blend, but it’s soft and not overly sweet. This blend isn’t very complex, but it isn’t just plain violet. If you’re looking for something whispy but dark, try this out… it has a cold, lonely feel to it.

[erraticprophet]

Another borrowed imp I was lucky to test.

 

Initial Impression: soft, light floral

 

On Wet: clean, aquatic, yet slightly powdery at the same time. Very faint.

 

On Dry: baby powder

 

Final Impression: went baby powder then disappeared very quickly

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 2

[dluszcz]

I thought that this sounded so lovely that I got the big bottle! This was my first time trying the BPAL scents and didn't realize that I should try it first as an imp! When it arrived I was so psyched and couldn't wait to try it on- In the bottle I thought it smelled perfect for a dark haired, ivory skinned chic like myself. Unfortunately, as it developed on my skin, it resolved into a scent very much like the CHoward's Scented Gum that I used to freshen my breath, when I was a cigarette smoker- no sandalwood or musk, merely square, sweet, violet chewing gum at the bottom of my purse.

 

Still trying to find the perfect one...

Edited October 21, 2007 by kittysdesire

[hkhm]

imp: violet with a teensy bit of neroil. this smells so gorgeous.

 

wet: violet and iris. there is a weirdness here though: when i smell this in passing it smells sweet and flowery, when i put my nose to my arm it smells like one of those really strong indelible ink markers. so sweet yet so virulent.

 

dry: the violet still dominates this blend. it's one of the few blends that the violet stays sweet and true. that odd marker scent fades after a while (still can't figure that one out) and this stays sweet and strong.

[nightchild80]

In the Imp (wet): There's a warmth in this scent that tickles my insides.

 

On facial cotton (dry): The musk is dominant in this one and is the warmth of this scent.

 

On me: The iris and violet are making an appearance, but the warmth of the musk is still giving them a hard run for their money. A mature scent with a take-no-prisoners attitude.

[Victory]

Violets never seem to smell floral to me, strangely- I only recognize it because I've smelled other violet blends. First I smelled eucalyptus (maybe my brain is connecting to Ultraviolet?) and then the violet slips in and grabs the microphone. I think the musk and sandalwood must be anchoring the scent down, with the neroli just at the edges. The Raven is indeed dark and ominous. When I was thinking how to describe it, I thought of a funeral parlor rather than a perfume. It doesn't smell deathly, of course, but it does have that forbidding feeling.