The Raven

[myrrhmyrrh]

In the vial: all the violets, but blooming at midnight. Dark-winged, somber, a raven feather with violet highlights bouncing off of it.

 

On me, wet: those somber violets overwhelmingly, but in serious discussion with the sandalwood and musk

 

On me, just dried: the sandalwood comes to the fore but remembers every word the violets said, echo of musk, or a candle just snuffed out

 

After 15 minutes: the return of the violets, still with the snuffed candle-musk, this counterpoint of a floral with something darker and smokier

 

After 30 minutes: still the intertwining of violets and musk –

 

After 1 hour: The violets make their presence felt above musk and sandalwood, but the latter still remain

 

After 3 hours: violets tempered by the dark, complicated grief of sandalwood, violets in mourning musk. Unresolved grief that will not pass with time.

 

Verdict – I LOVE this. It is hypnotic as an Anish Kapoor black, draws you in and absorbs you with all light. A long poem ensues of love lost to death, haunting the skin of one living for nearly evermore

[skyturtles]

From the imp, I get flowery soap, near a grandma-zone. "Don't judge a scent out of the imp!" as they say. Or something like that.

The violet takes center stage. We've gone from soap to candle. I'm trying for the life of me to find something other than violet here, and as it dries down, the neroli comes through, giving it some, but not a lot, complexity. As times goes on and it dries more, I think I'm catching whiffs of the sandalwood.

Floral-forwards aren't really my jam. This is an unoffensive blend that I could see those of the Lolita aesthetic embracing.

[Weirdgirlpilled]

My skin chemistry, life experiences, and taste are totally different than yours, so take me with a grain of salt. I.... DO not like this! Woah I think I hate neroli 🤧 That is so so terribly sad- in theory this is a beautiful gorgeous scent that works on me.. but in the imp it smells like straight up paint thinner??? And then... Pepper???? And then... GRANDMA???? And on my skin it's even worse- all of it dies and goes ashy. I am SO sad, I feel like this is the first bpal scent I've tried that I really just cannot get behind (On my skin!! Lots of people love this and you may LOOOVE it too!) I need to go scrub this off. I smell like my grandmothers ashtray.

[asoursweetsixteen]

~~frimp review~~

fresh on, it smells really clean in a way, but also grandma-y. definite example of florals turning old and powdery and a bit stale. it calms down essentially immediately though and doesn't last in the grandma phase for long. it becomes darker, violet (i'm guessing) and sandalwood with a hint of musk is what it settles down into. about half an hour later it stays very similar to that

 

it's super fragrant and has a pretty good throw imo. there's an aura around me. it's a nice scent but not one i'd wear necessarily even though i'm a huge floral lover. maybe my opinion will change on a revisit!

[Tungerine]

Dance of Death's living sister. Just as elegant, somehow deep inky purple-black and gentle white at the same time, but where Dance of Death is dry this is dewy and fresh. The first time I tried it, the violet went plasticky but I gave it another chance a few years later and I love it now.

[quantquill]

I added an imp of The Raven to my BPAL order in November 2023, when I'd first started learning what smells good on me and what doesn't. Fast forward to now, and I would never buy something that has sandalwood, iris and neroli, because unfortunately, as much as violet and musk are yummy on me, the other three turn to generic department store cologne. Which is all I get from The Raven. 

 

Color me sad... but also it's kind cool to realize how much more I understand about how my skin chemistry interacts with certain scents!