Malice

[waxing moon]

A profound, complex scent that encapsulates the joy one finds in another's pain. Ylang ylang, clove, Indonesian red patchouli, and dark myrrh.

Starts out on my skin with the intensely floral biting sweetness of ylang tempered by the spicy clove and maybe just a breath of resinous myrrh. As the day wore on, it began to smell exactly like Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee, which was cool because it reminded me of the excitement of getting to go to the pool as a small child plus the impatience as my mother rubbed me all over with sunscreen before I was allowed to jump in. Altogether, an understated and almost tropical scent, I think that I will enjoy wearing it most in the summertime. Edited September 16, 2007 by Shollin

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: A little sweet, a little spicy.

 

Second Impression: This is wonderful. This speaks "summertime" to me. I envision applying this in the dead of winter and it would warm and uplift me. It's blended perfectly. The patchouli note is wonderful, it's not that dirty hippy feet smell. It's a very sophisticated patchouli, like the hippie that grew up and became a lawyer or something.

 

Final Analysis: Another glorious scent to add to my faves list. I agree wth waxing moon about the similarity to the Bain de Soleil gelee. It doesn't really smell like, but it's has the same "feeling and warmth and tropical-ness".

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Dark and insidious. Myrrh whispers through clearly while the rest blends into the base uniformly.

 

After Wearing It:

This is a lovely, lovely perfume. I ordered an imp of it because the notes sounded pretty appealing, and then Beth (or whoever kindly filled my order) upgraded the imp to a 5 ml bottle. I was thrilled by this act of generosity, but after sniffing the bottle, wasn't quite sure if I'd like it enough to need a full bottle. But then I tried it on and decided I do, I really, really do.

 

First on, the patchouli and clove have the most prominence though, the other three notes are by no means undetectable. It's a spicy earthiness, with just a touch of sweetness from both the myrrh and ylang ylang, that's sexy and powerful without smelling dirty or depraved. It smells more sadistic than naughty.

 

As time goes on, the notes switch places in terms of prominence. Toward the end of the day, the patchouli was more of a base note, grounding the sweet and sensual aura of the ylang ylang than standing out in front. The clove still lends its spicy presence but it's subtle, while the myrrh wraps everything in its loving embrace. It's just a beautiful fragrance from start to finish. It have great staying power (at least 10 hours on me) and plenty of throw. Malice is a total winner.

 

Overall this is quite similar to Lust. It has that same sweet, sexy earthiness produced by the patchouli, ylang ylang & myrrh combo, but the substitution of clove to the blend rather than red musk makes it a spicier blend that has less sweaty, animalistic undertones and doesn't quite reach that initial bit of candylike sweetness that lust does.

 

Final Thoughts:

I almost bought a bottle of Lust in my last order, but decided to wait for whatever reason. So glad I did when I had a full bottle of this waiting upstairs! I'm not positive yet that I prefer Malice to Lust, as I want to wear one on each wrist before I decide. But my memory usually does serve me pretty well, and if it does, I find Malice to be a better version of a similar base so I may not need a bottle of Lust after all. Recommend this to anyone who liked the feel of Lust but had issues with the musk or it being too sweet.

[allamanda]

When first applied I can smell patchouli and then myrrh. My nose thinks it can smell musk mixed in with the cloves.

 

When dry this smells pretty much the same as it did when wet except my skin-chemistry means it has developed a faint curry tinge. I never did detect the ylang ylang. Not compatible with me unfortunately.

[Lady_Ell]

I got a bottle of this for my sister, unfortunately without consulting her first. I thought it smelled really deep and spicy and pretty (the clove and myrrh really stuck out to my nose) and thought it would be something she'd like. I even drizzled it onto a scarf I was knitting for her, because it smelled so spicy-Christmasy-woody to me and thought she'd be totally into it. But she took one whiff, backed away in horror, and said it smelled "like Grampy and a hippie." Note to everyone: my grandfather smells like motor oil (he likes to work on cars).

 

My mom said "it's not so bad, I kinda like it" and from what I can tell it's been sitting on her dresser ever since, unworn. When I visit at the end of the month I'm going to have to do a search and rescue, and will bring it back where it will be appreciated. I might buy my mom her own bottle of Old Shanghai (which she loves) in exchange.

[pekeana]

In the vial: I get the patchouli, I get the clove, and I definitely get the myrrh... but the ylang ylang is nowhere to be found.

 

On me: Let me preface this by saying that I hate patchouli, despite being a Capricorn, and it makes me feel horribly dirty when I wear it. However --

 

Myrrh and clove are some of my body's best-loved notes, and they manage to beat the patchouli into submission until this is a very earthy, warm, dark, spicy wood scent on me. For some reason, it's also very light -- I have to literally put my nose to my wrist to smell it at all.

 

I will definitely be using this imp up -- and much thanks to andrabell for giving it to me!

[glampyre]

I love every ingredient in Malice, and together they are a showstopper. I wore Malice for the first time today and haven't been able to stop sniffing my wrists. Malice is a very elegant perfume, deep and mysterious.

 

It doesn't smell like Ladylatemar's grampy to me...I've never met him, but I can picture how he smells...

[sarahj]

Malice

 

in vial: sweet ylang ylang and myrrh...a lovely, warm, sweet scent

 

wet: the same

 

dry: as it dries I can smell the patchouli in the background

 

verdict: this lasts 5 hours...good staying power...I like the scent, but I'm not sure it will go on my big bottle list. I'll definitely use up the imp, though.

[Reinaluna]

Malice to me when I first applied it, I could smell the clove and patchouli first off. The drydown I smell mostly the Ylang ylang with this spicy dirt like aroma. Its a great scent that leans a little to the masculine side to me. No bottle of this but I will use up the imp.

[ChupaChup]

Malice smells very "perfumey" to me, it's probably the ylang ylang. It has lots of wafting power, lasts a good long time and I love the myrrh. Still, for me, it's just not that interesting so I will be swapping it. I had hoped to find more clove and patchouli in it.

[Azrhiaz]

It smells very "perfumey" to me, too, more like a mainstream perfume than any of the other BPAL's I've smelled so far. Which isn't a bad thing, it just is. It's extremely well blended, and no notes stand out to me.

 

The patchouli isn't overwhelming in this mix, so that's nice, and something about it *is* delightfully sharp and...malicious. I like it, but I'm not sure it's love, especially not with so many other wonderful scents to explore.

[phoefromelsewhere]

Another review from me...beware, they seem to be mainly stream of consciousness and metaphorical (I am a writer tho, so there you go.)

 

In the bottle: I smell incense, tiger balm and a sweet note mixed in. I can smell gentle wafts of cinnamon, frankincense, musk and myrrh. Then they blend seamlessly.

 

Wet: Heavenly. Warm, dark. My skin is really pushing a high, sweet note – must be the ylang ylang. Blended really well, it’s hard to pick anything out at the moment. Has a sweet yet masculine edge. If Rhett Butler were European, I think he’s wear this.

 

Drydown: Smells like burning cloves. I also get an old feeling with it, like I’ve stepped into another time. Oooh, I like this. There is a mild soapy smell but it fades quickly. It smells autumny (must be the cloves). Definitely a cold weather scent for me. There is a note that is warm and familiar but mild, it must be the red patchouli but I’m not too familiar with it. It’s similar to the strong hippie type but much softer. More like subliminal messages rather than screaming at the top of your lungs. Dark, sexy and soft. I can imagine a woman lounging around in this wearing nothing but a red satin sheet.

 

Later: This has gone completely clove on me. There is a mild sweetness to it as well. The spiciness makes my nose tingle, I love it.

[phaedrine]

The first time I sniffed this one, I didn't like it, but second sniff of the bottle it seems better. I can definitely smell the patchouli and ylang ylang, don't smell any clove at all, but I can smell the myrrh hiding underneath.

 

But on...

 

OMG.

 

Now see, I had really wanted to love Three Witches, but it turned in to a sweaty handful of red hots on me. Sad.

 

This....now THIS is what I wanted out of Three Witches. Lovely and deep and sweet and, above all, SPICY.

 

I am so getting a bottle of this on my next order.

[Theravada]

My dear friend Phaedrine told me how lovely this scent was, so when I saw that Lorajc had a 5ml for sale at a great price I immediately snagged it.

 

Oh my!!! I am so happy that I did!!!

 

This is WONDERFUL. I can't go on enough about how much I love Malice!! This is a perfect blend of spicey, sweet, resinous yummy-ness! I cannot stop sniffing myself!! Malice is now securely in my top five list of BPAL blends!

[Scylla]

Whew. Very resiny and very sweet. I am getting mostly patchouli and myrrh. Kinda hippie-ish.

 

On drydown, it smells less hippie-ish and I can totally see, er, smell the comparison to that Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee stuff. My mom swore by that stuff when I was a kid. Before I read the reviews I thought it smelled familiar, but I couldn't place it. That's it, alright!

 

Very cool walk down olfactory memory lane, but not something I'd wear as a perfume.

[JazzieCazzie]

I thought this one would be a can't miss for me based on the notes, but sadly for some reason when combined with my skin chemistry, it didn't quite work.

 

IN THE BOTTLE: Surprisingly light and subtle. I expected something much more in-your-face.

 

I applied it to my right wrist and crook with the plastic applicator and honestly couldn't smell anything. I went for the fingertip application and STILL couldn't smell anything. So I ended up with two fingertips worth on both wrist and in the crook of my arm ...

 

WET: To me, it just smells like soap. Now I don't mind smelling clean and it smells like a NICE soap (maybe the yellow antibacterial kind?) ... but soapy just isn't what I was going for here ... hopefully on drydown the notes will start to float through for me.

 

DRYDOWN: Still soap. I smell clean but not ylang-ylangy or clovey or patchouli or even myrrhy. *Le sigh*.

 

REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MAY 2013:

 

I was intrigued re-reading the notes here and checked my review to try to figure out what didn't work for me the first time. Decided there was nothing that was a dealbreaker, and in my new and not-necessarily-improved body chemistry, it was worth giving another shot ... especially since I learned that the ylang-ylang "clean" smell I noted is the scent of Prell shampoo, which I adore.

 

IN THE IMP: Absolutely lovely combination of floral and incense. Perfect balance.

 

Applied to wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Ohhhhh yes. The ylang-ylang amps immediately with the patchouli and clove right behind it. Wet, this is divine divine divine.

 

DRYDOWN: My only "complaint" if you can call it that is that it dries quickly and very subtly without much throw. But it just absolutely delicious. Indeed it's clean but not soapy on me anymore.

 

OVERALL: I love this to pieces and it will go on my wishlist for more imps and perhaps a big bottle. I think the minimal throw issue can be solved in two ways ... apply more generously and pop some between the girls, always a good place for wet throw.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 5

Edited May 13, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[Penance]

This one really made me sad because I love the scent, but lately it's turning into pure baby powder on me.

 

First sniff:

 

Resiny smelling but sweet, which must be the myrrh. There's also something vaguely fruity smelling like fig that I can't place at all. This scent is so gorgeous; it has three of my favorite notes in it: patchouli, myrrh and clove.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Spicy, sweet and resiny at the same time. There's someting naggingly familiar about this but I can't place it. I think it reminds me of something in Perversion although I have absolutely no idea what it is. The longer it's on my skin, the more powdery Malice becomes, which makes me very sad because I really dislike powdery scents.

 

Dry down:

 

Powdery, sweet, spicy and resiny. I'm getting the distinct impression of baby powder over top of everything else now that it's dry. It's still pretty in spite of the powder, but I just can't wear something powdery like this.

 

The bottom line:

 

I'm undecided about this one. I like it and it used to like me, but I don't know if I can tolerate the baby powder dry down that it's been giving me lately.

[tigerlust]

Malice - I so wanted this to love my skin, but sadly it does not I love all the notes, and in the imp I just knew I would love it, but it turns sickly perfumy on me very quickly. I will use the imp as a room smellum good though, so I can still enjoy it

 

(And like so many other wonderful smellies, if they don't work with my kooky chemistry, I can allways layer it with my beloved "O" and I smell yummy again )

[inkstone]

This was a giftie from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Sweet florals. Hmm, that's not very malicious at all!

 

Wet: Ylang ylang. Nothing but ylang ylang.

 

Drydown: Ylang ylang with a hint of spiciness lingering beneath. Is that the patchouli? I do get a little bit of clove, but not a whole lot.

 

Final thoughts: Wow, I think I finally found a note that drowns out myrrh on me -- ylang ylang! O_O This is a pretty scent, and it does start forming that malicious note in the later stages. It's not very me though.

[surf-tormented]

Smells really spicy and strangely familiar. I was going to say B&BW's Ylang Ylang Myrrh pulse point lotion at first, but the patchouli came in and that idea is gone. Now the Ylang Ylang is way to the back, as is the Myrrh, leaving clove and patchouli, which I enjoy.

 

Oh, I got it! It smells just like Tisiphone on me. I sampled that one yesterday. Except I like Malice a lot more. The clove comes out nicely in this one, though if I want a patchouli/clove combo, I would be more likely to grab for Nocturnal by Goth Rosary than this one, since it has Nag Champa in it and I enjoy all three in one scent.

 

But this would be great for someone who wants a patchouli oil with spice. The spice evens out the patchouli and doesn't make it so much "hello patchouli!"

[sarada]

I've been trying to wrap my head around this one for a couple of days. Initially I thought "Ooh! I want a bottle!" when I first sniffed it. Then almost immediately I changed my mind, and thought that I wanted to swap it. Now it seems as though each time I smell it, it comes across as a completely different animal. I'll probably use up the whole imp in the process of trying to decide if I like it or not!

 

I am a big fan of patchouli, and the way it interacts with ylang ylang is sometimes so profoundly wonderful I am speechless (Tisiphone). But red patchouli doesn't seem to agree with me so much -- it strikes a wrong note for me in Malediction and smells far too sharp and bitter until it dies down in that blend. I think that it is giving me the same problem in this blend. And dark myrrh always seems to 'ruin' scents for me -- I like a lot of blends ~except~ for the dark myrrh, which somehow smells...well, malevolent. And not in a good way. It has sort of a sleazy feeling for me that makes me uncomfortable. That dark myrrh is overpowering in Malice in the bottle and when I first apply it.

 

Then, it goes through this stage where it smells like dark roses, and powder. Strange. Finally, it all comes together as muted spices, darkened woods...maybe somewhere deep inside an alcove in an opium den, a figure sits shrouded in a dark purple cape...well, that's the image I get, anyway. I like it best after the drydown, and it lingers for a very long time. I'm just uncomfortable in its early stages. When it goes through that powdery middle stage it also kind of smells like an old lady's perfume to me...the kind that I'd smell on people in church and wrinkle my nose, when I was a child. I think I will be avoiding dark myrrh blends though, because it usually makes the difference between my genuinely liking a scent, and just being able to tolerate it now and then.

[dcmo]

Here is another scent that I wasn't particularly raving about when I smelled it from the vial. But ON? Wow, that's a whole other story! Out of all the oils that I've tried so far, this is the one I imagine being my signature scent.

 

It's a lovely smell, with just the right amount of throw, staying power, and just exudes power. It's floral, sweet, spicy, but just that feeling of cold clean "I'm in command". Love it!! Here comes an order for a big bottle from me!

[shelldoo]

wet ylang ylang

 

as it dried more clove came out to plat and made this nicer, it seems to be a citrussy, clovey, floral almost confuses me

[omly]

Wet this was mostly ylang-ylang. As it dried it went to a mixture of plastic (think VOCs aka new car smell) and patchouli. Whew that was a weird failure mode... I am afraid chemistry will keep Malice and I from getting along.

[bellis]

Hmm. I'm glad I'm not the only one who got the citrus note, because that's definitely all I could smell in the bottle besides patchouli. Once on, it got sweeter, and I can pick up a hint of the clove and ylang ylang, but it's mostly slightly dusty patchouli. I like patchouli on other people, but not particularly on myself, so I think this will go to swap.