Velvet Tiger

[hkhm]

 

Spiced Satsuma orange, tangerine, rich amber, black licorice, teak, cinnamon, and vetiver.

 

bottle: spicy orange and light smoke.

 

wet: rich, ambery orange. the spices are very tame, making this seem like a nice spiced chai with orange. the vetiver is pretty light on my skin.

 

dry: the orange fades a bit but the spicy amber scent endures for a while. very nice.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, it's spicy Vetiver. Uh-oh...

 

Wet on my skin, it's all smoke and vetiver. This is not promising...

 

It's almost completely dry and I still can't get past the strong Vetiver note.

 

I knew I was taking a chance with both Velvet Tiger and Velvet Panther having my dreaded vetiver note in both oils, but I honestly thought Velvet Panther was the bigger risk. I really thought the orange, licorice, and amber notes would temper the vetiver enough in Velvet Tiger. Instead, Velvet Panther turned out to be this glorious sexy scent and Velvet Tiger is just bitter vetiver on me.

 

Maybe if I let this settle for a month or two, the other notes will temper the vetiver....at least that's my hope. Otherwise, this is off to the swap/sell pile.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Vetiver.

 

Will need to retest skin and get back to this, but so far... vetiver.

[greenranger]

I can smell the vetiver in the bottle.

 

On, I can smell vetiver and oranges. As it dries I am getting a nice licorice kick, and a faint whiff of cinnamon goes by. I can smell the teak, oranges, tangerine, and licorice, but the vetiver is still fierce.

 

At will call I lost track of where I put this scent on my arm in the midst of trying so many different scents. I am hoping that trying this solo works better.

 

Drying, there's vetiver overlaying everything, but, so far the licorice and oranges are still there. On my skin it is unlikely in the extreme that the teak will vanish. Overall? A fierce but slinky scent. Attractive but edgy, with slashes of sweet gold and spicy black.

 

If it stays like this I will love it.

 

~edit~Several hours later, what I have is a softer and much less edgy scent that is mostly amber, cinnamon and licorice. There might possibly be a little bit of tangerine left, or it could be my imagination. Amazingly, the wood and vetiver have vanished. I could wish that it stayed a little edgier and darker...but, this is still a nice spice scent.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[GoldenRubee]

I am wearing Velvet Tiger today. It starts out very strong tobacco at first (i know it isn't listed but even my husband agrees) . After 10-15 minutes, I can smell the tangerine and spice come out and play very nicely with the amber. I can detect no licorice at all and no vertiver to speak of. I LOVE vetiver too so can tell you with certainty that if you do not like it, don't worry, it is whisper light to non existent. This smells very nice on my husband and he said he was going to take it from me. I told him I would buy him a bottle (maybe I will and maybe I won't) the nerve of some people!. Very nice and understated and very lingering once it dries down. Two bottles please!!!!

[AliBabble]

heavy vetiver at first, mixed with some bright orange - i don't wear much vetiver, but i like it once in a while...the vetiver recedes fairly quickly, and the orange comes forward - sort of a spiced orange smell - like an old fashioned pomander orange, stuck w/ cloves...it's got almost a candy-ish feel - like orange hard candy. something lurking in the scent reminds me of leather...maybe the licorice? i think i would like more of a defined licorice smell, but this scent is interesting nonetheless - it does some morphing, with the different layers popping in and out...though i can't smell the amber...this scent fades to a spicy orange with smpky vetiver. the licorice masquerading as leather bugs me a little, but overall i like it, it's quite warm and comforting.

[nursekins]

Very sexy and sultry.This one goes on vetiver and orange...but that calms very fast...I know many of you hate vetiver and I would not consider this a true vetiver scent...It just adds a dark sultry edge...keeps it from going all holiday orange and spice...the orange mellows out and a lovely cinnamon note kicks in...more cinnamon bark rustic like...not food like at all...the amber is warm and resin like...this one has to have a touch of tobacco or it is a very dirty teak...teak normally on me smells cleaner...a clean wood...this is a dry dark wood...with a hint of dried tobacco leaves...not pipe tobacco but natural warm dry...the licorice is not foody and very well blended you sense it is there but it is almost impossible for me to pick it out on its own...oh yes...this one is gorgeous...if you can let the vetiver calm down it will be worth the wait(that was to the non vetiver people...I myself like it but like I said...not strong after drydown)

[ravenfeathers]

i like vetiver and i'm afraid to try this.

 

in the bottle huge, smoky damp blast of black-green vetiver from hell

 

*takes a deep breath*

 

wet on skin it's... gluhwein and silas ruthyn, on tour, one night only. i don't know what it is with the vetiver in this, but it kills small children and sucks their bones out of their skin. manky!!

dry on skin OKAY! this? is impossibly awesome once its dry. i'm getting a nice slow burn with the cinnamon, a high but still sweet citrus from the tangerine/satsuma, just a breath of black smoothness from the licorice, a golden layer of amber, and something tobacco-y which must be the teak up to funny business. the vetiver is unequivocally king here, but it's not stompy despot of doom like it was wet.

 

let this be a lesson to always try the BPAL on the skin, kids.

Edited April 16, 2009 by ravenfeathers

[Brianne]

Why I got this: spiced oranges with licorice? Ummm yes please. This was THE scent I wanted from the whole collection.

 

Why I was concerned: rich amber. I don't always have a problem with amber, but sometimes it can really go awry on me

 

What it ended up being: Enraged Orangutan Musk how did you get in my decant??? Seriously smells like that - dark and musky with a deep orange scent and dark spices. Not what I was expecting. Not unpleasant, just not what I thought. Very dark.

 

What it reminds me of: Enraged Orangutan Musk, it smells nearly identical on me!

[ami226]

Oh, vetiver! Why do you hate me so?

 

On the skin, this is only smoke. Icky!

 

On the drydown the smoke fades a bit, and I start to get a bit of orange. I am afraid that this one just doesn't agree with me one bit.

[Molls]

I am not a vetiver fan. To me, this smelled like pure vetiver. Make-your-eyes-water vetiver. I was brave, however, and put some on. it took about 90 minutes, but the vetiver finally calmed down a bit, and I now smell a spicy orange and a little licorice and cinnamon. Don't like it well enough to keep it though...

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

When I went to smell this wet, I was not prepared and I literally almost puked. So of course, I ran and found my boyfriend and made him smell it unwarned , and he had pretty much the same reaction...which was to gag. Look, okay, wet this smells like unadulterated vetiver, but it gets better. I promise you, if you try it on it will be totally worth getting through that initial yucky stage!

 

Dry, the vetiver burns off almost entirely leaving a wisp of an earthy background behind bright, tangy mandarin and dusty, spicy cinnamon. Such a lovely combo. Plus, that tiger is totally rad! Count me in!!!

[lefthandmade]

Oh yeah, spicy orange. In the very beginning more smoky orange though, because vetiver is strong in this one at first sight. It doesn't take long for it to simmer down and let other notes through though, and orange sweetens up and shows a spicy face with a touch of licorice but only a touch. It doesn't lose the smokiness though, I can smell the vetiver even after drydown, which is not all that common on my skin, it usually dies down after a while and gives room for eventual sweetness. Here it still does that but it stays around at the same time. It's good and yeah it's feline and a little dark. I like. Much.

[hespera4523]

(I decided that I had to find the song "Bungle in the Jungle" to listen to whilst writing this review. It seemed appropriate.)

 

The tiger on the label of my decant is lookin' at me funny. Seems to follow me whichever way I move.

 

So, into the perfume. I think we all have met Vetiver. And yes, we all know that in any quantity above a dribble, Vetiver is a complete attention whore and will not shut up. This is the kind of vetiver that knocks you down and steals your wallet, then buys your boyfriend a drink with your rent cash, before taking him back and screwing him on your bed, then giving him the clap which he then passes on to you before selling your stereo to buy Vetiver a designer purse. Yeah. Its like that.

 

But like any good attention whore, Vetiver has about a fifteen minute attention span, during which time Licorice and Cinnamon finally decide its safe and begin to creep out, dragging a reluctant Satsuma with them. With a little prodding from her spicy sisters, Satsuma sits happily in the near-background, lending a bit of sweet-and-sour tang to what could otherwise be an entirely herbal, bitter mix.

 

This one's going to have to grow on me. I like where it goes, but its like the mile-long line for Space Mountain at Disney in high summer: you have to decide if it is worth the wait or if you'd rather just find somewhere nice and cool to go have a smoothie. Everyone has to make that decision for themselves. Luckily I have a whole decant to play with before I make up my mind.

[VioletChaos]

in the vial, i got cassia (!?) and the Mandarin orange.

 

wet on the skin and after dry down, it became a spicy/orange scent, that reminded me a lot of those orange pommander things i made as a kid around the holidays, with cloves stuck into a whole orange and left to scent the air.

 

the problem for me is

1. this scent really wasn't strong enough for it to be worn around the holidays or used as a room scent and,

2. it's not really something i would personally wear as a "warm weather" scent.

 

 

so i'll pass, though i'm really glad i got to try it!

[mparker]

In vial - Vetiver. A lot of vetiver, but with orange shining through.

 

Wet on skin - Immediately, this is quite strong vetiver, but the orange amps up quickly. This is distinctly a mandarin orange, slightly tangy and sweet. After about 10 minutes, the vetiver backs off for a while, allowing an absolutely stunningly gorgeous scent of sweet, tangy orange, rich dark licorice and a spicy twinge of cinnamon. Delicious and just astounding. Unfortuntately for me, this stage only lasts for about 15 minutes, and it fades away to a soft and lightly spiced vetiver, which is appealing enough, but just doesn't compare to that gorgeous burst of pure awesomness.

 

I'm going to have to experiment with reapplications and/or scent locket with this one. I imagine the vetiver will only gt stronger with aging.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

On me, Spiced Satsuma Orange/Tangerine, Licorice and Cinnamon TOTALLY kick Vetiver's ass.

 

This smells like an herbal tea. Which makes me wonder how this would layer over a heavily Vanilla scent.

 

I pulled out Antique Lace. It's a divine combination!

Edited April 23, 2009 by Heavenlyrabbit

[crebbsgirl]

Velvet Tiger was a punch in the face of vetiver and licorice. It remained harsh all through the drydown on my skin, as opposed to Velvet Panther which contains vetiver and anise but is somehow a little more slinky. VT was just uncouth. I got a spicy orange vibe later in the drydown, but it was still a little harsh for me, and I much prefer Velvet Panther of the two.

[nekogrrl]

I will have to say 'meh' to this. I was hoping for a more ambery scent, but this is all spiced orange and tangerine. Wet, it smells like a fizzy orange powder, and.. nearly 7 hours later, it still smells the same. At least it has good lasting power, but not a lot of throw.

 

ADDED May 3:

 

Wet on skin: FIZZY TANG. Or a fizzy Sweet 'n Tart. It's definitely candy-like, and citrus, and.. fizzy. Reminds me of Candy Phoenix in the fizzyness department.

 

Dry on skin: No change. Ugh. I have no idea what's doing this in this blend, but it's not working for me.

[femmefatale]

This smelled so wonderful at first, all spicy oranges with just a hint of smoke. I loved it!

 

But then....poof! It's gone. Like within 5 minutes I couldn't even tell where I had applied it. This makes me sad.

 

 

ETA: Ok, so out of the blue the scent cack, but this time it's a smokey, spicy amber with a hint of woods. I like this stage also, I just wish it had a stronger throw.

Edited April 26, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[Dark Alice]

First and foremost....I am afraid of vetiver but because of the wonder that was Black Panther, I decided to give this a try...and unfortunately...I was disappointed. The satsuma...the one note I was hoping I would amp.....dies on me....I mean literally stake through the heart, I curse the day you were born, and your little dog too death. And then the amber stomps it's way in....but it becomes watery. WTH? As if amber does try and put me in a headlock enough already. The licorice comes riding in and whips the amber into some kind of ambery licorice blob....leaving me a with a watered licorice on my skin with hints of spice jumping up and down like mexican jumping beans. *sigh*

[copagirl]

I'm not a huge fan of this one with my chemistry. In the bottle it's very nice, spicey with licorice, orange and what I presume is vetiver. On wet it's the same yummy smell, but it dries down to straight cinnamon/clove. (And not in a good way either...)

[milo]

Well Hello Veh-tih-varghhh!! I don't think I've tried a blend that screams out vetiver so much as this one. The vetiver stays, too. Every once in awhile, I think a bit of orange peeks out, and something spicy/cologney. The eventually dries to something spicy, masculine, smoky, and yes, vetiverish. Not for me, (I don't like wearing masculine scents), but I'd probably break my neck turning if a guy walked past me wearing this. So yeah, I guess I do like it, just not on me.

[lookingglass]

Whooo-la spicy, smokey vetiver! On the skin there is a blast of orange, then onto...MORE vetiver! On me, it gets really dank. DH loves it. Dries out to an orangey, powdery...VETIVER! Lovely, if you like that sort of thing.

[catattack]

Imp: Aged tequila and orange.

Wet: Aged tequila and spices.

Drydown: The vetiver is very strong. In this blend, my skin is interpreting the vetiver as a smoky tequila. I can smell the orange and licorice in the background. This scent is smoky, dark, and sinister. After a bit, I could smell cinnamon. Further, it becomes darker and sweeter.

Overall: It reminds me of what the inside of my tequila barrel smells like. I like it, but I don't know if I want to smell that way.