Vasilissa

[Lyrical]

She herself had cheeks like blood and milk and grew every day more and more beautiful: creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine.

In vial: definitely pink and creamy. I braved the jasmine in this because the reviews were so good, and so far it's just a gentle floral note. I wonder if pink musk contains strawberries? I find it hard to pick out notes, but the overall impression is gorgeous!

Wet on skin: sweet, pink, creamy and delicate. A hint of strawberry ice cream! Apparently star jasmine is not the usual jasmine-of-doom. Makes me think of something pink from Lush with strawberry and vanilla in it. A perfume for a young, innocent girl who doesn't yet know how attractive she is!

Dry on skin: creamy strawberry (strawberry flavour candy, not fresh strawberries) and vanilla. I can't pick out the sandalwood, amber and myrrh, but I presume they are the rich creamy base. No jasmine-of-doom at all - yay! I'm not a strawberry person, but this is gorgeous!

Second day slathering: I'm thinking that pink musk contains both rose and strawberry, but both are faint! Or maybe it's the jasmine, which I can pick out now, although it's not at all the dog poo note of doom that jasmine normally is on my skin! The myrrh takes it away from the blushing young girl area and gives it a womanly touch. My feelings towards this are mostly very positive. I don't feel that the notes sit very well together at first, especially the myrrh and jasmine, but I suspect that this is a scent that will round out nicely with aging.

[Edited to add scent description] Edited February 20, 2010 by Lyrical

[Leopard403]

So yes, Vasilissa is as good as everyone says.

 

It starts out as a very pink floral on my skin but as it dries and settles on my skin it turns into a creamy, almost-but-not-quite foody blend. This manages to have a slightly fresh component at the same time that it is sweet and floral, yet grounded in something reminiscent of soft vanilla.

 

It certainly does come together beautifully, and will likely be the first GC bottle I've bought in a very long time.

[mimosa]

This was a frimp. I would never have tried it otherwise, due to the presence of jasmine.

This is a sweet almost foody scent, it smells more apricot than pink to me. I don't get the jasmine at all.

It's lovely creamy, innocent and girly. I like it best of the Marchen scents I've tried but I think I'll get by without a bottle.

[thestrangeheart]

This is so pretty, sweet, and warm. On me it smells like a warmer and longer-lasting version of Alice (I would have sworn up and down there was rose in here had I not known). It's really well-blended: I don't really pick up on any of the notes separately. It is definitely a pink and creamy scent. I imagine a young woman who works in a bakery, walking out-- the cream and warmth linger with her, but she stops to gather up a big bouquet of flowers and inhales.

[DeltaCat]

Sweet and pink. When I smell this I just get the image of pink. A very girly scent. I get a hint of Pink Sugar perfume while this is on as well. Candy sweet, creamy, with a hint of a bright floral. I'm glad the jasmine in this is not over-whelmig either.

[kerikeri]

I wouldn't normally have tried this, because musk and jasmine are... not exactly among my favorite notes, but I got it as a frimp and I'm actually quite pleasantly surprised. It's soft, pretty and a little powdery-- I'm getting mostly amber and pink musk (which I think is one of the only musks that actually works on me, as I also liked it in Mlle. Lilith). Over time it becomes a little more sharp and floral-- maybe the jasmine is poking its head out, but it's not too bad. This is really nice for a traditional feminine scent.

[angelicruin]

This is very feminine & delicate. Resembles peaches and cream on my skin. And no jasmine detected at all on my skin.

[wrestlingentropy]

Got this as a frimp with a recent order, and ooh! squee! wow! It's soft and sweet and candied and yummy! So girly and dreamy. Very nice. It's like sophisticated cotton candy in the best way possible. As it warms to my skin, it deepens a bit and really brings out the musk + amber combo (which I love--a personal favorite set of notes), while still remaining essentially light and sweet. Really awesome.

[ami226]

Reminds me a bit of Plastic Pink Flamingo. A very pink and creamy scent. The pink part of the scent gets a bit stronger as the scent dries. Not bad, but not my thing...

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like a clean, creamy, slightly powdery musk and sweet tarts.

 

On my skin, the sandalwood and amber go baby powdery. It gives off the impression of a dusting powder scented with sweet tarts candies and a girly, perfumey floral. Very dry.

 

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed after reading the other reviews, but I wish that I had just gone with an imp. Vasilissa just isn't wowing me, really, and I love The Girl and Velvet Unicorn, which it has been compared to (and I don't think that it's very similar to either of those blends).

 

This is too powdery and perfumey for me. I think that I'll have to find my bottle a new home.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Little Bird

[Saya]

Prior to the price increase I made an impulse order, this was one of the bottles that I decided to pick up unsniffed and I'm so glad I did.

 

This is a very creamy blend, everything combines seamlessly so there isn't one note dominating the scent. I can pick out the musks, sandalwood and maybe a hint of jasmine, but that's only if I'm really sniffing. This is definitely a pretty, feminine blend. This is a blend I can see myself reaching for often.

[milo]

Wow, this one really reminds me of Tiki Queen, though I'm not sure why, as I'm sure the notes are very different. This turns out to be a heady floral on me that threatens to go powdery, and sometimes does. This also reminds me a bit of Tissue, though it's not as heady. This really isn't my type of blend, but it really is quite pretty. There is a note in here that I love, but the jasmine is ruining it for me. I haven't smelled this note in any other blend, so I'd sure love to know what it is. It's a sweetish vanilla. Very well blended, but not my style, and I'll be passing this one on.

[Epiphany]

This is probably the most delicately feminine BPAL scent I've come across, it hovers on the skin as a pink haze and I have difficulty picking out individual components. While jasmine normally=death, it is very subdued here. The creaminess of this scent on me reminds me a bit of how I wear Morocco--the scent itself isn't the same, but it has the same sort of feel to it. I have yet to get my hands on The Girl, so I can't speak to those comparisons.

 

It is a really beautiful scent, but it clings very close--almost no throw on me at all.

[Deidre]

If anyone is pining after Jingo-Kogo, they should try this. It is almost the same scent to my nose.

Since Jingo-Kogo didn't work on me, this doesn't either - too sweet, and the sandalwood goes all sickly-cloying on me. A shame, because it sounded quite good...

[donnatron]

Bottle: Pink musk. Lots and lots of pink musk with a little hint of skin musk underneath and some sandalwood and myrrh beneath that. The star jasmine is MIA.

 

Wet: I amp pink musk like nobody's business and it's always worst in the wet phase. This is all pink musk and then the sandalwood starts to break through.

 

Dry: Then it's a lot of sandalwood. Which is okay, according to my sister who absolutely loves this scent on me. It's not just sandalwood, the pink musk is also prominent and the myrrh and skin musk are around. It's just the jasmine that does not show up at freakin' all. And I like jasmine so that is unfortunate for me and probably me alone knowing how most of y'all feel about jasmine. It's definitely a "young" scent but not particularly girlish on my skin. The predominant sandalwood makes it a bit more grown up and feels a little more suited to my actual age (mid-twenties) than to a teenager. Still, it smells like the new intern or assistant. This scent doesn't know its way around the world and while I never have this feeling while just straight up wearing it, as I was writing my review I was like, "It's going to have a hard time finding out." Which is to say that this is still a little innocent and soft around the edges. Or I'm just totally jacked up. Either/or.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: It's a pretty scent and I really like it. Enough to have run through half a bottle in about three months. I think it's a keeper.

[batakbeatrix]

Jasmine is hit or miss on me, and myrrh is headache inducing doom in most blends, so as somebody stated above, if this hadn't been a frimp I probably never would have tried this, but I'm so glad I did!

 

This is all pink musk and skin musk on me...definitely a very creamy pink scent, and what I originally assumed Alice would be like. There is a slight hint of mystery rose, but it's very nice, calm, and subdued. This to me is a very "ingenue" scent. Soft and innocent, but with promise. This doesn't have huge throw on me, sitting pretty close to the skin.

 

I don't have many pretty girly scents, but this is a definite contender.

[Venneh]

In the imp, I'm getting the same pink musk that was in LoliGoth, very strong. On my skin, it's that same strong pink musk with added skin musk with the white amber coming out? We'll see what this does.

[damonkitty]

I love this one . I get a sweet, creamy shea butter scent from it on my skin. It is a comforting scent that was a huge surprise to me. It dries down to a creamy warm smell. This blend gives me the same cozy blanket feel that I get from wearing Snow White and The Girl.

[strahlend]

This is a very lovely scent. It's very soft and creamy with very mild florals that feel very clean and natural. It reminds me of Alice without the rose. I'm developing a theory that star jasmine is a really wonderful thing and completely unlike any other jasmine. This scent would be a favorite except for that it sticks so close to my skin and is so soft ... I prefer scents that are a bit stronger.

[impolight]

:::VASILISSA:::

 

The faery tales of Vasalissa aren't that familiar, though for the love of the Lab, much research is in order.

Both Amber and Sandalwood are of unfailingly stellar quality.

Wherever the Lab, er, "shops" for their bulk oils (Grasse? Self-distillery?), it is consistently only the premium quality versions that ever see the light of day.

From the Imp: Hello, Pink Skin Musk. Hello, Jasmine. Lovely day for a frolic in the park, is it not?

At this phase, Sir Sandalwood is understated; preferring to stand at a distance and scowl disapprovingly over the top of some loftily compiled works of prose.

On the Skin: Amber is HUGE with the body chemistry.

Myrrh's tendrils are nigh hypnotic in a translucent sort of way... Together, there is an almost citrusy effect.

Vasilissa is idiochromatic. Imagine the hide of a giraffe done in Copper and Hot Pink, but not tacky.

Unique.

.Vasilissa is a fabulous fragrance for Her.

This gets a 4 out of 5.

It's awfully cute!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Milky creaminess with a musky pinkness.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells like a pinker version of Posset’s Madame X. It’s this thick creaminess with a musky note and some pink florals. It’s a little soapy but still really creamy, pretty, and feminine.

 

After a little while: The floral notes seem to have come out more, and now they have a much cleaner, perfumey feel than they did at first. That’s the only thing keeping me from loving this blend, as underneath that high pitched clean floral is this musky, pink creaminess that I really love.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is very pretty and lovely. It is definitely feminine with an almost gourmand type of creamy, musky note with a bit of florals accenting it. At first the florals behave but they got out of hand a bit once the scent dried down. I’ll have to do a full wear of this to see how the flowers behave.

[musichappens]

An absolutely beautiful blend of creamy and sweet musks with just a hint of warmth. This is both girlie and sophisticated .. love it!

[SophieCedar]

I was really looking forward to this one and I'm not disappointed.

Wet: The creamy skin musk is very quick to blossom. Smells like rich butter. Next is the pink musk, which dominates the skin musk quickly. ((I'm realizing, against my own pride, that I really enjoy pink musk.(loli.goth) I really wish Beth would use it more!)) Anyways..the amber is sweet and soft. Strange... the laudanum that I tested between Vasilissa and Knave of Hearts now smells awesome! It's amping sweet nutmeg, myrrh, and poppy. That gives me blending ideas for later.

 

Drydown: pink musk is dominant and the jasmine is just amplifying it. Brilliant. The amber is my favorite kind: sweet and sticky and sandalwood is offering a peaceful dreamy element. I can't really pick out the myrrh however I'm sure it's in there deepening this blend. This is a total win.

[melrose]

Wow,this does smell pink. Spot on, actually. There's a weird undertone of something, maybe the star jasmine, that doesn't like my skin chemistry. It reminds me of Ysatis, a commercial perfume I really dislike. Oh, well, on to the next imp!

[calivianya]

I received this as a frimp with my most recent order, and I was very glad because I wanted to try this anyway! I must say that I did come away disappointed. If pink musk is that sweet smell coming off of this, as the reviews seem to hint, then I officially hate pink musk. This smells sickeningly sweet to me, which is strange because I really love some sweet scents, like vanilla scents. This is just a different kind of sweet - cloying and powdery and quite frankly, nothing I'd ever like to smell again. Whenever I start swapping or selling, I'm getting rid of this one.