Saint Foutin de Varailles

[edenssixthday]

SAINT FOUTIN DE VARAILLES
Echoing the worship of ancient fertility gods, some early Christians attributed the power to grant blessings of reproductive fruitfulness to Christian saints through accidents of folk-etymology. A syncretic saint of questionable origin, he is possibly the result of a merging of the deity Priapus, or Mutinus Mutunus, and the sainted, semi-mythical first bishop of Lyons, Ponthius, often pronounced Fontin by the common folk of France where his veneration was concentrated. Saint Foutin's name is an amalgamation of Pothinus and the verb foutre, which means "to fuck", effectively granting this saint the prerogatives and powers of his predecessor, Priapus.

Saint Foutin was said to cure venereal diseases and other genital maladies, grant fruitfulness to women, and restore potency to men. Scrapings of stone from the groin of one of the saint's statues in France was said to cure all sexual ailments. At other shrines, offerings of wine were poured onto the saint's penis, and worshippers molded ex votos in wax shaped to represent their afflicted body parts to leave in his care, either at the foot of his statue or hanging from the roof of his shrine.

Beeswax, frankincense, dried rose petals, and a dribble of wine.

So far, this is my 2nd favorite from the update. It's GORGEOUS. On me, it's predominantly a dark, tea-rose type scent that's bolstered by the smooth and sweet beeswax, the dark, resinous frankincense, and the tiniest hint of sweet, boozy, dark red wine. It's very feminine in a heavy, dark, and Victorian-gothic-romance type way. The throw is amazing for the first couple of hours, but at around the 2 hour point, it starts to fade quickly, leaving behind a weird after-scent on my skin that's kind of flat and powdery. But that's entirely beside the point because when it reaches that stage, I can just reapply a teeny tiny bit (since a little goes a very long way). This is really beautiful and I can't wait to dress up and wear it on a night out.

[alizarin]

In the bottle Saint Foutin de Varailles is all sweet & wine to my nose. When first applied it morphs a bit and the resiny, rosey notes come out to play.

 

It took awhile to mellow out, but once it did it's a glorious scent. The frankincense is most prominent on me but it's very well-rounded with the sweetness of the beeswax and just a hint of dry rose. The wine almost disappears but it's still peeking around the corners a bit.

 

Sanctified yet sultry. Absolutely gorgeous.

[cfrancesca]

Yes, I can't think of another word to describe this except for gorgeous.

 

I can detect all the notes.

The musky and sweetness from the beeswax, the roses are sophisticated and add femininity, the wine note is delicious and the frankincense is definitely apparent and prevents the other notes from getting too sweet and rounds out the scent to be very classy and "grown up".

 

It's a very decadent scent. I imagine wearing this with a beautiful flowy dress and red nail polish, I don't why but that image come to my mind.

 

ETA: After awhile, the frankincense gets much stronger and takes the forefront.

Edited February 14, 2010 by cfrancesca

[tielan]

Oh my gosh. This is a beeswaxy version of Fairy Wine, only it's not going all thin and sour the way Fairy Wine does on my skin. *inhales*

 

Truly, I opened the bottle and fell in love with the scent. I could just pour this out all around my room and die happy. The roses provide the soprano, the wine is the alto, the frankincense the tenor and the beeswax the bass - an exquisite four-note harmony.

 

Five minutes later: ARGH! What gives? Still some roses, still a dash of wine, but mostly the frankincense and beeswax. Still a nice scent, only not quite what I was expecting.

 

I wonder if this would work better on me if I layered it with Whip.

[FathomBelow]

My first Lupercalia order EVER has just arrived!!!

 

Wet on skin: Boozy cough syrup.

10 min. later: Much improved. Phew! This is impossible to describe (it doesn't help that I'm not exactly sure what frankincense smells like). There's a fruity richness which must be the wine...occasionally I get whiffs of the skin-musky-beeswax, just like in Lights of Men's Lives (although hopefully this won't go all powdery on me like that did). I can't smell the rose at all, and if the frankincense is there, I am unsurprisingly unable to identify it - although it might be what is responsible for turning this into a very "dark" scent.

Completely dry: Wine and beeswax are most prominent on me. Not much powder, thankfully. The only drawback is that it might be a bit too sweet.

 

The previous reviewers were right; this is a very dark scent. If this were a color, it would be black with occasional glimmers of deep red - or red so dark it looks black.

[Caerphilly]

In the bottle: Sweet red wine and cough syrup. Not too sure about this.

 

Wet: Ooooh!! The beeswax comes out and I love it!! Powdery honey wax with red wine. As someone described, smells like Fairy Wine with beeswax.

 

Dry: The roses come out. And it's roses and beeswax and a slight sweet boozy red wine in the background. But it remains as roses and honey. My two favorite notes. Smells a bit like Jezebel on the dry down, but not as heavy.

 

Overall: I'm buying more bottles! This is the new Jezebel for me! I really don't like it in the bottle. When I first got my package and opened each bottle to sniff, I thought, Wow this smells horrible! Nothing against Beth! That's the first time I thought that when sniffing a BPAL. Even with patchouli scents. But as it dries, I just need more bottles! If you like Jezebel or Fairy Wine, or even Bordello, you would like this.

 

 

 

[abejita]

I was really hoping that this one would have the notes listed from greatest strength to least. Meaning, it would be a primarily beeswax and frankincense scent. Unfortunately, I tend to amp grape/wine notes. This might as well be grape candy single note on me. Dammit. I don't even get a wine-like note. It's super sugary grape.

[musichappens]

Upon instant application I'm hit with a beautiful mix of sweet wine and roses. It actually makes me think of going on a romantic date to a fancy restaurant where a dozen roses are the center piece on each table and a bottle of red wine has just been opened. Once completely dried it turns into an amazing blend; in fact, I can't readily pick out a single note. I'm definitely going to be needing a bottle of this.

Edited February 21, 2010 by musichappens

[Saya]

This is quite lovely. On me this is a light, bright scent. Primarily beeswax, rose and wine, I'm not detecting any frankincense.

 

This is giving me a memory flashback but I'm not sure of what. Smells like another BPAL blend, I think Day of the Skulls, but I'll have to go back and check my notes.

 

All in all, I like it. If I's similar to day of the Skulls I'll pass on a bottle since I already own DotS, but if not I might throw a bottle in with my next order.

[greenranger]

Beeswax, frankincense and wine...of course I had to try it!

 

On me, the wine and roses are strongest, with the beeswax still very apparent. The frankincense is a sweet resiny background to the other notes. Except for one worrysome moment when it was freshly applied, the roses are behaving. They do smell like rose petals, rather than roses, somehow. I don't know how.

 

As it dries, the roses and wine step back, and now it is all about the beeswax. Yum.

[penemuel]

I'm kind of sad -- I had high hopes for this because a) resin and b ) beeswax! Unfortunately, something in this is going oddly flat and strange. There's something very specific it smells like and I can't place it. However, I blame the wine and/or rose -- probably the combination of the two. I'm still hoping that the resin and beeswax overpower the whatever, but I may have to take this off my bottle list...

 

ETA: after a while, that weird edge is fading, and it's becoming a nice beeswax/rose scent with a slight depth from the resins. Probably still won't get a bottle, but not letting go of my imp!

Edited February 24, 2010 by penemuel

[Little Bird]

Saint Foutin de Varailles is *gorgeous* and pretty much smells like equal parts of all of the listed notes on me. It smells like dried, dark, aged, sweet roses, a bit of fruity (almost plum-like) dark wine, and sweet, honeyed beeswax and incense. It's a dark, sexy, old smelling scent that makes me think of pinup models, old dance clubs, and flappers. This is what I always wished Formula 54 had smelled like on me. I can also imagine the woman in the The Blood Garden artwork to be wearing this scent. It's such a bold, confident fragrance.

 

I think that this is going to have to take the title of my favorite rose scent. I usually amp up rose blends to rose single note, but this is complex, dark, sweet, sexy, and all around beautiful. I feel like it fits me really well, like I'm supposed to smell this way.

 

I need a full bottle of this, for sure. I don't own anything else quite like this scent. I want to bathe in it, and I want my house to smell like this too...

 

:love!:

[thekittenkat]

When I first looked at the notes, it was "what's not to like here". Okay, so I'm not that wild about wine notes, but it's just a dribble. On me, this is the honey note of the beeswax and the lovely rose, not a pink rose, but a darker rose. The frank keeps it from being too sweet or too floral. The wine note gives it an air of mystery. Like The Peacock Queen, I'm not sure where I would wear this out to, but if we could hit up a big band nightclub, this would be perfect. Otherwise, it will be perfect for any goth nights, or anytime I'm wearing blacks and velvets and black velvet. And, I plan on wearing it with my steampunk garb. It's lush and rich and just a little decadent. I do like it.

[wl552]

This one is still up in the air.

 

I keep trying rose notes in all their various incarnations via bpal and have yet to find one that meshes with me 100%.

 

At first, it's ROSES!!!!!!!!!!!! But the fresh cut sort that I like well enough, but still... it's roses, you know. hmmm

 

Shortly, the wax comes out hitting hard and it does tone down the ROSE! note, but after awhile I'm left with dried rose petals like the kind in a very old potpourri sitting next very waxy (unlit) candles.

 

I can't find either wine or frankincense.

 

I'm on the fence about this one, so will hold it for a little while to see how it ages.

[voorishsign]

In the imp - faint frankincense and wax.

 

On wet - beeswax, incense, and the rose.

 

Drydown - Mmmh. Beautiful. I will need to take this for a full test run. I might get a bottle. Faintest rose, frankincense, beeswax, but no wine - or maybe it's so subtle I don't notice it right now.

[windbourne]

One bottle for me, because I can never have too much beeswax. :9

 

*cough* Seriously, though, this is AMAZING. Wax and wine and soft dusty rose petals with a deep ambery resiny gorgeousness of frankincense. This is everything I hoped it would be wrapped up in a bouquet of amazing. The wine amps up a little more than I might like at first, but it settles down into a vague flush after a short time. It's like No. 93 Engine with dark red notes instead of brilliantly golden ones.

 

This was the first of the Lupes that I pulled out, and the one I was probably most excited about from the notes. It's nice to feel justified.

 

Very good wear-length and moderate throw. I won't actually pull this out for all-the-time wear, but for special occasions, as it really feels like one that needs one to be dressed to match.

Edited March 9, 2010 by windbourne

[portalkat]

This was the one that I thought for sure would be bottle worthy and I even passed on getting a decant initially because I was sure that I would love it. Money is tight these days, so I ended up getting a decant just to make sure. Well, I absolutely love this and I think that this is my favorite BPAL beeswax scent so far. The balance of all the notes is amazing and the beeswax is so smooth and gentle, not too honeyed, not too sweet, but it goes perfectly with the rose I don't detect much frankincense or wine. I love frankincense, but I'm not a huge fan of the wine notes, so I am happy. I only applied a bit on the side of my wrist and it stayed for an entire day and I could smell the throw from just the little bit that I tested. This is definitely a full bottle order for me and I am even considering a backup.

[Dark Alice]

Oddly...this has the barest hints of red wine in it, frankincense, white roses, with hints of beeswax. This is quite nice...but I think I will be fine with my last rose of summer.

[sirensea]

The first thing I get from this blend is WINE. Opening the bottle and sniffing was like entering a winery. Now that I've tested it on skin, it's more of a soft, boozy scent that's nicely complimented by hints of rose. I also get an almost sugared note from this... I think that must be the beeswax.

 

All in all, it's a very pretty and sophisticated scent, but it's not for me.

[milo]

Wet, the 'dribble of wine' amps, and I mainly get the wine with a touch of beeswax. Dry, it's the other way around, beeswax with a dribble of wine. I don't get anything else. I'm finding I'm not a big fan of beeswax, and wine, while I enjoy drinking, don't like to smell like it. That being said, I don't mind this, though it is rather sweet on me, and the wine note is quite faint, just the barest whisper. While I 'like' this, it's probably not enough for a bottle purchase, and I have a couple of other imps that are similar to this, so I'm good for awhile.

[Geminirubyshoes]

EXQUISITE.

 

This was one of the Lupers' that I was seriously anticipating the awsome of and it is, teh awsome.

 

In the bottle it smells like fresh creamy beeswax with a soft smoky undertone. A hint of the wine is apparent but just barely.

 

On me it is soft, smokey and sweet...actually very similar to White Rose from last years BPTP offerings. I can't get over the sweet creamyness of the beeswax! it blends seamlessley with the rose (think rose in Knave of Hearts rose) and the frankincense. I get no wine on my skin whatsoever but I am ok with that. I would've have been ok either way really.

 

The Saint stays on for a good like time too. The label art is pretty great with the little statue in the back as well

Edited March 15, 2010 by Duskinhereyes

[hlemonds]

Well, i thought i had reviewed this one, but i see i have not! I tested this one twice from my little decant. The first test seemed very rosey, but it is possible my nose was just overwhelmed as i tested several scents that same afternoon. The second test was much nicer, but i found this blend very, very similar to Lights of Men's Lives with an added touch of rose. Since i already have a bottle of Lights of Men's Lives, which i adore, and a bottle of Spellbound that i can use to layer a touch of rose on top, i didn't need to keep my bottle of Saint Foutin. That is not to say that Saint Foutin isn't a lovely blend, it surely is! I just don't see the need to have it AND Lights of Men's Lives in my collection.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Delicious. Sweet wine and roses. And something I can’t identify. That’s probably the frankincense.

 

Wet: It’s a smidge medicinal when it first hits my skin, but I think there’s promise.

 

Drydown: A little sickly, unfortunately. Like I spilled cough syrup on some flowers.

 

Later: Sharp and sickly on me. Sending this decant to my swap box.

[anomie]

Imp: Beeswax and rose petals with a hint of frankincense.

 

Wet: Just the beeswax and incense. Very calming.

 

Dry: This melds into something really intriguing - the wine has come out. Will need to test this again - it might be better for sniffing than actual wearing.

[fairnymph]

Golden oil. Rich, honeyed, intense beeswax, sour rose and sour wine, and a lot of sweet, dark and heavy frankincense. An odd mix of sweet and sour, with all notes accounted for.

 

More, rose and it's less sour - I think most of the sourness is from the wine - it's actually a fairly fresh rose, not really 'dried' - and while it's a strong note on my skin, it's not taking over the blend by any means. The beeswax continues to be a powerful presence, still very rich but less honey-sweet, and it has a lot of heft to it - both it and the frankincense feel particularly heavy and verging on cloying. More smoke & resin/incense qualities from the frankincense.

 

Darker and darker. The rose has faded and become more sour again, a reversal to its imp-state - and been overshadowed (as has the beeswax somewhat) by the frankincense and wine, and I swear I get the dark oak note from Zadok Allen Vinyard and the Antikythera Mechanism - actually this scent reminds me of the former quite a bit though this lacks fruit. This just smells very woody and smoky, a bit bitter, rather masculine.

 

The wine note is interesting in that I'd never mistake it for grape (let alone grape syrup as wine in BPAL often is), but it doesn't really scream wine to me - more like a poor quality wine that's been left open for a few days and has turned vinegary. But I don't think I'd identify it as wine blind. Frankincense and dark wood are definitely ruling this, but the wine has become less sour over time, integrating with the other notes.

 

After an hour or so the rose is truly more like dried rose - a very subtle sprinkling of petals - this would be a good scent for those who fear rose or amp it out of control. The beeswax has lost just enough of its cloying richness to be warm and glowing and creamy-waxy with a light sweetness - it's very lovely in the later stages, and becomes a main player again, on par with the dark woods and smoky, sweet frankincense, with no distinct wine but a suggestion of faintly fruity-boozy purple depth. Moderate throw, fades a fair bit. Unisex.

 

Morphs a lot on my skin, but it's never something I'd wear.