Vice

[luxuria]

Voluptuous and indulgent! A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom.

This smells like those break-apart chocolate oranges..with DIRT. And holy cow, is it STRONG. Something in this absolutely did not agree with me but I gave it 5 hours on my skin before caving and scrubbing it off.

It had morphed into something creamier and richer, but there was still something sickening in it. I still smelled the "dirt" at the end also. After loving Bliss as much as I did and especially wishing Bliss had a bit of fruit in it, this seemed like it would be a god-send. Not so!

[Faerykin]

Vice

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone ... and a little in the cleavage.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): Mmmm …rich, decadent, sweet chocolate with a slightly herbal undertone.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): The green, herbal scent moves forward a bit … surrounded by this thick, rich, sweet chocolate. Mmmm … nummy.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-on): The herbal note dissipates and I am left with a sweet, veil of chocolate. Not really detecting the cherries at all – at any point in the morphing of the scent. Unless, that is what is sweetening the chocolate. Either way, this is very comforting scent. It didn’t do much to curb my cravings, but it did bring upon a sense of peace and happiness. Oh, and it’s incredibly long-lasting – nummy indeed. Keeping the imp … lets see if it makes the Big Bottle List.

 

EDIT - The hubby liked it ... so it looks like an addition to the Big Bottle List.

Edited December 1, 2004 by Faerykin

[tart]

Vice did not smell good on me, which was disappointing as I like Velvet and love Bliss.

When I first put it on, I got a wonderful chocolate, but it was quickly followed by a grassy, herbal scent that I wasn't expecting at all. Hello, cherry? Where are you? The cherry was faintly there, but the herbal note was so unexpected and overpowering. It might have been the orange blossom, because orange blossom tends to hate me.

This wasn't the sinfully indulgent chocolate cherry scent I expected it to be. I'll give it another go to be sure, though.

[Azrhiaz]

I agree with Luxuria that this is very like one of those break-apart chocolate oranges (only I don't get the dirt). And I adore those; in fact, it reminds me of my favorite coffee, long since discontinued from Panera-- Cafe Borgia (*shakes impotent fist of rage*). All velvety chocolate-orange goodness, with perhaps a little bit of cherry peeking through. Range for long-lasting is about medium-- reapplying at five hours. Not bad, if not as pervasive as some others.

 

Delicious and sinful, and I'd love a big bottle.

[zapevaj]

In the bottle, it smelled mostly of mellow, rich chocolate- more of a milk chocolate than a dark one. Applied, a bit of the orange scent came through more, and even more upon drying- and yep, I smelled exactly like a chocolate orange! Good lord I love those things. The cherry was only slightly present for me. Awesome scent; I may have to get a big bottle.

 

I've no idea how long the scent lasts, though...I can't smell it at all right now (6 hours after applying), but I had stir-fry for dinner so now everything smells like Szechuan sauce.

 

-Rae

[Lit Chick]

Very aptly named oil. It's beyond decadent, but just short of gluttony... it's eating a large box of assorted chocolates in one day, as opposed to one sitting.

 

If sweet and rich (but mostly sweet) is your thing, then this is the oil for you.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Deep Chocolate.

 

Second Impression: I don't get any black cherry. The orange blossom and very pungent and I don't think I like how it smells with the chocolate.

 

Final Analysis: As much as I adore chocolate, the majority of the chocolate scents I've tried just don't work well with my chemistry. I'm glad I got to sample it though.

[Fyre_in_Winter]

This is the first BPAL blend I have smelled that contains chocolate. The imp smells of sweet cherries closed, but when I opened it I got a whiff of cocoa and bitter orange. Not being a fan of chocolate and orange together, I snapped the imp shut and a bit of the oil got on my fingers. The orange just completely exploded on my skin with the chocolate as a dry and almost bitter underlier.

 

Now, I'm from Florida, drink the juice on a daily basis, and it will always have a place in my heart. But this convinced me that I devoutly do not want to smell like one.

[pekeana]

WTF. In the vial, Vice is all green chocolate. Like chocolate in the middle of a garden, absorbing all of the greenery.

 

On me, it's indescribably... there is no sweet. It's all orange blossom and bitter, sickening chocolate with a twinge of cherry. It smells disgusting to me -- I'm not insulting Beth's skills as a perfumer here, but my skin just makes this absolutely retch-worthy, and I'm going to go wash it off now.

[Nadirah]

This was a Xmas gift from a friend. I would have never picked this myself but I am finding out that I like it! At first its a sweet cocoa smell, then the cherry steps up a bit. I can smell oranges but its not at all what you'd think it would smell like. These notes go so well together and it doesnt feel too overpowering to me. It DOES last a good 4 hours on my skin and has a very light floral feel to it. Very Yum!

[The Ace of Spades]

It's a little sharp in the bottle. The orange blossom seems a bit strong on me, and there seems to be a bit of something sharp in there (I kept thinking 'anise' for some reason). After about 30 minutes, out comes the chocolate. It's quite yummy -- a little too rich for everyday, though. It fades faster than the other scents on me, unfortunately.

 

ETA, 1/10/2005: I'm wearing Vice again, and this time, it smells more like a mix of really rich orange chocolate and some kind of booze (hot buttered rum, hot toddy?). The prior sharpness is nowhere in evidence, and now, it just smells warm and decadent. It also mixes nicely with Body Shop Chocolate Orange shower cream's scent.

Edited January 10, 2005 by The Ace of Spades

[Northernminx]

So sweet even my father noticed it. I didn't get a lot of cocoa in this, my skin seems to morph it into something almost like sandalwood, but coated in sugar. Not a lot of cherry either. The overall result is I smell rather like an over-cooked piece of candy. It's not a bad smell, but very sweet and playful... and not really me. For some reason chocolate smelling scents and I just don't get along. Off to swap.

[scourgeotheseas]

I'm glad I let Vice stay on for a while, because it morphed quite strongly on me.

 

In the bottle: Artificial chocolate and bug spray. Or chocolate, strong green herbs, and bug spray. I'm wondering if the bug spray is my personal impression of orange blossom. Almost all chocolate scents in bath products smell weirdly fake to me, as well.

 

On me/wet: Still smells of chocolate and bug spray. After about 15 minutes, the bug spray goes away!

 

As it dries: I smell chocolate first, with a faint hint of cherries and vanilla. After a while, I smell exactly like a chocolate covered cherry, but in a good way. It's a light cherry and chocolate scent. Damn, it's gorgeous.

 

It doesn't have as much throw as I'd like, and I needed to reapply after about three hours, but it is a highly enjoyable scent. I'll definitely keep the imp, but I'm not sure it's a 5ml.

[ianastar]

Vice - Very chocolate when I first put it on.....like chocolate cake batter with cherries on top. It has since died down to a nice chocolate smell....still a little of the cherries there. If you were to buy a box of chocolate covered cheeries and open it up and take a big whiff.....what you smell....would be Vice. I would buy this one again.

Edited January 17, 2005 by ianastar

[tsarina]

Vice was one of the first BPAL scents I wore, because its simplicity is its charm. Straight out of the vial it smells of dark, bittersweet chocolate like the kinds I buy for baking. On my skin, the subtle wafts of cherry and orange came out over time. It was difficult not to want to gnaw on my arm, as it smelled delicious.

[etherealchild]

Before I even pick up the bottle I have to say that I don't like chocolate, orange blossom or cherry in my body products. However since Beth is so fabulous I am gonna give it a go anyways.

 

Int The Bottle Chocolate and faint cherries, cocoa .... ehhhhh

 

Wet WOAH. choc-o-lat-ay. damndamndamn....the cherry is taking over the whole thing. I don't mind the musky cocoa so much...... but cherry? bleeehhh. Hopefully the chocococoamuskiness will win. lol. must say..... this one makes me feel dirty in a very good way. I never thought of chocolate or cherry as sexy, but this is damn near horny..... I wish the cherry would go away..... lol. It's one of those I don't like the smell, but I sure do like the way it makes me feel. lol

 

Drydown Cocoa muskiness is gone. I smell faintly of cherry cough syrup.

 

Two Hours Later I can barely smell it now. I smell like I spilled oough syrup on my shirt......

 

Verdict Not a fan...... but I wasn't expecting much to begin with. At least I didn't HATE it. lol.

[thespring]

I guess Im crazy but in the vial, its nailpolish to my nose...

 

Later on me, its extremely dark chocolate, cheeeeerrrrry and finally orange blossom. It sort of smells dirty. And the cherry gives it a little bit of a bitter almond scent.

The only chocolate for me is Bliss.

This just didnt work on me very well , just like Velvet...

 

Not bad tho!

[leapylees]

This is the first chocolate scent I've tried but between ordering it and it arriving I discovered that I do not get on with cherry at all.

 

Initially it smelled very strange and rather chemical and then it morphed into.... the scent of one of those Strawberry Shortcake miniatures from the 1980s. Eeek! I smell like scented plastic.

 

Into the swaps pile it goes.

[Fallenangel743]

I was going to wait to wear this another time before I reviewed it, but I couldn't resist because of leapylees review. I tried this the other night, and I too exclaimed, "I smell like a strawberry short cake doll!" Which is actually kind of cool, but not as sexy as I'd imagine chocolate, cherry and orange could smell. I'll have to try this again. Right before it turned into scented plastic, it smelled like pixie sticks, which was again, neat, but not sexy like I'd hoped.

[Gin]

Cherries and chocolate. This is so sweet it almost makes my teeth ache. Then chocolate takes a backseat and lets orange blossom take the wheel while cherry rides shotgun. I know better than to let orange blossom drive--she always takes me to the sour part of town, so I searched for some Bliss to layer on top of it. By the time I found the Bliss, though, orange blossom has calmed down and Vice has developed a delightful creamy scent, like chocolate-covered vanilla buttercreams. I think this would be a keeper, if not for the orange blossom.

[Falathwen]

This blend completely surprised me by going tropical. Somehow the orange/cherry/cocoa combination became the scent of pure cocoa butter on my skin. I adore the scent of cocoa butter, so it was not a problem. Like other cocoa blends, this remained consistent on me and faded slowly.

[warmfuzzies]

in the vial-- a sickening nutty strawberry (which i find later is sickening strawberry...) on wet: strawberry nuts. drydown in like a strawberry sundae, and extremely nauseatingly sweet.

[harlequin]

The Chocolate part of this one is yummy, but unfortunately, there's something in it that's a bit tooooo close to gluttony to make my tummy comfortable.

 

I hope it's not chocolate that's putting me off! that would be so sad. (but then again, i got the same sort of thing from Sacred Whore, so maybe it's not.)

[darkitysnark]

Vice

 

This one went completely weird on me, and I will try it again to see if I can reproduce the strange effect, but I'm putting my initial reaction up as a place holder for now.

 

In the bottle:

Sweet chocolate covered cherries.

 

Wet:

Jasmine?! Huh? I don't get it either, but I'm getting some sort of strong floral, and I think it's jasmine.

 

Drydown:

Still floral, and not even the strange tobacco/chocolate I got with Gluttony (which is what I was thinking how "chocolate" in general must react to my skin).

 

Later:

This one didn't last too long on me. About four hours later all I could get was "sweet". Not a foody sweet or a floral sweet... just sort of a sugar sweet. The Mr. gave it a "meh".

 

I will try this one at least one more time. I spent the day around my MIL and she's got a whole other ol factory thing going on with her that might have crossed my wires.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Chocolate!

 

After 10 minutes- Chocolate covered cherries!

 

After 30 minutes- This smells exactly like ooey gooey chocolate covered cherries in all their glory! As this dries the cherry smell takes completely over and becomes sickly sweet. Like cherry jolly ranchers or a cherry scented candle. It started to make me sick to my stomach and I had to wash it off.

 

Summery- I like Bliss better as far as chocolate scents go. This one was just way to sweet for me.

Edited February 26, 2005 by requieminblack