Burning Vulva

[hkhm]

Vanilla-infused amber, leather, beeswax, cyclamen, oakmoss, peru balsam, orange blossom, red ginger, tonka, opoponax, myrrh, and black pepper.

bottle: whoa! fiery! i get the ginger and amber most prominently.

wet: there is so much going on in this scent, it's difficult to pinpoint notes. i can really smell the ginger and orange blossom above the amber but i keep getting faint hints of leather and beeswax. the overall feeling of this scent is jagged and bright.

dry: this dries to a potent amber and spice scent, it's not quite as gingery once dry, more spicy and smooth with wafts of the opoponax, myrrh & black pepper. amazing.

[Cheri]

Definitely fiery. It kind of reminds me of Blood Kiss when it's wet, but tones down a lot when it dries. I'm hoping the vanilla smooths and warms it as it ages. I'm not really sure what my opinion is right now.

[iiinterstate]

I ordered this with mild reservation, because I believe peru balsam has gone weird on me in the past. Also, I tested straight out of the mailbox because I am impatient.

 

In the bottle it smells like ginger and leather.

On me it starts out much the same, then orange blossom amps up quite a bit. Very bright.

 

As it dries down, I get a little more ginger, little bit of beeswax, but its still primarily orange blossom. I was honestly expecting a vanilla base to this, so here's hoping.

 

After about 30 minutes: still primarily orange blossom and a hint of ginger. I'm not really impressed at this point, but I'm sure Burning Vulva will mellow a bit with age (hopefully into something more interesting!). There's a lot of great notes in here, so I'm going to hang on to it and see what happens in a month or so.

[cfrancesca]

Wet, I get beeswax, a hint of vanilla, red ginger and oakmoss. It strongly reminds me of Lovers with Rutting Cats in this stage. However, once it dried, it changed almost dramatically. I start getting lots of orange blossom (which often amps on me and gets very sweet), vanilla and light leather. The final dry-down is again, orange blossom (which thankfully gets softer and blends in nicely with time), soft vanilla, and hints of light leather, oakmoss, and red ginger. I didn't find this to be a "burning" or "fiery" scent at all (at any stage), which is perfectly fine in my opinion, because who would want to smell like a burning vulva?

 

I find this blend very wearable but I fear it might be too sweet for me (orange blossom almost always does this on me).

 

ETA: After about an hr. this became slightly powdery vanilla and soft leather on my skin.

Edited February 5, 2011 by cfrancesca

[ltrittipoe]

Upon first application, I get loads of red ginger - it reminds me of my beloved War. But there is something powdery there..... and as this dries it morphs into all powder, all the time. Maybe there is a little bit of leather there? Amber does this to me sometimes. So sad!

 

 

 

 

[milo]

At first, this is all about the red ginger, which is a bit overpowering. Gradually, the amber comes out and the ginger takes a back seat. It's more of a creamy spice now. In spite of this creaminess, it is kind of fresh and a bit citrussy at the same time. I was worried about the red ginger, but it is behaving nicely here. I think this is a keeper, it's nice, just fresh from the mailbox, and I'm betting this will get better with age. I'd say it was a 'happy' burning vulva if that makes sense, not sharp, inviting and very very saxy!!

[Nepthys]

I loved this for the first half hour it was on, then began to find it a little cloying. It smells initially like vanilla, honey and pepper and is sweet with a bite. Then the orange blossom begins to make it a little too sweet and it drowns out the leather, ginger and pepper. That lasts for a short while, and then it goes back to a perfect blend. Still, I can see myself getting sick of this if I wear if too often, especially as summer comes on, so I might dilute it and ration its wearing.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, darkly, muskily spicy, maybe a bit of leather? On my skin, much the same. I can smell the balsalm and the spices rising, though, and I have a feeling that's how it's gonna turn out on my skin in the end.

[*butterflybynight*]

This, in my opinion, is very closely related to Giant Vulva. Maybe kissin' cousins? Not exactly what I expected, but I like it none-the-less. The note that stands out most to me, both in the bottle and on the skin, is the beeswax. Very similar to the aforementioned Giant Vulva, it's a honeyed/waxy fragrance with just a bit of something going on in the background. Some have mentioned a spiciness, but it seems to just be an afterthought. I'm guessing this is the ginger and pepper, whispering from far in the background. The notes I most wanted to smell; opoponax, leather, myrrh, and oakmoss don't seem to be present. BUT: These are pretty much all notes that seem to strengthen with age, so they will probably be late to the party. There is just a smidge of powderiness here, after a bit. To me, this is a much more wearable Giant Vulva. Where the Giant version's beeswax and vanilla flower could become sickly cloying after a while, this is much more wearable, in the end. GV's smell was sometimes overpowering, clogging up my nostrils with it's strength and intense throw. Burning Vulva, on the other hand, is not nearly as strong and sends minute whisps of fragrance all around. Don't get me wrong, where it lacks in strength, it makes up for in longevity, lasting for many hours. This blend is the epitome of a work/office fragrance that should add some depth and character to itself when given a chance to age.

 

Added: This is one of two BPALs that I've gotten positive comments on, thus far. After giving my grandmother a hug, she kept going on and on about how good I smelled!

Edited February 15, 2011 by *butterflybynight*

[MtMoonKitty]

In the bottle this is a very strong ginger. Some got on the outside of the bottle when my friend brought it to me at work and it made my cubicle smell like men's cologne. I had to put it in my lunch box. I tried it on after my shower and wet on the skin I love this scent. I smell the ginger but it loses its overpowering effect as soon as it is on my skin. It dried down to a mild powdery scent that is a little spicy, but not like some of the other blends I have tried that give me an "old lady-baby powder" impression. I like this one, but I like it best when I first put it on. After that, it is just a nice clean smell but not that spectacular. It is not what I expected of "Burning Vulva" but I do think it is a keeper and I can't wait to see how it ages.

[hlemonds]

When this is wet on my skin I get a nice zing of ginger and pepper combined with leather and beeswax. Once dry I get a good dose of beeswax, the warm fuzziness of the vanilla-amber, the ginger and pepper have receded into the rest of the blend, and the tonka adds a sweet creaminess. I like this one very much and I think it is only going to improve with age. I have a feeling that the vanilla-amber and tonka will really strengthen and come into their own after a few months. This will most likely warrant a back-up bottle

[megank4]

First off, I hate the name. It sounds like a bad STD.

"What's that smell?"

"Burning vulva"

(awkward pause) "I'm sorry to hear that."

 

This is not good on me. If it was just the first three notes, I think it would have been a winner, but as it takes a strange turn.

[Dark Alice]

I don't know what the hell all of these notes was supposed to produce on others but on me it smells FABULOUS!!! This is light...but warm and sexy and leathery. I need this.....like yesterday and my next order will have me procuring a bottle.

[tarotgirl99]

I think Burning Vulva is an apt name for this scent, especially on initial application. On my skin, the red ginger smells like red musk, only more insistent. After a half hour or so it mellows into a very earthy headshop smell. Not unpleasant, but definitely not me.

[angburfield]

This is spicy, fiery amber..very sexy with hints of leather, beeswax and orange blossom..not a lot of tonka but agree that I think this is going to just get better with aging. Very unique, undeniable, unexpected and unbearably spicy/ hot and sexy.

[angelicruin]

This one is too fiery for my tastes. It smells like burnt skin on me. Definitely not a keeper for me.

[anastasia]

On me this is a jaunty scent! It is my first Shunga and I am impressed with the way that it utilises Japan smell lexicon instead of America smell lexicon. This is one of the things that makes international travel utterly disorienting at times. The consensus reality of smell is completely different from one county to another.

This fragrance is defintitely a morpher in that it starts with a kind of raw ingredient scent of ginger, red sandalwood and pepper. Among other things it passes for me into a phase that is deliciously and mystifyingly floral - I keep thinking, 'was there some rose in this?' This must be the combination of cyclamen and orange blossom - like no other orange blossom I have known. There is a hint of the taste of Botan Rice candy, a hint of Bee and Flower Sandalwood soap scent, and scents both darker and lighter like a blackened wood spice drawer and a dessert made with lots of sugar and rice. Throughout the experience this smells expensive, like older Japanese gift shops in Seattle's International district. The final drydown is sweetly gourmet and carved sandalwood. Super warm fuzzy! In spite of the name, this seems completely gender neutral. It is snowing where I live but the scent keeps making me feel that it is rainy outside. On me this is a very happy cosy warm indoors in rainy spring kind of smell.

[filigree_shadow]

Whoa. This is hot-smelling but also smells perfumey to me. And oooh, whoops. Didn't notice the red ginger in there. That one tends to turn my skin red and itchy (I think I'm allergic). Eek, I probably shouldn't have put this on my skin. I'm willing to use a scent locket if I like the scent enough, but this smells kind of strange and burny to me.

[strahlend]

In my decant and for the first five minutes or so on my skin all I can smell is the red ginger which reminds me a whole lot of the scent War. I'm not a fan of this stage.

The longer it stays on my skin though the more it develops and becomes a totally different scent. The ginger calms down and just about all of the other notes take turns peeking out and blending together. At one point I was getting a lot of orange blossom, a minute later the amber, a few minutes later the myrrh and leather. The notes seem to come in layers and change like crazy from one moment to the next. I guess this is what the kids call a morpher. The general feeling from the scent is of a unique warmth. Unfortunately the times when the leather surfaces it seems to be the sort of chemical variety that my partner can't stand.

This scent is an interesting experience but the combination of the rough start with the leather issue means this scent isn't going to work for me personally.

[verbranden]

First off, I hate the name. It sounds like a bad STD.

"What's that smell?"

"Burning vulva"

(awkward pause) "I'm sorry to hear that."

 

Hehehe, yeah, I was talk to someone about this perfume and when I told him the name, he responded "...that sounds painful." I was amused.

 

But as far as the scent goes, I almost didn't test this one at all despite ordering a bottle right off. It was strangely foodie to me when I sniffed it - I'm guessing it was the vanilla and a touch of ginger that gave it a distinct smell of "COOKIES!" But then I remembered the advice to skin test everything because you never know and I'm really glad I did. I also noticed right away that the oil consistency seemed a lot thinner than most of my other blends, so be careful with this one!

 

Like many people have already pointed out, this scent is quite a morpher. It was indeed a rather cookie/foodie scent on me right when I put it on, but it started changing almost immediately and for the first five to ten minutes, I kept getting "cookies!... no wait, florals... no, floral cookies!" But after those first few moments, any foodiness about this perfume went away and it just becomes lovely. After a few hours of wear, I'm getting mostly beeswax with enough cyclamen and orange blossom for a touch of floras with undertones of spicy leather.

 

Definitely a keeper, and I'm hoping the foodieness of the vanilla mellows as it ages, as that's the only thing I really dislike about it as it is now.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Hmm.. what an interesting blend!

 

This is definitely part of the ".. Vulva" set - it has the same creamy/waxy feel as Glowing Vulva, and the waxy/vanilla tone as Giant Vulva. But I think this new one is my favourite out of all three

 

I'm really not getting anything 'burning' from it at all.. the red ginger is not spicy nor firey on my skin, and the black pepper isn't really noticeable. What I'm getting most of all is the amber, beeswax and balsam - with a hint of soft leather underneath. The cyclamen adds a subtle top note of sweet floral but not floral as such, and that top note could also be the sweetness of the orange blossom at play - I'm not really sure, as no individual notes really stand out above any others - everything here is really well blended to create a lovely creamy, waxy feel.

 

After about 30 minutes on my skin, the vanilla comes out more - it's a soft, gentle vanilla.. not sweet at all, very nice - it could be that the tonka has warmed into it a little. And now the ginger is a little more present, but still not strong. There's also a slight spiciness from the myrrh but again.. very very subtle. Opoponax can sometimes be troublesome on me (it tends to go bitter), but I'm not noticing that happening here. The beeswax is still there, still good.

 

If I could tweak this blend, I'd like the ginger to be more prominent and the vanilla a bit stronger. I would also like more leather.. but hey, that's just me - really this is a gorgeous blend. As with the other Vulva scents, it has a fairly light throw - I'd class it as a skin scent - but up close it is quite heady. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this becomes a highly prized collector's item once the Shungas come down - I know some people didn't find the listed notes appealing, but I think this lovely blend is more than the sum of its parts and definitely worth a try.

[saralaughs]

This one is too fiery for my tastes. It smells like burnt skin on me. Definitely not a keeper for me.

 

Ugh, yes.

 

Beth, WHY?

 

See, on me this blend is a little psychotic. On the very top (sniffing from far away), it smells nice and intices you to come closer, sniff more. Don't do it though! The 'underneath' smell, that which you get when you do get closer is of burning hair and flesh.

 

Gah. Too evocative of the name for me.

 

*runs the other way*

[calivianya]

This is strangely mild on my skin. I was expecting more of a punch-you-in-the-face burning spiciness, but I have to bring my wrist pretty close to get a good sniff. Wet, I do smell mostly pepper. This scent is complex enough that I can't really pick out the other notes. I can very faintly smell the orange blossom.

 

I was really hoping for vanilla to really come out on the drydown, and it does. I just went from somewhat hating this scent to liking it. It's a fiery vanilla skin musk on me right now. Unfortunately, the vanilla all but disappears again, but the myrrh makes a clear appearance and the pepper keeps going strong. What a strange scent. It is definitely a morpher and I could see it smelling really great on people who amp vanilla, but it's not for me.

[dreamingjune]

In the vial: sharp, reminds me a bit of a feminine version of Dracul. I think I am picking up on the orange blossom and black pepper. I would guess the vanilla infused amber and leather are giving this a dirty sweet quality too. Really struggling to get the nerve up to put this on my skin.

 

Wet: Hairspray. Dirty, perfumey, sharp hairspray.

 

Dry: Yup, more hairspray. No thanks.

Overall: I had such high hopes that I almost bought a bottle unsniffed. So glad that I did not as my skin hates this.

[abejita]

I almost didn't bother with this one, since I dislike black pepper. I was afraid it would end up like War (delicious for a little bit, then all pungent bitey black pepperness). As I was opening the decants from the Lupercalia circle to sniff, Burning Vulva just didn't stand out to me particularly. I put all the decants to the side for later.

 

And then I kept smelling something vanilla-amber-tonka-waxy rich delicious.

 

I figured out that I had smeared a little Burning Vulva on my finger from the cap of the decant vial.

 

It does have a fiery aspect. The ginger is assertive and the black pepper is present, though it's just restrained enough that it doesn't bother me. But something about the leather, wax, vanilla, etc is so perfect a balance. The floral is the merest hint on me, just enough to give a little fresh sweetness. It has a long wear time and pretty good throw. This will be my surprise bottle purchase of the Lupercalia series this year, as it has turned out to be my favorite of them all.

 

Edit: I totally forgot to mention, this has some similarity to No. 93 Engine, just much warmer.

Edited February 26, 2011 by abejita