Burning Vulva

[karykeion]

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

 

I saw beeswax, ginger, vanilla, and a note from Vixen, and I said yes. Decanted by Little Bird!

In the decant: Wow. That's like...thick and creamy and angry all at the same time.

On me, wet: Huh, I'm not sure how I feel! It's so interesting and different, peppery and red, but still creamy somehow. ...Oh my god, what is that? Is that the orange blossom? What's it doing? It needs to never stop. ...Oh wow, hi, pepper! Oh jeez, this is such an interesting blend, I can't get over it. I'm not even sure I like it that much, but it just pulls off the concept so perfectly! It's so warm and creamy and fiery at the same time. The vanilla and orange blossom come out more as it dries, and they almost do that thing where they join Wonder Note powers and take the form of Snake Oil, except they don't because there's no patchouli in here.

On me, dry: Warm creamy pepper, amber, and ginger. It's basically a blend of a bunch of other things I love--it's got notes from Vixen (which turns into Snake Oil on my skin), No. 93 Engine, Dracul, and Variety of Pleasing Amusements, and it manages to stand apart from all of them. I'm not sure how I feel about it. it could definitely be one of those blends I love that actually smell terrible on me and I just don't notice, so I'll get some second opinions, but in the meantime I'm REALLY happy with it and it definitely lived up to what I was expecting.

[brilliantcat]

In the bottle: A strange combination of notes. Most strongly beeswax, orange blossom, and ginger.

 

Immediately after application: OH YUM. Leather, black pepper, and a smidge of oakmoss and orange blossom.

 

Warming up: Mostly orange blossom with a tad of ginger and the vanilla-amber.

 

Fading: Orange blossom and vanilla-amber.

 

Faded: Average throw, average wear.

 

Overall: It started off wonderfully but dried down to a vanilly-orange scent. Very light. I thought this was going to be a winner but it ended up being just average.

 

Rating: 3/5.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Something earthy and bitter that I would have said was vetiver even though it's not on the list of notes and a touch of citrus

 

Wet on me - The ginger starts to come through but the main note is still that dark murky bitter one

 

Dry on me - Dry, earthy, bitter and, yes, burning scents, I think it must be mainly the oakmoss

 

Overall - It seems all the notes I wanted just disappeared and I the ones I didn't take centre stage

[vthesiren]

This is pretty nondescript on me - dries down to beeswax with a hint of pepper and oakmoss. Not much throw. I don't particularly like or dislike it because there's literally nothing about it that jumps out at me! I spent a while tracking this down, but I think this one will be swaps, unfortunately.

[nightwing]

I was going through my imps for a purge and I had to review this when I smelled it in the imp.

 

Because in the imp, it smells like cheese. Sharp blu cheese with a little bit of musk.

 

Wet: The cheese feeling goes away, blooming into musky amber with a hint of something orange. The vanilla also quickly makes itself known and while not overtly plasticky the way it sometimes can get, it does feel a little off. At this stage, it's very cloying and a bit powdery.

 

Drying: The wax must be what I'm smelling, because there is something waxy about the way it smells, a bit like waxed cooking paper. I'm getting none of the notes I was hoping for (leather, ginger, pepper, oakmoss or balsam), and just something odd and a bit stale.

 

Dry: The notes I love are finally showing their faces, but this blend is crazy mild for something with so much spice. It doesn't have a ton of throw and is very close to the skin. It like it enough to keep it, but only just.

[aquazoo]

I like that vanilla! The amber and leather are there. Nice on the skin, and a little bit hot.

[Teamama]

Aged bottle, swapped with a lovely forumite.

 

After 6 years, Burning Vulva isn't spicy on me. I can definitely pick out the vanilla-infused amber, tonka & beeswax. The leather, opoponax & myrrh are there, but very subtle. I believe that the cyclamen, oakmoss, peru balsam, orange blossom, red ginger, and black pepper have become a well-blended background, providing a faint spiciness that supports the sweetness, resins & wax. I'm enjoying aged BV, and happy I got to swap for it.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: ?? - in the bottle I smell the ginger, which is distinctly the Lab's red ginger note. On my skin though, I don't know what I am smelling. It's really weird at first. (Just for the same of interest, I happen to be reviewing the same bottle, I believe, as Teamama above me. I swapped her for this bottle. <3 )

 

As it settles more on my skin, I start to be able to distinguish notes, and am relieved. It's getting less and less weird each time I sniff. It's mainly balsam of peru on me, with a background of Tonka and red ginger. Sadly I don't get any of the beeswax, which is a fave of mine. It's a mildly sweet scent, very smooth, a little spicy. Interesting!

 

 

Dry: This dries to a lovely resiny balsam scent. It's warm and comforting. The Tonka and amber provide a lovely sweetness. There's just a hint of spice. Not what I was expecting, but extremely comforting. Not sure if I will reach for it, only time will tell, but really glad I got to try it!