Virginia

[Wwindy]

An exotic South Asian musk blended with white sandalwood, tobacco absolute, white sage, caramel, black orchid, tonka bean, frankincense, muguet, and juniper.

More Virginia love here!

I should note that my oil is *definitely* not opaque -- it's a mostly clear bright gold. Looking at this color, I'm not convinced that there's really any red musk... but yes, the scent note does resemble it.

I don't really notice the caramel here at all (and I disliked the caramel in both Red Lantern and Now Winter Nights Enlarge, for whatever that's worth). What I do notice is a drop-dead glorious slightly floral incense scent that gets me more compliments than virtually any other BPAL blend I've ever worn! Seriously, this shot to the top of my "unsolicited compliments" list the first day I wore it. The overwhelming reaction from other people was "Beautiful incense smell!"

There's something about this that reminds me a little bit of Panther Moon after drydown, honestly -- it's a very hippie kind of musky scent -- but elegant and slinky nonetheless. And I couldn't tell you what it is to save my life, but there's *one note* here that makes my nose/brain/something go absolutely bonkers (in a good way!). I keep sticking my nose in my arm and being very, very happy.

[crebbsgirl]

I agree with Wwindy that this is a gorgeous floral incense! I was a little worried about the caramel but it doesn't really make an appearance. I'd say the black orchid, sage and sandalwood are most prominent on my skin. I get just a hint of frankincense. I love this!

[ClareN]

From the reviews, this seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it scent, so I was curious what it'd do on me.

 

Lots of musk (grapey red musk as in Smut), caramel, a little tobacco, a little frankincense...and something weird, deep, and off-putting.

 

Several reviewers have picked up on this scent's strangeness, and I think it's caused by the combination of muguet, tobacco and juniper (who besides BPAL would ever put those notes together? ), along with some sage and orchid in supporting roles. I can see why some are calling it a baby wipes/baby powder note, though if you sniffed it next to baby powder, I think you'd find Virginia much more complex and dark. Personally, it reminds me of a combination of cocoa and vinegar, like uncooked six-minute chocolate cake batter.

 

The off-putting top note fades completely in the drydown, and it's not unpleasant at this stage: all red musk, tobacco and caramel. But it's too similar to other red musk scents for me to wear.

 

If you like red musk and Indian musk, good news: those notes are very prominent. It's the other stuff that will make or break the scent for you. Worth a try if the Big Red Musk scent category is one you enjoy.

 

Try if you like: Smut, Marianne, Bien Loin d'Ici, Urd, Scherezade

Edited May 20, 2013 by ClareN

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Red musk pure and simple

 

Wet on me - Soft red musk and soapy florals

 

Dry on me - A faint powdery red musk residue

 

Overall - It gets eaten very quickly on my skin, which is a shame, because I love the musk

[HerbGirl]

I'm wearing Virginia to sleep tonight and i haven't worn her in quite a while, so i came here to check notes and my review only i never wrote one. Huh.

 

Virginia, like many folks have said, is similar to Mircalla and Marianne most (i'm thinking musk + black orchid) and i adore all three.

 

I checked to see if i still had my backup bottle and kinda freaked out when i realized i no longer have one and my bottle is 1/3 full!!! This is beautiful and my skin chemistry loves it. Another winner.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Herb Girl

[t_for_tau]

In vial: caramel-wood-floral with a hint of commercial perfume.

 

Wet: ...Parma violet sweets??? Nose-tickling musk and chalky candy. This is not going well. All of '11's scents still seem doomed to failure on me, even after 5 years of aging.

 

Dry: the incense has come out now, and it's a classic sort of "Oriental" women's perfume, incense-spice-flora-musk, with a bit of the parma violets still lurking. Could be nice on the right woman, but I am neither of those things. Swap.

[fairybites]

Disappointing. I got none of the other notes besides tobacco and frankincense. I was hoping once it dried down, I might get some of the caramel or sandalwood at least. But nope. I'm sure this is a great fit for someone out there, especially if you adore tobacco, but for me this wasn't what I was expecting. Glad to have tried it though, but definitely no bottle upgrade for me.