Ville-Marie

[Little Bird]

VILLE-MARIE
An elegant blend of native and imported flowers twirled around a sophisticated vanilla-touched white musk: Madonna lily, crabapple blossom, Begonia juliana, dendrobium and phalaenopsis orchids, and five varieties of lilac.

Un musc blanc sophistiqué, touché de vanille et marié à des fleurs indigènes et étrangères: lys, fleur de pommier, Bégonia, orchidées dendrobium et phalaenopsis , et cinq variétés de lilas.

In the bottle, this is lots of buttery, sweet lilac, and I actually worried that it would be too rich and cloying. Thankfully, on my skin, the hyper sweetness disappears and I'm left with a very realistic and amazingly beautiful lilac. It has the honeyed sweetness of real lilacs, along with their cool, breezy, clean quality. I think that I'm picking up on a hint of creamy, cool white musk as well.

I was worried about the apple blossom (which tends to turn to soap on me) and the other notes that I'm not familiar with, but this is lilac heaven for me. I hoard Blue Lilac single note for special occasions, but I think that I like this even more than the single note for my lilac fix.

Beautiful.

ETA:
This blend did not age well for me at all the buttery sweetness seemed to get stronger and stronger, and the apple blossom soap started to appear. It's sort of like lilacs, rancid melty butter, and dryer sheets on me now. Edited February 13, 2013 by Little Bird

[boxinghelena]

Out of the three, Ville-Marie is the one I like the best. I love lily scents. I'm getting a touch of vanilla with lilly and lilac. I would love for the lily to be dominant but the longer on my skin, the more the lilacs are coming out.

 

Not bad but it's not a scent I would wear often.

~

[saralaughs]

This is a very light and airy. The florals all come together to provide a really beautiful backdrop to the centerpiece of this blend, which is the lilac. A bit of vanilla gives this a bit of a darker element to help ground all those flowers. Yeah, it's not DARK vanilla but compared to the lightness that is this bouquet, anything is dark(er). Creamy, sweet, and a bit reminiscent of Joyful Moon, I like this blend a lot once its in the dry phase. When wet, it is a bit too powdery and sharp for my tastes. We'll see which wins out, like vs dislike when it comes to a bottle.

[stellans]

oh dear. Where's the lilac in this? All my nose picks up is a sickly-sweet plastic-y lily. I am so disappointed because this was a much-looked-forward-to blend, and now it's all I can do to keep typing and not run wash it off tout suite.

 

ETA: I think, after a process of elimination, that it's the lily note which is not working on my skin. I don't have good luck with lilies, unless there's another stronger note which keeps it in line.

Edited June 17, 2011 by stellans

[zankoku_zen]

Vanilla musk and lily. Sweet, creamy, kinda sharp. I was hoping for some lilacs, because that would have made this super awesome.

Sadly, the lack of lilacs makes me sad.

 

ETA: So I tried this again and on wet, it smells like scented baby diapers/baby wipes. It dries down to a soft lily with a tinge of vanilla. Low throw, low wearlength. I think I'd still keep it IF it weren't for the first 15 minutes which smell almost repellant AND have a huge throw on me.

 

SUPER SAD PANDA NOW.

Edited November 13, 2015 by zankoku_zen

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: soft vanilla, something crisp and fresh underneath

 

Wet: I'm not good at detecting most individual flowers (except rose and jasmine, which scream out at me) but I can sense strong white florals here, mixed with sweet vanilla. This reminds me a lot of MB: BiggerCritters, just replacing the jasmine with something almost like a sharp white musk.

 

Dry: muted vanilla and florals. Very faint. Pretty, but kind of generic.

[milo]

This is quite difficult describe. I know I'm getting creamy florals, and a nutty, butter foody vibe. As it dries, what I mostly get now is the lilac, though I had to peak, as the florals were really difficult to detect on my own. So this ends up being a creamy lilac on me with a touch of sweet vanilla musk. Yes, it sounds nice, but I've yet to find a lilac note that actually smells like REAL lilacs, which I adore. This blend kind of reminds me of Penis Admiration, probably because of the lilac. This is 'OK', and I like it, but it really isn't the kind of scent I wear. I love to find a lilac blend that smells real on me.

[Diva Urd]

In the bottle: This barely smells floral at all - in fact, it's disturbingly sweet and foody for me.

 

On: At first, I definitely get that buttery thing a lot of people have mentioned - and yes, it does seem quite foody to my nose. There is also an extremely sweet vanilla present. This smells like a rich cake with a few flower petals. As it dries down, the buttery note recedes a little and the vanilla becomes less cloying... but I still can't say I enjoy this very much. Also, I had expected lots and lots of lilac, and I only got very little. I am a bit disappointed.

 

Later: More floral now, though the vanilla is still very much there and still too sweet and foody for my taste. The lilacs and lily are about equally strong. I'm going to let this one go.

[jizatt]

I havent quite made up my mind about this one. I was hoping for mostly lilac and white musk. I do get mostly a gorgeous white musk, maybe the strongest white musk note from any I've tried with bpal. But the floral part is what has me undecided. It is pretty though, and white musk lovers and lilac lovers should give this a try!

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from Pretty Indulgent

 

Initial Thoughts: I love vanilla. I love florals. White musk is one of the few musks I can trust not to amp badly on my skin.

 

In the bottle: As advertised. Vanilla-laced musk and florals. It does all meld together into a buttery-cakelike impression.

 

Wet: My skin being my skin, I'm getting the musk first. On the plus side it's dragging the vanilla along with it. But a few of the florals are showing up very quickly even as I type and sniff.

 

Drydown: The florals emerge to even out the musk in a remarkable return to the in-the-bottle stage. I think this is the first time I have ever had a perfume dry down to such a close approximation of the liquid plus my own skin scent. It's quite fun sniffing the bottle and my wrist side-by-side.

 

Verdict: I think I like this. On my skin it strikes me as a more floral version of Antique Lace and a good daytime/work scent. If you're a fan of any combination of floral and vanilla and gentle musk, try it.

[Dark Alice]

All I smell is lilacs. Which smells sour and like dead plant matter. I can't even get past the imp wand to try this. This is going to go.

[Invidiana]

Though I do like all of them I have to say this is my favorite of the Pretty Indulgent scents. It's predominantly a vanillaed white musk on me with a soft floral background in which I can definitely make out the orchid and lily with a hint of lilac. The lilac is actually pretty subdued, just enough to make its presence known but in no way overpowering. Apple blossom can be iffy on me but this one doesn't go to soap. I have no idea what begonias smell like because I've never actually stuck my nose in one when I had the chance but in any case it's working. All I know is I'm amping the vanilla musk and I'm all over that.

[angelamaria]

In decant: finally, a feminine blend from this round! And--yay vanilla! This is decidedly floral--I'm getting the lilac topmost, I think. This is bright, white, and sparkling, along with being creamy. Amazing!

 

Wet on skin: creamy florals! And my skin must usually amp lily, because that's what I'm getting now, quite decidedly lily. I don't mind! The lilacs come back soon after. These are bright, feminine, and pretty florals. Elegant, but also young and girlish; and while drying, the vanilla is giving it an almost foody twist, although this is not a vanilla blend and it never tips over to the foody category.

 

Dry: creamy lilac is definitely the first thing I notice here. It's not as girly, but still definitely young and fresh and bright--more of a young woman now, actually. This is beautiful and elegant without being overbearing.

 

Verdict: I did a retest of this as it was very promising, but after that, I decided that this floral just isn't for me. It's slightly too cloying, too "much" for me, and given that it's also more expensive--well, I have other beautiful florals in my collection.

[Lorna Brigid]

Oddly enough, I'm not a fan of lilac when it is fresh and in real life. Don't care for it then.

But it seems to really work in scents on my skin!!!

Ville Marie is my favorite of the three scents here. And funny enough, on me, with that buttery vanilla note going on, I actually smell like lilacs and cake when wearing this.

Very nice!

[lohengrin]

In the bottle: It's almost buttery--I don't recognise it as vanilla, or even particularly sweet, but definitely warm. The florals are just an undertone.

 

On skin, wet: The florals move to the forefront, but none stand out particularly.

 

On skin, dry: The lilac is a little stronger now, and the almost-buttery note peeks out again in the background, but it's still primarily a fairly standard BPAL floral on me.

 

After an hour: A bit of soapiness now, not aggressively so but enough that I will probably keep this as a room scent, not a wearable scent.

[crebbsgirl]

I've been looking for a good lilac scent for years, and I think I've finally found it! This is lilac and just a hint of vanilla and white musk on my skin. It's wonderful!!

[midnight_aeval]

This is the oddest thing - about a minute after I put this on my skin I smell that sweaty locker room smell from high school. What in the world! I looked to the notes and saw one that usually reeks havoc (pun intended) on my skin; "blossom". Usually the culprit is orange blossom, making me smell like a public bathroom, but I think "blossom" in all forms just has it out for me.

 

If I can get past that icky smell, like in my peripheral nose.. smelling (does that even make sense?), I do get the lilacs and it is quite lovely and feminine.

 

This isn't a soapy floral, which is excellent, but unfortunately it just doesn't work for me. Sad.

[mymymai]

ITI: It smells like super sweet vanilla, musk, and some lily under all of that.

 

Wet: Thick vanilla pudding, musk, orchid, and a touch of lilac on my skin.

 

Dry: The orchid, lily, and lilac are more evident dried on my skin. However, there is still a light tone of musk and vanilla to soften the florals and keep them from becoming soapy.

[Withjoy]

When wet, this had a weird sharp note. I didn't like it all and was worried. But as it dries, it has turned into the lilac I was hoping for! This is lilac that is a little green and not over whelming at all. Ville-Marie is going to be a keeper for sure!

[Eemia]

This is very creamy and delicate. The lily is clean and veers towards soapy at the beginning as it usually does on my skin. But it's not stamping out everything else in its path; it's a tame, subdued lily for once. Then I get more impressions of cleanliness and fresh, soft lilac. It's all dainty petals and a background of something that reminds me of a skin musk. Close sitting without a lot of throw. It's like a shower fresh, lightly perfumed skin type of fragrance. This is a beautiful platform for lilac, and I love lilac and so this is one I wear often.