Veil

[Mandarin]

A quiet scent, soft, calm and enigmatic. A perfume of mystery, of whispers, and of secrets behind secrets. White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang.

I got this in a swap, and I was very curious, because I love the smell of violets.

Wet this smelled sweet and sharp, like a breath of bath salts. I couldn't catch the lilac but the violet and the gardenia and the lavender were definitely there. It had a voraciously soapy bite, but I figured I'd give it a chance, since I do like some 'soapy-clean' blends.

On my forehead: I wondered why this was called "Veil." It seemed like there was nothing concealing about this scent. Instead it was all about opening up, like a brisk person flinging wide windows and pushing open the curtains to let the fresh air in. I am not a lavender person..I used to love it, but now it makes me queasy, so that the lavender in this was a big stumbling block.

The violets are sharp and sweet, but there's something there that reminds me of Parma violets--the candy. I want to wash this off but I tell myself to be patient..it's a beautiful blend in the bottle and doubtless it will change when the base notes come out to play.

The sandalwood is coming out now and the gardenia and the sandalwood are coming together. It's a strangely musky, 'old lady smell' now..one that reminds me of my Aunt Jean. I liked her but her sense of smell dimmed as she got older and she didn't wear perfume so much as *bathe* in perfume.

All in all not for me. It's a perfectly brilliant blend, and for someone who loves lavender and violet and gardenia, it will probably be favorite. My funky chemistry has done unpardonable things to this, and I think the bottle will go to a friend who can wear gardenias and smell richly floral, instead of 'instant old lady'.

[Falathwen]

A strong white floral when wet. I thought gardenia, probably because I had read the description. My husband said clover…which also seemed right even though it is not there.

To me, this is a fancy dress scent. It makes me think of an elegant lady dressed for Easter with white gloves and all. It is intense for a long while, like putting your face right into a blossoming bush. I love lilac and the other notes, so that was not a problem, but it would not be an everyday scent for me. When totally dried down hours later it was gentle and powdery. I was surprised to notice that it smelled exactly like "Heaven Scent"…a fragrance I wore as a teenager.

Falathwen

[DukTape]

Veil is pretty and sophisticated at the same time. All those lovely flowers, gentled by sandalwood. Who'd a thunk it? It seems like the sandalwood keeps this from being just a simple posey and brings it to a higher level. I'll wear this one once in awhile. It's too sophisticated for me for everyday use. People at work liked it, too.

[madame royale]

Jebus. I’ve tried Veil a number of times and each time it turned out terrifically harsh on my skin. All I could smell was a bitter lavender (not the lovely lavender of Villain) and the same original-green-Palmolive scent that I got from Scorpio. I don’t mind soapiness sometimes, but this…this was beyond soapy.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Ah, Veil is a beauty! That lavender note I loved so much in Arcana, with soft white flowers underneath. I could do without the faint touch of gardenia (I *loathe* sweet flowers like gardenia and heliotrope), but there's not enough to mess up the overall loveliness. Veil is the scent of a wreath of flowers and herbs a bride might perch on top of her veil for a spring wedding.

 

I wanted this one for my mom, because I was told it might resemble her signature scent, White Linen. It smells almost nothing like that on me, but I like it so much I may keep it and give her something else, hee hee.

[Ishtar]

After reading all the glowing reviews here, I was looking forward to trying Veil.

 

Sandalwood, lilac, vanilla and myrrh are all notes that work well on me and at first sniff Veil was no exception. It was soft, elegant, reserved without being haughty.

 

The wet stage was all flowers. The sandalwood only came through during drydown, which is also when Veil started turning a little musty on me. One hour after applying, the florals had lost their definition, giving off an old-fashioned feel and losing their appeal to me.

 

A very elegant and soft scent that did not work on me but will doubtlessly be beautiful on someone with better skin chemistry

[gdogs]

this is beautiful!! i received this as a gift from the lab. although i had a little star by it on my wish list, it would have taken me a long time to have worked through the two and three star scents to order this.

 

today, i picked it up for the first time, without re-reading the description.

 

in the vial and wet on my skin, i was a bit taken aback by the sharp, intense florals of this blend. i don't think of myself as a stong floral gal. put it on and went straight to work. . . didn't smell anything on the way as i was on my motorcycle.

 

i'm at work and wondering what that lovely, delicate but full scent is. its me!! on me, veil is a perfect blend of lilac and violet, with a slight chocolatey undertone. it is not sharp, nor is it overbearing. the scent smells like its coming from my skin, rather than from my perfume. it is heady, like the scent is wafting over hot summer air. . . odd, because neither violets nor lilac are hot summer flowers where i live.

 

i can't pick out the sandlewood, lavender, or gardenia. but i'm sure they are part of the chocolatey undertones that keep this blend from being sharp on me.

 

i really like this! i think i will wear it through the winter and long into the summer. and for that, i will need a big bottle!

 

thank you so much, lab, for sending me this wonderful gift!

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

First sniff:

 

Lavender, violet and a hint of sandalwood. It's a very quiet, soft scent that reminds me of wrapping myself up in the sheer curtains on our windows when I was little. I'm not sure if it's me but it's a very understated and soft scent, which is a good thing in my book. I need a little peace and softness now and then.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Mmm, sandalwood! I can also smell lavender almost equally and there's a hint of violet in the background. Other than the sandalwood and lilac in this, the notes in Veil aren't really my thing (at all), but this is surprisingly likeable.

 

Dry down:

 

I can smell the sandalwood, lavender, violet and orris in this now and the effect wavers between dry and slightly musty and floral and vaguely matronly smelling. It's not a bad smell, I think it's just not me.

 

The bottom line:

 

I'm not really a floral person, so this isn't quite up my alley, even with the sandalwood in it. This is going to have to go up for swaps since I can't see myself wearing it more than once in a great while.

[pekeana]

Veil is a very metallic floral in the vial. It's floral, but it's got a tinge of something that smells like it's been shot through with molten metal.

 

On me, Veil is a lesser version of Sacred Whore of Babylon -- it's almost all gardenia, but without the sweet & spice of Sacred Whore to keep it balanced. So, it's a rather off-kilter floral that, fortunately, seems to be disappearing from my skin rather quickly.

[FireInCairo]

The sandlewood is quite prominent in this scent. It seems to be very strong and herbaly. This blend is nice in bath water. It helps me to really relax and come out of the tub feeling calm and very chilled out. Great blend for stress in my opinion..

[rhubarbbear]

veil kind of reminds me of cathedral- maybe the wood? i get a lot of wood in veil, and the orris and lavender. i actually find it rather earthy and grounded, not nearly as ephemeral as i was expecting. for some reason my skin takes the sandalwood and turns it into perfumy 2x4's, so sadly, this is one that just didn't work for me...

[surf-tormented]

The sandalwood, violet and ylang ylang tones of this one came out wonderfully on me. Each one disappearing into the next, like if they were dancing and then came back for the final curtain all together.

 

Hmm...curtain, seems fitting.

 

This is a lovely resin based floral. It wouldn't be the violet scent I would choose, because I like Ultraviolet much better, but the violet is strong enough in this to turn my head and hold my interest.

[Julilla Regina]

This is beautiful and quite understated on me. The violet isn't as strong as in other blends, like Marie. It's clean, because of the lavender, I think. It's very White Gloves for Afternoon Tea at the Ladies' Club. It isn't really "me", but it's truly gorgeous.

 

Honestly, I would recommend this scent to a young girl who wanted a signature fragrance, but didn't want to wear some cheap ass drugstore tripe like "Love's Baby Soft" or something. If teenage girls wore this scent, all the boys would worship them! You could probably land almost any job you wanted if you wore this to an interview. It is probably a perfect match for any time you want to feel gorgeous, but the occasion is not necessarily sexy. It's regal in a Princess of the Realm sort of way.

[aurianrose]

I posted this in my LJ when the forum was down...

 

(This was the first BPAL I ever tried.)

 

When I first sniffed it in the bottle, I thought it was going to be a little too flowery and overpowering for me. I really like lilac and lavender, but I'm not really into smelling like a wilting bouquet. I put it on and kept sniffing it. It reminded me of how a grandmother should smell -- not in a bad way, but in a really Victorian England kind of way. It started to mellow out a bit and I could really start to smell the lilac. It's sweet, but not overly so. And now, as I'm sniffing it, it's starting to smell a bit spicy. Nice! I like it. Maybe not one of my all-time favorites (like I would know at this point!), but really fabulous. All I can smell is flowers! (I think my mom would really like this one.)

[Gin]

This is a lovely floral. I smell the violets right away, but they're softened by the lilac and gardenia. Very pretty.

[shelldoo]

well, lets just say i am learning *not* to say i am not a florals gal, first beth won me over to roses, and slowly but surely w/ violets, this is mostly violets on me, but there is a butteriness,i get the lilac and iris, not the lavender, w/ a touch of sandalwood, but it is ever so light, i do gte a hint of spicy buttery goodness floating around it, this is a siply gorgeous scent, i am gonna use the imp, and see if i need a big bottle

[omly]

I have to say that this is amazingly blended. The different components meld to make something that is much more than its parts. Initially I am not crazy about it. Actually I spilled almost half an imp on my skirt. The Veil on my skin turned to a lovely slightly powdery scent that just enhanced my own scent, blending with the scent of my skin. It is beautiful, like what a finishing powder should smell like.

 

The oil that fell on my skirt retained more of its characteristics from the bottle so I will use it for comparison. The first thing that I notice is that the violet is a lot more apparent than on my skin. As I am not a big fan of violet this is a good thing to me. All in all it is a little less blended, a little more floral (though not as much as I expected I guess from th sandalwood), and a little less powdery.

Edited November 3, 2005 by Shollin

[Nisaba]

*swoons* I think I'm in luuurrrrrrrrve...

 

In the bottle I got sharp florals and sandalwood. Can detect lavender but there's more as well.

 

On me - oooh, lovely sharp violet, then a slight woody scent, then lavender. Very complex; every sniff it changes! Whiffs of all sorts of lovely florals, mostly violet, some orris, others I just don't know enough to recognise.

 

Eventually the sandalwood comes out, sandalwood and violets, and it fades to a lovely light sandalwood.

 

In other words, pure yum, all the way through

[helarctos]

This is another blend that just turns to maple syrup on me, and I'll be damned if I can figure out why. First I thought it was the Lab's ylang-ylang that did it. Then I thought myrrh -- but Veil doesn't have myrrh in it. So maybe after all it is the ylang-ylang.

 

It's frustrating, because underneath the mapley smell I get lovely wisps of a skin note that I can imagine would be just gorgeous if my skin chemistry wasn't turning the whole thing to Vermont at sap-harvesting time.

[anmorata]

Veil:

Wet: I know this smell from somewhere, but I can't quite place it. It smells like candy.. like.. Bottlecaps.

Drydown: Whew! Sugar. Still Bottlecaps.

Longterm wear: Finally, the Bottlecap smell wore off, and became a nice, gentle floral that I really enjoy. It could have turned soapy, and for a moment I thought it did.. but it didn't. It almost reminded me of the lilac and lavender bath powder cubes I used to give to my grandma for Christmas.

[mmcfa2]

Dry candies...That is what I get from this one, then the florals come round and I wish o could smell the Ylang, but I don't. I get sandalwood and violet and lavender, and while i like all three very much, together they set my teeth on edge. This one is a pass, not a OMG wash it off, but a vaguely unsettled feeling I get when smeling it. For violets I'll stick with the raven and for lavender somnus and sophia. For woods grandmother of Ghosts.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very soft. floral and herbal.

on: this smells like a very pretty perfume. just floral. i can't pick out any notes.

1.5 hours later: i think i smell a hint of anise. very nice.

2.5 hours later: sweeter. this smells like flowers and black licorice on me.

overall: i like this, but i probably wouldn't buy a bottle.

[sarahjay]

I have discovered that I don't like violets on me and that they give me a headache...

 

ah well, knowledge is never wasted

[Galen]

violets! Parma violets at that. After a while, a few other notes are coming through very subtly, lavender, etc. Oddly I can then smell burned sandalwood- what's that all about?! Then parma violets again with occasionally the dry dry note of white sandalwood.

 

I was hoping to love this one, but I've discovered that violets don't do a thing for me

[aritei]

Palmolive! Argh, I really like all the individual notes in this one too. Stupid chemistry.

 

ADDED May 5:

 

This is another I ordered an entire bottle of, unsniffed based on the reviews. I love violets on other people, but they always seem to hate me. why!?