Veil

[oakmoss]

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.

On first impression, the violet and iris scents were the strongest, quite delicious, really, with a vaguely nostalgic kind of feeling, like a memory I couldn't quite grasp. With an hour or so, unfortunately, it turned very soapy... not *bad* really, but sort of like those little free white soaps in hotel rooms.

I'm not getting a "veil" feeling from this at all.... it feels like a young scent to me, like something a maiden would wear -- maybe the veil is bridal?

[olympia301]

You could not imagine a more beautiful scent glorifying violets. This one is strong and sharp out of the bottle but immensely attractive. Veil calms down and just becomes hypnotically beautiful. It's like bottled desire. The Lab says its ingredients are:"White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang." I have never smelled sandalwood so well behaved, and the lilac and gardenia blend in perfectly in order to promote the violet. This blend is like a wedding with violet as the bride and her gorgeous attendants. If ever there was a spectacle of a perfume, this one is it.

 

Secretly, I refer to Veil as 'Ultraviolet's Beautiful Sister'. Veil does have some musk in it (which I do not like) but it is very well masked by the other scents and does the service of making the smell last.

 

The first time I put it on, I had to fight the feeling that I was the sexiest woman alive and that I wanted to... Oh, you know.

[inkstone]

This was a freebie from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Florals.

 

Wet: First, sandalwood. Then, the violet. It's not bad.

 

Drydown: This is very wispy. It's similar to the way Queen Mab and Kitsune-Tsuki are wispy on me. The violet and ylang ylang are the strongest notes on me, with the other florals mingling in the background over the sandalwood.

 

Final thoughts: Not bad. Not for me though. Off to swaps.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Lavender powder.

 

In the imp/bottle: Cold! Lilac, lavender, gardenia and sandalwood.

 

On skin, wet: Lavender quickly takes over, as it seems to do with my skin. Lilac is a close second, making of rna interestingly cold floral scent.

 

On skin, dry: Powdery lilac and lavender, with a bit of cold garednia on the outskirts. I love the gardenia, but the lavender is too strong, and it's too powdery..

 

Conclusion: I'm not much of a floral girl, and I've never really cared for strong lavender, so this isn't for me.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Aredhel

[tempete]

Secretly, I refer to Veil as 'Ultraviolet's Beautiful Sister'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was hoping that Veil would be exactly that, and initially, it was. However, Veil turned sharper and sharper the longer it was on my skin. I suspect that either the the white sandalwood or the gardenia note was to blame, since both of these notes tend to be unpleasantly sharp on me. Still, Veil was so close that I might buy or swap for an imp to see if my body chemistry can play nicely with it in the future.

Edited May 16, 2005 by tempete

[starrykitten]

The violets come out most on me with Veil, which is a good thing. It just feels light purple. The sandalwood is a nice, grounding powdery scent which reins in the violet from running rampant like with Nocturne, but not too muddled up or confused.

 

Like a lot of florals on me, it fades pretty quickly, but I guess the point of something named Veil is subtlety after all.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Lilac and wood.

 

On Skin: The lilac and lavender stand out... the violet as well… then the wooded note. Very light and floral. Fluttery and soft. It reminds me of Ultraviolet. This is an extreme floral scent but pretty and subdued. Floral is not for me, but I bet this would be beautiful on someone else.

Edited November 3, 2005 by Shollin

[Little Bird]

In the bottle and on my skin at first, this is mostly violet. Very sweet, slightly powdery violet. It keeps making me think of violet flavored bubblegum.  As it dries down, the gardenia adds a creamy, tropical floral edge to the violet candy and something pops up with a clean edge that doesn't quite go soapy on me.

Veil feels like a little girl's super-sweet violet perfume, trying to grow up into something more heady, grounded, and clean edged. It also has that somber, moody feel that I usually get from violet scents.

Soo... dark and moody little girl starting to grow up into adulthood? I have to say, I would be very intrigued by a girl who was wearing this, if I were to sit down next to her. It's floral, but not perfumey or drugstore floral. It's a unique and interesting floral with a mix of sweet, clean, and heady/rich notes.
---
Wearing a lab gifted sample in 2022:
This smells like I grabbed handfuls of lilacs, violets and a sprig of mint from out in my yard, bits of clinging greenery and all, and churned them into a soap that's floral, earthy, sweet, and a lil clean smelling.  I still get that pop of bubblegum that I did in 2005.  I still feel like I'd love a woman who smells like this.  It's gothic-yet-freshly-scrubbed and it smells like it would be in a band run by a 20-something-woman with good business sense.  Someone artistic, but calm and calculated.

I don't know why I never full bottle this beauty.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Little Bird

[tsarina]

The first whiff is pure sandalwood. Then stron white florals - the gardenia is prominent. I get the lilac and violet strongly, and the ylang ylang is just the barest hint. I love the sandalwood in this because while it is prominent, it's not overwhelming. It balances well with the florals. The lavender acts as an herbal balance, checking the sweetness of the blooms.

[ginevra]

Wah! As much as I love Ultraviolet, I though I'd love Veil, too. On me, it smells like - celery. ???

[Phaedra]

This is very soft, powdery and herbal. There is something in this that is similar to Baku but not as sharp. There's also a faint hint of spice. This is a soft and delicate scent that has a misty quality to it, similar to the misty quality of Moon Rose but without the rose note. I will have to try this a few more times to see if I want to buy a bottle of it or not.

[Sara]

Initial Imp Sniff: Hmm...what the hell is that? It's light, comes across to me as something white-ish or light yellow-ish or something, and....hmm...feels a touch sharp. But I get that impression from woods and florals, so it may not actually be sharp. I just suck at anything I don't already know (*cough* most everything *cough*).

 

Swipe: Well gee, it's a little stronger now, not much else is peeking around the initial sniffy notes....what the heck is that? Is it floral? *note - I do not read other reviews until after posting my own...so I'm sure I'll find out when I'm done.

 

Drydown: It's softened even more and there's some clean-smelling soap coming out of the first note (or combination of). It's not a bad soap, it's just soft, clean, and pleasant. This would be loverly on a clean chickadee in a white t-shirt and kakhis, fresh out of the shower with damp hair. Totally.

 

Unfortunately, this really isn't me, so off to swapdom it goes.

 

Edit: Woah, somebody got Sandalwood out of this? Damn man, wish I did...Sandalwood is the shiznite on my skin.

 

Oh for Petey's sakes, Edit again: Gee whiz, I didn't get any of the notes from the actual description that I recognize. I didn't get sandalwood, gardenia, lilac, and while I can't exactly remember what lavendar smells like (although I have the EO in the bathroom), I don't think I got it either. So the note(s) that were strongest on my skin had to have been the ylang ylang and/or violet. I thought I knew what ylang ylang smelled like..but damn it's been so long I'm not sure anymore.

Edited June 15, 2005 by Sara

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Sharp, overpowering floral - mostly gardenia and lavender, and what I think is the violet

 

On me:

At first this is WAY too floral. It's kind of acrid smelling, and I'm certain that's the gardenia because it was the floral in Highwayman that did that same acrid smell on me. The gardenia and lavender kind of push everything else to the side and so far I am not getting anything else. After a while I can smell the violets a bit, and very very VERY faintly in the background the white sandalwood. Actually, I only THINK it's the sandalwood, I'm not certain - that's how faint it is. This is pretty floral to me.

 

Final note:

If you don't like florals - no matter how enticing the white sandalwood is - it's probably best to steer clear of this. Unfortunately on me personally, gardenia just about kills any other scent, and though I like it in moderation, I don't want to smell just like gardenia.

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: Smells floral. And a bit salty. Why am I thinking of soy sauce?

 

On Skin: I can smell the lilac and the lavender. This is very floral. Still has that salty tinge to it. I am starting to get a hint of the sandalwood. There is also a bitter note to it that my nose isn't digging.

On Drydown: I can smell some of the violet now. But I still get that bitter note. I've noticed it in other imps I've tried and I wonder if its either the orris or the gardenia.

Verdict: I wanted to like this one. Bah. Off to the swap pile it goes.

[arabella]

First impression: Initially, I think I detect lilac and geranium but after that I can't pick out any individual notes, it's so skillfully blended.

 

Dries down to: A gorgeous floral blend.

 

Lasted: About 4 hours, although it was very faint after the first hour.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

[gangstaknitta]

I really love this scent. It's light and floral; the closest thing to a skin scent that I've found with bpal. It's so light. All the notes balance each other out. It is simultaneously woodsy, floral, sweet...without being overpowering.

It faded pretty quickly on my skin, so this is a slatherer. I'm also going to try this as a room scent. It's a keeper.

[Orodemniades]

Violet with a hint of jasmine? Something peppery...

 

Drydown: mm, where's the smoke coming from? I can smell African violet here, which wasn't present when I first swiped it on. Lovely.

 

Overall: It seems to have a fast fade, but for the first hour or so it's a lovely, dusky, 'in the gloaming' kind of scent.

 

Oro

[parrot_suspect]

Based on the description of Veil, I thought I'd love it. However, on me, the only note that really stands out is the violet. All I get is violet, from the moment I apply it through the drydown. It reminds me of an African Violet oil I once purchased at some hippie shop. Really, it's almost like a single-note fragrance on my skin. It's pleasant enough, but I don't see any reason to get a bottle.

[QueenFae]

I should have learned by now that violet just does not like my skin. Unfortunately, it's the top note in this one, which just smells icky to me. It's a sour type of effect, hard to explain but undeniably not so good. I never learn, do I?

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Very smooth and sweet.

 

Just On: More smooth than sweet.

 

An hour or two later: Still smooth with the sweetness winding its way in and out.

 

Around 6 hours: Nice and smooth, and fading.

 

12 hours: Smoothly gone.

 

Overall: I like this one.

 

After reading other reviews: This didn't come out very floral at all on me, which is probably for the best.

[coulrophobe]

Veil was one of those scents that I kept meaning to try, but something always came up and I kept forgetting to order an imp. But I've got it at last!

 

I tested this without looking at the notes, just to see how my nose is progressing.

 

In imp: Lavender... hmm, I'm not the biggest fan of that.

 

On: Lavender - but there's something else in there that's toning down the herbally harshness. This smells like babies. Well, clean babies, that have been bathed with lavender soap, and doused in baby powder.

 

Drydown: The lavender has left the building! I smell violets, iris, and maybe a soft musk. It's a lovely purple floral scent - it just smells like how pale purple should smell!

 

Checking the notes, it's obvious the florals get amped up on me; I didn't get much sandalwood at all. I'm a huge fan of iris, so this might go on the bigger bottle list.

[k00kaburra]

I had this scent before but I swapped it away without reviewing it. So again, I take the plunge!

 

In bottle: Lavender and violets and white sandalwood. This veil reminds me of the scene in Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix in the Department of Mysteries: this scent is what I would expect that room to smell like.

 

On me: Very heavy on the gardenia and violet. I almost like this one, but then there's a slightly bitter note that pulls me away again. This is a very soft, feminine, mysterious fragrance. It's fleeting and always seems to be concealing something. For lack of a better way to describe it, the notes flicker. Very lovely and enigmatic.

[Lilithlefay]

Lavender, violet and something juicy? Juicy? There is a fruity juciness to this, a little of the ylang-ylang, I can definately detect it here. But juicy? Don't get me wrong, I love the juicy scent but where did it come from? The lilac starts coming out after a few minutes. Maybe a little too floral for my preferences but I can definately appreciate it.

[porcelain_doll]

Got this one in a swap from the lovely Becky. And boy howdy, am I ever thankful! In the imp, it was green and flowery, but not in a girly-girl kind of way. Once on, it stayed softly floral, mostly gardenia with tinges of lilac. But then the iris and sandalwood started to come through, and something akin to violets on an unusually warm spring afternoon. If medium shades of purple had a scent, this would be it. It's very soft and feminine, and my husband likes it. His reaction? "Oo! OOOOO! Oh, that's really pretty!" Might get extra 5mls of this to give as gifts to Mom and Sister-in-law. They like soft florals, and I must say, Elizabeth has made one of the best ones going! Bravo, Beth!

[aedes]

On me, I got sharp, sweet violets. Reminds me of the times we'd candy violets as a kid. It's a bit cloying and I was hoping it would calm down, and the sweetness does tone down a bit (I was just trying Joy Mojo before hand. I thought I washed it off well, but maybe not!) but it mostly just smells like light purple flowers to me. I'll try it again sometime. Spring does sound like a good idea for this scent. Maybe I'll like it more in a different frame of nose, so to speak.