Ravenous

[minky]

An utterly feral, thoroughly rousing perfume. Red patchouli sweetened by orange blossom.

Going through my imps and just got to this one.
Is something wrong with mine? I smell no orange whatsoever. It's full and untested, but... I saw two reviews on here that summed it up with two rhyming words: zoo and poo.

*chases her boyfriend around the room with the imp*

[VenusFlyTrap]

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

 

 

I really this scent.

 

 

Something about the red patch and orange blossom combine to make it much, much more than only those two components.

 

 

It's very sexy!

[Keslynn]

In the imp, it was almost completely orange. The patchouli chimed in enough to twist the orange into a weird cleanser-type orange smell. Not really sure about this one...

 

On my skin, it was still the weird orange cleanser smell. I love patchouli and orange, but for some reason these aren't playing so nice together on me. Later on, the orange fades out so it's all patchouli. This phase is nice, but I can wear straight patchouli to get this effect instead of waiting through the weird cleanser stage.

 

Verdict: I thought I'd adore it, but with my chemistry, the patchouli and orange don't work well together. Off to the swaps.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Reminds me of LUSH's Karma fragrance (I work there, so I sniff it all day long) only better. (I don't like Karma)

 

First on: I usually hate orange and don't like patchouli when it's heavy, but it's not doing too badly on me right now. Is there musk in this? I get a light musky tone to it as well.

 

Drydown: Holy musk batman! This is on one arm, Imp is on the other, and they smell way too similar on me, the only difference being peach vs orange blossom. It's a floral patchouli, and not too heavy still, but just a little too strong on it for me.

 

Overall: This is a nice light patchouli orange scent - it's not too heavy or "dirty hippy" smelling like patchouli gets on me now, but it's still not for me.

[ariosa]

I received this as a frimp from the lovely eviltemptressDQ in a decant circle shipment, and my first sniff of the imp, with the lid on was... "Is that CIVET?!"

 

I am finding I am not a fan of the civet at all, so I was a little leery of trying it on. However, after reading the ingredients, where no civet is mentioned at all, I opened the imp to try a bit on my wrist.

 

This is very lovely! I didn't like the orange blossom in Vice, but I'm thinking after my experiences with Vice and Queen of Sheba, it's actually the cherry/almond smell I don't like on me (which sucks big time, because I *heart* marzipan). With Ravenous, the orange blossom shines through nicely, and while I find the red patchouli a bit overwhelming at first, they both settle down into a nice, warm, lovely blend. It's hard to tell which note is dominant on me, as both are so well blended together.

 

I'm going to wear this a bit more during the next couple of days. This could well be a bottle purchase for me at some point.

 

Thank you etdq for her generosity and Beth for creating this! It's lovely!

Edited April 5, 2007 by ariosa

[cranberry]

I just tried and reviewed Masquerade. Wow, what a difference. From first sniff I’m thinking YUM! From Masquerade, I got an odd doughy smell whereas I smell none of that here. I was blaming it on the orange blossom, but now I’m thinking orange blossom + ambergris was responsible.

 

Anyway, back to Ravenous. There’s actually a bit of a citrus edge here, like orange juice with a touch of rind or something and it brightens the scent considerably. The orange blossom doesn’t have that bitter, acrid note I oftentimes smell with orange blossom. There could be a touch of vanilla in here, this is much closer to Vixen than Masquerade. Vixen is a bit darker and more syrupy, whereas this is brighter, sweeter, and has an almost effervescent quality to it. As it wears I can’t help but thinking how fabulous this blend is and for some reason is reminding me of my beloved Snake Charmer. SC is a lot sweeter and stronger with vanilla, and the fruit base is different. I think there’s maybe a similar musk/patch base plus the sparkling fruit (citrus vs plum) that’s making me find a similarity. Regardless this is fabulous and I have to get a bottle of this one day soon.

 

Thanks GC swap, it would have taken me a lot longer to try this!

 

 

ETA: love!

Edited April 15, 2007 by cranberry

[GoldenRubee]

I received Ravenous as a frimp and have been waiting to review it. I don't know what took me so long! It really is a great "flavorful" oil! Whereas patchouli is usually so strong that I have to wait at least 30 minutes before it starts to smell nice on me, red patchouli is great right away. The orange blossom is subtle and pleasing and just blends so well with the red patchouli. It also smells like there are spices and musk in here too. Ravenous makes me feel great and I have now added it to may wish list. My birthday is coming up and if I am lucky, I will talk someone into getting this for me!

[angharad]

Wow. This oil confuses me so much. Starting out, it's a crisp orange with a hint of earthiness. Then it slowly becomes softer and sweeter until it is almost identical to Fantasy Bath's Desert Rose. Within half an hour, it's pure Desert Rose, which = LOVE to me, so...awesome. There's a bit of powderiness, but nothing overwhelming, and it's sweet and soft and just so so pretty. This is pretty strong at first (during the still orange phase), but it settles down close to my skin where it lingers for HOURS. So much love for Ravenous.

[mspixieears]

Oh my gosh, this is sublime! At first it is like chocolate orange – very gourmand but then settles into a more floral fragrance though not strictly floral. The red patchouli is just heavenly mixed in with the orange blossom. I get a faint hint of something rubbery as the patchouli begins to strengthen. I love the initial opening when wet – this is a stunner and wouldn’t say no to a 5mL of it. It also seems to get better the longer it is on my skin and has excellent throw

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Orangey

 

On SKin: warm orangey blossom

 

Drydown: Patchouli

 

Verdict: Patchouli is usually a deal breaker in my case. I'm not a fan. So why try this out? I'm trying to find out how different types of patchouli react on my skin. I don't get the dirty hippie smell from this one quite so much, but rather a pleasant earthy smell to it. Still not my cup of tea but at least now I know that red patchouli is milder on my skin than black patchouli.

[dixiehellcat]

In imp--strong sense of orange blossom.

 

Wet--I get a hint of spice too, as somebody upthread said. Not great, but not bad. I like patchouli, but don't smell it at all in here.

 

As it dries I like it a bit better...reminds me of a lesser version of my beloved Vixen.

 

Verdict--I'll keep it against the awful day I run out of Vixen and have to wait for a Lab order.

Edited June 12, 2007 by dixiehellcat

[Rchll]

Bottle: earthy citrus. You can certainly tell what two notes are in there. Oops, spilled a bit on the computer desk.

 

Self wet: earthy smell of patchouli as it hits the skin. The sweetness and tang of citrus is still there too. They are both rather strong and almost fighting for being the strongest. Sadly it is not balancing very well.

 

Hours later: I end up smelling like sweet dirt, with slight citrus to it. Then it fades pretty quickly. My computer desk still smells like it in the bottle.

 

Next day: gone, except for on the desk. I do not really like the whole sweet earth thing so not really my kind of smell. It sounded good but alas, I shall pass on getting more of this.

[Megara]

Wet: Wow! Really orange and patchouli. Obviously. It's very sleek, and seductive.

 

Dry: The patchouli is taking the lead, but the orangey-ness is still lurking underneath. Patchouli tends to go rather baby powder on me, but this isn't bad. The orange now isn't the juicy fruit part, but rather the slightly bitter zest of an orange. This reminds me a tad of Snake Oil, with a slight orange twist. There's also a darker, woodier scent coming to play. Almost like Mandrake, but not quite as sharp. That wood scent is taking away some from the orange scent.

 

Overall: Very pretty. Not something I'd normally gravitate to, but I think I'd wear it again, especially if I wanted to feel very sexy and powerful. Big bottle, maybe?

Edited June 29, 2007 by Megara

[CrazyPretzel]

Shoot! A skin chemistry disaster.

 

In the imp, it smells like something that's right up my alley (a little fruity, slinky and sexy in a naughty way), and I figured it would be perfect for going out to the EBM night in my black skirt and red bra top. So I slathered it all over. Unfortunately it went totally berserk on me and smelled of laundry detergent (???) for about half an hour, after which it suddenly went deeply gross and foosty.

 

Weirdly enough it was the same foostiness that spoiled Belle Epoque for me, but they don't share any notes.

 

Hopefully someone will be happy to get this in a swap.

[Eemia]

This started off promising, with a strong whiff of orange blossom. It smelled softly floral but with a deep lustiness underneath. Like a mixture of gentle powder and warm spice.

 

But this quickly turned on me, morphing into an more acrid version of its original spiciness. The powdery/sweet orange blossom disappeared. The remaining fragrance smelled bitter, without the lovely earthiness I associate with patchouli. Disappointing too...with a name like Ravenous I really wanted this to work!

[sheridankm]

This stuff is strong. Not only could I smell it from inside the closed imp, not only could I smell it from outside the box when it was left on my porch -- I could smell it from inside the house, behind the glass door. Since it was a frimp, I had no idea what I was smelling -- there was just this cloud of overpoweringly sweet, fake orange and "bleargh" mist.

 

Ravenous doesn't change at all on me -- it's exactly the same after an hour on my skin as it was in the imp (and across the room, and down the street...) I'm new to perfume, so I was surprised that the patchouli doesn't have that stereotypical hippie smell. But it is powerful, and I think it'd work well on someone with a much more forceful personality than I do. I'd be happy to send mine along to someone who would like this.

[YoakeNoKami]

Frimp from my very first order.

 

First off: Imp was full, very full... to the point where everything in my box was Ravenous scented.

Very odd smell--patchouli, orange, and wet leather?

 

On: the leather smell is stronger!!!! What is this...? that and it itches/tingles a bit.

 

Drydown: Patchouli and orange have abandoned me and I smell very odd. Like a large heap of leathery stuff.

 

Must trade this away at some point, I'm afraid. Cannot stand the overpoweringly leathery smell on myself.

[filigree_shadow]

Red patchouli usually doesn't work on me very well, although other patchoulis are fine and often beloved. It tends to smell somewhat sour on my skin. So, instead of like a nice tart citrusy orange scent, I'm getting a rather sour orange. However, it's not bad. Definitely not something I feel like I need to wash off or anything. I'm kind of enjoying it. It's not the sort of thing I wear as perfume because I don't usually go for the orange scents, but it's an interesting combination and I do like it.

[Roses Ablaze]

In the vial, Ravenous is a nice wake-up scent. Nice and sharp, but not nose pain-inducing or citrus-y sharp. I don't know what it's like on my skin since I haven't put it on yet (I'm currently trying Aeaea), but I like what I see...er, smell so far.

[Brianne]

Just a quickie review from me! Ravenous is exactly what it says it is - patchouli and orange blossom. At first, it goes on as down and dirty patchouli. Patchouli haters would cringe at this in it's wet stage lol (I actually quite like it). But it quickly settles into a soft, feminine and powdery orange blossom. The end result is a strangely girlish perfume - makes me think of something that would be worn by a young woman (mid to late teens) due to the soft candyish orange note.

[pzb]

In the vial - Soft, rounded, almost musky. Must be the patchouli.

 

Wet - VERY sharp - surprisingly so. Not so sure at the moment.

 

Dry - Softened greatly. Orange blossoms coming through - just a hint of green with the sweet and the patchouli underneath.

 

Later - The orange stayed pretty dominate for a while, (even if it did have the scent of Orange Pez for a bit...) but the patchouli has lasted for 15 HOURS!!

 

May keep this one around for occasional wearing.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle thick, cloying, but not heavy patchouli

wet on skin more patchouli, but sooooo sweet. really very pleasantly spicy.

dry on skin same

two hours later the orange blossom goes vaguely sour, but the patchouli anchors it so nicely.

 

i got ravenous before i knew that orange blossom is the very devil on my skin. seriously, every BPAL with orange blossom in it goes right to nick on me, stinking of plastic. this, however, is the exception to the rule. i love ravenous, particularly layered with just a little bit of the body shop's satsuma to lighten up the dark spiciness of it. ravenous is consistently one of only two scents that people comment on (the other is akuma).

[hkhm]

imp: kind of a musky orange. the orange seems a bit light and i don't really get any patchouli.

 

wet: this has a sharp scent that doesn't seem to be orange or patchouli. it makes me think of the scent of candles. i'm still getting a hint of orange but not patchouli. or perhaps it is patchouli, it just smells unlike any other patchouli i've ever smelled.

 

dry: the orange is much stronger now and there's still that faint musk scent.

[Sealgair]

I got to try this imp through the Civet Evangelism Sniffing Circle via Cranberry!

 

in imp: orange-infused chocolate! ooommmm!

on wet: 7:35 - oh yeah! orange-infused chocolate! nummy nummy nom nom nom! Oh wait, is that patchouli peeking out around the corner?

drydown: 8:05 - warm patchouli (that lovely dirty scent) in the background with the taste of orange-infused dark chocolate in my mouth. Nummy. Not a scent for everyday wear, but this would be luscious in a diffuser!

8:23 - hrm. This has gone the tiniest bit soapy. So that it's like eating orange-chocolate in a bathroom that's got patchouli-scented soap infusing the air. Still a nice diffuser scent, and not one I'd wear as a personal scent.

8:41 - the patchouli is coming out more, blending with the chocolate smell (of course, it always was the chocolate), and the sweetness of the orange is still there. A lovely scent, perfect for a room, not great as a 'me' scent. Still, I like it.

10:05 - this has settled down, away from the orange-chocolate, into a warm, spicy, almost pomander scent - orange that's dried, so its scent is subtle and then there's the spices and ribbons wrapping it. The patchouli has become itself and is absolutely lovely with the orange pomander. I may have to get an imp of this for room scenting!

[TPOD]

Is there really civet in this????

 

Anyway, I'm surprised at how much I like this. I ordered an imp, purely because I liked the name and then realized, uh oh, it has patchouli! I smelled it in the imp and thought "No Way" and put it aside for awhile.

 

Turns out, it actually worked quite well for me, I'm not getting any sweaty socks patchouli, just a warm creamy orange. There is something dark there though, it is reminiscent of chocolate for me, which some other people have mentioned. Actually, it is uncannily like dark chocolate & raspberry.

 

This oil is incredibly strong. I put on a normal amount and over 4 hours later I am still radiating great clouds of scent. The cashier at the grocery store said she liked it, but I feel way too 'smelly'. I also noted that it kind of burned or tingled. Hmmm. I will apply less next time.

 

I'm curious to see if my mother can detect the patchouli. She loathes it and can smell it a mile away. If not, then red patchouli may be possible for me.