Alma Venus

[VioletChaos]

ALMA VENUS

Mother Venus

Amber-infused blood orange with Italian neroli, ambergris, orange flower absolute, French beeswax, tuberose, Himalayan cedar, and honey.

In The Bottle: The blood orange, sweetly tart, comes out first, proving itself to be everything I hoped for. Hot on the tail of that comes equal measures of neroli and beeswax. *Fingers crossed* This might be perfection.

Wet On Skin: The beeswax is coming to the fore and now the orange has mellowed considerably. I don't detect the neroli at this stage, but tuberose has entered the picture and it mixing well with the wax.

Dry Down: The neroli has returned, and, with the beeswax, is the dominant note. The tuberose is following close behind and the blood orange is there but is now way in the background.

In All: A lovely food-and-floral scent without actually being either. This scent reminds me of descriptions of old Italian perfumes, like from the Renaissance period. Low throw this scent stays close and soft to the skin, almost the way a musk would. It's like an update of a traditional floral water recipe. I'm rather picky about floral, but this one is gentle enough that I could see wearing this on a hot summer night and it being just lovely.

ETA: I detect NO cedar, which is usually a death note for me. So if you're worried, don't be! Edited February 13, 2015 by LiberAmoris

[lady_pandora]

Looking through the Lupers, Alma Venus was the one that caught my eye the most from a notes perspective, and so I bought a blind bottle. I.Was.Not.Wrong. I love this.

 

Alma Venus starts out with a quick burst of sweet blood orange and amber. This is the same duo that kicks off Haunted Palace, and you all know I love Haunted Palace and talk about it way too much, so this is a good start. It doesn't stay that way for long, but that's OK, I didn't need a clone, and I like the other stages too.

 

The next stage stars the orange flower. This teams up with the amber (the fruity-orange is pretty much gone) to create an impression that's a little baby-powdery, but with a little extra kick of indole that keeps it from being too innocent. Sexy baby powder? Maybe.

 

It eventually settles, on me, into a beeswax-dominant scent. On my wrists it's a close sibling of Lights of Men's Lives. On my neck there's more orange blossom left, giving me lovely wafts of that throughout the day along with the beeswax.

 

I can't pick out all the notes, maybe because some of them have a similar note in the blend that they might be "singing in unison" with. Like, neroli might be hiding behind the blood orange at the beginning, and honey might be helping boost the beeswax in the end, without really coming to the fore by themselves. Or maybe I just amp beeswax a ton, though I don't mind! Like VioletChaos, I get no cedar at all.

 

And now with the analytical thing over with--I'm getting an amazing emotional reaction from this oil. It's sexy, but feels like an effortless sexy, more silk nightgown and less corset-and-fishnets. A comfortable sexy. And at the same time it makes me feel so comforted and loved and cherished. It's exactly what I might expect of Venus's mother aspect.

[LiberAmoris]

Alma Venus sure is pretty. I get blood orange, orange flower, and honey/beeswax in equal measure, with the ambergris, neroli, and tuberose acting as supporting players. The cedar is very, very subtle. I wouldn't know it's in here if it wasn't listed. The neroli is prominent when wet but dries down to a mere whisper. About an hour after application, this is primarily a sweet burnished orange and orange flower blend...very elegant and upscale.

[Atrous]

OMG, I think I need a backup! I love the Lab's Tuberous note and this blend does not disappoint!

 

Starts out with a beautiful hit of citrus. Juicy blood orange and beeswax. Then Tuberous makes its way to the top and stays there while the citrus dies down to add just a hint of zing. Ambergris peeks out eventually but stays low key and supports the other notes. I'm getting an underlying wood scent but nothing I would call Cedar.

 

 

Waxy, sweet Tuberose with the other notes adding depth and sophistication. Feminine with a medium throw.

When I huff my wrist the word 'alluring' comes to mind. My favorite of this years Lupers.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: I would probably call this a citrus-dominant scent, but not citrus the way I'm used to it. This is a citrus beautifully blended with soft, intoxicating florals. The beeswax may also be in there, but I've only experienced beeswax in one other BPAL blend, so my nose isn't as attuned to it as it could be. There's a lovely, strong, almost creamy base that is almost definitely beeswax, though.

 

Wet: The blood orange begins to distinguish itself from the creamy florals a bit more. It's retained that refined, sensual tone, though, although that may be the amber, which loves my skin and anything on it about 80% of the time. (The other 20% it goes to baby powder, but at least it's sexy baby powder.) No cedar or honey yet, although this is probably a good thing in the case of the latter, as honey can get kinda overpowering on me.

 

Dry: Ah, THERE'S the beeswax! It settles down into a lovely beeswax-amber blend, with both the citrus and the florals still there, but now more in the background. If The Phoenix, Having Burst Her Shell and The Lights of Men's Lives had a beautiful, beautiful lovechild, it would be this.

[zankoku_zen]

Amber, honey, ambergris and tuberose. I get a tiny bit of orange on wet, but in general this is an amber-honey with swirls of tuberose. Good throw, good wearlength.

 

I was hoping for an orange tinged sophisticated perfume. I get dusky honey/amber.

 

LE SAD FACE.

[JasminDreams2010]

So, bear with me through this analogy, but I hate the term "basic b#tch". And it crossed my mind that this was Ms. Alma upon first sniff. that Alma Venus has been called basic by somebody and she's taking it back. She's empowering herself, she's letting the simplicity of her core serve as a strength and backbone to the many things she's got going on. She's, you know, *more* than just orange and Amber. So, maybe she does like Starbucks lattes and uggs. She's also a wonderful gardener, and can intimately describe the coagulation cascade without batting a pretty eyelash. Take your labels and stuff them into a generic fruity floral, because Alma's her own person, complete with tuberose and wafts of soft resin. And her cedar mean streak never rears its ugly head. It's just there to let you know she's boss, when she wants to be. Keeper.

[erijona]

In the bottle: Sunny, juicy orange and flowers. A bit of a gummy candy note that I'm thinking is beeswax and honey. The flowers here are small, soft and delicate

Wet on skin: Still very juicy, the heat of my skin warms up the flowers and honey and they all meld down beautifully together. The orange note is still bright and fresh--the impression is oranges covered in sweet, amber-colored orange blossom honey. Extremely juicy. Fruity but not sweet -- more of a savory, floral fruity flavor

Dry on skin: As it dries, the amber comes out with just a hint of powder, but the juiciness of the other notes keeps it from going to baby powder. It's just a gorgeous halo of oranges and white flowers in golden honey and beeswax. I don't detect any cedar at all. When completely dry it has a suggestion of dryer sheets

Later drydown: Scent seems to fade around the 4 hour mark and leaves behind a soft amber. Less citrus halo of course but the honeyed flowers mix well with the amber. I would want to keep reapplying to refresh the initial 'heavenly orange grove' feeling

I knew I would like this one from the notes and I'm not dissapointed. This may be worth a backup! The feeling it evokes is one of innocent beauty -- like a young woman who grew up in an orange grove and has no idea how beautiful she is becoming.

[cuervosueno]

I was hoping to love this, as I love a lot of the individual notes. It the imp it is quite lovely, with a nice blast of sweet citrus and a hint of floral, more tuberose than neroli to me. It does have that heady "white floral" scent which is lovely and sweet, like an orchard in bloom. But on me, the beeswax and honey quickly dominate, and it becomes a BPAL honey scent. I like BPAL honey, so that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I also have plenty of honey scents and did not want another one. I lose a lot of the sophistication of the florals right away, and it's that heady honey note--nice, but not what I was looking for. I get no sense of ambergris or cedar at all (disappointing to me). This reminds quite a bit of Womb Furie--honey and a slightly Pez candy note.

 

I'm glad I tried it, but won't get a bottle.

[tailoredshirt]

This is really pretty. I didn't have the notes in front of me when I tested this yesterday, so I was relying on memory. There's a burst of sweet orange and honey when first applied, with a little bit of floral. As it dries, the juicy orange recedes and the blend becomes mostly about the honey. A little floral and a little fruit, but mostly sweet honey. (To be honest, I could not identify the floral was peeking through.) I think the amber tempers it a bit so it's not quite as thick and sticky. I just wish that initial burst of orange lasted longer!

[Magycmyste]

I don't usually go for orangey scents, but something about this one appealed to me.

 

In the imp: O-RANGE! I think there's an orange peel in here, too - there's a tiny hint of bitterness (I think the neroli) amid all the juiciness.

 

Wet on skin: The orange flower, I think. It's still very orangey, but it has a distinct floral quality. I think the tuberose is adding to that. Still a bit of sharpness from the neroli that's throwing me off.

 

Dried down: Ok, the orange has calmed down now, softened by the beeswax. This stage is lovely, really. The tuberose is coming out a little more, too.

 

Throw: Not much, but I don't seem to be getting much throw off of any of these today (although the honeysuckle in Erycina really blossomed off of my skin about 10 minutes after I finished my review.

 

Verdict: **** 1/* Well, I'm glad I got a bottle of this. I may need a backup. It would be a perfect 5 if not for that sharp, bitter note that I think springs from the neroli.

[kakiphony]

In the bottle: Lots of orange blossom (which I love) with some other florals in the background (probably the tuberose, but I'm having trouble picking out notes). It's very "perfumey" in the bottle and while I love orange blossom, this is complex and might be too much for me... I put it on with trepidation.

 

Wet on skin: Interesting. The orange blossom is gone in a blink and I'm smelling mainly and white florals that I can't quite identify. There's amber under it, lending a slightly powdery throw. I'm hoping the mellows and I get less florals because right now, I smell like the dreaded elevator perfume.

 

Early dry down (10 minutes): This is already settling, thank goodness. I'm still getting more tuberose than orange blossom, but the honey and beeswax are coming through. The beeswax has a slightly burned quality on me, almost more like a candle that has been lit and then blown out than a hunk of plain wax. It's an interesting combination -- sweet, and floral, yet with deep resins at the base. I'm liking it at this stage.

 

Late dry down (about an hour): My body chemistry must be just eating orange/citrus in all forms for some reason lately. (I've noticed this with my beloved Vixen as well.) On my skin, I've gotten almost no orange blossom OR neroli out of this blend. Certainly, none of the "bright citrus" described by other reviewers. This has settled into a mainly amber scent on my skin, with a powdery finish. It's deepened by the resins and maintains a touch of sweet white florals. It's quite elegant, and perfectly pretty, but a little generic to my nose. I smell like I'm wearing "Perfume" with a capital P (like a generic scent that would come in a white bottle with plain black lettering). It's nice, but just not very interesting to my nose.

 

I think I'm coming to a place in my personal chemistry and bpal evolution where I need more interesting and unusual blends. I've found that complex blends with lots of notes, and blends that pair florals with resins seem to all smell the same on me rather quickly. This is almost certainly ME and not the oils. I suspect it has to do with my changing body chemistry as I approach my 40s. It seems like the blends that work best on me now are spicier, or have more leather and smoke. If I have to say goodbye to all my beloved orange blossom, I am going to be very sad.

Edited March 30, 2015 by kakiphony

[GoddesShel]

So glad I got a bottle! I was a tiny bit concerned about Alma Venus, because honey can sometimes go musty/dusty/dirt on my skin. Not in this blend. I don't know what's keeping it in check, but if all the honey blends smelled like this, I'd go bankrupt buying them! This starts out with a big blast of very fresh, tart, orange, and then settles into a rich, creamy, delicious blend that makes me want to sniff myself for the rest of the day! I could drink this (yes, I know better, but it smells that good).

[annemathematics]

the listed notes here are 1/3 love, 1/3 wary of and 1/3 "hey i like you but I don't know you very well."

 

cedar and honey, prone to sometimes amping too much or smelling a little off on me, do none of the above. the notes I love, shine shine shine. this is a scent that helped me "get" orange blossom. why people love it. why they wear it. I understand its beauty now!!! it is all made clear!! the wet stage of this is epic/fantastic/glorious to behold.

 

however, in every bpal scent with beeswax, within an hour, that note will take over and the other scents will simply inform the nature of that waxy aura. as is the case with this scent; within an hour, it dries down to an amazing orange blossom/citrus wax. this is one of my favorite wax scents from bpal so far.

Edited April 21, 2015 by annemathematics

[theseagrows]

ooh this is lovely. it starts off smelling of neroli, orange flower and beeswax. just gorgeous. after a couple minutes i think i am getting some ambergris-there is definitely a feeling of saltiness here. i'm not sure if it's the cedar, but i am getting something a bit odd in the background (cedar doesn't always work for me) but i can't quite place it. after awhile that disappears and i am left with a beautiful neroli-beeswax combination. i am really loving beeswax lately, in the past it hasn't always worked, but it works great in this scent. i may need a bottle of this one...

Edited April 22, 2015 by theseagrows

[Greenwoodtree]

This is all orange blossom, neroli on me...I'm getting very little of anything else. It's pleasant and pretty, but a bit too sweet, which is probably due to the amber as well.

 

On dry down, still sweet. It's not til it's been on for 30-40 minutes that the overly sweet aspects fade and the gentler, calming beeswax comes out. I wish more beeswax! So I may try this with Hand of Glory, if I still have it.

 

ETA: Layered this with Hand of Glory - it totally grounds out the cloying sweetness. I'm going to have to try wearing this layered and see what happens.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Greenwoodtree

[Gateau]

Now that my bottle has been sitting and settling for a couple of months I've been able to give it a proper wearing.

 

In the bottle and wet, this is quite orangey. There is a lot of orange rind and oil, rather than a juicy sort of orange. I always love how that orangey bitterness combines with tuberose and wood notes (this is what I love about Geisha in an Orange Kimono). There is also a light breeze of the blossoms.

 

Dry, the orange notes fade away, which is typical on me with orange scents. What is left behind is an ambery, musky richness in which the depth of tuberose is softened by the beeswax. I don't get a strong cedar at any point (so no worries if you are a cedar=pencil shavings person), but it's there contributing to the depth. This also isn't a strong honey scent on me, so none of that cloyingness or powderiness you can get witih honey.

 

Verdict -- this is a very wearable floriental type fragrance on me. It's rich but not too heavy or showy. I'd love it if there was such thing as a long-lasting orange scent on me, but since there isn't I can just enjoy it while it lasts.

[milo]

Bright amber and orange. After a bit the cedar comes out. This is quite nice, it smells like classic bpal. I like it, but not enough to upgrade.

[yakiguri]

This is quite a lovely scent in the bottle, but unfortunately I keep forgetting that orange-anything is all for bad on my skin, and neroli only works when grounded with deeper notes as it drowns out everything else. After a few fleeting moments of everything working the orange disappears and the neroli take over the blend with vengeance, turning it into an orange blossom single note. I guess I should at least be thankful that the citrus didn't go sour like it usually does and just simply disappears? *shrug*

[emanomaly]

Oh man!

 

I bought this blind becoz it was recommended for orange blossom lovers (which, I is). And, since I loved all the other notes except the cedar, I figured I'd give it a go. And am I ever glad I did!

 

In the bottle it's a sweet candy-like orange with a hint of woodsiness to it. Mostly though its a juicey orange.

 

I got a bit nervous when I applied it becoz a sharp, kind of grassy note hit me pretty hard... This reminds me almost exactly of the dry-down phase of my hoard scent, Avunculus.

 

But upon drydown Alma Venus takes a wide turn away from Avunculus. The sharp woodsy-greeniness fades away and the the Amber and Ambergris come out nicely. I'm not picking up the tuberose distinctly but the beeswax and honey are there in the background, which is where the orange blossom has moved off to.

 

On me it settles as a fresh, warm, golden scent, supported by a background of sweet and sophisticated citrus. I'm glad I took a gamble on this one, it is very warm and understated and elegant.

 

This little lady is giving Avunculus a run for her money.

[freyasfae]

In the imp, this smells like an herby honey, but almost as soon as it goes on the citrus notes start coming out. As it dries down, it becomes this very sophisticated scent - the scent of a woman who knows what she likes and demands it. It has a similar feel in this way to some of the other Venuses I have smelled, but it is still very much its own.

[VetchVesper]

This is really lovely.  A musky orange blossom honey draped over a gentle base of amber and cedar that's just perceptible enough to give depth and warmth.  The beeswax is there too, adding that sort of subtle glow it can give fragrances.  Very pretty.  i can see why this one was popular, and this coming from someone who doesn't care for beeswax and avoids cedar like the plague.

[artisjok]

Alma Venus is all juicy orange and beeswax on application. I’m sure there’s floral notes as well, but I’m not getting any specific standouts on my skin. The beeswax dominates pretty quickly, as often happens in scents with the note. In the drydown I think I’m getting more floral, maybe orange flower, and some amber dustiness mixed in the beeswax. I can imagine a hint of cedar, but it isn’t an obvious note.The citrus is still woven throughout the scent, sweetened and bright. 

This is a beautiful and summery, though I think my skin makes it less complex than I hoped it would be. Still wonderful.

Huffable! 

A scent that loves to bask in sunbeams and wear flowing dresses and laugh joyously. 

[Minh Scent]

How did I not review this? With the wax and the neroli/tuberose, it was love at first sniff in 2015 and a year later, I had to search for a second bottle replacement and then a third partial! BPAL wax note is one of my favorite and it this perfume, it is the centerfold amongst seductive white florals with hints of honey and orange.

[bambi]

This is so lovely. I wasn't certain at first about it. In the bottle, I got a burst of powdery amber. It was so powdery, it made me nervous to even try this. At second sniff, though, I got notes of citrus and cedar, which made me brave enough to put this on. The amber immediately fades to a manageable level upon application, and I get a very orangey floral. Clearly orange flower, and maybe tuberose? I've never smelled tuberose before, but there's something floral outside of the orange flower going on here. A sweet, thick note starts to creep in, which must be the honey, but it's not overwhelming. With time, the beeswax starts to show itself, and the cedar seems to always be floating there lightly in the background. Another example of a scent with cedar that just works for me. Citrus and cedar must be my magic combination 🤣