Venus Libitina

[VioletChaos]

VENUS LIBITINA

Venus of the Undertakers

Rose water, black cherry, cream accord, bourbon, and orris root.

In The Bottle: Light but strong rosewater (definitely not rose- this is the water for sure) with cream and a little black cherry giving it some bite.

Wet On Skin: The black cherry has faded. At this stage, it's reminding me quite a bit of Victorian Rose Milk- which is a GOOD thing, because that scent is really beautiful.

Dry Down: Yes, this is straight up rosewater and cream on my skin. Orris tends to go a bit powdery on me and I detect none of that. I'm a bit sad to not get any of the bourbon, but the combination od those two main notes is really really lovely.

In All: Medium throw. If you loved Victorian Rose Milk- or were sorry you missed out on it- get this while you can. It does not disappoint <3

[miss_rynn]

The cherry was a tang in the bottle, but on the skin the rose water blooms like no one's business. It's got that turkish delight feel to it - the cherry is probably kicking in as the almond-ish note. I actually like the orris root in this one. Usually I can't pick it up, but in this I catch the floral dustiness at the back. Despite the turkish delight feel, it's not a foody scent. It's definitely a floral, but without the whole I AM ROSE thing that I usually get. I think that this is what I was expecting from Seraglio, to be honest.

A lovely scent for people who love florals but find straight rose a bit too much.

[Jenrjen]

This was the first Luper I slathered on when I got my package today. Such a good choice!

 

In the bottle, I really picked up the cherry. I chose it first cause my hubby likes the fruit scents and we have a whole afternoon together.

 

Once this hit my skin, the rose water hit. I also get the cherry/cream which is making this smooth. I don't know what rose water is compared to just rose, but there is no way this rose is going to go sharp on me with that cream/cherry smoothing it out. I catch whiffs of the bourbon, but it is not prominent.

 

This is a beautiful scent that I find comforting. This is perfect for an afternoon of cuddling on the couch with my hubby and baby.

[LiberAmoris]

I ordered Venus Libitina but was worried about the orris and bourbon—orris can give scents too much powder for my tastes, and the boozy notes like bourbon can amp on me and be a little too much. But the blend here is really nice. On me, the notes are detectable in the order of the scent list—rose, cherry, cream, bourbon, and orris. The bourbon and orris are both very light and give the other notes a kind of subtle 'pastel cordial' feel. I'm also surprised at how much I'm enjoying the rose-cherry-cream...it really is like some luscious dessert, yet the rose water makes this primarily a floral on my skin, and very wearable.

 

ETA: After wearing this a few times, I think it might be one of my favorites from this year. It smells like the colors of a Mendl's box.

[Auspicious Q]

On me, (after a very tart and tangy first few minutes) the currants and cherries combine for a beautiful tart, but not too sweet, scent over the cream and vanilla that soften rather than sweeten the fruits. In my mind this scent is dome shaped. I got very little water or florals, but that may be what keeps this from going foody on me. still going strong 10 hours in.

[violetblue]

I am amping the rose, sadly. First application I smell the black cherry, but it disappears into a a heady and creamy, but very strong rose. Reminds me of a Red Rose blend or a very potent Katrina Van Tassel!

Edited February 25, 2015 by violetblue

[Eemia]

The rosewater amps like crazy on my skin. It's almost exclusively rose based for hours. It smells like tea rose to me more than rosewater because it's very, very strong and has a similar vibe to Marie (my fave tea rose scent). I haven't been too into rose scents lately so I was hesitant to try this but I loved the combination of notes so I had to give it a go. I wish the rose would calm down a bit because it takes forever for me to smell anything else in here.

 

After a couple hours I get hints of a dry, sweet musk that goes a bit powdery. Not thick or obviously powdery, but enough where I notice it. The cherry is pretty great when it shows up, and it smells a little like a cherry liquer, which I'm guessing is the bourbon mixing with it. But it's not dominant enough for me. I wish I could smell it and be like "yes! cherry!" No such luck. It stays softly musky and dry for the duration of the wear time, and it lasts quite awhile on me.

 

I was hoping for more of a Youth's Disengagement vibe from this, but it's like night and day. No similarities at all (at least, on my skin there isn't). So I'm bummed that this wasn't a big hit but I'm going to keep it for a few months and see if it changes over time. Here's hoping!

[cherrycherry]

Holy fuck, this is amazing. It's like a black cherry, cream and rosewater dessert with a soft, boozy undertone. Absolutely gorgeous and an instant favourite <3

[Lorna Brigid]

Cherrycherry (Appropriate name for this scent's review) hit it dead on, " It's like a black cherry, cream and rosewater dessert with a soft, boozy undertone."

Tallgrrl78 likened this to Pink Snowballs with black cherry, and I was happy to hear that as i love Pink Snowballs.

I haven't had good luck finding a good cherry Bpal (I'd love to get my hands on Bloody Mary), and Libitina does not disappoint me!!

I totally get the Pink Snowballs vibe, and it mingles strangely with the black cherry and is beautiful and unique! I can't stop huffing my arms cuz I'm not used to it yet!

SO PRETTY!

I'm not a HI I AM ROSE! lover, so this is just perfection to me.

It stays close to the skin on me, too. Throw is not very strong...Well, it seems to last well, and feels fairly strong, but it doesn't waft too far from me.

[stellamaris]

This was another "cloud of gorgeous" from this years Lupers. I seemingly amp or can smell mostly the black cherry, and this is more like real cherry than cherry candy, everything else is there for back up. More creamy than tart, a gorgeous, delicate perfume.

[TallGrrl78]

This scent is just amazeballs. Seriously. Hands down my favorite of the 2015 Lupers.

 

I get Pink Snowballs mixed with black cherry. It's a bit deeper/richer/warmer than the original Pink Snowballs due to the bourbon but that PS vibe is definitely there.

 

Lasted most of the day on me and has good throw.

[zankoku_zen]

Bourbon, black cherry and rose water on wet. As it dries the ever sharp presence of orris combines with the rose water, amps it up, AND PROCEEDS TO STAB ME IN THE NOSE. REPEATEDLY. In fact, orris does this so well that I almost don't catch the plastic note of cream until the very end.

 

So yeah, super pink blend in vibe. Loads of rose water (slightly sweet because of the black cherry), orris and a whiff bourbon. UGH.

 

Pink, orris, sharp.

[Jennifurious]

First impression from bottle, was all "Ack! So much cherries!" And fresh on skin this was all rosewater with a bit of orris in the background. But a few weeks of rest have done this a world of good, everyone has a chance to come into their own. Still rosewater dominant, but the cherry no longer burns off instantly. They kind of mingle together. The orris and cream are a powdery, milky sweetness to swim around in (Thankfully, cream plays nicely with my chemistry. I could absolutely see this being problematic for some because it definitely becomes a present note....) The bourbon is smooth. So smooth. Someone knows their way around a liquor store and their spectacular taste in whiskey shows. There is a vaguely dessert like flirtation here, but this is not an overtly foodie scent.

 

This reminds me of a period when I had Venusian Phoenix and Little Flora in my rotation. It reminiscent of those oils in different ways. A love child of sorts between the two. ME GUSTA.

[azurephoenix]

In Bottle: Cherry and almond?

On Skin: Cherry almond and cream... not really liking it for the first 30 minutes, BUT then it softens up a lot and then I get a stronger slightly cherryish version of Love, not super surprising when I looked up Love's notes, but unexpected.

[izile]

In the decant: woah - black cherry candy!

 

wet: cherry candy and a little rose peeking around the edges

 

dry: getting much more balanced, though I might way to see how it continues to dry down after an hour or so, not just like 5 minutes. The cherry is still there, but not as dominant, the rose water is way up at the front, there's something a little creamy and powdery (orris?), though I'm not sure about bourbon... interesting.. may be undecided on this for a bit - if the rose water calms down a bit further, this could be nice.

 

Edit: much more time goes by - yes, much better, rose has calmed down and is not overpowering anything anymore.

Edited March 11, 2015 by izile

[barilace]

This is amazing!

 

In the bottle: rose and a very slight cherry.

On my skin: rose, cherry, and cream with a slight booze undertone.

After having it on for a bit: Creamy cherry with a slight boozy feel - the rose is still there but it's not upfront anymore.

 

sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good.

Edited March 13, 2015 by barilace

[Leopard403]

At first, this is glorious on my skin. Mostly rosewater on top but with a deep cherry note and a hint of booze underneath. But then, the cream accord. Damn you. Cream notes turn salty on my skin, and this scent is no different. Then some of the other notes turn to powder.

 

After about 30 minutes I get a baby powder-ish salty boiled peanut.

[andabri]

Opens with black cherries drowning in syrup with just a dash of the booze that just deepens the scent. A little sweet cream and rosewater show up to turn it into cherry cream hard candy. The orris root stays very much under the radar and just gives this scent the smallest fluffy edge to the sweetness. This is VERY strong, projection wise, at least on me. I usually test with a whole imp cap (I turn the imp upside down to fill it, then just shake it over my skin until the oils drip down) but this was strong, strong strong. Subsequent testings of less and less showed me I literally only need a tiny drop. Very, very sweet! I am undecided if I want a bottle or not... with how little I need the imp will probably last me ages. This just definitely smells like melted cherry cream candies.

[agirlnamedfury]

In the imp, I definitely get light rosewater and boozy, syrupy black cherries.

 

On skin, the rosewater is almost undetectable, and the black cherries take an almost bitter, dark edge. Something about this almost smells burnt? I wonder if that's my skin doing something to one of the notes I'm less familiar with. It's not altogether bad though.

 

There's actually something very magnetic and interesting about this one -- I can't stop sniffing it but am not sure why. There's something a little spicy about it but I have no idea what that might be. Despite the notes, this isn't very sweet once it dries on my skin and is certainly a bit foody, but somehow calls to mind more savory foods than dessert?

 

I'll obviously have to wear this one a bit more to decide how I feel about it!

[MCS4096]

I loved this in the decant-- candied cherries and a hint of cream and rose water. Like a tasty cordial cherry without being too obviously foody. But the second it hits my skin its a rosepocalypse. I dont really have anything against rose and I'm not usually a major rose amper, but this is crazy. It's that super rosey rose, bordering on "old lady" and unfortunately it isnt working for me at all

[VetchVesper]

Oh nose! I was really looking forward to this one. I was hoping for sort of a rose confection scent, like turkish delight with rose water or rose creams. But this one hates me.

 

In the bottle it's not bad and almost what I was hoping for. I get cream soda with a splash of cherry cola and a bit of powdery rose in the background.

 

On my skin the roses go yuck though. There's a sour smell to the note, like roses that are old and wilted and need to be chucked. It goes away after 1/2 an hour but just kind of ruined this one for me.

 

EDIT: So I was ABOUT to absolve VL of it's stinkiness, as aging seemed to have rid it of whatever troublesome note was causing the sourness on me during dry down. Recently, I've busted this out again and have had some really nice results. Unfortunately, when I put the scent on just now for my edit..... It's doing it again.

 

So I guess it's some sort of fluxuating skin chemistry thing? So weird. Anyways, here's the review of Venus Libitina when she decides to behave herself on me.

 

Wet - Still syrupy-sweet, cherry cream soda, with a teeny hint of rose if I huff mightily.

Dry Down - The rose starts to bloom from the scent. It smells very realistic to me. Very Damask rose. The sweet sugariness and the rose battle for dominion, and this, I think, is the best stage. The rose comes out on top, but with it's petals thoroughly splattered with candied sweetness. To me it's candied rose, not rose candy. It's got a pretty good throw.

Lingering Vestiges - After 4 hours or so, this becomes a soft, sweet, powdery rose that's faint and close to the skin. It no longer has the syrupy tastiness that I really love, but it's still pleasant. This stage lasts a few more hours, but I usually reapply, cause I needs me some sugar!

 

I really like this when it doesn't go sour, and my husband, who's usual response to scents is "It doesn't smell like poop," became suddenly very "interested" when I wore this. ARGH! Blast you, fickle Venus. Why can't you just settle down and behave. You'd think the embodiement of romantic love and sex would be dependable and predictable, right?

Edited September 25, 2015 by VetchVesper

[Haltija]

Strong rosewater in the decant and nothing else.

 

When it's on though the rosewater tames itself and the cherries come forth and they smell syrupy like everyone else is mentioning. I can still smell the sharpness of the rosewater though buried underneath it all. Cherry tends to go fake or plastic on me and thankfully in this it does not. A slight powdery creaminess is coming through when it transfers into the dry down which is the orris but it isn't overwhelming. The bourbon is there but it doesn't take over like I thought it would. When it's fully dry it does smell like a rose dessert but not a super sweet one. This is nice but a decant is all I need.

[theseagrows]

this one is quite a morpher on me. it starts out like a creamy cherry soda with a hint of rosewater and a dash of booziness from the bourbon. at first i really love it, but then the orris root is very...rooty for lack of a better word, and it brings in this weird sourness, or that could be rosewater, because while i like rose, i've noticed some rosewater scents turning sour on me. now the cherry is completely gone and it's all musty, sour florals. after a few more minutes i get slight hints of the lovely cherry and the bourbon adds this odd quality on top of the sour florals. skin chemistry be damned.

Edited March 22, 2015 by theseagrows

[Atrous]

Black Cherry smells artificial.

Cream smells like its gone sour.

Rose smells like its wilting.

 

Then 15 minutes go by and POOF! All gone.

Oh Well.

[vox pop]

Right from the start it brings to mind a sweet summer childhood memory! Thank you!

 

Venus of the Undertakers

The Label is gorgeous and Black Cherry is a favorite, this was a blind purchase for title and description!

Light Rose at the start then cream and then Black Cherry, what's not to love?...it stayed this way for quite some time and

then what must be Orris Root together with the Bourbon all in unison a couple hours later smells like i will have to consider back up

on this.

It is fresh creamy and lush all together, very delicately foody because roses are edible after all!

 

Perfection!

Edited March 27, 2015 by vox pop