The Virgin and the Unicorn

[Casablanca]

The palest of green mosses, mist rose, white pear, white incense, white sandalwood, and a hint of vanilla.

Pale, misty mosses indeed.

 

I spilled a little Virgin and the Unicorn on my arm so it's stronger than it would normally be -- but wow. I'm sitting in a Virgin cloud. I feel a bit lost in its initial dense mist of tranquil, pale green moss and a muted pinkish-purple floral that seems to be the roses mingled with a more delicate flower I can't place. I also catch a fresh, glistening pear, not dominant, and more like a sheer overlay.

 

As this dries, the faint pear recedes, and incense comes out strongly on my skin, emerging from the mist. I don't know what kind of incense it is, but it smells white, as listed, and powdery. The powdery quality doesn't bother me in this case, though. After a while, the white sandalwood comes out, its paleness closely pairing it to the incense. I never pick out vanilla.

 

I find Virgin perfumey. Not alcohol-smelling, but perfumey. It's also summery, a blend filled with the muted colors of lazy dreams, the colors you might dream in if you fell asleep in a sunlit hammock, your eyelids awash in light.

[MourningVeil]

This blend reads as pale, dewy, and sparkling.

 

Both in the bottle and on skin a pale green misted moss leads the way, followed second by white pear, sparkling, tart, and very virgin, too unripe to eat. I agree with Casablanca, this pear positively glistens, and lends to an overall feel of a beautifully chic and ethereal perfume.

 

If rose is there, it is of the palest white, an unbloomed bud in the backdrop, contributing to the white veil of this scent alongside a soft, sheer incense.

 

The vanilla eludes me, and never in its wear-time (several hours on me, with low medium throw) do detect it, but I enjoy this scent much the same, and can see myself reaching for it often for those elegant, innocent days, especially come next Spring.

 

*edited for spelling error, ehhhhh

Edited August 20, 2016 by MourningVeil

[SmilesSunshine]

mossy pear. pale. hints of floral and very distant incense. i do not get any vanilla on me, nor detect much of the sandalwood.

not something i'd wear as mossy pear with barely there pale florals= extremely fine soap from a Parisian boutique.

the blend is very pretty and innocent. polite throw, moderate silage.

 

eta 12/10

i still get barely vanilla. its moss, sandalwood incense, pear. not really vanilla. its all very pale and shiny. like putting nu-skin or a top coat on my hand to test. i think something with the pear and sandalwood plus moss is not working for me. at all.

 

i will not be adding this to my yule order before it comes down

Edited December 10, 2016 by SmilesSunshine

[samarablackcat]

When I read the notes for this, I thought "white". It sounded so pretty and I don't have any scents that read white to me.

 

The first thought that comes to me is Luper; this smells like a spring scent; fresh, light green and a little pink. Wet, I get mostly moss and perhaps due to the rose being "mist", I get a slightly aquatic feel. While this dries, I am reminded of A Passionate Shepherd To His Love (moss, rose).

 

I get a little of sandalwood mixed with a light incense wafting with rose and moss as this dries. In my mind I see spring, pale greens just popping out of sleeping trees, and pale pink buds ready to burst open. Very innocent, fresh and awakening. It stays close to the skin, changing from mossy to floral incense and back again.

 

Not what I was expecting, but quite beautiful, innocent and fresh.

[Aviatrix]

This is all incense on me. Weird.

If I really concentrate, and know what to look for, I might be able to catch a whiff of the rose, but otherwise this is all incense.

[zankoku_zen]

Roses, sandalwood, and moss. This one is an odd one for me. It smells like a slightly masculine Shunga sandalwood blend. Light, rosy sandalwood.

 

Low throw and wear length.

[theseagrows]

first off, i smell a soft, wispy dewy rose with gossamer greenery all around. soon after i get the slightly bitter sweetness of pear, white incense, and just a hint of white sandalwood. it really reminds me of a japanese incense. the vanilla remains subtle and nearly elusive. this scent is quite soft overall-the incense is gorgeous, but the pear is too sweet for my tastes.

 

[freyasfae]

Wear this when you are in the darkest parts of winter and anticipating spring. It's pale and hopeful - the greenery of new growth just barely peaking out from the flowers. Very appropriate for Imbolc.

[sunnyrain]

I wanted to love this. A white, ethereal blend, it smelled so lovely and delicate in the bottle.

 

But I amped the moss, and could smell nothing but that. My biggest lesson of Bpal-my chemistry can sabotage a beautiful scent!

[renfair]

I bought a partial bottle of this from a member because I thought it sounded really nice and even more importantly: UNICORNS.

First Sniff Impression: Soft and green, a little musky and a little bit of incense.

Wet in Vial: In the bottle I get mostly the white incense and sandalwood. There's a little bit of the rose, too. No pear or vanilla.

 

Drying Down on Skin: The pear pops right out when applied. It adds a green juiciness to the scent, which helps otherwise it might be a little bit too much incense. The green moss is also a bit more apparent and separated out from the sandalwood out of the bottle.

Dry on Skin: Dry this is a bit more incense-y than I would like. It's a very "dry," kind of cologne incense that's not my favorite. I'd like there to be more of the pear or vanilla in it. It's still pretty, but the throw is a little overpowering. Fortunately after maybe 45 minutes or so, some of the incense throw recedes, and it's a little bit sweeter. But I still don't know how often I'd want to wear this. It might be better in a scent locket. --A couple hours later it's all sweetness. So maybe it's not so bad after all.

 

Conclusion: Not sure if the incense-to-the-face is worth it, but it is nice a sweet mostly after. I'll probably re-test it at a future date and see how it is. But I'd keep it anyway cause of UNICORNS.

[roseus]

In the bottle: soft dry sandalwood

 

Wet: mossy, but not damp. Sandalwood and incense make things drier, a little bit of white rose creeps in.

 

 

Dry: This ends up as a mossy incense on me.Dry, earthy, and soft. A little vanilla hovers about. It's a beautiful scent for sure, but not my cup!

[Little Bird]

White sandalwood tends to turn blends to baby powder on me, and that happens here. I can smell hints of sharp greenery and a slightly soapy rose, but mostly it's dry and powdery.

[lunaticana]

It is the combo of all the notes that makes it os good, especially the green mosses with mist rose is delicious on my skin,

I thought I was done with bpals plear haha but I guess this is so little that I can handle it well,

I guess I really do love everything Unicorny bpal brings out

[Lucchesa]

The Virgin and the Unicorn reminds me of the discontinued GC The Unicorn. It's lovely, ethereal, pale, attenuated, like a Victorian heroine perishing of consumption. White rose, white sandalwood, pale incense; I can't honestly differentiate any pear. It's gorgeous, actually; it's just not my kind of scent.

[alyelle]

In the imp: White sandalwood, touched by rose and the sharp astringency of pear.

 

Wet: An unfortunate amount of pear and sadly little moss. I bought this as part of a decant circle, and debated at length about whether to bother; my only experience with pear prior to this was La Belle Au Bois Dormant, which was a colossal failure on me. Here, it isn't as bad, but it's too generic, and too much like a powdery nanna soap, that I can't really count it as a win.

 

Dry: Powdery pear. I didn't like it when I first received it, and I don't like it after careful aging. It may just be the fact that I don't find it pleasurable, but it seems to last forever, with far too strong a throw for a fruit-based blend.

 

Stars: ★★★