A Savage Veil, Severe and Strong

[VioletChaos]

Black plum, 7-year aged patchouli, nutmeg, and tobacco leaf.

 

Proceeds from the sale of both of the Hymn to the Erinyes scents benefit RAINN, the United States largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, and provides programs to help survivors, prevent sexual violence, and ensure that offenders are brought to justice.

In The Bottle: the plum is definitely the dominant note here. In fact, I don't think I detect anything else at this point.

 

Wet On Skin: As the oil warms on my skin, I detect a hint of the nutmeg. Without the other notes, the two make some strange bedfellows. Far more floral and light than I'd anticipated.

Dry Down: The tobacco leaf steps in, but just a bit, to warm things up and round them out a little. This reminds me very much of a perfume I wore many years ago, Pòemé, from Estee Lauder, I think? This is a "perfumey" kind of scent, elegant, floral, light. I don't know if it's for me, but folks that like more classic perfumes are going to adore this one.

[Joyleaf_]

I also get a lot of plum in here, and something aboutbit reminds me of Lucille Sharpe. The purple note of the plum perhaps? Or maybe how much it smells like a femme fatale in a film noir? The kind that kicks ass and takes names, not so much the honeypot variant. I like it, but I suspect this will be a special occasion perfume, something to wear when the time is right.

[torikitty]

I agree with the first poster, this ends up more floral than expected. The plum isn't as apparent as it is in other dark fruit blends, nor as sweet. The patchouli and the nutmeg do this weird dance of floral vs. spicy. The tobacco comes out and adds some peppery notes. Overall, spicy, peppery, and dry.

[sprout]

This savage veil is more of a dark, velvety curtain. This is plum dominated with tobacco, patchouli, and nutmeg evenly supporting.

 

Plum tends to be sweet (tbh my skin seems to make many notes sweet) and the patchouli is smooth and more woody than dirty. I don't really perceive spice in this, it's more dry resin sweetened up by plum.

 

This could be worn by man or woman and definitely evokes a sense of darkness and brooding. I would say it's a less fruity (no pomegranate) and more unisex Moriarty. It also reminds me of a previous Pickman Gallery scent: The Witches Route (The Carcass) but where that was dry owing to the sandalwood, this is less so.

 

This is evocative and certainly befitting the Eryines. That being said, I love this and will treasure the bottle. Benefits going to help RAINN makes me happy.

Edited February 13, 2018 by sprout

[zankoku_zen]

Dark plum, tobacco, and patchouli. This is a smooth, woody patchouli, with tobacco, and plum. Darker than Mme. Moriarty. Dark, female, ready to throw a punch. Good throw and wear length.

[milo]

Another dark blend. This one also reminds me of Shadow in the Elevator at first, then fades to a soft plummy vanilla patch. I really like it at this stage, though it is pretty soft. A quick fade, even though it's pretty strong at first. Similar to Mme Moriarty as well. Not sure I need any more, as I have some dark blends similar to this, but this one is going into my 'use up' pile,

[LizziesLuck]

I love the plum and patch combo of Shadow in The Elevator. I also adore tobacco. I like nutmeg. This should be amazing on me, but lately patch (especially fresh patch) has been really iffy on me - quickly turning dry, dusty and not pleasant.

 

 

Wet: Mmm, this is a rich, chewy patchouli that I really enjoy. I think the tobacco is helping add to the sweet richness of it. And it's stunning with the plum, just like in Shadow. Actually this is kind of similar! The patch is a bit stronger in this, I think. But I will need to do a side by side for sure to satisfy my curiosity. Either way, this is pretty fantastic. Kind of wish I had blind bottled it so it could already be aging, because in a year this is going to be stunning, I think. Currently though - really like it.

 

 

Dry: This is exactly what I had hoped it would be - a dark, sultry plum scent. Plum and patch is such a killer combo, and the tobacco just makes it richer and sweeter. This is great. If you like scents like Shadow in The Elevator, or Mme. Moriarty, give this a go. I will be picking up a bottle asap.

[InaraRedCloak]

Blend released from the Lab 2018, swap arrived April 2018

In the bottle: Plum and patchouli, but resinous patchouli, not the 'green' herbal type. No spice from the sniff off the bottle, just beautiful semi-sweet dark plum/patchouli blend.

 

Wet on Skin: A 'chewy' tobacco (the kind I like) and dirty plum. Right wrist, which was applied 2nd, has a more resinous patchouli than the first wrist. I'm getting a little spice to the plum on the first wrist. I seem unimpressed, but my instincts want me to slather this on my skin. It's starting to melt into my natural scent. Gods I hope this one doesn't melt into my skin.

 

Dry 30+ mins: This totally reminds me of Black Moths without the vetiver. The plum is more prevalent. The spice comes and goes. This is very nice.

 

Worn 3+ hours: This is lovely and everything (almost) that I could want in a gothic plum. I'm just missing an incense note. The plum is dark and full, no fake, or candy scent here. The tobacco is gentle but sweet (like Dead Leaves Black Currant Tobacco Tar scent), the patchouli is a little earthy and gritty, but not oppressive. This is a beautiful black plum, gothic scent. I might have to save up for a back up bottle.

[Aveya]

Source: Lab bottle buy

Bottle sniff: Strong sweet tobaccoo

Initial Skin : This was surprisingly sweet to me. Just a gentle backdrop supporting a rich smooth patchouli and gently spiced tobacco. Plum isn't very apparent to me as a fruity note though. Just dark, feminine, smooth patchouli, slightly dusty tobacco.

Drydown: The later drydown is when I can actually detect plum proper, as a fruity note. It maintains the dark, warm, gently spiced vibe.

Late Drydown: It starts to get an almost leathery vibe on me in the late game. I'm not a huge fan of this late stage.

 

I'll be trying this out a few more times to see how it wears. That sweet mid-late stage I really enjoy. If I can get that 90% of the time this will be a keeper & stockpile for me. But if the leather-vibe sticks around I'll have to swap out.

Edited May 12, 2018 by Aveya

[bulletslc]

I adore bpal's plum notes with my whole ❤ I also love their tobbaco notes. This scent is such an amazing combo of the two it almost....nay, it DOES bring me to tears. This is a warm, soft plum, resinous witout being sharp, beauty. It's gothic without being in your face. It's not too fruity but not too tobacco/patchouli. It's absolutely perfect.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle

Plum and patchouli are the first things to hit my nose. Love.

 

Wet on skin

This is plummy without being really fruity, because the patchouli and tobacco make this deeper and darker.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

The plum and patchouli remain the strongest notes on my skin. This is a slow, smouldering patchouli and a velvety plum, complemented with tobacco and spices. I don't smell nutmeg specifically, but I do get something spicy along with the plum.

 

Thoughts

Severe and strong, indeed. Patchouli and plum are really, really gorgeous together in this blend. It's slightly sweeter than most of my patchouli blends because of the plum, but it also has that familiar throw of a good, strong, BPAL patchouli blend that I've come to know and love.

[theredkilt]

This smells A LOT like A Shadow in the Elevator, except that the latter is a bit woodier and has a slightly bitter drydown or finish to the drydown (could be the vetiver / musk combo). A Savage... is more refined, to my nose, in that regard and the drydown works much better for me. The plum note is more rounded and melds well with the tobacco leaf. Elevator is more centered around patch/musk with plum notes over a restrained vetiver base.

[Lucchesa]

I finally got ahold of a decant of A Savage Veil Severe and Strong, which has had a year to age now.  It's really beautiful.  At first I wasn't overly impressed -- I got plum, not too sweet, and patchouli, not too gnarly.  It was less dark than I expected; I was pleased that it wasn't overly fruity.  But within 20 or 30 minutes, I was pretty sure I had blind bottled the wrong Erinye (though I haven't pulled Snaky out in a few months and suspect she may be aging equally well).  The tobacco and nutmeg started to emerge, adding depth and spice.  A Savage Veil isn't terribly complex, but it doesn't need to be.  Its lovely deep notes are in gentle equilibrium, unisex, maybe leaning feminine.  Low throw (normal for me) and good wear length  

[Kelthara]

This is amazing. It's like Baba Yaga and The Witch Queen adopted a little girl and then that kid casually started smoking pipe tobacco and no one really tried to stop her because well, what the hell, kid's just having a grand ol' time. Don't judge, we all raise our children as best we can, that girl smells great, that's all you need to know about this. (But seriously kids, don't smoke).

 

So this says 7-year aged patchouli, and the note in Baba Yaga is apparently patchouli root, but this is a very similar, earthy, gnarly patchouli to my nose, which I love. It mingles seamlessly with the plum note I recognize from The Witch Queen, dark and sweet and just on the edge or perfumey. Add to this a whiff of tobacco, and voila! This is a gorgeous scent right off the bat, and I can't wait to see how it ages. I'm gonna need a bottle. 💜

 

ETA: just realized there's apparently nutmeg in this? I can kind of pick it up now that I know about it (power of suggestion, huh?) but it's pretty faint, it might come forward more with time!

Edited August 25, 2020 by Kelthara

[starbrow]

This was perhaps my earliest plum love, and I still wear it every time I get gothed up. The gorgeous purpled plum note is dragged into dark, sexy places by the most opulent patchouli you can imagine, a black velvet of a patchouli, and chunky booted-tobacco leaf, sweet but not caramelized, a little dreamy like tobacco flower. The least noticeable note is the nutmeg, but when I went to my spice cabinet to sniff it by itself, the nutmeg reads as a warm forest walk kind of barky note, and I do get a whiff of that kind of freshly peeled bark kind of wood from A Savage Veil.

 

Really, though, this is a darkly romantic backdrop against which the purple-eyed plum can dance. This is my go-to recommendation to others (and myself) who want a rich, gothy plum that is easily accessible from the lab. I love the smoothness of the aged patchouli that lets plum do her thing and gives her the depth and sophistication to shine and last. Medium throw on me, but it lasts a long time!

 

In a not-so-clinical test against A Shadow in the Elevator in my household, A Savage Veil won, btw   Do I have three bottles of this? Yes I do!

Edited May 31, 2021 by starbrow

[Just Kitten]

This is really nice. The patchouli is subtle but gives it a comforting earthy feel. I agree it’s similar to Lucille Sharpe, but less sharp and floral. Happy to have a bottle. 

[Bassmastadroog]

Someone above said this was a less sweet and more unisex Mme. Moriarty. I agree, and it may be too understated for me in that regard because I LOVE Mme. Moriarty.

 

Perfumey plum, and I don’t smell any other notes individually…but there is a cool and earthy quality to it. Almost smells like there is a dirt note in it. that must be the tobacco.

 

I had to slather more on because I was kind of anosmic to it. Dirt and plum. Gosh it’s kind of nice. I’m going to see how I feel throughout the day but it’s definitely in the vein of the Crimson Peak scents, it feels high end even though I’m catching that earthy note.

[a_bear]

Although they've been aged different amounts, the aged patch in this smells similar to the one in Brood X to me, and they both smell sort of generically perfumey. I am clearly not a patchouli connoisseur. I'm on the fence with this one since the patch is pretty strong, but I love the dark plum and tobacco combination. This is also one that smells different in the waft (more fruit and tobacco) than it does up close (more patch).

[Riezky]

Plum and patch, bit of tobacco. It seems that this is the type of patch blend I've unknowingly been looking for. A lot of the vanilla patch blends I've tried have ended up too dry and gnarly for me, but this one is a beautiful mix of sweet and earthy to me.