Velvet Void

[zankoku_zen]

Oman frankincense and blackened myrrh with plum blossom, tea leaf, opoponax, cypress leaf, anise seed, star anise pods, elderberries, and elder flower.

[ltrittipoe]

Mostly plummy frankincense on my skin - and it’s lovely plum, fruity and sweet, not as much plum blossom.  Everything else melds together and creates a velvety background for the brightness of the plum and frankincense.  It’s beautiful, deepest purple velvet.  
 

ETA:  After a month, this is even richer and plum-ier.  It’s getting more and more beautiful with time and the notes melding together.  

Edited August 22, 2021 by ltrittipoe

[hpennspenn]

Okay,  this is a blend I LOVE.  Head over heels will recommend to every dark berry plum loving soul. 

 

I will say that it presents, on me, with what I believe to be the elderberry and plum blossom as the most robust aspects. There is a tartness, but NOT sour.

 

I am having a very difficult time sniffing out the anise, which I was a little hesitant about.  

 

My thought process is the supporting notes pull this dark juicy delicacy into a safe haven,  preventing it from going into "wine" territory on me. 

 

I have excellent staying power with this blend, at least 6 hours of easily catching beautiful waft after waft. The throw is perfect,  not heads turning when I walk into the room,  but enough to where my spouse compliments me from the other side of the couch.  

 

Truly and utterly perfect!

[starbrow]

Plum is my very favorite note in the whole world! I have a burning need to try every plum blend out there.

 

With that disclaimer, the Lab's 2021 plum note is totally different than past ones. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Velvet Void. Immediately upon smelling, this is entirely about the tart, dare I say sour plum that showed up in the Raucous Games Inside a Bathhouse (2021 Shunga) and Asleep in the Deep (2021 Anniversary Sea Shanties). It is a plum that is so bright, juicy, and puckery that my brain translates it as grapefruit. Yes, I said it! I don't enjoy that avenue of fruit, so I just have to conclude that this type of plum is not for me.

 

In the case of Velvet Void, that note is definitely holding hands with the elderberries, which I recognize from taking elderberry syrup during cold season. It's a comforting kind of scent, but isn't doing anything to hold back the grapefruity plum. Nor am I getting any of the darker notes - two types of anise, where are you?? opoponax, you rubbery dark resin, where are you hiding? and my beloved frankincense, that shimmer of a resin, is really covered up by that insane plum top note that lasts for hours. I can detect a bit of the powdery lotus-esque myrrh effect here, although I wouldn't necessarily have guessed myrrh from smelling it blindly. Maybe a hint of white tea? A buzz of cypress, which is always just short of fizzy to my nose?

 

Bottom line: this is a bright, tart, insistent kind of plum that is even MORE extra than those other two 2021 plum blends! If you enjoyed those, I can recommend Velvet Void to you. If you like the deep, dark, velvety plum that BPAL is known for, or want a dark resinous murkfest of a scent, look elsewhere.

[HerbGirl]

I love this. The plum blossom is a nice touch (if you've ever actually smelled a plum blossom, you'll pick it out here - I grew up with a plum tree!) especially coupled with the elder flower (what a beautiful pollen-y quality) and I don't get any of the dreaded aniseed or star anise that made me wait for reviews (thank goodness!) but the elderberries are such a refreshing, and rare, scent I really wanted to try this, and I'm glad I took a chance. The frankincense is the same glowing frankincense from Totality but is less strong here. Very, very nice.

Edited August 21, 2021 by HerbGirl

[DiZZysTARdust]

i really really want to love velvet void because just look at that note list. it smells very rich and heady in the bottle, like elderberry liqueur. unfortunately a lot of the complexity disappears on my skin. i hate to say it but it kind of reminds me of a cheap berry scented body wash. not because of any soapiness or anything but because all i get is a generic “berry” sort of scent. i’m still keeping it for two reasons, the first is because it does make a great layering scent and also because i’m holding out hope that with enough time the skin scent will match the in the bottle scent 

[edboy]

I've had Velvet Void for a good few months now and I definitely agree with other reviewers about the dark, velvety fruitiness! The anise seed and star anise pods are not super noticeable on my skin, nor are a lot of the dark deep resinous notes particularly distinguishable, but the plum blossom and elderberry/elderflower combo are standouts for me.

 

In the bottle: Juicy, tart elderberries and a very deep, dark base which I assume(?) is the frankincense, blackened myrrh, and opoponax, and is very enjoyable.

 

Wet: Like a lot of scents, my skin eats a couple of the notes within a minute or two. Mainly, the anise notes and the tea leaf disappear, and the delicious juiciness of the elderberry quickly gives way to the elderflower and plum blossom.

 

Dry: A very pleasant, deep fruity-floral scent that wears for about three to five hours before it disappears completely. I find that while the scent is strong, the throw is not, and I have to basically huff my wrists to pick up a lot of the notes except the more floral ones.