Hey friends!

I’ve been sitting on this review for awhile, just because I forgot part of my order and placed a second one. (I realllly wanted to try Ringmaster). But today I’m here with a little review of my first foray into Black Violet Perfume Vault and Bathory.

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Black Violet’s perfume, bath products, and customer service, so I knew sooner or later I’d be trying out the shop. It just so happened around early November she offered a special deal where if you ordered a certain amount, (I think it was $35), you also received a little Glamour Doll Eye’s goodie bag as a gift with purchase. I knew my time to try Black Violet had come.

See what I thought below!

I placed this order during the Black Violet Friday sale on November 14th. It was shipped December 10th, and arrived at my house on December 13th. While Black Violet’s Turnaround Time is 14-21 business days, at the time she was also going through a family emergency that led to a small delay in my order shipping. She was very transparent about this on social media, and given all the good customer service stories I had heard about her, I was never worried.

And everything did arrive! My goodies showed up all wrapped in pretty purple tissue paper and I was ready to get sniffing! So let’s sniff away!

I chose 4 scents in the Pick your Potion sample size. These are $6 each, which is a bit pricey for samples, but they are also 3.7mL, which is huugggeee. It’s almost half the size of a full bottle, so you are definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck here. For some reason when I placed this order I was in a really sweet, foodie gourmand mood, fair warning if you see a theme emerging in my scent descriptions below:

Affrogato-Buttery vanilla drowned in espresso, burnt sugar & a drizzle of amaretto liqueur
I love affrogato in real life, but I rarely make it because any caffeine after noon, and I stay up forever and ever. Now, I can enjoy it anytime! This perfume smells amazingly delicious. It starts out buttery with the espresso note in the background. As it dries down, it becomes sweeter and I can smell the amaretto. It smells like the most perfect affrogato, the ice cream and coffee combined perfectly. Seriously, this might be the most scrumptious smelling perfume I’ve tried yet. I also like to wear it on days when I’m exhausted and trying to wake up and I pretend the espresso note gives me power.

Paper Dolls- Delicate and pale as alabaster. A vintage lactonic with comforting rice milk, pure white musk, sweet cream, and the lightly powdered warmth of her skin.
I got this perfume after I saw many other indie beauty bloggers raving about it. It’s a very subtle, clean scent on me. I don’t get must white musk or cream, more just powder and the smell of clean sheets. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t really come across that well on my skin, it’s extremely subtle and I have to really layer it to get a decent throw. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just a little meh to me. If you love a soft, subtle scent, this will be totally up your alley.

Pâtisserie-Petit fours of eclairs covered in powdered sugar filled with vanilla custard, lemon meringue tarts in a buttery short dough shell brimming with lemon curd, a swirl of baked meringue & finished in a light dusting of confectioners sugar.
Dang. Black Violet can nail a sweet scent. This is fantastic. I take back what I said about Affrogato, I think Patisserie might be the most amazingly delicious foodie perfume scent I’ve ever smelled. It starts off mostly lemon, but as it dries I can really get a hint of the vanilla and sugar in the back. It doesn’t smell just like sweet lemon, there truly is the subtle smell of a lemon pastry. 

Ringmaster-Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to you…spun sugar clouds of fluff with a sharp whip of Russian leather under the big top. Be intrigued by the unexpected.
I have this weird soft spot for carnival and circus scents. I just love the combo of sweet, with something odd, like smoke, leather, wood, etc. Ringmaster did not disappoint. It starts out super sweet, but with a subtle tangy note. I could literally imagine a dark night at a carnival with blue cotton candy being spun. (Really! That strong of an image.) However, as it dries, there’s a very soft, undernote of leather, and I get a hint of dirt also. (Noooo clue where that’s coming from.) I was expecting the leather to be a bit more prominent, but on me it’s definitely subtle. This doesn’t pass up Solstice Scent’s Foxcroft Fairgrounds as my Holy Grail Carnival scent, (uhh, yes I have that), but it’s a sweeter, and no less delightful version.

 

Bath Products:

Body Butter in Celebration (sample size $4.50, full size $8):Our celebratory champagne opens with a garnet bouquet of pomegranate, aromatic ripeness of boysenberry, rounded out with a garnish of cracked pink peppercorn for a playful finish.
I originally bought this in a mini, but Black Violet’s owner was kind enough to upgrade me to a full size. I was super happy about this because I love a good fizzy champagne scent, and this one is quite lovely! As champagne scents go, this is just as fizzy as you would expect, but it’s a bit more fruity than your typical bubbly scent. I can definitely detect some berry notes, and a bit of the pomegranate. Overall, this is a light, fun scent that’s refreshing and sweet.

As for the body butter itself, the consistency is thicker than Haus of Gloi’s Pumpkin Butters, (I’m comparing it to HoG, just because most indie lovers have tried their lotions and they’re my current favorite) but still very creamy and smooth. The lotion definitely feels moisturizing and nourishing and the scent has a good throw. The body butter also dries quickly without leaving a greasy residue, which is a big plus in my book! I would have to say this Body Butter is up there with HoG Pumpkin Butters.

Creme Soap in Cacoa Bean, ($3.50 for mini and $7.50 for full size)-Just beyond the pass, nestled among the towering pines is a campy Inn with a retro red fireplace. Take in the mountain hideaway with your mug of steamed cream, curls of Alpine chocolate over vanilla bean infused hot cocoa.
I got this creme soap in a mini size with one of the Yule scents that was available. I find Cacoa Bean very pleasant with a nice cocoa scent, but overall, fairly one note. As a soap it’s actually kinda fun, because how many chocolate soaps have you tried?

As far as soap goes, this is a nice product. The texture is a bit grainy, but creamy nonetheless. The consistency is more similar to yogurt than butter or cream, as I’ve seen with other soaps. I use most indie soaps to shave my legs, (TMI?) but I actually just keep this one by the sink and I like to wash my hands with it. I feel like it gives my hands a soft exfoliation and then lightly moisturizes them. It would probably work as a shaving cream, but I think you would need to put it on a loofah first.

Total Radiance-Exquisite multi-tasking beauty serum for the face, body, hair, and nails.
I got this sample in my second order and I’ve been playing around with it since then. Supposedly the oils used in this are great for your skin and can be used pretty much anywhere on your body. I’ve only tried it on my face so far, in small patches, where I’ve had a lot of dryness, and it seems to be working. I haven’t seen any amazing miraculous changes, but it has helped my sad, dry skin. I’m going to keep trying it and see what happens with continued use.

Overall: I was very happy with my Black Violet order(s)! I absolutely loved Affrogato, Patisserie, and Ringmaster, and when my gigantic samples run out, I will definitely be getting more! I also thought the Celebration Body Butter smelled fantastic and was smooth and creamy. It could easily catch up to HoG’s Pumpkin Butters as my current fave lotion.

Black Violet has already listed some of the names of her Spring scents, and if the descriptions sound as cool as the names, I will be placing another order then!

Questions of the Day:
-Have you tried Black Violet?
-Are there any strange scent themes you’re drawn to?

Love,

Rebs!