Bottega Veneta Eau de Velours

Woody Floral Leather or, Vintage Class EdV falls into a 'type' of perfume for me, beyond what it simply smells like. My favorite perfumes are dark, serious, sultry, sexy, vintage, and throw back. I love when perfume makes me feel wise, untouchable, poised, classy,and frankly, a step beyond the world that I live in. So EdV works for me simply because it is the exact kind of perfume that I fall head over heels for...it's dry, serious, grown up, has notes of florals and woods and is completely unsweetened. This is a perfume that is not of our time...it's not aiming for the lowest common denominator, it's not trying to be young or cute or sweet, it's complex and lovey, and it smells better the longer you have it on. So good on Bottega Veneta for actually putting something like this out in today's market. I bought EdV completely unsniffed (which I do all the time) but I also ordered it at full price from Lord&Taylor (which I never do) It's pricey. But not only is it worth every penny and full bottle worthy, it is backup bottle worthy on my shelf, and if the price comes down a bit later in the year I'll be sure to buy another. The scent is perfect and the performance is amazing. EdV has mild/moderate silage, depending on how many sprays you apply, every stage of the perfume is gorgeous, and most importantly to many of us perfume fanatics, it lasts on the skin almost all day, 10+ hours. Okay! So you know how I feel about this perfume. Now for how it smells... Like I said this is primarily a woody, dry, leather perfume accented with florals and sweetened on top with the signature pink pepper that BV puts in almost all of their perfume. The bergamot is very light and fleeting, and initially the pink pepper IS very sweet, but it quickly calms down. The plum note, the only one I was afraid of, is part of the topnotes on my skin, and it is very dark and lush but not sweet at all, and I feel like it is laced with a lot of smoky vetiver, too. The jasmine is right front and center on the top notes, too, and is a bit sweet and lush, but hides under the plum/vetiver/smoke thing. And here is the most wonderful thing: This perfume is positively loaded with iris. Dark, powdery, earthy, leathery, smoky Iris. It is stunning and beautiful and combined with the prominent leather note makes up most of the backbone for EdV. Once the topnotes settle down this really turns into a dynamic buttery Leather and earthy Iris perfume. A few hours later, though, the perfume changes a bit and the rose really starts to come through. I have to learn more about this one because it's a little elusive...sometimes the rose is bright red, sometimes clouded by the woody notes, sometimes it's mixed beautifully with the leather, sometimes the rose shares 50/50 time with the patchouli...it's sometimes heavy and sometimes airy. The rose note becomes very dominant but it has a capricious personality. This is when BdV gets REALLY woody--I mean it's like a classic rose interwoven in oakmoss, vetiver, and patchouli perfume. Like most of the BV line, the leather note is present throughout. If you've smelled their original perfume you know what what I'm talking about. Damn though. This is just so perfect. The leather, the woods, the iris/rose notes...and it's so perfectly dry it just makes me crazy, how perfect this perfume is for me. I've been wearing this almost every other day since I've gotten it--which is UNHEARD of in my rotation. Anyway I hope this long review was helpful...cheers! And thank you Bottega Veneta!

Comparing BV EdP and BV Eau de Velours (EdV). They both start similarly - big blast of pencil shavings after the initial spray which turns into a woody spicy scent after they dry on the skin. The big difference is the accord of bergamot and pink pepper which give EdV more body and dimension. This is not a light and airy bergamot. It is deep, rich and heavy. EdV's opening therefore is more "perfumey" and mature. I don't think most women younger than 40 wouldn't want to wear it whereas the orig can be rocked by women as young as 25. After about 10 mins, the EdP has turned into the scent of makeup with a slight touch of powder. In EdV it's hard to tell if the same transformation is taking place because the citrus and pepper dominate everything. 5 mins later and the bergamot has disappeared revealing that, yes, the same transformation took place. Both frags are now neck and neck but EdV's makeup accord is deeper. For most of the first hour the EdP and EdV are dominated by the powdery makeup accord. There doesn't appear to be much leather in either if at all. 1 hr in the makeup accord have wound down. Projection and sillage seem stronger in EdV. 5 mins later the makeup accord is completely gone in both. Now it is replaced by leather. This isn't leather shoe leather like in Tuscan Leather, Ombre Leather, Uomo Signature or Encre Noire. This isn't car leather either like in Memo's Italian Leather or Bentley's For Men Absolute and Infinite Intense. It's not leather bound books like Byredo's Bibliotheque either. I'm not sure I would classify this as women's leather bag leather because it smells nothing like the leather handbags of women I know. It's fragrant but reserved. In texture it feels velvety like suede or Nubuck. The scent is hard to describe because I have no personal point of reference so it doesn't smell like I am looking at a specific object but a large bolt of animal skin. There's a faint hint of pencil shavings in both. In EdV it's additionally scented by plum and spices. The note breakdown in both promise jasmine and/or roses but I'm getting neither white nor pink florals. At least not yet. The leather notes lasted for about an hour before fading. By 2hr 30 mins I can detect nothing from the arm I sprayed with the EdP and very faint traces of the plum in the one I sprayed with EdV. Waiting to see if anything else develops or that was it. So far no jasmine, oakmoss or patchouli in the EdP and no rose, jasmine or patchouli in the EdV. If they were ever there they were likely but players or dominated by the stars of each respective show. Again, I'd say EdP skews younger because of the straightforward notes. The addition of spiced fruits, while beautifully blended skew EdV toward an older, more mature and more sophisticated frag connoisseur. Comparable frags 1 Cuir Amethyste, Kelly Caleche and Tenue de Soirée. 3hrs in I'm still getting a faint whiff of both although they need to be warmed up. 4 hrs 30 mins. Apparently I went anosmic 2hr ago but I can smell both again. They're still there and there's been no development. Scent is pretty linear since the drydown. 7 hrs in. Both are finally well and truly gone.

I came across this stunning gem online. I instantly fell in love with its exquisite bottle design and was intrigued by the fragrance notes, particularly the presence of pink pepper and rose, suggesting a spicy perfume. I was eager to try it at a store, but to my disappointment, I discovered that it had already been discontinued. Undeterred, I embarked on an online search and managed to find it. Taking a leap of faith, I made a blind purchase, and to my delight, I absolutely adored it. I live in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the weather is hot and humid, yet this remarkable fragrance lasts for more than 12 hours on my skin. I typically spray it on the back of my neck and wrists, and to my surprise, it becomes even more captivating when I'm sweating. As it dries, I can detect subtle hints of leather, but when I perspire, the notes of roses, jasmine, plum, and pink pepper resurface, creating a beautifully captivating, sexy, and sophisticated scent. Edit: I have more than 30 bottles of parfume and now this is my go to parfume for any ocassion... to work, church, going out with friends, etc... I'm addicted to this scent

Delicious from first spray with top notes of neroli and bergamot. Leather starts getting noticeable quickly. The vintage feel is already there,evident, but it still smells as a modern composition. It becomes a wrist crack fast, you will want to smell your wrist all the time. Some rubber notes, very well integrated to the whole composition The patchouli here is a weird one. It doesn't shine, actually it can't, because the thick suede note is overlapping it, but when at times the nose just catches it, it's dry and bitter. The plum just adds a fruity sweetness, ever so slight, I wouldn't consider the perfume sweet whatsoever. Class, class, class Dark Cherry-Red velvety drape dresses. A man can wear it if he wants to, but in my opinion the plum note makes the perfume lean more on the feminine side. Very smoothly blended, high quality. Of course it's a chypre fruity, but a modern take, no Mitsouko will show up, don't worry. Dry and starchy. A wonderful and daring creation in the sugar perfume era. Well done!!

Soft spicy dewy berry scent. Perfect for autumn and winter. I love it. Long lasting, but projection is not great on my skin. The scent is addictive, I find it the ultimate aphrodisiac. If I could afford, or should I say when I finally can afford it, this will be my ultimate seductive scent. Not that many people know about this scent which makes it even more special. It smells high end and it is high end. The combination of plum and patchoulie with fresh bergamot and rose on a bed of leather and pepper is just exquisite. It was a love at first sniff. A true beauty. The first split second when you sniff you think it is a fruitchoulie but then that leather and pepper spice just ground it and give it something else. It truly is in a league of it's own. Scent- 9/10 Lasting power- 7.5/10 Projection- 6/10 Bottle- 7/10