Bruise Violet

Going to have to test a few times, I suspect. After yesterday's failed sample of Baba Yaga from the same brand, and a try at their linen and room spray, I had very low hopes for this. Baba Yaga got my first experience of hearing multiple, unsolicited, "I don't like what you're wearing today"s and I had to agree. Strangely, at around midnight, it FINALLY mellowed out into something lovely in my hair. Not worth the wait, though. Luckily, on first whiff, Bruise Violet might be a "love". 9 - I think I'm going to have to accept that one of my favorite notes is "plasticky lipstick" because it thrills me every time I encounter it. I smell like a handbag with makeup spilled into it. At the same time it's a clean smell, not muddy or overly powdery. But the powder is there. There's a fruit smell that didn't give me any hint of citrus but when I looked at the notes and saw grapefruit, I could see it. The roses are prominent, not jammy or fresh, but still clear and youthful. I keep getting the image of a young woman wearing tons of eyeliner at an esoteric music show, like acoustic hip-hop, drinking cheap beer and wearing a second hand dress but her boots were $600. She's Debbie Harry, not Kat Bjelland. I am not normally the type of person who gets all poetic or story-time with scents. There is definitely some vanilla in this that I'll have to keep an eye on, but if that stays under control, I'm buying this tomorrow. 11:45 - I may have reapplied at some point this morning just to get that glorious open again. This dies down fairly quickly and goes into an irisy vanilla on my right wrist and a sugared rose on my left wrist. I don't even know what to say to that, but I do still get wafts here and there of the best parts from the open. This is the perfume oil but I'm going to go ahead and buy the EDP once I try the rest of my samples from sixteen92 and see what all I want to order. Will update review to compare performance.

Just tried a sample of the perfume oil and am ready to invest in both the oil and perfume. The price was so much less than I expected! In addition to loving the powdery lipstick vibe, it really does take me back to my rock and roll party years in the nineties. How I would SCREAM out the lyrics to all the songs on my Hole albums - "I want to be the girl with the most cake" and of course, "Go on take everything, take everything, I want you to." LOL- my life was far more dramatic in my young adult years. Tough and vulnerable, and that is the feeling I get from this scent, though it's probably due to the power of suggestion. So far the sillage and longevity are very good, and I hope that will continue. I own many violet/iris perfumes, but there is just something different about this one. Thanks to my Fragrantica swapmate for turning me on to this glory. Now thar I think of it, it does slightly remind me of Angel's Dust by Francesca Bianchi, which I also love. I still want Bruise Violet! Update: I received my oil and perfume and I couldn't be happier. They smell identical, but I layer the oil under the parfum to help longevity, which is pretty freakin' good to begin with! I've already picked out about 7 samples I want to purchase from the house. They revolve their collections around different themes, but unfortunately, not all of them make it into the permanent collection. It's such a cool little brand. Thanks for introducing them to me, swap buddy!

Bruise Violet is a woman of many contradictions, as most of us are. Ths was the first Sixteen92 scent I tried, and I have found many (not-in-database) winners from the brand since. BV is also VERY intense, so much so that putting on more than one or two small dabs of the oil can turn it from a fantastical violet-tinged powdery daydream into a suffocatingly dry, waxy purple nightmare. Because of this intensity, she lasts and lasts. I can often smell it the next morning on my skin. I prefer Lipstick On in warmer weather just because it is softer, but in mild and cool weather BV is the way to go. Maybe I am just easily swayed by ad copy, but I do smell a lipstick accord that is not listed here that goes beyond the "powdery notes." For my buck, this is a good marriage of vintage and modern, edgy and classic, funky and timeless. I admire Claire Baxter and what she does, and I highly recommend Sixteen92 overall, but I would be remiss to not recommend their award-winning scent as an entreé to the brand.

Modern and young! expresses a great desire to get involved, to exaggerate. Very nice parfum... i really like the initial agreement, a dusty scent (accord-lipstick) really well balanced with violet leaves and iris that stand out. Suitable for autumn days or even winter, in afternoon walks,some party nights music... suitable for those who want to transmit energy from the soul always young! Very beautiful! Sillage: 8.5/10 Longevity: 9./10 Scent: 8.5/10 Overall: 8.5/10

On me this starts out very sour, musty, and just strange. But then dries down into something incense-y and gorgeous. I’m digging it. Edit: I ordered a rollerball of the oil, it’s like a completely different scent. Zero lipstick, it’s just sweet and sour bergamot 😒

Smells like heavy smeared lipstick and violets. Very unique and evocative- but it's definitely not for everyone.

I like this, but I'm not getting lipstick accord at all. On my skin its far from a powder puff of parma violets and rose candies (such as, for example- Misia). Instead, I'm getting a sour mature rose with boozy facets and a good dose of worn black leather! There's a smokey, lived-in feel to this hovering around the edges that's just enchanting. Wish I had gotten the big bottle!

Ultra-sugared lipstick-y violet rose with eternal longevity. Honestly was more interested because of the name rather than the notes (I'm a sucker for Babes in Toyland and that whole era of grungy 90's femme), but the notes delivered and I'm loving it. Go easy when trying this, because as others have mentioned, it can be overpowering.

This is dry old lipstick, powders, dark flowers, and that sterile, root-vegetable like scent eminating from hospital hallways, or the smell from a nursing home. On some days I like it, on others I don't. But one thing is for sure, it's certainly unique and memorable.

The blood grapefruit notes and powdery notes I find to be very dominate first whiff, and very sweet for A floral perfume, when it dries down it smells like powdery musk, almost like baby powder? a nice skin scent, i'd wear this to bed

metholated floral like Biofreeze meets Halls then rose comes through for a metallic rose; ick As much as I hate the top and drydown, the base is pretty. It's a powdery candied rose and iris with violet. I wish it started here.

This smelled like carrots on my skin. Dirty carrots.

It’s rare that I smell a perfume on me and have to go take a shower to get the stench off. This, unfortunately, was one of them. In the bottle, it smelled powdery with a hint of flowers. Underneath the flowers there was something... unpleasant, a musty basement smell, but it was faint and mostly inoffensive. On me, the musty basement just exploded with the force of a star going supernova, and only got stronger and stronger as time went on. I think I had it on for two hours before the mildew smell gave me an unbearable headache, so I took a shower. Thankfully I decided to try this out on my day off, and only got a 2ml sample so I’m not out too much money. If I’d been stuck at work trying to wear this I don’t know what I would have done. I probably would have scared off all the clients. Also, this took about a thousand years to ship (...okay, actually four months), and I was literally at the computer about to open a PayPal dispute when I got the notification that this stuff had FINALLY shipped. I’ve been trying to be somewhat understanding when I’ve been buying stuff online from small businesses- hey, there’s a pandemic, you probably can’t have everyone you’d need for your full business capacity, but you should at least inform customers that you are backlogged, and if it gets REALLY bad, suspend sales until you’re back up and running in a reasonable amount of time. Maybe I’m just being too cranky. Honestly, I think half of the reason I’m so annoyed at the shipping time was because the perfume smelled so bad on me, but it is something to consider if you’re planning on buying. Certainly don’t blind buy unless you’re getting a sample set, because otherwise you’re waiting months to get your stuff and if you dislike it, then you’re out of luck.

blind-bought ages ago; sadly I reallly have to be in the right mood to wear her. the kick of citrus, powder, and lipstick in the opening--heaven! the hyperreal grapefruit accord is delicious and this is coming from someone who kind of despises a lot of citrus notes. but after the first five minutes the sugar barges in and my problems begin...this scent takes the scenic route to arriving at a very sweet, girlish violet 'fume that could use more bruising. but maybe i'm just aging out of this type of scent. she's still cooler than smelling like cupcakes and I would love to catch a whiff of this on someone else

YES! As someone who loves trying cosmetic inspired scents, this one is a winner. Definitely get the retro lipstick reference, metal case and all (the grapefruit?). Starts soft, then gets stronger as it warms. More waxy than powdery to me with the florals blending equally together. I feel like there's some amber & plum in there too adding some depth. Very special & sexy! I think right now this is my favorite lipstick scent out of all the ones I've tried.

Lovely "lipstick accord" fragrance. I didn't find it powdery or old fashioned in any way. It's more a smooth lipstick fragrance. Can be worn anytime of year and by anyone. The grapefruit keeps it light and sparkly when it wants to get more serious. I think it can hold it's own against all the big hitters in the "lipstick accord" category. Personally, I wanted something a little more punk rock. Where is the leather and booze ;)

Don't bother ordering from this brand. I was super excited to receive this as I hear sixteen92 has one of the best lipstick accords. It's weeks past the stated turn around time, I've reached out to them only to be completely ignored. I'm sure this a nice scent but don't waste your money (and time, since I now have to initiate a chargeback) ordering from here. Spend your money at a reputable and reliable business instead.

Starts off as the most violety violet I’ve ever violeted. When it settles, it becomes a true Lipstick Violet. I prefer the powdery heliotrope texture of Replica Lipstick On. Bruise Violet is very smooth, though quite lovely.