Lady Vengeance (2006)
by Juliette Has a Gun

Juliette Has a Gun LADY VENGEANCE naturally sets up expectations with its name and, yes, they are dashed. This does not strike me as an intense composition at all. Instead, it's perfectly tame and well-behaved. A pleasant blend of rose, vanilla and patchouli, this polite perfume would probably suit anyone looking for a modern rose. The blend is very smooth and not too sweet, and in contrast to many recent launches, the patchouli here is very measured. I would say that the quality is on a par with some of the Rosine rose perfumes.

I like LADY VENGEANCE, but she has not captured my heart. Perhaps she's just too nice?

14th October, 2011.

A good parfume. The three main notes (rose, patchuly, vanille) are perfectly distinct and well blended. Why, why can't I find this scent sofisticated and classy? Sorry but both this and the other juliettehasagun tester I have didn't entralled me. That's why it is not a thumb up.

26th September, 2011.

Lady Vengeance is (if you'll pardon the stolen lyrics from a CSN&Y song of the 80s) a rose in a fisted glove..... it is feminine but strong, sexy and strikingly beautiful. I love it!!

25th August, 2011.

Based on the notes and my new found passion for modern rose chypres, I thought I would love this one. I don't.

Lady Vengeance is a modern rose chypre that is clean, clear & bright (like Stella in that regard). I loved it on top but liked as it dried, and then I couldn't care less. Why? On me, as Lady V dries it becomes sweeter and wears like a skin scent. It's perfume oil, without the headshop feel. It struck me that someone like me in middle age shouldn't be wearing a fragrance which turns to a candied rose perfume oil.

I think Lady V would be best for the under 30 crowd. For the over 30 crowd, there are better choices for a modern rose chypre. Personally, I'd reach for Gres Cabaret, which is a similar scent at a fraction of the price. Zombi from BPAL is another wonderful rose that's dark & deep with oakmoss - another good choice for the over 30 crowd. Even for the under 30 crowd, Agent Provocateur Eau Emotionelle is is a better quality and more affordable - I'd recommend it over Lady V.

Over priced and over hyped, imo.

27th March, 2011.

This is a rich, dark, sweet, caramelly, smoky rose. For the younger audience looking to step it up a notch, Lady Vengeance would be a good start. Just take it easy with the sprayer because this Lady gets louder the longer it is on your skin. Highly recommended.

7th February, 2011.

The several scents I know that focus closely on a rose – patchouli accord fall roughly into two stylistic families. Some, including L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Voleur de Roses and Bond No. 9’s West Side, pair a sweet, fruity rose with an earthy patchouli for a relatively high-pitched, wine-like effect. Others, most notably Montale’s Black Aoud and Czech & Speake’s Dark Rose, use a drier rose and an astringent or camphoraceous patchouli to paint a darker, more austere olfactory picture. I place Lady Vengeance squarely in this second camp.

In fact, on first acquaintance Lady Vengeance impressed me as a kind of Black Aoud without the oudh. The quality of Lady Vengeance’s rose note closely parallels the Montale’s, and the patchouli has a similarly brisk, piercing flavor to it. Without the bitter, medicinal accent of oudh, Lady Vengeance is a mite less confrontational than Black Aoud, but it is still a gaunt, dark, and dramatic scent.

Lady Vengeance also shares with Black Aoud – and Voleur de Roses, for that matter – a paradoxical sense of simultaneous depth and clarity. I attribute this quality to a simplicity of structure shared by all three scents: there is little extraneous matter in any of them to obscure their rose/patchouli foundations. Lady Vengeance may just be the simplest of the lot, and its drydown leaves the rose and patchouli exposed in bold relief. I personally enjoy the medicinal oudh counterpoint on offer in Black Aoud, but if you find oudh off-putting, Lady Vengeance might be your dark rose-and-patchouli of choice.

5th December, 2010. (Last Edited: 28th December, 2010.)