Vapor Girl eLiquid, A Strange, Sometimes Wonderful, Sometimes Awful Vape Juice for 2013

I think it’s safe to say by now that most Spinfuel readers will have at least a passing familiarity with The Vapor Girl; if I’m not much mistaken, this review will mark the third, or possibly the fourth, for Victoria’s wonderfully adventurous company.

In doing my due diligence for this review, I’ve gone back and re-read some of the previous reviews, which you can find here, here, and here. There are a couple more of them as well, going back to mid-2012. In re-reading the reviews what I discovered was that The Vapor Girl offers a simply dizzying array of flavors, from the mainstay classics to the wickedly unexpected.

Well, folks, what I have here for you today is… I was about to type “More of the same“, but I think I need to change that up a little, for the sake of accuracy: More of the very, very different.

I have to tell you that my reactions to reading the labels on the bottles went from, “Hmm!” to “Huh?” to “Awesome!” to “What the #$@%?!” Allow me to now unveil the reason why by naming the flavors I’ll be reviewing for you today:

Wazzle (Brittany’s Blue Blend), DB’s Dessert (Pineapple Upside-Down Cake), Peach Piano Tobacco, Coconut Water, Mashed Potatoes, and Ms. Peppa.

 

 

 

Your eyes have not deceived you. One of the flavors I’ll be reviewing — the one that prompted the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot when I read the label — is Mashed Potatoes. And if you think that’s weird, wait ’til you read what I think of it — you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Vapor Girl Presentation

I’m just about as certain as certain can get that the quality of presentation from The Vapor Girl has already been covered in previous reviews, but I want to give my two shiny copper pennies on the subject, so here goes:

The thing that really strikes me as going above and beyond with The Vapor Girl’s bottling is the labeling. It really shows how much passion and devotion goes into the entire process for the folks at TVG that so much attention to detail spills over to the labeling on the bottles; the founder is obviously all about creating an entire experience, from web site to labels, from the first nose of the freshly opened bottle to the last drop vaped.

It’s loud and clear to me that The Vapor Girl approaches this with a deep and abiding love for the entire process, and when you couple that love with the overwhelming sense of pure fun that you can’t help but pick up on in the flavor lineup, well, I don’t think there’s any vaper out there who couldn’t find something to love just as much in these eliquids.

Hardware Notes for the Vapor Girl  Review

These six liquids were tested on a variety of hardware setups for the purposes of establishing baseline vapor, throat hit and flavor performance characteristics. I feel this strategy is particularly important for a lone wolf reviewer like myself, because it ensures that any shiny high points or lackluster lows are genuinely attributes of the eliquid itself, and not of any single hardware setup in which the eliquid is being tested.

The setups on which I tested these six liquids include the following batteries, mods, and ADs (atomization devices):

Innokin iTaste VV 3 plus Smoktech Tumbler 1.6 ohm running at 8.5 watts.

Joyetech eGo-C 3.7v battery wearing an Innokin iClear 16.

Kamry K101 powered by 18350 battery, wearing a Kanger 510 cartomizer, resistance unknown.

Vapor Girl Review Format and Methodology

As the Johnny-Come-Lately of the reviewers here at Spinfuel, I have a slightly different take on reviewing eliquids than Spinfuel readers may be accustomed to. So I’d like to take just a moment to lay it out for you so that you know what to expect.

I judge eliquids on five criteria: Appearance, Nose, Vapor, Throat hit, and Flavor; I usually shorten that to ANVTF. I have to credit Phil Busardo of TasteYourJuice.com, because his VTF criteria are the basis for ANVTF. I add Appearance and Nose to VTF because, like a fine wine, there are nuances to eliquid that you pick up on by taking a good look at its color and consistency, how it moves on glass, how it smells, and so on.

How do I gauge the visual attributes of a liquid? Well, just looking at it in its bottle is only the start. To judge its attributes when in motion — for example, how nimble it is, or whether it leaves trails or layers behind as it moves — I turn the bottle on its side and roll it in my fingers. If the bottle is too dark for that, I do the same with a just-filled clearomizer.

The nose is important because it’s not just a teaser for what the flavor is most likely going to be, but also of what scent the vapor is going to carry, which is important to you if you’re in non-smoking and/or non-vaping company.

Now let me share with you how I actually test these qualities. The first day eliquids arrive in the mail, I open each bottle and give it an hour with the cap off, then re-cap it and put it away for 24 hours on the shelf in a cool, dark walk-in closet. The following day, I uncap each bottle again, allow it another hour of breathing time, then re-cap and give each bottle a good, vigorous shake. Another 48 hours of shelf time go by, at which time each bottle is given another good, vigorous shake, and then it’s time to fill a preliminary carto, which gets labeled so I don’t get mixed up about which liquid is where.

Another 24 hours goes by while I develop initial impressions of the liquid’s attributes by vaping it from the cartomizer, and then each liquid is used to fill another non-carto device, such as the Protank IIs, Mini Protank II, Tumbler, iClear 16, and so on. This helps to ensure that I’m judging the eliquid rather than the atomizer that’s vaporizing it.

And there you have it! So, let’s get into these liquids, shall we?

Vapor Girl Wazzle (Brittany’s Blue Blend)

 “Brittany’s Blue Blend Flavour Premium E Liquid from The Vapor Girl is a custom flavor created by a customer at our new retail location. Blueberry, Pomegranate, with lemonlime fizz.” – TVG

Wazzle, I am pleased to say, is something really very special. In appearance, Wazzle is largely unremarkable; a very pale gold, nearly platinum, if a touch thicker than usual. Movement is fluid but not nimble, very little layering in its wake.

It’s on the nose that Wazzle first really pops. The nose is instant, powerful, and amazingly distinctive: Astoundingly tart raspberry, blueberry, and I get just a tiny suggestion of mint. Not enough to say there’s an actual mint or menthol component; it may be just the juxtaposition of raspberry and blueberry teasing my nose a little.

The visual vapor output on Wazzle probably won’t blow you away; it’s solid, competent, but not really fog machine intense unless you’re vaping it from hardware that’s specifically set up to put out cloud banks. Throat hit is delightful. You won’t have to put much work into getting a rock solid hit from this vape, and that’s really saying something when it comes to an eliquid that’s half the nicotine strength I gravitate to for my own personal consumption.

But here’s where we get to the part where Wazzle really dazzles. Did I just type that? Yes, I did! The flavor. Now, let’s get this straight — I’m still mostly a tobacco connoisseur. It takes something mighty special to get me to gush about a non-tobacco flavor.

But gush a little I will, because Wazzle delivers on flavor in a big, big way. That tart raspberry comes in with a crisp snap, mellowed just a bit by sweet, smooth blueberry — and then that microsecond’s worth of the illusion of mint. I’m reviewing this vape in late November, but what it really is hitting me with is a vape that you just wouldn’t catch me without in July or August. This is something so wonderfully tropical in theme — to my mind, anyway — that it would be an all day vape for me all summer long.

Vapor: 4.5 Throat Hit: 4 Flavor: 5, Complexity: 4.5

 

Vapor Girl DB’s Dessert (Pineapple Upside-Down Cake)

“DB’s Dessert (Pineapple Upside Down Cake) Flavour Premium E Liquid from The Vapor Girl is our version of a delicious yellow cake with pineapple and brown sugar. It is the winner of The Vapor Girl Spinfuel Forum!!” – TVG

 

Now here’s a thing I’m going to say right here, and I’ll stand by this: The Vapor Girl knows how to execute a flavor perfectly. Even if it’s a… well… a really strange flavor… she does it with pinpoint accuracy and masterful nuance.

We’re gonna get to a flavor or two where that’s more than a little disconcerting, before this review is done, but with DB’s Dessert, it’s simply glorious.

DB’s Dessert bears this legend, in paretheses: “Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.” I may be getting just a shade ahead of myself here, so let’s stick to the roadmap and start with the appearance of this liquid: Pineapple yellow. I’m not sure why, but I actually found that a bit surprising.

Movement is nimble, and layering in the wake of movement is nonexistent. Light in body, but big, bold nose and big flavor. Speaking of that nose, it’s all pineapple, all the time; but it’s a sweet pineapple rather than tart, fully in keeping with its intended role. This is what has me gushing about The Vapor Girl’s flavor prowess.

The vapor on this is consistent with the rest of the liquids in the lineup; it won’t have you yelling with amazement, but you won’t be left wanting, either. Flavor carriage on the vapor is solid, but without the slightest tobacco notes in the vapor’s scent, you’ll hear no complaints from reasonable people.

Throat hit, likewise, is consistent, with a firm push at the back of the throat after minimal effort.

But as with Wazzle, the flavor is where this eliquid is going to have you blinking, taking another puff, and then saying, “Wow!’

What we have here is, once again, a perfectly pinpoint precise replication of the flavor the label leads you to expect. The flavor is headed up by pineapple, but we’re talking the sweeter pineapple glaze you get in pineapple upside-down cake. We also have the buttery sweetness of the cake itself, topped off by just a breath of sweet vanilla.

This is a rich, immersive dessert vape that you really have to be in the mood for dessert to enjoy. This is a case where the flavor is so absolutely, perfectly authentic that you can’t pick this up in the morning and say, “Wellllll, I can vape this all day if I just tell myself that it’s…” No, this is dessert, and you won’t have any luck fooling yourself about that fact. This is a rich, indulgent mid-afternoon-with-coffee or after-dinner treat.

Vapor: 4.5 Throat Hit: 4 Flavor: 5 Complexity: 4

 

 Vapor Girl NEW! – Peach Piano Tobacco

With Vapor Girl Peach Piano Tobacco, I believe we’re looking at an offering from TVG so completely new that, at the time of this writing, it doesn’t even have a presence on her web site yet. And that’s all right, because if you’re a fan of fruit-and-tobacco fusions, I get to be the guy who turns you on to what just might be one of your new must-have’s.

 

The appearance of Vapor Girl Peach Piano Tobacco is consistent with the other liquids in this review when it comes to its clarity and nimble movement. The nose is where this liquid really starts to sing, though; the peach really comes through in a big way, but it does tend to leave tobacco firmly in the back seat.

The vapor, as with the appearance and the throat hit, are consistent across all of the samples I tested. I think at this point it’s safe enough to skip right past them and get right to the standout feature of Peach Piano Tobacco: The flavor.

Peach Piano Tobacco hit me with that peach, once again, front and center, loud and proud. The tobacco came in right on its heels with a sort of earthy profile that reminded me quite a lot of Top Roll-Your-Own.

And then, there it was again; just as with Wazzle, I get this trace of mint. I’m not sure whether this mint influence is deliberate or accidental, because it’s such a light whisper of mint that I honestly don’t know if it’s there by design — or, truthfully, whether it’s actually there at all, or whether I’m imagining it.

What makes me think it’s a feature and not a bug is simply the fact that it works. I’m not really a fan of menthol, but when it’s coming through in a peach and tobacco infusion, it just tastes right.

Vaped from an Aspire BDC clearomizer on a mechanical is how I like Peach Piano Tobacco best, but I can’t imagine there’s any wrong way to vape this one. Delicious and — as odd as it seems to say this about a tobacco vape — quite refreshing.

Vapor: 4 Throat Hit: 4 Flavor: 4.5 Complexity: 4.5

Vapor Girl Coconut Water

“Coconut Water Flavour Premium E Liquid from The Vapor Girl is refreshing, light, slightly sweet. Its all coconut water should be.” – TVG

You know, I sat here at my desk just staring at the blank screen when it came time for me to talk on the topic of this eliquid. At this point, I’m still not entirely sure what to say about it. There’s only one flavor in this lineup that leaves me more befuddled than Coconut Water does, and I’m still saving that one for last.

In appearance, Coconut Water is essentially clear. We’re not really in for any surprises on vapor or throat hit; it’s perfectly in line with its siblings on those attributes, and I don’t want to waste your time essentially copying and pasting what I’ve said about the other flavors. Consistency is the curse of the reviewer, but it’s the bounty of the consumer.

Let’s get to the Big Different, then, because different is what this Vapor Girl flavor is all about.

You get it first on the nose: Light, sweet coconut… and that’s about it; I’m assuming that’s because the only thing coconut water really ought to smell like is, well, coconut. We get the same on the flavor. There’s just not a whole lot else to say about this eliquid. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Hey, I love coconut water, and I love to vape… how come I can’t vape coconut water?”

Well, thanks to The Vapor Girl, you can. And the thing is… it’s just as delicious as you could possibly hope for.

Vapor: 4 Throat Hit: 4 Flavor: 4 Complexity: 3 

Vapor Girl Ms. Peppa

“Ms. Peppa Flavour Premium E Liquid from The Vapor Girl is a replication of the 27 flavor soda we all love. Tastes like the real thing!!” – TVG

Ms. Peppa. If you’re thinking that sounds just a little Doctor-ish, you’re right on the money. But whereas the fizzy drink has a nose of prune, what Ms. Peppa delivers on the nose strikes me more as a ripe plum, with just the right balance between sweet and tart. The flavor is true to the nose, and the flavor carriage in the vapor is strong but brief.

This is probably the shortest of the reviews, but here’s the take-away: If you like Dr. Pepper, you’ve got a strong contender for an all day vape in Ms. Peppa. The sweetness is there, but it’s not cloying, nor does it burn me out, thanks in large part to the counterbalance of tartness.

Vapor: 4 Throat Hit: 4 Flavor: 5 Complexity: 4.5 

Vapor Girl Mashed Potatoes

“Mashed Potatoes Flavour Premium E Liquid from The Vapor Girl is rich, smooth, creamy potatoes. Just like mom used to make!!” – TVG

And here we are; you know, if there’s one word that captured my reaction to this eliquid from start to finish, it would be this one: Gobsmacked.

The first thing out of my mouth when I took this bottle from the bubble wrap and saw the label was, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” (Okay, I admit it — that’s a family-friendly approximation of the actual thing I said.) The second thing was, “Seriously?! Naw! Can’t be!” The third thing? That was after I removed the shrink wrap from the lid, opened the bottle and sampled the nose: “Holy ship –” (Also an approximation.) “–it is!”

I have never been so utterly astonished, confused, morbidly curious, and then jettisoned-into-orbit surprised as I was on trying this Vapor Girl e-liquid for the first time.

The appearance is hard to gauge inside the dark glass bottle, but in the iClear 16 its hue comes through as pale, pale gold. Consistency is light enough for movement to be nimble, but it does leave faint layering behind its movement.

On the nose, this eliquid is absolutely redolent of exactly what the name says it should be. I pick up the full complement of absolutely classic scents one would associate with the staple side dish; savory potatoes, a touch of creamy butter, dashes of salt and black pepper.

The vapor output from this eliquid was remarkably good from all the ADs I ran it through, while the flavor carriage is a real point of interest. It’s potent and distinctive, and it does linger for a fair little while; on the other hand, it is so utterly, completely not a smell anybody would ever associate with vapor that nonsmokers are unlikely to even consider complaining about it — and that’s if they can even figure out that the scent is something you’re exhaling in the first place.

The throat hit from this eliquid really took me by surprise with how satisfying it is even at 12mg strength. I usually have to go for 24mg eliquids to get the kind of throat hit I like, and while the TH on Mashed Potatoes is noticeably light, it’s not at all lacking.

And now we arrive at the flavor. I find that I’m almost at a loss here, because I’m about to give you good and bad all at once, and I find myself having trouble coming up with a way to do that properly.

The Good: Vapor Girl Mashed Potatoes tastes exactly like what it’s supposed to. Earthy, savory Idaho potato; creamy, just slightly sweet butter; dash of salt; dash of black pepper. Absolutely amazing flavor reproduction.

The Bad: Same thing.

The Weird: This vapor is, simply, delicious — but this is ‘delicious’ like beefsteak ice cream. It tastes the way it’s supposed to taste according to the label; taken on its own merits the flavor is just plain wonderful… it’s just a wildly incongruous medium through which to deliver this particular flavor.

I just can’t wrap my head around the concept of savory vapes, and experiencing the reality of one doesn’t really clear a path in the brain-to-taste-buds blockade any. There are some things that your brain just tells you you’re not supposed to like; for most of us, that’s when we’re young and we’re talkin’ broccoli — and then you get around to broccoli and cheddar soup, and your brain goes, “Nope, I was wrong — my bad, this is tasty!”

But with savory vapor, my brain and my taste buds are having an argument with every puff. Taste buds are saying, “Delicious mashed potatoes!” Brain is saying, “No, not potatoes, vapor!” And I hate to lay all this at The Vapor Girl’s feet, because it really is an impeccably executed eliquid that does in fact taste amazing, delivers great vapor and throat hit, and by Crom, TVG has got an amazing sense of what I can only call culinary adventure for even thinking this up, to say nothing of executing it so perfectly.

It’s just so very, very strange. Would I recommend it? I hate to say it, but no, I can’t honestly say that I would. And the reason why I can’t is the same reason I would love to be able to say that I would: it’s a phenomenally, mind-blowingly accurate reproduction of exactly the flavor it’s supposed to be. It’s just not a flavor I could conceive of anyone wanting to vape, with the very limited possible exception being perhaps at the holiday dinner table or at a picnic.

Vapor: 4 Throat Hit: 4 Flavor: 4.5 Complexity: 5

Vapor Girl Conclusion

If there’s one thing I could say that would sum up the course of this review, it would be: Adventure.

There’s just so much about The Vapor Girl’s lineup, both in the batch of eliquids I was sent to review and in the 90 (plus?) flavors she has on offer, that I don’t think there’s a flavor that you could possibly want to vape that she hasn’t got or, in any event, won’t eventually have.

I think I am now among a select, or possibly even an elite, few who can claim to have vaped mashed potatoes. That in and of itself just may be worth the price of admission. But I have to take just a second to corral my thoughts and present you with my summation:

If you want not just a simply wild assortment of flavors but the absolute pinnacle of flavor reproduction expertise, you dare not pass up The Vapor Girl. If she doesn’t have a flavor, odds are pretty darn high that nobody’s offering it. And if she does offer it, you can bet your bottom dollar that it’s going to be flat-out perfectly mixed.

Team Spinfuel