Mouse's Long and Sad Tale

[Poenari]

Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood.

Frimp from the Lab: I have wanted to try this, and I was excited to see a frimp in my order. On skin, this is definitely a sweet, girly vanilla scent, with the amber and sandalwood tempering it. Unfortunately, the sweet pea really amps on me, takes over, and turns it into something that is way too floral for me. However, if that's your thing, you will love this. I also want to pass my imp along to my (adult) daughter, because I think this could finally be the scent that enables her.


edited for spelling fail

[mymel0dy]

I have had an imp of this for sometime and thought I had reviewed it but somehow it slipped through my cracks. After purchasing the unreleased V5 I revisited this one.

 

In the imp it is floral and vanilla, and warm. There is just barely a hint of the sandalwood hiding way in the background.

 

Wet on my skin sandalwood and ambers. Sadly all floral and vanilla notes disappear and I get amdered sandalwood.

 

Dry is pretty close to the wet on my skin only much less amber and pretty much only sandalwood.

 

While I wanted this one for the name I am glad that it came with an order and that I did not pay for it, because I am not a fan of sandalwood, but my chemistry wants to kill all the other components of this scent other than the sandalwood.

[heyjjudette]

Delicious vanilla and sandalwood!! This smells sugary and gorgeous. I'm not getting the sweet pea, but the scent makes up for that. Definitely a keeper.

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Dusty vanilla, softly floral sweet pea, and powdery amber. It's far softer and milder than I expected. It reminds me of the "Lace" scents rather than a lush, foody vanilla. I love vanilla in all its forms though!

 

Wet: The sweet pea takes center stage on my skin. It melds beautifully with the soft, feminine vanilla. It gives me a sense of... wistfulness? Verging on melancholy. One of my favorite things about the Lab is their ability to make scents that don't just smell good, they truly evoke their inspiration.

 

Dry: Powdery, dusty vanilla/amber/floral. Pretty, but not me.

Edited November 28, 2013 by brilliantcat

[Vickery]

I got an imp of this and it was a glorious sweet pea centered scent anchored down by a mature vanilla. My bottle version is all sugary vanilla and honeyed ambers. Powdery and cold.

 

When I got my bottle - I wanted the first. A year later - in the beginnings of winter - I like this sweet cold scent.

[BetteNoire]

I got this imp as part of a lab order after Brisingamen inspired me to AMBER ALL THE THINGS!!!

 

In the vial: Nothing. Seriously? Um, I'm confused.

 

Wet: I'm definitely getting sandalwood, but it's soft and not skunky in the slightest. White, indeed. The amber is light too.

 

Drydown: Now the sweet pea comes out and straddles that space between green and flowery. And the vanilla is comforting and almost floral itself. The vanilla kind of binds everything else together.

 

Mouse is very faint on me. It's a very quiet scent, the kind you can wear around everyone and never give offense, but it has so much more depth and beauty and complexity than that implies. I've been wearing my imp whenever my baby isn't feeling well, since it's so comforting and light.

 

Bottle to be purchased as soon as my imp's gone. I foresee slathering in my future.

[cinderfallen]

A good scent for guys! My boyfriend sampled my imp and ordered a bottle for himself a couple years ago. Mild amber and vanilla.

 

He actually really liked Mouse Circus as well, so I gave it to him. He's got a little Mouse collection going now. =)

[lucycat]

My imp of this is over a year old. When it was new, Mouse’s Long and Sad Tale was very faint on my skin; whatever many of the reviews rave about, I wasn’t smelling. Now that it has aged, I can see what some of the fuss is about.

 

In the imp: A very light, airy vanilla with whiffs of sweetness. It suggests spun sugar to me, though that’s not one of the listed notes, and I think it’s actually the sweet pea.

 

The ethereal quality of the vanilla in this makes it similar to Boo, though it’s not as sweet. Although the vanilla is not described as bourbon vanilla, that’s what I smell. I’m surprised I don’t smell the sweet pea more; that note in Aeval amped like crazy on me. It adds sweetness, but it’s not specifically a floral sweetness.

 

The ambers and sandalwood become more prominent as it dries down. This has great lasting power for such a light scent.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Woodsy, amber-y vanilla with some fresh-cut sweet peas hanging around the edge of the scent.

Wet on skin: Sugary, (green) floral-y resin. Strange, but not unpleasant.

Dry on skin: A warm (the amber + sandalwood), sugary-vanilla with a little bit of floral behind it all.

After a few hours: A sweet, warm, creamy vanilla-amber. There is a tiny hint of sweet pea, but only if you're looking for it.

Verdict: Not what I was expecting, but still nice. Probably won't be one of my most-used perfumes, but good for if I'm after a really mild, comforting foodie smell. Reading back over previous reviews, I'm wondering if this one might be a bit better aged? My imp is brand new, but some time ago I tested a friend's older imp of this & I remember there being more floral to it.

[spectrum-in]

Sandalwood p strong in this on the drydown, but it's still sweet from the vanilla on the inside of my elbow (on my wrist it's all sandalwood). Not sure why this happens, but I really like the smell on my elbow. No real floral, although might be mixed up in the vanilla to add sweetness. Not a foodie smell to me at all. I like this one!

[Balame]

I'm one of the people whose experience of Mouse was/is very soft.

It's incredibly light on me, but despite the fact I have to huff to smell anything, it's a nice airy vanilla.

 

I find it sugary and gentle. It makes me think of the air in a candy store or something - not overwhelming, just pleasantly sweet.

It actually reminds me of cotton candy between the wispiness and vanilla. Adding to that, sadly something about it reads as artificial to my nose. (Plastic-y?)

 

I can't really pick out the other notes, so it's certainly blended well.

Great for anyone looking for an inoffensive, almost unnoticeable skin scent.

[littlesparrow]

Wet: Sweet, soft (fluffy?!) and very close to the skin. A bit of vanilla...

 

Drydown: I can hardly smell anything anymore, I have to put my nose right up to my skin. But what I'm getting is a lovely soft woodsy vanilla scent. Very nice and comforting!

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: My first impression is something floral-sweet. There's also a hint of spicy sandalwood, and maaaaybe vanilla? Or possibly amber. Anyway, something warm and sweet and not quite floral.

 

Wet: First off, the vanilla comes off MUCH more noticeable. And a non-foody vanilla too, woohoo! The sandalwood is there as a base, but it's a non-intrusive sandalwood, if you know what I mean - it actually takes some sniffing for me to place the subtle spicy-woody scent. And amber, my old friend, is providing a lovely bridge between the two.

 

Dry: Sandalwood, mostly, albeit warmed up and made simultaneously cuddlier and more slinky by amber. Vanilla is hanging on by a thread, but still present.

[Teaker]

This is more mature and grown-up than I was expecting! I thought it would be a little-girl scent of vanilla and sweet pea. It does have vanilla, but there's also a soft, comforting base of sandalwood. The amber adds a mature, warm element to the scent. I've never been an amber fan but it is really lovely here! The sweet-pea is not heavy at all, there's just a sweet floral edge to this. It's more of a sweet amber perfume than it is a vanilla floral. Quite nice!

 

Edit: After aging my imp for a bit, the amber is very, very heavy in this. It always gave me a mature impression, but now I'd say without a doubt that this is a grown up, womanly, amber perfume. I'm not getting vanilla, just sweet amber with a very slight floral edge from the sweet pea. I like it, but it might be too heavy on the amber for me.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Teaker

[ModderRhu]

this smells like Aureus with some sweetness added. Aureus is in my top ten general catalogue scents so that's a good thing! it smells like dry earth and tea and sunlight with some non foody vanilla and fresh sweet pea flowers. it's very well balanced. I think I need a big bottle of this!

[hammy]

In the imp - Sweet vanilla!

 

Wet - I LOVE white sandalwood. It makes everything so full and content and serene. Sweet pea is usually a little much for me, but this is delightful.

 

Drydown - Oddly, this is a little juicy now. Like it has fruit or something. I know there’s no fruit in there, yet I swear it smells like vanilla fruit punch on me. Unexpected and wonderful.

 

Verdict - Now I see why this is so popular. I may end up ordering a bottle. It’s tempered and sweet and perfect.

[agirlnamedfury]

I was all set to love this because of the vanilla and sandalwood, but unfortunately the other notes don't seem to work for me. It's not horrible, but doesn't really do anything for me. It also seems to have almost no throw...

[andabri]

I have two imps of this. One is paler in color, one is red. The paler one smells like airy, sugary, sweet pea and sandalwood. The second smells like sugary amber and sandalwood. Sandalwood is typically one of my ultimate death notes. But it is VERY well done here. I think this is one of the very, very rare, few fragrances with sandalwood I actually enjoy. If I knew I would get the one where the sweet pea is more present I would order a bottle, but since I can't I'm pretty content to just take my chances with imps rather than have a whole bottle sitting around.

[Veronica]

This is very warm and comforting. I primarily get vanilla with a warm amber background--the amber in this is very light and not at all red or resin-y. Mostly just warm vanilla with something even warmer in the background. I get very little if any sandalwood, if anything it is lurking in the background, adding to the warm-ness of the scent. Sweet pea is also non-existent, but there is a bit of body to the vanilla.

 

Overall, a lovely scent. It's warm, lovely vanilla with just a bit extra to make it more complex. Not particularly striking or interesting, but comforting and sweet.

[LizziesLuck]

This is a lighter vanilla on me. Sweet, but not too sweet. I think it will be nice in the summer.

[Teamama]

I have an imp of reddish-colored oil.

In the imp, I smell strawberries (!?)

On me, wet and dry, I smell soft Amber and vanilla with a hint of sandalwood. No sweet pea, alas.

It lasted around 4-5 hours, not a lot of throw. Gentle, sweet, and unexciting.

 

Edited to add: Mouse's seems to vary some, because I encountered another imp, which was a LOT more interesting. So I purchased a bottle from forum sales, and I enjoy it and get compliments when I wear it.

The Sweet Pea is definitely a player in the second & third versions I got (imp & bottle.) Maybe my first imp was a weak mouse. Anyway, I have become a convert :-).

Edited August 5, 2016 by Teamama

[HighlyBell7]

In Imp: Cherry red color. Cherry and smoke? Sweet.

Wet: Cherry Swisher Sweets. Yum!!

Dry: Cherry Swisher Sweets. Really Yum!!! Sweet Tobacco.

Later: I really like this. I love the note that lingers forever at the end.

Notes: I’m really surprised that this is listed as Sweet Pea instead of Cherry. Strange. I may need to test this again on another day.

[sunlitgarden]

Somehow, I skipped reviewing Mouse's Long and Sad Tale despite having used almost half a bottle of it. This is a 5 year aged bottle, purchased in July 2010.

In the bottle: Sweet pea and vanilla. The sweet pea is not as forward as I remember it being when the blend was fresher. I've never smelled a scented sweet pea flower or the SN, but based on the blends I've tried so far, the sweet pea note is a candy-sweet floral that's also a little juicy in a "fruity" way.

On my skin: Sweet and warm. There's a bit of a sharp green-ness at first, which I think is from the sandalwood. It fades quickly, though. This is kind of like Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea when wet (though less so now; the florals were stronger when it was newer) but with more vanilla and a stronger, warmer base. I always find the smell of Sweet Pea to be kind of melancholy in a way. I think it's probably because my grandma really liked it and it reminds me of her. I miss her.

I think this is a scent that I actually preferred when it was fresher and the floral note is stronger - but worn throughout the day, the sweet pea usually faded over time anyway, leaving the warm amber/sandalwood base sweetened by vanilla. The drydown is a little bit dusty and "powdery" on me, but not in an unpleasant way. It's kind of like if B&BW Sweet Pea and Sensual Amber had a baby.

Edited October 2, 2015 by sunlitgarden

[darklines]

This is a very warm, nice vanilla on me. It's got hints of sweet pea and amber, but almost none of the sandalwood comes through on me. I think it smells absolutely delicious and I will probably be purchasing a bottle. It fades a little quickly, unfortunately, but I don't mind having to reapply.

[Kmye Chan]

In the imp: Woah. This smells very, very sweet, almost candyish and fruity? I assume it's the sweet pea. I can't discern vanilla.

 

On the skin: Very sweet sweet pea, with some vanilla and sandalwood. It's quite lovely, but so very sweet.

 

Dry: the sandalwood comes out and takes over for a little while. Then it reverts to a sweet vanilla/amber/sandalwood scent.

This is nice, although a bit too sweet for my tastes. I'll keep my imp though, I can see myself wearing this from time to time. It's a nostalgic scent that reminds me of these scented sandalwood balls my grandma used to place between sheets in the cupboard (in a good way).