Mouse's Long and Sad Tale

[Alchemy21599]

Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood.

This imp was part of my MTP order from the Lab.

In the imp: sweetened vanilla extract.

Wet: sweet floral vanilla.

Dry: Sweet and girly. I don't get any sandalwood. A pretty scent, but just not for me.

[Voleuse]

Wow! Creamy vanilla with a hint of dry spice, and a breath of cold behind it. This is gorgeous! Creamy vanilla scents often go plastic on me, but I think the sandalwood in the blend has tempered whatever does that. After a minute, the amber warms the blend nicely.

 

On me, the sandalwood amps over time, and I end up with something that's like a less intense Baghdad. I don't get any sweet pea at all.

[sestina]

First Try:

a soft and beautiful scent - warm and enticing but not overwhelming or powdery. i had a few moments this morning when i thought this was going to venture into hairspray territory but luckily, it stayed calm and an hour after application it's a supersoft amber. it is a very "light pink" scent for me, and i'll certainly use the imp with love, but i tend to like headier ambers for regular wear.

 

Second Try:

for the first two hours, very soft and somewhat bland - reminiscent of several other BPAL oils that I also love for their round sweetness, but nothing really stands out. However... after about two and a half hours, I put my nose to my wrist and I adore what has developed. the sandalwood, i guess, has come forth a little more and the ambers have become slightly more intriguing. I'm glad, very glad, I gave this a second try, because I think this might actually end up being a 5 ml purchase. Beautiful drydown. I can also imagine wearing this scent to bed often. Not too strong, but just strong enough to be calming.

Edited August 10, 2006 by sestina

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle: Spicy and floral.

 

Initial application: Mostly sweet pea, with a little sweetness.

 

Mellowed to: Vaaaaanilla, but not a foody smell. The amber underneath it darkens the vanilla and keeps it from sliding into bakery territory. The longer it's on my skin, the more I like it.

 

Verdict: Hmm. I think I'll have to wear it a couple of times to see how I like it.

[QueenFae]

This one reminded me immediately of Dorian. It's a gorgeous vanilla scent, with a gorgeous amber undertone. This is the same vanilla from Dorian and Antique Lace, but it's a little lighter in this blend. This is a very innocent, delicate scent; light and lovely. Amber and vanilla has to be one of my all time favorite combinations. I would probably get a bottle if the scent were a little stronger on me, but unfortunately it's not. I love it anyway, everyone should try this one.

[euterpe414]

yum yum yum, yum yum yum. I thought I'd reviewed this. guess not.

 

In the bottle this is an AMAZING vanilla sandalwood. I don't detect the sweet pea UNTIL

 

I put it on. For a while in the wet stage, this is almost a sweet pea SN. Yikes! I got really scared the first couple of times that I wore this, thinking that I may have to swap it.

 

Thankfully, after about 15 or 20 minutes this turns into that yummy smell that I got from sniffing the bottle. Phew! I kind of have to slather this on, but perhaps that's because I enjoy being totally enveloped in this scent. It has surprisingly great throw for how light adn creamy it is. Usually creamy scents have zero throw on me.

 

In short, this is an amazing, fabulous, wonderful (ok, I'm out of adjectives now) scent.

[Teggy]

It's amazing how body chemistry affects this scent, especially since everyone's interpretation seems different. This reminded me a bit of Dorian in the imp and a little like Black Opal once on me.

 

Unfortunately, I don't get the vanilla/sandalwood love that I get from MB: Underpants. Mouse goes almost pure amber on me. ACHOO! Ooh...pardon me. It's nice and soft and elegant, but a bit overpowering on me. I like a little amber, but this is too strong for me to wear regularly. Pity.

[fairy]

This one is outstanding. It's sweet, yet not. Spicy, yet not. Nothing jumps out at you. It turns a tad soapy but it works! I keep smelling my wrist and getting something different and wonderful. I love it

[nevermore]

To me, the Mouse smells like the unholy love child of Sin and Pink Phoenix, with a bit of the vanilla from Antique Lace. It's positively gorgeous. Wet, it's almost a dead ringer for Pink Phoenix. I can almost smell the strawberry from PP. As the scent becomes closer to the drydown of Sin - amber and sandalwood, but a bit sweeter. I need a bottle of this - all my favorite notes in one perfume.

[tasty]

This scent is delicious on my skin! I have received so many compliments on it and I can't stop sniffing myself!!

 

On me, it smells a lot like Lush's Candy Fluff scent, except not as sickeningly sweet.

 

The throw on this one is strong, which makes me love it even more!

[shellyshells]

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale- I fell in love with this instantly.

 

This is simple, soft, and so beautiful. All the notes blend so nicely together, without muscling each other out in the forefront. I like that the amber and sandalwood keeps the vanilla from being too foody. The dry down is a gorgeous creamy vanilla and sandalwood.

 

I can't stop smelling myself, its so comforting.

[PrettyPenny]

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! GORGEOUS!!

 

I've been wanting to try this scent ever since it came out, and lucky for me the lab included it as a frimp in my latest order. This oil is almost pure vanilla with just a hint of amber and something floral in the background. I cannot stop sniffing my wrist. Beautiful.

[ashtonrose]

I smell this and sigh. The vanilla is so soft and sweet. Sandalwood blends with it, but not overpowering it.

Just Beautiful!

[valentina]

In the bottle, the Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is predominantly sweet pea and vanilla. After I put it on, the sweet pea amps up, along with the sandalwood. I waited for a while for the amber and the vanilla to kick in, and I'll be darned if they didn't. I was so positive I'd love this scent, and my short and sad tale is that my body can't wear it well. Somehow the sandalwood and sweet pea compete with each other, and it creates a rather bitter sweet pea sort of smell, and while it isn't terrible, it's not something that I'd want to wear. And the sandalwood and sweet pea, bullies that they are, don't burn off in the interest of allowing the other components to move foward. Damn! It really is a lovely little scent in the bottle, very feminine and innocent, and I think it would be perfectly lovely on someone who enjoyed sweet, foody scents with an exotic undertone.

[storme]

In the imp: dry sandalwood and vanilla and a hint of sweet pea.

 

On me, wet: vanilla amber, very warm and rich with sandalwood beneath it adding depth. The sweet pea more or less vanishes.

 

On me, dry: mm, deep warm sandalwood with the sweet vanilla from antique lace over the top, and a little dry dusty amber too. No sweet pea, though.

 

Verdict: Antique Lace is still going to be my one true BPAL vanilla, I think - this is nice, but a little dry and cloying. Might keep the imp around to use this for a change once in a while, though.

[porcelain72]

Here's another one for the future 5ml purchase list...

 

In the bottle: let's call it Dorian Jr. Sweet vanilla with a little less spice to it. Lovely.

 

Initial application: vanilla and soft flowers, the sweetpea presumably. This is getting nicer as it goes along.

 

Drydown: I put this on today because I'm taking my daughter to an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea parlor. It's the first time I've worn it, and it's just beautiful. A must for fans of vanilla scents, the sandalwood and sweetpea keep it from becoming overpowering or artificial.

[gaai]

Oh I hadn't reviewed this one yet.......glad I didn't, because the Mouse and me....well we got off on the wrong foot. I had wrongly accused the Mouse of being too floral, but later I found out that the huge bouquet of *very* fragrant flowers the husband got for his birthday was to blame but by that time I had sold my 5ml already.

 

So.....after realizing there was no way I would *not* love this blend, with the amber and vanilla and all.....I got a 10ml to make it up to the Mouse .

 

And a lovely scent it is! The sweet pea and amber give the vanilla just enough depth to be interesting while the sandalwood keeps it from getting too sweet.....

For me this is very much an every-day scent......when I want something different than my ( now usual ) spicy, incensy scents.

[dawna]

In the vial: This is very soft. I smell the vanilla and sweet pea straight off. This is not a foody vanilla scent though.

 

Wet on the skin: Same scent but the vanilla comes more to the forefront. This is a very light scent on, I keep having to bring my wrist up to my face to smell it. Still sweet pea and vanilla on me.

 

On drydown: Yikes, my skin swallowed all the scent. Its almost gone. I can smell a faint amount of vanilla and what I think may be the sandalwood. Wow, its been a long time since something faded so fast on me. Like within 10 minutes, poof! Gone.

[stardreamer]

What can I say? I like vanilla, I like amber, I like the combination; the sweet pea is light enough not to be too floral, and the sandalwood provides a nice grounding under the amber. It's not quite to the level of OMG FAVORITE!!!, but it's certainly something I'll use and enjoy. Staying power is pretty good -- after 9 hours, it's still noticeable. Bottom line: I'm glad I ordered it, and not surprised that I like it.

[mistri]

This is a lovely scent. It's soft and sweet and it's possible to easily detect the sweet-pea, the vanilla and the amber.

 

However, I found it very sweet, just like Dorian is. They do have different qualities (Dorian is more lemony), but on my skin both turned to sweet vanilla. Mouse's vanished first though, so I decided to pass my bottle on.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Vanilla, in the same way as Tombstone, but with a dab of sweet pea behind it.

 

Wet on me - Like a softer more feminine version of Tombstone, with the sweet pea distinct in the background.

 

Dry on me - Soft creamy vanilla that sits just off the skin.

 

Overall - I like this a lot, I suspect it will be a future big bottle purchase.

[neuilly]

Well, Dorian didn't work on me but this may just be a keeper! There's a definite vanilla amber creaminess to it which I love and s fair amount of spice...mostly sandalwood which I never thought I would enjoy so much. Definitely keeping the imp for more testing.

[Natch]

in the bottle: mmm. a Dorian/Zephyr mix. Sugary with tea and lemon.

 

wet: I can smell a little sandalwood and sweatpea now, giving the scent a slightler sharper/bitterundertone, but still mostly smell sweet vanilla.

 

dry: still yummy, but it's got it's own thing going on now. I guess the sweetpea and sandalwood make the vanilla more bitter than some, but the amber helps keep it rich and creamy, and on me, a little bit powdery.

 

overall impression: This is yummy, but it's in the same family as Dorian, and I think I like it a tad bit less than Dorian, so no big bottle for me. I do really like the sandalwood undertone though so the imp is surely a keeper though.

 

A

Edited September 6, 2006 by Natch

[catslash]

Ugh, so close. There's something rich and buttery lurking in there that I just love, but on top is a piercing sweetness that smells to me how it must feel to have a spike of sugar driven into your skull through your sinus cavity. Very good for people who like sweet scents, but emphatically not for me.

[minnalavender]

I bought both Antique Lace and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale at the same time, unsniffed. One thing I've learned the past six months is NOT to do that unless I'm really sure of the notes! Vanilla is sweet enough to appeal to me, but I don't want to smell like a room freshener. However, I am really glad I gambled with these two.

 

VANILLA. Creamy, soft, sweet, confectionary vanilla, not at all like the horrid Body Shop vanilla my oldest girl slathers herself in! This is wedding cake vanilla. Lick myself vanilla. It plasters a blissful smile on my face.

 

In the bottle: I could barely smell the Mouse! I was practically snorting it. Damned if I could detect any one note clearly, either! I thought he was shy, and I'd have to search for him once I let him out.

 

Wet on my skin: WHOA!! This is not the hidey kind of mouse; this is the kind of mouse that not only invades your pantry, it runs around in your kitchen with a hunk of cheese from the mousetrap, flipping off the cats. The throw is amazingly good compared to how faint it was before! The first thing I detect is the vanilla... *melts*... but then the other notes come out to play. I love the way the sandalwood behaves in this blend, keeping the two sweet notes from taking over the show.

 

I can't believe how amazingly lucky I am. Three of my five favorite bpals are GCs! I definitely include MLaST in that group. I can see myself wearing this all the time, layering it with Smut and Snake Charmer, maybe even Sugar Skull and other thick, spicy scents, just for fun. I love it.

 

Edited to add: when I originally did this review MLaST was fresh from the Lab. It has aged sooooo beautifully! All of the notes have deepened, and in the bottle it's a floral/amber dream, very assertive. The throw is wider and it lasts at least 12 hours on my skin. I want to get another bottle just to age, now.

 

Edited January 5, 2007 by Mattie