Mouse's Long and Sad Tale

[Megh]

Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood.

I can't begin to tell you guys how many imps I have... I've filled a Buxton jewelry case with all my BPAL and that thing weighs a ton. -Every once in a while, I grab something, sniff it, and give it a try...

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale...

In the imp, it gave me an medicine-y alcohol-y floral sort of scent.

Wet: Floral Hairspray. Great.

Drying: Meh. Floral with vanilla.

Totally dry: This is gorgeous. (thank goodness, I hate putting something on only to have to take it off again if I abhor it!) Its a powdery (in a good way, not that dreaded powdery sneeze-inducing way), light ambery vanilla, slapped with the tiniest hint of flowers. The sandalwood grounds it and keeps this scent from floating away alltogether. It is very much a 'close to skin' scent, and it doesn't scream 'I'm wearing perfume, bow to my reekage!'. Its just lovely, and I might have to get a bottle of this in the future. Its not little girl, not old-lady, its just perfectly feminine, gentle, and soft. (Everything I'm not!)

Recommended!

[lightgatherer]

I had a feeling that I was going to like this one, and I did. Despite amber and I being great friends, I never really got any amber from this. Mostly on me this scent was vanilla tempered with something slightly watery and sweet (I'm assuming the sweet pea). I'm not sure I'll need a bottle, but I'm definitely going to keep my imp.

[TheIceMaiden]

Mousie is such a charming scent. It starts off amber with a little vanilla. As it dries, the sweetpea comes out. I get a little sandalwood as well once its dry. I ordered an imp of this in my very first order and it remains one of my true BPAL loves.

[Lit Chick]

I thought this would be an insta-love for me, but it was actually a little too sweet, a bit too gentle.

All the notes are there and lovely - I think it's the vanilla that makes it overly adorable on me. BPALs vanilla is something that I really want to love, and I keep trying it - but eh. So far, it's not working. I have a billion other soft little impies, so because this came late to the game it does not make the cut. Farewell, little mouse.

[myoubi]

I cautiously like MLST.

 

PRECONCEPTIONS: I wasn't sure about at first -- based on the note list alone, I thought it would be too cutesy and sweet for me. But someone had a bottle up for sale, and she had other stuff I wanted, so I just bought it and figured what the hell.

 

IN THE BOTTLE: it doesn't smell terribly pleasant -- it's heavy on the vanilla, but it's an odd thin sharp vanilla. Maybe that's the sweet pea.

 

WET AND DRYING: it smelled better -- if I had to identify it I'd say it was a vanilla sweet pea blend. The amber started coming out after about ten minutes, which is good since I like amber, but it doesn't amp hugely on my skin, which is odd. At this stage, and for the next hour, it's almost a straight vanilla-amber made floral by the addition of the twining sweet pea. pleasant, but not a huge amount of throw, and a little too sweet for me...

 

DRY: After about an hour, though, the sandalwood starts coming through. Mmmm. With the warmth of the sandalwood to ground it, and once the sweet pea has stopped twining around everything with its cloying sweetness, this turns into a lovely vanilla-amber-sandalwood scent that is stopped from being thick and too warm by the /hint/ of greeny-sweet floral. It's very pleasant, and I like smelling it.

 

BOTTOM LINE: I do like it. I'll have to live with it for a bit to see if I'll really use it, and it is a bit gentle for me, but it's not something I'm aching to heave out of my box. Reccomended for those who like the sweet and gentle scents; it's everthing it promises to be, if you can get past the phase of choking sweetsweetsweet pea-vanilla.

[Tess]

The make or break of this with be the sweetpea. (Hey! That rhymes! )

 

In the vial - Yeah, that's some sweetpea, that is. It's a bright, strong floral. The vanilla is barely touching it.

 

Wet - The amber seems to be souring the floral for some reason. Hmm.

 

Drying - So bright, so sweet. It's like I layered two seperate scents, the vanilla-amber-sandalwood loveliness with bright freaking sweetpea singlenote. This just doesn't seem blended at all and the amber is still conflicting with the floral to my nose.

 

Dry (45 minutes) - Headache. The sweetpea isn't as strong and the amber has gone sour-powder.

 

Overall - Blarg. I thought maybe this would work, but it's not the right kind of floral.

It's a pink floral, which just doesn't work.

[SmileCat]

If ever a scent could be sweetly charming, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale would be it. This is mostly sweetpea and vanilla on me, two notes I like/love. It's soft, not in terms of throw or longevity because it has both in spades, but in the warm furry way like holding a mousie under your chin and feeling his whiskers and fur tickle you. The sandalwood offers up a bit of spice and the ambers a different kind of sweet. There's something wistful about this perfume.

[AlectoNox]

I just got an imp of this in a swap, and I decided to try it out at work. The best part? I hadn't read, or had forgotten, the notes in this, so I had no idea what to expect. If I had known it had sweet pea in it I probably wouldn't have tried it out, since sweet pea and I generally don't get along. But on me, either the sweet pea decided to lay low, or all the other notes overwhelmed it, because I get....something wonderful. It had a bit of a tang on me at first but now that it's dried down, I'm getting this beautiful soft musk, probably from the white sandalwood and ambers, with the teensiest bit of pink floral and maybe a drop of vanilla. In fact, the pink floral is reminiscent of carnations. Yes, this is what I'm smelling - fresh pink carnations laid inside a clean, dry marble crypt with sandalwood incense that has just been lit and is only beginning to infuse the room. Beautiful.

 

I am wrapping up my imp of this right now, to frimp away to someone I'm swapping with. It's on her wishlist, and I don't need it anymore - I'm getting a bottle of this asap.

[twistygirl]

Oh, my dear sweet little gentle lovely mouse. How I love you so.

 

I am normally a very heavy, amber-spicy kinda girl, and yet there are times during the summer months (and yes, we even get summer in Seattle sometimes) where something like Snake Oil can be a bit much. But THIS is the perfect lighter blend for those of us who can't give up our amber but need something a bit softer for when it's hot.

 

It is creamy, it is very feminine without being flowery, it is divine.

 

The scent doesn't change on me very much from wet to dry, and it stays close to my body. It's subtle but so beautiful. I need frequent re-applications but it's so, so worth it.

 

Love this one. LOVE IT. Could be one of my all-time faves.

[brit_brat100]

I was worried for this one because my friend had a bad experience with it, but everyone's different, so I decided to give it a try...

 

Imp: Lightly floral and sweet, but also tinged with an aquatic feel. I'm not sure with ozone smells like, but this has a wet feel.

 

Wet: As it drys down it seems to get sweeter and sweeter and then the vanilla comes out - my love.

 

Dry: Sweeter still and more vanilla with an aquatic feel!! Wow. I'm amazed.

 

Final Thoughts: I like this one a lot! I'm really thrilled with it. I'm concerned that it might end up being a little too sweet and soft for me, but really, don't be scared, this is just lovely.

[pickman's model]

I assumed that this one would either be delightful, or OMGnoooo!

 

In the imp: I smell ambery sweetness. That's it. Just a pile of amber with syrup poured onto it.

 

Wet: The vanilla kicks in, as well as the sweet pea, making this smell like distilled cuteness.

 

Dry: The amber and sandalwood take over completely, with the vanilla makng feeble protestations in the back. It's perfumy and powdery in ways that just don't suit me.

 

Edit (shortly after): Okay, the vanilla and sweet pea have rallied together and this is not only distilled cuteness, but very wearable distilled cuteness. Yay for surprises!

Edited April 13, 2007 by pickman's model

[astarinel]

This is so delicate and lovely.

 

It starts out more of a sweet-ambery smell, and I'm guessing the florally-ness I smell is the sweet pea. The vanilla starts to come out more and more as it dries, and it reminds me of the vanilla in Dorian (my great love). It stays very warm and creamy and sweet, and lasts a decently long time on me without changing too drastically.

 

It does, however, seem to lose the sweeter notes first (vanilla and sweet pea) leaving me with more of an amber-sandalwood feel as it goes on. I'd probably need to reapply a few times during the day to keep up that creamy sweetness, but oh so worth it that would be.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Vanilla and amber.

 

Wet: Vanilla with a fresh amber (and there might be something from the sweet pea as well).

 

Drydown and wear: This scent doesn't change much on me. The vanilla and amber combination is somewhat boozy, and the warmth of the sandalwood never really comes out. This one's going off to swaps.

[jade_starlight]

Hmm, this one is interesting. It starts off as a sort of vanilla foody floral, which is kind of cool. Then it goes slightly boozy as it dries, which I don't like as much. It's still not bad, though I don't know if I'd wear it.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Sweet vanilla floral

 

On Skin: A hint of green, kinda musty (I think that's the sandalwood), and fairly sweet

 

On Drydown: Vanilla + Amber DOOM!

 

Verdict: The amber and vanilla are very dominant in this scent. In fact, they team up against me and this ends up smelling like vanilla DOOM. This is the sugary powdery vanilla scent of a few commercial perfumes that I can't stomach. I was hoping for a more 'golden' kinda scent, but instead I got the ubervanilla cousin of O.

[cassandrakfreaq]

I love this. It reminds me of a delicate dorian. Its light but it lasted all day long on my wrist.

 

to punch it up I added frumious bandersatch and they pair so well together

[Eemia]

This is simple goodness....sweet vanilla and amber with just a hint of sandlewood. The vanilla is the most prominent note, and it's a lovely vanilla too. Sweet without being cloying, syrupy, or sugary. The kind of vanilla that's great when I want a vanilla scent that won't overwhelm everyone in my vicinity. That warm, slightly woody background is really mellow and adds the right amount of depth. I only smell a wisp of floral in this...just enough to round it all out.

 

I can wear this anytime, anywhere and it's always perfect. One of my favorite blends from the GC.....I absolutely love it on its own but I also like pairing it with The Unicorn.

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Sweet, floral. Must be the sweetpea.

 

Wet: What... the...? Watermelon Jolly Ranchers!

 

Drydown: After that first blast goes away, the vanillas start to come up around the edges of the amber. Then, mercifully, the ultra-sweetness recedes as the sandalwood comes forward a bit. Still, throughout the life of the scent, it remains mercilessly pink. If this is Pinky, I'll stick with the (Mi-Go) Brain (Canister) -- there's no pepper, for example, to temper the ultra-sweetness. It's like a much more innocent version of Jailbait, in a way. It's very cute, but considering I'm a huge Sin fan, it's just not for me.

[Nessa]

I LOVE THIS!

 

In the bottle: Sweet Vanilla ice tea... yes, ice tea... it's what I'm smelling =3 With a flower as a garnish.

 

On my skin: Oh, it's delicous! Sandalwood, vanilla, and a little tea, still. Good for a long summer evening, lounging on the patio in a lawn chair, enjoying the breeze. On me, the vanilla does not come to the front on the skin. It is mostly Sandalwood.

 

Not very descriptive, perhaps, but this is definitely one of my favorites! Seems to have moderate to long staying power.

Edited July 4, 2007 by Nessa

[Mimicake]

Yummy!! What a wonderful tale Mouse has to tell. The vanilla is wonderful, and the sweet pea is a perfect garnish. I am reminded of sweetened vanilla tea, and as it dries it becomes something more somber...maybe it is the sandalwood? Some of the sweetness departs and I am left hoping it will come back. I want more of this one!

[luna65]

Thanks to beachbabealways for the imp.

 

Imp: Sweetness with a fresh sort of tang.

 

Skin: The amber blend comes out, slightly powdery but not too much. I think the sandalwood might be keeping it in check.

 

Drydown: This is really lovely, just slightly floral, mostly sweet. The kind of pretty scent that I feel like I can get away with wearing. Yet another triumph for the Mad Tea Party.

[Nidaba]

I just received a decant of this from the lovely Moonarcana, and I was so excited to try it today!

 

Wet: Wow, sweet! Very sugary, it made me check the description to see if it had cake in it. It doesn't so it must just be the vanilla.

 

Drying: The sandalwood is out now, but it isn't too much for me. Woods often irritate my nose, but this one just bring a slightly sharp note to the sweet vanilla and slight powder of the amber. I don't really smell the sweet pea. This is kind of how I thought White Rabbit would smell.

 

Dry: Not as strong as I would like, but oh so delicious. I love the smell of this one! I think a bottle will be ordered soon!

Edited July 22, 2007 by Nidaba

[Masako]

in vial: Sweet pea and vanilla, a soothing mix of scents.

 

on me: Pure sandalwood incense. Very nostalgic of religious ceremonies. The smokiness is sweet but overpowers the other smells that are so prominent from the vial. Not a big bottle scent, but a nice alternative to the sickly-sweet scents that I prefer.

Edited July 25, 2007 by Masako

[puddingirl]

I have this one marked as "fruity". Another of my first buys, oddly enough I don't recall ordering it, but it turned up anyway! At first sniff it screams 'exotic fruits' at me. Once on, the vanilla starts to creep out, smelling slightly citrussy. It's a nice, light smell that reminds me of sweet summer evenings. But it doesn't last very long on my skin.

[PurpleHeather]

In the bottle: Sweet, and light, zesty and summery. Quite faint, but very nice.

Wet: Vanilla is warming up. This has a lovely, delicate sweetness.

Later: A lovely, light vanilla floral. Sweet and summery. 8/10; makes a lovely change to the usual heavy spices and foody scents I normally favour, and very summery.