Tweedledee

[rhubarb3point14]

Ridiculous! Kumquat, white pepper, white tea and orange blossom.

This smells like Trix on me. If I believed in children's fragrances, I would say this should be one. It doesn't have a lot of throw or longevity; it is very light.

Overall, I find it pleasant but uncompelling.

[Maleficium]

imp: TRIX! Trix and fruity pebbles were immediately the first things to spring to mind when I opened my imp.

 

wet on skin: Still trix, but something peppery citrus... delicate orange blossom, but mixed with all of the other notes it smells like a sparkly orange-drank.

 

What a strange and very sweet perfume. Evokes bright warm days and the youthful energy of early summer...

 

So not my type of scent, but I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

 

This one confuses me, so I'll keep it for a little while and then decide if I'm going to love and wear it or send it off to the swappies.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Kumquat or maybe orange blossom, and maybe a bit of tea.

 

On skin, wet: Pretty much the same as in the imp.

 

On skin, dry: Orangey/kumquatey citrus. If there ever was any tea (could have been my imagination), it's definitely gone now.

 

After an hour: Same as the drydown. Never did get any pepper, which is disappointing, but it's nice enough.

[Dusk]

Imp: Lush, orangey. I’m smelling grapefruit rather than kumquat.

 

First on: GRAPEFRUIT. Gorgeous, clean, pure grapefruit.

 

2 minutes: Sweeter, and more orange. Orange blossom takes charge pretty quickly. Some freshness from the white tea. Actually smells a bit like mango.

 

5 minutes: Very fruity and a little bright. More warm at this point than it is at any other. A very mild appearance of white pepper. Definitely a cheerful scent!

 

10 minutes: The kumquat has sharpened up a bit, and it’s not sharp, but it is bright.

 

20 minutes: Nice. It’s interesting, not at all a generic fruit blend. The pepper and tea add something to it and make it more manageable for a guy to wear – sometimes I have issues with blends like this, but this is reasonably unisex. There’s a slight honey sweetness that gives me pause, but it’s still very pleasant.

 

1 hour: Peppery orange blossom, with tea and that bit of honey, so it’s actually remotely like White Rabbit on my skin, at this stage, just fruitier.

 

2 hours: Light orange blossom and just a touch of fruitiness from the kumquat. Quite pleasant.

 

It is very light, and after 4 hours it’s barely there. But this will be a good one for summer, as long as I slather. The only real issue is that at times it can be too sweet for me.

 

Rating: 3.75/5

[captnklaus]

Ridiculous indeed! This such an odd scent, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it.

 

In the imp I get what I assume is the kumquat and the white pepper. It's not spicy though, it's very fruity and sweet.

I wasn't sure how I felt about it the first time I tried it, so I put it away for a few months. Picked up again the other day and woah! I had forgotten how sweet it was! Once it touches my skin it just gets sweeter and sweeter and sweeter until its barely bearable.

It's also quite strong. I put a bit on and the boy could smell it from the other end of the room. Usually he likes catching whiffs of what I'm wearing, but this one he had to stop and comment on how overwhelmingly sweet it smelled. I tried to wash it off and all I was able to do was tone it down somewhat. And it lasted for hours.

 

I really wanted to like this one, but it was too ridiculously sweet. Like those super sugary cereals I just can't have because of how sweet they are, it's almost painful to eat.

[Wren12]

In imp: Bright, yellow! If that makes sense. A nice sharp citrus.

 

On Wet: Stays citrus-ey. In my head I confused it with Tweedledum which I think has kumquat as one of the notes and I'm getting a lot of the citrus, to the point of almost lemon, but more orange.

 

On Dry: Alas, it stays as a somewhat murky citrus. I hadn't read the description until I went to write this and I don't get any of that lovely peppery bite that the lab does so well. Now that it is dry I do note a bit of the tea note come through, but I'm not sure if it was there before, or if now that I know it's there I can smell it out. Mainly it is a very, very close to the skin citrus.

 

All in all, very nice, not what I would expect from the notes...maybe my skin amps orange blossom, because that's the main, high note hitting through. I like it, but with it's skin closeness and single notedness on me I think it may be headed to swaps.

 

Now...Tweedledum, where are you.

 

Caveat...my skin may be acting a bit weird with this one because I was wearing Red Phoenix all morning, which has really strong cassia and didn't wash it off, so that might be skewing things?

[boomtownrat]

In the imp I smell all citrus, but before looking at the reviews I wasn't sure of the notes. Wet on my skin the orange blossom, well, blossoms. It's not long until the kumquat, white pepper, and the white tea emerge, in that order. Something about the combination makes me think of a white grape for one weird moment, but soon I can pick out all the notes again. The kumquat and orange blossom seem to amp the most on me. It doesn't have huge throw, but I think this is going to be a mood booster.

[Atrous]

In the Imp: Kumquat. Yum.

 

Wet: A hybrid of Pebbles Cereal and orange sherbert. Still yum.

 

Dry: Morphs quite a bit on my skin each stage of which is nice. Strong citrus notes that give way to a fruity tea scent then orange sherbert again. This finally settles down to where I can smell all the notes and I get a fruity, citrus tea with whiffs of pepper underneath. Sniffing this makes me want to break out my Bigelow Raspberry tea or maybe Celestial Seasonings Mandarine Spice.

[mymymai]

In the Bottle (ITB): It's like a tarter version of a cream sickle due to the kumquat. There is just a touch of rose in there as well. It makes my mouth water, frankly.

 

Wet: Zesty kumquat, rose, orange blossom and a hint of pepper and white tea. Delicious!

 

Dry: Creamy rose, white tea, orange blossom, and light kumquat. It's creamy and citrusy - a delight to wear.

[ObliqueRed]

When I first put this on, I really liked it. Then I thought, hmmm, this smells familiar. Then I thought, it smells like... food? Like.... cereal. Some kind of cereal. Some kind of FRUITY cereal. What am I... OMG. It smells like FROOT LOOPS.

 

So, no, not so much. Interestingly, my husband thought it smelled like potpourri. Pity, that.

[red_as_rue]

I got Tweedledee as a frimp in my first order. To me, this is happiness in a vial, and I frequently use Tweedledee when I need perking up.

 

In the vial, it is sweet citrus, the way that kumquat smells, but greener and sweeter. I think the white tea is what contributes to the 'green', and the orange blossom is what contributes to the sweeter notes.

 

On my skin, however, the pepper comes out, and the oil becomes less green, more fruity and even sweeter. The pepper manages to stop it from become sickly, and I think that's kind of a shame. I love sickly, and I would like this scent a lot more if it didn't have the edge of spice. Without this spice, this perfume smells exactly like Allen's Strawberries and Cream gummies, without the cream (more Australian references).

 

As it dries, Tweedledee becomes heavier and heavier on the pepper, and the very fruity strawberry note becomes more and more faded. It doesn't last very long, but has great throw while it does. However, I still really like this scent, and it still has the effect of cheering me up immensely, and will keep the imp for the sake of that.

[Teaker]

A bright, energetic, sweet perfume. A fruity-floral that reminds me of some mainstream commercial perfumes (maybe Dot by Marc Jacobs?) but with an interesting edge from the pepper. It's quite strong and in-your-face, and I find it a bit too sweet to wear to work. But it's got a special place in my heart since the lab included it as a frimp in my very first order.

 

I could see teenagers and even little girls really loving this. This could also be a good scent to convert fans of commercial perfumes to bpal, as it would be familiar to them, yet it has an interesting edge. It's a fun and cheerful little scent that makes me smile!

[petrichorandleather]

Origin: Straight from the lab: BLOOD ORANGE. Bright and juicy.

 

Wet, on skin: Still just the juiciest, brightest blood orange ever. I am INSANELY in love with blood orange, too.

 

Dry: It just keeps getting juicier. I love this so much I want to sing its praises from the rooftops. I am SO happy this is GC.

This is a bottle to hoard and hoard and hoard... I hope they never ever discontinue this one.

 

Conclusion: This is the first BPAL I've been really OBSESSED with. This could be a signature scent, no joke.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Like Tweedledum (which I tested yesterday), this is a fun, silly, fruity, child-like scent. But whereas Tweedledum was all Juicy Fruit gum, this is an orange creamsicle (which I remember being the height of sophistication when I was seven, for what it's worth).

 

Wet: And the Tweedledum similarities continue (to the surprise of none)! Like its twin, Tweedledee isn't anything like grown-up enough to wear to, like, class (I'm a grad student) or a job interview, or anything where I want to be taken seriously at all, but for, say a day at the beach, or for helping to oversee my cousin's 12th birthday party that's coming up, then sure. Also like Tweedledum, Tweedledee has a nice solid grounding of tea (white here, but green in Tweedledum) to keep it from floating away. The more I think about it, the more of a masterstroke on Beth's part this is - as I lean more towards light summer scents, I find that too many of them (Embalming Fluid case in point) are just a waft of lovely light top notes, but without anything to anchor them. But the tea here makes sure that the light burst of citrus has something to grab onto, if that makes any sense.

 

Dry: Alas, here is where it really begins to distinguish itself from its twin. Tweedledum had a fairly linear drydown, while here, the effervescent citrus goes a little flat, and a mildly soapy edge emerges. Nothing disastrous, but less enjoyable all the same.

[Veronica]

This starts off overwhelmingly zesty kumquat--kind of artificial and single note--luckily this tones down and the tea comes out as well as the neroli, giving it more body, but still very much a citrus scent. Nothing stands out about this to me.

[Soupy Twist]

Neroli with some citrus (kumquat?) in the bottle. Goes on as neroli with white tea. This is very pretty! There's no pepper, but it dries into a wonderful lemon candy with a little tea underneath, similar to Possets' Vim or Arcana's Ambrosia. Another delightful scent with a silly name. Might need a bottle.

[theredkilt]

Kumquat creamy popsicle/ bubblegum. Very girly and carefree

[roseus]

Starts off with the pleasantly bitter orangeness of the kumquat. The white tea is crisp, and the orange blossom is floating around sort of softening the edges. It's not super peppery to me but I'm definitely getting a little heat in this blend. It's nice and I'll revisit it next spring to see if I need a bottle.

[kattalog]

Wet: Sweet, fresh orange and citrus!

Dry: Citrus and orange being the dominant note with the pepper adding a sharpness at the end. As wet it was very promising: it felt like realistic orange fruits but turns into something inbetween Nice Citrus and the curse of All Citrus Morphs Into Chemical Smellz. It hovers between a nice, soft citrus and sharp upleasant chemical. This is something I usually have problems with for perfumes with citrus notes
The last hours Tweedledee reminds me of a orange soda, its sweeter than before and has hints of orange.

Dominant notes: Citrus notes.

Type: Fruity, fresh

Lasting: 5 hours

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Fruity, zingy, a little spicy pepper kick! I've tried this before, but maybe 8 years ago, and I didn't much care for it then. Now I find myself in need of a variety of light, inoffensive scents for work, and I wonder if this would maybe be perfect. Might be too strong though. But it`s certainly inoffensive.

 

 

Dry: very pleasant. I would find it impossible to pinpoint what type of fruit it is, but it`s light and sweet, a little zingy, and very nice. I like the hint of spice, it`s really different. I don`t get either of the tea or orange blossom, which is fine by me - orange blossom is typically horrid on me, and white tea is not my best note either. So peppery fruit is what I am left with! Not sure it`s something I want to wear to work after all, I think the pepper is a little much, but it`s a neat scent and I like it.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: I'm getting juicy kumquat, orange blossom, and a bit of white tea.

 

Wet: The kumquat reigns, followed by the orange blossom, and then the white tea. I am getting a bit of the white pepper now, which adds a slight kick to the scent. It actually reminds me of Fruit Loops.

 

Dry: The kumquat isn't as juicy anymore, and there's a tart quality to it now. The orange blossom has become stronger, as is the astringent, citrus-y white tea note, so it isn't reminiscent of Fruit Loops anymore. The white pepper continues to add some bite to the scent without being outright peppery.

 

Verdict: I enjoyed the wet phase of the scent, but the orange blossom ends up being too strong for my liking during the dry phase of the scent. I don't need a bottle, but I'll hang on to my imp since I have imps of all of the Mad Tea Party scents.

[achildoftime]

This smells like the most delicious syrup that should be used on ice cream. It's a sweet kumquat and orange mix with a smidge of white tea. I get zero pepper, but everything is there and wonderful. I'm tempted to try and make an actual food recipe for a topping that tasted the way this smells. It's so fruity and juicy that I just might wear this all summer long. I feel like it would be perfect.