Men Ringing Bell with Penises

[Jilara]

Green sandalwood, rice wine, black tea, tonka, and moss.

Clean, fresh and mossy. There is something vaguely earthy in it, too, like the smell of a good humus, and just a tang of something metallic during the drydown, which seems coupled to the alcohol.

Once it's dry, it has a creamy, mossy quality, with just a touch of earthiness. Vague gingery undernote. Don't seem to get the green tea at all. Nice, civilized, but not making me gah-gah over it, like some of the other orientals. But definitely wearable.

[LadyCrow]

In the field of Seriously Asian Scents, our stalwart Men Ringing Bell With Penises face stiff competition.

 

In the decant: A bamboo-like note -- I'm guessing that's the green sandalwood. Rice wine and some sharp, slightly astringent tea.

 

Wet: Rice wine and tea, which goes very citrusy.

 

Drydown: After a short while, the top notes blend together and I get the moss close to my skin. It takes longer for the tonka to come out; when it does, it makes a nice sweet contrast against the moss and tea. This is very much a skin scent, with very little throw; it lasts longer on me than, say, Fox Fires, but that frankly doesn't say much. I'm not asking for a huge, sharp blast of tea up my nose; if I wanted that, I would go brew some tea. But I liked the citrusy thing that was going on early in the wearlength, and I wish it would stay around longer.

 

Verdict: Thankfully, I don't need a bottle of Penises. Just this one will do.

[phantasmmysteria]

Wow. Seriously?

 

Sorry, I didn't to a play-by-play with this one, but I would like to say: Men Ringing Bell With Penises is very, very evocative of Fresh Sake. Which is amazing, considering the only (listed) notes they share are ginger and sandalwood. When I compared them side by side (okay, arm by arm), Men Ringing Bell dried down to a woodier, more masculine smell, with the moss and green sandalwood being the prominent notes. So, if you found Fresh Sake to be too fruity/feminine (or you want your manthing to wear something complimentary), you will probably love Men Ringing Bell.

[prunesnprisms]

To me, this was just metallic perfumey, which dried down to sweet wood. Not a winner on my skin.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Green

 

Wet: Loamy, green and herbally. Not my typical scent, but I love it because there is something girly about men ringing bells, lol!

 

Drydown: The drydown is kind of powdery and flowery, though I'm not sure why. I wish it would stay a little darker, but I like it still.

3.0 outta 5

[ceiswyn]

In the imp: At second sniff, this is a lot more 'green', and a lot less 'floral'. A dry green, rather than a wet one; light and a little astringent, with an unexpected soft sweetness. But... is that just the teeniest hint of aquatic?

 

On the wrist: Light, dry, astringent, oddly warm; that must be the tonka coming through. A gentle hint of sandalwood. The sharpness of rice wine. A subtle, sophisticated scent that seems to change every few seconds.

 

One hour later: Gentle. Subtle. Sophisticated. Slightly powdery. Light and sweet, but with an astringent quality to it. Sadly, it's fading very quickly.

 

A commendable 7/10.

[Blood onmy hands]

All of the Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements have been pretty light on my skin, and this one doesn't have much throw either. It also doesn't work out too well on my skin. I actually keep getting a sharp impression of burnt rubber, like tires screeching across asphalt.

 

Men Ringing Bell with Penises is rather sour and sharp on me, and it also has a feel of department store men's cologne to it. A cool, fresh, clean, green cologne. I can't really pick out any of the notes, they just blend together into a perfumey mishmash.

 

Something about this is very harsh and sharp to my nose, just getting worse the longer it sits on my skin. I expected it to be a lot smoother for some reason. As it is, this is headed to my swap pile.

[hepkitten]

Green tea that's crisp and fresh, but still a little spicy at first...settles down to something like Bakeneko on me, only without the amber that made that one go all sweaty. I'm surprised at how good this is on both me and my boyfriend!

[Brianne]

When it goes on, I definitely get the black tea - very rich and herbally. Then as it starts to dry down, it begins to smell slightly minty and spicy. It becomes much more masculine than I had imagined it would be by sniffing it in the vial. It's nice though - it's very clean and zesty and brings to mind a soap like Irish Springs. I think it's quite pretty for that and though I will keep an imp around I don't think I need a whole bottle!

[arabella]

First Impression: A non-floral oriental blend.

 

Dries down to: No change.

 

Additional Comments: This is very much tea on me with a very slight bit of the green sandalwood. It's nice but there's no "wow" to it for me. I have enough other oriental blends that I like better.

 

Lasted: 1-2 hours.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

[savage_rose]

This smells all balsalmy, like clean, warm shampoo. It reminds me of Flex and Breck, two of my shower staples from the 80s. I have to admit, I really like this!

[penemuel]

Very green, very oriental in feel. I'm not getting black tea -- like many others I'm getting something closer to green tea, but not even that. Maybe roasted twig tea? There's something almost metallic to it, although that could just be my subconscious trying to come up with something to equal the bell.

 

It's not crisp or bright, but it is still fresh. I like it a lot, but I don't think I'll get a bottle...

 

I take that back -- in the bottle it is very crisp and bright. It settles down quite quickly on my skin, though.

Edited March 21, 2008 by penemuel

[Eemia]

I've never heard of green sandalwood before. But it could only be good since I'm a fan of sandalwood in all forms. And damn it is! It smells so beautiful, but with less of the sweet dryness that I associate with sandalwood. This is definitely a lighter version, without sacrificing any of the depth. It has a newness that I love.

 

Overall this is a little fresh, though I'm hesitant to use that word. The tinge of green keeps this on the lighter side of woody. I love woody fragrances but this is something else. The tonka adds that borderline vanilla scent minus the sweet. Its rich but not heavy. It must be the tea that makes this sort of lifted. The tea note is noticeable but not as prominent as I thought it would be. It stays in the background.

 

This has a good amount of throw, and the woodiness adds a lot of lasting power. It dried down to a really pretty light wood. No powder scent at all (not that I would have minded even if it had). This is stunning.

[lainevierge]

Well I've discovered that moss is my bane. Thanks be to Penis Bells.

 

Whatever niceness I get from this scent is overwhelmed by this medicinal, almost moldy background note.

 

Oh well.

[enderfem]

Imp: Rich, dark, pretty. Black tea with sandalwood and tonka notes, sweetened a little by rice wine.

 

Wet: Tonka and black tea. Dark and rich. Nice.

 

Drydown: This became insanely strong for awhile. I had it on the crook of my arm and my eyes were watering. Becomes mostly tea after awhile, and I have White Rabbit for that. Oh well. Sell/Swap.

[tinyvulture]

what i smell most is the moss – it smells wet and herbaceous and somehow old, but not dank or mildewy. it’s a clean, masculine scent. the green sandalwood is dry and woodsy. i expected a lot of sweetness from the tonka but it’s very mild. i can’t smell the rice wine, but the black tea is lovely. a wonderful springtime scent, like a japanese garden after a good, cleansing rain.

[MaeKitty]

In the bottle: Tea, moss and green sandalwood.

On Me: Green, fresh and slightly metallic. Vaguely and minutely soapy, but not in an unpleasant way. The tea, moss and sandalwood blend very nicely together. It's a very nice scent. I think it's the tonka that warms it a bit, kind of like the first peek of sun on dew covered plants on summer mornings. I like this, though it may be a little too "clean" smelling for me.

[porcelina]

so i wanted to order one of the "novel ideas for secret amusements" series, but i couldn't decide. in the end i figured that if i was only going to order one, it would be hard to go wrong with a perfume called men ringing bell with penises. i mean, there are penises on the label. even if it smelled terrible, i would own penis perfume, and how many people can say that?

 

it's a really soft, slightly sweet scent. green sandalwood is wonderful stuff- sandalwood by itself makes me sneeze a lot but this is just pleasantly woody and fresh. unfortunately it's too soft for me. i like my scents to have some OOMPH! this smells like a nice bodywash to me. so much for eau de penis. i think i may swap or sell it.

[persianmouse]

Men Ringing Bells With Their Penisesesess- Well, when I first put it on, I thought "This is the best smelling penis EVER!". However, once I put other scents on the same arm, the Penises became completely overwhelmed by the vulvas and dildos. Now when I smell it, I am reminded, for some strange reason, of those little pizza bagels. I don't know why.

[gchris]

In Vial: smell the rice wine and a gentle sweetness

 

Wet: This smells unusual to me, but its nice

 

Drydown: Softer, mellow. Very feminine. This is smelling more familiar from something long ago but I have no idea what. This is very nice.

[bheansidhe]

Despite the listed notes, Men Ringing Bells is dominated by mellow ginger and a rounded citrus note - it smells like yuzu, but doesn't go overwhelmingly sharp on my skin as the yuzu in Aizen-Myoo did. Could this be the rice wine? There is also a juicy green middle tone, cushioned by moss, but not earthy or dusty.

 

I was expecting this to be too cologne-y, too sharp, or too metallic. It is none of these - it is gorgeous. Soft, humid, golden, overlaid with a clear hum of ginger and spiced tea, without any shrillness or bite. This is what I *want* citrus blends to smell like on me, but they never do.

 

Why didn't I order this? Must find.

[filigree_shadow]

I didn't think this one would work for me, but I got a decant of it because it sounded like something that might smell good on my husband.

 

On me, it's mostly a tea scent, but it's very green and it has a metallic character. It's a very deep almost (but not quite) aquatic green scent. It's bold, too. No soft squishy roundness in this one. I have no idea what green sandalwood should smell like because I can't remember ever encountering it before. I'm not sure what it smells like after sniffing this, either. Maybe without the moss I'd be able to pick it out more clearly.

 

It's a surprisingly refreshing scent, and it's one of those scents I would like to smell on someone else but it doesn't suit me personally. It's a little too green and bold for me. I hope my husband likes it, though.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – This will sound odd, but this smells like the base for a shampoo if that makes sense at all

 

Wet on me – Green and smoky herbs, sort of medicinal

 

Dry on me – A dry green musky scent

 

Overall – Actually I enjoyed this more than I expected to, but I doubt it’ll be a favourite

[brsis]

Initial Thoughts: If I can actually stop giggling long enough to actually think about it (God I hope someone asks me what I'm wearing! The only thing I'll have more from with than this is 'Glowing Vulva'!) I think I'm going to like this. Someone described it to me as quite light and outdoorsy, which I'm not always a fan of, but I do need some less impacting scents in my collection. Black tea and tonka are favourites, the moss note in Ligur was yummy, but I'm tentative on the rice wine. Alcohol scents can be a little bit hit or miss on me.

 

In the imp: Are you sure that's black tea? Because to me, this smells like green tea and green, growing rice. It's a pale green scent, very fresh and growing, and very peaceful too. It has a real sense of joy about it, actually (Which is, y'know, somewhat appropriate...)

 

On the wrist, wet: Bulgari? Wow, it must be the green sandalwood and the tea giving me that - it's been years since I've smelt Bulgari on somebody - but alas, it seems as though the sandalwood and the alcohol is giving this a definate 'commercial' twang. We'll see if they calm down.

 

Twenty minutes later: Hmm... this is pleasant 'n' all, very green and fresh, but that alcohol twang is making it smell very much like a 'commercial' perfume - which I'm not fond of. This is nice, it just isn't for me - I guess I just don't do low key!

 

Verdict: Into the swap pile you go

 

Tl;Dr: Fresh, green and light, with a definate twang from the rice wine.

[milo]

This one is quite fresh, though there is a sickly sweet kind of smell in the dry phase to me. It is very woodsy, and there is a citrus smell to this which I love, but I just cannot get past the sweet, perfumey, cough syrup-like note to this. I like sweet, just not like this.