Earth Rat

[yeahbutnobut]

A new year's blessing! Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, lychee for strong family relationships and peace in the home, orange for happiness, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, coconut for longevity, and candied melon for good health, with a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.

Earth Rat

In the imp: bright sweet fruit! I smell melons and oranges. Like a fruit salad!
Wet on skin: yes, this does remind me of Fee, only with citrus added!
Dry: this is gorgeous! It is less citrussy than Fire Pig, this is full of melon and I also smell a bit more lychee in here than in FP. I do smell hints of the flowers but thankfully they are not too strong. For now, I really like this. It reminds me of Fee meets Tanuki, a melon and citrus scent with a sweet undertone and just a hint of flowers. Bright, happy, a scent that speaks of spring and summer.
After a while: as the melon’s juicy scent calms down, now I smell more in the way of plum blossom. Not good news because PB is one of my flowers of doom, it tends to turn bad on my skin. It’s turning soapy and cloying, but it’s not too bad in here-maybe because the other notes, possibly the lychee and pine, are keeping it fairly restrained. But I don’t like this scent as much as before. It’s a bit soapy, not as sparkly as before. the drydown is very floral, peony and plum blossom, with a hint of coconut. But I must say that the PB in here is a lot better behaved than usual. It’s only a tiny bit soapy, it isn’t turning wilted or like floral bananas, like it usually does. Actually, this is now a pleasant spring scent with an Asian flair to it, but with coconut hinting at summer. The scent does turn to pure blossom eventually, and it’s a bit too cloying for me.
Verdict: at first, I love the bright, lively melon scent this has. Happy and sweet and fresh, this is a delicious fruity fun scent of summery coconut and juicy melon and lychee. It reminds me of Yemaya and even of Fee, and I adore Fee…but I’m not so keen on what the Rat turns into. As usual in scents with plum blossom, that note amps up and takes over with it’s cloying and overripe/wilted scent. However, I think the melon keeps this rampant floral restrained, so it doesn’t amp to ‘doom blossom’ proportions as usual, but overall this scent isn’t a favourite, despite the promising introduction. I think I’ll stick to Yemaya (and my beloved Fee) for my melon fix.
Emoticon rating:
Is it a keeper? Not really.
If you like this, try: Yemaya, Fire Pig, Tanuki, Budding Moon, Peony Moon, The Spell of Amorous Love

[maribouquet]

The melon and peony are deliciously gorgeous, but my nemesis dragon's blood ends up making Earth Rat sadly unwearable for me.

[arabella]

First Impression: Juicy melons.

 

Dries down to: A complex, melony blend - more honeydew than cantaloupe or watermelon.

 

Additional Comments: None of the other notes in this blend make a solo appearance at any time. There's a floral veil over the fruits and the whole is very misty. It's a beautifully balanced scent - perfect for late spring and early summer.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

[alianthe]

In the imp: Juicy and fruity! The strongest note is melons, with a hint of sharp white topnote, and a blend of darker warmth (dragon's blood?) with more juicy juicy fruit underneath.

 

On my skin: At first touch, the pine swims up to the surface, pulling the narcissus behind it, and floats around on top of all that fruit juice. Then, they build a canopy of the dragon's blood. After a while, they fall back under the lychee and bamboo, and the other fruits eventually equalize. The end result is round and yellow and fruity like a cross between a treefruit and a bouncyball. On me at final drydown, there's an unpleasantly sour backnote, like fruit juice gone bad (but not sharp like it's been fermenting).

 

Conclusions: Juicy! Not what I would've thought of as earthy, and definitely not (to my western city sensibilities) very ratty. But definitely grounded and playful and forward-moving and abundant and... well, it smells kind of lucky. So it's definitely a good new year scent for our active and pioneering little friends. Fairly high throw, though it appears to disappear close to my skin fairly quickly and linger in a cloud around me instead. Quite unusual! Personally, it would work best on me as a locket scent, and I wouldn't reach for it every day, so I'm glad I got a decant and passed on the bottle. However, if you love Titania, you should really try some Earth Rat.

[soonyi]

despite all of the notes listed, this one turned out to be rather straightforwardly melon. wet, earth rat is a very juicy honeydew. it is sweet and pleasant enough but i guess cos it's still pretty chilly in new jersey, i dont much feel like smelling this sort of thing yet. dry, the peony note comes out a bit giving the fruit a slight floral hue but this is still mostly melon. its ok, i will enjoy the decant and glad that i saved the money in forgoing a bottle of this one.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Melon, most definitely.

In the vial: Melon

Wet: Melon

Dry: Melon

3 hours later: Melon

 

Where is all that other stuff? It got completely snuffed out by - guess what - Melon.

 

I hate Melon.

[enderfem]

Imp: Lots of candied melon and a ton of floralness underneath. Nothing else is distinct.

 

Wet: Candied melon still, but with something darker underneath. I can kind of pick out orange notes as well. Not what I expected, but pretty!

 

Drydown: This ends up smelling a lot like cucumber melon Bath and Body Works. It is pretty, but not something I need too much of. I may trade the imp as well.

[goth_huntress]

Being a Rat I had to get this one. Would have even if I didn't like what was in it. I want to roll around in this one. I love each and every little fragrance as it appears and mingles. It is one of the few LEs that I've bought back up bottles of. I just wish it lasted longer on me.

[inurbanus]

Earth Rat = sweet, sugary melon. I love this scent in the bottle, but it smells different on me. Although it's still sweet, it's deeper and less candy-like. I wouldn't recommend this one if you don't like tooth-achingly sweet BPAL like Midwinter's Eve, Titania, and Ladon.

 

4/5

Edited March 30, 2008 by inurbanus

[QueenFae]

Delicious! Wet, red, juicy, mouth watering fruits. Yup, this is a fruitlicious, uplifting, sweet blend that is perfect for spring. It reminds me a bit of Fire Pig, except without the extreme citrus note. It also reminds me of Yemaya; there is that same melon-y goodness on the dry down.

 

It's not terribly long lasting, but then, fruit blends never are. I love it!!

[circeramone]

Fantastic! In the imp, all I could smell was wonderful melons, which I adored. After about an hour on my skin, the scent has turned into a faint melon, with something deeper, not-spicy-but-not-sweet underneath. Yummy!

[freckle]

To me in the bottle it smelled just like Yemaya, so I put one on each wrist to test it out. They are exactly the same for the first half hour or so and then the Yemaya fades and the Earth Rat is still there. So pretty much Earth Rat is Yemaya with more staying power.

 

I am also noticing the slightest slight bit of peony at the very end, which might be what makes the Earth Rat last longer.

 

Yemaya has always been a favourite, but I don't think there's any point in having both of them. I think I'll keep the Earth Rat because it lasts longer, but if I run out I'll probably just buy Yemaya from the lab rather then desperately searching on eBay for more Earth Rat.

[n1k1ta]

Right out of the imp, I love Earth Rat. I get citrusy melon and pine. It's sweet and very appealing. It reminds me of Fire Pig, which isn't surprising considering the ingredients for both perfumes, but Earth Rat is more fruity/melon resin.

 

After about half an hour, the florals come out. They push the fruit to the side, but the pine resin remains. The resin keeps Earth Rat from being too light.

 

At about the six-hour mark, Earth Rat is lingering, but just barely. It's turned mostly floral with a touch of coconut. Still, I can say that Earth Rat has been a pleasure to wear!

[TulaMontage]

Bottle: God awful sickly melony sweetness

 

Wet: The mellon has died down a little, but not much. The plum blossom starts to float to the surface.

 

Dry: Dominant note is still the melon. It completely steals the show and doesn't really allow for the other notes to come through. Three things spring to mind - Vanilla melon blossom.

 

It's ok, but it doesn't have the oomph I look for in BPAL.

 

Edit: something slightly wonderful happened after about an hour... The melon died and I am left with gorgeous deep plumy blood notes. I wish I didn't have to travel through the valley of the shadow of the melon to get here.

 

I always have to go through the vile stages to get something I love... why oh why did you make me so upset Mr Rat? I wanted to love you straight away... But I guess we can be friends, if only through the love of an imp.

Edited April 10, 2008 by TulaMontage

[porcelina]

i love earth rat! it is sweet, sugary melon candy. the dragon's blood lends it a bit of depth but overall this is sticky sweet candied goodness. unfortunately it lasts about an hour on me before fading completely forever.

[savage_rose]

Holiday Moon with more of a melon influence...this is a very dignified blend...it doesn't go to sweet on me, it's just perfect.

[terrenity]

Earth Rat is like this: :D

 

But I guess that's not that helpful, huh?

 

In the decant: Mmm, melon! Slightly fizzy, it reminds me of Melon Ramune. Unlike a lot of the other people who ordered Earth Rat, I was HOPING for melon. Strangely, my sister said it smelled like lemon tea. Proof that sense of smell isn't genetic.

 

On: Earth Rat positively blossoms! The dominant note is definitely fizzy melon, but the other notes are bubbling happily underneath it. I can even smell the kumquat and lychee (which I only recognize from Ramune), much to my surprise! As others have said, it definitely has an Asian vibe. It's fruity, sweet, but definitely has depth. I can't say I smell the dragon's blood perse, but I get the feeling it's there, giving the scent a base. Oh, and it lasts a long time on me, which is very unusual (my skin even eats Snake Oil)!

 

Overall: Please direct unloved Rats to The Rat Rescue. The address is kind of hard to find, so you can just send them to me and I'll pass them on for you.

 

Color association: Red!

[scotchgrrl]

I love Earth Rat.

 

In bottle: Sweet and fruity, complex with a hint at the dragon's blood.

Wet: Melon and fruity.

Dry on wrists: soft and sweet, mild fruitiness with bamboo and narcissus.

Dry in cleavage: very fruity, plum, tangerine and melon.

 

I get a lot of notes from this depending on what part of me I sniff. And it all makes me hungry.

[taramarie]

On me, Earth Rat is candied melon and plum blossom. Very sweet and fruity. It's definitely a cousin to Yemaya. I think it's a keeper.

[edenssixthday]

Earth Rat – Melon-based, coconut-sprinkled fruit salad! That’s exactly what this smells like. It opens up with the strong, strong, STRONG scent of melon. As it settles on my skin, I can smell the lychee (one of my favorite foods in the world! Yum!), coconut, kumquat, and mandarin. I don’t smell any florals, woods, or resins. It’s 100% yummy, sweet, semi-tropical fruit salad. I want to eat or drink something that smells this good! I wish I’d gotten a bottle of it…

[evanescence]

Just too much melon syrup! Smells sticky, fruity, sweet... all very good things but not in a perfume for me. LOL Fruit Moon and Fire Pig lovers should have a heyday with this one!

[FandF]

I love this scent. It's great in a scent locket and good from wet to dry. There is a light cantelope scent that gets stronger with a dried syrup quality to it. Like reduced fresh fruit scent. I'm so glad I got a bottle of this..it's well blended and a great fruit scent!

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, there's melon right off the bat.

 

It's still strongly melon on my skin - it's really all I'm getting, with just a hint of bamboo and pine in the back.

 

When it dries, it's still almost 100% melon - there are other, warmer scents on the fringes, but I can never pin them down. The longer I keep at it, it mellows out. I get a more blended fruitiness - it's fruity without being as bright and sharp as fruity scents can be. Very grounded (if you'll pardon the pun).

[Reaver]

MELONS!

Wet juicy melons. Bright honeydew melons and some lychee.

 

The fruit floats on top of the resin base when dried and my skin amps up the pine, making this terrifically grounded with a fruity blast at the first moment of a sniff.

 

The dragons blood is the only thing left after about an hour (which is no bad thing for me, but I have plenty of oils that do that already!) but I can't smell it at all for a long while. It's light and barely noticable, so don't flee from this blend because of it. I apply mine after the first few wears OVER a dot of pure Dragons Blood, just to boost it a bit. It works.

 

This is summer in a bottle. Bright, wake-me-up melon, a bouncy fruit throw and a calming, cool base.

 

Conclusion: After being hesitant, I'll be keeping this bottle. The Dragons Blood boost makes it perfect for me.

 

8/10. In my top 5 summer scents!

 

 

 

 

ETA: Just saw that my Death-Note, Narcissus, is in here. Fellow narcissus fearers please be aware that I can wear this without smelling like I'm rotting. Narcissus behaves nicely and I can't even tell it's there at all.

Edited May 11, 2008 by Reaver

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Honey dew melons

 

Wet on me –The main scent is melon, with a hint of coconut and a dash of powder from the blossoms

 

Dry on me – Melon, melon and more melon

 

Overall – On me this might as well be a melon single note