Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream

[trollgirl]

An irrelevant, disturbing, and surreal scent: red currant, green tea, red musk, Hawaiian ginger, benzoin, vanilla, coriander, squash blossom, and blueberry.

 

In the bottle: Crawdad dream smells like berries. There's a note in this that I smell also in Fairy Wine, I suspect it is the red currants. It smells like blueberries, currants and honey. Just enough of the berry tartness to balance the sweetness. It's promising!

 

On me: At first I get juicy juicy blueberries. They're bright and fresh and bouncing happily in a basket shortly after having been picked. The scent is sweet, but not overwhelming. I still get that sweet honey-like note, but it's in the background. Just there.

 

And then suddenly it all goes downhill. My basket of blueberries is thrown into a pie-pan, and a huge load of vanilla and sugar is mixed in. A sweet crust is tossed cruelly over the startled blueberries, masking their freshness and the whole thing is pushed unceremoniously into a hellishly hot oven. The blueberries, hearing the metal door slam shut, realize that it is their death knell. They scream frantically to be let out but to no avail. Slowly, one by one, they start boiling from the inside and burst. Their juices are cooked and all freshness is gone from them. Mixed with the vanilla and the sugar they become goopy, cloying, and overwhelmingly sweet...

 

Er, anyway. Yes, it is very very very sweet, so sweet that it makes my throat want to swell shut. It's a musky blueberry pie filling with just a whisper of green tea. I am reminded of the time when I was little and every weekend would ask my parents if I could go look in the Strawberry Shortcake doll store. They would say yes, but stay outside because the smell was just too much. Crawdad Dream reminds me of the smell coming from that store. I have to go wash off now.

 

I'm going to hang on to this one for a month or so to see if I'm just having a weird skin day, but this one might be a swapper.

Edited August 14, 2008 by trollgirl

[tasty]

Initially this is fresh. bright blue, BLUEBERRIES like whoa. Later it morphs into softer, yet still sweet, blueberries with a mix of something tart - I'm getting lime, how strange.

 

As the day goes on, it becomes more foody and more like blueberry baked goods and I'm wondering if that's the ginger coming out to play. Very lovely.

[vegasblueblood]

In the bottle and right after applying, I get tons and tons of rich, ripe blueberries that are very foody and creamy, more like a dessert than just blueberries alone. Then the gorgeous red currant--one of my favorite notes--starts to emerge and it becomes a delicious mix of the blueberry and currant. After a while, the benzoin begins to show itself and mingles with something that I can't quite put my finger on and it may be the squash blossom or coriander as it becomes a bit spicy. This lasts forever and ends off with a lovely soft vanilla after hours of wear. Totally weird yet totally awesome blend. I am interested to see how it ages.

[Ginspu]

I think I should probably know better by now. I amp fruit like whoa. All I got from this was blueberries and red currant. The red currant made the blueberries kind of sour to me. And unfortunately, it stayed that way for a good long time, with plenty of throw. Sour blueberries wafting around the room.

 

Such a shame, cos I really like everything else about this scent - the story, the art on the bottle, the fact that it was my first forum-only scent...just not the scent itself. I don't think I'll be keeping it.

[QueenFae]

This is fruity in a light, airy, unique way. It actually reminds me quite a bit of Mi Go Brain Canister, and has that same type of "ethereal," slightly creeping fruit feel. The top notes on me are the red currant and the green tea, and there are lovely undertones of vanilla and the ginger. I absolutely love the combination of green tea and any kind of fruit; automatic winner for me.

 

This does not have a lot of throw, but that does not stop me from constantly sniffing my wrist. I like this very much, both the scent and the genius of the dream embodiment. Very very nice!!

[Scylla]

At first, Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream is all blueberries, currants and benzoin. A berrylicious pancake topping! Maybe I'm crazy (or my nose is), but on drydown it smells just like Eisheth Zenunim! And there are no notes in common!

[donnatron]

Bottle: Tart, fresh wild blueberries. There's a bit of a sugared edge swimming beneath it, but for the most part, all I smell is BERRYBERRYBERRYBERRY!

 

Wet: The red currants pop up and the tea lends it a soft edge.

 

Dry: Crawdad Dream is amazing. No way around it. It's a gorgeous berry-currant with all the other ingredients noticeable in a soft way. It's going to age amazingly and right now I'm happy to enjoy the bright, summery berry quality of it. I don't find it disturbing at all, I find it fresh, young, refreshing and kind of intriguing. Glad that I stocked up.

 

Throw: Good throw, amazing wearlength. I had this on at my deep water work out the other day and when I showered afterwards, I was engulfed in a cloud of Crawdad Dream. Awesome!

 

Overall: I think this is probably going to be a bit of a polarizing scent. Those of us who love it, love it deeply. Otherwise I can easily see how it can be overpowering or offensive to others' tastes. I can't wait to see how this ages.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp- Red currant, ginger, green tea and a hint of musk and blueberry.

 

Wet on skin - Green tea has taken over the red current, with musk and ginger in the background.

 

Dry on skin - Mostly green tea and musk. I like this, it's intruging and sexy.

[Stephanie]

I love the blueberry in this! If there was an Asian-inspired Blueberry Moon, this would be it!

 

It begins a little foody--like a Blueberry Muffin doll, then the green tea and red current kick in--giving it this green berry freshness. The drydown is dry and vanillic and resin-y (= benzoin?) with a hot spicy kick ( = ginger).

 

It's fun, lighthearted and...weird.

[DenMother]

This scares me a tad, I really want to love it, it has notes that I would have thought was made of win but alas it smells like really sweet milky tea, from the moment I put it on and it hardly changes. I am going to let this baby sit a while in a dark place till it decides to behave itself then I shall let it out to play. At the moment too sweet and milky for my skin chemistry to handle. I keep trying blends with milk notes and each time it makes my stomach turn. I shall persevere in the hopes that this will end up a winner.

[kelpsoda]

Wet: Wow, this one changes a lot. First there's blueberry pie filling, but that quickly makes way for the red currant. Strong, juicy red currant. Yum.

 

Drying: After 5 min, I get some green tea. Neat! I like it.

 

Dry: I must amp red musk, because I think that's all I'm smelling. It's sexy, it's overpowering the green tea. And I'm sure vanilla and ginger were in there somewhere, but my nose was not good enough to detect them.

 

Verdict: I like it overall, but it's not perfect. Aging may make the red musk back off, so I'll try it again in a few months.

[ImperatrixMundi]

The berries hab me worried since I both amp and distort fruity notes. They get both intense ans unpleasant

Still I have to try everything with Red Musk in it and benzoin and ginger and vanilla and tea....

 

But the Berry Strike Team did a full frontal assault. Le sigh. I smelled like tea flavoured with vanilla and berries. That would not be bad but currant always gets very very sour on me up to the point of smelling like vomit. Sorry for being so graphic, it just makes me sad. But my bottle is already going to a hopefully more loving home.

[Lamia]

Sorrow!

 

In the bottle, this smelled creamy and fruity like... like... blueberry ice cream! Yeah, baby, bring it! On skin, the creamy disappeared, and the blueberries leapt to the fore. It quickly became soapy, but a sharp cruel soap, not a soft girly soap. Soon came a medicinal smell, but that lasted for only a few seconds.

 

Now it's just sort of, I dunno... blueberries and vanilla and ginger, but the grease-cutting dishsoap version.

 

I am so sad, I had such high hopes for this one. Ah well, of all the fruit scents to not have work on me, I suppose I'm ok with it being blueberry, considering how well all of the other fruit scents work on my skin.

 

I will wait until after Dragon*Con, and test it again, just in case it's my chemistry making things all hinky.

 

EDITED TO ADD: Yep, a week after D*C, and it is still All Blueberry Yogurt, All The Time.

 

Ah well.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Lamia

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Strong fruited iced tea.

 

Wet: Fruit, floral, musk, vanilla in that order. A little heavy on the vanilla for my taste, but this has potential.

 

Half an hour: Still the fruited tea base, but the ginger is stronger now. The vanilla is weaker, and there's another floralish scent too. It smells rather like a picnic in the early summer.

 

One hour: Still fruity tea, but more aromatic.

 

Two hours: Fruity tea. But the vanilla and musk notes have more staying power than the fruit, which is beginning to fade.

 

Four hours: Still going strong. I like this one.

 

Seven hours: Still there. I like this one, which works better than I feared it would. But I don't know how often I'll wear it.

[eloiseattheplaza]

Wet: Juicy blueberries and sweet, spicy ginger.

 

Dry: This ever-so-gradually morphs into a gingery, almost powdery, cakey scent, but the berries are still there. It's absolutely lovely. Not quite as cakey and foody as Lady Una or Eat Me, so it never gets too much for me. I'll wear this one a lot.

 

The concept of this is just delightful, and it didn't disappoint me in the least. I'm so glad to have a bottle!

[femmefatale]

hmm. On my skin this goes all green tea and dries to a slightly powdery/vanilla tea with the barest hint of blueberry (so slight that if I didn't know it was in there I probably wouldn't have guessed it).

 

In my locket though it is a very yummy fruity tea with just a hint of ginger. It is very pretty and if I was into tea scents, I think I would love this one. Unfortunately, I'm not, so I think I willprobably pass this on to someone who will love it more.

I'm glad I got to try it though!

 

ETA: Wow, this has some staying power and throw!

Edited September 4, 2008 by Femme_Fatale

[sprocket21]

I totally thought I had reviewed this, and I hadn't O_o. Maybe I'm the one having weird dreams.

 

In the bottle: Blueberry tempered with something else - I'm guessing the green tea and currant.

 

On me, it pretty much vanishes. Solution? I wear it in my hair and get lovely wafts of blueberry all day. And what a blueberry! I love it a lot more than the blueberry in Blue Fire. Blue Fire was candy-like, but in sort of a fake way; Crawdad's blueberry is softer and more feminine yet still delicious. Sooooo glad I got a bottle unsniffed.

[Lirion]

I am so glad I gave this a second try. First time round I wa shormonal and it did not work at all.

 

Now though...

 

In the bottle it still smells a bit funky to me.

I think I'm getting the coriander and green tea over the fruits and it's not working for my nose.

 

On the skin though, Wet it's tart, fresh blueberry and hawaiian ginger in the background.

Luckily I can't smell the coriander at all once out of the bottle

 

As it dries the red currant starts to come up, softening the tart edges of the blueberry and making it a more fruity blend, the musk also comes up to warm the scent.

 

Later I get a lot of vanilla over a whisper of berry fruit. Gorgeous all round on me.

 

It goes from a very refreshing cool scent on me to a very warm feleing scent when the vanilla and musk come out.

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, red currants and bluberries are mainly what I smell.

 

Wet on the skin, I still get the currants and blueberries, but also the green tea. The more it dries, the more floral scent come out. Another very smooth fragrance on my skin.

[asciident]

Wet: Big, juicy blueberry! Also a hint of red currant and benzoin.

 

First on: Almost pure single note blueberry at this point.

 

Dry: The Hawaiian ginger, green tea, and squash blossom come out to make this blueberry almost flowery, and it's utterly gorgeous. Probably one of my favorite scents.

[icecreamcone]

I love this one when it is wet. It smells like tasty blueberries on me!

But sadly, it lost that during the dry down when it turned a bit spicy.

Also, it faded too quick and I couldn't even smell it after about half an hour.

 

I tried it at an m&s and would gladly try it again. It's possible that I didn't apply enough to really get the full effect of it.

Edited September 20, 2008 by icecreamcone

[Phaedra]

Wet this is very sweet and fruity. It smells pink and red. There's a warmth in the background. When first on this is very soft and not sweet at all. It's almost non-existent! There's a warm and creamy aquatic feel to it. After a couple of minutes I can smell the red currant and green tea. Then the ginger starts to develop. After a couple of hours the blueberry starts to come out. This is much sweeter now than when it was first applied. On the drydown this is a soft ginger and red musk blend. This is sort of like a combination of Mi-Go Brain Canister and Monster Bait: Closet. This is really nice! I'm so glad I decided to get a bottle of this truly special blend. Thank you Beth and Lilith Victoria!

[Hawke]

There's berry in the imp, of course, but there's also a sharp note, like a menthol/pine/cold wood backing it up. Maybe sage or juniper. It's interesting.

 

Wet on the skin, this is thick and sweet, an herbal berry right from the get go. After a few more minutes, there's a hint of tea and the thick sweetness starts to resolve into something that smells like honey. As it dries down, the honey disappears slowly but surely, taking the sweetness with it.

 

When this is finally dry, it's a very bitter, very dry herbal. It seriously makes my mouth feel dry just sniffing it. So, it's worth the testing because it was different and unexpected, but it's really, really not for me.

[Miss Lynx]

Odd and interesting, though I don't know that I'd call it disturbing. When first applied, it's the blueberry that jumps out most strongly, accompanied perhaps by red currant. Anyway, a berry blast, with floral undertones. Very sweet, though not to an unpleasant extent.

 

After settling in for a short while, ginger and tea are pushing their way to the front of the line: the tea has its usual sharp, acidic quality, and the ginger in this one seems to be a fairly dry, slightly bitey variety, not the warmer-smelling ginger found in scents like Vixen and Shub (or maybe it's just the company it's in? This one is more like the ginger in some of the Asian-themed scents. I am finding this not such a likable stage.

 

A while further on, the notes seem to be settling in and harmonizing with each other a bit more. I think the low notes -- the benzoin, vanilla and musk -- are helping everything to blend a little. It's still quite sweet, but with an undertone of tartness, and just a slight touch of spice from the ginger and coriander. It seems to be mostly a fruity floral, but with a bit of added mellowness from the low notes keeping it from being overpowering, plus a faint element of something... odd and undefinable. Something that keeps it from being too much like a normal perfume. Maybe it's the tea? Really not sure. The vanilla, sadly, is also taking on a bit of a Play-Doh edge, as it often does on my skin, which is another kind of odd.

 

All in all, it's hard to form a definitive opinion, because it has elements to it I do quite like and others that I don't. I think on the whole it's probably a little too sweet for me, and the dry-tart edge from the tea and ginger doesn't so much balance the sweetness as add an off-note. If you took out the tea and changed the ginger to a warmer variety, I might really like it, but as it is, I suspect this one will probably be going into the swap box.

 

Grade: B-

[Lethran]

In bottle: smells like sweet flavoured green tea. The current and tea are particularly strong. Wet: The ginger, vanilla, and squash blossoms strengthen. It’s a sweet fruity floral with a strong tea base, basically. Pleasant, but not really my sort of thing. This would be glorious on the right woman though. Dry: still a really yummy smelling fruity iced tea, cool and refreshing.