Ichabod Crane

[akiko]

Dusty black wool, tea with cream, black pepper, muguet, and beeswax candle drippings.

This is the first of the Halloweenies I'm trying this year.

Imp: Smells weird and slightly perfumey, but with a touch of sweetness.

Wet: Sweetly floral.

Dry: Honey (beeswax). I'm not getting the wool or pepper, though.

I'll keep my decant, at least for a while, but I don't think I'll be needing a bottle.

(edited to add lab description) Edited October 19, 2008 by Winterwind

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - There is a dusty scent at first, then cream, beeswax and what smells like lemon.

 

Wet on skin - Beeswax, lemon and a slightly sour note that I suspect is the cream and dusty wool.

 

Dry on skin - Thankfully the sour note has faded and there is a creamy sort of aftershave-y fresh masculine scent with a tiny bit of wool and dust. It's interesting, but a little masculine for me. Swap pile!

[femmefatale]

I got this a few days ago and couldn't believe I waited this long to try it (esp. after going through so much to get this, I finally was able to get some in a swap...still waiting on mine from the decant circle....sigh). Still though, I really didn't expect to like this. And I shouldn't, I hate cream, tea, and black pepper. It's normally a deal breaker for me, but I couldn't resist....it's Ichabod...with wool.

 

Luckily I never got the sour note I was expecting. Instead it's a beautiful blend of honey with a hint of lily and something in the background pulling it back from being too sweet.

Luckily my notes of death never make an appearance. I love this and now have to get a bottle.

 

 

ETA: Ok, I had gone back and retried it not long after and it went completely sour on me and the imp.

Edited November 18, 2008 by Femme_Fatale

[innocent]

A lot of people have been comparing Ichabod to White Rabbit and, unfortunately, I have to agree. White Rabbit actually smells like latex on my skin, and so does Ichabod. The unpleasant smell is less strong here and so I decided to let it dry down (something I couldn't do with White Rabbit because the smell was just too strong). After an hour or so I can catch yummy whiffs of what Ichabod is -supposed- to smell like, but sniffing my wrist still smells like latex. Ick. I think its not so much a case of one note going wrong (many people have mentioned cream and milk notes going sour on them) as my nose interpreting the combination of notes in a very weird way.

 

Too bad for my nose. Fortunate for my wallet.

[maika]

In the imp, I smell wool! And tea! And cream! But no dust...but that's okay.

 

Wet, this is creamy, spicy tea (the pepper coming out?) It must be, because it's similar to chai, but not anywhere near as complex. It's still yummy though. I might just be needing some more, I think.

 

Dry, I'm not getting much beeswax, maybe a faint echo of just blown out candle, and no real floral from the muguet...but that's okay, because what I'm left with something that is warm and comforting and just plain gorgeous. Will be ordering post haste!

[Argentwolf]

The prevailing note here is beeswax...it's a very warm, homey scent. It is complemented nicely by the tea, cream, and, yes, wool. Over time, it fades into a golden, perfumey amalgam that is classy and very, very pleasant. I really like this, and need a bottle.

[tinyvulture]

my first reaction was, “hey, this is kinda girly!” but if i remember the Johnny Depp movie correctly, Ichabod was kind of a girly character the fruity floral muguet is the strongest note on me, backed by cream, slightly bitter tea, and the distinct scent of a wool sweater. the beeswax is also noticeable, although faint. i thought it might smell different on my husband, but it smelled of creamy muguet on him as well. a pleasant surprise, not what i pictured but a really delightful scent in its own way.

[ouch!]

The wax is most prominent when you sniff from the bottle (Is how I'll start my review, I never do that )

Also..I absolutely adore the label art for this bottle it's stunning! Ichabod Crane on a blue moonlight blackground, his pale face illuminated by the dripping candle he's holding!

 

As a few have said, when this is wet on the skin this definately has an underlying tone of the milk note that's in milk moon. It's almost sour, the wax is definately prominent...this is quite an unusual blend. This strange mix is the base of the scent, over the top is a very very strong floral. I'm taking this to be the Muguet.

If I close my eyes and sniff deeply I would say there's an almost minty like quality Ichabod Crane in the wet stage.

 

Once this warms up on the skin it gets a whole lot stronger, the sour cream/waxy note is behind and the Muguet is really really potent. It coems together to be a creamy floral with a tang!!! I don't get any tea...and I'm not really sure what wool would smell like.

 

I think I like it, I think I'll keep the bottle. (The artwork is tipping my descision)

[Dianora]

I admit it, I bought this for two reasons: the first is, after Dorian, I am wanting to try everything with tea. This could take awhile. Second, I love the Washington Irving tale, and poor Ichabod, with his vanity and lusty appetite, amuses me greatly. So I got the bottle, and I agree with the others that have said the art is stunning! I can't wait to see the bottles of Katrina Van Tassel and Fearful Pleasure I have on order!

 

On to the actual review though. In the bottle, this smells smooth and buttery, with a slightly sour tang. It is almost popcorn-ish. As soon as I slathered it on my skin, the lilies came out full strength. I thought I was going to have to wash this off, the floral overpowered everything else and was almost sickeningly sweet. During the course of the dry down though, this has undergone an amazing transformation. It's both sweet and slightly sour, the wool and beeswax tempered the floral, making this an interesting, if contradictory, fragrance. After twenty minutes or so, this became something absolutely fantastic. It smells faintly musty, but in a good way, with the sweetness of tea and cream. The lily mellowed into something slightly haunting, but not overpowering.

 

I'm extremely impressed. This is definitely a keeper for me.

[rayvn1]

I bought this one for my neverending love of BPAL's tea blends This one was a bit unexpected as far as sharpness while wet and early in the drying stage - (this is what I expected Le Pere Fouettard to smell like but it ended up being old Ichy instead). The beeswax was quite potent early on. Now that it's thoroughly dry though, there's a dusty, peppery, slightly sweet, but still a little bitter from the wool melange that is really nice! I was a little nervous that I bought a whole bottle untested, but I'm happy I'll have this in good supply!

[gchris]

in vial: sweet, mellow floral

 

wet: wet fruits and floral. Kind of a sticky sweet scent.

[Schmoozy]

While I was hopeful this would work, sadly there is just something not quite right with Ichabod.

I can smell wool and tea, beeswax and pepper. However, the wool comes across as stale and musty, and the beewsax overwhelms the tea and cream.

Ichabod Cranes comes off as a musty, stale wool sweater, with a hint of beeswax and pepper.

It's like the sweater has mothballs and candle drippings all over it, with some spilt soiled tea thrown in for good measure.

[GalaxyLei]

Sniffed this at Bats Day...I really like the concept, but all I could get was an overwhelmingly sour note that drowned out everything else...like cream that sat out for too long and went bad. No imps for me.

[zankoku_zen]

And again... totally another scent I had and I forgot to review. This one was a weird one for me --- it was wool and wax and sweetness, and something that was offputting.

 

It also made me think of the term milquetoast.

[MCS4096]

I'm a bit nervous to do this one, because I'm totally in love with the concept (the whole Sleepy Hollow series actually). Anyone interested in hearing the story read should check this out, by the way. I'm afraid of the possibility of being disappointed because I want to like this scent so much! Here goes:

 

In the bottle: The black pepper is most predominant, with a kinda sour undertone that I think is the combo of cream and honey. Only the slightest whiff of florals at this point. It's strange.. these notes combine to smell a little like peppermint candy to me. Little stinky/funky

 

Wet: Woah the floral comes out fast! Oh my... I smell lilies, beeswax and that amazing hit of black pepper tickling my nose

 

Dry: This dried fast on me, so essentially the same as above. All sourness is gone (thank god) and this is a creamy, peppery floral. Really delightful, although not as complex as I imagined it might be on my skin. I'm searching for the wool.. but not really finding it at this time. Smells completely different on than in the bottle!

 

Wow, I'm glad I went ahead and bought a bottle of this to try! I think it's going to require multiple uses to try and pin down all the notes (maybe in the oil burner), but it's wonderfully wearable on me! Yay!

 

ETA: I tried slathering this the other day, and the first hour or so of wear was a little difficult to get through-- that sour note is reeeally strong at first. It made me a little nauseated After that it was lovely, but I'm not sure Ichabod is meant to be slathered.

Edited December 2, 2008 by MCS4096

[Vespar]

I was most excited to try this one,because I have a secret crush on Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane,but I think Ichabod doesn't love me...

 

In the decant:Fallen Autumn leaves.

 

Wet on skin:I've never had such a hard time with a review or a BPAL perfume.Ichabod is very,very complex and weird on me.I even thought I must have gotten a wrong decant or something,because at first I smell no tea or wool.When first applied,this smells like rotten autumn leaves on me and I get a whiff of something really sweet that makes me gag and I'm guessing it's the candle drips?Not sure 'bout that,but the note I pick up that makes me go is very strong,sweet and overpowering.

 

After 30 minutes:The weird note lasted up to 30 minutes on my skin before finally,vanishing into the night.Now,I can finally get a whiff of something other than death.I still get no tea,but the scent now gives me a fuzzy feeling,so I take it it's the wool I smell.It's soft and slightly creamy.If Ichabod Crane smelled like this from the beginning,I'd have bought 3 bottles!

 

An hour later:It's pretty much the same as before,only it's a lil more powdery and I get a whiff of pepper now and then

 

Verdict:I wanted to love Ichabod,but the candle drips were the deal breakers.If that note wasn't there,I would have bought a bottle in a jiffy.

Edited November 24, 2008 by Vespar

[Magpie]

In bottle: Sweeter and creamier than it was in the decant I tried (one sniff of which made me want a big old bottle of this gentleman). It really reminds me really strongly of something, like something from my childhood, but I don't know what. Still, warm and sweet and wooly!

 

On: Mmm, foody and creamy, but in a kind of yellow, candle-lit way. God, what does that remind me of? Something I didn't realise was that muguet was another name for Lily-of-the-Valley, but I can't really pick that out in the way I usually can with floral scents containing it (my grandmother loved Lily-of-the-Valley and wore it all the time). Oh! I know! Ichabod Crane (and this is going to sound weird) reminds me of a Barbour jacket. Like, the waxed sweet smell of a Barbour jacket, without the usual undertone of ick I get from them. It's also a bit like the absolutely amazing sweet smell of the reeds we used at an Egyptian evening I went to at which we made funerary boats out of dried reeds. That's...odd! But my weird scent associations aside, this is really comforting and warm. It has a real personality disparate from any other scent that I've tried. I'm definitely glad I bought this! It's like wool and tea and cream and beeswax. Actually, no, this is like White Rabbit only with a bit more of a definite scent.

 

Num num num num. A keeper for definite, and everything I'd hoped for from Mr Crane.

[anastasia]

Well I think this totally suits Ichabod. The film Ichabod and the book Ichabod. I find it to be fairly strong and confident. A character full of strength and conviction, just unusual. This is the warmest BPAL scent I have smelled. Strong, smooth and warm but also quirky. It unfolds in stages a bit. Not too sweet, it smells clean and warm and sturdy to me but with a layer of strange whimsy from the floral. I fully experience all the ingredients but am just slightly heartbroken as mycatfrankie and I split a bottle and on her there is more wool and on me there is more lily of the valley. I love the wool. I used to like to stand in coat closets as a child and smell all the coats. Ichabod is the Sleepyhollow that at the last minute we decided we couldn't live without knowing what he smelled like. It will definitely be a welcome addition to the winter round of fragrances!

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

This... confuses my nose. Floral, but creamy, but not!

 

First on:

Muguet, creamy tea, burning wax – a slightly strange combination.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, this is a bit sickly on me.

Finally:

This really didn't agree with my skin chemistry. Ugh. Swapping!

[Aldercy]

I'm really into the beeswax in Ichabod Crane. I think this might be the first blend I've tried with it and now it's definitely something that warrants further exploration. Tawny, buttery, and woodsy. It's delicate and filthy rich at the same time. There's a hint of tea with an Earl Gray sort of mood to it, but not much. There's a calm, settled, possibly old feel to the blend as a whole, possibly caused by a sort of film of thin, crumbly, papery notes laid over the more warm, edible smells. It's mildly masculine and highly academic. It belongs on a Victorian naturalist philosopher or someone of that sort.

 

I was afraid to order a 5ml of Ichabod because I had unfounded fears that it would not work on me. I'm not sure why I thought that now, as this oil clearly loves me. Win.

[secretstars]

it seems i'm just about the only BPALer that LOVES this scent and is so happy to wear it on a regular basis!

 

it smells to me like lily of the valley, mostly, one of my FAVOURITE scents (#2 in line with pumpkin spice), and then a bit like very sweet tea, and then like powder. NOT baby powder, or that powdery smell that happens with old lady perfumes and with scents like Ouija for me -- more like powder in a makeup compact. i think it's fantastic and smells great for all fall and wintertime occassions!

[yeahbutnobut]

Ichabod Crane

 

In the imp: a really weird smell-somewhere between soapy and buttery.

Wet on skin: that unusual soapy-juicy-buttery smell, now with a sourness to it.

Dry on skin: this is really bizarre on me. the dominant note is sour cream, that’s the first thing that hits my nose, a rancid and curdled cream smell. Maybe it’s the cream note mixing with the wool? I can also smell a soapy note, not like the wool in Kelly Pool but definitely along the lines of clean laundry. This clean note clashes with the sour cream. I also get black pepper, which in here smells quite savoury. I get hardly any tea or beeswax, for now at least.

After a while: the scent becomes a little bit more coherent by now, but I’m still not crazy about it. the wool note has gone all soapy-detergent on me, the cream note still smells sour and curdled, and I think the muguet may also be soaping out on me. where’s the tea and beeswax? This smell is really not good on me.

The scent only becomes more tolerable after a few hours, when the clean wool calms down, the sour milk fades a little, and I smell the tea! There’s the tea, at last! And it’s a really nice black tea with a hint of smoke and beeswax.

Verdict: this was just wrong on me. it started off smelling strongly of rancid milk, and there are few milk notes that turn so sour on me but this one does. I smell something very soapy and dusty, I’m guessing the wool mixed with the lily of the valley. And a pungent black pepper. The notes do not gel well, and I’m not at all keen on the smell of rancid cream or soapy wool anyway. It’s only a few hours into wear when I smell the more pleasant notes of tea and beeswax. But I don’t like waiting through stages of notes that smell so bad on me to get to a nice tea-beeswax finale. So I sold this one off.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? no.

If you like this, try: White Rabbit, Kelly Pool, Milk Moon

[Josh]

To me this smells exactly like rotting flowers (great for people like me who don't care for traditional florals) mixed with a creamy/waxy base, wide/warm and nearing the edge of sweet, and a barely there fragrance of rubber gloves (a tempered Laudanum note). I would not call this sour at all as there is no tang or tart.. it smells full in the nose, not hollow like some other perfumes. The floral (smells like a disjointed lily) burns off quick, leaving a wax scent not unlike a more complex Hanerot Halalu. Ichabod is perfectly done, easily my 2nd or 3rd favorite scent from this company and definitely the best of 2008.

[Andrea912]

Lovely! Dark tea and sweet cream...

[masquedbunny]

In the bottle: Wool, beeswax, black pepper--but together it's all kind of reminding me of raw pumpkin innards. Very autumnal.

 

Wet on skin: Beeswax candles and something biting--black pepper, I'm guessing.

 

Dry: Wool, but getting the creamy tea ... and more candles.

 

Dry, three hours later: A snuffed-out candle next to a cup of tea. It's a very warm scent--and probably the oddest thing I've tried so far from BPAL. Like time traveling, it's as if I just stepped into a late 17th or early 18th century sitting room at the start of winter.

 

It's really peculiar, and I like it a lot.