Cheshire Cat

[diamondstars]

Grapefruit, red currant, dark musk, Roman chamomile, delphinium, and lavender.

From the imp I could smell lavender quite strongly, but on skin luckily this fades to a really nice floral/fruity combination. It didn't last too long on me though unfortunately.

[awesomeoverlord]

Very very odd. I can't even pick out any of the individual notes, but there's a citrusy edge that I'm ascribing to the grapefruit and a general herbyness that I'm reading as a combination of everything else. The currant is hiding from me and there's something in here that reminds me of White Rabbit's pepper note. Another blend that I can't quite put my finger on.

[qwerty0]

Sharply citrus in the bottle, oscillating promptly to musk on my skin, and winding up nicely balanced between floral and citrus and musk. Just about gone three hours later. I like it, I wish it'd stay longer!

[masquedbunny]

In the imp: fruit, in a way that made me think of the cereal Fruitloops.

 

Wet on skin: citrus-berry-flavored tea, but not cloying at all. A fairly light scent.

 

Dry on skin: the fruitiness has definitely dissipated, and I'm getting an unfamiliar floral note (the delphinium?) and something more savory, which I'm guessing is a combination of the dark musk and chamomile.

 

Little more than two hours later: Powder, tea, something sharp and airy. Not a very strong throw from anything, this scent is either disappearing (like its namesake) or staying very close to my skin. I don't foresee it lasting much longer.

[catatonic1242]

In the bottle: Musk and citrus. I know from the notes that the citrus is grapefruit, but in the bottle it just smells light and citrus-ey.

 

On, wet: Hello, grapefruit! Tart and juicy, it's pretty much all that I can smell at this stage.

 

On, dry: This stays pretty true, remaining strong on the grapefruit and light on any other notes. I really like this.

[cymbeline]

Smell alike: Mainly like a thick berry soup

 

Color impression: Shiny berry purple

 

On me: What a witty kitty! Acid sarcasm at first and then a good big laugh. An optimistic scent which keeps shifting smoothly between tart and sweet

 

Wearing: this blend does not have a good throw on me. It's really the kind of subtle shiny notes I'd wear in my hair when I linger at home in comfy pants :3

 

 

 

[anna1850]

Not unpleasant but a bit darker than I was expecting.

 

Despite the grapefruit, I'm mostly getting the musk, chamomile and lavender which isn't bad but it's just not me at all.

 

2.5/5 Too dark for me.

[Wwindy]

Some of the blends I've tried lately have really broken my head as far as notes I thought I liked/could wear vs. what I thought I hated/couldn't go near... but I'm now reassured (in an odd way) to find that grapefruit is still a giant NO WAY NO HOW on me.

 

I knew Cheshire Cat was going to be iffy for me -- I love lavender and musk, but dislike chamomile, fruit and florals in general. As it turns out, I think the blend might have worked if not for the dreaded grapefruit, which smells a little like I spilled that bright pink imitation lemonade stuff down my arm. I can definitely see how it would be a nice springtime scent for some people, but on my skin it winds up as mostly bad fake grapefruit with powdery overtones and a faint whiff of blue-toned florals.

[catattack]

Imp: Tangy

Wet: Tart/tangy fruit. Citrus blast.

Drydown: Initially, this is straight up citrus. It starts to mellow after a few minutes. After a while, it starts to smell like ornge hard candy. There is a slight sweet musk scent in the extreme drydown.

Overall: This is yummy. It starts out strong citrus, but it tones down to a wonderfully sweet fruity musk scent.

[V294]

I got this as a frimp in a circle I did and was very excited as it's on my wishlist. I really enjoy the labs citrus scents and this is no exception. It's such a bright nice smell. It's like I can smell the Chesire's grin in this scent. It's so mischevious! I love it! Once I order bottles again, it will definitely be on the list.

[sweetpessimism]

In the bottle: Pale yellow in color. Smell.. Berry gum. And a slightly boozy note? Hmm.. Smells like strawberry daiquiri, maybe.

 

Wet on skin: Somewhat department store-y. A very, very slight berry note underneath that.

 

Upon re-reading lab description: Now that I think on it, I believe I detect both grapefruit and chamomile. Or is that lavender? Maybe grapefruit and lavender, then. Unsure..

 

On the drydown: The department store-ness has faded away. My skin is definitely amping the lavender. Lavender, with a hint of berry still there. Smells pink.

 

Cheshire Cat behaves like its name implies - it's on strong, then fades out to just its grin. Not sure if it works very well with me, but it's a pretty nice scent.

 

ETA: Even after it's been on my skin a couple of hours, my mom strongly objects to the scent - she says it smells like cheap department store perfume. I guess I kind of agree, though I thought it had just faded out to lavender. She disagrees.

[arlith]

At first I thought it smelled like lemons (I didn't have the description with me when I tried it on). Then as it started to dry, I thought it smelled like Bacardi's Limon Rum with soap. When it completely dried, it became fabulous. (Though I did like the Bacardi scent too.)

 

Its very light and clean smelling. Citrusy, fruity and a little flowery. Its the most girly smelling oil I've tried, and I love it! (I normally like spicy or dark scents.)

 

Something in it makes my skin feel a little tight and tingly, but its not a bad enough reaction to make me not want to wear it.

 

So far its lasted longer than I thought it would too, I figured it would be gone in a couple of hours. Its been 6 hours and I can still smell it, though not as strongly.

 

I'll definately be buying more of this.

Edited July 10, 2009 by arlith

[tajana]

Cheshire Cat smelled OMGAWESOME in the imp, I grinned as soon as I whiffed it. Since I just used up my Aizen-Myoo, I needed a new imp-ful of bright citrus tempered with florals in my life! I've wanted to try Cheshire Cat for a long time. In the imp, it was playful grapefruit turned pink, cheerfully sparring with sleepy lavender and chamomile. On my wrist, it just went all wrong. It was profoundly bitter in a way that grapefruit never is on me, the red currant note smelled sickly and sticky, and then there was just more herbal-florally bitterness, and then the dark musk went powdery in a most discordant way... I wish I knew exactly what went wrong... I really expected to like this but I can't stand to sniff it long enough to figure it out.

[rayvn1]

I've been stalking this imp for awhile and was very excited to swap for some. Grapefruit is usually overpowering on me in a citrus soap kind of way, so here goes...

Hm, tons of grapefruit as I expected as well as a bit of lavender and chamomile. Very soapy. None of the currant or musk I was hoping for. Darn Might work for enabling my mom, who likes citrus scents a lot, though. I'll stick with Schrodinger's Cat for my citrus needs.

[NoinHime]

In the bottle: Definitely smelling the grapefruit and a little bit of the currents. A very fresh, clean fruity scent.

 

Fresh on me: Smelling more of the red musk and florals now. Still smelling the grapefruit. Lovely and fresh.

 

Final Impressions: It's mellowed out in such a way that I can't really distinguish the individual notes anymore Bright, fruity, fresh, and floral all at the same time. For some odd reason its taken on a slight creaminess to it. Overall it's a very lovely scent that I would like to own more of.

[milo]

Yum, a very nice fresh grapefruit, perfect for summer. I really don't get anything else, and it fades within half an hour so it is even more difficult to pick out other notes. Because of the quick fade factor, I probably won't get a bottle, but I'll certainly enjoy the imp while it lasts!

[SpookyBunny]

 

Unlike many who have reviewed this, the grapefruit wasn't very prominent for me when applied to the skin. Instead what I got was a lovely amping of the currant and musk notes! This makes for a dark, yet sweet and mischief-ridden scent which is quite appropriate for the Cheshire Cat indeed. Medium throw and light wear-length, but it is a delicious scent and you won't mind re-applying.

[muteddragon]

Imp: complex, can't name a note.

Skin: fruit (grapefruit and currant).

Half hour: musk and lavendar, no more fruit. So adult, maybe in a few months when I accept my adulthood.

[Janegodzilla]

In the imp, Cheshire Cat smelled odd but exciting. Lots of currant and grapefruit, with something spicy or peppery underneath. I wasn't sure I liked it, but I was definitely intrigued.

 

Once it was on my skin, I liked it a little more -- the grapefruit took a backseat to the currant and spice. Unfortunately, I don't think my chemistry agreed with Cheshire very much. The currant and spice notes amped so much that they overwhelmed everything else, and the fruitiness got so cloying that I ended up with a headache and had to wash it off.

 

Final Verdict:

I'm really sad about this one. I was super excited about trying it, but I think currant just doesn't work well with my skin. I smelled like a Christmas ornament, and not in a good way.

[hazakaza]

I got this in my very first lab order (although it's not the first BPAL I've tried). Hurrah!

 

In the bottle, it smells almost exclusively of bright, bitter grapefruit (very distinctly grapefruit, to my nose) with a faint whiff of floral running around at the end.

 

Freshly applied to my arm, I still get a lot of grapefruit, but now it's opened up to include some softer florals and some deeper, sweet scents. Almost a little bit of vanilla in there? Not creamy vanilla, but clean, clear vanilla, maybe as part of the musk. Still just a touch bitter, but it's a really good bitter because it helps keep the florals in line.

 

After about 15 minutes I've lost most of the grapefruit and I've got some gentle green grass and little flowers. The honeydew / fresh green honeysuckle / faint whiff of clean vanilla scent is definitely present; maybe it's even some strange shade of lavender / delphinium making some sweet magic with the dark musk? It's totally possible that my skin can take a dryer scent like this and turn it all sweet. I'm surprised that this has an okay throw on me; in my somewhat limited experience, citrus tends to disappear on me, and muskiness / spiciness hangs very close to my skin, but this application has a solid 5 inch throw.

 

30 minutes in, the grapefruit's sharp bitterness (and I think a touch of more grassy chamomile) is still hanging around and helping to keep the blooming floral / honeysuckle scent clean and crisp instead of cloying. The little flowers I had before had bloomed & gotten bigger--this must be the delphinium. I LOVE this stage. I always doubt florals and think "ugh, I'll smell like a grandma" but the bitterness slicing through it is really wonderful. Is that redcurrant I smell underneath? It really ties the bitterness of the grapefruit into the flowers in a lovely way, even if it's not the redcurrant. The citrusy part of the grapefruit is completely gone.

 

45 minutes in, my wrist (where I applied it) was resting on my computer, and my cat (who licks both myself, my boyfriend, our friends, and blankets / laundry with impunity, but typically not hard things like tables) has decided to lick exactly where my wrist was on the computer?! Obviously I stopped her, but wow. My cat loves the Cheshire Cat. She was licking my arm earlier but I kept her away from where I actually applied it. WEIRD. She has now settled down and is licking my Cheshire Cat fleece blanket. Oooookay kitty.

 

An hour in, a lot of this has faded, but it's still pretty much in the realm of sweet yet green flowery scent tempered with bitterness. Yum. This is seriously a winner for me.

[ouch!]

I am loving this. Fruity scents are some of my favourites so I knew this was going to be a winner. The citrussy grapefruit is apparent straight away, and there's a sweetness to this blend that makes it very youthful.

 

It turns slighty more floral as it dries but there's still some fruit there.

 

This one is a winner.

 

[Beckiemort]

Wet: Light, airy bright citrus. It must be the grapefruit and it is calmed a little by what I believe is the chamomile and lavender.

 

Dry Down: The grapefurit stops being the centre of attention and I can begin to smell the current and a little musk. The current blends surprisingly well with the chamomile and lavender and there is something else I can't identify, either is is the seemless blending or the delphinium.

 

Throw: Not huge I have to bring my nose fairly close to my hand in order to smell it, making it nice to wear in places where too much perfume is frowned upon.

 

Not that it helps at all but I am totally getting a pinkish purple and yellow striped 'colour' in my head for this scent.

 

Overall it is a very nice blend, possibly bottle worthy but I haven't tried enough to be entirely sure.

[loubric]

A very curious scent. Fitting for the Cheshire Cat! On me it’s a very spicy grapefruit with hints of citrus. Suddenly it changes to a spicy lavender with citrus! It keeps changing from lavender to grapefruit. How extraordinary!

 

Me likey.

(yay no musk)

Edited January 6, 2010 by Lilly

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: citrus rind and something else… maybe currant?

 

Wet on Skin: starts similar to imp, then grapefruit becomes specifically identifiable, but it is a soft grapefruit, not really tangy

 

While Drying: no changes yet...

 

After a Little While: florals (delphinium I think) show up - yay no soap! - with grapefruit behind, and something spicy... musk?

 

Later: Continuous morpher (how appropriate) - florals faded, musk became prominent, grapefruit is still there (that must be the cat's grin)

 

Final Thoughts: never noticed any lavender; scent is very subtle (low throw) after the first few minutes. I will definitely play with the imp again.

Cheshire Cat earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[Katherynne]

Cheshire Cat. This is one of the first perfumes I tried from BPAL, and I loved it then and I love it now. I probably already reviewed it somewhere, but I'm coming back because I found my years-old imp in my box today and I put it on...

 

The sweet, herbal chamomile mingles with sparkling grapefruit for me, with the dark musk and lavender swelling underneath. The currant in this blend is bright and unexpected, and it's only gotten better with age. The scent morphs continuously as someone else said, changing on the skin as time passes, but staying beautiful for me every time. I'd forgotten how absolutely mad and fantastic it is. So unexpected, but so brilliant.

 

I've got to have a bottle!