Cheshire Cat

[achromance]

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

In the vial: Chamomile and lavender with a cool air.
On my wrist: The red currant is coming through, mixing with the chamomile and now much fainter lavender. This is a very pretty, girly scent. Next, the delphinium emerges, replacing even the final shreds of lavender. The final scent it a subtle, happy and floral scent, with a touch of naive sweetness of the red currant.

[ladyflash]

Prologue: Alice in Wonderland was the first book I ever read by myself as a child, so I have fond memories of it. The description of this struck my interest (I love the smell of lavender and chamomile together), so I purchased an imp from the lab.

 

Intro: I don't know if I have a strong familiarity with lavender, but I could immediately point it out in the imp. I could also detect a tart citrus smell. Yum.

 

Exposition: Oooooooooh, grapefruit and lavender together! I can also smell lots of chamomile wafting between the lavender. There's not enough grapefruit to make this a tart, bright fragrance. I can also slightly detect some musk & the bite of currant. really like this. Very good throw. I really, really like this. It doesn't last as long as I want it to; after 4 hours, it's pretty faint. When I smell my wrists up close I can still smell it. The lavender turns a little medicinal by the end, and the grapefruit disappears, but the chamomile is still ever present.

 

Epilogue: Love this. Not too bright, not too dark, just right. I definitely need a bottle.

[relax]

Quite straightforward, fruity, happy scent, drydown grapefruit on me, weak staying power xx

[grnwoodtree]

First Grapefruit and lavender, camomile...then red currant and grapefruit...the dry down ends up being very faint, slightly medicinal, slightly sweet...just not for me.

[kawaiiferreto]

This was there and gone SO FAST. Wet it was nice and tart and citrusy, but then it went poof gone almost immediately. I've never had my skin just eat a scent before! I couldn't really pick out the other individual notes other than the grapefruit.

[Scorianelle]

As usual I tried this without checking the notes, so these are my impressions of the scent when I had no idea what to expect or what was in it.

 

First Sniff: Currant, christmas pudding and leaves.

 

Second Sniff: Currant. A cold floral. Something astringent.

 

Wet: A very strong citrus. Orange maybe? There is still that cold floral at the back.

 

Dry (30 mins): Orange tang, floral soap and some sort of red sweetness. It's got a mild throw and is actually much nicer from father away.

 

Dry (1.5 hours): Oh... I'm beggining to think all florals hate me. This reminds me of my experience with Aizen-Myoo, though not as bad as that. Basically it morphed to a chemical-floral perfume.

 

Dry (3 hours): Well... it's different again. This smells bright and spicy. It's almost exactly like White Rabbit's wet phase now. Ginger and pepper with clean linen. At least it's nicer. There is still a little something sweet.

 

Throw: medium to mild.

 

Colour association: Bright orange.

 

Well... I don't really know what to say. This sent changed so much. At times I liked it, at others not. I think I'll have to try it again, but I have a feeling that whilst this may be an interesting scent it is still one that will end up in the swaps pile.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Scorianelle

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Delicious and lightly sweetened grapefruit with just a touch of red currant.

 

Wet: Grapefruit with a touch of rind, some delphinium and chamomile, and musk round out the scent. It's pretty, but I liked the sweeter aspect in the bottle.

 

Dry: The astringent aspect of the rind is gone, leaving me with lovely grapefruit tinged in musky sweetness, paired with red currant and soothing chamomile. Love it!

[milica]

In the imp its sweet grapefruit.

 

On skin, musk and sweet grapefruit, with a touch of lavander and red currant.

 

Nice and pretty and soft, but it reminds me too much of what some of the commercial perfumes tend to smell like on me, and overall its not my type of a scent.

 

(Dior Addict 2 is this sort of musky grapefruity scent if I remember it well, but I like Cheshire Cat way better, and it stays on the skin a bit longer)

[sonderland]

In the imp:

 

Grapefruit. Sweetened a little by the currant, but that grapefruit is strong.

 

First time on:

 

Yeah, still lots of grapefruit. I’m also getting a little of what might be the musk and the delphinium.

 

After a while:

 

This smells a lot like Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat. The grapefruit is still eating everything, and I can’t even smell the lavender.

 

Overall review:

 

This one is kind of disappointing. I think my skin chemistry makes citruses really overpowering in these, and, while I like some citrus scents, I don’t really like this one.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Fresh lemon, tamed by roses.

 

Initial Wet Application: The rose beats the lemon for its lunch money, but the lemon trips the rose as it runs down the hallway. This is going to be an interesting battle for main note supremacy!

 

Beginning Dry Down (first 15 minutes) & Dry: ...upon reading the description, I’m starting to wonder if my nose just isn’t cut out for accurate BPAL scent sniffing identification. ‘Course it could be that since I tested Velvet earlier today that’s subtly making this wonky. I’m having trouble picking out individual notes in this.

 

My Reaction: I tried re-applying this slightly higher on my wrist, to avoid any earlier contamination from Velvet, and now I think I’m getting a bit of the grapefruit with the red currant and musk mixed in. It’s still light on me, which is annoying as I swiped the wand across my left arm about 7 times already. I had envisioned a cheshire cat smelling more...mysterious and wispy than this. The notes in the description make me think Red Queen or any of the Heart court, not a creature from Wonderland. It’s also very faint already. I’ll give this another test later, but this kitty just didn’t like me at all! *pout*

 

Rating: 1.5

[Victory]

I've tried Cheshire Cat twice- the first time I did smell the grapefruit, the second time I did not. But both times I thought that the scent made me think of the tumbling of incense smoke from the caterpillar's pipe. The notes aren't separate from each other to me, but still somehow they rise and fall together- they tumble! The scent makes me think of a sorority girl's perfume, not that I think that sorority girls would wear it, but it seems somehow pink and girly and flirty. I have other perfumes that fit that niche that I like better, but it certainly is an interesting scent experience.

[damonkitty]

A lot of grapefruit from this one. I find the currant gives depth to the citrus note. I really did not get any florals, but the florals I do see are in this one are some of my favorites. Lavender and chamomile are two of my go to florals since they add just a touch of aromatherapy to a scent. I love this one . I have only one imp so I will have to grab a bottle.

[welcometothefamily]

In the Imp: Grapefruit, a light floral, maybe a hint of red currant.

 

Wet: Grapefruit with a herbal/floral undertone. No more red currant, unfortunately it never seems to be a note that sticks around on me.

 

Drydown: Sweet herbs and currant, with a tart grapefruit edge.

 

Verdict: I do like this quite a lot. Unfortunately though, it doesn't seem to last long on my skin. Probably no full bottles for me, but I'll welcome imps or partials .

 

3.5/5

[GuardianOfTheMoon]

Imp: The scent is hopping back and forth between grapefruit and lavender, and yet there is something very warm about it.

Wet: Citrusy lavender. Rather pleasant. Reminds me of sitting in a tea house (which is entirely appropriate for this scent).

Dry (10 minutes): VANILLA. Why, WHY MUST MY BODY TURN EVERYTHING INTO VANILLA? Ugh. Well, besides that, I'm getting hints of grapefruit and chamomile. I think the musk is trying to peak through, but its not quite there yet.

Dry (1.5 hours): I have no idea whats going on. The scent is literally morphing every 15 minutes. I am getting all the notes now (plus the vanilla), but never all at one. Its smells good, but its a little chaotic for my liking.

Dry (6 hours): Just a clean vanilla now, with a slight bit of musk. But its incredibly weak.

Consensus: I don't know about this one. I think I'll have to try is a few more times before I decide on it.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Fruity, herby dark musk? I think I'm getting the musk more than anything else.

 

Wet on skin: The grapefruit and currant blend together pretty well, although the grapefruit is stronger. The herbs and musk are still there, darkening the fruit.

 

Dried down: Interesting. I'm getting herby leather. But I've got Whip on the other side of my arm, so the leather might be coming from that.

 

Throw: I'm getting a little, but not a whole lot.

 

Verdict: *** Eh, this is definitely an interesting scent, but not one for me, I think.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Bright, sweet, and happy. Sugared grapefruit with a touch of lavender.

 

Drydown: Musk-sweetened grapefruit ever-so-slightly tempered by cozy lavender. It’s uplifting and bright, but not at all harsh. Sweet but not saccharin. It smells sort of giddy, like the early stages of a crush or new love. But don’t get me wrong, this scent is well-balanced and smart too. While the word girly would be accurate, that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. It’s more like a woman caught during a girly mood.

 

Dry: Happy, pleasant grapefruit swirled up with a deep and creamy musk. Soft lavender provides a comforting herbaceousness and complexity. Very well-balanced and pretty in a clever sort of way.

 

 

 

This is a good one to bridge the gap from commercial perfumes to BPALs like Dorian, Alice, and Fae. I'll be using it to convert people, for sure.

 

8 out of 10 bones

[marilyn eyre]

Pretty kitty!

 

I bought a blind bottle of this partly because I like all of these notes and but mainly because the Cheshire Cat is one my favorite characters of all time.

 

In the bottle: Dark, murky grapefruit. I can smell some musk in there.

 

Wet: Pink grapefruit with deep red (bordering on purple) currant stripes, just like in the Disney cartoon. Bright and cheery, low throw.

 

Dry: This is so fascinating. It dries very close to the skin, with a lavender-spiked musk taking the center stage. However, the grapefruit/currant scent lazily rolls in and out in waves, as if he keeps vanishing and reappearing.

 

"You may not have noticed, but I'm not really all there myself."

 

Verdict: I want to roll around in sheets soaked in this scent. It's so comforting and snuggly. And my own kitty loves it!

[Malaena]

In the imp: Citrus.

 

Drying: It's mostly grapefruit but then it becomes very similar to the Bath & Body Works Lavender Vanilla scent.

 

Verdict: I use the B&BW lotion to help me sleep and I don't think I need more of the same.

[HighlyBell7]

In Imp: Clear yellow. Sharp lemon musk? With a hint of sweet.

Wet: Lemon candy with vanilla, like a creamy lemon pudding cake or maybe creamy lemon Laffy Taffy

Dry: Sweet, creamy notes come forwards. Lemon turns to more of an orange Dreamcicle.

Later: Almost a creamy candy musk with a hit of floral. Beautiful!!

 

[Veronica]

Very fruity and candy like on me. Too much.

[Kmye Chan]

In the imp: Sweet citrus, chamomile and lavender. The combination of chamomile/lavender initially made me think of marzipan.

 

Wet: Sharp grapefruit, with something sweet underneath. Then, a couple of seconds later, a blast of lavender. Then citrus again! And then lavender! This is very odd, and makes me think of the Cheshire Cat's stripes. It's the first time I find one of the blends so very fitting to their character.

 

Dry: The blend comes together at last as the musk appears to bind to all together, and it's gorgeous. Very clean, zingy, a little sweet.

 

Throw: Discreet.

 

Lasting power: Unfortunately this one doesn't last on me. After less than an hour, it's mostly gone, leaving only a faint musk scent.

[Soupy Twist]

Chamomile in the bottle. Goes on as a surprisingly not-harsh grapefruit, almost like you've inhaled grapefruit and you're just getting the smell on the back of your palate. Then a wee musky note comes in, and slowly strengthens. The delphinium and lavender crowd out the grapefruit, and it finishes as a lavender.

[Tian-Tian He]

Wet: Sharp, dryish grapefruit (like the peel maybe) that turns into a very juicy grapefruit/currant after a few seconds.

Dry-down: Floral/herbal- I can't pick out lavender, chamomile, or delphinium- but it's overall more sharp and fresh than girly.

After 10 minutes: Omg... what?!? This smells like Snake Oil, but softer and it doesn't hurt my nose like real Snake Oil did. Kind of dusty and spicy... for some reason it smells like when I went to see the terra cotta warriors, lol. Maybe it's the chamomile + musk? Also still has floral/herbal undertones.

A long while later: Just smells faintly sweet.

Edited January 29, 2016 by tinyopaws

[LizziesLuck]

I had a bottle of this. I really liked it many years ago when I first got it. Unfortunately my skin chemistry changed a lot over the years, and I can no longer wear grapefruit - it goes so bitter on me, it's really unpleasant. I ended up swapping my bottle.

[freyasfae]

In the bottle, smells very sharp like grapefruit, but the other notes come out when wet, and I end up liking it less actually, and then a sort of anisey note comes in which I generally abhor, but it is subtle fortunately. This makes a more floral, spicy summer scent, but not a keeper for me.