The Caterpillar

[portalkat]

"Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver."

 

 

 

When I first put this on it reminded me of a very old fashioned perfume, somewhat musty jasmine and carnation. After about half an hour, I start to really smell the bergamot and the mosses and the floral notes have all but disappeared - this little caterpillar is on the move.

 

Three hours later the florals are back again (although very faint) amid the bergamot and the mosses.

 

Those smoky incense notes waft in and out of this blend, but then I remember that the caterpillar was smoking a hookah. This is a very intriguing blend that I've thought a lot about ever since I tried it about a week ago.

 

ETA: Lab description

Edited June 30, 2006 by portalkat

[catrinella]

Imp: Mossy, green and damp and dark. Vague & mysterious with that "you might not like this, you might, who knows?" vibe.

 

Wet: Musty mosses and an unnerving tickle on my skin. Hope I'm not sensitive to something in this blend. It throws like crazy.

 

Drydown: Jasmine comes up quickly, and that might be carnation tagging along. However, patchouli shows up in workboots quite soon, stomping all over everything else. I hate patchouli as a top-note. This is not so good.

 

1 hour: This just won't settle down. Patchouli to jasmine to patchouli to jasmine, lather rinse repeat, with a funky mossy green undertone. I had a very brief incense note but it went away. Whoever said "hobbit head shop" was right on the money.

 

3 hours: Fading patchouli. Still a bit itchy.

 

Verdict: Definitely not for me. I didn't get the heavy incense notes - sandalwood, myrrh, frankincense all work really well on me, but all I got was patchouli and jasmine with the damp moss thing. Trippy like the Caterpillar, yes, but I never did like him that much anyway.

[Caltha]

The Caterpillar

To me, The Caterpillar is fruity incense. The sweetest, fruitiest incense in the entire headshop. Like apricot or peach incense, maybe. It could be a sweet and incensey oriental soap too, possibly jasmine. Doesn't sound like anything I'd appreciate, but I do. The heavy, incensey, possibly soapy sweetness of it reminds me of Mata Hari, I think. It seems I can appreciate sweet incensey scents, while I don't like the bitter/resinous/smoky incensey scents and don't generally want to smell like incense.

It's not very me though. It might be my teenage hippie self of ten years ago, with a green or orange sarong and a large copper sun around my neck. But I appreciate it enough to keep it, it's rather beautiful. It's also suitable for the caterpillar - the incense for the smoke of his pipe and the fruity sweetness for the psychedelic, bright image of a caterpillar on top of a mushroom, smoking.

[edenssixthday]

The Caterpillar - I thought for sure I was going to hate this blend due to the jasmine, vetiver, and iris notes in it. I was very surprised that I’m not only not completely reviled by it, but I find it kind of nice – not wholly amazing, just “kind of nice.” I can hardly detect the jasmine, the vetiver is behaving itself nicely in this blend, and the bitter scent of the iris is faint and non-intrusive. When I smell this blend, I mostly detect incense backed up by sweet florals and the tiniest hint of earthy, green moss. I don’t detect the patchouli at all. It’s definitely not something I would choose to wear over my favorite BPAL oils, but it’s really not bad like I expected it to be. It’s kind of hazy, lightly floral and very lightly sweet, but not in a foody over overly-floral way. I’m very impressed by the intricacy and complexity of this blend.

[lunareclipse]

In the imp: incense-y and floral - very sweet and heavy.

 

Wet: still very strong - almost dizzying - on the floral and incense. I feel like I might fall over if I stand up too fast.

 

Drydown: loses some of its vertiginous quality, but still heavy, floral and smoky. I usually like incense blends, but something - maybe those florals, which I tend to avoid - makes this too heavy, too cloying for my taste.

[forspecial_plate]

Oh, I wanted so much to like this, based on the beautiful description and reviews! On me the jasmine stands out above all else, unless it's just my untrained schnozz blending the florals together and naming it 'jasmine'. I can sense the neroli and possibly the other florals but it boils down to heavy jasmine, at first. As time goes by I can start to smell some smokey incense notes swirling around in the background, but never quite competing with the jasmine/florals.

 

I do like jasmine so this isn't bad. Then, after maybe 3 or 4 hours, it all fades into a sort of cloying, sweet, powder smell, sort of like what silk road did on me. Almost the same smell actually, making me wonder if they have a note in common that's doing this. Not once did I detect any patchouli or vetiver at all, and the powdery finish prevents me from wanting to try it again. I can think of a couple friends who might like it though, so at least I know I can find a good home for it!

 

ETA: held onto the hope that this would work for me, and tried again a month later. This time the incense is more prominent right away, although there's still some jasmine or other florals right up front. Then the powdery phase. Then the powder actually backs off, and the mossy green herbal notes come out....maybe this is the patchouli or vetiver making its presence known. Or maybe just the mosses. At any rate, it's very faint by this time with very little throw. Still not quite a keeper, but I'm glad I tried it again.

Edited August 12, 2006 by Forspecial Plate

[neuilly]

Generous frimp from the lab...

 

Wet: Moss and incense mostly, rather dry. There is a jasmine backnote that will probably come forward soon...

 

 

Dry: The Jasmine did come to the forefront for a while but then faded to the back again leaving it just like the wet stage.

 

 

 

I honestly was expecting to hate this but in the end it wasn't bad. The mix of floral and earthy is pretty inspired. I still can't pull of any sort of earth scent though so I'll be passing this on.

[kuanyin]

Oh, I liiiiiike this one....mmm...it IS complex. Wet, I smelled spicey floral, sure enough the carnation. Other than that, I don't pick out any one note. This is Alice's Caterpillar, absolutely. Incensey, mossy, a bit floral, a little spicey. Nice throw and good lasting power. What's not to love?

[urbanruralferal]

a scratchy dry scent, a little acrid, a little herbal, definitely woody. This goes through several phases, they are not unpleasant, but not too compelling, either.

It seems to thin as the time passes, and as it thins, it settles into its jasmine component, which is surprisingly well-behaved here. (thin and soapy, not loud and soapy.)

The woods do balance the floral element of this well.

Oh, all of a sudden! I am standing in an old Spanish building in Santa Barbara, maybe up at the Mission, and in it tones are hushed if not reverent, and it is dim but not murky, while outside the light is very bright and the hills are blowing down their wild herby scent, and it is very restful being in here. A brief respite from external urgency. (it doesn't last long on me.) hand me that hookah...

 

I think this might be a good scent to travel with.

 

ETA: On full slathermode, I find that I will need to wait about half an hour after application to leave the house. The jasmine is so strong for that first part that it is almost embarrassing. What throw!

 

 

EDITED AGAIN: My co-worker wears a perfume that smells almost exactly like this scent to me at least: Tabu.

 

I do really love this blend! I will be buying a larger bottle someday...

Edited September 15, 2006 by urbanruralferal

[flyingpizza]

Wow. Playing the Mad Tea Party game is so fun, and indeed, this smells like the Caterpillar. It is a bit too heady and incensey for me to wear often, but as for the art of scent I do have to say--right on. This is the Caterpillar.

Edited August 6, 2006 by flyingpizza

[sestina]

oof. well, i'm generally a fan of everything incens-y but this one is just not for me. my first impression was of highly fragranced baby powder. that gave way after about an hour to the more specific odor of baby powder scented deodorant, and lots of it. after several hours I'm getting some of the incens-y undercurrent of older vintage perfumes and the longer I wear it, the older I feel like I smell. Perhaps this particular combination of jasmine and mosses just isn't friendly with my chemistry. but this is the only mad tea party scent I've found so far that I didn't love, so that's not a bad record.

Edited August 8, 2006 by sestina

[Neely]

In the bottle: jasmine?

 

Wet: jasmine and sweetness. Where is the carnation, the incense, the moss?

 

Dry down: apples and jasmine? WTH? I am so disappointed. No smoke, no carnation, no moss. I thought sure this would be my fav of all the Mad Tea Party.

 

30 minutes: smokey jasmine.

 

Conclusion: too floral for me. I will keep it because I am collecting all the Tea Party set in imps.

 

Rating 1-5,on my skin this is a 1.5.

[fiddlehead]

 

The Caterpillar takes me right back into the many headshops I have visited in my life. Jasmine incense, all the way! I can catch a whiff of the carnation if I concentrate. The moss seems to be hiding shyly behind the beaded curtain in the back

 

An amazing evocation of a place. A different kind of headshop smell than Luperci. Will I wear it? Only to the gatherings of true hippie musicians at which I occasionally end up. It'll take 'em right back to their youth

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this blend is a 50-50 combination of scents i love and scents i hate...

 

so wouldn't you just know it, the one i dislike most of all is the dominant one.

 

from beginning to end, all this really is, on me, is Jasmine Incense.

 

*siGh*

 

i will say this is the least-awful Jasmine-BPAL i've tried, but still.... not me.

[maijasu]

I smell mostly flowers and incense, with a hint of bergamot. It's a mellow scent with a hint of something sharp. It's nice, but not my type of scent.

[tinyvulture]

i expected this to be darker and more incense-y, but i mostly get spicy florals with a touch of citrus. no patchouli or vetiver to be found. also, it’s pretty faint. i wanted something more sultry and heavy. i’ll probably use this as a room scent, because it is pretty.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is orange blossom mixed with light musk I think. When first on this is floral with a faint hint of chocolate or cocoa. It is a light smell overall and doesn't change much on me. I don't get any of the incense or patchouli and this is much lighter than I thought it would be based on the notes in it. It's pretty nice though so I think I'l use up the imp.

[yellowrose]

This imp is traveling as part of the General Catalogue swap.

 

The Caterpillar. Not thinking or smelling, I swabbed it on and immediately regreted it. Jasmine.

 

It's a very old-fashioned smoky floral and instantly brings to mind that hookah smoking caterpillar. But jasmine. Yes, this note gets amped up to the exclusion of all others. This scent and its incense is no exception. It was so powerful, I'm afraid I had to wash it off. And it still refuses to budge.

 

Ah well, there are other mad things in the tea party to love.

 

Safe travels wandering imp!

[steffanina]

The Caterpillar-

 

In Bottle: Hard to classify. Herbal-y.

 

Wet: A brief sweet floral blast, powdery and herbal. I think I'm smelling something woody underneath (is that the vetiver?).

 

Dry: Dries down into something a little masculine, but certainly not too heavy. Herbal and wood. It fades very quickly on me, though!

 

Overall: Nice but not a lot of staying power.

[eternalargus]

In The Imp: Smells rather flowery with a hint of musk. Hmmm.

 

On The Skin: That's better, I can really smell the mosses now and it is reminding me of a really expensive incense mix. I'm not a big fan of flowery fragrances.

 

Being Blasted By The Car Heater: That's weird, I smell apples now in there too, but the fragrance is wafting up from my wrists and circulating through the car, and it's wonderful. I feel slightly stoned though.

 

Conclusion: Am definitely going to be buying this.

[Naamah_Darling]

I'm not expecting this one to go over very well on me because of all the florals, but here goes nothing. This is incensey in the bottle, and sweet from the florals – primarily jasmine. The bergamot is a light touch, very nice.

 

On, it's the smell of the incense corner at the local new-age bookstore. Wow, that's some powerful stuff! I can smell the moss, a kind of pulpy dark green scent underlying the florals and keeping them from going too sweet. This is fascinating, complex, and quite pleasant.

 

It becomes a sweet jasmine and incense scent over vetiver, intriguing, at once clean and earthy. A true signature scent, unlike any commercial perfume I've ever smelled, and certainly a work of genius. This is perfectly-balanced and definitely worth a try for anyone looking to experience what the Lab is all about.

[raspberry*tart]

The Caterpillar: In the bottle, very floral.. very green.. The description is packed with flowers and mosses so it is no surprise! On me, its taking on a spiciness but still very floral and green.. I do like this, I just hope it's not so heavy that it gives me a headache.. It's def not a light scent.. A bit incensey..

10mins later: wow, its lovely.. Incense, and kind of smokey (Images of The Caterpillar on his mushroom smokey and making letters!) Not so much "green" anymore - patchoili is coming out..

20mins later: its very complex, and its changed again.. Not sure what into - florals are hard to pin point for me. It hasnt given me a headache yet but I took nurafen plus earlier so maybe I do but I don't know it It's perhaps a bit too powdery though..

ETA: I had to wash Caterpillar off, it was very powdery and a bit grandma-ish. Not very fond of it once it has dried and settled.

[fridythirteen]

I was all fresh from the bath and ready to try one of my untested imps, and my boyfriend requested The Caterpillar, thinking it would contrast with the wet, soggy, grey weather we're having.

In the Imp: BLECH. I smell patchouli overload! I almost decide not to even attempt putting this one on my skin, but a little whiff of bergamot entices me...okay, here goes.

Wet: Huh, my skin has pretty much instantaneously eaten the patchouli. Thank goodness. This is much, much greener than I'd expected. I guess that would be the ivy and carnation? Still not sure if I like it, but I'm getting a little wave of frankincense here and there...it's comforting, like reliving my teenage goth days.

Dry: Wow, this scent is really well-crafted. I get periodic sniffs of mossy flowers, followed by the scent of smoky, musky incense. Very much like the caterpillar, smoking his hookah. It's reminding me of something...kind of like an old lady's floral perfume mixing with the incense at Easter Mass. Not bad, as I *like* old lady perfume, but it's definitely a little sharper a floral smell than I'm used to.

 

There's definitely some throw to this, and three hours later I can still smell it on. Not sure yet if I need a big bottle, but I will definitely keep the imp and try this one out again. 3.5/5

[UberAlice]

In the imp: Musty and slightly incensy yet pungent.

 

Wet: OMG. WINDSONG PERFUME. The infamous perfume that gave me headaches all through my childhood. My mom used to dump such quantities on herself that I can't smell it now without thinking of my mother. Or looking for the Advil. This does not bode well.

 

Drydown: Okay, it's chilling out a little bit now. Must have been the jasmine on my skin because it smells like sweet incense with a slight floral backdrop. Definitely okay. It does smell quite a bit like a head shop but hey, it's better than Windsong. It has picked up a slightly sour, tangy smell; maybe the vetiver? Whatever it is it tempers the jasmine very well on me.

 

Verdict: Not sure. If my body can manage to pull this incense note out in the next few tries I'm all about it. If it retains that overly cloying scent though I'm passing it right on to my mom.

[mmmitchell]

I found this scent to be a huge morpher.....which, come to think of it, is pretty appropriate, what with the caterpillar theme....

 

In the Bottle: Very incense-y, which I like, and there are all these bits of florals lurking in the background. Mmmmmm. OK, yeah, sorta that "head shop" smell, but a very upscale, posh headshop.

 

Wet: Nicely balanced, the florals all melt together, into the Caterpillar's beautiful garden blend, but it's a "secret garden", a little dark and loamy, and there's a nice green mossy scent that really works. I thought that this scent might be bottom heavy, what with all the patchouli and heavier notes, but it's not.

 

Dry: Oh no. Soso sad. All the lovely florals just went POOF! on me, and I'm left with the scent of vetiver and patchouli duking it out. Vetiver, on me, often seems to "masculinize" a previously gender-neutral scent, and that's what's happening here.

 

Later: I'm left smelling a little too guy-like for my tastes. It's great, just too male. I'd love to smell this on a guy....my spouse isn't the scent sort, but maybe I can talk one of my guy friends into trying it on for me. This may also have promise as a room scent in my oil burner or Lampe Bergere, since the problem seems, sadly, to be with me and my skin.