The Caterpillar

[seamor]

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.

Oooooh, I've wanted to try this for some time! (Woohoo! Thanks for the swap, Kat!) Let's see ...

Wet: Heavy, dark, kinda musky. Must be the vetiver.

Almost immediately morphs to a luscious carnation, neroli, jarmine, bergamot, (iris?) combo. (I know this because I read the description, not because I can pick out the notes.) This is a terrific combination - one of the better florals I've ever had the pleasure of sniffing. "Beautiful, wonderful, gorgeous, luscious, exquisite" are getting a little repetitive after a number of reviews of BPAL scents, but they all apply here and I can't seem to come up with another adjective at the moment.

Sadly, about 1/2 hour later I am left with primarily patchouli, a little vetiver, something honey-like, and a hint of carnation. It's quite pleasant, but there's just no comparison to that amazing initial floral burst. Later yet, a bit of the iris seems to be sneaking back in, but I'm just too saddened by the loss of the other flowers to appreciate it.

NOTE: All who read this review, please be aware that my skin eats flowers. It's entirely possible that your skin does not eat, and may even befriend, flowers. If so - lucky, lucky you! Try The Caterpillar!

But in the land of celtimor all is patchouli tonight, and melancholy sighing. The flower-eating skin monster has gorged itself again, and a bottle of The Caterpillar is no longer foreseen in a now dimmer future ...

[coldandsleepy]

In the imp: incense, incense, incense. I'm surprised by how sweet and... purple? ... it smells.

 

On me, wet: this is like HI, VETIVER, which is okay because I like vetiver but was not really what I wanted out of this.

 

On me, dry: the other elements of this scent succeed in putting down the vetiver rebellion. It turns into the most lovely sweet incense smell on me, with just a little hint of vetiver and no real detectable patchouli. There aren't any notes that scream "food" in this, but the overall scent is foodie to me. It smells delicious and heady and wonderful.

 

Throw and duration: I wore this when I had a bad headache, so it seemed really, really strong. This may have just been my headache talking. Duration was very good, though; I got at least 10 hours out of this.

 

Overall: Definitely in love with this. I'd worried that I wouldn't like it (seemed too manly, and I don't like patchouli, and and and) but factually speaking, I do. Hanging on to the imp, for real for real.

[grashopper8]

WOW I am shocked by how impressed I am by this scent!!! Thanks for the frimp, sookster, I think you've enabled me towards bottle-dom with this one!

 

I can pick out the jasmine, but other than that, The Caterpillar is well-blended as a silky floral/incense. It's absolutely divine to me, it's got some of my favorite florals (jasmine and neroli), and the carnation is even working here, which is a note I usually avoid. I think it's the casually mentioned "incense" note that's winning my heart. It's just incredible!

 

I can't imagine living without more. This is the first Wonderland scent that's had me swooning for 5mL, I can't wait to make my next lab order!

 

4.9 out of 5

[donnatron]

Bottle: Mostly vetiver with a touch of florals.

 

Wet: The Caterpillar is the type of scent that just blooms when you put it on your skin. The vetiver meets up with the patchouli to create dense, dark base. The florals are lush and heady. The incense starts to peak out. This is definitely a headshop type of scent, but it's incredibly artfully done.

 

Dry: This comes together into an intense, smoky incense. It perfectly evokes the Caterpillar--I get a damp, mossy forest feeling with the waft of incense and an altogether trippiness of the scent. I'm also in love with this scent because it whips the moss scent into shape, which does not often happen on my chemistry.

 

Throw: Good.

 

Overall: The Caterpillar was my first BPAL and my first BPAL love. I can't believe it's taken me this long to sing his praises.

[Lethran]

It’s vetiver, so I’m sticking to in the bottle: This is shockingly good for a vetiver scent, really it is. I like the balance of quality florals over darker, earthier elements. This scent is beautifully balanced and smells like freshly weeded garden.

[hkhm]

imp: jasmine, carnation, iris... this is a floral trainwreck on first sniff.

 

wet: this is like a candied jasmine incense scent. there is not other way to describe it.

 

dry: still a candied floral incense scent, though lighter and closer to the skin. if this were a different arrangement of florals i would be all over a bottle.

[Indigo78]

To my nose this is sharp in the imp. Sharply sweet carnation and jasmine, and I am not excited.

 

On the skin it dries down to reveal strong Jasmine and hints of carnation, but this isn't making me squee for a 5mL order right now. The dry down is unremarkable as well, NO mosses, NO patchouli, and NO vetivert. I kid not - and those three are usually powerhouses on my skin...

 

ETA: Just gave this one a second try, and got a bit less sharpness. Perhaps this is one that mellows with time.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Indig0

[goblinshark]

The Caterpillar was a free gift from the lab. I was excited to try it on, it was on my wishlist.

 

However, my boyfriend and I both had the same reaction with it: on our skin, after it dried down, it smelled like CORN TORTILLAS. ?? Not something I really want to smell like.

[undream]

such a lovely, sweet, humid garden! it turns mostly all sweet jasmine on me, and the throw, as usual with jasmine, is absolutely diviiiine. but alas, as is also usually the case with jasmine on me; up close to my skin? ... hairspray.

 

but all is not a loss! at least i got to try it. :small:

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Patchouli and jasmine. Not a good combination for me to start with

 

On Application

As above but more patchouli than jasmine

 

Dry Down

5 mins into the drydown this picks up an earthiness which improves things. This is so not me. Smells like some dim and dank crafty store with old incense.

 

Rating (0-5)

1

[crebbsgirl]

I just got an imp of this last week, and I'm already in LOVE. The Caterpillar is unlike any scent I've ever tried before. It was a beautiful, dark blend that turned slightly incense-y on the drydown. I could not keep from sniffing my wrists all day. The jasmine and carnation balanced each other beautifully, and there was a certain spicy note that came out after a bit that I couldn't pin down but smelled delicious nonetheless. I'm not sure if it's my skin chemistry or what, but this smelled slighly reminicent of Charlie by Revlon on me. Weird huh?

[mylogicsaysburnsendmeaway]

Oh I wanted to try this so bad, but decided to put it off because of the patchouli, which I love but I hate people thinking I'm a pothead, and then I feared to try it because the jasmine and moss combo in Nuit went bugspray on me. But the lab gifted me this as a frimp.

 

This is gorgeous jasmine for 30 minutes of so, then resin joy of Vetiver, and patchouli. Then total head shop incense rack, including a very subdued jasmine. This is delightful, but it fades to powder after 3- 4 hours. In this incense hinted powder the orange comes out- bergamot and neroli- and I get a hint of orange creamsicle. I think of a warm blanket wrapped around me. Comforting but not strong enough to be practical for a perfume. Maybe with age.

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Totally jasmine

 

On me: *checks notes, checks label* Huh. I wasn't expecting pure florals from this. It's almost all jasmine on my skin. No incense, patchouli, or vetiver. Just a really sweet floral. Well, I guess the Caterpillar is nothing if not confused!

[Schmoozy]

While the Mad Tea Party, is one of my favorite collections from the BPAL catalog, The Caterpillar is unfortunately not a winner for me.

I still had to try it of course, but it contains too many deal breaker notes such as jasmine, pacthouli and incense notes.

 

I had high hopes that maybe rose, carnation, bergamot or even the neroli would try to break through the other notes, but alas, Jasmine prevails, and I can only smell it and patchouli which make me very ill.

 

Oh well, I can't love them all, right?

[angelicruin]

Very earthy scent. The patchouli adds a smokiness to the scent. The combination of patchouli and florals does not work with my skin chemistry.

[Iceblink]

Earthy patchouli goodness, and for once the jasmine doesn't go to 11 on me. Nice! After about an hour I get a sweetness from the neroli but mostly The Caterpillar is mossy and green.

[NixieCakes]

This. Is. Gorgeous. A store I used to work at sold wildberry brand incense. This is what it smelled like when I opened the box of shipment. It smells like a myriad of incense sticks, NOT incense smoke. I love it. I think Mum would love it too. May have to order 2 bottles then.

[Suu4LC]

Hmm...this sounds like it might be an awesome incense blend. The only thing that worries me is the vetiver. It is my doom note. I don't think I've found a blend yet that has vetiver in it that works on me.

 

Hmm, in the imp, this is not bad. Incensey jasmine and other florals. The jasmine is quite strong in this on first sniff.

 

Thankfully on my skin, the vetiver doesn't take over-I can't even notice it. The jasmine is definitely the strongest to me in this...if you hate jasmine, I'd steer clear.

 

Honestly, on full drydown this is just kind of a meh jasmine scent. I barely get any of the other notes at all. A baby whiff of carnation or patchouli here and there, but mostly just a slightly incensey jasmine. Not for me!

 

ETA: As it continues to dry, it turns from jasmine heavy to patchouli heavy. Still just meh. I'd prefer the jasmine over the patchouli.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Suu4LC

[lothien]

I picked this imp up off the forums because I have decided to get brave and find other flowers besides rose that like me. This one has darker elements that appeal to me.

 

In the imp this doesn't make a huge impression. It certainly doesn't say "Don't do it!"

 

Wet, I get flowers. Distinctly carnation and distinctly jasmine in turns, very strong, almost nail polish... but I have learned to give it a minute or two. Don't panic yet. Carnation has behaved in the past - if the jasmine doesn't turn on me, this could work.

In ten minutes, I am totally surprised. This isn't going to go haywire on me. It's gorgeous. It's what I was hoping Languo/our would be. It's soft and complex and I still have flowers, but layers of others things like iris and moss and vetiver that stay close to the skin. The bergamot floats more, with the jasmine and incense. I was worried about the patchouli when I bought it, but it only serves to blend in with the other earthy parts as a base for the flowers, it never says "HAI!PACHOOLEE!" or edges anything else out of the way.

 

I really really like this. I am shocked at how much I like this. If I don't get a bottle I should at least pick up back-up imps - It seems that it would be better to slather this one a bit to start, than to reapply smaller amounts and have to go through the flower burn-off every time...

 

Woot!

Win!

[Mimosatique]

Wet: Blooming jasmine, hint of soft carnation, and incense.

 

Dry: Jasmine has mellowed out and allowed carnations, vetiver, iris, and incense to come out and play.

 

Verdict: Lovely dry down. It's a soft powdery-ish incense, but not soapy powder or honey powder scent that I dont like. The florals and vetiver with soft incense really transformed to something dreamy and soft an hour later upon application.... No doubt the caterpillar has turned into a beautiful butterfly. GREAT comfy and pretty scent.

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Smoky forest, deep and sharp and tannic.

 

Wet: Smoke first, but then jasmine layered over a base of other flowers. Although the green notes haven't subsided, they've been surpassed.

 

Half an hour: I'm amping this one. Strong incense notes, maybe the strongest I've gotten in a BPAL scent. The jasmine's blended back into the other florals; blended together like that they're very sweet but not at all headachy. The dark green notes have stayed at the bottom of the scent, grounding it. I'm not noticing the patchouli per se, nor the vetiver. I wouldn't want to smell like this on a regular basis, but it sure does smell good! Definitely smells like a room filled with incense and waterpipe smoke.

 

One hour: It reminds me of an Indian incense I once owned, a strongly floral one yet exotic, non-Western. I can't make out any of the individual floral notes, nor anything else any more.

 

Two hours: Floral Indian incense. It smells very blue to me.

 

Three hours: Still floral Indian incense, and I think it's officially a fail on me.

[aviva]

all i can smell is jean nate, which is something my grandmother wore...totally not wearable for me.

[MCS4096]

In the Imp: Hmm.. very very similar to Bruised Violet Compound, only more jasminey than violety, but definitely the same "moist moss and ground" notes. At this point the incense is mostly just making the whole scene smoky. Overall it does remind me of some jasmine incense sticks I have.

 

Wet: Pretty much the same.. it is sweetening up a bit, but that patchouli and vetiver are still strong.

 

Dry: This is like Bruised Violet Compound with incense. I like it a lot, but as I already have BVC, I'll probably not get a bottle of this.

[Lamia]

Gah. This starts nicely, smelling like a guy who works in an Asian grocery stores in Chinatown - the ones on street level, rather than the ones in the basement level. Alas, it turns to saliva and Asian grocery store. Trade bag!

[Saya]

In the Imp

Patchouli, vetiver and the mosses are the readily apparent notes so far. This blend is heavy, smooth and complex.

 

On My Skin

So this is what people are talking about when they say patchouli smells like BO (at least I’m assuming it’s the patchouli). Gross. It smells dirtry, like nasty body odor with a pinch of mold for good measure. I’m giving this one hour to work, if not I’m scrubbing it off.

 

After a Bit

Some of the epic stink has died down but this still isn’t pleasant smelling.

 

Rating 1-5 (5 being best)

Scent - 1 Throw - 4 Longevity - 3 lasted about six hours

Overall (not an average) - 1.1

 

Final Thoughts

After reading the review I thought this blend would be wonderful. I had no idea that it would be wonderfully bad. Off to swaps!

 

Edited to add scent description, this blend is still the epic stink of the world.

Edited January 11, 2009 by Shollin
Removed description; merging duplicate posts on a previous page made this no longer a page-topper. But thanks for adding it, Saya! --Shollin