The Caterpillar

[strahlend]

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.

I've been wooed by The Caterpillar.

Originally I got this as a frimp, it's a scent I never would have chosen for myself in a million years. Jasmine and I have been at odds for quite some time. So I get this frimp and I smell it and set it aside. A day or so later I find myself curious to smell it again. A short while later I'm wondering why I like this scent so much and decide to finally do a skin test. Magical things happen on my wrist. I try to deny it. The imp gets put into my purse. I find myself selecting it more often than the other scents that travel with me. In my next lab order a bottle jumped into the cart. And so here I am, hopelessly in love with a scent I never, ever would have guessed I would even like.

The incense and patchouli are fantastic partners for jasmine. There's a warmth and depth here that is just fantastic. The mosses provide a lovely greenish dimension to what is otherwise a more brown/burgandy kind of scent. It reminds me of little shops at the beach, bead stores and head shops in the best possible way - which I attribute to these places usually selling large amounts of incense.

[pteron]

I was intrigued by The Caterpillar's description and curious to see how all the notes blended together.

 

Wet and initial drydown, this is 100% incense. The incense is very heady and powerful, reminiscent of the stick incense sections at stores such as Spencer's. It works for the character of The Caterpillar, but it's not an incense I particularly like. (I prefer lighter, more church-inspired incenses, which should have warned me away from choosing this in the first place.) 'No need to fear,' I told myself, 'I'm sure once the other elements kick in, the incense won't be as overpowering.'

 

Unfortunately, that never happened. I was eagerly anticipating the mosses and bergamot in here, but they never appeared. A hint of flowers came out to play briefly and patchouli permanently joined the fray, but that was all.

 

The Caterpillar might have been tolerable had it been tempered by the much-longed-for greenery, but as incense and patchouli it's very much not for me except as a good way to give me a headache. This is the second oil I've tried with patchouli that hasn't worked for me, so I'll be avoiding that note from this point on.

[tailoredshirt]

This starts off strong, heady floral, but within about ten minutes it's all hazy, illegal incense/tobacco/smoke, with a bit of floral and sweet earthiness. It is very evocative, but it doesn't last long.

 

Interesting, but I don't think this is for me. I might test it again sometime, but I don't see myself wearing it often (especially not to work!).

[meredevachon]

I used to hesitate to try anything with neroli because one of my cats HATED it. Unfortunately she is no longer with me, so I decided I would try this after all.

 

In the imp: A generic floral. And I'm not big on florals. But in the bottle and on the skin are almost never the same, so I continued.

 

Wet: Not just floral, but jasmine, and lots of it. If I really sniff, I can pick out neroli too, but mostly it's jasmine.

 

Dry: Turned soapy. Like those decorative soaps to keep in the bathroom but never use; jasmine-scented ones in this case.

 

Overall: Yeah, this one doesn't work on me. On the other hand, at least I haven't found a scent I love but can't wear because of feline finicky-ness, right?

[mymymai]

ITB:Very heavy neroli and patchouli, with perhaps a little jasmine following.

Wet: Still very heavy on the neroli and patchouli, but I'm smelling a little vetiver beneath.

Dry: (2.5 hours later) It has softened considerably, also patchouli and neroli are still the prominent notes. I can now smell some carnation and just a little vetiver. I just wished the jasmine was more evident.

[voorishsign]

A frimp from the Lab - without exception, the Mad Tea Party scents have been nothing but fail on me. I don't hold high hopes for this either - I can't stand carnation, jasmine nor neroli, but I do like moss, incense, patchouli and vetiver. Here we go again.

 

In the imp, this is vetiver, jasmine and carnation. Not too awful, but I'm not sold.

 

On wet, carnation and jasmine are blooming. Vetiver calms it all down but it's still too floral for my tastes.

 

On drydown, the flowers mellow a littlebit - bergamot, patchouli, incense and vetiver take over a bit more - but it's still too floral for me. Pass. Shame

[Argentwolf]

The florals kind of blend into a damp grass smell, over which sweet incense wafts. A really interesting and pleasant mix -- I like it a lot.

[starfish327]

i really want to like the caterpillar, but i'm not sure he wants to like me back.

 

i'm constantly hunting for spicy/incense blends, they're my current obsession. the caterpillar comes close.

 

in the imp: smells similar to a lot of the incense blends that i have in my collection- slightly woody and spicy. touch of sweetness.

 

wet: nice. heavy sweet incense. in fact it smells like the new age shop in the mall. i can live with this even if people in my social circle would laugh at me.

 

dry:...crap. this went to perfume: nothing but sweet florals. to be fair this is the first jasmine heavy blend that i can wear, which is making me wonder if it's the jasmine i even have problems with. same with the carnation. though it may just be balanced out with the other notes.

 

but it also seems to be an indecisive caterpillar because he can't make up his mind and periodically i amp the patch and vetiver again.

 

i think that i'm going to keep this one for another full wearing and see what happens, because i have a feeling that this is more an issue of disconnect with what i thought it would smell like more than not liking how it smells.

[DalekParty]

Incense and Patchouli. I agree with the greenish assessment. It has a bitter tinge that isn't working for me.

 

Seems like it'd work well for men as well.

[tallan]

Carnation! Then patchouli. Then jasmine. Lots of sharp jasmine. That's all I get from this one. It's not bad, it's just not a combination that works for me, apparently. It's probably the carnation's fault. Whenever possible, blame it on the carnation.

 

Keep: No

Bottle: No

[SophieCedar]

I smell mostly jasmine, a spike of carnation, and the brown moss, incense notes, and vetivert. The iris was around when it was wet, but quickly disappeared. I can tell I'll totally be feeling this some day, just not today.

Edited December 31, 2010 by SophieCedar

[dicyfer]

When I smell this I immediately imagine burrowing deep into the ground and being surrounded by damp fragrant dirt and moss. Which is a good thing. Strangely comforting. Also makes me think of the movie Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind, but I may just be taking the "caterpillar" thing too far.

 

I'm still a perfume noob so I can't really identify what notes make me like this so much. It may be the neroli. It is very damp and green. This scent also reminds me a bit of moth balls, which I may be a little weird because I like that. Over-all, it depends on what my family thinks, whether they can smell this and get the same positive reaction as myself. I would definitely go for a bottle!

[stellamaris]

This is pure heaven, and it will be in my next order. It's rich and heavy, but not headachey, and there are no unpleasant notes for me. Gorgeous. It's like a medieval tapestry, beautiful and intricate.

[Honey]

One of my first scents - although it was a frimp from the Lab.

 

 

Imp: Very heavy. I smell incense, patchouli, bergamot.. and something floral, which I am sure must be jasmin and/or carnation. I get the dark wetness that must be the moss.

 

Wet: Sharp and herbal. Earthy. Patchouli and moss I think. Something floral in the background.

 

Dry: Incense and something herbal. Dark mosses, vetiver and bergamot. Rather earthy, masculine and heavy. Turns soapy on my skin.

 

 

Nice harmonic blend but too heavy and tart/tangy for me.

[Corvidchaser]

Am I the only who can smell the bergamot in there? It has a slight citrus kick to the mossy beginnings after about an hour of wearing. Maybe its because bergamot is one of my favourite scents. I see so much dark green in this scent, definitely the moss.

Very floral but more like dried flowers since the smokey/incense notes mix with it. I agree with everyone who says its a layered scent which need concentration to understand it but perhaps that's what The Caterpillar wants. To confuse you first.

[Skygal]

To me, this one smells EXACTLY like Satya Sai Baba's Nag Champa incense! mmm...

[Juushika]

In the vial: It's hard to say, but to be honest I think I mostly get citrus—there's other details and notes underneath, busy but unnameable; mostly it's bergamont and neroli.

 

On me: The patchouli and vetiver are the easiest to pick out at first, but they're not alone—they're potent notes I know and can easily recognize, but the rest of the list is mixed up beneath them. After a minute the incense comes in, warming up the scent, and that's the heart of The Caterpillar: smoky, dark, resinous, but not particularly overwhelming, a warm and smooth blend of patchouli/vetiver/incense classics. The other notes are there, but they pop up one at a time, unevenly, each combining well with the base scent but no more than one or two ever appearing at a time such that this never becomes a single unified blend. There's a mossy herbal, and then a surprisingly and pleasantly potent carnation, and then something a bit perfumey (jasmine? I doubt it's iris) with a powdery edge, and then there's something sweeter and fruitier (perhaps the neroli/bergamont again), and then more carnation, and a continuing random parade of the other notes come one by one. A master morpher indeed. Throw is moderate.

 

Verdict: It's hard to say. Each of the facets works well on my skin, with the occasional exception of the jasmine (as florals aren't my style, and this one goes a little grandma's soap on me). Some, like the carnation, are quite good—carnation likes to get swallowed by other notes on my skin, but here its a rich spicy-sweetness and absolutely fantastic. I'm fond of the heart notes, and they combine well —they're less headshoppy on me than they seem to be on others, and also remarkably smooth and calm despite their tendency towards potency. But I like to know what I'm getting out of a scent, and The Caterpillar never does decide. Its rotation of notes is unusual and surprisingly successful, but I don't know if I'd be able to wear it with any regularity. I'll hang onto my imp and test again.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Juushika

[SadariEvenstar]

This is the first scent that my husband made me wash off. He took one wiff, made a terrible face, and said that it smelled just like a urinal.

[grnwoodtree]

Oy vey - how can something that sounds so wonderful be a simply stifling, stale old lady perfume smell? I get nothing but a scent similar to a bottle of very old avon perfume my Grandma might have kept on her dresser.

[karykeion]

In the imp: Getting jasmine, incense, and bergamot. I don't really like heavily incensey scents, but this is nice, as those go!

 

On me, wet: Smoke and incense, moss, and patchouli. It's a very purple scent to me. As it dries, I get more of the florals--mostly iris and !!jasmine!!, but full of incense notes. For some reason, this doesn't come off as a headshop to me and smells more like a really smoky forest? But in a "hanging out in the magical woods" way, not in a "forest fire" way

 

On me, dry: It's really not my type of the perfume, but I think I'll keep the imp around, because I actually like it. I like BPAL's forest and moss notes, I think, and the incense lends some mystery to it. It's a dark and purple-green smoky scent. I have no idea where I'd wear it, but I'm glad I tried it.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: The PATCHOULI-pillar.

Wet: Incensey jasmine.

Dry: That's it, pretty much. Meh.

[SkySamuelle]

Sadly, on me this one is nothing but man's cologne. And after a foursome of hours, it goes straight to baby powder. The Caterpillar and my skin don't get along well, i think it's a sure to tell thing.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Deep florals, heady and sweet, jasmine and carnation and iris, and heavy, almost bitter resins and incense. Patchouli, very clearly.

 

Wet: Heavy, dusty moss and patchouli with sweet florals. Incensey and heavy and very, very head-shoppy, although not in a bad way.

 

Dry: Perfect '70s headshop with heavy florals, dust and patchouli. It's very nice, but I have other hippie scents I like more (like Banshee Beat!)

[Quillifer]

All I get is jasmine, stinky, soiled nappies (diapers) jasmine. Very disappointing - but actually not really, because it was a frimp. I know jasmine is a surefire deathnote for me and I'd never have ordered it. But still "like sitting in a garden at dusk" sounds gorgeous, and I love patchouli and vetiver. Oh well, have loved several others from this order.

Edited December 18, 2012 by Quillifer

[4807]

This scent was an absolute disaster on my skin. I had to wash it off pretty immediately because it amped the scent of fresh dog poo. Bergamot and I do not work on any level.