'Tis The Voice Of The Lobster

[Heavenlyrabbit]

'TIS THE VOICE OF THE LOBSTER
’Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare
’You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair.’
As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose
Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes.
When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark,
And will talk in contemptuous tones of the shark;
But, when the tide rises and sharks are around,
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound.

I passed by his garden and marked, with one eye,
How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie:
The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat,
While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat.
When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon,
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon:
While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,
And concluded the banquet by—

A woody, musky-weird base glooping over with blackberry preserves, a twist of mandarin, strawberry juice, pulverized watermelon, and a handful of smushed gardenia petals.

Thumbs its nose at The Sluggard.

This is my favorite of the new MTP blends, I think. And that's a hard thing to say cause they are all pretty much weird and wonderful.

First thing I get is blackberry perserves and musk. Then a delicious wave of extra fruitiness which I couldn't identify right off followed by a floral that made me think - expensive men's cologne. Looking at the notes and seeing Gardenia was a shock. Gardenia? Somehow I must be linking the "woody, musky-weird base" with the floral there. So this might be a good one for guys to sample.

Very pretty but surprisingly less girly and foody as I thought it'd be from reading the notes.

[Dracoo9]

To me this is mostly strawberry and watermelon with light gardenia in the background. I was a bit nervous at first because typically flowers like gardenia become floral beasts on me but not with this blend It also carried an undertone similiar to crawdad dream, almost aquatic but not quite.

[hkhm]

imp: hyper-sweet fruit. the mandarin stands out over the rest of them.

 

wet: the gardenia amps up at once, mixing with the fruits and making this an in-your-face cute scent. i could see this scent working really well on a cute little flower-girl.

 

dry: i suppose if i really liked gardenia, i'd get a bottle of this. i'm not terribly fond of gardenia but i do like this blend. however, this imp will last me a long, long time (it's that strong).

[Eutectic]

In the imp: Watermellon Bonnie Bell lip gloss was the first thing I thought of...LOL

 

Wet--Watermellon starts to fade off a bit as the other fruits start to bloom.

 

Dry--The fruits all mingle to make a subtle sweet fruitiness while the other notes come to the surface. It has an edge to it which makes this scent so much more then just a fruity scent. I knew I would like this but it's really quite stunning in its complexity.

[AnArtfuldodger]

In the imp: Watermelon, all the way.

 

Wet on wrist: FRUIIIIT. This is watermelon and preserves and sugar and melon and melon and melon and melon! OM NOM.

 

On the drydown: This is really sugary fruit. It's sort of like wearing a fruit salad with some spoonfuls of sugar on top. It's very fresh fruit, too -- juicy and cool and sweet. It seems to be fading rather quickly on me though, so it may simmer down a bit so it's not FRUIT but fruit. Not sure if I'll buy a bottle, but I'll definitely use the imp up. I'm a little worried if I wore this out, I'd attract bees (I really don't worry about that with any of my other bottle scents) -- I'm so sweet and juicy!

 

You know, that's it. In the Regina Spektor song when she sings about tangerines and says "So sweet and juicy!" she is CLEARLY actually talking about this perfume.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: SO odd. Gardenia, watermelon, berries, citrus… all mashed together.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells just so weird. It’s a mish-mashed, complex scent. The watermelon and gardenia are the most evident notes to me, followed by citrus and berries. This blend is bright and fruity with an equal amount of gummy gardenia.

 

After a little while: This has gotten even sweeter on my skin. It’s like watermelon, gardenia, and berry candy. The higher citrus note has all but faded however. This scent is VERY sweet.

 

Overall Impressions: Super fruity and sweet, this blend is a mix of watermelon, gardenia, berry, and (at first) citrus. Very fun, childlike, and happy. Odd, but nice.

 

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Light yellow oil. Tart, fruity, fresh, with a sort of spicy/musky base. I get LOADS of mandarin, a little tart melon and strawberry, some feminine gardenia and definitely the wood/musk based. The blackberry preserves are unlike BPAL's typical blackberry note, and are not super strong.

 

Wet: Sweeter, spicier, less tart. Much less mandarin, ALREADY. Sigh! Watermelon, though, is very front-and-center. Lighter strawberry and blackberry (very much a 'cooked berry' subtle scent). Gardenia has amped up almost immediately, but so far it seems to be a well-behaved, non-headache-inducing varietal. The woody base is stronger too, and a little dry as well as spicy. Maybe some type of sandalwood and maybe even a little teak?

 

Dry: Very strong throw! The spicy wood and musk have majorly amped - this is much more serious/dark/mature/complex than I expected - and it's somehow gotten tarter, the mandarin has returned and the watermelon is very strong. Gardenia is also very strong, almost too much so, but still bearable. The blackberry has amped a tiny bit and reminds me of blackberry pie filling.

 

Later: I swear there is something like cardamom in this, maybe coriander? Yeah, I'm going with coriander. A dry, woody sort of spice, but without the bite of cardamom. I still get the sandalwood and musk, more lightly than the spice, and I can't place the musk. I would say the fruits (other than the watermelon) have faded, while the gardenia holds and those wood/spice/musk notes have amped.

 

Summary: The spice and wood settle as more musk emerges, so that all are on par with the gardenia. The fruit is, sadly, an afterthought, though all notes do hold distinctly with watermelon in the lead. It is not nearly as fruity as I'd hope and the gardenia is predictably domineering, though still wearable. To retest. It is definitely the best watermelon scent I've tried. Great throw and longevity.

[angelicruin]

Whoo in the imp, this is fruit juicy musk.

 

Wet on the skin, this just bursts in strawberry, tangerine, and blackberry with hints of gardenia that come out and then fade behind the fruits only to emerge again a few minutes later.

 

This scent has a wonderful blackberry note in it. I think I need a bottle of this stuff.

 

Dries down to a fizzy citrus berry punch musk. :heart:

[Saya]

On me the fruits really pop in this blend. The most dominant note would be the mandarin, followed by the watermelon and strawberry. It makes for a nice, bright blend that is fresh and perfect for summer. I can see myself reaching for this one quite a bit.

 

Rating 4 out of 5.

[moon_lemming]

More Bubble Yum. This time I'm smelling grape Bubble Yum in the vial. Once I stick Lobster on my skin, though, I can smell the watermelon and strawberry and a bit of citrus that I thought was lime, but must be mandarin. The strawberry gets stronger as the oil dries. There's something not fruity keeping it from being TOO MUCH. Maybe the musk?

 

I am happy to report that the gardenia doesn't show up for me -- it's one of those florals that turns to detergent once it runs into my chemistry. I also don't get any woods. 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster, in the end, is a fruity sticky scent, heavy on the strawberry, with some sort of quiet maybe-musk base keeping it from flying away. It doesn't have a lot of throw, but it stays on my skin longer than I expected given the fruitiness.

[Leopard403]

I can't decide if I like 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster or not. On me, at one whiff it is bright, juicy fruits with a very soft, perfume-y background that must be the florals; very summery. But then the next whiff I get old forest, just on the pleasant side of wood rot. I actually think this would be much better on my boyfriend than on me.

[izile]

In the imp: at first I smell the woods, right up front, then there's this really nice fruitiness, but I can't deside if it's the blackberry jam or the strawberry juice. . . definitely mandarin in there too. . .I can't smell anything watermelon-like or gardenia-like. The berries are a bit elusive in the imp, keeps getting overwhelmed by the woody notes.

 

wet: damnit! who said bubbleyum? I smell bubbleyum. *grumble* yup, that's all i can smell/think of now, is original bubbleyum gum.

 

dry: at a distance, I smell a kind of mandarin-watermelon mix that drifts up now and again, away from the other notes. Up close, there's still a little woody background coming back, and the fore still smells like bubbleyum, it's a lot milder and less screamy-GUM!!, but it's still what I'm getting.

[HappyLoveJoy]

On me this smells like fruity/floral/potpourri air freshener. The old-fashioned Glade kind that left a big powdery cloud of dusty fragrance in the air. Or even like that carpet fresh stuff you sprinkled on and vacuumed up. It's not any specific fruit to my nose but a blend of fruits that creates one fruit smell. I adore Prospero and Hollywood Babylon for their rich, dark, smoldering fruit but Lobster isn't doing anything like that for me. Bummer.

[LizzyLies]

The first thing that hits me in the imp is watermelon--like, the candy sort.

On the skin it's mandarin oranges, watermelon, and I think I'm getting strawberry--though it appears to be peeking out shyly. This seems like the perfect summer scent for me; it's fun, fruit-tastic, and cheery. This, I like. However, I think an imp will be more than enough for now.

[Monster]

In the imp: Sweet tarts, bubble gum, delicious fruity candies! Yum

 

Wet: Ohhhh boy. This just might be the best fruity scent the Lab as put out since Fruit Moon This is a big mash-up of juicy, fruity candies...heavy on the watermelon and strawberry. The gardenia is just barely there...it's floating in the background greating almost a sort of grassy smell.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same from top to bottom. The musk is more present as this settles into my skin. It provides a nice base for the fruit notes to sit on (so my skin doesn't no nom them up.) Dry, this is all yummy Sweet Tart candies, watermelon Jolly Ranchers and a gentle base of sweet musk.

 

Overall: I love it! This reminds me of Fruit Moon...light. Such a delicious, fun smelling perfume. I will be using ALL of this imp and most likely picking up a larger bottle in the future. Yummeh!

[Gin]

'Tis The Voice of The Lobster = Watermelon! And definitely a "woody, musky-weird base." I would have guessed moss--it smells earthy, but not dirt-y, but when I saw the Lab description I nearly did a spit-take 'cause musky-weird is so much better than mossy. Dry, it smells like fruit. Kind of like strawberry preserves, which is probably the blackberry preserves + the strawberry juice. I like this one quite a bit. I don't know that I'll need a bottle, but I'll use up the imp.

[Iceblink]

Fruity YUM! This is so gorgeous! Gardenia tends to die on me but here it's just a nice flowery addition keeping the blend from smelling too candy-like. I get a lot of berry and melon; it's like a delicious fruit salad. Summery and wonderful.

[annanwater]

Mmm, I love this scent. It starts off smelling like watermelon Jolly Ranchers (which I liked, but didn't want to wear as a scent). On drydown, the gardenia and strawberry come out to play, mellowing it out and turning it into something just beautiful. Eutectic's description was right on for me...it is so stunning and complex. I think this goes on my ever-growing 5ml list. I can't stop sniffing my skin where I tested this.

 

ETA: There's a note in this that goes the same beautiful way as Poisoned Apple. I've no idea what it is exactly, but I suspect it's something in the "woody, musky-weird base." Wish I knew exactly what it is, I've been trying to track it down since I tried Poisoned Apple...I want to buy every BPAL with that scent.

Edited August 11, 2009 by annanwater

[Blood onmy hands]

Smelling this in the imp, my first thought was "craft store." It's an overwhelming mishmash of sweet, fakey fruit notes with something oddly perfumey and artificial laying over the whole thing. Not good.

 

I think that I'm hating the "musky-weird base." On my skin, this is a sharp, perfumey musk, a fresh spray of orange citrus, and watermelon candy. I love how juicy and realistic the mandarin smells; it's like peeling a fresh orange. The mandarin isn't enough to save this blend for me, though. As this dries down, I'm just getting an overall impression of too many cheap home fragrances crammed into one area. It's all perfumey and artificial smelling on me .

 

Voice of the Lobster started to give me a headache after I had it on for about fifteen minutes, so I had to scrub it off. I had really high hopes for this scent, but it's too perfumey, sickly sweet, and artificial smelling. It smells more like a potpourri scent to me than a personal perfume...

[oakmoss]

Trying this without reading the notes, I detect a berry-rich fruitiness, with melon wafting underneath. Prickling through here and there is what my mind's nose interprets as pink pepper -- reading the notes now, I have no idea what that might be. Two hours after applying, all fruit is gone, leaving a faint trace of musk. Nice, but I don't love it. Something to play with now and then in imp form.

[Schmoozy]

 

Fruity, citrus and definitely weird. Something's off in this blend and it has to be the musky-weird base. Unfortunately it just ruins the rest of the notes for me. This had the possibility to be something great. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

 

[inkaddict]

Urgh, the bubblegum berry strikes again.

 

Wet:On me this is all blackberry jam with a bit of strawberry juice, all the time. No Gardenia, maybe a hint of melon, no mandarin.

A fake, plasticky super-sweet berry salad? This reminds me of a less sticky sweet Tomoe Gozen, it's fresher, but the bubblegum feel is similar.

 

Dry: The berries toned down a bit, and the base it's not bad but all in all it's just not for me.

 

Verdict: Bubblegum. Not already chewed and covered in honey like Tomoe Gozen, but still bubblegummy enough for me to back away slowly and put the imp in the swap pile.

[Lyrical]

In the vial: this scent could only belong in the Mad Tea Party section! It's got that warm fruity-musky feeling that Tweedledum has, with all the notes blending together into something slightly absurd but very pleasant!

 

Wet on skin: watermelon! Yay! A delicious mix of warm, juicy fruits over something that is indeed a woody, musky-weird base, although to my nose it has more wood than musk. Yum!

 

Dry on skin: great throw! This is definitely not one that needs slathering! It's still the same warm, sweet fruitiness, with the woody, musky-weird base just grounding it nicely. Definitely in the same family as Tweedledum, but a little less like like bubble bath than Tweedledum was! A keeper!

[zankoku_zen]

Oh yum! This has to be the best BPAL watermelon blend ever. I mean, I get watermelon with hints of blackberry and strawberries on wet, but watermelon is definitely front and center. As it dries, I get this woodsy spice, slightly peppery on me, which might be coriander. As it dries, it gets slightly more musky.

 

Erm.

 

Yeah. I really like this one. More so than High Strung Daisies.

[dawndie]

Wet: sweet berries

 

On skin: tangy watermelon

 

Half-hour later: the musky base has warmed up with lots of fruit

 

In conclusion: I love the sweet watermelon in this, and it's fine that I don't get any of the other fruits. Plus the musk anchors it to my skin and keeps it going. This one is so fun and refreshing!