The Little Wooden Doll

[hkhm]

Gently carved wood warm with a maternal love that reaches beyond death: rose-infused amber and soft golden sandalwood.

imp: this smells like rosewood.

wet: very woodsy, like a cross between rosewood and sandalwood. this is the smell that an old desk-drawer has after it's held faded rose potpourri long past it's prime. it's that exact smell.

dry: this is one of the rare rose scents that has not gone all sharp soapy awfulness on me. it's a rich rose and wood scent, sort of like a lighter version of séance.

[theseagrows]

wow, this is a really pretty scent. at first i wasn't so sure, because i got a weird sour thing that i often do from wood notes. now that the sourness has faded, this smells like a candied rose with a hint of amber. i LOVE how this turns candyish on me. it's like hope is a sugary rose, but this is a candied-rose, and i think i might need a bottle of this too.

Edited June 22, 2010 by theseagrows

[TheIceMaiden]

This is such a lovely scent, and it really does tell a story. It starts off smelling woodsy and slightly dusty, like woodchips or shavings. I swear I even smell a flash of wood varnish! As it dries, the sandalwood soften and gradually fades away to reveal the rose-infused amber.

[starfish327]

woody, earthy rose. the rose behaves better than in a lot of blends, but wooden doll strikes me as being too feminine and tame for my tastes. it's nice if not a little mundane.

[brettashley]

Wet: I get a lot of the rose-infused amber at this stage. There is a hint of a wood, but right now, it's mostly just ROSE and AMBER. I'm not a big fan of rose, so I hope the scent changes.

 

Dry: Here, the sandalwood comes out - a lot. Rose and amber recede to the background, and I'm left sniffing sandalwood. Lasts pretty long (still smelled it when I went to sleep at night).

 

It's a nice scent, but not one I'm really in love with. The wood is a bit smelly at first too, but it gets softer as it wears on. Strong sandalwood leaves me feeling like it's Chinese New Year's (sandalwood is commonly used as incense in Chinese temples), and it's a weird association for me to be having. I might like it in a differently blended or more appropriate scent, I think, but The Little Wooden Doll is not for me.

[Truelove]

Smells like baby powder squared on me. Hmmmm…. don’t think I like it.

[voodoobaby]

Wet, this is heavier on the rose than anything, with sandalwood as a close second. The rose scent is very similar to Nemesis -- it's that dried, almost potpourri-esque smell. I like it, but it's so similar that's hard for me to make a distinction at this point.

 

A little later the sandalwood tames the rose a bit, and it is lovely indeed. It's deep and just a little feminine. It isn't until much later that I'm left with little more than a soft amber scent that sticks close to the skin.

 

This is quite nice. Very pretty.

[Soniadevi]

The Little Wooden Doll: the name of the scent did not appeal to me at all, I thought perhaps it was another one of those experimental types, which was confirmed when I sniffed it wet and absentmindedly put a bit on my wrist, whilst greedily trying other scents. My first impression was like many others have noted, a woody smell, very woody, too woody. This little doll was discarded at the bottom of my toy chest because I didn't know her secrets.

Then I decided to give her another shot. I pulled her delicate little wooden limbs out of the toy chest, and realised that there was a deep, soft, motherly love underneath all that wood, and it made me feel very sentimental indeed! That love was the ambery rose, or the rosey amber, whichever way you would see it, and brought to life the little wooden doll like a well told story.

Now that I realise how precious she is, I want to treasure her, and hold her close to my heart. Plain features on the outside, masking a most charming beauty.

 

Will I get a big bottle? YES.

 

Some scents really deserve another chance, and this is one of them.

[cupcakegernade]

At first this is all sandalwood, soft warm sandalwood. But after a while, the rosy amber does come out. This is soft and slightly powdery, it is quite nice. I like it, but I feel it is a bit too little girlish for me.

[Venneh]

Rose and strong wood in the imp, the same on my skin.

[grrrlennyl]

The Little Wooden Doll

 

On: A very, very strong wood scent.

2 hours in: Slightly sweet, but very sharp, powdery wood.

5 hours in: A sweet woody scent. Not sharp anymore.

Overall: Wood scents and I don't tend to get along.

[stellamaris]

When I tried this fresh out of the box it was nothing but wood and varnish. Nothing. But after a couple three weeks it still starts out wood, but nice, like a beautiful furniture store or a craftsman's shop, then hits the deeper sandalwood notes, not a lot of rose.

It lasts quite a few hours, very nice, glad I bought it.

Edited June 9, 2011 by stellamaris

[ami226]

A very woody scent. After a little, it seems to turn a bit dusty as well. I could definitely see an old wooden doll smelling like this. If you are afraid of rose, you should not be afraid to try this scent. I get no rose from it at all as far as I can smell.

[Gateau]

If you like Jezebel and are looking for something in a similar vein that's a touch darker and less honeyed, this is a good choice. Well blended, and the rose doesn't get too assertive.

[BiancaSlate]

This smelled very good in the imp. Very sandalwoody and ambery. I liked the smell of this imp more than all the others I received, so I had higher expectations of it.

 

On my wrists, the sandalwood was delightful, with undercurrents of amber. I didn't smell the rose at all.

 

I didn't mind the lack of rose, but I did mind that the scent faded very quickly once it was dry. The sandalwood and amber steadily faded, becoming fainter and fainter, after the first hour. By the end of two hours, it was gone.

[mymymai]

ITI: The scents are pretty true to the list. The sandalwood is soft and golden, the rose is faint in the background, and the amber sweetens and mellows everything out.

 

Wet: More sandalwood, a little green for some reasons, and sweeter roses emerge once the scent is applied to my skin.

 

Dry: The sandalwood warms up to a golden quality once dried while the rose fades into the middle ground to let the sultry amber shine. It's lovely in its simplicity.

[Magycmyste]

Was wanting to try one of my frimps, and my stash suggested I try this one.

 

In the imp: this is... pleasant. I get the sandalwood, but also a sweeter smell, almost as if the sandalwood was honeyed. I'm pretty sure that's the amber. If this one doesn't work on me, I may have to get myself a bottle to use as a room scent.

 

Wet on skin: The rose-infused amber is a bit stronger now, and the sandalwood a little less so, but I'm still enjoying this one a lot.

 

Dried down: The sandalwood is definitely coming out again, with the amber going back to the background. But it's still there.

 

Throw: I can smell this reasonably well without lifting my wrists up to my nose, but it's still a mild, pleasant scent. I do have to lift up my wrists to pick up individual scent notes, though. I do think I used a little more oil than I normally do. Wiping the imp wand across my wrists (in a reasonably full imp) seems to hold more oil than just pressing the nub from the inside of the bottle cap to them.

 

Verdict: ***** I'm a little bit surprised by just how much I like this scent. It's well balanced, and just strong enough for me to know it's there. And my fiance sitting next to me says he just gets a hint of it (you know, without having to be an inch away). This is going to go on my repeat buy list.

[Skellington]

Yum.

 

After speedily acquiring 25 different imps, I've finally found a few I like!

 

On me, Little Wooden Doll is mostly amber and sandalwood, and the combination is lovely. The rose is a faint hint around the edges, a bit stronger when it's wet, but still adding a hard-to-pin-down something once it's dry. The sandalwood nicely cuts the amber, which can get a bit overpowering for me -- it gives it a bit of an edge that amber lacks.

 

It's funny that for most people it's a 'maternal' scent, though. For me it's a warm, cuddly sexy -- I'm pretty sure that's because sandalwood and amber are both scents my BF wears, so it's kind of like having that "wearing the comfy shirt your lover accidentally left at your house" in a bottle.

Edited June 5, 2013 by ShadesOfMauve

[fatimaner]

This is hands down one of my favorite scents, if not my favorite! Granted, I like wooden scents, and they like me. Every wood-based scent I have tends to settle nicely on my skin. I'm not wild about rose, but for some reason other people seem to absolutely love it on me, so who am I to argue? I agree that this is an extremely dry scent. To me, it reminds me of crushed and dried rose petals inside an antique sandalwood box. The amber is definitely there, another good thing for me. This is neither maternal or sexy on me, particularly, but...well, teacherly? I'm a teacher, so it suits, on top of being a stereotypical Aries. It's the right mix of soft and commanding for me. A co-worker at one point looked startled, then informed me I smelled amazing, and was that rose? She said it was the only perfume she'd ever smelled with rose where it wasn't overpowering.

[filigree_shadow]

I wanted to try this because of the rose and sandalwood -- sometimes I have a lot of luck with that combination. It didn't work out for me this time very well. Whatever wood note is in there is way too sharp when it's wet. It smells like cedar/pencils plus a fairly blechy rose. I was not impressed. Then I forgot about it and went about my errands and then decided to smell it again about an hour later. (I had only put a bit of oil on my arm as a test, so unless I purposely sniffed it, I couldn't smell it at all.) The scent on my arm an hour later made me say, "Wait, which one was that? This smells really good. I wasn't testing one that smells this good."

 

I had to put on a new test spot to make sure I was smelling this oil. And yep, it did the same thing again. Just awful when it's wet, and then dries down into a very lovely soft rose+sandalwood. I dunno if I can put up with the wet stage, but the dry stage sure is nice.

[Lethran]

In bottle: The rose is strongest with amber support. The woods are understated, but warm and ground the blend. This suits its concept well, but I will not skin test due to rose.

[ResinManiac]

Jungian psychologist Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes in her book "Women Who Run With The Wolves" devotes an entire section to "Vasilissa The Wise" and in it her little doll symbolizes women's intuition. Inherited from the mother, it is a secret way of knowing that protects her from all the evil and harm Baba Yaga can devise and ultimately leads her to victory, and it is this interpretation I envision most clearly now. Grab yourself a bottle of this lovely scent, settle in with Dr. Este's book and don't forget to pay attention to your hunches and your instincts, it could very well save your life.

[tinyvulture]

OMG, this story is heartbreaking. Was expecting something beautifully sad, but instead I got pickles? No idea what that could be. After a minute, it dies down, and the rose is there. But something salty/sour remains, confusing my nose. Will have to pass.

[dangerbunnygirl]

In the imp: warm, woody rose

 

On skin: ROSE ROSE ROSE!!!!!!! I think I amp rose, it is however, an awesome rose.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Warm, sharp sandalwood, soft florals, and a general sense of old lady perfume. But *rich* old lady perfume, the kind who travels the world and wears designer clothes.

 

Wet: There's an initial burst of sandalwood, but it fades to the background pretty quickly. Instead, there's something I can best describe as fruity amber - it starts out a little fresh/aquatic/green, but then what I assume is the rose quickly becomes rosehip jam. Thanks to BPAL's particular brand of alchemy/ESP, it does feel very motherly.

 

Dry: The sandalwood comes back to the fore, followed by amber.

 

While I'll hang onto my imp and see how it ages, I don't see this one being in heavy rotation for a while - a little too maternal for my tastes.