For the boys...

[meaganola]

I've got a couple of nephews who I inadvertently got hooked on BPAL when I gave my sister-in-law some Yule decant circle leftovers (the biggest hit: Ded Moroz). I found this out too late to order some for Xmas for them (and so they're getting nail polish instead), but they have birthdays coming up, and I'm planning on giving them sets of their own BPAL rollerballs. The problem: I don't know what is appropriate for kids. So. I looked in here for suggestions for kids, but all I could find was a thread for very young kids, but I think these two are past that age, and another for girls of all ages, but they're not girls, and my brother would get upset if I gave them girly perfumes (he doesn't care about mixed gender roles, but he does not like notes that have traditionally been used in perfumes aimed at women. All of the females on Mom's side of the family -- including me -- tend to have headache problems with most floral notes, so flowers were pretty much banned in our house growing up, and he still has a "FLOWERS ARE EVIL" reaction to pretty much anything floral, and most perfumes deemed appropriate for girls seem to tend to be on the floral side).

 

Anyway, all of that is to ask: Any suggestions for seven- and ten-year-old boys? As an _Alice in Wonderland_ fan, I'm particularly interested in pushing selections from Mad Tea Party. The only one that really stands out to me as male-friendly is King of Hearts, but that just seems too grown-up for grade-schoolers. I just don't know anything about what is or is not appropriate for kids.

[lensflaaare]

I think lighter colognes would be the best, say the Apothecary or Villain. In terms of the Mad Tea Party, have you considered White Rabbit? I think that might be good (though I've never tried it).

[lookingglass]

White Rabbit and the Tweedles.

[jizatt]

Cheshire Cat - Schrodinger's Cat

(no theme intended!)

 

How Doth the Little Crocodile -- (i havent tried it, but it seems like it could be a fun kiddo scent too)

[sqwook]

Of the Mad Tea Party scents I've tried, Jabberwocky might work. The Dormouse & White Rabbit had that 'clean-laundry' scent, which meant I personally HATED them with the fire of a 1000 suns, but ha! that may be an overreaction. Maybe Tweedledee?

 

All the others I've tried I feel are more feminine or just not young boy; but just so you know what I'm talking about, here are those I *don't* particularly think would work: All In the Golden Afternoon; The Lion; Mouse's Long & Sad Tale; Frumious Bandersnatch; The Unicorn; Eat Me; Drink me; The Caterpillar; Queen Alice; Alice.

 

If you know which ones they liked of yules, there's still time to order those.

 

Stuff from the Steamworks line might be neat, too - maybe Aelopile, Robotic Scarab, or Phoenix Steamworks.

[jizatt]

oh steamworks stuff of course! Ether maybe? AM was too strong on me to recommend for a child.

 

And I havent tried the Caterpillar to know, but what an awesome name for a scent for a little boy Namewise, Snowball Fracas would also be cute, and might work scentwise too

Edited December 25, 2009 by CaudaPavonis

[GeorgeJr]

As a older boy I can promote freely my love for Mad Hatter . Not sure how a younger boy would feel about it though . I'm currently a fan of Laudanum , kids might get a kick out of it's root beer-y kind of scent .

[sqwook]

Caterpillar is a great name, however the scent is both floral (jasmine even) and headshoppy so I can't recommend it for a young boy. *lol*

[loverstreet]

My son loves March Hare - apricot and cloves.

[tajana]

Hm, speaking of root beer... Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener! Total root beer. Another somewhat foody scent that might work would be How Doth the Little Crocodile... it progressed from girl scout cookie thin mints in the bottle, and once applied turned to mossy chocolate bark and then to a greened up cedar-vanilla. Kind of tasty without being girly. I think I second the rec for Schrodinger's Cat, too... I'd definitely include a citrusy scent in the set, and that one has a fun name to go with it. Tweedledum would also be a good alternative, it's not citrus, but brightly fruity without being patently feminine.

 

The School-House is an LE that popped to mind immediately... not for the name, but for the dandelion field scent that totally reminds me of childhood. If you don't have access to that one, for some reason I thought Ochosi had a similar vibe. The slight soapiness that might be implicit in a light, grassy or even aquatic scent seems like a good and wearable option for a young boy. A Blade of Grass is startlingly realistic crunchy leaves and recently mown grass on me... kids might get a kick out of that.

Edited December 25, 2009 by tajana

[alioth]

I don't know much about the Alice scents other than How Doth the Little Crocodile, which might be great if they love mint and chocolate. It's not girly to me, but it's sort of got a nice chidlike quality. Also maybe Tombstone? It smells like root beer on me, that could be fun for little boys. If you can get ahold of a bottle, Detestable Putrescence could be equally fun for the childlike quality. If they're little explorers, maybe a dirt-based blend would be good too? (I don't personally have any but Season of the Inundation, but I'm sure lots of people can rec). Also Shango (fruit salad!) Pickled Imp (cinnamon and vanilla) Squirting Cucumber (nice and clean) The Deep Ones (seashore!) and maybe one of the piratey scents might be things to consider? They're all pretty unisex and not very age-limited.

[mari4212]

Tombstone was pure rootbeer on me as well, and I think it would work well for a boy. White Rabbit's already been suggested, and that was very gender neutral on me as well, with a peppery kick to clean linen scent.

 

The Lion and Haunted both worked nicely for me as amber/spice, not overwhelmingly heavy, and relatively gender neutral, though they might be a bit old for young boys.

 

My other suggestion would be to look for some of the more gruesome sounding names, because from what I remember of boys of that age, the grosser it sounded, the better.

 

For young people and boys, I also tend to think about green scents and citrus notes, so you might look for scents along those lines. They're not my forte, so I'll leave recs to those better at it than myself.

[Ashmedai]

Personally (I'm male), I love Eat Me and Drink Me. Who doesn't want to smell like good pastry? King of Hearts really is too "adult" because of the lavender, but how about Knave of Hearts? It does have roses, but I don't get those, it just smells like black currant tartes to me. March Hare, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, White Rabbit and Mad Hatter are also winners IMO, and were mentioned above. Skip the Jabberwocky, it's ice-pick-to-the-brain eucalyptus.

 

Otherwise (and if they're not as big Alice fans themselves), the Ars Draconis scents are fantastic and more or less gender-neutral. Blood is another one I like (and I admit it's also the name), so is Snake Oil, Coyote, Boomslang or Al Azif (maple syrup and then sweet wood).

 

[Dormouse]

My youngest is now 13 and loves his BPAL. He likes scents with funny or macabre names so Day of the Skulls was a hit (probably more floral than you'd want) and so was Zombie Apocalypse and Cthulhu. Scent wise he likes fruits, chocolate, marshmallow and sweet florals. Favourites include Samhain, Lambs-wool, Boo!, Pink Plastic Flamingo, most of the 13's, El Dia de Los Reyes, El Dia de Los Muertos, Mother Shub's Toothsome Banketstaaf, Kali, Queen Alice, Cockaigne, Hell Cat and Anubis.

 

The eldest is a huge fan of Baghdad, Villain, Danse Macabre, Whitechapel, Tristan and Mole.

 

My husband suggests that clean aquatics are often a good choice for boys when you don't want them to smell 'girly' or too foody. Cthulhu in particular smells great on my boys.

 

[superpopkid]

So the mission is gender neutral, no florals, and kid appropriate...my instinct is to avoid musk and resins, which read as adult to me. I'm thinking of green and citrus-y smells instead. I second the suggestion of Jabberwocky - this is just about the happiest, brightest BPAL ever; perfect for a kid. I would also suggest Cathode (minty fresh,) Hemlock (deep green,) and Serpents with Glittering Eyes and Forked Tongues (fresh lime.) For something different: Goblin. You may not find patchouli to be kid appropriate, but in this blend it reminds me of a fuzzy brown sweater. Plus, great name.

 

I think Dormouse made a great suggestion with aquatics. Cthulhu has already been suggested. Olukun and Y'ha-nthlei might work too, although both are a bit sweet. Finally, Hurricane and Lightning: they don't work on me, but kids might get a kick out of smelling like a rainstorm.