Mad Hatter

[SadariEvenstar]

A gentlemen's lavender-citron cologne unhinged by the feral pungence of black musk and a paroxysm of pennyroyal.

 

On me this smells of mint and clean laundry and vanilla. It's surprisingly comforting and wearable. I thought for sure I wasn't going to like this one based on the description but this is surprise love.

[wishingwell]

Received this as a frimp with one of my orders here on the forums. Aged (2009 written on the label I believe). Admittedly, I was a little scared to try this one because it mentioned lavender -- I have a mild sinus allergy to lavender, so usually I try to avoid it as much as possible. So far, out of the two or three BPAL oils that mention lavender, this is the one I like best and the only one that didn't make me sniffle.

 

Like others have said, this smells like a cool, crisp mint. I couldn't detect the lavender in it at all -- there is kind of a playful floral hint to the throw after drydown, but that's about it. Wet, it is a mix of strong musk and fresh mint. Drying, it begins to even out a bit and begins to smell elegant, old-fashioned, and slightly sweet. On the complete drydown, the mint stays prominent but becomes creamier.. the musk remains but is in the background, and the throw is like a slightly flowery, vanilla-y mint tea. I don't think this is as "male" as others have stated -- to me, it's like Dorian's aloof little brother, replacing the lemony scent with vanilla mint.

 

Out of all the Alice in Wonderland scents that I have tried, this is the first one to make me go, "Yes, this is definitely perfect for the character." It makes me think of a gentleman in a velvet suit, sipping clear mint tea while sitting cross-legged in a field of strange flowers.. looking for all the world like that's the most perfectly normal thing ever to happen.

[coldandsleepy]

Fresh out of the imp, this is a WHAM of peppermint to my nose. (Or pennyroyal, I suppose.) We're talking like toothpaste levels of mint. Mint tends to go catastrophic on my skin and I almost went and washed it off but was heading out to work and thought what the hey, I'll see what it smells like when I get there.

 

It mellowed out a LOT over the course of the next hour and progressed into a definite floral stage. My nose was telling me a little lavender, a little cologne-y lilac.

 

Now, 3 hours after application, it is yet another scent entirely. Now I primarily get the musk (which isn't dark and scary to me, more... soft and woolly?) and sweet vanilla (?) with just hints of the peppermint and florals.

 

Big time morpher on me, which seems pretty appropriate for the Mad Hatter.

[bpalscentsual]

1/15/2012: Mad Hatter (Mad Tea Party)

 

Previous scents: Dove shampoo, Dove ‘fresh’ scented women’s deodorant-antiperspirant. I’m also wearing Y’ha-Nthlei on my other wrist as part of testing.

 

In the bottle: Seems pretty well-rounded, but very light and fresh. I smell mint. This makes me nervous.

 

Testing method: Two swipes of the wand against the inside of my right wrist.

 

Immediately: Mint. Minty minty mint mint mint. A combination of peppermint (candies?) and the herb mint, but this goes straight to mint, either on my skin or in my nostrils.

 

Fifteen minutes: Calming down to lavender, and yes, I get some ‘pungence’, but overall… still very minty.

 

One hour: Okay, here comes the citrus. This is one that’s taking a while to bloom on my skin for whatever reason. Wearing it with Y’ha-Nthlei makes the aquatic come out more, and the lavender isn’t as sharp.

 

Several hours: Yeah, this is mellowing out to something much softer – still lavender, but not with all that sharpness. I can almost smell some sugar in here.

 

Overall: I have bad scent associations with mint, so obviously, that’s what my nose goes straight to. There isn’t even mint listed as one of the ingredients, so I’m guessing it’s the lavender ‘cologne’ issue. It takes a while to bloom and the mint at the beginning makes me feel half-sick, so into the swap pile it goes.

 

DISCLAIMER: Due to differences in skin chemistry, inherent olfactory powers, and other scents that an individual might use throughout the day (i.e. scented deodorants, shampoos, room sprays, cooking odors), these oils will smell different on every individual. This review is only intended to illustrate my personal experience wearing it throughout the day.

[IsabelleAngeline]

There's something so pleasant in this strange blend. The minute it hits my skin it's all peppermint but dry and subtle like a jar of stale mints. Next the lavender comes up, but it's not bang you over the head lavendar, it's soft and sweet. I would never pick this out for myself and received it as an imp. I instantly fell in love with it, but not because it smelled "good." Mad hatter brought me back to being a child--playing in my father's old military jackets lined with fur and pretending I was out in the wilderness in the freezing cold. This smells just like my father's old ---almost mildewy--- (I know, sounds strange) stale jackets that have been stuck in the closet too long and still have hints of his lagerfeld cologne. (which I often wear myself--love gender neutral scents)

 

Expect this to smell like a lavendar pastille candy mixed with a stale mint and a hint of whatever that smell is that lingers in old linens and grandma's house. Sounds unappealing, but man is it wonderful.

[PenelopeO]

This is my first review... I contemplated waiting longer but figured "what the heck" might as well just write one.

 

This smells very clean and minty on me- that's all I can detect. This scent would be perfect in the winter. Not going to buy a bigger bottle (unless I fall madly in love with it over time), but will save my imp for the winter months.

[hexnut]

Blind test of a frimp from the Lab.

In Vitro Minty!

Wet Freshly applied: minty! After a minute something else emerged, a warmer smell. Five minutes on, the mint receded and the newer note resembled vanilla.

Drying The overall scent was faint when only ten minutes old. It settled into a sweet vanilla-ish blend with some mint, mellow and somewhat foody. Much later I detected a bit of the "rubber toy" smell I got from the late stages of Tombstone, which strengthened my guess that this contained vanilla. At bedtime the same day I applied a bit on the other wrist and had the same results. It reminded me of the Candy Cane green tea that Trader Joe's sells in December, minus the tea leaf. This was a nice albeit short duration scent and good for a cold winter day.

I couldn't remember what was in Mad Hatter but I know I passed it over when picking candidates from Mad Tea Party. Reading the description just now I am very surprised that a blend with musk - 'feral black musk', no less - behaved so tamely. Such is the power of Vanilla on my skin. And no wonder my search for mint scents didn't turn up this one, because it's pennyroyal, duh, but I like it. I've had Pain ("A sharp, cruel blend of lavender and pennyroyal") on my list for months and now I really want to try that one.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Pennyroyal dominant with strong citron and lavender support. The citrus-mint combination was practically an assault. To my very mild synesthesia, it was very like a slap. From my birmin’s reaction, he felt the same. I do think the lavender plays well with the pennyroyal, but I couldn’t bring myself to sniff long enough to form more complex responses. No skin test obviously.

[Missy_killer]

To my nose: Not even half a second of lemon before MINT arrives. Mint? Why on Earth am I smelling mint here? ...Oh. After a quick google search I found that pennyroyal is a member of the mint family. Did not know that.

 

On: Oh yes. This is minty! It's both soft and sweet but at the same time a sharp mint. It's like a candy cane or a breath mint. I also think that there is some vanilla involved here. And by that I don't mean the buttery-warm vanilla that instantly makes me nauseous and gives me a migraine but a cool hint-of-coconut-vanilla that I actually like a lot!

 

After ten minutes: I only smell the gorgeous minty vanilla.

 

After another 25 minutes: The mint settles down and the vanilla comes out more, with some woodiness added. This is just what I wanted Dorain to smell like, and what I mix Dorian and How Doth the Little Crocodile to get = a nice, sweet and woody vanilla! This is good you guys!

Edited April 10, 2013 by Missy_killer

[mymymai]

ITI: Very much lavender-citron cologne with fresh pennyroyal. It's rather refreshing as a scent so far.

 

Wet: I get fields of lavender and thick pennyroyale. It's simply but gorgeous so far. Even if it's more masculine, I would wear this in a heartbeat.

 

Dry: The lavender and pennyroyale are a bit more tame so I can pick out the musk and the faint cologne quality to it. It's still a very attractive scent. Mad Hatter, you fox, you.

[elfnwitch]

A lovely mint with a slight hint of spice. Oddly enough, this was a frimp that came in an order that arrived on a day I had a wicked migraine. One whiff, straight to the brain, no more migraine! Even better than Grr, so I'll have to get a bottle!

[scarywhitegirl]

I've been getting in the habit of putting a scent on, and then jumping online to see what's in it. Less preconceived notions, and all that.

 

When I opened the bottle, this one was mint, through and through. Then I put it on, and the mint died down quite a bit, bringing out the musk and what I thought might be anise (still not sure what that part is).

 

Unfortunately, any musk scent to me is a "grandma" smell, because my grandma wore a white musk perfume all the time. So this one, with musk and mint (since she also chewed a lot of gum), is totally flashing me back to riding in Grandma's car as a kid. It's not an unlovely scent, but I don't think it's for me.

[elinox]

First Sniff: A dentist’s office, as soon as you walk through the door to have your teeth cleaned.

 

Initial Wet Application: This smells minty, but the medicinal type of mint which I don’t care for. I think the black musk is hiding in the background and making the lavender react oddly.

 

Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As this begins to dry it goes much softer, but there’s still that dentist’s office smell lurking around. The lavender wants attention, but I think the citron is keeping it faint and slightly awkward. Five minutes in and this is powdery soft and gentle now, which is nice but too much like other, powdery light scents I already have from the lab. I can still detect that minty menthol, which I assume is the pennyroyal, and it’s still bringing to mind my dentist’s office and making me cringe. Once it dried completely this was softer and I’m having an easier time picking out the lavender. I think there’s also some sort of wood underneath it all which is grounding this.

 

My Reaction: It got better the longer I had this on, but it just didn’t do it for me enough. I had high hopes that this would be another lovely scent for the hubby, but I just can’t take the dentist’s office smell this brings to mind, yuck! Guess I’ll need to stick to the Bath & Body Shop’s lavender/vanilla for my lavender fix!

 

Rating: 1

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Lavender and mint

 

Wet on me - The mint/pennyroyal becomes more pronounced

 

Dry on me - A cool sexy skin musk with a slightly darker undertone

 

Overall - I'm not really a fan of black musk or cologne so this was an unexpected winner for me. Cool and sophisticated; masculine, but subtly so

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Mint and black musk. Sweet and surprisingly refined. It smells like a perfect cup of mint tea!

 

Drydown: Sweet and creamy with a touch of mint. I would say the mint is prominent, but not dominant. As it dries the citron comes forth. It becomes more, not quite cologne-y, but perhaps fougere-y.

 

Dry: Sweet citron tempered by creamy musk and a touch of mint and a just a hint of lavender. Fabulously wearable and not too much throw. Everyone should try this one!

 

 

 

 

8.5 out of 10 bones

[kajacana]

Received as a frimp from the Lab.

On me, this starts out as lavender and quickly morphs into sweet mint, with something earthy in the background. I like it more than I thought I would when I initially smelled it from the imp. It's not nearly as high-pitched as some of the Lab's other minty blends, if that makes sense (probably because the mint here is coming from the pennyroyal, which steers it away from toothpaste and more in the floral direction). It's got a very clean quality to it -- reminds me of fresh air and springtime and clean clothes. The more it dries down, the more comfortable it feels. It makes me want to spread a freshly laundered blanket out on the grass in the shade and read a book.

[agirlnamedfury]

I got this as a frimp in my most recent order. I was initially pretty leery of it after reading the scent description and list of notes, as I generally dislike lavender. However, I can barely tell there's any lavender in there (during the wet stage, at least) and it's much more light and refreshing than I was expecting. It's sweet with a touch of citrus and mint -- but fresh, herbal mint as opposed to the usual overpowering type.

 

All those bright, fresh notes I like do seem to dissipate pretty quickly as this dries, so I'm not sure how much staying power or throw it has. The lavender also comes out to play a bit more in the drydown.

 

This is very unlike the scents I usually wear, but I think I'll be keeping the imp. For now, at least.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Smells a bit like mint tea.

 

Wet on my skin: Musky lavender and citrus, but not cleaning wipe citrus.

 

Dry: This remains musky lavender-citrus on me, with just the barest hint of cooling mint that gives the whole thing something of a tea-like quality. It's a rather masculine scent, definitely into cologne territory, but quite lovely and unusual just the same. I'm a fan of BPAL's musky colognes, and this joins the pile. This was a surprise standout from my latest box, a free imp I probably wouldn't have ordered myself but am glad they threw it in.

[sprout]

In the imp: Pennyroyal predominant (if you have never sniffed pennyroyal before, it smells like mint!)

 

Wet: Pennyroyal amps over a tea note like Dorian minus the vanilla, add lavender and the barest suggestion of lemon, very pennyroyal predominant through much of the wet phase, and it throws and lasts longer than mint notes do for me

 

Early dry: Here goes the black musk! Interestingly, I get a hint of chocolate as well, the York peppermint patty candies come to mind; if only that stage would persist we'd have a favorite here but black musk takes it into "feral" terror-tory. So, perhaps eating a York patty and sipping some black lavender tea with a hint of lemon a few hours after a skunk has passed through. Sorry, black musk definitely has a funky, almost skunky quality, not so good on me.

 

Late dry: Persistent pennyroyal, the citron faded, tea and lavender are gone, the black musk is domesticating itself slightly. This stuff (musk phase) lasts and lasts and lasts.

 

Next day dry down: Muskiness of the black musk is absent and the spot smells slightly sweet and fresh like just shampoo'd hair. This stage is nice but has no sillage.

 

Final thoughts: If the black musk could be swapped out for "skin musk" or the musk in Ivanushka or Buck Moon, or Monsterbait musks, this would be heaven in a bottle for me. I love the York peppermint patty and lavender/limoncello tea quality but the black musk is just a little too funky for my taste. Nevertheless, I found myself huffing rather compulsively, if only for the grasshopper smell--the (Keebler) minty chocolate cookies? My aversion to black musk could be a hormonal issue so I will skin test at different time to see if that changes. Not sure about it, I don't think I would need a bottle--however aging could tame the funkiness of the musk. This was test of a frimp received with bottle purchase from the forum, so no telling how old it is. I don't exactly hate black musk, and I rather like animalic odors, such as real skunk (and civet!) but I don't want to smell like "man funk" and I wonder if this has an unfortunate association with men's body sprays (shudders at the thought of smelling like Axe) and I am not sure if it will smell appealing to others. I will save the imp for sure to retest, and hope the black musk will mellow a bit. If the black musk (with aging or different skin chemistry due to hormonal changes) mellows a bit, I would invest in a bottle. I wish black musk worked for me, and I am not sure if it does or not. This could definitely be unisex, and if you are a female who doesn't find black musk scents too masculine, works either way. For men, I think this would be quite heavenly.

Edited July 1, 2015 by sprout

[Myrrha]

I love the cooling lavender and pennyroyal topnotes of this one. They burn off quickly on me and leave a black musk. I loved the black musk in Lilith but this one reads as more masculine. I think there might be some amber in here as well, or maybe the musk and amber accords have some ingredients in common. This does smell pretty dirty, maybe this is because it is "feral" black musk. It could be sexy on a man but it is not for me. All in all a great scent interpretation of the Mad Hatter.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Myrrha

[Marla Moreau]

Nope, not for me. Trying this made me learn that I amp mint like nobody's business. At least it was just an imp.

 

In the bottle: Lavendar, Citrus, and Mint

 

Wet on skin: MINT

 

Dry down: MINT... smells exactly like mints you would buy at the checkout line at the grocery store, powdery mint (wintermint? peppermint?), I don't like it at all. Blegh. I smell like I've been trying way too hard to freshen my breath.

 

Dry: Less intense mint, can smell a bit of lavender very briefly after a couple of hours, then it goes back to nothing but powdery mint. Never even detected a hint of musk, sadly.

 

I can now add mint to my "oh hell no" list along with rose and other bright flowery notes.

Apparently my skin also eats citrus, which is too bad - I would love for something citrus to work on me.

Edited July 27, 2015 by MarlaMoreau

[GlowJob]

Whoa! This is a minty one but it's definitely grounded pennyroyal and not a flighty peppermint. I'm (thankfully) not getting much lavender to speak of but the black musk is strong, making this both dark and refreshing. I would say this is a unisex scent leaning strongly towards a clean masculine. The musk becomes just a touch powder-y as it settles into the skin which, to me, makes it a nice evening/bedtime choice. It's interesting for sure. I'm glad I have a full 5ml though because it fades fast and you gotta reapply if you want it to stay noticeable on your skin.

[Soupy Twist]

Citrus and musk in the bottle. Goes on as lemony cleaning fluid. This shortly dries to lavender, which then calms down to a powdery mint. Hated the opening, but the mint is okay. Kind of like I got toothpaste on my shirt and didn't clean it off.

Way to capture the Mad Hatter, though. This is absolutely him.

[squidhearts]

Airy minty freshness with a beguiling sweetness and something nice sinister and dark lurking around the edges, licking its teeth. Love at first sniff. If I hadn't been betrayed by SO many bpals that I love as fresh imps from the lab that then turn on me when the full bottles I splurged on are a few months old...I would be buying this IMMEDIATELY.

 

Lavender usually goes sour on me, which is a shame, because I love lavender. I tried a few of the lab's lavender scents to see if they could work their magic somehow, but after several failures, I stopped trying. Then, however, I got Mad Hatter as a frimp...

 

In the Imp: sharp lavender with an almost unpleasant bite; meh. I was not feeling this.

 

Wet: there's a definite clean gentleman thing going on as an opener, which is the citron mostly, but also the citron and lavender in combination. Lavender manly scents definitely have an old school genteel vibe to me, so this works. I think the creamy sweetness is the pennyroyal, but I have no idea. If that's what pennyroyal is like, I want to drown in it. There's just the barest hint of the black musk playing at the edges, which just makes me melt. It grounds the blend and also adds some sweetness, but not sugar toothache sweetness, not food sweetness at all. Delicious. LOVE ME ALL NIGHT LONG, MAD HATTER.

 

Dry: Mmmm, black musk with a creamier calmer minty fresh sweetness. Black musk is my favorite musk by far, and it always makes me think of something wild and powerful. Often I find black musk very comforting despite that, like a big looming werewolf that's all teeth and claws but just wants a bellyrub, even if he's too polite to ask for it. But there is something feral about it, too, and I feel like the description for this blend is right on.

 

Seriously, I ADORE this. For context, German Expressionist Horror is one of my tried and true all time favs and so is Czernobog, both of which are black musk blends and have a kind of similar freshly scrubbed werewolf vibe going on. Mad Hatter is more refined than that--thank you, citron and lavender and whatever minty freshness is happening--so it's kind of like the evening wear incarnation of black musk. It's black musk wearing a tie and cufflinks.

 

If this still works from me a month from now, I'm getting a full bottle--caution be damned--and wearing it ALL THE TIME.

[freyasfae]

Wow, minty mint mint from the pennyroyal. I don't pick up a lot of the other scents in this, but it might be that my skin amps pennyroyal as I have tried a few other scents with pennyroyal and it is just screeching mint on me. I can't really get past that to anything else.