Mad Hatter

[slave1]

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

In Bottle: Dark mint

On Skin: Pungent is right! Wow, this reminds of something… My 6th grade teacher used to smell like this mixed with cigarettes… Not so good… LOL! There is an overall minty scent. The pennyroyal gives a sharp and bitter tone while the lavender also pierces through. The citron note seems to be lemon or something bright. The black musk encases it all in a dark blanket that is actually a bit scary. I could truly identify this as being a Mad Hatter scent, Beth is amazing! Edited January 28, 2006 by Shollin

[Thaleia]

The Lab gifted me with a (really full) imp of the Mad Hatter. I nearly spilt it all over my desk trying to open it, it was so full.

 

Ooh, mint! I can smell it from where it's sitting on my desk in front of me. It's not light minty-fresh, like Lick It or similar, but it's a dark, men's minty fresh. Tasty. It's a gentlemen's cologne with a minty-fresh after-scent (if that's a word), and I like it. I might even be able to wear it.

 

It's dark and minty - I'm guessing that's the pennyroyal, which is a species of mint, apparently - and quite sexy, indeed. It gets a bit astringent after a while, which I guess is due to the mint, but it's still fresh and cool all the same. Now ... why am I smelling leather? Am I supposed to? I didn't know the Mad Hatter was into S&M.

 

When completely dry, it's a soft mint with a dark, manly background ... comforting, actually not bad for me to wear. Really different. I'm more into the florals myself, but for something completely different, I'll have to say this one's a keeper. I give this a 4.

 

Rawr. If a guy smelt like this, I might have to lick him.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i'm getting tons of pennyroyal. gorgeous.

on: lovely pennyroyal and a touch of lavender.

1.5 hours later: soft musk and lavender, with a hint of pennyroyal.

3 hours later: very soft. musk and lavender.

overall: this is nice, but was sort of boring on me.

[Alchemy21599]

This was a gimp from the Lab.

 

In the vial: Oh, nice. Leather, minty and musk. Gee, I would not have guessed that the Mad Hatter would smell this yummy!

 

Wet: The mint is coming through more than the lavender or musk.

 

Dry: Musky, leather and a hint of lavender. This would be luscious on a man.

[sookster]

sniff from the frimp this is a strong mint!

upon application i can most definitely smell the pennyroyal in this

making it quite sharp...after some time the lavendar peeks

through.....very interesting...i love that it has a somewhat

"old fashioned-ness" about it....

[undream]

I bought Mad Hatter for a friend, but of course, I had to sneak a sample before handing it over.

 

Light & cool, minty chocolate! Both in the imp & on my skin. It immediately reminds me of Andies Candies. A yummy, invigorating oil, but not especially "me." Still, am glad I had the chance to try it!

[Ciircee]

Perhaps it's the Mad Tea Party scents, but this was ANOTHER scent that Sister and I wore alike. Since it was also her choice, I blame her.

 

In the imp: It sort of reminds me of Villian, only sharper. I'm going to slap some on Mr. Circe later tonight and see how it works on him.

 

Wet: A very herbal lavender with something sharp, but it's a darker lavender, if you take me.

 

Dry 10 minutes: Still the herbal lavender but with sharpness and brightness.

 

Dry 30 minutes: Lavender with a strong hint of citrus and something sharp

 

Dry 1 hour: PENNYROYAL. Mr. Circe swears he still smells the lavender and the citrus and the darker bits but all the Circe-twins can smell is the pennyroyal. And, while seeded into my grass (for pest control) and pleasantly sharp when cut--it is tempred by the grass and the other herbs in the lawn. Alas, the Circe-twins body chemistry does not produce those scents and all the Circe-twins can smell is the pennyroyal.

 

Dry 3 hours: After scrubbing it down, the pennyroyal remains. But it is no longer headache inducingly sharp.

 

Notes: Our skin really amps the pennyroyal. It does it with the stuff in the grass, too, when the cut bits get on our hands. So anybody who reads this and goes 'omgNO!' please remember that my twin and I are super amps for this herb.

Edited April 5, 2006 by Ciircee

[septima_pica]

Well, damn and double damn.

 

I was REALLY hoping this one would work out, given its appropriateness for my usual look -- I wear a top hat and affect a vaguely Victorian demeanour, and in fact have been called "the Mad Hatter" before by several acquaintances. And I could pick out nearly all the notes in the description, and liked all of them, but unfortunately somehow my skin dredges up a chocolate note in there...and I can't do chocolate scents. Disastrously so.

 

The overall effect ended up being...well, if you've ever had a dentist who uses that nasty chocolate-mint abrasive toothpaste, you know exactly the scent I'm talking about.

 

And the worst part is that I don't even know where that smell came from, 'cause it's not listed. Bah.

[Nekomata]

Wet this was minty, with a hint of lavender. As it dried it got musky and the mint gave way to pennyroyal. Light but still masculine.

[gingersnapp]

When first applied, the pennyroyal is so strong and minty. The kind of smell that makes everything in your head ice cold when you breathe in. Then that faded and the musk made everything somewhat powdery and dry. And then it was gone entirely.

 

Total time lapsed: about 15 minutes.

[madhatter]

Hmmmm.... I read everything people wrote and thought:

 

"wow"

 

I might be a bit too much of a guy to really help anyone much but um.

 

I like mint. I like musk. I like this (so much it is why I like bpal).

 

So yeah. It probably smells of other things, but I really would have no clue.

 

It doesn't last the whole day, but then again it doesn't reek if you put on the normal dabs.

 

I hate reeking. That's why I don't wear cologne.

 

Hmmmmm.... this isn't exactly as coherent as other posts.

 

Thank you and good night!

[Eunice]

This is heavenly! Lavender light and heavy musk. There is mint but it blends so well with the other ingredients that it only shows up later. Mad Hatter smells like a gentleman with a pocket of mints. Very refreshing and another oil to add to my bottle wishlist!

[elfmaiden]

In the imp: Wow, minty and incredibly crisp. There is an icy cool sort of quality that almost makes it astringent.

 

Wet on skin: The mint mellows and I start to smell the more musky scents. It's getting sweeter too, it really doesn't smell like something a man might wear on me.

 

Dry: About 2 or 3 hours laster the mint has completely blended it and doesn't stick out at all. The musk is settled and definitely prominent on my skin, but it's a wonderfully heavy scent. Almost the complete opposite of what I started it! The pennyroyal and lavander really round things out!

 

Again, my skin eats up mint and amps up the sweetness! I kinda wish the minty would be stronger, but if it was any stronger in the vial there might have been problems! Hee hee.

 

This is a really awesome scent. I didn't care much for it out of the imp, but it's worked really nicely with my skin.

 

Jenn

 

Edited to add: WOW about 6 hours later I keep getting a hint and it's so sweet and round and perfectly awesome!

Edited June 8, 2006 by elfmaiden

[filigree_shadow]

Thought I'd hate this, and I don't. It is pungent, but in the good way. A bit piercing, but I like it.

 

I thought it would smell good on my hubby, but he didn't like it. He thought it smelled "funky." He said, "It's not bad, but it's not my fave." To be honest, I think this smells better on me than it does on him.

 

ETA: I forgot to mention, when it's dry it has a really lovely powdery lavender scent to it. I'm not usually a lavender fan, but it smells so clean and pretty in this blend.

Edited June 11, 2006 by filigree_shadow

[littlefarmgirl]

Mmmmm.

Wet: Minty. There is a candy store in Astoria which sells a kind of candy called Mint Melt-Aways. They come in pink and green and yellow and have hundreds and thousands on the bottom. They are the perfect candy. This is what Mad Hatter smells like.

 

On the drydown: Vanilla and pennyroyal.

 

Mad Hatter smells so good.

 

 

I love the Mad Tea Party.

[audesapere]

In Imp- Anise seed and something else. I felt hungry, and my upset stomach went away for a minute.

 

Wet- Still anisy, but also citrus.

 

Dry- Musk and that anise-citrus. I'm not getting lavender, but what I am getting is nice.

 

Later-Musk with a strong, unplaceable backround. The musk is warm and nice-not MUSK! but a subtle musk.

[urbanruralferal]

How can I say how much I love this? It is beating the heat for me with it's enduring pennyroyal ice, which lasts through the many hours, perfectly balanced, never overbearing pennyroyal. and there is a buttery-ness to it, as well, that makes it yummy, almost edible. But there is also a very masculine side to this, not an edge, more solid than edgy.

yes, lavender, my old friend,

yes, musk, to keep the whole thing tethered.

The only thing I can find a little off here is that there is occasionally a whiff of something that someone might call "plasticky," but it doesn't bother me one bit.

It doesn't distract me like some scents do, it doesn't want to seduce me, thank god.

I wouldn't like it if it were just cooling; I absolutely need a little bit of heaviness to my summer scent, and this fits me so perfectly. It is so well balanced and lasts so long and stays so nice throughout, that I want to make it part of my skin.

I wonder how it ages? I could see buying 10ml of this.

[kunoichi]

I'm not sure what to make of this one from the vial... it's not quite sweet, not quite cologne-like, but something in between that I can't place. On my skin, I start to smell something creamy or milky in this scent, maybe even something like mint (which is odd, as there is no milk, cream or mint in it!), which makes it a touch brighter as well as milky with a base that I can't figure out. It starts to become fainter rather quickly, leaving just a sweet creamy scent behind ... I quite like this one on myself. If only it lasted longer!

[strangemusic]

Another I'd had some curiosity about. In the bottle, insanity. Seriously. This is the reek of non compos mentis-- fitting, since, well, Mad Hatter. I get needles and pins poking the insides of my nostrils, a sort of tea-ish smell, and something just wrong.

 

Wet: I am overwhelmed by mint. Pennyroyal amps like a mofo. When I'm not smelling pennyroyal (and let me add that, all the while, Nirvana's "Pennyroyal Tea" is playing in my head), I'm smelling a funkywrongomg mix of fucked-up mess. Tea smell, sachet, just... WRONG.

 

Dry: This? This is Jonathan Teatime's aftershave cologne. I want no part of it. Begone, Mad Hatter!

 

Originally posted to my LiveJournal 22 May 2006

[fiddlehead]

The Mad Hatter was a frimp included in an order a few months ago. I took a sniff and it didn't appeal to me, so I put it in the "try later" box.

 

As soon as it hit my skin I was in love It started out very minty, a bit like Envy. But then this lovely sweet smell came up underneath the mint. I think it's the lavender. I can sort of detect some soft citrus, but not too much. It dries into a soft minty/lavender with a touch of powder. Usually I don't like the scents that remind me too much of baby powder but it's subtle in the Mad Hatter. Just enough to soften the mint.

 

Masculine?? Not to me. Just fresh and herby with a little something different added to the Envy-like minty-ness. I'm very happy to have found something I can rotate with Envy for a fresh, cool - but - not- ozone - scent! I'm going to try it today and refresh it tonight to see if it works against mosquitos as well as smelling great

 

ETA: Annnd, it's already pretty much gone. What's left has no mint, just the sweet sort of powderish smell. Reminds me a bit of Dorian, for some reason. Still, it's a nice scent and worth re-applying as needed.

Edited July 5, 2006 by fiddlehead

[edenssixthday]

Mad Hatter - The top note in this blend is the exact same mint that I smell in Pain and Tulzscha. This scent is actually very similar to Pain, but not an exact duplicate, of course. It’s described as a gentleman’s cologne, but I really could see some women enjoying this particular scent if they like the scent of pennyroyal. I personally think it would smell fabulous on a man without the mint. In my opinion, mint is often the undoing of otherwise remarkable fragrances. This one definitely isn’t for me not only because I don’t like the scent, but the scent doesn’t last on my skin for even an hour before it’s completely undetectable.

[forspecial_plate]

What a fun, interesting scent! I really wanted to try this but was also a little apprehensive about the black musk, because I wasn't sure how that would react on my skin, never having tried it. And really wasn't sure because this sounded like it might be kind of medicine-y ('paroxysm of pennyroyal' doesn't exactly sound subtle!).

 

So I finally tried it today and really enjoyed it. Very light, refreshing, sort of creamy purple and minty scent, with a little green herbal darting in and out (that must be the paroxysm). Didn't change a whole lot on me, just sort of nicely faded until all that was left was a sort of powdery smell, not in a bad way, which I am assuming is the musk. If Djinn is my favorite bpal so far, this would be a great opposite-of-Djinn for when the mood strikes.

 

edited: second and third time around I noticed that this fades really fast on me. After a couple hours it diminishes a lot and mostly what's left is a sweetness from the musk (I think).

Edited July 14, 2006 by Forspecial Plate

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Minty

 

Wet: This stays very minty...is this the pennyroyal?

 

Drydown and wear: I think the black musk is finally starting to emerge a little bit to balance out the mint. I had no idea that this fragrance would turn out this way, and I do like it. It also has nice staying power.

[BronteJD]

In the bottle: Mint like whoa. Almost didn't put it on.

 

Wet: Again, with the heavy mint. My brain wants to add chocolate to the mix, but I'm not sure if it's really there.

 

Dry down: Mint/pennyroyal fades, but is still the predominant note. The lavendar is also coming out, and the citrus is a distant third. REALLY enjoying this.

 

Few Hours later: it's a very light faint scent at this point, quite masculine, and very enjoyable. Mint stuck around, but it's a lovely enveloping scent. Will definitely be purchasing a bottle of this with the next order. LOVE it.

[yeahbutnobut]

Mad Hatter

 

In the imp: minty-fresh pennyroyal over lavender.

Wet on skin: sweet pennyroyal, lavender and now I get a lovely sweet black musk underneath.

Dry on skin: whoa, this minty stuff is strong. The pennyroyal has a much more intense minty feel to it, hitting the throat with a blast of coolness. Underneath is the lavender and I'm sure I can smell moss there too, like a fougere/chypre scent. And then there's that musk…it's sweet, deep, rich black musk. It doesn't take over but it enhances the scent very nicely. Though it seems this musk is a little bit darker and more feral than the usual black musk.

After a while: the lavender and mint fade and now the scent left is musk. It's faint-but close to the skin, it's quite nice. Not as sweet, sleek, and gorgeous as other black musk scents-this is more of a dark musk, slightly sweet, a little bit feral, almost like a darker, less sweet Siberian musk. It also reminds me of one of the musks in Smut, as it has a very slight 'rubbery' scent to it that, oddly, is quite nice here (and it's a lot more discreet than the Smut musks!) it's not the black musk I'm in love with but I like it-at least it doesn't veer towards civet-feral!

I don't know but I'm pretty sure I smell moss here…it has that 'powdery light green' scent to it. Odd, since it's not mentioned, but I smell oak moss. And at the end I get something reminiscent of ambergris, as it smells ambery but also reminiscent of other ambergris scents.

Verdict: this was a nice scent, and surprisingly sane for it's namesake character. A minty shock of pennyroyal fading to a darker skin musk. Despite it's promise of something feral, it's not as scary as I thought. This isn't the black musk I go nuts over but it's like a dark musk with a sweet, almost smoky feel to it. It's very tenacious and sticks around occasionally surprising me with its throw, despite it's deceptive subtlety. I think there are mossy/ambergris/fougere like nuances upon the drydown. Or maybe my nose is going mad (ha ha!) It's not a bad scent but not a favourite…I like the way it's understated and unisex though, but a bit too understated at times. I do have other musky scents I prefer.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Pain, Casanova, Wilde, Old Scratch

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut