Mad Hatter

[Styx]

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

Mad Hatter
light yellow oil

Imp: Thin Mints with no chocolate.

Skin: Initially the pennyroyal is so strong, I can just barely sniff the cologne. This makes me feel like I've just brushed my teeth.
After the oil sets in, I can smell a bit of the musk. I'm not that fond of musks, but I don't mind this at all. Paired with the pennyroyal, its quite refreshing. The lavender-citron cologne stays faintly in the back all the way.
The mint morphs as the oil dries. It first becomes thin mints with no chocolate, than it becomes like a mild toothpaste.
Once it dries down completely, the musk is the dominant note, with the cologne still obediently sitting in the back.

[steffanina]

Mad Hatter-

 

In Bottle: Something lightly minty and with something just a bit...foodie?

 

Wet: Huh. I can't smell a lot.

 

Dry: GONE. The merest memory of powder.

 

Overall: Fades like my laptop screen in sunlight--immediately.

[neuilly]

Just like it's namesake, this is a crazy scent. I can pick out the musk, lavendar, and penny royal. But there are other notes that I just can't bring a name to....they all seem to work together and yet fight each other at the same time, none dominating the others. Undefined craziness!!

[ClareN]

In the vial: Medicinal eucalyptus and mint.

 

On skin: A black and evil mint smell with a mildewy note in the background, over a creamy smooth undertone of something, vanilla perhaps? About the "evil" and "mildew", I actually mean this in a good way. This is a very complex and interesting scent. I don't need a bottle, but I will probably use up the imp. I'm fascinated by how wicked it smells.

[laliloo]

Minty!

 

This one smells exactly like buttery Murray Mints when I first apply it. yum. It fades after 10 minutes or so, and I can smell something like tea. It's not listed, but I do wonder if all of the tea party scents have some sneaky tea hiding somewhere in them? I don't really get lavender or citron from this scent - maybe just the faintest whiff of lavender 30 minutes in when the mint has faded somewhat. Now it smells faintly of a packet of Murray mints sitting near a cup of tea. Nice. I'll definitely keep the imp. Oh, and I definitely don't find this to be a particularly masculine scent.

[Keslynn]

Initially on my skin, the Mad Hatter is pure mint (from the pennyroyal I guess). There's also the slightest edge of citrus. It's a fresh summery kind of scent.

 

As time passes, the mint fades and it becomes more of a "male" scent. Not rocky studly man cologne like Axe or Phoenix. It's more an old-fashioned refined manliness. I'm picturing a man clothed in Victorian clothing with a top hat on so this scent is definitely evocative of the intended subject. I'm getting the citrus as the primary note here, but there's a nice bottom to it that's giving it that masculine feel. I quite like it. It's a different kind of manly and also smells very fresh.

 

Verdict: I like this fresh scent though it's not something that's really me. It reminds me of my boyfriend's body scent so it'll probably work ten times better on him.

[storme]

In the imp: lavender and soft powdery mint.

 

On me, wet: oh, there's the black musk, under the minty softness. This combination feels off to me - too harsh and metallic.

 

On me, dry: mm, yeah, it's the black musk that's throwing me off here. I don't like it - it's too animalistic and acrid under that powdery mint.

 

Verdict: nah, this can go off to live elsewhere.

[pzb]

In the vial - Smells like nail polish remover. And I'm not the only one who thinks so...I passed it around to everyone sitting in the room.

 

Wet - Thankfully, not so acetone. More heavy peppermint or pillow mints.

 

Dry - The mintiness has softened. Getting a little bit of the lavender coming through. The citron has started to make its presence known about half an hour after applications.

 

Furthermore - An hour later - The musk has shown itself, though not terribly strong. Definitely a wear on occasion for me.

Edited September 22, 2007 by PZB

[jolarocknrolla]

Wet: MINT.

 

Dry: MINT.

 

Get it? it's super duper minty, with maybe a hint of herbal in the background ... it's hard to say since my sinuses just totally cleared from all of the MINT. The herbal/powdery notes come out a tiny bit later as it dries down but they are pretty much beaten into submission my the megaton of MINT so that isn't saying much.

[aleciarivas]

Mad Hatter was certainly minty, but since I love mint that's a-okay in my book! Unfortunately, the other notes in Mad Hatter didn't set well on me- but I am suspecting they will be FABULOUS on my DH!!!!!

[Ilex]

Wet and for the first oh, 10 minutes it was mint doing battle with lavender and musk. Then the mint lost with a poof and it disappeared. Which is too bad because the mint was adding some needed interest, it made the scent dynamic. There was a well blended sweetness which held on for many hours after that. It wasn't heavy on the lavender, it was heavy on the sweet. The musk went a bit off, it really smelled, hmmm... stale? for lack of a better term. I also picked up some leather in this, which is just plain odd as no one has mentioned that and it isn't one of the notes. So, in a nutshell, it is a rather unobjectionable cologne scent after the mint disappears (sad), but nothing too exciting.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

lavender-mint!

overwhelmingly so. i couldn't keep this on for more than the few minutes it took me to close the imp, stand up and get to the sink to scrub it off, so i never got to see what happened as it dried down.

[maribouquet]

Whoa! Full on, brisk, furry mint! And I get a bit of the citron in the back of my throat.

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: Mint, mint mint... and... fruit?

 

On/wet: Fruity, juicy orange and just a little mint. But the orange!!! *mouth waters*

 

On/drydown: Faint citrus with a sharp spike of mint in it--a little faint on me after drydown, but nice and refreshing.

[dirtytrip]

Smells like old dirt socks. Don't ask me, that's the exact phrase that came to mind when I put nose to arm. With the remnants of some mint-scented cleanser thrown in. Gross.

[gchris]

In the vial: Penny royal comes shining through, but there is something sweet also, probably the musk.

 

Wet: Harsh and Bitter. I'm asuming its the pennyroyal. Antiseptic smelling.

 

Drydown: The pennyroyal is overpowering to me. It does get sweeter smelling but I just can't take the penny.

 

Does not seem to have much throw. Its like there is an equal balance of very bitter and warm sweet...interesting, but not me.

 

Later...This has softened up so much more and has a nice warm, sweet aroma.

Edited January 17, 2008 by gchris

[naeelah]

Of all the scents I've tried that are clearly aimed at men, this is one of my favorites.

 

Wet, the penny royal is very strong, like peppermint. There's a strong dose of lavender with it. It doesn't smell like lavender cologne, it just smells like, well, plain lavender. As it dries, the mint becomes much more subdued and the black musk, as usual, becomes stronger.

 

After a while, it's dry, somewhat flat herbal notes with deeply rooted black musk. Not quite as dynamic as it is starting out, but an interesting combination, like all of the Mad Tea Party blends. The mint seems to be more noticeable from a distance than right under nose, which is good. I don't know about wear life, but both lavender and black musk tend to last forever on my skin, so I think this one bodes well. The only tradeoff is that seems to have soft throw.

 

Try this if you like: The Emathides, Dorian...

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Pennyroyal, lavender, citron.

 

Wet: God, this is intense! The pennyroyal is VERY strong. It's a little sweet, and very minty-herbal. I can barely detect the lavender and citron in its wake.

 

Dry: The pennyroyal is still a bully, but if I strain I can sniff a bit of delicious, rich musk.

 

Summary: Minty pennyroyal over sweet, dark musk. It calms down a lot, but it's still very potent in throw and heavy on the pennyroyal.

[waternight]

In the imp: Wow, I smell all the notes: lavender citron on top, followed by minty pennyroyal, with black musk running throughout.

Wet: Now the pennyroyal is on top, supported by the lavender. Powdery black musk is swiftly amping up, as usual, and making itself a key player.

Dry: This dries to a pennyroyal/black musk blend. Usually black musk obliterates all other notes in a blend on me, but this one is playing evenly with the pennyroyal. However, it's still dominant and powedery and not my cup of tea, so this will be swapped.

[hkhm]

imp: ah, pennyroyal... my first and truest mint-love.

 

wet: this is all lavender and pennyroyal. so pretty and crisp.

 

dry: this really smells like some sort of expensive after-dinner mint. very herbal minty. nice.

[Juushika]

This was a frimp from the lab, and nothing that I would have picked out for myself. However, after looking up the notes I was intrigued. I like musk, and I like unhinged, unusual blends. But I'm fairly feminine, so masculine blends are both intriguing and a bit worrying. The citrus note above all scares me, but I'm also not a fan of mint. Needless to say, I went in to testing this with mixed expectations.

 

In vial: Citron, so strong and so sharp that I'm afraid to try the oil on my skin—but I never let a BPAL pass me untried. Behind all that lemon is just a touch of lavender, dry, herbal, a bit astringent (as of the blend needs any more astringency.) I'm getting no pennyroyal/mint in the least.

 

On me: Initially, this is unpleasant to the extreme—men's cologne, lavender certainly but mostly heavy on the citron, huge, intrusive, and eye-wateringly unpleasant. I only just dabbed it on, but now I want to get my hand as far away from me as possible to somehow hide the smell. However, over time (fifteen minutes) the citron recedes. First, the overpowering strength and throw back off to something more reasonable, but I still smell like Boy. Then, the citron nearly dies away, and the other notes have a chance to come out, in particular the musk and lavender. The musk is grounding, warm, and really quite lovely; the lavender is both softly herbal and floral, slightly sweet but not the least bit cloying or foody. If the pennyroyal is supposed to be minty in this blend, then I get none of it. In many ways, the evolution of this blend is like Casanova taken to an extreme: it goes on overwhelming and blinding, biting and far too strong, but finally dries down to something that I'd consider wearable.

 

Verdict: After the horror of the initial application, I was actually surprised by how lovely this blend turned out to be. When the citron dies away, it transforms: masculine in the darkness of the musk, but not overtly so; complex, herbal, a touch sweet, mature, a little bit unusual. This isn't so strictly a men's blend that I would feel uncomfortable (as a feminine woman) wearing it myself, at least in the final drydown stage. I'm also surprised at how different my impression is from the other reviews I've read: I get no mint, except perhaps in the hint of sweetness, and the citron is instead predominant. No matter—even with the lovely drydown, there's no way that I'm ever going through the biting, overwhelming, cologne-heavy cloud of smell that comes with the initial application, not again. Without the citron, I'd consider this blend for myself. As it is, I'll be passing it on.

[taramarie]

On me, Mad Hatter is lavender, vanilla, and mint. It's not what I was expecting, but I love it just the same.

[djsiberia]

smells minty and musky

 

this seems very much a men's scent, but i sniffed and don't think it would fit something i would like my guy to smell like, i can't get past the minty = toothpaste relation

[donnatron]

Imp: Pepto Bismal. Seriously--it's got that weird mineral/creamy/minty smell of Pepto Bismal. Crazy.

 

Wet: Not pleasant. The cologne and musk are really duking it out and the pennyroyal gets exceedingly strong. Props to the lab for the pennyroyal scent, though. Due to some errant gardening on my part, our backyard is awash with the stuff in summer and it smells exactly like standing in the garden in the morning.

 

Dry: The musk calms down and the base becomes almost creamy. There's still a bite to the whole scent, but it's very definitely in three layers--the creamy undertone, the soft cologne aspect, and then a minty-lavender top note. It's quite masculine; Ernest Hemingway would wear this.

 

Throw: Enough.

 

Overall: I'm intrigued. This is a great blend for the Mad Hatter and I have to say that it's quite different from what I was expecting. I think it will layer nicely with some sweeter scents and I'm sure I'll go through the imp easily. I just thought of how nice this will be in the bath--definitely the surprise hit of my latest imp acquisitions.

[Dracoo9]

Mad Hatter, you make me happier then you will ever know! I was going to buy a 5ml of this no matter what because it has penyroyal in it which means natural bug repelant when I go do the Disney program in Florida in a few months.

 

In the imp: Blissfully lovely lavender, reminescent of cheshire cat and a minty freashness that I love!

 

On: Doesnt change much and everytime I breath in that freashness it makes me feel a slight chill, so lovely!

 

Definently bottleworthy!!! 5/5!!