Whitechapel

[Cavalier]

A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron.

 

Imp: I am strongly reminded of the gatorade powder that you mix with water. It is all sweet powdery citric acid. I was surprised but not put off.

Wet: The musk comes out to play here. It softens the gatorade a bit.

Dry: Ah, there's the lilac. Finally! It's soft and it slinks in behind the fading sports drink tang.

Finish: Awe, it just faded away! It has no lasting power on me!

 

Whitechapel never became masculine to me. I see a men's toilette but never an actual men's scent. It is clean, crisp, and definitely not feminine. Dare I call this a completely unisex scent? I think I dare.

 

There is nothing sneaking, slinking, or otherwise nefarious in here for me. Either I am too evil and Whitechapel seems clean by comparison or I am too much the naïve girl and thus can not sense any danger hidden in it's depths.

[loubric]

In the bottle/imp sweet, sharp & sour lemon.

On me it's very lemony but the sharp sour notes are gone leaving a sweet citrus scent. The musk is there but it smells almost woody. There is a weird background note that isn't doing well on my skin

[Jeni Mullen]

My scent palette: I'm a foodie that doesn't tend to like the lab's vanilla scent unless there's something sugary in it. Eat Me is one of my favorite scents along with Captain Lilith (more boozy but still sweet). I am slowly finding out that I don't like woods in my scents. I love FOREST smells (like pine needles, juniper, leaves, moss and grass) but sandlewoods, rosewoods, and things like cedar or oak just don't do nice things on me. I love Magnificent Autumn, Samhain and Druid! I like spices too as long as they aren't kitchen spices (like mint and sage). Frankincense smells a little like sage so I haven't been too happy with that in my blends either. Scherezade and Sapphics are my go to spice oils. My biggest no-no are florals. Lavender and Jasmine, ylang ylang and peony run rampant. That said, carnation and sometimes rose can be quite nice on me if they're toned down. I also am not sure about my take on citrus. Lime is overwhleming (but I liked it in Lily Witch until the leather kicked it's butt). Bergamot is nicer. Leather and hemp tend to give me headaches.

In the bottle: Lime lime lime. Like I just cut into one.

On my wrist, wet: Still just lime! It's so strong

Fifteen minutes later: There's suppose to be lilac in this but honestly, this pretty much just smells like I sprayed my arm with lime. I'm detecting nothing else at all.

Thirty minutes later: Okay, went back to scan the notes. White musk (my second fav musk), lime, lilac (oh no flowers!!!), citron. Well that explains the citrus all the time everywhere. This smells like something I should be wearing in summer so it feels a little off at the moment. I do not get lilac at all. Even a little. It's all citrus, but at least the lime calmed down into more of a margarita zest.

Verdict: I am keeping this frimp for when it gets to be warm again. I bet a little coconut hair gloss and some whitechapel will make me feel like I'm on a cruise!

[Veronica]

In the bottle, this is all lime and citron, with a hint of white musk to smooth over the different notes. Dry, the lime tones down but is still the prevalent note.

[DiesMali]

This was a scent I was very unsure about, as citrus perfumes in general tend to smell like cleaning solution to my nose. I had nothing to worry about with this, as it turned out!

 

In the imp: LIIIIIIIIIIIIIME.

 

Wet on my skin: Freshly-squeezed key lime juice, faint white musk, and an even fainter breeze of lilac.

 

Dry: At first, this was a strong lime scent on my skin, but not in a cleaning solution sort of way. Just pure, fresh, juicy key lime. It quickly started to morph on my skin as it dried, the LIME note fading and blending with the beautifully fresh lilac, white musk, and citron. Now, about an hour in, the lime has taken a backseat to the gorgeous lilac, which is one of the best notes for my skin along with white musk. I have a long-standing love affair with those two notes in particular, and the Lab's versions of them have almost universally smelled like heaven on me. This is no exception. It's now a sharp, crisp lilac floral with a tangy haze of lemon-lime, still with the sweetness of key limes. Key lime pie, maybe. MMmmmm. This is definitely going to be a bottle scent at some point.

[greeneyedgirl]

This is a lime lollipop. Very sweet and nice, but not something I would personally wear!

[stellamaris]

well. I sort of ignored this, believing it to be just a boy scent.

Was I wrong. Mayhem and murder, made for the boys, but I like it too...ha...

 

This is delicious, amazing lime. Lasts forever too, unlike most lemony/limey/citrus things do on me. This is fresh, but fine at night too.

Need big bottles of this.

[lady_pandora]

This starts out with what smells like lemon to me. Apparently, my nose can't tell lemon and citron apart. I guess they both have a lot of limonene. I never used to be a lemon fan, but the last few months, I've been liking it much better. (Thank you, Seven Herbs Charm!). And it was warm out when I tested Whitechapel, so yay, cool lemony blend! So far so good.

 

And then the musk just went so, so wrong on me. I'm used to amping white musk or having it go powdery, but not this. It cycles between smelling like regular musk, smelling like Play-Doh, and smelling like sweat. Not B.O., exactly, but definitely sweat, like when someone has just been for a run. Maybe chasing victims through the streets of London!

 

A tip of the hat to Beth for, indeed, creating a perfume that has a "corrupted core." I can't wear it, but I get it.

[petrichorandleather]

Frozen lemon heads rolled in sugar crystals. This is the scent of joy and happiness. I really like it.

[dementia_divine]

I tested this one a few months ago, but neglected to write my review down. So instead of contributing a detailed review, I'm just writing a summary of my experience, because there is no way I am putting this one on my skin again.

 

This scent was horrible on me. I think the combination of the lime and lilac (and perhaps the musk?) was what made it so awful on me, but I'm not sure. It smelled like bathroom cleaner on my skin. (Fog Machine Juice also did something similar on me.)

 

I'm going to give my imp to my brother, because the lime note smells good in the imp. Maybe his skin chemistry won't turn this into something horrific.

Edited September 9, 2015 by dementia_divine

[HighlyBell7]

Warning!!!!! To the people that wear this regularly: you should be made aware that to a small percentage of the population that has a rare T allele of the Rs307377 SNP, you actually smell like you just murdered an entire family. Seriously. The pets too.

On the bright side, if you have had a severely negative reaction to this scent, then you probably have said rare allele, and you kinda have a super power. And the really cool thing is that the title of this fragrance makes me suspect that Beth (I think this was one of hers?), must have this rare allele too. Which means that her scents probably have more of these trick notes buried in them.

In Imp: Yellow in color. Smells like lemon pledge.

Wet: Vanilla lemon pledge. With a hint of ick.

Dry: Dead flowers that seem to morph into just plain dead and rotting organic material. OMFG!!! This is so gross.

Later: Had to wash off before I started to throw up.

[freyasfae]

I adore this in the bottle - it's the perfect scent as a winter citrus, however it fades soooo quickly even after slathering it on, twice, it was barely discernible. Usually, I don't mind reapplying, but this was to the point of less than an hour, I needed to reapply. What a bummer. It really is beautiful in the imp. I do wish the lilac came out more on the drydown.

Edited February 1, 2016 by freyasfae

[Cali]

Mmmm tasty! Sugary sharp fruits!!
Doesn't morph on my skin, the lilac barely there, lime and citron screaming, the white musk giving it a warm, soft edge. Nice.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Cali

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Lilac and citrus, much sweeter than I would have thought, and something underneath that smells like....meat? Unexpected.

 

 

Dry: The lilac come out on top, which is great, it's a fave of fine. Hints of citrus and musk, but mostly lovely lilac.

[Upstart Crow]

Sadly, this is straight lemon drop candy/lemon pledge on me with the barest hint o lilac I was so hoping for something low on citrus and high on lilac and musk.

[Convallaria]

The opening is the swirl of listed notes. This will probably remind you of candy, cleaning agents and/or various other lemon-scented products. I don't mind but if it's a nope for you, best reconsider this one. (I have the same problem with cinnamon - no matter how elegant the rest of the blend is, it will never not smell like scented candles, cookies and cheap lip balm gone "creative".) After citruses evaporate, it has an awkward phase that smells kind of like a tree with bark just striped off (raw, watery, a little bitter), before going into pure lilacs. This, too, might not be everyone's jam - it's very close to lilac SN, I can practically smell the pollen. After that, it morphs into animalic musk, ultimately becoming typical perfumey sweet powder that slowly fades into the skin. It lasts relatively long overall, as do all respective phases.

 

I'm torn about this one. On one hand, it feels unfinished - citrus and lilac seem like they belong in separate perfumes, and then there is that transition phase. On the other hand, some too well-blended mixes fail to hold my attention - I like to be able to smell something recognisable. So I'm actually moving this to "to-buy-bottle" pile. Simplicity isn't a bad thing, I guess.

 

Still can't figure out how it connects to Whitechapel, though. Not very wicked on me, all gentlemanly, if a bit temperamental. Maybe my skin terrified it into obedience?

Edited September 15, 2016 by Convallaria

[Kay Torres]

I received this as a frimp from the lab. The man has this bottle of lemon oil that I swear he inherited from his grandfather. I've never seen it any other place except his bathroom. He uses it on his clippers and his beard. This smells like that. Thick, sharp, heavy citrus. I really didn't get anything else from this. I gave it to my uncle, but I probably should have given it to the man. Maybe I'll pick one up for him.

[achildoftime]

Beautiful bright lime. I don't get any lilac, but there is citrus for days. The white musk is a bit middling. It's a nice support in the beginning, but mixes with the lime once dry in a way that's a little funky. It's not bad, just not what I was expecting. I think it's a great citrus scent in general. It isn't too complex, but I think it's great if you'd like to smell like a handsome lime. I know I do.

[milo]

Very nice, clean crisp citrus scent. I was just eating wine gums, and this scent is just like a lime wine gum, kind of like effervescent 7up. This is a fast fade, though, but I still like it. FWIW, I'm not a big fan of white musk and lilac, but I don't get any here.

Edited April 19, 2018 by milo

[Juliamon]

In the imp: Industrial bathroom cleaner! Where's the limes I was promised?

 

Wet: There they are! The lime and citron come out swinging, juicy and zesty. The lilacs drift in lazily, and then are suddenly pushed aside as the musk announces its presence. And, unfortunately, that's where this goes wrong. I don't usually have a problem with white musk but in this case it seems to be fighting with the citrus and starts smelling unusually dirty. I guess that's the 'corrupted' bit, and I am unfortunately not a fan. The lilac struggles to remind me that it's there, but it's not strong enough to break up the fight.

 

Dry: I think the citrus and the musk fought to a stalemate, both exhausted but unwilling to admit defeat: they cling weakly to my skin, barely noticeable. The lilac is still kicking around a bit, yet still manages to get overshadowed. Poor lilac!

 

The only really positive thing I have to say is that this is much more gender-neutral than the description implies. I had such high hopes for this blend, enough that I tested and retested half a dozen times before reviewing to make sure it REALLY didn't work and it wasn't just hormones/weather/whatever messing with it. Alas!