Badgers

[Circaea]

Sweet patchouli, soft, honeyed leather, sassy sarsaparilla, honeysuckle, and French vanilla.

 

omigawd, I love this! It's like the green note in U Mutter Museum plus the smooth patchouli/hemp note in Banshee Beat. There is nothing cologny about this, even though it's woodsy and outdoorsy and bracing. There's something a little bit tart and citrusy. It's just a lot of my favorite smells, and it's so smooth and unisex. So glad I got my hands on a bottle!

[yakiguri]

Wet, Badgers starts with a sharp grassiness that I first suspected was the sarsaparilla but in rereading the previous reviews I now think is the honeysuckle. This phase lasts for nearly an hour, and I feared that whatever it was was going to ruin this blend for me. Luckily though the honey, patch, and leather eventually seep through, but while they soften and sweeten the sharp grassy edges the honeysuckle remains waaaaay too dominant in this blend for my tastes. I spent quite a few years in the deep South where during spring and summer honeysuckle explodes EVERYWHERE, and enjoyed sniffing and eating it. Why does it apparently hate my skin?


I hate to say it, but considering that Badgers was my OMG BUY NAO of 2012 I'm left vaguely disappointed. The honeysuckle has far too much of a chokehold on the blend, and the other notes don't come out quickly enough to make the sharp phase tolerable. I went through hell to obtain my bottle though, and the scent that wafts off my arm when the honeysuckle does calm the eff down is pure sweet honey/patch/leather LURV. I'll sock my bottle away for more aging and hope the honeysuckle eventually mellows out so I get more of the much later drydown rather than the sharp grassy tang.

[ND¢]

Through the graciousness of a generous forumite who preferred to share than to hoard, I got a wonderful, full bottle.

 

I first notice the sarsaparilla, which easily and quickly blends with a vanilla note. The dry (but still soft) spice of this is given fullness by the leather note, which is very soft indeed, but unmistakeble. I think that this is the mildest patchouli I've ever smelled, adding only the suggestion of sharp fullness carrying the perfectly blended sarsaparilla/french vanilla. I was afraid the honeysuckle might drown everything else on me as florals tend to do, but it's so well blended that I don't even truly detect it as a separate scent. The longer I wear this, the warmer and more vivid the leather becomes, remaining sweetly spicy and redolent of sarsaparilla, french vanilla and that coy twinge of patchouli. This is just so good, and even though I will probably never be so lucky to find a bottle, I will cherish every drop of this scent.

[brilliantcat]

I saw the notes and I HAD to have a bottle of this, so thank you heaps to my lovely fairy

 

In bottle and wet, it's definitely a sweet, subtle patchouli vs. a dark, earthy, headshoppy patch. I think the honeysuckle and sarsparilla are lending some sweetness as well. Considering the inspiration, this smells surprisingly clean and sweet. Not floral, just a smooth, sweet, complex patchouli for awhile. Then the vanilla starts to peek out and warms the whole blend into heavenly territory. Eventually I get a soft, soft leather note that blends seamlessly with the other notes and brings it more in line with what I pictured. Certainly beautiful and smartly blended! This has become one of my favorite blends and I am so grateful to have gotten a bottle! I can't wait until it gets a little age on it, as I expect it to grow only more gorgeous with age.

[angelamaria]

In bottle: this is all soft patchouli, leather and sarsaparilla. This is very lovely! I can see why this is an NYCC favorite. It reminds me of Silver-Haired Bat a bit, but it's not as foody off the bat. Ahem.

 

Wet on skin: yes, definitely similar to SHB; it's more buttery, but less foody, if that makes sense. I think the sarsaparilla is giving it a definite Tombstone vibe as well. And a touch of something powdery seems to be coming in as well.

 

Dry: this keeps its Tombstone/SHB vibe, but with sweet leather coming up for me when dry--none of that sharp plasticky leather here. A sweet buttery leather, but soft and feminine--it's got that strength behind it but is all willowy and soft. At this moment I've given it a bit of aging and it's just as lovely as it was new. Based on my notes it's a bit more layered now, with the sarsaparilla/honeysuckle combo really shining here, I think.

 

Verdict: definitely a keeper! I am trying to cull a few scents from my keeper list and retested this, and it's definitely something.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's soft while being slightly naughty from the honeysuckle French vanilla, patchouli, and sarsaparilla.

 

Wet: It has this interesting green and papery smell to it, but the French vanilla, patchouli, honeysuckle and sarsaparilla are still very similar to the imp.

 

Dry: As it dries, the leather begins to peak out of the papery and slightly green foreground. It is a soft, supple leather and intertwines beautifully with the patchouli. It gets sweeter and more patchouli-centric after a few hours. There is an impression of leather, but not much else.

[Alaeidrel]

This turns to pure honeysuckle on my skin, with a little leather. It also smells exactly like the fragrance in the air in Apricot Lane stores, except minus the insta-headache. Intriguing, not something I need a bottle of.

[tziporra]

I traded my first born (not really, NSA!) for a bottle of Badgers, unsniffed, which now seems like utter foolishness going over the scent notes, but seems to have worked out anyway.

 

I usually can't wear leather or vanilla or patchouli. So, erm, Tzi...... What were you thinking?

 

Well, apparently I was thinking it was going to smell just like a successful and irresistible gambler or con man. Soft, worn-in leather, heavy sarsaparilla with a touch of vanilla, a tiny bit of the cleanest deepest patchouli rounding it all out. Swoon. None of the notes go chemical or weird, and the patch doesn't take over.

 

It's ridiculously masculine on me, but I don't care. I desperately want to smell like this man.

 

Tzi

[theseagrows]

hmm this scent is interesting. it's a bit strong in a cologne-y sort of way. too strong for me anyway, it gives me a mild headache. i can smell leather and sarsaparilla as the leading notes with the honeyish-vanilla in the background. this does seem to have a typical masculine cologney note on me. i kind of like it but it's also a bit too strong for my tastes.

[tinyvulture]

With leather and sarsparilla notes, I thought there might be an "Old West" vibe to this scent, but it's actually coming across as an "outdoorsy" blend. The earthiness of the patchouli and the distinct spiciness of sarsparilla have bound together to remind me of walking through the woods in Western Maryland as a kid. That earthy, woodsy, herbaceous, sweet scent of all the different foliage. The leather blends in seamlessly and I'm not picking up any honeysuckle or vanilla. I don't feel the need to track down a bottle, but the imp is a definite keeper, for nostalgic reasons.

[doublehelix]

I was gifted a decant from a lovely forumite! This is lovely, really. It's very feminine, and for those who are weary of leather I think this would be a wonderful scent to try. It is quite soft, sweet, and beautiful. I would say the sweet honeysuckle and patchouli are the most dominant notes on me, with a backsplash of leather. It's really beautiful! I would love to wear this with a dress and a leather jacket:)

[porcelina]

the sarsaparilla/leather/vanilla combination in badgers reminds me of tombstone, but this is softer, sweeter and more feminine. the honey adds a wonderful sweetness and the particular patchouli used here is REALLY nice. the leather is really soft and blends well with the patchouli to ground the whole blend. really really nice.

[LiberAmoris]

Badgers is so pretty. Like Porcelina, this also reminds me of Tombstone, but the florals in Badger push it in a gentler direction. Everything feels so soft here: the patchouli and leather and sarsaparilla together smell like worn, sun-weathered leather. The honeysuckle and French vanilla bring sweetness and a shot of something summery. It dries down to something like the love child of Tombstone and Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons. It's a few years old, and it's only gotten better with aging—the honeysuckle has come down a bit, and the patch and leather are more buttery and mellow. Perfect for a slow summer Sunday.

[bridgetvoid]

sexy incense with mild pine undertones.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Warm patchouli, honey, and greenness (from the honeysuckle?) are what I get first. Much lighter than I expected. I am not getting much of the sarsaparilla. No leather (which I am ok with, it's iffy on me). This is nice! Much greener and more floral than I anticipated, which is great, I love honeysuckle. And the honey and patch are an unexpected combo with it, but beautiful.

 

 

Dry: This is a beautiful honeysuckle scent! I really expected the patchouli and honey to dominate, but they are playing second fiddle to the honeysuckle. It's a very warm, rich, somewhat spicy and earthy floral scent, and I am loving it.

[Roogna]

OMG I am so glad I got a tester of this (now I need to hunt down a bottle or partial).

Goes on strong sarsaparilla but quickly shifts to wonderful sweet and soft honeyed leather, the vanilla and patch are subtly underneath the leather.

I love it because it's sweet without being foody and provides a soft, pretty leather for me (normally I like heavier leather notes).

[Verios]

I am so glad I got a bottle of this - it's so different from what I was expecting, but it's so, so lovely.

 

I don't get a lot of morphing from it, and while I was hoping/expecting the presence of leather, followed by the other notes listed, I was really surprised that, other than the honey from the honeyed leather being there to sweeten up what is a predominantly floral-smelling blend, I don't seem to pick it out.

 

With that said, I am not typically a fan of florals, but this is something I can easily see myself reaching for often, as the floral note in here (I may just have to add honeysuckle to my 'florals that may actually work on my skin!' list) is beautiful. It's not sharp, or soapy, or overly 'perfumey', which is what makes a lot of florals so unpleasant for me - and the more I sniff/think on it, the honeyed leather, patch and vanilla, while not overt, may be giving the floral some backbone, so to speak.

 

While not overwhelming, this has a nice amount of throw (and a couple hours in, I'm still able to catch the occasional whiff of it, so I'm at that point of the day where I'm hopeful that this is one of those scents that will actually last most of the day ). I may need to track down a backup bottle of this.