Frumious Bandersnatch

[Lunaratu]

Bandersnatch musk, redolent of spicy carnations, wild plums and chrysanthemum

The waft is lovely deep incense touched fruit when wet—the close sniff is like Big Red gum cinnamon sweet. I really hope the entire thing settles down into the prior because incense touched fruit just sounds very very good to me. The Big Red quality is settling down a bit as it’s drying and the fruit is still there in the background acting as a very good buffer. However it is certainly still predominantly cinnamon on the skin, though a more mellow, playing-nice-with-its-friends-in-the-sandbox-though-its-still-ringleader type of way. Dry this is still spicy but with a good grounding of plum—this is rather yummy but not in the typical slather-me-in-chocolate-foody type of way. No, this is like spiced-sugar-plums whose flavor is so complex you can’t tell if it’s an entrée or a dessert. I like. Mmm, by the way, this is absolutely amazing layered with Midnight on the Midway. The spicy and plumy qualities of FB pairs amazingly with the sugar and incense—definitely thinking spiced, sugar plums now.
Rating: 4/5 Edited October 7, 2007 by Lunaratu

[tartchef]

Eh... see, I'm getting cloying craft store. The plum wax tarts, the cinnamon stick wreaths, the whole shebang. The individual elements of this should, by all rights, work beautifully on me, and really, it's not horrible... but it makes me feel like I should be hosting a Christmas-themed Home Party As it dries, the sickly sweetness fades, the musk comes out a bit more, and I start getting a much more tart plum scent, like real plums, roasted with a bit of honey & cinnamon...

 

Bottom line, Bandersnatch is very inviting on me, but in a slightly commercial, hostess-y way... if I was shopping at the holidays, this is how I'd expect the local gift shops to smell...

[maribouquet]

This is spicy and dusky sweet in the imp and wet. As it dries I can start to smell the carnation, which seems like it wants to go a bit soapy...I'm getting that craft store spiced candle smell that others have mentioned. Hmm. Plum is a tough note for me.

[hkhm]

imp: carnations and plums blended together to smell like bubblegum. not the way lotus smells like bubblegum but like super-sweet strawberry bubblegum.

 

wet: the musk has been amped up to maximum on my skin, the carnations have put out their spicy sweetness and the plum is presiding over the whole thing. this smells like christmas from my childhood, like sweet christmas punch next to the lovely floral centerpiece. this does smell like there's some cinnamon in there but i'm glad there isn't any (otherwise i'd be a ball of pink pain).

 

dry: spicy, fruity sweetness. this doesn't smell like plum or carnation anymore, just an indistinct spicy sweetness that has a festive feel to it.

[janeness]

It's cherries and something darker in the bottle, with just a touch of incense, but when it touches my skin it's all "OMG CINNAMON STICKS AND INCENSE!" and just a touch of potpourri.

 

later, it's settled down and the cinnamon stick has backed off to let a delightful mix of mulling spices and plums come through. It's a well made fruitcake!

 

This lasts a while and has a medium throw. I was looking to try something different today and surprisingly frumious bandersnatch makes an awesome holiday scent! Christmas crafts and fruitcake! Whee!

[VioletChaos]

In the bottle: like cherry cobbler, hot, plus cream. there is a tiny undertone of plum, but it's very faint.

 

wet on my skin: a strong cinnamon of the candle shop variety emerges, as many have said. i get sad at the disappearance of the cherry.

 

an hour later: like a musky fruit incense my dad burned in the house in the '70's. also reminds me of what we called 'head shops' at the time, a sort of mix of sweet hippy incenses and oils.

 

in all, not my favorite, but a decent winter time oil that i'll wear again.

[pensarepink]

In the bottle: sweet

Wet: this smells like Pat Catan's (craft store)!

Drying: potpourri with a fake fruit scent gone wrong

 

Not one of my favorites. This smells forced. Not what I'd hoped for an Alice in Wonderland tie-in.

[blktauna]

Strangely enough when I cracked this imp open... I smelled nothing at all.

 

Not a whiff.

 

That was the weirdest experience I've had opening up a perfume.

 

I passed it on.

[Lyrical]

In vial: rounded, fruity, spicy, plummy. Paler and smoother than Bathsheba.

 

Wet on skin: lovely! I think Bandersnatch musk is a pale rather than a dark musk. The plum note is distinctive but blends nicely in with the carnation and chrysanthemum. It's spicy too - like stewed plums seasoned with cloves.

 

Dry on skin: spicy plum - and with plenty of throw. I really like this! It's much spicier and less musky than Bathsheba (another favourite) and the plum is even plummier - in fact it's rather foody, which Bathsheba isn't. This one may well be going on my bottle list - it's heavenly!

[agnusdei]

Frumious Bandersnatch has been one of my favorites since my very first lab order, so I think I’m way past due to give it some review love.

 

In the bottle it’s strongly spicy plum rounded out by peppery carnation blooms. A very energetic blend that’s richly fruity without becoming too heavy - there’s something sweet about it but it doesn’t read as syrupy to me at all, it feels so light and carefree. I understand where some of the reviewers got the ‘craft store’ feel from it, but to me it’s more complex than candles and potpourri. There’s just enough of that almost cinnamon-y feel to get your attention, but the mix of carnations and chrysanthemums pulls back before it becomes too cloying by adding a little bit of bitter green to the mix. At first sniff there’s a vibrant spiciness but each breath is rimmed with that fresh feeling of burying your nose deep within a flower. With wear the spice fades into a beautiful glowing warmness, with the plum, carnation, and chrysanthemum still delightfully balanced.

 

My only complaint is that I really wish the Bandersnatch lasted longer on me, it’s usually gone within and hour, or maybe two if I’m lucky. But I guess that’s what having a bottle is for, right?

[heathercaley]

Yay!! Today is a Mad Tea Party oil review day!! Wooo!!

 

O...M...G...

 

 

Big bottle NOW!! I LOVE carnations and this doesn't let me down at all... so spicy and sweet.. Im getting some sort of clovey aspect?? Or is that just the carnations smelling really effing good on me? oh yummy plummyness. Carnations and Plums.. you just can't go wrong!! It's not too harsh or anything and GREAT staying power!

 

 

This scent is sooo warm and nice. I smell damn good right now. A new favorite!! I think this could be my Signature scent. WOOOO!! I give this one a 5 outa 5 totally all the way... omg.. SOOO good!! Buy a bottle NOW!!!

[mudspinr]

I was worried about the gum/wax tart descriptions of this scent, but lucky me my skin seems to like it!!

 

In bottle: musk and incense. Musk is light rather than dark. Not a heavy scent.

 

Wet on skin: spicy carnation/chrysanthemum and booze. It smells like one of my favorite dark beers--strange but yum It must be the plum note. There is some sweetness and overall it is very smooth. If I were reviewing a beer I would say it was malty rather than hoppy. Moderate throw, kind of layered. The spicy notes stay closer to the skin.

 

Drydown: the musk reasserts itself a little, but the rest of it stays pretty much the same. I keep getting little sniffs of it and wondering what smells good, then realizing it is the bandersnatch. I never get any plum unless that is the note my nose keeps telling me is dark beer--now I want some.

 

Later: lasts pretty well on my skin--which is to say I can still smell it 2 hours later. I will try it in a scent locket soon. Little morphing. Nicely spicy without any potpourri or baked goods overtones. Has a good presence without being overwhelming--something that smells attractive without being a drop-dead-sexy scent. Glad I got a 5ml.

[Dracoo9]

I'm so glad that I got this frimp. I've been meaning to try it.

 

FB is basically a spicy version of March Hare to me and I love them both!

 

On and in the imp I can smell the spicy carnations and plums. And it lasts!

Edited February 29, 2008 by Dracoo9

[binaryfaerie]

Frumious Bandersnatch smells completely different than what I had imagined based on the name. It smells delicious in the imp, but it reminds me of a candle.

 

When I put it on, I can smell the spices (cinnamon!) even more, but they quickly fade into the background.

 

Later, even with the spices almost gone, I still smell like a candle.

[donnatron]

Imp: Dollar store scented candle. This could be wonderful or it could be a terrible mistake.

 

Wet: Immediately on the skin there is a scary plastic note. However, this does move from cheap candle scent to expensive scented candle scent.

 

Dry: Wow, Frumious Bandersnatch, who knew you had it in you? This dries down to a lovely fruity, slightly spicey scent. I get mainly plums, but there is some spice from the carnations and a slightly sweet skin scent.

 

Throw: Really good.

 

Overall: I think I might like layering this with other scents. It's lovely but a bit too young for my tastes.

[CrazyPretzel]

This? Is SO damn good!

 

Think plum compote simmering away on the stove - not those big wishy-washy tennis ball plums that we typically get here in the southern US, but small sleek super-rich and sweet plums that you get in pastries in Germany - plus masses of creamy spicy (almost peppery!) carnations, and a breath of dry smoky chrysanthemum. Rich, shimmering, sexy, and utterly delightful.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Strong, spicy carnation, sweet fruit, a hint of sort of sharp green-floral.

 

Wet: Spicy carnation and candy-sweet plum; fainter fresh crysanthenum. I think there is cinnamon in this too, it's more than just carnation-spice.

 

Dry: Sweet sugared plums, cinnamon, a hint of carnation and warm musk. Spicy. Good throw, great lasting power.

 

Too sweet, too spicy. Not a fan.

[Rouge]

I'm really into the red and purple scents right now - in particular cherry and plum. I'm really looking forwards to trying this one!

 

In the imp - Lovely; a rich spicy plum.

 

Wet on the skin - Absolutly breathtaking - a sweet but almost dusky scent full of fruit and flowers.

 

Dry down - There's definitely something candle-like in here, but it eventually fades to a rich, soft scent of carnation and fruit. There's not as much musk in here as I would have liked, and at times the blend is a little too sweet for me but on the whole it's a beautiful and feminine scent that will be lovely for early summer wear.

 

Similar scents - Bathsheba, Blood Countess, Lady Macbeth. If you like this plum note but want something a little darker, try Oya.

[tziporra]

Frumious Bandersnatch is exactly the scent of a spiced plum tart on me.

 

Like many other fruit scents I'm totally blown away by how yummy this smells. Very evocative of fall baking.

 

But then I remember that I don't want to smell like baked fruit. That always spoils things for me. I think this would be amazing as a room scent.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[tativa]

All my friend and I were getting from this was cinnamon.

The description sounds lovely, but it kind of reminded me of redhots candy rather than plums.

 

ADDED June 12:

 

I agree with some of the above reviews... I smell like a waxy generic candle.

[diamondstars]

Not sure about the plum which everyone else is mentioning (I couldn't distinguish this), but to me this smells of pure fruit cake on skin! Yay.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

A little bit of plum with a touch of spicey carnation

 

On Application

Definitely spicy carnation rounded out by the chrysanthemum (which has it's own spicey scent)!

 

Dry Down

The plum really doesn't come through for me until this warms up and dries down. It has a bit of a grape-like scent. I love this. Definitely a keeper.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

[alicia_stardust]

This is in your face spicy carnation with a hint of musk and a "red" tone in the background. It just screams candle store to me, unfortunately, but I know this is popular among carnation lovers so it's worth checking out if you fall into that camp!

[tacey]

Frumious Bandersnatch

 

PLUM! Lovely, fruity, bright purple, plums! It turned spicy later, so it was SPICY PLUMS! This is just a fun blend, befitting something named Frumious Bandersnatch. It's sweet, it's fun, it's humorous -- don't take it too seriously and let the Bandersnatch have his way with you...

 

No florals for me, although I won't swear what kind of spiciness this is.

[Schmoozy]

Sweet purple plums wrapped in carnation and chrysanthemum, with a touch of musk.

It is lush, wet, ripe and very pretty. I adore the spiciness of the carnations and together with the plum it almost feels christmas-y!