Frumious Bandersnatch

[innocent]

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

The Bandersnatch is a lovely scent to wear on a crisp fall morning like today (as crisp as Texas ever gets, that is...) the spicy plums remind me of the holidays. It does go through a "craft store" phase, but it's a expensive craft store and the eventual drydown is more subtle. I quite like it, though it fades fairly quickly, and I'll be reaching for it again as autumn draws in.

I don't think I'll need a bottle since I have a magical frimp that got here the day after I ordered an imp from the lab - I think two imps will be enough.

[caitilarkin]

This was a frimp from my most recent order.

 

In the imp: Spicy, almost peppery carnation with a touch of plum

 

Wet on skin: Plum and carnation blending beautifully, not getting any musk or any candle/craft store waxiness or cinnamon

 

Dry on skin: This is not morphing at all. The carnation is keeping its spiciness and the plum is staying deep and juicy. Apparently my skin loves carnation--good to know! I haven't been able to detect any musk.

 

This lasted over six hours on the first test.

 

I'm getting a bottle; it's a perfect all-occasion scent for fall, winter and spring.

[Aninael]

This is absolutely wonderful!! I got it as a frimp in my first order, and it is the only one so far that I instantly know I will get a bigger bottle of.

 

When I opened the imp to smell it, it had a wonderful spicy but sweet smell. Applying it to my skin, it was faint at first, but seemed to retain that same smell.

 

When it dried though, it seemed to really open up, and remained a mostly spicy smell with sweet plum, and just a little bit of floral in the background. I loved it!! I could not stop smelling my wrist.

[Aldercy]

Frumious Bandersnatch is a little candle/craft store-ish and slightly plastic-y, as people have mentioned, but overall I like it. It reminds me of unfinished, blonde wood and dried flowers-- both things you can find in a craft store, but neither bad. I've never really found carnation appealing at all, but this is a bold, unusual floral smell. Definitely SPICY. There's some wild, liberally-incorporated pepper in here somewhere.

 

Sadly, I don't exactly get the plum, which was the main note I was looking foward to when I looked this up, but I'm not devastated. There's a candy-like note that might be the plum in disguise-- it reminds me of a very specific sort of candy I used to get as a kid... a lollipop you licked and then dipped in this sour grape powder concoction...

 

So... it's strange and could be better, but I'll wear it sometimes.

[plunderparlour]

on wet spicy plum craft store.

 

dry this is another one that is potpourri on me.

 

boo

[themerrybaker]

I think I may have gotten the Fruitiest Bandersnatch, mine smells a lot like cinnamon applesauce. My parrot will be thrilled!!

[tinyvulture]

there’s a lot going on in this one. when the scent description says spicy carnations, it is not kidding. they are floral yet extremely spicy, almost as though they had been sprinkled with cinnamon. the juicy plum is a bit sour, but nice, accentuated by the unique earthy, dusty smell of chrysanthemums. overall, this scent smells like fall. like a cinnamon and dried plum potpourri. it would be pretty as a room scent, but i don’t fancy smelling like a craft shop.

[blacklacestatic]

When I first sniffed it in the imp, I got rotting flowers. When I put it on wet, it stayed the same... for about a minute. I almost washed it off, but am so glad I didn't because it turned into the most lovely scent, kind of like a craft store in winter. It could also be one of those "Christmas stores" that pop up around now and have all the spicy smelling decorations and potpouris. It's deep and red and juicy. I love it. It gives me all these nostalgic feelings of being young during the holiday season. Yet it's still sexy. This was another frimp that I am so grateful for, as I probably would never have tried it on my own. I would recommend this for lovers of fruit and spice.

 

5 out of 5. Cozy Nostalgic Love.

[ouch!]

A spicy red scent that does unfortunatley remind me of a candle. A lovely smelling candle but a candle nonetheless! It's like a winter warmer that makes me think of holly and berries and spice.

 

It's a nice carnation wrapped in red fruit. I' don't get the musk so much.

 

It doesn't morph that much really apart from getting slightly sweeter when it's dry.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Fruity with some spiciness.

 

Wet: Fruity at first, with a smoky tang, then the carnation kicks in. There's a sugariness about it too, now that the carnation is sounding. There's also a hint of that musk. It smells to me as if bandersnatches are related to ferrets!

 

Twenty minutes: Oh, wow. This is turning out great on me! I get smoke (is that the musk?), spicy carnations, and fruit. This one kind of reminds me of Mme Moriarty.

 

One hour: Uh oh. This is fading quickly on me. Although it still smells pleasant, it's lost a lot of the richness and subtlety it had before. The throw is significantly diminished too: I have to get my nose right down onto the skin to detect the full range of notes.

 

Two hours: It's mostly fruit now, with a hint of spice. I don't think this is going to work out after all. Too bad; it had such a great beginning!

 

Three and a half hours: Didn't I put perfume on this wrist? Can't smell a thing. How sad!

 

I love ferrets, but this little vial of weasel juice didn't work on me. It has a happy home now with someone who loves it very much.

[Magpie]

In Imp: Plummy, dahling! It's...well, as one early reviewer put it, 'dusty', but also the bloody, wine plum in Blood Countess (which I adore).

 

On me: Ooh, wine. Plum wine, if that makes sense. It's gone really dark and spicy. OMG, mulled plum wine! This is amazingly beautiful. I now feel really bad that during the imp doling out, I ended up with this one despite the fact that two of us wanted it. I shall be spreading the Bandersnatch love (make of that what you will!).

It's low and musky and almost animal-like on me, whereas in the imp, it's more distant and reserved. Yummy yumm yumm. This might actually go on my ever-increasing 5ml wishlist, depending on how it goes through the day. I think I can smell cinnamon in it, but it's dark and blends beautifully...or maybe it's cloves. Certainly, there's something so damn spicy it spikes the plums with loveliness. I don't get much in the way of florals when it's actually on me, which is actually fine by me, because this is delicious and evil (or evilly delicious). Almost incensey as well.

 

In terms of throw, this might have a pretty massive one, and I put on my usual 'generous' amount (as opposed to my 'oh god, oh god, what if I don't like it?' amount ). Now I feel vaguely self-conscious as I'm sitting in my parents' living room which my dad regularly walks through mumbling, and they don't know about my BPAL addiction (they wouldn't approve). But I love this so much it doesn't matter.

[Juushika]

A psychic frimp from the Lab—I've wanted to try this, and almost ordered it this time around.

 

In the vial: Plum—fruity, bright, but a bit dusty.

 

On me: I didn't know that craft stores had a certain smell but as it turns out—they do, and they smell like Frumious Banderstatch. Or, rather, FB is a craft store, a touch toned down and a touch more wearable. The plum is predominant, fruity, full-bodied, and bright; it does smell a bit like a candle, but not enough to put me off. Carnation and a touch of chrysanthemum back it up, a spicy accent which is slightly floral and sweet. To my sadness, I don't get any musk. The overall scent smells a touch artificial, a touch like potpourri, and definitely has the fruit-floral-spice scent of a craft store—but it's quite pleasant. Warm, cheery, vivid, this smells like winter holiday cheer. Scent color is highly saturated purple leaning towards red. The scent is strong but the throw is only moderate; wear length is average.

 

Verdict: I'm not head over heels for Fumious Bandersnatch. I like the scent and the notes, but not the craft store image they conjure. Perhaps if it were a bit less vivid and a touch more subtleor if I got any of the muskI would love it more. As it is, I'll keep my imp around, wear it a few more times, and make my final decision as to its fate.

[Seismogenic]

I never tried to memorize the poem Jabberwocky, so I suppose I'm excused from shame over only remembering word for word the part about the frumious Bandersnatch. I will not shun it this time, though!

 

In the imp: Dark tangy musky plum.

 

Wet on skin: The plum immediately fades quite a bit, leaving more of a sweet-spicy musky smell. I think I can recognize carnation in there, but I'm not quite sure.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry is pretty much the same as wet, though maybe with even less plum. At one hour in, the scent has grown quite faint, and what's left seems to be a combination of musk and carnation. Granted, I don't know if I'd recognize chrysanthemum, but I don't thiiink there's anything else in there. The plum has completely disappeared.

 

Five hours later: Very slightly musky, but that's it.

 

End of the day: Completely gone.

 

Overall: I did not shun the Frumious Bandersnatch, but it sure shunned me! Between this one and Prunella, I realize that plum lasts all of a second on my skin, before disappearing forever. Epic fail! The flowers - though they were good, spicy flowers - in this one didn't last terribly much longer, and even the musk here didn't stick around as long as some musks do on me. I had high hopes for the Bandersnatch based on the smell in the imp, but it just wasn't meant to be.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Smells like a gingerbread, vanilla, plum, spicy Yankee candle. It's yummy, but it's too commercial and foody for me.

 

Wet: I am burning! Red spots everywhere, not just where I put the oil, but inches surrounding those areas! The spicy carnation is giving me pain!!! I washed it off very well, as in, I took another shower, and the spots and the itchy burning pain started fading about 45 minutes later....

 

Overall: Pretty in the imp...but the burning!!!! The only other oil that really burned was Hermia, but the burning faded really quickly, so quickly, that I didn't even have time to get undressed and take a shower and the redness stopped. Actually Snake Oil too, but it was very slight, I could ignore it, and faded even quicker than the Hermia pain did. But this scent is almost evil for me! Getting rid of it immediately!!!!

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: A light, sweet plum, more floral than fruity, with beautiful carnation, over a bed of pale musk. This does indeed smell like a craft store or a Yankee Candle, but damn, it's a good-smelling craft store or candle. I don't know what chrysanthemum is like, really, but I'm sure it's in here.

 

Wet: A little waxy, a little soapy, but still a spicy, floaty plum with touches of spiky floral. Quite nice, but a bit perfumey. We'll see if it mellows.

 

Dry: This one settles as it dries and becomes a little less in your face, but there's still a slightly smoky quality to it that I associate with a craft store filled with candles. If chrysanthemum and carnation behave on you, definitely give this one a shot, since it would be amazing without the wax. That being said, I think this would be absolutely gorgeous in a lotion, and think I will keep my Imp for that purpose.

[femmefatale]

Ok, I understand the craft store references now. Very pretty, but definitely smells like a candle store or very nice craft section.

It starts out very plum-y, but immediently begins to take on a very spicy, somewhat floral scent. Reminds me of a spicier version of a wild plum lotion I used to have and love and rub on my tummy when I was pregnant with my oldest.

As it dries further something slightly musky and a bit waxy comes out. I still really like it though and can't stop sniffing my arm.

 

It's a very lovely scent, though I'm not sure I would wear it much as a perfume. Would make a fabulous lotion, hair scent, or even room scent. I could see getting a bottle just for that.

[marared]

This was spicy plum goodness right out of the imp, but it's dried to craftstore plum soap. I still like it, but I liked it better in the imp.

[wonderfinch]

I wanted really, really badly to like this one, just because of the name. In retrospect, ordering a 5mL of it was probably not a great decision.

In the Bottle: I can't even smell the plum-- the carnations have completely taken over, and it's all cinnamon and spice, with a whiff of something vaguely fruity lurking in the background.

Wet: The plum has really come out now, and I smell like a high-end Christmas candle-- not a waxy, cheap, too-strong candle, you understand, but a candle all the same.

Twenty Minutes Later: I really do smell like I've spent too much time in a Christmas craft shop. The boy who sits in front of me in my first class of the day is very obviously disturbed by it. I don't blame him.

Several Hours Later: The carnation has really died down now, and now it's all plum and chrysanthemums with a hint of spicy musk in the background. I'm a fan, though I'm not all that sure how I feel about having had to wait three hours for the scent to be really enjoyable-- and I'm especially not sure how I feel about having smelled like Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in the meanwhile. And unfortunately, the scent itself has really faded by this point. There's just a bare suggestion of its scent now.

 

Overall, I enjoy it, but I'm not sure I'll be wearing this too often. The scent eventually dries down into something lovely, but I'm not altogether sure I enjoy sitting through the first hours of craft-shop scent-- especially since it fades so quickly!

[rayvn1]

Frumious Bandersnatch smells like sharp, biting citrus and carnation on me. Interesting and stimulating, but not something I'll want to smell like very often.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

 

Imp: mmmmm carnations and chrysanthemum. Wow!

Wet on me: Even better. Alrady the nose is locked to the wrist!

Drying Down: I am sooo in love with this right now. I get the spicy and the

flowers, slight traces of the sweet of the plum.

Dry: OOOOOOO Keeper and must get bottle. Spicy Carnation and mum love!

This is a total fall scent. Must have more to remind me of my favorite season.

 

[modillian]

In bottle: Insanely sweet.

 

Wet on skin: Insane potpourri. Just insane. Supersweet fake fruits like in air fresheners, and then spiciness like cinnamon that's completely impersonal. Insane potpourri is all I can think. Aw man, I really wanted to like this one. Plum is so delicious on me in Megaera, and I like carnation single notes, but this just turned into the supersweet fake potpourri my father's mother likes to use. Also, it's making my wrist itch.

[ephemera]

I was curious about this one, and since it came to me as a frimp let's give it a go! Who wouldn't want to smell like a frumious bandersnatch?

 

Turns out, me. This isn't unpleasant exactly - I love the idea of it (what exactly is bandersnatch musk?) and the execution was great. I was hopeful because musk and carnations and crysanthemum are all good blends, but that plum is kind of taking this from a "me" scent and turning it into a "someone else" scent. It's a shame too, because I would love to buy a bottle of this just to have!

[cinderfallen]

CRAFT STORE CANDLE. All the time. =/

[Banyangirl]

Ugh. This wants to work on me so badly. The spicy flowers and fruit are lovely and wonderful, but the musk overshadows everything and makes it all turn sour. Too bad. This could have been a really pretty scent.

[sirensea]

In the imp: The musk and the chrysanthemum seem to be the strongest notes.

 

On my skin: Plums and potpourri. It's sweet, but it isn't something I'd want to wear often.

Edited April 9, 2009 by sirensea