The Organ Grinder (2006)

[aimeceleste]

Almond milk, sarsaparilla, tobacco smoke, black patchouli and white pine bark.

This one is very complex, pleasant, not a daily wear one at all. Despite all the food, there's a heavily smoked/campfire smell to it, reminds me of lapsang pouchong tea. But sweet, and slightly foody. Strange.

[abejita]

I wanted to like this one so very much. I love smoke, almond milk, patchouli, and sarsparilla. Unfortunately, however, I hate pine. Pine and eucalyptus are on my VETO (yes, all caps) list. I joined a decant circle and just tried Organ Grinder anyway. Oh, god and baby jesus, the pine. The scent is driving me nuts. I can smell delicious almond milk goodness as an undertone to gutwrenching, searing pine. It's turning my stomach and leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Dammit. And I love the Organ Grinder artwork too.

 

Off to the sink to wash.

[mimulus]

When I smelled the Grinder out of the bottle I thought it might be too much for me. I'm a sweet foody girl. So I slathered some on a male co-worker.

 

Today I brought a couple of oils to work to cheer me up throughout the day (gee, do I work much?) and I just slathered some on about 15 minutes ago. Well, I had to come over here and write a review because I kept thinking... "Damn! I smell gooood!". It is heavy and dark, but there's also an underlying sweetness beneath the smoke and spiciness.

 

And my male coworker was joking about having woken up the night after being slathered, with a bra on his rearview mirror. Or was he joking...?

 

To sum up: intreguing, dark, lovely. Getting a bottle.

[silver_dollar]

Uh... it's only been a few days since I tried this, but I really can't remember much about it. The main thing I recall is the smokiness topped with a mysterious orange candy-type smell. This is due for some further testing, I think.

[pkthunder]

Wet, and in the vial, the tobacco smoke speaks out violently to me. It may be accentuated by the sharpness of the pine. For the first few minutes this kinda stings my skin; must be the pine. After drying down, I smell more of the almonds and sarsparilla, but the scent overall has become very faint. This scent has some nice things going on, but just not the right combination of things to make me love it. And the smoke drives me nuts in the beginning. I kick my husband out of bed when he smells like that.

[astridclaire]

PINE, PINE, PINE and nothing but PINE!!!

 

(which is too bad because I was enchanted by the thought of the other components-- almond milk , sasparilla, and tobacco? yummmmmm....)

[Meg]

In the bottle: Urine. Salty and a bit bitter, like fresh urine. I get pine, in there, too.

 

Wet: Still urine, but I recognise the pine from Jersey Devil coming through.

 

Drydown: As it dries, it's bitter evergreen, with a fresh hint of tobacco and spicy patchouli. Still under the urine smell, which I'm guessing is sarsaparilla - it smells bitter and salty. I get musky smoke after a while, and a rather soapy smell. I do smell a slightly nutty scent in the background for the almond milk.

 

Overall: It goes from urine to bitter pine soap. Well, um... I suppose that it's a natural combination that you'd find in a lavatory. More seriously, it's something that would probably work out okay on a man, with the bitterness and soapy pine, but it's absolutely not something that works well for me. It reminds me of a saltier, more masculine Jersey Devil, with pee.

[BronteJD]

Was really excited about this one, and almost purchased a bottle sight unseen. SO glad I didn't.

 

In bottle: Huh. Sour smell, don't get any almond, think I'm picking up on a bit of pine. Nothing milky, either.

 

Wet: Stronger sour and bitter smell...and definite pine. I'm having the same initial strong "I don't like this" reaction that I did with Yew-Trees...and I'm not sure if there are any similar notes.

 

15 minutes: Ugh. Do not like this. The bitter and the sour are all that are coming out on me, interlaced with a strong piney note that really isn't helping out. As someone indicated, almost like a bad air freshener struggling to pervade a lavatory. Which is a horrid analogy, but that's what I'm getting. No tobacco, which I love, or almond, which is also a a love. And it's a strong smell, too.

 

One hour: Couldn't wait that long. Had to wash it off.

 

Thank goodness for decant circles.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: wow, it's weird. I know I don't like it, but I'm not sure what it is. Ooh, it's pine… pine and something else… it makes me think of bathroom products anyway.

 

On my skin: very masculine. Pine and almonds. I don't think those two scents get along too well.

 

After a couple of hours: I couldn't keep it too long on my skin because it burnt, stayed harsh and somehow nauseating.

 

Verdict: definitely not for me!

[CoveredInRain]

I knew from the first sniff this was too heavy for me - and that's saying something because I love dark, incensey notes.

 

In the vial: Tobacco - lots and lots.

 

Wet on the skin: The tocacco still dominates, but a hint of the patchouli is coming through. I'm not getting almond at all.

 

Drydown: This one lasts for hours. It took a good three hours for it to mellow on my skin and begin to reveal a hint of sweetness. Maybe that's the almond milk, but it isn't distinctly almond to me.

 

Verdict: Lovely and complex, but not for me.

[cranberry]

In the imp, this smells like almonds and oranges. On the skin, first applied, it smells like it does in the bottle - almonds and oranges. After it’s been on a while, I’m getting hints of pine and possibly tobacco (pipe tobacco that is). This is kind of a bizarre scent – a strange combination of notes. This smells foody and edible in a strange kinda way. When first applied, it reminded me of orange, almond candy, but now it’s more like some kinda almond candy.

 

This reminds me a bit of Perversion but I like Perversion more, it suits me better. I do have to say that the longer I sniff this the more I like it. I didn’t care for it too much at first but this is really growing on me. The tobacco is strong on me now and I can’t stop sniffing my hand.

 

This is a unique scent. I’m drawn to it. I don’t need a bottle but I’ll keep my imp.

[supremegoddessofall]

This is nice! Very masculine. The patchouli and sarsaparilla are the dominant notes for me. The pine is providing a crisp tone, but not overwhelming. Barely getting the almond milk. I think I would like this a lot on Lee.

[ViolentKitten]

TOG is such a uniquely strange combination of notes, but it seems to work on me. First on, I get toasted almonds and milk and it’s all warm and comforting. Suddenly the pine rushes in on a breeze, followed soon after by a brush of smoke and patchouli. All at once, it’s all very… oddly refreshing, comforting and a little dark. Twenty or so minutes later, it all softens; the pine, smoke and patchouli fade to the background and all I can mostly smell is lovely soft sweet milk. It’s not very almondy, it’s more like light and creamy condensed milk, very similar to Arcana’s Sweet Milk with just a hint of pine and maybe the sarsaparilla, so that it’s little savoury, not fully sweet. Not one I’d wear all the time, but one I like to sniff now and then, it’s just so unusual!

[tempestteapot]

In the bottle I got a rich almond scent. YUM!

 

Wet: the smoke patchouli and pine all came out strong

 

As it dried down the almonds came back out (or the patchouli and pine backed off) It's got quite a bit of throw and a nice almond/pine scent to it. Though when I sniff my skin I get a whole lot of smoke and that's not so lovely.

[sophia_helix]

I had hoped that, based on the sarsaparilla, pine and tobacco, this would smell like Doc Buzzard on me. There's maybe a bit of similarity, but it's not smoky and incensey enough, I guess.

 

Instead, I get a nice sweet almond milk at first, on top of those notes, which isn't plasticky or cherry the way I feared. Pine comes in strongly next, and then it's just a sort of... I don't know, general spicy-resin-type scent, not very distinguishable, with some almond. It isn't especially noteworthy, so sadly I think I will pass this along.

Edited November 6, 2006 by sophia_helix

[moon_lemming]

When I first put the Organ Grinder on, all I can make out is HEAVINESS. This is the way that Snake Oil smelled the first time I tried it on. It was my first BPAL and all I could think was "omg, I smell like a box of incense! I'll never be able to pull this off."

 

It picks up a nutty edge pretty quickly, and as it dries, it quiets down into a creamy almondy smoky scent with a tip of pine. Miraculously, my skin is not amping this pine like it normally does.

 

It's interesting, but it's not really "me." It's really too masculine for me, and honestly, the scent unsettles me a little, although I'm not sure why.

[lanablade]

PINE. Not pine-sol cleaner pine, but middle of summer, hot, logging camp pine tar everywhere pine. And lots of it. That's almost all that I get from this scent. There's something else underneath it that makes me vaguely nauseous, too, sadly.

 

I wanted so to love this scent, but it just doesn't love me.

[Tess]

Sarsaparilla! I don't know if it smells good, but I just can't help but think of Westerns and spurs with it.

 

In the vial - Almond with some smoke and a clarifying hint of pine. Nice!

 

Wet - Almond, almond, almond...

 

Drying - I remind myself of a very girly drink, something with cream and a shot of vanilla. This isn't overly sweet, but there's only the barest touch of pine and no patchouli to speak of. If memory serves, sarsaparilla is a sweet soda-like drink, so that might be kicking up the sweetness. Not at all what I expected.

 

Dry (1 hour) - This went incredibly complex, with the previous sweet cream drink feeling with more than a hint of pine with a dark background of patchouli. Lovely!!! And then... it started to go soapy and fade. That's where it is now, a faded and somewhat soapy version of the goodness.

 

Overall - I'm tempted to grab myself a bottle of this anyway, just because I have a severe love of creamy scents, but this reminds me enough of White Rabbit that I don't really have to get more. The pine almost went lemon on me, really.

[Natch]

in the bottle: soft vanilla almonds with a little pine smoke, and patchouli to give it a kick. A tad boozy too... sarsaparilla?

 

wet: a smoky, chewy, almond candy... but clean at the same time.

 

dry: my skin does not do happy things to this. I get a weird medicinal quality which is both unpleasant and familiar, though I can't place it. It's like something out of a doctor's office.

 

overall impression: After smelling this in the imp, and wet, I thought it might be a surprise hit. But, sadly my skin does funny things to it, and the result is a headache inducing medicinal smell. Alas.

[Em-]

Oh, how I wanted to love this one...I love all of the listed notes, but something goes sour on my skin...the almond milk? the sasparilla? It is a pleasant scent, very light on me, actually, but with a bite of something that almost curdles - not quite coconut (I like coconut), not quite describable.

 

Mr. Grinder is very nice layered with Ms. Butcher, though...her creamy chocolate is the perfect antidote to whatever makes him turn on me.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is so faint in the bottle – a trace of almond and that tobacco sweetness, a hint of spice, and the faint clarity of pine.

 

On, it's . . . wow. That's masculine, self-assured, and just a little off-kilter. The almond is low, a creaminess that mixes with the sarsaparilla, yet this doesn't smell like root beer at all. The dominant notes are the tobacco, which blends with the sarsaparilla for a truly unique waft, and patchouli-pine for the up-close finish. The pine here is very woody, not green at all. This is a boxwood smell, and it stays nicely in the background.

 

There's something meaty and close about this scent, almost unnerving, because it reminds me so intensely of what a person would smell like. And it only gets more unnerving, like I'm starting to smell like someone else. I really can't put my finger on it, but this is the first BPAL scent to truly upset me. Gaueko unnerved me a little, but this . . . this bothers me. Which isn't fair, because it's a good smell. I really like it, except for the part where I really don't.

 

Okay. Now I know what it is. Partly, at least. The particular combination of smoke, pine, and sarsaparilla smells a lot like the powder they use on latex gloves, and it's giving me a gut-level "yuck" reaction. The same thing happened to Spanked, but this is even more intense. Spanked had sexy and playful going for it, too. On me, this is shuddering, single-note gynecologist.

 

Combined with the name of the scent, I find this unbearably funny.

[indicolite]

I was very wary of the tobacco smoke, but when I had an option of getting an imp of the Organ Grinder in a swap with the lovely NDcent, I decided to take the opportunity. And thank goodness for that, for I have worn the Organ Grinder twice now and I do not smell the tobacco smoke; instead I smell almond milk indeed, but a dark almond milk, if that makes sense. The other ingredients blend in to make it darker. It is indeed, as many have said, a unique scent.

 

It is very lovely and I will be holding on to my imp, and splurge on a bottle if I find myself very drawn to it.

[gingersnapp]

Mmmm, this is masculine, but I really like wearing it. It is mostly pine on me, but sweetened by the almond milk and sasparilla. I get a hint of the tobacco smoke, but only a little.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Almonds and something almost antiseptic, which I'm guessing is the sarsaparilla.

 

Wet on me - Ginger? And something soapy

 

Dry on me - It went soapy and disappeared almost immediately. There were occassional wafts of something akin to fresh Milk Moon, but that was it.

 

Overall - On me this was pretty non-descript.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is cream and patchouli, with a bit of pine sneaking in. Interesting. After a minute, it smoothes out to something that reminds me of cocoa butter, but there's smoke here as well. It's barely sweet, and elusive. Earthy by implication. Intriguing. I don't know what to make of it.