Mad Sweeney

[lady_pandora]

Barrel-aged whiskey and oak.

I get a slight whiff of whiskey--and definitely expensive whiskey--when i first apply this scent. It's kind of sweet the way whiskey is, and very very boozy.

But once it settles down, what this really smells like on me is woodsmoke. It shoots a dozen memories right to my brain--campfires, bonfires, the neighbor's woodstove on the first chilly October night. This is not the cigarette smoke smell I got from Black Tower but something much more inviting, more wholesome. This is a comforting, autumnal scent.

Not sure I'll actually wear it much. Woodsmoke is more something I want to smell than something I want to smell *like*. I may use it in my oil burner, though. Edited September 12, 2007 by quantum spice

[GypsyRoseRed]

This is straight up whiskey, poured into a glass on the bar in front of you, and the faintest whiff of sweet tobacco on the lips of the bartender. A very evocative, powerful scent, though not one I could wear. Great scent, just not my style.

[bulletslc]

This was given to me by a friend who loves Gaiman and therefore bought a few of the Carousel scents, but couldn't wear this one.

 

In the bottle--Kentucky Bourbon. I'm a single malt girl and to me this wasn't peaty enough to be Lagavulin.....but it is sweet mash bourbon all the way.

 

On wet....still very alcoholic....woah!

 

On dry down.....clove cigarrette smoke in an oak lined club with a hint of booze in the background!

 

This is a very gothy smell to me. I love it! Not one I'll ever wear to work, but certainly one I'll wear again on the weekends! Thanks Veil!!!

Edited April 15, 2007 by Bulletslc

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Pure alcohol and beef jerky. Yuck.

 

On me: Still very alcohol, tingles my nose. Not me.

[pastrydeity]

On me, this doesn't have any noticeable whiskey at all--it's all a slightly spicy woodsmoke. But I like that, since it reminds me of cozy late-night conversations around a campfire, a very comforting scent. I'll be buying a bottle of this one for sure.

[forspecial_plate]

I happened upon a decant of this, and even though I have no desire to smell like whiskey, some of the reviews made it sound so good.....

 

Yup, that's whiskey! I couldn't pick up the subtleties, it does smell like good whiskey, but definitely whiskey. After drying a bit, it's a sweet woody smell, and still not something I want to smell like, even though I like a lot of woods. This one just wasn't for me!

[mand]

Mad Sweeney is absolutely amazing: how can a perfume oil with no alcohol smell just like it? After the first alcohol blast I get whiskey, I love its smell - my mother used it to add flavor instead of coffee - and not at all drinking it, the only alcohol I drink being exceedingly sweet wines. Drying down it becomes peat, at least what I imagine peat to smell like, whit a faintly sweet note. Incredibly comforting. I might consider buying a bottle.

Edited April 16, 2007 by mand

[bryghtrose]

Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey.

I kept sniffing, wondering if there really wasn't any alcohol in there.

 

I wouldn't wear this myself, but I would love to have a man who would wear this. It would be so damn sexy.

[Ahania]

This smelled like a shot of whiskey in a cup of beef broth. I like whiskey ok, but smelling like meat... ugh.

[filigree_shadow]

Good gravy, that's a lot of whiskey. You know how you're getting ready to take a drink of some alcoholic beverage and your nose gets into the little glass as you take a sip and all of a sudden you get a big whiff of the alcohol and your only thought is "Flammable! FLAMMABLE!!" Uh, no? Hmm, maybe that's just me.

 

Anyway, that's exactly what this smells like when it's wet. Just like that. Not for long, though! This has the shortest "wet" stage of any BPAL oil I've tried. Usually I can tell where I applied an oil because it's shiny for several minutes while it's still wet. This one is dry and not shiny inside of 30 seconds.

 

When it's dry, it smells like a lot of oak, strong and dry, with some whiskey remnants. It smells like what I imagine the inside of a whiskey barrel smells like after it has dried out. Except there's something that reminds me of wood ash in this, too. Dry and wispy, and very slightly acrid.

 

Very interesting. It's not something I'd wear, but I'm glad I tried it.

[Naamah_Darling]

WHUUUH!!!

 

ALCOHOL!!!

 

GAH! BZAAAK! GXXXKT!

 

Yes, this smells like whiskey. No, not rum. WHISKEY. A peaty old bog-man might smell like this, if he'd got really drunk before they strangled him and dumped him in.

 

Wow.

 

I'm actually afraid to put it on, because I don't want to smell like I've been boozing it up. But I'm your BPAL guinea pig, and I'll wear anything, so here it goes.

 

*dabs*

 

*sniffs*

 

Oh, GOD. AUGH.

 

What did I expect it to smell like? What the hell was I thinking? This smells like . . . FAUGH!!!

 

*coughs madly*

 

It's okay in the bottle, actually smells kind of good. There's a sweetness to it, and something that mimics alcohol's penetrating reek only too well. On my skin, the dead bodies and seaweed stink of whiskey comes out, but not in a friendly way. This doesn't have actual alcohol in it, but it stinks of whiskey.

 

Now, a touch of this with something sweet to mellow it . . . a cake-type scent? Maybe some chocolate? That would probably smell fanTAStic. But alone this is just too powerful to wear, unless you want to be pulled over by every cop in the county. It's smell-it-through-a-car-door strong.

 

It dries to the burnt hair and empty bottle of Wild Turkey smell of a drunken night spent too close to the campfire. The throw would probably peel chrome off a trailer hitch from half a block away. It will make small children cry, your husband recoil in horror before shoving you into the shower, and make your cats pull that "I smell your BUTT you disgusting HUEMANZ!!!" face.

 

I will keep this in case I ever have to go undercover as a hobo in Detroit.

 

Thumbs way up for realism.

[Jheya]

In the imp: ...are you sure this isn't just a small vial of the real thing? Holy crap Whiskey. One to smell carefully as it really goes through the nose and hits you in the back of the throat with the harsh alcoholic note.

 

On skin: I've had the decant a while, and now seems a good a time as any to finally dare try this one on.

 

The strong, harsh alcholic note it present for the first few seconds before quickly fading. In fact, a minute or so after applying, the acrid sting is completely gone, leaving something much softer and smoother in it's wake.

 

Now that it now longer needs to be cautiously inhaled, the oak is a lot more apparent. There's a rich, slightly smokey feel to the scent. Warm, woody, and slightly smokey, spicey and sweet. There's still an alcoholic edge to this, but it's subtle, and nowhere near the smack-you-in-the-face-alcohol I get when sniffing the decant.

 

I think the smokey note is more like tobacco than woodsmoke. On drydown this seems to settle as tobacco/smoke/wood, and doesn't really smell alcoholic at all. Admittedly, it's been a while since I last smelt whiskey, but this is completely lacking the harsh note I associate with hard liquors.

 

This is a lot more wearable than I would have guessed from sniffing the decant, and I'm amazed at the difference wearing it on skin makes. However, although it's more wearable than I would have initially guessed, the smokiness is still not something I wish to smell of. An interesting scent, but not for me.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Holy crap, that is whiskey! It reminds me of doing shots of cheap whiskey with these three random guys at a party and proceeding to dance the night away, while my other friend put a large orange traffic cone on his head and started doing the robot in the middle of the room. Yes! That's how evocative it is. It kind of stings to smell it, but not in a bad way...I expect this will smooth out a lot upon application. I can definitely smell the oak underneath, too.

 

On the skin: Yup, it smoothed out. And it is so nice. There's just barely a bite from the whiskey, and the oak has taken center stage. It's kind of sweet. The more I wear it, the more I catch a whiff of...clove? It's not as strong as straight clove oil smells--it smells like I have a bracelet of whole cloves around my wrist, and their scent has worn down a bit with age. That's unexpected, but very nice. I like it a lot.

[Bain]

In the bottle: all whiskey, baby!

 

first five seconds on the skin: zOMG! I smell like smoldering firewood and booze..

 

drydown: I can't stop sniffing my arm, because I seriously smell like I've been standing around a bonfire for hours, it's spicy, hot, woodsy in a way I love. DELICIOUS!

 

(sidenote: layers nicely with Cobra Lily, just an fyi! LOL)

[sarada]

I don't know what whiskey smells like, but I know rubbing alcohol and whoa, this is unbelievably strong in the imp. I feel like I'm going to pass out from it. I have my doubts at first as to whether this can even make it onto my wrist. Turning my nose away, I put a tiny dab on my wrist...and wait.

 

The horrific strong alcohol smell fades almost immediately and there's a boozy, slightly fruity, woody smoke scent for a bit, which is more promising. I have an absolute horror of alcohol but I like many wine-tinged scents, go figure.

 

Very quickly, this turns into burning autumn leaves -- a scent I've long wished for in the BPAL catalogue. Still a whiff of something distant in the background that recalls wine-soaked wood but the rich scent of burning autumn leaves on a chill wind is foremost. This is just perfect!

 

Absolut bonfire! I will have to try the imp out some more in the fall, autumn breezes might sway me in a bottle direction despite my misgivings about the rubbing alcohol phase. Considering that I am a devout teetotaller it might amuse people that I smell like a wino when first wearing this!

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Oh. My. God. Do not do that. In the imp this is pure undiluted booze, like sniffing a bottle of whiskey. It burns. It really burns. Ow.

 

On the wrist: Still with the burning at first, it burns so much I can't actually smell anything, holy yikes. But, after a couple of minutes, this starts to mellow, a little bit at a time.... the smell is starting to peek out...

 

Drydown: Wow, this is fantastic, and the biggest morph ever. It mellows into this creamy hazelnut coffee, pure whiskey, expensive gorgeous whiskey. I never thought whiskey could smell so lovely! I certainly didn't expect this from the "scent" (oh the pain...) I was getting in the imp. It's so smoky and beautiful!

 

Overall: This is a great smell, just don't sniff the imp, don't sniff your wrist in the first few minutes and don't drive because you do not want to get pulled over smelling like this. Initially, I thought I would swap this, but now... I think I'll keep it.

[steffanina]

Mad Sweeney-

 

In Bottle: It's a whiskey-and-honey toddy!

 

Wet: What a lovely smell--this is what whiskey SHOULD taste like, instead of burning your skull from the inside.

 

Dry: It's beautiful, more strongly alcoholic than the Irish Cream scent that Sugar Cookie 2005 had, and truly whiskey. Lovely and sweet; I love it and will have to get that 5ml after all, I guess! It's for a good cause, anyway.

 

Overall: I love.

[DenMother]

HOLY F................K

 

Ok I just had to review this.

 

I Took a sniff of this last night and recoiled in horror as I wasn't sure what the hell I was smelling. I quickly shoved the lid on it and put it down whilst moving slowly away I decided to be brave again this afternoon and try it again, this time I didn't sniff the bottle I just tipped it on both wrists (read slathered) pressed said wrists together and flapped them around a bit and brought them back up to my nose!

 

After coughing myself stupid for a few minutes and having to push my lung back down I ran around the house flapping arms up and down so as to dry the oil and perhaps disperse its ...........aggressive nature.

 

Now after about 20 minutes it is becoming even more interesting. I could smell acrid smoke with a layer of fruit beneath it.

 

I had to come on here and see the reviews to work out what it was I was really smelling and now it all makes so much more sense.

 

It is still making me cough but MY GOD is it amazing

 

 

[lizardqueen]

Okay, here we go, first review...

 

In the imp: Oh ye gods! Straight-up wheeze-inducing whiskey.

 

On me, wet: still whiskey, but with a hint of spicy warmth.

 

It dried really quickly!

 

On me, dry: warm whiskey toddy, kind of gingery, with a hint of smoke. Not much throw at all.

 

Verdict: an enjoyable scent in terms of seeing what the Lab can do, but not really something that suits me in terms of actually wearing it. Might pounce on the boy with it later to see what it does on his skin.

[slave1]

MAD SWEENEY

 

In Bottle: Woody booze

 

On Skin: This smells like a keg of whiskey, can it be any simpler? It is whiskey almost as a single note, with just a slight soft woody background note and a little bit of dust that has settled on the top from sitting in the cellar. Very sweet, very boozy and very heavy. My husband loves whiskey and is going to love this on me… even though it’s not a scent I would ever wear unless I wanted to smell like I’ve been drinking all night. It’s a fun whimsical scent, but not a scent for casual wear. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[darkblade]

Mad Sweeney (Neil Gaiman)

 

Wet: Man, I kinda suck at figuring out wet smells..

 

Dry, after a bit: Holy crap that's sweet. Sugar cookie sweet. Way too sweet on me.

 

Verdict: Swap pile. Though I'm trying to figure out how the heck I went from whiskey and oak to sugar cookies.. my skin's weird.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle yessir, that sure is whiskey. *eyes water*

wet on skin um, ew? OMFG! GET IT OFF! it smells slightly medicinal and heavily alcoholic. the two together ought to smell like cough syrup or something, but instead it smells of drunk sick. oh god, make it stop.

dry on skin there's something that smells vaguely of cloves in this, but instead of being a warm, spicy smell, it just smells even more like sick, like old sick, a pool of vomit that time forgot. it took a shower and a loofah to get this shtuff off and it is never going back on me, omg!!!

 

given what happens to the mad sweeney character in american gods, i'd say this is an excellent interpretation. i shall now find someone to pass this on to, because yuck.

[Elilara]

*cough!*

This is... exactly what it says. Like others have said, I'm shocked at how perfectly it smells like alcohol- It has that sharp edge that climbs up your nostrils and does a jig. Oh man. That calmed down after about 10 minutes, and left ... a rotty, soggy barrell. I wasn't fond of it. It was really strong too, and far overwhelmed anything else I attempted to test that night. I tried it on all my roommates too, thinking they'd dig it, but the response was "AUGH Get it away!!!". Off to the swap pile, sir!

[maribouquet]

Yep, that is whiskey! *licks lips* Sadly, like most boozy notes, Mad Sweeney is giving me a headache.

[windbourne]

I don't have a lot to add to this one; it's quite a surprisingly straightforward scent. No strange notes that hit my nose sideways an hour and a half after application or other weirdnesses. It's just a solid blast of whiskey, followed by a slow clean fade into luscious woodsmoke with a touch of coffee.

 

This is a scent I'd wear to a private club or possibly, clubhouse -- somewhere people go to drink and smoke and play cards. Or to a night club, where the scent would mingle with the cigarettes in a rather becoming way.

 

Either way, it smells happy and drunk to me, and I'd want to wear it when I want to feel happy and drunk.