The Dodo

[TeaLeaf]

Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood.

My body does not get along with this one at all. The test patch on my arm felt and looked like it had been on fire

[Heeroluva]

Wow this beat my expectations.

 

In the bottle it was musk with a bit of sweetness in the background. As soon as it hits my skin the musk explodes, which had me worried, but as it tries the musk all but disappears leaving a nice fruity scent behind.

[ChloeKEvil]

This smells almost exactly what I was expecting, which is strange. I guess I have a good idea of what sugar cane smells like, because that's what this is mostly on me, with lemon and mango and a bit of cinnamon on the side. It smells a lot like a jawbreaker, actually- very candyish.

 

Nom nom nom. *attaches nose to wrist* This is very good. If I bought GC bottles, I would be buying this, but the imps last long enough that I don't need bottles.

[tinyvulture]

i thought this would be quite fruity, but at first all i smell is strong, cinnamony cassia. the lemon peel and mango do appear after a minute, but they’re an odd fit with the cassia. the notes just don’t seem to combine very well. it surprises me that i don’t smell any red musk, which usually amps on my skin. just the cinnamon, lemon, and mango. off to swaps.

[vikitty]

The cinnamon in this is lovely in the imp but it burned me when I applied it to my wrist. Maybe I'd wear it in a scent locket.

[voodoocatwoman]

I get mostly a sweet musk and sandalwood combination from this while it's wet. After it dries, a hint of spice comes through. It definitely reminds me of something from my childhood, some sort of forgotten perfume. Does NOT last very long.

[Nachtwulf]

It might smell good... I couldn't really have it on long enough to remember.

 

What I DO remember is that OH MY GOD IT BURNS AAAGH....

I just put on a little bit and the whole patch where I put it turned bright red and swollen within seconds. YOW. I've -never- had that kind of response from BPAL, but whatever there is in here that's unusual, I am HIGHLY allergic to.

 

In the bottle, it's kind of thick and smoky and a bit on the cloying side, but as for what it is on me... couldn't tell you. Just... if you have a sensitive hide, be careful, this bird -bites-.

[foxroses]

I get something really light – lemon, or maybe the white sandalwood? Definitely some cassia, but its not cinnamony. Cassia and musk come out more when its applied, less lemon. Its sweet, so that's sugar cane, but not foody sweet, definitely you can tell its a plant, sort of raw brown sugar smell. I don't really get mango but it is probably contributing to that sweetness. The lemon comes back a little – this is deliciously well-rounded. I like this a lot. It's musky, but lemony, and light but definitely has that cassia tang.

[jewelbug]

Imp: lots of red musk, kind of sweet, kind of medicinal/wintergreen bathroom cleaner--now THAT"S unexpected.

 

Wet: Ah, more like it. I get a cassia spiced red musk with something like magnolia or gardenia or something rich and really sweet like that. Also…a dash of necco wafers?

 

Dry: Cassia, musk, and the sandalwood (or maybe its agarwood?) comes out. I don’t really get sugar or fruits from this at all, which is what I was expecting. It’s darker than I would’ve guessed, and ends in a spiced woodsy musk.

 

Overall: On my skin, unremarkable. I'd love to smell it on someone who gets fruits out of it!

[Apple]

Red musk is no friend of mine and lemon can be quite high-pitched on my skin, but I could not resist the lure of the sugar cane in this one. Alas, I should have.

 

Initially I get a very crisp, clean, light scent: the lemon peel and sugar cane combine and don't quite yield lemonade... more like a very refreshing, tart lemon sorbet. No sign of red musk. I think to myself, "Hey, maybe this will be okay." The lemon doesn't turn into floor cleaner, and I enjoy the citrusy freshness for about 15 minutes. Nice.

 

But then... red musk! It rears its foul and ugly head and scares all the other notes away from the caucus race and stands alone on the course, glaring up from my skin. Hateful beast.

[Schmoozy]

Woody, musky and lemony. It's not one of my favorites, but it's not bad either. For some reason my skin eats this up like crazy. Which is funny, because it is very powerful when first applied. I am also feeling a patchouli vibe, and I don't like it!

I get a cinnamon twist before *poof* it completely disappears.

[teacrumb]

I wish I could sniff a single note of cassia, because I think that's what I'm getting lots of. It's a sugary citrus with something woodsy. Not really my thing.

[angelicruin]

In the imp vial, smells like cinnamon sugar.

 

Wet on my skin, it's a musky floral---totally different from sniffing the imp.

 

As it dries, it's hard to pick out any dominant notes...I feel like I can smell them all on my skin. Very complex on my skin.

[ouch!]

This is a whole lotta things on me at once.

 

The Cassia is most prominent, that spicy cinnamon smell, there's a definate wood there too, with a slight fruity background. I'm a Red Musk lover but it doesn't seem to be as strong as it usually is. The oil is not as dark as other red musk blends I've seen so, maybe it's just got less in it or something, I don't know.

 

It smells like Fireball Jawbreakers to me, the cassia is not letting anything else through. A slightly unusual blend, I just wish the Cassia would BACK OFF a bit so I could enjoy the other notes.

 

Ok..so..sorry Cassia for shouting at you, obviously you're a good listener.

 

It does back off after about 10 minutes and the blend sweetens slightly, I'm taking this to be the sugar cane forcing the cassia back. Hmm....not much fruit going on here, I wish the MAngo would come out and the Lemon peel. Cirtus usually dissapears on me anyway so..it was probably there in the beginning but Miss Cassia beat it down!!

 

It's now a slightly sweetened cassia, no fruit...no wood...no musk.

 

It's interesting but I wouldn't get a bottle.

[djsiberia]

wet: i'm getting a lot of cassia. it's very woodsy and musky. lemon is not making an appearace. its light and sweet smelling. no mango either.

 

overall: cinnamon, musk, woodsy and sweet.

 

i kind of like it...but i'm not sure i can last through an entire imp. this might need to be tried again at a later date since i sorta like it in a weird way.

[Molls]

Okay, I don't know if I have the weirdest skin chemistry or what... but all I smell is Desitin...???

 

Off to the Swap box - because diaper rash ointment is NOT what I want to smell like, lol

[rayvn1]

This seemed like it would be such a good thing! I'm not sure where it went wrong, but all I get from wet to dry stage is a dark, bitter, brownish-red smell that reminds me of musty wood and varnish. Strange and not good. I can tell the red musk I adore from Scherezade is in there, and if it had been that plus the lemon and sugar notes I would have been in love. Alas, weird slightly rotten mango with varnished wood wins out.

 

ETA: What a freaking morpher! This turned into lush, juicy mango and thick red musk after about an hour. Wow! Muuuuuch better! I just have to decide if it's worth suffering through the first hour

Edited December 28, 2008 by rayvn1

[mommy2gabe]

On me this smelled warm and musky. Not umpleasant, but I didn't like it enough to keep.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

mango-cassia-lemon. um. not for me.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Lemony with a big ol' slap of red musk that doesn't make me hopeful since it does not love me.

 

Wet: I'm feeling a love/hate thing. Sugary lemon...gooooood. Red musk...baaaaaad.

 

Dry: It gets fruitier as it dries. Sort of tropical actually. I sort of like it. The musk has mellowed out. I don't tend to wear fruit scents though so I will pass it on.

[masquedbunny]

Received this one as a frimp from a forum order, but it had been on my super-long list of GC scents I wanted eventually to try.

 

In the imp: On my first whiff, this smells like sweet tea and cinnamon. Maybe what I'm interpreting as cinnamon is the cassia and musk. Following from there, I think the "sweet tea" impression is actually the lemon and sugarcane.

 

After reading about the allergic reactions from others, I'm a little nervous about testing too much of this--so I'm just doing a touch on the top of my thumb for now ...

 

Wet on skin: Musk, lemon and cassia. It's a very warm tingly kind of citrus.

 

Dry on skin: Getting the mango and sandalwood now, but it's still very musky-lemon on me. I think I smell like a Celestial Seasoning tea bag--not any one in particular, but just that mixed tea smell that I get from mixing all my fruit-flavoured tea bags in one canister. Well, it's between that and a little Amish doll I brought back from Lancaster, PA (and she always smelled like tea to me, too, so ...). Sorry. This is quite a subjective simile.

 

It's not a bad smell to have, but I don't think it's one I'd immediately reach for. I think I'll try it again when my chemistry is a little different... Note to self: The good news for next time is that the skin on my thumb has not broken out in a weird rash. May apply with less trepidation.

 

ETA: 8. Feb - Trying it on wrists today, and still think it's very much a musky-lemon-tea smell. Not too strong on application, it's staying quite close to my skin. More on longevity later ...

Edited February 8, 2009 by MasquedRabbit

[Monster]

In the imp: Tropical/fresh smelling red musk.

 

On my skin: Mmmm this is a sugared red musk. There's a balmy element to this as well (the agarwood?). This almost has a creamy lotion smell to it...like I took some Bpal and rubbed it into some unscented St. Ives lotion. The mango only shows up as a sweet, fruity background. It's not specifically "mango" just a nice happy, fruity smell.

 

Dry: As this settles into my skin it almost has that "box of Bpal" smell...you know the smell when you open up your box of imps of 5mls? I never detected any lemon or cassia at all. To me, this is a sweet, balmy red musk.

 

Overall: The Dodo is really pretty but doesn't really stand out of the crowd. Instead it's a smell that gets lost...forgotten. :'( It's nice, just sort of plain.

[MCS4096]

In the imp: cassia and the woods are strongest, with the slightest hint of mango and lemon in the background. The red musk rounds it all out. A very strange combo in my opinion!

 

Wet: The cinnamon/wood combo makes me think of these cinnamon oil soaked toothpicks I used to make in grade school and sell on the playground

 

Dry: Still get mostly cassia. Tiny tiny bit of red musk and mango (similar vibe to Spawn of the She-Demon) It's fairly pleasant, if a little one dimensional on me.

 

ETA: If you can believe it, as I was closing the imp it splattered a bit and a itsy bitsy drop went in my eye! YOWSA!!

Edited February 12, 2009 by MCS4096

[gymeni]

I'm still learning my notes, I must admit. Being the red musk lover that I am, I decided to buy a bottle of this without even having smelled an imp of it. My impression? To me it's reminiscent of the smell you get when you open a new pack of toilet paper, and I realize that might be a pleasant smell to some. I'm guessing it's the cassia that is so offputting to me, since a lot of these reviews mention its supposed obvious presence. I'm very disappointed.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Deep reddish-orange, viscous oil. Red musk (medicinal, almost mentholic), spice (cassia?), sugar cane. Maybe a little bit of fresh sandalwood.

 

Wet: Softer in all ways. Still strangely medicinal. Lightly sweet. Warmer and dryer in feel. Mildly cinnamony.

 

Dry: Very slow to dry. Oh hey, mango! Aren't you fun and juicy but not too sweet? I get a bit of the zesty lemon peel, too.

 

Later: Medicinal red musk, spicy-warm cinnamon, and fruity mango, in order of dominance. Moderate throw, good lasting power.

 

Summary: It's nicer than I expected with so many notes I dislike. I don't feel the urge to run to the sink. Gentler than it would appear, but still not my sort of thing.