Schrodinger's Cat

[ShannonElisabethJones]

A paradoxical scent experiment! - tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint.

 

So in the imp and right after applying it was straight up sugary citrus. Not 100% my bag, but not bad. Now after about 10 minutes, it's calmed down and bit and the throw has almost diminished. It's very fizzy-smelling, and for a while it's almost like I'm getting pricked in the back of my throat. Sounds horrible, but it's really not.

 

Maybe it's just the name playing with my head, but I really can't decide if I like this one or not. I think I do. I'll hang on to it for now.

[freyasfae]

This is a perfect summer scent, but it was really faint on my skin, and the chocolate peppermint was barely discernible.

[Naomi Kelsey]

Straight out of the bottle: sharp, bright, sweet citrus--pink grapefruit, yuzu, lime type thing with a bubbly edge, and a slight hint of mint and orange.

The chocolate peeks out a bit as it dries down. A very refreshing scent that would be a pick me up on a slow day or a perfect scent for long languid warm days.

[joopjoop]

Wet, this is indeed a contradictory scent - the different citrus notes kind of clash with the woody-herbal notes and the chocolate peppermint. At this point, I'm not feeling it.

 

But during the dry down, it really settles down and the combination of the warm rounded feeling citrus together with the peppermint (and just the barest hint of chocolate - mostly in the throw) is wonderful. I keep getting sniffs of myself and I wholeheartedly approve.

 

This one is a very unexpected yes for me - what an interesting and surprising scent!

Edited June 9, 2016 by joopjoop

[AmberOwl]

In the bottle - I like it a lot smells wonderfully citrisy

wet on skin - nice and light citrisy

dry - laundry detergent death.

Looking through the reviews tho I might hold onto this imp a bit longer since it seems to age nicely in the reviews I have read.

[tristessa]

Oooh it's citrus + oakmoss that's doing it for me! This scent was a rando-pick out of the bag of imps I haven't tried in a while. I was immediately in love and happy sniffing it all day long. I love citrus scents and my skin drinks them up. Lush's Sun perfume actually knocked out my morning sickness with my last baby-- it's orange and sandalwood. So I'm thinking it MUST be that woody, citrus that makes me LOVE this! I just wish it lasted longer.

 

When it dries down, it takes on a sexy quality and I don't really smell that yummy ORANGE which is very in-your-face when you put it on. So, I probably wont buy a bottle, but will love the imp while I have it.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Tristessa

[lizabelle]

This sounds so odd that I couldn't quite know to expect, but now that it's on I really like it. It starts with a clean herbal mint/citrus mix and slowly gets sweeter. It never gets to a candy level but it is sweeter than I would normally expect grapefruit to be. The lavender and chocolate both blend in with the oakmoss to make a soft, velvety base, and it's all much more cohesive than I expected. Because of all the citrus I find it improving my mood as I smell it. I think a bottle is in my future!

[gloame]

At first, this reminded me of something from my childhood that I still can't place. Maybe some girly toy set from the early 90s. On drydown, this is weirdly quirky and pretty. I love the lime and the lavender together - not soapy at all. I don't smell any oakmoss, but I'm sure it's doing its part keeping this from smelling like Fruit Loops. Overall, this is a lovely, happy summer scent. I'm keeping the imp and may get a bottle.

[renfair]

I really wanted to try this one because the description just looked so totally whack! And you know, also for all those good Schrodinger's Cat memes out there.

First Sniff Impression: Minty, green, and fruity.

Wet in Vial: I can definitely get the lime, and the peppermint, along with the grapefruit and tangerine.

 

Drying Down on Skin: The mint (and maybe the zdravetz, actually, because it's spicy) go straight up my nose, in a sort of zingy refreshing way. They super accent the more acidic citruses. After a few minutes, the citrus notes are getting a *little* like Lemon Pledge? But there's still that astringent zdravetz (and maybe the oakmoss?) that shoots right up your nose and clears everything out. The scent is a paradox indeed. I wouldn't think all those things together smelled nice, but somehow they do.

Dry on Skin: I'm already feeling this scent would be so refreshing in summer. I always love washing with a mint body wash after running in the summer, so this feels a lot like that. It's like a super pleasant citrus wasabi for your sinuses. I still haven't gotten any of the chocolate, but maybe that's in the background for support, keeping the citrus from being too much.

 

Conclusion: Unfortunately this didn't have much staying power at all. It was pretty much gone after a few hours. But given how strong and zingy the scent is, maybe that's a good thing. That way it would be easy to reapply if I wanted more, but let it fade if I was good. It was interesting enough that I definitely want to keep an imp of it!

[ramblingrambler]

I had stayed away from this fragrance for a while because I wasn't sure what to expect from it. I got an imp, and I figured it was time to try it. This is a crazy carousel of scents for me--it's a morpher, but it morphs circularly! I'm reminded of walking into, say, Teavana and being hit by all their different teas at once, then walking to one side of the store, smelling fruity/minty teas, then the other side, smelling earthy/herbal teas. It's fun and whimsical and definitely made of winning combinations! On opening, it's like a bag full of jelly beans (mostly I smell orange and black beans with a few purple, white, and red tossed in), then it moves toward minty freshness, after a while heading into herbal territory, then back to anise/licorice and tangerine... then some more minty herbal... it zigs and zags, back and forth, and I'm left wanting more. Wonderful! I'm getting a 5mL with my next order!

[rachelos]

To me this is an exact dupe for Soda Pop incense, in the displays at stores where you pick your own incense sticks and bag them yourself. The soda pop scent is one of the glittery sticks, turquoise and glittery I think. Anyway Schrodinger's Cat is a deadringer for it. I've looked through all the reviews and no one has mentioned this yet! It's so spot on!

[reynardine]

Very light, barely there, sweet and soft, mostly grapefruit and lavender, which is an unusual combo but it works. I like this a lot, but would need to slather.

[achildoftime]

Bright, fizzy fruit candies is what this opens with. It definitely smells citrusy and fun! One of my favorite kinds of scents are the effervescent ones. They kind of blow my mind and are almost always winners. I really only get the citrus notes, but I'm fine with that. The throw is pretty phenomenal, too. I think it is absolutely beautiful and could brighten up the gloomiest of days.

[Pixie-elf]

It starts out as LIME!!!!

 

Like, so much lime it's like a lime crawled up my nose and took a whizz.

 

Then the lime mellows and it turns in to lime surrounded by light florals.

 

This is a great summer scent I think! It's bright and sparkly in a fabulous way.

[donkehpoo]

I have been wanting to try this for YEARS, and JUST got an imp of it!

 

Wet: A blast of grapefruit! Like grapefruit + sugar.

 

Dry: This has stayed very much a citrus scent, which I'm happy about! (I wasn't looking forward to the chocolate peppermint, lol.) This is mainly sugary grapefruit with some lime. Tiiiiny bit of lavender in the background. Throw is pretty low now.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Zdravetz is Bulgarian Geranium. It is green, woody, earthy, herbaceous, and slightly floral. Sometimes compared to rose geranium, but earthier.

 

Lab frimp aged about 6 years.

 

In the imp: Oil is clear, pale yellow. The fragrance is lime and lavender, with some oakmoss and a whisper of something dark, almost smoky. Maybe the zdravetz?

 

On me, wet: It smells pretty much the same on me, just a little more floral. A little like new plastic. But I like this. It's light, bright, cool, feminine, and cheerful.

 

At 5 minutes: No change. Definitely a complex, blended, perfumy kind of scent in which individual notes are difficult to tease out.

 

At 10 minutes: Mostly the same, but slightly warmer and without the plastic. It's a little bit classic, a little bit different.

 

At 30 minutes: Still the same. This one doesn't appear to be a morpher.

 

At 1 hour: No further change in character, just weaker.

 

At 2 hours: Almost completely gone.

 

Verdict: Very pretty. This would be a good choice for work, since it is light, classic in mood, amd not overly floral or girly. I never did get any chocolate or peppermint, for which I am grateful. I don't care for foody perfumes, and especially not mint, which makes me smell like toothpaste.

 

5 out of 6 stars

Edited October 1, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: sugared citrus candy

 

On my skin:

 

Grapefruit makes a beeline to be the top note. As it first dries, the grapefruit softens so we're back to sugared citrus again.

 

After several minutes, the lavender and oakmoss emerge. They ground the blend, but at this point, the citrus all but disappears on me, so it's almost all earthy greenery. And unfortunately, this is where it stays. I say "unfortunately" because with such a varied list of ingredients I expected something... more unique.

[FebruaryOwen]

This is an imp from 2015.  First chocolate scent from BPAL I'm trying, and I have high hopes.  

In bottle: citrus and lavender, with vague mint

On skin: maybe I'm smelling the oakmoss?  I'm not sure.  It's kind of strange and I don't know if I like it. 

After a few hours: this smells too watery for me I think.  

I may swamp the imp away, haven't decided quite yet.  I keep hanging onto it because the scent has so much potential, but I think it just doesn't work great on my skin unfortunately.  

 

[clockworkcrypt]

Clean is the best way to describe this. It's a citrus, but well grounded with the oakmoss on initial application, very earthy and citrus, with the lavender slowly creeping in, until these three combine into one indescribable note, that screams nothing other than cleanly naturey. It transforms on me in a weird way, a little watery, a little citrussy, and honestly just.... odd and hard to pick out notes from but pleasant enough. It dries down after a few hours to a sweet citrus-mint residue, with little throw thought, but it's quite enjoyable. I perhaps get a small touch of cocoa in this stage, but the overall experience is hard to pick out. 

Like prior reviews have said this is very much not a morpher, and is very soft and clean. I'd wear this on a muggy summer day, as something light and unobtrusive, to smell fresh against the summer heat, or to apply at dusk to create a calm and cool atmosphere. This dosen't have a huge amount of throw on me, but would be perfect for an occasion where anything heavy would only stifle the air.

Thinking of it it might end up as an atmosphere in my possession for this very reason. It's clean and non-offensive, if just a touch boring. Overall an interesting scent, but probably not one I'll wear that often. 

 

Note: My bottle is quite old, as I bought it from a german seller of unknown date, but based on what else they were selling, and how full the bottle is it's at least 4 years old. This could have mellowed the notes together, softened things, or just overall made it better or worse. I might pass this on, but if I do, I'm likely to keep an imp, for those days where this just fits.

[puellacaerulea]

This scent went through two very different stages on me, which seems appropriate! In the frimp and for the first couple hours on, I mostly get bright, fresh citrus with maybe a hint of lavender -- otherwise, I have a hard time detecting the other notes. After a couple hours, the citrus has almost completely faded, leaving me with an earthy herbal scent. I find the drydown stage kind of meh, but I'm curious to see if/how the notes change with age, so I'll be hanging onto my frimp.

[Rane.]

I was a little shocked when I read this fruity scent had chocolate peppermint in it. Instantly fell in love because I had a chocolate peppermint plant at one point. It smells mostly fruity, & of Zdravetz (a Geranium species). Going to have to add this to my long list of collects. Recieved as an Imp, & turned some into a hand lotion for my wife. She loves it, too!

[sarandipitee]

Very much sugared citrus with emphasis on the grapefruit. Insanely low throw on me - I have to stick my nose to my hand to experience anything. 
 

It’s nice and would be lovely for summer but the lack of throw isn’t worth the bottle upgrade for me. 

[pommelo]

I scrawled through this page looking for a review that says it smells like lemon car perfume.. but I couldn't find it. Am I the only one who thinks this way?! In the imp, it was an intriguing lemon, plasticky but still tolerable, with zings of.. I want to say pepper? But on my skin, it immediately turns into straight up car perfume😫. Right down to that very particular new car leather smell, even though I know there aren't any leather notes.. I suppose it's the unholy combination of lemon + chocolate + oak moss + my skin, although all those notes seem to work individually on me. There's also that slight hint of sourness, the sign of skin chemistry gone wrong. 

An hour of me resisting the urge to scrub it off later, it dries into a slightly sweeter, woodier car perfume. However, sweet car perfume is still nonetheless car perfume.

This one is a huge miss for me, and makes me question my nose, my chemistry, everything (except BPAL of course) 

 

*Edit* - ok, so of course I only get the chocolate and mint in the dry down. Mind you it's in the very end stages of the dry down, where I have to put my nose right up to my skin. But still there are traces of bad lemon. Bad, bad very ick lemon. 

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by pommelo

[ginathelintqueen]

On 2/7/2008 at 10:55 PM, starwild said:

.Wet: OH GOD GETITOFF! It's body odor. Sweaty, disgusting body odor, possibly with cat pee. This doesn't have civet in it, I know, so I have no idea where this is coming from. I washed it off FAST.

 

I was beginning to think it was just me. It was all cat pee on me -- it was, in fact, the only BPAL I've washed off because it was so [ew] on me. I've been pandemically working my way through imps (as no one but me has to deal with it) and yesterday's Shub-Niggurath was *almost* a wash-off, but this one Did Not Work on Me at All.   Am going to try to isolate what it was... 

[Zorra]

I had never heard of Schrödinger's cat until it appeared in a Dutch book for older children or YA. It appears in a world where those who exist but logically cannot exist fins a place. Plus some visitors from the regular world, who pop in and out when they find the right door at the right time. Even in that world, Schrödinger's cat one moment is there, and the next it isn't. Or as it is referred to in the book: he or she or it, because even that is not certain about this cat.

 

Of course I had to try the scent. It took me a while to get an imp and I did not like it. I don't remember why I didn't like it but I didn't and I put it with my other imps and didn't wear it again. Until today. Because of the Tournement of Underdogs and the fact that I really would love to love this cat (and it has cute bottle art too!) I am trying it again and this time I love it. When I just put it on I thought I rather liked it, it was minty, a bit fruity, a bit floral, something woody underneath. But when it warmed on my skin it got better and better! There are moment when I can smell the chocolate and I am happy to say it doesn't go to plastic - I have been avoiding chocolate notes for that reason but this chocolate behaves on me now. True to the nature of the cat it is hard to say what I am smelling each moment, one moment I think it's the citrus notes, but then I smell flowers, the chocolate and mint are sometimes there and a moment later I wonder if they still are. None of the notes are loud, they are all there but they aren't fighting or screaming. Imagine Schrödinger's cat in a place where there is no time, sleeping on the bench in the kitchen, but when you look again it isn't there and you wonder if you have seen it. that is how it smells to me. (But if you haven't read the book you may imagine it in its box with the fatal vial.)

 

ETA: Reading some of the other reviews I think what I did not like before may have been that some notes DID scream at first. So if that is why you don't like it: allow it to age a little. It will stop screaming.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Zorra