Alice

[Mimicake]

Curiouser and curiouser. Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot.

Oh I love this one. Opening the bottle, it is a creamy honey and spice dream. The fragrance reminds me of tea with my Great-Grandmother. It actually smells divine on me too, which makes me more interested in the honey notes that I previously had dismissed in other scents. This scent is also co-worker approved, though they think it smells like baby powder.

[Lunaratu]

ok, when I first put on Alice I was scared by the extreme HERBAL nature of it that came roaring out--in fact, i crinkled my nose at it. However, when it dried down it became sweetly creamy, slightly spicy floral with that tiny bit of tea in the background. the dry-down is comforting and pretty....and then it goes slightly sour on me with that bit of the herbal in the background. it smells like soured milk now. dangit! it was pretty in the initial dry-down but once it really settled into my skin it stopped behaving. at least it's subtle however....and then it goes back to the initial dry-down stage...this one keeps throwing me for love it/hate it loops. i really dislike the scent when it's misbehaving and really like it when it does behave. i am so drawn on this...

 

Rating: 3/5

Throw: Light.

Edited October 9, 2007 by Lunaratu

[glass_cat]

OK.... just so you guys know.... I'm wearing Alice for the very first time today after finally ordering a bottle with my 13 and all I can think right now is of how stupid I've been not ordering this before now since I've been BPALing since Last September. Oh Alice... when I think of all the times you've been in my cart and got bumped aside to make room for something I thought I'd like better I could just cry. Please forgive me!

 

This scent is pure deliciousness. Really... it's just that close to what my idea of perfection in a perfume really is. The milk and honey lend this such an innocent, understated base and the florals... they almost smell a bit spicy which I'm not sure I expected. It must be the carnation. I think what kept me from ordering this for so long despite the fact that I was truly intrigued and had heard such good things about it was I was worried it would be too "little girl" to get much wear out of it, but I was wrong. This is very innocent, feminine, and soft but I'm not getting anything honestly immature from it at all. It's "lady-like", and even elegant in a girlish way, if anything.

 

This will make a wonderful warm weather scent. It's comforting and ever so slightly foodie without being too heavy or cloying and it seems to me to be just begging to be worn as a compliment to a white sundress and sandals. It would also be a wonderful pick for wearing to an office, to church, or any other place where you would prefer your perfume to whisper as opposed to shout. Either way, you'll still be the most delicious-smelling person in the room. Alice is reminiscent of such scents as Milk Moon, White Rabbit, Antique Lace, Hope, or Faith... comforting and distinctive without being either overpowering or cloying... and that's definitely what spells "keeper" for me.

Edited May 7, 2007 by glass_cat

[CrazyPretzel]

My first thought after I put this on was 'smells like babies!' Without the grim diaper-y bits, obviously; but something about the combination of sweetness, roses (remind me of powder) and milk really put me in mind of babies.

 

My flatmate walked into my room about six hours later and the first words out of his mouth were 'Why does it smell like babies in here?' so you can see I'm not crazy.

 

I should add that carnation comes out pretty distinctly on the drydown.

 

But seriously, yeah. Babies.

[pickman's model]

I got this one as a frimp with my last order. I've been meaning to check it out for a while now, and I'm kicking myself for not doing so earlier!

 

When I put it on, it was really rosy and sweet. Then, as it dried, I got the milk (which stayed nice and fresh and didn't go sour-plasticky like it sometimes does), and then...MMMMMM it turned into chai. Really, really good chai, with honey.

 

Dry, it was sitting in a rose garden, drinking the best chai ever. I am in total, utter complete love. It's delicate, feminine, happy and sweet. I need a bottle of this one. ten out of ten, two thumbs and any other high ratings that can be given.

[simplethings]

Alice in the bottle: Floral and sweet. There's something very "open" about the smell.

 

Wet: Slightly spicy florals. Maybe cinnamon? A very smooth vanilla/milk-ish background.

 

Dry: Rose is the only note I can pick up. It's very well blended, however because Rose usually makes me gag but here it smells delicious. There's definitely something that's adds a bit of spice. Despite being very feminine it's quite pleasing.

 

Through a few hours: Maintained its pleasantness but turned to powder at the end.

 

Overall, very nice and mellow but too feminine for me.

[erraticprophet]

The first time I smelled Alice, I wasn't sure if I'd like it as much as I wanted to like it. I put on a little dab, sniffed, shrugged, and set it aside. I decided to give it another go.

 

Initial Impression: very light, creamy, slightly spicy (carnation?) floral. I'm not a huge floral fan, but I do like the spice.

 

On Wet: creamy floral with spice and a hint of powder. Someone told me I smelled like a gingerbread cookie.

 

On Dry: the creaminess is fading and the floral is coming forward more. Then, a little while later, I'm told I smell like a gingerbread cookie again. The scent keeps alternating between that spicy cream and the soft, sweet floral. Interesting. It keeps me sniffing my wrist, that's for sure!

 

Final Impression: I don't normally like light florals, but this one is interesting enough that I'd consider buying the 5ml.

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): I gave this one a 3.5.

[willowtreeling]

In the imp: light carnations and baby powder....

 

On me: light carnations, baby powder/ amber and a wee whiff or roses...not much else because it didn't last long on me at all...

 

this fragrance is a pale shell pink to me, and I wish it smelled yummier on me, as I love Alice in Wonderland and am tickled by the idea of an alice perfume. It does smell a little like Lush's Potion. I smell it and I literally imagine a dainty carnation in the palest pink. t's pretty and I will try it in my scent locket when I get it in the mail, but I think it isn't for me--it might go into the I Love My Niece pile...where all good florals go to live a better life than they would with me...

 

 

edit: tried wearing it today and it became Secret deodorant on me:( Scent locket, when will you come to me???

Edited June 4, 2007 by willowtreeling

[jasmine]

Alice is delicate and sweet on the wand -- the sort of scent that fits a little girl. Like many of the Lab’s best scents, the notes blend into a wholly new creation independent of their origins. The honey doesn’t have the sensual strength that I associate with normal Lab honey. The milk comes through a bit like vanilla, and, though I can smell some sort of flower, it doesn’t smell outright like rose.

 

I am unsurprised that this is so popular. It’s a light, innocent, breezy scent when I first apply it. Unfortunately, something in my skin chemistry contorts it, because it doesn’t take too long for the lightness to fade and something else to come out on my skin.

 

I think the milk has twisted (I have not had good success with the Lab’s milk scents) but it doesn’t actively smell bad. The scent loses its vanilla aspect along with its lightness, and I would characterize it as sultry now. There’s a low floral aura flowing over a lower milk scent, and the milk isn’t spoiled, but it doesn’t smell fresh to me, either. This is... strange.

 

In the beginning, I wouldn’t have characterized Alice as a “me” scent, but it did have charm. The end result isn’t something I want on my skin. I can’t say that it’s repellent, and someone else might like it, but I just don’t enjoy it.

 

As a postscript, I stuck my wrist under my roommates’ noses, and they say this smells like a milk bath -- that the fault is not in Alice, but in me. I’m willing to believe that, as I don’t like the smell of milk and routinely think that fresh milk is spoiled-smelling.

 

But as I keep sniffing Alice, it seems a bit lighter than it did before, and more creamy than milky. I’m not sure if this is the psychological effect of having two other people tell me it smells good, or if it’s legitimately metamorphosing into something I prefer. Hrm.

 

I must come back to this one and try to figure it out again at some future date.

[theGreatMissJJ]

I think I've found my signature scent (this completely makes sense because Alice's Adventures in Wonderland defines my childhood and current life in ways I can't really articulate). YES! I'm sad I didn't order a bottle of this right off the bat because I NEED this. This scent is so ME. It's PERFECT.

 

In the imp: Spicy! The carnation is sort of overwhelming, but not in a bad way. I'm not a fan of "spicy" scents in the way patchouli or some other woody scents can do to me, but I love carnation. I can smell the rose behind it and a little creaminess that is probably the milk and honey, but carnation is definitely the first note.

 

Wet: Still spicy, but less so. My roommate on the subway today said it was "tangy." The rose (one of my favourite notes) comes out more now. The milk and honey are still faint in the background.

 

Dry-down: Ohhhhhhhhh, I am loving this so much. SO MUCH. The carnation is now playing nicely with the other notes and it's this delicious combination of creamy florals with a little kick. A very "girly" sort of scent, but I'm perfectly fine with that.

 

~Sigh. I'm so broke right now, but it looks as though I'm putting in an order for a big bottle of Alice as soon as my next paycheck comes in.

 

Edited to add: Aged Alice is different from fresh-from-the-lab Alice. I just ordered my second bottle and the difference between the two is rather amazing. Aged Alice is a warm, smooth, spicy honeyed-rose that's as comforting as an afternoon spent curled up with a blanket and a cup of tea. Fresh Alice is, well, fresher, with the bergamot actually coming out as a top note, making it a bit more spring/summery and younger than aged Alice.

Edited November 12, 2007 by theGreatMissJJ

[missnightshade]

This one is very "little girl", very powdery and innocent. Maybe too innocent for me. At first I could smell lots of carnation, very faint rose. When it started to dry down, I could smell the sweetness of the milk and honey. The rose started to appear more and mingle with the sweeter notes. It makes me picture Alice in a lighthearted fairytale tea party in a rose garden. Later on, it turned rather creamy, and a little bit floral lingering in the background. It is nice and light, perfect for a little girl, but I'm not sure yet if it would suit me. Maybe!

Edited June 14, 2007 by MissNightshade

[PersephonesChild]

I needed to have Alice. I had to try it. It was a necessity.

And... I'm a little disappointed. The sweetness of the milk and honey scent is a little overpowering on my skin, to the detriment of everything else. I get a faint, fuzzy spiciness from the carnation, but that's about it. The overall effect is that of pink frosting. I'm really disappointed that I can't smell any rose or bergamot.

 

I don't hate it... I kind of like it... but I was expected a nose-gasm, and I didn't get it. I'll try wearing it for a full day sometime soon, but this honestly might be an imp that I swap...

[Nia]

on the imp, and wet, this smells like roses and carnations behind a veil. Ten minutes later, almost everything is gone. I don't even get the honey, which normally lasts hours on me. There's practically nothing, just a tantalising whiff of sweetness. I could have used up the whole imp in one go, but I sent it instead to someone that I hope will appreciate it more than I did.

[sparkybish]

In the imp:

 

Honey, milk, and just sweet. Not at all what I was expecting. I put a dab of this on a few weeks ago and since it wasn't what I was expecting I just shelved it.

 

Wet:

 

Honey and milk, but roses are starting to come out. Still foody and sweet but not obnoxiously so.

 

Drydown:

 

I smell a lot more rose, and a touch of tea and less milk. Still waiting and wishing for the carnation to come out and play, but I like it even without it. Definitely on the wish list for a bigger bottle.

 

Overall impression:

 

Tea, spongecake, and rose dusting powder. Which to me isn't so much dress up and tea parties as it is dessert in bed after a nice long bath.

[squintywitch]

Alice sounded like fun, so I got a bottle off ebay. I don't usually go for foody smells, but she sounded nice.

 

In the bottle: weirdly, milk, honey and lemon. Nice.

 

On the skin: Almost immediately, milky and powdery, with a hint of rose. This didn't really change much, though the floral notes came out as time went on.

 

In the hair: oh yeah. The sharpness that seemed to be lost on my skin (which alas, seems to turn everything I touch to baby powder) came back, and it became intoxicatingly floral. I think wearing the two together (soft dry chalky milky skin with sharply carnationy hair) will be quite magnificent. And as a bonus, The Boy likes it too.

 

Success!

[icing]

Alice starts off as sweet, pink, spiced carnation candy on me (for a few cherished seconds), much like the lovely carnation note I picked up from Hod (before the rest of Hod turned to powdery dead skin and urine on me), then she pulls out the stale but slightly sweet rose, stabs me in the eye with it’s stem, and leaves it there as a single note flag that will. not. fade. evar.

[modernsaints]

I never had Alice on my list - I know, I know, it's All That, but honey and rose? Yeah, this is Eau de Not Me.

 

The lab frimped it to me (hurrah, lab!) and so I felt obligated to test it, though. Because the lab Knows Things.

 

It's surprisingly not awful! But it's just so sweet and powdery and... eh. Not me. The longer it hangs out, the more powdery it gets, till it's sweetsweet carnation. Ack. It's still less of a trainwreck than I expected, though! Hurrah!

[Mixxi]

I got frimped this by nursekins . Yay.

 

This is such a lovely, light fragrance which suprisingly has quite a bit of throw on me. This smells so strangely familiar but I can't put my finger on it at all. It's a perfect balance between foody (milk & honey) and floral (carnation & rose) yet I couldn't class it as either really if that makes sense. Like others have said it's blended really well and it's hard to pick out single notes. It smells so innocent & fits the character of Alice really well I think. It's very comforting and a lovely daytime scent. I think I'll wear this one quite a lot & it's definately a 5ml purchase.

[eloiseattheplaza]

Alice took a little while to make friends. It didn't help that I was already besotted with the Knave of Hearts and had recently spent a day with Two, Five & Seven, but I did my very best to be open-minded, and I'm glad I did.

 

Wet: I wasn't sure what I detected in the imp. A vaguely sweet, wholesome, powdery scent.

 

On skin: the same vague waft of childlike scent, but more and more pleasant as it got used to my skin.

 

Drydown: the honey became more rounded and defined, while a hint of spice (carnation) and bergamot began to emerge.

 

Dry: we became fast friends. Over a few hours the blend became sweeter, less powdery, and more complex. It's very wearable, and although it took me a while to decide it suited me, I think it will be something that will grow on me more and more. Definitely one for work and other places where subtlety is a virtue, but this is still quirky and different enough that it doesn't feel like any generic perfume. I might even have to share its sweet honey and cambric tea scent with my little sister.

[DifferentDances]

Alice doesn't morph a great deal on my skin. It goes on a warm spice cookie, and it stays a warm spice cookie --it fades just enough to let a pan-seared carnation pop up, but mostly it's a spice cookie.

 

My rating: 3/5.

 

ETA: I know what this reminds me of! Anyone remember those cupcake dolls that you had to flip the cupcake 'wrapper' to turn into the dress of the doll and they smelled nice? It reminds me of a whole bunch of them mixed together.

Edited July 16, 2007 by DifferentDances

[KikuPeach]

Alice, Alice, Alice. How can I have neglected, so to wear you nearly nonstop since finding you in the mailbox, and not to extol your virtues to any and all! Oh, my dear Alice, I am sorry.

 

Imp: Sweet lemon fandango with a side of roses!

 

Wet: Angel food cake, sparkling with a lemony sugar-glaze, cream-topped, nestled on a table piled high with roses. The lemon gets you first, and then all the sweetness comes to back it up. The creaminess (the Milk note, I suppose) is rich and a bit powdery, like when you inhale a bunch of condensed milk (Like, because maybe you were in a student film, and maybe you had to snort cocaine in the film, and the fact that your sinuses felt like the sate of Wisconsin for the next day was really a sufferance for arts sake, and actually, wasnt that bad because it was a nice note to smell all day, especially at the gas station, when it smelled like a Petrol float, if such a thing were possible.)

 

Dry: Hmm. Alice grows up. The bergamot (Lemon fades into its big cousin! Bravo!) and carnation dont take over, but add a tiny bit of bite to what is otherwise a sweet, creamy jaunt in the garden. Like having a very Victorian tea in the rose garden, while the children frolic nearby, as your guest slightly lowers her voice and raises an eyebrow as that rather shocking (but oh so delicious) bit of news flies out of her lips and across the table. A sharp, naughty (but good-natured) bergamot note with spicy carnation, nearly smothered by milk and honey. Lovely.

 

I'll need several bottles of this, the way I'm going.

 

Edited: Expanded metaphor. Sorry.

 

Edited January of 2015:

I still love this scent. Alice is still the greatest thing ever, though apparently my hormones are amping the spicy carnation scent right now. Which is not a problem, though I'm hoping for some more creaminess again.

Edited January 21, 2015 by KikuPeach

[almosthuman]

In the bottle Alice was a very soft, gentle honey smell, with a hint of rose. but when i put it on my skin it became a very spicy warm smell.

I think this is a fantastic smell and i am ordering a bottle!!

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Orange, almond, and some sort of soft floral.

 

Wet:

Orange, almond, and honeysuckle. No, wait, that's rose. And the thing I thought was orange isn't orange, either. But it's citrusy--I imagine that's the bergamot. After a few minutes, I smell mostly rose, but still with that citrusy, spicy scent. This is odd... I could have sworn that people said this was a foody scent. Maybe it needs to age? My skin must do something odd with milk and honey--it's like it eats it entirely at first but then it comes back after a little while. The same thing happened with Dana O'Shee.

 

Dry:

This reminds me a lot of Pink Moon (which I guess makes sense, since they have very similar notes). I would definitely wear it, though it's nowhere near foody on me as I thought it would be. I think I need to age it and try it again, because my nose may be burned out from trying like 4 scents this morning (and I'm not sure I can smell anything accurately after Poisoned Apple).

[usamimi]

In the bottle: Very sweet and floral...I want to say roses.

 

Wet: The honey was the first thing I noticed, followed by a light spiciness, then the roses. It was a very sweet, feminine smell.

 

Dry: Sipping tea in a rose garden.

 

Overall: Very graceful, but tart. A great formal scent that's still playful and innocent.

[hellomoonglow]

In Imp: Maraschino cherries, but not like Eclipse which is REALLY REALLY maraschino cherry. (and which I LOVE, I might add)

Wet: Overpowering maraschino cherries with a rose undertone. Not overkill but pretty close.

½ hr. Dry Down: Really good! Charming, rosey, still smells like cherries, also like baby wash.

2 hr. Dry Down: Quiet and fading, but smells clean and warm. I really like this! I don’t get milk but I can smell the honey and rose, along with a little cherry. I would (will) buy a bottle of this!