The Caterpillar

[Aurelius]

Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver.

In the vial this smells like a heavy floral to me. Then again, most florals tend to smell like heavy florals to me as I have a predisposition against 'em. Florals tend to act out agressively on my skin. When I first applied this on my skin I could have sworn I smelled roses, although my mind is playing tricks on me as there aren't any roses in the ingredient list. On the drydown the florals calmed down to an almost dusty (in a very pleasant way) scent with just a hint of patchouli. This makes me feel sluggish and lazy, like I'm absolutely happy doing absolutely nothing. Edited January 26, 2006 by Shollin

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: this smells like the incense at church. Not what I was expecting, but I'll give it a go.

 

Wet: Now I smell like a head shop, not a church.

 

Dry: The Caterpillar has the distiction of being the first BPAL to which I've had a reaction. I got red welts on my wrist and had to wash it off.

[mandragora]

In the imp: Very dark patchouli. Heavy and incensey. This gender-neutral scent leans more in the masculine side, imo.

 

Wet on me: The incense softens a bit and a powdery-ish sort of scent emanates from my wrist.

 

Drydown: Very interesting. Spicy, herby and sweet with the floral notes lightly seeping rounding out the lovely softened incense.

 

Verdict: A complicated blend, not sure if I can pull off wearing this one. However, I'll keep this one for hubby to try. I'll come back with his verdict.

Edited January 28, 2006 by mandragora

[Babylon]

Wet: I'm getting a sharp perfumey smell right when I apply it, but it immediately starts toning itself down. After 5 minutes, it's an earthy patchouli with jasmine on top.

 

Drying/Dry: I can feel moss crawling around in the scent, and it does indeed smell like a lush bed of it. This is really reminiscent of the caterpillar's home/surroundings, without smelling like mushrooms (yikes!) or trees at all. I can picture him sitting on a pile of soft moss and earth, with smoke wafting around. There's also a hint of jasmine to sweeten it a bit, but it didn't last more than 15 minutes on me.

 

An hour later: Mosses, patchouli, and incense.

 

The end: Patchouli

 

Hmm, I never did smell the carnation or bergamot in this. I think patchouli, or vetiver?, was a little too heavy on my skin for those lightweights to contend. As it is, it smells a lot more gender neutral than I would have thought by reading the description. Going to see if my guy might try it on.

[tart]

Anybody else think this would be sexy as hell on a man? I would also love this as an incense or candle scent. Dark green and smoky...perfect.

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Herbs.

 

Wet: Pretty, sweet herbs.

 

Drydown: I think I smell lavender, lemon balm, maybe a hint of rosemary or marjoram.

 

Dry: So soft and pretty and gentle. It's also got a bit of that New Age Bookstore funk. Ha, just looked at the description. I was totally off again, at least until I got to the New Age Bookstore point. That's the patchouli and incense. The herbal notes must've been coming from the vetiver, neroli, and mosses.

 

Final verdict: After a couple of hours, I find I really like this. It's gentle, but in a totally non-Numb/violets kind of way, and very comforting. I probably won't spring for a bottle, but I'll certainly use up my frimp. Thanks, Lab-folks!

[sthenno]

This one is intoxicating. The jasmine and neroli dominate completely at first, but they retreat as it dries down. I would have loved it if it had remained a heady floral all the way through. The drydown, though also nice, is completely different. I don't get much incense out of this one. It's more of a warm and fuzzy rich green scent. It's hard to describe, but I like this one a lot.

 

Edit: What was I saying? There's definitely incense in here. Lovely floral incense.

Edited February 26, 2006 by sthenno

[storme]

In the bottle: herby, dark, mossy, loamy earth with a musky smoke overlaying it. Mmmm.

 

On me: Jasmine and incense. At the time I tried this, I didn't know how either of these scents worked on my skin. As it was, I got an explosion of soapy powder, slightly sour and utterly repulsive. Completely different from the scent in the bottle, to the extent that I kept checking to make sure I was wearing the one I thought I was. Alas.

[jidabug]

Right off this one was all flowers and incense. I really should learn to steer away from the incense fragrances. They turn very head shop, then darkly powdery for me. There were flowers underneath everything, but the patchouli overode them all. I'm not having good luck with the Mad Tea Party blends so far.

[themerrybaker]

At first, the generic-BPAL-vaguely-lilac floral. Then a dry, leather undertone. The drydown is similar to Phantom Queen at one point but eventually ends up mostly soft leather – maybe Caterpillar-hide? This is a nice blend that could be worn every day. However, for me it is similar to other BPAL blends and I might purchase it as a gift for a Lewis Carroll/Mad Tea Party fan.

[Chrysantza]

This came as a frimp decant in a swap.

 

In the bottle: Nag champa.

 

On me: A lot like Guerlain's Mitsouko - a very complex, sophisticated greenish/mossy/incense with floral overtones. I'm reminded simultaneously of a teashop, a New Age bookstore and a forest.

 

I never thought I'd like this one, because I don't really like neroli and I HATE patchouli. But the Caterpillar is a real winner, and a big change from the florals I usually wear. Definitely a sophisticated workplace type of scent.

[bodegaselkie]

Got The Caterpillar free with my order, and I'm glad it was free, because ew.

 

It smells earthy/floral in the bottle. On me, it smells like sickly-sweet rotting poo, which someone tried to cover by spraying the room with air freshener and then burning a bunch of cheap incense. Oh, god, The Caterpillar is awful on me. Stunningly awful.

Edited April 11, 2006 by bodegaselkie

[brownbear]

This one is a dark floral. The jasmine is starting to go weird on me. I'm not surprised. hmmm now I can't even really tell. The evil jasmine has taken over. off to swaps

[LadyMedb]

This one's an easy yes - on me it's rich, heady, and balanced. Patchouli is historically great with my chemistry, and here it prevents the jasmine (one of my favorite all-time scents, but I have to be careful with it, even if a little of that is because I like it so much I hate when it's done badly) from going soapy. It's like the roots of a garden, like flowers in your hair after you've rolled upon the earth, like wispy bits of incense floating through a forest. It has a sophisticated "perfumy" quality to it - not a whole lot, but just enough to keep it from smelling too much like a headshop. I really love this scent.

[Eunice]

I picked this just for the name. Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass were my favorite books when I was little. The Caterpillar always fascinated me with his hookah. This oil was a must have. The oil smells like a yummy yummy headshop. and reminds me of my dad. *laugh* I can pick out the carnation in this and love it paired with the patchouli. The jasmine rounds everything out for me. This is heady and dirty to me and I adore it! I'd wear this every time I missed my dad. Must remember to have him smell this next time I see him.

[moonarcana]

"Who are you?" said The Caterpillar.

 

Bright and lively florals waft from the bottle. I don't discover the complex earthiness of The Caterpillar until about... <looks at watch> ...5 minutes after it hits my skin when those lovely blossoms slowly begin to yield their delicate perfume to the mossy undergrowth of the forest floor.

 

Who are you, indeed!

 

Once the oil has settled into my pores for awhile the soft flowers, green leafiness and earthy fresh soil fall into amazing harmony - and only after it is completely dry do I notice an occasional waft of magical smoke rings swirling lightly over my head.

 

This fragrance is captivating - one of my favorites so far. (though at this writing I'm fairly new to sniffin' bpal scents) I do have a richly cultivated soft spot for a long list of florals and simply adore fresh green notes. I must also note that for me, the incense peeking through is ethereal - nothing at all like the omnipresent resinous aroma which permeated the air of any head shop that I've ever encountered upon my travels off the beaten path.

 

I will wear this often...no matter who I thought I was when I got up in the morning...no matter how many times I've changed, The Caterpillar will be transforming itself right along with me.

 

Rating: 5/5

[gingersnapp]

My initial hesitation regarding the vetiver was unfounded... I can barely smell it, thankfully.

 

There is, however, a little bit of bitterness in this otherwise pleasing blend. At first, it was all wispy incense and smoky woods. I see no wood in the list of notes, so perhaps that's the patchouli? The jasmine and neroli are turning bitter on me, but so far, they're not too annoying. I was hoping for more carnation, but the little bit of spice it adds is very pleasing.

[PirateMaggie]

A classic BPAL morpher. The Caterpillar starts with a swirl of incense borne on a jasmine and bergamot breeze. The neroli and carnation slowly sneak up together in a golden citrus-and-spice haze while the vetiver and moss cast a velvety shadow. The patchouli wafts in and out, whispering its presence ever so softly and grounding an otherwise heady blend.

 

This is such a finely-crafted blend: no note overpowers the others, and each lends presence and complexity. By turns, the Caterpillar is ethereal and earthy, dark and bright, gentle and edgy. It's the olfactory equivalent of psychedlic summertime forest revels. Throw and staying power are similar to Snake Oil, though the scents are otherwise quite different. It truly shows Beth's skill and artistry as a perfumiere. Another 10ml winner.

[silverfishee]

Hard to describe but here are things it makes me think of upon catching a good whiff......

 

grandmotherly-ness

books (or the inside of a used book store)

7PM in summer time in Louisiana with flowers in bloom near the bayou

old flowers

 

All these things make me happy, so this is a good scent for me......

[septima_pica]

Whoo, *floral*. Sweet, heavy, sandalwoody flowers. Reminds me a little of my grandmother's perfume. The jasmine, for once, does *not* overwhelm everything else, though I can smell it -- this is the first jasmine blend that hasn't gone totally nuclear on me.

 

I think I like it. The sandalwood keeps it from being *too* floral, and I really do like jasmine when it's cooperative. I'll have to see how often I actually end up wearing it.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Dusty jasmine, iris and carnation, with patchouli, I think.

 

Wet: Jasmine and vetiver, it's still pretty dusty. Carnation comes out of the mix, too.

 

Drydown: Patchouli and incense cut in and makes the blend quite dry and smoky, with the jasmine in the background, and the green bitterness of iris, I think. There's this salty, a bit dirty smell that comes with vetiver, too.

 

Overall: I really see this as a rather masculine blend. The jasmine isn't sweet, and the incence, patchouli and vetiver dominate on me to make it quite gender neutral, or even downright masculine. It smells a bit oriental, and certainly lazy and sensual, but it's not my thing.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

incensey, and floral (jasmine?)

 

wet:

same

 

dry:

nice- incensey not much floral now

 

overall:

borderline scent, not sure how i feel

 

rating: 6/10

[The_Merf]

Few surprises are as nice as a frimp off your wishlist--thank you Beth and Labbies!

 

In the imp: Ah yes, this one is as complex as I thought it would be, given all the notes. On the very first sniff I caught the vetiver, as this had the same sense of burrowed earth that I found in Lenore. However, on other passes through, I caught the incense and the patchouli.

 

Wet: The earthy scent drops out and at first I smell a combination of incense and patchouli. There is a floral edge to it and it smells a little bit like jasmine, not the iris. My first thought is that this might finally come close to the "Geek replacement scent" I've been searching for.

 

Drydown and wear: This sucker wiggles like a caterpillar when it comes to morphing--you really have to keep track of it. This doesn't have the natural grounded that Geek gets from the cedar and pine, but the incense/patchouli combination is still interesting on my skin. It makes its first morph on my skin when the jasmine starts to overpower the patchouli and mix with the incense--this ends up balancing back to a combination of patchouli, incense and jasmine. Given all those other notes, I wish some more of them would come back to play--especially the vetiver, as I love its earthen groundedness. This is becoming increasingly floral, and while jasmine strikes first, as it were, I can also sense the carnation and iris.

 

In conclusion, this is a very interesting scent, and it has many notes that are usually strong on my skin (which probably explains all the morphing). I will definitely keep this around, though it does not strike me as an immediate "must get bottle" scent.

[juniperus]

Bottle: carnation and iris hit immediately, followed by bergamot

Wet: mosses and incense notes are more evident, and I can catch the jasmine, now, as well.

Dry: I can catch the vetiver, now, but it isn't getting grungy on me yet. the jasmine is amped, as usual, and the neroli is doing it's usual painful-sweet routine, but I'm still able to identify the iris. it's combining with the bergamot, interestingly enough, to go slightly soapy...I've never smelled iris soap, so I find that terribly interesting...

Later: mossy iris soap with a hint of amping jasmine and the slight beginning of a neroli headache. far out.

 

Emma reviewed this with me since it's hers. Her pronouncement? "It stinks!" Colin is seriously getting into this smelly business after I let him have a partial imp of Tombstone, and wanted to give it a sniff. It's his now, but I'm not sure if it's because he really likes it or if he decided that since sister didn't like it he, therefore, should. (they've been fighting all day)

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Incense, vetiver, jasmine

 

On me: This scent is so well-blended when it hits my skin! The rose amps up on me a good deal, and I definitely smell patchouli, but it doesn't overpower everything as usual. It doesn't seem to have a tremendous amount of throw, but I really like it.

 

Verdict: This is definitely a keeper - the rose and incense make this a great blend.

 

Rating: 5/5