Ü Mütter Museum

[Monday]

A mélange of balsams, leathers, and raw vanilla designed to evoke images of unearthed secrets and dusty, ancient libraries.

Peppery grass is the first impression I got from Ü. It has the same 'green' note -balsam?- of Brood XIX, which didn't work at all on my skin. I hope this will do better.
It starts out as...peppery grass and stays that way for a long time. The pepperiness of it is hurting my nose.
Okay so maybe I should forgo balsams. It's not a bad scent, it smells a bit like a sugary hayloft with added vanilla , but it gives me a headache.

[KissleMeNow]

Not what I was expecting, but still love at first sniff. Delightfully, this is the first BPAL paper scent which actually smelled as such to me! The balsams are very "green" and woody – not quite like grass, but still, growing things. With the paper note, it makes me think of lying outside, in the shade, reading. The leather comes off spicy to me (BPAL's leather often does – but that's NOT a down side at all) and that plus the vanilla gives it a nice backing... I bought this at the museum itself, and I'm SO glad I sprang for a bottle.

[sharkdiver]

<b>Ü Mütter Museum</b> - Seriously? People love this shizzle? Really? Honestly, I'm shocked. To me, this smells ghastly. It smells like someone made a reduction of dead people and poured it in a bottle. I washed it off, smothered my arm in deodorant, and the foul odor <i>still</i> worked its way through.

 

So everyone else loves it. I guess that means I need to give it another try in a few days in case there's something hormonally wonky going on with me.

 

 

I am with you on this one! To my nose, it smells like old formaldehyde - I brings me right back to being a lab assistant in the science building in College, and having to refil the specimen jars *barf*

 

I also couldn't wash it off fast enough.

 

Though it's funny, if I put that thought out of my mind, I cna definitely smell the green grass scent, and the other notes...it's just how they mesh, it smells to close to formaldehyde for my liking. Pretty appropriate for the Mutter museum though!

[theseagrows]

i received this as a frimp, literally one week after i was on the east coast and had the pleasure of visiting the mutter museum! so that was some really cool synchronicity. on to the scent: yep, this is a sweet, dusty vanilla scent and has that beeswax/candle sort of note in it that i've smelled in other bpal scents. i do not like the candle/beeswax note. it's weird and sweet and somehow kind of creeps me out or makes me feel unsettled, like someone above posted. which works for a mutter scent! i just don't want to smell like this at all. i'm very glad i got to experience it though!

 

 

 

 

 

[vanillabean]

I am bouncing out of my seat as I open my imp to try this.

 

In the imp: Very green and fresh. Hmm, not what I was expecting at all...

 

Wet on skin: Grass-stained leather. I can smell the leather trying to come out and play, but it is being overpowered by the greenness of the balsam (I assume).

 

Dry on skin: The vanilla is coming out to play, but with the balsam so present, I don't get anything resembling books. This reminds me very strongly of the leather seats in my grandpa's old truck. We would take that truck fishing, etc, which is what the balsam is evoking for me.

 

Overall, this is completely not what I expected. I was hoping for something more along the lines of a library, dusty books, etc. It is a nice blend, once it dries and the vanilla comes out... but it isn't what I thought it would be at all.

[sophia_p]

Add me to the list of people who tried this hoping it smelled like books and was disappointed when it didn't smell anything like that.

 

But with that out of the way, this a beautiful scent and I'd love to find a bottle of it. I liked both the balsam stage --fresh cool green smell-- and the vanilla stage. Like others have said, it's a very complex vanilla, and not a foody one. After a while, it smelled a little bit like a musk (which I love). Or maybe it's just in the same scent-family as musks.

 

The best way I can describe this scent is "sophisticated." It's a very strong scent, and has a lot of throw and staying power on me (so much that I can still smell it after multiple arm washings!) and makes me feel sexy in an urbane, androgynous way. My only complaint is that I wish I could smell the leather in there-- I bet this would go well layered with a leather-dominant scent.

[ladymeag]

I'm glad I went in to this scent expecting nothing - a friend sent me a decant and I had no expectations at all, I hadn't even looked up notes before I tested it. I don't get the books or the vanilla others get but I adore this scent anyhow.

 

In the bottle: I almost didn't try it because immediately it smelled of Halls cough drops. The yellow/white super-strong kind from decades past.

 

On Me: This starts out smelling a little like wet leaves and then turns into a warm, moist leather scent that I described to my spouse as a "green leather ... spa." When it dries down it falls into that moist scent of a Pacific Northwest fall night - decaying leaves, a light breeze, neither warm nor cold. It's beautiful and amazing and reminds me of mortality itself. Spouse says: Barbasol

 

On Spouse: Wet, it smells like a musky leather-bound Dove chocolate. Spouse compared it to The Seekim. Then after a few hours of wear and dry-down, it picked up a sweet, decaying leaves note. I can definitely smell the balsam here but not the vanilla. It loses the leathery quality in dry-down.

[aoiphe]

I like to call this one "Trip to the Forest Library". It's such a morpher, and has two distinct stages: the wet/initial drydown phase of green balsam, then the awesome leather vanilla phase that starts about 2 hours later. This lasts all day for me (unusual for my chemistry with BPAL) and is also office appropriate. U FTW!

[4807]

I've been using this scent almost exclusively since late 2011. Frequently I get comments about what smells tasty or who smells like cinnamon. It isn't an overly femminine scent which is probably what I like the most about it. My fiancee could probably wear it as a cologne with no eyebrows raised if he was the cologne kind of guy. It lasts all day and only the smallest touch on the insides of my wrists is almost more than enough. I'm not particularly good at picking out notes, but I'll do my best.

 

Wet on skin: A dark, sharp spice with an undertone of vanilla and fresh cut herbs

 

Dry on skin: Creamy vanilla with a sharp spike of almost-but-not-quite-cinnamon. The other herb scents lose the "fresh cut" tone, but are still there to some extent. It is more like a forest in autumn than a fresh herb garden.

[Mergekat]

Just got this recently from the Mütter Museum. From the bottle sniff, I'm getting that green and woodsy scent, but obviously very concentrated there. Some might say there it's astringently so, but for me it's smells like something lovely thriving in a botany class. On application, I get that green balsam with the barest hints of some softened leather with light vanilla sweetness in the backgrounds. It has super throw which I love, and the balsam seems to stay around the most slowly letting the other scents mingle more as the hours pass (and it does last). At times I'm getting that green house vibe, and as it dries it becomes more like a model craft and hobby store that used to be in our town. Both sides are lovely, and seem to create comfort scents that also work as lovely fragrances to wear. I think I've found my favorite BPAL green/woodsy scent so far. Totally didn't expect that, since I was looking for a more dry paper/bookish scent. Hopefully, I'll find one that fits that description; but this is a perfect scent in its own "greenwood" style as I like to call it. Total 5 out of 5 for me.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Mergekat

[brilliantcat]

In-bottle, green and herbally balsam, maybe a smidge of vanilla. On me, it's very green planty with very little of the leather or vanilla. It stays fairly stable and I can see the comparison someone made to aloe, it's a wet live plant smell that is made slightly creamy by the addition of vanilla but I never get a "vanilla" sweetness or scent. It's nothing like I expected but I can't stop sniffing it. It feels like it would be lovely during the spring and I may try layering it with my vanilla or tonka SNs for a bit more depth.

[VioletChaos]

I have to say I am genuinely perplexed by the reviews and descriptions for this scent because it seems like my take on Ü is somehow *comepletly* out of synch with EVERY one else! Fortunately for me, it's working in my favor because I don't think it would be for me if it smelled the way everyone else on here has described it.

 

In the bottle and wet on the skin, I get a sweet dustiness, vaguely reminiscent of Tombstone. That same kind of desert-y sweetness. Not in any way sugary.

 

Upon drydown, the scent switches gears ever so slightly and becomes a close relative of Silver Haired Bat. Now, I didn't see ambergris listed in the note description, but I swear that the dusty-sweet-desert thing that's holding this scent together. I can easily envision dusty books and rickety bones and, since I got this from the gift shop after spending a goodly chunk of time wandering the hallowed halls of said museum, I can say that this is indeed a perfect scent to attach to such a place of quiet spectacle and ghastly victorian oddities.

 

I shall wear this whenever I'm feeling both academic and macabre.

[tinyvulture]

On first application, not a pleaseant scent. Smells like an old, abandoned library with lots of mildew. I love libraries. Mildew, not so much. I guess the dark green herbal/musty note is coming from the balsam. The leather note's also strong, but I'm getting no vanilla.

 

After 10 minutes: Was hoping for a morpher, but it's not changing. Still quite strong.

 

I long to visit the Mutter Museum some day and this blend is perfectly creepy, but not something I'd wear on my skin.

[Aviatrix]

At first, the balsam is really strong! For a couple of minutes, that's all I get, which is a little disappointing.

 

Luckily, after a while the leather comes out, and the balsam is toned down quite a bit. Still no vanilla, though.

 

It doesn't morph on me, but stays approximately the same for hours. Maybe the vanilla is in there grounding the scent, but not in itself perceivable?

 

I rather like this scent, although it was different than what I imagined before testing it. It's like a little cloud of snuggly that surrounds me all day. I might get a full bottle, hm....

[Alaeidrel]

This is delicious! I swapped it from a friend, hoping it would be one of the few vanillas that works on me. And boy, does it. It starts out all sharp and green in the bottle - very astringent and strong, with a very alcoholic vanilla tinge. On drydown, though, it just turns into soft, sweet balsam with a dusty vanilla base. Very subtle, very woodsy with a slight amount of dust. I'm hoping as it settles and ages it'll get sweeter, but I love it just like this (I put it on immediately after the package and an hour later had to slather more on!)

[Ryan Hemphill]

My goodness, is this ever pretty!

 

In the decant, it was a green, dusty scent with a hint of vanilla. Soft and musty.

 

After wearing a little bit it goes a very green vanilla for a little while.

 

But give all the scents a little time to mingle and you get this amazing blend of balsam, raw vanilla, and that sweetly dutsy library/museum smell.

 

Seems to stay strong for a while. Not much throw, but definately isn't too quiet. So beautiful!

[spookygrrrly]

Review of 2015 version of Ü

 

 

In the bottle: balsam, leather, and maybe a hint of vanilla in the background

 

Wet: leather really dominates, I get some of the vanilla notes in and out too.

 

Dry down: The leather stays the strongest note, with vanilla in the background, and sort of a dusty note too.

 

I like this as is but will be interested to see how it ages.

[chrisann]

U Mutter wet, smells like Horchata on me. Straight up cinnamon, vanilla rice milk. Which is CRAZY!! I'm not complaining though, because I smell SO good. The spot on my wrist where I dabbed it on, is wafting deliciously. It makes me want to pounce on my arm. The throw is amazing for such a small dab. I'm 4 hours in, and with the dry down, I can see how this has a masculine edge. Not overtly. It's unisex in that raw sexy way Luperci is on me. I'm guessing this would be great layered with a vanilla HG or BO. I'm going to try that tomorrow. I love it, I want more

 

Edited to add: My above review was on an aged decant. A sweet gal went to the museum and bought me a fresh bottle. The two smell very different! Almost like two different perfumes. However, I enjoy both of them. An earlier reviewer mentioned the perfume smelling a little of LUSH's Butterball bath bomb, and I concur. More vanillic, snuggly skinscent, warm woods. No Horchata in the fresh version. Love both aged and fresh, but my wee decant of aged, will not last me long. On the hunt I go!!

Edited June 16, 2016 by growwild

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Dry leather and vanilla. Wow. In the initial application, I totally get the comparison to Lush's Butterball. But there are other notes mixed with the butterball type scent as well. This is way lighter than I expected, a warm comforting skin scent. I like it, but there's a faint hint of...something...that's throwing me off. Interested to see how it dries!

 

 

Dry: Interesting! Sweet, a bit vanillic, but mostly I think I smell the balsams, which are sort f hard to describe, for me. I quite like it. I don't get any woods, it's more resinous or something. A warm, sweet skin scent, that I quite like, but am not sure if I love.

[porcelina]

I was so happy to be able to pick this one up at the amazing Mütter Museum! After 6 years of aging, Ü has smoothed out to a lush blend of woods and leather which is delicious but difficult to describe. It really evokes images of old libraries and museums. I agree that there is something almost vanillic about it. Totally wearable as is, but this would also be amazing layered with some sort of musk!

[doomsday_disco]

This bottle is from 2016. Source: swap (I’ve never been to the museum, alas!).

 

In the bottle: This is very dusty, somewhat peppery, and dry. I get the balsams and dust the most.

 

Wet: The balsam and leather are the first notes to leap out at me, followed by a light vanilla and a generous amount of dust. As it sits on my skin, it gets sweeter thanks to one of the balsams becoming more prominent (I think one of them is the variety from Tombstone). The balsam and dust end up being the main players on me. The leathers in this are pretty restrained for leather notes.

 

Dry: The balsams and dust still hold the center stage, and I get some paper and more vanilla in the background now. It’s still somewhat peppery to me and like others have noted, greener than expected.

 

After several hours, it ends up being a very woody and dusty balsam scent.

 

Verdict: I am unsure about this one. It doesn’t really make me think of an old library or books, which is what I was hoping for, and the dust is quite pronounced on me. But I like the vanillic quality behind the dust. I will probably hold on to this for a little longer, retest it, and maybe try it as a room scent, but I have to say that I thought I would like this one more from the list of notes.

Edited September 20, 2018 by dementia_divine

[Fjaer]

When I had the chance to go to Mutter Museum it was just such a blessing. I'd read about the place since I was a kid but never dreamed I would get to go.. But luckily I visited the US (NJ) for a cousins wedding and drove up to Philly to see the museum. 

Totally incredible. And when I saw this perfume in the gift shop I outright bought one. 

It's lovely. 'Old Books' seems like a perfect way to describe it. 'Ancient books' even. Woody, dusty with a hint of vanilla and balsam. Not something I would usually go for but I shall treasure this one. The memory of the  museum jumps to mind when I smell this one. 

 

[monocainsheresy]

Fresh from the museum in 2019!

 

A warm shroud of musky vanilla and balsam draped over polished, resiny leather.... evocative of polished wood cases, brass rails, the funk of thousands of gruesome medical specimens, and the horror of encountering the phrase and sight of "moist gangrene of the right foot"

 

Truly one of my favorite bpal scents: superbly balanced, understated, elegant but still a bit weird. SUPER cozy. Like OLLA Eve minus the frankincense. Perfect for the morbid nerd in your life.

Edited October 4, 2019 by monocainsheresy

[puellacaerulea]

Oh wow. This is the closest thing I've gotten to a genuine old library/old books scent. In the bottle, I pick up soft, worn leather and dusty vanilla. The balsams amp up once on, and something also seems to shift with the leather, sharpening the scent considerably. I also start picking up slightly green, mossy notes at this stage (the balsams?), and the vanilla takes a backseat. Fortunately, as it wears, the vanilla creeps back in and softens the scent. Again, it's super evocative of old libraries to my nose -- sort of tweedily sophisticated and gender neutral. Great throw, especially in the first few hours of wear (I spent all morning on Zoom calls and was getting distracted by the scent wafting up from my wrists), along with really good wear length. While I like this a bit better in the bottle than I do on my skin, it's still great. I got this bottle secondhand, but I might have to go to the museum on my next trip home (here's hoping it'll be open again by then) for a backup.

Edited May 19, 2020 by puellacaerulea

[Estamets]

Bottled: 2021, purchased new from Mütter Museum, rested 4 days

 

In the bottle and wet on the skin, this has a funk. It could be tanning leather, or maybe decaying people as someone upthread mentioned. It's... unpleasant but also captivating. Unsettling. I don't get any vanilla or balsam, but it could be mouldering books if I squint at it sideways.

 

Drying, this gives me deep purple fruit vibes, which I know is weird and must be a scent memory for me because I also get this from So Below. It doesn't smell LIKE deep purple fruit; it makes me THINK OF deep purple fruit. Brains are weird. It's like a jar of deep purple fruit preserve that I've just unearthed from fecund soil. 

 

Dry: oh OKAY maybe there's some vanilla in this. There's still a funky, this-deep-purple-fruit-might-give-me-botulism thing, but there's a little sappy green peeping out as well. 

 

I didn't realize this had only rested 4 days. I'll give it another week or so before trying again, and then I think I need to forget that I own it for a year or seven and come back when then the vanilla is more developed.