Pursue Rabbit

[Ondine]

Inspired by one of Gail Potocki's extraordinary interpretations of the Cheshire Cat, and created exclusively for Century Guild! An enigmatic blend of vanilla-infused sandalwood with wild black tobacco, white tea leaf, matcha, white musk, orange blossom, pale incense, and opium tar.

I tend to go for things with opium tar, sandalwood, and orange blossom, so this sounded right up my alley when I first saw it! I just got my bottle today (along with some nice postcards from the Century Guild event/other companies with Fragmented Alice items like Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics). Of course I had to immediately slather some on and see!

My first impression, now that I'm looking at the notes, is a little odd: Lime! I'm smelling something citrusy, something that strikes me as lime.

I've let it settle for a few minutes and I'm still getting drifts of citrus and a sort of opium-smoke note underneath. This scent is medium to light throw on me, and when I describe it as smoky, it's more like when you light an incense stick in another room and you can now and then catch the scent on the breeze as it wafts in to other rooms. It's not heavy or overwhelming at all, just light and wafting occasionally like smoke.

It's a somewhat sweetish scent to me; maybe that's the vanilla and/or white musk. Everything seems well balanced here, with no notes overwhelming the others. This is really fantastic and if you're a fan of incense notes or light citrusy floral type notes, this would probably be up your alley. It reminds me of the prototype Butter Arsenic, but a lighter, sweeter, less heavy-handed one--it retains that delicious opium tar/smoke feel but here, unlike Butter Arsenic, it's just like smoke wafting past you and you grab impressions of it as it moves under your nose. Edited to say it also strikes me like Stormclouds over the Midway from Carnaval Diabolique: I think it's the incense and opium tar that makes them feel similar!

Now I wish I had more than one bottle as I know this one is a keeper and if and when it runs out, I'll be sad

[AEris]

I have to preface my review by stressing that I am possesed - utterly consumed - by orange blossom.

 

At first sniff, I inhale in the slightly bitter orange peel and soft velvet blossom petals, and I know I'm going to love this scent!

 

After the oil has settled into my skin and the bright citrusy flowers start to fade, I can sense the powdery incense and fresh green tea. At this stage, I'm not sensing much of the sandalwood or vanilla, but there is a hint of warmth at the bottom of the incense note that may come out more when the fresh notes fade more.

 

Later, this is a soft incense with a smooth undertone. The opium tar dominates on me, a dark smoky-sweet floral note.

 

Gorgeous!

Edited October 3, 2013 by AEris

[mermaidsdream]

At first sniff, it was divine; a mix of things I love: vanilla, sandalwood, tobacco, orange blossom.

 

And then I tried it on.

 

Wet: There is no "blossom" here - it's straight up orange, strong & astringent. My initial reaction was that this is far too masculine for me, and turned itself into something that reminded me much of cheap men's perfume. Sadly, I think it's the Opium Tar, and all the whites.

 

Drydown: powdery, with a hint of citrus. Good staying power (I can still smell it on one wrist, even after showering), decent throw, but ... not for me. The initial astringent quality and the drydown just ... no.

[Mellifluous]

This is a very simple, yet deep blend. It is sugared orange blossom, and soft incense. In that order. I can pick out most of the other notes if I huff.. and consciously think about them. But the big players, that are most present to me, are a delicious sugar-crusted orange blossom, and slightly acrid/watery incense.

 

I normally have a very 'meh' reaction to orange blossom, but here, it really does feel like the slightly sharp incense has cut that (usually) over-heady aspect of the OB, and while I wouldnt say this is cloyingly sweet, I definitely feel there is a candied vibe to the orange blossom. Almost like the taste/smell of eating an orange blossom macaron. A light crisp sweetness.

 

Mmm. I'm pretty sure I will be looking for at least 1 back-up.

[KawaiiKai]

I love the artwork on this bottle and I am so happy that I ordered it. The scent upon arrival seemed similar to White Rabbit. Some citrus tea thing going on. I do like White Rabbit, so that is not a bad thing. I decided to wait a while to wear it and that day came today.

Initially, there was a citrusy-creamy-sweet-tea scent. I don't get straight up orange blossom. I think the creamy aspect comes from the sandalwood. After a moment, incense followed, and to me it smells like nag champa (oh, the memories). It reminds me of a magic shop that I frequented as a young adult. Something I bought there had that scent, but the store also smelled like that. Clean, full of light and nature, incense but not cloying. Sadly that store is long gone.

I applied this several hours ago, about 7 hours or so and wore it while roaming the boardwalk. When I lift my arm to my nose, I get a light slightly floral scent, but I think that is the white musk.

Very lovely and a true keeper.

[Dark Alice]

Screeching white musk...and orange blossom. Sour orange blossom. So glad I got a chance to try this. This just dictates that I don't need more. EVER!

[zankoku_zen]

Orange blossom, tobacco, tea and sandalwood.

This one is a soft blend on me, sophisticated, delicate, dark, and sweet incense. In so many ways, it's like an opium laced dream. There's an almost 'not quite there' blend, like the footprint of ghost, and it speaks of having caught the glimpse of something that you may have dreamed a long time ago.

I find this both disquieting and strangely nostalgic.

 

ETA: Now that I'm testing this from a bottle. I get more of the orange blossom, and it dries to a tobacco with a slight tea note and whiffs of sandalwood. It's more a bright, traditional citrus perfume on wet, and then dries to the tobacco blend.

Edited September 11, 2014 by zankoku_zen

[aquazoo]

It’s a mix, kind of a sweet tart scent. Tutti fruiti.

[Little Bird]

Opium and white musk are sharp, white and screechy on my skin, mixed with slightly soapy orange blossom and citrusy, clean tea scents. Very clean and sharp.

[doomsday_disco]

This started off heavy on the champaca incense on me, and it remained the dominant note throughout wear, although I got some creamy orange and vanilla behind it, and then some tobacco, which quickly became stronger than the orange blossom and vanilla. By the end of the day, I still get champaca incense swirled with those notes as well as some opium, and it's a somewhat perfume-y incense on me.

 

I'm glad I got to try this, but I wish I hadn't amped the champaca so hard.