The Dormouse

[idontwannawait]

A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony.

*waves* Hi. This is my first Bpal review. I didn't believe this would be as addictive as it turned out to be, anyway, this is what I said the other day. I don't have a trained nose/ability to actually name most of these scents yet, but here I go.

In Bottle
Friendly, pleasant. Kinda melon/grass/bath and body works.

On Skin
Melon drops off almost immediately, drier. The grassy/straw notes come out stronger now. Kinda morning walk. Not notably floral, but stalks. Green. Warm.

After ten minutes - Spitting nostril image of an old (current?) bath and body works scent Fresh Grass. Nice.

Later that day - Very laid back, cheerful green floral. Tea party on a freshly cut lawn.

[metaldog32]

Again...Dormouse came to me compliments of Lab..thank you very much as always!!!

 

Initial sniff from imp: Clean smelling...so wonderfully clean smelling!!! It's like the bright breeze on an early summer day...clean and airy and just..clear. Yes..I do register some sort of tea note..to me more green tea than earl grey..and while taking deep whiffs of this from the imp I get something else too..but I can't discern it it's watery fruit or just the peony..sorry!!! Not that sophisticated yet!!!

 

Applied wet on skin: Still the clean clear notes of the green tea with something sweet..maybe sweet grass??? Peony??? I don't know..but I am blown away by it...when I say clean smelling I don't necessarily mean laundry detergent..just that it reminds me of crystalline summer days..

 

Dry on skin/Drydown:Soft echoes left on my skin..not too much throw..and staying power on me is weak...less than 1+hour...

 

Bottom line: This is a fragrance that is good for spring..in my opinion..would work GREAT for summer. I love the clean lines in it..the green tea and grasses and soft floral..it is wonderful...I have a bottle of Sea of Glass and I think Dormouse could give it a run for it's money for being my favorite summer scent. Alas..the staying power is it's only drawback on me..but I am not ready to give up on it just yet. I think moisturizing could help..so although I am not ready for big bottle purpose..this little imp is first on my list next summer...or when I want to feel clean, light and just...airy clear.

[Lit Chick]

I don't think I've met a peony blend I haven't liked yet...

 

The Dormouse is just lovely. Fresh and sweet, without being sugary - it's breezy and clean and sunny. The tea never turned bitter, like it does in some blends.

 

BUT - this was here one moment, gone the next. I may order a large bottle for when my Amsterdam runs out - they are very similiar in feel to me, if not in scent.

[QueenFae]

Oh a lovely QueenFae type scent. I'm realizing that I really like the tea note Beth uses, it's so soothing and clean. This one is tea like, but also has the perfumey floralness of the peony. This makes for a light, sweet, quiet yet beautiful scent. Perfect for the Dormouse; still, small, yet very prettty. I'm becoming a tea note junkie; this is right up there with Dorian and Shanghai. I love it, another wonderful creation by the talented Beth!

[wingedcorset]

Tea and I really don't get along. I have NO idea why I thought I'd like this scent. 100% green tea on me. Ew.

[perfumediva]

on me its a slight airy scent of very sweet black earl grey tea with a squeeze of lemon..

 

the scent is evocative and i like my imp but i am not really digging this..i don't like tea .

[theseagrows]

this is a light, pretty and fresh scent. i pretty much smell the tea and peony with maybe a hint of the herbs. im a fan of deeper duskier scents, but this is one of the lighter scents that i enjoy- good for spring and summer.

[LiberAmoris]

Tea doesn't always work on me---the White Rabbit went wonky on my skin, but I had high hopes for The Dormouse because I really enjoy peony. Sure enough, the peony turns this into an almost light pink tea on me, with one lump of sugar. It's really fresh and pretty. I'm definitely keeping the imp for the springtime.

Edited November 7, 2005 by LiberAmoris

[PurringPulsar]

The Dormouse

 

In the imp: green tea, maybe white tea too.

Wet on skin: still tea, and maybe herbs.

Dry: oh, I think the peony’s coming out! This is a light, zingy, refreshing green tea scent made greener by herbs, and underneath, a very soft scent of peony. Very nice. Tangy and fresh with a bare hint of floral.

After a while: the tea tones down to a milder tangy scent on the skin, where the soft, smooth peony scent can just be detected. This is lovely for spring. I just wish the peony was a bit stronger though!

After about 2 hours, I get a very pleasant scent reminiscent of sherbet powder and pink candy! Seems that the tea and peony now get along really well!

Verdict: this is a lovely fresh scent, mostly tea of the green and tangy kind, almost citrus like, but with the gentle pink scent of peony underneath. This is a nice scent, very light and bright and good for everyday and warm weather-and it has a lovely sherbet like drydown. I just wish it had a stronger peony note though.

[Fefferbella]

Mmm... peony tea... interesting combination. The tea is a fresh and comforting note. In combination with the peony it's just perfect.

 

It's a subtle blend that disapears quickly on my skin. I really wish the more delicate blends like this worked better with my body chemisty

[Wench457]

ITB: I wasn't really sure what to expect, as I couldn't call to mind what peony smells like. This is a lovely, light and fresh floral scent.

 

On: The tea comes out and adds a crispness to the rich floral.

 

Dry: Surprisingly formal smelling on me, and quite lovely. The herbs and teas are in perfect balance with the peony. The throw is faint, but tantalizingly so. It makes me want to track it down. Love it!

[Voleuse]

Light and clean on first application, with a hint of sweetness in the background. I catch the peony right away, and a nice green blooming behind it. There's also a citrus note that I really like, and it gets stronger as time passes.

 

This is incredibly faint on me, though--I have to slather it on just to catch a whiff of it.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Lemon tea mix and a freshly picked flower.

 

Dry: tea and a fresh bouquet of flowers. Super fresh, a lot like Phantasm but more mellow and floral, and I can't detect any lemon in the dry Dormouse. Beautiful and light and springlike.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Fresh and herbal and slightly lemony, very pleasant.

 

Wet: The same as in the bottle, but subtler. The lemon is what I smell most... though it might not be straight lemon, but lemongrass. Is that melon I can smell? Peaches? And yes, in the background, black tea.

 

Drydown: the florals have come out to play over the tea. I don't know exactly what peony smells like, but this is very pleasant, elegant and refreshing, slightly creamy. There's still a hint of lemon somewhere in there, and the tea stays firmly in the background.

 

Overall: Very refreshing and summery, it reminds me of a soothing lotion or face cream rather than a perfume, actually, it's so smooth. It's clean and bright and very soft. Not sure if I would wear it, I'll have to think about it again in the summer. Besides, it disappears too fast.

[donsixgun]

Breath of peony? Not me. This was nothing BUT peony. Strong, screaming and everywhere.

[BlackDahlia]

In the imp ~ Green herbs growing in a window garden... crystal clean scent. Very pretty.

 

Wet ~ Fresh mown grass... (which I am allergic too...) no tea scent. I can feel my throat closing off with this one... my very first allergic reaction to any BPAL scent.

 

I had to wash this off before the drydown could be allowed to happen ~ I started coughing and sneezing up a storm.

 

My first allergic reaction... and I have so adored the other Mad Tea Party scents I have tried... (White Rabbit and Tiger Lily...)

Edited January 1, 2006 by BlackDahlia

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle, this smelled of green tea. It was a bit worrying, because I don't much care for how green tea smells on me. But once on my skin, it blended with other types of tea to become a light, refreshing scent. I think this is what Embalming Fluid should have smelled like, if it hadn't had that evil lemon component. There's just a whiff of the peony, lending it a little sweetness. I really like it - seems like it would be a good scent for hot summer days.

 

After an hour or so, the peony has come to the forefront, but it's beautifully balanced with the teas. Just lovely.

[Kalasin]

On the skin, dry and wet, this smells like the bitterest cup of oversteeped green tea I've ever had the displeasure of drinking, with a splash of sour, acidic apple.

 

If it smelt just of regular green tea and apple, I'd be all over this like white on rice as I'm on a search for a "clean" scent. But as it is, it just smells too harsh. I'll give it another chance before throwing it to the swaps.

 

ETA: I gave it a fullday application, and it faded pretty quickly, though I found the throw wasn't as unpleasant as initially thought. I'll work my way through this imp but definetly won't repurchase.

Edited January 17, 2006 by Kalasin

[populuxa]

I put this on one wrist and White Rabbit on the other, because in the bottle, the tea notes smelled so similar. Definitely can smell the same tea notes as in White Rabbit, but the Dormouse is more astringent and tangy. Other notes I detect are lemon verbena, a blend of subtle herbs, and the delicate sweetness of peony. It's really refreshing and light! I love White Rabbit also, but this is a nice alternative. It smells like spring!

[Katinka]

I don't detect any tea in this at all, only the soft, sweet lemon that I'd been hoping for from Shanghai and Enbalming Fluid. There's a trace of greenery and a whisp of peony playing in the background, too. It doesn't last terribly long, but it's so amazingly PRETTY that I may have to buy a bottle anyway. The Dormouse also has the distinction of being the first BPAL to which my husband has said, "Wow, you smell nice."

[undream]

the dormouse is one of those scents that i was not initially interested in trying, but my wonderful BPAL angel, quikslvr, included it in her gracious BPAL introductory package to me.

 

from my very first whiff, i am loving this. it behaves very strangely on me in that it seems to completely disappear once it hits my skin - i really need to deeply inhale in order to detect it on my wrists or arms. this made me sad, because i had so loved it in the bottle, but then i began noticing this most amazingly pretty scent wafting up around my head. mmmm, oh my god, what is that? i'm looking around, smelling my hair. then i realize it's the dormouse! somehow unseen (on my skin), but hovering around me, sweet & ghostly. how very coy.

 

truly, this is SUCH a beautiful scent, very light & refreshing, very Spring-like. i am thinking of tea in a fresh meadow, greenery & light white flowers, clean sunshine. personified, it would be sweet-mannered and soft spoken, smiling, occasional peals of lovely, bell-like laughter. i definitely recognize the lovely tea notes, but there is something else there as well, sweetening it just a little bit; i am guessing that is the peony. i'm also getting a subtle lemony feel? but it is so subtle, more like the idea of lemon. which i am glad for; i am not certain i would like a very overtly lemon scent on me.

 

 

overall, i am feeling the kind of flushed excitement one feels around a crush, or a new love, which is a clear indication of how much i am loving this one. oh, big bottle, for certain!

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: Tea, Tea, Tea, Tea and did I mention Tea? This is Kumiho but BETTER

 

Wet: Oh…. Yes. Kumiho with a floral that accentuates it oh so well. The mouse is hiding under the flower arrangement on the table and it’s glorious.

 

Dry Down: Light floral and tea mixed to perfection allowing the subtle nuiances of the flesh to bud through while accentuation instead of hiding the luscious scent of a woman.

[shirasade]

I expected to like this a lot - and I was absolutely right.

 

In the imp: Fresh tea, green grass. Lovely, refreshing combination.

 

Wet: A fresh breath of air, with a hint of sweet floral (probably the peony) that grows stronger as it dries. A lush meadow in spring.

 

Dry: It gets sweeter, like hay and apples in the sun. A lovely summery scent that's quite light.

 

Overall impression: Such a lovely, lovely scent. When I close my eyes I'm in my childhood summer home. Sun warm on the meadow next to the house, fresh flowers in a vase, sweet apples. I just wish the tea had lasted longer.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: tea and herbs, with a hint of floral.

on: i'm getting ginger from this. i'm not sure why.

1.5 hours later: herbal, but with a citrussy note to it.

3 hours later: light and clean.

overall: i'm not sure about this. i like the tea/herbal blend and the touch of floral to it. i'll probably keep it to try out again.

[Caltha]

The Dormouse

I'm a sucker for the fresh tea scents so I naturally like this, although it's not BPAL's best tea scent. It's grassy and green and citrusy and perhaps vaguely flowery/herbal, but it turns a little schampoo-ish. Still decidedly nice though.