Dr. Alan McMichael

[ShowOrchid]

My deeper concern has always been for you. If you are happy, I am happy.

Bay rum and sandalwood.

 

From the prototypes (before I smelled Thomas Sharpe), this was actually one I was very excited for. I picked him up after Beth said he was one she preferred. I thought it wasn't in stock, and I had to snap it up immediately!

 

Wet in the bottle, he smells... like my Snow White hair gloss from last year, which I'm rationing, I love it so much!

 

On the skin, he goes on smelling like Snow White, which makes me think of his scenes in the film. He's absolutely lovely and the staying power is quite nice. I'll be picking up this one a lot as it starts to move into "winter" in LA.

 

Edit: Wearing this again today. The best I can describe him is that he smells like Snow White's Brother. Very lovely.

Edited November 9, 2015 by ShowOrchid

[annemathematics]

[from loved to death prototype]

 

alan shocked me by how close to bpal's snow white he is. bright, sweet, snowy vanilla that lasts and lasts. one of the sweeter prototypes that I tried on. good throw and excellent staying power. I tried him on one afternoon and could still smell the Dr the next day. snow white's dashing older brother.

Edited November 2, 2015 by annemathematics

[Aviatrix]

This is exactly as the notes say: a sweet rum overlaying a kind of dark sandalwood.

I'm not sure I'm getting any of the Snow White vibes I was looking forward to, but it's definitely a sweet and sexy blend - and I could actually see it being a Yule scent

It's masculine, but the right kind of woman could also pull it off. I will certainly keep my bottle for occasions when I want to smell bay rummy

[Atrous]

Like the Thomas Sharpe scent I got exactly what I was expecting from Dr. Alan...Bay Rum + Sandalwood just like the notes say.

The Bay Rum is so deliciously spicy and its the more dominant note. The Sandalwood smooths out blend.

 

I'm not getting the Snow White connection that others seem to be getting.

 

Dr. Alan is a sweet, spicy, sexy guy.

[Mergekat]

I like him!

Dang it, Alan, why do you have to have to have such a sweet gigglemug‽ Yes, that is a Victorian slang word and perfectly sums up this character picture.

 

 

There are parts of it that remind me of the playful and inviting RPG: Bard (likely that spiced bay rum). And the sandalwood note is very soft and smooth. Perhaps that is why some people have been saying it has a cool breathiness to it like the Snow White blend. Somehow it's both warming and cooling because of its scent notes. You could say Alan is being hot and cold in his actions. The friendly, approachable gentleman that has been frozen into the friend zone by his childhood love. Yet he is still loyally there it she should need him. An appealing scent that I could see myself going back to for a lot of everyday use.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Mergekat

[Little Bird]

I liked this when I first got it, but after a year of aging, decided to just sell my bottle. It's so overwhelmingly baby powdery, and the sandalwood has a dry, bitter tone to it that I find very off putting. The bay rum/gingerbread smell that I liked so much when I first got this is no more, completely overtaken by the sandalwood. It also has a strange, powdery, rubbery smell to it, like stretching out a rubber balloon before you blow it up. I find it unwearable now.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Little Bird

[DevilsCandyCane]

Two words - Velvet Bandito! Very, very similar, but I actually like this a lot better - it still smells like a wooden box holding clove cigarettes, but this is a lot less harsh. Much as I love Velvet Bandito it often makes me a bit nauseous with the clove being so strong and tickly, whereas in Alan the cloves are a little softer and the wood is a much smoother backdrop. Definitely not what I was expecting from the notes, bay rum is such a weird one, it really seems to vary from the soft, sexy, contemporary boysmell of Medicine Show, to the happy boozy party vibe of Mr Nancy, to the dry spice in this, but I think it's a keeper regardless - very gender neutral and comforting, just a little sexy.

 

As a comparison to Thomas, in terms of the vibe of both scents, Alan is definitely more down-to-earth and rugged smelling, this smells like a guy you're comfortable with, as opposed to the aristocratic, elegant aloofness of Thomas. All the same, this still has quite a Victorian vibe to it, particularly in the drydown, I can definitely picture a cigars-and-leather-sofas gentlemen's club! Very glad I bought both of them

Edited November 21, 2015 by DevilsCandyCane

[absinthetics]

Yes, Velvet Bandito is a great comment for this. But add in something a little cold to that, somehow it is cold and spicey at the same time.

[ayonoi]

Alan McMichael was my favorite one since I tested it. I like how the sandalwood is strong at the beginning (at least with me) and then the bay rum note comes in and stays for a long time. I have to say I like that. It really fits the character so well: warm, friendly and comforting. I feel like I am going to meet him just around the corner. I am glad I was not the only one who noticed the cold note. At one point, I thought it could go really well with a pinch of peppermint.

[Musamea]

In the imp: a really delicious sweet rum softly spiced with sandalwood

Wet: a smoky, almost tobacco note moves forward (from other reviews, I'm wondering if this is from the clove other people mentioned?) and the sweetness I smelled in the imp dials way back, there's a bit of salty musk underlying everything – reads as fairly masculine and "American West" to my nose, fitting for the character

Dry: weird – on one wrist I have sweat, dust, leather, and tobacco, and on the other I get dust and that lovely rum-sandalwood-spice that I initially smelled in the imp, all of it fading in and out of my skin; at total drydown it's basically dust and sweat.

Overall: If this oil stayed to true to its in-the-imp smell I would totally get why everyone is swooning over it, because it smells absolutely splendid, but it just goes weird on my skin. I'll hang onto my decant and try skin-testing again at a different point in my cycle/after the oil has some time to settle. If it doesn't work then I'll see if it's any better on my husband or in my hair. This is definitely one I really want to work!

Test 2: the oil doesn't go to that weird sweat and dust phase this time, but when it hits my skin the bay rum moves forward and overpowers any sweetness I get from the sandalwood. I still get whiffs of tobacco leather. Overall – intriguing but ultimately too masculine for me. (Though it does make me curious about Snow White, given the number of reviews that say Alan is Snow White's brother….)

[savage_rose]

Alan doesn't smell at all like Snow White to me. He's very clean and light though, and unassumingly masculine. A little woodsy, a little leathery, not overpowering at all.

 

Layered with Edith, WOW. The woodsiness bolsters her sweet lightness, and it's just a fantastic, complex layering that is sweet and strong with a light throw. Beautiful and glowing. I wouldn't keep Alan based on his scent alone although I like it, but his combination with Edith is worth hanging onto.

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet clovey bay rum and creamy vanilla sandalwood. This smells manly, but polished. Strong, and yet smooth. Good throw, good wearlength.

 

Clove, bay rum, sandalwood

[Poenari]

I was worried about reviews mentioning Snow White, as that is instant headache-inducing for me, so I only got a decant of this to try. Thankfully, on my skin this blooms into exactly what is noted: a warm spicy bay rum, with sandalwood showing up on the drydown. I wish I could convince my husband to use Bpal, because not only does he like the scent of bay rum, this would smell great on him.

 

And now I feel compelled to order a bottle so that I will have bottles of all four character scents! Thomas, Lucille, and Edith need the companion bottle!

[LizziesLuck]

This was not originally on my decant list, but I was so curious that I had to try it! Everyone kept comparing it to Snow White, and even though I had never smelled Snow White (I now have a decant of that on the way too) I could not for the life of me figure out how these would be similar. So, my curiosity piqued, I need to try them both!

 

Wet: Holy tree! Like, the whole tree. A fir tree. And cinnamon. Confusing. This is not what either sandalwood or bay rum usually smell like on me. It is kind of sexy so far, I'll give it that.

 

 

Dry: This settles into exactly what I imagines a bay rum/sandalwood scent would smell like. It's sexy, woody, spicy. To me it's a bit masculine, in that I think it would be sexy as hell on a man, but I feel like I could wear it too. I think I want a bottle. CP will be the death of me.

[porcelina]

ooh i really like this. i love bpal's bay rum note. at first, i can actually see where the snow white comparisons are coming from, although i wouldn't have if i hadn't read other reviews first, and this stage doesn't last. as it dries, i agree more with the velvet bandito comparison. it becomes warm, spicy and sweet. really nice and i might need a big bottle.

[LiberAmoris]

Dr. Alan does smell a bit like Snow White in the bottle! Once on, it's really clear sandalwood and bay rum on my skin, with just a hint of something like Snow White in the background. Sandalwood is one of those notes that smells practically narcotic to me, so I quite like it here. Bay rum is one of those notes that I like smelling on others, but not on myself. I enjoy the clovey-cinnamon spice it adds to the sandalwood, and the overall effect is of a lovely aftershave or cologne that runs both sexy and clean.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Exactly as the description says: bay rum and sandalwood.

 

Wet: The dusty sandalwood is the dominant note on me at first, and I think it may be red sandalwood (or perhaps golden?), but it doesn't take long before the bay rum overtakes it. I'm not surprised, due to the spices in that note. Alas, I'm not getting anything that makes me think of this as a masculine Snow White, which was the reason I wanted to try it, but perhaps the final version is different from the prototype reviews. The scent becomes creamier over time, probably due to the coconut of the rum mixing with the sandalwood note.

 

Dry: Spiced sandalwood. I applied this in two different spots, and it smells a bit different on my wrist. After a while, I think I do get a bit of a cold quality from this, but it is very faint, and it still doesn't remind me of Snow White.

 

Verdict: I'm glad that I didn't buy a blind bottle of this, as this isn't the masculine Snow White I was hoping for.

[RubyWoo]

In the Bottle: Cloves, Smoke, and a greenness that smells almost medicinal.

 

Wet: Smoke and Cloves. There is a masculine sweetness to this.

 

Dry: Sandalwood and cloves. It smells masculine and comforting. Like a warm blanket by the fireplace as you sip clove tea on winter night.

 

 

Overall: I love this scent. I wound up buying a back up bottle of this. This one has to be my second favorite of all the Crimson Peak scents. It's a more masculine scent, and much warmer than it's Sir Thomas counterpart.

[patina]

I got the vanilla snow from Snow White plus tart red berries and allspice. Huh. I guess I can wear Bay Rum.

 

This smells cold and hot by turns on me before the drydown. This is amazing. The spices are gorgeous. Why do I love almost all of the SP scents I've tried?

[AirimirOfGondor]

I tested this the other day. I was really interested in this one and looking forward to it, but in the end I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be.

 

Wet it's a little sweet, very much what I was expecting - the bay rum and sandalwood are familiar lab scents to me, and I liked it like this.

 

Dry, it kind of mellowed out a bit. It was very nice; straightforward and uncomplicated. But as it continued to dry, it went just as tad too sweet for me, and a little muddled somehow, maybe even stuffy? It was still very nice though.

 

I think of Alan as a more refined, more mature, calmer, older brother of Jolly Roger. They share some of the same base notes, but the slightly fresher, brighter, and saltier qualities of Jolly Roger make me like it a bit better than Alan.

[FeralFae]

I was a bit worried with the Snow White comparisons, as I find it way too cloying and heavy. Luckily, Alan is none of that! On the bottle I smell mainly clove (?) but after drying a bit on my skin it settles down to a very spicy/woodsy/sort of sweet blend. It's not overly sweet though, and I can sort of smell something herbal hanging out in the background with the sandalwood, making it rugged and sexy. Oh, he's lovely

[Cali]

I see how some of you are getting snow white vibes from this, even though that wasn't my initial thought of it until I read it.

In the imp it's a bit medicinal, fresh and maybe a light brown/green?
The moment I put it on my skin however it morphs directly into something spicy and more warm. Definately a rum and cinnamon(?) spice.
And is it just me or is there just a tiny hint of coconut hiding in there? The sandalwood is really rich and smooth and embraces the other notes and makes it feel like a "well-rounded" scent the way only sandalwood can.

Glad I didn't go for a bottle as it's not for me, but it's really not bad at all!

[freyasfae]

Okay, I really hate the BPAL bay rum note, but the CPs have continously surprised me, and I am on a quest to try them all regardless of what I may think will be a "death note" for me. Yep, still hate the rum, but the sandalwood does give it a less drunken pirate quality and more warmth. But yeah, still doesn't make me like the bay rum note.

[whisperstilled]

Sweet bay rum and sandalwood. How could it be anything but wonderful? Ugh, this is an exceptional scent. I thought it might be a little too sharp for me, but not at all - there is a richness and sweetness here, and the two scents perfectly complement each other. This is the sort of scent I imagine an elegant and dangerous woman might wear. It's more Irene Adler to me than Victorian gentleman. Major heart eyes, I did not expect to like this one so much at ALL, going on the wishlist for hoarding immediately. I'm huffing my arm like crazy.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Whisperstilled