Toad Hall

[kawaiiferreto]

No description available.

 

Am I really the first? This isn't going to be a great review, but here goes!

 

Wet: Freshly polished wood. So much so that you can still smell the polish. It almost has a traditional men's cologne feel from the polish note - it's still lovely though.

 

Dry: Very much the same as wet, but the men's cologne/polish smell fades. Evocative of a fancy manor with a glossy wooden stairwell and bookshelves etc. Nice, but not sure if it's for me!

 

Verdict, lovely, but not a ME scent. I will give it a few weeks to settle and see if it doesn't turn to something amazing.

[biz4brent]

Wet: Bright, clean, slightly floral

 

Dry: The scent becomes fuller, bolder. Toad Hall is all about an open window. Its a fresh spring breeze through gauzey curtains. Its light and airy with a floral finish and a slightly fruity touch. Its both pretty and feminine.

[GypsyRoseRed]

Since I'm a resin/fruit/spice/vanilla lover, I knew upon first sniff that Toad Hall wasn't for me. My daughter fell in love with it, though, because she said it smelled like a park, like the outdoors. I sniffed it on her wrist, and it's an interesting scent - one that grows on you. This is the refined abode of Mr. Toad for sure with a cologne note that's also slightly lemony.. and beyond, the tang of the river and a breath of clean, fresh air blowing through the trees of the wild wood.

[greenranger]

Interesting. I didn't get flowers. Mostly what I thought I was smelling was bay rum cologne, and leather, with some wood behind. It lasted well, and had moderate strength and throw. It did seem like a fairly open scent: Instead of the scent of a dim dark library, this was a bigger, more open room or house, with room and mabe a certain sense of restlessness.

 

It was a nice scent, but not something I love or would wear much.

Edited November 9, 2008 by Aerinha

[Gwydion]

TOAD HALL 2008 (LE, Bat’s day exclusive) : (Company says: No information).

 

In bottle: Mmmm. It’s the masculine end of androgyonous. I’m guessing wood and tea and rain or an aquatic, maybe. There is something I’m reading as faintly smokey, though it’s likely not smoke. There is something aftershavey, maybe bay rum. Wet: It’s light and masculine and vaguey green. The wood really comes out. It definitely evokes a room with lots of polished wood with a breeze blowing in from the garden. The cologne scent strengthens with wear. Dry: Now I think I’m smelling sandlewood and something sweet and vaguely fruity under all that. I should recognize the scent coming out; it’s wildly familiar, but I’m not placing it. The layers are amazing. Plenty of throw and so much depth. I’m fascinated.

[themerrybaker]

I hope that Mr. Toad has good flood insurance because Toad Hall is surprisingly aquatic on me.

 

It is an interesting and powerful scent - sharp, breezy, and fresh - but not something I'd wear every day.

[angelicruin]

In the bottle: Fresh, green, outdoorsy. A tad bit citrusy

 

Wet on skin: herbs and flowers initially

 

Drydown: Lemon polished wood

[femmefatale]

This one is really pretty. It definitely smells like a park on a spring day with the scent of a nearby stream through the woods. It is neither too woodsy, green, floral, or aquatic. It's just very well blended and much brighter smelling that I expected.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is floral and watery....

 

once applied the florals amp up and this gets very aquatic with a smidge of lemon polished maple or oak...

this has lots of throw as well...

 

quite unique in it's own right

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Lemon, herb, evergreen. It smells like cologne and cleaning compounds (in a good way), and very much related to the Toad scent. Which is fitting, I guess.

 

Wet: Evergreeny, woody, still lemony but not peel. Maybe verbena? There's also something else kind of airy, almost a bit like Nowhere in Particular. But I get the sense this isn't going to work on me as well as Toad does.

 

Half an hour: Cleaning fluids. There's a citrus note, an evergreen note, an herb note, and somewhere underneath there's something very sweet and pleasant, either a sweet resin or a warm floral, I'm not sure which.

 

One hour: Still cleaning fluids, but less so. The citrus has dissipated somewhat, and now the predominant notes are something herby, something evergreen, and a wood. Still that impression of airiness, too. Still can't make out what that warm sweet note is, but it makes me want to keep sniffing, huge deep huffs with my nose against the skin.

 

Two hours: Much more evergreen-woody than before, with the airy note. That deep, warm, spicy note is still there at the very bottom, driving me mad trying to figure out what it is.

 

Three hours: The evergreen and air notes are fading a bit, leaving behind that spicy note that's making me crazy.

 

Four hours: What is that note clinging so tightly to my skin that I have to have nose to it in order to smell it? Warm, sweet, and my favorite part of this scent. But all the other notes are crowding it out, so I think it has to count as a fail on me.

 

Sure would love to know what that note is!

[zankoku_zen]

Toad Halls is fresh, aquatic with a lemony/citrus tinge to it. It smells of a polished hall with the windows open. It's the act of walking outside through the french doors of your magnificent estate and smelling the sunshine and flowers from your sprawling gardens while you sip tea in your freshly pressed suit.

 

I guess the best summation of this... it's like those picture perfect Lacoste tennis ads with the people in mid-jump. Bright, wealthy, healthy and just impeccably dressed.

[AnArtfuldodger]

It's a very soft scent -- very airy and light, but not floral. I get a hint of citrus (sort of like lemon dusting spray) and something calm underneath. It has a hint of cologne, but nothing overpowering.

 

I bought it to give to my dad as a Christmas present (since the above folks mentioned cologne-y tinges) but I think it's a little too airy for him. Pity, since he's an English teacher and would get a kick out of it being a Wind in the Willows thing (can't get him Toad either, because he wouldn't like the tobacco smell, and neither would my mom!).

 

I like the scent, but it's so faint on me that I probably will end up selling or swapping it.

 

Oh well. It's NOT a bad scent -- I think it's quite nice. Just not me, or my dad.

[obsidienne]

Aquatic, woods, citrus, subtle florals and some other, richer, deeper scents that I can't identify. Gentlemanly! Makes me think of a golden and sunny living room with lots of bookshelves loaded with books, luxurious carpets over gleaming hardwood floors, overstuffed easy chairs and spots to rest your feet. As it dries out it becomes a bit less aquatic, richer. Hints of spice appear, and the citrus and woods amp a little bit, but I do not, repeat, do not get the pledge effect. Lots of depth, as every sniff brings out a little something new... is that vanilla? Oy! What a blend.

 

Toad Hall is truly beautiful, and very sophisticated... But it's quite masculine to my nose, and therefore not for me to keep. I'm glad I got to sniff!

[lilacea]

Woodsy aquatic. There's a big splash of balsam at the front of this, with airy, light, slightly herbaceous woods there and soft tobacco. There may be something sage or rosemary like lurking in the background, and a delicate, soft sweetness. Something a tinge soapy comes out on my skin, freshly soaped skin though, a bit like aloe. Definitely a more masculine leaning scent, but fresh enough that a woman could pull it off.

[bookandbroom]

This? Smells like a Gilette commercial looks.

[Miss Sophia]

I was frimped an 1/8 imp of this by the lovely SueDonym. I've actually never posted a review (or actually anything at all) on here (LOL, lurker no more!), but I happened to see on her LJ that she had some extra that she was frimping out in small quantities in order to generate some more reviews, so...here I am! It's the least I could do in appreciation of her generosity.

 

So when I first tried out Toad Hall, I had mixed it up with Toad (and maybe something else as well) in my head and was expecting dapper, cheap cologne. In other words, I was expecting to go, "Meh" and move on.

 

What a nice surprise! I don't think this is something I would wear too often, because it's rather masculine, but it's quite nice! It's bright, fresh (probably from aquatic overtones) and slightly smoky. The smokiness isn't in a scorched sort of way, though, but rather faded and slightly leathery. It reminds me of the leather jacket of this guy I hung around with for a bit in college (not a boyfriend or anything, but I must admit I did have a bit of an unrequited crush -- he was gay, alas!). He smoked expensive cigarettes (Dunhills and Davidoffs, as well as cloves), and while I'm no fan of cigarette smoke, it somehow manages to leave a nice aroma on a leather jacket. Maybe it was because he smoked outside a lot, so an ashy smell never set into his clothes. Anyway, I loved the scent of his jacket, and part of that was from the light aura of expensive, faded cigarette smoke on it. And that's what I'm getting from Toad Hall.

 

After a bit of drydown, a hint of bright citrus is coming out as well, and there's a hint of fresh air in the overall aquaticness of the scent. The aquatic part is zesty and somewhat soapy, not at all salty or waterlogged or dryer sheety.

 

I'd probably enjoy this scent on my husband, but he often doesn't listen to my pleas to wear BPAL...which is probably a good thing, since I have just 1/8 imp of this stuff! I just might have to wear it myself more often than I thought! The drydown is really nice and much less masculine than the wet phase. At the very least, if I ever want to inspire my writing by using memories of parts of that year in college, I will use Toad Hall to invoke them!

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like a mixture of lemon dish soap and sharp, chemical hairspray (which is the impression I usually get from bpal's opium notes). It reminds me of Stardust, but with lemon soap added in. It's a very sharp, fresh smell.

 

On my skin, it stays pretty much the same at first. It smells like opium smoke and lemon soap. In the drydown, it smells like smoky, sweet, sharp white opium, perfumey white musk, and clean lemon. It's headache central for me.

 

Overall, this is a bright, sharp, clean sort of fragrance. It smells like a very white scent with a bit of lemon cleanser added in. It's like the opposite of Toad for me (which I love). I don't really care for Toad Hall. It's just too sharp & clean and gives me a headache

[dawndie]

My parents went to Bat's Day in November and bought me a bottle of Toad Hall for Christmas! They're awesome.

 

In bottle: soapy aftershave

 

On skin: warm polished wood

 

Half-hour later: sun-warmed wood and the clean soap note has returned, but it's not too sudsy

 

In conclusion: I was afraid this would be too masculine, but I'm enjoying this one. Sunny warm wood that's just been mopped. This is a lighter masculine blend, like I Married a Vampire from Planet X. Very clear, clean and refreshing.

[lupidog]

Got a bit of this as a kind frimp from GoldenRubee!

 

I am getting more skilled with picking out individual notes in certain kinds of blends... But anything with a strong aquatic note always becomes "aquatic with.... other stuff?" This definitely has that liquidy effervescent note, and the associations with varnished wood seem accurate to me.

 

I did find the scent immensely evocative. Words and concepts that came to mind at different points while I was wearing it: dangerous candy, the heady, complex, transition of innocence to adulthood. a brutally masculine man on the cover of a romance novel, wood, rum, copper/brass, crisp autumn air filled with the scent of spring flowers, and money.

 

Dry, as someone mentioned, this is a lot more feminine. It is really an amazingly crafted blend, but since I amp up aquatics to OH MY LORD levels, I probably won't ever wear this. I'll treasure my little imp for the artistry, however, at least for now!

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Bright, orangey-golden oil. Clean, herbal, woodsy and woody. A bit cologney, masculine. Slightly medicinal but tempered with a hint of sweetness.

 

Wet: Even more herbal, and also sweeter. A bit grassy, too. Very very GREEN, but not in a bright way, more dark. I get a nocturnal feel, or like I'm deep in the woods.

 

Dry: Florals start emerging, and they remind of funereal types in Ars Moriendi. It's more unisex, now. Going a bit soapy, but the grass just saves it. The wood stands out more, warm and a bit dry.

 

Later: The wood has emerged a bit more, mingling with the herbs. I'm getting some thyme and sage, and I think the wood is oak. Balsam and tobacco, too. Floral, soapy and cologne notes are pretty much gone.

 

Summary: It becomes more dry and smoky, woody and woodsy, over time, and sweetens as well. The fresher green notes wear off, though it's still herbal. Strong throw & lasting power.

 

This does not work with my skin chemistry - would be better on a man. It reminds me greatly of Odin - almost identical.

 

 

[zee]

In the bottle it smelled overwhelmingly masculine, and I wasn't fond at all. I've never carried off masculine scents, and as I predicted, it didn't work well on my skin. What a disappointment.

 

However, on a whim, I put a couple of drops on my pillow just before bed. I'm so glad I did! It smelled like a forest just after a rainfall, with a touch of lemon. Very relaxing, and I'm very glad I didn't just stick this on the shelf in despair. I'm considering seeking out a bottle, or at least an oil burner for the remainder of my decant.

[PurringPulsar]

Toad Hall

 

In the imp: masculine perfume with a wet, swampy scent. I get a visual of moist amphibian skin.

Wet on skin: redwood and teak, this smells woodsy now. I also smell more freshness.

Dry: interesting. This smells sophisticated, classy, reminiscent of polished halls of fragrant wooden floors and tables buffed to a shine with a fresh scented polish which may or may not contain lemon (reminds me of Delousing Powder). I smell something like cologne to this as well. And yet I also smell the ‘toad’ element of the scent-not unpleasant at all! It’s a wet smell of greenish water and pond weeds (but no yucky/stagnant smells), decaying vegetation (dead leaves and rotting wood) and marsh plants-I get reeds here, maybe some water lilies. It’s almost like the watery/weedy/damp element in Shanghai Tunnel, but not as mineral, not as mossy.

After a while: now I smell something fresh coming through, a fresh floral note which I am pretty sure is a water lily of some kind because it reminds me of Dunwich (along with the woods and reeds). Something about the woods now smells a bit damper, and yet it also smells smoky, almost like vetiver. though I’m inclined to say it’s more like tobacco, the more I smell it. a slightly burnt, ashy but gentlemanly tobacco. it’s not the tobacco note I like much but it’s not too intrusive here. I still smell the wet mushy leaves and pond plants and the cologne. Oddly, I also smell cucumber in here? it fits in with the wet, fresh feel of the scent, and contrasts with the ‘traditional’ elements here.

Verdict: I think this is much more toady than the actual Toad scent. There’s a wet, swampy, ready scent which evokes ponds and pondweed, there is something very amphibian about this scent, a mix of muddy reeds and water lilies, lilypads and a hint of decay, something evocative of the damp greenish-yellow-brown colour of toad or frog skin. And yet there’s also the dapper, gentlemanly scent of polished wooden floors and furniture and linen and a touch of cologne, with a hint of tobacco which is less sweet and sticky than Toad. So it’s very fitting to the theme, but a little too masculine at times, especially at drydown when the tobacco note goes all burnt-smelling on me. I’m glad I tried it though.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Probably not.

[Monster]

First sniff out of the vial this is a fresh, herbal mens cologne.

 

On my skin this is herbal, sharp, masculine with a nice warm, woodsy feel. I can't stop sniffing my hand.

 

As this dries I smell something a bit more floral coming through (still very masculine)...like a fresh airy breeze carrying a whiff of distant flowers. There must be some sort of musk in this...the base has a very musky feel to it.

 

Toad Hall is a very masculine scent but works really well on me. It's clean, bright, breezy and makes me want to just sit down, sniff my hand and daydream of the images this brings to mind.

 

Beautiful! I'd have to say this is one of the more unique BPAL scents I've tried.

[stellans]

To me, this smells of a spring breeze blowing through freshly washed curtains and stirring the lovely bouquet on recently polished table. I don’t smell much floral at all, and there is a definite aquatic note, but there is something deeper underneath which only really comes out as the oil settles in with my skin chemistry.

From reading prior reviews, I was afraid this would turn all men’s cologne/aftershave on me, but it didn’t! The aquatic note was just enough to keep it fresh; the very slight citrusy tang (verbena, I think) is only there to brighten the woody notes, and lastly, the deeper part ...I can’t quite identify it (sandalwood? Maybe.) but it’s very, very nice. This is something I will wear again, especially on hot days -- it’s that refreshing, and I love it.

[hkhm]

bottle: clean aquatic over light wood.

 

wet: the aquatic is not sharp, very clean almost floral smelling aquatic over well-scrubbed woods. this really smells like the same sort of aquatic as in sturgeon moon.

 

dry: the woods are more prominent as this dries. still a hint of fresh aquatic hanging over it all. so glad i finally snagged a bottle of this.