The Organ Grinder (2006)

[alianthe]

Almond milk, sarsaparilla, tobacco smoke, black patchouli and white pine bark.

In the imp: Sweet and sharp and orangy. The pine comes to the front, melding with the almond and sarsaparilla behind it. Thankfully, the two iffy notes in this blend - tobacco and patchouli - aren't coming forward.

On my skin: The sharpness of pine receeds in time, leaving a woody/spicy, but round rather than sharp, warmth. The tobacco smoke is NOT touching off my cravings (thank goodness!), nor am I being assaulted by patchouli - they appear to be playing nicely for a change! The almond and sarsaparilla lend a sweetness and roundness to the scent, without moving it to the realm of foodiness. Perhaps it's the lingering woody/smokiness. All in all, a delightfully warm and vital scent.

Conclusions: Practically no throw (on me, that's no surprise), with medium lasting power - I could barely smell it on my wrist 6 hours later, but it was definitely there. Glad I got the decant. Debating on getting a full bottle, as purse strings are tight lately.

[arabella]

First Impression: Patchouli, citrus and amber.

 

Dries down to: Something in here is turning plastic and going bitter. In the end, it's all rubber tires.

 

Additional Comments: I'm probably mistaking the sarsaparilla for the citrus and amber. I don't get any almond milk at all, which is the note I was really hoping for. The tobacco smoke is very subtle and I'm not sure about the pine bark. Maybe that's what's causing the bitter note.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 1 out of 5

[alsatia]

Expectations: Warm and smoky with just a hint of sweetness.

 

In vial: Nutty and pine and slightly sarsaparilla.

 

On skin, wet: Very nutty. The pine is still there but not at the forefront, and I get a tiny whiff of the smoke now.

 

On skin, dry: The pine and nuts are more evenly blended now. There's smokiness but it doesn't smell specifically like tobacco smoke to me, and underneath it all there's a scent that keeps wavering between patchouli and sarsaparilla.

 

After time: Suddenly, after about 15 minutes, all the distinct notes dropped away and it became a vague incense smell. Virtually no throw, and I never did get the milky aspect of the almond milk.

 

Conclusion: Well, it's not making me gag, but I don't particularly like it either.

[iiinterstate]

An odd scent really.

 

At first it smells like just almond milk with something sharper in the background. Usually I amp almond so I started to get nervous. Now I smell the tobacco and patchouli and the pine is just BARELY there (a good thing... too much pine is a no no.)

 

This is nice, but its too masculine for me. However, now I know not to be afraid of pine. It IS possible for it to live in a blend and not overpower!

[Lamia]

I'd tested this in the shop at our first Will Call, and my notes say "pleasantly caramel-y, turns into Band-Aids".

 

I recently received a half decant as a frimp. In the bottle, it's sweet without being cloying. On skin, it starts sweet, yet rueful. It does turn again to the scent of Band-Aids, and eventually fades to a soft subdued pine. Hours later, it's so faint as to need nose-on-skin to smell it, and it's a ... yeasty scent? I think that's the almond milk with pine.

 

Trade bag.

[thomasblackthorne]

I really liked this one when I tested it last night. The sarsaparilla came out beautifully.

 

However, I decided it would be the fragrance for today... ...now my nose is all stuffy and runny, and my eyes are watery too...so sad, I really like this one too!

 

Brief overall: Very delectable scent. I love it, the notes overall blend beautifully, but it hurts me...

[meeow712]

An example of skin chemistry gone very wonky....

 

In the decant: a delicious sweet almond (mostly almond) with a tiny bit of sarsparilla peeking out.

 

On me: This was absolutely amazing for about 15 minutes - a sweet almond blend with a kick. And then.....it turned to soured milk that had been expired for a few weeks. This was much worse than Milk Moon 07. The worst part is, I was already in my car on my way to work when it turned into soured milk....and I had to open the windows and keep the nausea in check.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: This one was a 50-50 chance for me - it would either be amazing, or utterly foul. Almond milk and tobacco love me, patchouli and pine hate me, sarsaparilla - I have no friggin' idea, but Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener was not my friend and I have a feeling they are similar if not the same. But still - if I hadn't found a partial of this, I would probably have bought a bottle.

 

In the bottle: Pine smoke and a hint of cologne, but soft and mellow and very pale. None of the sharpness I normally associate with pine, or much in the way of almond or patchouli.

 

On the wrist, wet: There's the almonds! But they're not too strong or marzipan-y, and there's still that pale, smoky pine cologne.

 

Drydown: This smells like a dapper gentleman - pale but warm, smooth, smoky, mellow and ever-so-slightly sexy. Definately a men's scent, for me it's like the cologne and smoke that has slowly accumulated in a man's suit until no amount of washing will get the faint trace out, along with warm almond milk. This is actually quite a comforting scent - I may need a back-up bottle!

[jewelbug]

 

From the description, this is the Act II scent that was in my #1 spot of interest (tied with Mme. Moriarty, which unfortunately didn't work too well on me). Creamy sasparilla with plenty of dirtier notes to keep it from being overly foody. How awesome does that sound?!

 

Imp: The cream/milk note is strong, with a wisp of almond--a healthy dollop of pine makes this a really unique combo.

 

Wet: Same as the imp: healthy bits of milk/cream (a tad on the sour side, but i like it). The sweet vanilla/almond cream is equal parts with the woody and smoke notes. Its sort of a disturbing combo--unexpected and undeniably odd to my nose...but i like it. Am I weird?

 

Dry: Sweet, Creamy, Piney, a bit smoky, with hints of cologne. Its warm and sexy and on the masculine side of unisex....and still one of the oddest combinations I can think of in bpal. Late into the dry down, the milk note goes almost buttery (reminds me of the milk moon 07 note).

 

Overall: I really enjoy this scent, but its so strange that I'm not sure how often i'd wear it. Therefore, I am SO happy that my DH says HE likes it and will wear it. I can buy a bottle, knowing it will be loved, and I can steal a bit whenever the mood for a strange but beautiful milky scent strikes.

Edited October 1, 2008 by jewelbug

[zankoku_zen]

This one is definitely a creamy sasparilla. On wet, I got more of the pine note out of it, but it dries down to a very strange, slightly fruity milky scent. In fact, it kinda reminds me to Milk Moon 07. Except not tropical.

[rayvn1]

Not meant to be. I amp almond and vanilla to gross degrees, so this one was a long shot. I was hoping all the other notes in it that I love would have come to the fore. Alas.

 

I smell like burned Pop Secret with fake butter. Weird and very unpleasant.

 

To the swaps!!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Patchouli and almond plus an interesting fizziness.

 

Immediately on skin: This is interesting, but very masculine to my nose. It’s like a deep, thick patchouli pine scent with a touch of fizziness. The patchouli in this gives it a strong base and to my nose makes up most of this scent. The pine is evident, but blending really well into the patchouli. A little root beer slinks in playfully, and at first there was a bit of almond, but it seems to have faded now. This is very dark-smelling.

 

After a little while: The patchouli in this has smoothed out and now this is a very rich and slightly creamy patchouli blend with a little root beer and tabacco. It’s so thick and dark smelling… and almost foodie. It’s right on the edge almost. This still gives me a very masculine vibe, but I think it smells much better now than it did fresh.

 

Overall Impressions: I’m not a big patchouli fan, but this blend surprised me. Once it settled down it became nicely balanced and rich with a hint of sweetness. The almond milk and sarsaparilla seem to be doing a great job of balancing the patchouli, and the tobacco adds another dark layer to the scent. A bit masculine, but not cologne-y.

[ravenrigan]

First impressions

In the imp this smelt like a very odd combination of scents. On skin there is a faint almost leathery smell which I think is the tobacco which I'm not liking, but it lurks close to the skin. The throw is vanilla, almond and smoky patchouli.

 

The funky note dies down, and after that the smoky patchouli with a hint of warm almond and almost floral sarsparilla stays true. It smells dark and rich, and purple. I'm loving this.

 

Something is nagging at my brain as I drive, wearing this. It smells like something I know well, something I like. It smells almost like a missing part of me.

 

Finally I realise what it is. On me The Organ Grinder smells like my beloved Icon by Lush! It must be the black patchouli.

 

The boy likes it too.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Hmmm....

 

I'm a bit on the fence about this.

 

Wet: almond milk and the white pine with something sweet - the sarsaparilla? That is a smell I am not familiar with at all but I guess it is the only possibility.

 

As it dries the pine fades fast and most of the strong almond follows suit. The almond note gets more and more creamy as it leaves - if anything called milk would always behave that well on me... The supposed sarsaparilla comes out more and more and becomes dominant, side by side with the black patchouli that now develops and the tobacco (the cigarette kind) comes out a bit too.

 

So this changes a lot on drydown. It smells great right at the beginning, but later there is something unpleasant to the tobacco. But on the other hand the sarsaparilla is nice. Fades rather fast anyway.

 

I guess I am not being helpfull at all with this review

Overall I really like it but I am not going to wear it much, it is the kind of scent where I just keep my decant.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Sweet and creamy, bright and rich.

Fresh on the skin: Oh! The pine blooms right away, but there's the lovely fuzzy sweetness around the edges, and I'm definitely getting a little smoke at the center.

5 minutes in: This is kind of strange and fascinating. There's a little caramel fizziness from the sarsaparilla, which blends seamlessly into the whiff of tobacco smoke. I've got a sharp soapiness at the very edge that I suspect is the white pine bark, but it's not so strong that it drives the whole scent unforgivably soapy. I just sneezed, though, which may not be a good sign.

10 minutes in: Ooh. I think that sweet creaminess in the waft must be the almond milk. Mmm.

15 minutes in: This keeps getting deeper and more well-blended, the sweet and the cream mitigating the sharper notes, and made more complex in return.

20 minutes in: There's something almost fruity about this, particularly in the waft. Something about the almond milk and sarsaparilla, I expect. The center of the smell has a tinge of something that sort of reminds me of Band-Aids, weirdly enough, but it's not apparent unless I get quite close.

1 hour later: Ah, good. The Band-Aid-ness has softened and rounded a bit, though it is still there.

2 hours later: Confusingly this has taken on a bit of coconut. It's faded quite a bit, but luckily the Band-Aid smell has basically gone. Soft and round and sweet. Rather delicious, really, without being foody.

3 hours later: Buttery? It's gone... buttery? But still not in a foody or overwhelming way. Huh. This just keeps surprising me, and mostly pleasantly, too.

11 hours later: Almost entirely gone (and probably faded fairly dramatically a few hours ago while I was asleep).

 

Verdict: I enjoyed this, mostly, though there's some element in it that doesn't quite work for me as much as I'd like. I think I'll be trying it again, though, to see what it would be like to really wear it.

 

One word: Unusual.

[blacklacestatic]

In the bottle: Almond and a candy like note. Kinda reminds me of italian rainbow cookies, which I love.

 

Wet on skin: Hmmm, kind of reminds me of a mixture of root beer and real beer. Maybe that's what sarsaparilla smells like? It's not quite as almondy as I would like. The almond seems to be hiding a bit. The tobacco and pine are coming forward too, the pine stronger than anything else.

 

Drydown:First it smelled like a musty mothball smell. It kind of smells like feet now. Like feet that have been walking around all day, and someone just took their shoes off so said feet can breathe. I've heard some people comment on milk notes that smell sour, this might be what that is. I might have to go wash this off.

 

Overall: Started out promising, and then all the death notes didn't want to stay nicely mingled with everyone else. Oh, I had high hopes.

[tehriaz]

mmmm...

 

in the vial: patchouli and sarsparilla with a hint of pine. mmm...

 

on skin: oh jesus the pine amps up and it's *terrible* for a bit. euuughh. then I forgot about it for a while and sniffed my hand again later and..

 

drydown: *swooooon* no seriously, I am probably the pickiest sombitch on this forum, it is DAMN hard to get this reaction from me. this is LOVELY. the pine stfu'd and let the almond milk and patchouli cuddle on my skin. it's almost faintly buttery, but in a good, rich kind of way (I HATE foody) and the pine keeps it... dynamic? 's the best way it can be described.

 

9.7/10

 

*quietly adds to wanted/wish lists*

[crebbsgirl]

I've tried this twice now and I'm still on the fence about it. Something is reminding me of a man's cologne and it's not something I have good associations with so I feel that might be tainting my feelings about this one. This is predominantly pine bark and tobacco one me. I'm not getting much of the almond milk and there is just the faintest hint of sarsaparilla. The patchouli comes out later in the drydown but doesn't overpower the blend. I think I will have to try this again to make up my mind about it.

[Ceri]

In the vial: Creamy, sweet pine...I've never smell something like this before..slightly weird

 

Wet: Nutty pine. Does sarsaparilla smell nutty?

 

Dry: Slightly creamy, very nutty pine.

 

Overall: Not what I expected. I'm kind of disappointed. Not for me.

[Andrea912]

I love love love almond milk, sarsaparilla, and tobacco smoke, but I usually hate any patchouli and pine scents...

 

Impression: mmm; smooth and creamy; almonds? No bark or patch...yay!

 

OK, it's five minutes later and I'm swooning...I must get a bottle of this!

 

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Toasted almond milk! Possibly: toasted almonds & almond milk.

Wet on skin: Sweet almond milk, nutty pine, smokiness.

Dry on skin: Sweetness, patchouli, tobacco, light pine.

Final thoughts: I'm so pleased with this! The milk & cream notes usually smell sour to me, but this is delicious! The blend is creamy without being overwhelmingly strong or too masculine. It's on my list of bottles to get before the Carnival leaves.

[ShadowsDance]

From the imp I smell sarsaparilla, almond milk, and just a hint of tobacco.

On my skin it's almost the same as in the imp. The almond milk fades a bit, but is still there. I don't get much, if any, patchouli from this blend and only a bare hint of pine. The sarsaparilla is very much the primary note in this blend on me, and it's pretty interesting. I really love this, but it's hard to describe it well. It is very unlike any of the other scents I really enjoy, so it is hard to say why exactly I like it.. but this is definitely going on the big bottle list next order.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is not at all what I expected...I was hoping for toasted almonds and almond milk with some sasparilla and tobacco. What I got smelled way too sharp and masculine on my skin, not nearly as creamy and heady as anticipated. On my boyfriend, however, this smells just heavenly, and then far into the drydown I think that maybe this is something I could really wear and love. Like Tombstone, I think this is one of those blends that I will always love smelling on other people and be perpetually seething with jealousy that I cannot for some reason pull off on my own skin. *cue sad clown noise*

[Monster]

In the imp: Creamy wood! mmmm (the oil is a nice, amber orange color)

 

Wet: A milky almond mixed with a gentle pine note that makes me think of...milky sap. This is sweet (but not too sweet), spicy and woody. It's really unusual. I don't think I've ever smelled anything like this. The patchouli isn't terribly strong but instead keeps the sweeter notes being too flamboyant. If you don't like patchouli don't let this one scare you away, it's really beautiful.

 

Dry: There really isn't a note that stands out on it's own when it's dry, it's just a nice, slightly milky, spicy wood scent. I know that's not very descriptive but that's really the only way I can describe it right now. I'm at a loss for words. I feel like this could be a milky version of A. Mechanism.

 

Overall: Gorgeous! Very wearable, not overpowering or cloying at all. This has great throw and lasts for hours on my skin. I will be purchasing a 5ml of this for my CD collection

[angelicruin]

One whiff of the decant and I knew there were almonds and milk in this one. In fact, that's all I smell right after application. Fortunately, less than a minute later, the sarsparilla and tobacco smoke emerge and chase off all traces of the almond milk. The patchouli note is there, but I can't really distinguish it much from the tobacco smoke. Just a trace of bark in the background. Another more masculine Carnaval scent, but worth trying the decant of it.