Roadhouse

[sarada]

Truck stop sleaze. Weedy dandelion and hops with a whiff of tobacco and hemp and a swirl of booziness.

I was afraid of Roadhouse, early on on my BPAL obsession. I was terrified of tobacco back then, thinking it would smell like cigarettes (I was wrong and it's now one of my favorite notes!!), and afraid of hops (I hate beer) ... and not too sure dandelion or hemp would work as a perfume either. Just now, reading the ingredients to my DH he winced and asked why anyone would want to smell like that.

But of course, I've since learned that I love tobacco, like non-rum boozy scents and I like dandelion and other crisp green scents -- particularly that bitter green stem quality, it really adds a strange and memorable dimension to any perfume.

This smells largely of dandelion at first, both that succulent green stem that makes your mouth pucker, but also the musty soft golden dandelion. It gradually dries into more of a hopsy scent which I'm not as fond of...again, the association with beer, which I loathe...

But in the end it all comes together as the tobacco warms on my skin and it becomes warm, sun-baked dandelions and aromatic smoke in a grassy field. I think the imagery has been well-described throughout the review thread, but if you have skin that warms to tobacco it might come out very nicely in this blend. Definitely a summer scent, but since it's summer right now I can't wait to wear this on my next walk through a park! If I don't wind up drowning it all in bug spray and sunblock that is.

[spark]

Wet: Sweet greenery. It's quite pretty. As it dries it gets more bitter on the skin; at that point it's an amazingly genuine dandelion scent. The waft of the scent is still sweet, though -- the bitterness stays close to the skin.

 

After a couple hours the bitterness fades too, and I'm left with a nice neutral green dandelion scent. There may be a touch of hops at this point, but mostly I feel like I've been rolling in dandelions all day. Definitely unique!

[edenssixthday]

Roadhouse - This is predominantly the bitter green, milky-weedy scent of dandelion combined with the scent of dry grasses and tobacco. I don't smell the booze note in this scent at all. To me, this is an unpleasant scent and smells like something that would trigger my allergies. It reminds me of your generic every day truck stop in any random Dust Bowl town in somewhere on the Great Plains. Moderate level of throw and staying power.

[mountainwitch]

For the first twenty minutes this is all dandelion, and it’s fabulous. I want a dandelion fragrance! The memories of being a kid again, pulling up bunches and bunches of those plush golden flowers . . . It’s absolutely amazing, and then, suddenly, I smell like beer. Dandelions and beer. I smell like I've been sitting on a quilt spread on warm grass in the sunshine, ready for a fourth-of-July picnic--and while that sounds like a lot of fun, I don't really want to smell like the victim of a party foul.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: That's not dandelions. It's flowery.

 

On me: Okay, of course it's dandelions. STRONG dandelion smell at the beginning, and that's what I get. I really need something else to come up in this.... The fellow: 'Smells like a bath product.' Great. Five minutes later: I do think I'm getting the hemp smell, too, only a little. I do not smell like hops or beer, and I don't smell like it later, either.

 

Final analysis: Smells like tons of dandelions in the sun, and something more elusive and evocative that really gives it points with me. A floral, but not a typical floral (the dandelion does not wear like other floral smells.) It does have a nice, sloppy feel to it.

Edited August 19, 2006 by ND¢

[sofiaviolet]

This does smells like dandelions! Unfortunately, it triggers my allergies. Oops.

[Shannihilation]

In the imp this is definitely dandelions and booze. But it's also a clean smell. Bright and sunny. The booze note is very crisp and clear. On my skin it's sweet and clean. The dandelions really come out and the booze fades just a bit and gets softer. This makes me think of a romantic picnic in the middle of a field on a sunny day. Finishing off a bottle of wine and making out on the blanket...

 

I need a bottle of this.

[steffanina]

Roadhouse-

 

In Bottle: My god, I can actually smell weeds. If you asked me what dandelion smelled like, I'd say, "You're nuts, it doesn't smell like anything." And it's IN this bottle. Amazing.

 

Wet: Weeds! I can't believe it. It's still amazing. So far I don't smell tobacco or booze--I want to call this scent "Tom Sawyer," because that's the sort of summer vision this scent evokes.

 

Dry: This never did get boozy or tobacco-y, but stayed the scent of summer weeds all the way through. I think it might also have given me the sweeter impression of daffodil, rather than just dandelion. I find this scent more of a novelty than a frequent flyer but I definitely won't trade it away.

 

Overall: Conditional but very cool.

[marietta]

Wow. Uh, I definitely get the hops. Definitely not a good one to wear to work. Before the hops completely took over, I got a fresh grass scent. Not much lasting power, but major throw while it lasts. If the grass scent had lasted longer/come back, this would be viable, but . . . An amazing creation, but not one that speaks to me. Maybe I'm more of a cocktail girl.

[rainbow]

I was a bit worried about the tobacco in this blend because I tend to amp tobacco, but that was no problem with Roadhouse. Roadhouse totally smells like dandelions- exactly like dandelions. How cool is that? A dandelion perfume!

 

Ultimately, though, that was precisely my reaction to Roadhouse. I totally appreciate the perfumery skill in creating it, but I don't really want to smell like dandelions on a day-to-day basis. Cool to smell, but not for me to wear.

[supremegoddessofall]

Dandelion that's making me sneeze. I'm not getting the tobacco or booze at all, but I am getting what smells like rose leaves.

[em_h]

Hmm, no, this just doesn't work for me. At first it's a sort of interesting green aquatic (I guess that's what the dandelion does on my skin) with a hint of spice, but then the hops come out strong, and it turns into a vaguely nauseating mixture of pondwater and stale beer. Eventually the green/aquatic note fades almost entirely, and I'm left with my wrists smelling like some strange kind of beer candy.

 

Glad it works for some people, but it's just no good for me.

[Extispex]

I got this as a frimp in my last order, and I'm SOOOOO glad, because its something I never would have ordered for myself in a million years.

 

In the bottle, dandelions. Just, yum fresh dandelions.

 

On my skin its incredible, almost indescribable. The dandelions get slowly drowned in beer and boozy notes, but they die sweetly, leaving a hint of their tears floating upon the surface of the bitter-sweet liquor aromas.

 

Upon drying, I get just a whiff of tobacco and hemp, but mostly the scent stays nice and drunken on me. I absolutely love this. Its an amazing alchemy of intoxication and laughter. Joy and sadness. Flirtation and desperation. Last hopes lost beneath a river of alcohol. It makes me smile, yet there's a wistfulness about it that must be the dandelions - memories of lost youth, blown away on a breeze, a sigh heaved into the bottom of a glass.

 

Hmmm.... I think there's a bottle of this in my future.

[naeelah]

This was a freebie with my last order. This one smells just like the description. Weedy, with a slight breezy earthy quality, and something like dark rum -- alcoholic and sweet. The alcoholic quality isn't such that you smell like you spilled liquor on yourself, it just balances the sweetness. I think I get more of the sharpness of the weeds while wet, but generally this one is pretty consistent, with little morphing.

 

This one is interesting and pretty nice, but I've learned that I really don't like weedy scents on myself. Weediness is the reason Highwayman ultimately doesn't work for me, and it's also a big reason that this scent isn't for me. I would like it on someone else.

[porcelina]

in the bottle- a really heady, sweet, full-bodied but fresh green floral... the boozey notes make it a lot richer. it is somehow darker-smelling than any other floral i've tried (they usually don't work well with my skin or my nose at all).

 

wet- it's a lot more pungent; the scent is sharper and i smell a little beer but combined all together you don't really notice that it's beer... this is indescribably lovely.

 

dry- dandelion with a whiff of fresh tobacco... wow, i absolutely love this.

 

roadhouse was a random "haha i wonder what the hell THIS smells like?" selection in my first BPAL order... and it is still my absolute favorite. i have never smelled anything like it and it's absolutely divine with my skin chemistry. i really think this is one that you just *have* to try.

[jiggahava]

Hmmm, not much sleaziness here. This is mostly green and refreshing! Dandelion and hemp, which I guess is making the green note so strong. I'm not getting any hops yet, which I'm not complaining about. Excellent spring and summer scent, this imp is going to get a lot of use. It makes me feel happy.

 

After a couple of hours, there is a bit of booziness, not obvious, but it's in the background, adding sweetness to the mix of green and dandelions. Ahhh, so good.

Edited April 19, 2007 by Hava

[brit_brat100]

This was meh for me from the start. So far, I haven't liked any scent with alcholic notes, and the other notes didn't conjure up and desire either, but it was a frimp, so I had to try it.

 

This one came out all warm and musty on me, a sweet weedy and floral smell, but sharp at the same time. Nothing is really super distinguishable, and I'm not thinking I would really wear this again. Oh well.

[filigree_shadow]

I like this scent up close. The hops and dandelions reminds me a lot of when I was a kid at my family reunions, with all my uncles drinking beer and all the kids playing in Grandma's yard.

 

But when my nose is the regular distance away from my wrist, all I can smell is booze. So this won't be one that I can wear. I don't fancy walking around smelling like I've tied one on.

[cassandrakfreaq]

I thought this scent sounded so odd and fun that I had to get it. I was shocked at how much I really like it. Its clean but there is a murky undertone from the smoke smell. I think the strongest scent is the dandelion. It does smell like weeds but not in a bad way at all. The boozyness really just adds a sweetness to the smell. You wouldn't be able to detect a bubbly-ness to it really or at least I can not.

[noumenon]

I adore Roadhouse! It's almost single-note Dandelion on me, with a faint, hay-like trace of hops in the background. The Dandelions are bright and cheerful. The whole scent is floral sweetness. It's very girly and very pretty!!

 

I'm a little scared from reading reviews that maybe other people can smell tobacco and booze on me and I smell like went out drinking before coming in to work, but other than that vague fear, it's one of my Top 10 scents.

[modernsaints]

nnnngh this is honey. Perfect. Honey with a smoky back to it, and just a touch of dandelion brightness. I am making grabby hands at this SO HARD. I'd put this in & out of my wishlist several times, debating whether it was even worth it, and then the lab frimped it to me! Good call, lab, I think I might want a bottle of this.

[Medici]

In the imp: Hops, apple and stale beer.

 

Applied: (Man, am I ever scared to put this on my arm.) Dandelion... that sort of reminds me of Granny Smith apples. There's a hint of greenery in there, and a dollop of something green and sort of viney. It's not a very neat scent, though I can say it smells less dirty than the first time I tried it a year ago. After it warms, the hops comes out and I'm back to stale beer.

[PurringPulsar]

Roadhouse

 

In the imp: a sharp greenness with a touch of hops.

Wet on skin: honeyed dandelions, spilt cider and beer.

Dry on skin: hmm, this isn't too bad! I was expecting this to smell like BEER! But it doesn't-it's actually a pleasant dandelion mead! It reminds me of the mead note from Litha, but with an extra spike of green from the dandelions, and a hint of beer from the hops. I'm keeping an eye (or nose) on the hops note (and the tobacco) because it threatens to turn into 'that drunk student stink', cheap lager and ciggies. But for now, it smells like a jolly dandelion mead scent, just a touch of beer but not much, grasses and weeds, smelling less like a roadhouse and more like a midsummer festival…

After a while: BEER! It really does smell like a pint of beer now. I smell like a pub. A pub after the smoking ban. However there's a pleasant honeyed aspect to the hops, it still has that mead vibe, but the dandelion has fades so it's lost the outdoorsy scent it had before. And I don't really like the idea of smelling like beer! I know many lads who do though…maybe this could enable them?

This beer phase is strong and offputting but luckily it fades leaving a nice honey mead scent behind. Maybe a touch of the lightest tobacco, but it's more tolerable now. I never got any hemp in this scent.

Verdict: I was apprehensive about trying this because I had a feeling it would smell of beer. And I was right. However it's not all beer, there are also some nice moments of mead and dandelions. it smells light and summery and jolly, crushed grasses and weeds (not hemp, but dandelions!) a summery and celebratory scent very much like Litha. But then after the mead has gone round, out come the pint glasses and the cans of lager! It then moves away from smelling like a pagan festival and now more like a pub garden. It smells so disturbingly like beer it's quite scary! Needless to say, it's not my thing. I think I'll pass it on…I liked the honeyed dandelion scent, but the hops are much too strong and boozy in this one.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? no!

If you like this, try: Litha, One to Tie Two to Win, A Bold Bluff, Gluttony, Osun

Edited July 28, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[Czarina]

In the imp: grape juice, wet grasses

Wet: whoa! Dandelions—the crushed stems

Dry: tobacco and sweet grassy dandelions.

 

This is a sweetly floral scent. If you didn't know that it was tobacco and dandelions, you wouldn't necessarily recoil from the scent knowing this. It actually is quite pleasant, not much throw, not a huge amount of staying power. Very interesting and much more attractive than I expected from the scary description.

[Northernskygal]

I asked my boyfriend to pick a letter, and then I would pick an imp that started with that letter and that would be my smell for the day... he picked R so.. low and behold.. Roadhouse for me!

 

This could almost be a dandelion single note scent on me, which isn't really a bad thing, as I am usually not too fond of some of the other notes listed in this scent. It is really warm and lovely, sweet and florally. It doesn't morph at all on me, it stays very true to a dandelion smell, it just gets weaker with wear. I'd say about two hours in most of the throw is gone, though it clings to the skin still. About six hours in, if I put my nose to the spots it was applied, I can still smell it, and again, it smells like straight up dandelion. It was terribly warm yesterday, when I had the scent on and.. I did get the image in my head, upon sniffing, of maybe having been in a car, driving in the middle of some desert type place, forever, with the air conditioner broken, and that heat and stickiness.. and then pulling up to a roadhouse or truck stop and finally getting out and catching a breeze of dandelions maybe growing in a field across the way.

 

This is a very pretty scent and I would not mind keeping an imp of it around for when I want to smell bright and yellow and happy but it is not something that I would really need a bottle of, I wish it were a bit stronger overall as it is very nice.