How Doth the Little Crocodile

[Caper]

Chocolate peppermint, mint-soaked vanilla, pistachio, oakmoss, and green cedar.

 

in the imp: chocolate and mint. maybe something else low down, but the chocolate and mint are dominant.

wet: whoa! chocolate! warm chocolate cookies and vanilla. and a vague woody scent that must be the cedar.

dry: the cedar and moss start to come out, a litte bit of vanilla and pistachio. nutty pistachio woods?

i've started to realize that chocolate is just really dominating for me. i can smell the cedar and pistachio if i get close but from arms length it's all about the chocolate. which is great if you want to smell like chocolate. i think i'll be swapping this one.

eta- this one has really grown on me! i use it for bedtime almost every night because it is so comforting. it's the first imp i have managed to mostly finish and it'll be in my next bottle order.

[sharkdiver]

This one is interesting - I can very clearly smell the chocolate and the peppermint in the imp, and as soon as it is applied (wet)...then, my skin chemistry takes over, and the chocolate and mint quickly fade, leaving behind almost single note Cedar! I really wish the chocolate and the peppermint stuck around, but oh well. This will not be a bottle purchase

[Gerbie]

I've been wanting to try this for a while as I love chocolate and mints, but I wasn't sure if this would end up like one of those Demeter perfumes that I had a few of as a teenager. I was afraid that it would just smell a bit immature in a way.

 

In imp: Mints and chocolate, reminiscent of a York peppermint patty or Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies.

 

Wet on skin: Melty mint chocolate chip ice cream. Loving this so far. There is a slight cooling sensation on my wrist.

 

Dry: The cedar is taking it's sweet time coming out into the open. This is still mostly mint chocolate ice cream, but there is a backdrop to the scent that makes it more complex. I don't notice any pistachio (im not sure what pistachio smells like anyway) but it might be hanging back with the cedar just to make this oil more than mint chocolate chip.

 

Awhile later: Oh, there you are cedar! Cedar has come out to play and she plays SO nicely with the mint chocolate.

 

Overall, I really enjoy this. This could be bottle worthy, but I might hold off until the weather gets nicer. This could be really nice and refreshing on a hot summer's day. I look forward to finishing off this imp and ordering a bottle. Really nice.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Chocolate frosting straight out of the can.

 

Drydown: Mostly chocolate with a hint of minty woods.

 

Dry: Still mostly chocolate but softer and lighter.

 

 

 

 

This is the first chocolate scent I've tried and I think it was a bit too much for me. I'd probably have liked it more if the chocolate was more of a supporting or side note rather than the star.

 

7 out of 10 bones

Edited July 2, 2013 by BoneBone24

[Vega]

Sniffed: Mint and chocolate, grounded in a rich darkness that is almost juicy.

 

On skin: I came here for the chocolate peppermint, and How Doth the Little Crocodile doesn't disappoint. The choclate and mint are well-mixed together and initially prominent. Then other notes emerge with drydown, and now the cedar, oakmoss and pistachio are adding their distinct notes to the choc peppermint. I can't find vanilla: it must be very well-blended, if it's there at all. Now all the notes are blending into a new, distinct scent that's a bit chocolatey, a bit minty, and woody-mossy. It is cozy, enfolding, and rounded. Tokyo Stomp has a similar choc peppermint, but it's purer and sharper, whereas How Doth the Little Crocodile is made blunted and full-bodied from the other notes. Colour impression is dark green bleeding into rich red-brown.

 

Verdict: Fascinating, lovely, a tad odd, as befits a Wonderland blend. I'm crazy about the Lab's chocolate peppermint note, and How Doth the Little Crocodile is a lovely woody-mossy variation. Sadly, I already have favourite choc peppermint blends in Tokyo Stomp and WILF, so this just misses out on being a keeper.

[lisalovesbpal]

Really, really nice!

 

Wet - again, same as with Bliss - chocolate and peanuts, but also mint on this one.

 

Dry down - I'm definitely getting cedar. It's really a nice compliment to the mint.

 

After a while - everything's kind of softening up and complementing each other. It's all melded into this one lovely soft, sweet, a little powdery, slightly musky scent.

 

This could be a real contender!

[chicorymist]

Got this as a frimp from the lab! I'm not very into foody scents, but I rather liked this.

 

In the bottle: chocolate mint cookies!

 

Wet: same.

 

Dry: remains chocolate mint cookies for about two hours, at which point it becomes kind of a floral cedary scent with a faint sweet chocolatey backdrop. At four hours, the cedar fades away too and then it's just faint chocolate.

 

A lovely festive scent for the cookie-baking season!

 

4/5

[MadameGorgon]

Holy fucking oak moss, Batman!

 

This is about 90% oak moss and cedar, 10 % all the rest. Cue sad clown music.

 

I do smell the chocolate & mint, but they are completely over shadowed by the very masculine oak moss.

 

Maybe age will help?

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): That certainly is chocolate, but a chocolate I like, similar to hot coco with a splash of mint liqueur. It's foody, but it's not offensive like other foody scents I've sniffed in the past.

 

Wet: Warm vanilla, pungent peppermint, warm chocolate powder, and a touch of cedar to add to the complexity. It does remind me of an jewel-embellished crocodile mirage, actually.

 

Dry: It's just light cocoa, whiffs of vanilla, and just an impression of peppermint. Lovely!

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Chocolate (not a creamy, milk chocolate, though), cedar, and pistachio

Wet: Cedar and pistachio? The chocolate was hardly there at all as soon as I applied it.

Dry: It seemed to become more masculine as time went by! Cedar and oakmoss were the prominent notes...no mint or chocolate to be found.

Verdict: This was too masculine for me. I was hoping for more chocolate out of this one, so I won't be purchasing a full bottle.

Retest, after the imp has aged for five years:

 

In the imp: Chocolate (more of a thin, dark chocolate on an after-dinner mint), mint, and cedar, with a bit of pistachio.

 

Wet: Light chocolate and soft mint, with a bit of vanilla and cedar. The scent is really, really light on me. After a bit, the cedar begins to gain strength, and I can also smell some of the pistachio and oakmoss.

 

Dry: This remains a rather light scent, but it mainly smells like a chocolate, mint, and vanilla-tinged cedar and oakmoss scent on me now. When the imp was fresh, I mostly just got the cedar and green notes, and the sweet notes disappeared pretty much instantly. The scent is a lot different now. I'd say it's Tombstone's whimsical cousin.

 

Verdict: Aging has done wonders for this one. I didn't really care for it back in 2013, but now I really enjoy it! I just wish it were a little stronger. I'm either going to start collecting imps of this to age, or get a bottle to start aging.

 

Edited March 11, 2018 by dementia_divine

[Ranna]

I put off trying this one for a while because I'm not a particular fan of minty scents. But I got it as a frimp, and my "not yet tried" can was starting to overflow, so I figured I might as well.

 

In the imp: Chocolatey, minty, a little musky? Thankfully not that harsh spearmint scent that comes to mind when I think "mint."

 

On wet: Chocolate.

 

Dry: This is...this is Dorian. This is a very faintly chocolatey Dorian. I don't really smell mint, exactly, though there's definitely kind of a fresh quality to the scent that's absent from actual Dorian. I like this a lot more than I thought I would, but I don't know that I'd spring for a full bottle. I'll definitely use up my imp, though.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Wet wood, the same as I get from Jolly Roger on my skin.

 

Initial Wet Application: Still some wet wood but I got a whiff or two that smelled like chocolate mint, yay! Mostly this is just the cedar though.

 

Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As it began the dry down, the wood (oakmoss and ceder) started to stuck around but I kept getting teases of the delicious chocolate mint scent. I’m in favor of the foody blends, so I hope this gets more yummy on my skin! From the chocolate mint note I’m mostly getting dry chocolate (not cocoa powder, just dry chocolate shavings, maybe dark chocolate) and its mixed with the wood. I think the pepper in the peppermint is not liking the cedar/oakmoss and together they are simply overpowering any hint of thin mints or Andes mints I was hoping for!

 

My Reaction: I’ve decided that I’m not a fan of the wood notes from the lab; they all smell like plywood or a mild cedar closet to me, yuck! I had hoped this would be the perfect chocolate mint scent as many others have described experiencing, but unfortunately it’s just too much wood for me. I am getting throw from this though so that’s a nice change; and for the throw I’m getting more of the chocolate mint than when I actually sniff my wrists where the wood is hanging out.

 

Rating: 2

[kajacana]

Finally ordered an imp of this one after being curious about it for ages!

 

In the imp: Mint chocolate, but lacking sweetness.

 

Wet on skin: I can really smell the mint at first, but it disappears quickly. Then the chocolate is strongest for a short time.

 

Drydown: Oakmoss takes over almost completely. I can smell the chocolate fading... fading... until it's merely background noise keeping the oakmoss from reaching its absolute full strength. Not getting any vanilla or pistachio at all. There's a hint of cedar, but it's definitely only a hint - like a woodsy backup dancer in the oakmoss show.

 

I really wish this one stayed more mint chocolate. However, I will say that in terms of concept, this blend is spot on - it truly does smell like a sneaky, cartoonish crocodile! You know the part of the Disney cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland, where the Caterpillar makes smoke "rings" of the Crocodile while reciting this poem? I can totally imagine that smoke smelling like this blend. So cool!

[brilliantcat]

I've had this imp forever so it's quite aged and thus my experience is probably not akin to a fresh imp. /enddisclaimer

 

In the imp, it's incredibly smooth, sweet chocolate with mint and rich vanilla. Exactly what I hoped for! It's mostly chocolate on my skin with the mint and vanilla taking a backseat. Of the pistachio, oakmoss, and cedar, I hear not a peep. Wait, there they are. About 10 minutes in, the oakmoss and cedar veritably take over, leaving the chocolate/mint in the background but thankfully still present. Despite the hostile takeover, this is a very quiet scent, very little throw. It almost has a musky vibe. It got husbeast's sniff of approval so I think a big bottle is in order

[batsy]

In the vial: chocolate oakmoss. The chocolate note is always strong for me.

 

On the skin: Chocolate peppermint pistachios. Drying down the cedar pops in to play. Full dry down it's like a woodsy/foodie scent. From that point on it became chocolate cedar. It's not bad, but it's not something I'd wear.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from the Lab.

 

I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate, and mint in all its forms: Thin Mints, Ghirardelli Dark and Mint Squares, Lake Champlain Chocolates Peppermint Crunch bars: you get the idea. So when I smelled this in the imp, my eyes practically rolled back in my head because it was such a delicious chocolate peppermint.

 

Wet, it’s that same delicious chocolate peppermint for about a minute. And then…

 

This oil behaves differently depending on where it’s applied. On the insides of my elbows, the oakmoss and cedar appear and very quickly take over. Not really surprising, since my skin amps wood notes, especially cedar, but still. Come back, chocolate peppermint!

 

On the back of my hand, however, while the oakmoss and cedar are definitely present, the chocolate peppermint stays around and mingles with them. The mint-soaked vanilla also comes out and sweetens the blend, while the oakmoss and cedar prevent it from getting too sweet and foody. The whole blend is somehow nostalgic in a way I can’t describe. I’m probably thinking at least in part of peppermint and chocolates at Christmas, but this also makes me think that maybe someone in my childhood wore a perfume or cologne that contained oakmoss.

 

In any case, I really like How Doth the Little Crocodile. Thank you, Lab!

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Mint, chocolate, moss, pistachio & a hint of vanilla & cedar. The notes smell like they shouldn't work together, & yet they do. Delicious, but also confusing & strange.

Wet on skin: Almost exactly the same as in the imp, except the chocolate is more dominant. It smells like it should be edible & delicious, but then there's moss & trees!

Dry on skin: The moss & cedar are a little stronger than before. Like you're in a dense, mossy forest eating mint chocolates & other (pistachio & vanilla-mint) treats.

After a few hours: I'm not mostly getting a minty, chocolate moss. The other scents are still there too, but they've faded & mingled together. The overall feel is still very much that of eating sweets in a mossy forest!

Verdict: This is so weird, but I love it! Oddly comforting - a good scent for cold days where part of you wants to go on an adventure in the woods, but the rest of you just wants to stay in your PJs & cuddle up under a blanket.

[MeganHurst]

Hmmm, out of all of my new perfumes, this one gets to be my first review!

 

Imp: Thin Mint cookies all the way in the imp here!

Wet on Skin: It first smells like chocolate mint wood. Like a piece of plywood soaked in chocolate mint syrup. Of course, plywood to me is quite a comforting scent since my dad is into woodworking so I don't mind it too much.

Drying: I am getting more and more chocolate the longer I wear this and the vanilla is coming out more. I am starting to feel a little crumbly like somebody dumped a box of Thin Mint cookie dust on me. I have no idea how oakmoss or pistachio is supposed to smell like, but I think it is tempering the sweetness here.

Dry: The chocolate has died down a bit and I'm getting more forest on here. I think that might be the cedar and the oakmoss mixing. It smells rather green and a little nutty which has to be the pistachio. The minty vanilla is keeping it sweet and round. The chocolate is back down to a melty milk chocolate. I smell rather nibbly right now.

Overall Impression: I think I might like this. I got sent two free imps of this from the generous Lab (thank you Lab!) and I am going to keep and use one. The other one I am sending to my friend to try out because she is nervous about trying BPAL and we are perfume buddies. I'm not sure if I like it enough to get a bottle of it. I'll have to live with it a while and see how I feel about it later.

 

[bodegaselkie]

Vanilla cedar. And that's about it.

[PixieSkull]

This reminds me of 13 a bit. The chocolate, peppermint, and woodsy backdrop is similar.

 

Wet: Cedar and oakmoss are stronger in the vial and just on the skin than when dry. The chocolate, peppermint, and vanilla join in an obvious candy wave, underscored by the earthiness of the other notes until those come out to play as well.

Dry: That vanilla, chocolate, and peppermint float up on top in candy goodness. This is a combination I'm absolutely in love with. The pistachio must be giving the slight toasty bit, oakmoss is adding a bit of damp and sweet earth while the green cedar gives the astringent-type quality for more balance.

 

I wouldn't normally praise the cedar but it's a pleasant drying wood here. Where sandalwood would have added a dusty component and rosewood would have been a bit more on the wistfully romantic side, green cedar is more of a fresh and maybe spooky tree grove note here. All the chocolate, vanilla, and peppermint swirling to the top make a pleasant and enticing scent to dig my nose into. This is like smelling the candy being made in the house from outside the window of a house on the edge of a tree line.

5/5

Not your typical gourmand/candy scent. Very unique in that it's not put toward romantic or sexy.

[Balame]

I just got to test this as a frimp and it had never been on my radar before.

I'm generally not a mint fan and wasn't really sure how pistachio would "read" in a perfume, so I overlooked it despite woodsy notes favoring me.

 

Boy was I wrong! Crocodile is not candy-ish on me, or even particularly minty. It smells like a warm, almost musky vanilla backed with drier cedar and oakmoss.

The mint is very subtle and adds a smooth wave of freshness. The pistachio seems kind of elusive, but the scent does come across as "toasted" somehow.

 

It's far more mature than I imagined and actually a bit sexy. The woods take the sweetness and turn it into something special and new.

Really good. I haven't had a new GC favorite in a while, but this one definitely just shot up there. Way to surprise me, Lab!

 

If you're not normally a fan of mint but like foody scents that aren't overly sweet (or woodsy blends), I definitely recommend giving this a shot.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Balame

[DevilsCandyCane]

Smells like Velvet, if it was spilled in a pencilcase. A bit of that same gentle chocolate note, but mostly a crap-tonne of dirty pencil shavings, pencil shavings so strong that even soap won't wash it off completely. I don't really get mint at all, because it's hiding behind the pencilcase stink >_< I have the same issue with the Red Queen, they both do this on me, blehhh, nope!

[recklesslysober]

I wanted the chocolate vanilla mint, but got single note cedar. I tried an aged imp of this before and got more of the chocolate, so I'll probably keep my lab fresh imp around to see if more of the notes come through.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: I can tell right off the bat that, whatever this is, it's going to be STRONG. I'm getting minty chocolate even before uncorking the imp! When actually uncorked, I'm still getting some first-rate dark chocolate and mint, but now with that nutty, "toasted" edge a couple of people have mentioned - I'm tempted to say almonds rather than pistachios, but maybe that's just because I associate almonds with chocolate.

 

Wet: Still heavily chocolatey, but now definitely more nutty than minty. The mint is still there in the background, providing a lovely cooling note, but what are more notably pistachios have taken a big step forward. The cedar also makes itself known, but it's a gentler, softer cedar than what you may be thinking of - nothing fresh-cut here.

 

Dry: Fairly linear; nothing unexpected. The mint burns off first, of course, and the pistachio does a surprisingly graceful fade, leaving only the woodsy chocolate. Out of these two, the chocolate lasts the longest, but I can't say I'm particularly enamored. I've never been much of a one for gourmands/chocolatey scents (to which El Dia de Los Reyes is a HUGE exception - it's pretty much the only chocolate scent I need, and I love it so), and I already have my fill of woodsy/cedar scents, so I may either age this one to see if it develops into something interesting, or swap it.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Lunasariel

[Veronica]

Wet is all chocolate pepermint and pistachio, which gives it a slightly powdery, nutty air. This smells like Tokyo Stomp dipped in peanut butter. Too foody for me but not unpleasant.