Mad Honey

Sampling Borntostandout Mad Honey, a mix of honey, rose, rum, pink pepper, and a blended base of vanilla, patchouli, tonka, benzoin, and ambergris, mainly adding an earthy, sweet, creamy aspect to the dry down. Mostly, the scent is defined by the rose-and-honey-led sweet and spicy opening that remains prominent into the dry down, and the rose especially lingers quite a bit to my nose, really being the standout note more so than the eponymous honey, even, so this is really a scent for rose lovers, I’d argue, though it’s well supported by creamy, sweet, spicy, resinous elements that give it complexity, depth, and perhaps a slightly broader appeal. It’s quite intense, though, something I’d opt to wear in cooler weather or when looking to stand out a bit. Fortunately, it’s not too heady but there’s definitely a slghtly sharp, powdery corner of the experience of smelling it that I get wafts of periodically when re-smelling on skin. Like the rest of the line, Mad Honey is EDP, sold at a handful of US boutiques like Ministry of Scent, and priced at $290/210/85 for 100/50/15ml. It’s likely the best-performing scent I’ve tried from the house so far, with a pretty strong scent cloud resulting from just a couple of sprays via the sample obtained as part of the Dark & Drunk discovery set. Overall, it’s an interesting and compelling blend that I would regard as a love rather than a like, in the scheme of things, probably my second favorite of the line after Drunk Maple. 8 out of 10

Honey is always a hit or miss for me. I either love it or hate it. In this case, Mad Honey does both. The opening is a white/yellow floral with a honeycomb twist. But mostly floral -at best it is an abstract rose. The pink peppery floral here gives of a bit of pot-pourri style rose, more than a jammy oud-y rose, that lends itself for a vintage vibe. This vintage feel lasts about 30 minutes (on my skin and in the heat). I do prefer the dry down (at this stage it does remind me of Oud Satin Mood), but you do have to bare with it for the first 60 minutes. It may not pay off for many as it does go a bit animalic the "ambergris" or Orcanox feels less marine and more along the lines of castoreum or civet (I love both). Mad Honey should have been called "Funky Floral Honey", for accuracy purposes. In terms of tenacity, it has good enough staying power - don't expect however to be on a Drunk Saffron or Smokin'Gun level. Sillage is similar to Drunk Maple. Present but not overbearing. The Dark Side from FBianchi remains unbeatable in the honey adjacent category. I do not feel I "need it" or "crave it" as much as others on my whishlist. Having said that, I would consider buying this fragrance, as I do enjoy it.

A full fleshy rose dipped into a glass of honeyed rum. I get all the facets with this one. Crystalline honey Boozy liquor And a decadent rose. It’s so delicious I find myself sniffing my arm over and over. I own Oud Satin Mood, Tabac Rose, and Oud Boquet. while I can understand why people may draw comparisons, I find them very different. OSM is powdery with that added violet. Tabac Rose is bright and acidic with a chocolaty dry down. Oud Boquet is to my nose mainly Rose Oud and does that very well. There’s no oud to my nose here, no citrus, nor powdery ness. It’s all boozy honey with that rose touch to keep it feeling like a perfume rather than a body splash or body crème. I loved my sample so much I had to have a full bottle. I’m not a “fan” of the look of the bottles nor the marketing. Not really my style but I loved the fragrance enough to make an exception.

This one had been on my radar for a while, but I didn't want to blind buy. Finally found a store near me that has it so I could test it, and it was instant love! After a few days of testing, I love it so much I got the full bottle. This is the perfect honey rose of my dreams. The opening is rich and sweet honey, and the rum note is clearly present at first, although it fades fast. What remains is a gorgeous honey rose that lasts for many hours. Often in perfumes, the rose notes tend to be most prominent in the opening, then dissipate. Here it's the opposite, and as time goes by the rose shines more and more. I love love love this way more than I imagined possible!

I tried it when it was scorching hot and it was good. Now that it's colder it's so much prettier (obviously, it's a very sweet gourmand lol), I can feel some booze, but in a good way, and the honey is not photorealistic, but sweet and very warming on a cold day, like I just had some hot mead :DD Wish I could feel pepper more, but honestly I was surprised how much better this works when I run around in 10 degrees celsius instead of 30 lol. I could smell it the whole day if I focused on the perfume, but it didn't made my head hurt. And my friends told me that I smell good so that's the biggest win.

Definitely not similar to Ginger Biscuit and much less reminiscent of Miel Extase. This is way too floral and it smells headache inducing to me. On my skin it turns bittersweet as soon as it dries down. Sadly my expectations were not met. Very short projection. I’m definitely going to recommend Navitus Miel Extase if you’re into dry apricots, chocolate, booze and honey. Signature Aurum if you’re into a fancy baklava honey 🍯

Obsessed with this, I couldn’t stop smelling my wrist after spraying it. Very medicinal for the first minute (reminded me of cough syrup) but it turns into the most beautiful boozy honey scent after that! Perfect for the colder weather. And great lasting power, stays on skin for 7+ hours and on clothes for multiple days.

I love it. I'm definitely getting the honey and the rose. I'm vegan tho so idk what actual honey is supposed to smell like. Update: tried it on a different day and now I'm only getting rum. why must the world be so cruel? bring back the honey and rose

This brings back memories of eating honey-drizzled pancakes with my mom (who's wearing a floral perfume). It's syrupy, slightly boozy, and warm. The floral/rose note is there, but it isn't overpowering.

It's not a real honey scent but it's quite nice rum-vanilla-imagined honey and maybe tonka combo. I can't really smell pepper nor rose in this

Just got a sample! It smells boozy honey to me. This is before I read the notes though. I smell rose, vanilla, oud. Its really good.

Reminds me of a less expensive smelling version of Nefs by Nishane. Better than the rating suggests.

The best Honey scent and well balanced with Rose. Last long time on Skin with moderate projection.

It's a sexy bright red voluptuous rose dipped in a glass jar of golden sweet honey.

Mad Honey comes off as a highly processed, if not artificial, take on the classic Rose-Honey formula seen in the likes of Rose Barbare and Sa Majeste La Rose. While Rose Barbare is filtered but otherwise unprocessed honey in an elixir with soapy-fresh rose, clean yet indulgent, Mad Honey is high-fructose honey, if not honey-flavored syrup, sprinkled with faux petals soaked in rose-scented flavoring. Artificial, Tooth-achingly Saccharine, and Stubbornly pungent. But is it bad? No, it’s absolutely not. I personally don’t search for hyper-realism in perfumery, but I am a sucker for theatrics. This is ART-ificial. It conjures up images of moody neon-pinks atop of sticky sheets. The scent of rose soap still somewhere lingering for the cleaning crew to smell after two paramours stumble out of their motel room with rumpled clothes and still high off something laced with honey and something a little more maddening, the infatuation still sticky sweet and young. It delivers on the BTSO promise of standing out with a tenacious and sometimes dizzying sillage and a saccharine experience that borders diabetic. It’s indulgent and maddening, despite it being powdery at times and even soft. Cloying as it may be, it’s one of the more thought out and less derivative and reiterative of the first batch of fragrances made by the brand and one that has a special spot on my growing collection. Sometimes I don’t want to feel austere and classy with my honeyed roses. There are days where I want to brat out and have fun, be obnoxious, be youthful. When those days come, I want Mad Honey dripping off of me.

The very first spritz I did of this one was a pure literal honey, when I inhale I get the rose, and a lot of oud. It is slightly spicy in the opening, but it is just barely there behind the honey and rose. I get a clear childhood memory from this one, eating a slice of bread with honey in my grandparents house, before running for my life being chased by a wasp whilst playing around grandmas rose bushes. Now that would probably be «Mad Honey» for me. I really wish I got some of that rum note, but in BORNTOSTANDOUT fragrances I can’t seem to grasp the alchohol notes? I don’t know if the alcohol notes is so well blended in, or if we have so different views of how certain alcoholic drinks are supposed to smell? I don’t know? When this dries down, I finally get some of the vanilla. It is a spicy and sophisticated one, and I get some slighly amber-y and balsamic notes as well. I guess that is the benzoin? The initial oud-like smell I get in the opening also disappears in the drydown. Nevertheless, the honey and rose are still the main smells, which is fine, but it gets a bit cloying after a while. In my opinion it is very feminine leaning, but I understand the ‘Oud Satin Mood’ reference even though I find that one to be completely unisex and drier. To whoever put down ‘Noir de Noir’ in the remind me of section, I have to ask, how? I could like this one, because it has a great sillage and staying power, it is an exciting (but maybe a tad too sweet?) take on a honey fragrance, but the start is a bit too much even though the drydown gets a lot better.

Mad Honey is like nectar fermented in the throat of something carnivorous. It really grabs you. Don't expect a gentle honey or even a sticky one because this one is legit feral. Like wild orchids blooming too close to a carcass. Honey with legs and claws, pollinated by teeth. Thick rose syrup sloshes beneath, narcotic and a little slutty, mixed with some sort of a physicality here. Not body-warmth, but body heat. Heat from crushed things: petals, beetles, pheromones, all things humming with decay in the most compelling way. I almost smell an earthy geosmin, but blink and it’s Iso E Super smoothing the surface, like varnish over rot. It’s filthy, but controlled. This sweetness too isn’t the cloying, cheap candy perfume type, more like one inebriated. It stumbles all glossy-eyed, among woods and resins and champagne-y roses, while the sheen of coumarin and darker musks growl beneath. Wearing it is like wandering too deep into a jungle temple where the honey runs rabid and red, where it's both sacred and poisonous. Not for me, but wow. Just... wow. For days where you fantasise about being devoured by a flower, Mad Honey's already licking its lips.

This one took me by surprise and I was intrigued enough to get a full bottle as I don't have anything with honey in my collection. I did not expect to like this one but the opening is stunning. Overall I get Rum, Honey and Rose, very clean smelling while still a bit boozy. My wife hates this one sadly but I'm really enjoying it. I'd say it leans a bit feminine but the Rum and Pink Pepper do have a bit of a masculine vibe which makes this one just fine for a man to wear imo. Performance has been really good despite reviews saying otherwise. This lasts quite a while on my skin and is very pleasant. I'd agree that it's rose forward along with the honey note. A bit overpriced imo but I didn't have anything like it and it happened to wow me when trying out in store. This and Drunk Lovers were my favorite from the brand.

I don’t get the rose at all. If anything, it smells like you took fresh honey from a local’s farmer’s market and drizzled it on your arms. And the honey stand happens to be in a middle of a booth doing some rum tastings on the left and a flower arrangement class on the right. The honey is photorealistic and takes center stage. Just go grab your honey jar from your kitchen cabinet and that’s what it smells like!! I do like it though, it’s not too sweet but very much still gourmand

This scent is pretty good to me. You definitely get the honey, in fact I'm reminded of the honey sticks I used to buy at the apple orchard as a kid. It is a little one dimensional and sweet for me so I don't think I would invest in a full bottle, but if you like honey fragrances, I would give this one a try, the rum note does add a little more to an otherwise run of the mill sweet perfume. Overall 7/10

At the top, this is ALL rose to me. As it drys down the honey emerges (about 1 hr). It is a sweet honey, almost indistinguishable from a sugar note. I think that is actually the rum/vanilla notes combining to smell sweet, so maybe the honey is further back than I think. The rose is still there as well. It also sits very close to the skin for me. Almost no projection. Overall it is nice.

mad honey started off a little alcoholic to me (which i didn’t love due to personal taste) but the honey takes over quickly. it felt warm, decadent, luxurious. side note: it pairs beautifully with music for a while by frederic malle

Strong honey, but completely different to L'animal. In my opinion this is less honey forward, and a bit more sweet floral.

This is okay,just not for me leans more masculine for me slightly,it's a different fragrance than what I usually smell it's okay•♡• based off a sample vial• it's nice tho I smell honey& a slight powder faint sour oud vibe in here but very clever &not off putting,I'd like this more on a man personally anyone can pull this tho , it gets softer&more unisex ? after a few minutes&smells more like honey 🍯 other notes fade blend lightly airy¿ hard to explain,smells nice&safe pleasent I guess,nice twist to it,just not for me.•☆▪︎gentle &barely there after 10 mins•skin scent yet there~soft& A note that is to masculine for me&mainly a noticeable skin scent..it's just okay in my opinion ~I can see anyone who likes more masculine scents loving this~its a nice take on 🍯 honey unique. Lasts very long on skin &projects like a noticeable skin scent ✨️

This is, in its essence, a honey version of the popular "jammy rose" scent profile. I get beastmode, photorealistic honey for a few hours after application with a slight whiff of rose here and there. This reminds me a little of Roses Vanille, add honey, subtract the scratchy Mancera DNA. I'd buy this over Roses Vanille - it's much smoother. I don't think I'll buy this fragrance, but I would use it if I got it in a subscription box or as a gift. Jammy roses aren't the most wearable for me, but smelling like a dripping honeycomb at the same time isn't so bad. If that's your jam then it's probably perfect for you!

If there's anything BORNTOSTANDOUT is good at, it's creating very convincing gourmand fragrances. This is a true honey scent, just a smidge boozy. The opening is overwhelmingly sweet to me, but it allows other notes to come through after the drydown. It takes about two hours for it to settle enough to be wearable for me, but once it does, it really is lovely. I wish the rose came through more. Lasts a very long time on my skin, but weak sillage. Ultimately it's just not for me, but I might enjoy it on someone else.

Over powering rose, smells like lush rose jam. Over priced and cheap smelling.

Mad Honey had me excited on paper. Honey, rose, vanilla, tonka - everything that should work for me. And for about the first twenty minutes it kind of does. There's a warmth and sweetness in the opening that's genuinely appealing, a spiced honey that hints at something rich and interesting. Then the honey starts to fade. And as it does, what's left underneath is a combination of rose, patchouli and benzoin that reads immediately vintage and mature on my skin. By the drydown the honey is completely gone and there's nothing left that feels like me.

The rose is overtaking the whole composition for me. I hoped for more of a honey gourmand presence. If you like rose check this out. Please don't blind buy! Testing again for a second time today the rose is very mature & has basically ruined any chance the honey had in here to make a debut. Had to wash this off my wrist. If you’re looking for a solid honey centered fragrance try Aurum or Bee. “Mad Honey” is a definite pass for me.

Perhaps "Mad Rose" would have been more fitting, as this is rose dominant. I don't feel like the recipe works. May rose is a lovely, sweet thing and this fragrance is joyless.

The description looks amazing but in reality it smells like a baby powder. I really am disappointed

So Bad. It's Not as good as the disappointing Bee Zoologist scent 😔😔😔

Take it from a beekeeper, this is not honey. My favourite smell in the world is the smell of a beehive, and I'm on a constant search for a perfume that captures it, or at least a realistic honey. It's my fragrance holy grail, and I actually doubt it exists, but still I search. I'd wanted to try Mad Honey for a while, so was excited that it was included in a recent Bloom sample edit. So disappointing from the very first spray. Cheap powdery rose with a faint synthetic honey in the background. The dry down is ambery with a nasty Elnett hairspray and baby powder vibe. I can only guess that anyone who gets realistic honey from this isn't buying real honey? Supermarket honey is mostly sugar syrup; if you add some rose to that then that's what we have here, only in a dry, powdery form rather than a syrupy one. Yes it's sweet, but honestly this is so far from what I expected, it's a scrubber for me. The search continues... Some thoughts on the concept and naming of Mad Honey, and its apparent misinterpretation: when bees forage rhododendron flowers the honey they produce is narcotic (and toxic) to humans, and is colloquially known as 'mad honey'. The word rhododendron is from the Greek words for rose and tree (I know this because I'm a classics nerd!). Now, I haven't smelled a rhododendron in a long time, but I'm guessing it's similar to rose? So perhaps the intention was to draw on this connection? This would make more sense than claiming to be an outright sticky honey fragrance. I dunno, it's just interesting to me how different our olfactory perceptions can be, and I wonder how much we are influenced by what we are expecting rather than what is.

I almost never scrub off a perfume, but after a few hours I could no longer stomach this one. It smells like 90% baby powder on me, and it's so strong and cloying that it's overwhelming. After it dries completely I can get the honey if I really stick my nose in it, but it's not a pleasant honey. Instead it's a pungent, dank honey that's almost a bit fecal. I hated this with a passion.

Naseating heavy honey. This is so heavy and makes me want to puke. To put it in plain words its just a fermented honey smell with again heavy florals and just gives this terrible suffocating honey smell. Not good to me its disgusting. I love to eat honey but the smell is not the best and paired with heavy floral and rum? yeah nah

This is so floral... it's revolting. Smells like a flower in the middle of spring COATED in pollen. It smells like weird pollen I don't smell honey. I didn't realize I had reviewed it twice, this bewildered me so badly.

This is one of the most pungent artificial rose scents I have ever smelled :( not good... It's aggressive rose and vanilla, that's all I'm getting on my skin...

tested this in a store, at first it smelled of honey and spices. then a wave of cough medicine wafted into my nose hole. its nauseating.

It's a super scrubber for me. I had to wash it off its so masculine its not even funny.

Am I the only one who get Absolue Pour Soir by MFK? The original one, from, like, 2012 or whenever -- anyway, I know that MFK re-released that one last year, so, if nostalgia kicks in and I want to get that one (I came close to dropping 400 USD on a 75 ml bottle a few years back) I might go for the MFK, or, maybe even Mad Honey? But not both, I feel... This one has the royal smooth honey, heaps of basey benz, rose, traces of cumin and STANK -- but it's stank done JUST right. Not overbearing, not room-choking, but RIGHT. The more I sniff this, the more I feel it's MFK -- how has no one else said this already? It's very well put together, but I feel like I've smelt this before...

The name is a tad misleading as there's just as much rose as there is honey. This is a spicy rose dripping in rich honey. I love the way this smells, but I'm currently going back and forth with myself regarding whether I want to get a full bottle because it's kind of reminiscent of Maison Lancome's Oud Bouquet once it dries down. Like if you replaced the vanilla with honey. But then again, the honey really is so prominent that it stands out from the likes of Oud Bouquet and is quite distinctive. And maybe this is me trying to talk myself into a bottle lol. All in all, it's a wonderful scent to get your nose on if you love spicy roses and honey in your fragrance.

Mad Honey gives me retro vibes. It reminds me of Angel by Thierry Mugler mixed with MAC Velvet Teddy. It is loud, intense, projects very well. The honey note is dense, very realistic. The patchouli and vanilla feels almost like chewy candy. The rose comes and goes. This is a bit difficult on my sinuses. I don't see Ambroxan in the notes but it feels like it might have it, I have tried other scents with Orcanox and had the same harsh sensation... I think the scent is interesting, but sample it first, it has that chemical harshness that has become a recurrent problem in modern perfume brands.

Honey is ticky note for me, I either love it or hate it. Every loves moon glory or scandal but neither of those work for me. But this one is magical! It's a warm boozy Honey. The rose isn't prominent to my nose and I love a rose scent. My God this one is gorgeous. It's warm, sexy, there is some soft of citrus brightness on the back end that lifts it and keeps it from getting heavy. It's definitely a gourmand and so beautiful. This is my 4th perfume from this brand in a collection of 150+ full bottles and I am in love.

Im not much of a honey note lover at all i think it always smells too much medicinally so to like a perfume that is all about honey that tells you something about this fragrance Smells a little medicine like but not overpowering at ALL Smells quite vintage as well like its been fermented which screams to me wear me on a leather jacket I like how its all these notes and just hugged by this alluring honey cant wait for the winter to put my hands on this

Starts out smelling like the inside of a nepali/incense shop. You know the ones where they have stacks of oils and inscences and hippie Bob Marley looking tye dye stuff. Settles into literal rum and honey. Not delicate or subtle. Not sure why anyone would want to smell like this or what an occasion for this type of scent would be. I wouldn't describe it as cozy or anything pleasant.

I have a 1.2ml sample of this, and if it were a 10ml decant, I'd be so happy! I like this. Not enough for a full bottle tho. The rose overpowers, but I DO get honey (love) and the scent overall is very very good. However, the drydown is similar to other BTSOs- like Nanatopia. I want a 10ml decant of this so bad, but Be My Cookie got a full bottle yesterday, lmao.

Slightly animalic and tart honey, vanilla and a wild flower meadow type of note. Rather simplistic but in a good way. Unfortunately this evolves into a slightly metallic, aggressive amber on my skin, at least up close. Could be a reaction on some specific synthetic ingredient in the base but it isn't pleasant either way. Great on paper and in my sillage though!

I’m very confused about this one after reading the reviews. It must smell different on everyone as some people say it’s floral and others say it isn’t. Some get mainly rose, others just the honey. I have to say I love Pure Honey by Kim Kardashian and Beige by Chanel. Can anyone tell me if it’s like either of those please?

Mad Honey, what a great name! The fragrance isn’t quite what I was expecting given the name and notes. The rose more identifiable than I expected. The fragrance leans more towards a floral-gourmand for me. If you like a touch of honey in your fragrance, not overly sweet, Mad Honey may be just right.

i don’t know how you all just collectively decided to ignore the animatic part?! i get the honey, rose, vanilla and all that stuff but what’s more important is that it sits on that Orcanox which makes it sooo dirty