Cockaigne

[ephemere]

The Land of Plenty, also called Luilekkerland – the Lazy, Luscious Land: milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine.

This smells the same on my skin as it does in the vial, which is good, because it smells quite nice in the vial I get honey, oat cakes, and toasted nuts (no milk -- thank goodness). Of the BPAL scents I've tried, the ones that mention wine tend to go floral on me -- this one doesn't. It's a delicious, warm, golden scent, and after a while sweet almond comes out to play as well. I'm not sure I'll be getting a bottle, even though I like it; it's a little too sweet and warm, even for me. But I'm enjoying my imp.

[angelmecha]

In Imp: Very foody, but I can detect the milk (oddly) making it not-too-cakey. I actually don't get any wine from the imp. Just buttery, honeyed cake and warm milk. It's warm, golden and sweet and reminds me a bit of Lyonesse; like a nice, amber scent.

Wet: The sweetness subsides as it hits skin. I can still pick out the milk (though it's not a cloying or curdling warm milk; just.... milk)... with a slight hint of warm, light sponge cake. I just can't shake the feeling that I'm detecting amber in this! The wine is unlike any of the other wine notes I've smelled from the lab; it's not red, sharp, or dry. It must be a wet, white wine?

Drydown: Mmmm, soft, sweet white cake drizzled with honey on a sunny morning with a nice tablecloth and white ceramic plate. I do kind of get the oatmeal cookie feel that other reviewers got, but it's not overpowering.

Verdict: I like this. It's soft and not overly foody; like the Diet Pepsi of foody. It's warm, yellow, and sweet and *still* ambery. I'll keep this and see how it fares in my circulation. I'll be especially interested to pare this against Lyonesse. 4/5

[strahlend]

In the imp this smells like almond cake, if such a thing exists. It strikes me as nutty and buttery and like something I want to eat.

On my skin it stays pretty much the same, and it's very potent. It smells very sugary and reminds me of candles made to smell like buttery sweet foods.

After it's been on for a while the residual scent reminds me of a similar burnt sugar as Gluttony.

I'm surprised to see wine in the notes, I don't smell it at all.

[bicyclette]

In the imp I get the buttery note I often get with cake-y blends. On skin, unfortunately, the milk goes sour and overpowers everything else, so I get sweet sour milk with a boozy undertone from the wine. Sorry, Cockaigne, no love from me.

[holborne]

In the imp: Sort of a wine scent. Or maybe it's cake. Or maybe...wine cake?

 

Wet, on me: A lot less wine and a lot more cake. Sort of a buttery cake.

 

Dried down: Wine is gone; I get a sort of pound cake caramel sort of scent. Oh my god, I'm in love!

Edited December 26, 2011 by holborne

[mimieux]

Definitely my favorite so far of the foodie blends I've sniffed. Cockaigne has it all: The milk, the honey and the wine= 3 of my favorite smells. It's smooth, but has a sexy edge to it that wants to come out and play. I put it in my scent locket and it just wafts everywhere. I'm not even into foodie scents, so this one came as a total shocker to me that I have a love affair going with such a yummy, edible blend. And it LASTS on me! Definitely purchasing a bottle as my imp is getting low. 5/5

[becca_s]

I should have learnt my lesson that food scents don't work on me, especially ones containing honey. But, Cockaigne sounded so good ... and I like milky scents so I had to try it. On my skin its all cakes and wine - very sweet, sugary cakes. At first I got something a bit almondy from it, but that soon faded. Cockainge is a little too sweet for my taste, it would smell great on someone who suits sweet, foody scents. The wine definately gives it an edge.

Edited February 1, 2012 by becca_s

[sharkdiver]

This is very similar in the imp as it is on my skin - it's a very HEAVY foody blend. I think, this is something I would wear to bed, if at all, since it smells so much like food, that I can't see myself wearing it out.

 

as for the notes, I can definitely pick out the wine, the honey, and there is definitely that buttery cake note. It's not cloying, but I don't find it "creamy" - mostly, its very sweet, rich, and heavy buttery cake. It kind of makes me hungry

[milo]

This is all kinds of nasty ass on me. I'm getting sickly sweet caramel laced pound cake that has been in the wrapper about 3 years. There's a crust of sugar around the whole thing, and it has been heated by the sun. I wouldn't even want to eat this.

[Opulence]

Smells like bread and coconut to me. But it seems like, especially at first, it has some kind of synthetic edge that I can't get cozy with. I gave it 3 out of 5.

 

Has very nice staying power and throw--husband smelled it just fine when he saw me after work after wearing it all day. He rated it a 7/10, and said it smelled like a "red candle," or "something deep and dark, like going through a walk in the woods." I don' get those descriptions at all, but to each their own.

[theredshoes]

I got this as a frimp in my (TOTALLY AWESOME) six-pack of Disc/LE imps from Etsy, thank you generous Lab! I wouldn't have ordinarily gotten it myself because while I love a lot of BPAL foodie scents, I don't wear them. I do really enjoy smelling them, though, especially the caramel and cider notes.

 

In the imp: Very caramelly and rich and heavy, maybe with a hint of the wine.

 

Wet: BAM, there's the honey. And cake. And butter. Oh my. I don't get wine, or caramel, or nuts, or even milk, just BUTTER. HONEY. CAKE. Wow. This is intense. I put just a dab on one wrist to test it for fun and now I can't smell anything else! This would be a great room scent for a winter party, or maybe to dab a little on your neck or pillow as you're going to sleep at night. I don't get sexytimes out of this at all -- it's more a curl-up-in-front-of-the-fire winter or late autumn comfort smell.

Drydown: The butter backs off some, and I get more caramel, but still no wine. Lots of butter. This is a very rich heavy sweet scent -- but thank God, not too sickly-sweet (I can't stand very sweet foodie scents). Like caramelized sugar with butter and honey drizzled on top, or something. Yum. It makes me think of Bessie's offer to Jane Eyre of "a little cake" in my favourite book. :-) It would make a wonderful tea-cake.

 

Dry: I don't think I got any wine ever, which is odd, since my skin usually amps it, but my skin also really amps honey, so the honey note won the cagematch or something. This didn't morph a lot on me -- it did get a little fainter and more spicy, but it stayed very dark and rich. If you're really into foodie scents, you might love this, because it's luscious without being too sweet or bready. On me it had INTENSE throw and staying power -- my husband could smell the scent in a room I'd been in! I don't know how Beth manages to get these amazing apple and cider and butter and cake smells into imps. It's magic.

 

Verdict: I wouldn't buy a bottle for myself but a friend who loved BPAL foodie scents might love an imp or even a bottle -- I might even put it in a starter pack of foodie scents, or as a demonstration of what a wonderful olfactory experience BPAL scents can be, and wow I'm gushing but this is just. that. good. And you have to bear in mind, I don't even like a lot of foodie scents, especially sweet ones.

Edited January 25, 2013 by theredshoes

[Deliciousness]

The Land of Plenty, also called Luilekkerland – the Lazy, Luscious Land: milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine.

 

In the Imp: I think this smells almost exactly like that candle store in the mall (you know which one I mean). Nearly overpoweringly sweet, cakey, buttery and boozy at once.

Wet on skin: Pretty much like the vial, except toned down to an acceptable level of scent goodness

Dry: I still think this smells like that candle company, but not in a bad way. Once I read the scent details in this blend, I can pick them out, like the honey and sweet cakes.

 

I do like this scent and it's very foody, but I have this stupid brain scent connection where all I can think of is the mall Stupid brain. Otherwise I like this scent.

 

 

 

Edited For punctuation

Edited March 20, 2013 by Deliciousness

[Atrous]

In the bottle: Wine and cake.

 

Wet: Wine really comes out and mingles nicely with sweet cakes. I smell almond too.

 

Dry: I can detect all the notes individually and yet they blend so nicely together Buttery, spicy, honey cakes with wine underneath. I am in love with this scent. Need to save up for a bottle.

[zewtsuit]

In the bottle, this smells.... argh. It smells absolutely disgusting. I can't put my finger on it, maybe something a little like how my dogs smelled after rubbing their fur in a badger warren. What's happening?! I'm such a foodie person, and I'm just recoiling at the smell of this.

 

I have no clue why, but this smells like a pint of butter, freshly churned, thats gone a little bit off and mixed with some cheap value wine.

Nnnnng.

I wanted to like this so bad.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Something sweet and delicious, like cinnamon toast crunch pancakes (yes, I have a recipe, and yes, it's delicious) with a touch of maple syrup on top.

 

Wet on skin: Sweetly sugary with a bit of spice in it.

 

Dried down: Smells less like pancakes now, and more like spiced, sugared pecans or walnuts. Still delicious smelling, though there is a little bit of a sharpness to the nutty scent.

 

Throw: This one has a bit of throw. I don't have to sniff my wrists to smell it, and I don't get anything different than the throw when I do.

 

Verdict: **** I really like this one a lot! I don't think I'll be in a hurry to get a bottle - my imp will do just find for now - but I might invest in one in the future.

[ScabbyLucy]

Oh. My. GOD.

 

In the imp and when I first apply, I get lots of the sweet, dry, powdery cake that I get from Bread-and-Butter-Fly. Which is lovely, but I sniff it the wrong way and I get "baby powder"

 

But once it dries? Cockaigne is one of the lightest, sweetest, most wonderful honey scents I've ever smelled.

 

And its got a HELL of a throw

[lucycat]

In the imp: Cake with a slight undertone of wine.

 

Wet: The notes reverse themselves and become wine with cake.

 

As this dries, the cake and the wine balance each other out. It’s not vanilla cake, but spicy cake, and that spiciness blends beautifully with the wine.

 

I was ready to love this until, three to four hours after application, it started to turn to the generic “baked goods” smell of a bakery-scented candle. Which I don’t like. Sigh.

[anaengel]

This imp is about a year old already, so it may have changed from what it would be fresh. But, it did come as a lab frimp. This was during my "all wine scents will turn to grape chewits on me" phase, so I avoided testing it at all costs. Possibly a bad thing. But, I do like the year aging it has done.

So, this one smells like cream and honey straight out on my skin. Behind it are faint spices, that come out more as the honey disappears as it dries. I'm hoping that the wine is what's bringing out the spices, since otherwise, it goes to a light bread-y/cream scent with light spice. It's pretty nice, so I'll keep the frimps that show up occasionally. Not really desiring a bottle since I'm not regularly craving this kind of scent.

[MiasmaResonance]

I was worried when I first sniffed this, because I detected a hint of the weakcreampossiblestalesugarbread that makes me retch, and is most notably featured in Bread and Butterfly.

 

I still kind of smell it, but the rest of the perfume is nice, so it almost disappears,

 

So, so sadly, I'm on the fence with this one. It seemed so perfect, but I'm getting wafts of Bread and Butterfly fluttering in the background, and that's so not good. But if I can overlook it, the rest of it is so glorious.

Edited January 17, 2014 by MiasmaResonance

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: CAAAAAKE. A very sweet buttery cake with drizzled with a glaze (and not a frosting). I don't really get the wine note at all.

Wet: The cake is not nearly as sweet or intense as it was in the imp. I still believe that it is a buttery cake with a glaze, though. It smells delicious. I am getting a bit of spice from the sweet cake note now as well, but fortunately, it isn't burning my skin. The milk and honey is definitely present. Still no wine note (which I suppose is a good thing). The scent is familiar, and at first I thought it was the cake note, but I actually think it is the milk and honey, which must be the same milk and honey note used in Alice.

Dry: The spices from the cake note are now front and center. The cake itself is still present, as well as the milk and honey, but the spices are far more prominent. Still no wine.

Verdict: I like this, but I don't feel the need to spring for a bottle just yet. I will have to see how often I reach for my imp to see if I really need a bottle.

*edit* Over three years of aging has brought out the wine note. I'm getting less cake than I used to from this because of it.

Edited February 4, 2018 by dementia_divine

[Chanteuse87]

As someone who generally amps sweet and foody to a nauseating degree, I wasn't sure what to expect with this frimp from the Lab. I dabbed a teeny tiny bit on my wrist, and the first few minutes were pretty bad, haha! But it's morphed gorgeously.

 

Wet: buttery cake and cake and butter and a little caramel. Too foody, too sweet, overpowering.

 

Dry: Oh! Spiced wine is really grounding it, and the more it dries, the more I like it. Almost no sillage, wears very close to the skin. I can definitely see wearing this with an oversized sweater all autumn. For those days when Dee just isn't quite sweet enough

 

I still might give it to my sister to see if she likes it, but otherwise I can imagine this will have a place in my rotation.

[aiobhan]

In the Bottle: It smells like oat cakes - a little sweet, a little buttery, but lots of wheat/oat.

Wet on Skin: Pretty much the same as in the bottle, but I can definitely smell more honey, and the milk is making it very creamy.

Dry, after about an hour: The wine and honey have come out more, but the oats are still very strong. Overall, it's a kind-of-sweet, wheaty, grainy smell. Not foody, exactly.

 

I like this scent - it's very warm and comforting. It's a very accessible oats and honey scent that's not overpoweringly cookie-like or sweet. I'd recommend this for someone who's interested in trying a foody scent, but not a fan of super sweet.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Aiobhan

[inhumation]

This was probably the strongest-smelling BPAL perfume that I tried so far. Saying it has a pretty strong throw is to put it mildly - as soon as I removed the lid of the imp, I felt like I was being punched in the face with sticky tooth-achingly sweet vanilla cake, haha. Applied on skin, it was even stronger. I swapped this one away, but am glad I tried it.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: As per the lab's description: honey, cakes, milk & some sweet wine! Oh, this is heavenly!

Wet on skin: About the same, except the cakes have a little more depth & the honey is eeeeeverywhere! These cakes have been soaked in it! The milk & wine are still there, the cakes & honey are just playing the lead. Yum!

Dry on skin: Oh, hello there wine! It smells like I'm drinking warmed (possibly even mulled?) wine, while overindulging on honey-soaked cake! There's some warm, honeyed milk in the background too. GAH! THIS IS SO AMAZING! I never want to stop sniffing my wrist!
[My 3-year-old just came over & demanded to smell my wrist & he seems to love it as much as I do, haha!]

After a few hours: The honey-cakes are back (not as fresh as they smelled before, more like I've been indulging all day) with the wine & the milk in the background. Yuuuum!

Verdict: This is my all-time favourite food scent! I really need to get a bottle of this! This note does morph a little on my skin, but every variant is just delicious!

[Teaker]

Yummy cake! It's quite dry, almost a touch dusty smelling. I'm not picking up any wine at all. This almost has a toasted sugar undertone to it. It's quite strong and has decent throw. I like it, but I'm not crazy about the dustiness. There's actually a passing similarity to Gingerbread Snake. If you took the spices and the Snake Oil out of Gingerbread Snake, it would smell a lot like Cockaigne.

 

I think all foody lovers should give this one a try, but it's not something I can see myself reaching for much.

 

Edit: This has a really sour edge when it dries, like yeasty dough? Don't think I'll be keeping the imp.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Teaker