Gula Bath Oil

[alicia_stardust]

It is the just doom of laziness and gluttony to be inactive without ease and drowsy without tranquility. — Samuel Johnson

Cocoa absolute, sugar cane, honey, black currant, vanilla, and caramel.

Shea oil, olive oil, mineral oil, apricot kernel oil, fractionated coconut oil, rosehip seed, evening primrose oil, vitamin E, cocoa absolute, Absolue Cire d'Abeille, isopropyl myristate, glycereth-7-cocoate (derived from coconut), oleth 3, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume blends.

Wow! I have to start this review by saying that I do not consider myself a "foody lover" where fragrances are concerned. I enjoy them and I have some favorites, but they are not the ones that attract me the most. Especially not the heavier food scents. With that said...

I LOVE Gula! In the bottle it smells very strongly of cocoa absolute. It smells very dessert-like and rich.

In the bath the cocoa absolute remains the strongest note, but I can individually pick out the black currant, vanilla, and caramel as supporting notes. It makes for a very decadent bath! The oil itself is nice and moisturizing, it doesn't cause me to break out (I waited a few days to write this review), and it sinks into my skin rapidly once I have rinsed off and left the bath. A little oil goes a long way in terms of fragrance while in the bath, and using a minimal amount keeps my bath from turning into an oil slick.

The fragrance of this sticks around for a while afterward, but it isn't strong enough or long-lasting enough to interfere too much with other fragrances I may want to wear that day. As for my bathroom, the whole thing smells like chocolate afterward.

I think that gourmand/foody lovers with go ga-ga over this scent, and I venture to guess that even the non-foodies (like me) will end up really enjoying Gula.

[bigeyedgirl]

I love foodie scents, especially chocolate ones! I was really very excited about getting Gula. I took a bath with it, and a little goes a very long way. The chocolate, and black currant are the notes that pop for me, it was so relaxing and so very moisturizing. Guilty, when I got out of the bath I slathered it on too as I have the driest winter skin in the world and the North East is killing me at this point. My skin is soft and smooth and all traces of dry/ rough patches are gone. The scent is light once you get out of the tub but really you truely feel as though you've been wrapped in a warm blanket and cradled. Thanks for pleasing a foodie with this yummy bath oil!

[hackess]

I have to preface my review with the caveat that BPAL's chocolate note hates me.

 

In the bottle, Gula is decadent and rich. It's warm melted chocolate fudge and caramel over pure vanilla bean ice cream. When it hits my skin, I get a brief waft of the currant and a much heavier caramel note, and then it's nothing but cocoa-scented baby oil.

 

It's been bitterly cold in the Midwest, and my skin is paying the price. The oil did leave my skin feeling soft and silky, everywhere except my hands, which felt almost like I'd just taken off powdered latex gloves.

 

So, as far as function goes, Gula was pretty great: not moisturizing per se, but it left my skin feeling nice and supple and lightly scented. However, I'm not a fan of the scent itself. My own fault, I suppose, for knowing that cocoa absolute turns to fake chocolate powder on me, but I had hoped it might've been different.

 

Foodies, especially fans of BPAL's other chocolate scents, will love this one.

[edenssixthday]

Gula Bath Oil - I'm not the biggest fan of cocoa, honey, black currant, or caramel BPAL blends. However, I figured that since this isn't being worn as a perfume fragrance, I might enjoy it more. Sadly, even as a bath oil, the scent doesn't cut it for me. It smells mostly caramel and honey with a touch of chocolate, and it just didn't smell good to me at all. If you're someone who *likes* those notes, then you'd probably love this! The oil scent is actually really strong in the bottle, but softens up significantly when I put it in the water. I don't get any scent residue on my skin or in the bathroom after I'm done with my bath. As for the oil itself, it's definitely high-quality. It leaves my skin feeling very soft and moist after my bath. I love the way the heels of my feet feel so incredibly soft when I'm laying in bed at night after using the BPAL bath oils, and this one is no exception.

[jj_j]

I rarely put these bath oils in my bathtub. I'm so dry this winter that I slather them on right out of the shower, wander around the bedroom naked for five minutes or so, and then go on about my day. And no, I don't imagine this would be a good thing for people with normal skin. I have a well-moisturized glow, but I can imagine someone else sliding around in their clothes all day.

 

For me, it's worth getting up a little early because I no longer feel like a scaly, itchy pile of dr skin flakes, and I smell damn good all day long. It also means that I experience this more like a perfume, changing on my skin throughout the day, than a bath oil in the tub.

 

BPAL's chocolate notes don't usually work for me. In fact, I opened the bottle of Gula and almost immediately decided to swap it away. A couple of days later I was going through bottles I intended to re-home and realized that I had a great match in Gula and El Dia de Reyes; since I have an obsession with layering (the same scent, rather than mixing and matching - soap, lotion, and finally perfume), I thought I'd give it a try.

 

Not only was this better than any of the chocolate notes I'd found so far, I have new love for El Dia de Reyes (which I had inadvertently ordered in place of Noche Buena). I smelled sinfully good all day long - like pipe tobacco with warm chocolate and sweet brown sugar.

 

By the mid-afternoon slump at 2:00, everyone else in the office had caved on their diets and had a chocolate fit. The professor sitting next to me in the morning meeting asked if I'd be offended if he gnawed on my arm, and wanted to know what I was wearing so he could get some for his wife, who might be tempted to let him gnaw on her arm if he included jewelry in the package.

 

This was incredibly comforting, in a very indulgent and edible sort of way.

[suki]

the chocolate BPAL formulas are mostly kind to me, but not always, and what i found with dear, dear Gula is that a little goes a long way, at least for me.

 

the first time i tried it out, i poured a HUGE amount, prolly somewhere between a half ounce and a full ounce into my bath. my tub is pretty huge and i wanted to completely submerge myself in the glory of BPAL chocolate.

 

well, that actually backfired and it wound up smelling like fake, plastic scratch n sniff choco hate.

 

i was willing to give it another go, so the next time i tried Gula, i put in about half of what i'd used before, somewhere between a quarter and a third of an ounce and it was HEAVEN.

 

this was a valuable lesson for me, because i usually go excessive with BPAL and with Guls, i have to show some respect. which is good, too, because it'll last longer now!

[naeelah]

Like the other oils, I haven't bathed with this yet, but I've gotten plenty spilled on myself while decanting.

 

This is a veeery rich foody scent. The two most prominent notes are the cocoa and caramel, but I can also find a liberal dose of black currant. Dry on the skin, I think it isn't quite as heavy as it initially smells. This is very sweet, but it has two halves -- the heavy caramel side, and the light, fresh sugar cane side. It makes it much more interesting and nicer than the usual, synthetic "creme brulee" type bath products you find.

 

It smells most similar to Gluttony, but while that's a soft, fuzzy blend of all possible desserts, this scent is painted with much broader strokes.

 

You'll want to give this a good shake before using it, because there is a lot of absolute that settles on the bottom. (I'm wondering if blending this with Luxuria in the tub will end up smelling something like Tiresias. It's something to try!)

 

The ubiquitous general notes:

The bath oils are light and thin in texture. They absorb into the skin very quickly and easily, without leaving an oily residue, when you put them straight on your body. I've used them in my hair (rubbing through in the shower, then rinsing well), and they made an excellent de-frizzer and de-tangler. (The parts of my hair that are closest to my face seemed to get oily/dirty more quickly than usual, since my hair already had oil in it. I probably wouldn't use this every time I wash my hair, so that I don't get any nasty buildup.)

[emzebel]

Let me preface this by saying that I love seriously foody scents for the bath - caramel and chocolate are two things that I don't necessarily like for perfume (which is good, because every scent with caramel I've tried hates me), but I love the decadence of luxurating in a hot candy scented bath.

 

Gula is just...perfect. I like a lot of oil - enough that I can still feel it on my skin when I get out of the tub and this works wonderfully for that. And it smells delightful - the cocoa is deep and dark - sweetened by the caramel and the honey and the sugar cane, tempered by the vanilla and current. I love this.

[sookster]

i am positively thrilled with this bath oil...another freezing day here in connecticut and

a capful of this in my bath along with ceridwen's cauldron (Lush) and i was in absolute heaven...

thick rich foody blend...you get all the notes as clear as a bell...

 

after my luxurious bath i doused myself in smut...i gotta be the best smelling girl on the block

today...

 

excellent product!!

[Blood onmy hands]

I had to come back and edit this, because Gula has become my favorite of the bath oils. It's insanely sweet (mostly sugar with hints of honey & caramel, and sometimes I can smell the rich, fudgey cocoa as well). It smelled like plasticy chocolate scented markers when I first got it, but it has definitely improved with age. I never could smell the currants, though.

 

This is way too sweet and cloying for me to just dump a ton of it into my bath or rub directly on to my dry skin, but I love pouring a bit of it over my legs and arms and rubbing it in while I'm in the bath or shower. It's a sweet pick-me-up and leaves my skin feeling very soft to the touch. When I get out of the bath, it's not so overwhelming (now that I use a small amount and rub it in while in the bath) & just leaves a hint of girly sweetness. My boy hates this when I first use it, but he loves the subtle scent that it leaves on my skin afterwards.

 

Gula is lovely; it just needs to be used in small doses for me, lol.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Little Bird

[yeahbutnobut]

Gula

 

In bottle: caramelised chocolate-like Gluttony with more chocolate, also reminds me of Boomslang and Reindeer Poop.

On skin: the honey, vanilla and currant join the chocolate fun. This is gorgeously indulgent! This is a lot nicer than Gluttony and not as heavy on the caramel as I feared it would be. The chocolate is a rich dark cocoa, like Boomslang, the vanilla is soft and gourmand and there’s a bit of toffee as well. I think it’s the honey, currant and sugar cane that stop this from smelling too cloying and sticky. The currant is tart and fruity and the honey has a beeswax-like aspect to it, slightly sharp, and golden. The sugar cane is a lighter juicier sugar that lifts the scent. in fact, the scent shifts from a toffee chocolate scent to a honeyed currant with sugar cane and vanilla, very similar to the Heroine scent with honey and currant. It smells fruity and honeyed and sweet but not ‘OMGfoody!!’ and I really love that. This scent is growing on me-I was expecting it to be too rich and too caramelised, but this is foody in the most sophisticated way. I’m testing this on the skin but I can’t wait to bathe in this. This smells delicious and very foody, but in the most luxurious way possible. And of course it layers wonderfully with any gourmand BPAL.

[zankoku_zen]

I have to say that people should take my review with a heavy dose of salt ---- since I got a decant of the oil. In the little bottle, it smells strongly of cocoa. In the bath, it wasn't strongly scented at all. I used about half an ounce, and I could tell because I felt the moisturizing oil, but not the scent. It was a kinda faint chocolate, sweet scent.

 

On the other hand, now I might have to order it from the Trading Post to get the 'full' Gula experience.

[GardenCat]

OMG! So glad I got a decant of this - now I need a bottle! Used some in the shower the other night with DH & he immediately said - is that you that smelles like dark chocolate! OMG! So nice I used it again this morning with some Boomslang afterward!

 

To me it's a sweet cocoa that is just perfect!

[angelicruin]

This is a chocolate lover's dream. It's all gooey chocolate, caramel, and currants on my skin.

[magikalbrownies]

sooo chocolately

 

the good kind from godiva, melted on your fingertips. YUM...i received a decant and am already searching out a bottle.

 

its insanely chocoaltely from start to finish...geez...

 

 

[thewondersmith]

I'm just sort of kicking myself for having held out trying this baby, but I knew, I KNEW that once I tried some, I'd never be satisfied with just a little decant. CURSES.

 

Gula is seriously everything I could ask for in a bath oil. Warm, chocolatey and rich, with lashings of caramel and cream. I don't get a lot of currant, but I do get this lovely waft of shredded coconut. It leaves my skin amazingly soft, and I'm actually sort of glad we don't have a bath, because it smells so damn good and to tip it into water would seem like a CRIME. Gula is amazing layered with Boomslang and El Dia de Reyes, and it lasts all day too. Delicious. I definitely need a whole bottle. Damn high shipping to Australia

[Lethran]

Mostly chocolate, with something dusty underneath and caramel mostly.

[grashopper8]

YUM!!

 

I split a bottle of this with the lovely alyssinwonderland, and the first thing that I noticed was that it was a golden oil with a small layer of chocolate goodness at the bottom. *shake shake shake* The chocolate oil disperses and Gula takes on her true form, a deeply rich chocolatey color.

 

My first sniff, is Chocolate, Honey, and Vanilla. Heaven!!!

 

On the skin, it transforms into a more complex, sultry scent. The smoky caramel note is the same as the one in Red Lantern - it smells like caramel tobacco to me.

 

I do not smell currant but I was not looking for it. Perhaps I will detect it next time I wear it.

 

I slathered this on my legs after I got out of the shower, and I could smell it alllll day. Incredibly long lasting and delectable!

 

[milo]

Wow, this is some good stuff!! A generous forumite frimped me with this little gem. I normally don't like chocolate scents, but I'm discovering that I like chocolate when it's blended with something. This is not a straight up foody chocolate, but one with a bit of tart berry, and yes vanilla. The caramel is barely noticeable to me, thankfully. It kind of reminds me of the Feb 13 blend, but not as spicy, and more chocolatey. I'm kind of hoping that my 13 will morph more into this. This would be a great bath, and I hope it comes back for a visit someday.

[revinn]

This . is . delicious .

 

I never thought I'd buy a bath oil, but I'm definitely ordering a bottle of this in my next order. It smells like caramel chocolate cake! I absolutely love it. It's very rich and decadent; I'll probably wear it as a perfume oil to be honest . Yum.

 

Out of 10: 10!

[Venneh]

Ohh, wow.

 

I just got a decant of this frimped to me in a recent order (thanks again, Nightchylde!), and it is amazing. The chocolate and the caramel and the sugar and the vanilla mix together in an absolutely amazing way on me, and yes, would defiintely want to smell like this after a shower (I live in a dorm, so I use the bath oils as moisturizer).

 

Going on my next Trading Post order, for sure.

[sarielswish]

In the vial, hellooo cocoa. Straight out of the box cocoa powder. Color, chocolate brown.

 

Wet on my skin, much better. This smells like caramel, milk chocolate, and just a hint of black currant. I could definitely bathe in this. :-)

[Poenari]

OMG Gula I can't believe I waited so long to try you! I expected this to be mostly chocolate to the detriment of the other notes, so that is why I didn't really have this very high on my list to order. I was in the mood for a chocolate oil to use as an after-shower moisturizer with my chocolate scented perfumes (Centzon Totochtin, Midnight Kiss, and Chocolate, Whiskey and Cognac Truffle in particular) and this is amazing! The chocolate is rich and not too sweet, and the caramel, vanilla, and especially the currants are so well-blended with the chocolate that this is just heaven. Well done, Puddin'.

[ajansuz]

OMG, this is so delicious it's all but edible. (No, I haven't tried to taste it. I learned as a small kid that food smelling bath products, no matter how yummy they might smell, taste AWFUL. And no, I won't be telling that story. ) Anyway, Just smelling from the bottle, it had a very rich cocoa scent with some lovely sweetness of honey and currants. For me, the caramel and sugary notes didn't come out until it was on my skin. I've been using it as an after shower moisturizer, just giving it a little shake, squirting a small amount into my palms, and rubbing it over wet skin before toweling off. Man, it makes my skin feel amazingly soft and smell soooo good. Once on my skin, it goes a little less foody and pretty sophisticated. It also blends really well with a few other BPAL scents. I've layered it with Gypsy Moth, Shub Niggurath, and Snake Oil so far to really nice effect. The scent lingers for hours without cloying, and even after it has faded greatly, there's a hint of sweet goodness left behind.

 

I love this! Oh, I almost forgot to add that even though I've been adding the oil straight to wet skin, it doesn't leave behind any sort of greasy residue. It absorbs in very nicely!

[Ondine]

Hm. This was pretty nice but not amazing in terms of throw or staying power. I used three capfuls in my bath along with putting some directly on my skin. I shook to make sure I got chocolately goodness, too, but I really had to stick my nose up close to the water to smell much. Either I have a dud nose or I have a weak bottle o' Gula.