Gypsy

[AmyO'Shields]

Bourbon vanilla, Egyptian musk, tonka, white sugar, and cardamom.

I thought this would be my favorite of the moths, and it actually turned out to be my least favorite.

I smell Cardamom and tonka mostly, and this is a very light perfume on my skin. I have been retesting it since I bought a bottle when it was released, but the song remains the same: nice, but not what I was hoping for: a blast of cardamom and vanilla sugar!

3/5

ETA: This has grown on me, but it still isn't what I expected. It smells lovely but is barely there. I just realized how negative my review was (!!) and wanted to soften it a bit! :-) Edited July 19, 2016 by Herb Girl

[veganstein]

In the bottle: Too sweet, I think I'm going to get a headache...what was I thinking?

 

wet: Yeeesh. Candy-and-baby-powder-sweet. Scrub it off or tough it out?

 

Dry: Well, well. That's nice! Dries down to a subtle, softly spicy sweetness. Nicer by the minute!

 

 

Not long lasting, and very little throw. Nice for places you want to be kissed!

[dreamingjune]

In the bottle: Soft, lightly creamy with some spice. Maybe a touch of a light musk too?

 

Wet: Very dry? Yet sweet and spicy at the same time. There is something in here that reminds me of the scent of old fabric.

 

Dry: Usually cardamom goes through a nasty off fruit stage on me, but not here. I am not great at picking out tonka, but I think the tonka and sugar are helping here. I can't get over how dry the feel of this is. The musk is not obvious but it seems to be holding it all together. Generally I would be amping the sweetness, but somehow the spice and light musk is keeping this very wearable and sophisticated.

 

Overall: I don't always go for something with such a light mood, but Gypsy is really unique. Very evocative of a little fuzzy, dusty moth, yet soft too. I keep on getting really lovely wafts of a light but sexy spiced vanilla. Or maybe like the dry, faded, remnants of Snake Oil left on antique silk or lace. Yeah, something like that .

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: bourbon! boozy! o hai vanilla; didn't see you there in the background as you are overpowered by the broken bourbon bottle in the foreground. I don't particularly want to smell like alcohol, so if this one smells the same on my skin, it does not bode well for its' future in my collection.

 

On my skin: this one is strangely masculine, with something like pine that overpowers even the alcohol (a pleasant surprise). it's not sweet, which is what I was dreading. just very musky. maybe I smell the cardamom that other people are catching, or maybe it's the tonka. I can't tell. definitely no sugar on my skin though.

 

Last thoughts: not a fan; the musk is just too overpowering for me and there's no vanilla whatsoever. "musky masculine" is the main note in this, if there were such a note.

[lejlkwiet]

I didn't get much of this from the imp, and on my skin it was a barely there, fluttery scent - it reminded me very much of a moth's wings in that regard. But once it warmed up the notes all amped a lot, blossoming - coming out of their cocoon! It was mostly vanilla and musk for me, with a sprinkling of sugar. It didn't last too long or have much throw, but it was quite a pretty scent and I loved how it morphed.

Edited March 28, 2011 by lejlkwiet

[Gin]

I thought Gypsy would be sweeter than it turned out to be. I get warm, spicy musk and not much else.

[Teaotter]

This is a very light scent, with very little throw. I get mostly the white sugar with just a hint of vanilla and musk -- which is odd, considering how much I usually amp cardamom.

 

It's very pretty, and may be wonderful as the weather warms up.

[Amoraexcena]

Wow, I'm amazed that this isn't getting more love. MORE FOR ME. I'm adoring this one...

 

In the bottle, this is QUITE spicy. If cardamom wasn't listed explicitly like it is, I would probably have guessed dust and clove. Gypsy definitely feels dusty: it gives off the image of soft, feathery gray moth wings, tinged with gold and brown.

 

On and dry, the sugar and bourbon vanilla comes out, balancing the spice with sweet. I don't think I get any "alcohol" from this, unlike some of the other posters....(I have a feeling people see "bourbon" and equal it to the booze, but "bourbon vanilla" is a type of vanilla.) I'm pretty sure bourbon vanilla is just slightly smokier than black vanilla, Madagascar vanilla or (foodiest) vanilla bean. This scent is hitting a lot of my scent palate (made-up term): it's sweet, smokey, spicey, rounded and smooth (buttery tonka and Egyptian musk, I think that's you) and maybe even a tad bitter. It's a beautiful olfactory pleasure.

 

It's in the same family as Hellhound on my Trail. It doesn't have the wear-length or throw that Hellhound does, but it's VERY wearable. It's undoubtedly going to be one of my midsummer-night favs.

 

Beth&BPAL.... I love you. This scent makes me SO happy. I'm having a tough time with my family right now and you're helping me pull out of it

Edited June 11, 2011 by Amoraexcena

[Incendiare]

Gypsy is so unique that it's taking time for my nose to adjust to this. The first time I unscrewed the cap and took a whiff, which was not even a day ago, I could barely smell anything. Just a very faint cardamom and nothing else. I thought, "Where's the scent?" Upon application it went incredibly dry on my skin. It was like a combination of ground cardamom and dust, but again, very faint. I slathered the entire top of my hand and even when wet, had to smell right up close in order to get anything at all. As it dried, at least I noticed a hint of sweetness coming out. Probably the sugar.

 

I'm noticing though that the more times I smell it out of the bottle, the more my nose is starting to pick up on the bourbon vanilla. Now, it smells of gentle bourbon vanilla with a dusting of cardamom. Beautiful. At a certain point, something even hit me and had me thinking that it reminded me of another blend, and one that I loved too. It took me a while before I realized that it was Pickled Imp that was on the tip of my tongue. Of course they're nothing remotely similar in terms of actual scent, but they almost have a similar atmosphere, if that makes sense, since they're both spice paired with vanilla. Both have that warm baked cinnamon/cardamom roll quality.

 

Upon application, Gypsy still goes rather dry and dusty on me. But now I'm noticing that it gets a bit musky too. As time goes on it tends to sweeten up on my skin, but not as much as I had hoped. Normally anything with notes like Gypsy's gets along with my skin chemistry marvellously so what's gone wrong? My guess is the cardamom, which is sad since I love the stuff. Nonetheless, I'll keep skin testing like mad since it smells too gorgeous in the bottle to give up on. Ultimately though, this is a job for my scent locket.

[porcelina]

this should theoretically be amazing on me, with the vanilla and the cardamom and the egyptian musk... but the white sugar ruins it. there's a burnt, plasticky sweetness underneath the cardamom, which is the dominant note. i'm disappointed; i thought i'd love gypsy.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I love each of the notes listed here, so I'm expecting a big win with Gypsy.

 

Wet: Oh my god, this is RANK on my skin. It smells like pure unadulterated body odor.

 

Dry down: Still pure nastiness.

 

I couldn't do a thorough testing because the stench was overwhelming and had to be washed off.

 

Verdict: Sales!

[ModderRhu]

I thought this was gonna be kind of like a spicier Snake Oil. Maybe like a muskier, warmer Celeste. In the bottle, it smells like envelope glue. On my skin, it goes between smelling like the glue, underripe bananas, and chlorine. However, I'm still sniffing my wrist going "mmmmm." What is wrong with me? I guess there is kind of a sweetness under all that bitter stuff. It's very weird and not what I expected, but it is slowly growing on me! My nose just has to learn to understand Gypsy. It wants to like it. I know it does. It just needs time!

[Monday]

This turned out way weirder than I had expected.

Gypsy starts out as dusty sugary spice with a side of squashed bug. Where is that odd scent coming from? It smells as if the sugar has been stuck in a damp jar for about 50 years.

When it dries down the squashed bug smell subsides and it fades dramatically. All that's left is a whisper of spicy sugar on my skin. Well darn!

[AuroraLlew]

I think of gypsy as a dusty vanilla. It has a subtle warm golden glow about it. The sugar is there but not overly sweet. I am certain that the "dusty" feeling I am getting from it is from the Cardamom with a smidge of musk, but it's not an overpowering spice like it can sometimes be. Wait, actually there is more cardamom in the dabs from my elbow crease & neck than my wrist. It gives the scent a bit more body. I am not getting a tonne of musk from Gypsy,What I am picking up is really well blended with the vanilla. Musk usually loves my skin so this is a bit odd for me.

 

Overall, this really does bring to mind a moth. I am finding it oddly comforting. Not a lot of throw or staying power, it eventually fades to Simple lovely vanilla.

 

At first I wasn't sure about Gypsy, but it is one of those scents that I find myself reaching for and enjoying more every time I wear it. I am quite glad to have acquired a partial bottle.

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Sugary cardamom and vanilla. It reminds me of Indian food.

 

Wet: No vanilla, in fact it sort of smells like pickles o.O It must be the cardamom reacting with the musk and my skin. Despite the pickle oddness, it smells really lovely.

 

Dry: The odd note is gone, leaving in its place a rich, creamy, slightly musky scent. It's very close to the skin, but it's the kind you'd lean in closer to get a whiff of... subtly sexy.

[Mechanical Death]

I've been dying to get my hands on this.

Vanilla? Cardamom? Musk?

*faint* Perfection!

 

It doesn't change much from in the bottle to the skin.

It's soft warm vanilla bean, with a lightly spiced lightly sweet cardamom background. I was expecting it to smell like chai on my skin, since the cardamom in phantom calliope reads allll cherry chai on me, but it's not as strong as I expected. I like it better this way.

 

It sits low to the skin, and is a cozy but sexy scent. It reminds me almost of tokyo dark 62, just a little on the spicier side, and also warm vanilla sugar from bath and body works.

 

[mymymai]

ITB: White sugar, gentle cardamom, and faint bourbon vanilla. It makes my mouth water a little and it reminds me of something soft and fluffy, something almost comforting.

 

Wet: The cardamom is strong and slightly puzzling with the bourbon vanilla and tonka. I like it, but it just strikes me as strange.

 

Dry: Once it begins to settle, the vanilla becomes stronger, as does the white sugar, which is glorious! It's sweet, spicy, and fuzzy all at the same time. It does remind me of a moth, actually.

[Riezky]

This starts out smelling like sweet cardamom tea on me. As it dries, it becomes more of a simple vanilla-sugared cardamom spice, complete with a slight edge of raw spice bitterness. Nice either way, a sweet inoffensive scent that I like to wear winding down before bed, although I wish it retained the tea quality that it has initially.

[quickdrawkiddo]

My skin chemistry is apparently WAY different from most people's, especially when it comes to sweet/foody scents. So I shouldn't be surprised at how much I like this, given how unpopular it seems to be The whole spicy/foody thing is usually not my cup of tea, but when I applied this, I went "OH! That's kinda sexy!" And it is, in an understated kind of way. I think it's the musk and the tonka that are taking this from chai tea territory to sexy, slightly spicy vanilla territory, for me. I'm still trying to figure out which musks work on me and which ones don't, but based on this I'm giving Egyptian musk a big thumbs up -- it's far less in-your-face than black or red musk on me but it gives the foody notes a nice depth.

 

All in all this is a totally pleasant surprise! It'll be perfect for the cold weather coming up.

[VagueInnuendo]

In the bottle: Very sweet cardamom. Not at all as much warmth or complexity as I was expecting from the notes listed.

 

Wet: Ok, it's still sweet cardamom, but there's the warm spicy undertone I was expecting. It's surprisingly light and almost juvenile smelling, but pleasant. Not a lot of throw.

 

On the dry down: I found it. A vanilla that turns plastic-y on me. Such a shame, too, because the cardamom's calmed down to a lovely, foody, sweet warmth. I might have liked this otherwise. It still has very little throw.

 

2.5 / 5

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Spicy, sugary. A bit perfumey. Interesting, and different from the other spicy blends I have (I love spices and have a lot in my collection)

 

 

Dry: I really love the musk in this, it's different than any other musk I've smelled. It goes so well with the spices and sugar. I really like this.

[LdyKnight]

I haven't tried this one for years--probably since I got it--and it's been lingering in what was my swap/sale bag back when I was still active enough on here to have one of those. I pulled it out on a whim and gave it a test.

 

In the bottle it's still a sort of dry almost-spice that doesn't really do much for me. On my arm though, it's all musky vanilla and sugar and smells almost exactly like Dorian does on me. I don't get any spice at all, but it's perfectly pleasant. I think it's going to move back into my keep box.

[theseagrows]

ok hmm, at the outset this one does not play well with my skin chemistry. it smells kind of animalic and sour at with a hint of sweetness. i think after a minute or so i smell a tiny hint of cardamom and sugar followed by the addition of egyptian musk. this is not what i was expecting, somehow. i get more vanilla as time goes on, thankfully! after about 5 minutes all the notes become more balanced, and it's akin to a soft egyptian musk scent with added sugary sweetness, but not too sugary, it's not what i would call a very foody scent. it also has very low throw. after the drydown it's pure bourbon vanilla.

Edited February 5, 2017 by theseagrows

[roseus]

In the bottle this warm, clean, and sweet. Mostly sugar and a little cardamom. Dry I can only describe this as others have, a dusty vanilla. But not at all in a bad way. The vanilla and tonka are spiced by the musk and cardamom, with a little sugar to sweeten it and balance. The tonka makes it rich and almost smoky. It smells so natural though. This is one of those "You smell so good" vs. "Your perfume smells so good" kind of scents. Even though it's a spicy vanilla scent, the musk keeps it from being foodie.

[Aveya]

This scent seems to be entirely different based on skin. Weird!

 

On me this is a faint, sweet, soft vanilla scent. Almost exactly like Lick It Softly - I swear it even comes across a little bit "minty" in the spice. Super sweet and soft vanilla. But almost no throw. As it sits, the cardamom warms up and wears longer than the other notes. Drydown ends up being just fuzzy sweet cardamom.