Spooky

[Shollin]

Spooky, from Limited Editions, Winter 2003:

A maddeningly festive blend of warm, buttery rum, cocoa, coconut, vanilla and a jolt of peppermint. It’s a sweet, decadent, slightly silly scent, reminicent of rum-laced holiday cookies.

 

First sniff: Sniffing the cork made me squeal. This is very nice - peppermint with something warmer, but not spicy - very smooth. Chocolate mint.

 

Wearing: This is flippin' gorgeous. Yankee made a Christmas Wish candle that smells something like this. On my skin I smell the warm rum-cookies more clearly under the mint, and after a little while it’s entirely cookie-ish, very little mint. It lasted and smelled delicious all night. My preciousss.

[Guest]

This is a happy scent, When I first applied it I put Waay too much and it was a bit overpowering on the coconut. Once I learned what dose to give myself it was a pleasant experience. Reminds me of lava flows and chi chis

[quinkel]

OMG, this is THE BEST SCENT EVER!!

 

Smells like mint chocolate with a hintof cocosnut. Sweet, soft but very lasting. Stays very thru. I put a little bit on my shirt two days ago and the yummy scents is there, still strong!

 

How can I get a bottle of this that´s the question on my mind today!

[red_jezebel]

I now have a 5ml bottle of this thanks to the kindest person, to whom I am ever so grateful

 

I've had it on for 6 hours [at the time of posting] and it is lovely. For some reason, my initial reaction to it, was that it reminded me of Snow White. Clephan suggested it's because it has the same gentle quality to it and yes, I have to say that captures it exactly.

 

I've had two compliments on it today already - both said it smelt like cocoa butter! I don’t know what cocoa butter these people are using, but I want some! I can smell the mint/coconut scent but it is also very smooth smelling with a slightly floral note to it, even though I know there is nothing floral in it. It really is lovely, although it's not knocking Snake Oil or Haunted off my top favourites.

 

It hasn’t changed much at all from the bottle to the skin for me and is still going strong at 6 hours

[FireInCairo]

Um..I almost ate mine. Good thing there was a phone close by with a poison control sticker stuck to it!

[Astarte]

This is crazy! In the bottle I can smell just mint. Initially when I put it on me I can smell more of a gentle chocolate mint note. The buttery rum I can smell as a thin layer over that. Then after a few minutes I can smell an incredibly faint eucalyptis note behind everything.

 

However the scent as a whole is very soft, and decadent is definitely the one word I would use to describe this scent.

[TygherRayn]

I've since swapped this away for something I prefer .. but I thought I should give my impressions of this one before they were totally gone. And a huge thank you to Clephan for letting me try this!

 

Spooky is a candy/cookie sweet blend .. something like a cross between tooth-rotting candy corn and a steaming hot cocoa to me. It was very delicious smelling, but like Bliss and Gluttony, I just can't seem to wear the overly chocolatey scents.

 

Side note: I keep getting the image of a black cat when I think about how this smelled.

[Belladonnastrap]

I have Spooky. You can cut your delusions about me begging for this scent cause I want it MORE now.

 

First sniff

Peppermint, gingerbread and cocoa laced rum. It smells of christmas parties, kissing underneath the mistletoe and huge christmas dinners.

 

When wet

Candy Canes! This is exactly what Spooky smells like. Peppermints dipped in cocoa. Oh god I'm in heaven.

 

Drydown

Still peppermintish but now the rum and coconut are going "Allo miss, don't forget about us!" This is absolutely outstanding. The scent is very sweet but its also very subtle so I would imagine people who don't like EXTREMELY sweet scents would enjoy this.

 

Aftermath

Spooky is flipping marvelous. Not very sweet at all its a comforting sort of scent that conjures up good times, good eats and the holiday spirit.

 

 

Beth bring it back! Pleaseeeee

[Pookstrell]

A very generous person let me try this...

 

Wet: Mint and oodles of coconut! Almost smells like After-Eight mints!

Very christmassy indeed!

I can see why it has been compared to candycane. Smells very foody and tasty. Nothing Spooky about it!

 

As it dries the scent stays pretty similar- I get wafts of mint and and a lovely undercurrent of deep, desicated coconut which smells like it has been baked in the oven.

 

Whilst it is lovely, I find it is a little too bright for me to wear regularly as I tend to feel a little overwhelmed by most minty scents.

 

It really is an amazing, whimsical scent though... really good fun!

Edited November 14, 2004 by Pookstrell

[clover]

Oh man, Spooky may be single-handedly responsible for me breaking down and buying a scent locket.

 

Sniffing from the vial: Yum! This smells like extra-special Girl Scout cookies. (Thin Mints, I think they're called?) All chocolate and cookie and mint.

 

Upon application: Yum! Now the coconut jumps out at me. Coconut cookies dipped in peppermint hot chocolate.

 

After a few minutes: Yum! Coconut cookies. But the coconut has taken over and all but obliterated the cocoa and rum and peppermint. Like coconut always does to me.

 

Conclusion: Well, I tried this on a piece of fabric and it stays much truer to that yummy choclatey/pepperminty/cookie goodness. So I think I will have to use my delicious imp either in a scent locket or on my clothing and not directly on my skin.

 

So happy to have this!

[Morrighana]

Okay, in honour of the rerelease of this delectable blend, I'm going to crack open my imp and use up the tiiiiiny drop of Spooky that I've been hoarding in order to review it. Whee!

 

In the imp: Totally minty, as others have mentioned. The mint has a sharp herbiness that may have come with age, but it works to remind me of a minty, coconutty Snow White, if that makes any sense.

Wet: The mint actually grows in intensity the moment it hits my skin. I can barely smell the cocoa, but it is there, and it blends nicely with the rum note to give the mint a strong foundation, keeping it from being overpowering.

 

Dry: Mmm...the mint calms down and loses its sharpness as it dries, and Spooky becomes a much more cohesive blend. Absolutely scrumptious. It is foody enough to satisfy a craving, but light enough to avoid offending the anti-gourmand crowd, and it has a remarkable chill to it despite being utterly creamy and warm.

 

Beth really outdid herself with this one!

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Smells like a christmas party! Mint and cookies and a bit of booze

 

After Wearing It:

Wet, the peppermint note in Spooky was screamingly obvious and while I could smell the other notes in the blend they all but cowered behind the semisweet mint note. The coconut note in it had that sort of candle wax quality to it that I recognize from The Star and Passion. Smelled boozy too, but not like any of the other rum notes I've smelled in BPAL blends before. Far less obvious and reminds me more of how you can often smell liquor in a cocktail but you might not be able to identify what kind is in it until you taste it. Nice fresh and slightly sweet but really not too foody.

 

The foodiness factor grows in volume as time goes by, and after hour two I can finally start to smell the cocoa. The coconut loses its waxiness and becomes sweeter, giving Spooky its clear cookie vibe. Becomes more buttery too, making it smell like those lovely danish cookies. The dash of peppermint and booze keeps it grounded, from smelling too sweet. Absolutely lovely.

 

In the final stages of spooky, the cocoa asserts itself. Definitely smells like cocoa powder rather than a chocolate bar, and was very reminiscent of the hot cocoa spiked with peppermint schnapps that my parents used to fix for us kids when I was little. Spooky was even better than I had imagined!

 

Final Thoughts:

Mmm this was so, so yummy on its own, yet it's the first BPAL scent I've really been tempted to blend with other scents. I really want to try layering it with grog or cerberus. Bliss might be lovely too. So glad Beth is rereleasing this so that I can have enough to where I won't freak about wasting it in a failed "experiment!"

[Bard]

Oh, what a wonderful scent. Peppermint and coconut are not a combination I'd have ever thought to try, but this bright, somewhat silly fragrance just makes me smile. It's the other notes that really blend this together and make the two compatable, I think. However, none of them are very distinct as I wear it. I can see why this conjures images of cookies and mint hot chocolate for some people. For me, however I get the image of Christmas Elves vacationing at the beach in July.

 

The name doesn't seem very apt, although it does remind me of a minor character from Sluggy Freelance of the same name. Or Ed from Cowboy Bebop saying "SPOOKY!" Apart from silly examples like that, it doesn't really come off as a spooky scent. It tries hard, maybe, but it's just way too perky.

 

I don't need a bottle of this, but I'll be hanging onto the decanted imp I have.

 

 

Spooky Haiku,

"Darkness! Pain!" she wailed,

"My world is misery and---

... cookies? For me? SQUEE!!!"

 

 

Your humble and obedient Renaissance Man,

 

Bard

[Macha]

I wasn't sure about this one. Buttery rum? Eww. Coconut? Double eww. But ordered it anyway (indeed, I ordered two bottles of it) because it seemed like one of those holy grail scents that I would regret not having experienced, given the opportunity.

 

In the Bottle: Woah. How did Beth DO that? It's a Girl Scout thin-mint cookie in a bottle. It's the Chocolate Moroccan Mint tea lattes from Coffee, Bean & Tea leaf in perfume form. An incredible swoon-worthy blast of chocolate and mint. Incredible.

 

Wet, on skin: On my skin the buttery rum immediately comes to the foreground, with a little of the vanilla and coconut. To my surprise, this is no way unpleasant, but very much conjures up images of cookies. The peppermint cocoa smell stays in the background, present (and very much wafting) but willing to share the party. Everybody wants cookies, right?

 

Dry, on skin: Ah, Spooky, I love thee. How shall I count the ways? I love the way you smell like buttered rum cookies, yet don't make me gag. I love the way the chocolate mint lingers in the background, a velvet-wrapped embrace of olfactory delight. I love the way I don't smell coconut...at all. I love how giddy, silly and happy you make me feel.

 

Conclusion: Unless this scent takes some sort of terribly sour detour as it dries, I can safely say I adore Spooky. A silly, happy, perky scent that I guarantee will likely be a certain mood-lifter in the days ahead. Considering the timing and reason for this pick-me-up's release as a limited edition oblation, I think that's probably quite appropriate.

Edited March 6, 2005 by Macha

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Pleasant buttermint.

 

Second Impression: I was afraid that this was going to be a "thin" scent that would turn powdery on my skin, a scent akin to Snow White, Egg Nog and Grog. Unfortunately my fears were confirmed. Spooky is a soft, thin scent of buttermint with the slightest hint of booze and cocoa. After a bit of drydown, nothing remains but minty powder. I don't know what it is about my chemistry that causes this, but it's a bugger.

 

Final Analysis: The Star, quite similar in scent, works much better on my skin. I bought two bottles of Spooky, one will be going up for swap asap. The other I'll hold on to so I can give it another couple of tries.

[luxuria]

I smell primarily coconut, chocolate, mint, and a hint of rum. It's surprisingly light and actually not that "foody"- I was expecting something reminiscent of actual baked goods and this is not it. It's all foody elements yet actually doesn't smell like food. I am SO SO SO SO glad I have another bottle of this on the way. Spooky is everything I wanted it to be and so much more.

 

It gets more mellow and cocoa-y on the drydown, but maintains the same light, mint-coconut quality. *sigh* this is heavenly. It has notes I all completely adore but I never dreamed that they'd smell so delicious.

 

I need to hunt down another bottle..I just don't think I'll be able to live with just 2. PM me if you have one you'd like to get off your hands

 

 

[edit] Just because I thought this was interesting- on day 2 Spooky's drydown was damn near identical to Snow White's. Must be the coconut..? I'm not complaining though, I'm in love with that smell.

 

[edit again] The next day I wore it, the drydown was similar to Gingerbread Poppet instead. Much more of a faded cookie type smell. Funny how this morphs so much..

 

Also, I just had some Malibu rum for the first time, and the comparisons are SPOT ON! Wow, Spooky TOTALLY smells like a less rummy Malibu rum!

Edited March 12, 2005 by luxuria

[blackrayne]

Wet / first applied... crisp, cool mint with a hint of buttery rum mixed in.

 

I may have over applied slightly (ok, I squeed when I opened the bottle and lots control of my BPAL applying abilities), so it's currently VERY strong, but the scents I am getting out of it right now, from strongest to weakest...

 

mint, coconut, buttery rum, cocoa... anything else still gets lost by the mint

 

Due to having put too much on, I have a slight tingly sensation on my wrists, which is definitely from the mint... but it feels tingly in a good way.

 

I just had Chris smell me and he said I smell like a "chocolate-covered SweeTart" Fortunately, he said that was a good smell. (And he's insanely sleep-deprived due to having to get up at 4AM to go to work, and having only gotten about 4 hours of sleep before that).

 

Spooky has dried down a lot and mellowed out, and now I keept smelling chocolate covered mints and I've been trying to figure out where the scent was coming from... apparently, it's me!

[tart]

To be updated...

 

Out of the bottle: Don't drink it, don't drink it! This smells like...Malibu Rum? No, it can't be! I smell the rum, chocolate, and mint. I think I'm in trouble.

 

2:10 pm, freshly applied: I smell coconut. This is like Snow White.

 

2:15 pm: No more Snow White smell. Spooky, you are soooooooooooooooooooo minty!

 

2:25 pm: Chocolate, I know you're in there! Goodness gracious, the layering possiblities this scent has! I could go nuts with Bliss and Dana O'shee. The mint is still really strong. It's like chewing on mint sprigs, very real, not at all artificial. The crisp mint over underlying warm chocolate is interesting. This makes me wonder what Helping Hand smells like.

 

2:50 pm: Okay, shameless reapplication. Wet all over again and a bit stronger this time, this does smell boozy. Still no chocolate when wet, and the coconut never came back. But rummy and minty. I swear, I feel a bit tipsy when I inhale.

 

5:00pm: Oh-ho! This smells like the dark chocolate smell in Cerberus, when everything else has faded, like a darker version of Bliss. Spooky's drydown also shares the sweet cookie smell of Gingerbread Poppet. This is great! The mint is very, very faint. I'm basically left with a chocolatey cookie.

Edited March 8, 2005 by tart

[fairywingmaker]

To be updated...

 

Out of the bottle: Don't drink it, don't drink it!  This smells like...Malibu Rum?  No, it can't be!  I smell the rum, chocolate, and mint.  I think I'm in trouble.

 

2:10 pm, freshly applied: I smell coconut.  This is like Snow White.

 

2:15 pm: No more Snow White smell.  Spooky, you are soooooooooooooooooooo minty!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Tart, I must have gotten the same batch! Cheers!!! Malibu Rum in the bottle, it's incredible.

 

On my skin...chocolate peppermint, with a hint of coconut rum. I love this!!! Thank you for bringing this back for us to try.

[xochitl]

When I got my PBAL package today, the first thing I did was rip it open and douse myself in Spooky. I've been sitting here in the scent cloud for a while, breathing in the heady loveliness, and boy am I glad I got to buy a bottle of this. Minty goodness, with chocolate and a dab of coconut to spare. I'm not getting any rum, but it's so good, I don't care! This smells like something the Girl Scouts would sell in the form of a cookie, but I'd rather wear it any day!

[lorajc]

This was strong and minty upon application, but it has dried down to a slight mint with coconut and vanilla in the background. My sinuses just clogged, so I'll have to update this later. It seems to have faded significantly though (or else I just can't smell anymore). It is a very unique scent. It may take me some time to get used to this, but I like it much more after the initial application.

 

ETA: I wore this today and everyone at work kept saying they smell coconut. I guess my skin amps up the coconut. When I sniff my arm, I only get a slight vanilla/coconut scent. I wish the mint stayed truer.

[VorpalBunny]

When Spooky goes on, it smells like pure mint chocolate. Yummy, but not a scent I'd like to wear all day. Fortunately, the chocolate smell fades over time, and it becomes more minty, but a nice mellowed mint, tempered with rummy cocoanut and not sure what else. I like it a lot, because foody scents don't always work on me, but it's a sort-of foody scent that I could still wear to work. What I like about it, is it has a bit of the buttery rumminess of Grog, but Grog was a bit too harsh for me to wear every day.

Edited March 7, 2005 by VorpalBunny

[UltraViolet]

Wet

Ahhh!!!!!!

Coconut,Chocolate,Mint,Smoke

Whoa....Smoky...Too smokey!

10 minutes

Okay, the smoky/toasted quality has lessened and I can smell more mintiness and the chocolate is a base in this scent so it's there all the time.

I smell a toasted coconut smell, with a bit of smokiness, a tad of mint and dark chocolate underneath. It's not a milk chocolate scent such as Bliss is, but more dark.

20 minutes

Boy it's sure lessened in the 10 minutes I've had it on.

Now it smells like coconut chocolate cookies with lots and lots and LOTS of nuts and the mint is all but gone.

It's very nutty. If I stuck alot of nuts up my nose and they had some coconut sprinkles on them, that's exactly what I smell.

I would love it if it had more mint.

Edited March 8, 2005 by UltraViolet

[Longstofly]

Oh holy peppermint batman! I was so happy when I first sniffed my bottle because I love peppermint and this scent is packed with it.

 

Wet, I get super chocolate pepperminty goodness with a very slight hint of coconut. This is good because I really despise the smell of coconut. It's so light in this scent on me that it really is no big deal.

 

It did dry down and start to fade very quickly. It really reminds me of velvet when it dries down. It is almost as if I get a sandalwoody type smell going on. Quite beautiful though.

 

I am so glad I got a bottle of this!!

[Caitfish]

SPOOOOKINS! <3

 

In the bottle, this is a riotous, boozy peppermint. Beautiful, and I haven't liked any mint scents before this one! It's not overpowering, I think that the coconut keeps it down.

 

At first when I applied it, this became kind of dark very quickly, something that I thought smelled smokey appeared, then I realized that it was the unique smell of coconut mixing with the mint and cocoa. That hint of smokiness is about as much chocolate as I ever get from this one.

 

It's not a very strong scent - which makes me rue the day that I only bought one bottle, because I'll definately have to slather and reapply to get the full effect of it.

 

It's lovely.