Butterscotch and Blackbeetles

[GypsyRoseRed]

Butterscotch candies flecked with dirt, encased in a shiny black shell of myrrh, patchouli, and anise seed.

I was so, so excited when I saw the first prototypes for this scent, because this was always a memorable part of the book for me! I'm not a lover of anything that has caramel or butterscotch listed as a note because my body chemistry tends to amp those sweet notes until they're sickening, but that didn't happen here. Upon first application, yes, it was butterscotch.. But when it dried down, something very dark and explicitly non-gourmand starts to peek out more and more. How perfect is that? It's *exactly* what it ought to be, and ends up balancing darkness and sweetness in a pretty great way, IMHO.

[Mellifluous]

This is my favorite of the bunch! It does start as a typical homg sweet butterscotch scent, but not even 1 minute later you get this dark, slightly sinister, aspect looming in. It never completely overtakes the sweetness, but it does temper it really nicely! (and how appropriate for the part in the book this is representing! This is where things start getting dark. Its not a full plunge into the darkness, but just adds that little pique, that unsettles the up-to-then sweet and fun time). The patchouli in this is much like banshee beat, in that it is not an overpowering bitter black patch. It just lends a soft dark fuzziness. And actually I would say this scent, in general, could be described as a slightly sweeter butterscotchy version of BB. And again, the label art is amazing!

[Numanoid]

YIKES!! I might be alone in this, BUT I got a decant of this from a lovely forumite...

 

Wet in the vial: Yummy butterscotch!!

 

On Skin: IMMEDIATELY turned to the smell of a half sucked on butterscotch candy that was dropped in dirt!!

 

Sorry...this ones a gotta go!!!

[bombus]

YIKES!! I might be alone in this, BUT I got a decant of this from a lovely forumite...

 

Wet in the vial: Yummy butterscotch!!

 

On Skin: IMMEDIATELY turned to the smell of a half sucked on butterscotch candy that was dropped in dirt!!

 

Sorry...this ones a gotta go!!!

 

 

funny the thing i like about it the most is that is smells like butterscotch candy that was dropped in dirt

[absinthetics]

This has a top note of the same sort as Red Lantern. As it dries the dirtiness comes out, but they both stay out there, equally dominant.

 

This does have some staying power. Lovely!

[zankoku_zen]

Butterscotch! But as it dries, some dirtiness/grittiness comes out, with tones of anise seed and a touch patchouli. This prevents it from being ALL BUTTERSCOTCH, and gives the blend alot of depth.

 

Toothsome, in the some way that some of the other BPAL blends like Mother Shubs Pfefferneusen was.

 

Tasty, but not for me.

[violetblue]

Thank you to the AMAZING gypsyrosered for sending me some of this to test!!!!

 

On first whiff, I am taken back in time to my Grandpa's sitting chair, and his candy dish on the side table that was always full of butterscotch candies. When we were little, we called them "Pa-poo candy." The crazy thing is, after he and my Grandma passed, I now have that covered depression glass candy dish. (A replacement, however - the original was broken ((and I thought I would die when it fell off the shelf and shattered)) and after years of searching ebay, I found the exact same one!) And it's where I keep my "special" imps. I swear, BPAL never ceases to amaze me.

 

The dry down to me is sweet,very light butterscotch, heavy/dirty patchouli/myrrh and I think I am getting a tiny touch of anise. I agree with the earlier review comparing it to a sweet Banshee Beat. I can totally see that.

 

ETA: I love this!

Edited July 30, 2012 by violetblue

[Puddin]

YIKES!! I might be alone in this, BUT I got a decant of this from a lovely forumite...

 

Wet in the vial: Yummy butterscotch!!

 

On Skin: IMMEDIATELY turned to the smell of a half sucked on butterscotch candy that was dropped in dirt!!

 

Sorry...this ones a gotta go!!!

 

 

funny the thing i like about it the most is that is smells like butterscotch candy that was dropped in dirt

 

I am with you on this one.

When I first put it on it is all sweet butterscotch but I love the way it dries down on me. I guess I like dirty butterscotch.

[Voleuse]

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous butterscotch on first application. My nose is out of practice, but this also reminds me of a richer, glossier version of the MVJBA pancake scent. Don't ask me why.

 

After about twenty minutes, I get a really strong wave of the "blackbeetles" portion of the blend, which is kind of like dirty licorice to my nose, with only a faint echo of the butterscotch.

 

Still later, the butterscotch returns, but about half as sweet, with hints of dirt and a bit of incense behind it. Neato! This one's a morpher, but turns out quite subtle and sweet.

[killerklown]

This is pretty much a dark, earthy sweet patchouli on me- very near Banshee Beat only less sweet. It's nice and I like it, but I don't have to hunt down a bottle. Thank god.

[ljaylh]

For me, B&BB starts of with a BLAST of butterscotch - not sweet and soft, it's really strong burnt brown sugar. My skin really does not work well with brown sugar/caramel kinds of notes (they amp horribly and smell kinda rank on me), so I had already figured this was going to be a problem...

 

But hey - five minutes in, and the butterscotch backs right off from the whole 'burnt sugar' business, and develops a lovely syrupy richness.. still not overly sweet though (this is a good thing). And now that the butterscotch has mellowed out, the patchouli and myrrh have a chance to make an appearance.. lovely together, softly smokey and with a slight tang. Then just a short while later, up pops the anise seed - I agree with Voleuse that it ends up being a bit like a dirty licorice.. an earthy licorice I guess (rather than the typical candy-type licorice).

 

I see the comparison to Banshee Beat that killerklown and mellifluous mentioned - it's the same fuzzy feral patchouli, for sure.. but B&BB is far less sweet and rich than BB is on me, and of course it doesn't have the vanilla either. I'd actually put this one in the same family as Monsterbait: Closet and Halloween Las Vegas - it has that same dark boozy voluptuous vibe to it. It's just so bang-on for its namesake.. it's like this one has a sweet and cute side (the soft sweetness of the butterscotch) but also a dark and sinister side (the dirty patchouli + licorice) - it's a fantastic representation of that part of the Coraline story.

 

So this was a nice surprise for me, considering I almost never have success with butterscotch/brown sugar/caramel things. I think I'll wear this one quite a bit - I really like it

 

.

Came back to add this... sadly, about an hour after I wrote this review, all that I had left on my arm was burned brown sugar

Edited August 2, 2012 by sunshinedaisybliss

[angelicruin]

This one starts out heavily of butterscotch and vetiver on my skin. Almost bad enough that I washed it off.

 

But after a while, the vetiver quality settled down and 2 hours later I'm left with burned butterscotch. I know that sounds like an unappealing scent description, but I kind of like it.

 

Not sure I like it enough to keep the bottle, but it's a nice mix of candy sweetness and something dark & less innocent.

 

I wish I got the anise seed note out of this one. I love anise, but sadly it never really made an appearance on my skin.

[Larinessa]

Butterscotch and nommy patchuli. Will need to seek a bottle of this!

[dawndie]

In bottle: flan!

 

On skin: plastic? boooo

 

Half-hour later: luscious butterscotch pudding, but oops! I dropped it in the dirt! 5-second rule? I'll eat it anyway

 

In conclusion: I'm glad that plastic phase disappeared, but that's typical of some of the dessert-y blends on me. Very Midway-esque, starts out a bit "fake" but mellows out. This ends up reminding me of Banshee Beat, that odd yet endearing combo of sweet and dirt.

[porcelina]

i was reeeeeally excited to try butterscotch and blackbeetles but i don't think it likes me very much, sadly. these buttery candy or caramel or rum notes (there is something in here that reminds me a bit of grog, and of hot buttered rum) are never my friend.

 

there is a really nice base of patchouli that keeps it from being straight up foodie, and makes it smell kinda dirty-in-a-good-way, but the patchouli is sweetened by the butterscotch and it's a very pleasant combo.

 

unfortunately for me, the plastic-sugar thing never quite goes away enough for my liking but i know this would be amazing on someone who can wear a buttery sweet candy note well. i DEFINITELY get the comparison to banshee beat- the patchouli and the way it interacts with the sweeter notes is very similar.

Edited August 26, 2012 by porcelina

[boomtownrat]

Today I got my order, which couldn't be delivered on Saturday because I had it sent to work. After waiting two extra days, I was too impatient to let it settle from the cross-country trip. I'm not sure that mattered, based on how it smells now.

 

In the bottle it's loud butterscotch with a patchouli undertone and a hint of anise and dirt. Wet on my skin that's still pretty much the case, although the butterscotch soon starts quieting down. By the time it's dry, BB&BB is a smooth, faintly sweet, dark patchouli that smells great even fresh from the mail truck and during Shark Week, no less. This never turned into the B.O. funk that I get from #occupywallstreet about an hour after putting it on if I apply more than just a little on my inner wrists. Nearly eight hours later it was still going strong by the time I took a shower.

 

For most BPAL scents I dab a bit on my inner and outer wrists, at the base of my throat, and behind my ears. This time I started with one wrist and, because I loved it so much, later added some on all the usual spots other than behind the ears, but I could get away with less.

 

This smells so delicious that I may come to regret buying only one bottle, especially if it ages as well as I suspect it might.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Rich strong butterscotch mostly with a touch of anise and patchouli dominant incense and the barest suggestion of dirt. Lovely! Wet: Still butterscotch dominent, but much more patchouli and dirt. They go eerily well together. The resonance is akin to hard candy, bone, and beetle shells without being icky. Dry: Mostly dirt and myrrh. It’s as if the beetles ate most of the butterscotch, which lingers like the ghost of sweetness, barely scented. I love this, but I rather miss the butterscotch.

[calivianya]

I am totally afraid of the butterscotch, but I'm hoping this will work anyway! The comparisons to Banshee Beat did me in and I had to try it.

 

Fresh on the skin: BUTTERSCOTCH! IN YOUR FACE! JUMPING DOWN YOUR THROAT! If you're like me and butterscotch/caramel notes can be kind of scary, prepare to fight off your fear! It is all butterscotch all the time immediately upon application.

 

2 minutes: However...as some others have said, the other notes show up almost immediately. I can smell some patchouli and anise right now, underneath the butterscotch, but myrrh hasn't showed its beautiful self yet. I like myrrh, I hope it doesn't hide from me today!

 

5 minutes: For a second there, I was a little worried by the patchouli. Usually a good note, it didn't really blend and it just smelled sharp (like a clot of fresh, wet dirt just got thrown at my face), but it's mellowing out and mixing nicely now. Crisis averted!

 

Dry: Oh, there's the myrrh. It's not the strongest note in the blend (unfortunately!), but it's definitely there mixing with the others. The above that called this a morpher were right. It was a little sketch for me at several points while it was drying, but it's pretty good. The butterscotch stops smelling like OVERPOWERING BUTTERY STUFF and just starts smelling sweet, and I like the way the sweetness plays with the dark notes. It smells both more and less sweet than Banshee Beat for me - more "sweet" as in I get more of a candy vibe from the butterscotch, but the vanilla in Banshee Beat is a much louder presence on the drydown than the butterscotch is here. I have to say that I really like Banshee Beat much more and I don't know that I'll reach for this one quite as much since I do have Banshee Beat in my arsenal, but I think I'll keep it for now. I have a feeling it could be more fantastic and smoother with some aging - right now it feels like the notes are fighting with each other instead of working together. We'll see what happens.

 

Edit: I was really hoping it wasn't so, but every time I've so much as sniffed the bottle I've ended up with a raging headache, so I think this will eventually be leaving me.

Edited September 4, 2012 by calivianya

[stellamaris]

Shoot me and kill me, this is so nice. When I first opened it I thought, whoa, hit me with a big candy brick why don't you, but after application I felt like I could smell something vaguely dusty, like under the sofa cushions? It's been on for about three hours and still has power. Very very good. You need this. Trust me.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love this and already hugely regret only buying one bottle. This is going to be my Halloween scent this year, for sure. I love the intensely sweet and heavy butterscotch mixed with all of the darker notes. The darker, earthy parts of this make me smell like I've spent the afternoon rolling around in a pile of fallen leaves in a secluded patch of forest, and the creamy sweetness is so enticing.

 

This is the sort of scent that has a playful, innocent, come & get me sweetness to it while also having a huge backdrop of something dark, dangerous, mysterious and sinister. Which works out to being insanely sexy to me. And I love how smooth this is. It reminds me a little of Goblin after a while (which I also love), except this is smoother and not quite as dirty/patchouli smelling (sort of reminds me of Falling Leaf Moon as well).

 

Love. So much. It's like a naughty and grownup trick or treater smell on me. Just awesome.

 

:love!:

[malibusunny]

In the bottle, this is just butterscotch. Delicious, but foody sweet cloying. On drydown, this gets all dirty leather. I was sort of surprised. But then it mellows out to this totally amazing warm sweet leather awesomeness. A lot like Misk U on my skin.

 

i was worried about the anise seed but i don't get black licorice at all on my skin.

[ReallyZeb]

Sadly all I really get is beetles

 

I get a butterscotch hit when it's wet, but mostly beetley anise seed and it seems to be giving me a rather nasty headache after it's dried down. It reminds me of walking into one of the small Indian convenience stores that are around London, where some of the spices have been on the shelves rather longer than they should be - dusty old stale spices.

 

I shall try it another day but I don't have high hopes.

 

Edit: ok, after 7 hours I finally get butterscotch ... but it's not worth the pain of getting there

Edited September 1, 2012 by ReallyZeb

[Quillifer]

I luuuurve this Just as well since I have a bottle of it. In the bottle it's an earthy, foodie mix; wet, I get butterscotch, strong and fairly pure; as it dries I get patchouli. I don't get any really clear or strong aniseed at all. I adore foodie and patchouli notes so it's pretty much as if it were custom-made for me! Having said that it's a very characterful scent, so I think I'd need to be in the right mood for it. Also I'm not inclined to wear foodie blends when having a special meal.

[yakiguri]

Thanks to the always wonderful and amazing chinkee21 for letting me sniff her goodies.

 

Alas, I also get primarily beetles. >_> I like earthy scents, mind you, but not by themselves. When butterscotch does deign to show up it goes into a ZOMG SNIFF ME NAO screaming fest on my skin before being shunted aside by the dirt note. *sigh* I can't have these two fighting for attention on my skin so I'm glad I didn't risk a bottle myself.

[Halloqueen2]

I was expecting this to be very foody, but I was pleasantly surprised. I wonder sometimes how the name and description influence what we smell. I do get butterscotch when first applied, but it wasn't a bright, foody butterscotch...it was more like smelling a closed container that the candy had been in long ago. It's very mellow, and not sweet enough to gross me out. The best part of the whole thing is when the blackbeetle part comes through. I'm an anise fan, but I wasn't sure how it would mix with butterscotch...I didn't have to worry. The anise and patch meld together in a very thin brittle fragrant bright smell, that exactly tempers the mellow, lazy butterscotch. They play around with each other, but neither dominates. The lasting power on this one is amazing. I too wish I'd purchased another bottle. Beautiful bottle art and lovely scent.