The Candy Butcher (2015)

[Ina Garten Davita]

Bittersweet chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.

As soon as this unfolded on my skin, I knew I wanted to review it first. The newly reformulated Candy Butcher is a revelation.

I can't wear chocolate scents. I can't wear cream scents. How Beth managed to create a chocolate and heavy cream perfume that smells beautiful on my skin is a mystery for Dan Brown to explore in his next novel.

 

Gourmand fans are going to love this, of course, but there is some magical ingredient here that places it in the "perfume"category rather than being a totally foodie scent. The Candy Butcher is sophisticated, and has a bit of a dryness about it that counteracts whatever usually makes chocolate or cream so unwearable on my skin. Bittersweet cocoa rather than truffles. The cream seems to be acting as grounding instead of gooey topping.

 

I applied only a small drop, she wears close to the skin. Nothing cloying or sickly, rather a warmth and depth that keeps me bringing wrist to nose. The character is translated expertly into perfume.

 

 

[SadariEvenstar]

I have a decant of the original and while it smells good, I never sought out more. It seemed to me a rather generic chocolate scent. The staying power was poor.

 

This one though.... This is is different. This is rich dark chocolate with a somewhat evil feeling edge to it. The staying power is very good, I've been wearing it about 7 hours now and it is still going strong. I've very happy with it.

[vanilla323]

*I never smelled the original*

 

But this scent is damn sexy...sexy chocolate love!

 

Wet it's a delicious but not too sweet or bitter chocolate it's just rich and glorious.

 

As it dried down the cream note just takes it to a very sexy level. It balances the chocolate so nicely and makes it super creamy!

 

The throw/staying power is amazing on this baby too since I only dabbed a tiny bit on and I'm still smelling it after 3 hours now and it's still going strong...

 

I love the bottle art so much too its gorgeous and the scent matches perfectly! This is a grown up and sexy chocolate that I can't wait to wear and feel like a dark sexy chocolate covered carny every time I do.

 

Bravo to Beth and the Labbies

Edited September 1, 2015 by vanilla323

[ltrittipoe]

This definitely is more a "perfumey" scent than a straight up chocolate scent..... Someone mentioned that there may be lilies in this, and I think that is what I am smelling. Like The Candy Butcher was wearing floral perfume, and then the chocolate/cream scent of her wares.

 

There is something a little "off" smelling on my skin, when I sniff close. It's a gorgeous chocolate/cream with that hint of floral in the waft, from my wrist to my nose at normal distance. I'm not sure when I put my nose to my wrist what it is - if it's the cream (which I usually don't have problems with) or what - but it is... Odd. Kind of dirty/sweet. Hopefully that will age out a little.

 

Eta: after about 30 minutes, the "off" note does fade away quite a bit. It's still there, but has receded. Now I like this much better - dry chocolate and cream with a floral undercurrent.

Edited September 1, 2015 by ltrittipoe

[DevilsCandyCane]

Of the previous incarnation, I've only had a sniffie, but I do still have half a decant of the prototype, which I love (much more taffy in that, not so much chocolate, but an absolutely gorgeous sweet shop scent, with huge throw!)

 

The new version, I would say is more bitter chocolate, and less cream, than my little sniffie of the previous one - I actually find it very, very similar to El Dia de los Reyes, that same bittersweet, slightly spiced cocoa scent. The main difference is the introduction of a hint of floral, I agree it definitely smells like lilies, funeral parlour lilies. The first time I tried it, the chocolate rapidly vanished, leaving nothing but lilies, and it almost bordered on toilet cleaner, but with a couple more reapplications the whole body of the scent is remaining, and I quite like the overall balance - the lilies are definitely a bit funeral-spooky, and just lend it a hint of sophistication - it really is an equal balance of 'perfume' and 'foodie', and lilies are something I don't own in any other scent, so it's quite an interesting addition to my collection. In future, I'll probably apply this over a base layer of sweet almond oil, to offset its tendency to vanish into my skin!

[Lycanthrope]

Whoa...

 

So, when I first got my bottle of Candy Butcher, it was very thin, and had an alcohol-like smell to it. Also almost no staying power. I was curious if I had a true 'oil' (it evaporated off my skin like alcohol). This was the original release. What I did get was a buttery rich vanilla-cocoa, definitely like a candy bar, and I loved it, but thought I may have had a weird bottle. Then it got discontinued and all hope of getting original CB was lost.

 

This release is definitely a darker chocolate, and then when it's on, for me it reads very husky, deep, earthy, downright evil. Not sure what makes it turn that way. Maybe the 'bittersweet' enabled some very creepy dark notes to creep in. It is very much like The Other Hot Chocolate (deep gritty, chocolate) but this one... I put it on today and I'm going to a LAN party later, and I'm thinking of scrubbing it off just because it has plenty of throw, and I smell so... ferocious. Purry, like, sex kitten ferocious. Whoops.

 

It's nice. A little will go a long way. It's not a replacement for what I think the original CB was, at least for me, but it's its own scent.

[LizziesLuck]

Some of my decants arrived today, and I am soooo excited to start testing and planning an order! I had to do Candy Butcher first after reading all the amazing reviews.

 

 

Wet: Chocolate, and something dark, earthy and a bit green. Something sinister. Reminds me of Envy with Chocolate instead of Mint.

 

Wet: oh yes. Yes yes. I get what everyone is raving about now. This is amazing. It does remind me of Envy. On me, Envy is some kind of dark green herb which I've never been able to identify, and mint. I smell the same dark note in this along with the dark chocolate. It's not sweet, but that's ok. It's gorgeous. I'll be getting a bottle.

[dementia_divine]

2015 version.

 

In the bottle: Cocoa powder, cream, and something dark lurking beneath those notes. This is not just a chocolate and cream scent.

 

Wet: The chocolate note isn't nearly as intense on my skin. I can see this being more like bittersweet chocolate now that has been rolled in or dusted with cocoa powder. I am getting more of the cream note on my skin, and something else that can't be attributed to either of those notes. I wonder if this contains ginger or something. Whatever it is, it's a little funky smelling.

 

Dry: The funkiness was short-lived, and the cocoa is still the dominant note (although it is softer now). I can smell the cream note beneath the chocolate note. The scent has really great throw, and I can't stop sniffing myself.

 

Verdict: I already own a lot of chocolate scents, but this one isn't like any of them. Evil chocolate, ftw! I'll be keeping my bottle.

[Numanoid]

In the bottle: I can see where some people say "spice" to it. I think that is just the nature of how bittersweet chocolate can smell. I love bittersweet/dark chocolate better than milk chocolate (to eat that is) and this smells just like a good, higher priced chocolate/cocoa to me.

 

On skin: I almost get a peppermint smell to this right away, even though it isn't...but has that something sharp, but just for a second. I get a hint of the cream note and can smell the amazing chocolate in this. Like was said above, this is a sexy kind of chocolate!

 

Dry: It has a medium throw to me and yes, I get a creamy chocolate with something else in the background. I don't know what it is. Maybe a hair of something cologn-y, but it isn't at the same time. It is very amazing and I think this will age nicely!

 

Update: So, after a few hours, I could still smell the cologne-yness about it. Sad because it smelled so good in the bottle and on my skin for a few minutes. Might have to swap away.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Numanoid

[StevenBoatman]

Holy smokes! How does one do this? It's superdark chocolate, and something creamy, but the whole shebang is underscored by this....note. I can't tell you what this note is, only that my mental impression is that of Evil Itself distilled down to an oil and blended with chocolate and cream. It turns this from a sweet, happy foody scent to something dark and sexy and terrifying. *writes on the ground in pleasure*

[recklesslysober]

I love this one.. I have so many chocolate scents but this is definitely unique.

 

Creamy bittersweet chocolate with a light, dusty, earthy undertone.

[annemathematics]

this is a dark, dusty chocolate scent and the cream aspect plays more as texture than as a note. it's nice. super deep. not nearly as evil or weird as I was expecting.

[Blood onmy hands]

This doesn't smell like the original Candy Butcher, and it's strangely floral on my skin. It reminds me of the original formulation of bpal's Black Lily. It's like chocolate cake batter with green stems, floral honey pollen and creamy white floral. My husband said that it smelled like flowers and mint chocolate. Dries down kind of powdery/dusty smelling on me and doesn't last over an hour.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Little Bird

[miss_rynn]

All dry, bitter cocoa and sickly flowers. I cannot express just how disappointed I am in this. I know it's an issue with my skin and nose, not the perfume itself, but I am devestated. I had such high hopes for this, having missed out on the original, and it's just so very sad to have all those years of waiting end on such a whimper.

 

My personal feelings aside; it is a strongly dark and bitter cocoa that is sweetened with florals. The florals strike me as lillies, or some other kind of white, waxy-petalled flowers, maybe even a dash of orchid. This would work well on someone who likes foody or floral scents that aren't too sweet or cloying, and who are looking for a lively alternative to conventional florals.

[mermaidsdream]

It's very chocolaty in the bottle, with something sweet underneath. Unfortunately, once applied it turns into something sickly-sweet-floral that I amp like *crazy* within seconds of application, losing any hint of the chocolate. I can't wear this.

[Larinessa]

Yep. I'm getting florals too under a bitter chocolate throw. I love the throw, it smells like milled cocoa powder. But by my skin, definitely something like lily or maybe another 'spring' flower lurking. I'll try the imp again later, but this isn't up my alley.

 

Edit: pulled my imp out to retest. The floral note is less prominent, the dark chocolate is reminding me of these huge rough blocks of chocolate my mom used to get around the holidays, that we would have to chip pieces off to eat. A unexpected but pleasant association.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Larinessa

[aiobhan]

It is exactly what it is supposed to be! Chocolate and cream. Sadly, my skin just sucks it up.

[astarinel]

Dark powdered chocolate. The scent has sort of a dryness to it, and the chocolate is bittersweet.

 

I found all these mentions of florals terrifying, but I don't actually get much floral to the scent myself. There's a bit of dark earthy greenness, maybe a touch of mint? But this is primarily a dark chocolate scent with an interesting "perfume" twist.

[megank4]

Definitely bitter. Sometimes veering towards "mold" for some reason. Not getting too much cream.

[milo]

Overly sweet fake creamy chocolate. Kind of like powdered hot chocolate. There's a lovely lily note here, that kind of reminds me of Parker Lily, BUT....it does not go with the fake chocolate. I was so looking forward to this as I generally love cocoa and chocolate blends. Boomslang and BTBT are my faves, but this is a HUGE miss.

[sarandipitee]

This is definitely a bitter sweet chocolate - much like baking squares or pure dark chocolate. Cream is a hugely iffy note on my skin but its translating to earthy and dark. Hint of green the others have mentioned - not quite mint, not quite floral. Overall, I quite like it, and MUCH better than the original CB which was a disappointing plastic mess.

 

It's very different from any other chocolate oil I own. I'll wait out another 30 min or so to make sure I love it but this could be a full bottle purchase.

[zankoku_zen]

I want to echo so much of Ina Garten Davita's review. I don't really do foodie, chocolate or cream blends. They typically don't work for my skin chemistry.

 

Candy Butcher 2015 is a dark chocolate/cocoa blend, with enough cream to make it creamy and bring a hint of sweetness to it. It's toothsome, gourmand, and delicious. It's like being covered in the most delicious and delectable cocoa powder. In feel, it reminds me a lot to Lump of Coal. It just feels luxurious.

 

UGH. Delicious.

[unlaced]

Purely chocolate and cream. I was kind of surprised because this is not a sweet scent. There's no sugar in here whatsoever. It's dark, dark baker's chocolate and pure heavy cream. I'm very interested to see how it ages.

[satinworship]

I wish this was a nice on me as it seems to be on the other reviewers!

I love the original Candy Butcher, it seems like it was made just for me. The OG version applies like a creamy, rich, hot chocolate and then transforms into this most beautiful soft, feminine perfume with a hint of rich chocolate. It lasts a decent length of time and never seems overwhelming. 100% A++

The 2015 version is very different on my skin. It applies a little like musty, dry cat pee and poop and then turns into stale poop-cocoa for a hour or so. Boomslang is the same way on me (mmm lizard poop!), so I wonder if they have notes or a chocolate component in common? After roughly an hour, the 2015 Candy Butcher does settle down into a slightly creamy perfume. It's not as smooth or delicate as the OG version, and it never looses that dry, powdery coco scent.

 

I prefer the older version, but it's very hard to find. Maybe with time the 2015 version will work better for me!

[Astarial]

The original Candy Butcher didn't work on me - it went to gross plasticky bananas. Sadly, the new one doesn't work on me either.

 

In the imp, it smells of chocolate and faint spices, I think star anise. On my skin, though, it rapidly becomes burnt and acrid and stays that way for quite a while. Eventually, an hour or two in, it eases off and becomes a sort of musty spice scent, meh but not horrid. Sadly no chocolate or cream for me.