Freak Show

[shelldoo]

A strange, disconcerting embrace… to some, alarming, and to some, intimately familiar: fig, pomegranate and cocoa bean with lemon, bergamot, vanilla, mellow honey musk, calamus and tonka.

what was i expecting??? no clue, i was leary of the lemon, i am no lemon fan. but i adore fig, and chocolate. in the bottle that is all i smell dark chocolate covered figs. mmmmmmm
wet: strong strong dark cocoa w/ a hint of figginess and a hint of pomegranet

as it dries it ellows, and softens a bit, it is incensy, chocolatey fig, hangs close to my skin, and is a very "me" scent


i adore it, and being able to get my grubbies on it before my oditorium shipped is a great treat thanks so much *she who must not be named* for getting it to me


oh and i agree it feels like ddlm

[PurringPulsar]

Freak Show

 

In the imp: cocoa, fig and pomegranate! A strange, but not unpleasant combination.

Wet on skin: still cocoa, fig and pomegranate, but now the lemon is coming through.

Dry on skin: this is an interesting and unusual fruity combination. It's sweet cocoa and vanilla with sharper fruit notes like fig, pomegranate and citrus. It's compelling, but so different to anything I've ever tried. It's a very soft scent, clings to the skin with its tart fruitiness contrasting with the smooth vanilla-tonka scent.

After a while: after an hour it smells like juicy ripe fig, a hint of pomegranate, vanilla and/or tonka, cocoa and a delightful honeyed musk. It's really nice now. Chocolate covered fig with pomegranate and vanilla honey. Sounds weird, but it smells yummy. In fact, I've noticed that scents with both pomegranate and vanilla have the most gorgeous drydown. Queen of Clubs had that, and so does this.

Verdict: this is one of the most unusual, unconventional perfumes I've tried. It's a complex scent of contrasts, sweet and tangy, smooth and sharp, with fruity scents (fig, pomegranate, lemon) contrasting with a very soft background of chocolate, vanilla, honeyed musk and tonka. This sweet, velvety background smoothes the tart fruity notes and adds another dimension to what could otherwise be a purely fruity scent. It's compelling to sniff, strangely addictive. It seems to fit the name well, because it is so different and quite bizarre, yet oddly mesmerising. And the drydown of chocolate fig, honey musk and pomegranate and vanilla is wonderful. I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle, but I am keeping the decant because it is really quite lovely, especially the drydown, and it really grows on you.

Edited August 10, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[telesilla]

Why I tried it: This was one of the Carnival Noir scents I was considering, so when I saw an imp up for sale, I nabbed it.

 

In the bottle and wet: Chocolate!

 

Drying down: Fruity chocolate.

 

Dry: The chocolate fade to an undernote and I can pick up the vanilla along with the fruits. I like it a fair amount but I'm not sure it's something I'll order, seeing as it's an LE and we're already too addicted to LEs around here.

 

A little later: I dunno. This is really really growing on me, now it's sweet, but a nice complex fruity sweet. The individual notes have all blended into something I really want to make mine. *sighs*

[ChupaChup]

Freak Show was something I took a chance on, fig is one of those fruits that can be overwhelming on me. It started out great when first applied, I got plenty of chocolate, some vanilla and the honey musk. But after only about five minutes, the fig grabbed hold and started beating down all the other notes. This ended up smelling just like Intrigue or Eden on me, pure fig. And it's the green, almost woody fig, not a sweet, ripe, honeyed one. Oh well, it's already winging it's way to a home where it will be loved.

[Belladonnastrap]

*sob*

 

First Sniff

A nuttier, fruiter gluttony. There's a definite sweetness to the oil but it's tempered with something. I'm guessing the fig.

 

Wet

...erg. This smells like the treaded Queen of Spades on me..ie Oponomax! I had to double check to make sure there was none in the oil because the horribly wobbly feeling that comes whenever I smell it.

 

Dry

Okay maybe my body hates fig. I'm getting NONE of the fruity sweet that I first sniffed but heady incense. I smell like a headshop. This isn't good..it's making my stomach wobbly.

 

Aftermath

My body chemistry's all mixed up to Hell but I'm afraid Freak Show and I don't get along. Going to give it one more go when I'm feeling better and hope for the best. Gambatte Freak Show!

[luxuria]

Chocolate, fig, and pomegranate in the bottle! Interesting and sweet, and definitely very unique.

 

On my skin the 'honey musk' smells more like just honey. I smell fig the most after that and then the pomegranate but the chocolate pretty much disappeared.

 

The final drydown was faint honey. Nice, but where's the vanilla and tonka? I like this but I'm not as excited with it as I hoped I'd be.

[aidenraine]

Oh sweet lord. I wasn't expecting to love this. I just reached into my pile of CN imps and chose blindly.

 

It is... one of those scents that made me exclaim out loud. It's swoonworthy. Lemon, cocoa, vanilla, musk... it's not overly sweet but slightly tart and dusky as well.

 

It's delectable; I want to lick my arm but I also just want to sit and smell my imp and roll around happily.

 

I am beside myself.

 

Amazing.

[Sistinas]

a review of Freak Show

 

Vial ~ cocoa bean, fig, lemon, a wonderful chocolate fruity blend

 

Wet ~ the blend is the same. Still lots of cocoa bean and fig are what

I am picking out the most.

 

Drying ~ Ahhh, now I am picking up the wonderful pomegranite. The cocoa

bean does seem to be disappearing. I can also detect the lemon again.

It is an extremely complex blend

 

Dry ~ It is sweet, not overdone, the pomegranite has taken over, yippee,

the blend of fig and cocoa in the background makes a wonderful mix.

 

Fade ~ Well over than half an hour after drying, the scent does work, but

mostly the pomengranite.

 

Final thoughts ~ Upon first sniff I thought it was another one of Beth's

nice chocolate/fruit scent, but this has turned into something more. I am

soooo in love with scent. Will definitely be needing another bottle of

this baby. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a whopping huge 5.

[gdogs]

freak show, where did you go?

 

when i first put you on my wrist, you made me tingle with delight. . . that sweet sexiness, that subdued and sultry fruit. .. shiver, you made me shiver. i was about to pledge my undying love to you when you disappeared forever! not 15 minutes into our courtship and you have left me with only a barest trace of scent where you licked my wrist with your maple-syrup tongue.

 

 

i weep.

[pranashakti]

This is definitely intimately familiar to me. I find similarities to a lost love...I found BPAL on a quest to replace a fig/chocolate/apricot oil blend from someone who went of out business. I'm sorry for his loss...but since it brought me to this fabulous new world of scent...

 

Ahem. I digress. This puts that to shame. To shame I say. And I loved it to distraction. Wet, it's all cocoa and fig, a gorgeous play of sweet and dark that makes me want to eat my arm. Very remiscent of some chocolate-fig covered bon-bons I spent alot on for Thanksgiving...decadent and lush. I don't get much lemon or bergamot, even as this dries...just the slightest touch to keep it from being too sweet. I was worried about the lemon.

 

Completely dry, the cocoa takes a back seat. The fig stays forward and plays with the tonka and vanilla (mmmmmm), the honey musk grounding and giving a bit of sass and the calamus just the very lightest touch of herby spice.

 

This blend is why I came to BPAL. My favorite LE, ever (so far ) and that is saying a great deal.

[Kittyflop]

Oh my.

 

In the bottle, there was a sharp tang of something vaguely unpleasant. I was hoping it wouldn't hang around, and..

 

 

...it didn't. Gone, whatever it was, and what is left is absolutely fantastic. I'm not sophisticated enough to pick out single notes (besides having no clue what fig smells like), so I won't even try. But it does smell VERY different on my skin than it did in the bottle.

 

In fact, each wrist smells different.

 

This really is a jumble! It was well worth getting past my initial reaction. I'll give it another day, but will very likely order a 2nd bottle before month's end.

[yellowrose]

Candy little girl? Wow! This is a strange scent. It's one thing and then another. It doesn't settle as it dries. There's a time when wet that it reminds me of Carnivale, then something else. Probably Carnal.

 

I'm really not keen on this and it seems to vanish fairly fast. As in within minutes. Up for trade.

[Little Bird]

Much thanks to Finny for supplying me with an imp of Freak Show .

 

First applied, this is completely mouthwatering . I'm getting mostly cocoa with definite hints of vanilla and honey. It's remind me of a lighter and more edible version of O. The fig is coming out as well, and I love fig. It's not an overly sweet or candied fig, but it's blending well with the other sweet notes.

 

5 minutes later. This has faded quite a bit and is a very light scent. It reminds me of something that I can't quite remember... a bit of the lemon has come out now to join the other notes. Maybe this reminds me a bit of Intrigue (which also went rather cocoa/fig on me).

 

10 minutes later. This has gone from smelling like a light version of O on me to a lighter version of Intrigue.

 

It's all gone within a half hour... but it was lovely while it lasted. I'd get a full bottle of this if it lasted longer on my skin. Alas, it does not.

[arabella]

First Impression: Toffee covered strips of orange peel.

 

Dries down to: A gorgeous, creamy, juicy, lightly sweet, fruit and cocoa blend and just as I think I'm going to die of ecstacy, it disappears. This is too much of a tease - it's really so unfair.

 

Additional Comments: Another exquisite blend - alas, not for me. I'll try it in a scent locket and hopefully, that'll satisfy my cravings for it.

 

Lasted: 15 minutes.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5 (During the first 15 minutes) 1 out of 5 (After the first 15 minutes)

[lorajc]

This is another favorite from the CN series. The cocoa bean is prominent when first applied but it really calms down in the drydown. This wears very lightly on me. I was expecting something a bit more fruity, but the fig and pomegrante are nearly nonexistant on my skin. The pomegranate is not nearly as tart and strong as it was in the Queen of Clubs. The vanilla and honey are detectable on the drydown with the cocoa blending in softly in the background with the fig. This is one unique and wonderfully smooth scent. Beth sure does have talent for making these unique blends. Freakshow is a perfect example why an "ordinary" person wouldn't wear BPAL. It's really quite unique in a way only Beth could make work!!

[harlequin]

In the Bottle: The things that jump out at me right away are the tonka and cocoa beans.. with a hint of a sweet lemon popping out, too. thankfully, I don’t think smell like the kind of chocolate that makes me queasy in other blends! This smells sooo delicious I can’t wait to try it on.

 

Wet on Skin: For a bit, the lemon and pomegranate are more noticeable, and then ka-bam, the fig comes blazin’ into the picture. This stuff is seriously gorgeous.

 

Dry on Skin: Oh my, this gets even more beautiful and delicious as time goes on.. after about 10 hours, it’s still going pretty strong, too. The fig and tonka just keep on going, and going, and going… they’re like the energizer bunny, baby! Definitely will be ordering a backup of this one.

 

 

[Galena]

Boozy chocolatey Christmas Pudding.

 

and then on the skin it becomes less foody and more spicy.

 

rich and creamy and spicy yumminess.

 

Baileys with a dollop of chocolate ice cream

[coulrophobe]

With a name like Freakshow, I would have ordered this one even if the description said "cabbages and dog crap!" Luckily, that isn't the discription... there's a few notes I love, and some I'm kind of wary of, so this should be interesting!

 

In the bottle: dry, dusty cocoa powder with the bite citrus. Cocoa and lemon are notes that both fall into the "wary of" category, so I'm a little apprehensive - but maybe it'll morph.

 

Wet on skin: the cocoa grows richer, and there's more of a lemon tang to it... and... Holy figgy pudding, Batman! This dries down to sweet, spicy figgy goodness. It reminds me of Carnal, but with more complexity.

 

I lurves mah Freakshow.

[ianastar]

In the bottle it smells like Chocolate liquer or something.

When I first put it on...it smelled like Lush's Whipstick Lip Balm...chocolate, citrus and something spicy. Maybe spicier than Whipstick.

Now its a nice mellow citrus, cocoa smell with a hint of the fig.

[Lilithlefay]

In the bottle: This smells of rich dark cocoa and fruits.

 

Wet on skin: All cocoa. I can't smell anything else but I have a horrible craving for See's candy all of a sudden

 

Drydown: The cocoa takes a step back and now I can smell the juiciness of the pomegranate, the ripeness of the fig, the honey and vanilla giving it the most delicious scent. I can't smell any of the lemon or bergamot though, which is good because I am not a citrus girl.

 

This is such an amazing scent and it is very complex. Everything blossomed so beautifully and mixes together really well. I feel like I can detect a different note everytime I sniff my arm. Very impressed.

[astrid]

This is an imp I got, which comes from a CN circle. In the imp, it smells sweet -berryish- but the dry down on me is like Snake Oil! Weird! No cocoa, no lemon, no fig, no pomegranate! I’m wondering if this couldn’t be Snake Charmer? But I’ve been told Snake Charmer is a dark oil, whereas this imp of Freak Show is an almost pinkish color. I have no idea what to think about this other than this is just like Snake Oil, which I’m not very fond of.

 

And if anyone thinks this isn't Freak Show, but something else, by god, PM me and unravel this mystery!!!

[Reinaluna]

Freakshow: This one smells exactly like Carnal to me. When first applied I get a lot of chocolate kind of like 13, then the fig makes its appearence. I like it.

[blaqpearl]

So I got all my CN goodies yesterday. And I am rushing to try them all to see if I need to place an order for more.

 

Well I love this one. I might just have to get another bottle. At first reminds me of my Strawberry shortcake dolls I used to have. But as I inhale deeply since I only put just a smidget on, I get something very familiar to Samhain on me. It must be the fruit. I am really like this one.

Who would have thought all those notes work so well together.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i can smell lots of cocoa and barely a hint of fig and pomegranate. interesting.

on: beautiful. like some sort of chocolate with fruit in it. the lemon is very apparent. wonderful. dry cocoa. sweet, but not foody.

half an hour later: lovely and sweet. this reminds me of the lemon strawberry shortcake doll (lemon meringue). it's fabulous.

1.5 hours later: lovely. sweet and floral. this is gorgeous. there's a definite fruity feel to it, too.

3 hours later: very soft. this has faded quite a bit.

overall: i really adore this. it does fade rather quickly on me, so i'll probably decant an imp and carry it around with me when i want to wear it. like the description says, it does seem familiar to me. if could just figure out why...

[magdalene]

in the bottle: bitter cocoa and candied fruits.

 

wet on skin: I'm a little concerned about the cocoa note. I'm normally not fond of chocolate scents, despite how much I love to inhale vast quantities of dark chocolate in all its forms, but this scent keeps morphing and I'm unable to hold on to a straight opinion. One minute, it's so cocoa, it's overpowering and the next minute, it's an amazing blend of vanillaed bergamot and musk.

 

dry: Still morphing. This is an incredible blend.