Freak Show

[lookingglass]

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.

Oh, how I have waited for you, Freakshow! And I am not disappointed...

Very chocolatey and citrusy, sweet, musk on the application. Chocolate fades fast, with the quick squirt of the lemon, and then appears a pinker, sweeter fruitiness-Ms Pomegrannate! I am so glad I found a pomegrannate I can wear.

The drydown is delcious! Sweet, but still slightly sour and a bit woody and dark. The tonka is FAB, not too masculine...sweetened with the vanilla, and is super sexy with the musk, which I do not usually adore.

Into the top 10...

[DarkMouse]

In the bottle:cocoa bean, fruit.. and honey.

on my skin: Sweet sticky honey, like O is famous for... and a fruit.. I think it is supposed to be figs or pomegranates ( though I don't have the lab description written down for this) I was hoping it was going to be chocolate on my skin, but its got a mind all its own. Right at the start this could be Blood Kiss - then it turns into something similar to 13.. and I smell cherries somewhere in the background for no reason.

Verdict: Its ok.. but I like Blood Kiss better... (after about 2 hours this morphed and smelled like something rotted.. I had to wash it off)

[helarctos]

In the bottle, Freak Show is like chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.

 

On me, it turns into black forest cake

[Nachtwulf]

I.

Love.

This.

 

No, seriously. Nevermind that the freak show was always my fave part of the carnival (bastards for getting rid of them, BRING BACK THE THREE HEADED COWS) but after going through all of the scents, this was the only one that said 'buy me or else'.

 

So I did.

 

Bottle: Fruity, spicey, impossible to pick out notes. But it's sweet, and yes.... eerily familiar... I don't know what this reminds me of, but it's a happy thing.

 

Wet: Very very figgy. There's some other fruits and things in there, but it's fig, with a bit of tonka and clove for the most part. I normally don't care for clove, but in this it really seems to work; it'd probably be way too sicky-sweet if it wasn't there. Something to prod things along, more to see, more to see, move along there, folks.

 

Dry: It mellows out when it's dry; the fig warming down into a melange of other things. It's still -largely- fig, but unlike other fig-based blends, I like it in this one. It doesn't go particularly acrid or nasty; the tonka and a sort of vanilla undertone keeping it somewhat tamed down. I never got any chocolate or lemon, but that's okay. I have my 13 for when I want chocolate. I love that it's sweet, but not entirely foody, nor is it -too- cloying. I'm sort of regretting not getting another bottle.

 

Throw: Lots of throw. Gentle, warm, vanilla-fig-spice throw. Yummeh.

[silver_springs]

Delicious! This was my first real foody scent to try. I love it.

 

In the bottle it's all chocolate with a hint of fruit. But when dry the lemon definitely starts to come out. Normally I don't like the smell of lemon but it works well in this.

 

I'm not disappointed at all. Well maybe a little but only because I didn't order two bottles instead of one. Freak Show is a winner with me.

Edited October 2, 2005 by silver_springs

[lohengrin]

Verdict: I have not had good luck with BPAL's chocolate blends -- they always go to pure cocoa powder on me. Until this one. Just a tiny hint of cocoa, FS is all fig and musk. I wanted this one to be a lot juicier than it's coming out on me. :/ I'll probably keep it, anyway, since the figgy note is quite nice, but... yeah, really wanted that pomegranate and lemon and bergamot and vanilla. Siiigh.

[feline.by.design]

Freak Show is very buttery and foody which, unfortunately, doesn't tickle my pickle. The descriptions of chocolate cake are pretty correct. I had thought that Freak Show smelled like candy corn upon initial sniff.

 

I don't know. I don't really like smelling foody like this, and scents that have a buttery-like note for me, like Milk Moon and Miskatonic University, don't really sit well. They kind of make me queasy in the tum-tum, to tell you the truth. I suppose the cocoa bean, fig, tonka and vanilla are drowning out the lemon and bergamot notes that originally gave me high hopes for Freak Show. Although I'm a gourmand, I don't really care much for gourmand-type fragrances. I can see this getting compared to the Dia de los Muertos of 2004, which was another one I didn't care for.

 

As it dries, the chocolate cake smell does calm a bit down, revealing the sweet smell of the lemon and bergamot notes, but there's still an underlying base of cocoa that just doesn't work for me. It's odd to have a scent trying to be both crisp and deep, like having a two-headed monster. If that's what Beth and Company were going for with this one, I'd say they succeeded.

 

Well, guess the Freak Show was too freaky for me, but I'm sure it'll find a nice home with someone here on the forum.

 

-doreen

Edited October 3, 2005 by feline.by.design

[Diana]

This is the bastard child of 13 and Cerberus.

 

Out of the bottle, and wet on the skin, this smells almost identical to 13. Almost too much so... it's got that oily, somewhat artificial orange note over a kind of oily chocolate note. It's close to being too much for me to wear in the morning, as it's almost a bit toooo cloying.

 

As this settles in, though, the oily/fake notes fall away, and the fig and slightly lemony notes come to the forefront, smelling almost like a lighter version of Cerebus. NOW I really am starting to like this. The deep notes aren't as deep as Cerebus, but the dried, sweet fig has an almost woody characteristic, and it's lightened by the fairly faint, but perceptable citrus. YUM.

 

 

edited for english.

Edited October 3, 2005 by Diana

[Janie]

this is lovely. The opening blast of chocolate and lemon falls away to a dark golden fruity goodness. Another CN winner.

[Miss Lynx]

Oh, wow. I wasn't sure if I'd like this or not, but I really do. And I am now kicking myself for not including it in my CN order. I was tempted, but the array of different notes was just a little too freaky, and in particular I was worried it would be overly foody. But at the same time, I was curious enough about it to eventualy score an imp.

 

And now I want a bottle. Want want want. This is really nice. It is not too foody, or too sweet, or too any one thing. It's got the same kind of strange and ever-shifting assortment of seemingly incompatible notes that things like Nephilim and Voodoo and Nemesis have, and on me, at least, it really works. I can't stop sniffing myself. It's definitely fruity, but also a little bit spicy, and earthy, and incensey, and I-don't-know-what.

 

It's funny -- after a recent run of scents that didn't work out all that well for me, I was starting to wonder if maybe I'd already tried all the BPAL scents I was really going to like and from here on it was all going to be downhill. But no -- still plenty of surprises out there, and this is a definite addition to my A-list.

 

Well, when my CN order does come, possibly one of the scents in there won't work so well for me, and I can swap it for a bottle of this. Because I can see myself going through the imp pretty fast -- its staying power isn't great, though it's not nearly as short-lived as some that I've tried recently, and it's yummy enough to be worth frequent re-applying.

 

Grade: A

[zenvodunista]

unsurprisingly, Freakshow is ... Freaky.

 

i can't pin this scent down. first it was chocolate, then it was bright and tart and now it's a musty ol' dried fig.

 

i'll be trying it again -- and aging it a bit and seeing how it does, before i get rid of it. but, i'm uttlerly confused by it.

 

?!

 

[ETA]

 

ok. this is superweird. now, all i'm getting is spicy wood. in fact, it smells like i thought Medicine SHow would smell. it's nice, don't get me wrong, but WTF? why does the pomegranate/chocolate smell like spicy/wood?

 

n.

Edited October 7, 2005 by zenvodunista

[maewitch]

Mmmmm!

 

This is like 13 and Embalming Fluid had babies, minus the respective tea notes. This is just lovely chocolate and citrus and a creamy-sweet under-layer. I don't get fig as such, but there is something fruity in here aside from the citrus. It's very subtle to my nose, however.

 

Absolutely fantastic, I am sooooo happy I got this bottle.

Edited October 7, 2005 by maewitch

[AliBabble]

freakskow is pretty damn delicious, IMO. it has so many wonderful things going on, especially at first - it smells like some kind of crazy dessert - cocoa, vanilla and fruit (i know it's fig and pomegranate, but i think i smell raspberry...) - anyways, it all seems to be stirring around in some sort of amazing frosting or whipped cream concoction, then it goes into this other less fruity, and much more musky phase, which is also incredible. a spicy musk with a dusting of honey-sweetness.. i can't even describe it, it's just..luxurious. i think i'm finally recognizing tonka - is it spicy? like dark, spicy vanilla??

[sarahmarie]

Definitely kind of crazy! Freak show is fruity figginess, with a peppery-sweet undertone, on my skin. My skin loves fig - loves loves loves it - and so this comes off *very* figgy on me. Maybe too figgy, even though I like fig. I just don't want all those crazy mixed up smells to vanish and leave me with only fig! I think I like it, but I'm finding it hard to explain or decide about. I guess it's pretty freaky that way, huh?

[Julilla Regina]

This is really unique. It's pretty complicated, with a mix of beautiful layers. At first, I smell the chocolate and fig, and then it moves down, mellows out. It turns into a spicy, dry cocoa-fig with a hint of something floral. This is sophisticated, and reminds me of something an intelligent, yet bedroom freaky woman would wear. It's very captivating yet smart. This is really a beautiful scent.

[hepkitten]

"Welcome to the Freak Show; here we go...."

 

I absolutely agree with Wickedgoddess' original review: this is absolutely a juicy Dia de los Muertos, with the sweetness that DDLM has when fresh enhanced with ripe fruit. Love, love, love!!!

[moon_lemming]

In bottle: Wow, this is a hard one to describe. Fig (or what I think is fig) and citrus, and powdery and sharp at the same time. Maybe a little cocoa? It reminds me of something, an aftershave, I think, although I know that sounds bizarre. There are too many notes in here for my inexperienced nose. Freak Show leaves me feeling a little unsettled, honestly.

 

Wet: It's way too sharp on me wet. Tangy baby powder. I can wait it out, though, it's not unbearable, just strange.

 

Dry: About ten minutes in, the baby powder smell softens into a vanilla-tinged musk, and the pomegranate and lemon set up over it. There's a ghost of cocoa in the background, but it's not overtly chocolatey like 13.

 

My skin is eating this one up quickly. It's almost gone half an hour later. It smells sweet but sour -- not in a horrible way, just like a sour candy dipped in honey -- and powdery. It's okay, it's just not me. I LOVED it in the ten-minute to twenty-minute stage, but it's not working with my skin otherwise.

 

Should it stay or should it go? Freak Show deserves a more appreciative audience, I think.

[shayelea]

In the bottle: Oooh, chocolate, and fruit, and some other more incensish smells. It's complex, and taking a deep sniff reveals a pallette of scents unfolding as the breath goes on.

 

Wet: Just at first, the chocolate scent deepens, and then other scents start to unfold. The fruit first (and the pomegranate note in this is just right; not too sweet, a little on the tart side.) Then the same kind of golden note you find in (for example) O starts to come forward, then the fruits (pomegranate and the richness of fig) take dominance. This is all within the first several minutes. This scent makes my mouth water.

 

Drydown: Mellow and warm, and then begins to turn a soft, sweet powdery scent. Not unlike the soft, sweet powder my skin gets from Buck Moon, but not as strong. I'm getting a vague citrus note, too - lemon or bergamot, I couldn't tell which. The spicy chocolate is still hanging out under there, too. It's very light on me; doesn't have a lot of throw, and I suspect it will fade rather quickly (which up until now I haven't had much of a problem with.)

[Caltha]

Freak Show

 

Got this in a swap with ephemera.

 

Freak show is similar to Cerberus on me, I guess it's the common notes of cocoa and fig. I can't do BPAL fig, I think that's the villain behind the plasticky scent of both Freak show and Cerberus. They do this: At first a whiff of cocoa which sadly vanishes immediately. Then a quite interesting citrusy, woody smell. Then a sweet, fruity, artificial candy scent with almost rotten undertones. Off to swaps.

Edited October 17, 2005 by Caltha

[chapatti]

Oh goodness, I love this!

 

First whiff: Dried figs and dark cocoa powder, with the pomegranate sparkling brightly underneath. The sweet/sour juiciness of the pomegranate 'n' bergamot is contrasting with the darker, slightly powdery figs/cocoa, but both are balanced, they don't clash at all.

 

Drydown: the pomegranate slowly recedes in the background, and the dried fig (it's not juicy at all) and cocoa powder (with a hint of tonka) become more prominent and linger on.

Gorgeous.

And it doesn't scream "food!" either - the cocoa is dark and luscious, totally not in a HELLO I'M A HERSHEY BAR, DON'T YOU WANT TO EAT ME? way

 

Verdict: It is an unusual scent, and the first time I wore it, I just "kind of" liked it, especially considering I was dubious about chocolate in a perfume (I prefer eating chocolate thx)... except it grew on me, and I adored it by the third time I tried it.

It's warm, sweet without being cloying, slightly dark with a minute hint of powder. LOVE.

 

This went on to be my first upgrade to a bottle, as there's no way I could have done with just my lone imp!

 

9.5/10

 

 

The one month later edit : I think this may well be - all right, not n.1 EVAR, because the Black Goat owns my soul, but a very, very close n.2. Gorgeous.

Edited November 14, 2005 by chapatti

[Emu Nymph]

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.

 

In the bottle and first on my skin I get a very strong cocobean scent. Enough to make me sneeze.

 

But as it drys it's a lemon-y vanilla scent. It's a rather odd scent.

 

I'll have to see it's staying power and what it's like after a few hours of role playing.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Sweet chocolate and a whiff of pomegranate every now and then, and vanilla.

 

Dry: Whiffs of pomegranate over a subdued vanilla, and every so often a hint of chocolate. This is barely there, and has only little to medium throw. It's really delicious and I'd love to have a big bottle. It's kinda like chocolate covered cherries, the kind with the syrup middle.

[Avery]

I love this one... on me it is by far the most successful CN scent. It *sort of* reminds me of how I expected Kunstkammer to smell... there's an orange undercurrent that is really delicious, but the chocolate and fig come dancing in together and create a LOVELY, soft and sweet (but not TOO sweet) scent that I love to wear. It does not have a lot of throw, but I enjoy "personal" fragrances a lot, so this one works out for me. I expected the fig to be stronger, but love it just how it is.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Mmmmm, sweet and sultry.

 

Just On: Some kind of sweet fruit.

 

An hour or two later: Mmmm, yummy sweet scent, I really like this one.

 

Around 6 hours: Whatever the sweet topnote was, it's fading away, leaving me with an almost chocolate scent, and something else foody.

 

12 hours: I have a bare hint of sweetness left on my skin.

 

Overall: This is an awesome blend.

 

After reading other reviews: No wonder I love this one so, it has cocoa, vanilla, honey musk, fig, and pomegranite! Plus more! I'm adoring on this one, and will certainly enjoy it while it lasts.

[Donnababe]

Sticky, sweet figgy deliciousness. I get a hint of cocoa particularly at the start, but it's mostly fig. IMHO, this is a near doppelganger to Carnal.