Freak Show

[jidabug]

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.

First impression: Spicy and sweet. Definitely food-type fragrance with fruit and chocolate being the most predominate notes.

Dries down to vanilla and fragrant spices. I get a bit of the sweet fig and just a touch of cocoa. The whole thing kind of reminds me of a Dr Pepper. Very tasty. If this is what a freak show is like, sign me up!

ETA: Lab description. Edited November 25, 2007 by Shollin

[LittleGreyKitten]

It surprises me that this is one that seems kinda neglected from the Carnaval Noir run... I could be wrong, but I think Snake Charmer and Midway get all the lurve and Freak Show deserves more than it gets. This is one hell of a wonderful scent.

 

It is unique- I haven't ever run across anything like it. The dry cocoa is wonderful, it has that gorgeous vanilla musk to sweeten it. Those two are the most prominent notes by far. The lemon, which sounds like it shouldn't go well at all, is a beautiful balancer. Then there's the figgy goodness and hint o' pomegranate in there too... whoever but Beth would have thought those notes would be beautiful together? Anyway, I am glad I have a few bottles. This one also seems to hit it's stride around a year of age. It deepens and lasts much longer on skin.

 

I have so many bottles of BPAL I adore, I sometimes forget how wonderful this blend is. But everytime I break it out it makes me smile with how yummy it is. If you like foody scents definitely don't pass up a chance to try this one. It may have a lot of fruity and floral elements in it, but on my skin it is mostly a vanilla cocoa with fig thing. Very complex indeed, smooth and has decent throw.

 

5 out of 5.

Edited June 6, 2007 by LittleGreyKitten

[Aurelius]

Well, this lives up to its name. I smell a bit freaky, the scent is disconcerting and I'm just not sure about this one. It's a jumble of scents that won't calm down on my skin. It certainly doesn't smell bad, but it won't settle enough for me to pick things out. Off to swap with someone a bit more adventerous.

[mimulus]

From a swap with brownbear (thanks!):

 

Bottle: Yow. This smelled EXACTLY like Penny Dreadful to me. Same colour and everything.

 

Wet: Oh... no, this isn't Penny. It's VERY sharp initially.

 

Drydown: It gets quite husky and mellow, the sharpness is in the background now. It's still quite sweet as well, which must be the vanilla. A stronger and sharper Penny Dreadful, really. Not what I was expecting. Quite herby as well.

 

Forgive me, this is my first review and I'm not so good at picking out notes yet!

[13bodies]

I've quit sniffing my BPAL's in the bottle/imp. They change so much on my skin, there's really no point anymore.

 

Case in point: Freak Show, which in the bottle smelled like my library after the cats decided their new hobby was marking the new armchairs over and over again.

 

But once it hit my skin it turned into a rich, fruity scent with a deep cocoa note in the background. Gorgeous. The fig is almost too sticky sweet, but the pomegranite lightens it and the cocoa grounds it and it's a lovely, deep, purple-brown scent that's perfect for rainy days.

 

I only wish the cats' hobby smelled this good.

[DEMONDAHLIA]

This is the first bottle opened and tried out of the Carnival Noir Collection.. the name alone made it a fave .. In the bottle Fruity Chocolate.. kind of like a berry parfait dusted with cocoa. I didnt get the honey or the vanilla notes which disapointed me because my skin amps up honey so nicely. On my skin for the first hour the cocoa note is really dominate .. not cloying just very dominate.

 

 

 

The dry down on this is beautiful .. almost like strawberry insense .. smokey yet clean and creamy .. truly a complex scent that did'nt dissapoint!

[eviltemptressdq]

Freak Show has me intrigued beyond my normal capacity... sweet? fruity? CHOCOLATE? It is sort of like I'm not sure if I like it, or hate it... but I love it... but it is weird... but. but. but... CAN'T STOP SNIFFING! It keeps changing, and that excites me to try it more! I probably won't want a bottle of this (or do I? LOL), but this imp isn't going ANYWHERE! I'm obsessed!

 

Oh, and it also reminds me of Dia De Los Muertos , as others have mentioned... not the same smell, but the same sort of conflicting scents.

[malanna]

Freak Show starts out with a little bit of cocoa, pomegranate, fig, and bergamot. However, it soon turns into a fig, pomegranate, incense, and dry cocoa that melds with the incense. The slightly tart incense scent remains the same throughout the time I have Freak Show on.

[Miss Surreal]

I was nervous when ordering this because fig? And cocoa? But it was to intriguing to pass up.

 

This is delicious! On me it all blends together so wonderfully! It is faintly foody, but more subtle then most foody oils.

 

Glad I bit the bullet and ordered this.

[edenssixthday]

Freak Show – Is this a food scent or something else? I can’t figure it out! There seem to be a lot of complex notes in this. Cocoa is definitely one that stands out but there’s something sweet and maybe something slightly tangy in here, too. Is it lemon? I think so! There’s definitely tonka in here, too, grounding the scent and giving it an earthy appeal. This is a nice little fragrance and while it’s not something I’d wear very often, it’s one I want to keep around because the cacophony of scents is just so fun and surprising. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have much throw on me, but it lasts a good 3 hours, which is acceptable for me and my general experience with the staying power of BPAL oils.

[Tess]

(Original '05 version) Mmm, a mix of pretty much all my favorite notes! Just add in nag champa and I'm there. Let's see how this works.

 

In the vial - Chocolate dominates by far, although there is a strong whiff of lemon through it. I think I catch a whiff of fig in there. YUM.

 

Wet - Ooo, tonka! My skin eats the chocolate, but the lemon is still there. Soooo yum.

 

Drying - This is one heck of a lemon! The vanilla is making it lovely creamy, with a touch of chocolate and tonka in the background. The fig is deepening the citrus. It's not too sweet, which I love. I think I'm going to LOVE this.

 

Dry (15 minutes) - Gah, I love this! It hasn't changed much since the drying phase, only to get slightly more mellow, especially the lemon. I don't know if anyone knows what I mean when I say this, but this smells exactly like those chocolate scented plastic toys back in the 80s. I mean this in a very good way.

 

Overall - This is such a keeper. Now I have to hunt down a big bottle of it somehow...

Edited June 19, 2006 by Tess

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

chocolate. Smells like 13

 

wet:

cocoa/unsweet chocolate.

 

dry:

eventually some hints of other things come out… maybe fig, bergamot… (yes it does get figgy)

 

overall:

a darker version of 13. nice, but I'm not sure how often I'd wear it…

 

rating: 8/10

[themerrybaker]

Freak Show is nice in its way - very, very fruity. It reminds me a little of Bathsheba.

 

This blend just isn't my type, I'm not big on foody and what foodies I have are cakey and are worn only as a novelty.

[purrbox]

this is wonnnnnnnderful. in the bottle i smell the fig right up front, but that mellows out a bit once it's on and dry, although it's still definately present, which i was happy about. when completely dry this is heavenly! have you ever had chocolate covered orange peel? i usually see it around christmas. the orange peel is candied. it's oddly gelatinous, and while very sweet, there's still a slight bitter tang from the oil in the peel. it loses a lot of the sharp citrus tang when candied and covered in the chocolate. i'm not describing it very well, but it's delicious. anyway, that's exactly what freak show smells like on me- chocolate covered orange peel to a T.

 

i tend to slather myself in this because it does fade kind of quick, but that's my only complaint about it. it gets *ever* so slightly powdery once it's been on for an hour or so, but i think over all it's just lovely. one of my top 10, if not top 5, for sure.

Edited June 26, 2006 by purrbox

[eggplant]

In the bottle: It smells like chocolate with boozy fig flavored filling.

 

Wet on skin: Masculine and sharp. I'm not really a fan

 

Dry: When this dries it smells remarkably like a mellower version of snake charmer! I really love this one. It's very subtle and doesn't last long but it would be a great winter scent. I need another bottle.

[locuraelegantia]

chocolatey with some green undertones. strangely, almost like pickle juice, and yet, it's not bad. weird.

 

in the first stages of drydown, the pickles go away and start to morph into something lightly floral/incensey. oooo, here comes the honey!

 

 

It ends up being soft and dry like cocoa powder and dried fruits. really delicious.

[BrightRedScream]

In the bottle: I get all of the fruity smells right away, with a smidge of tonka and cocoa bean underneath..This is rich, exotic and very very good.

 

Wet on the skin: Chocolate, vanilla and tonka...it's one big dessert on my wrist and I'm LIKING it!!! The lemon and bergamot are underneath giving this a bit of a more tart edge to it....wow..this scent never stops evolving - on my skin it's a real change from the bottle!

 

Dry down: I can't even describe it. Everything that is in this blend can be picked out - and they all go together beautifully. This is a sweet, chocolate, citrusy, fruity blend..that's all there is to it.

 

I never thought that so many smells could compliment each other SO well, and create such magic!!

 

I'm in love.

 

Edited July 1, 2006 by BrightRedScream

[portalkat]

Wet on skin, I smell fig, cocoa and vanilla, strong and earthy. As this dries, I can smell the lemon and bergamot in the background. I'm not sure if I like the citrus notes initially because they seem to stand out against the rest of the notes, but a few minutes later, everything begins to blend together to form something really lovely. The honey musk and tonka add that creaminess to the fig and cocoa bean and I am in love. This is one of my favorite blends with fig. I need to track down a bottle of this.

 

ETA: I didn't know what calamus was until I looked it up and I think that it is this that I smell wafting through like incense - beautiful!

Edited July 16, 2006 by portalkat

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Fruity, with an undercurrent of smooth vanilla.

 

Wet: Fig and vanilla. I'm getting the same feeling from this as I do from Hollywood Babylon, except with fig instead of strawberry.

 

Dry: A bit less sweet. The cocoa comes out a bit, bit it's still mostly fig and vanilla.

 

Half an hour later: It turned very sweet and heavy. Vanilla morphs on my skin sometimes, so that's probablythe culprit.

 

I really like this when it first dries down. It's playful and a bit sexy, and the throw is perfect. I wish it would stay in that stage, before it goes weird.

[dawna]

in the bottle: This is exactly like 13 but with the hint of fig and minus the orange. Just like 13 the smell in the bottle is absolutely divine. Chocolate mixed with a gorgeous fig scent.

 

wet: the cocoa/chocolate smell amps up and the fig really blossoms. This is gorgeous.

 

drydown: This is the scent I was hoping 13 would be, it didn't turn floral on me like 13 did. The scent stayed pretty much the same and did not weaken at all.

 

 

an hour later however, I developed a massive headache and started getting ill from it. The scent is lovely but it triggers headaches in me (did this on two occasions), which makes me sad. The bottle had to go

Edited July 20, 2006 by dawna

[gypsybaby1]

I can't remember any notes coming out at me individually, but instead it's a nicely blended scent. In the bottle it's slightly sweet, very enticing. On me, it dries down to a spiced scent. Just to show how different noses are - mom caught a whiff of it and asked me when I'd started wearing musty, musky perfumes.

 

Definite keeper!

[sofiaviolet]

It smells like fruity chocolate! I like mine plain, though. On me, the chocolate smells scorched. This doesn't work on me; too bad, it would have been nice to smell like one of my favourite foods.

[maijasu]

This is yet another aptly named oil--it is an odd, freakish blend that somehow manages to work. Wet on skin, it packs a powerful citrusy punch, but there's something candyish there too, kind of like Tootsie Pops. But Tootsie Pops sprinkled with pepper. It sounds gross, but it's not.

 

When dry, the citrus fades into the background, and the scent that remains is smooth and sweet. I can't pick out the individual notes, except that the cocoa is definitely present. Like I said, it smells kind of odd, but I think I like it. I can't imagine I'll wear it often enough to put a dent in my bottle, but I find myself strangely (or freakishly?? ) unwilling to part with it.

[myoubi]

again, I have the world's worst nose, so this review will be almost all impressions. Bear with me.

 

In bottle -- I took a chance on this one and bought a 5mL unsniffed. I opened the cap, and immediately thought 'well that was a bad idea.' I smell bergamot like no tomorrow. It's got a strange, slightly bittersweet quality to it but at the same time it's a little sharp - definately hard to pin down.

 

Wet on skin -- figgy stuff is coming out more on me, and it's spicy. I'm not usually a fan of spicy scents, and the cocoa is starting to come out more but it's not chocolatey-sweet, which is good. It's still got a little of that sharp quality, but that's mellowing...

 

Drying and drydown -- oh my, I can't stop smelling my wrist. There's vanilla, but it's not pillowy-soft; I smell tonka, which I absolutely love, but it hasn't lost that spicy, slightly bizarre quality. It's sweet-ish too, but not syrupy, because usually I can't abide fruitsmellies. Surprisingly, I love this one.

 

Verdict -- hoarding this. I wnted more spicy/unusual scents to balance out my current smells-like-a-confectionery collection, and this is absolutely it. I think I may like it even more than 13.

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: chocolate covered cherries.

 

Initial application: the chocolate scent becomes richer and more intense.

 

Drydown: an interesting cocoa/spicy, almost incense-like combination. I'm not sure how this would be classified, the chocolate would render it close to foody, but the incense keeps it from being too sweet. This is pretty good so far, I'd like to try it again to see if I get more of the individual fruit notes some of the other reviewers have mentioned.

 

Smiley rating: