Cockaigne

[opaleyes]

“The weather is always mild, the wine flows freely, sex is readily available, and all people enjoy eternal youth.” The Land of Plenty, also called Luilekkerland – the Lazy, Luscious Land: milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine.

Oh wow, first! I hope I'm doing this right!

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one when I read the description, and now it's arrived! My initial impression upon opening the vial was that it was just like Monster Bait: Underbed, but GC! Ee!

This is delicious sweet cakes on me. It is distinctly different from Underbed once on because that wine note really comes out from underneath, but very gently. It's like eating a decadent dessert, and slowly slipping a glass of dark red wine. It's sweet, but sophisticated. I'm in love!

[Nekomata]

Wow, yummy. In the imp Cockaigne is sweet, vanilla and cakey. On my skin the initial throw is simply amazing; I smell just like fresh cake! I get more of a milky note as it dries down but, sadly, I never encounter any wine. It's still a very tasty scent, and of all the foody cake scents I've tried this one stays the longest. Definately going on my list!

[akabob]

Oh I just got my bottle today and I am soooo glad I got a bottle. This is so nummy.

 

In the bottle: Smells like that glaze they put on hot cross buns or sweet cakes. Inhaling deep, I get a whiff of what I assume is the red wine hiding down in the scent. It has a nice deep back end to the smell that totally reminds me of a heavy red wine.

 

Wet: There is something in the scent that has a little spice to it. I smell what reminds me of sweet cakes with a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg sprinkled on them. Very warm and sweet, but not cloying and certainly not artificial at all. This smells like walking into a bakery.

 

Dry: Oh it softens into a gorgeous, sugary spiced cake on me. Literally like apple pie crust or something. I still smell some of the wine note...I think it is what keeps the scent from being food overkill. I like that the scent has complexity to it; each note has a very specific part in the scent.

 

I will definitely be buying more bottles. This is totally something I plan on slathering all over, even though the throw is pretty decent for a food scent. MMM.

[violalee]

I was so, so very excited about this. It was truly a morpher, and I've never had anything change this dramatically from first sniff to dry down.

 

In the bottle: Smells like a vanilla caramel candle. It's nice, but sort of off-putting. I expect this smell to hit me when I first walk into the shop here in town, but it's strange coming out of a bottle!

 

First application: Caramel, for sure. It settles down immediately, and it's not so fake smelling. There's a bit of that cakey scent that I love so much in Midway hovering around in the back. Now, a little cassia comes up front, and I'm glad I'm not getting the 'sour milk' that everyone talks about.

 

Dry down: The sweetness is fading away, and it's becoming rich and thick. I accidentally got some on my lips while smells, and this does not taste nearly as good as it smells The wine is making it just a little spicy, just around the edges. Tho, it's sort of returning to candle smell. In fact, as I'm typing this, it's getting really cinnamon-y on me. Not Red Hot cinnamon, but like a mulled cider spice. What a mopher!

 

Conclusion: Nice, but ultimately not for me. I'm sad, because it smells so very different in the bottle. It's very strong and would be great as a room scent, maybe? I love the first 30 seconds of it when that sugary sweetness fades down, but that wine (which, I swear, is full of mulling spices) just overwhelms the whole blend on me. To be fair, my skin tends to amp up anything clove/cinnamon/cassia, so that may be why I'm getting so much.

 

But it sure is pretty. Maybe when it cools down more this will be more my speed. It's staying in the box, for the moment.

 

edited because I can't spell.

Edited August 31, 2006 by violalee

[luxuria]

In the imp--mmmm, cake and butter. That's about all.

 

On my skin, this bears an uncanny relationship to Gingerbread Poppet and Miskatonic University. They shared some common foody note that this does, too. It's not as spicy as Poppet, though there IS something drier I'm smelling that's not as sweet. I'm not getting any wine at all, which is a bit disappointing, but this is still nice. It's foody without being sticky and overly sweet. Wonderful!

[eviltemptressdq]

Cockaigne was the new GC I was most excited about, and I felt so lucky to catch one on Ebay for Lab price "buy it now"... and I got it in 2 days!

 

Unfortunately... damn my skin! I was so excited to enjoy a sweet cake-y scent, but all I got from Cockaigne was a very strong spicey scent. No cake. No honey. Just sort of like Gingerbread Poppet (which I LOVE), minus the sweetness. Just a harsh spice. So not me, unfortunately...

[valentina]

Oh me oh my, I LOVE this scent! In the imp, it's sweet and very foody. I feared it might turn into a diabetic coma-inducing sweetness on my skin, akin to what happend between me and Gluttony. But no, from initial drydown to going on 3 hours later, it's just beautiful, sweet-but-spicy, damn near edible. There's an edge to this and it must be coming from the spice in the sweet cake and a bit of wine.

 

Take my sometimes odd body chemistry into consideration before you read this next comment, but on me, Cockaigne is very similar to Monster Bait: Underpants. I even put a bit of Underpants on the opposite arm and did a comparison. Don't ask me why, but they are a lot alike on me -- Underpants has more of a bite from the saffron and sandalwood, but there's a distinctly similar sweet-but-spicy quality to Cockaigne. I think it's mellower and less edgy, but for me, they are so very much alike. And I adore Underpants, so I adore Cockaigne.

 

ETA: Peter Brueghel the Elder, "The Land of Cockaigne:"

 

Edited September 6, 2006 by valentina

[Ina Garten Davita]

Cockaigne is possibly the most buttery and most foody BPAL scent I have ever experienced. It's so buttery it's nearly dripping! Off the cuff it reminds me of a super buttery Eat Me, but as it wears, it gets much spicier and reminds me of Underpants but with loads of that buttery Jack note.

 

I recently made a cake that had six sticks of butter in it. Cockaigne is more buttery.

 

It is rather moreish, though. I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

[AliBabble]

ohhh, delicious. in the imp it is darker and boozier, a buttery, toffee-ish caramel rum cake. but on my skin, it is more cake, less wine/booze. a dark cassia-honey cake. gingerbread poppet is not a bad comparison in tone, as there's definitely a molasses-like smell, but not so much ginger. really this is a honey cake - dark honey and spice. a bit creamy, i suppose but not milky. goddamn, this is good.

[laochodia]

The most foody BPAL I have ever worn without being sticky-sweet. This reminds me intensely of honeycakes, or perhaps caramel-cakes made with cinnamon, with a glass of a dark sweet sherry on the side. This made me slightly hungry all day, and garnered many compliments and much snuggling. I may need a 5ml of this.

[Diana]

Let me preface this review with one word to reflect upon:

 

CAKE!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

In the bottle: rich, buttery, vanilla cake. It's somewhere between MB:Underpants and MB:Underbed, with just a slap of Gluttony thrown in.

 

Wet: holy richness, Batman! It's very cake + wine + honey = wowza. The wine just adds the vaguest hint of a boozy note, the honey adds a richness & depth. The cake adds delicious.

 

Drydown: The cake is a bit more spicy. Not as spicy as Underbed. It's not really cinnamon or cassia that I can tell. It might be something more like allspice or nutmeg or a deeper, richer spice. The honey + wine combination is still there, adding a sticky, rich basenote. The cake note per se is mingled all up in all these other things that are happening, that's it's less of an OMG CAKE blend, and rather it's a really sophisticated, complex dessert tray.

 

 

I'm certainly glad I grabbed this in a 5mL right off the bat!

[saralaughs]

Wow.

 

Cockaigne does something on me that I never expected it to do: go nuts. Literally.

 

In the imp it's all lovely bakery dessertness but once it hits my skin, it's nut...more nut..and then spicy nuts. I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean but I better keep the spice away from my boyfriend.

 

Now, this is lovely but it's really not the bakery scent I'm looking for...I'm wanting less spice/more cream. Still a lovely blend with a lot of throw.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: sweet yummy dessert

 

wet: omg. it is coffee cake, complete w/ crumb topping

 

as it dries it is a complex yet, delicious coffee cake fresh from the oven. absolutelu gorgeous

[cuervosueno]

I was worried about the wine in this, because often wine in blends is sour awfulness on me. but how could I resist milk and honey and sweetcakes? I couldn't, so I ordered an imp.

 

It is really delicious. It is caramely at first, sweet and rich. Yes, like caramel rolls as someone else said. But that buttery note fades, and I'm literally hit in the face with a very strong scent of sweet vanilla cake, maybe with a burnt sugar topping? Its very strong, with just a hint of spice that is like cinnamon but not that strong on me.

 

After a bit, I get a boozy note that is sweet rather than dry....I was thinking about port earlier as I sniffed my wrist but whoever said sweet sherry was closer. I don't mind this booziness at all.

 

It is very strong and has a lot of throw. Oddly, I also got a hint of nuts--not when I smelled it up close, but when my arm was further away.

 

Its a lovely foody scent, and I'm glad I have the imp, though I don't think I need a bottle. I love to sniff the foody scents but don't wear them that often.

[hologhost]

I don't really get cake. I get butter. Maybe cake batter, but more butter, with an undertone of apple. Yum!

[lushiejane]

Caramel cakes with cinnamon.

 

In the bottle: It is toffee/caramel sticky sweet cake. Very foody. I am surprised that I cannot smell more of the milky cake and less of the icing.

 

Wet on skin: It is still very sticky sweet but I can find some spiciness lingering around. Reminds me of a little of Eat Me and Underpants, but not exactly. There is a buttery toffee here.

 

As it dries on my skin: More spice! A cinnamon spiciness mixed with toffee and stickiness. I don't find a lot of boozy on me. I wanted it to be milky and spicy on me like it is on some other's skins. It is quite strong- and I apparently slathered myself.

 

I want it to work for me - I love Misk U and Underpants sooo, and I wanted this to be in my scent wardrobe too- but alas, it may be too much for me to handle.

It is wonderfully foody and rich toffee cakes for those who can.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

First impression- Golden Cake

 

Second impression- Raisin/Brown Sugar sauce bordering on Mince Meat pie

 

Third impression- Rugelah

 

Gourmand scent for adults of either sex. It's a foody that transcends preconcieved notions.

 

Edit- apparently on me, the boozy aspect is really prominent with the wine note being more like fermented raisins. The cake-butter notes burned off pdq on my skin.

 

Oh, and this is an industrial strength.

Edited September 16, 2006 by Heavenlyrabbit

[filigree_shadow]

This is very foody... it's like honey and cake. It's buttery, too, especially right at first.

 

I keep waiting for the honey to go wonky on me like it usually does, but so far it hasn't happened! The wine comes out a little when it's drying and saves it from being overly buttery/foody. I'm enjoying this. Not sure how much I'll wear it because I have tons of cupcake/donut-scented lotions that I wear all the time, and they really satisfy my cravings for this sort of scent. But I do like this.

[eflort]

This is so delicious! In the bottle I smell a sweet caramel, but once I put it on its all chocolate coffee cake on me.

 

I don't know where the chocolate came from, but I'm glad it's here because the boy cannot leave me alone when I'm wearing it!

[wolfie13]

Sweet honey and cake!

 

After a few minutes of wear, i get some spice (a touch of cinnamon, and maybe nutmeg perhaps), but the predominant notes are still cake and honey.

 

It's quite nice, actually, if you like this sort of thing, but for me it's too sweet and foody to wear. Surprisingly, it doesn't go burnt or plastic or ultra-buttery on me at all - as most of the foody blends do - so if I decide to become a convert this is where I will start!

 

(And for reference, at least on me - I can see a similarity to Monsterbait: Underbed - but lighter on the spice and Honey added!)

[edenssixthday]

Cockaigne - My first impression is that this is a WOW!!! foody scent. It's very strong and very bakery-foody, and definitely unlike any scent I normally find appealing as a personal fragrance. However, it smells so delicious I can hardly wait to put it on, and I wonder if this might be a foody scent I can actually enjoy wearing. I apply the scent, and I'm completely enamored by the amazing scent. I can't believe that something bakery/gourmand/foody is grabbing my attention quite like this. To me, it smells like thick buttery toffee and shortbread, and I'm surprised when I read the description that this is the scent of milk, honey, sweet cakes, and wine. I would have never guessed those notes! Milk, honey, and wine rarely smell good on me and "cake" notes always turn to plastic -- but not with this blend. About three hours after application, I begin to notice that I can smell the wine note as a distinct note separate from the others. About an hour after that, the milk and honey are discernible as distinct notes, although the wine has receeded back into the overall buttery-toffee-shortbread smell. Five hours after application, this scent is still as strong as it was when I first applied it, which is a first for any BPAL blend. Even my favorite long-lasting BPAL blends are noticeably fainter after a few hours. It's not until the 7.5 hour point that I begin to notice the scent fading, although it's still stronger than most BPAL are on me after the first hour, and after 12 hours, I still get wafts of it about me. One application of this gets me through an entire day without reapplying. That's definitely a first for me with any BPAL blend -- and I've tried many! I'm thoroughly impressed and I'm excited to have discovered a bakery/gourmand/foody scent that I like so much and that has such great throw and wear length on my skin. It's also going to make a terrific home scent when I use it in my oil burner. I'll be giving this imp much love and will probably need more when it is gone.

[tasty]

In the bottle, this is milky, cakey sweet. Think of a hugely decadent tres leches cake topped with a honeycomb frosting. Initially applied on me, it retained that super-duper sweet scent that almost makes my nose tingle. Unfortunately, I think that I need to just accept the fact that BPAL's milky/honey notes won't work for me.

 

*cries, stomps feet and collects herself*

 

On the dry down, it's all boozy red wine and slightly spicy incense. This one is quite the morpher! The cakey/sweet note is just a faint breeze in the background.

 

Sadly, this one will have to go in the swap pile. *whines!*

[slave1]

In Bottle: Buttercream

 

On Skin: At first in the bottle, I smell Hellcat and Gluttony. But it changes right away. Wow, this is beyond foody. This is dessert goods to an extreme! I can smell the milk and honey, sweet and cream like, and I can smell each crumb of the sweet cakes. Caramel isn’t a note listed, but I seem to smell it. I also smell spices, cinnamon maybe? Something is spicy for sure and it’s sadly not agreeing with me. I got a 10ml of this unsniffed because it sounded like it was made for me so I’m going to wait for it to develop before I give up on it. There is a slight berry wine note, but it isn’t overwhelming like Kali or Bachanalia. After about a half hour, the wine comes out a bit more, deep and beautiful adding an adult quality to the scent. Ok, I’m happy, this is warming up on me wonderfully. The spices and wine in it save it from being an overly sweet foody scent. It has more levels that deepen it and make it quite wearable for many people. It would also be delicious as a room scent, especially for cold days since it gives off such a warm feel. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle this is milky and buttery...a unique combo

 

once applied the honey comes on strong & mingles with loads of butter...a thick cakey scent takes over...this stuff is super heavy duty folks; a dab'll more than

do ya!!

 

i tried this last night before i went to bed and it was still going strong this morning...it reminds me very much of gluttony but without that sour/nut smell...

 

i had read references to this smelling like the lab's infamous underpants but this is nothing like that with my chemistry .... b-u-m-m-e-r

 

i don't smell wine or anything boozey in this blend at all...

 

to me, it is pure butter cake...plain and simple...i may have to try this in my scent locket for better results

[olympia301]

 

It starts off as a Real buttery, sweet, foody, heavy blend. Butter on top of sugar on top of butter and caramel and...you get the picture. It was a Gluttony sort of thing. Everything piled on at once. Made my head whirl in a good way but...could I live with it?

 

The answer is: yes. Cockaigne does a hard turn into fruit just when you need it to. Amazingly enough I start to smell cinnamon and apples, maybe this is where the spiced plums come in. This sort of a refreshing acid cuts through the butter at the point where it is all starting to dry and stays with this blend for the rest of the time you are wearing it.

 

A delightful scent, it lasts a very long time and just tickles your sense of smell in all the right places. I am definately going to be getting a 5ml of Cockaigne. Highly recommended!

 

The icon is a tiny detail from Pieter Bruegel the Elder's "The Land of Cockaigne". It is an egg which has sprouted feet and is walking around despite its having been eaten already and the knife is still sitting inside from the meal! I used to think that it looked like and egg smoking a cigar when I was a kid. Every kid loves Pieter Bruegel!