The Candy Butcher 2006

[sofiaviolet]

Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.

I don't know why my nose hates chocolate perfumes, but they all smell burnt to me. Candy Butcher smells exactly like Lump of Coal to my nose, so people who are looking for a replacement for that should definitely check this out. Edited October 8, 2006 by Shollin

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is dark and creamy chocolate...not overly sweet...

once applied this starts to transform into something very, very familiar ...

it is more like a cup of hot cocoa now...more creaminess coming forefront...

thankfully this never, ever turns that fake plastic or playdough as sometimes

chocolate blends will...this turns into prada on me...yes, prada...whoda thunk?

i will be enjoying this bottle quite a bit

[Miss Lynx]

I probably wouldn't have ordered this on my own, but Kettu wanted to try it. And of course, once it's in my possession, I'll try nearly anything...

 

On first contact, it's like a richer, darker version of Bliss. As it settles in, there are faint overtones of other things beyond the chocolate, including some note that smells a lot like toasted marshmallow. Interesting, though not really my usual type of scent.

 

But as it develops further, there's a sharpness in it, almost a sourness -- maybe that's the butcher part of Candy Butcher. And that, in turn, eventually morphs into a chemical/plastic, fake-food scent which is decidedly unpleasant. I do still get whiffs of the nicer early notes from time to time, but for the most part after an hour or so it smells very synthetic.

 

Oh well. Someone else will undoubtedly love it more than we do.

 

Grade: C+

[t_for_tau]

In the bottle: toasted hazelnuts! Oh my god, this is *fantastic* - foody and delicious without being overly sweet.

 

On my skin: fantastic for a few seconds, then suddenly....wtf? Where's all the FRUIT coming from?? For a few minutes I waft around in a cloud of juicy fruit, which turns gradually into mango-scented hairwax (really), then suddenly my skin gobbles it all and just leaves the smell of shampoo. Nooooo!

 

Dry-down: thank god! The toasted hazelnuts have come back, and they've brought chocolately friends. It does still have a bit of fruity sweetness, but not overpowering. It's perfumey enough that I don't smell like a chocolate shop, and chocolatey enough that I want to snack on my wrist. At the weekend I got given some very flash Armani chocolates, and it smells like them.

 

LOVE.

[maewitch]

Mmmm. Rich cocoa (the drink) in the bottle.

 

On me, the cocoa fades out somewhat, and the underlying creaminess comes out. It's not really milky, nor does it have the unfortunate plastic quality that tends to occur with buttercream notes. Instead it is this very sophisticated non-dairy sort of cream. Though it doesn't actually smell like Snow White, it does share something similar in that cream note. I puzzled over it for days, trying to think of a way to describe it, and I just can't.

 

Suffice it to say, this is a blend I would classify as gourmand rather than foodie, with a rich sort of elegance.

Edited October 3, 2006 by maewitch

[GothicMissManners]

In the bottle, this is a cup of hot chocolate.

 

Right after dabbing it on, the chocolate diminishes a bit (noooo!), and it becomes more creamy.

 

After dry-down, the Candy Butcher is a sweet, creamy, faintly floral scent. It reminds me of some floral-infused white chocolate truffles I've tried. I like it, but it's nowhere NEAR chocolate-y enough for me. I'm going to try layering it with another chocolate scent and see how it fares.

 

-Jilli

[Celenth]

In the imp: Lucious chocolate. Rich and creamy -- this is quite tasty. Lots of hazelnut hidden in it, too.

Wet: My skin HATES chocolate scents, so I'm gonna pray this works... aaaand, I'm blasted by hazelnut. And brief moments of something like baking chocolate.

Drydown: Burn plastic and overpowering hazelnut with faint hints of soap and chocolate. Damn. I know my skin hates every chocolate scent ever, but I had hope that this was different. Ugh.

 

I think I'll go scent locket with this one, it's divine in the imp. Not sure if I'll get a big bottle, I'll use my decant in a locket and keep desperately trying it on my skin to see what happens. Man. On the upside, this is probably pretty darn nice on people with skin that's receptive to chocolate.

Edited October 4, 2006 by Celenth

[jenleigh]

This is the first of the Lab's chocolate scents I've tried - a friend talked my ear off about them enough that I gave in.

 

And wow, yum. This smells like dark chocolate Lindt truffles to me! I tend to get cloying sweetness from the foody blends, but this one doesn't go cloying on me at all. I'm pleasantly surprised at that!

 

DH decided I smelled less like truffles and more like a very yummy cake to him, but either way this was the surprise of the lot so far. I think I may actually want a bottle.

[silver_dollar]

It's just what it says - creamy chocolate. It's not dark chocolate, though, but milk chocolate. Like chocolate hard candy. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

 

I don't get a plasticky note, either, like a lot of other people, thank God. Just... well, chocolate!

Edited October 6, 2006 by silver_dollar

[pkthunder]

The clear winner from Act I. This is just like walking into the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Now I just have to get myself used to smelling like food. I do so much better with florals as an everyday perfume, but I love this so much I'll have to change my thinking.

[herkissofshame]

I'm very sad about this one. It smelled WONDERFUL in the bottle - thick, rich, dark chocolate - but when I put it on my skin, it morphed very quickly into this floral, powdery chocolate. Don't get me wrong - it still smells lovely - but I was hoping for more of a straight up chocolate.

 

I'm going to try it again before I call it quits. Le sigh! It's WONDERFUL in the bottle, at any rate!

[amberlox]

The Candy Butcher -

 

Chocolate with plastic beneath. It smells like something crawly, sharp plastic legs. Beth did a little too good of a job evoking the imagery here. I'm afraid. A little too scary of a scent for me.

 

Could it be the 'plastic' is the cream note? My fiance rather liked this scent on me. But not so much with me. There are other chocolate scents I prefer over it, rather.

Edited October 14, 2006 by Shollin

[nannan45]

The Candy Butcher

 

First whiff from bottle - Roasted peanuts? Roasted salted peanuts? Um. This is weird, very carnaval appropriate, but weird. I was expecting chocolate.

 

Wet on wrist - Still salted roasted peanuts with something creamy. Reminds me of those candy bars with chocolate over roasted peanuts. This is my first chocolate blend ever, so maybe chocolate just doesn't work for me? I'm sad. Very sad.

 

Dry down - Ok, here we go! This is beautiful sweetcream over some soft white florals - must be the 'Chocolate Snow White' everyone is talking about. I don't specifically smell chocolate though. Just something creamy and sweet.

 

Even drier - This is MB Underpants! Peanut chocolate underpants! I smell sandalwood in here for some reason!

 

Even drier - As this fades away, I get creamy chocolate. Finally. Yummy.

 

Overall I actually like this stuff! I believe the nuttiness will gradually change to cream as this ages, because MB Closet started out nutty to me too, then turned creamy. This is a very interesting blend which goes through many stages for me. I will have to experiment on the Candy Butcher more! Will update!

[bicyclette]

Hmm. Creamy chocolate mousse on first sniff. This one disappeared the second it touched my skin, only to re-emerge later as that dry papery note I get from Misk U. Now that I'm in library school and spend my days talking about, working with, and smelling musty old paper, it is definitely not a smell I want anywhere near my person. To swaps!

[Mary Mayhem]

Straight out of the bottle I smell a creamy and heavy chocolate. Very yummy smelling. As it dries I swear it turns into something similar to Midway. It's almost like it turns into cotton candy. I say this after returning from the circus and having cotton candy. That's how it smells to me!

 

The chocolate goes away and leaves a sweet, sugary smell, which I happen to like very much.

 

I don't get plastic or anything like that.

[starrykitten]

Mmm, yum. I've been wearing this all day. It's not so foody that I feel really conspicuous...there are some foody scents like Sugar Skull that are so foody I can see people sniffing to try to find the dessert or oven they assume is responsible. Candy Butcher is more perfumey than that, which I love, and a nice creamy chocolate. Yum.

[Beatrice33]

I don't have much new to say about this one, but ... yum! I, too, get the vague similarities to Underpants. There's something about the sweetness that's tempered with something sandalwood/spicy that does remind me of my beloved Underpants. It's foody and sweet without going over the top; it's a bit sophisticated. I wore it all yesterday at school and kept getting wonderful, creamy wafts of scent. When I got home at the end of the day, hubby kept complimenting me on how great I smelled. Another winner from Beth!

[Meg]

In the bottle: This smells exactly like Nutella, creamy nutty chocolate.

 

Wet: Same as in the bottle, very creamy chocolate, developing a slightly sour perfumy note. It becomes nearly floral, in fact, and covers up the chocolate... I'd swear there's jasmine in there, the plasticky type.

 

Drydown: Unsurprisingly, the chocolate soon turns to pencil shavings undertone, while the rather sour note really dominates. It smells extremely perfumy now, with a quasi-alcoholic side to it, and lots of sugar. Then it mutates to cardboard with sharp top notes.

 

Overall: A bit of a fiasco, really. In the concept, it's a good idea, but on me it never fails to turn to plastic or cardboard, or both. It has a very true chocolatey scent, but also something like very sweet florals that make it screeching. Nope, Bliss is better chocolate than this, on me.

[citharadraconis]

In the imp: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Really good, expensive chocolate with a bit of hazelnut.

 

On me: Hmm, interesting. There's another lighter note coming out that must be the cream. I'm liking this a lot.

 

Drydown: WTF florals? I'm getting an odd fruity-floral note under the chocolate and cream that I'm sure was not in the description. Not at all a bad thing, though. This is delightful; I can't stop sniffing myself. Definitely want more of this.

 

Edit, after reading reviews--My God, it IS chocolate Snow White. I didn't even think of that, but that's exactly what it is. SO GOOD.

Edited October 11, 2006 by citharadraconis

[Deiicide]

I love this scent!

 

As the climate definately turns colder this gives the impression to my body that I'm drinking a rich cup of coco with mashmellows in it. The rich scent wafts and lingers for what seems hours.

 

A rich and very beautiful scent, definately a horde worthy bottle.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: chocolate. Nothing but chocolate and the tiniest bit of hazelnut. It smells like being in a pralines shop (hey, I'm Belgian!).

 

On my skin: still chocolate. Heavy in cocoa, and very creamy, plus some hazelnut… wait, it makes me think of Nutella somehow.

 

After a couple of hours: what do you think? Chocolate, yes! And it lasts like forever!

 

Verdict: I can imagine it must be wonderful when you are a chocolate lover, but I'm not. I don't even really like to eat it, not to mention smelling like if I had a bath in a chocolate tub… not for me, then. But I have to say, unless many other foody scents, this one doesn't turn like burnt plastic on my skin. It's pleasant, it's just that I don't like it.

 

I agree with all those who called it Chocolate Snow White, but to me, Snow White is so much better without the chocolate!

[luxuria]

BPAL chocolate loves me. With the exception of Lump of Coal, it makes love to my skin chemistry in a very poetic and enthralling way. Needless to say, I was ready to beat old ladies with their own handbags to get my paws on this, and it didn't disappoint.

 

It's chocolate, but a more liquid version of other BPAL chocolates, if that makes sense. Bliss and Lump of Coal (before my skin wrecked it) both had a brownie vibe, and Velvet smells more like powdered cocoa. This is more like a chocolate river. However, it isn't ALL chocolate. There's something mixing with it, kind of vanillic but not actually vanilla, and it's not as sweet. It reminds me of something in Underpants, actually.

 

Final verdict? This is worth hoarding. And it would make the world's most KILLER bath products and lotions.

[cranberry]

I didn’t think I’d like this one. I’ve had mixed reactions to Velvet and Bliss, and I was never really drawn to seek out Lump of Coal.

 

In the imp, it smells like chocolate but also like something else that I can’t identify. It smelled really dry and almost a bit dusty. Once applied, the dry dusty smell persisted for a small while, but then it turned into creamy chocolate. As it wears, it remains creamy chocolate. This scent wears forever and it does remind me of a chocolate covered Snow White. I LURVE me Snow White. So chocolate SW - Yum!

 

I need to get me a bottle of this. Or maybe two.

[tempestteapot]

Wow, just WOW.

 

I'm not really into foodie scents other than fruit (lemon, strawberry and the like) but this has my mouth watering.

 

Dark rich chocolate with a LOT of throw there's also a hint of peanut butter, thought that could be my brain craving reese peanut buter cups. I didn't even have to sniff my wrist to get this one. It came and attacked me!

 

Hmmm must go find come real chocolate now.

 

 

Dry, the chocolate is REALLY sticking around. Nice and deep. I love this. I'll wear it when I want to get my neck nibbled for sure!

Edited October 21, 2006 by Tempest Teapot

[locuraelegantia]

I love the old formulation of 13, so I was hoping that this one would work on me. In the bottle and wet, it smells just like the description.

 

As it dries, it gets a little weird. It turns to a sort of unpleasent smell, and it's the same one that the MonsterBaits turned into on my skin.

 

I might give this one a go again in a month or two, but it's probably headed to the swap pile.