The Crumpet Rebellion

[DangerInRed]

Ohhh man, this is everything I thought it would be and more! I was hoping it wouldn't smell so delicious on me so I wouldn't covet it, but no such luck.

 

The Crumpet Rebellion is true to its name. It really does smell like a delicious crumpet with blackberry jam. I can smell the buttery pastry (no icky butter note, just freshly-baked goodness), the sweet, juicy blackberries and slightly tart currants (I think that's what it is. It almost had a tart citrus note to it). I keep sniffing my wrist, I will be sad when it wears off and I will only be left with the sweet delicious memory.

[midnight_aeval]

I was lucky to have swapped for an imp of this perfect oil!

 

Crumpet Rebellion smells like a wonderful cake or sweet muffin with orange/marmalade jelly. I don't get any berry from it, but the sweet orange is delightful. This scent does not really morph on me - it stays as true as it is in the vial which I love.

 

I really hope I can snag some more of this as I can see it quickly becoming a favorite!

[wikkidraven]

after all the fuss, i truly was expecting the crumpet rebellion to be sex in a bottle. for those who were wondering, it is indeed just oil.

 

this starts out very strong, an exact dupe of freshly baked jam filled pastry. it's all in there--sticky sweet berries and warm flaky crust, almost mouth wateringly so. the throw fades as this scent dries, but if you press your nose against your skin you can still catch a tantalizing whiff. i'm sure that this will be one of those 'mmm what are you wearing?' scents from my boyfriend.

 

CR is very much like knave of hearts to me, a bit more foody perhaps. the berry in it has that plasticky undernote that ruins a lot of things for me, but all in all it's a decent scent.

[eviltemptressdq]

I got to try this scent last night for the first time... I have to agree with WikkidRaven when comparing it to Knave of Hearts. Which, for me, means it turns to mostly spice on my skin. There is a bit of the yum fruity berry in the background, but my skin always amps up the spicy notes... What a shame!

 

All in all, though, it works *better* than the Knave... but still disappoints due to my skin reactions. Boo!

[bulletslc]

As a foodie lover I'd high hopes for Crumpet Rebellion. I never thought I'd get a chance to sniff it, let alone end up with a full imp decant, but one of my friends was a fashion designer involved with the Phoenix Parade and she graciously gave me a full imp decant last night!

 

Sadly.....it goes metallic on me (or maybe its the "celery" note mentioned by someone else)....I can smell the foody PROMISE of goodness, but my skin chemistry doesn't comply with my wishes...grrrrr

 

On me its like berries that have sat too long in a cheap stainless steel bowl and taken on the metal aftertaste.

 

I guess I should be happy this didn't turn out to be another Underpants for me....I'd be searching for more in vain! (but I'm not too sad....another friend just gifted me with decants of Black Moon and Peacock Queen! Yay!)

 

*Edit* While CR didn't work for me...I HAVE found my berry foodie BLISS scent.....MB: CLOSET!

Edited August 2, 2007 by Bulletslc

[Hayet]

I was gifted with a half-imp of this, and it's really delicious. But weird. There's the sugar skull aspect, and the fruity aspect, and in my nose they're two entirely different things in one imp. It just doesn't mesh together in my mind- it's two distinct threads, one darting purple, one sticky languid gold. In fact, if I could find a scent that was just the floating blackberry bit without the heavy sugary business, it's be in heaven. Still, a lovely scent, I'm very glad to have tried it.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very foody. Has a buttercream tone, but also a bit of maybe brown sugar? I like it, unsurprisingly.

[nikkoblue]

I was gifted a very small amount of this, which I am grateful for......(thanks ahania!!!!!!)

 

It's shortbready, with some currant? blackberry? jam.......it definitely has a scone QUALITY......

 

I like the shortbread part best, but afterwards I'm left with the jammy note which doesn't go well with my skin. It lasts about 2 hours on me. I definitely like it, but don't think I need to hunt down any more.....

[jewelbug]

I was lucky enough to swap for half a bottle of this precious!!

 

Bottle: Smells like cake plus tobacco. And perhaps a hint of yule slushiness...

 

Wet: I get a very tobacco/musk/slush out of this on top. Very masculine notes. Over cake and burnt (in a good way, like carmelized) sugar, which is all sweet and gooey. And a hint of cold citrus, I think?

 

Dry: The sugar in this reminds me of sugar skull--strongly. If I had to describe this using scents I'm familiar with, I would say Sugar Skull (closer to 05 than 04 or 06) + Port (I like those fortified wines!!!) + Herr Drosselmeyer (seriously, I swear I smell tobacco!). I don't actually smell much in the way of butter/blackcurrants/cherries/red fruits like a lot of the previous reviewers, but I'm at least glad I'm not the only one comparing this to Sugar Skull.

 

Overall: You know, I love sugar skull, and this is likewise scrumptious. I have all three incarnations of SS, and I'm tempted to keep this, too...but I wonder if any of them will get enough love? Then there is the fact that is so rare that I'd be too afraid to wear it anyway. I'm so glad I got to try it--its delish. Now I just need to decide whether to keep it or not!

Edited July 7, 2007 by jewelbug

[Gale]

I was able to sniff some of this courtesy of GypysRoseRed's sniffing circle.

 

Wet: Pastry--buttery pastry. The crumpety smell is spot on and yummy.

 

Dry: The currants are here. This is also a very true currant smell.

 

After 30 minutes: OK, I get incense(?). Not a heavy, spicy incense, more of a light, lemony incense. Oh skin, what mischief hast thou wrought? Where is thy crumpet? Where are thy currants? The incense note lasts for a good two hours. I certainly don't hate it, but I am not going to be pining, either.

[heysunshine]

Pure brown sugar. SO foody. On my skin the scent is just as it is in the imp -- Yankee Candle Christmas Pudding! No berries to be found

[kwsix]

This is foody heaven! Golden pastry, currants, and a hint of sweet citrus from start to finish.

[moon_lemming]

THANK GOD this one hates me. Whew. It is indeed similar to Knave of Hearts, so if you like this, you'll probly LOVE that one, since it's less like slathering gold flakes on yourself, hee.

 

In the imp, it's all jammy/buttery pastry goodness. It seems to have more crust than KoH does, since the crust is pretty much crushing everything else on my skin. It also seems not to have the rose note that's in KoH.

 

So to sum up, it's Knave of Hearts minus squish of rose and plus a lot more pastry. Which makes sense given the name. Sadly, buttery pastry scents never work on me, and this is no exception. It's bad on me, and I'm so relieved!

Edited July 25, 2007 by karen

[Ahania]

I don't get any fruit from this at all- just butter, sugar, and holy-moly cardamom. It reminds of when I made shortbread and the shaker cap fell off my cardamom jar, and I dumped in about a tablespoon into a single batch of cookies- that tasted just how this smells. In the jar I smell some hazelnut, but once it's on me that goes away and it's pure cookie. It's a very strong scent and very long lasting. I like it, but boy is it intense.

[Alchemy21599]

I was able to swap for a decant of CR. Many thanks to my swappee

 

In the vial: delicious mixed berries, including raspberries and blue berries, with a bit of cardomom, under a flaky, sugared pastry crust.

 

Wet: this scent reminds me of a warm scone heaped with mixed berry jam.

 

Dry: A delicious gourmand scent, really comforting.

[cuervosueno]

I like foody scents, but for some reason, I didn't have a huge interest in this one. But I was given a sniffable amount in an imp when I was swapping for a bottle of Shanghai Tunnel, and then I found I was glad to get to try it.

 

And it is gloriously foody. In the imp and on me it is the same--a boozy, burnt sugar scent with berries. I can see the comparison to Sugar Skull though this is way less....agressive....on me, and it does smell like baked berries (so much so that I'm wondering if I shouldn't make some blueberry muffins....not that this smells like blueberries, but blueberries are the only berries I have on hand at the moment! ) it does make me hungry!

 

It's not buttery on me at all, and the berries are more a hint of berries than full on blackberry pie or anything. Mostly it is a boozy caramel scent with a hint of purple and a hint of spice.

 

I do like it, and am glad I got to try it, but if I'd gotten a whole bottle I don't think I'd have kept it. It's not a scent I need to track down or anything, but it is tasty.

[Bard]

I was given a decant of this by a lovely, generous benefactor, and she merely asked that I compose a review. I fear it's taken me far too long to get around to that. This is mainly due to the fact that I lost the box wherein I'd placed the decant.

 

But, ah, the box is found!

And I shall now expound

On pastries fair, and berries rare

And fragrance in the August air

That billowed as we marched the square

Like flags amid the sound

When rebel drums did pound.

 

How to describe The Crumpet Rebellion? Well, one must think, naturellement, of le 14 Juillet, that historic day that symbolizes such triumph in the struggle of the common man. Hearkening to that fateful revolution, when royal crumpets rolled, and jam stained the streets of Paris. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Pâtisserie!

 

Except, of course, that crumpets are an English invention. What were you doing going on and on about the French? Silly person.

 

No, to effectively describe The Crumpet Rebellion, we would be better served keeping this image in mind: a cavalcade of tawdry young wenches in low-cut dresses, standing on a balcony, hiking up their skirts and making lewd comments while pelting the distinguished members of Parliament standing below with plates of jam. That, gentle reader, is the very heart of this fragrance.

 

To be sure, this perfume is delectable. It perfectly emulates a golden brown crumpet, heaped high with berries, Devon double cream, and a hint of sugar and spice. It's just slightly naughty, in a tryst-after-three-o'clock-tea sort of way. Lovers of food scents shall wail and tear at their hair for want of more of this. For others, it may be more hit or miss. Do beg, borrow, or steal a vial, however, as it's worth a sniff at least. Then, when you're done sniffing, kindly send the vial my way. I shall be over there, wailing and tearing at my hair. Would that I could procure more of this.

 

 

The Crumpet Rebellion Haiku,

Rebellious jam:

Soiling my finest cravatte

In liberty's name.

[PurringPulsar]

The Crumpet Rebellion

 

In the imp: caramelised currants, just like Knave of Hearts, but without rose.

Wet on skin: mmm, this smells like blackcurrant jam mixed with treacle now!

Dry on skin: oh yeah, this is good. Blackcurrant jam sprinkled with brown sugar with warm oozing butter underneath, a drizzle of honey and syrup, and just a hint of something bread like, most probably a crumpet. It has the vanilla currants of Eat Me, the caramelised currants of Knave of Hearts, the buttery toffee and cherry scent of Drink Me, and the treacle of Queen Alice. It also has the spicy honeyed fruity cake scent of Cockaigne, with the wine replaced with berries, but with that same caramel and honey scent, and a Sugar Skull-like boozy brown sugar scent. This is extremely gourmand, like I could put on weight just by smelling it, it's indulgent and delicious.

After a while: whoa, this is some very heavy treacle! Like in Drink Me, Cockaigne, and Sugar Skull, the dark, almost roasted caramel scent is beginning to take over. The fruit notes are still rich, I smell currants and blackberries (good blackberries! No cat pee here whatsoever!) with strawberry jam and a pastry base. There's a 'burnt butter' aspect to it reminiscent of Mitzvah, it's a really butterscotch-treacle heavy scent. So heavy and richly sugary it almost gives me heartburn to smell it. It's very nice though, I do want to nibble my wrist!

The scent goes very smoky over time and at one point gains gingerbread like nuances. Then it calms down a little but still smells like smoky caramel and fruit, a very baked scent like a fruit tart covered in brown sugar which has burnt a little.

Verdict: this is a fun, delicious foody, very much like the Mad Tea Party foodies, it has that wonderful light hearted and gourmand feel to it. It has Beth's heavy, darker caramel note, smoky and treacle-like, mixed with blackberry/blackcurrant jam, melted butter, and a hint of something pastry-like which is half way between smelling like a crumpet (bread-like) and a pie. Then it gets washed down with buttered, spiced rum at the end. It's a lot more 'this smells like a million calories' than Eat Me (which was gourmand in a more sophisticated way) and is a sister to Cockaigne and Drink Me. I like it a lot, and I think it would be wonderful in cooler weather thanks to it's warm, filling, smoky and indulgent fragrance, but I do find this heavy butter rum/treacle/caramel note to be a little too much, most of the time. It smells so sweet, a little burnt, and a bit cloying on certain days. And it amps on my skin. I was actually hoping this would smell more like a jammy-buttery crumpet than a treacle-coated one, because I love crumpets. So whilst this is a very pleasant scent, there are others in this foody-fruity genre I prefer-like Eat Me and Knave of Hearts, which are easier to acquire.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? yes, but I don't need more. My wallet sighs with relief.

[crazyredhead17]

I got to try this courtesy of Ahania's European sniffing circle.

 

In the imp, it's a wonderful berry pastry with that good creme in the center, with powdered sugar on top.

 

Wet, it's scone with spice. I thought cinnamon at first, but it's quite possibly cardamom. It stays true to that, although it's fading a bit as time goes on. It's also smelling a bit like brown sugar as time goes on.

 

It's also making the itty bitty spot where I put it on the back of my hand itch, and I'm wondering if the minty/"cinnamon-y" CTIII I got last year that gave me hives was cardamom instead of cinnamon.

 

I'm glad I got to try this, because I now know it's not something I'd ever reach for if I had an imp or a bottle.

[dixiehellcat]

This one's reputation precedes it. In the imp it is indeed seriously foody. And foody scents and I don't get along at all, so I only dabbed a bit on cuz it's a sniffie circle, right, and I have to review. Taking one for the team, I go in.

 

On my arm, oddly enough, it was very nice! I got a strong hint of caramel and/or honey, I think. Not as much of the fruity thing as some people have reported. If it were an LE I could get hold of, I might just want to own an imp or 2. It's a foody I could conceivably wear. Not one I'll and yearn for, though.

[funkmoppet]

In the decant this is sweet cake. Foody and bouncy.

 

On the skin, this goes from cakey crumpets and honey, to crumpets and orange - and dry it's all berry. Very hard berry, like berry syrup bubbling from a turnover, straight from the oven.

 

This is no doubt foody-lovers heaven, but I'm not loving the berry finish. It's got a burnt smell on my skin and none of the other notes to smooth it out.

 

How relieved I am to not fall for this one!

[ralenth]

I want to preface this review with a note that I am not a foodie. However, that being said, I am grateful for the opportunity to test this sought after blend.

 

Wet: Warm currants and pastries. If you gave me a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I think we'd be in business.

 

Drydown: As it dries, CR becomes more tart berry goodness and less flaky pastry.

 

Dry: Mouthwatering blackberries with a hint of currant. Even though I've just eaten, I find myself lusting after dessert. This smells divine but I could never keep this around for fear that I would gain an exorbitant amount of weight.

 

Overall: Nom nom nom. CR is delicious and affirms why I can't keep these kinds of scents around. I'm like a hungry, hungry hippo!

[CrazyPretzel]

Three of the blends I've tried from the C13 sniffing circle have been merely okay, to my relief... Now it's time to break out the big guns...

 

In the imp: pastry and strong, clean cardamom, like opening a fresh cardamom pod. I really don't get any fruit.

 

Wet on me: The cardamom stays strong and the butter begins to amp. Shoot, I like this better than Knave of Hearts already! It's the spice that does it - it's just incredible.

 

After a few minutes: The butter blends into the background and now it's sugar-'n-spice-'n-all-that's-nice. Seriously. The smell reminds me more of cinnamon and sugar on buttered toast than of jam on crumpets. And there's cardamom. Did I mention cardamom? I wonder where the fruit is.

 

Drydown: At last, a hint of berry! Smells like blackberry or black currant to me, blended with the coffee cake that my mom makes that has cinnamon and sugar swirled and crusted on top and it just melts in your mouth and is sooooo lovely...

 

Well, it had to happen sooner or later - I'm in love with an impossible-to-find BPAL.

 

Must...not...steal...imp...from...sniffing circle...

 

 

*whimper*

[Emma2403]

Like ALL the other Bpal foody scents, it smells like burnt plastic on me... it was quite nice (not overly sweet like many foodies) in the decant, though.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Golden cake with a slight hint of maple syrup.

 

Immediately on skin: Very strong, and also very sharp. There’s definitely some foody, thick cake there, but there’s also a very sharp green/fruity note.

 

After a few minutes: The foody note is still there, but that sharp green/fruity note has settled down a LOT. Now it’s more like berries. It’s a dark, deep berry note and reminds me the most of blueberries. The whole blend seems slightly smoky now as well, and the sweetness has toned down a bit. It’s foody and filled with berries, but in a way that’s completely wearable.

 

Overall Impressions: I now understand why this is so sought after: it’s foody and filled with berries, but in a way that’s completely wearable. The berries dominate the blend more as I wear it, and they’re rich and dark. They’re not overly sweet though and have a hint of a green scent as well. The crumpet bit of this is sweet and crusted with crunchy sugar. It’s smoky and sweet, like it just came out of the oven. I would recommend this to people who like scents that are a mix of fruity and foody, like Eat Me.