Chanukkiyah

[roseus]

2022 Version. 

 

Absolutely lovely beeswax blend! Sometimes beeswax can be thick and sticky with honey, but this is the lighter version. It's truly glowing and has a beautiful soft fruitiness. No pastry on my skin, but it's beautiful all the same. 

[AutoroboticTribal]

So, a very kind person sent me a bottle of Channukiyah from 2015.

First off--let me say that this is a very complex but difficult perfume, at least with my skin chemistry and sense of smell.

When the perfume first arrived, I was absolutely taken by the fragrance because it initially smelled like the most vivid, juicest pomegranates I've ever smelled in my life. The pomegranate note is positively mouthwatering, and after five minutes the beeswax and olive smell start to come out--and then I got a faint whiff of fried dough.

 

Whole thing smelled so much like the mediterranean. It was gorgeous and delicious!

 

After a month though? This perfume's changed a lot. Sadly, the pomegranates now only show up for 5 seconds--and then it disappears completely and my skin winds up smelling intensely like super-sweet resins. It felt like someone had poured frankinsense and corn syrup over my head--and that may have been caused by the fig and amber. So, I was left feeling VERY nervous and self-conscious. After 30 minutes, I then get the realistic beeswax and some VERY good olive oil (it smells like very expensive and high-quality oil, the kind that carries whiffs of olive leaves and bark). The olive oil is clearly used here to 'freshen up' the amber and fig, but sadly it couldn't keep the whole fragrance from smelling a little muddled and uber-sweet on my skin.

 

After two hours though--the sweetness calmed down and I finally get the sufganyot. It smells realistically like soft, fried dough and it made the whole perfume smell exactly like being at a bakery (for any Londoners here, my skin smelled a lot like being at Rinkoff's in Jubilee street. You walk in and you smell the fried dough made in-house, oil,  and caramel in the air). So...I can see why Beth designed this fragrance this way (because it does evoke the holiday and eating sufganyots), but I badly wish the pomegranates were much more vivid (and the fig...less so).  I'll let it rest again to see if it's my hormones affecting this perfume, or if I could layer this fragrance with something that could make the fig less overpowering. So, in conclusion:

 

What kind of perfume is this? It's clear that this is intended to be a gourmand with a woody aromatic twist. The olive oil provides some green vibes that would make you think that there's olive leaves and bark in the notes, but you will still smell a lot of sweet fruit and dough in this.

What season would be best to wear this? Definitely wear this during cold weather. The fig notes would smell very thick and heavy in warm weather.

Will it smell okay if the person wearing this gets active and sweaty? Nnnnnope. I took this to a 14-km hike and realised that it was a bad idea. This is a perfume for going to a brunch with friends, not for anything physical. 

Does the dough smell greasy or too sweet? Surprisingly, no. The dough note smelled very light and fluffy, even with the presence of olive oil on my skin.

What would you rate this? 5/10. The olive oil, beeswax, pomegranate and dough notes smell VERY vivid and high quality. It's just the fig that's playing havoc with my skin chemistry.

Edited February 9 by AutoroboticTribal