Gelt

[Yvaine]

Sevivon, sov, sov, sov
Chanukah, hu chag tov
Chanukah, hu chag tov
Sevivon, sov, sov, sov!

Chag simcha hu la-am
Nes gadol haya sham
Nes gadol haya sham
Chag simcha hu la-am.

A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber!

Gelt is gorgeous. I'm not a foody fan, but I will be hoarding this.

In the bottle: perfect cocoa powder, with a dash of hazelnut. This is not very sweet at all, it's exactly like sticking your nose into a fresh box of expensive cocoa powder that's got some hazelnut flavor.

Application: The same, but it immediately starts warming up. The amber is poking it's head through the cocoa and giving it a homey warm feeling. This is the scent of curling up on a chilly night with a steaming mug of cocoa, prepared from scratch the stove-top way, with a healthy splash of frangelico.

15 minutes: Much the same as application. There's still beautiful, dry cocoa and the golden warmth of amber. It hasn't sweetened up or collapsed in on itself.

Overall: This is a remarkable scent. It smells precisely as described by the lab, and I think can be appreciated by both foody and non-foody fans. I will be stocking up on this before it vanishes.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Cocoa Incense.

 

I think the Amber note hints at the gold wrapper around the Cocoa (chocolate) candy inside.

 

Win!

 

Edit- this lasts, has good throw and doesn't morph a whole lot.

Edited October 29, 2008 by Shollin

[littlegoat]

Gelt is beautiful, it manages to be rich and a little chocolatey, without seeming foody on me at all.

 

In the bottle and first on, it is sharp, dry cocoa powder and I don't like it that much.

 

After a minute or two on the skin, it starts to sweeten up a bit, and the sharpness is gone.

 

After a few hours, the amber has really come out more, but it's sweetened by the cocoa, and I'm reminded a bit of O, that tiny bit of ambery powderyness I really like.

 

Definitely beautiful! Love it and so glad I have a bottle!

 

ETA: This morning I was getting ready and my husband asked "What smells like brownies?"... so I guess while it doesn't smell very foody to me, that's just my perception!

Edited November 3, 2008 by littlegoat

[angelicruin]

Choco-holics look no further. Gelt is a chocolate lover's dream.

 

In the bottle, it's a deep, dark chocolate scent. Not bitter, but not creamy sweet either.

 

Wet on the skin, it's nutty chocolate.

 

As it dries, it remains much the same on my skin.

 

This reminds we a lot of the decant of Spooky I have, except without the peppermint. I think if you blended Gilt with Lick It..., you might get something close to Spooky.

 

This may be worthy of a back-up bottle.

[strangemodegirl]

All I can say is omnomnomnom

 

This is like a really good hazelnut chocolate. I know that hazelnut is not one of the notes, but, that's what it smells like on me.

 

It's not an overpowering chocolate either.

Yes, I think this is back up bottle worthy for sure!

[Jasminepearls]

MMMMmmm....Gelt...

 

In the bottle, it is all smooth cocoa.

 

On me, wet I get cocoa, the amber and a slight citrus note, almost orangey.

 

After it dries, the citrus note vanishes and I have warm, powdery cocoa. I can very much still smell the amber too.

[porcelina]

chocolate = plastic on my skin. it's not so bad with gelt, because the cocoa is quite dry and not creamy or sweet, but it still smells a bit like a cocoa candle. not foody in the least, but not good on me, either.

[greenranger]

Cocoa...without the slight floweryness that most of the chocolate blends have on me whether or not they have any flowers at all. This is straight cocoa. It didn't shift at all from the bottle to my skin. It was rich cocoa in the bottle and on me. =)

 

I'd gotten a little more on my hand than I'd planned to test, and that spot smelled like I had spilled chocolate on it...for at least 6 hours. This lasts very nicely on me.

 

Strength and throw is moderate.

 

---------

I've tried this a couple times now, and I've ended up with a couple unpredictable results. The first time was lovely chocolate, the second time the amber went weird on me(weird is about the only way to describe it. It was like it wasn't even the same oil I had tested before), and the third time was still much heavier on the amber than I expected, but, still fairly cocoa and not so strange. I haven't experienced such changes with skin chemistry and amber or chocolate scents before, but, I suppose I'll have to start paying closer attention.

Edited December 5, 2008 by Aerinha

[Lycanthrope]

Initially on this is the scent of cocoa, and old people. Kid you not, I have no idea, but there's this dry papery smell that I've come to associate with old folks. So, I can see the chocolate coins spilling out of grandma's hands.

 

Thankfully with time this goes into a very pure, straight up cocoa absolute aroma. If you liked Boomslang but couldn't take the Snake Oil, go for Gelt. It's not too similar to things like Candy Butcher, though, it's fairly 100% cocoa single note. Which is awesome that the grandmas burn off after a few moments.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: like powdered hot cocoa mix!

 

wet on skin: same, but with a touch of amber peeking through.

 

dry down: super delicious, super rich powdered cocoa and a warm streak of amber running through.

 

in all: if Brittish "Crunchie" bars were a scent, i imagine they would smell something very akin to this. far better than any Gelt i received as a child, this cocoa lasts and is backed by a warm golden amber that suits it just perfectly. total keeper!

 

 

 

[Wwindy]

This smells exactly like Hershey's Kisses on me.

 

I don't know what happened! I love amber and amber loves me! Not here, apparently... *sigh*

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the decant, and on my skin this is straight from the bowl brownie batter.

 

nice, but not very me.

[DenMother]

If you loved El Dia de Reyes then you should love this. To me they are very similar. I love the amber in this once the chocolate has receded a bit. All in all beautiful and comforting, a sit by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate type of scent, I am in a big amber faze so this is one I am reaching for quite often.

 

Comments I have had whilst wearing have been

"you smell like really nice incense"

and one from my brother who is now out of the will "what's that ant smell? it smells like ants"

 

Nice, if you love chocolate and amber you can't go wrong.

xx

[Tanniver]

The cocoa came out strong on my skin at first, then the amber quickly stepped in and they did battle for a bit. The amber began to amp like crazy and I was left with chocolate baby powder. I am not an amber fan and I can't see this working for me.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Chocolate. Powdery, yummy hot cocoa almost.

 

Immediately on skin: Powdery chocolate with a hint of warm, soft amber. This is a little less foody smelling than I thought it would be.

 

After a little while: This turns a bit plastic-y on me after a little while. The amber fades and I’m left with powdery, slightly plastic chocolate.

 

Overall Impressions: I don’t do well with chocolate notes, and here is no exception. This started out a warm, golden chocolate scent but dried down into something… not so pleasant. I’ll just have to stick to El Dia de Reyes for my chocolate fix.

[Lamia]

You know the way someone's mouth smells after they eat chocolate?

 

Yeah, "Gelt" is like that.

 

[Lyrical]

In vial: this smells exactly like sweetened cocoa powder.

 

Wet on skin: chocolate! More like real chocolate than Bliss or any of the other scents I've tried. Then amber emerges, and it does indeed make me think of the gold foil on chocolate coins!

 

Dry on skin: dark chocolate, with amber giving a slightly metallic note.As time passes this softens and the amber comes out a bit more. I like this better than Bliss and a lot better than Gluttony, but I don't need more of it ... except perhaps to layer with Lick It, because that is an awesome combination!

[SurrealReality]

In the Bottle/Decant: Yuck! Vinyl and cocoa powder (a much lighter and sweeter cocoa note than other bpal blends)

 

Wet On Skin: Even worse! The vinyl is much stronger

 

Dry: The vinyl is softening up....it's turning into a general 'stale' note (I totally agree with Lycanthrope's 'old people' description). About a 1/2 hr later, that 'stale' note begins to turn powdery. And that's when I realize it must be the amber. Amber has never been a friend of mine, so I'm not surprised

 

My Rating in the Bottle/Decant: 2 out of 5

My Rating on my Skin: 2 out of 5

Edited November 23, 2008 by SurrealReality

[hellomoonglow]

I love this! In the bottle it smells like a mild cocoa liqueor. On my skin, it's just beautiful, powdery cocoa. I was a bit concerned about it morphing after being on my skin for awhile, but all it does is tune down to cocoa powder.

[GalaxyLei]

Didn't get a chance to try this on, but in the bottle it is dry cocoa powder--I must obtain an imp of this!

[blacklacestatic]

This is full of .

 

As soon as I got the package with this in it, I just kept sniffing this one in the bottle over and over and over. I was kind of obsessed.

 

In the bottle it smells like pure 100% cocoa. Wow, it's making me drool.

 

Wet, I get the same cocoa, but there's a dusty, kind of woodsy feel to it. Resiny, but not quite the amber i'm used to. It definitely has a warm, golden feel to it.

 

On the drydown, it just keeps getting smoother and sweeter. I'm definitely a fan.

 

Overall: A really great cocoa treat!

[zankoku_zen]

For me, this is really like smelling cocoa powder. The amber turns powdery, but mixed with the cocoa it just makes it cocoa powder... and maybe a hint of hazelnut.

 

It actually makes me think of making hot chocolate.

 

 

This scent is soooo bad for the waistline.

 

Mmmm... hot chocolate!

[kohaisama]

I'm throwing my hat in with the other gals who said it turned into plastic. And it makes me sad. It smelled soooo good in the imp and soooooo good wet, but as soon as it dried, it morphed into chocolate plastic. A few gals on another community board suggest letting the imp settle (I just got it) for a week, try it and then let it rest for a month for the amber to age and try it again. If it hasn't changed by then, it's not going to unless I let it age well past the point of being able to buy a bottle from the Lab. So that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully I'll have a better updated review in a week!

 

11-24-08: Okay, I got impatient to try Gelt again. HOLY SMOKES. I'm soooo glad I decided to hold onto it and let it rest before tossing it into the swap pile. The plastic is gone and now all I smell is creamy chocolate. This would be my -must have- for single note chocolate. I can't wait to see what this is like in a month when the amber has a chance to age. Only thing of note, when it dries, the creamy chocolate does fade a bit and the amber is a bit powdery, but a far cry from plastic. Cocoa powder? I can handle that. Chocolate plastic? GAH!

Edited November 24, 2008 by Gunny

[Champagne]

Cocoa is my all time fav note so I had high expectations on Gelt, fearing at the same time the amber presence. In the vial is pure hot cocoa but on me for one hour I smell an old lady sweat mixed with cocoa, and the crazy thing is that it`s so interesting that I almost like it. The drydown is this amazing sugary but dark cocoa blend that repays me of the lady armpits, but it was a long way to reach this. I`ll keep my bottle and see what happens aging it.

 

ETA:after 4 days the amber note calmed down and now it`s the perfect dry cocoa note, I love it so much! Back-ups are in my future!

Edited November 25, 2008 by Champagne

[kelpsoda]

Wet: Cocoa! like whoa!

 

Dry: Still chocolatey, dry powdery cocoa. Yummy, but I'm not sure I need a whole bottle.