Gelt

[Brianne]

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

I always WANT to love BPAL chocolate scents. I keep trying with them, hoping that they will be "the one". Unfortunately, Gelt is a continuation of my previous lessons in their chocolate notes. Gelt goes on a little oddly - a sort of sour amber, it's weird because I don't usually have issue with amber (this only lasts for a minute though). The chocolate is dry and powdery - not like milk chocolate, but like if you opened up a can of cocoa powder.

In the end, it just smells like dry cocoa and though the wear and throw is decent on it, it's a fairly flat scent on me. Unfortunately, it's another no-win chocolate scent for me

[birdiefu]

In the imp, this smells like unsweetened coca powder. Wet, this turns really weird... it smells truly like dusty old people, I'm visiting an old people's home here. As it dries, the old people fade a bit, but it is still very dry. A faint and oddly familiar woody scent emerges, with a touch of dry amber. Further into drydown, the coca shows up again to make a warm, cocoay-amber scent (never thought it would smell like this at the start!).

 

This has good staying power, but is just very weird of a blend. Once the cocoa re-emerges, it is a pretty flat scent without much depth. I was hoping for a lot but not expecting much, as BPAL chocolate always does silly things on my skin. One of these days I will find the One True Chocolate.

[Dark Alice]

This doesn't smell like cocoa. This smells like dry duncan hines chocolate cake mix. I love it. I think I am going to keep this and that I have finally found the perfect BPAL chocolate scent!!!!

[steffanina]

Gelt-

 

In Bottle: Smells just like it's advertised--amber and cocoa.

 

Wet: The amber has an edge, and the cocoa is soft, not too aggressive.

 

Dry: The amber dominates and it's very dark. Smoky, too, and not so foody on the dry-down.

 

Overall: Fascinating but more a scent locket scent for me.

[jade_starlight]

This is absolutely delicious. It's a lovely dry cocoa with warm almost slightly sweet amber, and it's not really foody at all. I love it, and will definitely need at least one more bottle.

[kjirstiben]

Wow!!! Gelt went on in a rush of brownies-baking chocolateyness that filled up the room. I was amazed, because so far, all the chocolate scents I've tried are fairly understated and powdery-cocoa in nature. Not so Gelt in its initial stages!

 

After a half hour or so, there's still a sense of chocolate in the throw of the scent, but up close to my wrists what I smell is amber, the purest amber that I've smelled since the solid single-note amber perfume that I bought in my wannabe-goth days in early high school... (back in the early 90s) This is the amber that I fell in love with back then, this is the amber that I've been looking for since then...

 

After a couple hours, the scent is all amber and only amber. I still have a peripheral sense of chocolate, but it's very much a leftover and only faintly registering.

 

The scent, like a good amber, lasts and lasts, only getting sweeter and mellower throughout the day. What a delight! I recommend it highly to amber lovers, and to chocolate lovers (with the caution that the chocolate does get replaced by the amber over time). Mmmm.

[amyw]

So strange that you mention old people, Lycanthrope, since I certainly didn't smell that at first. Then I took a big deep sniff and felt it at the back of my throat. How strange.

 

Anyway, Gelt is ... mmm, yummy. In the bottle I don't smell much if any amber. On it goes through a slightly bitter stage, much like cocoa, and then sweetens up to a yummy chocolate with a hint of amber to ground it and prevent it from getting too chcolate-y sweet. About 4 hours later, the cocoa/chocolate fades and the amber starts taking over.

 

Very nice! Definitely a keeper.

[Aldercy]

Dark chocolate incense with a faint indescribable tang in the background. This is definitely not an overly sweet, bakery type blend-- it smells like warm, bitter cocoa with a slight nuttiness. Maybe really rich, unadulterated hot chocolate. I don't get much amber, but it may come out with time (people seem to be saying it might emerge more with maturation or resting).

 

I've never tried anything with a chocolate note before, but I bought a bottle of Gelt unsniffed because for some reason I was just really fascinated with the idea of it, and I'm not upset I did. It performs as advertised and is really delicious and comforting.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is deep, dark super dry cocoa powder....mmm

 

once applied this is super powdery cocoa...yes, amber amps up on me immediately

and turns powdery but i love it with my chemistry...this has fair throw...

 

the difference with this chocolate blend is it is not sweet at all...really lovely

[milo]

I don't usually like to wear straight up chocolate, which is what this smells like wet. Not a cadbury, or generic chocolate, but more like Purdy's or an expensive belgium chocolate. I like chocolate blends better when they're blended with something, and after awhile, the amber comes out, and this is really quite nice. I put Jacob's Ladder on this morning, and I can still smell it underneath the Gelt, a very nice combo. Not sure if I'll get a bottle, but if you like chocolate, this is not chalky, like I find some cocoa blends to be.

[MeiLin]

Do you like the smell of chocolate? I mean real chocolate, like unsweetened cocoa powder. I mean, do you really like to get your nose right down in that tin of Dutch process and take a big HUFF until the insides of your nostrils are brown? You like huffing that cocoa powder, bunky?

 

Then you will love Gelt.

 

BPAL does a lot of chocolate scents, the standards in the general catalog being Bliss and Velvet, and there are some outstanding limiteds based on chocolate like El Dia de los Reyes (one of No1 Daughter's faves). But for pure cocoa insanity, Gelt beats them all, and it doesn't hurt that I am one dreidl-spinning latke-eating goy.

 

In the imp: Sharp, sharp unsweetened cocoa.

 

Wet: Cocoa and hazelnut, again quite sharp. Someone else described it as sour, and while I don't get that, Sir did when he smelled it; he made quite the face. "I don't care for that at ALL," he said.

 

Dry: Dry is a different story. It blooms. The amber comes up in this glorious burst of gold and cocoa and it's just overwhelmingly good. "Now THAT'S worth getting," said Sir. Not sweet at all, just perfectly blended cocoa and amber. Good stay; 12 hours later I still get it on my wrists despite cooking and dishes.

 

A bottle of this is now on my Yule list.

[wl552]

An OMG scent! What can I say? Pure unadulterated chocolate. And not the kiddie kind of chocolate either. This is very much a grown up chocolate; the kind one might melt down and drizzle over a lover to be licked off. I'm guessing it's the golden amber that gives it that sensuality. I'm not normally one for chocolate scents at all and almost didn't get a decant; that would've been a terrible shame because Gelt has most assuredly seduced me and I must have a bottle. Definitely!

[delicate_fangs]

Hm. To me it doesn't smell like old people. It smells like old books.

 

Like others say, that passes off fairly quickly, though.

[Little Bird]

Gelt 2008 smells NOTHING like Gelt 2010. I have both and was hoping the 2010 would be more like the 08 after some aging, but they're just not alike at all.

 

Gelt 2008 smells like rich chocolate fudge and a sour, hay-like sort of amber note. It doesn't make me think of gold coins at all, but the amber cuts through the chocolate sweetness in a way that's rather appealing (and I normally don't care for bpal's amber notes).

 

The 2010 version smells like baby powder, vanilla powder, and a hint of soap. The chocolate just isn't there at all, as far as I can tell. It's more of a powdery mess...

 

I wish that bpal would be more clear & upfront when something is so heavily reformulated.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Little Bird

[Iceblink]

Very dry powdery cocoa--a lot like Bliss but Bliss doesn't have the dry feeling that this does. Amber ages wonderfully and I don't think Gelt's full powers will really be known for a couple of months, but it's pretty tasty right now as it is!

[faeriedust]

omg this is the most yummy and realistic chocolate scent ever. It smells like milk chocolate but a little powdery. Never smelled bliss so I cant compare.

 

update: The final dry drown is so gross. It smells like a wet dog or something. seriously.

Edited December 2, 2008 by faeriedust

[surlierthanthou]

I just received my decants, and this is one of the first ones I went for because I was very intrigued by the concept. In the vial it smells like sweet, dry cocoa powder with a hint of golden amber underneath. Very nice. On my skin it turns awful. My boyfriend said (and I quote), "It's kinda poopy smelling." Um, yeah. I swear I'm not dating a 8-year-old boy. Anyway, it does remind me of sort of an odd, organic smell that is quite unpleasant. Not necessarily feet or B.O. or anything specific, just a bit...unwashed. But it smelled very nice beforehand and other people don't seem to be getting that reaction, so clearly my skin chemistry is doing something extremely odd with it.

[beturtlement]

Gelt is like Bliss' older, sexier sister. I was a little turned off by the amber in the description, so when I got some as a frimp in a swap sale, I was a little hesitant to try it. I'm very glad i did. On me, it's like a dark, almost spicy, chocolate. I'll admit I've never smelled true amber, only once in a Victoria's Secret body mist (Amber Fantasy), and I hated it.. but this is lovely. After it dries down, neither the chocolate nor the amber overpower each other, it's just a lovely, warm blend- but you can definitely smell both notes. It's not as foody as I hoped it be, but I'm still a fan.

 

I decided to layer a little Bliss on top, to add a little sweetness, and it works very well. It tones down the amber, amps the chocolate, and stops Bliss from turning to pure sugar like it sometimes does on me, giving it some depth. I think I'll get that bottle of Bliss, now, so I can mix 'n match.

[stillalive]

oh yum...salty and chocolatey like hazelnut hot cocoa. The amber keeps it from going *too* foody. Wow. Simply amazing.

[Persephone76]

This is definitely the chocolate scent for non-foodies! Starts as dark cocoa and morphs into a slightly salty cocoa/amber. Not overly complex, but very unique and lovely.

[Seadreamer]

To agree with several earlier posters: Nomnomnomnomnom!!! Hershey's Kisses!

 

Gelt is SO good. I've never had chocolate perfume before, and now I have to wonder why NOT? It's amazing. I accidentally got a tiny amount on my comfortor days ago and every time I go to bed I still smell it. It's heavenly. And I've been having really nice dreams lately. Maybe we should ask for Gelt to be added to the Somnium line? (j/k, lab!)

 

I let one of our nurses smell it, and she swore it was a chocolate flavoring agent. I had to convince her it was perfume. I also had to buy a bag of Kisses, because I was craving them after wearing this for a day. I probably won't buy a big bottle, but the imp is tremendous fun.

[mooncityminx]

In the bottle: brownie batter

 

Wet: very similar to Bliss, and the chocolate of Velvet. I would also compare it to Die Des Reyes from last year.

 

Drydown: The amber is coming out now. Sometimes amber goes a little off on me, this is also doing that. Woo, I don't know what to say about that but it's a little funky. Uh, this is not going to work for me. But on someone else, I believe it would be lovely.

 

I take it back. After about ten minutes the amber changed and now it is lovely on me. I need to learn to have more patience with ambers.

Edited December 3, 2008 by Tempest

[Ahania]

Gelt makes me think that El Dia De Reyes and Velvet got down and dirty, and had a kid that was vaguely disappointing, like if Brangelina's twins ended up needing nose jobs or something. I know that a lot of my reaction is that I had such high expectations, but it's still a bit of a letdown. I love how amber ages, though, so I'm going to stock up just in case it turns into what I wanted it to be.

[tasty]

Yummy! Dry cocoa with a soft hint of amber in the background. This is really gorgeous. The amber keeps the chocolate in check, so even though it's foody, it's not sickeningly-sweet and overdone.

[Stephanie]

Sadly, this smells like a chocolate eraser on me. Or maybe chocolate Play Doh.

 

It's a flowery-like dry cocoa. A little musky.

 

Hmm..it not playing nice right now. Maybe a little aging might help.