Gelt

[hlinspjalda]

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

In the bottle: Dark chocolate cake with no frosting.

Wet: The chocolate impression mutates immediately as it is overtaken by something else. I can't tell yet what the something else is going to be, though. There's a spiciness developing, but slowly.

Half an hour: The aura is all hot sweet cocoa, but down by my skin there's almost no cocoa. There it's resin instead: very sweet, a little spicy.

One hour: Very sweet cocoa (sugary, not milky) with spicy resin overtone. This cocoa note doesn't seem to work for me as well as "cocoa absolute" does.

Two hours: Not much change. Very persistently and heavily cocoa with some spicy resin.

Three hours: The amber is finally beginning to catch up with the cocoa, accounting for maybe a third of the scent now. I'm afraid this isn't going to be what I wanted it to be.

Four hours: Now it mostly smells of sugar, a little cocoa, and some resin. Oh, well; I'll stick to the edible version of gelt and trade this to someone who'll love it.

[butcherbaby]

hmmm......

i have tried this scent a total of four times and it has not smelled the same any of those times. i'm not THAT close to my period yet.....

 

in the imp and fresh on skin THIS time is pure bittersweet cocoa powder. it is NOMMY! it drys down to the scent of the yummiest cup of hot cocoa ever. creamy and not too sweet- no swiss miss here! more like the mexican hot chocolate that comes in discs with grandma on the box, but without the cinnamon. nice strong throw. i'm only getting a little amber so far, very faint.

ten minutes later i still don't get amber but the cocoa is deepening. from previous tries, i know this lasts awhile.

 

i tried this at second to last will call and i could smell the amber quite strongly, which is why i got a decant (i can never really judge a scent i only tried at will call because of the sensory overload). the first time i tried this imp, it was chocolately meh, and last night's test was a disaster- it smelled horrible, like chocolate vomit. same imp, same skin, three different results.

 

i may sends this to a friend of mine who loves choco scented bath stuffs, but it's just not really me. i was hoping amber would come through and save the day- ah well! every yule that doesn't work just leaves more money for snake charmer!

Edited December 5, 2008 by butcherbaby

[Yoginispirit]

In the bottle: lovely deep, dark chocolate

 

Wet: Amber begins toying with and lightening the chocolate to a light brown with a strange dusty scent (immediately reminded of the scent of old people *sigh* thank alot guys lol).

 

After a while: For the beginning dry stages I do smell a weird playdohish, wet fur fragrance but then after about 2 hours, it turns into the most beautiful hot chocolate/brownie scent. I get whiffs of gorgeous, natural foody goodness that is making my tummy growl!

 

Conclusion: While I love the drydown, I'm not so sure I can deal with the yucky initial stages. Will have to age a bit and test again.

[femmefatale]

Dark, slightly bitter cocoa. As it dries the amber very very lightly comes out and becomes just a bit powdery and helps to soften the cocoa a little.

 

It's very yummy, though very light on me. I think it will be worth slathering and might have to add it to my bottle list. I'll try it a couple more times first just to be sure.

[lioness]

Very very cocoa in the imp, makes me want to nom it, but I will place a drop on my skin and be content.

 

Wet on the skin: Still mostly cocoa, with a bit of spice to it.

 

On the dry down: it smells like cake with amber icing, very warm and comforting.

 

This totally wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but it's lovely, I must get a bottle.

[luveday]

my current fave! I had some on last night an my husband accused me of having a stash of brownies hidden from him! Hopefully I can get another bottle before it disappears (said hubby w/out job now )

[diamondstars]

This smells like pure rich chocolate in the bottle; like Candy Butcher but even more chocolate-y.

Unfortunately when it's dry on skin it smells like wet dog. On my, anyway. Sadly, chocolate smells don't want to work on me.

Swap box!

[akiko]

I'm a fan, I have to say.

 

It gives an impression of Bliss, but it's got something a little deeper in it (the amber, I presume.) There's a brief plastic-y phase, but once it passes, it's back to a nice cocoa.

 

Nice. I likes it.

[milica]

I'm sooooo glad I didn't order this. I fell in love with bpal cocoa scents like Boomslang and Velvet, not at all foody scents on me, but Gelt is a proper foodie, like a cocoa cake. I can even smell something like a raw egg from the bottle, it becomes more prominent when it hits the skin. Made me sick, I don't even like eating cakes that smell too much of eggs. Also I think it has a bit of hazelnut, and I hate it.

 

Too bad, I love amber and I love bpal cocoa scent but this does not smell nice on me, I was lucky and had a chance to test it before ordering.

[tartchef]

Mmm, super brownies, with extra vanilla. There's even the vague impression of the dry, shiny top crust. The same chocolate note from El Dia de Reyes, not the cocoa absolute, but a clear chocolate scent. Left to dry a bit, the amber peeks out & powders & perfumes things up, gently nudging things out of the realm of hard-core foody.

 

This is much better than I remember it from a quick sniff at Shelldoo's - less cloying & heavy, more bittersweet. Still, I like to eat brownies, not wear them

[marared]

LOUD chocolate. It's so loud it even drowned out the floral four inches away on my arm. It's definitely very foody compared to some of the other cocoa blends, to the point that I have a sudden craving for brownies. Yum.

[innocent]

There are no surprises in Gelt. It smells just like it sounds: chocolate and amber. If you like both notes, you'll probably like it. If you dislike both notes, you won't. It you (like me) like one note (amber) but are indifferent to the other (chocolate) an imp for experimentation will probably be all you need.

 

This faded quickly on me, and none of my co-workers commented on it, so I assume the throw is light (I can never tell on my own how strong throw is).

[Methos]

Wow. It really does smell like those cheap gold coins-- with almond bits! I smell the soft cocoa-powder, ALMOND, and sweet amber. Lovely, but strong.

[papermaker]

In the bottle: dry hershey's cocoa powder no amber no hazelnut. Cocoa powder. Wet i can smell just the edge of the amber. Once it is dry it is still a strong cocoa powder, but the amber gives it a little sweeter scent, so that now it smells more like dark chocolate.

[lmaunu]

Source: Bottle from the Lab

 

My skin usually amps up any amber notes, so I was a bit nervous about getting this. I am so glad that I did! The amber is very, very light, and just adds to the background in a subtle way. This is mostly pure, dark chocolate. As several people have mentioned, it smells just like brownies or a dark chocolate cake.

 

It also doesn't have the creaminess of Candy Butcher, so it smells very different from CB (in case, like me, you need to justify having more than one chocolate scent ).

 

Yum!

[MrsDevilDog]

I love sweet/foody scents as they tend to just play nicely with my skin. This was no exception. I wasn't going to get it because I have Candy Butcher, but this is very different. CB is creamy chocolate, and Gelt goes caramel on my skin somehow. It's really deep and delicious and I daubed it on at Will Call last night and I can still smell it on my skin right now at 1 pm the next day.

 

Antique Lace and Eat Me do this too. They practically require an acid peel to remove from my skin.

[deleahrium]

I actually wouldn't call this a foody blend. The amber is incredibly overpowering. Wet it's all chocolately cocoa, but if you sniff a little harder, and once it's dry on the skin, it's a dusty, sneeze inducing amber. It's strong, like the scent of very old books. I was planning to buy a bottle at Will Call last night because it really is a great scent, but I just can't see myself wearing it that often. I prefer el dia de reyes so much more for a yule chocolate scent.

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Oooh, delicious dry cocoa. A very rich chocolate, and my nose couldn't pick up anything else.

 

Wet: Super smooth delicious chocolate, but much lighter than I expected.

 

Dry: A sweet, light chocolate scent with amber. The chocolate is so creamy that I actually get the feel of chocolate buttercream frosting. The amber is the sort that verges on a honey scent. So i get a honeyed amber chocolate buttercream, and the very late drydown is just a faint sweet skin scent like the late dry of so many other honey/amber blends.

 

Overall: Tasty scent for an evening at home.

Edited June 8, 2009 by jewelbug

[gnl]

In the Bottle: Not chocolate coins, as much as brownies or hot chocolate mix. Not what I was expecting, but yummy!

 

Wet: Wow, hello hazzlenut! To the point that I can only barely smell the chocolate peaking out behind it.

 

Dry: The hazzlent, somehow, grows stronger, though there's a tiny bit of cocoa still remaining. Yet to remind me of chocolate coins, I have to say.

 

Verdict: So not remotely like what I expected this to smell like. However! What it does smell like is good, so I'll definitely keep!

 

4/5

[slave1]

GELT

 

In Bottle: Powdery cocoa

 

On Skin: This smells like hot cocoa mix, powdery and sweet. After a few minutes it warms up and smells more milky than dry. Like actual chocolate coins. The amber warms it nicely and also gives the scent it’s golden soft feel. This is foody but overwhelmingly so. If you love chocolate, try this one for sure. It has such a warm tone you can’t help but fall in love with it. It stays close to the skin and triggers the come hither and nuzzle me reaction. I still prefer El Dia De Reyes but this would be my backup chocolate scent. Light to medium throw with an average wearlength on me.

[Schmoozy]

Bitter, dark cocoa layered over warm, glorious amber.

At the beginning it is very chocolately, but it is a bitter chocolate, and it is very fragrant.

The sweetness comes from amber. It warms up the blend, gives it depth and it is amazing how beautiful amber is when mixed with cocoa.

[Ilex]

Hm. I can't decide if I like this or not.

 

In the imp it smelled like brownie batter.

 

On me... at first, wet it was a bit sour. But it mellowed. Its a rather musky chocolate. The sour still comes up some times, and its keeping me on the fence, if not for that it'd be great. I like it from far away, just wispy rather than smelling my wrist closely. It doesn't have much throw.

 

My husband, who does not like BPAL says its "pretty good." And he further added (!) "Its very warm. A lot of those perfumes you try out are very cold. This is nice and warm."

[Hayet]

rich, buttery, hot chocolate. It stays pure chocolate on me and lasts for hours. I find most cocoa blends bitter and sort of moldy-smelling, but this one smells just like you've ripped open a childhood pack of Swiss Miss. To my nose, nearly identical to El Dia Del Reyes, so grab a bottle if you missed that one!

[batsy]

In the bottle: Dry cocoa powder, with something I can't find a word to describe. Kinda musty and sharp.

 

On the skin: Very much chocolate. Very warm, too. Kind of like a cup of hot cocoa but with a warm furry note. I'm guessing that's the amber, although it more reminds me of a dog's fur then amber. Strange. Yes, smells like my cousin's German Shepherd. I really love it, don't get me wrong. It's just interesting to see what the scent triggers. (Kind of like how Cerberus reminded me of a dog dunked in rum. And I love Cerberus!)

[mawaridi]

Mmm, beautiful! This is, as others have said, a dry, dark (but not bitter) chocolatey scent, like rich cocoa powder, with a hint of hazelnut and a warm resinous amber note that blossoms with the warmth of my skin as I wear it. Just...divine. I only have a half-imp sized decant, but I'm thinking a bottle is necessary here...