Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo

[Christine Daae]

Bottled happiness. Helps reverse misfortune, brings light and laughter to even the most troubled and discordant place, and aids in alleviating the stress and discontent that accompanies so many of life's daily trials.

In the bottle: !!!! Bubble gum!

Wet: Still very bubble-gummy - the full-sugar pink kind that my mum wouldn't let me have when I was little.

Drydown: Hmmm. Interesting. Becomes less OMGSUGAR and a bit warmer, with a little bit of...herbal something? I'm not very good at picking notes out, hee.

While wearing: This continues to be pink bubblegum, right down to the powdery residue that's left on the wrapper. But it's not as sweet. I think it might have a bit of the vanilla that's in Antique Lace in it, too - that might be the 'warmth' I'm smelling. This has lasted all day, but has very little throw, after the initial rush of sugar. I'm not sure about ritual use, yet - but it's put me in a cheerful mood today! Most certainly a happy smell. Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[gwyllgi]

This is, indeed, quite a happy scent. It smells like red licorice to me and recalls a more innocent time, when my bedtime was eight o'clock and my biggest concern was whether to play with My Little Ponies or Cabbage Patch Dolls. The licorice fades after a while and becomes a bit more mature, somehow reminiscent of cherry but not quite. It's my favorite of the Voodoo Blends I've tried so far, and perhaps the only one I'd use for the scent alone.

[cameroncrazed]

In the imp: Pink bubblegum. The type that you love smacking on and blowing ginormous (yes, I know that's not a real word ) bubbles with. Screamingly PINK!

 

Wet on skin: Pink bubblegum and sweet lollipops. Oh boy, feeling giggly and happy already. It's probably because it's a scent very reminiscent of childhood, at least to me.

 

Dry on skin: I'm not exactly sure what that scent is, but the closest I can guess is vanilla + candy apples (not so much 'apple' as it is the oozy sugar that they're dipped in). Let's just call it liquid sugar (liquid sugar, liquid crack, same difference )

 

Overall: 10/10. I adore this scent. No clue if I'll be this happy giggly bubbly ever time I wear it, or if today's an oddity, but who cares when you smell this good? Need a BIG bottle - this will definitely make it easier to face work (and it'll be a lot cheaper than just drinking my way through the rest of grad school).

[janelle_hell]

Wow,i can't believe i haven't reviewed this one;it's been one of my all-time favorites ever since it came out!

 

As other reviewers have mentioned,if ACJM were a color,it would be PINK. Bright bubblegum pink!

 

Scent-wise,it's very candy-ish...i've no idea what notes are actually in it,but to me it smells like bubblegum (but not the bubblegum of Jailbait;i also love Jailbait *the oil,not actual jailbait!*,but,this is a different bubblegum-if Jailbait is Bubble-Yum,then ACJM is Bazooka Gum-heavier,more sugary...don't know if that makes any sense),licorice allsorts (the multicolored assortment of licorice in cute little shapes,from the UK),and...hot cotton candy. As in,cotton candy in the process of being made,like at a fair or carnival. Midway isn't a Voodoo Blend,but ACJM reminds me alot of Midway,not in actual scent notes,but in the general 'feeling' of the blend. Midway is sinister,in a sense,underneath all the sweetness;ACJM is Midway,minus the scary clowns and leering carnies .

 

When i want reminders of happy times,when the 'now' is a bit much to deal with...i douse myself with this stuff. And,it never fails to improve my mood,at least somewhat.

 

Plus,it goes great with Lush's Creamy Candy Bath...just put some on the Candy Bath cube/cake before putting it in the water...happy bubbles galore!

[BrightRedScream]

This is a scent that does make you really happy..

It's sweet, it's lively, it's cute.

 

It smells like candy and bubble gum and sweet fruits all shoved into the little bottle.

 

It really is a mood booster

[cranberry]

Wow, this is such a happy, cheery scent! It smells fruity, and slightly like bubblegum. The fruit smells like blood orange or cherry, or both. It’s quite sweet and smells sugared. OMG – I just realized what this smells like, Tigi Milk and Honey shampoo! There’s similarities here to Dana O’Shee – but sweeter (believe it or not!) with fruit. Nice!

[Summerpixy]

Pure sugary goodness... this scent makes me think of days at the State Fair eating a gigantic ball of spun cotton candy. There's a childish giddiness about this scent that I adore. Next to Pink Moon this is one of my favorite sugary scents.

[edenssixthday]

Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo – When I read the reviews for this, I anticipated a sickly sweet pink candy/bubblegum/strawberry syrup type scent. I must have really strange body chemistry, because I got none of that. On me, the scent is slightly resinous and has a ton of depth. If I hadn’t read the Lab description or the forum reviews I would have sworn there was a bit of amber in this. It smells like there may be some vanilla in it and hmmm… just guessing, but perhaps a touch of orange rind and the tiniest hint of dark fruit juice. Unfortunately, the imp I bought off someone leaked on its way to me and I only had perhaps ¼ of an imp left, and then when I threw it in my imp drawer (before I kept them upright) the rest leaked, so I wasn’t able to try it more than once. It’s a nice enough scent that if I come upon some, I’d like to give it another shot and see what I think of it and also pay more attention to the “voodoo” aspect of it.

[maijasu]

Candy! Lollipops! Bubblegum!

 

Not my typical scent, but it's definitely happy. And it's one of only a few fruity BPAL scents that don't go all powdery on me. It's worth keeping for that reason alone--the mood boosting is a nice bonus.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: A gum-like, candyish smell, with something herbal or medicinal very, very faintly behind.

 

On me: Bubble gum, cotton candy, with something like the waxiness of Crayola crayons. It does take me back to the things I liked as a child, but regardless of the potential voodoo hoodoo that you do, Auntie, I can't smell like candy or gum.

[sofiaviolet]

This smells like candy. Kind of like chocolate taffy, maybe. I don't really know because I prefer strawberry. It's a good scent for making people happy, though; it really is cheerful and sweet.

[storme]

In the imp: sticky sweet luridly pink bubble-gum.

 

On me, wet: lots of pineapple and honey and spun sugar and maybe a little peppery heat behind it.

 

On me, dry: man, still bubblegum - or sweet pink-and-yellow candy, that sort of fruity sugary concoction. There's some powdery nastiness to this fruit, also.

 

Verdict: it's not actually doing much to boost my happiness - possibly because I was pretty content when I put it on. The scent doesn't really appeal, though.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: This smells like fruity, juicy bubble gum! It’s got more to it than that, but that’s what it reminds me of.

 

Wet: I smell a hint of something citrus-y. I might be smelling something resinous in there too, but that’s less certain. It’s very sweet: bright and bouncy.

 

Drying down: It still reminds me of bubblegum, but (like Van Van’s resemblance to powder) there’s a lot bubbling below the surface. It’s like someone who looks like a very young girl turning out to be a 35-year-old high priestess.

 

Dry: More of the thrumming under-notes are coming out now. I find it a unique, compelling scent.

 

Later: It sweetened up even more. I’m leaning toward thinking that it smelled too sweet for wear as a perfume. On the other hand, my morning was more lighthearted. I may layer something with this one to experiment further.

 

ETA: I put some of this on yesterday as a retest. My husband thought it smelled like cherry chapstick. Then today, though I'd put on Dragon's Reverie, my jacket still held the Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo. Funny thing is, it worked much better for me in combination with Dragon's Reverie than it had on its own. I was more joyous and spontaneous today than I'd been in days.

Edited September 13, 2006 by blackfelicula

[Miss Lynx]

This pretty much lives up its name. It's very light, fruity, and I could see it being quite happy-making. I didn't get candy or bubble gum from it -- just fruit, and maybe a slight undertone of something like amber or some kind of incense resin, just enough to give it a sun-warmed feel, and a little more complexity than Akuma, which it is otherwise very reminiscent of.

 

It lasts a lot longer than you would think from the scent, too, although most of the fruitiness eventually ebbs and what's left smells more like vanilla and white musk. All in all, pretty nice.

 

Grade: B

[juniperus]

Bright and cheerful, fruity with a hint of powdery milk chocolate underneath.

[Tess]

Considering I just tried out HoP, doing another sweet scent right away may kill me.

 

In the vial - Straight up bubblegum, possibly a berry flavored type.

 

Wet - True to in the bottle. Still that gum smell.

 

Drying - Ooo, this is darkening and losing its sweetness. I'd almost call this some sort of berry single note. Actually, it smells like blackberry and raspberry together. Very faint.

 

Dry (45 minutes) - This has faded to almost nothing. There's a teeny bit of powdery berry if I press my nose to my wrist, but that's it. It's just gone.

 

Overall - Well, I can't say I feel any more joyful that I did before. Really, I prefere TAL Joy.

[steffanina]

Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo-

 

In Bottle: Mmm, sweet strawberries!

 

Wet: At first like strawberry bubblegum, but then like cherry throat spray.

 

Dry: An interesting strawberry blend! Not as from-the-first lovely as Bon Vivant, but it turns into a very nice warm strawberry.

 

Overall: I like!

[lilfaerywingz]

oh! If you like sweet, fun scents this is for you!!

 

It really did make me want to jump around and smile a lot

 

When it is on my skin it's strawberry galor.

 

I am holding onto this one because I can't bear to give it away, but when it dried it was kind of plasticy smelling (like strawberry shortcake dolls)

[portalkat]

This is a bright, effervescent strawberry scent. I can smell something resinous beneath all the sugar, perhaps Frankincense. I think that I'll try this at the beginning of the day and see how it goes, but I think that it would be difficult not to be uplifted with this happy scent wafting around.

[PilotKitten]

The comparison to that dusty bubblegum is a pretty accurate one. This is a surprisingly foody scent for me. Very sweet and sugary. It reminds me of hard-candies sitting in a glass bowl just begging for you to grab one and let it melt on your tongue. Very nice.... I really may have to get a bottle of this.

[wikkidraven]

i may have to give aunt caroline another spin, because i'm a bit upset that she let me down our first go round. it just seemed to go sickly sweet on me, sort of in the same way that Drink Me didn't agree with me at all. i couldn't smell it at all after a little while, didn't much live up to what i was expecting. hoping next go round i get some love from her.

[himeykitty]

I'd kind of like to eat my wrist right now.

 

ACJM didn't wow me in the imp; it just smelled like generic candy to me. When I put it on, it screamed CHERRY, so inwardly I groaned...the only cherry-smelling/tasting things I like are actual cherries (and only the yellow variety, the dark red ones are way too strong for me).

 

Then on dry-down it started to smell like a Smarties flavor that doesn't exist. Say, if there's a red Smartie...it's got that chalky-fakey smell with a good dose of sweet artificially-flavored fruit.

 

I love Smarties. Absolutely love the things. I get made fun of for it, because where I work those are the last things leftover in a candy mix, until I get ahold of it

 

I'm starting to get a touch of marshmallow from it too, but very faint.

 

Edit about an hour later: Marshmallow is getting stronger. Yum.

 

I'm not sure if it's Working As Intended, because I'm overtired right now, which makes me perky and goofy (you can't tell from the review, can ya? ), so I'm already in the mood it's meant to put me in. I'm guessing it'll help me extend that mood, because ordinarily this cold November Rain will bring me down during the day.

 

Oh, and Boy's review: "That's pretty good." (High praise from the one who compliments me most on the smell of my shampoo.)

 

Definitely keeping the imp--I'll decide on a bottle by the time I'm done with the imp.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Jaimi

[mountainwitch]

Cherries! Bubblegum! A candy I can't quite put my finger on . . . I'm probably showing my age here, but this reminds me powerfully of something I haven't tasted in years--red Bonkers!

 

Eventually this settles down a lot, turning just a touch spicy. But it never loses a kind of strange of cherry-waxiness that reminds me of old candy, or possibly lip balm. I can't say that it's boosted my mood, but it has given me a sudden craving for 80s Saturday morning cartoons.

[jasmine]

Very sweet -- almost candied. It has a distinct familiarity about it, which is pleasing, and it had a citrusy zing at the moment of application that made me happy. Something about it reminds me of going to the fair.

 

Now, however, there’s a clayish-floury note coming through that leaves me mumbling, “Please don’t turn into clayish-floury stuff. I have this great theory about how I’m going to like you, but it sort of depends on you not smelling evil.”

 

...but it did. This is the second scent in very short succession (the first being Imp) that reminded me strongly of unbaked pastry. I have no clue what’s causing it, since it definitely seems to be a skin chemistry problem instead of what the scent is actually supposed to do. There’s still something sweet and candied overlaying the pastry scent, and I really like whatever-it-is, but inevitably, the pastry triumphs -- at least in the short run. I’ll wait it out and see if it improves.

 

I really like the throw off this -- it’s only close up that the scent turns into flour. At a distance, it’s just sweet and familiar, and the closest thing I can think of to the scent is that it reminds me of Mike n’ Ikes. The pastry aspect is also fading, which leaves me deeply relieved.

 

Now the scent is sweet and familiar and somehow impossible to place, but still very pleasing, aside from the tinge of flouriness. Without the flouriness, this would be one of my favorite BPAL scents; as it is, though... appealing, yet without living up to its full potential.

[Miyabi]

This is a strange, but nice one. It smells like candy for the longest time on my skin, and hours later, I've discovered it's morphed into something more rounder, more vanilla-like. I like that one better than the initial candy scent, but admittedly I got this not for the way it smelled, but because I could use some happiness and ease while waiting for the law school decisions to come in!

 

I still like it, though. I'd like to try Has No Hanna sometime, too.