Humbug

[olive]

Vanilla licorice.

Ohhhhh I'm *SO* happy with Humbug! To me it smells like a boozy version of the vanilla from Snake Oil + Black Annis. Anise and vanilla are my two favorite notes so demanding Humbug was a no-brainer -- but I expected something more simple.. a clear vanilla smell and a clear anise smell and maybe something to sweeten it, but Humbug surprisingly has an unspoken complexity to it. There is a spicy-ish/root beer thing going on that kind of reminds me of Snake Oil, and the anise here is really in overdrive which I love!

SO SO happy with this one.




ETA: 2 hours later, the anise is gone and what I'm left with is probably the closest you can get to the lab's vanilla singlenote... this is too good for words.. I want to devour my wrist! I can't wait to see what this is like once it has aged a bit...

Edited December 19, 2008 by olive

[iiinterstate]

This smells just like vanilla extract in the bottle, and like sweetened licorice when it's wet on my skin.

I don't really like licorice, but I do like this so far...

 

As it starts to dry the vanilla really comes to the forefront but it doesn't overpower. I also get the kind of rootbeer feel that the first reviewer picked up. Humbug is delicious!!

 

ETA: This is my husband's new favorite BPAL oil ever on me. I can't keep him away from my arm.

Edited December 20, 2008 by iiinterstate

[angelicruin]

This one's going to rocket to my top 10 favorite BPAL oils list.

 

In the bottle: Creamy licorice

 

Wet on skin: mostly licorice, sweet but not exceedingly so.

 

Drydown: Straight vanilla and licorice.

 

This is a very simple scent, but it's one of my favorites already. :D

 

ETA: I put a little of this in my hair last night before bed cuz it smelled sooo good on my arm. Even this morning when I woke up I could still smell the lovely creamy licorice in my hair and on my pillow. (And I only dabbed a bit on a few strands of hair last night.) If there were a way of buying another bottle, I would definitely get back-up for this one.

Edited December 20, 2008 by angelicruin

[xoe]

Wow I really love this.

BPAL's vanilla has a tendency to be a bit playdohish on me. But not with the licorice.

It is so beautiful.

 

Y'know, I thought that this would be similar to Licwiglunga or Lilith Victoria... but it isn't. At all.

 

I really love it. Did I mention that already? lol

[Maidenhell]

At first the vanilla goes a bit plasticky on me - like a babydoll or barbie head plastic. About 5 minutes later creamy licorice. My hand is tingling/itching where I applied it. That's never happened before. I smell menthol. wtf? Ok.. the final dry down is black licorice jelly beans my skin absorbed the vanilla.

 

This is not the perfume for me. It would be a nice shampoo or soap scent.

Oh well, I really - really like the Bah Humbug atmosphere spray!

 

1 hour later: edited to add the babydoll plastic is back.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Maidenhell

[jolarocknrolla]

it's pretty much all anise/licorice on me. No morphing, just straight up licorice. I just don't have a lot to say about it i guess ... uh, it's fairly strong and lasts a while.

[pacifick]

Mmmmm creamy smooth black licorice. Delicious!

[tarotgirl99]

Fantastic swapper sent me a tester of this. Initially I had no interest (Licorice! Bah! Humbug!) but when I heard the anise dissipated quickly and left you with loverly vanilla...I had to try it.

 

In the imp, it's pure anise. No vanilla to be found.

 

Wet: it's mostly anise but there's a whisper of creamy vanilla that gives me hopes for the future

 

Dry (after an hour or more): More vanilla, but not enough to make me think there's a future for me and the Humbug.

 

ETA: On the plus side, this lasts forever. Pretty good throw, too.

Edited December 28, 2008 by tarotgirl

[Josh]

To me, anise is usually a thin and 'tinny' scent, but the vanilla here really fattens things up & makes the anise feel like it has a warm and almost cream-like consistency to it. Vanilla is a base and anise is a heart/base so the way this smells when it goes on is how it's going to keep smelling, there's very little change as it wears (which is good if you hate the perpetual morphing of particular scents) and, of course, on the skin this stuff lasts and lasts; your wrists will glow vanilla until at least the next day.

[Little Bird]

I can't smell any licorice/black licorice/anise in this blend at all, in the bottle or on my skin. I also don't adore the vanilla note that I get, though it is interesting. At first, it's as though the vanilla in this wants to go plastic-y on me, and it does go slightly powdery on me in the drydown. After a while, it's like a hint of the buttery vanilla-cola smell from Snowblind pops up. It also has a creamy, slightly green coconut smell that reminds me of Snow White.

 

Humbug is like a mixture of the vanilla bits from Love's Philosophy, Snowblind, and Snow White on me. It's a clean, creamy, slightly powdery vanilla with the slightest hints of cool greenery, butter, and cola. It's kind of strange on me.

 

Le Père Fouettard is my ultimate vanilla licorice scent. Le Père is a strong black licorice, foodie vanilla sugar, and a touch of sexiness from the leather. Humbug is soft, clean, creamy, slightly powdery vanilla on me, and an almost green coconut sort of smell that keeps wanting to go plasticy on me. I seem to be the only one who doesn't really get licorice from this, though, just lots of strange vanilla.

[Tigrrrlily]

 

Well, its pretty simple, see? Theres Vanilla, and theres licorice. It could be just that simple, but no. In the bottle, it smells like those chewy licorice taffys that I so adore, the vanilla is sweet and creamy and soft, and the anise is not biting or sharp, but blends in quite nicely. It, too, smells "creamy", if that makes any sense.

 

Wet, the vanilla takes the lead - the same dreamy, soft taffy smell, and thankfully isn't that horrid sickly sweet vanilla like most perfumes containing it (which make me naseaus). Its soft and light. The licorice adds a little spice/tang to the background, just a bit though, I think even a licorice hater would appreciate it. After a while, the vanilla maybe got a little too sweet for my taste, just a tad. Brought to mind when I first tried the sample- it was almost all vanilla and I didnt really see liking it. But for some reason this bottle (which the goblins so wisely chose for me), its.... blended better, possibly, and it never gets to the point of making me sick, and am I ever pleased.

 

After its dried, the licorice all but disappears... no there it is- you just have to get close. My wrist smells like white frosting... on those tasty Mexican anise-seed cookies. Or those little anisette biscotti. mmm mmmm. Delicious

 

oops! I couldnt find the topic for some reason!

Edited January 5, 2009 by Tigrrrlily
Merged with existing topic. --Shollin

[zomathesadist]

this is AMAZING. and will become one of my best-loved BPALs of all time.

 

after I sent my plea for Humbug I received Huesos and I don't care for the licorice in that one as much. So I was fretting that I was going to end up with something that I couldn't use.

 

In the bottle: COOKIES! more specifically, biscochitos, which are Mexican Christmas cookies that have brandy, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and anise.

 

On skin: MMMM. excuse me for a minute. I have to go huff my arm. The licorice is not overpowering, and the vanilla is sweet, but it lacks that buttercreamy sweetness of Love's Philosophy, Glowing Vulva or Sugar Cookie. This is awesome. This is fairly close to a SN, I'd imagine. But the licorice is present--I think it's what's keeping the vanilla from going buttery. The licorice is not strong or sharp--this is very wearable.

 

Drydown: If someone was wearing this, I'd nuzzle my face into their neck to smell them.

 

 

in a nutshell: predominantly vanilla, kept in check with the spiciness of licorice. Seems to last, unsure of throw. A keeper for sure!

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Not as black of a licorice as I was expecting. But not overly sweet either. More of a fennel smell, if that makes sense.

 

Wet on skin: The anise comes out a little more.

 

Dry on skin: Still anise and vanilla. A very creamy subdued anise, but more anise than vanilla on me.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Exactly as promised, rich vanilla with a sharp licorice edge. Wet: The licorice is stronger now. I would swear there was a touch of leather, but it’s not listed, so I am likely wrong. The vanilla reasserts as it warms, softening the whole effect. It balances beautifully on the skin, though with a worrying itchiness. Dry; Stunning vanilla goodness. Yum.

[kjirstiben]

Initially applied, Humbug is an odd mix of butter cookie and licorice smell. It reminds me of Le Père Fouettard, minus the heavy coal-leather-licorice stage.

 

From drydown to its final stages, this is a lightweight, sweet vanilla-anise scent that becomes increasingly pure vanilla over time. In its final stages on my skin, this virtually disappears, it's so faint. Very sweet, and just what it was supposed to be.

 

[tartchef]

I normally don't like licorice, but wolfed down a bag of anise salt water taffy at the fair this summer so I felt I had to give Humbug a shot...

 

Wet, there's a sickly sweet smack of Liquorice AllSorts - I can almost feel them in my mouth, with that matte surface & spongy, chewy texture Things shift quickly, though, and I'm left with something very similar to Love's Philosophy - thick, slightly tangy vanilla buttercream, with a brush of anise in place of LP's wintergreen. The bitterness of the anise is making Humbug much more bearable on my skin, but overall, it's just a strangely seasoned, unctuous vanilla... Feh.

[Brianne]

Not as anise-y or vanilla-y as I was hoping for. Vaguely anise scented light vanilla - it's pretty faint on both accounts. Might age well, but right now it's just hasn't got as much oomph as I was hoping for.

[ObsidianSwirl71]

In the Bottle ♦ Creamy vanilla / licorice candy. It's soft but ... angular at the same time, and very pretty. Like translucent swirls of density.

 

Initial Application ♦ I get a worrisome hint of plastic upon first applying, but thankfully it wanders off after a few minutes (this is definitely my skin chemistry). Now I get that hint of root beer ... it almost just glows (subtly) into the scent.

 

Dry Down ♦ Soft crumbly vanilla candy and licorice blended so perfectly together they become one thing instead of separate components. The almost root beer has shifted into a suggestion of something akin to leather ... making this scent spherical as opposed to two dimensional. The scent gradually drifts into a clean natural vanilla that almost feels toasted, except that the licorice, undetectable otherwise, transforms the texture of the vanilla into something cooler and more elusive. It's the innocent, playful side of darkness. I only smell vanilla and licorice, but the shadows of other creatures live in the intangible waters of this scent.

 

Breathtaking. This also happens to be my boyfriends favorite ... ever.

 

ETA: Did I happen to mention this is one of my favorite scents also?

Edited January 8, 2009 by ObsidianSwirl71

[jewelbug]

I was so enthralled with both of the Bah Humbug inquisition options that I didn't bother specifying which I wanted--I figured I'd be happy with either as a surprise!

 

Bottle: A lovely vanilla licorice. The blend has me in mind of Tombstone minus the woods, actually--a very similar vanilla to my nose, and the licorice has a sassafrassy quality, I guess. The balance is more towards vanilla than licorice when sniffing out of the bottle.

 

Wet: The licorice is stronger on my skin than in the bottle, which is exactly what I was hoping for--I love anise scents. Anise candies--like a vanilla pastille with the little anise seed in the middle, right as your crunch through that seed and get the rush of licorice flavors...that's what this is like. The anise is more herbal than licorice-y--it almost has a minty coolness to it.

 

Dry: This settles into really lovely tombstone-like vanilla, deep and syrupy, darkened by the anise with herbal and sassafrass overtones. Its really quite nice. As it sits on my skin (and this lasts well over 12 hours--wow!), the anise gradually weakens and I'm left more with a vanilla. Really late in, the vanilla has an almost toasty-marshmallowness to it, which I found very interesting.

 

Overall: I quite like this, and it really is lovely, and I love anise scents, which are rare in the bpal catalog. But it reminds me a lot of Tombstone for whatever reason, and that is my DH's scent. My fave-ever scent on him, in fact. And I'm afraid of smelling too much like him. So...I might just see if i can swap this for Bah instead. I'm on the fence, though, cuz this is really lovely. Its vanilla licorice, all right, but its not as simple as all that!

[Rhowan]

I too was looking so forward to this as I couldn't imagine anything but smelly wonderful goodness from the the description...

 

In the bottle: Vanilla Licorice - but the licorice is very slight

 

Wet on my skin: for just a heartbeat I get a pure unadulterated vanilla single note that is heart stoppingly beautiful! Then the licorice starts to warm up and it goes from a slight thin scent to a wonderful full bodied licorice!

 

Drying down: For just a moment the licorice and the vanilla are perfectly balanced ~ one doesn't overpower the other and both notes are full, round and warm and beautiful! * sigh* One heartbeat later,(I kid you not!) the vanilla goes to playdough and now I get playdough and licorice! AND IT DOESN'T STOP THERE! OMGosh! The licorice keeps amping up until I am surrounded in a cloud of overpowering black LICORICE LIQUOR with a nices stink of playdough rounding it out!!

 

Complete dry down: I keep waiting for this to morph into something else. Unfortunately it keeps amping until I am naustead by the continuous wafting coming from one wrist. It actually makes me so sick to my stomach that I have wash it off.

 

CONCLUSION: OH! THE HORROR! I mean, OMG! I only put a slight bit on my wrist and it ended up smelling like a took a full bath in the stnkiest black licorice liqour (and I don't mean Liqueur either but HARD liquor!)I could find and then supplemented it with a nice rubbing down with playdough. Give me some credit though, I waited thru the nausea for 1/2 hr before I washed it off - That's something isn't it?

 

I shouldn't have been so optomistic about the vanilla in this one. I usually either turn vanilla into plastic, playdough, or fake vanilla candle but I figured since it was one of two ingredients that maybe it would be ok. I did get that one perfect moment when this smelled drop dead beautiful, sexy, and flirtatious. I will give it a couple of more tries and see if just the slightest of drop might work. If not, at least I have my scent locket which should keep it true. Still, it is a big bummer - I hate my chemistry!

Edited January 11, 2009 by Rhowan

[deleahrium]

Bottle: Licorice like crazy! Smells pretty much exactly like an open bottle of Anisette.

 

Drydown: The vanilla slooooowly starts to creep out and it's very very pretty. I told my bf about the blend, how it was ZOMGLICORICE! and he was like hrmmm I'll have to smell that on, so I had him sniff it about 3 hours after application and he agreed it was really nice (and by nice I mean he said and did other things, haha). It's neat because while it does smell like vanilla and licorice, it DOESN'T smell like I'm covered in vanilla and licorice. It just smells GOOD. Basically... I love this.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Extremely pale yellow oil. Vanilla and licorice, yup. Rich, creamy, artificial, sickly sweet vanilla. The licorice is sweet, true and natural but overwhelmed by the vanilla.

 

Wet: Wayyyy more intensely LICORICE, with vanilla (softer and creamier, more natural now) far off in the distance. Less sweet, though definitely still candyish/foody. It actually is pretty nice now, and evokes black licorice perfectly.

 

Dry: The vanilla amps up a bit, but remains lovely and I have to say it melds beautifully with the licorice, not a favourite note of mine. This is both very edible and very wearable, and could possibly work on a man.

 

Summary: Final drydown is a perfect balance of creamy, rich vanilla and deep black licorice. It's oddly sexy and pretty delicious, though I don't love licorice quite enough. More feminine after time. Decent throw & great longevity.

 

Edited June 7, 2009 by fairnymph

[tamburlaine]

I'm so happy I got a hold of a decant of this!

 

In the imp, my first impression is, "Sweeter than I thought it would be." I thought that with the anise, which I can usually smell at first whiff, would sober this blend, but you can't stop vanilla! It smells like a fuzzy sweater. Creamy, like Dana O'Shee. That kinda vanilla, not sexy vanilla. French-ish vanilla, without the French kissing.

 

The anise stays at bay for only 3 seconds. It blossoms once it has time to warm up on my skin, and at first it's a little sharp against the fuzzy vanilla, but it makes this blend so unique, and awesome because of it. It's warm and soft, with a kick of licorice that makes the blend edgy and actually something I've never smelled before.

 

After this dries down, the vanilla turns a little too sweet and the anise seems to contrast with the vanilla a little too much. I love this blend for its simple innovativeness, but sniffing it... and this is gonna sound a little weird... it's like my nose smells it in two acts, like two parts of my olfactory bulb are processing first the soft and sweet vanilla, and second the sneaky and sharp anise. WEIRD. The anise also turns bitter when it dries down, but that's my skin being a menace.

 

This blend is great and I'll be wearing it and keeping it around, but it's not perfect for me. A jarring contrast of too sweet and too bitter, simultaneously. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

[Champagne]

It`s vanilla with sharp liquorice for a little and then it turns to liquorice candy And it has a long staying powder with just a tad of it. I tried it in a cotton pad and the liquorice doesn`t morph and stays too strong, so I really prefer Humbug on my skin.

[scarletgenesis]

This is amazingly gorgeous and soft. But the anise keeps it from being overly sweet.

 

The licorice is pretty strong at first and lovely. Then over a few hours it fades a bit and the vanilla comes out more.

 

These two notes blend together really wonderfully into a soft but not weak scent. I wish I'd have ordered two of these!