Sugar Skull

[squidhearts]

Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits.

 

2015 bottle--

 

This smells SO exactly like Samhain on me that I'm kind of concerned? And I don't actually like Samhain...? I'll try again in a week (I WANT TO LOVE IT), but right now it smells like way too strong and artificial autumn spices.

[Argentwolf]

2015 version:

 

Starts off as a refreshingly-sweet and fruity aroma, then goes through a phase of just vague sweetness. About an hour later, it has mellowed down into an almost musky scent that does remind me of dark sugars mixed with lighter ones, with just enough fruit around the edges -- though now it is like a candied fruit, much deeper and richer, not as high and sweet as before. It seems to have decent staying power and a slight throw. I enjoy it at the stage it is right now -- dark and rich -- though I do not know if I need a bottle.

[sprout]

2015 version

 

Wet: sugary fruit

Dry: browned sugar

 

I see why this is popular! I think I'll get my paws on a bottle. Sorry, I don't have any older versions to compare to this year's offering. I remember trying this many years ago and fresh, or maybe it's just this year's iteration, but my decant has more fruit and less burnt sugar than my memory of the original.

[vanilla323]

2015 version

 

This is so much better then the 2008 bottle I had! This has a lot more of the sugars and very light fruit. It's so delicious!! It's sweeter then 2008 as well. The throw was good but it stayed on my skin until I went to bed, and that is a huge win over 2008 and in general! Yay for staying power! Love this!

[Soupy Twist]

2012 version, so an older bottle: Caramel and burnt sugar in the bottle. Goes on as sugar with a flash of candy fruit. Dries as crème brûlée with cinnamon. I think this is almost exactly what Askasleikir would have ended up as if he'd lasted more than 10 minutes on my skin.

Edited February 6, 2016 by Soupy Twist

[Gael]

Strong and atmospheric this one. And not so sugary as boozy for me. Maybe a skull rolling out of a pub floor with bits of tobacco stuck on it's sticky surface.

 

In any event, it's not frivilous or for the faint hearted.

[t_for_tau]

2015 variation

 

In the vial: fruity, candied sick. Oh dear.

 

Wet: the sick's gone in its place is a delicious warm, burned brown sugar...and bubblegum gobstoppers. Are there people who want to smell like bubblegum gobstoppers? If so, this would be perfect for them. :s

 

Drydown: something musky and almost autumnal, faintly masculine. Huh. The gobstoppers have dissolved, leaving a faintly boozy note and just too much of a trace of fruitiness for my liking. Is there lotus in this? I could swear I smell bpal's lotus note....

 

Dry: damn, that lovely autumn-musk scent has backed off, and now it smells like scented plastic. The throw's still as above, and rather nice, but when it gets too close to my nose it's just...ugh. A near miss.

 

ETA: ROSE WHY. My nemesis strikes again.

Edited March 8, 2016 by tau

[Numanoid]

2015 version

 

In bottle - Very sweet.... I do get that hint of something fruity, but not freshly picked fruit, candied fruit, as mentioned in the notes.

 

On skin - OOH..a blast of super sweet cough syrup?? That was my first impression. Not sure about this.

 

Dry down - I usually like foody and sweet scents, but something is oddly wrong with this one on me. It makes me think of what a holiday candle from a dollar store would smell like when it is lit. Gets kind of cologny on me as well after a few. I can't do this one... sorry!

[Casablanca]

2010

 

Sugar! I mean seriously, sugar. We biologically lean toward craving it. I love it in most of its forms. (Maybe not powdered sugar, but it's still good for motorboating.)

Sugar Skull smells like white sugar and brown sugar and caramelly sugar and candied fruits that smell mostly like strawberry and lemon to me. And maybe a teeny teeny bit of lotus bubblegum?

Skull seems to get a little spiciness as it dries. Cardamom?

I like it.

[Psycry]

2008 Blend

 

I got this new from the lab when it was out, and it was one of those that I didn't really cotton to, and I just tried it again. You know, nothing like 8 years to get a final verdict. LOL

 

To me, wet, dry, in the bottle, this is an overly dark smooshed sweet cacophony.

 

It does not play well on my skin at all...it's like you poured syrup and brown sugar on a piece of wheat bread, and then burned it.

 

This one is going to the swaps.

[squidhearts]

2015 version.

 

A full year after purchase, I've totally changed my mind and love it. Before, it was suffocating and unpleasant, like a bad fall themed air fresher heavy on the fake pumpkin spice and apples. No sugar. NOW, it's wonderful. Was it the passage of time? Skin chemistry change? I have no idea.

 

Sugar, sugar, dark and burned sugar, mmmm. Burned sugar as in caramelized (upthread mention of crème brûlée is spot on), and also a tiny whiff of something almost like smoke. No fruit at all, glory hallelujah. I can see this being VERY wearable--the sugar isn't cloying, and not too sweet, if that makes sense. For me, it's not at all heavy anymore. It's a very sophisticated kind of sugar. Really does remind me of crème brûlée, without the crème part.

[ianastar]

Trying this again for 2017 and I'm in love.

 

In the bottle and wet on the skin it is pure sugary goodness. Like a brown sugary or maple syrup like smell.

 

On the dry down there is a spiciness that I'm loving.

 

I didn't get any of the fruits at all.

 

It is very reminiscent of that cartelized, crusty, sugar top of a creme brûlée and I"m loving that!

[LizziesLuck]

2017 version

 

Wet: Sugary fruit! Like peach or apricot. It really reminds me of Snow Angel, as did the Sugar Skull HG I already tried (and loved). This wants to go plastic though, which is an evil thing my skin does to some gourmand or fruit blends. Blarg.

 

 

Dry: This eventually settles to a light sugary fruit scent. I like it quite a bit. I think it's totally inoffensive and I could get away with wearing it to work or just about anywhere. I may need to invest in a bottle!

[thekittenkat]

I sniffed the 2017 version at the DSWC. There's been only one yr that I really liked it enough to purchase a bottle; all other yrs' were faint and fleeting, alas. This yr's had a strong banana note, something that I have never experienced w/ Sugar Skull before. I'm afraid that I didn't even skin test. But that's just me, since I don't care for banana scents.

[ramblingrambler]

2017 version: Is there tobacco in this, or is it just me? I amp tobacco to high heavens—put it on and immediately got a whiff of something very similar to a tobacco scent. But it was like tobacco meets rum meets syrup. I didn’t smell the banana as mentioned above, but I probably would have preferred that, even though I can’t really wear banana myself. My boyfriend said I smelled like a drunk pirate. We both hated it for the four or five hours it remained, strongly scenting the room around us.

 

 

And then drydown happened. And it was glorious. It smelled like five sugars lightly dusted with candied fruit—exactly as the description details! Why couldn’t it begin this way? Unfortunately this stage isn’t worth the hours of stank emanating from my bod, so I’ll have to swa it. Huge loss because, damn, do I smell delicious right now.

 

But as soon as I crawled into bed a few minutes ago and pulled the covers to my head, getting a whiff of the delectable sugary goodness, I began sneezing. My enjoyment: Thwarted again!

[Lucchesa]

I'd been curious about this scent for a while, and this weekend the 2017 version was literally handed to me as a gift by an incredibly generous forumite. I am enjoying it a ton. First of all, I do NOT get banana from this. Banana would have been a non-starter. I definitely get sugar, and it seems to vary from a caramelly, slightly burnt brown sugar to a very clean, innocent powdered sugar. Weird, the way Beth can create the perception of something like powdered sugar that I think of as being almost without smell,

 

I'm not sure what the candied fruits are. Can you candy red currants? Because on me the fruit notes wafting in and out of the sugar are bright and tart, like red currant. It's a lovely effect, and subtle, and as LizziesLuck mentions, you could wear it absolutely anywhere: doctor's office, board meeting, chaperoning a 3rd grade field trip. It's more of a spring/summer scent in my estimation, but it could certainly be worn year round, especially if you don't live in a climate where you require your winter scents to create an illusion of warmth.

[theredkilt]

2008 decant:

 

On my skin it turns into burnt sugar with a bitter tone, but after some minutes the burnt sugar note takes over. No candied fruit in sight.

 

This reminds a lot of Sticky Pillowcase from the same year.

 

I recall i tested some years ago a decant from the 2012 release and it was such a gorgeous blend, while the 2008 decant is completely a whole different scent. Oh well...

[donkehpoo]

(2007 version.)

Wet: Warm, caramelized, candied fruits. A little bit of a boozy smell as well.

 

Dry: Carmelized, RED ,candied fruits. The fruit scent is much stronger upon dry down, and it's almost giving me a red-wine type of scent as well. Red currants and red wine? Something like that. 

 

Such an interesting scent, and I swear it smells a little different each time I wear it. It's really, really good.

[Soupy Twist]

2008 version: Goes on as a delicious tobacco, where the 2012 version is more candied fruit. After 10 minutes or so they even out into the same lovely brûlée sugar note.

[monocainsheresy]

2012 version

 

Brown sugar, something spicy, and a little bit of fruit. Much more caramel-y and foodie than expected. Sticky and almost boozy.

[artisjok]

2008 version

I was hoping for some strong caramelized sugar like some people have been getting. I like that dark sweetness, like maple syrup and brown sugar. In this blend I get a pretty equal blend of fruity and sugary. It does smell a little like there’s a smidge if tobacco in the beginning. I’m not usually drawn to fruits in my perfume, yet this is pleasant. Apple is the note that I recognize most, and is one of my more favored fruit scents. The sugar is darker, caramelized for sure. It’s definitely got the toned down tone that comes with aging, yet it’s compelling and comforting enough to keep me sniffing. After a while the fruit fades away and a soft warm sweetness is left. Cozy.
I wasn’t so interested in this scent before, yet now that I’ve tried one year, I’d be up to try other versions. 

Edited December 5, 2019 by artisjok

[Permanent.Black.Ink.]

I recently snagged (in 2020) a decant from 2007, and I will tell you that while the reviewers who got their scents new seem to consistently say "this kid's a screamer" I gotta let you know that aging it seems to diminish the strength...?  Maybe it's because I have a decant, not a full bottle.  In any case, my 10+ year vintage has mellowed to a pretty discreet hazelnut & cinnamon blend.  The fruits are barely there as a sweet undertone.  I'm trying the new 2020 Sugar Skull just to compare, but this is a pretty standard autumn gourmand with no standout notes; I definitely wouldn't recommend going out of your way to hunt for aged ones if that's your jam.

[Mexnerd101]

Omg, I was expecting sweet sugar smell, but I was not anticipating the spice. Sugar Skull smells like liquid sugar syrup dashed with a whole bunch of cinnamon and cloves. Almost like honey and pumpkin spice. If you've ever walked into a candle store during Halloween season and they have all the fall scents out so when you get to the entrance, you're hit with a blast of sweet and spicy commingling together, that what this is. It's so sticky sweet, but the spices conjure up images of autumn decorations like red leaf garlands and scarecrows sitting on strawbales. 

 

I think this would be a good room spray if you can keep a light hand. One too many spritzs, and you've become a honey hive with cinnamon dripping off the walls. Like an over eagar sopallia that tumbled through the sugar and spice until it caked on so heavily, you lost the pastry bread completely. 

Edited November 30, 2020 by Mexnerd101

[melandie]

I'm really glad I waited a couple of weeks to review this one (2020 version, and I've unfortunately never sniffed any previous versions). Like the previous reviewer, fresh from the mail, this was all spice and candied fruits, and I really felt it was Christmas candle, or pot pourri. Not quite what I was looking for.

 

Settled down a bit, now I'm getting a mix of sugars front and centre, a bit warm, caramelly and a bit musky. The candied fruit aspect has moved to the background, so it really does feel like a "dusting".

 

Right now, it doesn't seem to have a lot of lasting power, but I've found with BPALs, the longer they sit on the shelf, the more potent they get. Very glad I got this, and I see why it's so popular!

 

 

[SophieCedar]

2020 version-

LOVE this year's version. The cinnamon/spicy element is played down, compared to some other years' Sugar Skulls. That's a good thing, as it allows the 5 sugars to shine through and you can detect candied fruits...instead of it all turning into a cinnamon sugar shaker.

 

Sweeter, pinker, and more playful than some previous years. Its PERFECT. Bottle for sure.