Sugar Skull

[olympia301]

 

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

 

Review of Sugar Skull '05:

 

What a difference a year made! This is a thick, deep, rich, boozey blend indeed. I think I can smell tobacco in the mix as well. No fruitcake whatsoever and that makes me happy. I like the Sugar Skull idea plain, with all of its wickedness intact. It reminds me of Elegba without the coconut and amped up to a much stronger degree. Oddly enough there is a good deal of a volitile element, something like fermented sugar or burnt sugar. I find that's attractive. I like this year's Sugar Skull a great deal.

 

 

Review of 2004 Sugar Skull after it aged about 11 months:

Almost a fruitcake beginning, very rummy...more so than any other BPAL I have tried. A sweet booze with frosting like hard sauce. I smell nutmeg, and perhaps cinnamon under the glaze. This isn't the tame sugary smell I was expecting. I also smell a perfumy element way in the background, so it doesn't smell like something you want to eat, it's attractive, though. I am certain that there is vanilla in there, but it's being run over by the rummy smell (that can happen with vanilla, it's a lot more tender than you think).

 

I can see how some people would say "maple syrup" but that's not how I would describe it. I get the impression of a resiny part in here, a splash of something you would find in Snake Oil.

Edited November 23, 2007 by Shollin

[Little Bird]

I'm glad that I managed to snag a imp-size decant of this one, since I cannot justify purchasing another sugar-foodie scent (with the 7 bottles of Midway in my room ).

 

First on, Sugar Skull reminds me of the treat my mother always makes for my brother for breakfast. It is basically pancakes smothered in butter and brown sugar, and then rolled up and sliced into pinwheels. It's odd. She calls them brown sugar pancakes. I can smell the brown sugar and butter here, and the whole thing has been drenched in maple syrup. They make me sick when I eat them because they're just too sweet. And that's how Sugar Skull smells to me too, just a bit too much sugar.

 

In the drydown the maple syrup edge dies down a bit and a hint of rum comes through. Boozy brown sugar.

 

It's rot your teeth out sweet. I'm glad to have an imp, but I don't think that I'll need a bottle.

[Nachtwulf]

Bottle: It's like Gluttony's lightweight brother! It's sweet as hell (like you'd expect with 'five sugars' being the main component, but there's other stuff in it too that I can't identify in the imp.

 

Wet: I don't think there's any fruit in the 2004 version, because I'm not getting any. What I am getting is a wonderful sweet-burnt caramel scent, that unlike Gluttony's butterscotch, does not make me want to choke with its presence. It's very simple, but it's quite nice all the same.

 

Dry:It's still 'toasty caramel' with a hint of smoke.

 

Final Opinion: I like this. I'm not entirely sure I want to smell like a slightly burnt marshmallow, but it does have its appeal, and the throw is nice; it's like being where you catch whiffs of baking. I'm looking forward to the bottle I ordered, though! A touch of fruit would indeed make this really special.

[sookster]

first off, let me say that i was one of those that thought...oh another lightweight, quick fading, slightly sugary, sweet blend...i imagined it was probably more or less a dupe of aquolina's pink sugar....nothing i would be interested in at all

ok...wow....boy oh boy was i incredibly mistaken!!

 

first and foremost, i have to say what i love the most about bpal blends is the fact that they can smell

so completely and amazingly different on everyone and that you have to really give scents a try, at the very least, before making any assumptions!!

 

a near empty bottle of sugar skull 2004 was given to me by one of most generous forumites ever...i shrugged and i have to admit...i was curious...

 

upon opening the bottle and sniffing i got the most intense & orgasmic sugar rush of my

life

omg, this was pure, rich brown sugar and butter....i only needed the tiniest dab on my wrist

as this is a seriously strong and ultra long lasting blend...after about 30 minutes a slightly

spicy aroma shines through followed by a hint of carmelized fruity goodness.....

 

i am positively thrilled with sugar skull 2004 and can hardly wait to try sugar skull 2005 no matter

how different (or the same!)she may be...

 

Beth, yet again, outdoes herself in her field.....

[dreadeddragon]

2005 version

 

In the bottle: It's like Trick or Treat without the corn. Pure carmalized sugar.

 

First on: It's just a burnt sugar (that between caramel and sugar stage), but it's not overly sweet. I don't really like sweets too much, and I definitely am not too fond of smelling like them, but this somehow smells just like sugar without being too sticky sweet for me. I imagine it would be good to wear on a cold, crisp day.

 

Drydown: Still exactly the same. It's rather potent too, like the Trick or Treat was. I think this might be a nice room oil, but I'm not sure if I want to wear it. I'll have to try it by itself one day.

[iriedanym]

I am finding that more and more I am in love with Beth's "foody" scents. I bought an imp of Sugar Skull, and when I first opened the lid I was in love. Brown sugar goodness. This oil lasts on the skin for a long time, so I suggest going easy on dabbing it on. I'm not catching a real hint of fruits, just the sugars. I had to buy a bottle to sate my hunger!

[Aredhel]

2005 version.

 

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in one word: Burnt.

 

In the bottle: Sugar! Sweet, tooth-decaying, syrupy sugar. Why am I liking this?

 

On skin, wet: Boozy, spicy brown sugar. This starts off in a burnt-to-a-bitter-crisp way, but then changes its mind and settles down into a warm, spicy sugar. Slightly bitter and vaguely smoky. Quite nice!

 

On skin, dry: I get no candied fruits, in any stage. This is sweet, smoky, spicy and a bit cinnamony. The only downside is the burnt edge I keep sniffing.

 

Conclusion: Wet, I loved it. Dry, I loved it, except for the burnt quality. As it continued to dry, that burnt smell got stronger and stronger, until it was nothing but burnt, syrupy brown sugar.

Edited November 14, 2006 by Aredhel

[Chas]

Brown sugar. Carmelized and sweet with a bitter edge. I wasn't sure I'd like this, especially since I've had poor luck with the foody scents, but this is wonderful. It has just enough of a "burnt" edge to it to keep it from being sickly sweet. I'm going to try layering this with a little Milk Moon.

[DarcyPennell]

This is soooo disappointing. I was so certain I would love Sugar Skull, but it doesn't love me. It's strong and cloying and burned. I only put on a little tiny dab but it's been wafting all around me.

 

It's been an hour and it's finally starting to settle down into something nicer, but I don't know if it's worth the first stage. Maybe I can swap it for Midway

[Eros]

Getting something different from last year's version...In the bottle and first applied, boozy & syrupy. After a few minutes the burnt sugar comes out to play but still mostly it's more maple syrup than anything. As with all Beth's foody blends, this one isn't really. On me, anyway. They tend to become a part of my skin rather than *just* perfume. I like!

 

Lovely!!

[laochodia]

In the bottle- much richer and darker.

Wet- Raw sugar, a bit of walnut and a tiny bit of smoke.

Dry- Burnt, dark sugar, the smell of walnut skins (that dry papery taste) and a rich, rolling base of mollasses. This is darker and more joyous than the 04 version...and just as amazing.

Edit- After a few hours, this is all burnt vanilla and maple syrup. Mmmm.

Edited October 18, 2005 by laochodia

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

It smells like Grog actually

 

On me:

I can see why I thought this smelled like Grog in the bottle. It smells very much like rum to me - it has that boozy sweetness. Along with that it is mostly brown sugar, with a maple syrup stickiness to it and a buttery edge. This is thick, sticky, and sweet.

 

Final note:

This is too sweet for me. I was expecting something sugary, but this is just that heavy kind of sweet that I can't really wear. I enjoy it on one level, because I think it's quite unique, but I know that I will only end up wearing this once in a blue moon.

[bloodlotus1]

Sugar Skull 2005

 

Dark, mapley, burnt sugar.

 

Then the fruits come out. Smells like a cross between the candied fruits you get in a fruitcake & the port-soaked raisins that are in the way superior Jamaican fruitcake my Mom makes for Christmas.

 

A touch of cinnamon & a little more than a smidge of smoke.

 

More fruity than the '04 version, but then again I had an older imp.

 

Tenacious as all hell. Huge throw.

 

All in all I like this one.

Edited October 18, 2005 by bloodlotus1

[Monster]

This is a very buttery, rum-scented maple sugar. I'm not getting any fruit, at all.

 

Yesterday while I was wearing this, it made me a big nauseus, but then again I wasn't feling to good to begin with. Today I'm wearing it and it smells absolutly gorgeous. The smell of maple syrup usually makes me sick to my stomach, but this one is partnered up with a buttery rum, which makes it smell absolutly delicious.

 

I'm still on the fence with this one. I was expecting something completley different.

 

**EDIT**

Ok, I've come to the conclusion that I absolutly do NOT like Sugar Skull >< For whatever reason, this scent makes me sick to my stomach. I has to be the maple syrup. I must've been traumatized by the stuff as a child or something casue whenever I smell it, I feel sick.

Oh well. Looks like my 2 bottles will have to find better homes...

Edited October 21, 2005 by CourtneyLynne

[Finny]

Candied, rum soaked fruit, and sugar. I know this is a Halloween scent, but to me this is Yule, it is Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, the flaming pudding, after the Cratchit's holiday meal.

 

Wonderful, rich, sugary and liquor soaked fruit. A bit smoky as it dries down. And utterly delightful.

[empi girl]

Very sweet and syrupy in the bottle, like caramel and brown sugar and maple all rolled together. It smelled wonderful!

 

On, it stays that way for a few minutes (long enough for my DH to say "whatever you're wearing, I don't like it. It is too sweet!"), and then it morphs into syrupy prunes. Someone else said rum-soaked raisins, and that also describees it, though I associate that sticky sweetness and slight plumminess with prunes overall.

 

After several hours it dries down into a distinct brown sugar scent that is very nice. And I surprised myself by deciding that, after all, I don't think I want a brown sugar scent!

 

So, this is nice, but not for me. It'll go in swaps soon.

[violetrose]

In the bottle, I smell thick, dark syrup over a hint of rich, lush fruits. On the skin, the fruits jump quickly to the foreground, but fade softly into a background of caramelized sugar. After a half hour, the caramelized sugar warms with a hint of mexican vanilla which lasts for hours on me.

 

My favorite autumn BPAL fragrance, so far!

Edited October 19, 2005 by violetrose

[harmonyfb]

I tried on "Sugar Skull" this evening (from a traded imp). I don't know whether this is last year's batch or not (I also don't know if this year's batch was reformulated). I only know that I really don't like what I put on. On my son? It smelled delicious, like brown sugar. On me? Oy.

 

In the bottle, it smelled syrupy. Yum!

 

Wet, it smelled of those commercially produced "cinnamon brooms". Loudly. Aggressively. (The husband smelled no cinnamon, so maybe it's just me.)

 

Dry? It smells of fake cinnamon with an undertone of burnt sugar. Dammit.

 

The husband said, "That smells pretty good - kind of a root beer/sassafras smell." I smell no root beer. ::eyes husband suspiciously::

 

If the bottle I ordered smells the same, it'll be swapping time right quick. ETA: Yep, the bottle is exactly the same nasty 'cinnamon' smell. Bleah.

Edited November 13, 2005 by harmonyfb

[starfire]

in the bottle and on my skin, this scent is unwavering. maple syrup. burnt sugar. heaps and heaps of sugar. the sweetness is almost sickening for this sweet-scent lover.

 

oh goddess, will this scent ever stop? one dab...and two hours later, my boyfriend walks in the door and comments on the lovely scent of the house. that was my sugar skull.

 

later, the scent becomes a bit darker. more akin to amber and maple than pure sugar. alas, amber and i just don't get along.

 

this is lovely, but i'm giving it to my boyfriend, who drools over this scent like a pavlovian dog.

[Lorencita]

2005 version.

 

This is definately fruitier than last year. This is what I wanted last years to smell like. It has that same sweetness, but more fruit & a little less dense than last year. I love it & I'm so glad I decided to get a bottle, even though I still have a 1/2 bottle from last year... this one is much better

[Julilla Regina]

OK, this is a weird scent! That saying, I do like it, but it's weird. It is dark, dark brown sugar, molasses-y, sweet and slightly acrid, but not burnt if that makes sense. At first it's all that acrid dark brown sugar. Not unpleasant, but weird. After awhile I smell a floral behind it. Now it's smoothed down into a lightly floral dark sugar (acrid is gone) scent. I like it fine by itself, but I think it's true glory will lay in its layering capabilities.

[gangstaknitta]

After hearing all the hubub about SS, I was eager to try...

In the bottle, it smells like sugared and honeyed rum. It made me think of candied fruits and hot toddies and enjoying a drink (or seven!) in front of the fire with my best friends after dessert.

 

On my skin, it invoked images of a distillery that had been battle-ravaged by a sugar cane crop. A little too much for me. Sadness. It lasted for HOURS after my shower.

[leftofcenter]

I am loving this one way more than I thought I would. In the bottle it smells very brown sugary sweet and not like something I would like to wear. However, I tried a dab on, and it mellowed to a nice warm spicy, sugary baked apple smell. Maybe I'm just in denial about liking loving a foody scent, but it doesn't smell as foody as it sounds like it would... This is just cozy autumn comfort in a bottle

[pranashakti]

Sugar Skull 2005

 

Whoa. I'm a die-hard fan of 2004. This is very different for me, but then again, my bottle of 2004 made it my way when it was about 8 months old. I'm sure aging changed it greatly - I didn't love it on my first try in a imp and fell in love months later. Enough of that...onward...

 

This is very fruity for me. On first application I do get a boozy, burnt to a caramel brown sugar note (which I love) but then the candied fruit takes over in a complete contrast to 2004, where I got barely any fruit at all. This stage lasts a very long time - it is delicious, but not what I fell in love with. There's a bit of a powdery but bubblegum (a-la-Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo) stage for a bit towards the end, and then the initial yum-yum deep sugariness returns. Even at this stage there's an underpinning of fruit that I would like to make leave, on one level, but it is growing on me. This is also lacking the insane throw '04 brings to the table right now.

 

My conclusion is that this bottle is a promise. I've never tried Sugar Skull fresh and I'm sure that this will, like it's predecessor, evolve stunningly as time passes. I'm definitely in for another bottle to stash at the back of my box along with this one as I'm sure in a few months it will be swoonworthy. Sweet dreams, my love...we'll be together soon.

[quikslvr]

(2005 version)

 

Oh, this seems far more complex than the maple-y sugar I got from '04. This is deep and boozy. Much darker than Trick or Treat. It's as if Trick or Treat took over the old sweet spot, and the Sugar Skull went dark. Oh, yes. There is tobacco in there, too. And maple, and brown sugar or molasses. No fruits here that I can tell--at least, none that are bright and sweet. There's a dark sweetness here, like dates, perhaps, but that's all.

 

Very nice evolution.