Sugar Skull

[shelldoo]

sugar skull 05

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

 

in the bottle: sugary, slightly maple, a hint of something reminecent of tobacco, and a tid bit of something boozy

 

wet: boozy tobacco scent, not tobacco smoke, but like fresh tobacco leaves and they be sugar coated leaves for sure.

 

as it dries it sweetens considerable, and a hint of fruity booziness lingers, it is a deep rich fruit brandy type scent minglng w/ the boiling sugar this is a bit fruitier then last years version, i loved last years, but i actually think i like this years a bit better.

[joseybird]

2005 version

 

ALCOHOL???? o_o

 

Alcoholic, heavily maple sugared fruits.

 

This isn't just Evil Sugar like last year's version...This is Evil Sugar's Offering to the Dark Gods...

[LyndaM]

I hadn't read the reviews, and this wasn't at all what I was expecting. To me, this smells like a very sweet, plum liquor. The sweetness seems to be brown sugar instead of white, but yeah. Fortified plum brandy is the best decription I can come up with. Very heady and boozy. I don't get any tobacco.

 

I really like it since I readjusted my expectations, and it was made even better by the fact that I didn't have to slather to get throw (!), and it had great lasting power.

 

I'll wear and enjoy it as is, but I'm also going to try to speed-age an imp of it to see if the fruit tones down.

 

Edit: Okay...maybe I'm nuts, or this loses the fruit and booze in extreme drydown. My husband just nuzzled my neck, six hours after application, and said, "You smell just like pancakes and syrup".

Edited October 25, 2005 by LyndaM

[zenvodunista]

i just want to say that before this halloween, i never thought of myself as foody perfume girl. i mean, who wants to smell like food.

 

apparently, i do.

 

SS'05 in the bottle smells like brown sugar and rum. i don't smell anything but those two things, and on me that continues with the scent of brown sugar wafting in the air about me, and getting more and more alchoholic as my nose gets close and closer to skin. some maple.

 

this is really awesome! i'm nervous about wearing it to work due to the alcholoic content of it, but wow. this is really yum!

 

n.

[luxuria]

Ooooh, deep, slightly smoky brown sugar. I smell a wee bit of fruit when its wet, but not afterwards. This is wonderful! Like maple syrup, but sexed up. It doesn't morph too much and it lasts, lasts, and lasts. Perfect!

[Moonpuff]

MMmm love at first sniff!

 

This one changes quite a bit on me. In the bottle it's just sugary sweetness. Once it gets on my skin it goes much more syrupy and ...darker, I guess... and then, THEN the fruits start to come out. Yummy!

[Freya]

In the bottle and wet on my skin, this is a very sweet and fruity oil. Then, within a few minutes it's all maple syrup. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, because it makes me crave pancakes. Normally my skin really amps up the sugar in a scent, so I'm shocked at how mellow and rich Sugar Skull turned on me. I could see this being a nice oil for a cold fall evening watching the kids play hockey; it has a warming quality to it.

 

Sugar Skull 2005 isn't what I expected.

[lookingglass]

This is for the 2005 edition...Please excuse me if this should go somewhere else...

 

I LOVE this oil. I did not anticipate this scent being so skin compatible. In the bottle it is quite buttery and sweet. Then it is spicy...cinnamon/cardamom light and beautiful. My friend complements me that I smell like an Indian dessert. The sweetness is dark...cooked...like baked good crust. Dry, this reminds me of the Amish maple cinnamon buns that I used to get up North.

 

I am captivated. Must have more!!!!!!!!!!

[Loligo]

Oh, I am in love. Maple syrup and brandy, with just enough of a burnt smell to give it some edge. I never get a real fruit note from this, but there's something in the beginning that's almost floral, the way some wines smell floral. Warm, delicious, and more complex than you might think.

[sideviewhotel]

Oh god. Sugar Skull, I love you.

 

In the imp, it's such a difficult scent to pick apart. I had my dad sniff it, and he even agreed that it smells SO GOOD (which is rare, btw). It smells buttery, but sweet. More sweet than butter, though. It's like.. sweet popcorn? I'm not sure. I still can't place what it is, exactly.

 

I put this one first when I got my decants from Wacky yesterday and then I reapplied it again today. Now, I'm getting a very heavy spicy fruit. Like, an apple pie or a mixed fruit cobbler (or something) with cinnamon-y crumb topping. YUM!

 

This is what I thought Harvest Moon would smell like. Don't get me wrong, I love Harvest Moon and have been wearing it plenty, but this.. Sugar Skull is so much love.

 

I didn't think I would like it, because I thought it was going to be just.. pure white sugar. Not dark brown sugar and maple syrup-y.

 

Oh god. Apple. Apple pie is wafting into my face and I love it. a;lskgh;l

[quikslvr]

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.

[ChupaChup]

Of all the Samhain oils to be re-released this year, I think Sugar Skull it the most different. The '05 version is about one tenth the amount of burnt sugar and maple syrup smell of last year's. There is also a very nice smokey note. Unfortunately, the fruit notes are a little too prominent this year for me so it's not a keeper. I totally agree with the reviewer above who said Trick or Treat took over the spot Sugar Skull held last year.

[Undine]

This is Sugar Skull '04. I got an imp of it so that I could decide whether to buy a bottle this year.

 

So ... uh ... no one else got sawdust from this, huh? This is the weirdest thing, but that's what I get from this. Warm sawdust, slightly sugary or spicy, but overall it doesn't smell NEARLY as sweet or sugary as it does in the imp. Up close I get more of that burnt brown sugar smell, but further away, and overall ... sawdust.

 

Very weird.

 

When I put on just a little, I got less of the sawdust, as well, so this makes me wonder whether if I applied less, it would be a better scent on me. Some things are like that--your nose overdoses, and then things smell funky. And I did put a good amount on the second time, because throw/staying power is often poor on me--whereas this oil is very strong.

 

I do like it pretty well, especially the non-sawdust part. It's much less sweet and cloying than I expected, really quite different than I thought it would be and even than it was in the imp. With the first application, I was considering a bottle. I'll have to try lighter doses in the future and see whether the sawdust effect is minimized. I'd also like to try '05 to see how it compares. I do like smokiness and darkness.

 

At this time, I'd say it's about a 3 out of 5, on my scale.

[13bodies]

Sugar Skull '05 has my favorite label of all of my Halloween LE's.

 

Anyway,

At first sniff this is very sugary with a tart fruit undertone. But when I put it on it turned into booze; very strong, very sweet, very high proof booze. I wore it to work anyway and had comments on it all morning. I probably put on too much (I tend to slather) and it was strong.

 

After it dried the alcohol smell diminished and it was softer and sweeter. I didn't get any comments on it during the afternoon.

 

By evening I could still smell it, so this lasts and lasts and lasts. If my BPAL is still around after 4 hours I consider it a miracle.

 

I didn't pick up any fruit notes, but others did--one person said I smelled like sugary apples and another said I smelled like peach cobbler.

 

Bottom line, I like Sugar Skull. I can't wear it to work, though, and I wish it was a bit less alcoholic. I think I'll put some in an imp and see if aging mellows it a bit.

[aidenraine]

Hello again, Sugar Skull!

 

 

Well, you still smell like maple syrup, maybe a bit more texture.

 

 

But really, just maple syrup- which makes me kind of want to yorf.

[graycat]

2005 version

 

ALCOHOL???? o_o

 

Alcoholic, heavily maple sugared fruits.

 

This isn't just Evil Sugar like last year's version...This is Evil Sugar's Offering to the Dark Gods...

 

wow, joseybird said it right! i first thought, merlot?!? and then my husband said, red wine?! huh, strange. on the skin though losses that boozyness and it kicks into maple/brown sager land. ah, i like it here....

[Voleuse]

2005 Version

 

On first application, this is pure, melted sugar. My mother makes syrup sometimes, to go with pancakes, and it's just regular sugar and water, melted until it's viscuous. This is what it smells like to me.

 

After a bit, it morphs to brown sugar with a hint of maple, and I think I get a hint of the booziness other reviews mention. There's a bit of sharp sweetness that might be fruit, but it doesn't come out strongly enough to identify. And then, weirdly, it starts to smell like stale candy on my skin. Have you ever kept candy in a box for a while, then smelled the box after the candy is gone? That's what it smelled like, except with a hint of booze and smoke.

 

After a while, it reverts back to burnt brown sugar, and then it has amazing throw. I walked through a room, and my mother started wondering why she could smell candy. It's pretty and foody, but I'm not convinced it's for me.

[Diana]

I bought three more bottles of this because last year's Sugar Skull is one of my all-time favorites.

 

Sugar Skull 2005 formulation scares me.

 

Putting it on, it smells not like the familiar carmalized sugars. It smells like booze and molasses. I have a serious aversion to molasses because it makes me vomitously ill. This is not making me happy. It's tolerable (mostly because I'm not actually eating it), but it's really heavy and thick smelling. It has that somewhat too-syrupy note that Hearth 2004 had (which made me nauseous).

 

After wearing it all day, it's not as prominent, but the molasses smelling syrup note is the one and only thing I can smell now. At least now I just smell smokey-syrupy instead of syrupy and doused in whiskey.

 

I'm hoping a few months on my shelf will mellow it out. I don't really like this at all in comparison to last year's version.

[Galen]

I've sniffed Sugar Skull '04 just the once and got a heavy syrupy sugar smell from it; I can't compare it directly with Sugar Skull '05 as I don't have both to hand together, but here's my impressions of this year's blend

 

Holy sweet sugary syrup, Batman! Sweet and heavy and heady when wet on my skin, and only a little less strong as it dries down. sweet and rich enough to cause cavities

 

Funnily enough, I thought I would fall hard for this one - dark and sweet are my personal preferences in a blend - but it doesn't capture my imagination as I thought it might. This is a fragrance that, for me, would work better applied lightly all-over (body lotion, oil or spray) than being concentrated as a perfume oil.

 

overall: sweet, dark, and very foody.

[mobilejessie]

I'm hooked on the '04 version. It's like crack. I have three bottles and I love them like my children. I was thrilled that it came out again, and very curious about any differences - I figured I had enough of the original to not be too terrified of change.

 

On my skin, it's definitely very different! It smells much like I expected Trick or Treat to smell... warm caramel and slightly burnt sugar. This smells almost like a marshmallow that caught on fire while warming it to make smores on a campfire... and to me, that's BLISS. I'm a huge "burnt marshmallow" fan, and this makes my mouth water.

 

There's juuuust enough similarity to the original Sugar Skull to keep me happy, and just enough difference to make me reach for it rather than add it to the hoard. I love it. SO glad I got two bottles!

Edited November 6, 2005 by mobilejessie

[Macha]

I missed out on last year's Sugar Skull, and its admirers are quite persuasive in their zeal, so when it came back around, I thought I'd pick up a bottle for myself.

 

My reaction is almost identical to Diana's, above, except I didn't pick up any booze note. On me, Sugar Skulls starts out as thick molasses, and mellows out to a smokey syrupy sweet caramel. My boyfriend caught one whiff of the freshly applied perfume and immediately voiced his regret that we couldn't drop everything and high-tail it to Uncle Bill's Pancake House (a favorite breakfast spot.) And while that was funny...it's also not what I really want from my perfume.

 

I'm going to give this one a chance to age before I make any judgement calls, but I suspect it won't be for me.

[PurringPulsar]

Sugar Skull 05

 

In the imp: sweet! It’s like treacle or syrup, it’s gorgeous!

Wet on skin: oh wow-the sugar explodes into a wonderful but not over-foody scent. Like rich sugar syrup with dark rum!!!

Dry: this is delicious! It’s sweet, no doubt about it-but this is a dark sweetness. A smoky sweetness. A boozy sweetness. It’s like treacle with syrup (both golden and maple) and slightly burnt caramel, and that delicious brown muscovado sugar, with a little bit of dark rum! Maybe just a hint of something fruity, but it’s not obvious. This is wonderful stuff, warm, rich, decadent and sweet in a sophisticated, non-cavity-inducing way.

After a while: this stays really consistent all round, that same, dark, sticky, smoky sugar and treacle scent. It’s lovely and perfect for autumn and winter (though I think it would be too heavy for summer)

Verdict: take some slightly burnt caramel made with muscovado sugar, add a generous portion of treacle, a bit of maple syrup and slip in a cheeky dash of rum, and you get Sugar Skull! This is magnificent stuff. An incredibly sugary sweet smell that doesn’t smell foody or tooth-achingly sweet. It’s a dark, rich, smoky sugar smell with a little hint of something boozy and possibly a bit of fruit too. It’s warm and delicious and perfect for cooler weather.

[Lilitu]

Totally fell in love with this scent right from the beginning. I loved Gluttony, so I decided the sugary scents must just work for me and I had high hopes for this one.

 

Oh I was not to be disappointed at all.

 

On my skin, the scent takes on a carmelized sugar aroma with an cloying hint of something fruity, like the sugar dusted fruit candy my grandmother used to treat us grandkids with when I was very little. But this isn't gramma's kind of candy though, it has a faintly smoky tinge with a hint of rum hiding in there. Totally love it, and I think I'll run and order one more bottle before the Halloween scents are gone.

[slave1]

I had to do another review for the 2005 version since it is a bit different than last years:

 

In Bottle: Candied fruit

 

On Skin: This seems much fruitier than the Sugar Skull imp I have from last year. I like it, but it almost seems a bit boozy! Like Trick Or Treat above, it is so sweet that it makes people wonder what you’ve been eating. I think it smells like those gummy fruit candies that have the crystalized sugar coating. A perfect Halloween scent that puts you in the mood for Trick or Treating.

[AlaskaSnows]

Sugar Skull 2005.

 

Wet: Yummy sweet syrupy sugar! Warm and sticky.

 

Dry: Delicious, a peice of sugared fruit (can't tell WHAT fruit, orange?) swimming in a bowl of slightly carmelized sugar syrup. It has a nice throw. I can see where some get maple, but I think it's the fruit tinge, because this has no true maple for my nose. I will be happy with the one bottle I bought, but not need another, I think.