A World of Fools

[Aldercy]

A WORLD OF FOOLS
“A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!” cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge’s nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.

“Bah!” said Scrooge, “Humbug!”

He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge’s, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.

“Christmas a humbug, uncle!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “You don’t mean that, I am sure?”

“I do,” said Scrooge. “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”

“Come, then,” returned the nephew gaily. “What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”

Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, “Bah!” again; and followed it up with “Humbug.”

“Don’t be cross, uncle!” said the nephew.

“What else can I be,” returned the uncle, “when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ’em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will,” said Scrooge indignantly, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”

“Uncle!” pleaded the nephew.

“Nephew!” returned the uncle, sternly, “keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.”

Figgy pudding with a stake of holly through its heart.

I don't actually get much fig from this figgy pudding-- just a general impression of spicy, cakey fruit. If I get any specific fruit, it might be pineapple. Go figure-- maybe my nose is broken. It's dark, dense, bready, dessert-like without being particularly sweet. It has a distinct pinch of warm, ruddy powdered ginger.

I also feel like there's a hint of buttery nuts (maybe walnut)?

I get evergreen in the beginning when it's wet, but it's swamped pretty quickly by the foodiness. I would have liked it to stick around to help balance out this extremely rich pudding, but it failed me. The further the oil dries, the more muddled it seems to become on my skin so that it ends up being a little generically "Christmasy" (not quite potpourri or holiday candle though). I'll keep my decant, but I don't think I need to upgrade this one.

[edenssixthday]

A World of Fools - Whoa, this is a foody scent? I can't usually wear foodies, and when I tried this on, I hadn't read the scent description, so I had no idea what was in it. It doesn't smell remotely of fig to me. Rather, to my nose, it smells heavy and resinous with a hint of spiciness. I thought for sure it had myrrh and ginger in it. But it didn't smell remotely sweetly foody or like baked goods at all. And it didn't "turn" on my skin, as most foody scents do. I was honestly shocked when I read the scent description. Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. I do smell a bit of an evergreen type scent, but it smells more like pine resin than the greenery of holly. It does give it a bit of a Christmas feel, but more than anything, it's just warm, resinous, and spicy. The throw is really lovely and the staying power is well above average. Of all the Yules I've tried so far this year, this one is my favorite.

[SurrealReality]

In the Bottle:

Dark fruit (not specifically fig though) with something sugary and a bit creamy

 

Wet on Skin:

Very dark fruit still with something sugary in the background, but the note is fainter and much less creamy than it was in the bottle

 

Dry:

Incredibly dark fruit with hints of sugar and holly

The fruit note just continues to darken even after I think it can't possibly get any darker. After about 1 hr, it becomes an almost resinous note and both the sugar and the holly disappear completely

 

I describe the fruit note as dark in my review for lack of a better word.... it's not at all sweet and it's not at all green. It's very heavy and devoid of light.... I would actually call it resinous. I can definitely see why Edens Sixth Day described this scent as she did....

 

I was hoping this would be a sweet foody scent. It's not

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Edible Fig Incense.

 

Dark, dense and delicious.

[lunaticana]

oh my, so good

super strong and very much of the holly on my skin! this is def. bottle worthy

I love figgy pudding in real and now I know I adore it in a perfume

 

if I have a new job in januari I will get one 4 sure.

[Michele my belle]

At first I get the holly with a foody-sweetness backing it up. I think that Holly make me thing of christmas candles [since I've never smelled real holly ] but it isn't a negative association since Christmas candles make me think of Christmas!

 

The fig comes out in drydown to mingle with the Holly, making the blend very sweet. It is not very foody on me, but rather fruity, feminine and supersweet. [For the record my skin makes everything it can very sweet.]

[Schmoozy]

Such a simple oil. Spicy fig pudding with with holly. Slightly foody, extremely spicy and the greenery blends beautifully with the fig.

[Little Bird]

I love bpal's fig note. It's like a sweet, dry, slightly wooden sort of fruitiness that's very sensual, in my opinion. In the bottle, A World of Fools is that lovely fig, but smells slightly creamier and a bit sweeter. Yummy.

 

On my skin, this is much the same at first, and then goes spicy in the drydown. It's like the gorgeous fig that I love in Intrigue, but all wrapped up in a decadent sweet cream and dusted lightly with some holiday spices that warm the blend up. As it dries down, the spices amp up and get a bit sharper and cider-like (and my wrist is red and burning where I applied the oil, so I'll have to be careful in the future), but I still like this blend.

 

I still much prefer Intrigue for a fig blend, but I'm glad to have a partial bottle of this one for when I want a sweeter, spice-heavy fig.

[Iceblink]

I'm surprised at how much I like this--I was a little worried that the holly would be way too green on me, but it's only the merest hint of greenery here. This is a rich, dense fig pastry, a bit spicy. Yum!! Nice throw too. Making me hungry.

[laslibres]

Mmm, Christmasy! Sort of baking-spicy, with clove and cinnamon...it reminds me of Haloa, with that spice cake feel, except spicier. And a little bit of a sort of dark, rich, earthy fruit, which must be the fig in the figgy pudding.

 

I would assume that the "stake of holly through its heart" is a wood note of some kind, and I don't smell it outright but I imagine it lends some depth to the scent. This is so good! It falls into a category that I already have a lot of (sweet cinnamony desserts with fruit), so I might not get a whole bottle...but then again, I might, because it's delicious. Very comforting and holidayish.

[hkhm]

bottle: sweet and spicy cake.

 

wet: this is so pretty, warm spicy cake with the lightest hint of fruit and maybe a touch of booze. so yummy.

 

dry: the cakes fades as this dries, it smells more like faintly spiced fruit with greenery! so gorgeous!

[cherrycherry]

Dark fruit, brown sugar, spice. I get the holly more on my skin than in the bottle. It reminds me of both Mr Fezziwig's Ball and The Second Of The Two Spirits. There's a nuttiness in there that works and a little greenery too - nice.

[SophieCedar]

Exactly as described. The figgy pudding is really nice, the holly unoffensive. It's a nice sweet confectionery fig with atmospheric and complimentary holly.

[milo]

At first this is fresh ripe delicious fig. As it dries, a 'nut' note comes out on me and a touch of holly. I like the fig, but the nut is ruining it for me. I find there are a few yules with the nut note, and yes it's part of the scent of Christmas, but so far it's ruined a few blends for me.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Figgy dessert indeed, but the holly note is also present, though deep in the mix.

 

Wet: Did I mention that I figs? And that this smells very much like a figgy pudding that I once got at the local British grocery and gift shop? There is a hint of green and perhaps some sap from the broken off holly stem, but these serve to keep the fig note from being rather overly sweet.

 

The dry-down: It's a little sweeter as it dries down, but not too sweet. I've been wearing this a lot during Christmastide, so I'm going to have to spring for a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Starts off as this amazing figgy pudding, but dries down to a holly stick, slightly woody and slightly figgy. Where's the pudding, damnit?

 

SAD.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: Holly has worked for me before. Fig has worked for me before. Why not try them together?

 

In the imp: Sweet and foody...something full of sugar and spice and yum.

 

Wet: Sweet and foody. I get an impression of nuts and I think the holly is trying to peek out, but it's still mostly a rich dessert full of spices.

 

Drydown: Spicy fig finally asserts itself and the scent shifts from pure foody to Christmas atmosphere.

 

Verdict: I rather like it, but I'm not sure whether I would use a full bottle. Will ponder.

[Altaira]

When wet this has the strong butter scent that is common in many BPAL foody blends. It reminds me strongly of Snap-Dragon-Fly, but sweeter and without the suet. There is a nuttiness to the blend, sweeter than walnuts - maybe pecans? As it dries, a sharp scent almost like pine (probably the holly) comes out and balances the sweet foodyness. This is a sweet blend, but not cloying. It relies in the sweetness of the fruits, not on added sugar.

 

I rally like this, but I just bought a bottle of Snap-Dragon-Fly and they are really close. I'm going to have to death-match them to see if I need a bottle of this too.

Edited January 2, 2011 by Altaira

[Nia]

BPAL blends with fig normally go very weel with my skin; Carnal (fig & mandarin) is one of my all-time favourites. But this one was a big disappointment because, first of all, it's not very figgy. And secondly, the holly note(s) smell more medicinal and bitter than herbal. A bit like the blends that contain cedar or cypress.

 

The dry down is a bit less bitter, but still, it's mild and herbal. off to the swap bag.

[reynardine]

Starts off just like the description. The fig is light, the holly strong. As it dries, the fig comes out more, to the point of almost being a single-note. Doesn’t work that well on my skin.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Wow.. this is SPICY when it first goes on! Spicy in a boozy Christmas pudding kind of way.

 

Into the dry-down, I can smell the fig but it's not coming out sweet and rich as it usually does for me (in things like Miller vs California) - the spices are still dominant and they're covering the fig. Once it fully dries, the spices mellow out a bit and everything turns into a slightly incense-y smell but still retaining the pudding element. At this point it's reminding me of Bread & Butterfly.

 

Unfortunately this holds a slightly bitter/burnt smell on my skin which makes it a bit unpleasant. It's just not working for me, I'm left with a burnt spice kind of smell that's quite faint but strangely pungent.

[melange]

This is wholesale dark fruity baked goods on my skin: moist, spicy, sweet and strong. Plain fig usually amps on me, but this figgy pudding handles much better. I'm surprised by how good this smells, and I like its throw.

[Venneh]

Mmmm. Dark spicy foodie, what's probably the figgy pudding. I like. On my skin, much the same.

[porcelina]

i love this one! it's a dark, sweet creamy fig with a touch of pine and hint of spice. it smells just right for the holidays without being all christmas candle-y. it's a lovely, smooth, sweet scent and i can't stop sniffing myself now.

[aleciarivas]

There's a spice in here that seems to take over- maybe nutmeg?- but that's not saying much because my skin just GOBBLES this scent up! It disappears after about 20 minutes with just a very faint hint of spice if I huff very closely and carefully.