A Game Called Yes & No

[childoftime]

A GAME CALLED YES & NO
“Here is a new game,” said Scrooge. “One half hour, Spirit, only one!”

It was a Game called Yes and No, where Scrooge’s nephew had to think of something, and the rest must find out what; he only answering to their questions yes or no, as the case was. The brisk fire of questioning to which he was exposed, elicited from him that he was thinking of an animal, a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage animal, an animal that growled and grunted sometimes, and talked sometimes, and lived in London, and walked about the streets, and wasn’t made a show of, and wasn’t led by anybody, and didn’t live in a menagerie, and was never killed in a market, and was not a horse, or an ass, or a cow, or a bull, or a tiger, or a dog, or a pig, or a cat, or a bear. At every fresh question that was put to him, this nephew burst into a fresh roar of laughter; and was so inexpressibly tickled, that he was obliged to get up off the sofa and stamp. At last the plump sister, falling into a similar state, cried out:

“I have found it out! I know what it is, Fred! I know what it is!”

“What is it?” cried Fred.

“It’s your Uncle Scro-o-o-o-oge!”

Which it certainly was. Admiration was the universal sentiment, though some objected that the reply to “Is it a bear?” ought to have been “Yes;” inasmuch as an answer in the negative was sufficient to have diverted their thoughts from Mr. Scrooge, supposing they had ever had any tendency that way.

“He has given us plenty of merriment, I am sure,” said Fred, “and it would be ungrateful not to drink his health. Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment; and I say, ‘Uncle Scrooge!’ ”

“Well! Uncle Scrooge!” they cried.

“A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “He wouldn’t take it from me, but may he have it, nevertheless. Uncle Scrooge!”

Mulled wine and marzipan.

In the bottle this is sweet and boozy and just a little bit spicy, with the sugary almond lying thickly underneath.

The oil is perfectly clear, and once it's on my skin, it's warm and light, with the spices keeping the marzipan from making this overly sweet or foody. This is a great holiday scent! Wet, the fruitiness of the wine and sweetness of the marzipan come forward, but as it dries, the spices assert themselves, and the mulled wine is a little bit stronger than the marzipan.

I had to get out my Gluhwein to compare, and I'd say that if you liked Gluhwein, this is going to be a win for you. The mulled wine is very similar, but the marzipan makes A Game Called Yes & No feel a little more seasonal, if that makes sense. They're both delicious mulled wine, but if you sniff them side by side, Gluhwein is winter-warm and AGCY&N is more holiday warm.

Verdict: I'm in love, and a rare (for me) second bottle may be necessary!

[Lucretia]

In the bottle this is amaaazing. Smells exactly like marzipan and wine. It morphs a fair amount once it's on. At first there's lots of almond, and then lots of mulled wine, and then after 30 minutes or so I get an awesome perfectly blended warm and sweet spicy wine. It reminds me a tiny bit of a paired down Tintagel. So happy I got this one!

[boxinghelena]

I just received A Game Called Yes & No today. It is really amazing! I keep sniffing my wrist. Thank Goddess I'm not getting any "almond meal" from the marzipan. As much as I love almonds in real life, it is a death note on me usually. The mulled wine smells very sweet on me & strong. Love it!

~

[Cheri]

So, "A Game Called Yes & No", you're the stinker who held up my order. You're lucky I love you so much. This reminds me of something my Grandmother made when I was a kid. They used to make wine, but this isn't just wine. I think the almond gives it a bit of muskiness. It really smells like holidays and I would love my whole house to smell like this.

[Esmeria]

Oh my God, I want to drink this so much.

 

Upon first sniff, it's so boozey and almondy. It smells utterly divine. It smells the sort of drink that would really warm you up on a cold winter's day, alcoholic with a great big kick.

 

On skin, I amp up any sort of boozey note so it won't be one for work, but it's just amazing.

[yamiko]

At first sniff, this was nothing but delicious wine. On second sniff, I could smell some of the marzipan in the background. On me, it started off much like it was in the bottle, then the marzipan took over. As it continues to dry, it blends together into a delicious goblet of mulled wine and a plate of delicious marzipan. Very nice!

 

My only issue is that the oil makes me itch a little where I tested it, probably because I have a mild nut allergy (especially almonds). I tested it on the back of my hand, so I'll have to see if my usual wearing spots have the same reaction.

 

ETA: I didn't itch when I wore it normally, so it's all good.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Kaylee

[Koumori]

I wish I had this as an atmo spray-- in the bottle it is amaaaazing. My first thought was of gluhwein (the actual wine; I haven't had the chance to sample the BPAL of the same name so I can't speak to how it compares)- fantastic, spicy, fruity red wine and maybe a hint of brandy as well. On drydown the full-bodied redness of the scent lingers, but the almond starts to come out around the edges. This doesn't have a lot of staying power on me, but while it's on it's ON, big and round and boozy and ripe and happy.

[DeltaCat]

Spiced cranberries. That's all. Smells like the cranberry sauce I used to make for my grandfather after my grandma died. I was so hoping and wishing for almonds!

[strahlend]

There's a cherry tootsie-pop in my imp!

[Icekitten]

First time me and my friends saw this discription we all screamed a bit hmmmmm Mulled wine!! hmmm Marzipan.!!!

From the bottle: Warm Wine!! i dont know how bpal's Gluhwine smells but this is very simulair to the irl version!

 

Wet: wine, wine, wine, purple, berry's!!!!

 

Dry: juicy berry's !!!! but a bit of warm spicy in it, i dont detect any marzipan.

I think ageing this will make the marzipan settle down and a bit stronger, got high hopes for it!!!

 

On my friend the berry's was less strong and much more balanced (soft spicy berry + almond,creamy?)

 

And it doesnt smell boozy at all! (i dislike boozy scents) not on me or my friend

 

This is def. bottle worty!!!

Edited November 30, 2010 by Icekitten

[capncait]

so i finally learned my lesson about trying out my oils the moment i pop them out of the mailbox... i got my order the evening i was driving home for Thanksgiving, so I purposely didn't pack them because i have a serious lack of willpower.

 

so today i pulled out A Game Called Yes & No. I would be working from home today, so i didn't have to worry if i reaked of booze or if it was an absolute fail.

 

when i open the imp: juicy, jammy, dark purple fruits! it isn't overtly boozy to my nose.

 

wet: now its wine. a rich red wine that isn't bitter. no almond icing to speak of.

 

dry, first 30 minutes or so: wow this has transitioned from a juicy, sweet and sour berry to a much more subtle mulled wine. the spices have finally come to the forefront, and rather than that sickly almond scent that i can't stand, the marzipan is smooth and mellow, happily staying in the background.

 

despite the wine note, something about the combination reminds me of the way my strawberry shortcake dolls smelled. it gives me an impression of sweet innocence rather than swarthy booziness. but i like it!

[dawndie]

Wet: boozy red wine

 

On skin: delicious spiced red wine

 

Half-hour later: not much morph, still wine and spices simmering on my stove

 

In conclusion: I was a bit concerned about the marzipan being too almondy, but no worries -- this is a beautiful dark winey blend, barely sweetened and not too boozy.

[proserpine]

Initially, it has a super sweet almond smell that is borderline tolerable for me. As it dries, I pick up on a smell that can only be describe as a combination of Boone's Farm and rubbing alcohol. When these two notes play together on my skin, disaster strikes! I smell like an alcoholic pedophile.

 

The game is over; this one is a definite "no" on me.

[zankoku_zen]

I get mulled wine. Lots and lots of mulled wine. As it dries however, it becomes generic Xmas potpourri on me.

 

Sad.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Bitter and sharp. I blame the Almond. Alcoholic scents so often work on me. Shame.

[lunaticana]

I am VERY afraid of testing this one, I think I will just leave it to the swapping-fun

[Incendiare]

Juicy, tart, dark red, berryish wine in the vial. Wet, the almonds pop out. The almonds aren't sweet like how they are in marzipan, but not bitter either. They're right in the middle. The spices from the mulled wine are gradually warming up and take the place of the almonds, which have now fallen into the background. As A Game Called Yes & No dries down, the spices mature and this starts smelling more like mulled wine. I was hoping that there would be more marzipan in the end result but this is still very lovely! It's a very festive blend.

[tinylegacies]

In the bottle and wet, this was very sharp. The tart, tangy-ness of the mulled wine seemed to overpower everything.

 

As it dried, that tartness faded a bit and it smells warmer, which I guess is the marzipan coming through.

 

It's a very bright, juicy scent. It's kind of making me thirsty!

 

Definitely keeping this one and maybe buying a bottle.

[poisondove]

Wet: Open the bottle and its wine. Plain and simply red wine. Now wondering if I am about to smell like an alky.

 

Skin: Wine for a second, then *poof* its almond (very much like Bite Me).

 

Dry: Another moment later, *poof* now there is no almond to be found its just mulling spice.

As time goes on, the almond doesn't reappear (bye bye, I'll miss you ) it just becomes mellow mulled wine.

I was really surprised at first by the spices, but now realize that in my marzipan madness I misread the description and hadn't clocked the 'mulled' part of mulled wine. Still its nice, though I know R's mum will tell me I smell like a 'Yankee Candle' (her exact words when she smelled Toothsome Baakenstaff on me this weekend). I am not sure how to explain to her that I am a 'foodie' perfume-girl, but this scent does amuse me.

[Little Bird]

This smells like the spiced wine of Gluhwein with a little more of a candied, grape bubblegum smell to it in the bottle. On my skin, it has that boozy, red, maraschino cherry smell that I get from most of bpal's almond scents. As it dries down, this is more and more just a blah spice scent on my skin.

I usually love the lab's wine notes and I've loved the marzipan scents that I've tried from other companies, but this smells like some sort of generic cinnamon potpourri for a holiday spice scent. It's sharp, smells cheap, and starts to give me a headache after a while. I had to scrub this one off

[Schmoozy]

A deep, fruity red wine that feels like it's been mulled with cider. It's delicious at first, but once the marzipan note hits, holy shit it's sweet. The sweetness burns off after 10 or so minutes, but during that 10 minutes, it's straight up cinnamon marzipan. Where the heck did the mulled wine go? I am going to have to try this a few more times to see if my decant is bottle worthy. That morphing period was pretty tough to get through.

[TheIceMaiden]

Wine scents have never worked for me, but I was curious about the marzipain and this is one of my favourite scenes in the story (and most movie adaptations). Much to my surprise, I get a light, fruity red wine that neither goes soapy on me nor too boozy, mixed with yummy marzipain. For a while in the midstage, the combination gets almost *too* sweet, but then the mulling spices come out to keep the sweetness in check. I raise my glass to Beth and BPAL for making such a fun scent. Cheers!

[laslibres]

Whoa, very winey...SWEET wine, too! More of a honey-sweet than a fruity-sweet. Marzipan is also present in this scent, and it stays true and doesn’t turn to rose ew or play dough ew. Cinnamon, too!

 

This is a scent that is what it says it is...the Yules have been pretty good at that so far! Reminds me a bit of Athens, but sweeter and almondier. (That’s a word. ) It’s an interesting combination, mulled wine and marzipan...very sweet and festive. Smells like a Christmas party. This one is a winner for me.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, this is really similar to Gluhwein, only mellowed out a touch and sweetened by the marzipan. On my skin, it's a bit mellower Gluhwein because of the marzipan, but it's still really good.

[Veronica]

in the bottle: I was sniffing this, intrigued, trying to figure out what it smelled like, when my sister came in and asked me if I was taking cough syrup. This smells like grape cough syrup, but apparently, I like the smell of cough syrup!