Hellcat

[erin.kogan]

A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond.

I get mostly buttercream when first sniffing this one, but it mellows immediately to honey mead. Honey, honey and more honey!!! A little bit of spice on top of that, but it's warmth and sweetness.
Hellcat smells like victory!

[batsy]

Vial: ...booze? And nuts.

 

Skin: Yes there's very much a bite to this. The rum and the almond are most strong for me, followed by the hazelnut. Oregon has a lot of hazelnut farms and you distinctly know hazelnut. It's very much a foody scent, that's for sure! I like it, but it'd be one I wouldn't wear often -- very opposite my main staples. But it sure makes you hungry!

[the_cat_goddess]

Yummy buttery almond! Marrachino! Not as pleasant on the dry down, though.

[bookishgrrl]

Hellcat... I feared, reading the notes and opening the imp, it would be Gluttony all over again. Hazelnut and buttercream are not my friends. BUT this worked out wonderfully! I won't bother writing stages for this one, since it stayed very true to scent from the initial application on... here goes:

 

Definitely a foody scent.

 

Very sweet, very edible. Smelled just like these delicious imported Italian Marzipan concoctions I sampled last winter. Sweet, almondy, a wisp of liquour smell, though not in a boozy way... more like a hint of liquour-based flavoring. But mainly it's just a well-done, sugary, delicious italian marzipan from start to finish. Sure, you smell like candy, but it's more grown-up than lollipops and bubblegum. A mature candy, if you will.

 

Though I'm not hot on foody scents, this is a definitely a keeper for those times I do want to smell good enough to eat.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Bitter almonds and... something boozy.

 

Wet: Hazelnut comes out, along with a sweet, honey scent.

 

Drydown: Still lots of nut, I think it smells bitter like walnut rather than hazelnut, it's probably that "wicked bite" of the description. Very slowly the honey mead seeps through, but the scent still doesn't get very sweet.

 

Overall: While the texture is indeed soft, I get a lot of bitterness and not much sweetness. The buttercream didn't deign come out to see me, and all the nuts were bitter. This reminds me a bit of "Gluttony", in a less buttery version. I wasn't a fan of Gluttony, and I'm still not particularly enthused by this.

[bifemmefatale]

In the imp: boozy almonds

 

On: caramel and hazelnut! This reminds me very much of the top note in Red Lantern, without the incensey musky complexity. I like it a lot, but it stays the same throughtout, like a one note song. Since I already have a bottle of Red Lantern, and prefer its subtly shifting heady notes, I won't be getting more of this.

[BrightRedScream]

Wooooo this imp is one boozy, but sweet little guy!

There's a beautiful nutty undertone to it..and it's very sweet in the vial....

 

On my skin the buttercream and honey seemed to come out a lot more, but that beautiful rum tone is still there - and I seem to smell only the almond now - not really any hazlenut...

 

Once it dried I smell sweet rum with a little nut...not really any buttercream anymore..

Just beautiful sweet rum

 

5ml for me!

[gwyllgi]

I get buttercream from this - a lot of buttercream. Under the buttercream is a strange sort of rum. It reminds me of rum ball candies.

 

The honey mead comes out a bit more once it dries down, at which point it becomes like Delphi on me, but sweet, rather than smoky.

 

This is so very not a scent for me. I generally like the scent of buttercream and honey mead, but something in this is throwing it off for me; whatever it is, my nose really doesn't like it. It swings back and forth between smelling like one too many rum candies and the smell of a faux-antique country-style store. I can pick up enough of it to see how other people might like it - it's very foody, very heady - but it's so very not for me.

[ajcj213499]

Hellcat, like Jack, was almost all butter on me. Sigh. If you liked Jack or Midway I think you'll really ike this one.

[RavenVelith]

In the bottle: Whoaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaarm...And sweet! Oh! OH! I know what this reminds me of! There was this almond face scrub stuff I used to use! THAT'S what this reminds me of! I can smell the boozey notes. This also reminds me of a cake. Mmmmm caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake.

 

Wet: Sweet almond. Straight up. And a bit of the honeymead I'm guessing. Nevermind. That's the oh-so-yummeh buttercreaaaaaam. Gods I love buttercream. Oh hello there rum! How are you? You're taking over, you say? Oh. Okay! You do that then. But...but...what are you changing into? I'm not smelling a strange floral note. Skin, stop being silly.

 

Dry: Ohhhh really warm now. Comforting, really. Not as sweet anymore, but still really nice. But I want to know what the hell is turning floral on me. It's annoying. But still, I like this. ^^

[Happy Heathen]

In the bottle:

Oh, gods above, this has the potential for disaster. Sweet beyond anything I've ever smelled, heavy with a heady alcoholic note that smells more like vanilla extract than mead or rum. Creamy and almond-y and quite overpowering. It reminds me, bizarrely, of Hepzibah Smith in The Half-Blood Prince - fat and rich, with the remnants of a faded beauty, cluttered and complex enough to crush the breath out of you from sheer proximity. Definitely the oddest BPAL scent I've encountered so far.

 

On myself:

This stuff hits my flesh and suddenly I feel like I've walked into a Yankee Candle Company shop. I quite literally smell like a candle. Can't think of which kind, precisely, but it's achingly familiar. It feels like it should be called "Harvest Spice" or something similarly silly; there's thoughts of Thanksgiving pies baking in the kitchen on a cool, crisp evening with a fire in the grate. The sickly alcoholic scent is gone but replacing it is something I'd swear up and down is wax - what, in this blend, could possibly be giving me that impression I have no idea. But the smell of candles is so strong I'm almost about to start looking for a wick to light... potentially a Very Bad Idea given this stuff is on my wrists!

 

It's a truly weird perfume, and even on the second try I'm still rather at a loss as to whether I like or dislike it. I'm keeping it for now, because in addition to smelling like candles there's something about it that reminds me oh-so-vaguely of the Rennaissance Faire; I might wear it for that depending on what costumes I go with. But I'll definitely not be after another imp of this, let alone a larger bottle.

[provocateur]

in bottle: butterscotch? it's very thick and heavy, whatever it is. This is a recipe for disaster here.

 

on skin, wet: I can't place it, but something about this reminds me of something in my dentist's office. But hello rum! It's making me woozy just inhaling it.

 

on skin, dry: Note to self- rum, buttercream, and hazelnut, when combined, hate your chemistry.

 

0/5 - proof positive that foody is not for me.

[lady_pandora]

This smells exactly like a butterscotch candy on me. It's yummy, but maybe a bit too foody. I need to see what it's like layered with some other stuff.

[GemmaCat]

This was rather a disappointment to me. I wanted to get the rum, buttercream, and honey mead but instead all I got was almonds. It was sorta like opening up a cake box expecting boozy chocolate cake and instead being met with cyanide.

 

Admittedly this smells like gooey cherry-bakewell dessert in the imp, and stays pretty much the same on my skin, but as it dries down the cherriness dissipates and I'm left with almost pure almonds.

 

Alas, almonds aren't my most favourite things to smell like so this is one for the swap pile.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: It smells like a butterscotch hard candy. With a bit of liquor.

 

First on: I feel like caramelized sugar. This smells like a cross between Sugar Skull and Trick or Treat so far. Very buttery and sugary, I don't think this is for me.

 

Drydown: Exactly the same. I've never had a foody scent change on me.

 

Overall: Definitely for someone other than myself.

[weaver]

Butterscotch, hazelnut, caramel and rum. Much more tempered than Gluttony or Grog, but still nicely foody. This is one of my top 10 smells

[eviltemptressdq]

at first this smelled DELICIOUS! Like a cookie? but, as it sat on my arm, it is like it was being "cooked"... and now, 20 mins later, it smells like a BURNT cookie. Like I forgot to take them out of the oven. How bizarre.

 

maybe i'll try this in my oil burner once before tossing it to the swaps!

[mountainwitch]

Just scrumptious . . . With a little bit of bite! I wasn't sure this would work, given that "food" scents are so hit-or-miss with me. (Mostly miss--even with Midway!) But this is buttery-rich without ever being overpowering; I love the warmth--and I love the spices.

[pixievixen]

in the vial: syruppy honey almond with a bit of spiced rum

 

wet on skin: more almond & rum, a bit spicier & more boozy.

 

dried down: the almond is a bit less sickening now... a softer sweet spice. i am not sure i'd wear this during the day, but maybe for a night at a bar... seems like it could hold it's own in a smokey club without trying to fight it.

 

all in all pleasant, tho i won't be buying a bottle. it was an extra in a package i got & i will probably give it another chance later

[midnight_aeval]

Oh Hellcat.. I had a string of bad scents, but you rescued me.

 

I agree with others that it's boozy.. but it's like one of those boozy drinks that it's hard to tell if there's really alcohol in it. (aren't those the best kind??)

 

On my skin I get a creamy honey with spices and rum. I don't get any almond.. maybe a bit of hazlenut though.

 

This one is definitely bottle worthy for me- yay!

[purrbox]

adjectives that would describe this blend: foul, evil, vile, horrid, repugnant.

 

need i go on?

 

thank god this was a frimp, because if i had paid for it i would be seriously disappointed.

 

i thought this was going to be really nice. with the exception of hazelnut, which i've never tried in a perfume before, all the other notes are at the top of my favorites list. unfortunately, this was not to be.

 

in the imp this smelled like poison. like something deadly- i don't know.. cyanide spiked cherry kool aid or something. poison cherries, for sure. i guess that's almond? whatever. i tried it on anyway though, and at first all the evil cherry smell went away and it turned into pure black walnut. not black walnut flavor, mind you, but the real black walnut, that you find half rotten in your yard, gnawed by squirrells, with the green outer shell and everything. it's a bitter, dirty (as in earthy), overwhelming odor. when i was a kid there was a walnut tree in my back yard, and i would pick up the fallen walnuts, complete in their tennis ball sized green shells, and lob them at my mean neighbor's garage, because when they split on impact they'd leave a big black stain on the paint. haha. i guess i was a naughty kid. anyway, at first hellcat is the exact smell of those half rotten walnuts. gross.

 

then it gets even worse! after about 15 minutes the walnut smell fades and it becomes pure, unadulterated cat pee! excellent!! yes!! that's JUST what i was looking for in a perfume! </sarcasm> i don't know what it is with my chemistry, but i have been getting cat piss from a lot of blends lately. *scratches head* anyway, hellCAT is the operative word here. the dry down of this blend was the odiferous, ammonia laden stench of un-neutered male cat whiz. (from hell.) yikes. i eventually had to scrub it off.

[neuilly]

A frimp from the lab, and my first foody scent! Here we go...

 

At first I really loved this...boozy creamy foody goodness! But as it dried down it turned into a Yankee Christmas candle.

 

I wanted to like this so much and the first few minutes were absolute heaven but now...*sigh*

[luna65]

Thanks to Blood onmy hands for the imp.

 

Imp: The sweet almond is the most prevalent note when I sniff this, but there are hints of the honey mead and buttercreme.

 

Skin: Some note ends up smelling like soap, initially. I'm thinking it's the almond, as I don't believe I've had issues with the rest in other blends prior to this experience. There's a sour quality as well, and I wonder if the liquor is a bit much for my chemistry initially. Must be that "wicked bite" Beth spoke of.

 

Drydown: Thank goodness this evolves into a more sensual blend, to be sure, I think the hazelnut comes to the forefront and tames the other elements. In the end it's less foody and more warm, I smell sexy but not quite yummy. I just have to remember to let it breathe, as it were, and get to the happy ending.

[opaleyes]

So peculiar! In the imp this was almost a little too strong for me, but once I put it on it mellowed into a perfectly delicious honey, almond, and hazlenut scent with just a wee bit of rum. Mmm! It lasted quite a while on me, but after a few hours it needed reapplying. Curiously, I got what smelled like... what is that? Currant? I had my friend sniff it, and she got potpourri. Not quite what I had been expecting due to the earlier application. I'll have to test this again on another day! I loved it at the beginning, but the evening was not quite to my liking.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Booze. Booze, and oh yeah, booze. Something sweet and sticky and dark. Not like tropical drink sweet and sticky, like thick molasses in a shot glass and more than 80 proof for sure. For a minute just the smell gave me the "I drank too much" feeling in my throat. This one is going to have to wait for a cooler evening, too thick for summer.

 

On the wrist, wet: Too thick, too cloying, very sweet and boozy sharp. Gorgeous smell though, and Anubis thinks it's sexy, lets hope it mellows.

 

Drydown: Not mellow enough. Still very strong and in yo' face.

 

Final Analysis: Gorgeous, but not for me, off to the swaps.