Mouse Circus

[Missanneshirleyofgg]

Just reviewing for perspective. Just purchased a GS aged bottle and with aging the popcorn disappeared. For my own reference  as a popcorn fan, avoid aged bottles. Its now just a simple vanilla scent which is borderline plastic. Thinking the plastic is the polished wood note. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Missanneshirleyofgg

[VetchVesper]

Mouse Circus is primarily kettle corn on my skin. There's a hint of pink sugar, but it's easy to miss. After half an hour or so, the scent grows warmer, perhaps the wood, perhaps furry musk. It's just a touch of complexity to what is still, very much, kettle corn. It's a very cute scent. 

 

It lasts well on me. I can still smell it in the morning if I wore it the previous night. 

 

My bottle, I bought new in 2015, and I don't detect a noticeable difference in 2020, so it seems like it will at least keep that long if stored well. I never got much cotton candy though. It's always been sugary, salty popcorn with maybe a hint of vanilla. 

[clockworkcrypt]

I have no idea how old this is, as I got a bit of a bottle from a lovely forumite, and it's absolutely lovely. 

It starts out very kettle corn, not so much a fresh in your face caramel, but more of a "you're at an outdoor event and you feel it drifting towards you on a hot summers day"

That is to say it's absolutely perfect, and has just the right mix of sweet and buttery notes, with a touch of popcorn underneath to really keep you grounded. An hour or two later this dries down and more of the vanilla comes out, miraculously on me with a hint of the labs elusive cotton candy note!

. I think the vanilla really helps to boost the sweetness of this, and ground everything together, it keeps the caramel corn note from going off into the deep end, and brings up the perfect amount of cotton candy to really anchor this into a final dry down of a vanilla cotton candy, with a salty buttery scent lurking underneath. The wood dosen't overtake this for me, but wood tends to play nicely on my skin, so I think it's doing it's part grounding the note and staying comfortable in the background, mingling in with the popcorn note. 

It's something I was intrigued with, but never would have gotten a full bottle on a whim and I am very much glad to be able to have a bit of it, it's fun without being too in your face for daily wear, and brings a whimsical fair vibe to whatever you're doing.

[ziggystardust13]

Words can't express how much I love Mouse Circus. I generally go for the darker scents, but this one I reach for when I want to feel comforted. Its very light and playful, and reminds me of my childhood. What I love about it is how it morphs. Wet its all popcorn, or more specifically, kettelcorn with a touch of buttery sweetness. I could never wear it if this stage remained, because I just really don't find myself wanting to smell of popcorn. But it does a disappearing act, and makes way for a vanilla cotton candy. I don't get much of the wood but I know it must be there because the dry down isn't straight cotton candy. Overall its very much a carnival scent, and thats exactly what it ends up reminding me of. I would imagine anyone that liked Midway (which I never had the pleasure of trying) or Solstice Scent's Foxcroft Fairgrounds, would like this. And bonus: CUTEST. LABEL. EVER.

[fairybites]

In the Imp: Love at first sniff - Caramel kettlecorn 

On Me:  The caramel kettlecorn is definitely taking center stage. Some butter is coming through as well as the vanilla. As it's drying, I do smell some cotton candy but I would say it's faintly there. A little salty as well but not too much. 

 

I want to just knaw my arm off I smell so good, haha. Definitely the perfect carnival/circus autumn fragrance if you're into foodie scents like me. Regret just getting the imp instead of blind bottling because now I want to bathe in this forever. BPAL please never discontinue this scent!!

[Vaporeon]

I just got an aged bottle of this am holy hell i love it. My fave cotton candy scent EVER from any brand. A little bit of peanut and i actually find it delicious. I think the wood just gives it a very slight hint of a perfume vibe rather than just straight gourmand. Vanilla goodness. I hope the formula hasnt changed with this one. It lasts forever and i can actually smell myself

[Mexnerd101]

I never knew I needed more salty scents. It's so sweet and salty, it smells like salted caramel popcorn. Almost nutty, like salted peanuts with a touch of sugar. Sweet and savory. Definitely a treat! The only bad thing is the smell disappates quickly. Within an hour or two, my skin loses it. No wood at all; just lovely snack food. I love it, but might be burning through the bottle quickly to maintain the strength of the throw. I need to try more popcorn smells now 😁

Edited November 28, 2020 by Mexnerd101

[bambi]

This scent evokes exactly what it describes for me. In the decant I get a big whiff of popcorn, some sugar, and vanilla, and on my skin I get more of the same. It smells slightly salty, and very sweet, and it reminds me of walking around a circus or fair holding cotton candy in one hand and popcorn in another. Drying down, the scent is primarily of kettle corn. I don't get much wood from it, but it blends together so much as this point that it could be there and I wouldn't know. I actually watched Coraline recently, and this is honestly perfect. It's not something I'll wear on myself, but I'll probably keep this decant around.

[Angelshair]

Buttery salted popcorn with a smidgen of sweetness surrounding it.

[Misspouki]

My second bottle and this one is actually different from the first one!

On the bottle it smells like butter pop corn and more sweet butter than corn!

On the skin smells like cotton candy and sweet butter popcorn!!

[katharina]

Bottle: This all butter, all day in the bottle. I am a little nervous, because I think the buttery popcorn can be an excellent supporting note, it could also be overwhelming.

 

Wet: It's butter, popcorn, vanilla, and polished wood. I really want to smell the spun sugar, which is what I bought this for, but it's still in the background, barely detectable. 

 

Dry: During the dry down the spun sugar becomes more prominent, as the buttery popcorn recedes. Whew! I have to admit that I was worried for a minute, because the butter starts out so strong! It's still there, but not as overwhelming. The polished wood and vanilla blend together nicely to support the spun sugar goodness.

 

If you want spun sugar straight from the beginning, this isn't the scent for you--IF you have similar chemistry to me. If you want a subtle cotton candy supported by vanilla, polished woods, and buttery popcorn--and are willing to give that buttery popcorn it's 15 min of prominence, you just might like this.

[Teamama]

Decant. Wet: Salty popcorn vanilla. Like kettle corn. Cute, foodie, mousie.  I can see why this is so well-loved.

Dried: it's a long-lasting, salty vanilla. 

I didn't think I'd need a bottle, but this is really fine, & I love vanilla. Wishlist, maybe a bottle purchase. 

2023 update: Bottle obtained. It's one of those blends that I don't wear often, but sometimes I crave it.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Teamama
2023 update

[Madonna Lily]

There is a definite perfumey aspect to this that I missed upon first sniff. It smells ambery(this must be that golden wood note)

The most prevalent note upon first inspection is caramel corn. I'm getting buttered rum/buttered popcorn also. But it's a very very sweet pink buttered popcorn and vanilla. This smells lickable like vanilla lip smackers lip gloss. Definitely foody, the wood note is so subtle it really just makes it slightly more interesting. I like this a lot! It's a must for vanilla cotton candy lovers! 

[MamaMoth]

in the bottle, it's a butterbomb.  first applied, it's straight up kettlecorn.  salty, sweet, buttery. absolutely delicious, but do i wanna smell like kettlecorn?  MAYHAPS. 

 

the question is moot though, because a wonderful alchemy happens as it sits on my skin.  a lovely perfumey ambery woodsiness takes over.  that sweet/salty/butteriness is still there, giving it texture.  keeping it sweet and rich. i'm getting a little more salty nuttiness. but it's now definitely a perfume and not a foodstuffs.  it's sitting right on that line between edible and perfume, which is a place i enjoy very much. it's just delightful. 

 

mouse circus > midway.  I SAID WHAT I SAID. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by MamaMoth

[ArtemisSelene]

In the bottle: butter popcorn jellybeans and I'm in love.

Wet on skin it's less jellybean and more butter popcorn.

Dry it does this fun thing where it turns into almost a plastic vanilla with no hint of cotton candy. If you remember those dolls from the 90s/early 00s that had hard heads but soft bodies and either the head or the stomach smelled kinda like powdery vanilla? That's what Mouse Circus does after an hour or two with occasional hints of butter every now and then. I'm definitely going to get a scent locket at some point because I just AMP vanilla if there's even a hint of it.

 

Update: almost a year later and this is one of my favorite scents! I still get buttered popcorn jellybeans, but now after a few minutes it turns into salted popcorn that's amazing. Many, many hours later it turns into a faint but .delightful sugary scent

Edited September 10 by ArtemisSelene

[tmichele]

Straight-up kettle corn all the way through. I can’t help but smile when I smell it—I feel like a giddy kid. It might’ve brought a nostalgic tear to my eye. I love this. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by tmichele

[Frills]

This is the same cotton candy note as in Midway, which I miss every single day. It also has a lot of caramel popcorn and a touch of woody floral to it that makes it not so foody. Love it!