Dark Chocolate with Merlot-Infused Black Cherries and Star Anise

[VioletChaos]

I'll open this review by saying I've not had much luck with cherry as a note in the past, but I'm always interested in giving iffy notes another chance, so here goes!

In The Bottle: Yep, that's dark chocolate-covered boozy cherries, alright!

Wet On Skin: The same notes, but toned down a bit. It still reads as foody, but not in the HAI CHOCO-LUSH! capacity it did before

Dry Down: I think I'm getting the star anise now. It's not black-licorice variety, thank goodness, as that type just smells like NyQuil to me But this is adding something...woodsy to this mix. wet and also in the bottle it was just straight-up food all the way. But now the chocolate note AND the cherry have both mellowed, the wine note isn't amping on me the way it usually does, and the anise is grounding it, giving it all a nice base to drop anchor on.

In All: A surprisingly understated offering from the Box o' Chocolates this year, this is a chocolate scent that's- dare I say it?- sophisticated.

I just think I found my first cherry scent!

[livingdead71]

Like VioletChaos, I haven't had much luck with cherry scents in the past...or with chocolate either for the most part. I'm glad I took a chance on this one, because it is lovely! All the notes are present, but too well blended for any one of them to be troublesome. My only complaint is it stays close to the skin and its wearlength is relatively short...but that's what slathering is for! Overall, I highly recommend this scent and I'm glad I chose to wear it on Valentine's Day!

Edited February 14, 2013 by ScaryDoll

[stellamaris]

Yowza! This smells exactly like what it is described as. It starts off super heavy on the dark chocolate, then it becomes very much like the cherry from the Black Chery Amaretto oil from the last year's TP Yules, and throughout a clear anise/licorice note. Strange and sweet, like Hideous Heart with chocolate. Win for me, love my chocolates...

[cherrycherry]

This is gorgeous and *exactly* what it says on the label - boozy, fruity and chocolatey. The wine isn't overpowering at all for those concerned by boozy notes, it just adds depth to the cherry and chocolate. This is just lush

[tziporra]

On me this is Kali with a slightly darker (more bitter) chocolate and cherries instead of roses.

 

Yum. Yum. Yum.

 

I don't have any wearable cherries either - they've always been too scented plastic doll on me. But apparently chocolate and wine can just make anything behave

[Katlyntje]

While I love BPAL's chocolate scents their cherry note, so far, tends to disappear on my skin so I decided to get this one to test the disappearing act.

 

In the decant I can definitely smell the wine and cherries and chocolate. Wet on my skin there's a slightly dusty dark chocolate and anise. As it dries I think . . . yes, I am definitely smelling the wine-infused cherries! Sadly the anise is completely gone and there are only the barest remnants of the chocolate. I am pleased that I can smell the cherries in this but, while it is a lovely scent, I don't think I need a whole bottle of it.

[crebbsgirl]

I'm amping the wine-infused cherries bit here. Not much chocolate on my skin. In fact, I know this is going to sound a little odd, but something here is reminding me of fruit leather on my skin. The star anise adds a little bite. Overall, this really isn't for me.

[violetblue]

This was strong anise on me, I hate I amp anise so much!!

[HerbGirl]

Star Anise...one of my very few notes of doom...

 

 

This would have been so beautiful without it...but I had to give it a shot. I will try it again in a few days...

[PumpkinGuts]

Slightly boozy cherry cordials. Mmm, yup, that's a dark chocolate, all right. The cherry is neither cough-syrupy nor overbearing.

I don't really notice any anise. I'm not sure it's a love, but I definitely like this scent.

[zankoku_zen]

At the beginning, this is like a three-way between the boozy cherries, the dark chocolate and the star anise. However, its obvious that after a while, star anise has just tied both the other two to the bed, and just straight up out lasted them both.

 

This is star anise, dribbled with dark chocolate and sweet boozy cherry juice.

[HighPriestessIce]

I wish I was smelling what you guys are smelling :c All I'm getting is a huge blast of cherry Buckley's and stale Tootsie Rolls D:

[DahliaHayashi]

I thought the belgium chocolate is my least favorite from the box. Ufortunately this one got the titel.

In the imp and wet on the skin it smells like nice boozy cherries. as soon as it hits my skin anise is all I smell and its really medical,too.

I had hight hopes for this scent because wine and cherries are 2 of my favorite scent and I really do like the scent of anise but they just dont work for me together

At least it teached me the lesson to stay away from anise scents because i seem to amp them to high heaven O.O

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Exactly what it says on the tin

 

Wet: Anise primarily with deep, rich chocolate underlying it. If I try hard, I can get the cherries and wine but they're quite faint. Not quite what I was expecting.

 

Dry: Anise SN. Sigh.

[whisperstilled]

In Imp: Booze and cherries, with a base of chocolate! Slightly grapey wine note. Awesome.

Wet: Chocolate comes out big time on the skin. It's giving the booze a good solid base, but the cherries are still definitely making themselves known.

Dry: This is a bit of a weird one, I must say. The cherries and wine have made for a mix that ends up being a little sour, weird, and disconcerting with the chocolate and anise. I might have to go in for a second test, but I don't think this one is for me. Glad I stuck with a tester!

Edited August 4, 2017 by Whisperstilled

[Little Bird]

This starts off smelling like cherry cough syrup and cherry Kool-Aid on me, and dries down to somehow reminding me of prune juice. I can't really pick out the chocolate & anise, but they might be adding a darker tone to the blend. Really light and fades super-fast on my skin (doesn't even last a full hour). Light and fruity...

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Chocolate of some sort and souring cherries.

 

Wet: That's better! The merlot arrives to sweeten the cherries. Do shake gently--the chocolate settles to the bottom.

 

The dry-down: The chocolate, the merlot, and the cherries have all blended together--lovely! The anise does that undercurrent thing by not being obvious present, but keeps the scent from being too sweet. I might spring for a bottle. This could be my LBD scent.

[milo]

Definitely boozy at first, like a cherry liquor with a touch of chocolate. Dries to pretty much as described, fresh boozy cherry and dark chocolate. Very Vice-like only not as vile, that cherry is more fake. No surprises, as I don't like my chocolate fruity, even to eat.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Yes, cherries and booze

 

Wet on me - A sweet almost bubble gummy cherry with spikes of star anise coming out in the background

 

Dry on me - A cool liquorice smell from the star anise, a little thin

 

Overall - The dry down was a touch anaemic

[aquazoo]

Yep, that’s cherry chocolate! Smells just like the box of chocolate-covered cherries.