Caramel Apples and Ancient Oaks Bath Oil

[tharsei-thanate]

Sticky-sweet caramel apples and a gentle rain of apple blossoms clutched by gnarled oak boughs.

Ok, I was trying to hold off on reviewing this so soon after getting it but I couldn't resist!

Apples and Oaks was waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday and I used it as a post shower moisturizer. In the bottle it smelled... well, not very good. Burnt. I like burnt caramel but this was overkill in here. Still, I figured my skin would rectify that and I'm pleased to report I was right. I rubbed it into my arms and legs and on me the caramel disappeared and it was all sweet, crisp, red apple and fresh apple blossoms. As time passed, the oak started to come out and the apple and apple blossom melded together into a single pleasant note. I was out with friends last night and they couldn't pick out notes on me but the consensus was that I smelled nice, haha. Though one friend swore she smelled patchouli and clove on me, which made me raise an eyebrow.

I decided to try it again today while getting ready for work, and it's a much different experience. In the bottle it smelled much less burnt and then on my skin I got caramel. Not burnt at all, just a gooey smear of yummy caramel across a crisp apple. The caramel apple then faded, a few oak twigs made an appearance, and apple blossom started to amp big time. And it got soapy. However, I didn't mind the soapiness; it just made me smell nice and fresh. Then the soapiness started to fade and caramel came out again. Just a light drizzle of it over the blossoms. After that I slowly started getting apples and oak again.

Now as I'm sitting here at my desk at work, the scent is essentially apple musk with hints of apple blossom and wood and gooey sweetness.

I'm so glad I bought this unsniffed, it was totally worth it. It's a morpher on me but every iteration of it has been lovely. I think I might have to save up for a second bottle!

[Edit 3/7/14]

God, this blend just gets better and better with age. I should have bought a million backup bottles. Edited March 7, 2014 by tharsei-thanate

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Crisp sharp apple is the central theme, with softer apple blossoms lending a floral touch, blending with perfect caramel support. The oak is gentle and perfectly blended with the apple. This is perfect and exactly what I wanted.

[Aldercy]

A thick, dark-ish caramel apple scent. The caramel has a warm, bubbly, faintly scorched quality to it, and the apple is a rich autumn apple note, not green or sharp. The dry, earthy oak bark is there as well, and the apple blossom is just a very slight wisp of white floral spun through the rest of the scent as a kind of highlight. It's just about what I was expecting and hoping for, so I'm glad I bought it.

[doomsday_disco]

I have not used this in the bath... just as an after-shower moisturizer.

 

Okay, I did two applications of this.

 

First application:

 

I mainly get crisp red apple and apple blossoms from this. The caramel and the oak notes are practically nonexistent on my skin, although I could detect the caramel in the bottle (although the apple and apple blossom were the dominant notes to my nose in the bottle as well). Oddly enough, I do get a bit of the caramel note on my legs, but I can't smell it on my arms. I was hoping that the oak wouldn't be a dominant note, and it's not, so it must be really well blended! It's really just a lovely apple scent.

 

Second application (I added some more oil to my arms):

 

I do get the caramel note on my arms now, but the crisp apple and apple blossom notes seem to be striving to overtake it. Still, it is more prominent than it was before!

 

Verdict: I love apple scents! I am so glad that the oak played nicely and that I bought a bottle.

[Poenari]

Used on skin as an after-shower moisturizer. At first application, this is very strongly scented of caramel apple, and I was immediately reminded of the caramel apple in Creepy perfume. The caramel surprisingly fades fairly quickly, and leaves a beautiful fall apple scent with a smokiness, perhaps the ancient oaks are dry and burning. After about an hour, this has faded to an amazing scent that reminds me strongly of one of my favorite perfumes, Fearful Pleasure!

 

I need multiple bottles of this bath oil, as it is going to layer so beautifully with my other fall apple scents, as well as the caramel scents: Creepy, Lambs Wool, and Fearful Pleasure in particular. If you love those scents, then you definitely need bottles of this bath oil!

[cherrycherry]

Before BPAL, I would not have worn an apple scent and nor would I have used a bathing product that smelt of apple. After being seduced by Creepy, Sugar Slathered Candied Apple and Candy Corn Coated Apple, I found myself thinking very differently. This bath oil belongs to the same scent group for obvious reasons and really is very wonderful. I don't get a great deal of oak from my bottle but that's okay because I'm all about the sugary, caramel-smothered apple scents these days and this one truly fits the bill. Lovely.

 

10/10

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Apple blossoms.

 

Wet: Caramel apples! Yum!

 

The dry-down: The oak trees came out w/ a blast, but then the apples came fighting back, and it continues to be a bit of a tussle between the two. The caramel retired to the sidelines after a while. I like this; it's somewhat like walking through an apple orchard at different times of the year, all rolled up into one hour. Quite the morpher! Two notes: 1) I use these bath oils as lotion, so YMMV; 2) dark fonts on dark label just a tad bit difficult to decipher by these aging eyes.

[milo]

I'm getting mostly ripe, juicy red apples here. Not a drop of caramel, which is a good thing:) After a bit, the apple blossom comes out, and it's more like a apple and apple blossom blend now. Boo. Still, this is pretty nice, I love the apple note, though I wish the oak came out, as that is one of my favourite woods note.

[zankoku_zen]

Jesus, this is beautiful.

 

This is sweet red apples with a touch of woodiness that keeps it from being overly sweet. This is just mellow apples in autumn.

 

MUST HAVE MORE.

[Leopard403]

Every time I use this I kick myself for not getting more, and get angry at others for not paying more attention! This BO was wildly underrated because it sneaks up on you. I can smell each note in the description. In fact, if there were orchards full of big gnarled trees that produced gooey caramel apples, I wouldn't be surprised to find them harvested here. You smell the blossoms and a hint of leaves and tree while you pluck that caramel goodness, and that helps cut the sweetness. SO nice!

[AlectoFurious]

I love this bath oil. It is so nicely balanced between a sweet crispness with the apple and caramel and a earthy but dry wood note. Sweet but mature. I get no florals.