Hard Cider Cake

[cherrycherry]

A thick, spongy white cake spiked with hard apple cider and frosted with whiskey-laden buttercream.

Exactly what it promises - spicy apple cider, cakey goodness and whisky buttercream. The cider and whisky are quite potent when wet on the skin but on the drydown we get a rush of creamy sponge cake. I don't know if anyone else is going to pick up on this (my nose may be fooling me) but I get the tiniest hint of coconut too. This is no bad thing. This might be one of my favourite gourmand Yules ever. Absolutely delicious, has amazing throw and there is no doubt that this will age well. Lovely!

[miss_rynn]

Super cidery! It's got that bubbly, effervescent quality that you get in perfumes with champagne as a note. It has a bright, crisp apple rather than a mulled apple. I'm not getting much buttercream, but it's there if I look for it. It has a nice cake note, the kind of sponge cake we have at Christmas time in Australia (the same type you'd get in a lamington at a CWA bake sale), but for me the cider is kind. I think I'm getting spice instead of whiskey. It's a dry, fruity scent with a touch of cakey sweetness to temper the sharpness of the cider.

[Jeni Mullen]

My scent palette: I'm a foodie that doesn't tend to like the lab's vanilla scent unless there's something sugary in it. Eat Me is one of my favorite scents along with Captain Lilith (more boozy but still sweet). I am slowly finding out that I don't like woods in my scents. I love FOREST smells (like pine needles, juniper, leaves, moss and grass) but sandlewoods, rosewoods, and things like cedar or oak just don't do nice things on me. I love Magnificent Autumn, Samhain and Druid! I like spices too as long as they aren't kitchen spices (like mint and sage). Frankincense smells a little like sage so I haven't been too happy with that in my blends either. Scherezade and Sapphics are my go to spice oils. My biggest no-no are florals. Lavender and Jasmine, ylang ylang and peony run rampant. That said, carnation and sometimes rose can be quite nice on me if they're toned down. I also am not sure about my take on citrus. Lime is overwhleming (but I liked it in Lily Witch despite the leather). Bergamot is nicer. Leather and hemp tend to give me headaches.

 

In the bottle: Hard apple cider. It's like I cracked open a Angry Orchard.

 

On the inside of my wrist, wet: Apples and whiskey. Very crisp and a whole lot like Apple Cider.

 

Fifteen minutes later: Uh oh. And here we go getting sour again. I'm pretty sure it's the buttercream. It's faint, not like Hot Buttered Rum which turned horribly sour right away. I'm hoping this mellows because even if I'm not that keen of an apple person, the whiskey in this is such an amazing note.

 

Thirty minutes later: Success! The buttercream sourness faded away (I wish I knew why my body hates milk and cream so much) and now it's whiskey and apples. It smells more like a fall scent than a winter scent but this is going into my rotation. Right. Now.

 

Verdict: Very sweet and very boozy. Once the dry down finished and the buttercream faded, I can see this becoming a boozy staple. It's not going to be a work scent but definitely a good out with the girls oil.

[livingdead71]

This was my only bottle purchase on Black Friday, and I think I chose wisely! It reminds me of either Autumn Cider or Fearful Pleasure combined with Hot Buttered Rum. The cider scents usually burn my skin with the spices, but I'm happy to say this one doesn't! It's just a perfect mix of cider, buttercream, and cake. It also has a nice throw and lasted on me all day. I love this one and am happy to have a bottle!

[AmyAngel]

In the decant, cidery apple with some sweetness. On, the tartness of apple comes out with maybe a touch of booziness. It's very sweet but not too sweet. I'm not really getting much if any of the spice I tend to associate with cider.

 

As it's drying, it's making me think of Lambs-Wool, but much sweeter. Like if it had been spilled on a sweet white cake. It definitely smells like WHITE cake, not yellow cake, and the tart apple is cooking down into something more mellow. It's really pretty much as described - a chunk of white cake soaked in hard apple cider. And as it dries even more, the buttercream frosting is coming out, and the cider is not quite so evident. I very much like this, but it may be edging toward "too sweet" territory for me, but it's hard to tell for sure with just a wrist-only test.

 

It is very much like Lambs-Wool, plus a lot of sweet cake, and stronger throw. I like Lambs-Wool as it is... I'm not sure if I need a bottle of a cake-and-frosting soaked version of it! I'll try a full-day wearing before deciding for sure. I'm contemplating layering them to get more cider and apple while keeping some cakey sweetness.

[Allumina]

Foodies are generally a miss on me, and this is sadly no exception, though it smelled lovely in the decant. Wet, there was a sharp note which I think was supposed to be the whiskey. I get a faint burst of apples which dries down to a perfumey, sorta cakey scent with a bit of booze, though it doesn't smell particularly like whiskey or sponge cake,

 

Unlike everyone else, apparently, on me it's low throw, and not very sweet. Boo chemistry.

[tharsei-thanate]

I very nearly bought a blind bottle of this but decided to save money and just get a decant. Glad I did because this is pretty terrible on me! I have issues with cake notes and cream notes sometimes and they're both awful on me in this blend. Plastic cake and sour buttercream. Apple cider is a win on me and I amp spices usually so I was hoping it'd overpower the problematic notes but I can't smell it at all. Not even the tiniest hint of apples. The only thing that smells nice is the whiskey but it's not very strong. I'll let this age a little and see what happens, but I'm not particularly hopeful.

 

[12/2/15 edit]

 

I tried this again just now, hoping 11 months aging has helped, and in the wet stage it was delectable. The cake and buttercream were behaving! I actually smelled apple cider! Then in drydrown it reminded me of Lambs-Wool with cake which was great but now it's dry and it's, well, awful. The cake's gone plastic and the buttercream's gone sour and there's no apple cider to be found anymore. Will have to see how this works in my scent locket because the wet stage was so incredible and I really wanna capture it!

Edited December 2, 2015 by tharsei-thanate

[torikitty]

In the bottle: boozy apples

Wet: Faint spices, sour buttercream, artificial vanilla, a bit of apple. And some boozy apple cider.

Drydown: Spices become more apparent. Butter Cake comes out more. Apple is faintly around the edge of everything. It's not bad, a bit like a candle on me.

Dry: Spicy holiday vanilla candle. Apples are mostly gone. This really feels like I should be smelling it from a glass jar in a store. I still like it, but I feel it's far from cider cake. I think I would layer this with something else.

Edited May 2, 2018 by Carrie

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: Booze-soaked sponge cake and frosting. NOMNOMNOM

 

Wet On Skin: There's something...lemony in here. It's actually reminding me of the italian sponge cake my family used to get on special occasions when I was a kid. I wasn't a fan then (I just wanted Duncan Hines box cakes!) but the smell now is really rather incredible.

 

Dry Down: Strangely, I get no apple from this. Zero. None. But it *does* smell like delicious sponge cake with delicious, ever-so-slightly booze-laced frosting.

 

In All: Very low throw and a hint of holiday spice, this scent is a lovely day-time foodie treat. Glad I have a bottle!

[Gwydion]

In bottle: I am not sure the whiskey and the buttercream will work for me properly in combination. It might be a little too heavy for me, for all I love the lab whiskey note. The apple cider is lovely support for the whiskey The cake supports the butter cream. Wet: The apple cider comes out more strongly on the skin with the whiskey in support. The buttercream backs down enough to let the white cake shine. I was dubious in the bottle, but to my pleased surprise this looks to be working, and working well. I love the way the booze dances with the cake. I wish I could eat this. Dry: Cakey heaven with a bit of booze.

[doomsday_disco]

In the bottle: Mostly the whiskey-laden buttercream, but I can smell the cake and the cider as well.

Wet: I am getting more cake than I did in the bottle, and more of the hard apple cider as well (which is spiced, but not heavily spiced). The cider note is becoming more prominent as this sits on my skin, as well as the buttercream note (which is definitely whiskey-laden).

Dry: Delicious sponge cake, a much softer, lightly spiced cider note, and buttercream. The whiskey-laden buttercream note reminds me a bit of Captain Lilith and Her First Mate.

Verdict: I love cider, and I love cake! I am glad that I bought a bottle of this!

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, you can really smell the distinct elements: the buttercream frosting, the white cake note, the apple cider. It dries down and melds to an apple heavy spice cake with a touch of butteriness on the edges. I really would actually love to eat this. I do not fancy smelling like this, but I would definitely eat any baked good that smelled this tasty. Low throw, average wear length.

 

Apple, cake, spices.

Edited January 16, 2015 by zankoku_zen

[brilliantcat]

Wet and in the decant, it's very much cider with a bit of rich buttercream. I find much like Lambs-Wool or Fearful Pleasure at this point. As it dries down, it becomes more about the white cake, similar to the cake in Eat Me (a fluffy white cake with a hint of vanilla rather than a buttery yellow cake), with some boozy whiskey frosting. I adore this on the drydown as it's very lighly spiced cider white cake with just a touch of boozy frosting and in my extensive foodie collection, I have nothing like it. I could layer it with a straight cidery scent for a more appley version or wear as is for the not-too-sweet gorgeous cake scent. Winner!

[astarinel]

In the decant and immediately wet, it's fairly strongly apple backed with cake and buttercream. However, on, the apple really fades a bit and the prominent note becomes that white cake note. It's definitely white sponge cake, not that distinctive yellow cake. I don't find the apple cider aspect particularly strong or spiced, it's definitely more like a dry, classic type of hard cider.

 

This is fairly foody and sweet, it definitely smells like cupcakes. As it dries, though, the apple note fades more on my skin leaving mostly a cake-y scent. This reminds me a bit of Beaver Moon 2012, except that was apple + cheesecake instead of apple + cake. It's nice, but I wish the apple hung around more strongly.

[agirlnamedfury]

This is sweet, but not in exactly the way I was expecting. It's more beery than cakey for me. There is a bubbly, effervescent quality to it that definitely calls to mind hard cider, and the apples are definitely a bit sour and fermented.

 

I really expected to love this, as I do most gourmand scents, but I don't know that I do. The sour, musty apple quality reminds me a bit of Lambs-Wool which I wasn't a huge fan of either, though I think this one is even more potent.

[LiberAmoris]

YUM. Hard Cider Cake is another mouthwatering Yule foody blend...it smells so real. In the bottle and on my skin, this is pure white cake saturated with hard cider and topped with buttercream frosting. That buttercream note is just the bee's knees—it's so delicious. Definitely a keeper, for weekend days when I'm powering through chores or projects...and want to smell like cake while doing so.

[milo]

Whaaat?! Coconut and a touch of apples. I guess the cake could be translating as coconut, but it pretty much smells like it to me:) Ends up smelling kind of like Egg Nog, the bpal blend, but with whiskey rather than rum. It's quite yummy, but too foody for me to wear.

[Gin]

YUM. Doesn't smell like much in the bottle, but on the skin, it's apple and white cake. Apples are short lived, and I'm left with a spicy-vanilla-cakey scent. I like this better than both Lambs-Wool and Fearful Pleasure, which I think are the most similar.

[alterosen]

Yum! Starts out boozy, spicy apple, then the cake appears with all its vanilla goodness & the drydown is sugary vanilla & sandalwood with just a hint of fruitiness. I wish the apples lasted longer but I have other scents I can wear when I'm in the mood for fruit. This is for when I want cake!

Edited March 20, 2015 by alterosen

[tinyvulture]

Apple cider and buttercream in equal proportions. There's a touch of whisky, but it's definitely a foodie rather than a boozy scent overall.

 

It dries down to sweet white vanilla cake with buttercream frosting and just a hint of apple. Lovely, a must for foodie folks!

[vanilla323]

The whiskey and apple cider are what I smell in the bottle. On the skin it has more of a cake and strong whiskey scent and the apple fades away a little, which is ok with me. This scent is very different and I can't help but think it's a more grown up foodie scent. I picture a sassy woman who loves her whiskey and eats cake when she is drunk. Not sure what I'm saying...maybe i've done too many reviews today! LOL But I do love it! Haha

 

UPDATE: After aging a while the apple has gotten stronger and the cake lighter. May have to let this go since apple isn't the best scent on my skin I've realized.

Edited July 23, 2015 by vanilla323

[Nyx_DevineNight]

In the bottle: Spice Cake

Wet: An Apple Cider Spided Cake with frosting on top. Mmm.

Dry: The Apple Cider is now stronger and with more spice. There is only a touch of cake/frosting smell to it now… A little later it is all Apple Cider and Spice. I have to say, I really love this. I'm glad I was able to try it.

[Soupy Twist]

Apple with a touch of cream in the bottle. Goes on as apple with a breath of a deep whiskey note, but that quickly vanishes. A wee bit of cream returns, and it finishes as a creamy apple. Low throw; not much to write home about. There are many better apple scents.

[Little Bird]

The cake doesn't survive on my skin, as the spices and apple really amp up on me, but this is still a nice fragrance. Cinnamony, spiced cider and sweet apple. I was disappointed at the lack of cake and buttercream for the first few minutes, but I do notice a creamy, rich, buttery vanilla undertone in the drydown. It makes the spices less sharp and more wearable for me. It reminds me of Lambs-Wool.

[JTobias]

Lots of juicy apple and whisky! I'd appreciate more buttercream, but you can't win them all Also, I'd like to add that the cinnamon and spices do not overpower on me as these blends normally do.