Chaos Theory VII: Gourmand

[Lady_Fire]

Sweet vanillas, thick chocolates, burnt caramels, and spun sugars.

 

121: Straight vanilla in the bottle. Almost a boozy vanilla, like vanilla extract. I was so excited for this one. Once it hits my skin the vanilla nearly vanishes and some spicyness takes over. It took me a while before I recognized what I was smelling, but it smells just like chai tea spices. So this is vanilla chai spice without the tea. I strongly dislike chai so this will be going to another home.

 

154: Strong chocolate-y note in the bottle. The chocolate calms down on my skin. It's still there, but it's distant, more of a supporting player. Something else is coming out but I have no idea what it is. Green? Citrus? I really can't figure it out. This is also going to swaps.

[ltrittipoe]

#42

 

Wet, this is delicious - like lemon curd buttercream cupcakes. As it dries down, the lemon vanishes and it morphs into a milk/cream note. It isn't very strong, but it lasts for hours.

[claudia6913]

This is bottle #163. This is quite full into the neck and the oil is clear in color.

 

Immediately get a blast of citrus, lemon to be exact. There's something else in here. Maybe some of that burnt caramel. It's a sweet yet "brown scent. But really this still reminds me of Lemon Pledge.

 

This isn't morphing much as it dries. It's just lemony, fuzzy, but barely sweet.

[peacocks]

Bottle 226.

 

In the bottle this is mellow, woody/mossy, a little sweet, and a little citrusy. It's not really what I expected from a Gourmand bottle. But it smells nice.

 

On the skin.. oh, ROSE. Hi! This is reminding me of something... Séance. That something is Séance. It's that same dark green rosewood/roseleaf, but cut through with a slightly boozy, slighty sweet lemon. And something spicy too. I thought I was getting a bit of violet for a minute, but I think I was just picking up on some of the sweetness from the lemon. Sadly the rose is going a bit soapy on me the same way Séance did. I'm going to age this and hope for the best. Some other rosy blends have reacted better with my skin after a year or two.

 

This is fun. I wish I'd ordered two!

[miss_rynn]

I'm always torn on CT scents - I love the idea, but my skin chemistry is so persnickedy that it's rare for me to find a scent that really works on me. The risk of a CT not working on me usually out weighs the fun of it, and so I usually nab at least one. I got two Gourmand bottles, and I struck lucky!

The very most perfect vanilla. It is pretty much my holy grail scent. It's a warm vanilla extract scent that doesn't turn to plastic or ash, like many vanillas do. In fact, it reminds me of the vanilla of Snake Oil. I am in LOVE.

I am going to nab a few more bottles of CT on my next order because if this bottle is the pay off it is TOTALLY worth the risk.

[alterosen]

#136

 

Coconut & pineapple - yup, it's a pina colada!

[cameroncrazed]

I have some Gourmand #136 too. I'm not getting pure pina colada though. It's a really nice scent that's playing really well on my skin.

 

Wet in decant: Hellooooo, coconut!

 

Wet on skin: Coconut, for sure. Something else, though - it's almost like a really faint caramel nut. Praline-ish? Not peanut or almond or walnut. It's reminding me slightly of Black Pearl, so I'm going to guess hazelnut. Something slightly citrusy hiding in the background.

 

Dry on skin: The coconut is still the predominant note. The citrus is still elusive. I get hints of lime at times, but I definitely am getting some pineapple in there now too. There's still the tiniest hint of caramel and nut in the background too.

 

Overall impression: It's a very grounded warm pina colada. That caramel and nut combo goes surprisingly well with the coconut, lime, and pineapple. There's something about it almost masculine; I think I might see if my dad or one of my guy friends would try this one. It's very unisex, so it's a great win for me - I'm so glad I got this one!

[cameroncrazed]

Decant of Gourmand #146

 

Wet in decant: Lucious caramel. The good stuff, where the sugar's been taken to a really dark mahogany brown but isn't burnt.

 

Wet on skin: More of that beautiful dark caramel along with vanilla. There might be a touch of cream, or is that amber? I can't tell.

 

Dry on skin: It's a lot more vanilla than caramel now, but there's something else there that I can't quite put my finger on. It's familiar, I'm positive I've smelled it in other scents, but I can't ID it. It's gorgeous, though.

 

Overall impressions: I got lucky with my Gourmand scents! This one is another lovely type of scent that's perfect for me. This one lasts a long time on my skin and has a nice amount of throw.

[Teaotter]

Decant of #136

 

In the imp: coconut milk, like you'd put in a drink. No rum, though.

 

Wet: Still lots of coconut, but there's an added vanilla warmth and it's making me think more of macaroons than slushy drinks. There's a note that reads like leather, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. I just can't figure out what it is.

 

Drydown: Warm bourbon vanilla and coconut, with a balsam note in there too, I think. It's pretty darn foody, but the balsam stops it just short of actually smelling like food.

[JazzieCazzie]

Took my chances with three bottles of CT knowing that things that don't work on me generally tend to be other people's favorites LOL!

 

GOURMAND: #272 ... With this series I was hoping for chocolate (LOVE the Lab's chocolate) or ginger (ditto) or could live with vanilla. Hoped against hope I would not get caramel, nutty, fruity or boozey.

 

In the bottle: Ruh roh. Strong vibe of something that I believe it butterscotch (smells like my grandma's handbag when she used to carry roll upon roll of Butter Rum Lifesavers and we'd use them as chips when we played gun rummy). There's something else there that I will forge ahead and try it on for the sake of science and description and review, but I can already tell I'm not gonna like it much ...

 

Wet: Upon application (very lightly with toothpick) to wrist and in crook of arm, I can get the strong buttery scent before even lifting it up to sniff ... honestly, this could almost be butterscotch single note to me right now. There may be some burnt or spun sugar in it, since it has sweetness, not just the salt of butter.

 

Dry: There may be the slightest touch of something woody (as opposed to woodsy), dry-ish, but I can't put my finger on it. This is very much a what you smell is what you get ... I am not an expert but I am just getting full-on butterscotch.

 

OVERALL: Absolutely not for me, but for those who love the butterscotch/buttery/burnt sugar notes, it would be a winner.

 

For me, this will get to age a few months and then it will go on my next big "BPAL for Bewbies" sales blowout in November in all its full-on glory.

[ReallyZeb]

Gourmand #153 - First I get a blast of buttered rum, then a back note of maybe cherry or bubblegum, plus a vanilla cake type background note. When it dries it's a more subtle booxy cake scent

 

Gourmand #243 - Lemon poppy seed cake/biscuits is the closest I get. The lemon is quite mellow and the biscuity thing is subtle. There's a dry savoury note which I interpret as the poppy seeds, which comes to the fore as it dries, then the lemon reappears as a slightly herbal lemon - more like lemongrass.

[Geminirubyshoes]

I received my Gourmand Chaos Theory # 131 and it's a perfect match for me. It smells like vanilla sugar and slightly scorched caramel in the bottle but when I put it on, it smells like vanilla and strawberry ice cream with warm caramel syrup poured over it. It lasts for hours too. Needless to say, I am extremely psyched haha!

[white_jenna63]

#245

 

A couple of the reviews for this on LJ compared it to Antikytheria (sp?) Mechanism and I definitely get that. Vanilla, wood, tobacco, maybe some patch. A little sharp for my taste, so I gave it to my husband (I gave him AM as well) and it smells INCREDIBLE on him.

[DJ Sin]

I got decant #248

 

I am getting caramel, vanilla and sage from this one.

 

on my skin is just sweet and sexy! I love it

[princessbeena]

Half bottle from decant circle #168-clove and some vanilla maybe? Maybe a little fruit too-smells like a Weenie

 

Half bottle from decant circle-#257-this smells like it should be a Weenie too-a light black licorice maybe? Reminds me of the pastille licorice candies

[dottie_doom]

Half bottle of #169:

It smells like mint chocolate chip ice cream, or a creamy mint fudge. The mint is not overpowering, it's subtle and blends well with the sweet creaminess that is also present. It's comforting and makes me want to eat a big bowl of mint chip ice cream!

[alterosen]

Half bottle of #173

 

The most perfect ginger spice cake! Lots of ginger, bit of burnt sugar & vanilla behind, no molasses thankfully. Delicious!

[bheansidhe]

157: A strong blast of a sweet spiced booze note, like buttered rum or hard cider, and tons of burnt-sugar fruitcake. The fruits are earthy complex ones, like dried plums and figs and mincemeat, dusted with cardamom and allspice. It feels very Victorian Christmas Dessert. In fact, it's like Christmas Pudding, Butter Rum Cookie, and Hard Cider Cake had a three-way love child.

 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

[LexieBlom]

Bottle #18:

 

Wet/Bottle; Smells like a caramel mocha latte with burnt milk. Weird.

 

Wet/Skin: Sickly sweet caramel, the chocolate has died down a little but is still present. Not much vanilla to speak of. I can smell it on myself even when I'm not moving and my wrist is down and away from me. This is a bit too much for me.

 

Dry/Skin: Purely caramel and vanilla. This has changed so much in the last 15 minutes -- it's no longer sickly sweet, but almost floral sweet. The chocolate is all but a memory, and the vanilla has reared its head in the best way possible. It's died down so much and mellowed, but I still have a slight sugar headache from sniffing it before this.

 

Most likely will not be using again. The drydown is lovely, but I can't put myself through the sickly sweet stage again, even if mellows out eventually.

[Gwydion]

Gourmand #273

In Bottle: (NB: They mowed today, so my nose is not at it's best.) Gingerbread accord dominant, but much smoother and sweeter. I'm thinking there's a cream note, and a soft musk, and maybe some extra vanilla and/or sugar. It's a sexy, perfumey gingerbread, if that makes sense. Wet: Strongly gingerbread dominant, with a strong whipped cream second, likely musk, and something ridiculously familiar that I can't put my finger on. it's less perfumey and musky on my skin, though still and sexy. There might be incense. I like it. it's significantly less foody than my other gingerbreads, and that touch of incense or whatever it is really adds a new dimension. Dry: Ginger and cinnamon and maybe a touch of clove. Cinnamon and maybe clove! That's what was blending in with the whipped cream!

[Gwydion]

#243

In bottle: Possibly chamomile. Possibly lemongrass. Vanilla and sugar at a base. I am pretty sure there is poppy and possibly something else herbal. Wet: Not chamomile after all for which I am grateful as my skin chemistry does terrible things with it. It is now strongly pomegranate and I'm thinking red autumn berries. It's not too sweet, though it still smells of sugar. I'm picking up a touch of poppy still and that vaguely citrus herbal edge I'm still thinking might contain lemon grass and clearly something else I can't identify. The possibly lemongrass or rind and an herb holds firm as the more volatile bits wear away This is pleasingly red and Autumnal. Dry: Pomegranate and lemongrass.

[Missy_killer]

#85

 

In the bottle: This is so hard without any notes to look at. citrus? Mango? It's some form of fruit, that I know for sure. I want to say it's a tropical fruit as well, it's not your typical orange, lemon or grapefruit. What does BPAL's mango-note smell like? I sniffed the only bpal I have that has listed mango, but it doesn't smell like this, nor does any other bpal that I've ever smelled. There's an almost non-existent chocolate note in here as well. Which is odd, because the bottle has a big, thick sludge in the bottle (typical for chocolate scents) but even after rolling the bottle for several minutes there's no change at all in the smell.

 

On: Oil looks colourless, a tiny bit of the "chocolate"-sludge followed. It smells really strong of alcohol. Like an alcoholic beverage with torpical fruit flavour. I thought for a while that it reminded me of Golden Wave, but nope - not the same. Maybe there's some peach involved too? On my skin it smells exactly like in the bottle, no change at all. I'm gonna retest this.

[alterosen]

Decant of #273 (also reviewed by Gwydion above)

 

Burnt sugar or sweet smoke, little jasmine, spice, either clove or carnation, possibly vanilla way behind. Nice spicy gingerbread phase, then it goes plastic, which on someone else's skin might be incense-y but not on mine.

 

edited to add: Final drydown is incense-y with some creamy sweetness behind. I just never stuck it out past the plastic phase before.

Edited March 21, 2017 by alterosen

[zankoku_zen]

#246

Vanilla cake, brown sugar, and a drizzle of caramel. This smells to me like marble cake. You get the darker, almost chocolatey bit with a swirl of brown sugar mixed in with a rich vanilla base. Medium throw and wear length

[bellumed]

235: Foodie mint reminiscent of a Peppermint Patty. Smooth with a little chocolate. Something else comes out on my skin. Something almost… floral? Definitely green. My mind keeps thinking “dandelion.” The blend is very clean smelling, between the mint and the flowers.