Weihnachtsmärkte

[frizzlechicken]

The first Christmas market that we visited in Berlin was at Potsdamer Platz. We were completely wiped from the day of travel from Salzburg, but we were stubbornly determined to at least step into the market before collapsing into bed.

 

The scent of brightly frosted lebkuchen, warm mutzenmandeln, and chocolate-drizzled, marzipan filled schneeballen.



I don’t know how to adequately describe how much I love this. It’s a blast of chocolate similar to Gelt, but with a warm cheesecake-y dough-y cupcake-y spice added in. It doesn’t morph much from application to dry down; a slightly pretzel-nutty note is the only thing that fades. It’s incredibly comforting and delicious. I typically don’t wear a scent two days in a row (just because I have so many to choose from and I love variety) but I’ve worn this 3 days in a row now since it arrived. It’s that good! This will be a backup bottle buy for sure.

[ramblingrambler]

If I weren’t incredibly lazy, I would go look up the items mentioned in the notes before writing this review, but I’m lying in bed on my phone, and it’s just too much work. You understand. What I can say is that this is slightly salty, slightly doughy, sugary chocolatey goodness wet and dry. This is a dry, almost dutched chocolate/cocoa that reads slightly spiced and (hazel?)nutty. It has warmed up significantly since I placed my order (in the mid-80s while everyone else seems to be seeing snow still), but I can’t wait to wear this next winter when the cool air will make this stand out brilliantly on the skin! For now, it sort of gets lost in the heat and humidity. 

[zankoku_zen]

This smells like Christmas cookies and fried dough. I get vanilla sugar, cookies, and fried dough in it. And maybe a whiff of cool air and cocoa. Ugh, this is foodie without being too foodie, and just in general the best part of being out in a Christmas market, eating cookies and friend dough. Medium throw and wear length.

[doomsday_disco]

Weihnachtsmärkte is a melange of Christmas market goodness. The chocolate-drizzled, marzipan-filled Schneeballen and Mutzenmandeln stand out to me the most, with the Lebkuchenherzen in the background (it's not the Elisenlebkuchen variety with Oblaten wafers). They all blend together to create this milk chocolate-y, creamy, sugary, warm, and slightly salty fried dough type of scent that's really nice and comforting.

I am not really a fan of actual Schneeballen, and I was hoping for more Lebkuchen from this, but I am really enjoying the combination of these confections, especially the fried dough of the Mutzenmandeln and the creaminess of the marzipan. I have been to Christmas markets all over Germany, and this doesn't transport me back to those, but that's probably because, for me, Weihnachtsmärkte were more about roasted nuts, Kartoffelpuffer, and Glühwein. But I am happy not to smell like things like fried potatoes or the scent of sausages being carried on the cool air.

This is another win from the Winter Travelogue update for me. I will definitely be hanging on to my decant and taking it with me to Germany in December. I am not sure whether or not I need a full bottle of this, because this update is full of so much win, and other bottles may call to me more  -- I'll retest it before it departs just to be sure -- but I know that I definitely want to obtain more than just a decant.

ETA: I did end up grabbing a full bottle!

Edited April 5, 2019 by doomsday_disco

[PurringPulsar]

In the bottle: spicy chocolate biscuits!

On the skin: HOLY MOLY this takes me back to the Marche de Noel in Strasbourg. It’s because of the biscuity note. Other than the lebkuchen (I don't smell much gingerbread for the moment), I’m not familiar with the other sweet treats listed in here but on my skin it reminds me of ‘bredeles d’Alsace’. They are the Christmas biscuits of Alsace and they come in nutty, cinnamon-y, chocolate and gingerbread-y varieties. I remember trying them out in Strasbourg, many of the stalls giving out samples, and this reminds me of that experience! It’s floury, a bit buttery (but not overwhelmingly so!), sugary and nutty and chocolaty and spicy. There’s also an oaty/cereal-like note that reminds me of Full Moon Flakes, but in here the chocolate is stronger and the oat scent is less dusty.

Then the scent changes again…and it smells like fried doughnuts! I smell icing sugar on top of something hot and sweetly greasy. Now it reminds me of Salzburg. I had some doughnut-like fried pastry things there, maybe that’s the mutzenmandel? They were fluffier and lighter than the usual fried doughnuts. In there, the smell isn’t overwhelmingly greasy, the powdered sugar seems to dominate (there’s some cinnamon sprinkled in there as well), along with a cup of dark hot chocolate. I don’t get much of the lebkuchen (gingerbread) but what I do smell is yummy enough.

Verdict: like a winter version of Midway. This is a scented trip to some of my favourite Christmas markets in Europe. There’s one thing missing from this…gluhwein. A mulled wine note will really make it smell like a festive market. I might try layering this with Gluhwein or another wine-centred scent, and a gingerbread scent, and maybe a snow scent, for the full Weihnachtsmarkt experience.

Backup: oh yeah.

Edited February 25, 2019 by PurringPulsar

[samanare]

Creamy milk chocolate with just a touch of baking spices. On me, it's pretty much straight chocolate, though the kind of chocolate used in pastries and baking. Somewhat disappointed, I was hoping this would be more complex on me.

[RedPersimmon]

Starts out smelling like chocolate, fried dough, and almond cookies, but ends up as nutty gingerbread on me.

[Mountaingrrl00]

Verrrrry strong almond note after the initial dusting of cocoa. And something is reading to me as beeswax candles. The middle phase is wild! Then it's an intriguing gourmand scent, more blended. Definitely not an everyday scent, but a very cool ride. I might try wearing this to a winter party or two, see if I attract a confused stranger with a sweet tooth.

[dancingchair]

This is mostly Schneeballen and Lebkuchen on me. The combination of the chocolate and marzipan with Lebkuchen is stellar. The spices balance out the sweetness of the chocolatey marzipan wonderfully. I think the Mutzenmandeln bring a more savory oily note that rounds out the other sweets.

 

I bought this perfume second-hand from someone because I miss traveling terribly. The photo on the label brings back fond memories of visiting endless Weihnachtsmärkte during a December trip to Germany. The perfume itself is reminiscent of eating tons of Lebkuchen, chocolate, and other sweet treats in between sightseeing. I am happy I found a bottle of this!