Please Scream Inside Your Heart

[zankoku_zen]

This is the scent of fried dough, funnel cake, and that balls-in-your-throat feeling you get when you’re about to pitch over the edge of a steep hill on a roller coaster and can’t see the other side.

[ltrittipoe]

Fried dough!   Less funnel cakes and more churros - slightly cinnamon-y and sugary, but granulated sugar, not the powdered sugar from funnel cakes.  Something a little buttery, too.  
 

I’m getting a *tiny* bit of a fresh air scent - nothing ozone-y or even really a scent.... just the impression of eating a churro in the fresh air of a fair!  
 

Such a fun scent!  Pure foody and summery.   

[kscha2017]

I screamed out loud, sorry. I smell cinnamon French toast fried in butter, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, drowned in sweet sticky syrup. Could almost hear the sizzle, somehow the frying is going on right as the scent touches my skin and slowly fades. It "feels" hot, very much an experience of being right there as the treat is made. Reminds me alot of BPAL's King Cake as I seem to be picking up some almond too.

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I'm not a super big fan of foody scents, but I do love some and between the name, the label art (who doesn't love an adorable opposum?) and the description, I had to try it.  I actually do like the smell of funnel cakes a fair bit, so hopefully this one works for me. 🤞

 

First sniff:

 

I can see the french toast comparison.  What I'm getting, though, is more like crème brûlée mixed with fried dough.  Not what I was expecting, but not bad.

 

Wet on skin:

 

That burnt sugar note from the "crème brûlée" deepens into a sort of burnt sugar-caramel with a hint of spice.  There's no dough or cake here at all at this point.  It reminds me a bit of Mitzvah.

 

Dry down:

 

Much more balanced now.  I'm getting fried dough (a familiar note from Midway) with a touch of spiced drizzled with a light coating of burnt sugar.  It's got a buttery note to it as well, but that seems to be part of the funnel cake part of the scent.

 

Final thoughts:

 

I like this, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  Where I expected traditional funnel cakes, I got a sort of funnel cake meets crème brûlée mashup, heavier on the funnel cake.  The "balls-in-your-throat feeling" isn't really showing up for me, I don't think.  Fusion pastry arts aren't exactly balls-in-your-throat.

 

 

[feyofthefellwood]

Omg, I love this. I enjoy foodie scents but they aren't necessarily my main attraction, yet this is glorious. It smells like incredibly realistic cinnamon churros, and makes my mouth water every time I take a huff as my brain wonders where the sugar and fried dough is. There is a really interesting whoosh of fresh air vibe to it, but I honestly can't tell if that's part of the scent or just, you know, my nose breathing in air along with it. Either way, this is a really delicious, cheerful scent that makes missing late summer/early autumn social activities feel more bearable. 

 

Edit: just want to add that after a few days of rest, the fried dough note is coming through even more realistically - maybe whatever spice is in here is helping with that? I can't tell at this point if it's cinnamon or actually cardamom. Either way, yum.

Edited August 13, 2020 by feyofthefellwood

[ajansuz]

I love this so freaking much. In the vial, it's definitely more churros than funnel cake, but the moment it touched my skin some serious alchemical magic happened. It smelled exactly like walking down a carnival midway, something just a little burnt hanging in the air and the faint scent of hot tarmac. For a hot minute, I worried that tarmac scent would take over and ruin everything. It didn't. It stepped back and let the sweet, sugary cake scent take over.

 

Fully dry it resembles The Pancake Bell a bit without the syrup. It is so delicious. The art is hilarious, and I love the sticker, too!

[Marina Napoli]

In the bottle: WOOF, there is something hella sharp coming through. I cannot smell anything else, and I can't identify that specific smell.

 

Wet on skin: Okay, now this is all fried dough and spices. It doesn't specifically smell like funnel cake. I agree with the churro comparison. That sharp note that I get from the bottle is hovering in the back. I think it's just whatever spice blend is in this. 

 

Dry: Cinnamon fried dough. Definitely churros. This is very nice! I'll probably pick up a bottle of the Please Scream Inside Your Snake Oil for my birthday next month. I like this a lot.

[doomsday_disco]

So this doesn't smell like funnel cake, but you know what it does smell like?

MOTHERFUCKING BREAD PUDDING.

 

I'm not mad.

[Pers]

In the Bottle: I never would have bought this based on a sniff of the bottle. Smells like raisins and butter but like....that have started to go bad. Yikes!

 

Wet on Skin: Ok, this is nothing like it was in the bottle. Bit like buttered rum almost but still with that worrying "something's off" note, though less prominent. 

 

Drydown: Lot of spice coming through now, mostly cinnamon. Not getting any bakery notes at all. Going to have to remember to put this one on well before leaving the house so it has time to get past its awkward phase.

 

Dry: A nice, spicy fall scent. Cinnamon forward, as others have said. No hint of funnel cakes or dough for me and thankfully, no sign of the dreaded plastic smell that my skin makes out of most foodie scents. Just the faintest hint of butter but otherwise, all spice. Despite the cinnamon, I'm not getting contact dermatitis like I do with scents like Dwarven Ale. I like it but it is definitely not what I was expecting!

[Dancing Raven]

Anyone who has seen my reviews knows that I am not a fan of foodie scents. Based on the description, I had to get it.

Wet: Maple syrup and fried dough. 

Drydown: Cinnamon comes out (I have sensitive skin, and there is a very mild burning sensation that appears about 30 minutes after being on). The dough is dry rather than doughy, if that makes sense.

45 minutes in I still haven't gotten anything resembling ozone, and if it's going to go detergent, my skin will throw it like crazy. If you're afraid of ozonic scents, fear no more. I get funnel cake, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Throw is excellent - at least an arm's length. It's definitely sweet. If you enjoy foodie scents you will want to grab this one for sure! It would be an excellent autumn/winter scent. Since I don't particularly like them, I probably won't wear this one often except to layer with some of my more earthy leaf scents that go a bit masculine on me. This one didn't do a lot of morphing. It went from fried dough to funnel cake dough (softer and sweeter), but otherwise stayed like cinnamon french toast for hours. I never got anything that resembled fresh air. The mild burning from the cinnamon went away for me about an hour and a half after wear (or I got used to it).

4.5 stars out of 5. It's a little too sweet/foodie for me, but it's fantastic for what it is.

[vanilla323]

This is delicious funnel cake but no powdered sugar. I agree it has a bit of a maple syrup vibe too. Super sweet and yummy. I also get whiffs of Creme Brulee as mentioned above in the throw. Very carnival sweet and fun. Hilarious sticker and label too.😝

[Amazonia]

Don't be quick to judge Please Scream.   

 

I sniff everything straight out of the mailbox, because of course I do.  Lemme tellya, that first day when I sniffed PSIYH (and the SO sister scent), I was ascairt.  I got a very strong and distinct celery seed note emanating from both.  I even wandered into the kitchen to sniff around in my spice cabinet, and confirmed that I was, indeed, smelling celery seed.  Yikes.  I dutifully put them away in my chilling cellar to let them rest, until this morning, when my curiosity got the better of me. 

 

Now lemme tellya what else.  PSIYH is a testament to the magick of letting your oils settle and age.  Six days has completely transformed celery seed into an enormous platter of plump, milky French Toast, fried to a light golden brown, topped with a perfect dusting of cinnamon, and dripping with syrup.  And listen to this... French Toast is one of my favorite fucking foods, ever.  

 

I want French Toast now.  Real real bad.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Amazonia

[Rayleigh]

Firstly, the short version about this scent: This is a foodie, well-made, realistic scent, with enough spices to keep it interesting. I agree with pretty much everything above -- churros, french toast, fried dough, crème brûlée, all of it. And it's delicious and summery and amusement-park nostalgic, with lengthy wear time and powerful throw. Unrelated to the scent, I have developed an intense fondness for the possum on the label art. I'm really rooting for that screeching marsupial. I, too, have opposable thumbs and high stress levels, my friend.

 

Now, the meandering, long-winded version, less about the scent and more about how I am a Dummy: Everything about this scent told me exactly what it would be -- foodie. And yet! My brain went, "Well, I like the smell of funnel cake and churros. And even though I don't like foodie scents on my skin, I do like walking around carnivals and smelling those things, and that in a bottle sounds fun. Let's go!"

 

My attitude toward foodie scents is, fittingly, a bit like my attitude toward cake. I'm not that fond of regular old cake. It's fine in small doses, but it's just not for me, unless it has so many other things going on that it is no longer cake, to the point that it has to change its name to something like tiramisu or cheesecake, or else it gets in trouble for identity theft. If I'm given a choice between cake and something else, I'll usually pick the something else, even if I can appreciate how well-crafted the cake is. Same with foodie scents -- I can appreciate the craft of bottling them, but I only like them for myself if they're in the company of enough non-foodie notes to balance it out.

 

So I was as nervous trying this on as I would have been had it been a real, live possum. But! I'm always happy to admit exceptions to my rules (Snow White killed No White Florals dead in its tracks and wears it around her neck in triumph), and this smelled good in the vial. It got the tiniest little dab. This possum is not screaming inside its heart; it wants to be heard, and smelled, and it has the throw to make sure it will not be ignored! Notice the possum, or there will be consequences. And at first, it was mostly spices -- like what a spice candle wants to be when it grows up, minus the fakey notes that make spice candles smell like potpourri. But as it dries, more and more buttery dough comes out. I swear that way, way down in the depths of this scent, I can smell the powdered sugar dissolving into the melted butter into bonus globules of deliciousness. Best-foodstall-on-the-promenade stuff, but still food.

 

"I smell edible," I wail, and the possum wails back, "What were you expectinnnnng?" And that's fair, possum.

 

This is a very good scent. Strong recommend for foodie-lovers. And I like smelling it! And I would like being around someone else who smelled like this, or -- even better -- around some place that smelled like this. I even liked catching whiffs of it when I was outside, where it seemed most at home. Inside, though, it kept following me, as one would expect with something applied directly on the skin. I wanted it to waft by for a gentle reminder that Summer Fun exists, and then let me keep working on All-Season No-Fun until I wanted the reminder again (aka, an unreasonable expectation for a perfume.) I will give this a chance to rest and try again, because it is exactly like a day at an amusement park, and I could use some unbridled happy in my collection. But I suspect it's a masterfully made slice of cake -- totally wasted on me.

[sarahmarie]

Very cinnamon buns, to me, though it probably also smells just like churros. - that's just not my personal point of reference because it's not a thing I've had very often! It's a sort of deliriously delicious kind of experience, though that's probably just me thinking about the possum as I smell it.  

[storme]

This is the purest, most delicious cinnamon-encrusted churro scent! I bought a bottle entirely on a whim, after buying a decant that isn't even here yet, and I'm so glad I did because I want to eat my own wrist oh my god.

[Pave.Gurl]

Am I incredibly excited about this? As a long-term gourmand stan, YES I AM. As a hoarder of Midway, from way back in the Carnaval Noir days, I have a deep hope that this will be a worthy addition. 

 

The only part that give me pause is: 

On 7/15/2020 at 7:06 PM, zankoku_zen said:

that balls-in-your-throat feeling you get when you’re about to pitch over the edge of a steep hill on a roller coaster and can’t see the other side

 

Fresh out of the post, it's really sharp and unpleasant for me, so I wait a week or two to let it settle before giving it a run, because I don't want to taint it with that initial sharpness. 

 

And, sadly, for me, the sharp unpleasantness takes over everything, even weeks later.Turns out, for me, that balls-in-your-throat feeling smells a lot like... Bile and old vomit. Like, you know how after it's been cleaned, but there is that sharp, lingering thing that hovers, keeping you nauseated? Like that. And then it adds a note of homemade salt dough that's gone off because you didn't realise it would go bad; the kind your mom made because you couldn't afford actual play-doh, and made you keep using because it was wasteful to throw it away. 

 

I am nothing if not stubborn, though, so I have tried this four separate times now, over the course of a month... thinking maybe different times in my cycle might make a difference? I'm gutted to learn that, nope, this is just not going to work for me, no matter when I try. Womp womp

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Pave.Gurl
typo

[indie0385]

In the bottle: smells like potato peel. 

Wet:  Thank god, now I'm getting more of a baked good smell

Dry down: Honestly, on me this smells more like pancake syrup

Dry: Okay, this has settled into a nice sweet, slightly spicy scent. I'm still getting a hint of pancake syrup.

[artisjok]

Yes, I’m getting that eggy note that bread pudding or French toast has, especially in the wet phase. Then there’s a cinnamon-heavy middle phase that isn’t too exciting for me... not a chewy churro, sadly. The drydown veers back to pastry, and I’m glad. In fact, I do think it’s pretty close to funnel cake in the end. 
 

Still wondering if I want the bottle or not. Lovely for foodies! 

[zankoku_zen]

Maple cinnamon churros. I ain't mad. This one is foody, cinnamony, and doughy. Good throw and wear length.

[fairybites]

In the Bottle: Caramels, bread, and maple syrup

On Me: I blind bottled this one because I wanted a scent that I thought would layer well with my current favorite Mouse Circus. And while I have yet to layer the two, this is a wonderful scent and I'm glad I didn't just settle on a decant. I don't really get funnel cake from this, to me it's more of a french toast with caramel scent. But I still really enjoy it nonetheless. It's a great scent for autumn and to me it's not overpowering. I am a little bummed it's a limited edition, but hopefully it won't be discontinued for a while yet so I can get an extra bottle or so. If you're into foodie scents or just breakfasty scents in general, I don't think you could go wrong with this at all.

[Little Bird]

I ordered this hoping that it would be like Midway, which I loved and ran out of long ago now, and it's unfortunately nothing like Midway.  I wish that the description had listed cinnamon, because then I would have known not to buy it.  This smells a lot like cinnamon sugar dumped into vegetable oil on me.  Oily and something slightly sour about it.  Drydown has tiny hints of something like banana bread and pancake syrup.  The labels for the Please Scream scents are so cute, but I'm going to pass on the rest of this series.  Oily cinnamon scent.

[puellacaerulea]

In the decant: Rich, oily fried dough. Borderline sickeningly rich, like biting into a piece of cake with too much frosting (just me?). Once I apply it, I get a big blast of cinnamon, which slowly settles and starts to blend with the dough. The cinnamon helps tone down the richness of the dough into something more doable. After drydown...it's basically like sticking my nose into a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Not the kind of thing I need a full bottle of, but I'll keep my decant for when I want something fun.

[Juliamon]

I don't love gourmands generally, but I really was looking forward to this because dang, I miss fried dough! Unfortunately it ended up being a collision of things that put me off: "caramel" in the way that caramel notes in perfume always smell like rotten garbage to my nose rather than actual caramel, plasticky cinnamon-dusted fried dough, pancake syrup. I cried quietly in my heart. If this works for you I'm happy for you, and if it continues to be a series I will enjoy the labels, but the perfumes themselves can stay away from me.

[Threemoons]

The name of this scent matches my mood exactly today:  . In the bottle: Funnel cake and the slightest bit of ozone/air? On wet: More carmely notes/a bit of burnt sugar/that air note again/waffles/a bit of cinnamon? Drydown: I'm getting French Toast/waffles/funnel cakes/churros with the tiniest hit of spice (cinnamon? nutmeg?) and a teeny little ozone pop. Very comforting.

 

[Laughing Seagull]

This is initially a giant bowl of maple syrup and vomit with a tiny fragment of French toast floating in it and something vaguely nauseating wafting in the background.  I was actually tempted to wash it off because I found the initial smell incredibly overwhelming and unpleasant, but it becomes more bready, spicier, and tolerable once it dries.

 

I wouldn't call it funnel cake though.  Not sure what kind of funnel cakes they've got going on in California.

 

EDIT/UPDATE: I retried this in 2023 and it has aged nicely.

 

The "vomit note" is gone and it has evolved into a yummy french toast with syrup or monkey bread scent. It is still VERY STRONG!

Edited September 17, 2023 by Laughing Seagull