Dark-Eyed, Delightful

[Seajewel]

Brown sugar, cacao, toasted cardamom, patchouli, vanilla absolute, and benzoin.

 

[Teaotter]

Thick brown sugar and vanilla with the cardamom wafting over the top. This is very foody, but it has a strong, intensely dirty patchouli grounding it. 

 

The throw is a bit soft for me, and it doesn't last as long as I'd wish. But it's utterly delicious while it lasts!

[wolf_truffles]

Brown sugar and patchouli!! The cardamom is spicier rather than sweet this time and that combined with the dry cacao make the patchouli smell very dirty (I like that). It is dirty and sweet! Patchouli lovers will love this.

[Lucchesa]

This is already one of my favorite cardamoms.  Earthy patchouli sweetened by brown sugar and vanilla with lots of spicy cardamom -- what's not to love?  This is an instant classic.  The throw and wear length are nothing to write home about, but hopefully that will improve with a little aging. 

[Shadowdawn]

Oh no, this is so sad for me. Woooh she stonky. 😵 On me and to me nose what I get is patchouli. Really heavy, dark, aged, dirty, acrid, astringent patchouli. I adore brown sugar, cacao, vanilla, and cardamom so I had hoped they would star, with a drop of grounding green or lightly spicy patchouli in the back. I somehow get burnt soil from this and I'm not really sure how. Sniffing from the bottle (so that my skin chemistry doesn't come into play) I do get some hint of molasses sweetness (bitter and sweet) and heavily toasted spices. I would say the brown sugar is extremely dark, and the toasted cardamom is blackened toasted. When I sniff past the initial "this is very perfumey" stage I do get a resemblance of strong, heavy gingerbread crisps. Not sure how, but the cacao and vanilla are drowned, for me. If anything it may be described as a foody black patchouli.

Not sure if should attempt to swap or age it for the next 10 years and see if it turns into something heavenly and delicious...

 

Perhaps of interest, I had the SO sniff without sharing any of the notes and he gave me a one-word review: Chocolate. Very sweet, artificial, but not like chocolate syrup. So take that as you will. 

[MamaMoth]

this one goes on  pretty foody, dark and rich and cardamom-spiced, backed by resins.  the patchouli is thick and chewy, just how i like it. this blend is deep and sweet, toasty and brown. the cardamom has a spicy little kick to it. in this stage it makes me think of a spiced rum molasses cookie that browned a little on the bottom when it baked.

as it settles in, everything meshes so very well.  i love blends that hover in that area between sweetly foody and resiny, so this is definitely my jam. the patch is really showing out here and it's so good, mellow and sweet but very present.  the benzoin and vanilla come out a bit more, softening up that deep dark richness and bringing a bit of creamy smoothness.   the cardamom backs off so that it's not as spicy upfront, and it has more of that dry, toasted pitch now.

past the initial application, cacao always presents as just a velvety earthiness on my skin,  which holds true here as well.  so i don't catch anything remotely chocolatey in this one, but i may be an outlier on that.

throw and longevity do leave some to be desired, which is unexpected with this set of notes.  later in the day it goes a bit dusty, so i think the cardamom and cacao are hanging on the longest. i'll be picking up a bottle and betting that improves a bit with age, because this one is a winner.

[Casablanca]

Dark-Eyed opens on me with a swirl of potent cacao and soft brown sugar over fuzzy, earthy patchouli.

 

Starting in drydown, cacao settles down and cardamom spices up. I have a weak spot for sugar-spiced patchouli (having gone through two bottles of Don't Tell Me Heaven Is Under the Earth), so the blend enters a literal sweet spot for me here. I sniff and sniff, a little happier each time.

 

The scent settles cacao-vanilla patchouli with wafts of cardamom and brown sugar, sitting at the intersection of sweetness, spice, soft coziness, and dark agendas.

[astarinel]

This is a strong gourmand patchouli, pretty sweet.

 

Wet, I'm getting a dark sugared vanilla patchouli with a little touch of cacao. As it dries, the cardamom comes out more strongly giving the scent a spicy edge.

[LavenderCoffee]

I'm getting more of a hazel-eyed scent. On me this leads with toasted cardamom in a big way, followed by brown sugar and patch. It's lovely and warm, but gentle and short-lived. I bet these notes will age nicely, so it might be fun to squirrel one of these away.

[lipstickonmyteeth92]

Straight out of the mailbox because I was so excited: 

 

In bottle: Mmm toasty! A toasted chocolately note and I can detect some resins swirling around in there 

Wet on skin: I can get a slight green/spicy note from the cardamom and there's a gorgeous sugared/vanilla rooty patch in the background

Dry: I mostly get cocoa overtop of a vanilla/patchouli toasty scent with hints of the cardamom and brown sugar in the background. It's so beautiful and warm but, spicy and dark at the same time. 

 

Exactly what I was hoping for! 

[tinyvulture]

Cacao and patchouli, always good friends. The lovely sweetness of not only the brown sugar but vanilla and benzoin as well, gives it a Mexican hot chocolate vibe (but with cardamom instead of cinnamon). Like brewing hot chocolate and burning incense. Ritualistic, protective, a warm blanket of a perfume.

[doomsday_disco]

This is mostly patchouli, brown sugar, sheer vanilla, and cacao on me, with a little toasty cardamom thrown in the mix as well as a touch of resin from the benzoin. I get more patchouli than cacao from this, and even though there's sugar and vanilla present, I thought this one would be sweeter! It's more perfume-y than foodie to me, but perhaps that's because the patchouli is much stronger than everything else on my skin.

 

I'm glad I got to try this, but I was hoping for more sweetness.

[Little Bird]

Dark Eyed reminds me of Nasty Woman (warm patchouli and sticky gourmand) and the original Candy Butcher (silky chocolate with an almost floral cream to it), but with extra goodness added in and an overall warmer profile, so I prefer it to both of those blends.  I was surprised to read the notes list for this and realize that there's no hazelnut or cinnamon, but I think that it's the brown sugar and spicy cardamom that are giving me those impressions.  I usually don't care for brown sugar, but it enhances the other notes really well here and just adds to the overall toasty sweetness of the scent.

I don't find this to be too dirty or patchouli-heavy, but my skin seems to be amping up the sweet and spicy notes, and I love patchouli anyhow.  I get a really pretty, almost resinous smelling, warm patchouli here, along with lots of creamy milk chocolate, toasty brown sugar, a resinous and sophisticated benzoin and vanilla (Prada Candy vibes, but better and not powdery), and cinnamon-y smelling cardamom.  I really love this gourmand fragrance and I know that it'll get a lot of wear from me, especially over the winter months.

[saralaughs]

First on, this is a slinky patchouli; slinky like lingerie.

 

The cardamom warms it, leading to a spicy fuzziness that combines really well with the patch.

 

I also get a musky vibe (black musk specifically) from this well blended oil.

 

Completely dry, it's a high pitched sweetened patchouli on me.

Edited October 19, 2022 by saralaughs

[bloodfaery]

On me this is a cozy, sexy gourmand bomb! It has big throw and lasts forever on my skin. It is dangerous to wear in public if you don’t want to be approached, because it makes you seem sweet, alluring, and approachable. I tend to wear this one at home for that very reason. 

[Jenjin]

I was lucky enough to be gifted a decant of this masterpiece, and immediately began my hunt for a full size bottle. Warm, woody chocolate incense notes all wrapped in sticky sweet vanilla patch. I typically cannot wear brown sugar perfumes, but its a background player here, and the way it blends with everything else is enchanting.  This is a scent that gives me classic perfume vibes, nods toward Shalimar with its sensual, and luminous aura of magic. I could say this is gourmand, but not in an foodie way but more in the way you want to nuzzle skin. I love this so much, even the label suits it, sensual, mysterious and yes and big dose of metaphysical Kate Bush vibes. The benzoin in the finish amps this glowing aroma I could huff for hours, and maybe I just did nose-to-arm all afternoon. It goes all sultry rich on me at the end and I am delighted beyond words hmmmmm YESssssss. 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Jenjin

[zankoku_zen]

Patchouli, molasses (maybe its the brown sugar), dark chocolate and a whiff of cardamom. Medium throw and wear length

[Cali]

SUPER strong just... toastedness from the imp. Thank goodness it calms down as soon as i put it on. I also get molasses, super dark chocolate (too bitter to eat), toasted cardamom, a far away patchouli and I guess vanilla and benzoin (lol).

I swear I've smelled something similar to this in the past (not a perfume) somewhere and if it ever hits me i'll update it here. It goes more sexy near drydown, but i wish my skin amped the vanilla here, because good lord it would've been good if it did that!! I see the vision, just can't reach it.