I have a bunch of testers of this year’s Yules. I need to test them before the Yules come down in February. Unfortunately, I am busy as hell and don’t have a lot of time to even put on perfumes, let alone write down my impressions. But if I don’t, I won’t remember anything, and getting testers (which is like a 1/4 of an imp) means I don’t have a lot to work with.
So far I have tried:
Butter Rum Cookie. Rum-soaked brown butter cookies, crusted with sugar, soaked in almond and garnished with orange rind and pummeled pecans. Pretty good. More cookie than rummy. Not sure I need more foody scents.
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes. Bittersweet chocolate cupcakes whisked with stout and topped with inky dark chocolate frosting. This oil has a lot of dark sediment in a lighter base. For about a nanosecond, this smells perfectly like chocolate frosting. Then it starts to just smell generically sweet and a little playdo-y.
Mari Lwyd. Welsh cakes and ale with a smattering of dried lavender. This one is a winner for me. The lavender doesn’t become overpowering or sneezy or awful, and mostly just mellows out the foody notes, which can be too heavy on their own. On drydown, it reminds me a bit of Tweedledee/Tweedledum, in that it’s something sweet anchored by something base.
I think I also tried Hot Buttered Rum? It smelled as advertised, which is probably too foody to add to my currently INCREDIBLY FOODY collection.
