I'd received a preview sample of Ex Tenebris Lux and Mexican Hot Chocolate with my previous order, so I opted to buy full sizes of Ex Tenebris Lux, Peppermint Hot Chocolate (I had it in lotion form already) and Toasted Marshmallow (after listening to everyone fall in love with it on IMAM) as well as blind buying a full size of Hellebore and samples of everything else. Claire was sweet enough to upgrade my sample of Red Velvet Hot Chocolate to a full size bottle in lieu of a free sample this time around.
Black Forest Hot Chocolate
Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, vanilla, cherry, and whipped cream
In the bottle: Syrupy cherries
On my skin:
Ohh yeah. That's the stuff. Straight up Black Forest Cake. It reminds me a bit of Deep Midnight's Velvet Harlot, but the chocolate is more forward in this one, where Velvet Harlot is more cherry with a bit of chocolate drizzle. If that makes sense. It probably doesn't. It's hard to metaphor because I'm too busy thinking about how long it's been since I've had Black Forest Cake.
Coconut Creme Hot Chocolate
Dark chocolate, white chocolate, and coconut topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes and a drizzle of caramel
In the bottle:
On my skin: German Chocolate Cake. Seriously. So much so that for a second I could taste coconut flakes. horf. Y'all don't understand. I love the way coconut smells. I love the way that coconut milk tastes (especially in like a pina colada). But I can't do coconut flakes. The texture is just... ugh ...and I get it in my mouth and... HORF!!!! But still, I have to give serious kudos to Claire for capturing the scent so well that I reacted the same way I would if someone made me eat that nasty shit. That takes talent. I'm really impressed by how authentic it is. After about 20 minutes it faded down to a level where I could appreciate it without feeling like this was a bullshit party and why some people need to ruin perfectly good chocolate cake with nasty ass coconut flakes I'll never understand.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Mexican vanilla, cinnamon sugar, spicy pink & black pepper, and whipped cream
In the bottle:
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| Yes it IS necessary for me to have two different types of Abuelita. Granulated is for making bootleg mochas, packs are for when I feel like sharing with my kids. Which never happens. |
On my skin: Again, Claire nailed it. This smells cinnamony and chocolatey with just a bare hint of hot pepper in it. Also, I didn't mean for every review to turn into "Recipes and pics of things Mel loves to eat." But I'm not sorry either.
Red Velvet Hot Chocolate
Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, red velvet cake accord, buttermilk whipped cream
In the bottle: Mmm sweet cake and buttercream frosting
On my skin:
Frosted birthday cake. This is actually making me hungry. And I'm kind of ambivalent about Red Velvet cake. I think it's more that I've never had a good Red Velvet cake. I'm more of a chocolate cake girl myself. Actually no, that's not true. If you're every in New Orleans, Gambino's makes really good Red Velvet Cake and you need to try their Doberge. It's like a party in your mouth.
Toasted Marshmallow
Everyone’s favorite hot chocolate topping, gooey marshmallows lightly toasted over a campfire. Can be worn alone or layered with any of the Hot Chocolate Bar fragrances.
In the bottle: Ooey gooey marshmallow.
On my skin:
This is a very subtle marshmallow scent. How subtle is it? I slathered it on every pulse point: wrist, behind the ears, elbows, between my breasts and my husband couldn't smell it on me until I shoved my wrist under his nose.
Ex Tenebris Lux
Labdanum, Benzoin, Tonka and Vanilla Absolute with Patchouli, Oakmoss, Blood Orange, Bergamot and Tuberose
In the bottle: Orange and flowers.
On my skin: A bright orange over white florals. After about 20 minutes or so, it starts to turn warm and almost spicy. I can't decide if what I'm smelling is amber or woods under the flowers. After 30 minutes it's dried down to reveal a warm heart. I smell amber and woods but I don't really get any vanilla. I love this one. It's beautifully complex and sophisticated, but not so heavy you can't wear it as an every day scent.
Hellebore
Tuberose absolute, Sambac Jasmine, oakmoss, tobacco, chilled earth, cocao, black musk
In the bottle: Floral and... lemony? But more like lemon candy than straight up lemon.
On my skin: Mmmm in your face white florals. I think it's Gardenia and Tuberose. It reminds me quite a bit of Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower, but without the green note. After about 10 minutes it dries down to reveal the oakmoss hiding under the flowers. Within 30 minutes, the florals have faded into the background, leaving a sexy base of black musk blending into the oakmoss. I bought a full size of this blind, because it sounded amazing. It smells better than I could have imagined. This is something I'd expect to spend a ridiculous amount of for a tiny bottle at Sephora.
Also, I don't know where the hell the lemon-y candy scent I got from sniffing the bottle came from. My brain is very strange.
Rook
Almond, vanilla, amber resin, clove, woodsmoke
In the bottle: Almond syrup
On my skin: Clove clove clove. The clove totally overpowers the rest of the notes in this. Thankfully, this time it's not like Salem was, where it was so strong it gave me a headache. This smells more like an orange pomander. I'm kind of sad that none of the other notes come through, but I do love the way clove smells. It's nice to find a wearable version of it. After about 15 minutes, I'm not sure if it's wishful thinking, or if I'm finally catching a bit of vanilla in the background.
Sacre Coeur
Frankincense, Elemi resin, Ambrette, Bois de rose (Rosewood), Cistus Labdanum, Leather, Vanilla, Roman Chamomile, Orris root, Birch Tar
In the bottle: ...I don't even know. *peers at scent notes*. Orris root maybe? And Bois de rose? Whatever, it's good, yet subtle.
On my skin: Whoa. Birch Tar and Frankincense... and leather. Oh this is lovely and male. This smells like the reason I always steal my husband's hoodies and sweatshirts to wear. Sometimes it's nice to be surrounded by something warm and Male scented.
Wintering
Absolutes of hay, tobacco and beeswax (not vegan), patchouli, vanilla bean, spices (ginger, cinnamon, clove, etc)
In the bottle: Minty-piney freshness
On my skin: Oh wow. This smells like wintergreen and pine forest. I'm not sure where I"m getting the pine forest from, but I think the wintergreen note is the ginger and clove playing together. I really like this one. It feels like coming inside after a tromp through the forest on a snowy morning and warming up in front of the fire.
So there you have it. I think my favorite hands down is Hellebore. It's just an amazing scent and I'm glad I went ahead and got the full size version. I also love all the Hot Chocolate Bar scents (except Coconut). If you've been thinking about picking these up, now's the time. The winter scents will be available until the Spring Collection is released on Feb. 6.
~M
Shop sixteen92 perfumes at it's spiffy new site: sixteen92.com.
Oh neat, it's my cake! I found your page when I looked at a list of people who linked to me, but I am super into scent and makeup reviews so I ended up reading the whole shebang. I actually really love coconut flakes so Coconut Creme Hot Chocolate sounds amazing to me. Actually, a lot of these scents sound amazing.
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother's cake looks AH-mazing. I'm looking for an excuse to make it.
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