As a kid I had a lot of lovely illustrated books, including reissues of some of the (aptly named) Grimm’s fairy tales. If you’ve ever read them, or thought about any old folk tales really, they can be … dark. Not sure they’d pass muster for kid-friendly reading today!
Anyway, this sample set of fairy-tale-inspired fragrances from The Mischief Academy and purchased from LuckyScent looked like fun (here’s a photo of the front of it). There are seven scents total, which I’ve divided into two posts; today’s the more gourmand-sounding offerings based on the notes listed. Let’s get to it.
The Mad Hatter – cognac, rum, toffee, condensed milk, butter, leather, black tea, saffron. Hey, this is nice! If a more cold-weather scent. I get a seamless blend of most of those notes, with rum and leather dominating. It’s a little bitter at the top, which I don’t love (the saffron, maybe?), but that fades while keeping the fragrance from tipping over into sugar overload.
The Cursed Apple – red apple, poison (bitter accord), rose, violet, lipstick, wild berries. This is aptly named, with me cursing before saying “hard pass!” and Carolyn doing a certified Mr. Yuk face. It smells like you layered DKNY Be Delicious with Malle Lipstick Rose, and no, I don’t mean that as a compliment. Next!
Hansel & Gretel – gingerbread, hot cocoa, rum, cinnamon, clove, tonka, vanilla. Okay, this is another one that would be best in cold weather. Also, yummmmmm. I’m leery of chocolate in fragrance, but this is such a nice blend. The first hour or so is startlingly similar to what you’d smell if you had a cup of hot cocoa with your gingerbread snack, and then it settles into a spicy vanilla skin scent. Is it earth-shattering? No. Maybe you already have a gourmand like this. But it’s a delightfully cuddly thing. I’d wear it to bed.
Winnie the Pooh – honey, beeswax, bergamot, lemon, lavender, clary sage, vanilla, tonka. You will be amused/unsurprised to learn that I did some research on what constitutes a fairy tale, and Winnie the Pooh is technically a “domestic fantasy” (blending the fantastical and the everyday), not a fairy tale. Now that I’ve shared that nugget of information that nobody asked for, this is easily the favorite of the bunch. The honey, which always leaves too soon, really sticks around, and the herbaceous elements keep it light rather than cloying.
The Discovery Set (which is seven 2ml samples, beautifully packaged) is $48 from Luckyscent. Individual bottles of fragrance are $120 for 50ml. I’m on the fence about the bottles – in theory they look adorable, but the gold caps are a little too bright and shiny and consequently they have a bit of that 1970s twee “vintage” Avon look, but that’s my opinion and based on photos, so who knows.
Have you tried any of these? Do they pique your interest?
bottle photo via LuckyScent; other photos mine
As a gourmand fiend, I immediately ordered a discovery set, and am not impressed. Cutesy marketing but the scents are juvenile, weak and boring.
I give this company high marks on picking a charming theme and making a sample set that is perfect. The box, the card with notes and the perforated, labeled scent strips are great. THIS is how a company should present their collection.
The scents, not so much so far. I have not given them all wearings, but The Mad Hatter has been the best so far. I was disappointed with The Jungle Book. I hit buy after reading its description. I don’t have the words that the regular writers here have to explain. It and all the scents seem thin. Interesting up top, then they fade to musk or vanilla quickly. For such a great concept and production, I’d trade all that for more symphonic scents. I’ll keep trying these, and look forward to read about them here.
I’m off to try Poison Apple. It’s like my name, so should be my hit from the bunch, and it sounds fun. Be well.
That bottle looks like the La Perla privé line shape Tom.
Funny how so many of you don’t like the old Nicolai bottles. I loved them and was very sad to see Patricia move to the square ones.
I like that they’ve picked a theme to play with here but nothing has grabbed me to hemming yet, maybe the next set?
Portia xx
Few gourmands are to my taste but the gingerbread one might pass muster. There again I’ve never fall for the SL one so maybe not
Ginger never sticks around the way I want it to. The Origins ginger is pretty good, I reapply shamelessly.
Don’t know this house. Hansel & Gretel sounds interesting but it with that name. I hated that fairy tale as a kid. Those caps don’t work with those bottles.
‘not with that name’
All those fairy tales, I look back and ponder, because mostly they’re kind of terrible!
There’s an amazing book, The Uses of Enchantment, all about why fairy tales are scary.
That’s the Bettleheim book, yes? I loved that book!
They remind me of the Nicolai bottles- gorgeous scenys housed in unattractive bottles
And I dunno … do I really want a twee bottle of fragrance named after Winnie the Pooh? Probably not. LOL the PdN bottles always looked (look?) like they were printed on someone’s home printer.
I’ll be interested in your review of The Jungle Book next time. That looks like the best notes list to match my taste. Totally agree with you on the too-shiny caps looking like dime store or Avon colognes. The artwork on the labels and box is really charming, though.
Jungle Book I have not tried yet, as you’ve surmised it’ll be in the next round. Yeah those caps, what is the deal.
I liked the idea when I saw it, so I added The Little Mermaid to a Luckyscent order. Didn’t like the perfume at all and am not interested enough to try any others. I have heard that some people are angry at the company for using AI for all their artwork.
Oh, that’s interesting about the artwork! I don’t have any illustrator friends and that issue (which I’m aware of) isn’t really on my radar for individual products/design.
Definitely the honey one!!!
And I love the idea
They are charming, but I just … can’t see myself falling hard for one of these (at least at that price point) when I could buy, say, a Serge Lutens or Amouage on the secondary market.
agreed!
Cursed Apple makes me want to sniff. Which is I suppose not shocking.
Ha! I’ll send it to you!