Spritz Me With Mexican Chocolate!

Chocolatl, by Euphorium Brooklyn, was a scent that had me pacing back and forth by the mailbox while I waited for the sample to come for me to review.

I'm a little obsessed with all things Mexican and that most certainly includes champurrado, or "Mexican hot chocolate," something I was particularly craving at the time I found out about this scent and learned I was getting a sample of this new release. 

Chocolate originated in Mexico, originally called xocoatl, an Aztec word, which was originally a bitter (not sugary sweet!) drink made from cocoa beans. (I used to make chocolate - I have weird chocolate knowledge.)

When I was in Oaxaca, I eschewed morning coffee for the delicious champurrado each morning, hand mixed with a special wooden whisk (I own one) to create a fabulous blend of spices and chocolate that ended up oddly gritty and thickly foamy. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, that craving was running high and I was drinking my own sub-par homemade version (I can't get it thick enough!), when this sample landed. 

Sprayed immediately. 

Here's what we are expecting, according to the website:

DARK MEXICAN COCOA

SPICE & PILONCILLO

TZAPOTL FRUIT, VANILLA & HONEY

BALSAM & MUSK

tzapotl ("chocolate pudding fruit")

Translations: piloncillo is a cone-shaped sugar kind of like brown sugar; tzapotl fruit is the name for something also called "chocolate pudding fruit."

I'd say Euphorium Brooklyn satisfied their brief well. This is a definite dark chocolate scent through most of the development. Not sweet (though not as spicy as my drink). It's got some sweetness to it, a honeyed stickiness. Delightful. I'd say your top and heart notes are pretty much the same. Not much change there. 

About two hours in, though, when we're headed to dry-down, some of what I consider Brooklyn Euphorium's signature, quirkiness, kicks in. 

Balsam. 

This is odd. 

At first I started to get a bitter note. A green bitterness creeping in. I was put off, to be honest, as it was still lingering with the chocolate, but then as it started to truly swap itself for the heart notes and came into its own, I was won over. And mind you - this is all me sticking my nose in my wrist at several-minute intervals. Subsequent, less-attentive wearings skip the awkward teenage gangly phase because I'm not looking for it. 

The drydown-proper is balsam and musk and a little raunch, without which it just wouldn't be a Brooklyn Euphorium scent. Since I'm recently a balsam/fir ho, this pleases me. 

I find it interesting the choice to add Tolu Balsam, as it does keep this a little on the "odd" side. Tolu is a bit more medicinal and sharp than Peru Balsam, also used here. It's noticeable. As I said - quirky. 

I'd classify this as a comfort scent times ten.  I'm truly pleased with this scent. I may splurge and buy it.  

FRAGRANCE NOTES
Mexican Cocoa, Nutmeg, Clove, Cassia, Black Pepper, Myrrh, Coffee, Neroli, Davana, Raisin, Prune, Labdanum, Angelica Root, Honey, Vanilla, Caramel, Palm Sugar, Peru Balsam, Benzoin, Tolu Balsam, Castoreum, Musk

Unisex. Sillage: Skin scent to close-to-skin; wear: 5 hours-ish;  Pretty much chocolate, then balsam and musks. Available exclusively at Twisted Lily. Prices are niche-normal. 

To be released in December. 

Visit Brooklyn Euphorium @ euphoriumbrooklyn.com

Disclosure: sample provided by the house for review

Euphorium Brooklyn has the answer for dark mysterious perfume: Pétales

Do you remember back when edgy, dark, shadowy makeup artistry line Illamasqua released their fragrance, Freak? The one in the dark tilted bottle with the snail on the side? 

Illamasqua Freak
Freakily disappointing 

That's about as dark as we got there. To say I was disappointed was a huge understatement. Nice perfume, but not worthy of the Illamasqua reputation. 

I envisioned something haunting, yet pretty. Something a little dangerous, but seductive. It was good but I wanted more. More darkness. More edge. More mystery. More staggering beauty. More... MORE. 

I found it.

Euphorium Brooklyn's Pétales fits the bill in spades. 

I swear it starts with an innocent olfactory feint that smells like, I know I'm nuts, but--- well, I get rootbeer for a second. The fizz of grapefruit and florals must be to blame, as they mix with the spicy sweetness of star anise and pepper, the bite of galbanum, and the smoothness of honey. 

But that's just a little game, because this flirtatious scent turns quickly into a much more mature scent.

Spray Pétales to wrap yourself in a slightly mysterious perfume with naughty indoles, an armful of blossoms, and a deeply sexy base. Then watch out! 

Pétales , Brooklyn Euphorium. Available at TwistedLily.com

Family: Floriental. Firmly unisex. Projection is moderate, though you could amp this mother with extra sprays - if you dare. Length of wear is "hours and hours." Cost is in the moderately-expensive range, but snatch up a sample for only $4 and see if you agree: it's worth it. I smell rose and lily and crisp greens snapping over sparkling citrus. A river of honeyed spice flows beneath, before ending in a musky animalic heaves.

Notes: Rose, Lavender, Orchid, Hyacinth, Linden Blossom, Lily, Iris, Orange Blossom, Violet, Orris, Jasmine, Geranium, Palmarosa, Pettigrain sur la Fleurs, Galbanum, Green Stem, Moss, Pink Grapefruit, Fig, Honey, Star Anise, Elemi, Black Pepper, Vetiver, Labdanum, Benzoin, Tolu Balsam, Ambergris, Indole, Tonka Musk