A Game Called Yes & No

[angelicruin]

Mulled wine and marzipan.

Yes, much like Gluhwein, but I love this one just a little more. Seems just a bit more sweet. Definitely worthy of the bottle I picked up after testing a decant of it.

[CreamyJade]

In the decant: Almonds, boozy wine.

Wet on skin: Cherries, spices, wine, almonds.

Dry on skin: Sweet red fruits (almost a warm oven-baked red apple sort of smell), a touch of wine and spices.

Final thoughts: What a surprise! I was cautious when I picked this up since wine (and well, almond) notes can turn awful on my skin, but this one's very nice. It's spicy, warm and red and has a good staying power and throw. I'll upgrade my decant to a bottle before the Yules leave.

Try if you like: Montresor, Ghoulish

Edited December 24, 2010 by CreamyJade

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: A sharp high bright alcohol note from the wine. Almost I would think a white wine note, but it's usually a red wine that gets mulled.

 

Wet: And hhhhhhheeeeeerrrrrreeeee'sssss almond!

 

The dry-down: As this dries down, it become sweeter, but the wine note is still very strong, and the almond note has faded a bit. This really isn't anything like the scent I tested at WC or the half-bottle I got from a decanter. Very strange. The other bottle was not so strong on the alcohol note, and was nice on me (acidic skin) and sweet on the bf (normal skin). Bit disappointed in this bottle, but hopefully it will age nicely. In the meantime, he likes it.

 

More that I think about it, this scent is very much yes and no.

[milo]

At first, this is all about the marzipan, a good thing, as I love marzipan. As it dries, it's all about the spiced wine. Quite reminiscent of Gluhwein, actually, though a bit heavier on the spice rather than the wine. The spices remind me of what you'd have in an apple cider, only this would be of the hot alcoholic winey variety. Though I like this, I doubt I would reach for it very much as it is really Christmassy, and I'd only wear it this time of year. Nice to try though!

[Altaira]

Wet: cherry cordial. I'm sure the cherry is actually almond, though.

As it dries, a bit of dry cakeyness comes out from the other elements of marzipan. I'm glad my skin didn't turn the almond - it usually goes rancid and/or bitter on me. But still: overall this is a boozy cherry scent on me with a bit of cake. I'm going to have to death-match it against Red Queen to see if I need a bottle; they have similar qualities to me.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Very sweet! It sort of reminds me of Cheerwine. I think my nose gets almond and cherry confused.

 

Wet: More cherries? I am so confused! And a bit of bubblegum dust? I don’t smell wine at all.

 

Drydown: As it dries, a little cinnamon emerges. It’s old cinnamon, though. A bit dusty, a bit muted.

 

Later: THERE we go. There’s the mulled wine! This is reminding me a bit of Punkie Night at this stage.

 

You know, I have no strong feelings about this one either way, really.

[tativa]

strangely addictive fruit punch...

If I sit around I can dissect the beverage from the marzipan... but just sitting around smelling it, it smells like fruit punch star bursts! *noms arm*

Edited January 11, 2011 by tativa

[reynardine]

Very boozy and smells just like the description. If you like wine scents, you’ll probably like this one. My skin amps booze like whoa, so it just didn’t work for me.

[midnight_aeval]

A Game Called Yes & No is similar to Gluhwein, but I do think it's sweeter. I found Gluhwein to have a sour note on me, but AGCY&N is more pleasant. The spice is not 'hot' as in cinnamon which left me hopeful. In the wet stage it has that almond/cherry feel to it, but as it settled the mulled wine became prominent - unfortunately this is why it didn't work for me as it ended up too boozy

[Mellifluous]

In the bottle: Boozy, citrus-y, spicy.

 

Wet: When I first put it on, all I got was spicy citrus. No wine, no booze, and definitely no marzipan. But 1 minute in, the citrus is almost completely gone and i'm getting the boozy wine. Another minute passes and the marzipan seems to take over for a bit, and all I can smell is sweet almonds. I hope this is not the end of my AGCY&N journey. Although even if it was I would not be terribly disappointed.

 

Dry: Yay! As other people have experienced, the dry AGCY&N does balance back out and I get to experience the full mulled wine and marzipan experience.

 

Overall I really really like this. As a newer BPALer this is one of my favorites (after trying to test 100 imps in 2 weeks >_<). If I dont find too many bottles at will call, I will be getting a bottle of this one!

[melange]

Almond notes and I do not get along, so I put on the barest touch from the decant... and was surprised by how great it smelled with the mulled wine, so I added more. On me, it doesn't turn out boozy, and the mulled wine and marzipan balance each other remarkably well.

[Digital_Hypoxia]

At first application and well after, this is all marzipan and booze. Not wine-y booze. Not spicy booze. Pure brandy booze.

 

 

I do like it, but will take care not to wear it to work or at all during the day, lest passers by think I have a drinking problem.

[karihan]

Red wine notes can turn sour on me (ALAS MONTRESOR), so fingers crossed!

 

In the bottle: WHAM, wine and almond combined. Very strong!

 

On wet: Okay, a little spice is coming out, the marzipan is still very present, and the wine is behaving itself. So far so good.

 

Drydown: Oh wow, this is yummy! The wine, almond and sugar are rounded out with spice and what smells to me like a little touch of citrus. I liiiiiike!

 

Verdict: This is everything I wanted out of Gluhwein and didn't get, plus more besides. On my skin Gluhwein smelled too dark and spice-heavy, like mulled wine that has oversteeped. AGCY&N smells like warm, welcoming spiced wine with citrus and almond, an unabashedly festive cup of glogg! As someone above noted, this probably shouldn't be worn in a professional environment, but it will be great for fall and winter get-togethers or any time I want to smell warm, cozy and delicious.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A rich, slightly sweetened red wine scent

 

Wet on me - The sweetness of the marzipan and the spices starts to come out more. There's something a lot like orange peel (complete with bitter pith) in there as well

 

Dry on me - It faded quite quickly on my skin, but the scarf I put on about an hour after application and then again 8 hours later smelt really like christmas pudding; dark and rich and filled with dried fruit and spices

 

Overall - I do like it, but I'd have to wear it in a scent locket and I would have liked more marzipan

[VeganSquid]

This is one of my favorite scents. It is wine with fresh moist marzipan and a hint of holiday spice. Any sharpness in the wine is cut with the sweetness of the almond. Because of the little bit of spice it is perfect for fall, winter or any cold evening. Personally, I wear this year round, except when I’m working directly with children (due to the boozy notes).

Edited May 8, 2012 by VeganSquid

[brilliantcat]

Website Description: Mulled wine and marzipan.

 

In the bottle: Sweet and fruity with almondy candy.

 

Immediately after application: Exactly as it smelled in-vial.

 

Warming up: Fruity, spicy, almondy. I love!

 

Fading: The almond has faded leaving the fruit and spice with a hint of wine.

 

Faded: Average throw, average wear.

 

Overall: Love and adore and need a bottle!

 

Rating: 5/5.

[sunlitgarden]

In the imp and fresh on my skin, this is cherry-fruity with a bit of spice, and almond (the marzipan.) It smells like a dessert or a yummy cocktail with amaretto. As it dries, it smells like berries (mostly cranberry) and spices with a creamy sort of base. It actually reminds me of a candle - not just the scent added to the candle, but also the scent of the wax itself.

 

Edited to fix desert vs. dessert typo

Edited June 28, 2015 by sunlitgarden

[Alaeidrel]

This starts off ridiculously sweet and medicinal on me. Not the sickly-sweet of cough syrup, but that bitter astringent liquid they give you when you're really sick, combined with bubble-gum. It's absolutely nauseating wet.

 

Once it dries, though, it's a subtle sweet spice with a hint of almonds. There's not much in the way of wine, but the spices come through nicely. It's very mild and still a little too sweet for what I'd hoped. It's very much a pink smell, rather than the dark crimson I was hoping for. And yet I still really like it. Not what I expected, but really nice for winter. I do have to layer it on, though, because it doesn't have much throw.

 

Edit: after reading through the aging thread, I'm going to give it some indirect sunlight and hope it helps cut the sweetness down.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Alaeidrel

[Freya778]

At the time of this review my bottle was about 3 years old, so not exactly fresh anymore but not that heavily aged either.

 

In the bottle it smelled boozy with marzipan as well. To me the boozy note smelled like honey mead. On the skin while it was wet, it still smelled like honey mead, with marzipan and also something spicy like cinnamon. Within a few minutes the boozy scent went away leaving a sweet, fruity, almondy/marizpan and a little spicy scent. It doesn't smell like mulled wine or wine at all to me, because wine like most alcoholic beverages smell a little bitter. If wine was sweet, without any alcohol and bitterness, and you would add almonds/marzipan and spices, then you would get this scent.

 

I love this scent since I love almond/marzipan, spices and fruit and I am glad I managed to get a partial bottle after falling in love with the decant I tried.

 

This scent doesn't stay on my skin for as long as other scents do. A few hours after applying it I could still smell it on my skin but only lightly. Some other scents I can smell at this strength or stronger even the next day.

 

Like all BPAL scents I feel this is great for all genders, nothing is masculine or feminine, it is whatever and however it makes you feel. In the same way all BPAL scents are also innocent and sensual at the same time because it depends on the wearers personality, mood and vibe. And it is suitable for all ages (most BPAL scents are in my opinion, perhaps only the ones with alcoholic notes and tobacco/smoke notes are not).)

Edited October 15, 2021 by Freya778
Typo's and added some things

[MiasmaResonance]

In the bottle, this is so yommynommy...

 

Oh gosh, this is delicious. It's not too overpowering, which I actually like. It is a tad sexy, too, which I also like.

 

To me, it's spicy sweet cherry and almond, which is basically the perfect combo for me. Perfect for the holidays, but could also be easily worn all during the year, and would probably layer well with some of my other perfumes.

The the lawd for this. Hoard worthy.

[vanilla323]

In the bottle: mulled wine

 

Wet on skin: this was boozy cherry wine and very sugary which was probably from the marzipan

 

Drydown: The drydown brought out more of the marzipan which was really nice and the booze got more cherry strong. It's very pretty and I do like it but it wasn't special enough for me, not sure why not but it didn't blow me away. Think I wanted strong marzipan and light booze but it was the reverse.

 

The throw was mainly wine and it lasted pretty long.

[Lucchesa]

I was so excited to try another marzipan scent that I didn't bother to think that mulled wine was unlikely to be a success on my skin. Wine tends to turn into sickly sweet grape on me, and on initial application, A Game Called Yes and No was all candy-sweet grapey fruit, no marzipan in sight. But it didn't last! Within minutes, the grapes had resolved into warmly spiced wine over a grounding of marzipan, and it has stayed true for a couple of hours now. The drydown brings it into the same scent family for me as my beloved Ooky. Festive, fun, and not ridiculously foodie, and it will pair magnificently with my Gluhwein hair gloss. Delightful!