CD: Alley of Games v6

[midnight_aeval]

Prototype, unreleased, no scent description.

 

From the bottle this is an almost overwhelming sweet grass note. I remember some incarnation of this scent at a WCWC long ago and recalled that it was candy + sweet grass so I was hoping once I skin tested it this version was similar. Wet on my skin it's still super grassy - uhoh! However, in about 5 minutes it's definitely the cotton candy sweet scent with a hint of grass that I remember

 

Strangely enough it has also morphed slightly to a bit yeasty? Beer? Not fizzy or really alcohol, just yeast/hops (which could be the grass playing tricks on my mind). It gives it a depth that the prototype from WC didn't have - interesting! Now it's like what I would imagine the smashed grass to smell like after a carnival: soaked with beer and carnival goods. Very realistic!

 

This has been on my wishlist FOREVER so I was glad to be able to purchase it!

[Invidiana]

I've always been enchanted by carnivals, and this took me right back to the local ones I'd go to every summer as a kid. There is a grassy note, but it's very fresh and breezy and pleasant, not in-your-face grass clippings. There is definitely cotton candy in here, or at least what I'm percieving to be cotton candy, and--I swear I'm not imagining this--something far in the background that reminds me of water balloons! The best I can describe it as is like a trace of that almost candyish doll plastic note from Pediophobia (which is not harsh at all) with a drop of something aquatic. There's also a trace of what I take to be other carnival sweets, though I can't exactly make out what. It isn't foody like Midway but it's so nostalgic for me, and I've completely fallen in love with it.

[alyssinwonderland]

From the previous reviews, I was really excited to try this one out! Thanks to my amazingly wonderful will call

 

First thing I get in the bottle and wet on my skin is really powerful sweet grassy/hay. It has a sharp almost perfumey edge which nearly made this go straight to swaps.

 

Thankfully once it was dry, it was much less harsh and actually reminded me of MVJBA Summer Summoning Spectacular's "scorched baseball field" all by itself or the sweet hay from Gunpowder. This really seems like a single note of that sweet hay/grass and I adore it!

 

After a bit I finally can pick up what Midnight Aeval and invidiana were talking about with cotton candy. It's got a hint more "pink" to the sweetness but the grassyness is really what has the limelight on my skin.

 

Overall its nice, fresh and very breezy with a touch of sweetness that makes this one scent I'm going to be reaching for quite a bit!

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet grassy note, sugared incense or something foodie. I see other reviewers get cotton candy from it, but for me its more along the sugared note that you find on Midnight on the Midway. It's slightly too foodie for me, and I don't find the grass/sugary stuff

 

I can see this being popular though.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL bought on LJ.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

This was a complete and utter impulse buy. I love the whole idea of the CD line and I'm up for trying most any of the prototypes. I'm hoping Alley of Games v6 will work for me. I love the smell of grass and I like cotton candy. The idea of water balloons and beer is kind of iffy, though.

 

First sniff:

 

Sweet grass. It does smell a bit like sweetgrass, but also like regular grass with something sweet laid over top (cotton candy, most likely). It's a little bit like Plastic Pink Flamingo, but with grass instead of dandelion and more cotton candy than marshmallow. They're in the same vein although they're definitely not dupes of one another.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Grass (definitely plain old green grass now) and cotton candy, no doubt about it. It really does smell like being at a carnival, with the scent of fresh cotton candy and trampled grass around you. I also get a hint of what could be beer.

 

Dry down:

 

There has to be beer in this. The longer Alley of Games sits on my skin, the more it comes out. Once it's dried down completely, I get faint green grass, soft cotton candy and beer. Normally, I'm not a fan of the smell of beer, but it works here. It's very slightly sour and a tiny bit pungent, just like the real thing.

 

Somehow this makes me think of Roadhouse (with grass instead of dandelions) meets Midway (minus the caramel apple). It sounds like a weird mixture, but somehow it's not. It's very evocative. This is definitely not a carnival that's just for the kiddies.

 

The bottom line:

 

This is a strange, evocative scent. It would fit in perfectly with the rest of the Carnival Diabolique line. I'm not sure how often I'm going to wear this since it's not my usual style, but I do like it and it's going to be staying in my collection.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like pink bubblegum, sugary cotton candy, and a hint of that rubbery water balloon smell that Invidiana mentioned. Very evocative and interesting, and thankfully the rubbery smell disappears once this is on my skin, lol.

 

On me, this is mostly a cheerful, sugary cotton candy smell, hints of pink bubblegum, and a background of dry grass that fades to just a hint of sweet, dead grass after about a half hour. There's a hint of girly, perfumey goodness here as well that reminds me of pink musk and really amps up the cotton candy-ish scent.

I love Midway, but it has poor staying power, where this is really strong and has tons of sugary cotton candy that wafts off of my skin with great throw <3. I was worried about the grass note, but this isn't a heavy or green grass smell. It's a delicate, dry, almost incensey sort of grass - not green or sharp at all.

 

This is mostly an amazing cotton candy muskiness with a hint of pink bubblegum and incensey dead grass. Gorgeous. It has tons of throw and great staying power on me too. A very pink and pretty scent with a sexy musky/incensey edge.

 

ETA: I've had my bottle of this for a year now and it's a lot different with some aging. It smells like strawberry gum (very candied and artificial) mixed with dry, dusty grass and a clean, powdery quality. It doesn't remind me of cotton candy at all anymore; the sweetness is now definitely fruity and sickly/artificial. I've found that a lot of the prototype blends I ordered from etsy have gone slightly off with aging, and this is another one that I don't care for anymore

Edited July 15, 2012 by Little Bird

[sunshinedaisybliss]

This is a really interesting and complex blend - one of those BPALs that keeps you coming back for another sniff because it keeps changing

 

I was a bit shocked when I first put this on.. there was a really strong fresh green tone that I wasn't expecting - like laying face down in a field of long grass. But it only stayed like that for about five minutes, and then all the sweet smells starting coming out. Sweet.. as in, candy-like without being obviously candy. It really does remind me of the lane at the carnival where all the games are - there's a hint of plastic or rubber, a wisp of smoke, a suggestion of cotton candy and lollipops and fizzy drinks. After a short while, a lovely warm musk comes out, and changes the scent completely into something warm, snuggly, yummy. And then it changes again and I swear there's an aquatic, kinda salty note in here, and maybe a touch of metal. The one thing that stays consistent through all the changes is a good helping of something that's got a really strong energy.. like fear, noise, excitement, competition.

 

You know those tragic but hilarious scenes at the fair where there's a kid with a big wad of cotton candy on a stick in one hand, some creepy stuffed toy tucked under his arm, remnants of unidentifiable food down his t-shirt, and sticky sugar on his other little hand that's tugging at his Dad's shirt while he stamps his foot and chucks a tantrum with tears streaming down his face because he couldn't win the prize on the top shelf? Yeah.. Alley of Games smells like that.

 

eta: thank you to Absinthetics for the tester!

.

Edited June 13, 2011 by sunshinedaisybliss

[killerklown]

In the bottle it's kind of off putting- astringent and metallic. Very blerg. But once on the skin it morphs into something completely surprising. This is one of those scents that takes you on a journey and you kind of have to experience it for yourself.

 

Wet on my hand it turns immediately to a sweet grass note. That hangs around for quite a while when it morphs and this wonderful candy scent pops up. It's like trampled sweet grass, cotton candy, funnel cakes, popcorn, beer and soda. That's the images it evokes when I smell it at this stage. Again it morphs and a subtle hint of smoke gets added to the mix. It seems to somehow just fit here, I can't explain it. It's not off-putting in any way and doesn't feel out of place. It morphs one final time to a wonderful mishmash of all the different stages.

 

Insanely complex and completely comforting at the same time- like strolling down an offshoot of the main midway at your favorite local fair and all the smells just come mingling together. My only regret is ordering only 1 bottle of this.

[CiaoBonefish]

Grass + Sugar + Cotton Candy. This is a bit sparkly powdery and effervescent without being overly so. This is quite pretty but almost a bit too powdery sweet for me. Kind of like powdered sugar which may be just a little too much for me, but it is an interesting scent for sure. I will be really interested in seeing how the final product happens!

[Mountaingrrl00]

In the vial I get ozone and metal. On my skin, it warms up to a soft, green resin scent. It actually reminds me a lot of Midnight Mass, but a bit lighter.

[sfsassy]

I finally put my finger on what I think this smells closest too. The Lush shower gel called Grass. (I love that too btw) To my nose it has a sugared wheat grass smell, with a little lingering incense in the distance. I can't wait to see how this ages. Very unique.

[boxinghelena]

CD: Alley of Games v6 is an odd one on me. It's very hard to tell exactly what I'm getting from this blend. It's also very light and didn't last long on my skin. I smelled the faintest trace of cotton candy or something sweet. I didn't detect grass as others have mentioned. I need to let this age before I try it again.

~

[violetblue]

Wow. I just got an imp of this from a swap and so happy I was able to score a bottle unsniffed. This is happiness in a bottle. Seriously. Have had a case of the blahs the last few days and this was an instant pick me up. First applied the cotton candy stands out with the fresh grass, and on dry down it becomes a clean, out of the shower, fresh girly scent. Perfect for summer. I really love this one. It is a bit in the realm of Dirty for me in that clean watery way, but in no way is it dryer sheets though I would love to launder my clothes in this.

[angelicruin]

I smell this and think of sticky cotton candy stuck to leaves of grass. Definitely makes me think of the county fair when I wear it.

[Dark Alice]

Watermelon bubblegum and grass. No cotton candy, no funnel cake smells. *sigh* I was hoping this would be what others got..but alas it's not. Stupid Skin Chemistry.

[porcelina]

YUM.

 

i am not sure what exactly is in here but i love it. i can't decide if the grass is, like, regular lawn grass or sweetgrass, or if it's regular lawn grass with a touch of smoke, reminding me of this amazing sweetgrass incense i have. that's kind of what it smells like. green grass, wisps of smoke, just a touch of sticky candy. it smells fresh and sweet and perfect for a summer morning. i would totally wear this to a carnival or county fair.

[Mellifluous]

Wet, I LOVE this scent! It is a very interesting combo of fine incense, sweet-grass, a tinge of water (like others said, not fully aquatic, but a wetness) and some cotton candy sandalwood. It really is amazing! As it drys down though, I seem to be amping a lot of the sweet grass, which is unfortunately my least favorite part. I do notice though, throughout the day I will get an arrant whaft of incens-y cotton candy, and then again later a sweet-grass incense, and then later still a watery incense. lol. So apparently the incense just makes the rounds on my skin.

 

Overall it is a very interesting blend... But when I dont amp the sweet grass, its a drop dead amazing blend, that is not like anything else I have ever smelled, and smells soo good! Needless to say, I'm keeping my bottles.

[MadameGorgon]

Thanks Wren12 for giving me the chance to try this!!

 

This one morphs like crazy! As others have said, it starts off with a sharp, but sweet fresh cut grass note that is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Riding on its heels is an effervescent candied sweetness with a whiff of menthol and something resinous. It's a brighter resin, maybe myrrh?

 

Up next is a bubbly, boozy, slosh of honeyed beer!

 

It finally settles into smooshed grass with a hint of upturned earth; gooey, sticky remains of 1000 candied apples and cotton candies; and wafting over all, sweet, effervescent spilled beer.

 

Unbelievable!

[agirlnamedfury]

In the bottle, this smells like freshly cut grass with a hint of something that could be... leather, maybe?

 

We on skin: Still predominately grass, but it's a bit woodsier now. There's a bit of underlying sweetness too.

 

Once this dries down, the grass note almost disappears on me, and it's all sweet and powdery.

 

 

 

Definitely an interesting scent that has very different stages, but I hardly ever find myself reaching for this one.

[doomsday_disco]

At first, I get something kind of like cherry Twizzlers? And then it gets more atmospheric and less-candy like as I get some incense and what I think must be the grass and ozone others have mentioned.

 

I wish the candy continued to dominate the scent and not the other notes, but this was fun to get to try.