Helen Carnate is a fragrance featured in Smell Bent’s Attack of the Killer Smellies Halloween 2010 Collection (more info here). This collection is limited edition and only available until November 1st, 2010.
I’m sampling the EDT spray. I love this fragrance! Helen Carnate (hope nobody asks what I’m wearing!) is very simple but amazing. I usually write waaay long reviews, but let me sum up Helen Carnate…it’s nag champa incense in the box mixed with wet, unbaked Devil’s Food cake mix. Sounds a bit unusual. But, it works! It’s beautiful. I love nag champa and the doughy dark chocolate adds something that makes this cuddly. At first spritz, this stuff has some sillage. It reminds me so much of nag champa incense, not lit, lacking the smoky element. I quickly get the rush of wet, unbaked cake mix. It’s like a headshop version of Mugler Angel 🙂 After about 30 minutes, the mandarin develops. The mandarin isn’t loud but one should notice it. It blends in seamlessly with the incense and doughy chocolate. Despite the sweetness, I would not call Helen Carnate a gourmand. This doesn’t smell like something I’d eat. The dry down is more brownie mixed with incense. It wears more chocolatey on me at this stage. After like 8+ hours of wear, I get straight up brownie.
I love Smell Bent Helen Carnate. I get compliments while wearing it, my husband loves it too. It’s a strong fragrance but not as strong as something like Angel. This is such a “me” fragrance and it’s something I want to wear in the fall/winter. I also want my house to smell like it. I wish I could get incense or a candle in this fragrance. It’s easily a unisex fragrance in my opinion. If you can wear Nag Champa oil then you should be able to wear Helen Carnate. The fragrance lasts 8+ hours.
Notes listed include “sinful red musk mixed with dark chocolate, red mandarin, and a hint of vetiver“.
Give Helen Carnate a try if you like nag champa fragrances, stronger incense like fragrances or scents like Fresh Cannabis Santal, Thierry Mugler Angel, Bvlgari Blv Notte, Vera Wang Princess, Prada EDP, and/or Il Profumo Chocolat Amere.
Smell Bent Helen Carnate comes in an EDT format (what I’ve reviewed) that retails for $45. A perfume oil is available too for $20. Only at Smell Bent. UPDATE: Product has been discontinued.
Don’t forget to check out my review of Helen’s twin, Lucy Fur.
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Not for me probably, seeing as I don’t like Nag Champa. The same for Lucy Fur, when you mentioned head shop patchouli, I was out. But they are cute.
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I actually find it refreshing when I read a review of a fragrance and don’t want to try it! It seems I want to try everything, so it’s nice to not want to 🙂
I have a special place in my heart for headshop fragrances being that they were my very first exposure to fragrance notes of any kind. I love anything incense like, nag champa, patchouli, and yes, even that dreaded headshop Egyptian musk 😉
[…] And here’s my review of Lucy’s twin fragrance, Helene Incarnate. […]
I <3 nag champa! I've never thought about it mixed with chocolate before!
Me either. But, I think it works.
[…] I spent most of the month wearing chocolate-patchoulis. I pulled out the now discontinued Smell Bent Helen Carnate (really would love for that to come back for Halloween!) and Mugler Angel Le Gout. And I wore Fresh […]