Knead

this absolutely grew on me... i usually am a big gourmand scent hater, and im very picky about things smelling "edible" if it feels artificial/synthetic--but i received knead as a gift because, years before it released, i would joke that if i were to have to turn any food smell into a photorealistic perfume, it would be the smell of walking by an auntie anne's in a mall. at first it was off-putting to me for such a scent to come out of a perfume bottle, but i've since found it extremely pleasant and uncannily realistic to the actual smell of an auntie anne's, which is just what i wanted. it is almost the pure smell of the pretzels, vaguely sweet and syrupy, mostly toasty, buttery, bready, and savory. i think i love it so much because it's simple and gives only the smell of a baked good and nothing more. this is probably the one fragrance that is primarily a gourmand that i look forward to wearing, and it brings me a lot of joy :) i will say that my description above mostly applies to when the perfume is sprayed on clothing, and when i spray it directly on my skin, it somehow becomes cloyingly sweet and a little synthetic. that, i enjoy much less, but it seems to work very well and stick around for a long time if sparingly sprayed on clothing. also, i have heard from people around me that it has quite a strong sillage and it even lingers in the spaces I move around in, so be prepared for people near you to notice you smelling uncannily like auntie anne's.

I was so sad that this sold out immediately before I got a chance to smell it, so I eventually had to cave and buy a bottle --- and I do not regret it one bit!!! Somehow, they were able to perfectly distill the what it smells like when you walk past an Auntie Anne's Pretzels shop in the mall: the butter, yeast, salt, sugar, vanilla, and a little bit of cinnamon! I can't stop wearing this perfume cause it just makes me smile and laugh whenever I catch a whiff. It's genious marketing and perfect execution (albeit I wish they made more so everyone could try this) and I'm low-key mad that the perfume is such an actually good PERFUME, that is to say, it lasts for a good long while, has good sillage, and dries down to a creamy, bready, cinnamon vanilla, and at no point in time is the fragrance sharp, unpleasant, or off-putting. It's genuinely such a work of art that if makes me wonder if Auntie Anne's was already pumping this out into the air around their shops before even commercially releasing this as a perfume --- it's THAT spot on. For a fragrance head like me, this is a perfect nostalgic novelty that I can't help but show to all of my loved ones so we can smile and laugh together.

@Olere Novum below called this an unapologetic simple gourmand. I'd have to agree and it does simple in a great way. This is buttery and sweet. It gets the Auntie Annes pretzel spot on but it would also fit the reference of: 1. kettle corn in the air at your local farmers market. 2. that sugary sweet smell they pump into the air at Disneyland 3. Poppycock popcorn...the red bag iykyk Lasts better under clothes. On exposed skin, I get around 6ish hours. Under a t-shirt, the butter lingers and lasts 10+ hours. Lots of resellers out there, but I'll definitely be keeping my bottle. Successful blind buy!

It is a travesty that Auntie Anne's apparently has no plans for making this available again. It's a simple, beautiful gourmand. I get croissant more than pretzels. If you've ever had salt bread (particularly a sweet version) that is exactly what this smells like. No off smells, but sweeter and spicier (mostly cinnamon) than I expected. Love it. Imo it's better than Snif's Crumb Couture because it is stronger, lasts longer, and doesn't have that jammy note. Would love to get a full bottle if it's ever available again, and I don't typically buy the big size bottle of anything.

Holy pretzels Batman! This smells exactly like auntie Anne’s! It’s sweet, it’s cinnamony, it’s salty and it’s bready. The opening brings me right back to the food court. It is much sweeter than I anticipated, but I am not mad about it. This is not a savory pretzel, but one coated in cinnamon sugar and icing. As it dries down, it reminds me of something by Poesie or ColorNoise or some other indie gourmand house would make inspired by cinnamon rolls....I, of course, adore it. So glad I snagged a 3.4 oz bottle!