Gateau de Carnavale

Kyse Perfumes’ 2018 release, Gateau de Carnavale is a scent with official notes of funnel cake, vanilla latte , toasted brown sugar, and apricot, though I don’t get apricot specifically (which is fortunate, as I’m usually not a fan) but rather a general faint fruitiness far in the background. As with many of perfumer/owner Terri Bozzo’s creations, GDC is a nod to big gourmand fans like myself that don’t mind—rather, prefer—smelling like dessert. It’s bready sweet and simply delectable, with the vanilla latte being a subtle acknowledgment of the vanilla with perhaps the tiniest bit of coffee in the background , along with some vague hint of fruit. It’s primary sweet sugary bread, though. As far as uniqueness, it’s a nice departure from some of the other creations, perhaps only somewhat close to Fichi e Panna in terms of the breadiness, but I like that GDC is dominated by the sweet bread, rather than vanilla. Performance-wise, it does very well on my skin, a few small 3ml sample sprays creating a nice cloud for some hours. As with most of the Kyse line, the pricing for Gateau de Carnavale is fantastic, $80 / $54 / $34 / $23 for 100ml / 60ml / 30ml / 15ml, respectively. As always, I recommend checking out the Kyse website and ordering some very reasonably-priced samples, particularly if you dig gourmands. A very nice creation that’s now on the list. 8 out of 10

An instant love! (Literally, I applied from the sample vial, sniffed my wrist, and "oh yum!" came out of my mouth without even consiously realizing I was saying it out loud. My 7 year old came running wondering what he was missing out on.) Now I am a big fan of pretty literal, straightforward, gourmand scents, but I also don't like them too cloyingly sweet. Homemade baked goods, yes. Syrupy soft drinks and store bought frosting, no. This one is the perfect sweet level. Incredibly cozy and warm, with a really wonderful toasted grain quality, I am obsessed with grain notes! It actually reminds me a bit of Armani Sensi with that toasty grain note mixed with a warm-sweet vanilla with just a touch of a light fruit to brighten the top notes (I do get the apricot, but only right at first. It fades away completely within 30 minutes). Not a smell alike per se, but a close cousin. I will absolutely be upgrading my sample to a bottle!

This is my SOTD. It smells similar to elephant ears from the carnival, but when the sweetness seems that it may come on strong, it just stops. Perfect! This is truly unisex, and great for Miami because it isn't overbearing, overly sweet or a monster projector. If you live in a warmer climate, don't be afraid to try this one out. Kyse Perfumes also offers 1ml and 3ml sample for peanuts. One of the houses I tell gourmand lovers to check out. All of the fragrances by Kyse seem to be of extremely high quality. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ BTW, the fragrance smells a lot more special than elephant ears, but this is the best way I could describe it.

My favorite Kyse fragrance. The runner-ups are Fumee Vanille and Delizia di Marshmallow. Carnavale is so amazing. It’s delicious. It’s chewy yet not sickeningly sweet. Strong yet airy. This will permanently be in my collection and if it ever gets discontinued, I will stock up. Best part about Terri’s fragrances are the sillage and longevity. How does one single person make higher quality fragrances than designer brands that have money at their disposal?! Crazy.. But I’m glad for it. Get yourself a sample set if you’re new to Kyse!

Let me tell you this, one of my all time favorite treats is funnel fries dipped in strawberry sauce, so obviously I had to sample it right away. I'm just blown away by the realistic scent of a funnel cake with a little fruitiness in the back, I love this! It sits close to my skin but I put this on after a shower with lots of moisturizer and the scent really shines! So I think this in a summer night is going to be heavenly because combined with your body heat is going to bomb!

this is yummy! i always get a little disappointed when kyse scents don’t have the in-your-face projection that douceur brulee has (i’m a silage queen), so i do wish this projected a little more, but it’s still great. i mostly get a dense, oily bread note, butter, and brown sugar. would be perfect for layering to make the funnel cake note in an indie carnival-scented oil (of which there are many) stronger.

There must be differences between batches because this was definitely not a weak projector at all. I didn't get any weird oily smell. This smells incredible with a strong-moderate projection, maybe more. Super confused smelling this and reading the reviews. Does anyone else know if there are stark differences between different batches??

First impressions: (dabber) Dare I say that I like this more than delizia de la marshmallow? This is the type of perfume that I wanted Vanille Abricot Comptoir Sud Pacifique to be. Unfortunately, for that one the papaya or jack fruit note smelled like throw up on my skin chemistry. This however is smell better imo.

I smell carnival treats, fried waffle cone, warm cupcake a tiny bit of the apricot. You are gonna strait up smell like a bakery. I love these kind of gourmand scents. It’s not overbearing, just warm and comforting. With the dry down, I get the vanilla and apricot, which bumps it up to more of a candy scent.

This smells like a carnival. You get sweet, candied apple notes (I know it says apricot but it smells like apple to me). Fried dough. All of Kyse evokes a specific, delicious memory for me. This is one of my favorites.

In the opening it smelled a little too oily/doughy for my tastes, but this drydown is gorgeous. Sweet funnel cake and apricot. Mmm.

So photorealistic! Smells like sweet breading and has that fried toastiness that a funnel cake has. Super nostalgic.

I'm a huge fan of Kyse and her chocolatey graham cracker Oui Plus has been my signature for years. I also had Douceur Brulee before, a very buttery burnt caramel. I've been eager to try this one. Gateau de Carnevale is best described as the scent of melted butter with the thick powdery texture of a graham cracker. Quite foody and literal, with no excessive sweetness and instead putting the focus on the bready aspect. Don't mistake bready for dry or coarsely powdery, like Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens. It's still oily from the unmistakeable melted butter, a bit popcorn-y, and it's bready in the thick, graham cracker-y regard. This immediately brought to mind Salt Caramel of Shay & Blue, with it's thick, powdery biscuit texture and melted butter over popcorn impression. They are definitely sisters. The difference is that Kyse never goes over the top, whereas Salt Caramel makes me nauseous within a couple of wears, when the butter becomes too fatty and the thickness becomes stuffy. Kyse did a much more wearable, while still being realistic, take on this. An indie sister to both of them would be County Fair by Alkemia, a öerfume I have loved for several years. Its notes make sense with the popcorn and thick toffee scent.

Another realistic gourmand from Kyse. This one smells like walking by a baked goods stall on a fair, so the name Gateau de Carnavale is very fitting. Extremely sweet. It actually reminds me of a deep-fried dough treat, maybe a donut, but with whipped cream, powdered sugar and sprinkles on it. Or just dipped in pure sugar syrup. Really hard to pinpoint what exactly this smells like, but it's delicious despite being a little sticky. The apricot adds a lactonic fruity note that lifts the fragrance, and there is also something almost minty in the opening. So it's not too heavily doughy overall. I still find it too literal to wear for me personally, maybe I would enjoy it more as a body care product. But it is yummy and I could also imagine that it would be good for layering with fresher or darker fragrances, because it's a relatively simple scent.

Not as sweet as I expected, but I’m not mad about it! On me, it’s kind of light and milky and reminds me a bit of Philosophy Fresh Cream with some added brown sugar. I wouldn’t necessarily say I smell “cupcake,” it’s more of a light breadyness, and I definitely don’t get any apricot. The milkyness and brown sugar do fade within 30 minutes and I’m left with a very light and hardly sweet bready scent. Sadly this is one of the more faint fragrances I’ve tried from Kyse and it only lasts about 4 hours on me. In terms of perfumes listed as similar— ❌ Billie’s Eilish: a light, grassy vanilla ❌ Montale Chocolate Greedy: a deep chocolate scent ❌ Pierre Guillaume Musc Maori: a very sour chocolate scent ❌ SDJ Cheirosa 71: a very nutty biscuit scent

A super sweet hot out of the fryer oily bread scent that wears close to the skin and lasts about four hours. This is a like but not a love. This is a fun and photo-realistic gourmand but I feel like this is missing something. This needs a powdered sugar note or an artificial fruity topping to make this a love. Gateau de Carnival pairs lovely with artificial fruity perfumes. Sabrina Carpenter Cherry Baby, Phlur Peach Skin, and BBW Strawberry Pound Cake are all scents that I wore Gateau de Carnival with to give me a funnel cake topped with a bright syrupy artificial topping feeling. 6/10 because this is a unique and unexpected gourmand, but I have to pair it with another fragrance to really enjoy it.

I love Kyse and have been largely impressed by them. This isn’t a bad fragrance by any means. But if you are expecting a realistic funnel cake, you’re gonna be a little disappointed. It is definitely a sweet cakey perfume with a lingering powder scent at the end. But it’s missing the airy quality that a funnel cake has. It definitely gets nicer the longer you wear it. I blind bought this and definitely wish I bought something else instead.

Gateau de Carnavale (launched 2018) is light and subdued compared to other Kyse Perfumes offerings I've sampled recently, like the incomparable and addictive Oui Plus! (see my review). For me this one is a moist vanilla and butter-cream cake from start to finish with the faintest trace of apricot. A pleasant, anytime eau de parfum, gently sweet and unobtrusive.✿ Scent family: Gourmand Longevity on me: weak to moderate

When I put this on I was immediately smacked with the smell of fresh BREAD. LIKE BAM PASTRY. And like, panaderia kind of bread! It’s a cute scent, dries down into a cotton candy smell after the immediate BREAD BREAD PASTRY is over. You will smell like spun sugar/ cotton candy. Performs well in the cold, this is more like a bakery with icing on you than a carnival.

This is such a weak fragrance that I have to smash my nose into my arm to smell it. That’s a shame because I genuinely think it has a deep-fried fair food scent about it. It’s like a sweet, powdered sugar dusted funnel cake. But, like the funnel cake at the local carnival, it’s unfortunately devoured too quickly and gone too soon. 6/10