1989:

PERFUME PUFF PALACE

According to the My Little Pony Comic, the Perfume Puff Ponies lived in the Perfume Puff Palace. In actual fact, however, the Palace was one of the first playsets to be sold without an accompanying pony. Although Daisy Sweet and Lavender Lace featured in the in comic advert (above) and Mummy Apple Delight fronted the picture on the free comic with issue #114, the set came with only hair and beauty accessories - most of which are also shown in the comic picture.

Comic advertisment text, 1989 (UK Comic #117)

Even more oddly, the box for the Perfume Puff Palace and its accompanying story did not feature Perfume Puff Ponies, either. I am unsure whether the box that the set was released in in the UK mirrors the design of the US one (although it uses the UK spelling of colour and the UK name for the set, and it mentions Hasbro UK, there are certain things about it that make me wonder). One of these is the reference to not using make up on So Soft Ponies, which were never formally released here. The ponies on the box were all HappyTails ponies, a set which did get a UK release, but only in imported US style boxes. The ponies on the box are prototypes, and some have different poses (Romper in the walking pose and Squeezer in the Gingerbread pose). The story that came with the playset had also had the title amended to feature the UK playset name, but no editing had been done on the story to remove the names of ponies not sold in the UK. (This is in contrast to the Crimp & Curl Hair Salon, where the names in the story were changed.

PERFUME PUFF PALACE: STORY (UK RELEASE) Featuring Princess Dawn & Buttons

The story featured Princess Dawn and Buttons, rather than a Perfume Puff pony. Buttons was a pony released here, but the timescale indicates this was actually referring to Twice as Fancy Buttons, not the earlier movie release pony. Neither Dawn nor Twice as Fancy Buttons were sold in the UK, and their inclusion in the story here is mysterious. As is the distinct lack of Perfume Puff Ponies. The only logical explanation is that the playset came before the ponies did, but the comic advert above indicates both were on sale simultaneously in the UK.

PERFUME PUFF PALACE: ACCESSORIES

The accessories for the playset were fiddly and decorative, but helpfully listed on the box with images. My sister had this set from new as end of line stock, and I ampretty sure these are the accessories she had, with the possible exception of the hairclip shown (which I think was actually a bow clip in the style of the Dance & Prance Ponies, only without additional hairpieces)

In the North American release, it was called the Poof & Puff Perfume Palace. I can only imagine that the reason it wasn't called so here has something to do with the connitations surrounding certain words...