The Apothecary

[anaengel]

Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig.

 

This is my most comforting scent. I wear this whenever I am sick, so I really haven't had much wear from it. It is very close to my skin, so it helps when I have a headache also.

First on, this is similar to drinking a cup of herbal tea. It's a light blend of herbs that mesh together. As it starts to dry, it gets a soapy quality among the herbs. That stays in the back though, so it doesn't bother me. Almost makes me think of standing in my herb garden and I sprayed some dish soap on them to keep the bugs away. Once it's dry, it just gives a general clean scent to me.

This scent doesn't have much of any throw on me, so nobody else even realises that I'm wearing it until they try to get close to me.

[alyelle]

I've been aging this for what feels like decades (in actual fact, a few years) in the hope of improvements, but I think it's time to let go and move on.

 

Imp: Initially very promising - ginger, herbs, a mellow moss, and a sweet black tea.

 

Wet: Ginger and lemon, turning very quickly to talcum powder.

 

Dry: Unfortunately the powder dominates (and ever more strongly as it ages). The tea is discernible with effort, and every so often a lemony hint wafts up - which thankfully never amps into the usual headache-inducing lemon I get with verbena based scents - but most of the time it's a generic, if somewhat upmarket, talc smell.

 

Never unpleasant, but equally, never noteworthy for any reason - and with a pretty weak throw. Overall a miss for me.

 

Stars: ★★½

[Sarah Morehouse]

Apothecary is like an Embalming Fluid that I can wear. It's got that same refreshing quality and lightness, without turning me into a high-end household cleanser. (I mean, I AM a high-end household cleanser at least a couple hours a week, but I don't want to smell like one!)

 

That said, it smells nothing like Embalming Fluid. It smells like gardening, minus the funk and grit. Just the saps and juices of a wide variety of wonderful plants, drying on your skin as you sit in the shade and drink iced Earl Grey.

 

I can detect the ginger and fig, but they are anything but foody. They just warm up and round out the crushed plants aroma. I could roll around in this forever. When I was little, I dreamed of working in a plant nursery or greenhouse, mainly because of the smell. Apothecary evokes that PERFECTLY.

[Veronica]

Light, green floral with a slightly dusty quality. Similar to Rapunzel and Ochosi.

[DoktorDandy]

In the Imp: I perked up immediately on opening this. Herbal with a dark but cheerful undertone. Not quite fruity. You immediately want to put it on. Inviting.

 

Wet: Grass and fig? Not the fig fruit on me, more of the white sap from a fig stem. Herbs are there, not bitter at all, but I can't pick out their individual notes. The tea notes step forward and stay a while, along with now just the tippy top high green grassy notes. This is almost going into sneezy territory. The tea is great, so I don't want it to go there. It's a clean tea, not a smoked or toasted tea. Feels more like an aquatic green or white tea, rather than a broody black tea. Herbal essences shampoo has become my thought, but now it's very much reminding me of a discontinued Suave green tea shampoo that I adored. This isn't too soapy though, despite it's clean qualities.

 

Dry: Alas, it did not have a lot of lasting power. Within a couple of hours it was next to gone, but it was nice and very soothing when it was here. Might have lasted a little longer if I had applied more, I think? Could be the short of thing for a spring weekend outing- something like a windy beach walk or a park or a museum. It's a half-day at school, a leaving-work-early sort of scent. Not challenging. Straightforward and yes, cheerful. It would be good for the afternoon because by the time you're drifting off to sleep all you'd be getting is a gentle, calming clean linen and cool greenery scent. Want to take a nap in a hammock under some big shade trees, falling asleep reading some sort of esoteric and mildly amusing book. A sunny spring room would work as well.

 

What a lazy Apothecary! I like him, but I think I wanted his sharp, urbane brother. I'm keeping the nice little imp though.

Edited June 2, 2015 by DoktorDandy

[Musamea]

In the imp, The Apothecary is green but less herby than I would have thought from the description. There's a green tea note like the one in Embalming Fluid (definitely more like tea than tea leaf), with a hint of sweetness (not sure if it's the ginger or fig? It's not fruity in any way). Very soothing and interesting!

 

Wet: That greeny sweetness comes forth most prominently – I know that I've smelled it in another BPAL blend before but I'm having trouble placing it

 

Dry: Drydown is a dry, gentleman's cologne-y scent, very green and herbal – I think the sharpness here comes from ginger, but it reads like cologne to me

 

Verdict: sell or swap, overall too one-dimensionally masculine for my tastes

[LizziesLuck]

In the imp - very herbal

 

wet - Ginger! Which is exactly what I wanted. Reminds me a lot of Lush's Ginger.

 

dry-Beautiful. Spicy dry ginger with hints of sweet luscious fig. Love it. Will be needing a bottle.

[HighlyBell7]

In Imp: Light yellow. Sharp with hint of lemon?

Wet: Sassafras. Green-smelling lemon.

Dry: Green lemon. Turns greener. Smells like the woods. Except elevated. Like the woods without the dirt or the rotten floor of the forest. Hint of a band aide smell. That note turns into something I don’t like.

Later: Eventually settles into a cologne smell.

[freyasfae]

This came as a frimp in my most recent order, and this is yet another strong green scent that has convinced me that herbal and green scents are definitely a favorite category of mine. I never knew! It doesn't quite make my top list (as in must have a bottle of it), but I wouldn't turn one down if offered. The spice from the ginger and sweetness from the fig are subtle on me, but also balance the greenness of the scent.

 

These herby scents are just fantastic. Little bit of spice from the ginger and sweet from the fig, but mainly a wop of herby with some tea mellowness. A little bit soapy.

[Cali]

Now that I've read the notes, I can tell them apart easily, however my first sniff genuinely made me think of a victorian apothecary, almost like how Anton Pieck would've drawn one. The fig really brings this all together for me, giving it an odd sweet edge that really works here. I don't think I need a bottle but I think I might hold on to the imp because I'm intrigued.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Lemon, green tea, aloe, and other blended greenery.

Wet: Lemon and the above greenery. The fig was the slightly earthly and deeply likable note that was attracting me to this more than to Embalming Fluid, which is similar. I couldn't put my finger on it until I re-read the notes list. I haven't always liked the lab's fig but it's a wonderful touch here. I also get the ginger, but needed the notes list to find what that was also. Neither ginger nor fig dominate here, but instead tie together other things. They're lovely.

Dry: Sadly this, like any green citrus blend I've tried, doesn't last more than an hour on me.

I want to see how this does in a scent locket, and will probably bottle it regardless because I like it so much. This is no Elixir of Death for Romeo: it's all yellow ginger-lemon and welcoming greenery, with an overall impression of botanical profusion -- while it lasts.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A light, springy, very green scent. I definitely get the Embalming Fluid comparison above! However, Embalming Fluid has always felt so faint and anemic on me, whereas this one is definitely grounded by the moss and herbs, and rounded out by just the faintest hint of sweet fig. Normally I can't stand fig, but here it provides the perfect finishing touch, anchoring the light, airy tea and grasses and giving the whole thing some body.

 

Wet: A zingy, lemon-ginger scent with some herbs for roughage. However, the tea and general greenery instantly faded to almost nothing, as did the fig. Immediately after application it's a very soft, barely skin-level, lemon-ginger candy. But after barely a minute, a distinctly soapy note emerges. WTF, skin? This is the second promising green blend I've had turn to soap on me in as many days - blech. Yesterday's was Envy, and I'm inclined to think that lavender may be the culprit there, since fougeres go soapy on my skin every. single. time, and lavender is also an ingredient there. But there's no lavender listed here, and I didn't smell any ITI... maybe it's one of the "medley of herbal notes?"

 

Dry: And again like Envy, a quick fade from herbal soap, to soapy soap, then nothing, all within a few hours. And I really slathered this one on, too! Hints of sweet, slightly fruity ginger hang around on one wrist, but not the other, but fade about as quickly as the soap does.

[kattalog]

Wet: tea leaf! Fresh and green, fresh ginger

Dry: Fresh tea leaf, fresh moss, grass and ginger. A very airy kind of green scent and without heavy herbals. The combination makes me think of skin care products with tea leaf as its ingredients.
The apotechcary starts to fade already half an hour in as dry. It doesnt morph as much, besides changing from wet to dry stage, as many other BPALs. On me, the fig doesnt make any noticable impression at all, instead leaving the tea leaf, ginger and grass to rule the scene.
Its not as mossy as I thought it would be, as they do not lend any earthier or darker prints to the tea leaf.

Dominant notes: Tea leaf with back up by grass and ginger

Lasting: Very weak! 1.5 hours

Edited October 27, 2016 by kattalog

[roseus]

Oh this is very refreshing! I get a lot of green tea and ginger at the beginning, with maybe a hint of lemon. Dry it's soft grasses, green tea, and some fig for earthy sweetness.

[lizabelle]

Looking at the notes I thought this would be right up my alley, and it is! Starting out I get a lot of tea and ginger, with other herbs I can't quite pick out rounding out the cup (they're soft, warm, and green). The fig and mosses blend together into a deep, rich base and the overall effect perfectly captures an herbalist's shop. Fig as a base note is kind of genius and I'd love to see it in more BPAL blends. Possibly a full bottle for me; I'm a sucker for herb/fruit blends like this for hot weather and this fig is amazing.

[ramblingrambler]

Sharp, clean, herbal-green-citrus scent that alone makes me think cologne but layered with a predominantly gourmand fragrance works really, really well to lighten up an otherwise heavy scent.

[achildoftime]

It's a lovely tea with some herbs and citrus. I don't get much ginger which is a real bummer, but what does come through is really nice. It smells like a freshly brewed cup of tea on a bed of moss. It's simple and wonderful.

[fenharel]

got a frimp of this with my most recent order. it's really, really nice. it's fresh and clean and sophisticated and green without being too wild or dirty. it makes me feel like i'm sitting in a room at an upscale mountain resort, with the windows open and fresh linens and a cup of white tea and nothing but green outside a far as the eye can see

[highpriestess]

I like this more than I thought I would.
Out of the bottle I get sweetness and moss. It smells dark and kind of incense-y to me. I think the sweetness is the fig.

On my skin it's a whole new thing! It turns clean-smelling, papery and herbal in the greenest sense. I can definitely get a citrus note in there too but with the herbal aspects it reminds me of lemon balm.

After it dries it seems to settle down and that tea scent comes through. It smells more like black tea to me but maybe I'm making that up...like a black tea with lemon.

Much crisper than I was anticipating and very unisex which I love. I think I would like it a lot on my partner.

It goes very mild quickly, I don't know if I'd call it a favorite... but maybe it'll make a great non-offensive wear-to-work scent.

[Lucchesa]

The Apothecary is absolutely gorgeous on me, green and fresh with the ginger and tea combining for an almost citrusy feel... and my skin eats it up in about 20 minutes. So I redouble the application and, yep. Same thing. This often happens to me with tea notes, and it's freaking tragic. So much beauty, obliterated by my stupid skin chemistry.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Lots of tea leaf, moss, grass, and herbs!

 

Wet: The tea leaf and moss are the most prominent notes, followed by the green grass. After a few minutes, the ginger note emerges, so that it's tea leaf dominant, backed by the moss, grass, and ginger.

 

Dry: The tea leaf, ginger, and moss are now the dominant notes, with a smattering of herbs in the background and some fig in the background.

 

Verdict: This one is nice tea/herbal scent, but I am not sure I would ever reach for it.

[spikyfairy]

Finally posting some old reviews from my notebook. This was pretty early in my BPAL experimentation, & I fully expected to like this scent. I love green, herby things! But this one had a serious fight with my skin chemistry, & was the clincher in realising I basically can't wear moss.

In the imp: Clean, fresh, green. And just a little commercial-perfume-y.
Wet on me: As above, at first. Then a series of unfortunate events! First the ginger flares up to unpleasantly peppery proportions (I guess I amp it?), then the moss tries to turn to dead bugs, as it does on me. Then both of them are overpowered by a very sweet fruitiness (that "drop" of fig?). Tea tries to keep the peace throughout.
Dry: Mostly just dead-millipede-moss / dirt. Dangit, I thought I would like moss, but it does not like me. I suspect this would be lovely if you do not have this problem - I can just detect behind it the fresh green tea leaf, grass, & a dash of warm ginger I should be smelling.

A massive fail, but a learning experience!

[Juliamon]

In the imp: my mom sniffed this before I could, and proclaimed "I don't like this, it smells like perfume." It definitely has an element of department-store perfume, a trace of aquatic cologne. Not anything I'm opposed to, but not what I expected either. Lacking in herbs.

 

Wet: This is bright green, sharp and clear like a flawless peridot. The mosses and tea dominate, but it has a grassy aura to it and is grounded by a sweet hint of fig that keeps it from going bitter. It's a very April/May scent, verdant but still a bit chilly. I expected an apothecary shop to be warm and a bit stuffy, but this one has installed a/c to make sure the herbs don't rot, and everything is kept immaculately clean.

 

Dry: The owner of the shop has gone missing. The a/c broke down and some of the herbs are beginning to rot; I think that's the ginger, and maybe the tea turning weird on me (tea tends to be very hit-or-miss). Fresh ingredients haven't been stocked in awhile, not much scent remains. Moss coats the tables and counters, making an attempt to reclaim the shop for nature.

 

My skin really doesn't seem interested in holding onto the scent for more than an hour (the Sweet Potato Musk I put on this morning is already overpowering it), but it's fairly pleasant and more suitable for spring than most of what I've tried in my collection. I'll hold onto the imp and see if I can't find a way to make it last longer.

[artoria]

In the imp:

Mmm, hello, moss and fig! Very green, herbal, fruity. It reminds me very much of Hallow-e'en, 1914, but lighter, with tea and a smidge of citrus brightening it.

 

Wet on the skin:

Mostly moss and fig and herbs for me still. The tea is stronger than in the imp.

 

Dry on the skin:

Ahh, here's the tea in the spotlight at last! Very distinctly a black tea, too. The citrus quality is stronger as well. Those green, herbaceous, mossy notes and the fig step back a bit... They're still there, but to provide depth and complexity. This reminds me of a blackberry sage iced black tea I've had once; while the notes aren't the same, it's the idea of an herby black tea with dark fruit: refreshing, complex, and witchy. Mmm.

 

Overall thoughts:

The Apothecary is the brighter cousin of Hallow-e'en, 1914. They have some VERY similar notes, but differ enough to be very distinct, especially as they dry down! If Hallow-e'en, 1914, was too heavy and brooding for you, or if you want a warm weather friendly equivalent, give this a shot! If you disliked the moss and fig combo, those notes are present here, so keep that in mind. The black tea note is stellar in this and is amazing when it comes into its own. Good wear length. Bottle worthy. I love it!

Edited April 5, 2018 by artoria

[torikitty]

This is interesting. It smelled mossy and masculine in the imp, which is why I gave it to my husband. He turned it into the general scent that L'Occitane has, whereas I amped the tea and herbs. I guess Earl Grey tea is a good comparison for me.