Nocnitsa

[aedes]

Also known as Krisky, Plaksy and Gorska Makua, she is a nightmare spirit, the Night Hag of the Woods, who haunts Polish, Russian, Bulgarian and Slovak children during the darkest hours. The only protection against her torments is a circle drawn around a child’s cradle with a knife, or an axe or protective poppet hidden under the floorboards beneath where a child sleeps. Her scent is that of a lightless fir wood, nighttime air, wet forest mosses and upturned earth.

What an interesting scent! I definitely got the damp earth smell out of this one, and a bit of pine. But I'm also in the camp that smelled berries.
Actually, it smelled a lot like the dehydrated strawberries you get in some cereals. So it made me giggle continuously for awhile as all I could think of was a person eating a bowl of Special K Red Berries while strolling in a spooky, haunted forest.
A rich and multi-faceted "emerald" or perhaps dark teal scent, though, in my mind. I would try it again even though it made me sneeze.

[sarahj]

Nocnitsa

 

freebie from the lab

 

in vial: pine and something sweet

 

wet: pine needles and tree sap

 

dry: evergreens, berries, and sap...lasts about 6 hours

 

verdict: a wonderful scent, much sweeter than I expected it to be...I think I need a big bottle

[AngelFireHeart]

Out of the bottle the first scent that hits me is a strong eucalyptus, which on application is still quite strong but other scents strat to come through. There is something sweet almost rotting in the background & also a pine like smell strats to come through. After about 5mins you can barely smell the eucalyptus & now the overall scent is quite sweet but fresh, like a graveyard at night time with mist swirling around the stones.

 

On me after a days wear I can hardly smell this scent at all, , but maybe it'll work better in my perfume pendant

[olympia301]

Fir and pine are what hit me first. This is a very strong scent and it does contain a good deal of dirt. There is a bit of fruit under the opening and I can smell that strongly when it's wet, perhaps something to lure the kids with, eh? Nocnitsa is wicked indeed, and I would imagine it is more of a room or object scenting blend rather than a perfume you would wear on your skin. Creepy, it really does represent what it's supposed to.

 

The icon is a drawing of an ugly old lady by Leonardo da Vinci, just says "Nocnitsa"

Edited September 17, 2005 by olympia301

[Firewaver]

I disagree with many of reviews in the sense that I find this to be a sweet pine. It's not overly sharp and sneeze inducing as some piney scents are.

 

I smell maybe a little eucalyptus, but not too much. I don't get the nail polish remover tang in this one as I did in jabberwocky.

 

I like this, it's piney and fresh and woody. It's like a coniferous sister scent to Yggdrasil. I can imagine this being a simply fantastic Yule scent. I get a nice big furry christmas tree scent from this one. I'm excited to wear it this holiday season!

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Pine and sugar and some overripe berry.

 

Dry: Vick's Vapo-Rub and some sugary berry way back there. Every so often it's a more subdued pine.

 

I don't want to smell like this, unfortunately, nor do I want my man to, and it's a bit too Mentholatum to my nose. It has a nice feeling to it though, like Christmas tree shopping.

[cuervosueno]

I get a bit of eucalyptus in the imp too, though it must just be the pine notes. On, it is quite sharp pine, and I also get a hint of fruity berries.

 

I don't mind that early stage, but uh oh, then comes the dirt stage. I don't like earth scents (by which I mean dirt scents, not earthy scents) because they almost always smell like beets to me. This does too. Hmmm...considering washing it off.....

 

well, this was a freebie, so I can't complain. I did have hopes for it--I love piney scents. But actually, I have enough anyway....my horde of Skadi and Alecto (which smells piney to me) and then there are so many others, so the fact that this wicked Slavic witch doesn't work for me doesn't matter....(though hmmm....Slavic witch....beets...I'm seeing a connection here...)

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle:

 

Um, yikes. Dirt and forest.

 

Wet:

 

The dirt almost disappears on my skin, thank goodness. I don't like to smell too earthy.

 

Drydown:

 

This had the most unexpectedly lovely drydown. It was a sweet, sharp pine, something like Dublin but more astringent than that (definitely might be eucalyptus like some have guessed), and it's so invigorating and interesting. I wore it while I read, my chin propped on my hand, and I kept getting these yummy whiffs floating up.

 

This isn't nearly as earthy/dark as I feared, probably because my skin tends to sweeten scents, and I'm really pleased. It's a wee bit similar to Dublin, so I think I'll see when my 10ml of that arrives this week exactly what the difference are before deciding on a bigger size of Nocnitsa.

 

Basically, this is everything I hoped Hexennacht would be, except that one was ruined by the fact that skin musk is an "amp" scent on me. Yay!

[Faerykin]

Nocnitsa

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30-am): This is the scent of the deep forest. Pine needles, the damp of the forest floor, and the scent of the wind blowing through the trees. Truly magnificent!

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): The pine is a gentle backdrop to the damp forest floor, and the wind through the trees has died down to an occasional gentle breeze. Ah, the memories this scent brings back – I love it!

 

Throughout the Day (10am-on): This is fading so fast. But, it is such a lovely, dark, earthy scent – I must keep it. I still get the occasional whiff of earthy-pine … absolutely lovely.

[Rhowan]

Nocnitsa - Oh! How I have waited with baited breath for your arrival!

 

 

 

In the bottle - Whew! It smells like chemicals of some sort - can't put my finger on it although I can smell pine in there.

 

Swiped on my wrist

 

Wet - Now I know what it smells like! Pinesol and it brings back memories of.... cleaning bathrooms? Very sharp and pungent - even more "chemically" smelling than pinesol. (is this the wet mosses, perhaps?)

 

Dry down -Starting to mellow now. The more time that passes the more the different scents start to blend and harmonize. MMMM....now I get a visual of walking thru a misty forest - a forest that is always damp and never really dried or been warmed up by the sun. I can smell the rich, wet soil, mingling with the pine and mist. This kind of reminds me of blending Hamadryad with graveyard dirt only wetter and more pine-y

 

For what it is worth, I have a very sensitive nose and am easily overwhelmed by certain scents so my reaction to the first sniff may be way out of proportion compared to what others may smell.

 

Also, For me, the scent went from wet to dry down to gone on my wrist in about 1/2 hr. - sure didn't last long enough. Going to the swap pile.....

Edited October 26, 2005 by Rhowan

[klowey]

In the imp and directly on my skin: Cold, wet evergreen forest.

 

Dried: Unfortunately, evergreen doesn't last long on my skin. Pretty soon all I have is a spicy, sweet and balsam peru scent.

 

End result: I might keep it around as a room or a locket scent, but I don't think I'll be wearing it on my skin.

[brownbear]

In the imp it smells like a forest. Pine or fir and cold. Once it's dry it gets fruity too. Very strange. It's like pine, pineapple and lemon or lime. Weird.

[SeaMonkey]

I got this in an imp pack on ebay and didn't really think I was going to like this.

 

Its all moss and earth, and I really get the "night time air" vibe from it. I was a little scared of the fir, but its really mellow and hide in the back on my skin.

 

I'm glad I was wrong about this scent because it really is lovely

[QueenFae]

A very green scent. Reminds me a bit of Hemlock, but more piney. It does conjour night time images, like a dark, murky forest of fresh pine trees at midnight. It's earthy, woodsy, and herbal. I like this a lot more than I thought I would, but I think it would be even nicer on a guy. Thanks to the lab for throwing this in as a freebie.

[LyndaM]

I liked the mossy-piney slightly menthol beginnings, but then the dirt showed up. My skin amps the hell out of that dirt note. I didn't get any sweetness or berries that others experienced. I was left with a drydown reminiscent of a huge moist pile of earth, with a pine branch thrown on top.

 

I wish it had remained fresh and piney! I'm just now beginning to appreciate the woodsy BPALs, and I wish this one had worked for me.

[PurringPulsar]

Nocnitsa

In the imp: fir, moss and earth.

Wet on skin: green fresh fir, with moss and wet soil. I quite like this.

Dry: mmm, this is not bad! I like the fir note this has, it’s fresh, sweet and sap like, and almost Christmas tree like…the mosses have retreated to the back of the scent now. I’m getting a hint of earth-not as strong as Zombi’s earth note, this is much lighter. I’m also getting the night air…though to me, this is a summer night scent, humid, sticky, with a hint of freshness-almost like the air before a summer thunderstorm, but without the ozone. Really quite oppressive. But the fir note is really, really dominant on me in this…it’s also reminiscent of pine.

After a while: the fir note sweetens even more, it smells like viscous sap now, and the earth and moss notes have returned, adding even more of a damp feel to the scent. There’s a sense of decayed sweetness to the scent, but this isn’t a bad thing-it’s really atmospheric in this. It’s like decomposing evergreen plant matter in rain sodden mossy soil. This reminds me of Hexennacht without the smoke.

I love the drydown of this scent. It’s a very smooth, green scent of soft moss and fir. It’s like a soft coat of green velvet, like sleeping on the forest floor.

Verdict: this is a really evocative and unique scent…it brings to mind an evergreen forest at night just before a thunderstorm. There’s no ozone or rain yet, but the air is oppressive and close…is that just the weather, or is that the feeling of something more sinister, lurking in the shadows? You can smell the fir trees, their bark split, sap oozing out, needles scattered on mossy damp earth, rotting into sweet decay. There’s something creepy out there…you can feel it, you can smell it. That’s what this scent smells like to me. A really fascinating experience-and a very nice scent too…the drydown is especially nice, it’s not as oppressive and sinister, it’s soft, gentle and velvety, green and mossy. Not one for a big bottle yet, but I’m certainly keeping the imp.

[trowely]

Intriguing!

 

When I first put it on, it went straight to the swap box. Like many scents from this order, I've had to rescue it from that immediate doom to try again later.

 

Wet, it reminded me a bit of Brimstone. I realize that sounds a bit bizarre, but it was very smoky and dirty and altogether unpleasant.

 

But, I let it dry.

 

Dry, it definitely smells more like a forest, although I wouldn't necessarily say pine. I also get the scent of dirt, and after sniffing it with my mouth open once, the TASTE of dirt.

 

There's also something sweet that seems to be getting stronger as the scent dries.

 

Overall, I can't say I'll ever want to order a bottle of it, but I may keep the imp around for occasional use.

[desu]

In the bottle: The earth note is very strong to my nose in this one with slight hints of pine.

 

On my skin: This is taking a bit an antispectic, almost Comet-y turn on my skin.

 

Later on: It's mostly disappeared after wearing it for about 15 minutes.

[midnightmuse]

Nocnitsa is everything I wanted Black Forest to be, and more. Black Forest, unfortunately, turns powdery-sweet on my skin within minutes. Nocnitsa changes a lot too, but beautifully.

 

At first, there's the sharp, intense, slightly bitter smell of evergreens (which I love), but it's mingled with a mysterious non-floral sweetness, which I imagine is the berry note others have mentioned. As the initial impact of cold resinous green fades slowly, Nocnitsa softens and becomes quiet, earthy, rich, evocative.

 

This is a dark fir wood at the foot of a somber mountain: a wood where a witch works by night, gathering herbs and roots and berry-laden twigs, digging with her strong hands, cutting with dim flashes of her crescent knife.

 

Like Tintagel and Black Forest, it makes me think of winter and Yule, but it's not so holiday-specific that it limits itself; I can see wearing it maybe late November through mid-March. Although maybe I'll dig it out on a hot moist July night, and see what happens...

Edited January 4, 2006 by midnightmuse

[sookster]

wet whiff from the imp this is all hemlocky and pine scented.....

of course the application is entirely different...it turns sweet, warm

and has a lucious clover honey aroma about it......so lovely

i get a touch of fresh garden/earth after awhile ....

definitely an interesting blend....wish it lasted a little bit longer on

my gobble*gobble chemistry though......

[mexicat]

I LOVE this! However,it was NOT love at first whiff! When I first put it on,I could smell the pine(which I like),but also this HORRIBLE,disgusting, strong,leafy smell,like what I imagine the Swamp Thing would smell like.Thank goodness it morphed quickly,turning more into that pine-y smell I like.Then it turned into a Christmasy,cinnamony fragrance,which I had been looking for!!Christmas spice!! The pine faded,leaving the cinnamon.Hours later,BERRIES!!! mmmmm....

[mina13]

My first review as a newbie so here goes:

Wet: this was super strong pine on me

Drying: a little bit of sweetness tht seems berry-like comes out

Dry: incense, berries, and soap

 

I guess my body chemistry kinda wacks this one out a bit!

 

I thought this would be my favorite of the 12 imps I ordered but I'm not very fond of incense. Now to try out more!

[Mary Mayhem]

Pine doesn't seem to like my skin at all. As it dries down it evolves some and steps away from the pine, but I'm having a problem getting through the first initial stage. It dries to a sweet scent, but there's an undertone of sour, like rancid.

[czuba]

Another freebie from the lab.

 

In the Imp - A sweet medicinal scent with some pine around the edge of it.

 

On my SKin Wet - The pine is strong on my skin with sweet undetones. As its starts to dry the pine fades leaving a softly sweet musky tone.

 

On my Skin Dry - a nice incensy scent

 

My only problem is my skin really absorbed this quickly, within an hour I could barely find where I put it on my skin.

 

I'm going to keep the imp, but I don't think I will get a bigger bottle.

[Thaleia]

Ooh, wow, this is an interesting one. It's supposed to represent a woman, yeah? But it smells more masculine to me ... probably because of the herbal, woodsy scent I'm getting from the vial. It reminds me vaguely of Vicks Vaporub, both in the bottle and more so on my skin. It stays like Vicks for a while, but then I realise that the pine from Snow Moon and Snow Bunny is trying to come out and say hi. Now that the pine is coming out, it's smelling more medicinal than woodsy. I prefer the simple chilly pine of Snow Moon instead of smelling like Vicks.

 

Yeah, I don't know that I'll keep this. It might smell better on someone else. 2/10.