Hod

[Dark Alice]

Glory and Majesty, Kokab, God’s Judgement.

This is the LIGHTEST carnation I have smelled to date. I am so not a fan of it strong...and strangely a weak carnation note does nothing for me either. Sigh...I will have to swap this one out too.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil. Sweet, warm. Honey/beeswax. Incense, amber,something woody, musk. Something floral, soft but strong.

 

Wet: Very light. A bit more powdery, less sweet. More incense, in a light, airy sort of way. Red sandalwood, warm and smooth. Carnation, more creamy than spicy.

 

Dry: Quite possibly a milk or cream note, as this is very creamy. The carnation amps, I suspect a more traditional floral too. More spicy., Amber very potent, but not overly powdery - more incensey. Golden amber, a la Inez.

 

Later: There's definitely really rich, sexy, heavy musk of some sort - Arabian? And now there's some clove coming out, as it does in the dry stage on me - I think it's providing more spice than the carnation. Carnation and amber totally dominate.

 

Summary: Golden amber, red sandalwood, floral carnation, milk, honey, sweet, woody clove, and Arabian musk. Warm, creamy, dry, powdery, spicy, sexy, woody, lightly sweet. Good throw & great longevity.

 

Not my thing, but I see why this is so coveted. A lot of very popular notes. The amber & clove (though very light) make this unworkable for me, though. I also get the 'air freshener' thing but can't pin down the source.

 

 

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

OMFG!!! Spicy carnation almond honey cookies! Throw for days and lasts for-evah! Gahhh! Another ultra-rare obsession begins! Time to go edit the ol' top ten list...

 

 

[jewelbug]

This test was courtesy of a MnS skin test—thanks, tartchef!

 

Bottle: A very spicy, heavy-on-the-clove type of carnation.

 

On: Mmm, yes, carnationy. Spicy and yes, clovey. It also has a slight vanilla-creamy vibe to it. Actually, it reminds me of a mix between Alice (creamy carnation) and Velvet Bandito (delicious clove).

 

Overall: Very nomable, but luckily, the previously mentioned scents are close enough on my skin that I don’t need to sell my first born for this. If resurrected, I'd most certainly buy a bottle, or if I came upon a swap for it, I'd most certainly go for it, but since its so scarce sought after, I'm happy with my current similar blends! In fact, I think I'll try a little layering w/ Bandito and Alice and see what happens.

Edited July 13, 2009 by jewelbug

[tragedy]

I was frimped an imp of this... how I got so lucky? no clue!

I was, again, hoping to not like this... but theres a reason certain blends are sought after...

This is a foodie, honeyed, skin scent.

Its almost perfect for anyone across the board of likes.

In the imp I smelled hardly anything but on skin it warms up and takes over with HUGE throw, but good throw.

Spicy honey... mmm so good!!

[caffinatedangel]

Luckily was able to test this ^^. In the imp, I couldn't really smell much at all. but on skin, it started to bloom. It's a warm scent, spicey, a little creamy. Carnation /does/ fit that bill, but I wont bother trying to name scents. I'm clueless, so I'll just go with how I feel.

 

It's cozy, warm, little bit of pleasant tang, and doesn't throw much for me at all. I wonder if maybe there's tonka in it, because it smells like tonka does when it dries down. That sweet, spicey base note that just lingers. It's yummy, and soft. And I wish this was my imp I could keep, now .

[AEris]

I HATE carnation. Sorry to all of you Hod lovers, I just hate hate Hate carnation.

 

Got to sniff this in a circular imp swap. I'm just one less BPAL'er to compete with over this scent, ugh I really just hate carnation!

 

I bet it smells gorgeous to people who like carnation, because I really liked Hod in the few moments before the note bloomed on my skin. Then I had to wash it off. I'm almost sorry for not being able to enjoy it!

[devilot]

Hod (original)

Big thank you to whomever frimped tragedy, as she then passed the love on to me!

 

In the Vial: It's *gasp* (blasphemy) not all that impressive.

 

Wet: At first, again, nondescript and "nothing to write home about." Super faint and not really smelling like anything whatsoever. But after a couple of minutes, it starts to really warm up and now I'm finally getting the carnation! And creaminess.

 

Drydown: Still v faint.

 

Verdict: I swear, if this were stronger smelling on my skin, I'd be doing my darndest to hunt more down. As it is, I love it and will chersish the bit of it that I have, but it's so faint on my skin that I can't justify sacrificing body parts in an attempt to get more.

 

 

Hod Resurrected

12/28/2009: Thanks to Beth and the labbies for resurrecting this w/ the Anniversaries!

In the Bottle: Amazing delicious carnation. *swoons*

 

Wet: Instant carnation love! But wait, what's happening? Already shifting?! Changing?! No! It's... *sniff* uh oh. It's souring on me.

 

Drydown: Definitely sour.

 

Verdict: Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Now that I had a full bottle at my disposal to use as I pleased, I was able to get more accurate sniffs and skin tests. And it is so terribly official. The amazing spicy and elegant carnation in Hod sours horrifically on my skin. Even my bestest girl friend wrinkled her nose and shook her head (and yes, she's a fellow BPALer). Why?! Why oh why won't Hod work on me?!

Edited December 28, 2009 by devilot

[Schmoozy]

No time like the present to put up a review for Hod!

 

This is spicy single note carnation as soon as it hits my skin. Once it has a chance to dry the spices become slightly muted and the carnation is creamy and slightly milky. It feels like there is a bit of vanilla and hints of amber. Hod stays really, really close to the skin and doesn't give much throw at all. In the end this really smells like a cup of creamy vanilla chai topped with carnations. The only drawback is that I wish it would last longer.

Edited November 18, 2009 by Schmoozy

[ami226]

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

 

Soooo, good! This is one of my favorite scents and I was surprised that I hadn't reviewed it yet! Thanks to a most awesome forumite, I have a 10 ml of Hod that I am hoarding.... *preciousssssssss*

 

Just dabbed some on now to celebrate the resurrection of this scent! A spicy scent (carnations?) with a honey sweet creaminess as well. It is amazing! Just when I think the throw isn't very strong, I suddenly get a big whiff of spicy sweet yummyness.

 

So beautiful! I may have to order at least two or three bottles (I don't have backups of any scents at the moment...) That is how wonderful this scent really is! I wish it was a GC...

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

So.. like Catseyes before me.. I'm celebrating the resurrection of the lovely Hod and also realised I haven't put a review in. So I just had a good slather!!

 

Mmmm.. this really is a tough one to try and pinpoint what's in it. I do think carnations is right (so that's not floral, not sweet, but slightly peppery with a faintly nutty undertone), and my next guess is tonka - creaminess with a slight wood-y tone, maybe a dash of teak in there? Something very musky - like Hellion but WITHOUT the plum, there's a gold/brown velvet-y thing going on.

 

I'm not sure if I'm detecting amber like others have mentioned (no soapy thing or powderiness which is usually a sure sign of amber on my skin), and I also can't pick any honey or milk or almond.

 

I put this in the "rich and complex but subtle and sexy" category, which if it were part of my BPAL filing cabinet would also hold Hellion and Glowing Vulva. Not that Hod smells anything like either of those, but to me they all have that velvety creamy thing going on.

 

Anyway - if you're on the fence about ordering Hod now that it's become available - at least grab a decant, it's definitely worth a try and who knows.. maybe you'll love it as much as I do

[lothien]

I'm going to go ahead and put in my 2 pennies on Hod, too, now that it's coming back.

 

To start with, the original Hod:

I LOOOVE this scent!!!

 

What I don't get: skin musk, honey or almonds.

 

Skin musk and honey can be relied upon to do really evil, rancid smelling things on me and I just don't get any of them here. Honey is particularly bad, even in the tiniest amounts. Almond is nasty, too. Almond and/or honey stuff goes right in the swap box.

 

Beautiful creamy carnation, maybe vanilla musk? It's vanilla without being obvious, and reminds me of vanilla musk in other things I've tried. Cream and amber might be there - I'm trusting the others who say there is amber because they are with amber the way I am with honey, and milk and cream scents don't stand out on me so I couldn't say for sure if that's there or not, but there's something that gives it a creamy vibe.

I think the spiciness is mostly the carnation - I don't get cinnamon or clove - I suppose they could be there, as I suppose there could be a touch of nutmeg, but it doesn't really strike me as foody.

 

Under the Harvest Moon seems really sweet alongside, as a comparison.

 

Hod Rez: Nearly identical to my decant of the original (yay!). Nice to know it's just as awesome fresh and resurrected as the aged and original one, even barely out of the mailbox.

Edited December 15, 2009 by dragonsidhe

[amyw]

This is a decant of the original, by the way. I think I would love this if it didn't have almond in it. It's quite faint, and it smells like carnations, vanilla, and... almond. I don't detect any of the suspected cinnamon, which is odd because that usually amps and burns and makes me ill. I also don't smell any patchouli, which some have said is heavily present in the resurrected version. I do, unfortunately for me, smell almond, which is not a note I'm fond of. Or if it's not almond, it's a very similar note.

 

I'm glad to have tried this highly coveted oil, but now I'm also pretty sure I don't need to buy a bottle of the resurrected unless I'm getting it for someone else. If you like almond, carnations, and vanilla, then you'll probably like this a lot.

[greenranger]

Hod resurrected 2009

 

I smell carnations right away...carnations and something smooth, sweet, resiny and almost creamy. There may be vanilla and almond in this, maybe. It's stopping short of being foody, on me at least. I think there's something in the resiny part of it that is flagging this to my nose as not edible.

 

Drying, I can tell that there is definitely something vanilla in this. The almond part has faded. The vanilla is beginning to overpower the carnation.

 

I do like this. I can see what the fuss was about. I am very happy to have gotten to try one of the scents that I thought was forever beyond my reach.

[hlemonds]

Hod Res (2009)

 

This is fresh out of the mail box, so i may have to revisit it in a few days and make sure my initial impressions are accurate. In the bottle it is quite harsh, perhaps some bitter almond, some sort of resin, and spicy-sharp carnation? Mt nose is kinda uneducated, so i'm guessing. Thankfully this is much, much better the instant it hits my skin. I'm getting a soft powdery base of (maybe) Amber....it strikes me as somewhat similar to the powdery aspect of Snake Oil before it has aged. If my nose was correct about the almond, it thankfully does not translate to the skin (at least not mine). Mostly this is sweet, softly powdery amber, and a very soft carnation. It is somewhat similar to Morocco on me. I definitely like it, but i will have to revisit it after it has rested for a couple of weeks and see if it is backup worthy.

 

**This actually is reminding me of an amber scent necklace i bought back in college. It was just a little metal cage that held a chunk of amber resin. I loved the way it smelled.

[Cheri]

Hod 2009

 

Wow! I understand why this scent is so loved. I tested it right out of the mailbox because I'm too impatient to wait for it to warm up, not that it needs any warming to smell great.

 

So, this is carnations? I am impressed. I have always liked the smell of carnations but never really tried wearing them, except for a few other BPALs with carnation. Its so un-flowery and spicy, and warm, and sexy. I smell some clove and maybe some vanilla, but other than that none of the notes are overwhelming the others. Love it!

[Katherynne]

Hod Res. 09 is note as spicily carnation as my old 10ml. It's a little sharper, I can tell the notes melded with age. It's BEAUTIFUL though, and I love it, and I'm so glad I have it to wear in lieu of my original, which I will still continue to hoard until this 5ml is gone.

[marared]

We loves the carnation, precious, but we don't loves Hod!Rez. That first whiff of carnation is awesome, but then a nutty undertone comes in and I'm pretty sure it's almond because it smells like the almond oil used in some lotions and almond is a snooty smell that doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't even think I can blame travel shock.

 

I'll give it a few weeks, but most likely I'll just decant myself a sniffie and sell/swap it on off...

[thekittenkat]

This is for Hod Res (09).

 

I did a little skin test of the prototype at DSWC and liked it a lot. Let's see how my bottle is.

 

 

In the bottle: The amber and carnations are very present, but there's other scents lurking underneath, some kind of musk for sure.

 

 

Wet: First whiff is the sharp bitter stems of the carnation. But a lovely and not too sweet vanilla or honey or skin musk is rising up. And there's a milk note, but not goat, just regular cow milk. The amber is at this stage grounding everything together.

 

 

The dry-down: Looks like all those notes have blended together into a warm and spicy scent, with a touch of sweetness. The amber is turning to powder, but not too fast. That sweet note that is so faint must be from the milk, or the musk, if it's honey or vanilla. I'm a great fan of Alice, and had always hoped to try Hod. I think that I like Alice's carnation note better, but if you want a perfume oil to wear that people will think is not a perfume, that you just smell this good naturally, then I think Hod is for you. This is a keeper and I want to try layering with Alice. And the carnation is coming back now , with some more sweetness. This is going to be multiple-bottle worthy, for sure. And it's a scent that I think that you could wear any season of the year.

 

 

[angelicruin]

This arrived in the mail yesterday. I immediately had to try it out even though I know I should allow these to settle overnight.

 

Anyway, yesterday when I applied it to my skin, it was all creamy carnation with no amber even on dry down.

 

This morning after settling overnight, I still get that gorgeous creamy carnation note, but once it fully dries, it's a soft powdery amber scent.

 

[kbrighton]

This is the 2009 resurrected version of Hod.

 

Hello carnation!! Wow, the scent of sharp spicy carnation overwhelms everything when Hod is wet. Now, 90 minutes later the carnation has tempered and I smell creamy amber with a much milder carnation. Upthread Hillary mentions this amber note being reminiscent of a chunk of amber resin, that is exactly what I get. The carnation note is a bit more elusive now, wafting up from my neck as I move my head. I was a little worried during the first 20 minutes that this would remain sharp carnation, but it's toned down and dancing with the amber note. I love it, so glad I have a bottle.

[CynicalPink]

Posting on a legendary scent

 

Bottle and Wet: CARNATION, BITCHES! Something that might be amber, too.

 

Drydown: The resemblance between this and Alice is pretty solid. It's got a lot of the smooth, gentle notes from Alice, but pretty much with almond subbing out for milk and Amber instead of honey. Like Alice with teeth to it. Less soft and fluffy, more smooth and spicy. Carnation back down after awhile, and it become part of a much more blended scent with almond and amber. Amber's not going powdery! And is there something green in here? Could just be the almonds....

 

Overall: While it is very similar to Alice, I can see the point in having Hod around as well. I think it'll get even stronger with age and could make for a good Alice alternative when the little girl is just too soft a scent. This might even be a backup bottle buy for me.

 

Later on test day: Huh. This doesn't project nearly as long as I thought it would. It's still in my skin with a snuggly carnation scent. Let's see how it lasts when it has more than 12 hours to rest after the traumatic and cold trip through the mail

Edited December 15, 2009 by CynicalPink

[Molls]

To my untrained nose, this smells like O and the spicy floral note in Chrysanthemum Moon. Which I assume is chrysanthemum, lol. The overwhelming consensus here says that the note in Hod is carnation though, so I will just say that I like them both

Thankfully, I get no almond. Just lovely amber, honey and this yummy spicy flower - mucho

[MCS4096]

Oh god.. This is amazing stuff! Carnation is my TOP note.. so trying Hod has been a dream since I joined BPAL. This is straight up strong carnation on my skin (hello throw! Not found with any other carnation blend I've tried..) with a breeze of amber every now and again. It really is warm and comforting and I know I'll be getting a few more bottles

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I had heard the buzz about Hod being a holy grail of carnation, but didn't get around to ordering it before it went poof. I'm very glad for the chance to try it now.

 

In the Bottle: Spicy carnation and velvety musk. It's like what I remember from Bathsheba, but seems to have many more layers to it. My mental image is a bouquet of carnations on a glossy mink coat.

 

Wet: A smooth, silky musk and over it the freshest carnation I can ever remember smelling in a perfume. I've had the "fresh flower" experience once or twice with rose (which usually leads to my "stinky cooked cabbage" skin chemistry issue), but I'm not getting that nasty morph yet here. It's the scent of burying my nose in that wonderful carnation.

 

Drydown: It took a while, but the musk is finally amping on me. What was a carnation scent enhanced by musk is now a musk scent with a thread of carnation in it.

 

Verdict: Well, now I know. This is beautiful, but I get a much better carnation experience with Bathsheba.