Hexennacht (2005, 2016, 2019)

[doomsday_disco]

2019 version.

 

Description for 2019 version: German fir and forest herbs, incense and bonfire smoke, broom straw, and the wet, glimmering scent of skin warmed by dance.

Note: I have not tried the previous versions.

In the vial: Somewhat salty skin musk, herbs, and a wisp of bonfire smoke.

Wet: It's mostly salty skin musk, incense, and herbs with a tinge of smoke. As it sits on my skin, the bonfire smoke note gains strength, but it doesn't make the scent too smoky.

Dry: Mostly salty skin musk and incense, with hints of smoke, fir, and herbs.

Verdict: I was really hoping to get more fir from this. It reminds me of The Standing Stone at Pendle Hill Atmo due to the salt and incense notes, although this one is more musky. If you're looking for a salty incense scent, this should be up your alley.

Edited June 2, 2019 by doomsday_disco

[Lilah Ladybug]

2019 Version.

 

hmmm at first aquatic type herbal green followed by sweetened slightly salty musk that seemed to have some kind of berry thing going on in the back ground. There is an incensey type note but it’s more perfumey than ‘witchy’....

 

so for me (for now) it misses the description. No forest, no fir, no smoke or bon fire... definitely doesn’t conjure up the idea of Witches dancing naked in the forest ☹️

 

I’ll be putting it away for aging in the hopes that it will bring out the notes that should have formed the base of this. Pretty disappointed... fingers crossed 🤞🏼 

Edited June 22, 2019 by Lilah Ladybug
Typos 🤓

[Mad Maudlin]

In the bottle this smells oddly of beeswax, the same note I get in The Writing on the Slate. On my skin it’s sweet, woodsy and just slightly floral. The beeswax sweetness persists through dry down, which was unexpected. It could be the amber and incense I’m smelling though. This is a lovely scent, but it doesn’t leap out at me. I as hoping to for more more dark fir and skin musk. Perhaps I’ll let it age a bit and see. 

[artisjok]

I got Mad Maud’s 2019 bottle, and have a similar experience with most others~

salty sweet skin musk, a tinge of herb & floral (that goes a little soapy for a bit, then the soap goes away), and a small wisp of incense. I was hoping for a heavier scent, one with some bonfire heft and brisk fir. I also see the comparison to beeswax, it seems a little waxy in the drydown. 

 

Not really my jam, but I can see it being lovely for someone who doesn’t want their scent to stand out too much. Intimate. I bet wearing this while dancing around a fire would smell sexy!  

 

Not sure if I want to age it or not.... 

[zankoku_zen]

2020 version
Wet skin, forest herbs, and whiff of smoke, and fir. This one is a muskier blend, salty skin, herby and foresty. This one smells more like you do after dancing along time. Except imagine dancing in the forest by a bonfire. This is the smell of your skin after you've been dancing in the moonlight for hours. Salty skin, musk, and green herbs. Medium throw and wear length.

[Dancing Raven]

This is for the 2020 version

Long time lurker, first time poster. I felt compelled to post because there are two notes in this version that seem to be disliked by a fair few. I have never tried the older versions.

Wet: the opening is green, and I think I detect a hint of eucalyptus. A slightly sour cherry note is mingling with it.

Drydown: Rose! I love rose, and this is a soft, sweet rose (think old fashioned face creams). I do amp rose, so it may just be me. There is the barest hint of green stems. The sour cherry smell remains.

About 20 ish minutes in I get an incensey/smoky scent. It's much like placing your face near a metal heater in an older home (the radiator types), very realistic as I actually get the sensation of heat when I inhale close to my skin. I find it rather pleasant, but I also enjoy smelling like dank, musty dungeons, dust, and old books, so take that for what it's worth.

I smell something bittersweet like orange rind, and I think there is dragon's blood resin in here because I get lilac (which is how my skin interprets it).

90 minutes in, it gets closer to the skin, but the smoke gets stronger. Now it smells like someone stoking a new fire with fresh branches.

2.5 hours in this takes an unexpected turn. I get a bitter green, almost like a dandelion, and then... powder. I am thinking this is the skin musk representing the sweaty skin. I love powdery notes (good thing, because I amp them to the high heavens!). I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea, however.

Once dried this is a very slightly green, powdery smoke on me. Very good throw.

Less green than what I had hoped. The fir never really showed up on me. However, I adore it for what it is.

A solid 4 out of 5 stars.

[ajansuz]

2020 In the bottle it's really herbal and musky. Wet on my skin I get what seems to me like lemon verbena. There's something citrusy but not sour or loud the way actual lemon is on me. It's salty in the way a Gose is salty, that kind of salt sour tang. I get fir needles, but really it's so well blended that it's hard to pick out any one distinct note for me. After many hours of dry down, it is still going strong, an herbal, salty musk with a hint of something lemony. I love it. It's a nature scent with some sophistication to it that goes beyond, rolled around on a forest floor. Not that I don't also like those types of scents. It's just that this one is actually work appropriate, too!

[Angelshair]

In the bottle: smells like walking past a grass garden that’s been freshly cut and the flowers have just been trimmed. 

 

Wet on the skin: the same but more amplified and with a more medicinal smell. Like there’s something almost menthol-y lingering in the background. The trimmed flowers were roses. 

 

Dry: roses and a slight tinge of musk. 

 

Overall, from the description I expected this to be a lot more of a woodsy and warm scent than a floral and green scent. I think ageing this will help amp up the amber and smoke so I’ll keep it around for a while, if not, I think we’ll have to part ways. 

[alyelle]

I have multiple Hexennacht's; this is for the 2019 version. 

 

In the imp: Fir, sweet sandalwood, and the dusty pine-needle floor, topped with grass and amber

 

Wet: Very amber in the base, covered in lush summer pines, a full moon and a clear night sky. Maybe just a hint of vetiver. 

 

Dry: Soft and sweet vanilla pine.

 

8 hour lifespan, medium throw; an overall nice pine blend.

Stars: ★★★★

[a_bear]

2020 version: I mostly smell the skin musk with a bit of fir and herbs. Even though it is described as skin warmed by dance, the scent is very cool to me. I don't smell incense/smoke really at all. The straw may add a bit of sharpness, but I can't really pick it out.

[Riezky]

Comparing 2008 and 2020

 

Hexennacht ‘08 has always been an odd love affair for me - the scent really is sweat, smoke, and fir. It’s amazing and evocative and I love the heck out of it - but I don’t think I’ve ever worn it outside the house. 
 

2020 impressions, fresh out of the mail - these are freshly showered witches in a forest  I’m getting a more soapy scent along with the fir. I don’t love this like I do ‘08, and it certainly doesn’t conjure up the same image, but I could wear it out of the house without a second thought.

[Ennikar]

I don't see a thread for this yet, so: 2024 release.

 

Firstly: soap. Like the 2020 version, these witches are freshly showered, and the sort of skin musks I go for tend to be more... not dirty, but definitely less fresh. I'm somewhat sensitive to "clean" smells, so I didn't get much else from it. I asked my partner to have a sniff and she said it reminded her of walking into an incense shop; after we compared notes, I could somewhat smell the incense shop and she could smell the soap. No "forest" notes to speak of for either of us.