Hearth

[cranberry]

Thoroughly revisited. This year’s Hearth is warmer, sweeter, and more traditionally comforting. This is the scent of candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine.

Another spot on scent - it smells exactly like the description, as least as far as I can tell. I don't think I've ever smelled/tried chestnuts, so there is a bit of imagination there. But back to the oil, it smells warm, slightly nutty, and pretty sweet - predominantly brown sugar and none of the honey on me (thank goodness as I do bad things to honey). There's hints of the pipe smoke, but the sweet nuttiness rules this blend on me. Theres a hint of pine and it all melds together into this incredibly evocative scent - sitting in a cozy room, fire burning, brings to mind libraries with leather books (even tho I don't get any leather from this scent). Very nice.

oh, and it lasts and lasts and lasts! Edited January 26, 2006 by Shollin

[tinyvulture]

i’ve never had chestnuts, but to me this smells like pancakes and maple syrup, with a juicy fresh pine scent underneath. mouth-watering and nostalgic of christmas mornings past. i’ll need to get a bottle before it’s too late.

[karikazo]

This is the first BPAL scent where I've sensed different "stages"....sweetness (similar to Gluttony, though not *quite* as pancake-y) followed by smoke and pine boughs....very pretty and cozy, a nice cold-weather scent.

 

This didn't do the bad fake butter scent that Sugar Cookie did on me, so it's very pleasant. I'm not 100% convinved I smell chestnuts, which are a little spicey and earthy--I'd love to smell chestnuts more--but it's very nice.

[empi girl]

I thought I'd love this from the scent in the imp. It is lovelyl, rich, sweet, caramelized goodness (with a hint of pine underneath).

On it stays that way for a brief time, then the change happens. The sweetness dissapears, leaving a wierd pine-wet earth-murky might be nuttiness behind. I don't seem to get any smoke scent, no roasting chestnuts, and the pine is not a fresh crsip one on me. It seems more masculine, and is not a keeper for me. Bottle and imp to swaps!

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I was one of the few people who loved last year's Hearth (at least once it got past the candied cherry stage), so I'm curious about this year's, but the chestnuts worry me. I love cedar and pine and brown sugar and honey could potentially be good (but they'll probably be bad), so I'm not sure how this is going to go.

 

First sniff:

 

The butter note reminds me of my favorite Chaos Theory (CLVI, I think it is...whichever is in my signature image) and of the original Hellfire, but only in passing. There's wood and smoke underneath it and a hint of nuttiness that worries me. I have a feeling this is going to be a near miss...I love most of this, but the nuttiness doesn't bode well.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Oh, wow, this is similar to my Chaos Theory. The pine ratchets up as soon as it hits my skin and this is far less foody. It's like buttered pine trees. As odd as that sounds, it's really not bad at all. Quite Christmasy and comforting. An odd combination to be sure, but quite nice.

 

Dry down:

 

How weird...I expected this to go wrong on me because of the chestnuts, but on me Hearth 2005 is a strong pine blend (similar to Mistletoe) with an overlay of sweet butter. Very interesting and definitely unusual. I actually like this quite a bit, surprisingly.

 

The bottom line:

 

This was way different than I'd expected it to be. I was afraid of the chestnuts, but all I get is brisk pine with an overlay of sugared butter.

[wolfie13]

In the imp: Buttery, smoky, slightly nutty, and pine.

 

Wearing: Much the same, though the pine softens and everything blends more smoothly. I get less butter and a nice touch of brown sugar.

 

Late drydown:The smoky aspect dances a bit on the edge of the burnt/plastic-y note I get with a lot of Bpal foody blends, but manages not to quite cross the line.

 

Verdict: Once again, very evocative - sitting by the Christmas trees while "chestnuts are roasting on an open fire". I'm not a foody fan, and usually really hate that butter note, but everything is surprisingly well-behaved here. It's never too sweet or cloying. I'm so glad I got to try it, and I may even keep the imp of this one, just because it's so different from my usual stash.

 

I think this would work best as a room scent.

Edited January 12, 2006 by wolfie13

[alicia_stardust]

Oh, phooey! I wanted to like this but I just can't stand it either in the vial or on my skin. I personally think it's the chestnuts that ruin it; it's too nutty and I can't get past it to enjoy the other notes!

 

I gave this a 1 out of 5 stars.

[mayhap]

Oh, I so wanted to love this, but it turned out to be almost painfully sweet on me. Sweeter than Hellcat, which previously held the title for Sweetest BPAL I've Ever Tried, and with a heaping helping of whatever made Hellcat go bad on me in the end. I don't get any cedar smoke, which sounded so very lovely, and I suspect my skin of devouring the evergreens, because Mistletoe lasted for all of sixty seconds on me.

 

Alas, off to the swaps it goes!

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Sweet syrup and digestive buscuits, ever so slightly spiced and buttered.

Wet on me - Butter, buscuits and furniture polish, a little harsh.

Dry on me - Whoah, green pine, very strong and to me very scary. Half an hour on and this has faded, becoming smoky instead. Another couple of hours and all that is left is the rememberance of maple syrup just clinging to my skin far to faint for anyone else to smell. I like this, but not as much as I like the 2004 version, which is sad as I have only a tiny imp of that.

[tansil]

Oh I'd been hoping for so much! Last year's Hearth was just a little too cherry so when I heard this had been redone I was so excited. I wanted some of that warmth with a bit of the butter I love so much in Shill.

 

I got that upon initial application but then almost immediately it started smelling of plastic and soap. Soap? How is there soap in there? And then I remembered the "woods" and realized I was smelling Pine Sol. It settled down after a couple of hours and eventually was a nice warm buttery nutty scent but I know me well enough to know that I won't deal with two hours of plastic and cleaning supplies before I get to butter and nuts. Curse you, body chemistry! Curse you!

 

Into the swap pile.

[Neely]

In the bottle: buttery honeyed chestnuts.

 

Wet: PINE, with buttery honeyed chestnuts. Even though the pine is came to the front like I just walked into one, and this is the real pine, not Pinesol. This is lovely. So evocative!

 

30 minutes: pine has settled down and blends beautifully with the honeyed chestnuts. If there is smoke, it is blending so well I can't pick it out as a scent on its own. It must be in the blend enriching it. I am smitten!

 

Conclusion: I like how this smells on me, and it would be great as a room fragrance. This is a fantastic Yule scent. How does the lab do it? It is magic in a bottle! Thanks BPAL! I must have a bottle or two of this!

 

Rating 1-5 on my skin 5.

 

ETA: edited for poor spelling! BLEH!

Edited February 2, 2006 by atropos

[Finny]

I loved last years Hearth. It was yummy.

 

This years version starts out beautifully, but the pine amps up on me taking over all the lovely sweet chestnut. After a while the pine does settle down a bit, but there are too many blends I love now to go through a rough patch of wearing time.

[Fyre_in_Winter]

I do believe Penance and I have very similar skin chemistry..but anyhow...

 

I will also preface this saying I ADORE Hearth 1004 with all of my soul. Really truly and so I was bit heartbroken when I saw it had been reformulated.

 

I usually like to more descriptive in my reviews but all I can say about Hearth 2005 is that it smells like buttered pine trees. Both in the imp and on my skin it smells like a bough of fresh crispy pine branches covered in melted yellow butter. While this isn't precisely a bad smell... I don't want to smell like either butter or pine trees, so this scent is definitely not for me.

 

ETA: I can spell, I swear!

Edited January 14, 2006 by Fyre_in_Winter

[lookingglass]

Mmm...love the sweet nuttiness...Hellcat without the bite.

 

...but...

 

Not with Pine Sol!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: pine and something buttery and sweet.

on: about the same as in the imp. mostly something sweet and buttery, but with a lot of pine.

2 hours later: an nodd, vegetable-like note is taking over. i wonder if its the chestnuts.

3 hours later: warm and sweet.

overall: this is interesting, but i have other pine scents that i like a lot more.

[tsarina]

This is what I wanted from Hearth in 2004 and didn't get. This is warm, rich, the fireplace with leather arm chairs, pine, the scent of something warm and rich. It feels so complex to me that it is hard to pick out individual pieces. But this is so comforting and rich.

[Lyzz13]

So much love for this one.

 

In the bottle, it smells mainly of butter and sugar, with a slight undertone of pine.

 

On my skin, it blossoms into a gooey treat. It reminds me of hot pecan pie.

 

The pine and smoke disappear very quickly on me, but nutty buttery goodness remain. I've worn it at work a few times, and I've had a few customers tell that I smelled delicious. I think I shall cry when I run out.

[sookster]

straight sniff from the bottle this is bakery goodness......sweet, sugary with

the teensiest hint of pine

once this touches my skin the pine amps up tremendously.......

after some time it smells just like sitting in front of the fireplace at my grandma and

grampa's house at xmas time....the fresh smell of the spruce tree and a mug of hot cocoa

with some butter cookies.........total comfort scent.....just lovely

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Buttery, buttery rum

 

On skin:

Ugh. Right away, I know this is going all wrong. There's no sweet, there's no pine, there's no comfort or smoke or anything other than CEDAR. DUN DUN DUNNNNN! Cedar hates me, it really really hates me. And this is no cedar smoke on my skin. It's just cedar. Smells like a hamster cage with cedar bedding. Somewhere behind all that hateful cedar is some warm boozey smell, something slightly foody. But it's so overshadowed by this cedar that it just doesn't do any good to even acknowledge it. It just makes me sad that this doesn't work well on me.

 

Final note:

If you've ever tried something with cedar and the cedar didn't work on you, don't bother with this because it's very likely it's going to do the same thing again. Cedar killed this scent for me. I was hoping for a comforting Christmas nostalgic scent, and that is not what I get at all.

[angharad]

Very nutty. I get a bit of smoke, a bit of cedar. There's no sweetness in it for me, but honestly I'm surprised I get anything other than the chesnut. All nutty scents I've tried so far have overwhelmed any non-nut notes once on my skin. Anyway, without any sweetness, this just feels too masculine a scent for me. I do think it's very homey, though, and it does smell wonderful. Maybe I'll try it as a room scent.

[mexicat]

This one matches it's description perfectly! It's mostly Butter on me,only a little pine and smoke, sweet and nutty. I like it a lot, but..the Butter is a little nauseating. For Yummmy baked goodness I much prefer PP2.

[BrightRedScream]

This is the the first BPAL fragrence that I've ever purchased and I am VERY happy with it

 

The description matched it perfectly, and I thought that it was beautiful...

 

In the bottle I smelled a very buttery, and caramel like fragrence...it was strong, and I was a little taken aback and not sure if I would like it on.

 

On my skin, wet...this smokey, pine type scent started to blend it's way through - but I found that the buttery scent was starting to overpower everything and I REALLY got afraid about what this would be like dry.

 

Dry - GORGEOUS! A rich, warm, nutty fragrence took over....all the smells combined and balanced and the staying power was just amazing...it lasted a full work shift (8 hours) and I could still smell it on me as I went to bed.

 

I give this a 5/5!

[sideviewhotel]

Oh wow. This reminds me vaguely of another scent but I can't put my finger on it.

 

When wet, the chestnuts come up for a quick second and then they're gone. Which is good, because I'm not a fan of chestnuts.

 

This gets VERY buttery with the sugar in the background. Smells like someone baking. The smoke shows up in small hints, but not strongly. Mmm. This is a definite keeper, even if the season is over. I'll keep it for next year.

 

EDIT: I ended up putting Hearth 2005 up for swaps because as it dried, it also got that SUPER FOODY SWEET smell that gives me a headache. Damnit

Edited February 3, 2006 by sideviewhotel

[WidgetAlley]

I got an empty bottle of this from kakiphony, and whaddya know, there was enough left for a slather!

 

In the bottle: Oh wow. I wish my baking smelled like this. It's a sweet, rich, creamy-butter brown sugar note, backed by something nutty that reminds me of hazelnut coffee sans the actual coffee. Must be the chestnuts. There's a touch of something smoky-cedary here, too, and a drizzle of golden honey. Positively mouthwatering. I'm dyin' over here.

 

Wet: Firesmoke and dry cedar at first, calming down into yummy chestnuts sprinkled with sugar and honey. The opening stages are a little sharp, but the wait is worth it. It's almost a bit like a smokier, less vanilla and more sugar Tombstone. Positively divine. It makes me want to curl up in front of a roaring fire and read a novel full of thickly-written prose.... I think there might be just a touch of pipe tobacco in this, too, there's a full "brown" smell swirling through everything that's quite pleasant. Over time, the honey and sugar become more and more prominent.

 

Dry: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.... *hums* Nuts rolled in smoky honey and melted brown sugar. The cedar is still detectable (this seems to vary depending on where I place the oil on my body-- odd, that), and so is the tobacco, but by the far-far drydown, this will be almost all delicious toasted sweetness. I never got any pine at all. I adore this, and would never have expected to, but for me it's the ultimate "snuggle up and read" blend. I have at least one Imp on the way-- not enough to completely fill my bottle, not by a long shot, but it will make it feel a lot less empty inside!

 

I can't wait to settle down in bed with The Hobbit and Hearth!

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Waxy/plastic.

 

In the imp: Buttery, vaguely smoky sugared chestnuts dipped in honey.

 

On skin, wet: Um. Soap. I imagine this is the pine, but it really reminds me of soap. I still smell chestnuts, sugar, honey and butter, but beneath that, the pine-that-smells-so-damn-much-like-soap. Not cool.

 

On skin, dry: Smoky, sweet and buttery pine. This is... very weird, and not something I'm finding myself very fond of at all. It's taken on a distinctly plastic quality, not really unlike the drydown of Beaver Moon and Pink Phoeniy. Candley; a roasted-chestnuts candle.

 

Conclusion: Hearth '05 is... not for me, but as I didn't get on with Hearth '04, I didn't really expect to love this, revisited or not. Live and learn.

Edited February 15, 2006 by Aredhel