Black Forest

[Kaowolfie]

This is the captured scent of a cold, moonless night, lost deep within the darkest wood. Haunting and desolate, this scent evokes images of fairy tale tragedy and half-remembered nightmares. Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress.

Hummina hummina! I'm so glad I'm seeing my fiance on Friday -- I want to -coat- him in this.

On my skin, it starts off with all the notes being pretty distinct. I can smell the juniper, the pine, the amber and the musk, and there's a sharp green note I don't recognize that's likely the cypress. At this point, it smells the way I've always figured the forest primaevel ought to smell, if one were running through the underbrush with a wolf pack nearby, in the evening. (I'm, err, a bit caught on wolves.)

As it settles down, the notes begin to meld into one another, and the amber starts to rise to the top. The amber becomes a honeyed warmth, with a tiny hint of vanilla to it, and a juniper/pine background. The musk has decided to amplify my skin's natural scent, so the end result is something like honeyed yummy amber woven through with juniper/pine, supported by sweet, sexy, musky skin.

I really like this on me, but I think it's definitely something to give to my fiance to try, since I'm a bit more of a floral person.

[Finny]

I loved the description for this one. Smelling the imp, it smells like pine, but once I put it on, Wow!

 

The pine is there, but it is very soft. There is a soft powdery scent, I think it must be the amber. It pulls the scent together, I can smell the trees, the darkness swirling around, and the musky scent of something hiding in the bushes. There is a coolness to this too, it tickles my nose when I inhale deeply.

 

I really like this one a lot, I think I am going to have to change my top ten list now.

[Charmkin]

By the time I'd received my imp of Black Forest, I'd already ordered a bottle (I knew I'd like it, even if it somehow didn't smell nice on me).

 

In the bottle:

I do like the smell in the imp, it's sort of a muted, far-away scent that sort of reminds me of the cover illustration from my copy of Bridge to Terebithia-- a dim scent that is both comforting and a bit unsettling. The lab's description of 'half-remembered nightmares' seems appropriate. This is my kind of scent, though at this point I'm not sure how it will smell on me...

 

Wet:

I can barely detect this, even immediately after application.

 

Dry:

Nothing. Really, nothing. I'm guessing my skin ate it all up right away.

 

In the end, I still enjoy the smell of this in the vial, so once my bottle arrives I will try it as a room scent or maybe in a scent locket. I may eventually swap the bottle, but I'm not giving up yet. I would still recommend the scent to anyone, it's just that you never know what your body chemistry will do!

 

 

eta:

OK, I tried this on again just now, and I don't know if my chemistry or my nose was off when I tried this before, but this time it didn't disappear, and it smells lovely! It smells like a Christmas tree without actually being a Christmas scent...it reminds me of the ceiling in our old house-- we put our tree in the same spot every year and the ceiling had a permanent little sap spot.

Yep, this reminds me of playing in the woods and reading Bridge to Terebithia in 2nd grade...it's like the smell of not only of a closed-in forest but also of the air on a mountain...it is smokey and natural and I'm so glad I tried this on again!

 

</ramble>

Edited January 23, 2005 by Charmkin

[Theravada]

After discovering a love of Beth's pine blends, I've been on a mission to test them all.

 

Black Forest is a lovely, dark, resinous blend. The pine smells strong in the vial, but it quickly tones down on my skin and the amber and musk take over. This reminds me of a thick forest in the morning, when the fog and haze covers all the surrounding trees before the sun has had a chance to finish warming the new day.

 

While I really do enjoy this blend, I am not going to buy a bottle. I prefer some of the other pine mixes to this musk/amber/pine blend. It's just a bit too smokey and with the other lovely pine blends I already have competing for my attention, this one wouldn't be at the top of the list. I think it would be lovely on a man though.

[tinyvulture]

I love woodsy, earthy scents so I was very excited to try this. It smells strongly of pine, but not in a crisp, cold way. It's surprisingly warm and mellow. There's also something that smells kind of like...sweat? But in a good way! Maybe that's the musk? It makes me think of forest beasts running after their prey. After it dries, the sweetness of the amber comes out more, and that's very nice too as it mixes with the warm pine notes. Wow, I'm really glad there is a perfume that smells like this

[dreamingjune]

I held such high hopes for this one, as I was craving a good pine scent.

 

In the bottle it was a wonderful sweet musky pine blend. After the first few minutes on the skin the pine fades away and the scent becomes more and more powdery and sweet. I'm not too familiar with ambergris, but I would venture to say that this becomes very prominant. Along with some more subtle musk.

 

Certainly not a scent for me, but I could see this on someone whose chemistry doesn't emphasize the sweet powdery notes as much.

[everstar]

I'm still looking for my perfect wood scent, so I was excited about this.

 

In the vial: Mmmm, pine! I love pine!

 

On me, wet: Mmmm, pine and musk! I love pine and musk!

 

On me, dry: ....Baby powder!

 

I'm thinking it's the musk note. *sigh* If the pine had stuck around, I wouldn't mind so much, but it's gone, gone, gone. I may have to trade this.

[Jasminepearls]

When wet, Black forest is a beautiful medley of pine and musk, it really does remind me of walking through the forest in the pitch black!

after about 15 minutes, the musk starts to take over, and I am smelling something like the tang of ozone??

The juniper is starting to come out now, but it is mixed with that odd ozone scent and glooping into baby powder...oh sorrow!

final verdict: beautiful on another, baby powder with a pungent kick on me...off to swaps.

[tsarina]

Straight from the bottle the scent is pure pine. It is so intense it nearly gave me a headache. After a few moments it starts to mellow out, and the other notes pull through. Still very piney, I can smell other trees and wood scents. I think it is the cypress smell that I enjoy so much here. It's got a hint of sweetness, like tree sap or sunlight through the branches.

 

This scent makes me think of pushing through a dense line of pine trees into the woods, and then finding a worn pathway through the trees.

[shelldoo]

this in the vial, wet , and dry is all pine, a very nice almost sweetish pine, nice

[brownbat]

This was my very first OMFG! bpal blend and still remains in my top ten. Like others have said, it starts off very piney and then mellows into a sweet, sensual piney musk. It doesn't go powdery at all on me, it just keeps getting mellower and mellower until I can barely detect it (about a few hours or so).

[Witch's Dagger]

Black Forest

 

This was a gift from Rheliwen. Thanks!

 

Preconceived notions: Dark forest blend? Magnificent!

 

In the vial: Very piney.

 

On me:

 

Pine. Wow. I smell like I’ve just gotten pine sap all over. This is wonderful!

 

In 15 minutes:

Still wonderful, fragrant, pungent pine sap, but it’s fading a little.

 

In 30 minutes:

Much sweeter now - I’m getting some amber or vanilla, as well as a dark, smoky musk, in with the pine, which is falling into the background. Very musky and resinous.

 

In 45 minutes:

It has definitely morphed into a predominantly spicy amber scent with a musky pine background. Lovely.

 

In 1 hour:

It smells just like Haunted at this stage, which means I might swap Haunted away, since I like this better at the earlier stages.

 

Overall:

This is excellent. Yet another oil to go on the possible long wait for 5 ml. catalog orders.

[Splendid Molerat]

Do you think we leveled the forests as much from fear as greed?

 

The horror of a deep and directionless forest is that it amplifies your helplessness. The trees are massive, tall, and indifferent, and you are small and alone with anything that may be weaving through the roots and brush.

 

Black Forest has the beautiful trees, the cold night air, and something warm and alive that you can't see. Yet.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Sharp and woodsy, and slightly animalistic.

 

Wearing: Pine! Much pine! It gives it a very metallic smell. There's also a smokiness here, but it's faint. This is not a friendly scent.

 

Later: Sigh. This is me coming to the realization that I cannot wear ambergris. It goes all sickly sweet on me and is not appealing...which is a shame because I really liked the smoky metal smell when I first applied it. Ah well, into the swaps it goes.

[shadowsong]

wet, this smelled very piney. as it dried down the pine backed off and i got woods with a little bit of green and a little bit of sweetness. then, BAM! baby powder.

 

it starts off so nicely, too, but it turns to baby powder about half an hour in.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Juniper and cypress.

 

On Skin: The pine scents are strongest… wow! That’s an eye opener! The musk gives a dark depth which takes away the Pine-Sol feeling I first had. The name describes the scent perfect. A beautiful dark forest. I don’t really like woody or pine smells so it’s not for me, but it’s a nice scent for anyone looking for something foresty or outdoorsy.

Edited November 3, 2005 by Shollin

[helarctos]

I was hoping that Black Forest would be like Skadi without the sweetness.

 

Sadly, on me, Black Forest becomes Vicks Vapo-Rub.

[RainyDayGrey]

In the bottle: Wow, thick vicious pine is right. Thats about all I smell and it is strong! We're talking clear your sinuses strong. I probably could have smelled Black Forest through a bad head cold.

 

Wet: Fresh on this smells the same as in the bottle, superstrong pine. And if you're imagining pine sol, stop, this smells like you where rolling pine needles between your fingers. And while I may enjoy the PINE phase, I wasn't to sure what those closest to me would think.

 

Dry down: Once this starts to dry down it stops being super pine. It's still there in the back ground, with all the other tree scents, but suprisingly it didn't end up being the top note in Black Forest. I'm not to familiar with ambergris, but I'm guessing thats the sweet scent that rises to the top. It's not a sweet like I've ever smelled before. It's not sticky, or sickly, or sugary, it's a dark, evil kind of sweet (if you can imagine that sort of thing ). Whatever it is, I like it alot. I wish the Lab still did single notes, because I would love to smell it on it's own.

 

Over all: At first sniff I really thought this was going to be a super strong, knock people down, kapowey pine (sorry, dorky, but I couldn't resist), but it mellows down and blends together beautifully with the other notes. And while ambergris may be the note I end up smeilling the strongest, it's still a very dark foresty blend. I love it. If you have fantasies about dark, wild lord of the forest types, definatly pick up some Black Forest.

 

I wasn't sure if I would like this one or not. I really waffled over weather to order it, but in the end curiosity got the better of me. Truth is I've been looking for a good foresty/evergreen tree type of scent for ages. I grew up very near a forest, in fact I live very near one now, and I love the smell of evergreen trees. The problem is that all of the comercially produced foresty scents I've smelled (usually in the form of christmas candles) have all been super synthetic and pungent smelling. Not nice at all, I'd really given up all hope that I would find something that I truly loved. If I hadn't known that Beth uses 100% natural ingredients I probably wouldn't have bothered. I love Black Forest. This is the true smell of trees, there is nothing fake about this at all.

 

I'm really glad that the weather took a head dive this week so I can enjoy my Black Forest properly. I think this will become a winter scent. Alot of scents are very sesonal to me, and Black Forest practically screams Winter.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Pine!

 

In the imp: Wow, pine! Strong, thick, cold pine! I love this so far!

 

On skin, wet: When this touches my skin, it softens down immediately, and the dominant notes become juniper and musk. It's thick, almost heady.

 

On skin, dry: This turns into a cold, thick, dark and musky pine. I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

 

Conclusion: I don't usually care for pine, but this is a very interesting, almost musky pine. It's not a fake, air-freshener kind of pine. This might be a great winter scent.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Aredhel

[babykitty]

If baby powder grew on trees, they would thrive in Bavaria.....I'll take my Black Forest in cake form

[lixolux]

my nose is attached to my wrist in insane sniffing - Black Forest is the deepest softest forest with a mulch of pine needles and soft earth with the slightist marine tinge - its a bit stronger but the exact smell of the peppermint sweetness of the air in the Santa Cruz mountains - when i would come home on a foggy day and step off the bus into the forest this is the sweet deliciousness i would take lungfulls of. i think diluted in jojoba this will be exact.

[fathom]

In the imp: very subtle evergreen forest scent. Definitely not simple pine, it's tempered with some incensy notes.

On the skin: As soon as it dried it turned very quickly to a burnt-baby-powder scent that lingered around for a long time. How disappointing! I think the black musk disagreed with my skin chemistry.

[blaqpearl]

Wow...this one packs a punch. Instantly I smell pine. My first pine scent. I rather like that. But as I take a deeper whiff I smell something that is harsh to my nose. I think it is the black musk and juniper. I must stay away from these two. They scare me like civet.

 

ADDED June 7:

 

I was very curious about this scent since I love woody notes. The pine immediately hit me when I opened this. Way too strong. Almost with a medicinal quality. Then scent never really changed once I put it on my skin. Off to the swap pile.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: PINE.

 

Wearing: This is a nice crisp pine when wet - a walk through a dense forest. As it dries, the ambergris and musk slowly and smoothly take over. When completely dry, it is all smooth sweet ambergris and musk.

 

Final Impressions: My favorite stage of this is when the pine, ambergris, and musk are all in balance - it is absolutely amazing at that stage.

[ChupaChup]

Black Forest has been on my wishlist for almost a year now and I finally got around to trying it. At first, it's very strong pine, just like the pine in Golden Priapus. No problem with that, I love Golden Priapus . After about five minutes, the ambergris and musk appear, blending with the pine, and it's positively swoon-inducing. Oh, how I wish my skin didn't eat amber because after another ten minutes I can almost feel the scent disappearing, even though I 'ed it not to go. This is Haunted meets Golden Priapus, without the citrus and vanilla so if you like either of those, give this a try. Wonderful.

Edited June 5, 2005 by ChupaChup