Hemlock

[fairnymph]

This infamous herb has a long, complex history: it has been used in spells of death and destruction, was a principal component in traditional witches' flying ointments, and was the poison used to put the philosopher Socrates to death. We have created a dark, profound herbal blend to personify and honor this wicked little plant.

In the bottle: Light mint green oil. Sweet and piney; cool, green, fresh. Woodsy and makes me think of christmas trees.

Wet: Rather thick oil. Amazingly sweet (almost fruity), also quite mentholic. It's still very pine tree. Also makes me think of firs, with the sweetness. Sappy, sticky, and foresty in feel.

Dry: Very slow drying. Even sweeter, definitely berries - juicy and ripe, blackberryish. The pine is still pretty mentholic though, as well as resiny, from pine sap. Quite cooling, almost minty.

Later: This reminds me a lot of Jolasveinar, the sweet fruity pine, but while this has some earthy and resiny notes, it doesn't have that dirt/soil note.

Summary: Mentholic, almost sharp christmassy pine and fir with sap and earthy resin undertones, and a sweet, fruit touch of ripe, dark berries. Unisex.

I don't like pine. Ever.

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Pretty pale green oil. Aroma of fresh pine/fir trees and a hint of something sweet like bayberry. Very Christmasy.

Wet: Eucalyptus but not as obnoxious, though definitely something sinus clearing. Fresh, true pine and coniferous sweetness. Something peppery fresh and green, and deliciously herbal, vaguely like a note of something I smelled in Envy. Hints of bayberry again.

 

After a few minutes on skin: Still mild eucalyptus, underscored by pine/fir and something tangy and almost citrusy. Very refreshing and clean, like walking through a lot filled with fresh Christmas trees for sale. Notes of cedar starting to creep in. Very, very nice...

 

After first hour: Pretty much the same cuddly, comforting pine, cedar and bayberry scent but a lot fainter.The smell of this really makes me happy.

 

After two and a half hours: Very faint soft pine.

 

After 5 hours: Same as above.

 

Final Verdict: I like this a lot, almost enough to want a big bottle.

[butcherbaby]

this was a frimp with a 5ml i purchased. i tried it even though i am not to keen on green scents and it smelled very green in the bottle. (actually, it smells like christmas trees. the way the whole lot of them smells when you walk up to it.)

 

so i put on a *teeny* lil' bit. and almost gagged. it smells like mint, and cut grass- two scents i HATE and RANCID cut grass to boot. so minty rancid grass did not go over too well. it also has a bit of that generic shaving cream scent. i really couldn't take it and wiped it off PRONTO. notice i said "wiped", not "washed" -there was still some oil left on my skin.

 

so then i throw it in the swap pile and forget about it because i'm testing something else on the other wrist....look up a few scent descriptions, read some reviews & pm's, la dee da...

 

at least a half hour has gone by and i notice that the offensive minty grass shaving cream smell is gone....it now smells......GOOD! wow, what a morph! now i'm getting pine, and some herbal or spicy notes, very faint, but it is quite pretty now. similar to Black Forest in the pine department, but lighter, and spicier. It's really playing nice now. i think anyone who likes a good woodsy or herbal scent should try this.

 

i'm reapplying another drop & giving it a second chance, mostly to see what it's like at full strength. i don't think i'll keep the imp though; i prefer Black Forest for when i want to smell like a pine tree.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Dark, bitter green herbs.

 

Immediately on skin: This is pine (maybe cypress?) and herbs, all in one thick, bitter scent. This is so green and lush, but in an overgrown pine forest with thick herbal carpet on the forest floor sort of way.

 

After a little while: The sharpness of this goes away a little, but it’s still overwhelmingly a pine and green herbal scent.

 

Overall Impressions: This blend is much like I expected from the description. It’s dark, green, and bitter with a lot of pine and herbs going on. It’s definitely unisex, and has an underlying smooth feel.

[djsiberia]

wet/in imp: sharp, herbal, medicine...something that should be vicks happens and um....ouch. it's sharp and herbal.

 

no thanks.

[arithmetock]

This smells very nice and fresh in the bottle, but once on my skin it develops a bit of a weirdness. Sort of fruity, sort of mediciney. Not totally sure what to make of it yet.

[innocent]

I did a bad thing. I'm reviewing Hemlock without actually putting it on my skin. The oil in the imp was so similar to Vick's Vapor Rub that I couldn't put it on (I had the same initial reaction to Belladonna, but forced myself to try it - it made me feel really ill). This will be the first imp I've put in the swap pile without skin testing it.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Crisp herbal. Almost like disinfectant

 

On Application

As above but almost with a tofee undertone.

Dry Down

It's a Gimlet. Lemonade and gin. Not me.

 

Rating (0-5)

1

[MCS4096]

In the Imp: Wet evergreens.. maybe juniper, cedar and fir boughs. A little sweetness too. Pretty much straight up evergreen extravaganza.

 

Wet: Something very spicy coming out. It's interesting, but quite a lot like some kind of cleaning product, Simple Green maybe. But it is kinda pleasant, but totally different than anything I've considered wearing. It's got a little spicy resin quality to it. Before it was the wet greenery, now it's the snapped branches oozing sap.

 

Dry: Sooo sharp. Pretty much as in the wet stage-- spicy, sappy and green. I'm from Oregon, and this is the smell of trampling around the forest in the rain, when you're right up next to the trees.. but it's really concentrated, like you're rubbing the new green growth from the branches between your fingers under your nose. Very evocative, and I might give it a few more tries when I've feeling adventurous, because it's VERY strong and distinct.

[whinge]

It smells like Vick's VapoRub on me. I don't really like it but the good news is that it did clear my sinuses after only about a half an hour. What a shame.

[toomuch]

This reminds me of spruce or fir. It's very much an outdoorsy smell. Bright green with a sparkle of lemon. It makes me want to go work in the garden. Too bad it's not spring right now. It darkens a little with time, but still the evergreen/lemon mix. I love it. I know it's in honor of an evil little plant, but to me it's a very cheerful scent.

[Dianora]

After the disappointment of yesterday's Snake Oil, I decided to run in the opposite direction and dug out this little frimp the lab sent me. It intrigued me from the first because of its color. Amongst the pale yellows and soft ambers of my imp box, this is fantastically, vibrantly green. I took it out and slathered it on the back of my hands, which is my favourite place to test smells.

 

In the imp, it smells deliciously like fresh cut herbs from the garden and something very spicy and delicious like the fresh cut stems of a tomato plant. I admit, I adore fresh cut herbs so I eagerly slathered some on. I wasn't really that overjoyed initially. It smelled like a blend of fresh oregano and rosemary with a hint of pepper, which are delicious in italian cooking, but I do not wish to smell like pasta sauce. However, as it dried those smells faded and I got back that extremely fresh pungent herb smell, like walking in a forest of ferns and trampling pungent plants underfoot. It still has the slightly sharp undertone of fresh rosemary, but it doesn't smell like food anymore. It also developed a tiny bit of citrus tang, not quite lemons but maybe lemongrass instead.

 

It is scents like these that make me wonder if perhaps I am wandering down the wrong path when I seek out mainly resins and dark, smoky fragrances. There is something joyful about this fresh, pungent, green scent, and it just may send me in a frenzy for all things "green".

[GeorgeJr]

I'll agree with most folks here & say that in the bottle there is quite the menthol thing going on . It's a sweet , slightly herbal menthol . But it is quite off putting if you don't like that kind of thing . I on the other hand grew up using Vicks all the time . And I very much like the smell of Tiger Balm as well , so this is not a problem for me . And after a while , say a hour or so , the menthol pretty much is gone . Leaving a green , herbal sweetness that is quite nice . Once the menthol is gone , the throw is pretty much non existent . Really need to hold my hand directly under my nose to get anything at all . So that I do like it , but it's not something I'd want to wear very often . I tend to go through phases of putting the scents I love into my second tier for a while & running out the lesser loved bottles to see how I feel about them . This will be one of those , but I do like it quite a bit for what it is .

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I love this! Herbs and lime with a sprig of pine! I was obsessed with witches and their spells, herbs, and ointments as a child (and I still am!) and this blend makes me really happy to wear both in concept and and in scent! I don't get any menthol, and I find this to be a touch too sweet to be considered unisex. Even if it was, I still wouldn't share it with my boyfriend cuz I lurves it and it's all mine! Muahahaha!

Edited February 22, 2009 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[WidgetAlley]

This was a frimp from the Lab with my latest order. I'm about to go for a nice walk in the cool air outside, so it seems appropriate.

 

Imp: Holy crap, the oil is green! Like a light, blue-tinged green. That's ridiculously awesome. At first sniff this just smells like straight-up pine to me, but after a moment I get a bit of lime and juniper and cypress and maybe a little cedar. Hella fresh, hella pleasant.

 

Wet: On me, at first, this is almost all sweet citrus and mint and maybe some musk or dark amber. It's really really nice, fresh and sweet and herbal but not overpowering or too bitter. There are slight overtones of sugar and smoke, which give it depth and complexity. It's airy and beautiful. I've had a massive headache all day and this just feels like a whoosh of wonderful cool air through my sinuses. The throw on this is strong and crisp, like walking through a wood in the snow with that diffuse, snow-filtered light all around.

 

Dry: This one, unfortunately, fades very quickly to a light citrus-amber-musk with flashes of sharp green. The drydown reminds me a lot of Mantis or Sundew. If this lasted longer and kept the green, I would definitely consider a bottle, but as it is I'll just keep my imp.

[Saya]

Sharp pine, very herbal, with a menthol kick. If you can get past that there's a touch of something sweet but it's quite faint. Interesting scent, not something I'd want to smell like.

 

Rating (1-5) - 2

[Suu4LC]

Sweet sappy piney scent-really smells like super sweet pine sap to me! Not very evil or dark or herby! Wonder how it will be on my skin...

 

On my skin this is lemony pine sap, lol O_o

 

Yep, on drydown, same thing-super sweet slightly lemony pine sap o_O So bizarre!

[aedes]

A strong shot of fresh, wet pine with hints of some kind of nutty wood and a mild berry behind it. I'm guessing something like chestnut and blackberry or maybe black currant. Not cloying or too sweet at all, just a very subtle, lovely accompaniment to normally harsh pine. This may be one of my favorite pine blends so far.

[Lyrical]

 

In vial: just like clipping my hemlock hedge, only sweeter!

 

Wet on skin: the oil is vividly green and the smell is too.

 

Dry on skin: now it's a darker, softer green. Not something I'd ever wear, but nice if you like the green, herbal scents. I'm sure I've smelled a bubble bath like this once!

[Zeljana]

medicinal, with a hint of lemon. rather bright scent, completely opposite of what I expected of a scent named after hemlock. interesting to smell but not to wear as a perfume. would make a great room scent for witchy ladies.

[arlith]

In the imp: Its such a beautiful green color, I was excited to smell it. Very sharp and herbal, a little piney.

 

Wet: Green, sharp, lots of pine, unidentifiable herbs, a slight medicinal smell-perhaps a little mentho?

 

Drying: Ack! Its turned sweet. The pine and herbs are gone. Its warped into something very, very sweet and almost flowery. It reminds me of a pink cleaner we used at a place I used to work. I couldn't wait for it to completely dry, it kept getting sweeter and sweeter, so I tried to wash it off.

 

Dry: I wasn't able to get it all washed off though, and there was a hint of it left on my skin. Unfortunately it stayed the same as it was when it was drying. Very very sweet, no scent of herbs or menthol or pine, just sweet and flowery-to me it smells a bit like lilac.

 

Overall, I can't wear this, my skin chemistry warps it in a horrible way.

[boxinghelena]

So many reviews saying lemon but Thank Goddess I don't get lemon at all!! I hate lemon scents with a passion.

 

I got a frimp of Hemlock with one of my orders & I gave it to my boyfriend to try. Holy Yum!! Does it smell freaking fantastic on him. It's a masculine scent through & through. A pine forest-y scent but not too much pine with herbs & a bit of spice. I'm not a fan of pine scents either but it works it this one.

 

I do believe I found my boyfriend's signature scent. Such a manly scent! I love it so much!

 

[redderz]

In imp: Green and minty.

 

Wet: Ooh-er. Vicks. Don't really want to smell like I have a cold!

 

Dry: Green and pine, but still a hint of Vicks. Sorry Hemlock!

Edited August 30, 2009 by redderz

[Ankica]

I tried this perfume outside of house, surrounded by pine trees and other trees...

It is amazing how we sense this "green color/scent" so similar

Although it is not very lasting... still, it reminds me of my island (or only on my mother since she is aromatherapist).

[theandorran]

I got frimped this by the lab. It's not something I probably would have tried on my own, and now I understand why. All I get is Vicks, Vicks, Vicks, Vicks. It's really sharp. I like the pretty green color in the bottle, but that's about it. Definitely putting this up for swaps.