Hamadryad

[ayelienne]

Nature spirits and protectors of the world's groves and forests that appear as breathtakingly beautiful women. Hamadryads are born into a tree that serves as both a home and an anchor for the creature's soul. They are sometimes tricksters, sometimes seducers, sometimes helpful and benign, but they are always fierce and furious protectors of the natural world. Seven dry woods with mossy lichen and a gentle breeze of forest flowers.

 

In the bottle, I say: Cinnamon is dominant, with just a touch of unidentifiable sweetness.

On me it smells…: It's definitely cinnamon HELLO to start off with, but it calms down after a while into slightly sweet earthy smell touched with cinnamon - it's almost like a "grounded" cinnamon smell i like it a lot.

K (the husband) thinks, on me, it smells like: "zesty!"

When pressed for details, he said: "you smell really good, I like this on you a lot, it's more *you* than the last couple were."

They say: Seven dry woods with mossy lichen and a gentle breeze of forest flowers.

It's not only a keeper, but also an "add a 5ml to my list for the next order" -- i love it.

[Colère]

Bottle: Sweet leaves that've dried green. There's a ribbon of cinnamon looping together the understated perfume of wildflower meadows and freshly cut grass. Very pretty, very...different. Not your normal foresty scent.

 

Skin: Wood; both old AND new. The dustiness of seasoned wood compliments the fresh bitterness of green wood. There's a sweet spice between the layers, fairly reminiscent of a subtle Chai blend (with the woodiness of nutmeg and the pleasant cinnamon sweetness of Red Hots).

 

Skin, Later: The spice deepens to a clovey cinnamon, but, interestingly enough, it's more 'cool' than 'warm'. There's a sort of non-foodie foodie feeling about it the longer it sits. There's the freshness of autumn apples, the syrupy loveliness of my grandmother's preserved pears, and the tantalizing sharpness of apple butter.

 

Verdict: I was THIS close to panicking when autumn fruits began bursting through, but now, several hours later, the scent has cooled to it's original cinnamon woodiness. It's faint, it's delicate, and it's just the right amount of sweet. Delectable. I think I'll celebrate my close brush with smelling like preserves by getting a larger bottle.

 

Edit: Scratch that (the verdict, specifically). The cinnamon woodiness I was so fond of mutated into cough syrup. And seeing how I have deep rooted aversion to cough syrup (I DON'T CARE IF I'M 25, YOU CAN'T MAKE ME TAKE IT!) I'm going to have to change my mind on this one. Très frustrating.

[brownbear]

mmm this is really nice and not what I expected. It's warmer and woodier and less green and flowery than I thought it would be. It starts out a little more flowery, but that fades away. I'm getting some slight bit of a spice. Maybe cinnamon and maybe nutmeg. There is some kind of nut note I keep getting too. Maybe chestnut. It is really nice. The wood isn't too strong. This is a good scent for autumn. mmmm really nice.

[astrid]

Whoa, I get apples! Just fresh crisp apples from the orchard! Maybe jsut a hint of something woodsy, but definitely apples! How wonderfully lovely! I'm so glad I pulled this from the imp box to try today!

[Abbie]

In the bottle: one, two, three, four, five, six... wait, there are only SIX woods in this fragrance! We're being scammed.

 

Nah, just fooling. This smells like apples and cloves, though not, oddly enough, like apple pie.

 

First on: Whoa nelly. This gets really really sweet. The apple is under there still but now it's kind of artificially-flavored apple lollipop flavor. I'm getting a bit of the cinnamon others have smelled but just a bit.

 

Dry: Synthetic apple-cinnamon. It's making me really want some of that Quaker Instant Oatmeal but isn't something I care to smell like.

 

Overall: Swap pile ho!

[angharad]

This...reminds me of All Night Long, but the more I wear it, the less alike they seem.

 

I get a tiny hint of something sweet hiding under a very light, dry cinnamon. It's a very woodsy scent, and it makes me think of autumn and apple orchards. Hamadryad has a good throw, even though it seems so light.

 

The longer I wear it, however, the less sweet it is, and the dryer the cinnamon becomes. Eventually I feel like I'm walking through a forest full of leafless trees. As much as I wanted to love this one, it's just not for me.

[urraca]

On me it is all cinnamon and I don't want to smell like cinnamon because I am afraid I smell like a scented candle

 

Postscript: when I read that people find Hamadryad appley, I wonder if they got one of those few imps of Hesperides that were mislabelled Hamadryad. I (knowingly) swapped for one of those and they are very different from the real Hamadryad which seems to have no apple at all.

[raven]

I got this from the lab the other day. This one smells like leather and cinnamon on me. Like the smell of a slick smooth leather coat and a soft cinnamon scent on top of it. I really like it, but I noticed nobody else thought it reminded them of leather.

[Orodemniades]

Reminds me of tea, a green scent with cinnamon in the background. It's very strong, though, and I nearly made myself ill when I did my usual slathering. Which, I might add, is difficult to do with an imp.

 

It stayed true on my skin throughout work and has finally faded to nothingness after about 7 hours. It's nice, but I think I'll stick with my imp.

 

eta: I got a quick hint of lemon in here, but it was just the odor of lemon tea, rather than lemons or citrus, if that makes any sense.

 

Oro

Edited October 26, 2005 by Orodemniades

[jewelbug]

Imp: A crisp almost fruity scent with a nutty tinge. It’s a bit creamy, and green apple might be a good description of the fruit smell I'm getting. This is not what I expected at all. It's not really foody, but has a lot of qualities that make me think food.

 

Him:

Wet: Faint, not much throw on him. Smells like a tart but slightly sweet green apple smell with a hint of dry woodsy nuts. His skin eats this alive, and it's gone in about 10 mins.

 

Me:

Wet: OMFG!!!! Sweeter, creamier, nuttier a slight baking spice, like nutmeg or cinnamon--a barky/woody spice. Still has a green apple tinge. I describe this as fruity and nutty, and there is even a tinge of caramel on my skin. This is AMAZING for fall. Totally not what I was expecting from the description. (I wonder if this was mislabeled, but I see similar reviews in this thread….)

Dry: Still green apples and warm and woodsy spice--hubby compares it to a not-overly-foody apple crisp. After dry down, it's not as nutty smelling. But it's still gorgeous. This lasts 6-7 hours and wafts up gorgeously the entire time. Mmmmmmm…..

 

Overall: I think I'd like to wear this for the rest of the fall!!!! I'm in LOVE!

I went pumpkin picking wearing this. The wafts of wonderful spicy apple woods were just incredible. And despite sounding foody, its really not. I need a HUGE bottle, ASAP!

Edited January 1, 2006 by jewelbug

[Nepthys]

How I've lived without this for so long is a mystery. It is so good. The "dry woods" in the description put me off, suggesting Cathedral or some other woody scent that just didn't work, but this is perfect: cinnamon and nutmeg on top with just a hint of tree bark and flowers. Divine. It goes on with the perfect mix of sweetness and dryness and then warms up and gets even better. An immediate big bottle on my next order.

[Yagathai]

In the bottle: Apple juice. Flowers. Something spicy. I'm not getting any of the cinnamon that others have described -- or at least, not any cinnamon that is separate and distinct from the apple. There may be something woodsy and resinous lurking back there.

On my skin: Bam. All of a sudden, the "seven dry woods" show themselves. They're a strong backbeat to the marginally-dominant floral scent. Now I see where other reviewers have gotten cinnamon and nutmeg. The sweet apple juice flavour loses some sweet and gains some spicy. Very nice. Unfortunately, soon after I put my wrist to my nose my sinuses fill with mucous and I start sneezing like someone shoved a spoon of extra-fine ground mustard seed up both nostrils. Could I be allergic? I think it's possible.

 

Anyway, I clear my nose and keep on sniffing, like a good little soldier. The character doesn't seem to substantially change during the next hour, though the separate notes to tend to meld a bit better. Hamadryad remains spicy apple with a strong floral tone, with an occasional whiff of honey-sweetness. The overall effect is meady, like a flowery metheglin or cyser.

 

Final verdict: The Lab lists Hamadryad as gender neutral, but while it's not as explicitly feminine as some of the other scents I've seen with this label, I think that it's probably a bit too sweet and floral to suit most men. If the spice-and-fruit were amped up a bit and the sweet-and-flowery were toned down, I could see myself happily wearing this as an autumn harvest scent. As it is, while I can appreciate it as an excellently executed, well-balanced scent, it's just a little too girly for me to make it part of my regular rotation. But I bet it would smell absolutely delicious on the right woman.

Edited November 2, 2005 by Yagathai

[Em-]

Hunh. I feel sort of like a heretic after reading all of these gushing reviews, but Hamadrayad is not doing much for me (this is definitely a sleeper scent - I had no idea people loved it so...)

 

At first I get spicy, predominantly cinnamon, which is nice, with an almost clean note underneath, which just doesn't work for my nose. It actually sort of reminds me of Whipoorwill, which I adore, but with less depth. Or maybe it is just that that is the only mossy scent I will ever be able to wear, but there is something in here that is starting to give me a bit of a headache. Pout.

[Fefferbella]

Hamadryad is pure cinnamon and pine sap on me.

 

It reminds my of x-mas and I really like it. It's a very soothing, comforting scent. The pine note keeps the cinnamon from becoming too "foody" on my skin.

 

Hamadryad has incredible staying power too! The pine note diminishes after 30 min or so, but the cinnamon keeps on kicking.

 

Very nice.

[pinkpoodle]

Mmmmm....this is yummy and sexy! I think the description fits it well. THIS is totally what the Hamadryads would smell like--sensual, warm, and playful. I'm not getting the "woods" smell so much as a musky, cinnamon, floral combo that's perfectly balanced. I'm always nervous when I see cinnamon in a description, because it tends to be overdone, but this is just the right amount. It reminds me of the aroma of oatmeal raisin cookies baking in a home filled with bouquets of fresh flowers.

[herdivineshadow]

This seems to be a very watery fruit scent on me with generous helpings of floral notes. I don't really get any wood notes at all. :/

[Wench457]

ITB: Sweet any spicy. Like baked apples. Yum! On: It immediately gets sharper, like powdered cinnamon and clove. Dry: once again I amp up the spices to turn a perfectly lovely blend into a spice rack. I really wanted the apples, darn it! This ended up smelling very masculine on me, due to the out of control spices.

[Eros]

Sweet, spicy florals in the imp. Once applied to skin, there's a hint of dry cinnamon which strengthens to turn this blend into more of a potpourri type scent.

Still spicy-sweet..with almost a candy-like sweetness but not overpoweringly so. Very "holiday appropriate". Like a xmas specialty store.

Quite nice

[LyndaM]

I can't believe I never reviewed this; one of the blends I never want to be without. Dry and woody, with just a hint of cinnamon, and a breath of flowers on the light wind. Due to the name and associations, I feel like I'm walking through an enchanted forest; where the trees are sentient, and talk about me as I pass!

 

There is absolutely no apple to my nose in Hamadryad, it's my belief that those getting apple got one of the imps of mislabeled Hesperides. If you got apple, please try again with a fresh imp! The real Hamadryad is so worth it. I didn't like uber-green-appley Hesperides at all, and my take on it was exactly that of some of the reviews above.

[kettu]

I got a chance to try Hamadryad this weekend at a local Meet 'n' Sniff and I liked it so much that I was able to take it home with me. Thank you, em_h!

 

Hamadryad has completely reinforced the serious fruit ampage ability of my skin. I got no cinnamon or nutmeg or moss or lichen. I got woodsy green apple. It's a soft and subtle sort of green apple -- it wasn't headache-inducingly sweet. It was perfect.

 

There are no fruits listed in its ingredients, but if there is apple blossom or apple tree wood, then my skin chemistry says, 'This has been close to a fruit! It must smell like fruit! Everything must be fruity!'

 

If there is truly neither apple blossom nor apple wood, then I really don't know where the heck my skin gets woody green apples, but it's there regardless. I wish I got the cinnamon and nutmeg or even moss and lichen, because I think they'd work really well on me. But I got green apple wood instead. Thankfully, I like it.

 

ETA: just read more-recent reviews and am thinking that maybe this is Hesperides... Lynx and I have an imp of Hesperides on its way, so if it smells just like this, then I'll assume it was a mislabeled imp and move my review over to Hesperides. Until then, I have apple Hamadryad.

 

Edited further: The apple Hamadryad smells EXACTLY like The Hesperides imp I eventually received. So I got a mislabelled imp.

 

I just received two more imps of Hamadryad direct from the lab and I'm getting a bit peeved. These two are what Pesha Rocha described: nothin' but wintergreen. I hates wintergreen.

 

Where in freekin' hell is the real Hamadryad?? If I ever get a chance to smell it, I know I'm gonna love it. But damn, am I ever getting tired of this tricksy not-Hamadryad business. *scowl*

Edited February 15, 2006 by kettu keiju

[PeshaRocha]

Okay, I seriously wonder if I got a mislabelled bottle. It says it's Hamadryad, but I'm smelling none of the notes anyone else mentioned. All I can smell is oil of wintergreen (what Ben-Gay smells like). No other notes at all, just pure, strong wintergreen. YUCK!!

 

I don't even want this frimp in my house, let alone in the same room with me.

[furygrrl]

You're not alone, Pesha Rocha.

 

I, too, get nothing but pure wintergreen - like Wintermint Lifesavers. No cinnamon, no fruits, maybe a hint of woodsiness on the drydown, nothing but pure, light, pale green mint.

 

I actually quite like wintermint, but I was hoping for the spicy fruity fragrance all those previous reviewers raved about. Maybe I'll try for a new imp in my next order...

[AngellicMystique]

This smells like straight Pepto-Bismol on me. I can get hints of the flowers and woods, but the pink stuff pervades. :-/

[Fleurdelys]

Ok..so at least I'm not alone. I opened the imp (which came in around the same time as the others with this problem) and I was like...OMGWTF....Spearmint? That's all I'm getting.

 

On my skin it softens up a bit, but no spice, no foresty smell...

I think I'll have to peruse the site to see what other blends contain mint and do a comparison. Maybe we got a mislabelled lot?

 

ETA: I think we have fallen victim to the sin of Envy. If you read the description of Envy, and then some of the reviews - they match what we are seeing here. Heh. I'll have to swap for another imp of Hamadryad or order another - but no matter - little oddities like this are kind of neat sometimes.

Edited December 29, 2005 by Fleurdelys

[blackheartedangel]

ok, as I read the first few pages of reveiws on this oil, I thought maybe I was going crazy...or maybe got a mislabeled imp?? Finally when I got here most recent reviews, I saw that some people smelled what I smelled from the imp -- WINTERGREEN!!!! Pure freakin wintergreen...weird!!! As it dried down I thought I could smell some woods behind it (but that's probably just my mind thinking ... wheres all the foresty smells???) but that's it! Very strange ... I wonder if something possibly happened to a recent batch?? Now, I really like wintergreen .. in my lifesavers!! Not as a perfume