Hanerot Halalu

[GhillieDhu]

Hanerot halalu anachnu madlikin
Al hanissim ve'al haniflaot
Al hatshu-ot ve'al hamilchamot
She-asita la'avoteynu
Bayamim hahem, bazman hazeh
Al yedey kohanecha hakdoshim.
Vechol shmonat yemey Chanukah
Hanerot halalu kodesh hem,
Ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtamesh bahem
Ela lirotam bilvad
Kedai lehodot leshimcha
Al nissecha veal nifleotecha ve-al yeshuotecha.

We light these lights
For the miracles and the wonders,
For the redemption and the battles
That you made for our forefathers
In those days at this season,
Through your holy priests.
During all eight days of Chanukah
These lights are sacred
And we are not permitted to make
Ordinary use of them,
But only to look at them;
In order to express thanks
And praise to your great Name
For your miracles, your wonders
And your salvations.

Olive oil, beeswax, and smoke.

First review? Really?? Ack, the pressure!

Primarily this smells like beeswax, honey, and the smoke of blown-out candles, with a little sweet orange. I'm not getting much olive oil at all. There's something almost creamy in this (to my nose, cream always smells like coconut, which is a little disconcerting), but it's not really foody. Between the beeswax and that phantom citrus note, this reminds me a lot of a smokier and less resinous No. 93 Engine. I like it and will keep the partial, but since Engine is GC, I won't need a bottle of this.

Verdict: Get this if you want to smell like freshly blown-out candles.

ETA: After several hours (and does this ever last! I'm still smelling it 8 hours later!) this becomes a lot more creamy/beeswaxy and less smoky. It's really quite cozy and nice. This would be a good one to try if you wanted to like Ichabod Crane, but he was just too weird. Or if you did like Ichabod.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Surprisingly sweet, with the beeswax/honey note strongest. I am surprised there are no berries. Smoke is faint, but present. Wet: the musk in my skin brings out the smoke a little more, but the effect stays sweet honey and candles dominant. It is a delicate scent, but pleasantly so. It is a weirdly mix of the sacred and earthly. Dry: Quietly stunning. The olive oil beeswax thing is lovely. The smoke is subdued, but makes it a little extra interesting. This is elegant in its simplicity.

[tartchef]

Wow, yeah - I get the sweet orange note that GhillieDhu mentions, along with a lovely clear wax & honey scent... I normally don't do citrus, but this is beautiful, fruity but not at all cloying, akin to the orange from Xiuhtecuhtli. Hanerot Halalu has a very distinct color in my mind - beeswax yellow, but with a faint blush of coral... I have candles that color, and I wish they smelled this good... sweet & smooth, but with a grounding warmth, incredibly calming & inviting.

 

My only wistful sigh is that I was hoping for a bit more smoke... which I suspect might emerge once the oil's had a chance to settle & age a week or two... I just might have to track down a bottle of this at some point

[eatingthesea]

wow, this is beautiful, exactly what i was hoping for plus a little somethin' extra. i do get the sweet orange note that others find and actually, at first, it's a little off-putting in the way that xiuhtecuhtli was when i first tried it: reminds me of that orange-scented cleansing hand cream that auto mechanics use to get the grease off. yuck, indeed! but luckily, it evolves into a lovely orange-creaminess melding perfectly with a strong beeswax note. there's not too much smokiness here (but maybe that comes much later; i'm reviewing hanerot in its very earliest stages) but that's okay. to me, this is like xiuhtecuhtli and anubis coming together...a deeply sweet, dark and old-candle-ish scent that is at once mysterious and sturdy in its simplicity. it is grounded and straightforward -- not complex -- yet it does have a very "ancient" and glowing feeling to it. i like it much more than its anticipated "sister" from last yule, chanukkiyah. that one was a bit too desserty for me.

 

i think i may have to go for a bottle of this one.

[greenranger]

I love this one. I knew I would love this one, and I really really do.

 

 

This is not the scent of decorative candles gathering dust on a shelf.

 

This is the radiant and comforting scent of candles meant to burn, to comfort with their glow, to cast a pool of peace around a room. The smoke isn't very apparent, except as the hint that these candles are lit, making warm pools of sweetly scented wax.

 

It is a light, but warm and comforting scent, and I could bathe in this.

 

Really, I adore this. It has a nice throw without being in your face, and it is lasting a decent while on me; 6 hours and counting.

 

~edit~ 10 hours and counting, and this scent is still going strong. I haven't ever had a beeswax scent last this well on me before. I've even tested a couple other scents and I can still smell the golden pool of light and radiance that is Hanerot Halalu.

 

I might possibly need another bottle...

Edited November 14, 2008 by Aerinha

[Mrs.Black]

I, too, love Hanerot Halalu. I don't get any smoke from it; what I do get is orange flower honeycomb. I mean real honeycomb, not the candy. I can smell natural beewax and luscious honey subtly perfumed with the orange flowers of its origin. I'll need more than one bottle of this one.

[rayvn1]

There is a sweetness to this blend that is prominent when wet on me. When it dried the smell of beeswax was predominant - golden and warm. Reminded me a little of the background in Ichabod Crane. The smoke was the last note to show up but hung around the longest. This is a nice blend. Very soothing

[porcelina]

mmm. hanerot halalu is so evocative... warm, golden, glowing candles, smoke and darkness. it's *lovely.* i think it would work well as a layering scent, as well. this is the perfect beeswax and smoke.

[tdiym]

I get mostly the smoke in this, tempered and smoothed out by the beeswax and oil, but it's still mostly smoke and I totally love it and want a full bottle of it NOW! (*makes grabby hands*)

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: beeswax candles, with all their sweetness.

 

wet on skin: a touch of orange as others have mentioned and more of that beautiful beeswax. like fresh honeycomb, from the hive.

 

dry down: orange and beeswax and honey.

 

in all: although it's got food notes, i don't know that i would classify this as a foodie oil. instead there's something that feels sacred about this scent, like something that i would indeed wear if i still went to temple. this scent is just as suitable, however, to any sacred space.

[fiddledragon]

In the bottle: Orange sherbet. Rather nice, but unexpected.

 

On me: Wet, the aformentioned orange sherbet, plus faint beeswax candles. As it dries, the beeswax comes out more along with a sort of warm, rich scent that might be the olive very faintly backing up the beeswax. It's sweet an cozy and warm. This isn't at all what I'd pictured, but I like it very much. It's a scent for cuddling up by the fire in.

 

Edit: That's what this smells like! This smells almost exactly like a richer version of Burt's Bees Honey-Beeswax lip balm. Luckily, for me that's not such a bad thing.

Edited November 21, 2008 by fiddledragon

[sammy]

Yum. This is heaven in a bottle for me. This definitely leans towards the foody side,but not overly so. I'm not a huge foody fan generally,I tend to like more incensy,earthy blends,so the fact that I love this is surprising to me! I smell alot of honey in this,not much smoke as others have mentioned. I'm also getting maybe a hint a amber in the drydown? Is it possible? Mmmm..... I have two bottles and am thinking of hoarding more http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/00000313.gif

 

ETA- As i type I am slathering this on, and it's just pure yumminess http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/icon_biggrin.gif

 

Editing in 2014: I've come to realize I am just crazy about BPAL's beeswax notes, period! Hanerot Halalu 2008 has aged into something quite magnificent. Sweet beeswaxy goodness!

Edited December 10, 2014 by Sammy

[yewberry]

Okay, I'm crazy about the Lab's beeswax. I'm even in love with Ichabod Crane, despite the heaps of florals that usually send me running. Hanerot Halalu, after its initial wet stage (definitely get the orangey note people have mentioned) mellows on me to pure beeswax on me. I make my own beeswax candles, and the dry-down smells hauntingly like standing over a vat of hot wax, dipping tapers. Such an evocative blend.

[Brianne]

This is the scent that was almost not there. It's your skin... but a little bit better. Not very smokey, but definitely reminiscent of a blown out candle. Vaguely sweet, not candy-ish. A very natural scent

[goblinshark]

I definitely get orange blossom and beeswax, but not the gross beeswax that killed Ichabod Crane for me. This smells like actual beeswax. Very nice but super, super faint.

[Mamacat]

In the vial: honey! oooooooh! Can't wait to put this on.

 

On wet: lovely honey... but not with the richness of O

 

After 15 minutes: hmmm... I do get a bit of a waxy feel and almost a slight bit of powder underneath the honey and wax. Ah, I think it's the smoke. Way in the background.

 

This is really, really lovely.

[steffanina]

Hanerot Halalu-

 

In Bottle: Powdery cherry-orange.

 

Wet: Powdery cherry-orange. Not what I was expecting but sweet and fruity!

 

Dry: When I remember that there's supposed to be beeswax in this, I say, "Oh, of course, that's what that is!" But I still get cherry-orange powder all through!

 

Overall: A wild blend I'd never have expected to smell like this from the ingredients! I may have to try this again.

[kjirstiben]

Hanerot Halalu goes on just like it smells in the bottle--sweet, slightly smoky beeswax. Precisely what you smell in a rolled beeswax candle, it's sweet and a lot like honey without being nearly so sweet as honey scents can be.

 

As it dried down, it went through a slight sour phase (I've been having this trouble with several of the Yules), but pulled through it and returned to a softer version of its initial smoky, waxy, honeyed self.

 

I was surprised at how foody this ended up smelling... it was almost too rich for me. It may be one that I have to put on sparingly.

 

Truly, a beautiful, evocative holiday scent... something warm and cozy and comfortable, like sitting beside a fireplace in days of chill and darkness.

[Seismogenic]

Hey, look at me, getting all my holidays crossed! It might be Thanksgiving, but I'm up for a little Hanukkah anyway. It's always better when Hanukkah comes earlier, anyway, since it gets swamped by the Christmas stuff if it's at the end of December, like this year. Bleh. Anyway, I'm interested in this one both for the fact that I am, technically, Jewish (not that I've done anything about it in years), and that the notes in this one all appeal to me individually. I can't say I ever sniffed the Hanukkah candles when we celebrated when I was little, but I'm also kind of hoping for this to bring up some memories.

 

In the imp: Smooth, vaguely (and surprisingly) orangey beeswax.

 

Wet on skin: I think the smoothness might be the olive oil. It's coming out more relative to the beeswax, and the sharper citrus impression is fading.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, it's still sweet beeswax and olive oil. No smoke yet, but no more orange either. It's a very warm and comforting scent so far. One hour later, I was driving back from a last second Thanksgiving grocery store run, and had a definitely, "Whoa, it smells good in my car!" moment. This has a surprising amount of throw for something meant to represent a candle without added scent, and this is a good thing! I'm still not really getting smoke, but the combination of sweet beeswax and olive oil is lovely.

 

Five hours later: Still going very strong, with the same wonderful warm combination of beeswax and olive oil. If I think about it, that might be smoke at the back of my nose, but I'm not entirely sure.

 

End of the day: And it's still going! Not even terribly much fainter than at the five hour mark, also.

 

Overall: This is one that lasts and lasts -- which makes absolute perfect sense considering the whole Hanukkah legend involves a very small amount of oil being effective for eight days. It also captures the candle extraordinary well, with its warm sweet wax. The scent practically does glow warmly, and I think it would be an extremely comforting scent on a cold and dark winter day. This is also definitely one of the more unusual BPALs I've tried so far, and I like it very much for that as well.

 

 

EDIT: I didn't wash it off before bed, and I can still smell it now, a full 24 hours after putting it on. Whoa.

Edited November 28, 2008 by Seismogenic

[lainevierge]

I wish I got more olive oil and smoke out of this blend. It's all fizzy light beeswax. It's really light and not at all long lasting. I had to put double the amount I usually put on because I couldn't smell anything at first. I was hoping this would smell more like freshly blown out candles.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is olive oil and a delicate orange note...

 

once applied this has a wonderful waxy edge that is, indeed, like a blown out candle...

 

amazing!!

 

this is a very subtle perfume and stays close to the skin...really quite beautiful

[windbourne]

I lovelovelove the BPAL beeswax note, and may be fairly accused of bias in this matter, but still.

 

I LOVE THIS. It's got a beautiful beeswax center, surrounded by wisps of smoke and the smoothness of the olive oil. It sticks and it stays and I love it and would bathe in it if it were a bath oil. It's as close as I would ever want to get to a beeswax SN -- warmer and more mellow than To Helen, no flowers to distract like Her Voice, no black pepper or wool to muddle it on my skin like Ichabod, and without all the extra trimmings of No. 93 Engine. I love all of those, but this is the one I'll likely turn to as a default scent on days when I want ~beeswax~ and don't want to think too hard about what I'm wearing. ^___^!

 

Plus, the throw isn't excessive, so I can wear it to work. A++++++ will wear again 1000 times. ^_~

[anardana]

MMM YUMMY! This is SO NICE! It is very similar to the amazing GC 'no.93 engine' because of the beeswax.. but with no spiciness- just smooth, sweet, fabulous, slightly-fruity goodness.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this is the soft orange note that others have mentioned and a waxy, sweet, warmth.

 

I was expecting my skin to amp up the olive oil and smoke in this, but I actually don't smell any olive oil and I can only pick out a tiny hint of smokiness. Hanerot Halalu is a very light scent on me. It fades fast and doesn't have much throw. Still, it's a nice, comforting smell on me. It's a honeyed, warm, golden, waxy candle smell with just a bit of smoke in the background, like a candle that's still warm and has just been blown out.

 

I think that my favorite candle wax type of scent is Thierry Mugler's Salon Rouge. Hanerot Halalu is probably too subtle and simple for me to wear it much. I might keep my decant and try layering it with other scents, though.

[gwynethr]

I don't get the orange note at all, but that's okay, because the beeswax more than makes up for it. I absolutely love that scent (there's a lovely French soap made with royal jelly that I love because of the smell, but I've never been able to find anything where that's the predominant note), so this makes me very happy. Beeswax candles and smokey goodness. Very cozy, as someone said above.