Hollyberry & Mistletoe

[jolarocknrolla]

Blood red holly berries and mistletoe accord.

a little pungent in the bottle, but a very fresh and surprisingly sweet scent on drydown. The sweetness is very much like the sweetness of Cypress. I'd say it's a balance of green cypress and sweetness that i can't place (guess it's the holly berries) - it hasn't morphed much since i put it on.

[xoe]

For me Hollyberry & Mistletoe is more Hollyberry than Mistletoe.

At first on my skin it is a little too sharp. But as it dries it is a soft sweet fruity scent that is really lovely.

 

I had hoped for a little more Mistletoe, but this is really great. My mom is going to love it. I'm giving it to her for Xmas.

[Little Bird]

I was super-excited about this inquisition blend, because I love bpal's Mistletoe.

 

In the bottle, this smells dark green, piney, and crisp. I also might smell a bit of sweet spice in there.

 

On my skin, this smells very much like a Christmas fragrance. It's like Christmas trees dusted lightly with cinnamon spice. I don't smell anything that reminds me of berries, though there's a nice chill to this blend (not snow or mint or anything, but the pine-y note to it smells cold). It's a lot like Mistletoe with a soft cinnamon added in.

 

I usually amp up cinnamon until it gives me a headache, but the spice is staying calm and gentle here. I had worried that this would be too spicy or too much like a candle fragrance, but I'm finding it surprisingly wearable and cozy.

 

I'm glad to have a bottle of this, and I'd buy a second bottle if I could

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, it's very green with a trace of berry.

 

Wet on the skin, Mmm this is spicy berry with just enough pine to keep it from going too sweet. As it dries more, I get the Cinnamon note too. This is a perfect mix of pine, spice, and berry.

 

Like every single other Storytime Inquisition scent I have tried, it's amazing.

Edited January 4, 2009 by angelicruin

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Evergreen. Berry.

 

Wet on skin: Cinnamon? Teeny bit of fruit.

 

Dry on skin: The evergreen is peeping back out and mixing with the cinnamon spice and fruit. Very VERY Christmas-y.

[ObsidianSwirl71]

In the Bottle ♦ Evergreen-ish and sweetly but lightly spiced.

 

Initial Application ♦ Almost fir-like but in the texture of cleanly sweet fine dust. Not like pine at all to me. The hollyberry, I believe, is the scent reminiscent of cinnamon and nutmeg but in a kind of white fleshed berry tone. This smells exactly like Christmas and makes me think of the distant warmth of spiced winter candles lit against a snowy window.

 

Dry Down ♦ Same theme but lighter. Like there is pale sunlight glowing on a snow covered holly tree while you kiss your honey under the mistletoe in the doorway. The nutmeg aspect is slightly fainter and more graceful at this stage. It still smells like Christmas, but I can't help thinking, if I didn't already have those scent associations, it would almost smell like early spring. Waking up to frost, but the first budding foliage is starting to delicately rub the sleep from its eyes and ask the evergreens what the winter was like.

 

It's a really lovely true Christmas scent and I'm glad to have a bottle.

Edited January 10, 2009 by ObsidianSwirl71

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Extremely pale yellow oil. Sweet, piney, spicey. The sharp evergreen note of the mistletoe is strongest, and the berries smell more like wine. Definite spice - clove, allspice and pepper give this a real kick.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, when I first applied this it was like a spicy version of Skadi. I had a GIANT fir tree and a tiny hint of berries with LOADS of snow, but you could smell the cinnamon.

 

It's dried down to this cinnamon berry blend, which is nice and Christmassy, but nothing like it was on wet.

 

Grr.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A sweet, candyish berry and menthol

 

Wet on me – Menthol and Eucalyptus – I smell like Vics Vapour Rub

 

Dry on me – It settles into a warm, dry, herby sort of scent with almost a tobacco type note

 

Overall – After a slightly alarming start it becomes quite lovely and very ‘homely’ in a good way

 

[milo]

This is a very nice evergreen/sweet berry scent with a touch of spice thrown in. This is so Christmassy, it kind of reminds me of Midnight Mass with more evergreen and less incense. I love this, and will save this for the holidays next year.

eta: This has gotten more candylike over the last hour or so, and while I don't like candy scents as a rule, the sharpness of the evergreen is balancing this out soooo nicely. If there were such a thing as evergreen/berry candies, this would be it. I can't stop sniffing my wrist and raving about this scent. Quite unique, and a fun Christmas scent all around.

Edited February 25, 2009 by milo

[kjirstiben]

Putting this on, I initially smelled a spiced berry scent, rather like mulled cider, only with a tart red berry instead of apples. This scent is familiar--it's the one that you get in the red Christmas scented candles… bayberry, is it? Anyway, it's a tart, red, berry scent, and unlike most berries, it doesn't turn candy-sweet on me.

 

This continues to dry down to a lovely, sweet, environmental scent--a green, spiced, tart berry scent, then over time as it fades away, it turns to a faint evergreen. Very, very Christmassy and very lovely in every stage. An unexpected pleasure! (My luck so far with fruit--particularly berries--has been bad.)

 

Recaplet: Spiced, tart berries and Christmas greens.

My rating: 4 of 5 (I really like this!)

Color impression: Red and green.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab's eBay auction

 

Initial Thoughts: I considered trying for this one at last year's Inquisition, but I didn't have quite enough money to risk it and it was the only one I was interested in. I love Mistletoe with a passion, so I have hopes for this one.

 

In the Bottle: Heavenly Christmas tree with warm spices and a fruity tinge underneath.

 

Wet: Cinnamon spice and pine/fir notes. It's a gorgeous balance of Christmas-y scents and makes me wish it was December already.

 

Drydown: The cinnamon and spice take over a little, but don't overpower the greenery. Now I've got ideas of layering it with the full Mistletoe to see what happens.

 

Verdict: This is beautiful and I am so happy I got it!

[Gwydion]

In Bottle: This is unusual and very realistic. Those really do have that dry scent of holly berries and the sharpness of real mistletoe. Wet: The Mistletoe is dominant now, but the berry sent keeps it sweet. I’m really liking this. Dry: The berries win out in the end, but the mistlete lingers on. This is a really lovely holiday blend.

[CitizenBree]

Green, piney, spicy, very Christmas-y. Smells very strong like a Chrismas Glade candle. I wouldn't mind as a room fragrance but would never wear this as a perfume.

[Soupy Twist]

opens as a promising juniper with hints of cedar, like a spicy Christmas potpourri, but the cedar soon drowns the whole forest in pencil shavings.