The Witch's Repast

[othelloperrello]

THE WITCH’S REPAST
"Well," said the old witch, "I know them. But if I give thee the fire thou shalt stay with me some time and do some work to pay for it. If not, thou shalt be eaten for my supper." Then she turned to the gate and shouted: "Ho! Ye, my solid locks, unlock! Thou, my stout gate, open!" Instantly the locks unlocked, the gate opened of itself, and the Baba Yaga rode in whistling. Vasilissa entered behind her and immediately the gate shut again and the locks snapped tight.

When they had entered the hut the old witch threw her self down on the stove, stretched out her bony legs and said:

"Come, fetch and put on the table at once everything that is in the oven. I am hungry." So Vasilissa ran and lighted a splinter of wood from one of the skulls on the wall and took the food from the oven and set it before her. There was enough cooked meat for three strong men. She brought also from the cellar kvass, honey, and red wine, and the Baba Yaga ate and drank the whole, leaving the girl only a little cabbage soup, a crust of bread and a morsel of suckling pig.

Kvass, honey-drizzled bread, roasted meat, and wine.

The combination of these notes intrigued me, and I had to order a bottle immediately.
For those of you not in the know, "kvass" is an olde world russian/eastern european fermented drink made from fruit, berries, and rye bread.

[note: guy review]

First wet sniff yields a number of fascinating notes vying for dominance. There is an overriding sweetness, a sourness (wine), and a spiciness that are very promising.
Unfortunately on my skin these come together and resolve on the drydown into a pleasant, sweet autumn potpourri that doesn't much appeal to me. I recognize a specific note in here that I've encountered in other oils, notably Sugar Moon, which never works on me.

Hopefully others will have better luck with this than I! It's got such potential, I'm thinking it's my chemistry that's not working so well.

[Pottersville]

OMG ... LOVE in a bottle!! I'm a huge fan of kvass and can actually remember the days when they sold it from huge, portable metal kegs on the streets of Moscow. Must have been a "Soviet" thing because only bottled was available last trip. Anyhoo .. the Witch's Repast captures the slightly sweet, tangy black bread scent of the kvass with an undernote of ... of ... yes, of pot roast. To my nose, it comes across as a slightly woody undernote. Hard to describe indeed!

[midnight_aeval]

In the vial, this smells like crackers in a snow covered forrest with red berries scattered around. Once it hits my skin the BOOZE note starts to take hold. Not so much the wine, it's more of a fermented note, probably the kvass? There's something in it that reminds my of Gluhwein. I don't get any 'pot roast', but my skin amps any and all booze notes, so it's probably just masked by that.

[Dark Alice]

I don't know what kvass is...(sweet bread)? But the wine in this is absolutely gorgeous!!!! This is like Barmbrack room spray in a bottle minus the ultra sugary sweetness of the candy baked into the bread. I love this....I think this will have to be my Yule/Christmas scent this year!

 

ETA: Spoke to soon. The wine has gone a little rancid and the meat note is coming out! I don't think I need to walk around smelling like meat and stale wine. *sigh*

Edited October 28, 2009 by Dark Alice

[zankoku_zen]

I get sweet berries, wine and a touch of bread. It was pretty 'green' and fresh on wet, and as it dries it has become much more foodie.

 

I think I smell the roast.

 

Weird.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i've had Kvass and i loved it. the idea of honey-drizzled bread is mouthwateringly delicious. the roasted meat, well, i could honestly live without, and wine...can go either way.

 

but i'd already tried a prototype of this at DSWC and loved it - it was like the missing Eat Me/Drink Me sibling!

 

and now, being able to try it leisurely, it is even better.

 

rye bread, maybe? or a very dark wheat. tupelo honey and sweet kosher wine.

 

LOVE.

[ow1goddess]

I didn't know what kvass was but everything else sounded good. I was very interested in the "meat" note as well, since that's not exactly common.

 

In the bottle and wet on the skin I get a strong sweet and smoke smell with a sour tang I don't like. Not looking good. Reading upthread, I think it might be the rye- I've never liked the smell or taste of rye bread.

 

On dry down, however, the sour note goes away and it becomes a robust smoky sweet smell. The honey and the wine blend together nicely and there is a pleasantly sharp smokiness which reminds me of a wood-burning stove or smoker, so I guess that's the meat. After about an hour the smoke backs off a little and settles in to make a nice, warm and sweet blend. This is a good holiday smell, too, given the warmth and richness of the food.

 

Overall, it reminds me of Sugar Skull, but amped up- dinner instead of dessert.

[childoftime]

Oh my goodness--this smells like a kitchen right as dinner is ready! Spicy honey over warm bread, spicy alcohol, and honest-to-goodness pot roast!

 

Weird, but I like it! Definitely interesting and not an every day thing, but it's fun!

[Iceblink]

"Honey-drizzled bread"--absolutely; this reminds me of toast with honey! The kvass gives it a slightly fermented quality but it's very slight--this does not smell overly alcoholic. It's delicious and cozy. I'm not picking up anything that smells like meat yet--if I do, this'll be right out the door, but right now I really like it.

[HKB]

Very fruity- berries and honey. I'm not a fan of berries, and 'wine' notes smell like extra sugary berries to me. Too sweet.

After a few minutes there's a vague smokeyness.

[fairnymph]

Light lemon yellow oil. Sweet, sweet honeyed mead and fruity wine, something buttery (foody-baked goods-ish), and hints of roast greasy meat and pine. Not getting anything else...it sort of reminds me of Jolasveinar.

 

Less sweet and boozy, with more meat - now slightly salty - and much more pine. In fact the sharp, rather generic pine is very PineSol-ish and the strongest note. The meat really DOES smell like roast meat, not red meat but beyond that I couldn't specify - I don't eat pork, but it does seem like it could definitely be pork. It's strange, the saltiness of the meat note and the pine sort of combine to remind me of a woodsy aquatic. The honey and mead notes hold decently but I can't smell red wine or grapes any more, nor much of the buttery foody whatever.

 

I'm getting a sort of clean, woody slightly smoky note - I think it's that cologney type of vetiver - I really like it here, it adds a lovely depth and sort of masculine/unisex aspect. The buttery foody thing is almost completely gone and this continues to become lighter and less sweet. Now I get a sort of sparkling slightly spicy ginger beer note? Very refreshing and surprising!

 

Now I get a fruit note, some baked apples - it must be the grapes/wine but it really smells much more like apples?Or even berries as others noted - but gapes, no. The pine has faded to a faint trace that I find perfectly acceptable. I finally get the bread note, which I agree is a dark wholegrain bread, like rye or pumpernickel. And I get a sort of molasses-ey note, so I can see the Sugar Skull comparison. The vetiver is going a touch soup as the cologney sort can on me - Death on a Pale Horse's vetiver note does the same thing - but I'm still enjoying it and how it balances the foody aspects of this blend.

 

This is a very unique scent that morphs quite a bit of my skin before settling into foody, fruty, honeyed dark bread scent with a little smoky, cologney-clean vetiver and spicy fresh ginger. I think this is a very much unisex scent which I'd particularly like to smell on a man. It's not me, but this was a fun one to test. Lower throw and longevity.

[edenssixthday]

The Witch's Repast - This smells soooo good! I don't smell any meat at all. Rather, I mostly smell the honey and bread and lots of juicy berries. Mmmm! It's very boozy and sweet and fermenty and bready when I first apply it. A good 8 hours later, I can still smell it on my skin, but what's left is mostly a rich honey-bread scent at this point. I really love this one and am just amazed that I can wear it so well since I don't wear foody very well, but this foody is one that works on me. Delicious!The Witch's Repast - This smells soooo good! I don't smell any meat at all. Rather, I mostly smell the honey and bread and lots of juicy berries. Mmmm! It's very boozy and sweet and fermenty and bready when I first apply it. A good 8 hours later, I can still smell it on my skin, but what's left is mostly a rich honey-bread scent at this point. I really love this one and am just amazed that I can wear it so well since I don't wear foody very well, but this foody is one that works on me. Delicious!

[strahlend]

In the imp my first impression was of wine. A moment later I smelled more honey.

On my skin I'm getting the most fantastic bread scent that reminds me of the years I spent working in a bakery. This is an amazing scent and I think I'm in love with it.

[Little Bird]

The Witch's Repast smells like dark, sweet berries, thick honey, and spice bread to me. It has a very dark, slightly smoky, seductive quality to it rather than an outright foodie feel, though. I don't smell anything like roast or roasted meat. This scent is certainly nothing like Gore-Shock (which smells like ham on me). I'm normally not fond of honey, but the honey here smells dark, spiced, and not too sweet. It is a sweet scent; it's just not cloying in any way.

 

I think that this would be a sexy fall scent, and it's a scent that I'll love to wear out dancing (where I love darker, complex, sweet scents). I'm surprised that this doesn't have more reviews, because it's really gorgeous. I'm going to need a bottle of this, as it's definitely one of my favorite bpals.

 

[Balame]

In the Imp: I've never smelled anything like this before, at least not in a perfume. It's definitely foody, almost reminds me of pumpkin pie. Spicy too, like cinnamon.

 

Wet: Something a bit peppery and spicy, and a spot on honeyed bread scent. Whew, I guess the pepper is from the "meats" and it's a bit overpowering right now, but that bread scent is great. I don't know what kvass smells like so unfortunately I can't speak to that, but it is slightly bitter, so maybe that's the alcohol.

 

Dry: Thankfully I never got any of the meat, more like an unorthodox sweetness, slightly boozy, with warm honey and pepper. Different.

 

Verdict: A very unique scent that I think people should try, if only to experience all the interesting phases it goes through. I wouldn't say that I'm overly fond of it since the harsher scents combined with honey puts me off a little (highly contrasting notes generally don't make me happy), but it was certainly interesting.

 

[Bunbun]

The Witch's Repast - This smells soooo good! I don't smell any meat at all. Rather, I mostly smell the honey and bread and lots of juicy berries. Mmmm! It's very boozy and sweet and fermenty and bready when I first apply it. A good 8 hours later, I can still smell it on my skin, but what's left is mostly a rich honey-bread scent at this point. I really love this one and am just amazed that I can wear it so well since I don't wear foody very well, but this foody is one that works on me. Delicious!The Witch's Repast - This smells soooo good! I don't smell any meat at all. Rather, I mostly smell the honey and bread and lots of juicy berries. Mmmm! It's very boozy and sweet and fermenty and bready when I first apply it. A good 8 hours later, I can still smell it on my skin, but what's left is mostly a rich honey-bread scent at this point. I really love this one and am just amazed that I can wear it so well since I don't wear foody very well, but this foody is one that works on me. Delicious!

 

 

Let's just say, I must be sitting at the other end of the table. I swear, this is all Roast Beef and Wine........ From Yesterday! I wanted berries and honey but nope, ... Just more Wine than I needed. Very Very Very strange, but then, I can do strange..... A cornerstone scent for sure!

 

Bunbun

[tdiym]

I really like this one. I like Kill-Devil, and it reminds me of this, but Kill-Devil has a tendency to go all wonky on me after a few hours, but this does not. It's so similar to Kill-Devil on me but without any of that strange off-smell at the finish that I think I will be replacing my Kill-Devil with this. It's how I want Kill-Devil to smell on me all the time. I love this one and will order a bottle.

[MiasmaResonance]

In the bottle, The Witch's Repast smells like a delicious, autumnal meal that is also dark and almost spicy. Foreboding. I like it.

Dry, it's a deep scent, and I cannot stop sniffing myself. I really smell the bread at first, but then the meat and honey notes come through, and it's divine. Perhaps the kvass, too? In the end it mellows to a deep, rich smell that I really love. Also long staying power. A keeper for sure, and definitely a favourite.

[Vega]

A frimp from the Lab, thank you!

 

In imp: Foody with a heavy, fermented note – probably from the kvass?

 

On skin: Foody blends make me physically sick, and this is extreme gourmand. Heavy, spicy and warmly golden, and so sweet it's sickening. Strong throw.

 

Verdict: Straight to swaps, for the gourmand lovers. I wasn't expecting to like this anyway, but I have to try every scent that passes through my hands.

[voodoobaby]

Sweet, foody goodness! I definitely smell honey, wine and another boozy scent -- the wine is especially prominent. There is a hint of bread as well that is really interesting. I get no hint of anything that smells roasted, which is probably a good thing. This is SO NICE. It's kind of a swirling scent, if that makes any sense. There is a slight hint of something going a little wonky, but so far it hasn't crossed that line of weirdness. I really hope it doesn't because I like it a lot as it is right now.

 

Fans of boozy and foody scents need to try this. It's really well-blended and yummy, and it would probably make a great room scent.

[angelicruin]

Mmmm, baked sweet bread. No meat for me either, which is good. Very yummy smelling.

[NaiadOreiad]

Bottle: Roasted meat, beer bread.

Wet: Woah. I get a distinct impression of something fermented and alcoholic. But in a heady way, which i like. I smell fresh bread, honey and the wine. This is awesome and exactly what i wanted it to smell like.

Dry: a hint of booze, of bread, the honey is the main star now. still with a nice undercurrent of roastedness. This will get alot of use out of me this winter.

A+

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp from the lab, and woah, probably one of the most unique BPAL scents I've tried to date.

 

In the imp I smelled a lot of wine and booze. I don't know what kvass smells like, so I couldn't tell you if this is it or not, but boozy? Oh yeah. There's also distinctly a bread scent, a little buttery and baked, with something...heavy under it. Food heavy but hard to pinpoint.

 

Wet: I always seem to amp wine notes. This is no exception. The wine threatened to go a little waxy on me, but it toed that line and stayed there. The bread all but disappeared, and something kind of salty amped up. Not meat, but maybe suggestive of it. It's a much prettier scent than I expected from the description.

 

Dry: Still predominantly wine, something salty, a little smoky. I'm not getting any honey at all, but I can smell berries now, wintery berries. I'm glad I had the chance to try this. I can't see it being a go-to fragrance, but when I want to evoke a holiday feeling, it's a good try. It lasts for hours and has pretty strong throw.

[Gale]

This was an intimidating combination of notes!

 

Wet: Really heavy, dark, sweet and yeasty.

 

Dry and for the duration: On me, this turns into the bakery scent of my dreams. It's sweet, alittle fruity, buttery, flour-y and rich. It doesn't overpower like Cockaigne did (too much butter and honey!), it's absolute perfection.

 

It's fascinating how differently this works on everyone--no roasted meats or booze for me.

 

5ml, please.

Edited October 22, 2010 by Gale

[hkhm]

imp: blackberry pie. no joke, i smell sweet, sugary berries with pastry.

 

wet: smells much more like wine once applied, sweet rich fruity wine with something baking in the background.

 

dry: this gets boozier as it dries, a very beer-like booze. this is probably one of the most unusual and unique bpal scents i have ever tried.