Horse Chestnut Honey

[Eliyetres]

WOW ALMOND AND HORSE CHESTNUT ALL THE WAY! Seriously, that what it is and there is a LOT of it... Just too much.

[rhubarb3point14]

Unfortunately, Horse Chestnut Honey was the way I learned I couldn't wear the lab's honey scents. I put some on my upper arm during a fun evening of testing lots of BPAL with a couple of friends... and half an hour later, there was a hideous pong that was drowning out all the other things I'd swabbed on. We located the source of the smell, and it was the HCH. The honey note had done kind of a gamey-tangy-rancid-sweet thing on me. One of my friends actually blanched when she sniffed it and said, "Oh, god. No, no, no, no."

 

Horse Chestnut Honey, you are lovely in concept. You are lovely on other people. But you are not for me.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Slightly nutty, almost musky. Nothing I really recognise as honey but there is a sweetness.

 

On skin, wet: Something goes a little astringent when it hits my skin, and the sweetness takes a back seat.

 

On skin, dry: The astringent note fades, but now it's kind of a generic slightly-woody spice. No sweetness to speak of anymore.

 

After an hour: Stays true to the initial drydown. Gets a little woodier, and never gets back any sweetness.

[milo]

Whoah, this is strong and god awful on me. I get very little honey, but a whole lot of burnt caramel, a note I despise. Fans of Spun Sugar Spectre oil and Sugar Skull may like this though, I find it very similar.

[whitsunweddings]

Ok, so first of all idk what Horse Chestnuts are. I assume they're a type of chestnut, but who knows, it could be a vulgar American euphemism for horse balls (the equine equivalent of prairie oysters, non?). Anyway.

In the imp: Very sweet... curry spices? Like when you're cooking a curry and you're frying the spices - kinda like garam masala and maybe cumin.

Wet: The curry buggers off and I get a warm, slightly nutty honey scent.

Dry: Spicy, nutty honey.

The weird thing is, I once got sick from a curry that had water chestnuts in it (oh, my stomach turns just writing that!) and the name + the vaguely curry-ish smell sparked all sorts of unpleasant mental associations, so I can't wear this. It is a nice scent though - quite different from the other apiary blends I've tried, and definitely good if you're looking for a honey scent that's a bit more warm or spicy.

[sunlitgarden]

I received this as a lab frimp with my recent order.

 

Imp: Nutty, mildly spicy. It's not boozy, but otherwise kind of reminds me of some kind of fancy liquor.

 

On my skin it's mostly nutty and sweet. I don't really like nutty notes, though. It's not to my taste...

[impolight]

:::HORSE CHESTNUT HONEY:::

 

More to love from Rappaccini's Apiary! Despite the likelihood of a tragic or undignified demise, there is still a strong urge to taste these.This one snuggled homeward as a Frimp after this year's Bat's Day and has yet to have some virtue extolling done... so today's ghe day.

From the Imp: The Chestnut is quite conspicuous. Again, it is necessary to quell the impulse to take a lick. The Honey aspect has not been obvious just yet. There is a sweetness, of course, but it is more of a woodsy sweetness; like the smell a person experiences when they put their nose right up to the bark of Scott's Pine, a Maple/Vanilla/Amber kind of sweetness.

As well as the Chestnut, there almost seems to be a trace of something that is awfully close to Black Walnut loitering in the sniffaliscious spectrum. This is really quite clever. Were a dish of this to appear, tableside, at the evening meal of a gathering of the ruling class, there might just be more whistling to be heard during the days that follow.

On the Skin: Horse Chestnut Honey darkens, ripens, and lays an ever stickier snare. The heat and the chemistry of the body makes the throw magnify in a way that is nothing short of impressive. After about five minutes of wear the fragrance of Honey has finally gotten past the initial shyness and has come to join the party. Interestingly, this doesn't give the impression of flowing, translucent Honey; this is more of the granulated and achingly sweet variety.

Another thing that gets noticed at this phase is something that is very much like Bitter Almonds (cyanide?) Which, again, would be a brilliant allusion to the theme of Hazardous Honeys.

Horse Chestnut Honey is unique, unctious, and unisex. It's raw redolence will make many a convert and is likely to initiate colorful conversation. Wear this one when the mood becomes rutheless or Devil-may-care.

Horse Chestnut Honey gets a 4.5 out of 5.

[hecate_jones]

This changed very little between wet and dry for me, and I have no idea what horse chestnuts smell like, but I don't think I smell them. For me, this is just HONEY. But not like a light, clover honey, this is a dark, sticky, almost crystallised buckwheat honey, they kind that's almost as brown as molasses. Definitely an in-your-face honey scent, nothing floral about it.

[JazzieCazzie]

Since I tend to love the Lab's honey note I've been trying to experiment with the blends to see which ones work for me. So far, for example, Hemlock Honey is divine, Laurel Honey not so much. Purchased one imp of this in a purchase with a lovely forumite who was generous enough to toss in another as lagniappe.

 

IN THE IMP: Sweet sweet sweet and slightly nutty but not caramelly to me which was a good start because caramel, while I love it in my mouth, makes me very queasy as a scent.

 

Dabbed on wrist and into crook of arm

 

WET: A strong honey kick which has its nuttiness but also something sharp, almost acrid, which I can't quite place. On the other hand, I've never smelled horse chestnuts so assuming that's what it is.

 

DRYDOWN: As others have mentioned, this just keeps getting stronger and stronger and sweeter and sweeter to the point of being overwhelming, and I applied it pretty lightly.

 

OVERALL: Just too sweet for me, and since I have other honey-blend imps which work wonders for me, these will go into the swap box.

 

ETA: Within about a half hour, I have a massive splitting headache. Whether there is any connection or not, I have no idea, but am washing it off to be safe.

 

On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.5

Edited April 2, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[lucycat]

This was a frimp from a lovely forumite.

 

It's very sweet. I get chestnuts in the imp. On my skin, it's sticky-sweet nutty honey with a floral background I can't quite place. That could be horse chestnut blossoms, as cuervosueno mentioned above.

 

This may be just too nutty for me; I generally don't do well with nut notes, except for almond.

[Aromantism]

I got this as a freebie. Definitely not something I'd buy by choice, and it is a pleasant surprise. Absurdly sweet, but also slightly waxy. There's something almost putridly sour about it yet somehow it worked for the scent rather than against it.

[tinyvulture]

I love the lab's honey note so much; I don't know how this is the first Apiary blend I've tried. I must acquire the others now because this is just lovely. Thick, buttery, golden honey. There's something else I can't identify; I've never smelled chestnuts but I'm guessing that's what it is. Also, sometimes I get a whiff of caramelized sugar, but then it fades away.

[radiantfracture]

This is incredibly richly textured. It transmits a strong smell and feel of beeswax and other, softer waxy smells. There's also a subtle but powerful and extremely sweet floral -- perhaps horse chestnut blossoms, but it smelled like honeysuckle or jasmine to me. And maybe a little extra sweetness, like a brown sugar -- the caramelized element others have mentioned. The floral adds a slightly oily texture to the wax. It's almost a synaesthetic smell.

 

I don't get any of the nutty elements other people report, though that was part of what I was hoping for.

 

This had enormous throw, even on a cold day. I agree that it seems to amplify itself as it warms up on the skin. I washed it off and the pleasant waxy element of the smell still lingers.

 

In the end, while I love honey-based scents, this is too floral for me. Also, something in it makes me sneeze.

 

This was fresh from the Lab, so I may try aging it and see what transpires.

[annemathematics]

this was the bpal honey that gave me an epiphany as to why one would wear a honey scent in the first place. it is strong, has a throw that will reach out to a passerby and draw him/her in, and it lasts. warm and strong, floral and musky and sexy. close to the limit of over the top. this is probably what kathleen turner's characters wore in body heat and the man with two brains.

 

I wore the out on the town, and it brought several people to me nose first. other honey scents I tried seemed to stay true to their scent and not shift, while this one really blends with my chemistry. I wouldn't wear this all the time, but I'm glad to have it in my arsenal. I've got a bottle on the way with a possible back up on my mind.

 

rip chestnut honey!

[Lucchesa]

An unexpected frimp in a decant order from a generous forumite! I am quite fond of the apiary, and I adore chestnuts. Roasting chestnuts is one of the most divine smells ever. This was one of the most anticipated scents on my wishlist. Alas, the odds that I will ever find a reasonably priced bottle are sadly slim, so I'll treasure this decant.

 

I love the taste of raw chestnut, and I bit into a horse chestnut once. Really bad idea. I wasn't aware at the time that it was poisonous, but it tasted so ghastly that I spat it out immediately. And when I put Horse Chestnut Honey on my skin, I had a flashback to that experience. Maybe it was my imagination in overdrive, but for a moment I could almost taste the bitter toxicity of horse chestnut. This sensation passed quickly, and then it was honey, warm autumn honey. And soon after that, chestnut. Like marrons glaces made with honey. (Are there any marrons glaces blends in the catalog?) More honey on me than chestnut, but gorgeous, and like all the apiary blends, it has good throw and lastingness. Chock full of win!

[Juushika]

In vial: Woodsy, almost nutty, a light brown scent.

 

On me: Immediately sweeter, fuller, and very potent; a touch floral, very woody. It's not a cloying sweetness, but very rich. This develops into a round, deep, incredibly strong scent, almost opaque, dark solid yellow-brown. I applied this pretty lightly, but it's hugely strong. I washed off most of it, and beneath was a greener, more herbal, almost medicinal, woodsy smell.

 

Verdict: Does this feel like "honey of a poisonous plant"? yes. But do I like it? It's distinct to the nose, unique, but never particularly enjoyable; the honey/wood combination is overpowering and weirdly unpleasant--weirdly, in that it seems fine as a concept, but in practice I'll pass.

[Soupy Twist]

Honey with something toasty or woody in the bottle. Roasted chestnuts? Anise-touched honey on application. This is… interesting. Definitely licorice. Not much honey, to be honest. Yeah, this is a moderate black licorice candy which wants to have a honey center. But I mean, if you’re going to go black licorice, go hard or go home. This is an off-brand black licorice cough drop. As it dries, it develops a dry-wood note.

 

I should stress this is not a bad scent. It’s a good black licorice. But I like my black licorice at peel-the-paint-off-the-walls strength, and there’s no honey in this blend at all. So perfectly nice, but not for me.

[doomsday_disco]

Horse Chestnut Honey features a dessert-y, sweet chestnut note slathered in honey. Because it has that caramelized, brown sugar-y chestnut note, it makes for a pretty rich honey scent. It remains as this dark, thick, sweet chestnut-infused honey scent for a long time, but the honey ends up overtaking the chestnut by the end of the day, and the honey note itself is much lighter and has a floral quality to it.

 

I don't think think I'd reach for this, but I do think it is one of the better apiary scents, and I'm glad I got a chance to try it!