Bob Cratchit's Hearth

[tailoredshirt]

BOB CRATCHIT'S HEARTH
At last the dinner was all done, the cloth was cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire made up. The compound in the jug being tasted, and considered perfect, apples and oranges were put upon the table, and a shovel-full of chestnuts on the fire. Then all the Cratchit family drew round the hearth, in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one; and at Bob Cratchit’s elbow stood the family display of glass. Two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle.

These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as golden goblets would have done; and Bob served it out with beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and cracked noisily. Then Bob proposed:

“A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!”

Which all the family re-echoed.

“God bless us every one!” said Tiny Tim, the last of all.

Glowing firewood and sherry-cobbler.

Ack, I'm really awful at reviews, but we'll try this!

In the bottle, this is really foody and sweet. I definitely got a slightly fruity cake or pie-like scent. (I can't differentiate between the different pastry/cake notes, so I can't be more specific.) I also got a bit of the "glowing firewood" in the background, but it was mostly foody.

After it was on my skin for a while, the burning firewood note came out a lot more and the foodiness dropped to the background. Unfortunately, the burning scent was very strong and chemical on my skin, more like charcoal or something almost metallic. My skin can't handle metallics, and combined with the sweet background, it was pretty stomach-turning. After a while I had to wash it off. I think I was hoping for more of a smoky-woods note, but it wasn't a good combination for me.

(This probably isn't helpful to anyone since I had a unique experience, but the reaction I had to this one was similar to the one I had with Blue Pumpkin Floss. It sounded simple enough, but on me BPF was sickly sweet + charred flesh, which isn't completely dissimilar to the way this one smelled on me. I'm wondering if they had a note in common that just doesn't like my skin. I doubt many people will find the blends at all similar but I thought I'd throw that out there anyway.)

[birdiefu]

I put this on Thanksgiving evening, which I think was quite appropriate.

 

Bottle - Warmly sweet and fruity with some spices.

 

On- Nice! It's almost apple-cidery, I get the spices in the cobbler and the fruit isn't too overwhelming. There is a light boozy-ness that just makes the whole scent nice and warm. My 3 year old thinks it smells like bubble gum, though, but her scent palate isn't particularly well-rounded yet.

 

Drying - For those fearing "smoky" scents, this never gets very smoky or bonfire-like on me. On drydown is where just a hint of snuggling up around a fireplace comes in - it is perfect mixed with the touch of spicy-sweet booze that remains.

 

Overall - Very good holiday scent, but I don't know if I would wear it much outside of the season. Warm, slightly spicy/boozy, and the fruit pie stays under control (no cherry at all, as I was fearing).

[Koumori]

This is a surprise hit for me. I actually ordered it as an afterthought, but I'm really enjoying it-- it's perfect for winter. I don't get much of the firewood. When I first put it on I get a strong initial hit of cinnamon and spice, and that remains the dominant note for me on drydown. There's some warm boozy notes lingering underneath, but this is mostly a spicy, warm, expansive scent.

 

ETA: This scent has great lasting power on me. After a few hours the boozy/sherry/woody notes really start coming out.

Edited November 28, 2010 by Koumori

[filigree_shadow]

Hunh. I was expecting some sort of burning wood scent with a little bit of maybe fruit or something. Nope.

 

It's a soft, dry, spice. Nothing hot or overwhelming, but definitely warm and spicy. It's not what I was expecting, but it's comforting and enjoyable -- and I'm not a gal who usually likes spicy scents. This one is nice.

[DeltaCat]

Pure sherry spice on me. I too was hoping for a little more of a firewood/smoky smell, but the sherry spice wins out! Not too boozy, but just enough to let you know that sherry is involved.

[strahlend]

Since last years Joulumuori I've been quite interested in hearth scents.

On my skin this smells like berries or currants of some kind. Foody all the way. I was really hoping for something more woodsy or smokey.

[dawndie]

Wet: tannic red wine

 

On skin: spicy dark fruit, yum!

 

Half-hour later: dark fruit with a bit of smoke

 

In conclusion: I'd love to find a dupe of Hearth '05, fruity sweet tobacco, and this one's close. It's spicy fruit teetering on the edge of potpourri. I liked the beginning a bunch, more than the ending.

[SurrealReality]

In the Bottle:

Fruity (mostly orange, but there are definitely a few other fruits in here as well) & alcoholic with a hint of.... I could swear cinnamon

 

Wet on Skin:

The cinnamon is a lot stronger on than it was in the bottle, firewood (but no smoke), alcohol, & a hint of fruit

 

Dry:

sugary sweet cinnamon and lots of it, firewood, & hints of alcohol and fruit

 

The cinnamon was unexpected.... since there's no cinnamon listed in the notes (and it doesn't look like sherry cobbler is meant to contain spice), I have to assume that I'm not really smelling cinnamon, but rather something else that my nose is reading as cinnamon. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of smoke, but this scent is too spicy for me

 

For those of you who aren't sure what Sherry Cobbler is, it is NOT a dessert (as I originally thought before reading the whole description ). It's an alcoholic beverage usually made with sherry wine, sugar, and oranges

Edited December 7, 2010 by SurrealReality

[Ina Garten Davita]

This was a real shocker for me as I was expecting something smokier. But what I got was so much more! It's a fruity, sherry soaked pudding flying around me on a cinnamon broom with just a hint of a crackling fire in the background. It lasts for ages and is simply a joyful, holiday-in-the-kitchen-by-the-fireplace scent. Who knew the Cratchet's home smelled this wonderful?

[edenssixthday]

Bob Cratchit's Hearth - When I sniff this in the bottle, I mostly smell sherry and warm, spicy goodness. Once it hits my skin, the firewood really comes out. It doesn't smell like a bonfire, it actually smells like burning, charred firewood. It's an amazing scent that I haven't encountered before in a BPAL. The firewood and spices and sherry blend gorgeously together. I was worried the foodiness of the pie would make the scent "turn" on my skin, but it doesn't. It's really, really lovely. It's a very subtle scent on me -- an hour after application, I can barely smell it on my skin. But I love it, so I'll wear it again and just apply a little more next time.

[Incendiare]

In the vial, I smell sherry. Wet, the woods and spices, mostly cinnamon, come out and push the sherry to the back of the line. On me, the firewood doesn't even smell like it's burning. This is something I'd imagine smelling in a cabin in the middle of winter. It's warm and reassuring with a hint of foodiness. This blend is a nice surprise!

[Dark Alice]

At first this was SHERRY!!!!! And it was a bit too strong. Then it dried down to this delicious sherry woodfiery scent. It's just gorgeous and perfect for the holiday. I think I will wear this tomorrow. Don't know if I need a bottle or not though....?

[milo]

At first, this is mentholated ashes, very strange and kind of off-putting. It feels kind of like peppermint on my skin, a cooling effect. Then, perhaps one of the most dramatic morphing turnarounds in my bpal history, it is now a beautiful plum sherry with spice. The ash is now gone. This reminds me of Sin, or a more sweeter, spicier (less incencey) Hellion. It definitely is Christmassy in a festive, spicy way. The Sherry is at first alcoholly, but that soon fades off. I really like this, and am contemplating a bottle. Not sure how much I'd actually wear it, though, as it is quite festive and definitely reminiscent of Christmas.

[zankoku_zen]

Sherry and wood. It smells like a more boozey version of Hearth, not as smoky and with an occasional whiff of oranges.

 

Very festive.

[angelicruin]

Heavy sherry note in this one with a slight smoky quality. Very nice!

[SophieCedar]

Wet: ooh wow! This is spicy sweet warm, woody. the sherry note is there. This cobbler is saturated! There's a nutmeg or cinnamon note and a bit of orange and nuts?

Drydown: the booze wore off and there's more firewood but still spicy and warm. I'm not sure this is safe for work. I smell a bit like a sherry hangover. I like it but it's one of those that need to stay at home, like unsavory gravediggers.

[Little Bird]

I wish that my skin didn't amp up spice notes, because I love the sounds of other people's reviews for this one, but all I get is spice.

I don't get any sensual smokiness, wood, or fruity wine from this. Bob's Hearth is all cinnamon all the time on me. It's like sharp cider spices with emphasis on the cinnamon and not much in the way of actual fruitiness. My husband said I smell like potpourri when I wore this :/

[Altaira]

This is... not at all what I was expecting.

 

It is bright, a bit like ginger ale and very light on me. Reminds me of Atomic Luau scents - like Blue Fire but with faint maraschino cherry instead of blueberry. I don't get any fire or wood at all. No cake or food either. Just vaguely effervescent beverage. Rather like a Shirley Temple.

[cinnamonster]

Upon first sniff in the decant my first thoughts were that it was like Prospero. Well my nose must've been broken that day. Upon skin testing, I did a side by side comparison out of interest and they weren't the same.

 

It smells like a fizzy (red not champagne-type) wine, with an undertone of pastry. Not sweet pastries. Just pastry. I don't get the firewood bit, and it is very fizzy smelling, not really what I was expecting. It's wearable but not something I'd go crazy for.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: The sherry wine, oranges, and a hint of smoke.

 

Wet: The orange note pushes to the forefront, and all else is left in the background.

 

The dry-down: Something spicy has emerged, and I suspect it's the spices that might have gone into the sherry-cobler. The orange note is still very present, and that hint of smoke has returned. I like this, but not as a perfume; I think that it will be lovely as a room scent.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

On my skin, this isn't as smoky as I was hoping it would be.. mostly I can smell the sherry and something vaguely pastry/cake-ish. When I first applied it, I could smell a really sweet fruit - almost a bubblegum - which turned into more of a sweet apricot-like smell and eventually dried down into the sherry smell.

 

There's really nothing remarkable about this one for me - it's nice, but not really nice. I have other 'hearth' type BPALs that I like better.. and the fruit in here is just too strong in the blend, if it had more of the smoke/wood aspect I'd be happier but alas.. nope.

[Venneh]

In the imp, this is super fruity. On my skin, though? A smoky fireplace and plum cobbler. Absolutely spectacular. Have to find a bottle of this.

Edited February 5, 2011 by Venneh

[aleciarivas]

Another scent I wouldn't have chosen for myself, and was pleasantly surprised by! This is a complicated scent and I'm having a hard time picking the notes out. I do pick up something slightly sweet beneath the firewood-type scent (slightly woodsy, slightly smoky), maybe something fruity? It's a gorgeous blend though and really, really comforting for some reason!

[rhubarb3point14]

Blargh. I was hoping for mostly smoke and hearth-iness, but what I got was potpourri and stewed fruit: oranges, grapes, apples. I really don't wear those notes very well, so the end result was a headache. :-/

Edited July 18, 2012 by rhubarb3point14

[Lucchesa]

I was hoping for more glowing firewood, possibly some roasting chestnuts, and less sherry cobbler. Wine notes are often too sweet on me to begin with, and this is combined with fruit, the apples and oranges of the extended description. So on me this is a warm fruity sherry (I do not get spice - not a mulled wine sort of thing), and only after two or three hours does a smoky "hearth" note become prominent. So the late drydown was lovely, but overall it was much too fruity for my tastes.