Hagsgate

[absinthetics]

HAGSGATE
“When those words were first spoken,” Drinn said, “Haggard had not been long in the country, and all of it was still soft and blooming – all but the town of Hagsgate. Hagsgate was then as this land has become: a scrabbly, bare place where men put great stones on the roofs of their huts to keep them from blowing away.” He grinned bitterly at the older men. “Crops to harvest, stock to tend! You grew cabbages and rutabagas and a few pale potatoes, and in all of Hagsgate there was but one weary cow. Strangers thought the town accursed, having offended some vindictive witch or other.”

Molly felt the unicorn go by in the street, then turn and come back, restless as the torches on the walls, that bowed and wriggled. She wanted to run out to her, but instead she asked quietly, “And afterward, when that had come true?”

Drinn answered, “From that moment, we have known nothing but bounty. Our grim earth has grown so kind that gardensand orchards spring up by themselves – we need neither to plant nor to tend them. Our flocks multiply; our craftsmen become more clever in their sleep; the air we breathe and the water we drink keep us from ever knowing illness. All sorrow parts to go around us – and this has come about while the rest of the realm, once so green, has shriveled to cinders under Haggard’s hand. For fifty years, none but he and we have prospered. It is as though all others had been cursed.”

An accursed bounty: rich black soil and hay, cucumber, tomato, red lettuce, summer squash, black eggplant, arugula, grape vine, artichoke, and a tangle of herbs marred by an undercurrent of vetiver, patchouli, and black moss.

An evil, wooden gate a midst a deeply wooded area. The wood is old, gnarled and worn with time. This scent is woody but green. The lettuce, tomato and eggplant make this a sharp, interesting blend. They come out brightly when worn, but in the bottle they make this a cloying green scent like none I have smelled before. Though there is a dirt/soil note it's not dominant either in the bottle or dry-down. This is much more complex then something like Premature Burial. There is an herbal note like Marshwoman's Beer. The vetiver and patchouli add to the depth of this scent but they are not something that would ruin this for people who dislike those notes. Overall this is a VERY interesting scent! Recommended for RP scent people, you could create an interesting place with this.

[stellans]

Oh. My. Goodness. This is the lovely summer garden scent I've been lusting for ever since Planting Moon was released! (I wear Lunacies at night, so I wanted a 'sister' scent to wear during the day!) This blend is amazing: I get all the different vegetative notes, plus the underlying darkness which represents the "Curse of Hagsgate." The tomato leaf, squash etc. are amazing just by themselves, and would be enough to prompt a bottle purchase, but the vetiver and the patchouli just make this blend a must-hoard! I love, love, love it! 4 of 5 stars.

[edenssixthday]

Hagsgate - I was actually quite surprised to come to this review thread and see that the scent description is so complex and varied, because I thought for certain this was a two- or three-note blend at most. When I sniff it in the vial, I smell dirt and earthiness and when I apply it on my skin, I smell grassy greenery, which is probably the cucumber and lettuce. I don't smell any of the herbs or vegetables, tomato, or darker notes. It's a very, very simple scent to my nose.

[Little Bird]

On me, Hagsgate is like Planting Moon minus the dirt. The description lists 'black soil,' but I don't pick up on any earthiness at all. I'm glad that it's not heavy on the dirt note, though, because that makes this blend a lot more wearable and clean smelling to me. When I put this on, I smell like I've rolled through a row of tomato plants and sliced cucumbers <3. It's a good mix of that fuzzy, slightly spicy, green smell that tomato leaves have, plus the crisp, watery, cool, clean smell of freshly sliced cucumber.

 

The tomato and cucumber remind me of happy moments from my childhood, so I find this to be a really pleasant scent, and it's just such a nice, clean, natural sort of smell.

[gniwle]

This is delightful! On me, it's crisp and GREEN with a tiny dust of spice. It's one of those scents that I was a little confused about, but now I can't stop smelling my wrist.

[zankoku_zen]

GREEEN. This has the same green planty smell that Green Party and Planting Moon have... but available via the GC catalogue. It's a nice green, stem-like, breezy, clean smell.

[ajansuz]

In the imp, lots of cucumber and tomato leaf and stem, something sweetly floral, and an astringent and clean herbal bite.

 

Wet, I get lots of the cucumber initially, but it fades away really quickly. It's a green, sweet scent. I get no dirt, no vetiver, no patchouli, none of the dirt or earthy notes I was really hoping for.

 

Once it's dry, it's a green, vegetative floral on my wrists and a vegetable medley in the crook of my arms. It goes too sweet to be herbal and is too herbal for a floral, so it's just not quite a good fit for my body chemistry. It's a very interesting fragrance, though. If you're a foodie who doesn't like cloying food scents, give this one a go. The vegetables are very true to form.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sweet vegetables. Kind of sharp and surprisingly clean.

 

Drydown: There’s definitely an herbal soap vibe going on here. I'm getting just a hint of tomato leaf and bitter leaves. Subtle patchouli actually seems to be the central character, followed by whatever that sharp note is.

 

Dry: A gentle sweetness comes and goes over this herbal and surprisingly soft and clean blend. It’s outdoorsy yet feminine and almost dainty. I think it would make a great room spray, as it reminds me of a countryside inn or a bed and breakfast in the Poconos.

 

 

 

 

6 out of 10 bones

Edited July 2, 2013 by BoneBone24

[DiesMali]

In the imp: This doesn’t have a very strong scent in the imp, but I can detect the cucumber and herbs, and yep there’s the patchouli.

Wet on my skin: Oh, hello patchouli and hay! It’s not like stable hay, though, but rather the sweet drying bales out in the field. And there’s everything else growing in the field, too. I can’t really pick out the individual vegetable notes, but it’s got a pleasant sort of earthy herbal smell on my skin.

Dry: Mmmm. It’s not very powerful on me, but I still get that lovely sweet hay and herbal scent, with the dark, fertile soil and more patchouli, which on me goes smoky. This is all the pleasant scents you’d get whiffs of as you walked through the fields of a medieval farming town. It smells a little different each time I sniff it. I’m not sure it’s big bottle worthy, but I’ll definitely use up the imp.

Edited January 24, 2015 by DiesMali

[savage_rose]

Summer in a bottle! It's like a spicy, richer, more complex Planting Moon. Mostly lettuce, tomato, cucumber, but it's like a spectrum of garden goodness. And the vetiver is playing nicely! A dream blend

 

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: The exact sensory experience of walking out into a riotous vegetable garden on a summer evening, when all the plants are releasing their aromas after the heat of the day. A very, very green scent - mostly vegetal (I think I can actually pick out the slightly spicy tomato vines and wet, fresh cucumber in there), but a little herbal, and I think I can pick out the soil, too. (Unless that's the vetiver.)

 

Wet: I love green scents, and I have a lot of them, but this is truly unique. Most of my greens are "mage's pouch of herbs"-type green, but this is the purest gardener's green I've ever smelled. Sam Gamgee would smell like this, along with some wool and pipeweed smoke.

 

Dry: Dammit. Like so many promising green blends, this one ends up as pure soap before half an hour has gone by. I think I've narrowed the culprit down to either dead leaves (which would be an unlisted note, but I would believe it's in here, thematically speaking) or moss. Dammit, dead leaves and/or moss! Perhaps this will work better in a scent locket, or as a room scent.

[Lucchesa]

Hagsgate went on sharp and a little sour, so I didn't have high hopes for it. But ten minutes later I was walking the dog and sniffed my wrist and wow. It had blossomed into something absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't remember what all was in it, and now that I look at the notes, I'm not surprised. Cucumber definitely, but I would never have pegged eggplant or artichoke. But garden greenery mixed with the lovely BPAL soil note. I never got vetiver at all, so if that's your sticking point, I think you're safe here. The patchouli seems to blend with the soil as a supporting player. I swapped for this because I was intrigued by it, but it turns out to be a surprise hit for me.

[roseus]

Oh this is so beautiful. It's lush and green. Watery crisp cucumber, tomato leaf (to me it's more the leaf than the actual tomato), slightly bitter lettuce greens. It's smells like too-good-to-be-true abundance. I get just a bit of warm soil and patchouli underneath the greenness.