Gathering Wild Mushrooms

[HerbGirl]

Wild mushrooms, hay absolute, ginger root, hiba wood, and ginseng.

I saw Hay and Wild Mushrooms in the notes and I had to have this oil. My dial up internet made it very difficult to see the art on which this was based, and when I got my bottle I had a laugh! What a picture!

This starts off VERY heavy on the hiba wood and a cloying ginger (not sweet cloying but heavy) with a nice bit of the dirty ginseng underneath giving it a golden vibe. I never smell mushrooms and I was looking for them...I'm not disappointed because this is quite a lovely scent in it's own unique way.

About an hour on, this has stopped morphing on my skin and it is now the lightest, golden hay scent with a touch of ginger and grounded by the ginseng and wood. Gathering Wild Mushrooms sticks around for at least 4 hours.

I recoiled when I smelled it in the bottle last night...but it's actually quite nice on my skin after the first 15 minutes. I love that dirty ginseng smell...it pairs really nicely with the hay.

Wild mushrooms, hay absolute, ginger root, hiba wood, and ginseng

So, I get all of the notes except for the mushrooms...but I get the vibe. 8/10 because it's beautiful and unique, but I can tell it will be difficult to wear - even for an earthy "hippie" type like me. I hope that made sense.

ETA: This does not smell similar to Hay Moon at all IMHO.

[Mellifluous]

I agree with Herb Girl. This is not Hay moon.. and not even like the hay from Brood. This smells almost completely like a mixture of mushrooms and carrot seed. I do get the hiba wood and rooty/dirty mushrooms and ginger, but the overall scent is of carrot seed. A very herbal and dirty blend with a touch of that gensing/ginger fresh heat.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Soft, very herbal in a chalky sort of way. I’m guessing that thing that smells like green wood is the hiba wood as it’s unfamiliar but logical. Let’s call it hiba dominant, with ginseng and mushrooms blending with and supporting it. The ginger and hay are present and make a pleasant background, with the ginger giving it a little edge. The mushroom note contains either death Cap and/or devil’s claw. I’m forgetting which is which as it’s been a while. I’m not a fan of either, but it works okay in this blend where it isn’t dominant. Wet: A lot more mushrooms on the skin. It’s less chalky, as the mushrooms warm up. The ginger root comes out a little slower, but wow, is it doing gorgeous things with the mushrooms, hiba wood, ginseng, and hay. I’d call the ginger root strongest, but honestly, this is very balanced, with the ginger a bit stronger and the ginseng a bit weaker. The mushrooms are strong enough here to make it not quite work for me, but it’s close. Dry: Not as unusual, but still lovely. Ginseng fades least, and ginger second least, with the rest mostly fading to background.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Gwydion

[Incendiare]

I already knew that this one wasn't going to be for me, so when I opened the vial, surprise surprise, bitter hay, wood, dampness, and even some weird sourness in there too. This is one that I will not skin test, because I already know that the hiba wood will unleash its insanity and dry everything up even more, and the hay will be its partner in crime and make this even more bitter.

[zankoku_zen]

Mushrooms, hay and wood. This is a delicate, very earthy, very manly sort of scent.

 

It smells like the outdoors.

[orata]

Earthy and rooty with a certain clean sharpness to it from the ginger, ginseng, and hay. I actually would have said it had lots of vetiver, which I guess must be the hiba wood and/or mushrooms. It seems strongly related to Entangled from the same update, but less creamy/sweetened than that one. As it dries, there is something slightly sweet and herbal coming up here through the vetiver that reminds me of carrots, anise, and mint.

[lohengrin]

In the decant: Earthy, rooty, and with a hint of spicy ginger kick.

 

On skin, wet: Something in here goes slightly perfumey on me--I suspect the hiba wood. It's still a bit gingery, but the earthiness is gone.

 

On skin, dry: Yay, the perfumey phase was brief! Now this smells like hay and a little bit of spicy ginger.

 

After an hour: Warm hay and spice. This is a really fascinating scent, and quite pleasant, but I'm not sure I can see myself actually wearing it. Which is probably a good thing, since it means I don't have to track down a bottle.

[milo]

I love Death Cap, so I had high hopes for this! At first, strong and astringent, and strong vetiver-like ginger. Not good so far...Dry, pretty much Death Cap on me, so I am a happy girl! Soft, brown dirty and soft, I love this, though I do have two imps of Death Cap, so I probably don't need any more.

[Little Bird]

First on, this smells like dirt, mushrooms and a sharp, cool (almost a menthol/eucalyptus smell to my nose), damp sort of herbal tone. Dries down to earth, warm, sharp ginger and dry wood/hay on my skin. It fades quickly on me, and there are other dirt scents that I find more wearable than this one (Death Cap, Badger, Premature Burial).