Hell's Acres Yule Tree Farm

[stellamaris]

Providing Yule trees for the Miskatonic Valley community since the Year of the Black Goat! Our saplings are imported directly from the Land of Three Suns, and are cultivated organically while strictly observing the blood rites necessary for optimum growth.

We have pyre-ready firewood for sale, plus free candy canes and hot cocoa for the kids!

We also offer ceremonial flocking!

 

Me first with my pitiful review...okay then! This one surprised me, I hesitated to even try it, I could not figure out what was going on just by sniffing the bottle. But I took the plunge today so here goes!
First blast wet is the pine, but not Pine Sol baby, more of a soft sweet Christmas tree pine. Dry though it burns off to amazing, dark, gorgeous round resins. No powder, therefore no amber me thinks...

This is fabulous, I think it may be the Yule sleeper hit, lovers of the "darker" BPALs will want this one, but it has the same sweetness of Onduris, without the snow note dominating.
I do feel the fire thing, without being over aggressive, and I do smell a sweetness much like the one in July '11? 13, or Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, but this is not "foody" to me, it's more sexy, smoldering, than say, cookies.

[witchling]

black temple burlesque troupe with pine!

thus, this did not work for me. it had the same powderyness that i cannot stand with BTBT. the pine is a pleasant one though, and if BTBT works with your skin chemistry, then i imagine this is probably just as wonderful, if not more, because the pine gives it a little extra zing.

[fairestrocza]

The tree farm starts off with a blast of evergreen. I generally like piney notes, but here there is a softer note in the background that probably improves the scent for other people, but detracts for me personally. The evergreen scent completely disappears within minutes, to be replaced with a powdery/talc note behind a developing amber (I think the powdery note is something other than the amber... maybe related to the cocoa). The hot cocoa is undetectable up close, but when I wore this last night, I kept catching faint whiffs of cocoa, and it took me a while to figure out that it was probably bpal and not coming from somewhere in my house. The powdery note also disappears rapidly, leaving a delicate amber scent.

I expected a much more aggressive scent out of Hell's Acres. I think I'll have to wear this a few more times before I decide if I need more. The drydown is lovely, but maybe too similar to other items in my amber collection.

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Fresh pine and... something. No idea what

 

Wet: Pine and OH! Peppermint! That's what that is

 

Dry: Mint died off quickly, leaving a citrus-y Pine-Sol. I think it's the amber adding the oddly citrus note. I don't know, my nose is broken :x

[Numanoid]

Wet in vial: Nice pine scent...a bit strong, but nice.

 

On Skin: WHOA NELLY!! The SECOND I put this on, it went super hyper-piney on me. Eyes watered, sinuses cleared! Only lasted a few seconds, but ouch!

 

Drydown: Peppermint comes out, but mixed with the pine, on me, smells like a dollar store cleaner! I had high hopes for this because I would love to find a nice tree/pine/Christmas scent, but they all go Pine Sol on me! This was a no-go for me!

[MadameGorgon]

As reported by the others, it is predominantly pine. I also got some refreshing chilly mint. It most definitely has something dark and sexy in there. It has a little bit of a sporty open air feel to it and makes me think of the old days of riding the fresh powder on a Colorado ski mountain while sipping from a thermos of hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps.

 

Surprisingly, Hubs gave it the thumbs up, so I will have to do a more thorough test and see how it goes.

 

I agree that this might be a sleeper hit. If pine turns to Pine-sol on you, it probably won't work. But if you like The sinus clearing freshness of Jabberwocky, you will probably like this, too.

Edited December 23, 2012 by ih8perfume

[Jazzi]

In the vial, this is way too strong and sharp for my taste. The minute it goes on, it is all Pine-Sol ... Then it starts to warm up and turns in to exactly what the description states. You get the pine up front, a chilly bit of winter air, a slight nip of peppermint, and cocoa beneath it all. It's really amazing to note the amount of depth and interest contained in this one scent.

 

Even though it really isn't "my thing," I was going to keep it ... Until my skin chemistry caught 'hold of it and managed to turn it into something over-sweet and floral, as it does with all good things. I'm going to let it settle a bit and then give it a full-day test after I day-test my other Yule decants before I decide whether to swap it away or not, though.

[Little Bird]

I agree that this is reminiscent of Jabberwocky and PineSol. I'm not getting any chocolate/cocoa, but lots of sharp, sour pine and bracing mint. The drydown after a half hour turns slightly baby powdery.

 

I prefer smoother pine blends with a darker or sweeter element to them (like Golden Priapus and Yule Cat), so this isn't working for me.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Pine, the firewood, hint of mint from the candy canes.

 

Wet: Minty-fresh pine trees.

 

The dry-down: Can't say that I ever got hot cocoa out of this, but it may be the sweetish background note that is taming the peppermint and the pine trees. An interesting concept well rendered. If you don't have a pine scent in your collection, this mild pine might be a good one to try.

[zankoku_zen]

Dark, musky pine. With swirls of myrrh.

 

Dark, resinous, pine.

[fufu_berry]

On wet: Pine, yay!

 

Drydown: Candy canes and powder - it's not too sweet, but it's extremely powdery on me. Boo

 

After a while: Pine is back, but still quite powdery. I like the overall profile (pine and mint) but the weird powderiness is making my nose feel twitchy. I'll probably test this again, maybe layered with something a little more woodsy to see if I can tame the powder. If not, it'll have to go.

 

ETA: This just got more and more powdery and sneezy until I had to wash it off. Bummer!

Edited January 18, 2013 by fufu_berry

[a_llb]

In vial: PINEY. Antiseptic and sharp.

 

Wet: Fades to a lovely smoky wood. This is the scent of distant bonfires you can detect on the cold breeze as you pick out the perfect tree.

 

Dry: Same as wet - lightly smoky, powdery pine wood.

 

Verdict: Not one I'd reach for, but it is certainly atmospheric! It would be better as a room spray I think.

[KindKit]

I didn't get pine (or mint, or cocoa) at all from this, just a rather muted incense-y smell. I wonder if I received the wrong decant, actually.

[porcelina]

so, thinking about what we're supposed to be smelling here… snow, wood, candy canes, cocoa, christmas trees? maybe blood?

 

i tried on hell's acres and got an instant stuffy nose. i'm getting soft pine and wood, sweetened by something marshmallow-like, maybe a little powdery. there are no real individual notes; there could be a touch of sweet peppermint. it feels christmassy to me without being obvious.

 

it's a soft, muted scent. it's nice but if i can't wear it without feeling stuffy and sneezy, then it will have to go.

[milo]

My sniffie is bone dry, so I'm a tad disappointed. From what I can smell of it, this smells like pine cleaner, of the non realistic variety. I wish I could have skin tested this...

[aquazoo]

Hairspray. Fortunately that fades and I get a soft chocolate mint. Finally the wood turns up, a little bit piney.

[doomsday_disco]

This was all sharp pine and dark myrrh on me. No hot cocoa. No candy canes. The myrrh does soften over time, so that it ends up being a pine-infused myrrh scent and not just two sharp notes clashing together, but the pine here doesn't make me think of Christmas tree lots at all.

 

I was so hoping for more tree and the presence of some hot cocoa and candy cane. Alas.  

[Poenari]

I received this as a frottle from the Lab last year and forgot to review it! 

 

In the bottle, a blast of strong fresh pine tree! Whew! But it barely takes a minute after application that the pine dries down on my skin from a sharp blast to a cozy real Christmas tree in the house, a few days after it's been decorated and settled. You can smell the tree as you get close to it, but it doesn't blast you from across the room. That's how it is on my wrist. And there is a dark musk, likely black musk, that tempers it. A slight powder mingled with the musk, possibly myrrh, and the slightest hint of mint and cocoa. This is a great scent, cozier than I expected, and perfect for snuggling under a blanket near the tree, watching a sappy Hallmark Christmas movie, drinking bourbon-enriched hot cocoa with marshmallows.

Edited to add: today I'm getting a waft of frankincense too!

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Poenari