Sjöfn

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Seventh is Sjofn. She is much concerned to direct people’s minds to love, both women and men. Our song to the Norse Goddess of Love is scented with apples and birch and bound with apple blossoms.

 

Wow, comparisons to The Hesperides are bang-on--this is a spring apple scent instead of an autumn apple scent; it smells like crisp green Granny Smith and/or Golden Delicious apples plus a sweet hint of apple blossom. It's tart, fresh, and delicious!

[lady_pandora]

Sjofn is apple bubblegum on me, and fades to faintness pretty quickly. It's sweet and pretty, but I have other apple BPALs that do more for me.

[sunlitgarden]

I just got this as a Lab frimp.

In the imp: Crisp watery apple, more sweet than tart.

On my skin: Very sweet apple with just a bit of something spicy. It still smells very "watery" to me. This is light, fresh, and clean-smelling, so much so that it's kind of reminding me of a bath product. (I used to enjoy Bath and Body Works Country Apple, so maybe that's why... I actually bought another bottle of it at the last sale for nostalgia's sake, despite its kind of fakeness... but I digress.)

There isn't a strong wood note in this, but I think the birch might be what I called "spice" at first.

Like most apple blends on me, this fades pretty quickly, but it's nice while it lasts. Overall, I like this a lot, though it's similar to some of the Weenie apple blends I've tried. But this is GC, which is always a bonus! I'll keep this imp, though I probably wouldn't use it enough to justify a whole bottle.

[Kay Torres]

In the imp: This smelled like it could be interesting. A floral candy-ish apple.

 

Wet: Dude, it smells like a Jolly Rancher.

 

Dry: It STILL smells like a Jolly Rancher. Not kidding. The perfume-y apple blossom and the wood disappeared into my skin, never to return and all that's left behind is an apple Jolly Rancher.

 

It's very light and stays close to the skin. Can't speak to its longevity yet, I've only had it on for two hours. But it seems like it may be fading already. I will not apply more.

 

eta* After about five hours, there was nothing left of this.

Edited April 15, 2016 by SunsetKay

[brettashley]

Lab frimp! Crisp apples and floral perfume - there's actually something almost laundry musk-ish about it. I think I'd have liked it better with more woods, less clean. Nice, but not a bottle purchase for me.

[Little Bird]

It's interesting how different this is on everyone. I was hoping that I'd be in the camp of people who are getting tons of sugar and apple jolly ranchers from this, but apple blossom does its usual thing on me and immediately turns to soap. I smell like apple-floral shampoo.

[Coldfire]

Imp: apple Fruit Stripe!!!
Wet on Me: apple Kirkland's store!!!!
Drying Down: dark red apple-fruits and way deep below all that the faintest of traces of incense
Dry: faint dark apple and fruits. Love it. Keep!!!

[marilyn eyre]

Smells like biting into a juicy Golden Delicious apple. Love it!

[Casablanca]

On the wand, I smell apples, but with a fresh, brisk chilliness, flowers, and a little wood. A quite sweet, almost candy-like alpine or subarctic spring.

 

On my skin, this is similar, but even sweeter, and less chilly. It’s like a yellow apple sugar syrup. I can see the similarity between this apple note and that in Golden Apple of the Sun. I really love the white wood note in this – I wish there were more of it to tone down the sweetness, which is considerable. Nice throw, though.

 

I want a different balance, and Sjofn comes closer to that once dried: the birch comes out a little more. But for me it doesn’t come out enough to balance the sweetness of the rest.

 

I would probably bottle this if it were more wood and less sweetness. As it is, it’s too apple syrupy-sweet for me.

[mishi-bear]

Sjofn is probably my favorite bpal apple scent. It's a sweet golden apple fresh off the branch. The apple blossom and birch are barely there, but they -are- there, just quietly in the background, adding a general sweet-freshness to the scent.

 

Unfortunately, bpal apple scents never last long on me, and Sjofn is no exception. It lasts probably the longest on me of all bpal apple scents I've tried, but still barely 2hours. Still, I love it enough to slather as much as I can stand on multiple times throughout the day, and I'll likely be needing a big bottle of it soon.

[ianastar]

Wow I didn't get apples at all from this. Wet and out of the bottle it is very sweet and lightly floral. More sweet and candy like for me.

 

On the dry down and even after a few hours of wearing this reminds me of those orange-cinnamon brooms/wreaths you get around this time of year. Its not overwhelming in cinnamon, but it is just reminiscent of those brooms. Im not sure why as it doesn't have cinnamon or orange.

 

I never got the apple/apple blossoms but wish I had. Not of fan of this after it dried down .

[Missy_killer]

In the imp: Smells like bitter almonds (or artificial cherry). Next sniff is all green apples. I really don't like the smell of bitter almonds so I'm not sure that I like this combo very much.

 

On me: Almonds! And then some spices flare up and disappear. After that green apple peels takes the wheel. The scent is fresh and crisp, but not juicy. I'm VERY happy that the almonds went away!! There's another note in here too that I can't really place.. Maybe that's the "tree"-part? Have not gotten any apple blossoms either.

 

After keeping it on my skin for a while it changes again and this time I'm not sure what I'm smelling.. None of the listed notes fits what my nose is picking up.

 

The apples never return to full force. I catch a whiff of it every once in a while for an hour and then it disappears, doesn't have long staying power on me.

[ramblingrambler]

This is an extremely sweet, apple-forward floral. I thought the sweet apple would have faded as the scent continued to wear on, but it almost felt like it got stronger somehow. I tend not to wear apple fragrances, but this one is quite nice. I’m giving my sister my imp, and I will probably buy her a bottle for her birthday since apple fragrances are her favorite. It’s bottle worthy for you apple types.

[roseus]

In the imp: apple candy

 

Wet: more natural tart green apple and sharp herbal birch (almost smells like leather to me)

 

Dry: The apple and apple blossom are the most prominent, floral and sweet but with a tartness. I get just a hint of birch underneath and it no longer reminds me of leather, just a soft herbal note. Loving this as a spring apple scent.

[sarandipitee]

Sweet, delicious apple straight out of the gate. Dry is a peppery floral. Very close to the skin. 

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Tart Granny Smith apple with some kind of grounding note. If I didn't have the list of notes, I might guess sandalwood.

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the tart apple dominates. I do get fresh apple rather than a candy note as has happened for some. As it dries, the more floral note of apple blossom emerges, blending with and possibly becoming just a bit stronger than the apple note, at least on me at this stage. The birch is barely detectable in the background as a grounding note. 

 

I do get a very fresh, floral, fruity springtime fragrance, but this one just isn't me. Glad I got to try the imp, but I'll be rehoming. 

[spookyumbrella]

Fresh golden delicious apples combined with a bit of woodiness from the birch and a soft wash of apple blossom. This one smells extremely realistic! Doesnt seem to have the longest life, though.

[niffler]

In the imp: Golden delicious apples, freshly picked from the orchard with one bitten into. Not at all candy-like or overly sweet. 

On my skin: Fresh apples, just washed and ready to be eaten or cooked. Definitely golden delicious apples to me, just barely ripe so they retain that crystal clear tart juice. The apple blossoms are in the background adding a fantastical headiness. I can't pick out the birch specifically, but I really don't mind. It makes me miss going apple picking in the fall, although the scent itself feels more like spring. Lovely.  

[feyofthefellwood]

I'm getting sweet, realistic golden delicious apple. The underpinning of birch keeps it from being cloying and the apple blossoms give it some throw. Simple and lovely. I didn't expect to like this as much as Poisoned Apple, but it's on that level of apple goodness for me.

[Laughing Seagull]

I bought a fresh imp of this from the lab.  In the vial, it smelled like apples, mostly.

 

Wet on my skin with two wand swipes, it becomes 100% black/cherry birch tree.  Black birch has a wintergreen-like smell.  I'm very familiar with it.  Though I generally like that smell, it's not as nice as a perfume as I had expected.  As it dries, the apple comes back with the birch in the background.  It lasts for quite a long time and stays fairly close to the skin.

 

It's true to the description and nice for what it is, but unfortunately it reminds me too much of an apple bathroom spray that my dad used to use way too much of.  Ugh!!

[monocainsheresy]

Sweet, tart apples and powdery apple blossom. I can't smell the birch outright but I think it's doing something to ground this otherwise very bright and light scent.

Mostly that beautiful, juice-dripping-down-your-chin apple note the lab does so well! 

 

Update 10 minutes later: Woah! Morph alert! Crayons? Pink erasers?? There's the birch, and it smells like pencils!

Edited October 29, 2020 by monocainsheresy

[bambi]

In the bottle, this is a beautiful, sweet and tart golden apple. On the skin, the birch comes out a bit, giving a green woodiness that actually smells a bit like acetone at first. Thankfully, that passes quickly, and it starts to dry into a crisp, sweet, bright, slightly-floral apple. The apple and apple blossom weave in and out of each other in the dry stage, and the birch is just hanging out there in the background. It's an absolutely lovely spring-time scent.

[skyturtles]

Oh, Sjöfn. I received a frimp of this, and didn't even know who she was! I am ashamed to admit this, because of all the gods and goddesses, I have a connection to Idunna, the Norse goddess of youth who supplies the gods with immortality from her magical golden... apples. Yes, apples.

 

So imagine my delight when I discovered that "Sjöfn" smelled unmistakably like apples! Not as sweet as apple juice, not as tart as a granny smith. It must be the apple blossom shining through to take your stereotypical apple scent to the next level. It's light, every so slightly floral, with a touch of sweetness. Golden; perfect for spring.

 

I have not noticed a whole lot of difference between wet and dry - it's a fairly straightforward scent without too much complexity.

[Rane.]

Obtained an imp in 2018, & left a review on the main site, "how do you make things smell wet??" Haha But now I have a bottle, 2020. The birch is an interesting scent I'm glad to have encountered. This one right out of the bottle smells like wet, juicy apples, & fragrant apple blossoms, all growing by birch trees, & a clear stream nearby with the sweetest water you've ever tasted. Not overpowering either. That's the impression I get when wearing this. Totally balanced, & it's slightly grassy towards the end, too.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Rane.
*typos

[alyelle]

The lab went through a phase of giving me new versions of things I'd tried long ago in 2021. I went through a phase of liking them better. My previous review of Sjofn, for a 2014 purchase, is here. 

 

In the imp: Apples and cream.

 

Wet: Apples, sugared cream, musk, and the faintest shavings of birch.

 

Dry: Apples for days. Like its older counterpart, this has a light throw (medium when first applied, but it doesn't last) but a generally long wear time - it is still discernable, albeit close to the skin, at the 10 hour mark. I have so many apple scents now, and this one has emerged as a pretty strong contender for a GC fave. 

 

Stars: ★★★★