Ask The Nearest Hippie

[brilliantcat]

An olfactory guide, created to assist you in locating nearby hippies: patchouli, hemp, smoky vanilla bean, and cannabis accord.

(No, there is no actual weed in this perfume, silly.)

 

I'm definitely in the Stinky Patchouli Lovers club so this was instant blind bottle purchase. In the bottle, I am definitely reminded of my beloved Banshee Beat. Freshly applied, it's quite different though, very green and herbal. Oddly I don't get pot or patch or vanilla but more like growing garden herbs, fresh and bright. I could definitely wear this out of the house without being branded a stoner. It's more hemp than pot. The impression is of herbs and plants growing in the deep forest with a few shafts of sunlight penetrating the canopy of leaves. Very lovely and very different than I expected.

It morphs so smoothly I don't even notice when the vanilla pops out along with patch to create a smoky sweetness layered over the, ahem, greener aspects. Very well-blended and if related to BB/RR/FMaFMwP, it's a distant cousin and not part of the immediate family. Love.

[Little Bird]

I don't think that this really smells like Banshee Beat / Revenant Rhythm, because it doesn't have any vanilla or sweetness at all on my skin, and the patchouli is a light, woody, cedar-ish variety. I get a little bit of the hemp at first, dark green and oily and slightly sour smelling, and a little smokiness in the drydown, but it's not screaming 'pot smoke' to me or anything like that. Mostly just a light, woody patchouli.

[tinyvulture]

Patchouli and weed! Hee hee. But, my husband insists he can't smell the weed, just "general greenery." Really, the perfume is so carefully blended that it does end up smelling mostly of patchouli with a green, earthy background, plus some nutty, earthy hemp thrown in. I love it!

[tauntonlake]

The next best thing to coming home from a friendly neighborhood cloud of pot smoke. (I'm saying that like it's a good thing)... If you want to smell like fresh burnt weed, without indulging in the real thing, then this is the baby for you. I love it. Just hope I don't get stopped for speeding on the way home with this on...

[lizabelle]

Here's where I mark myself as uncool: I have no idea what cannabis smells like. So, obviously, I can't comment on its presence or absence in this scent. That said, I am loving this. The patchouli is intense, but not overpowering. It's a woody, almost fruity red patch that I love in so many other scents; it's very similar to the one in Anne Bonny, although a bit sweeter. That may be the vanilla's influence. It gets much more prominent over time, and while it's never quite a vanilla-centric scent, it is a very vanillic woody one. Cozy and very wearable.

[Missy_killer]

In the decant: Strong, earthy scent. I have never smelled cannabis so I have no idea what that smells like. I do however smell patchouli and vanilla that is trying hard to struggle through the strong earthiness.

 

On me: Super strong earthy patchouli. I also smell tobacco anda bit of.. coconut? There is a sweetness in this scent that isn't your typical vanilla or sugar. It's a very smokey coconut..But with a "moldy" twist.

 

It's been sitting on my skin for over 30 minutes and there's still no chance. Meh. I really thought the vanilla would be more prominent.

[cassiejaynebunk]

It smells like the East Meets West store at my local mall. It’s freaking fantastic And I love it so so much!!

[supreme_c0rt]

Having now tried both, I'd agree with the reviewers who say this is in the Banshee Beat family, albeit quite distantly related. BB is way sweeter and heavier on the vanilla -- it smells thick and viscous and the vanilla is more foodie and honey-like, whereas Hippie is a more dry vanilla bean, with herbal, grassy, mossy patchouli tones. Not rough-dirty like the raw patchouli in Goblin, though Goblin is in this family too. If you tack gender to smells BB is very feminine on me where Hippie is more masculine/unisex.

 

I love both for different reasons. The weed note isn't scary to me. I'd be mindful of where I wear it but I don't think it's a dangerous public scent, in fact I share the same thoughts as other reviewers that this wouldn't really tack "fresh kush" as much as simply "grassy."  You wouldn't know unless you knew. 

 

As it wears down the weed/green smell downshifts for the vanilla, until we're left with a kind of lovely grassy dirty-vanilla. Definitely mossy, like fresh wood moss. In fact... this is actually the smell of cash. Fresh cash. A crisp bill, plus a husky vanilla. And it just gets better and better as it settles. This puts me in mind of the Body Shop's Hemp line, or perhaps in the mind of vintage books, or a soft flannel shirt. It's just beautiful, and I will be hoarding it. Top ten.

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by supreme_c0rt

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab (pretty well aged at this point)

 

Preconceived notions:

 

How could I not love this?  There's literally nothing here not to love.  I can't imagine this going wrong in any way.

 

First sniff:

 

Mmm, patchouli, sweetened by vanilla bean.  This is a particularly nice patchouli note.  Nice and deep, but not too overly "dirty" smelling.  The vanilla bean gives it a smooth, creaminess.  The hemp I can't smell (I had the same issue with Banshee Beat; in fact, this reminds me of BB in ways).  No cannabis, either, and I know the smell of cannabis.  That's a little disappointing because I wanted a weed and patchouli perfume!

 

Wet on skin:

 

Same as in the bottle.  It actually smells a lot like Banshee Beat did on me, which isn't wonderful, but not bad, either.  I like it, but it's not as amazing on me as I thought it would be, given the notes.

 

Dry down:

 

Sweet patchouli-vanilla with the same background note that I can't quite place from Banshee Beat.  That has to be the hemp, though it doesn't smell like hemp to my nose.

 

The bottom line:

 

This is lovely, but I was really hoping for something much more "hippie-ish," especially given the notes, but I do like this.  I'll be keeping my bottle, but I'm not sure I need a backup.

If you like Banshee Beat / Revenant Rhythm and can't find them, maybe give this a shot.  It's not the same, but they feel similar to me.  Might be worth a try!

[Madame Mew]

Came in the mail yesterday, but I can't wait any longer.

 

Woo! This is awesome. Dry and earthy patchouli, more dried smoky herbal middle with a touch of sweetness. Definitely a more woodsy patch. If you like BB/RR, this could work for your fix, but be warned, not the same and not as creamy/sweet. This will age well and I think it calls for a back up. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Madame Mew

[puellacaerulea]

The cannabis accord always scared me away from this scent, but when an opportunity to try a decant came up, I decided to go for it. In the decant: Patchouli and, yes, weed. Fortunately, the smoky vanilla really amps up on me and the cannabis accord fades fast. It's not a sweet vanilla, more like smoked dry vanilla bean. Likewise, the patchouli isn't the heavy, dirty, chewy kind, but more dark green and mossy (I'm guessing I'm also picking up the hemp). So: mainly mossy greens and smoky vanilla on me. Sort of like Smug Yale Alchemy Lab's dirty hippie cousin.

[Lucchesa]

I love Ask the Nearest Hippie!  I am usually the nearest hippie in most situations, but I almost never indulge anymore in what is now a legal substance, and I was afraid this blend would be all about the cannabis.  And indeed it is, for the first ten minutes.  Patchouli, vanilla, and the dank green must of weed.  And this was definitely going in the not safe for work pile when the cannabis faded out of the picture entirely, leaving me a gorgeous dry patch and vanilla bean.  It really is a close cousin to Banshee Beat once the pot accord burns off.  This is much more wearable than Stoned Griffin, which was a surprise hit on me but definitely not for leaving the house in.  Really beautiful with good wear life, and if you are at all a lover of patchouli and vanilla, you must try this.  I don't know what took me so long.