Hearth

[sailthetethys]

Sweet pipe tobacco, cherry wood, the warm, worn leather of an easy chair and a pleasant, subtle waft of fireplace smoke.

Id like to know how the hell Beth managed to bottle the exact smell of the living room of my childhood home at Christmastime. Im genuinely in tears.

I cant even begin to describe how this smells in any sort of way thats meaningful to the rest of you, unless you know what opening the big green tub and seeing all your favorite ornaments for the first time in a year and playing with the nativity figures on the stone hearth behind the tree and snow-diffused morning light streaming through the windows onto the toy soldiers on the mantle smell like. Because thats what this smells like. Its so deeply personal and evocative of my own ghosts of Christmas past. Thank you so much, Beth.

[LizziesLuck]

2017 version

 

Wet: Sweet, smoky, slightly boozy, somehow. Incredibly pleasant and warming and homey. It definitely smells like Christmas. The cherry wood reads a lot like Christmas tree to me. On me, this smells kind of like the world's best Christmas candle. It embodies everything that is the magic of Christmas. It's beautiful. It's very light and subtle on my skin though, and sadly has zero throw.

 

 

Dry: This fades really quickly on me. It becomes a pleasant, smoky, Christmassy scent, with hints of leather. It's nice, but too subtle for me to reach for, sadly. I really wanted to adore it.

[milo]

Excited to try a bpal classic! This is very strong on me. First off, I'm getting pipe tobacco, cherry, and a touch of smoke. Although beautiful, it's more of an atmosphere scent to me. Something smells slightly mentholly to me, like a Christmas tree. This one is quite strong on me, I'll probably throw it in my diffuser come the holiday season again, it's quintessential bpal to me.

[Joyleaf_]

The first thing I notice is a smack of cherry. Like cherry soda, almost, with a hint of sweetness. Luckily this stage is over very quickly and the tobacco and leather come out. I really love it, its very evocative, and as many other reviewers have noticed, perfect for creating or re-creating a scene. At the moment, the 77 degrees we have here in Philly with bright blue skies is a dichotomy to the snowy winter's eve coming from my wrist. Utterly beautiful.

[TheresaRedSkull]

This skips straight over cherry and jumps right to spicy, smoky Christmassy wonderfulness--a bit like one of the classier Yankee Candles, really. Love love love! Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, it makes my skin sting and itch, however.

[Lucchesa]

2017 Hearth. There's a BPAL tobacco note that I've been thinking doesn't work on me. It's the one here, and it's in Snaky Hair'd Moirai as well. It's overpoweringly sharp when it hits my skin. But I'm starting to think that it simply needs more time to age. I recently retried Snaky, which was considerably improved from initial testing, and on retesting Hearth, I get that initial bit of harshness from the tobacco, but within a few minutes it has mellowed into something warm and comforting. Now it's letting the leather and woods come through. (I'm not getting the much in the way of cherry). Hearth doesn't have a lot of staying power on me, but that may improve with age as well. I think this one isn't going to come into its true beauty for a year or two yet.

[doomsday_disco]

2017 version.

 

In the decant: The cherry wood is quite prominent (emphasis on the cherry), followed by the tobacco, leather, and a wisp of smoke.

 

Wet: The cherry wood dominates, with the cherry aspect being very strong, followed by a cozy leather and some sweet tobacco. The cherry begins to calm down somewhat as the scent starts to dry, allowing the leather and tobacco to come out more, and I am also getting some spice from this, which I believe may be representing the embers in a fireplace?

 

Dry: The cherry wood continues to reign, followed by a cozy leather and sweet tobacco. The spice that I was getting before is no longer present. There’s a bit of smoke in the background, but I wouldn’t say this is smoky.

 

Verdict: The cherry aspect of this is a lot stronger than I thought it would be. It’s not bad… I just wasn’t expecting so much outright cherry. It’s okay, but not something I could see myself wearing.

Edited July 27, 2018 by dementia_divine

[artisjok]

Strong cherry wood with a hint of the leather. I’m surprised I’m not picking up any tobacco...Not as cozy as I was expecting/hoping, yet a pleasant fruity wood. A bit sharp. 
If you like cherry wood, jump all over this one. 
 

I’ll have to check my decant for the year & update. 

[AirimirOfGondor]

2020 release; I like it! 😄

 

Wet and in the bottle, it was VERY smoky, and very leathery.

 

Applied, and drying, the smoky note was overpowering for a while, but with a hint of sweetness poking out.

 

Fully dry, it is a mix of leather and sweet tobacco, with a slight hint of smoke. It all blends really really well.

Some kinds of leather give me headaches, but this one is like...a golden-red leather, not too sharp or heavy. The tobacco has a teensy bit of a syrupy quality, which I like, as it balances the smoke and leather. I don't necessarily think I get the cherry wood specifically, but there is a warm, dry note there, which I associate with dried wood, so I assume that's it. And while the smoke is super-heavy at first, it just kind of floats over the rest of the scent.

 

Definitely glad I finally got a chance to test this one! 😊

Edited February 14, 2021 by AirimirOfGondor

[Poenari]

2020 version:

I had never tried Hearth, and I love smoky tobacco scents, so I ordered a decant of it this year. I didn't blind bottle it out of fear of the leather. I rarely if ever wear leather scents. The various kinds of leather notes that Beth uses just don't work on me for the most part. I'm happy to report that Hearth is a winner! 

 

This is smoky, but in such a great way. It is exactly as described. I feel like I'm transported to this library. I'm sitting near a lit fireplace and someone is smoking a pipe filled with cherry tobacco. This is the mingled smells of the tobacco and the fireplace smoke, the dark wooden walls of the room, and a very well-worn and very old leather side chair that you sink into. Bottle upgrade!! 

 

12/2022- After further aging, I wore this while drinking my morning coffee and scrolling the book of faces. About an hour after application, I realized I was smelling something sweet and cherry-ish! The cherry tobacco finally showed up! Now this reminds me of the Swisher Sweets cigarillos my husband used to smoke when we first met. What a lovely scent memory!

Edited December 17, 2022 by Poenari
Update after aging for another year

[Estamets]

2020 bottle, rested 7 months. 
 

I tried this when I first got it, did not love it, and passed it to a friend who also did not love it and gave it back to me. On retesting after 7 months, I find this much more agreeable! 
 

On me, this is a nice soft brown leather! Leather is dominant when wet, and settles into a balanced grounding note when dry. 
 

As one of the first reviewers noted, there’s a tingle! Something about the cherry wood note is effervescent, but not cedary or sandalwoody or balsamy. It’s its own thing, but be ready for some kinetic energy in your nostrils. It’s a wood note that I like very much: light and present without taking over. 
 

An underpinning of smoke that’s pleasant because I was raised by adults who loved me and also smoked like chimneys, though this isn’t exactly cigarette smoke or pipe smoke… I guess it’s more like clean fireplace smoke (duh), but that’s a scent I’m not super familiar with. 
 

Most notably, throughout wet and dry stages, there’s a top note of tart, dark fruit, that could be cherry, which was frankly overwhelming on the first test and probably the reason I didn’t like this blend, and is now still too sour for my liking. 
 

Overall, I don’t love this now but I have great hopes for a winter reunion during which that sour top note recedes even further. 

Edited July 24, 2021 by Estamets

[puellacaerulea]

2020 version: In the decant and during wear, this is fireplace smoke and sweet tobacco, heavy on the cherry. The leather is more of a background player, but is there, balancing out the cherry and smoke notes. Whatever image you have of a very old-school study in your head, this probably matches it. Cozy and evocative of a winter study, but definitely not a thing I would wear regularly (because it is also quite strong). Keeping my decant around for when I want some cozy vibes on winter weekends at home, and agree that this could make a great room scent.

Edited February 19, 2022 by puellacaerulea

[MadameGorgon]

You know how people say to skin test EVERYTHING?

 

Well, Hearth has 2 of my absolute death notes, leather and tobacco.  They *never* work for me.  
 

But I thought this sounded so cozy and took a chance.  
 

And it works.  I can’t pick out individual notes aside from smoke, but it all blends together in a sweet, warm halo with the most beautiful salty smoke.  It is such a “human” scent.

 

I wish my memories were as nice as the images this scent evokes.

 

It is safety, comfort, and warmth in a bottle.  It is the feeling of being small and having someone strong, loving, and safe protect you from a cold, cruel world.

 

The smoke clings to my coats and sweaters for days reminding me that there are people in the world who love me and wish me well and who would keep me from harm.  
 

Thank you Elizabeth for this embrace in scent form.  This reminder of our duty to guard fragility and innocence and make the world a softer, more sheltering place for those with tender hearts.