Brood X

[zankoku_zen]

The Great Eastern Brood is now hatching, and this is our homage: moist roots, sugarcane, hay absolute, a summer-scorched golden amber, upturned soil, dew-dappled leaves, nootka, hazelnut husk, moss-touched tree bark, and a dribble of 17-year aged patchouli.

[Max]

Um…i i think this is a holy grail for me. So far this isn’t what i was expecting but it’s so much better. It’s this really red and iridescent deep green of a smell with a deep alluring earthiness. It’s a little incensey but it’s cozy. Like you’re just chillin out in the ground for 17 years😆 I definitely love this. The hazelnut worried me but interested me. It definitely adds to the coziness factor. I think the scorched amber is what really gives me that red berry quality i think i’m picking up on. It has this smokey green thing going on as well. There’s a witchy vibe to it as well like a basket full of foraged ingredients ready to be dropped into the cauldron. Ok there may be a seductive quality to this fragrance. I assume the cicada sentiment “scream fuck die” when i do smell it it does bring a cicada to mind or that could just be me making an association based on the namesake/concept. Who knows haha

hours after wear it’s a touch powdery but leafs like an after scent that is still true but has more of a floral skin note💞

Edited June 25, 2021 by Max

[fairybites]

Sweet hay and dirt with lots of sugared hazelnut and wood. The sugarcane and hazelnut are very strong on me, it almost turns into a foodie blend at times. It smells a little like unbaked cinnamon buns for a bit? I get just a faint hint of patchouli as well, I really wish it was stronger. 

 

I like this, it smells earthy but not too harsh. As it starts to fade, the hazelnut and sugar soften considerably and I'm getting a little bit of the moss and some smoke. I would suggest trying this if you're interested in trying more woody, dirty scents but want something that's a bit more wearable than just straight up dirt, hay, and grass. It reminds me a little bit of Death Cap, but sweeter. Can't stop sniffing!  The only downside is that it doesn't have a ton of throw, it stays pretty close to the skin.

[doomsday_disco]

Brood X is a soft scent on me that stays close to the skin. The first notes that leap out at me are the sugar cane (the same one from the Black Amber and Sugar Cane duet), moist roots (so realistic), and hay. I get touches of greenery as the scent shifts between being more sugary and being more earthy. By the end of the day, it has settled into a warmer scent of hazelnut, amber, tree bark, and hay. There really is just a dribble of patchouli here -- it is not a main player.

 

I think this one is nice... I just wish it were a little stronger! I don't think I need to upgrade to a bottle, but I may hold onto my decant to see how it ages.  

[Threemoons]

This one is quite a morpher on me.  In the bottle:  Wet earth, sugarcane, a hint of herbs/mint?  On, wet:  Hay, wet leaves, and a touch of amber come to the front.  Drydown;  I'm left with a damp earth and crushed green grass and dry grass scent, with definite longer-lasting hits of spearmint or some kind of herb.  Glad I got two of these.

 

[FantomFox]

My very first review here because I feel very strongly about this one. This I absolutely love.

 

I'm not familiar with many of the notes in this individually, but all together, it's gorgeous and not at all what I was expecting. This reminds me a lot of a Wild Berry incense that I burn exclusively during autumn (if I remember the name, I'll edit to add it). Not exactly the same of course, but it lives in the same place of happiness in my brain. It smells like change, the turning of leaves or the next stage of the life cycle. Immediate new favorite comfort scent.

That said, it's the amber that gives it the incense scent on my skin, not the patchouli, and it's a rather faint in comparison. It blends in with everything else nicely. Brood X goes on strong and significantly sweet with the hay absolute and some earthiness making it not so overwhelming. As it dries, the sweetness from the sugarcane comes to the front a little more. It stays pretty close to my skin, but it hangs around for quite a while. Unlike some of the other reviews, it doesn't really morph on me, but every time I bring my wrist to my nose, I seem to detect something different. It's lovely 💕

Edited July 8, 2021 by FantomFox

[zankoku_zen]

Hay, sugar cane, amber and a whiff of rooty patchouli. It smells golden, and like leaves, and very pretty. Medium throw and wear length.

[Threemoons]

Came here to say that this is the bomb layered with Snake Oil.  Plays really well with the green notes and elevates them.

[parasolofdoom]

I kinda smell like a fancy worm. Honestly digging it, not gonna lie. Wet leaves, earthy tones, hint of patchouli, maybe a hay kinda note? A bit of a piney feel for a little bit after first application dried. I  didn't think I'd like it so much after sniff testing everything in bottle from my order delivered today but I've been sniffing the crook of my elbow all day and I'm really pleased with it. 

[puellacaerulea]

This one starts out rooty and earthy on me, with a big blast of patchouli. As it dries down, the patch calms down and lets the amber, hay, and hazelnut come out more. It's still earthy, but less intensely so, and with a warm golden quality from the hay and amber. There's also a slight nutty sweetness from the hazelnut. Overall, sweetly earthy. Not quite "me" enough for a full bottle, but I'll keep my decant.

[irmavep]

It starts out strong with the hay, along with some greenness and what I think is the sugarcane. Somehow sweet and grassy/wet at the same time. Once dry it got really patchouli forward on me. Maybe I amp it- I don't know. Decent throw and wear length.

 

I think without the patchouli I would have loved this, but it's not quite for me.

[SophieCedar]

I wanna say the hazelnut and sugar is weaker in 2021's version. Much drier like sandalwood and hay with an ozone of hazelnut and sugar. A nice melody but the bass isn't thumpin like last time.

[VetchVesper]

This smells less like soil and more like the top levels of humus.  It's got a damp sweetness I associate with composting vegetation - dead leaves, rich soil, grass clippings, and maybe a smidge of ripening berries on brambles winding through the pile. The patchouli is present, but smooth, slightly sweet, and well blended with the other notes.  Gender neutral with a slight tilt toward feminine. 

 

Brood X is very "forest floor," but has a pleasant sweetness that people who aren't hard-core into smelling like a forest will find accessible. It smells like a cicada's home rather than an actual cicada, and if their homes smell so lovely, it's no wonder they so rarely come out  😉

 

Reminds me a wee bit of Woman at the Edge of the Wood, 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster, and Forest Reverie. 

 

[Casablanca]

I'm happy to get to try my friend's decant of this.

 

Freshly on: dampness and sweetly green sugar cane. Hm, not quite the expected. Almost damp woods or soil. There's a faint background soil-and-woodsy-floor impression, but mostly, I get dampness and green sugar cane. 

 

In drydown, the forest impression grows -- more brambles and hay and patchouli. The weird dampness is fading, leaving the lovely sugar cane. (I'm always here for sugar cane.)

 

Once dried, the forest gets a little nutty on me, too, but is otherwise much like its drydown self. I think the sugar cane is actually the strongest note (mm).

 

Looking back at other reviews, it appears that Brood X sings pretty differently for different people. He is quite pleasant on me, though I'm not quite feeling obsessed.

[Tamarinda]

I won this in a PIF raffle on fb (thanks so much!) not really knowing what to expect but very interested in something that smells like hay. The smell in the bottle is something I can only describe as "happy." It is a happy smell with a bit of bitter sweetness of something green as well as the sweetness of hay. There's also an incense quality but it's very light. The other notes are not apparent to my nose individually but there's something there that I cannot define that registers as "depth."

 

Wet, it smells like sweet warm hay. Once it dries, there's still an impression of the hay but all of the notes converge to create a beautiful, sunshine-warm perfume scent on my skin. I think this is the amber interacting with my skin chemistry. It seems to do a thing where it marries everything together so that nothing stands out. The smells is just... *chef's kiss* amazing. I applied with a light hand on my arms only since it was my first full test after letting the bottle settle in. It had an impressive sillage for such a light application and lasted all day. I'll make a dilution of this as well as a lotion for layering.

[Claire-of-the-Valley]

Quite unusual in my opinion! It's a very fresh scent. The hay absolute and sugarcane stand out the most to me and make it quite sweet in a natural way, but I can detect the earthy backdrop as well, which gives it an odd quality. I think, looking at the description, that what makes it strange to me is that there's an aquatic note to the earthiness and aquatics can be a little hit and miss with me.

 

Overall, I like it; it's uplifting and fresh. My sister commented that it "smells how she thinks perfume is supposed to smell or maybe like a candle," which was a different take from my own, but I quite liked it! Once I thought about it, I could absolutely see where she was coming from as well. I think it's that strong sweet/fresh note. Regardless, I think this is a great dedication to these unusual cicadas.

[ziggystardust13]

I am so glad I was able to test this beauty. She is dark yet subdued. Earthy yet refined. Amber and hay give way to warmth while the sugarcane adds just the right amount of sweetness. I want to roll around in this! The hazelnut lends a decadent richness to this shadowy, earthy blend. 

If sweet+earth is your jam, BroodX is for you. I for one love this. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by ziggystardust13

[Lucchesa]

I love patchouli but don't get a lot of it in Brood X.  It's more about the earth and roots.  Despite the sugarcane and hazelnut, this is not at all foodie on me -- it's the wild notes before they've been domesticated into comestibles.  The dark soil and woods notes are balanced by the warm amber and hay, and the whole is lovely, a green witch kind of scent.