The Apothecary

[Balame]

Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig.

In the Imp: Guh, this reminds me of any standard commercial perfume. Very alcoholic and something vaguely sweet in the background.

Wet: I feel like lemon verbena is in this, but I guess I'm getting the tea leaf as well. There's just a hint of mustiness from the mosses around the citrus notes which gives it an interesting vibe. Very bright and cheery overall, sweet but not overwhelmingly so.

Dry: This is definitely a sweet cup of tea. Believe it or not it reminds me slightly of the lemony tea note from Dorian, but The Apothecary is brighter and cuter, where Dorian is richer and more well rounded. I wouldn't say I'm getting a "medley" from this, it's actually very single note to my nose but maybe that's just my skin chemistry amping the tea leaf only. I suppose I can pick out a very small amount of spiciness from the ginger as well.

Overall: I'm underwhelmed. Not much going on in this one, but if you're into simple, peppy little scents then maybe it's a match.

[KindKit]

In the imp I got tea and citrus from this. Wet on my wrist, the floral-y herbs came to the front and I thought the scent might not work for me, but after a couple of minutes the fig appeared and was gorgeous. The herbs mostly dropped out after fifteen minutes or so, leaving lovely rounded tea and fig with a hint of ginger, and the moss to provide a bit of earthiness and keep the scent from smelling too much like brunch at a nice hotel. The figs don't make it too fruity--it's a very well-balanced scent that has good staying power on me. I like this one a lot.

[Jane Shroud]

This is a very simple scent on me. It starts out as green tea and fig, and it stays green tea and fig. This is not a bad thing. It's a lot like drinking a cup of Darjeeling tea. Sweet, fruity and cozy.

[Eliyetres]

This smells like when I'm walking in the forest picking berries from thornbushes a cold winter day. Very light and ozony (like cold breeze) but the herbs gives it a bit warmth (that's where I get the berries from I suppose) and the ginger gives it the sting that reminds me of chilly winters.

Wet it smells a lot of ginger, when it dries down I get warm, mossy smell with only a litte sting of ginger.

[SerendipityHQ]

In the imp: Really nice, subtle, earthy green but not 'Oh, HAI, cut-grass' smell. Interesting and really promising. Seems nicely balanced- I still don't get much of the fig that I've been searching for but, such is life

 

Wet: Still like but...someone mentioned that this reminds them of commercial perfume and that's mostly what I'm getting from it too. The notes sort of disappear behind a smell of Perfume. Tautology perfume smells like itself, I guess.

 

And there is no dry. Sorry. Just like with normal perfume I started to sneeze like a motha'. I've always been allergic to scents- something quite a lot of BPAL hasn't triggered. This seems to have just the right Perfume smell or chemistry to punch my nose in the face. Sorry Apothocary.

 

TL;DR; Actually really nice perfume-y smell. Punched nose in face. Beware people who tend to react badly to normal perfume.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: The herbal note hits me first, followed by something sweet.

 

Drydown: The sweetness and herbs blend together, creating the impression of a floral.

 

Dry: It's a light and fresh fig supported by a mix of greenery. This is softer and much more feminine than I had expected.

 

 

This is a pretty one. I like the pairing of the fig with the herbal/green notes but I find myself wishing it had a little less fig and a little more of the greenery. The fig makes it a bit too girly for my tastes.

 

6 out of 10 bones

Edited July 11, 2013 by BoneBone24

[lilyliza]

I got this as a frimp from the Lab, and I was thrilled because I've been wanting to try this.

 

In the imp: I agree that it smells like there's lemon verbena in this. But I don't mind, because I love lemon verbena. I get a fair amount of tea leaf, a little bit of moss, and a whiff of fig.

 

Wet, on my skin: This is what I imagine an apothecary shop smells like: clean and fresh, but tinged with the scent of herbs and concoctions. I can smell all the notes, but they blend amazingly well.

 

Drydown: Mostly ginger and fig now, with the other notes in the background.

 

Dry: A gorgeous tea scent sweetened up by juicy fig and brightened with just enough lemon.

 

Overall, I like this one. Very fresh, very pretty.

[stardreamer]

In the imp and fresh on: Definitely tea and herbs! I like this already.

 

Drydown: The grass comes out more strongly; now it's very green.

 

Long-term: Stays pretty much the same until the end. I never really get the ginger or fig; it's mostly tea and grass after the first 20 minutes or so. Staying power is about average; after 12 hours it's very faint and the throw is entirely gone.

 

Bottom line: Not a top favorite, but a nice refreshing scent, neither too light nor too strong, which will be pleasant in warm weather. Keeper.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Sharp, herby ginger and citrus.

 

Wet: Pure effervescent citrus! This would make a lovely soft drink, if BPAL ever wanted to expand into that market.

 

Dry: It turns into a fizzy, powdery artificial orange scent on me. Like those little fizzy disc lollies that you can get? Or Berroca? It's a real shame that it ended up like that - I would have bought a bottle if it had kept its wet scent.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Oh, thick greenness of moss and herbs meet my nose. There is not even a hint of ginger and I'm so thankful already. It's so green -yum!

 

Wet: Hmm, I think the ginger may be coming out because there is an unsettling quality to the greenness. It does remind me of what the apothecary in Romeo and Juliet would smell like.

 

Dry: Grasses and moss with a hint of poison from the ginger. I liked it much better in the bottle than on my skin.

[milo]

Fresh and green scent with tea, though it fades pretty fast on me, and smells a bit soapy. Still green, though, and really pretty when wet. Reminds me a bit of Embalming Fluid, though EF is better.

[fufu_berry]

Frimp from the Lab. This one sounded intriguing, since it has a couple notes I know I love (tea, ginger) and some I'd never tried. Unfortunately, it's all high-pitched soapiness on me. Not sure what is doing that - grass? moss? Blergh, this one is not a winner.

 

ETA: Tried to wash it off and now it smells like lawn clippings! I'm going to blame the grass for the failure of this one - I don't like the smell of grass, and it doesn't seem to like me either.

Edited September 12, 2012 by fufu_berry

[Cactus]

In the bottle: A very "wet smelling" Aquatic/Herbal Green-ness with maybe a touch of fig in the background. Smells almost cucumber-y.

 

On the Skin: The "juicyness" or "wetness" settles down a little And something warm comes out of the background. I get more the smell of dried herbs (like in a drying shed) and tea. But still some of that fresh, wet greenery. It really catches both the scent of the dried medicinal herbs, ready to be used. And at the same time those plants fresh in the garden.

 

After a while the moss becomes very obvious and so do the fig and tea. The ginger also comes out... which (to me at least) makes it more sophisticated. The spice helps "ground" the scent.

 

I just realized I have been wearing this for months now - and it's becoming one of my favorite scents. And I hadn't written a review.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Cactus

[chicorymist]

In the bottle: herbs? Sweet herbs.

 

Wet: sweet herbs, fainter I guess. Maybe let's put some more on - okay, now that I've spilled this all over my hand it's still sweet herbs. Cool.

 

Dry: still green, but the fig is really starting to come out from under all those herbs.

 

Dry, 1.5 hrs: wow, I put *way too much* on - this has wicked throw. I think there's some lemon in this?

 

Later that day, I developed a terrible headache and had to go to sleep, but that may have been unrelated. Or it may have been because I wasn't supposed to slather this. I'm going to have to try this again, but for right now this shows wonderful potential as a summery, gender-neutral fresh green scent.

 

4/5

[kolibri]

Lap frimp; received in Sept 2010 with my purchase of Mabon '10.

 

 

In the imp: Medicinal. Hard to pick out any particular notes.

 

Wet: Lemongrass and ginger. Something sweet, but not like honey or current; maybe that's the fig. Decent throw. I kind of like the depth it has, but it's very commercial perfume/cologne, which turns me off.

 

Dry: Dryer sheets. WTH?

 

 

Overall: I immediately thought of a guy friend who I think this would smell great on. The dryer sheets thing leaves me underwhelmed. Swapping this one.

Edited March 19, 2013 by kolibri

[ccelaya]

At first whiff it smells a little medicinal. Herbal medicine, with sweet undertones.

 

Wet on my skin i can smell the grass, moss, and herbal notes which fade quickly.

 

As it dries it becomes sweeter. It reminds me of southern sweet tea. This is a lighter scent that isn't too overwhelming. It smells very clean, reminds me of springtime or the summer.

 

after 20 minutes of drying it smells soap. Similar to a minty garden soap, which must be the herbal notes

 

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the sweeter, clean blends, but doesn't like the florals.

Edited April 25, 2013 by ccelaya

[paraphrased]

Tea with green herbs and a bit of fresh grass. As I wore it, it morphed from a tea:herb ratio of 3:1 all the way down to 1:1. It was a slow and gentle change over the unfortunately short 4 hours that it hung around.

 

It was a little sweeter than I'd hoped, but not overwhelming, and I didn't get a drop of fig. Thankfully; I'm not a fan. I could've done with more ginger, though.

[Erinofhere]

Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig.

This was a frimp from the lab

Wet: Very chemical smelling. Loud punch of alcohol. I agree with other reviewers that this smells like a generic girl's perfume. So far nothing at all spectacular about it. I do smell the tea leaves and the ginger.

On My Skin: It warms up pretty quickly. I am picking up the herbal notes, moss and the tea with lots of fig. The ginger is fading fast. That's sad because I love ginger

Dry: Actually this is quit nice. It's not my favorite, but a big bottle for the summer may be in order. Thank Heavens the alcohol/chemical scent went away. Also I never picked up the green grass smell. That's good because "green" smells do not play well with me. This smells pretty and light. The fig is still standing strong along with the tea leaves and the moss. The ginger has vanished completely, or maybe another note in this is over shadowing it? I can't tell. Well if the ginger is still around, it's being deathly quiet.

5 hours in: This faded pretty fast, too fast for me to buy a bottle, BUT I will keep my imp.

I also paired this today with a old bottle of BBW Daffodil fields that my little sister found in the back of her lotion closet (She has a tiny little addiction to scented lotion) and the pairing is perfect. I smell very very good today

[mistri]

In the imp I get all the notes in the description. On my arm it is initially very green/herby but the tea has disappeared. A few moments later, it is mostly tea leaf left behind, but although I love tea it somehow isn't working with my chemistry and just smells a bit dirty (and not in a good way! I like Penny Dreadful, for example).

[lucycat]

In the imp, I smell tea and green grass.

 

Wet: The same. It’s very green, light, and fresh, with the grass, moss, and herbs blending together. The ginger adds a slight lemony sweetness.

 

As it dries down, a very slight soapiness emerges, but it never overpowers or becomes unpleasant.

 

I think The Apothecary is a perfect unisex scent; I can imagine it working very well on a man.

 

It is very light and fades quickly. It will be perfect for summer, when light fragrances are what I want, and I’m sure it will join the rotation of tea scents with Embalming Fluid, Shanghai, and Kumiho.

[Jangzonrice]

Got this as a frimp from the lab. Wet: light herbal green tea, no astringency. Nice, but very light. Dry: even lighter herbal tea, very faint at this point. This is nice if you're In a job or situation where perfume is not appropriate, but it is far too light for me. I would, however, wear this to an interview or professional setting. Throw is light and staying power is nil. Be prepared to reapply with this one. Also good for days I have headaches that stronger perfume may irritate.

[keileya]

[Reviewed elsewhere, brought here for posterity!]

 

In the bottle: very bright and citrusy.

 

Wet on skin: a little bit of the moss coming through, but still very light and airy. I'm not getting any of the grass (fortunately, since I do not like grass) -- it's very astringent, but in a good way. A hint of ozone.

 

A few minutes later: the tea is coming out to play, and a bit of the ginger. Of the herbs, I think I smell a wisp of sage, and possibly some mint, although that could be associations with the tea -- it's a very green-tea sort of tea. I'm not getting any of the moss.

 

It's still very clean-smelling and astringent -- this is what high end soaps and bath products want to smell like when they grow up. My wife called it a day perfume and I totally agree.

 

30 minutes later: going much warmer and earthier on me, like washing with high end bath soap and then going to work out, and the moss is starting to peek through a bit. Unfortunately, I have to get my nose RIGHT up to my wrist to smell it -- it's almost completely gone otherwise. It might be because the oil was refusing to cling to the application wand in the imp and I didn't get much oil on skin from the first application, but my skin seems to eat this even faster than i usually do.

 

I applied some more on the back of my hand to see if it fades just as quickly the second time. We'll see.

 

20 minutes after reapplication: it's morphing through its phases a tidge more slowly this time, but it's still settling down into tea-leaves-that-haven't-been-picked-yet and faint wisps of ginger and sage. This is clearly not a long lasting oil on me!

 

Still, I love how light and fresh it is. It doesn't have much throw on me at all -- it's more a memory/suggestion of perfume than something to be noticed, a background scent that sets the mood almost on a subconscious level. This one is for days when you need a little bit of extra pick-me-up to keep you going, or when you're in a situation where more noticeable scents would be distracting or disruptive.

[lunabee34]

Everyone liked this. I can’t tell if my daughter really has a sharper nose than we do or if she’s just highly suggestible from reading the catalog description, but she smells tea, ginger, green grass, moss, herbs, and fig. My husband's parents both liked this, and so did my husband who smelled grass, tea, and ginger.

 

I really like this. I smell herbs, grass, tea, and ginger with a sweetness that must be the fig. I grew up with an enormous fig tree shading my bedroom window. I have eaten many a fig in my lifetime (although I don’t especially care for them raw). What does a fig smell like? IDK I don’t know what moss smells like either (and I suspect Emma doesn’t, but she’s all, “Mom, it’s that earthy smell. Moss smells earthy.” And I’m all, “Mmmkay.”) Again, this fades really quickly. I feel like Embalming Fluid, Envy, and The Apothecary are all sisters; they are really similar to each other but different enough to be distinct entities, and they all layer well together.

[milo]

Fruity floral, citrusy orange and bright.

[ApothecaryScribe]

I received this as a frimp. I didn't get tea, fig or ginger, nor citrus as separate presences (can *just* pick out tea among the herbal meld now that I know to look for it--it's nowhere near as dominant as in Nostrum Remedium). It's a sharp clean herbal that reminds me of "Thy Godfather's Present" from Maerchen Godfather Death series, except where Godfather's has a bit of rounded purpleness to it Apothecary's herbal seems sage-green and bluish-white.

 

Apothecary is very austere and head-clearing, masculine enough that I'd not wear it on a random day as a personal scent but do wear it often for work, especially working at home when concentration needs a boost. The frimps and TAL St. Albert's Oil are on the side table next to my computer desk for ready availability on telecommute days. I *love* the association of both Apothecary and Godfather's Present to medical writing work...either serendipity has happened twice in frimp choices or a Labbie is paying *close* attention.