Hod

[papermaker]

Glory and Majesty, Kokab, God’s Judgement.

Oh me this is amazing. I am glad I never had to worry about trying to commit bank account suicide to get some of this before. This is an amazing carnation scent. So spicy and beautiful. In combination with what seems to be amber to my nose. I'm glad I can buy bottles because this will be amazing aged

[Invidiana]

Sigh. I had to edit this because my previous review was the result of my nose being muddled from testing too many things at once.

 

I had such high hopes for Hod, after reading how gorgeous it was in the reviews and how people were clamoring for it. And it is gorgeous, wet, for a few moments, until my body chemistry grabs it and turns it into...Old Spice. Yep, Old Spice aftershave to be exact. I even had my mom sniff the tiny spot on my hand I'd tested it on from the cap and she was like, "Is that men's aftershave?" so it's pretty much unanimous that I morph Hod into Old Spice. My skin really has a knack for amping anything remotely masculine to the point of being butch (De Sade, anyone?), and that's what it did to this. Oh, and the fact that my skin basically radiates most perfume within about 5 feet of me wouldn't help combined with the whole smelling-like-a-man factor either. Blasted body chemistry. Glad to report it's going to a good home though.

Edited February 22, 2010 by Invidiana

[tajana]

Wet: Carnations, backed with sweet, creamy notes. I think there might be some almond in here, and either milk/cream or vanilla making things really rich and creamy.

 

Dry: After it dries down, a lot of sweet resin comes out. I couldn't say with confidence what sort of resin or amber there might be in here, but it doesn't go powdery on me at all, which is what most amber does on me. Hod lingers for hours and hours as a second skin scent: creamy, with delightful clovey-carnation spice. What really pushed me over the edge to try Hod was someone's description of it as being like "carnation flavored ice cream", and hey, that is kind of what it smells like to me, though it's so warm and snuggly that it reminds me more of warm milk. I'm still reminded vaguely of almonds much later on, which is awesome, since I'm a big fan of almond scents and flavors.

 

Overall: I retested Alice so I could compare the two, and on me, there is a real similarity, but Hod is much warmer and richer. It's more similar to Morocco, but it's more carnationy... Morocco turned to cloying Antique-Lacey vanilla on me, Hod did not. It IS a sweet scent, but it's tempered by the spiciness enough that it's not at all cloying. I was worried I might not like with all the amber/honey mentions, but it doesn't do the blah powder thing at all, it stays rich and creamy. Hod is really comforting to wear, and showcases the carnation note beautifully. It's one of my new top favorites, for sure.

Edited January 9, 2010 by findaghost

[femmefatale]

I had such high hopes for this one. It smells beautiful in the decant, but once it's on it takes on a perfumey edge I don't like (I'm guessing from the amber). It's so close to being pretty on me, but that perfumey note ruins it.

I'm so happy I got to try it though!

[meaganola]

This smells like soap to me. But not just *any* soap. Oh, no, *this* soap is the fancy stuff at that hotel my family stayed at on a trip to Disneyland. I snagged the bars every day because of the fact that they were solid carnation-y goodness until the maids started leaving regular (boring) soap. *Loved* the first stuff, hated the second stuff. And my month birth flower is carnation, and it was my mom's favorite flower, which is why I have that tattoo.

 

So. The scent itself. All I get is carnation. Wonderful, creamy, spicy carnation. In my mind, this is what single-note carnation would be. It smells the same to me whether I wear it in my Clocket or on my skin. When I stopped by the drugstore to pick up some nail polish pens for my nephews, all of a sudden the cashier ringing them up looked at me and said, "*What* is that *wonderful* smell?" I happened to have a decant in my pocket, so I had her sniff it to see if that was what she was smelling. Her reply: "It doesn't smell good in the bottle, but on you, it's *fantastic*." It's a hit! I have a half-bottle left over after decanting, and I was planning on keeping that anyway, but I guess I'll have to get another full bottle and tuck it away for times I need to slather on the soothing comfort.

 

As for comparisons between Hod and Alice, there are no similarities between the two to me, and I had originally thought that Alice would be sufficient for all of my carnation needs, as infrequent as they are. In short, nope. I rarely try one of these long-sought-after ultra-rares and fall instantly in love, but that's not the case here, and I'm very glad I didn't get a decant in a swap because I would have never been able to track down a bottle, and I'm *very* happy that it has been resurrected because now I *will* be getting a bottle, and that should be enough for me since it takes me a year to go through a bottle even with daily use, and I wear a different scent pretty much every day, so one bottle is likely to last me *forever*.

[ElinaMakropulos]

Hod is Alice's sexy grown up cousin. Gorgeous, spicy, enticing...my husband couldn't stop sniffing me! It has incredible throw and longevity, too. It's got the spicy carnation edge but it's rounded out a teensy bit by the sweetness of the amber. It'll be my very first multiple bottle purchase, I'm in love!

[reynardine]

In decant: very creamy scent

 

Wet: carnation, very strong, with a creaminess behind it.

 

Drydown: More of the cream comes out and the carnation fades a bit into the background.

 

Later: Mainly a soft carnation. Unfortunately, I just don’t like carnation very much, so I don’t think this is the scent for me.

 

[Leopard403]

Good gracious, this is Alice to the one millionth power, and a little dab'll do ya!

 

Hot, creamy carnation-y goodness, with the amber just slightly powdery. Very sexy, this will be much better on a date than at work. It's too heady and sultry for the workplace, but it's perfect for a steamy night with a loved one.

[patina]

OMG.

Hah, I think that says it all. I was never a big fan of Alice and I don't like Snake Oil. The Girl (vanilla and amber) didn't work on me either, but somehow I love this one. The carnations keep the vanilla from going all doughy or candle-y.

 

And yeah...it is goood.

 

Edit: As this dries and gets muskier, it becomes somewhat less awesome to me. Still good, though

Edited December 24, 2009 by patina

[crebbsgirl]

Sweet and creamy carnations and amber. This is really the best carnation scent I have tried in a really long time. I'm so happy this came back for the Lab's anniversary. Although I must say, I find this scent much more cozy than "Big Date Night". It's pretty soft and cuddly for me.

[benthic]

Wow, this one is stronger than I expected. Others are right that just dab'll do ya. I'm really torn on this blend. I like carnation, and I like masculine blends, but there's something very powerful about this; while it's not offensive to my nose or anything and is in fact very nice, I can't tell yet if it's something I want to wear. It's aggressive but also sexy, which isn't really my thing; I prefer my sexy blends to stay close to the skin and subtle, which Hod does not do. I throw it quite a lot. It's a nice spicy heady musky floral, but it's the sort of blend I wouldn't want someone to smell from ten feet away, and when my nose is pressed to my hand it's too strong to be enjoyable. But the scent itself is really nice, full of spice and sex. I just can't decide. I'll hang on to the decant for now, but I'm not sure about getting more.

 

Edit, later on, after testing again: I can't stop smelling my hand, which I think says something, as strong as this blend is and as dubious as I was at first. Very, very sexy.

Edited December 27, 2009 by benthic

[kawaiiferreto]

Hod is one of those things I really can't make up my mind on, both the original version and the 2009 version. In a certain mood I think I would love it, but most of the time I'm just indifferent. It does have a nice warm creamy carnation feel to it, and I do think there must be amber in there, as it is a little powdery. I, however, also get My Little Pony smell, or your other rubbery plastic toy of choice. I had a perfumed one once, and Hod is a dead ringer for it — plastic doll laced with a nice sweet, creamy, and unassuming perfume.

[kohaisama]

Rez'd version:

 

OMG. This is spicy, creamy wonderfulness! I feel very strongly this would be a good companion to Shub. This is my first carnation and I love it. It's not overpowering floral and first hits like a strong gingerbread (i.e. the spice) and then mellows a bit into something deliciously creamy and sexy. Of course, I'll have to try this again after the oil settles, but I was too impatient to wait after it just arrived today.

[tartchef]

I am in everlasting loooove with the original Hod, and just about squeed myself when the re-release was announced

 

Obviously, the res version is going to be a different animal entirely at this stage, but I am confident this will age into perfection. Right now, it's a bit thin compared to my memory of the Lab-fresh original, with a bit more spice & Morocco-esque musk & less of the thick cream. But the honey & carnation are deep & beautiful, and I suspect given a few months, Hod Res will begin to resemble the glory of the original. ETA: And hopefully will last a bit longer - barely an hour on my skin & Hod Res has faded dramatically... hrm

 

Thank you again, Beth, for bringing back such a coveted scent

Edited December 28, 2009 by tartchef

[heathercaley]

This is an older decant that I scored from my friend.

 

Once applied, I get blast of sultry warm and smooth florals. The warmth is very full underneath the flowers (as others have noted, it's probably carnations?) The base is very smooth, and almost powdery, but not quite.

 

Overall it's a golden scent. It's also very feminine and reminiscent of fairies for some reason

[Suusje]

I don't particularly care for carnations, and thankfully the carnation in this one on me is a bit quiet. It doesn't cream carnation, it's just there. It's also creamier then I expected. Yay for me!

[MeiLin]

In the decant: Carnation STEMS. Not the flowers, the stems. Weird. We went through a thing my freshman year in high school where a common gift among my set was a small bouquet of carnations. Which we would then EAT. They were actually unexpectedly delicious. Anyway, I know what carnation stems smell like, and this is them.

 

Wet: The stems are joined by the spicy petals, but it's still very green stemmy.

 

Dry: The green is fading. This is a "dark" carnation, not the bright, sprightly carnation you may be used to. There's the spice, but then there's a musk, possbly a little sandalwood--something that darkens the usual carnation "sparkle."

 

It's very pretty, and I understand why it's sought after, but I'm not sure I want a bottle.

[Iceblink]

Carnation is usually HUGE fail on me but I had to see what all the fuss was about with Hod. I get it--whatever else is in here (amber? almond? vanilla?) makes this almost...carnation pastry! It's beautiful and not flowerflowerflowerPOOFpowder! on me like carnation usually is. Very feminine and warm. Glad I tried it--I may need more!

[veronicafranco]

in order of wet, drying, dry, i get

carnation!

sybaris?

carnation with amber.

so i think the notes are carnation, clove, amber and tonka.

 

in the sybaris? phase it's more wearable than actual sybaris on me, but that's what is preventing me from going for a bottle yet. will retest and ponder. this did come out of a freezing cold mailbox and straight onto my arm!

[Venneh]

In the decant, this is a really warm, spicy scent. Liking this, a lot. On my skin, it's pretty much the same. Ooh. I'm definitely sensing clove and carnation in here, maybe a bit of amber? Depending on what the clove does here, I may be getting a bottle of this. And now, just because I said that, it turns into a painful green-and-clove scent on my skin. Need to get it off, now. Swaps/sales.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Venneh

[silver_springs]

I have fallen in love with Hod. I normally am not crazy about the smell of carnation but Hod is creamy, sweet and a little bit spicy carnation. It's incredibly feminine and girly and strikes me as quite innocent. It's an anywhere, any age scent across the board. It lasts a long time and has a good throw.

 

I'm very glad I decided to buy both of the resurrected scents this year because both worked out so fabulous for me.

[milo]

Wet, this is the most realistic carnation I have yet to find ANYWHERE, including Lush's Potion. Whereas Lush is cool, Hod is warmed by the creamy amber. I LOVE this stage. Unfortuneately, it goes to powdery carnation. Although still nice, and definitely bottle worthy, it is not the OMFG I need 200 bottles of this as in during the wet stage. I am hoping that the amber is just being a bitch today, and this will stay true as time goes on.

 

eta: OK, about 15 minutes later, the powdery vibe disappears, and we have even MORE spicy carnation. YES. I look forward to this baby aging, and need at least a couple of bottles.

Edited January 5, 2010 by milo

[windbourne]

For about an hour, I was convinced that I knew what the fuss was about -- lovely warm carnation and spice and a little-but-not-TOO-much sweet. It was gorgeous. Then it turned to play-doh, and I became very, very sad. O (to which many other people have drawn similarities) does the same thing on me, ergo, some similar component is a Note of Death on me.

 

Sad.

[MamaMoth]

Resurrected 09 - decant

 

Creamy gentle spices that I vaguely relate to Morocco, ginger, and lots of carnation. I don't always enjoy floral-driven scents, but this is good. Spicy enough to tingle the nose a bit when huffed up close, but still soft and comforting. With all that cream and spice, there's something besides carnation in there that keeps it from being a foody blend, but I can't put my finger on it.

Edited January 8, 2010 by MamaMoth

[ifinena]

In the decant: Carnation STEMS. Not the flowers, the stems. Weird.... <snip>.... Anyway, I know what carnation stems smell like, and this is them.

 

Wet: The stems are joined by the spicy petals, but it's still very green stemmy.

 

Dry: The green is fading. This is a "dark" carnation, not the bright, sprightly carnation you may be used to. There's the spice, but then there's a musk, possbly a little sandalwood--something that darkens the usual carnation "sparkle."

<snip>

 

Exactly that!

 

When I sniffed it in the decant and wet on my skin, I immediately thought "green!" and then "stems!"

The carnations are more present than those in the original version, yes, but it's mainly the stems, mingled with the petals.

This is less creamy, less heavy, less cloying than the original. The original is awesome,yes, but cloying on me and I end up not wearing it.

The resurrected version is more intense carnation-stems and I may actually buy a bottle to wear. I'm a little afraid though what aging would do to it, as I don't want the cloying effect of the original.