Hexennacht (2005, 2016)

[dawndie]

... This perfume is the scent of the witches’ revel: German fir and forest herbs, incense and bonfire smoke, and the wet, glimmering scent of skin warmed by dance.

Me at work on Saturday, calling DH: Do we have extra CD-RWs at home?
DH: Yup. Oh, you got a package from that place.
Me: YAY! Is it from Black Phoenix?
DH: I guess, whatever your cult is.
Me: YAY! NEW SMELLIES!
DH: ...

Hexennacht was the first one I grabbed, and add my review to the Samhain echoes. Since Samhain is one of my all-time favorites, I'm thrilled to have a similar scent.

While Samhain starts out with an apple cider punch in the face, Hexennacht goes on smoky and warm, incensey without the "BPAL Incense" smell I get from many other smoky scents, like Hellfire. Also unlike Samhain, Hexennacht doesn't morph into anything else on my skin -- I put it on about 7:30 p.m. and when we got home 5 hours later it still swooningly-smelled exactly the same.

Even DH liked it: I did my usual shove-wrist-under-his-nose and he said, "That smells really good!" More enthusiastic than his normal nodding-head and "that smells nice." I'll take what I can get.

[LiberAmoris]

A smoky, sexy Samhain.

 

Hexennacht is the BPAL equivalent of sex in the woods: mussed hair and smudged eyeliner, fir needles stuck to the back of one’s coat, tree sap on the sleeve, grass and soot stains on the knees, and suffused skin that carries the remnants of bonfire smoke on it. It’s the smell of flushed skin in a forest.

 

If my local Parks & Recreation Department started making skin flicks, I couldn’t be more surprised than I am by how much I love Hexennacht. Now I am off to plan a camping trip.

[gdogs]

it is so odd to me how the same oil can smell different to me at different times. when i first received hexennacht, i put it on and was kinda "meh. . " it just didn't grab me, and it was too heavy on the vetiver for me (read: any vetiver at all). so i put it aside, intending to wear it one more time to make sure i wanted to swap it.

 

 

i just put it on today for the second time, and HOLY SMOKES, BATMAN! it starts out this bright floral (???) and then deepens into a sweet woodsy smell. . . almost like pancakes cooked over a fire and topped with stewed apples. it isn't foody, but it definitely is warm and sweet. the vetiver seems to still be there, but this time its coming out as smokieness, rather than vetivertness. . . i get hits of pine. . . .the vanilla scent of jeffery pine. . .the smell of duff heated by the sun. . . and a soft floral somewhere in there somewhere.

 

*sigh* i am loving this now. how odd that i didn't the first time. . .

 

if it changes the next time i wear it, i will be back to edit this. . .

[wolfie13]

HOLY CRAP

 

This is it. The very first - hence, ONLY - LE/lunacy blend that I have not decided to swap or sell immediately.

 

In the bottle: Loamy forest. Mostly evergreen, with some patchouli and/or vetiver, perhaps some moss.

 

Upon initial application: Same as in the bottle - earthy, piney goodness - with an additional lightly smoky aspect. I sense maybe some myrrh happening too.

 

Wearing for 15 minutes or so: The pine forest aspect falls back a bit, the smokiness remains. A sweetness arises. It doesn't read as especially sugary or fruity to me though - perhaps a touch of fig or currant, maybe a splash of honey.

 

Another 15 minutes or so: Light musk slinks in around all the other scents.

 

Hours later: The scent is still mostly similar, just a faded version of itself, the only difference being less emphasis on the smokiness and more on the sweetness/musk and lying close to the skin.

 

I love every phase of this. It's so evocative, mysterious, sexy and unique.

 

I REALLY should have ordered more. (But with 8 or so previous misses, how should i know??)

 

(PS - As for comparisons folks are making to:

Samhain or Mabon - I haven't tried either so I can't add anything there.

Hunter Moon - I can see the comparisons, but Hexennacht works for me while Hunter Moon did not. Hunter Moon was REALLY strong on me, and read as only grape juice, civet and heavy smoke, and actually made me queasy. I find this to be far more nuanced and subtle, though with some similar aspects.)

Edited May 17, 2005 by wolfie13

[Jessica]

In the bottle it was a little sharp and very woodsy. My mom said it reminded her of my grandpa's pipe tobacco.

 

After wearing it for a little bit, I can really smell the green in this. It's sharp and fresh and a little overpowering. It smells like "outside."

 

I'm not sure about this one. It reminds me of a sharper Dublin. Green through and through. I'm wearing a bit of Chaste Moon at the moment, so another go is in order to see if this is a keeper or not.

[astrid]

Even before reading the other reviews, I put this on and thought "I know this scent..." and realized Hexennacht shares some of the same ingredients as Samhain. This is aging into a gorgeous scent on me. It's funny cause when it came out I thought, "Oh, I'll try it, but I bet I won't like it." Jokes on me! And I'm glad, too!

[Northernminx]

If Samhain is the feasting and fires of Samhain Night, then this is the dark run through the woods after, dark, smokey, and a touch of spice but nothing foody about it. This was very dry and herbal when I first put it on but it sweetens into a delicious smokiness as it mellows. I get just a touch of vertiver somewhere in there but not enough to notice unless I'm looking for it (which is great since I hate vertiver!) The final stages of this are a glorious warm, second skin sexiness that's both elusive and mysterious.

 

Loveth my bottle

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Herbs, cedar and dampness

 

First on: Very strong on me, dark herbs, cedar and damp murky water.

 

After a bit: A sweetness comes forth, enhancing the herbs and cedar. A slight saltiness is there with a faint smoke.

 

This reminds me of old rotting wood, parts of it having been charred in ages long forgotten. Cold winds and still troublesome waters.

 

Not the scent for me.

[oceandessa]

This is one of the most gorgeous scents I have ever tried.

 

It's a smokey green scent that is identical to the base of Samhain without any of the almost-cloying sweetness. Wearing it on a summery day feels wrong because of the strong autumnal association. But my goodness, is it ever lovely. In the bottle it is sharp green, and once it hits the skin it turns into that smokey green base and pretty much stays like this for hours. It is very similar to Hunter Moon, but whereas I hated Hunter Moon, I absolutely love this. I don't really get any vetiver from it at all.

 

I can see a very large layering potential with this scent. With O, with Samhain (to cut down the sweetness), and with any cloying rose scent (like Tarot: The Empress, or Rose Cross). I plan to layer it with Harvest Moon in the fall because I think the autumnal roses of Harvet Moon need a strong woody base to stand on. I can also imagine wearing it with Hellfire. Oh yes, I am going to have a lot of fun wearing this scent.

 

Hexennacht is a work of art. Absolutely wonderful! Well done Beth!

Edited May 17, 2005 by oceandessa

[eleventhousand]

Mmmm.

 

I smell vetiver and pine and earth and honey and patchouli and something muskyspicy...and butter?

 

I agree with the Samhain comparisons. I am pleased, because Samhain made me sick from candy apple and pumpkin pie crazy nose despite some lovely qualities.

 

This is beautiful. Earthy and feminine. A perfect summer scent for those of us who like the darker ones as it stays close to the skin.

Edited May 18, 2005 by eleventhousand

[helarctos]

Really a fantastic blend. For me, it is foresty without verging into the piney territory that so often turns Pine-Sol or Vicks-Vaporub on me; it's incensey without smelling like a headshop; it's woody without smelling like furniture. It succeeds wildly at matching its description, and that description set a high bar.

 

The one thing that keeps Hexennacht from working fabulously for me is that it doesn't have much throw or staying power on me. It stays so close to the skin -- too close to the skin for me. I'm passing this one on to someone who will hopefully use it more than I would, but I'm not doing so without regrets.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Sweet pine & a few flowers I can't distinguish.

 

First on: The sweetness of it comes out, which isn't much. It's like the blooms on a tree smell, not sticking your nose in a flower smell. I still can't tell you which ones though.

 

Drydown: It's all woods and smoke. I wasn't sure how I'd like this one, but I think it grows on me each time I wear it. It's more of an acceptable for anyday smokey than Djinn, though that one makes me swoon when I sniff it.

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I have extremely high hopes or this one. It sounds absolutely perfect for me and if it doesn't work it's going to break my heart.

 

First sniff:

 

This is similar to Samhain only more piney and less...oppressive, maybe? Holding the bottle away from my nose, Hexennacht and Samhain are almost indistinguishable, which is fantastic since I'm mourning my poor lost Samhain bottles. This is gorgeous!

 

Wet on skin:

 

Lighter than in the bottle and much more smoky. This is a bonfire in the middle of a pitch black pine forest. It's clandestine but celebratory at the same time. This has all the smoke and fire I loved in Djinn, but it's more wearable and less...acrid, I suppose. It's not so much like the embers in a fireplace as it is the fire itself and the curling smoke.

 

Dry down:

 

A roaring bonfire made with pine needles and a hint of incense smoke. This is gorgeous, pure and simple. It's got enough pine and herbs to keep it from being overwhelmingly smoky and ashy, but not enough to take the focus away from that gorgeous bonfire smell, which is just perfect. I'm amazed by how realistic this is. Bravo, Beth!

 

The bottom line:

 

Everything I'd hoped for and more. This one's an instant favorite (and a lovely alternative to Samhain for days when I want a little autumn in my life).

[luxuria]

Good lord, this is STUNNING! OMFG! *swoon*

 

It's herbs and pine in the bottle, a little offputting, but the reviews sounded pleasant so I put it on. It morphed into this absolutely gorgeous scent of pine, some bonfire smoke (but not too much), and a honey type sweetness that saves this from being too earthy/manly. It's absolutely perfect for its description and it's sad that this was only available on the site for a few days! I made a post asking for recommendations about foresty scents for women..well, this fits the bill 120%.

 

Oh, and the label is just darling with the little witches hat underneath the name

[cuervosueno]

This sounded good....green, smoky, piney, incense.....

But its just not striking me the way I expected it to.

In the bottle it smoky, like green wood burning a distance away. Not the heavy smokiness of djinn or some of the other smoke blends, and pine isn't in your face either, like my favorite pine scents of skadi, etc. Rather it is soft, as if you're getting it on a cool spring breeze. It's also quite herbally green.

Really the scents blend together in a way that makes it hard for me to pick one out.

As it dries, a bit of sweetness comes in that is sort of floral to me, and it is only in this stage that I can smell a very very faint comparison to Samhain. But I like Samhain better.

Its nice, but I'm not sure I'll keep it.

[Nepthys]

Oh, this one makes me homesick.

 

I live in Arizona and when I had 2 AZ friends smell this tonight, they considered it an autumn scent - that cool night in a pine forest association. But to me, who grew up in the forests of the Northeast, this is dead-on a spring night scent. It's powerfully evocative of both high school keg parties and Pagan spring rites - wandering through fields by starlight to get to a bonfire, that taboo excitement of a forbidden rite in the woods, wandering away to kiss someone in the dark and smelling the smoke of the bonfire in their shirt and hair. When I sniff this, I'm half-convinced I'm missing out on a witches' Bacchanalia going on in some nearby woods.

 

It lasts a long time - but unfortunately the throw of this is a little too medicinal-piney. After a hour, I need to take a deep sniff up close to get all the lovely associations again.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: at first: gorgeous. fruit, flowers, and something burning in the background.

on: wonderful. floral and...herby, i think. very soft.

1 hour later: more of a burning scent to it, but still soft. i think i may smell some musk.

2.5 hours later: this smells like...being surrounded by fresh herbs and a bit of fire. wonderful.

5 hours later: more biting now, but only a bit. lovely and very well-blended. i can't really pick any notes out.

overall: i don't know if i'll reach for this often, but i really like it.

[Reinaluna]

Hexennacht: This one reminds me of a lighter version of The Coiled Serpent. It is kind of masculine for me. I get a lot of the fir and herbs. I may have to give this one to my brother if it does not calm down on me.

[theshapeshifter]

I've only had a quick test of this so far, but I adore it!

 

Wet, it's smoky and dense, like a deep wood, and then it dries into this fresh, campfire-in-a-dark-forest-by-a-lake smell, with a hint of floral in the background.

 

I was a little sleepy last night when I tried it out, so apologies for the brief review, but this is definitely a winner!

[lorajc]

I've worn this all day, but just can't get it to "grow" on me. On initial application, it has the same top note as Wolf Moon. I don't know how to describe it. It is very different and I've never smelled this until I discovered BPAL. It is also the same color as Wolf Moon, so I'm thinking there are some common notes. This is very smoky on me and stays smoky with the fir being in the forefront at first. I may detect a little juniper in his, as well, but I'm not sure. It sort of reminds me of a cross between Wolf Moon and Thanatopsis at first, but then on the drydown (much later - 3-4 hours) this softens into a combination of honey and I'm guessing musk (glimmering scent of skin - similar to a faint O). I'm not sure this is really me, but I will keep my bottle for a while and test it some more.

[Macha]

I was one of the rare few who couldn't wear Samhain. I'll admit it: I couldn't even stand the smell in the bottle (needless to say, this was a crushing disappointment.) There was something in there, maybe the honey, that clashed with me in a profound way. As people began to say that Hexennacht smelled like Samhain, I mentally wrote this fragrance off. If it smelled like Samhain, I wouldn't like it.

 

However, when my bottle arrived I was somewhat surprised when I didn't have an immediate negative reaction to the fragrance in the bottle, so I followed through and tried it on. To my delight and amazement, Hexennacht does smell like Samhain -- almost excactly to my nose -- but without that whatever scent note I reacted negatively to.

 

In other words, I adore it.

 

Although Hexennacht is tied to an April holiday, it is definately a fall scent to my mind, full of smoke and bonfires, lush forests and the sweet musk of some fairly intense partying. This is a fantastic scent, with excellent throw and very nice longevity. I was litterly jumping up and down gleefully as I realized how well this scent worked on my skin.

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - an imp decanted by a lovely forumite.

 

This is Samhain with a forest scent instead of pumpkins and apples. It smells of trees and smoke and incense. This is beautiful, and really doesn't change much from wet to dry. After a few hours, it begins to smell of cocomut! Hmm…that was unexpected. This is an incredible fragrance, definitely one of my favorites, and it lasts a very long time. A big bottle is a must!

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5

[iliadawry]

Bottle: Heady and witchy; no individual notes stand out.

 

Wet: Fir and smoke are apparent, but some note seems to be disagreeing with me -- makes me feel a bit ill. I don't know what it is, really, but I'll see if I can wait it out.

 

Dry: Ill it is. Alas! Maybe Samhain will do me better. This one is gone gone gone.

 

/ili

[Shollin]

First sniff: I LOVE the little witches’ hat on the label. Hexennacht is a warm pine, a sweet pine, with a breath of cold that’s more like an unexpected breeze than like snow, and a wisp of woodsmoke.

 

Wearing: Yes, I definitely understand the comparisons to Samhain. This has more woodiness to it, and it’s not as warm, but the overall feel is very similar.

[yeahbutnobut]

Hexennacht

 

In the imp: sweet and foresty…like fir trees and incense. It's very warm.

Wet on skin: dark warm firs and something sweet, like incense with smoke. The great thing is that the smoke isn't going icky on my skin! This is like a campfire in a forest. Wow.

Dry on skin: the firs become fresher and greener. This isn't a Christmas tree smell though, this is warm, smoky, mysterious. This is like a night time forest with a magical ceremony, a witches' dance, the smoke of the fires, the sweet sticky incense…it's awesome!

After a while: I'm surprised as to how nicely the smoke note behaves-it smells like a faint breeze of smoke, not like my skin's on fire! There's a sweet woody-resin smell like tree sap, and there's that soft, sensual, almost baby-oil type smell that could be the skin scent. As time passes, there's a sweet resinous note that gets stronger and stronger, with a hint of smoke lingering on the surface. This is an unusual and interesting blend.

About 45 mins-1 hour later, the sweet smell remains but now goes back to dark tree sap, with pine needles and smoke. It's like a ritual bonfire with incense and sacred herbs added, giving the smoke a magical quality. It's strong, but so pleasant.

After a few hours, it changes to deep musk, and a few hours after that comes the baby oil reminiscent scent that I got in LPM.

Verdict: this pleasantly surprised me. This is a fascinating blend of deep dark forest notes, sweet incense, smoke and warmed skin…it's sweet, it's smoky, it's mysterious, it's magical. I'm not sure if I'd wear this as perfume, but it's a wonderful nose-trip that BPAL can do so well. Amazing.

Edited June 4, 2005 by yeahbutnobut