Hexennacht (2005, 2016)

[FoxMackenzie]

... 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.

In the bottle: Strong resiny type of smell..damn..already getting a headache. Resins don't like me. I smell pine trees and oak, too. Forests and resin in a bottle.

On me: Hm..starting out pretty much the same...ok, a little sweetness, and thank goodness the pine is smacking down the resin. Woo! Woodsmoke like a slap in the face. Very sudden. Now I kind of smell like I've been rubbing pineneedles over an open fire. Now that's it's dried down a bit, I kind of like it. Headache still remains, though. Mm..smells like christmastime!

~Fox

[Aurelius]

To me, this smells like Samhain's little sister. A little louder, more flowery, and just a bit bouncier. In fact, sometimes she gets a little loud. And, on my skin, a bit annoying (floral notes have a tendency to just flip out once they touch my skin). This is a gorgeous scent, and a must-have for anyone who likes Samhain. That being said, it doesn't quite work on my skin, and I prefer the older sibling. The smokiness that others have spoken of did not show up on me. Weirdo body!

[oakmoss]

Hexennacht being directly across the Wheel of the Year from Samhain, it's like the veil parted and let a smoky whiff of those autumn fires through, losing the fruitiness in favor of a faint undertone of spring flowers. It's so dark and rich and mysterious. I am utterly in love with this scent. Of all the BPAL perfumes I've tried so far, this is my favorite and the one that feels most like me. Must find a big bottle! Five big bottles! How, oh how, did I miss the LE when it was offered? Beth, please bring this one back!

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): There's a sharpness to this that I can't figure out. It overpowers any other possible scents, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. We shall see what my skin does to it.

 

Just On: Uh oh. I'm detecting a plastic-y sharp note that's almost reminiscent of a dirty bathroom. This could be bad. I might think there was a leathery scent to this, but that's not quite it.

 

An hour or two later: Plastic rules this scent at this point. I'm going to have to look and compare to see what it is that is doing that, and start thinking about avoiding those scents on my skin.

 

Around 6 hours: It's still plastic-y, but also a bit . I don't know that I'll be wearing this one.

 

12 hours: If it weren't plastic, I might have a clue what it smelled like, but it stayed plastic right up to the end.

 

Overall: Well this one started out plastic, and ended up the same way, so I don't foresee using it. It's probably off to the swaps.

 

After reading other reviews: Apparently, I am the only person who absolutely cannot wear this. It just never turned to anything but plastic on me, and it certainly wasn't pleasant. Hunter Moon is okay on me, and Samhain was NICE, but this hates my guts with the fire of a thousand burning suns. Ah well, swappy swappy.

[QueenFae]

This scent is exactly like a fresh forest at dusk. It's earthy and leafy with a touch of a smoky incense in the background. Ahhh, I can smell the witches' fires burning. Perfectly embodies it's name. Definitely makes me want to dance naked around the fire. I wear this when I'm feeling wild and magickal.

[misfitroxy]

Hexennacht starts out smelling strongly of pine resin. It’s not an overwhelming or sharp resin, though. Rather, it’s sweet and rounded out by something earthy and dry.

 

As it settles, the smoke emerges. Again, this is a sweet, woody smoke, though. It carries something lightly spicy behind it, almost like a wet ginger or cinnamon. I guess those could be the “forest herbs”.

 

I can understand the comparisons to Hunter Moon a bit, but I do feel they have entirely different scent bases. Hexennacht is very green and almost moist while Hunter Moon is the color of an Autumn twilight and full of desiccated, crackling leaves. I have never tried Samhain (gasp!), so I can’t make that comparison, sadly enough.

 

I will say that Hexennacht it overwhelmingly beautiful. This is a midnight revelry at its best – smoke and fire hidden by a circle of trees, arms raised to dance, to intertwine, then disappear before the memory becomes solidified in any mind's eye. I’d love to track down another bottle of this at some point, as it’s one of the Lab’s most unique blends as far as I’m concerned. Breathtakingly sensual. Cheers, Beth!

[Eris]

Be careful what you wish for. Pine and skin? Yup, it's all here, hands down. Upon first application, the pine about blew me away, along with something else...animalistic. I guess musk is definitely the best way to describe it, but this is truly the most 'musky' musk I've ever smelled. White musk is light, Arabian musk is sweet...but Hexennacht's musk? It's like hardcore, marking-your-territory, hear-me-roar kind of musk.

 

As it dries into the skin, the strength of the pine drops a little but still holds its own with that powerful musk. I get only the faintest smoke note in the background; mostly the others claim center stage.

 

This reminds me very much of a famous men's cologne whose name is alluding me... It also reminds me of certain New Age stores I've been in (not to be confused with the craft store smell, which is much sweeter). I'm surprised by the comparison to Hunter Moon because that one was very berry-ish on me. There's none of that in Hexennacht, nor any other sweetness I've read about from others.

 

Overall? Hmm. I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm woman enough to handle this. I suspect it would be terribly sexy on a man, however, so I may have to go do some reconaissance...

[Galena]

this is gorgeous Incensey and outdoors. nightime and Fire adn Earth.

 

love it.

 

and love the little Witches hat on the bottle

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Fir/Pine, and smoke. Smoky smoke smoke dominating the entire bottle. Faintest hints of herbs below it.

On me: A bonfire in the midst of a forest. The scent of the trees is here, green and growing. Flames lick the sky as the smoke swirls upwards. The scent of dirt being kicked up as sweaty bodies thrash and swirl over the soil. Garlands are wrapped around necks and wrists; this scent is primal and frenetic. It's rather like a party-in-a-bottle to me!

[pensive]

Thank you emmacrew!

In the imp: very spicy. Gorgeous.

On me, drying down: pineywoodsysmokycampingyay

Verdict: I would easily buy this if/when it came around again.

[pkwench]

Hexennacht is definately related to Samhain. There's that same, oh, pipe and fire quality to it. However, where Samhain brings it on strong with the sense of autumn and cider, Hexennacht, for me, is just that incense and fire note. It has a sweet, almost springy undercurrent,but it doesn't change too much on me. Ironically, while Samhain doesn't smell or feel right to me during that time of the month, Hexannacht is always fine. It's very lovely, it has great staying power, and the chick in Michael's thought I smelled great the day I was in there buying crafty things.

[~AmusedMuse~]

To me this is remarkably similar to Samhain....but a bit better. If I had to choose between the 2 this one is better. Its woodsy and smoky with a note of something mysterious. Love it, & Keepin it.

[quimerula]

How could I resist this one?

The name is perfect, as I live in Northern Spain (the place where the Spanish Inquisition killed a lot of women accused of witchcraft).

 

Wet: incense, smoke and a green touch due to the fir and the forest herbs.

It has something obscure, deep and sexy at the same time. Opium? Vetiver?

I don't know, but this one is a winner!

[JazzieCazzie]

I bought two bottles of this because I thought I would SO love it, and bought one bottle each of Pink Moon and Beltane ... who would have expected I'd love the latter two but be totally meh on this one???

 

In the bottle, it is a somehow familiar purpley scent, not quite grape but fruity and syrupy. Rich and oozy.

 

Wet: It's not bad, not a washoff by any means, but not what I'd hoped for and definitely not something I would wear. I got no sense whatsoever of the woods or the smoke of the incense, just a sweet darkness.

 

On a scale of 1-5 I give it an OK 3.

[cranberry]

I was so looking forward to trying Hexennacht and couldn't wait for my order to arrive.

 

at first whiff, Wow! like nothing that I'd smelled before - fir and incense and maybe slight touch of cider - amazing!

 

on the skin - I'm in love. this is so beautiful! the smoke really seemed to come out and melds with the evergreen and incense. this is my favorite stage and it's this sexy dark wild scent and I can see dancing and celebrations in the evergreen forest.

 

drydown - oh no. the musk has made it's appearance and not a musk that always gets along with me either. seems to depend more on my cycle, but it can turn this really off, yucky, icky, moldy chocolate- far far from a sexy warm skin scent and not a pleasant scent at all.

 

hmmm. not sure if I'll keep it. I really love the beginning and middle stages - but the ending can go terribly wrong on me. maybe layering the ending stage with Nocnitsa or relayering Hexennacht - I'll do some experiments and then decide. gotta say, I'm a bit envious of those that it remains the same from begining to end.

[Etaven]

In the bottle, I can smell herbs and a bit of smoke, a tiny hint of pine. It reminds me of Kathmandu for the first few seconds, but then that reminder sort of goes away.

 

On me, wet, the smoke and incense come out, as well as the herbs. It's a sharp smell, and a bit tangy. It does indeed remind me of bonfires and dancing. The herbs give it an almost floral hint on me from a bit farther from my skin, but not overly so, and underneath comes the scent of smoke.

 

It does evoke images in my head of revelry by moonlight, and trees and smoke.

 

A little while later, and I smell like... the Yankee Candle factory in MA. Not necessarily bad, just unexpected.

 

A while later, and it's sweet, incensey, and delicious. Sort of wish it was like this for more of the time it's spent on my skin, but overall, I do like it.

[stardreamer]

Fresh on: Fruit (apples?) and spice, with something incense-y underneath.

 

Drydown: Mostly incense, something patchouli-like (I think "patchouli" is where my brain files most incense notes), and there's gotta be some musk under there.

 

Overall: Not unpleasant, but not really me. I don't even need to make R. sniff this one, I can tell he'd hate it. Staying power is moderate, it's still fairly noticeable after 6 hours. This will probably be re-swapped.

[Hawke]

Purchased from a fellow forum-goer.

 

In the vial: Something spicy under flowers.

 

Wet: Definitely some spice in there, almost smells like ginger. Buttery ginger.

 

Drydown: Gingersnaps, only not quite that sharp. This is definitely a warm scent. My skin feels warm, but it's not turning red so I don't think it's a reaction. I don't mind the warmth at all. It would be fantastic in cooler weather.

 

Dry: Now it's picked up a fruity note, like apple cider? Very faint. Also a whiff of the fir, finally, the bite that kicks in the second after you inhale. Is it vetiver that gives the dry edge? Whatever it is, it's nice.

 

Overall: I'm not sure this is really a summer scent, but for fall, absolutely. Not that this apparently matters to my brain, as I'd reach for this easily.

[allidavie]

Smells exactly like its description. Very ashy and fiery - nice but not for me. It is similar to some of the notes in Wildfire, but wildfire is sweeter and more complex.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A decant from the generous VorpalBunny!

 

Whoa, what an interesting scent! *Powerful* incense with floral underneath; reminds me of The Caterpillar but with a touch of pine. Surprisingly sweet, though (it did a quick morph)--almost Sacred 'Ho level of sweet. Not the sort of thing I'd normally wear, but for witchy nights it could be used in ritual.

[Yagathai]

In the bottle: Suprisingly sweet! I was expecting something a lot like Brimstone. Instead, I get something that strikes me as almost... floral. I love the smell of resinous woods, and evergreens, but they seem to be buried under a sweet, almost fruity odour.

 

On my skin: Hello, sailor! As soon as it hits the skin, I get a floral note with strong cherry undertones. Yes, there's smoke and resin, but they're playing a weak second- and third-chair to the sweet smell. After about an hour (!) the sweet, cloying odour settles down a bit, and the tangy smoked-pine odour that I was hoping for starts to assert itself. The sweet is still there, though, and it's too strong for my taste. Also, something spicy starts to infiltrate the blend. It sneaks in, and becomes stronger as time passes.

 

Final verdict: I was hoping for something dark, smoky and woodsy. Instead, I got something like a cup of lapsang souchong served with some fresh nutmeg-laced cherry pie. It's not bad, and I could see how someone might really enjoy it, but it's not what I was expecting. I might feel like wearing it every now and then, but I'm not tempted to make it one of my regular scents.

[ismene]

Hexennacht reminds me quite a bit of Harvest and Hunter Moons. It's got that same outdoor, animalistic quality. I can't smell the fir or anything that resembles herbs. Wet, I get smoke, a bit of wine, and some vaguely familiar yet unidentafiable hints of fruit. Dry, the musky, animalistic notes come out, but they're really really awful on my skin. I don't want to describe what it smells like on me for fear of putting others of the scent. I guess I need to learn to stay away from oils with notes described as 'skin' or 'animal.'

[madelf]

This was pine and a sweet incense, but oddly pleasant. Normally, I don't really dig either of those types of scents. It never struck me as forest like, but the smokey resin notes gave the whole oil a ritualistic feeling, which seemed very in keeping with the theme.

 

I was surprised at how much throw this had. It just didn't seem very strong to me. However, I got compliments from several random strangers who really loved it.

 

Overall - this is dark woods and smoke. I probably wouldn't need a bottle, but I will be using my imp with relish.

[Undine]

This also smells "barfy" in the bottle to me--perhaps that's the scent of smoke, or of patchouli--but I really like it on. Herbal and fir-y with smoke: the smoke is stronger, but not too strong. Incense for sure. A little sweetness, but not too much. I think there is a lot of other stuff here that I don't recognize. Plus, somehow I think of this as a powerful scent. And it has throw!

 

Some reviewers mention honey, so maybe that's in there and is one reason why I like it so. ... Although I do find it green and get the forest smell, it's really delicate, a whole different world from Mistletoe or Hemlock.

 

One of my favorites so far. As others have remarked, it is a lot like Samhain, and I like Samhain a little better--but I wouldn't complain if I suddenly found a 5 ml of Hexennacht!

[AngelFireHeart]

On me this scent is very sweet to begin with, quite sickly, but once it's dried down a little, I can smell bonfires & wood too, I absolutely love this scent despite not being sure of it when it first came out of the bottle. This is something really quite special & one I shall make last as long as I can.