Herr Drosselmeyer

[LadyKitsu]

Magus, toymaker, and Godfather to Klara. An enigmatic man, seemingly somewhat sinister, but bearing a gentle air and a sincere love for children. This scent is dignified, refined, but dark, and hints towards esoteric mysteries and the secrets that tie mechanics to magick. Pipe smoke, sweet leather, woods and linen.

Hrm....I wanted to love this....but ick.

When I put it on I got this funky sweet smell...it took me a few sniffs to try and figgure out what it was. It smells like a poor quality sweet pipe tobacco. I remember the smell because my grandpa used to smoke pipes when I was a kid, and every once in a while he got some nasty cheap tobacco because the store ran out of his good stuff.

It definatly has a maple type quality to it...not exactly...but pretty durn close.

I get no smokieness...no leather...no wood

Oh well

[biernaise]

Herr Drosselmeyer

 

Wet, it smells like anise and sweet cherry wood. I like. I like very much!

 

On, I get gingerbread and pfefferneuse- those little German cakey things my mother serves on Christmas! Oh, double yum!

 

Drying down, it fades into a cherry smoke swirl with a bite.

 

Easily one of the best fragrances I have ever experienced.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: anisette cookies Definately unexpected!

 

Wet: anisette cookies and lovely, sweet smokiness

 

Dry: Absolutely gorgeous! This is smoky without being too heavy or masculine, althought I think this would be a lovely scent on a man, too. The throw is light to moderate and the scent is long lasting. I must have a big bottle!

[lanablade]

In the bottle: Sweet and sickly. I agree with the bad pipe tobacco comment from above.

 

Wet: Still sickly sweet. There's something behind the sweet, too, that's making me dislike this. Might be the woods.

 

Dry: The sickly sweet calms down fairly quickly, thank heavens, and I can finally start picking out individual bits. The leather smells wonderful, and is given depth by the woods and smoke. I smell no linen, so perhaps that's the ick note from the wet stage. When I breath deep and get all the smells at once, it has almost the same FEEL to me as maple syrup. Sweet, dark, rich. Surprisingly nice.

 

When I first got this two weeks ago, it was all sickly sweet from start to finish. I'm glad I gave it a second chance, because the dry state is actually very pleasant. I don't LOVE it, but I do find it a fascinating blend. Hopefully it'll get even better with time.

[emzebel]

Odd...evidently I never reviewed this last year, so let's do a side by side comparison of the 2005 and 2006 versions of Herr Dross...

 

Both are heavy on the pipe tobacco with the leather and woods more of a secondary note. But to my nose, at least, Herr has changed brands over the year. The 2005 version is smoky and dark and heavily masculine - the leather and woods are heavier and there is more of a smoke scent.

 

This year, Herr is smoking a cherry blend - it is yummy and sweet and quite delightful - a much warmer, kinder, festive blend.

[kakiphony]

In the bottle: I held off on trying this one for quite a while because of its smell in the bottle. It smells like cherries. But not fresh cherries -- nasty, sweet, cherry cough syrup variety cherries. Cherry is one of my least favorite notes of all time. But the description of this is so lovely...I will be brave and give it a try.

 

Wet on skin: Cherries. I am now frantically praying that this morphs.

 

Early dry down: Luckily, it does morph. After about fifteen minutes, the woods begin to show up through the cherries. This good, because I love woods. On me, almost all woods are dry and a little bit spicy or have cedar-closet like tones. The woods in this blend lean more toward the spicy woods than the dry cedars, but they're very pleasant. Actually, they smell a little more like sawdust than they do like wood. I wonder if that's the effect of the linen mixed with the wood? Linen has always tended to go dusty/powdery on me, and that may be why has a sawdust feel. I'm not getting the leather yet, and the tobacco is mainly represented by the lingering cherry. That fruity smell has deepened to become more like pancake syrup than cough syrup. Someone else got maple syrup, and I'm not getting maple, but I understand the connection. The tobacco/cherry note is very edible and sticky.

 

Late dry down: An hour after application this has morphed into something almost unrecognizable from the cherry cough syrup in the bottle. The tobacco note, which originally smelled like cherry, now smells like sweet cloves. The wood is till sawdust. There is a faint smoke aroma in there as well. This scent is warm. It's sweet, spicy, and really delicious. Such a keeper. I'm really glad I overcame my fear to give it a chance. I also suspect that this one is going to age extremely well. I'm betting the sweet tobacco smells deepens as this oil is aged, and I end up with even richer and warmer than what I have no. Soooooo good.

[moon_lemming]

2005 version

I can't believe I never reviewed this one last year. Herr 2005 was all woodshop goodness to my nose. Delightful to smell, but not so much my style.

 

2006 version

I was so confused by the sticky maple-y cherry smell. I've never smelled pipe tobacco, so I guess that is probly what I'm smelling. As Herr Drosselmeyer dries on me, it picks up a woody note, like wood shavings, and a sort of smoky background. The too-cherry sweetness is gone, thankfully.

 

It's such a lively portrait; I love smelling it, but it's not really "me."

[edenssixthday]

Herr Drosselmeyer 2006 - This is very similar to last year's version, but it definitely has a few drops more cherry than last year's version -- it's still smoky and leathery and warm and wonderful, but the cherry note is brighter and sweeter and keeps it from being as heavy as last year's version. The first time I tried HD06 was an accident: I was decanting a bottle of it for my decanting group. Then I put on my coat and took the dog outside. As I walked outside, I kept catching the most gorgeous whiffs of Herr Drosselmeyer, and realized I had gotten a touch of it on my fingertips. As I braced myself against the sub-freezing temperatures outside, the scent made me feel warm and cozy, like wrapping myself up in a blanket that smells of sweet pipe tobacco, while sinking into a big leather chair in front of a fireplace. It's such a comfortable scent. Although it's highly masculine to me, I still think I'll wear it on occasion because it's got such a warm, comforting scent about it. The throw is excellent, and this oil should not be over-applied. The staying power is about average on me.

[maribouquet]

imp: cherry licorice (yum!)

wet: high quality cherry licorice and a soft lemon that I think must be the linen note

dry: soft cherry licorice with linen and a wisp of pipe tobacco

 

This is really neat and yummy to my nose, but I don't like it on me as a personal scent and wouldn't want it for my room either. Sadly, no guy to test it on...so, I think this this must be passed along to someone who can truly love it.

[maijasu]

This smells just like cherry pipe tobacco. Hints of woods and linen come out after it dries, but the tobacco still dominates. It's a little too sweet for me. I can tolerate sweetness in foody blends, but there's something about this that just isn't working on my skin. I'm glad I got to try a decant, but it will be finding a new home in the swap pile.

[for_the_nonce]

I sooooo wanted to love this. However, it smelled way too sweet on me, almost like cake frosting. Occasionally I would get a whiff of lovely pipe smoke, but it was fleeting. The leather and woods never appeared.

 

I don't know *what* on earth I'm amping that made this so sweet, but I guess Herr will have to go to the swap pile.

[medvssa]

GAG, awful, horrible. In the imp, more than pipe smoke it seems cigar smoke >_< I tried it nonetheless, but, argh. On, it is awful too. Whatever is in this, is a note to AVOID. I didn't detect anything else, I was too busy freaking out.

 

I only had so bad a reaction from 3 oils: this one, Grog and Elegba. I thought it was the rum, perhaps it is also tobacco, I don't know, but ugggh!

[yeahbutnobut]

Herr Drosselmeyer 06

 

In the imp: the same smoky cherry-almond scent from last year's HD and Hearth 04.

Wet on skin: sweet, dark marzipan with caramel and treacle, and tobacco.

Dry on skin: now the freshness of crisp linen comes in. this is very similar to 05's version, almost identical, but for now it seems a little lighter, less heavy than last year's. it also has a chewy, sugary feel to it as well, like some dark treacle based dessert. The leather, tobacco and woods are still there, but it seems this one is a little less masculine and less dry than last year's.

After a while: the sweet pipe tobacco gets darker and heavier and smokier over time, it becomes the dominant note now. It's like tobacco covered in dark, almost burnt caramel. The woods and leather provide a lovely background. The drydown is almost identical to HD05, and also very similar to Ogun's honey tobacco scent but with treacle in place of the honey.

Verdict: this is almost identical to the 05 version, although maybe it's a little sweeter, more sugary, less heavy but with a bit more tobacco than the last one. It's a very fine scent, but like the last HD, it's a little too masculine for me so I'm probably going to pass it on.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Not really, I already have a little of the 05 version.

If you like this, try: Herr Drosselmeyer 05, Perversion, Ogun, Count Dracula, Elegba

[zankoku_zen]

I have to admit to not being a fan of any of the notes present... but I still had to try it!

 

In the imp: Smokey, a sweet cherry like whiff.

 

On Skin: Anise, although it smells a bit like licorice, and a bitter leather smell.

 

On Drydown: Still get a bitter leather smell... with a sweet cherry undertone.

 

Verdict: Very masculine. But I know just from sniffing it that this isn't the kind of scent that the boy fancies. I'm not entirely sure which version this is. I'll be passing this along...

[LiberAmoris]

I never got a chance to try Herr Drosselmeyer last year, so I have nothing to compare this 2006 version to, but this is nice! On the one hand it smells like cherry tobacco, and on the other, like aniseed cookies. I have nice memories of pipe tobacco since my father used to smoke occasionally when I was a child, so this is very comforting.

 

This might not be the kind of blend I'd wear often on myself, but I think it would be lovely in my oil burner or dotted onto some of the holiday decorations I have up. It's very atmospheric.

[Galen]

Sorry for briefness, but this (2006 version) is much more similar to Hearth 2004 than either Hearth 2005 OR Herr Drosselmeyer 2005 were, which can only be a good thing

[sarahmarie]

Wow, this is really sweet on my skin. In the imp, it had a more masculine, woodsy smell, but on my skin the tobacco really blooms and sweetens. It's got a little bite in the background - some of the woods going a bit sharp on me, possibly? I can imagine this being very sexy on the right person, but I think it's just a little too heavily sweet on my skin. Still, this is a nice, warm, not-overtly-masculine blend that evokes all the goodness of Nutcracker magic, to me.

[Tess]

A frimp sniffie that came with a swap! I'm ever so happy to try this one out.

 

In the vial - WOW, that's a powerful leather. The linen is there trying to soften it up, but the leather will have none of that.

 

Wet - Crisp, clarifying leather.

 

Drying - The woods are breaking down the leather somewhat, but the linen seems to be souring in the process. I know my linen. I LOVE my linen. Don't do this to my linen! And about 10 seconds later the pipe smoke comes out like pow. It's not at "pipe" as I'd like, but it is a deep smoke with leather and woods in the background.

 

Dry (45 minutes) - The leather lingers in the background with the smoke and the wood notes, somewhat sweet and quite dry, are on the front. The linen is goooone. This smells so very dry to me.

 

Overall - The linen was the big draw here for me, so that fell through. I am glad I got to smell this though.

[Lari]

(HD 2006)

Oooooo, intriguing. I don't get the cherry that other people are talking about... I get licorice, especially when it's wet, and good-quality pipe tobacco. As it dries the licorice recedes and this scent more like walking into a humidor comes out. There's a tobacco store near where my parents live in New Jersey and I've gone there with the guys to get cigars and pipe tobacco and this smells like that.

 

This scent is a bit masculine for me, which is something that I don't think I've ever commented before about an oil, but I love the smell. I think I'm going to have to test it on my husband and then find a carrier for it.

[billaguru]

The first bottle I ever ordered, sight un...uh...unsmelled?

 

Anyway, I got mine in 2005. Redolent of the Yule season, triggering a hundred memories of childhood...the scent of pipe tobacco, burning logs, buttery hot toddies, caramel apples, even cough syrup! Definitely a cold weather scent, far too thick for days of heat, grass and sweat.

 

One year later, it's mellowed. The tobacco, butter and caramel scents dominate, while the slightly medicinal quality seeps around the edges. Goes sugary and faint after a while - like a lot of scents do because of my body chemistry...I'm one Double-Stuff Oreo away from diabetic shock - but that's altogether apropos.

 

I recommend this to anyone who likes either the woodsy or foody scents. Nice label, too - four-color print of one of those creepy toy soldiers from the ballet.

[Jilara]

This is a very masculine scent, which of course means it works very well with my body chemistry.

 

In the bottle, I get leather and chocolate-covered cherries. Hmm...

 

Wet: more chocolate-covered cherries and something dusty and leather, reminding one of old books with leather covers.

Drydown: cherry-chocolate pipe tobacco, with a background note of leather.

Dry: chocolate pipe tobacco, that leather and dust "book" smell, and rich wood notes. A faint background waft of cherry, but only if you breath on it. Glorious!

[filigree_shadow]

I'm reviewing the 06 version here.

 

It smells oddly like fruit on me at first, which I didn't expect. The leather is stronger in this than I was expecting, too. On my husband, it smells like cherry tobacco smoke. He has a few bottles of the 05 version and likes to wear it. I like the way it smells on my hubby better than on me -- it's too masculine for me. Also the 05 version is better than this fresh 06 oil, so I'm pretty sure this is one of the ones that improves with age.

 

Here's a little personal story, too: The scent reminds both of us (my husband and me) of his father, an older German man with a white beard who is quiet and gentle and makes gifts for us in his woodshop. He also smokes a pipe -- he likes cherry tobacco. It tugs at my heartstrings a little that this is a perfect scent for Herr Drosselmeyer and is also a perfect scent for my husband's father.

[moontess]

Review of Herr Drosselmeyer 2006:

 

I really wanted to love this and bought it for the husband. Unfortunately we were hit with a licorice scent (maybe the sweet tobacco?) as soon as we opened the bottle and it only intensified on his skin. He had to wash it off before we could find any potential dry-down scents. Definite impression of creepy old man in a candy store. I'm chalking it up to bad body chemisty interaction.

 

Will need to pass it on to a better home!

[metaldog32]

Yule 2005 hasn’t disappointed me at ALL fragrance-wise..this specific purchase was motivated by The Nutcracker..I loved the ballet..and Magus..full of mysteries/secrets/sweet leather and pipe smoke??? I had to try him out.

 

So..this particular bottle has been sitting in my dark drawer for over a year..and for the past three days I have been wearing him…trying to formulate in my mind the thoughts, feelings, notes while wearing.

 

Here it is..for what it’s worth.

 

Initial sniff from bottle:Sweet…pipe tobacco..if I had to guess. It’s not ashy smelling..but a sweetness…that smells like high-end tobacco. I like it. If I didn’t know any better I would think there was something else there in it…something darkly sweet too…somebody I think mentioned something called treacle??? I think maybe a smidgen might be there too..but it could all just be the sweet pipe tobacco..which again..really nice. Definitely NOT something to wear in spring or summer…even at first whiff from the bottle..this scent conveys to me cold weather.

 

Applied wet on skin: Oh wow….it’s sweetness of the pipe tobacco..I can register the leather..but it’s not in a leading role here..and surprisingly..it’s a soft leather..a bit on the sweet side as well..which works really well with the tobacco. I don’t get much of woods/linens yet..but overall it’s a very rich scent.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Sweet pipe tobacco has softened considerably…and I get more of the linen/ wood notes..and it’s all very well blended…very much a cozy scent…one that makes me long for deep leather chairs, roaring fires, and big books.

 

Twenty minutes later-drying on skin: This has lightened considerably..but still not invisible…just wafts out a bit more softly. The sweet tobacco/leather has melded and the linen in on the end…it’s extremely wearable and very comforting to me.

 

Drydown: Softened and sweet wisps of the pipe with the leather and linen…

 

Lasting power: 10+ hours..and throw is soft to medium.

 

Bottom Line: Herr Drosselmeyer 2005 is not a disappointment. A wonderful winter fragrance for when I want to lose myself in books indoors all the while outside the winter wind embraces us all with it’s icy embrace. I love how it makes me feel safe and cozy...it is a bit on the masculine side..but it’s masculinity softened and with a gentle twist..as others have said..it kind of gives out a paternal vibe..which to me is very appealing.

[Gin]

Herr Drosselmeyer 2006

 

In the bottle and initially on my skin, I get a STRONG cherry/almond. Then anise, followed by pipe tobacco. This is a Ginbane if there ever was one. After a few hours, it's a kind of sweet-spicy blend that's not bad, but no way could I go through the first three stages again.