Yew-Trees

[gingiemay]

Piercingly sweet berries over evergreen boughs, deepened by the tree’s sacred wood.

Wet in imp - Evergreen, woody, with forest berries, not sweet.

Wet on skin - Evergreen wood and forest berries.

Dry on skin - An interesting woody scent with the hint of sharp berries and evergreens. This is sort of manly. Edited September 27, 2008 by Shollin
fixed BPAL tags

[angelicruin]

Wet & in vial - Pine Sol

 

Drying on skin - woodsy, still pine-scented.

 

Dry - still no berries Just woods & pine.

[Champagne]

Aah, this is green and cool at the start, it`s perfect as a rainy day companion, and aftet 10 minutes it`s all sugar sweet with a forest background. It`s weird and I don`t detect any berry, but I like it a lot.

[mgrazulis]

A frimp from the lab. Swoon-worthy!!!

Wispy evergreen, dark and mysterious, sweetened by berries. It's sharp in the imp. Aromatic when wet on the skin with a sweet aloe note. This reminds me a bit Aeaea's juniper berry note. The wood note is solemn and stately. After a while, it's dusted with a magical sugary vanilla. A magical druid scent...Possibly my favorite BPAL wood scent!

Edited October 3, 2008 by mineralfairy

[Saya]

In the Bottle

I’m not a huge fan of the pine or evergreen blends so this should be interesting. In the imp I’m smelling a whole lotta pine and maybe a bit of cypress, so far I’m not a fan.

 

On My Skin

I’m getting a touch of berries now but it’s still mostly pine. Fortunately the woodsy scent has calmed down a little bit and is no longer as overpowering as it was immediately after application.

 

After a Bit

This is the most suprising BPAL oil I think I’ve ever tried. I love this blend! It smells very clean and fresh with the pine and the berry and all traces of the cleaning product smell have vanished. This is beautiful.

 

Rating 1-5

Scent - 4 Throw - 2 Longevity – 3

Overall (not an average) – 3.8

 

Final thoughts

I’m going to have to test this one again just to make sure this wasn’t a fluke, but I really like the way this smells. If I get the same result next time I just might have to pick up a bottle.

[Iceblink]

Oh wow--this is great and unexpected. Woods, evergreen, and sweet berries! It's very bright and happy and doesn't go all Pine-sol on me like a lot of piney blends do. Nice!

[ouch!]

I smell like Pine, Wood and tree sap. Someone mentioned this smells like paper and I totally agree. I smells firstly of pine and wood. Then when the pine fades it goes to a dusty wood, and defiantely smells similar to tree sap too!

 

Berries??? There are berries in the description.. Berries my bum! (Scuse my French). I cannot detect berries in the slightest and I was really hoping for them because I luuuurve them!! They would have added a really nice element to this, maybe I might try and layer this with something berryish, but I'm not one for layering...

 

It fades quite fast to be honest and only has a little amount of throw..

 

Overall it's a dusty, foresty sap kind of smell with a slight sweet edge that is NOT berries.

Edited October 14, 2008 by ouch!

[kjirstiben]

I put this on this morning and was almost knocked over by the intense dark evergreen smell of Yew-Trees fresh out of the bottle. My roommate, in fact, asked me what I was putting on, then mentioned that it initially smelled like evergreen, then changed into something almost like candy, it was that sweet.

 

At the time, I had no clue what she was talking about--this was all heavy-duty evergreen close-up. However, after a half-hour or so, the "piercingly sweet berries" of the description emerged, and over time, came more and more to the forefront. By several hours in, this is a faint, sweet berry scent with a memory of evergreen woods behind it...

 

It's very pretty, and very unlike what you expect when you first open the bottle.

[themerrybaker]

Berries my bum!

 

Amen from the Borough of Bugger Those Berries.

 

Some nice person sent me a very aged partial imp of Yew Trees and, from the description, it didn't look like something I'd even want to try.

 

Straight out of the imp, Yew Trees smelled a lot like turpentine. Aha - another scent that makes you wonder if BPAL is an acronym for Be Patient Aroma Lovers.

 

The big jackpot is that this evergreen dries down to coconut cream and woods and smells delish.

 

I've already gone through the imp and will be hoarding any new ones that come my way.

[blacklacestatic]

in the imp: The first impression I get from this is actually of pie. Maybe like a rhubarb pie.

 

Wet on skin: That changes quickly to a fresh green woodsy scent. I get a weird feeling of coconut from it though. Like a coconut in the woods.

 

Drydown: Now it's more masculine, a little sexier. I think I would go crazy if I smelled it on my bf's neck. Masculine slightly musky woods.

 

Overall: Not for me, but I want to slather it on my guy!

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp and wet I get evergreen goodness- like being outdoors in a forest on a mountain in the winter.

 

When it dries down, though, it does something weird on me. It starts smelling like pine cleaner. I am not sure if it's the berries that is making it do this, but I have to say... eewwww.

 

Since I love the wet version, I may have to try it in a locket and see if perhaps it stays more woodsy away from my skin. I will not give up on it.

[iamblackbird]

No pine-sol for me! In the imp, it was lightly evergreen, mainly woodsy with a tart-sweet berry. Once on, it calmed down to a sweet evergreen. Once dry, it's woodsy and sweet. Yum.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Oh wow, this is gorgeous! Exactly like the description says...I get a soft, soft evergreen scent, without the harshness and astringent bite that can oftentimes accompany this note, plus warm, bright berries and a coconut note for sweetness, plus a touch of ozone. This is very delicious, and I may need a big bottle. In the drydown, I get mostly wildberries with creamy coconut and the faintest hint of pine. Love this one!

 

[Suu4LC]

In the imp, this is super sweet pine sap and berries.

 

Yep, pretty similar on my skin-uber sweet pine sap is the strongest note, with hints of berries and woods. This blend it quite true to its description.

 

The piercing sweetness quickly fades as the blend dries down into a soft sweetness and the wood note comes out much more. Soft sweet woods under a layer of berries and sugary pine sap. Not my thing, but if the description of this blend appeals to you, you must try it out!

 

[puck_nc]

Origin: frimp from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: None really, other than I guess this is what Voldemort's wand would smell like. Looking at the reviews it seems I might like this, as I like some berry scents and some pine-woodsy scents.

 

In the Vial: Woodsy, all right, but also a lot of damp/earthy tones that are more like walking through the woods after intense rainstorms, with soft rotten wood splitting under one's feet. Definitely a sense of foreboding.

 

Wet: Dank and depressing cypress.

 

Drydown: Not quite so depressing, but still strong cypress.

 

Verdict: Definitely not for me.

[jiggahava]

What the heck? Why am I getting vanilla in Yew Trees?! At first when I put it on its heavily piney and woodsy. But after 10 minutes...soft vanilla with a background of woods. Was my imp mislabeled or something? Not that I'm complaining...it reminds me of Golden Priapus. Since I swapped that one away :-(, this will be my replacement. Much yummier than expected. Still feel like my imp is mislabeled, though...

[ShadowsDance]

In the imp it's pine with an undercurrent I can't quite pin down.

On my skin the pine is still right up front, but there's also something a little minty coming out. As it dries down more, a sweetness seems to come out. Almost like pine and a coconut sunblock. It's a very odd sounding mix, but it works well on me.

[crebbsgirl]

I was not expecting this. Evergreen? Berries??? Usually boo notes for me. This however, this might just be liquid heaven. There is something that my nose is interpreting as spice, mixed with an earthy sweetness. The berries are a subtle undercurrent here, lending a nice complement to the blend, but not overpowering it. Good Gods this is just awesome!!!

[dreadpiraterustypants2]

yum! I'm enjoying this much more than I expected- it's not simply an evergreen scent.

there's a warm vanilla-esque cedar (the bark, I'm assuming) at the center.

lovely thought, eh-

the scent takes the unfolds like the tree- branches, then bark.

goes a bit car airfreshner cardboard on me later, thought,

love the early stages!

[tragedy]

Maybe I shouldnt be reviewing this today because its hot, but it was one picked at random from the imp pile, so here goes.

 

I'm getting pine and wood and a slight bit of berry from this, but theres something almost "skunky" in it. It starts of quite strong and mellows quickly, within 5 minutes, but still the skunk remains.

 

Not really digging it, but I'm holding on to it for colder weather.

[TilHelvete]

Biggest turn around morpher I have ever tried. Smells completely different on the dry-down than it does in the imp. I highly recommend trying this even if you don't like the smell of it in the imp.

 

In the imp it smells very green and foresty (though not like the lab's usual pine note which I think is a sweet smelling pine) with a minty, mentholated top note. Someone previously mentioned they smelled juniper, I hadn't thought of it but I think they're right.

 

As it dries there is a warm, coconut smell that I can detect underneath the initial cold, wet stage of the smell. Within 30 minutes it is completely warm, honeyed vanilla coconut and very similar to the dry down of Death Cap.

 

I love both stages of Yew-Trees, both wet and dry. Death Cap is one of my favorite BPAL blends, and the similarity here is remarkable. Seeing how I already have a big, much loved bottle of Death Cap I don't think I'll be getting a big bottle of Yew-Trees... but it is very pretty.

 

 

I expected this to be a cold, berry scent but I do not smell any berries in the least. I remember reading that Beth said Skadi could be mimicked by layering lots of Talvikuu with a drop of Yew-Trees. I figured Yew-Trees would be the "frost-rimed winter berries" mentioned in Skadi, but having never sniffed Skadi I cannot speak as to how prominent the berry notes are. Yew-Trees is the biggest turn around morpher I have ever tried. Smells completely different on the dry-down than it does in the imp. I highly recommend trying this even if you don't like the smell of it in the imp.

 

ETA:

 

Holy crap this is a morpher. I can smell the berries now, they're very light on top of the warm, nutty coconut. Maybe they will become more noticeable as the hours pass.

Edited May 31, 2009 by TilHelvete

[raphaelsmuse]

I got Yew Trees as a frimp with my recent order, so I thought I'd post a quick review. (I had no idea of the notes when I went to smell it.)

 

In the imp: My, that's piney. And is that...menthol? I hate the menthol smell, so I pretty much got immediately turned off.

 

Wet: Sharp pine, like Pine-Sol. I would much prefer any yule pine scent over this, it's just way too caustic.

 

Dry: It disappeared on me nigh instantaneously. The pine's mellowed out, but you'd really have to slather yourself to smell it without having your nose on your skin the entire time. I definitely would recommend buying yule scents if you're looking for a more pleasing pine scent.

[tajana]

Freshly applied it's sharp evergreen, pine with a sweetness that makes me think there's juniper, and a cold sharp edge that reminds me of mint or eucalyptus. The sweet, almost candy-like berries were a definite undercurrent near the beginning, but after half an hour the evergreen is secondary to the fruitiness. As it spends more time on the skin though, things get interesting. Ultimately this dries down into sweet berries with a dash of pine, a plank of light wood... and, unexpectedly, creamy coconut milk! It fades rather close to my skin after a while, but it smells really clean (the pine really hangs on and the berries are fresh, not syrupy) yet also very coconutty. I'm not quite sure what to make of this!

[pugmom]

wow - this is why I love lab frimps and I try everyone just in case!

 

First, heavy evergreen, almost eucalyptus like.

 

But before I knew it, it turned to a gorgeous sweet, almost vanilla, creamy scent. I was expecting air freshener, but got love!actually reminds me of my dorian ct that I love!

Edited August 3, 2009 by pugmom

[HKB]

When I first put this on it's like sticking my face in a christmas tree. Intense tree smell. It's not at all like a cleaner to me. It's very natural. There's a sugary sweetness overlaying it that must be the berries. This is the only berry scent that doesn't smell like Kool-Aid on me. After an hour or two the pine mellows and there is something there that smells like coconut or vanilla. I will probably buy this one.