Yew-Trees

[Eros]

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

In the imp it's a sweet & lush spicy green. Once it's on my skin, there's a beautiful, rich woodsiness that emerges almost immediately. Crisp, clean, but also thick & sweet. There's nothing artificial about this one. It's a tad on the masculine side but not so much that it can't be worn by a woman. The surprise here...As the minutes tick by I'm reminded of another BPAL blend, SO familiar but I can't place it. Finally it dawns on me. Dorian. No lie, on me, this is Dorian.

[PilotKitten]

Okay... I knew this one would smell "woody" but I've never sniffed yew-tree before so I had to give it a try even though my skin hates woods. This one doesn't dissappoint. It's a sharp, piercing wood scent with a heavy evergreen overtone. I feel like I just parachuted into a forest and hit every tree on the way down. Not the greatest scent for me.

[yeahbutnobut]

Yew Trees

 

In the imp: an odd mix of green pine and pina colada? It’s strange but I like it.

Wet on skin: yes it really does smell like coconut, but with evergreen notes!

Dry: well this is a very strange scent, certainly not one I’d associate with yew, but I like it. It smells of coconut milk and berries (or is it pineapple?), and a dark green pine/fir note. It’s an unusual mix of tropical and coniferous plant scents. The ‘coconut’ even smells a bit like the Star, or Spooky, or even like Milk Moon. But it’s quite dry as well, like there’s a scent of bark or wood to this.

After a while: the pine/fir has calmed down and now I get a dry yet creamy sweet fruity coconut scent. there’s a dry, bark like note to it as well, like coconut milk and tree bark.

Then I smell a hint of some kind of wood too, maybe cedar or sandalwood or maybe cypress? I get the same dry, gritty dark green scent that I’ve smelt in other cypress scents. But I still smell coconut milk.

Verdict: this is a weird scent, but I like it. I wasn’t expecting coconut from a scent named ‘Yew Trees’ but that’s what I get here. This scent seems to have elements of summer and winter mixed together…tropical and sweet warm coconut and pina colada, and dark, piercing, chilly pine notes. I’ve never thought of putting the pine in the coconut but that’s what this smells like-coconut milk, creamy and sweet, with a dry bark note and evergreens. Very unique, certainly not what I was expecting but at least I’m not the only one getting coconut here. I’m not sure whether to keep it though-I like the pina colada scent but it doesn’t feel right in a scent that’s meant to represent an evergreen tree which grows in non-tropical climates…but it’s certainly unique!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Maybe.

If you like this, try: The Star, Obatala, Black Forest, Nocnitsa, Golden Priapus

[supremegoddessofall]

Juniper berries with light evergreen, but not really a "pine" scent. Maybe a pitch pine or a pine sap? Very masculine.

[baranoouji]

In the imp: someone earlier joked about saying "pine" 1500 times in their post. I see what they mean: pinepinepinepinepinepine.

 

Wet on skin: Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. Again, pine trees, pine forest, pine-sol cleaner.

 

Dry on skin: Uh-oh. Houston, we have a berry problem. More specifically, pine tree has vacated the way for the waxy-fruity berry smell. (As opposed to the fruity-fruity berry smell.) I smell like one of those BB&W blends, but in Winter Berry.

 

(Don't be worried: I suspect that my skin amps up berry and white flowers like nothing else.)

[insanecatposse]

This is lovely!

 

In the imp: Sweet pine.

 

Wet on the skin: Fuller bodied version of the above.

 

Drying down: It deepens to a resinous sap. I don't eactly smell berries, but there is a tang somewhere.

 

An hour-plus later: This forest is making me very happy. Decent throw and it stayed true.

 

Overall: To my nose, this isn't a complicated scent. It's evergreen and dark golden sap, sweet and biting at the same time. Simply a beautiful living tree. There just might be a big bottle in the future,

Edited February 23, 2007 by ElectraCat

[filigree_shadow]

I think this would be a great scent for people who like pine and evergreen wood scents. It has a sweetness to it that balances out the wood scent nicely. It's full and rather bold. Pine-ish scents sometimes smell like cleaning products to me, but this one doesn't. It smells earthy and natural.

 

ETA: I want to amend my review to say that this oil is really lovely when it's dry. Sweet and woody and a little bit creamy, too. If you're unsure about it while it's wet, give it a chance. It lingers on the skin for quite a while and is surprisingly soft and comforting after a couple of hours.

Edited March 2, 2007 by filigree_shadow

[theseagrows]

hm, in the imp this is VERY piney and has a sharp herbal tinge with a hint of wood in the background. on my skin however, it's a strange, watered-down pine scent mixed with something foody or nutty...shea or cocoa butter?? interesting, but not really my style.

[euterpe414]

I never expected this one to dry down so sweet on me! On my skin it's really reminiscent of Golden Priapus- I'd swear there was vanilla or something in this. Actually I like this one better than Golden Priapus 'cause it has a much softer edge to the woodsiness. There's really no berry in this for me, strangely enough. This doesn't last that long on my skin, but not too many pine-y blends do. I think this one would work great both as a personal fragrance and as a room scent. Definitely one for the bottle wish list!

[glass_cat]

I remember getting frimped this a while ago, but I don't remember ever trying it, so I tried it today when I came across it while digging through my imp box. I also felt like typing up a quick review, so here I am. This is very evergreen-smelling and piney... very... but I'm not getting it as harshly as I do in say... Belladonna. I don't know that I distinctly smell the berries hinted at in the description, but I do smell something sweeter in the background of this tempering the evergreen smell and rendering it wearable. For pine lovers this would be a nice choice because it doesn't go as "Lysol" as some of the others I've tested.

 

I really don't think this blend is "me", but it's nothing to do with the blend itself. I'm just not really partial to going around smelling like a tree. (I really only wear anything that smells of pine if I'm looking for something "wakey-wakey" and bracing to wear while I'm writing or cleaning house or something.) Also, even though I'm normally not someone who only wears certain scents at certain times of the year, this smells very seasonal and wintery to me since I strongly associate the smell of pine with Christmas time almost exclusively. I may save this for rainy days or cooler weather for that reason.

 

EDIT: I've had this on a while now, and I'm actually picking up some spicy notes, which is actually making me like this quite a bit more. The only problem though.... I still feel like I smell strongly of "Christmas". This is a wearable pine, but I still think it's going to be something I only wear when I want a jolt or around the holidays.

Edited April 23, 2007 by glass_cat

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This is certainly as strong as Hemlock, and the berries are in the background.

 

Wet: These are some of the strongest "berries" that I've smelled in a BPAL blend, and they are able to hold their own against the distinctive pine scent.

 

Drydown and wear: While you can still smell the berries on drydown, they start to behave oddly on my skin. Instead of smelling juicy and fresh, they smell like they've been out slightly too long...it's an interesting combination with the pine (which also decreases in intensity quite quickly--this scent doesn't have the staying power that I'd assume it would have).

[rainbow]

This definitely smells like berries and pine on me. Springtime in Arkham also smelled like red berries and pine on me, but there are some distinct differences. This is a sweeter, less foresty pine (if that makes sense). The berries are extremely sweet- their sweetness really dominates the scent. This is more of a sweet scent than a fresh one, even though it has very distinct pine notes.

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, Yew Trees smelled like wood with a little bit of evergreen beneath it. Once it dried, it somehow morphed into plumeria. I'll give this one another try sometime, but if I get the same result, off it goes.

[maribouquet]

While wet the berries are super strong on me & overpowering. I didn't recognize the berry note as berry though - it smelled vaguely powdery and citrus-like, and reminded me of Tarot: The Sun. After an hour or so, I'm left with a pleasingly woody, mulchy (good though, honest!) sort of smell, with a pinch of something pungent - that must be the evergreen? It smells a bit cedar-like to me.

 

Outdoorsy, softly masculine. Not really me, but I like it nonetheless.

[noumenon]

This is so freaking amazing! I know a lot of people don't like it, and when I first put it on, the pine was so strong I almost washed it off. But the strong pine ebbs into the sweet, softer pine of Dublin, and then the berries come out. I adore this. It's so funny: it was a frimp that came from the Trading Post with my ebay auction purchase for Ecstacy True Love, but I like the Yew Trees frimp better than the bottle it came with.

 

Makes me miss Dublin a lot less. I'm serious - this fills the hole Dublin's DC left in my heart (er, nose...)

Edited August 11, 2007 by Noumenon

[funkmoppet]

Oh, this is beautiful!

 

It's so barely-there in the imp. Wet on the skin, this is the lightest, most subdued whispery pine. It's nothing like other pine notes I've smelled - this is wet and gentle and not pungent at all. It almost has a very distant feel to it.

 

Drying down, the beautiful berry comes out and sweetens this on my skin. The pine is gentle and very much in the background, and the berry hangs close to the skin. It's very unisex on me.

 

This really is lovely! I like this one very much. Definitely keeping the imp, and this may also be a future bottle purchase.

 

[aquazoo]

Very fresh, very green! It fades down into a sweet greenishness. Play with some more before deciding.

[ribcaged]

This did smell very spikey and strong in the imp bottle so I was reluctant to try it. I slathered it on today anyway because I thought it would be silly to avoid!

 

At first it was a nice fir smell with an interesting touch of fresh shoots, well, that's what it reminded me of!

And it REALLY cleared my head, I had a better focus after wearing this and I was impressed!

 

It softened about an hour later and I could smell what seemed like vanilla or coconut underneath it, it is beaaaautiful. I really like this scent and I am glad the sweetness came through for me unlike it did on other people, I feel so lucky

[greencat03]

in the imp: sharp but light pine, like sniffing a branch full of needles. There's some sweetness from the berries. I like this.

 

on me: now it's a deeper pine, like crushing the needles between your fingers. Berries are more muted. Now I'm worried this will be too heavy.

 

after a few mins: aaand the berries are back in force, the pine has gone menthol-y, and and it's all gone powdery and artificial. Phooey. Murphy's drydown.

 

overall: To the swaps with you, laddy! I wish it smelled on me like it did in the bottle. ah well.

[Zeljana]

mmmm sweet woodsiness. This is very warm and comforting. Yes, it's pine but not sharp. I love this.

It's perfect for spending some time alone.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Pine & berries. It smells like those pinecones you throw in the fireplace at xmas.

 

First on: There's the wood scent again, lemon, berry, and a twinge of soapiness. It's like a lemonade in the woods.

 

Drydown: This reminds me of lemondrop hard candy my mom used to eat. It's a sweet citrus with the woodsy note in the back, very light & fresh.

 

Overall: Me likey.

[tartchef]

Ugh. Coconut & Pine-Sol. Eventually it dries down to a cool, powdery amber, but the wet stage is just too off-putting for me to hang onto this...

[purplemoonshoes]

I got two frimps of this with my last order. Smells like a Christmas wreath in the imp. Very powerful pine on my skin, good for waking you up. I don't get any berries with this, just pine and woods. Good throw.

[hkhm]

imp: this smells like mango to me. mango with a nice hit of pine and a faint touch of coconut. very alluring!

 

wet: bright, sweet, piney goodness. the sweetnesss that was initially mango has spread out to be kinda berryish, but mostly just a vague sweetness. very nice, can't stop sniffing myself!

 

dry: oooh! the mango is back! faint, sweet piney mango. there is still that very faint touch of something coconut-like. what an interesting scent.

[FallDaze]

In the imp this is a very berry scent with a little hint of wood shavings. Not quite sure if I like it or not though...

 

On it turns into almost a weird bakery plasticy scent...Yeah...pretty weird, I know...

 

Nope, not going to work. It's almost sickly smelling on me. I can't quite pick out the notes that are dominating though