Jólasveinar

[naeelah]

... Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries.

Wow, this is such an interesting scent. It's half slushy, wintery landscape, half sugar cookies. The sugar here is a rich, burnt brown sugar-like note, as in Chanukkiya or Anaconda. It's very strong right at first, but it evaporates as the scent dries.

In the end, I would say it's definitely more of a floral/slush blend than foody. The landscape is smooth florals, ozoney winter slush, chilly evergreens, a little bit of dirt, and just a hint of christmas cookies. I think the florals are more predominant than the dirt or the slush.

I didn't expect to love this, but I'm glad I tried it. It's definitely a unique blend.

Try it if you like: The Carpathian Mountains, Old Moon Edited June 25, 2008 by Shollin

[zankoku_zen]

This one is an odd one for me - I wasn't originally interested in it. At the beginning, it's a very fumy pastry cake, sweet honey, cakey and doughy. It kind of makes me think of Cockaigne. That burns off mostly and I get a very orchid-like scent, bolstered a little by a 'snowy' feel with the occasional 'pastry' scent.

 

I am very on the fence on this - on whether I even like it. I don't enjoy the heavy cake I get, but the orchid/snowy/piney drydown is very beautiful.

 

Definitely a morpher for me!

[morganlise]

Well, this is my first review here at BPAL.org... Exciting!

 

I am pretty new to BPAL, and this is the first scent I ever received as an eBay transaction. I have to say, I've since bought about 5 more bottles from both the Lab and eBay and received about 20 imps, (thank you all so much!!! I love getting those eBay boxes full of delicious imps!), and this, my first purchase, is still my favorite. On me, it smells like a musky spice cookie. It's strong - good throw and lasts quite a while. My boyfriend smelled me across the room about an hour into the drydown, and started sniffing the air. "What perfume are you wearing? It smells GOOD!" Might I note, he doesn't often offer compliments on whatever perfume I'm wearing unless I stick my arm under his nose and demand a reaction. Unsolicited compliment!

 

I just love this scent. On me, it's warm, and definitely Christmasy, and most of all, spicey. Delicious!

 

(Note: Obviously, since I bought this on eBay and it was a Limited Edition a few years ago, my bottle is aged. Might be a different sensory experience for others!)

[rayvn1]

This is quite a morpher on me! It started out as nose wrinkling herby, dirty snow. Now that it's been dry for about an hour there is an absolutely lovely blend of orchid and pastry in a Golden-purple glow. Wow! I'm torn now, because I was originally thinking "get ye to the swaps pile!" and now I'm not so sure...

 

Quck edit to add husband's reaction: "You smell BAD!" Such a philistine when it comes to the BPAL

Edited October 25, 2008 by rayvn1

[Aldercy]

Jólasveinar has a total split personality as far as I am concerned. It's precisely like two scents in one, which do not blend and are completely unrelated. It doesn't morph from one to the other, it switches back and forth on a second by second basis. One breath I take it's one smell and the next it's another. I've never found an oil quite like that before.

 

Scent 1: flaky baked goods with a jolt of icing and some soft winter spices; some dark, moist earthiness and tangy greenery settles in the background; very warm and Christmas-y.

 

Scent 2: this must be the distinctive thing people are talking about when they discuss BPAL "slushy" scents. This is the first snow scent I've tried, and it's really shockingly realistic. It smells exactly like how snow tastes. It's a very invigorating, glacial blue sort of scent.

 

So, I pretty much love this oil. I wore it for the first time yesterday, and I don't think I'll be able to stop for a few days. It's a wonderful holiday smell, but not cliche or cloying. Incredible.

[Gin]

Jolasveinar

 

Do you ever selectively read the descriptions and convince yourself that even though it says, "the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries," you're *sure* its gonna be all yummy foody goodness? Jólasveinar is is all medicinal-grade pineyness when wet, dries down into an oddly sweet slushy scent... sort of like the Ice Queen meets Knave of Hearts. Not what I had hoped for.

[Invidiana]

Very icy at first sniff, but as it dries down all the lovely wintry notes come shining through Jolasveinar smells like snow-laden pines and candied orange peels with just a slight hint of buttery pastry aroma wafting from someone's window. I was a bit worried about the dirt note, but I'm not getting anything screaming "dirt" at all; it probably blends too well with the pine to be noticeable. I have no idea where my impression of candied orange peels comes from, but that might be the florals tricking my nose.

[Iceblink]

2010 version: almost entirely mossy soapy ozone/snow. Maybe a faint whiff of orchid/buttercup, but zero pastry. Not for me.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: dirt, stone, ice, moss, marsh felwort (whatever that smells like..I saw the flower and we have a ton like that up here) and a hint of buttercup and buttery spicy baked goods.

 

Drydown: moss mostly, stone, dirt, hint of ice that smells a bit like aquatic cologne, flowers. Interesting. I'll need to chew on this one.

[countessmouse]

Dirt, moss and ozone. I find this one really odd.

[milo]

Really, all these snow blends seem to smell the same to me, though this one does have the added heady floral element to it. The snow seems to temper the headiness, somehow, and it's not as 'screaming floral' to me. I kind of enjoy this blend, unusual, as I'm not really into too many snow scents, they always smell to aquatic/cologney to me, like a CK perfume. Nice to try, but I don't need to upgrade.

[thekittenkat]

This is for the 2010 version.

 

In the imp: Wow, that's a heady but interesting range of scents! Kind of green, kind of snowy, and some dirt lurking in the distance.

 

Wet: That's more like it! Sweet pastries and orchids kick in.

 

The dry-down: In the end, it's like the plants combine into one scent, the snow and dirt into another note, and then they combine into something strange and unique. The pastries just leave a hint of sweetness, as though they had long since been consumed, leaving only a few crumbs behind. I like this, but not sure that I need any more than I have. It might be a good scent as nature turns from winter to spring.

[Juushika]

2010 version.

 

In the vial: A cologne/aquatic take on snow, with a touch of backing florals.

 

On the skin: Potent, headache-inducing drugstore cologne as it hits the skin, but that dies off in drydown. I get a surprising amount of florals from Jólasveinar. They're cool florals, leaning towards masculine, a touch outdoorsy. For the first half of wear the sweetness of the pastries nudges the scent towards traditional; as the sweetness dies down the florals persist, snow-touched but full bodied, primarily orchid. The coolness occasionally presents as cologney and aquatic, and fails to be convincing as a result. Throw is moderate low, wear-length is moderate low.

 

Verdict: On one hand, pine is one of my death notes and, while others get it, it doesn't show up on my skin--a welcome reprieve. On the other, all I really get from Jólasveinar is florals. Occasionally they're wintery outdoor florals, and their lean towards masculine/neutral is refreshing, but for the most part they're not particularly interesting or unique, and there's not enough of the other notes—dirt and moss would be particularly welcome—to balance them out. This is a scent for the swap pile.

[anaengel]

This is a review for a decant of the 2011 version. Wasn't certain, but hoped it would smell nice. And it does.

 

In my decant, all I can smell is cookies! I mean, not baking cookies cookies, but they are now getting stored and just opened the tins cookies. Butter cookies to be exact. I'm worried that I'll smell like that myself. I want the other scents too!

 

When I put it on, it first still is screaming cookies. But, very quickly, the pine scent beats it down along with the snow scent. I think that's the snow scent since it just smells fresh and cold and not the pine. The cookie scent isn't going away per say, just getting knocked down to a more manageable smell. It's also letting everything else come out. Woo hoo, I found some orchid too! I love orchid. It goes nicely with the pine. I think I can find the dirt, since it has this fresh pulled feel too. Though I smell them, they all blend together very nicely.

 

Let my one friend smell it and she goes, "I can't place the rest, but I do smell cookies".

[Lit Chick]

2011 version.

 

It smells exactly like the description. And that's pleasant, and odd.

snow, check!

dirt, check!

smushed greenery and florals, check!

barest hint of pastries? Not quite. I get a huge whopping crumb note.

 

This is not one I'd wear, but I will dot in on my boys and see what they do to it. It's a fun, kind of messy scent. It would be good as a room scent - it has a comforting jumbly holiday feel.

[coldandsleepy]

My bottle is getting up there in years now-- it's from 2006, though it didn't come to me until 2008 or 9. It's amazing that I've never reviewed this because it's easily one of my favorite BPALs, and one that I reach for most at this time of year.

 

To my nose, there's nothing dirty or floral about this. It smells like eating a pastry (just some random danish or something) while stomping through the snow in an evergreen forest, feeling slightly buzzy from the beer you had before you left the house. Let me recap: sweet but not spicy pastry, something snowy, green trees (but not Christmas trees/pine-- more like juniper to my nose), and a bit of hoppy beer, all in perfect balance.

 

Delightful. It's only gotten lovelier with age.

[Altaira]

2011 version.

 

In decant: pastry and pine. It's an... odd combo.

 

On skin: Cloyingly sweet, buttery pastry and cologne. Gross. Once again the 'snow' note just doesn't work for me.

[KissleMeNow]

This is one I felt I had to get, because I grew up with a Jólasveinar calendar every Christmastime. At first I was pleased – it's mostly piney/light, sweet floral, but the pastry was pleasant, as opposed to cloying (which is what most other similar ones have been). But about half an hour after putting it on, it got a really strong musk-like tone which eventually overshadowed the others, and to me this was not a good combination.

[porcelina]

i smelled this at wcwc finally, after ignoring it in the yule offerings for a couple of years! i am glad i finally got to try it.

 

it smells like cold, fresh air, pine and dirt, with sweet florals (but not perfumey florals, more like real growing plant florals) and just the tiniest hint of spiced cookies. the combination feels unconventional but the scent is very evocative and pretty much perfect for the yule season. i can see myself wearing this a lot next xmastime!

Edited January 11, 2012 by porcelina

[lilyliza]

This is one of those scents that seem like a mishmash of notes, and it kinda is, but the beauty of it is that it evokes a really clear feeling or place. This feels a lot like running around outside around Christmastime, the aroma of baking Christmas goodies wafting from houses nearby. I get mostly pastries and dirt at first, but soon, a really nice natural floral note peeks out. I think I'll really enjoy wearing this around Christmastime next year.

[Incendiare]

2011: This blend screams winter. The snow, dirt, and moss remind me of winter out in the countryside. In the vial, I can also detect a faint hint of the pastries, but it smells more like a sugar cake to me. Wet, the sweetness from the pastries comes out a bit more and I am also greeted by a cool floral note. To me, this year's blend seems more balanced than last year's, but ultimately, I am just not feeling that snow note, as always.

[thekittenkat]

This is for the 2011 version.

 

In the bottle: Some snow and dirt and some type of plants, and some kind of baked goodies, not overly sweet.

 

Wet: More snow and sweets than anything else.

 

The dry-down: There's just a tad bit of sharpness from the various plants, but overall, this seems to stay mostly snowy dirt and moss and those sweet baked goodies. However, it does seem to fade faster than expected, and may take slathering.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): I can barely smell anything over the super foody tones of the pastry note. On second sniff, I can smell the sharp, cold floral of the orchid, but the other notes are still rather difficult to discern.

 

Wet: Ah, much better. I can detect snow, moss, felwort, all the lovely greenness I adore in my scents. The buttercup is light, but certainly a middle note here, and the pastry adds a warm afternote after each sniff.

 

Dry: Pastries and flowers – interesting, but just a little too foody.

Edited March 10, 2012 by mymymai

[stellamaris]

Delicious. Definitely the sleeper hit of the Yules 2011 for me. Pastry and yes, pine, but mostly pastry. Warm and foodie.

Edited March 10, 2012 by stellamaris

[milo]

2011 version. Lovely slush and ice with a touch of spearmint and a bit of a cookie vibe. This would be great on a hot day. I'm not getting any floral, which is just fine by me. I have other blends that are similar, and though I don't need more, this is very nice. It reminds me of that room spray a few years back Christmas Past, I think. Just reading back on my review of another version, which I found more floral. I definitely think this one is much nicer.

Edited June 12, 2012 by milo