Yule

[Jupita]

It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh.

In the imp, this is a very green, wintery scent, with a soft berry undertone.

Wet on my skin, I get thyme, pine and something else...

On the drydown... thyme, the acrid side of fir needles and hemp. Not really what I was hoping for.
It's very bitter and slghtly sweet...

It is nice as a room scent though.

[Vega]

Reviewing the 2010 version.

 

Sniffed: Dry evergreen with a touch of cold herbs.

 

On skin: The first thing I thought: This is a lot like my favourite evergreen blend, The Snow Storm! So I'll compare the two. Both are pure dark evergreens, but the strong herbal notes in Yule make it much colder and drier than the lusher, sweeter Snow Storm. Perhaps they are the same evergreen forest in different winter settings: The Snow Storm in a fresh, sunny but cold day, Yule trapped in the absolute dead of winter night. At least, that's what it seems at first. Over time another note discreetly appears, a solemn deepness that must be from the frankincense and myrrh. I do not get any berries or lighter notes like rose and verbena, which is a little disappointing. Overall a dry, cold, yet full-bodied evergreen blend supported by herbal and incense notes, solemn, brooding and aloof in feel. Colour impression is the brown bark and dark green leaves of an evergreen tree.

 

Verdict: If Whoop is the embodiment of the Christmas season, Yule is the embodiment of the depths of winter. The Snow Storm will remain my favourite pure evergreen blend, but Yule follows as a close second. Definitely for lovers of evergreens.

[WidgetAlley]

2011 Version. I love heavily herbal scents so I have high hopes for Yule.

 

Imp: Sharp and green and forest-y and wonderful! Lots of strong thyme, which is grand by me, and a hint of sharp red berries, almost like a fresh redcurrant. Lots of sweet frankincense and just a bit of heavy hemp and myrrh. Mmm, lovely.

 

Wet: A sweet, almost sugar-dusted herbal scent with a fresh citrus note. Juniper, thyme, evergreen and verbena (the citrus, I think?) on top, accompanied by a slightly powder rose and a hint of resins and berry. Up close this is lovely but from far away it has the exact clean, slightly herbal smell of very high-end cosmetics.

 

Dry: This ends up a lovely, thyme-forest powder on me. I think maybe it's the combination of the verbena and the rose? This isn't the best time, hormonally, to be testing scents, so I will probably have to try this one again later. I hope it evens out, because it's got that great cold-forest winter-herbs feeling that I really love!

[strahlend]

Initial lemon blast followed shortly by the thyme and then sweet frankincense and evergreen. The lemon sticks around through the later stages too, just not with the intensity of the initial application. It's an interesting scent, but not for me personally.

[joyfulgirl]

finally remembered to try this on!

 

in the bottle: just a very faint pine scent...i am a little concerned that this is not going to have any hold or throw on my skin.

 

wet: pine pine pine fir pine pine fir fir...smells very christmas tree-ish. pleasant, but a little overwhelmingly evergreen.

 

dry: berry berry pine fir berry berry pine fir. lovely bright red berry and juicy juniper with frosted evergreen...the dry down is a little less ZOMG CHRISTMASTIME! and a little more "lovely stroll through a snow covered grove of winter greenery". it has a medium throw...not sure about its staying power yet, but it's been 2 hours since i put it on and it's still very perceptible in my little cloud here. it's a beautiful winter scent, and i imagine i will be wearing it more through january and february (and of course, next winter!).

Edited January 4, 2012 by joyfulgirl

[kakiphony]

2011 Version

 

In the imp: I mainly smell the evergreen with a little bit of herbal, almost lemon-like something at the the base.

 

Wet on skin: This is very astringent citrus on me with hints of something almost minty. I expect that in this wet stage I am amping verbena.

 

Early dry down (10 to 15 minutes later): Still very astringent, but less lemony. It smells like something that, when drunk, would pull all the saliva from your mouth and be quite sour tasting. I'm getting little bursts of juniper, the scent of which I mainly associate with gin. All of these impressions are leading me to think my wrist smells like a rather strong, very herbal, cocktail with a gin base. The evergreen is still present as a top note on top of all that herbal/sour. It's not at all like a perfume, but is somehow pleasant anyway.

 

Late dry down (about an hour and a half): After a while, a lot of the sour/citrus has left. I am now left with what is mostly evergreen (but not the strong, resinous spruce of The Most Magnificent Christmas Tree -- rather, a soft, dry, almost powdery evergreen) tempered with some green herbs and the tiniest touch of citrus and juniper on the very top. This is actually really, really lovely and MUCH more me than it was on the dry down.

[Ghost of a Rose]

My imp of Yule 2011 is a decant from Mellifluous.

 

In the imp: Oil is clear and a bright, vibrant, golden yellow. The scent is pleasant and very complex, with an unidentifiable sweet fragrance right at first, and then the piney note of juniper and an undertone of incense.

 

On me, wet: The juniper dominates, with a lemony scent - probably the verbena - coming in second. Lemon Pine Sol cleanser does come to mind, but this is less pungent and far more complex, although I can't specifically identify any of the other notes.

 

After 10 minutes: The lemon has edged out the juniper for first place, but this isn't your typical fruity lemon scent. It has a dry, woody aspect. That could partly be the juniper influencing it, but there's something else as well - perhaps the hemp and/or the thyme? I don't know what holly berry or mistletoe smell like, so I can't tell if I'm smelling those. There may be a very subtle nuance of florals, but this is not at all a floral-type fragrance; and I don't notice any rose at all.

 

After 20 minutes: Pretty much the same. The lemon is developing a tiny hint of spiciness that may be the frankincense kicking in.

 

After 30 minutes: The spiciness I noted earlier has now turned a bit rank and musty, but it's faint enough not to make the overall scent (which is still mostly lemon) unpleasant.

 

After 1 hour: It's almost a chemical smell now, something like the smell of new vinyl, although the lemon and juniper are still perceptible if I think about it. As is the thyme, now.

 

After 1 1/2 hours: Not so chemical anymore, but still kind of strange. Juniper and thyme, with a bit of lemon verbena.

 

After 2 hours: Same as above.

 

After 3 hours: Nothing left but a ghostly trace of frankincense.

 

Verdict: Unisex. It's pleasant enough, but not really my thing. It doesn't smell like the Yule season to me, due to the lemon which I associate with summer. It brings up images of drinking lemonade during summer picnics in the juniper forests of northern Arizona. I liked it best during the first 10 minutes, when the juniper was the main note rather than the lemon. I'll have to try it in the scent locket, to extend the juniper top note.

 

My rating: 3 and a half stars

[Rho]

2011 Version

 

It's hard for me to review piney scents since I usually avoid them, but this is definitely a Christmasy smell. I can definitely pick up on the thyme and evergreens. In the beginning, I also detected the berries, but they've been blurred with myrrh as time has gone on.

 

Very festive and fresh! If I were to liken Yule to anything, it'd be the whiff on opening an herb cabinet with a fresh Christmas tree in the background. On my skin, this all plays out more like a candle than a body scent, but it's nice enough. I definitely wouldn't seek out a bottle, but it surprised me by being attractive.

[KakashiMorph]

Yule 2011.

In the bottle: A wild forest is trapped inside this bottle! I get very vivid green, but I can't make out the individual notes.

On my skin: The moment I apply it, the francincense jumps out of the green to wave hello. I think I can smell the mistletoe and the very fresh holly berry. I think I can make out a bit of myrrh, but I am not entirely sure.

Drydown: Sadly, most of the greenery goes away fast (I do like green scents! why don't you stick around, dammit?) and I am left with a bit of frankincense and mostly berry. After a while, the frankincense goes away as well, and all that is left is the same berry scent as the one from Öndurdis. I guess my skin really wants to show off this berry scent, but I would have preferred a bit more of the green part.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Lots of the evergreen and juniper.

 

Wet: Wow, that's a metric ton of pine!

 

The dry-down: The evergreen starts to calm down. Finally, there's hint of the berry, thyme, and verbena (seems to be a lemon verbena at that). And some fizziness from the juniper is showing up. The berry and the rose are slowly combining in a sweet fashion, but only mildy. This is a real morpher, but I will certainly hang on to my bottle.

Edited February 5, 2012 by thekittenkat

[ami226]

2011

 

On the skin: I don't know evergreen and juniper would smell so good together! Reminds me of the smell of gin. With a hint of lime. Yep, reminds me of a gin and tonic with lime hold the alcohol.

 

It smells tasty to me, but not something I'd wear.

[aphrodite]

I really like this one. I think I'll try it again in a heavier and see what comes out, but so far on me it's all pine and verbena. It may or may not be the most enjoyable of the Yules I've tried so far, but certainly the most wearable.

 

Edit: I liked this so much that today when I tried on Woods in Winter and let it sit for two hours, I added a bit of Yule right before walking out the door. They smell lovely together - I feel like I smell like winter and ginger ale - but I think I'm allergic to something in Yule. I was sneezing a bit yesterday, and now again today. I take daily allergy medicine so it usually takes something constantly in my face to trigger this much sneezing, and I have had my nose to wrist a lot. I like the scent enough that I'm going to try to build a tolerance to it (and try to sniff myself less while wearing it), but it may beocme too inconvenient to wear.

Edited February 10, 2012 by aphrodite

[mymymai]

ITI: Ohh, that's pleasantly woodsy. The frankincense and myrrh are rather noticeable, followed by thyme, a touch of juniper, and a smidge of holly.

 

Wet: Gosh, this is gorgeous! I'm loving the juniper and hemlock, which have both stepped up to rival the woodsy resins - myrrh and frankincense There is an undertone of sweet berries and just a blush of rose.

 

Dry: It doesn't have the staying power that some of my other scents do. I can still detect some impressions of rose, myrrh, and juniper, but it is super faint. I'm kicking myself that I only have an imp of this. Ah well.

[sihaya09]

I finally tried out my 2010 decant (aka ZOMG I HAVE TOO MUCH PERFUME), and on me, I get juniper, pine, and the sticky sweet scent of a crushed holly berry. Very evocative. Early on, I also caught a little bit of pink rose, but that's gone in the drydown stage, and replaced with a nice undercurrent of frankincense. It's absolutely lovely, and now I feel like a dummy for waiting so long to try it.

[fufu_berry]

This is for Yule 2012.

 

On wet: Christmas! I can't really articulate why this smells like Christmas, but it's somehow cool and crisp and warm and spicy at the same time. Neat!

 

Drydown: Something citrusy (the verbena?) and evergreen.

 

Dry: A little berry-ish, but not too foody or sweet. Guess that's holly berry? Also definitely some thyme, a really nice herbaceous note in the background.

 

I didn't know what I was going to think of this and just swapped for it on a whim, but I actually really like it.

[Zii]

This smells exactly like one of my lemon hemp chap sticks...This off buttery green with a splash of very fake smelling lemon. Pass...

[Monster]

And Old Fashioned Christmas in a bottle! This is a fresh Christmas tree decorated with holly berries and strings of herbs. There isn't anything unnatural about this tree, no lights or plastic figurines. This is probably what the tree from A Christmas Carol would smell like.

 

I'm not sure I could pull this off as a skin scent, however, this would make a gorgeous Atmosphere spray!

[LizziesLuck]

Testing 2010:

 

 

Wet: Berries - sweet and tart at the same time. The rest is all kind if indistinguishable, but it smells like Christmas, that's for sure! I think some of the juniper is coming through.

 

 

 

Dry: This is really not my kind of scent at all, to wear as perfume, but it would be amazing around the holidays as a room scent! Just gorgeous. The berries, and greens, and juniper - faint hints of florals. It really smells like the holidays.

[Aveya]

Testing: 2006

Source: Forum trade, testing from an almost empty bottle

Preconception: Pinesol!

 

Bottle: SUUPER sweet almost vanilla pine.

Skin: Jesus why is this beautiful? It all oak at first. Then pine. Then sweet lemony verbena. it's actually surprisingly beautiful.

Drydown: There's a woody overtone that takes hold and goes a little bit to cedar-chip / #2 pencil territory. But then the sweetened verbena is amazing and makes it worthwhile. Glad I got to try this one.

 

Verdict: Oaky sweet citrus.