Hemlock

[Finny]

This infamous herb has a long, complex history: it has been used in spells of death and destruction, was a principal component in traditional witches' flying ointments, and was the poison used to put the philosopher Socrates to death. We have created a dark, profound herbal blend to personify and honor this wicked little plant.

This is my first review attempt...

I had a hemlock tree behind my bedroom window, it was a beautiful split trunk tree, perfect for sitting in, reading a book, kind of tree. Last fall we had a terrible wind, rain, thunder and lightening storm. CRASH! My beloved Hemlock went down. For weeks after I would open my bedroom window, (even though I live in upstate NY and it was November), to catch the pure green piney smell. I miss that tree...

This oil is that tree smell, it starts out very potent pine tree, but rapidly dries down to a soft mellow pine scent, with a lemony undertone to it. Hemlock trees smell like pine only better, just like this oil.

I also have layered Three Witches over it, then it smells like Christmas time. Spicy and piney, decorating with the holiday greens while baking spice cookies...

[helarctos]

On my skin, Hemlock is a jumble of green scents: pine, lime, something tingly that I can't decide whether to call eucalyptus or mint. There seems to be a mellow undertone beneath the strong green scents -- something maybe floral? It doesn't smell as bitter as one would imagine Socrates' drink.

 

I'd be most inclined to use this as a room spray rather than on my body.

[eleventhousand]

Sharp, piney, and perfect. Smells like Christmas...

 

Beautiful for blending to cut the sweetness of other oils.

 

Very nice.

[Ishtar]

Hemlock gets points for the brightest green colour in the imp! In the vial and wet, it was distinctly medicinal, but I decided to be brave and give it a chance to settle down.

 

Alas, after drydown it turned into a sharp, bitter scent that was halfway between herbal and evergreen.

 

This goes to show once more that green, herbal scents do not like me. Will that stop me from trying them in hope that maybe one will work on me? No

[Donnababe]

I was hoping so much for the lemony note to come through but alas it did not. Hemlock to me is something to wear to clear the sniffles (sorry Beth.) It's far to euculyptus filled for me to want to wear.

 

I absolutely the colour though. Can we have this shade for a St Patricks Day blend Beth?

[stardust]

Contrary to the lab description, I found Hemlock to be a very bright, cheery scent.

 

At first, it is equal parts pine and lime, with some mint thrown in. Then, the lime takes over for several hours (my skin always seems to do this with citrus scents), at which point it is barely detectable, by me or my husband.

 

I think I'll keep looking for another pine/citrus blend.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Green, herbal, minty, and sharp. Its enough to send shivers down your spine. Here's to hoping that the third time is the charm this morning.

 

On Me: For some odd reason this makes me think of pine and holly. Its a little sweeter and minty to be pine, but its almost like a lightly sugar coated pine branch or something. This is definately something to clear out your sinuses. Its a fresh scent, not too different from Vick's Vapo-Rub, but once again, much sweeter.

 

I envision a pine forest with a dusting of snow. In the clearing is a small house with more trees in the yard. The house looks perfect, but something isn't right. You don't understand it until you rub up against the tree abesent-mindedly and notice that it isn't snow, but confectioner's sugar. Then it hits you, the house in front of you is made of gingerbread. You turn to leave, but not before you hear the cackling of an old woman behind you and the gnashing of strong, sharp teeth.

 

Oh yeah, its been a while since I've had that sort of response from an oil. This goes on my big bottle list.

[Lit Chick]

Whooo.

This one has staying power! Too bad it went wrong on my skin.

 

I got all the herbal piney scent that the other reviewers mentioned. The nuances of the blend were lost, as my body only let the pine through. Not unplesant, but I discovered I'm not an herbal/woody girl.

 

Still, I gave this a dry down attempt - and my body protested. I started smelling like sweaty pine. Very strange indeed. I think that's what the bitter citrus turned into.

 

Ah well - the blends that are nice more than make up for the ones that don't like me. And this is one more to add to my enablement stash for friends.

[Faerykin]

Hemlock

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): This goes on thick, green and very herbal.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): Something akin to powder is beginning to come forth. It is still very herbal and green – but now there is a thickness under it all ... hard to describe.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-on): Still green and herbal with an underlying thickness that isn’t quite powder. There is also a sweetness that begins to come forth, and a growing softness.

 

Barely present as I leave for home. This has morphed and faded into a soft green glow.

 

This doesn’t strike any cords for me. *shrugs* It’s nice, but not something I can see myself reaching for. Off to Swap with ya!

[fairywingmaker]

This one is interesting to me....minty, earthy, maybe even a little piney. Am I smelling patchouli in this? The mintyness I was smelling at first has faded. The earthy/piney thing is taking over. It's not a strong scent. It's not something I would wear personally, but if you like the woodsy thing it would probably be great for you.

[reina]

The only image I get is Vicks. it's got that camphor-y quality to it, but with a sweeter edge. It's not my thing at all, I must say... I think it would smell beautiful on the right man. So, I'm giving this out to someone who'll be able to fully appreciate its' qualities.

[feline.by.design]

I've been sitting on my imp of Hemlock for a while now. It was a generous freebie from the Lab, and, finally, today is the day to try it out on my wristie.

 

After dealing with "imp spit," you know, when you get the oil kind of splattered a teeny bit when opening and/or closing the imp, I was greeted by a nice, green scent that wasn't as bitter as I was expecting. Okay, I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe something like collard greens. Hemlock, thankfully, does not smell like collard greens.

 

We've got reviews already describing Hemlock as a green scent, and I can't deny it. On me, the fragrance sweetened up a bit on the drydown, leaving me with a yummy almost-floral, but not really. It's like being in a garden at the height of springtime, though this fragrance is probably one appropriate at any time.

 

When I first smelled Hemlock, I actually thought it would make a better room scent than a body fragrance. Now, I think it would be wonderful either way. Hemlock seems like it would be really good to "clear the air" with a fragrance that isn't heavy or strong, but rather clean, fresh and "natural." It might help my boyfriend, who is sick right now. I would *love* to have every aspect of my apartment smell like this! The sheets, the sofas, the litter box, the roommate....

 

:::calms down:::

 

Okay, well, this imp of Hemlock will be well-used. I'm actually considering getting not just one, but two bottles of Hemlock: one to keep with the rest of my oils and one to stick with some cleaning supplies. This stuff rocks my socks!

 

-doreen

[leapylees]

This is an oil I'm going to have to come back to as I really don't know what to make of it.

 

In the bottle: green and slightly sweet.

 

On wet: Wow! Sharp minty, eucalyptus herbal. Wonderful, I like this. It's very sharp, cooling and refreshing....

 

but wait...

 

Dry: It has become much sweeter. Too sweet, and I can't identify any of the notes any more. For me it has a slightly 'sicky' sweet smell in the sense that if i was feeling nauseous, a whiff of this would tip me over the edge. I don't know, I'm not sure this is something I want to wear, as I think it's beter suited to a soap or a cheap bath product than to a high quality oil. This is such a shame as I loved the scent when I first applied it. It could be my strange skin chemistry/wonky nose, so I'll come back to this another day.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

I originally got an imp of this as lagniappe from the Lab in my very first order and swapped it. But then people started comparing it to Mistletoe and I had to try it again, so I got another imp from ivyandpeony.

 

First sniff:

 

Very green and I don't just mean the color of the oil. Hemlock smells as green as it looks. I smell pine and possibly eucalyptus, but there's also something harshly herbal about Hemlock that prickles my nose and makes me feel like I'm about to sneeze. I'm not sure whether this is going to work for me or not.

 

Wet on skin:

 

This has a very medicinal edge to it that reminds me of Vicks Vaporub and not in a good way. I normally love that kind of smell (and the real deal, too), but somehow Hemlock isn't sitting well with me. I don't know what it is about it (I should love this blend) but somehow it's not only failing to captivate me much the same way it did the first time I tried it, but it's actually off-putting and I'm not sure why.

 

Dry down:

 

This still has that weird herbal poultice smell that's been making me uneasy since I opened the imp and it's showing no signs of improvement, sadly. I wanted to love this, I really did, but it's just not to be, apparently.

 

The bottom line:

 

I tried it, I swapped it, I tried it again, and I'll be swapping it again. Hemlock and I just aren't meant for one another, apparently.

[Etaven]

This was the first BPAL oil I ever sniffed! Yay. It was one that I wouldn't have necessarily thought to try, but I'm glad that I did.

 

Upon first sniff, my thought was... Christmas tree! Very strong, piney scent. After wearing it a few times, though, it definitely mellows out into a softer pine scent, more akin to a forest than a Christmas tree. I get a small hint of lemon (at least wet, I've yet to notice the lemon dry on my skin) and a hint of mint that seems to meld together with the pine, and, at least to my nose, is almost indistinguishable from the other.

It's a bit of a confusing scent, at least in terms of a perfume to be worn, but I sort of like that. It's different.

 

In sniffing my first three imps, I accidently got a bit of each on my fingers when opening the bottles. Velvet and Hemlock actually seemed quite nice together, and I might very well wear a bit of each purposely next time. (Though I did confuse a few people by saying, "hey! I smell like a chocolatey Christmas tree!" at first )

[wolfie13]

In the imp, this smells extremely strong, and not necessarily in a good way - it pretty much smells exactly like Pine-Sol to me. A little scary and off-putting.

 

But wearing - I LOVE this scent. It smells like pine for sure, but not in a cold forest way. There is some other scent or scents blended into the background (nothing that I can put a finger on) that just warms and sweetens the sharpness of the pine the tiniest bit.

 

It reminds me of the way a Christmas tree smells when you first bring it into a warm room.

[requieminblack]

First sniff out of the bottle- Smells just like mint tea!

 

After 10 minutes- Mmm, smells like fresh herbs in a herb garden. It reminds me of the English mint my Mom had growing in her garden. It's that green herbal minty scent of a freshly crushed mint sprig but it is not all that minty if that makes sense.

 

After 30 minutes- Now it has gone all medicinal like Vicks Vaporub and Cloroseptic.

 

Summery- If you like herbal scents then this one is for you. It is way to medicinal for me

[Gin]

Ooh, pine. This is very pine-y, but there's something sweet underneath. It's lemon! Somehow, even though both lemon and pine usually make me think of household cleaning products, Hemlock doesn't. There's maybe a bit of eucalyptus in here, too. I don't know exactly what Beth has mixed together, but it's brilliant.

[orangepoppy]

I tried this oil with a tad of trepidation because of the associations I have with Hemlock. However, being the woods and trees lover that I am, I couldn't pass up giving this freebie a try.

 

First on, it was a very strong mint and I glanced at the sink and wondered if it needed getting rid of. No time, had to walk the dog. After walking for about a half hour I smelled my wrist again and was amazed at the change! Hemlock had mellowed out considerably to a soft yet "bright" cedar - it reminded me immediately of Kathmandu without the spices and with something else I couldn't pin, maybe pine, eucalyptus or lemon since that's what everyone else is getting. An hour later, it's a soft cedar sort of like Hamadryad but without the flowers, but there's now a faint spiciness in the background. I'll enjoy my imp, thanks Lab!

[Elanya]

In the bottle, and at first application, I am overwhelmed by the evergreen scent... it's like pine sap, or freshly bruised needles. It is very sharp, and almost a little too harsh.

 

As it dries, though, it mellows out, and there is something sweet underneath it. I can smell the lemon, but it is like a candy-lemon, or like a sweet lemon tea, and there is still just a hint of something else, which dulls the sharpness of the evergreen and citrus... No idea what it is!

 

I do like this scent, at least enough to use up the rest of the imp, but I don't know if it is going on the bottle list.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Pine, herbs, fresh-cut greenery, and a little something citrus. Medicinal is a good way to describe this scent.

Wearing: This stays fairly true to the bottle - it is so fresh and green! This sweetens a little on my skin as it dries.

Final Impressions: Refreshing and green - nice, but not spectacular.

[Pixie-elf]

Hemlock

 

In the Vial: Lemons, sharp ones.

 

Wet: It's Lemony, and Herby... mostly Lemony thought

 

Dry: A lemony fresh scent. It's nice.... Lemony Herby scent.

 

Conclusion: Lemons aren't me. It goes to swaps.

[Renny]

To me it smells like evergreens, like pine trees... almost like Skadi, but not sweet at all. It's very fresh and awakening. Great scent

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Quite like a subtler form of Vicks Vapo Rub

The perfume itself is a pretty shade of green

Wet

It's green, and a bit eucalyptus-y. It smells like Vicks but instead of it being sort of cooling, it's sort of warming. It actually does ease my breathing when I take a whiff.

It seems like a distant cousin to the watery blends like Spezeponny, Sea of Glass, etc.

Either the sweetness or the medicinal smell needs to leave...there ain't room in this nose for the two of 'em.

 

10 minutes

There's a wee bit of throw.

It's a bit sweeter and taking on some kind of strange smell that is really repulsive to me. It smells like nitrates. Like if you've worked with plant food or marine animals you might know that high nitrate smell.

 

20 minutes

It's the same as it was at 10 minutes.

There's nothing really offensive about this blend per se, in fact if is wasn't for that one note it would be nice actually. The blend isn't even strong, some note just doesn't go with my chemistry at all so I wouldn't purchase more.

ETA: This deserves a second review. It's got a faint, nice somewhat cinnamon-y note in there now.

I have a feeling I need to try this again, maybe it's not my night nose-wise.

Edited March 12, 2005 by UltraViolet

[ianastar]

Wow this is bloody strong. Too strong. Very herbal smelling and the scent is as toxic as its name