Hemlock

[roisnoir]

Hemlock:

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.

 

(Many, many thanks to Quantum Spice for finding the description!)

 

It's a bright spring green, lemony herbal scent.

Wet, this is reminding me of Burt's Bees bug spray, but is far nicer. Smoother.

Drying, Wonderfully unisex. I'd love to smell this on a guy, and it's something I'll happily wear, as well.

I'm going to want a bottle of this.

 

---

The one I reviewed wasn't quite like the 5ml I got - there's an evergreen note in the full version that wasn't there in the initial imp I recieved.

Truthfully, I prefer the tree-free version, and may wind up swapping my 5ml.

I *adore* the first version of this, and will use the imp sparingly so as to keep it longer.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[Lorencita]

When I read the reveiws, I thought I would not like this scent... it was an extra that Beth sent. I was wrong yet again! I loved it, I thought I wouldnt like lemony scents... but its perfect for Miami Beach weather! It's cool, refreshing and calming all at the same time. I love the herbal quality to it. Very nice. I will get a big bottle when this imp is up!

[Hallows_Eve]

I received this as an imp with my last order.

 

In the bottle- Very fresh, green smell. Fresh forest greens in early summer.

 

On Me- Herbal, but its a clean, everyday herbal feel compared to an anointing, special occasion herbal feel such as Embalming Fluid.

 

Pretty yet gender neutral- my husband could wear as well as me. When it goes on there was a sort of sweet aftertone to it that dissappeared once it dried on me, leaving a sort of natural clean smell on me without it being overpowering. This would be perfect as a soap.

 

I will savor this preciousssss.....

 

EDIT: Moved from Bewitching Brews to Up-and-Coming because it isn't officially on the Lab site yet --Shollin

Edited July 15, 2004 by Shollin

[ipb]

yet another oil that i'm completely different on.

 

yup, in the bottle - clean, herbal, slightly lemony, fresh.

 

on dry down, it's COMPLETELY different. maybe it's the lack of water in the air here, but it became all wonderfully smokey and incensey and slightly sweet, kind of how laudanum smells in the bottle (at least to me). the longer it's been on, the more it balances between smokey and sweet. now, about 12 hrs later, it's a slight burnt wood, the smell that your clothes get after a long time around the campfire.

[heartbeast]

Wet: What is this?? I know this!! Sniiiifff...sniiiiffff...there's pine, but that's not it--this is a very familiar smell--it's a fruit! A greenish-smelling fruit! Is it kiwi? No...close but no...wait I've got it!

 

Wet, this smells exactly like a fresh guava pulled right off the tree and dug into with a spoon.

 

Dry, it's a piney herbal blend. It really clears out my sinuses, almost painfully so, and I was afraid for a little bit that I was going to have a profound allergic reaction. But that backed off, and then I smelled a tiny bit of floral in all the green. Like going through a big, lush, wet pine forest, then coming upon a clearing with a whole lot of ground-covering green plants starred with tiny white flowers. Very lovely, but mostly dominated by the pine. Not purchase-worthy for me, but use-up-the-imp-worthy for sure.

 

Never got that guava scent back though. Pity, that was fun.

[omly]

I got this one in a swap because I am searching for the perfect green scent. In the bottle this was nice, a cool green smell. It reminds me of hiking with friends in Acadia, not only do you get the not overwhelming pine scent around you but other bits of greenery in the wooded areas we walk through. This forest isn't entirely shady, rather it is dappled with many small areas of filtered light from above.

 

Then I put it on my skin... vicks vapor rub Stupid stupid body chemistry. Hopefully this will find a home where it will be loved just as much but will wear better.

[ChupaChup]

Yay, my first review. I thought I'd start with the oils that didn't have a lot of reviews yet.

 

I LOVE Hemlock. This was a generous extra from the lab. I probably wouldn't have tried it since the notes aren't listed in the description and there were no reviews at the time. It wasn't what I was expecting, I thought poison would smell more evil but this is a clean, pure scent. Probably great for poison, huh, who would suspect?

 

This oil doesn't morph on me at all, it smells the same wet as it does upon drydown. To me, it's definitely a green smell, but not the pine others have mentioned and I get no smoky aroma. I get the smell you get when you walk into a florist and they are cutting the stems of flowers, it's like you smell the sap from the stems and not the flowers themselves. I think there may be a drop of something evergreen (balsam?) and some lime, with a tiny bit of white florals hiding in the background.

 

The fragrance does not have a lot of staying power, two hours at best, and usually that would cause me to cross it off my list. But this is so refreshing and uplifting, I wouldn't mind carrying it around for touchups. It's also great for layering when you want to amp up the green in other fragrances. Wonderful with the non-spicey vanilla scents like O.

 

I did have one weird day when Hemlock smelled a little sticky sweet like a lime lollipop but thankfully that has't happened since. This is on my expanding big bottle list!

[octopusgrrl]

In the bottle: green and herbal – almost a sweet spearmint flavour, like those spearmint leaf lollies.

 

Wet: reminds me of crushed herbs and faintly menthol (my husband said “eucalyptus!”)

 

Dry: dries to a herbally, gently resinous scent – evokes frankincense for me.

 

Verdict: This was really nice and subtle, and not at all what I expected. I'll definitely use this one again.

[VelvetSky]

Ok, may I just say this about Hemlock: un-befreakin-lievable! I love this.

 

Leaves, fresh young wood, grass, weeds, herbs and just the teeniest touch of lemon when freshly applied. Something in here is bothering my sinuses, but I DO NOT CARE! This is awesome green perfection.

 

The lemon intensifies as the scent warms. The final drydown is soft and yes, resinous and a bit sweet.

 

And here's the thing: something in Hemlock is dredging up a long-ago memory of something that I can't even define yet. This isn't a comfortable memory, this is something dark. If not from this life, maybe from some other. The tiny hairs on my arms stand up when I smell this.

[Nepthys]

This is clean, green and very bright. I love this scent, though it doesn't suggest to me the usual suicide connotation of hemlock; it's just too happy and bright. It's not the wild green of a forest, but rather the peppier green of ferns and lemons, such as a freshly-cleaned greenhouse. So often bright green scents turn cloying on me after a while but Hemlock stays clean and enticing the whole time. I really like this.

[asa805]

This is without a doubt the same smell of vicks inhailer. Its clearing out my nostrils. It isnt a bad smell but i would never wear this as a perfume unless i wanted people to think im sick.

 

About 5 minute in and i still have the vicks smell. I cannot wait for the drydown so this is getting swapped away.

 

Was a nice extra and im glad i got to try it in any case.

[Reinaluna]

Hemlock to me smells just like lemon and Pine sol cleaner when its first applied. After 5 min it morphs into a fresh, crisp, cool scent. I like it but its not my style so I let my brother have it.

[allamanda]

Hemlock

 

Green, herby, love at first sniff . Seriously, I ordered a larger bottle within 30 minutes of sniffing this!

 

As it dries I’m getting a faint citrus note. Not like a pure lemon, more a green, leafy citrus a bit like lemon-balm but more herby and definitely green. Someone trampled the herb garden.

 

There is something heavier grounding this, oakmoss perhaps? Many of my much-loved perfumes over the years have contained oakmoss so maybe that is why Hemlock seemed so ‘me’ and why I was hooked so quickly.

 

I compared this to Chanel 19 and it has a similar feel. They don’t smell the same and Chanel 19 is quieter, but, on me, it is definitely in the same vein.

Edited September 13, 2004 by allamanda

[Falathwen]

On my husband this was exactly how I remember the scent of the hemlock spruce outside my childhood house. It was hard to believe it was a blend and not a single note.

On me it was "Irish Spring". I had an unstoppable fit of giggles remembering the cheesy commercials for that soap. Still, that held memories too, for it was the soap my parents used for years.

Falathwen

[pekeana]

Mmmm, Hemlock. I keep getting winners in this order, and this is no exception to that!

 

In the vial, Hemlock is piney, eucalyptussy, and minty, with just the barest hint of lemon.

 

On me, it's very piney and slightly minty. It's a nice pick-me-up scent a lot like Embalming Fluid -- light, cheerful, and happy. Alas, my skin sucks it up quite a bit so it's got about an hour's worth of staying time, but it's so damn good I just don't care. Slathering is good.

[Lina]

Hemlock is very herbal and green on me. The mint hits me straight out of the bottle and even though I like this sent, I cannot see me wearing it often. I really wanted to keep this one if even just for the name.

[Northernminx]

Herbal in the vial, this pulls 'ye olde lemon" transformation on my skin, the herbal fading into the background along with a vague scent of pine as I get socked over the head with a sack of limes and lemons. I really desperately wish I knew why citrus hates me so, but it certainly does hate me and I continue the search for a blend that doesn't do this to me. Off to swaps with Hemlock in the hopes that someone will have more luck with it.

[Skallywag]

Hemlock, like so many others here, took me completely by surprise. It was yet another freebie from Beth (thank you! )

 

I wouldnt have ordered this as its discription, though enticing in a macabre kind of way, sounded as though it would be bitter and strong to me.

 

It is the opposite. Its been very well described here already.

To me its..like sugar and gentle lemongrass (not the in your face type)

Its green but sweet too. Like flowers in a summer garden.

I dont get any pine at all.

 

 

Very very nice....might have to purchase a 5 ml!

[Caitfish]

Hemlock in the bottle smells like a dizzying forest of pine, with a bit more zing. Not exactly what I would expect from a "dark" scent.

 

Initial on me: The WOW PINESOL! Smell dies down a lot, lemon comes out a bit. Now I smell like lemon pinesol.

 

Dry: Okay, this is getting a bit better - but still it's just lemon pinesol.

 

Well, the boy asked me to wash this off, so I'm going to aquiesce. However, I'll try to update this one day when he's not around, to see if it gets any better after a little time.

[Scylla]

In the vial and wet, on my skin: Green, herbal, Christmas-y pine. Thankfully, I'm not getting "Pine-Sol" or "Vapo-Rub!"

 

On drydown: There is something citrusy underneath, but I can't quite pick out what it is--and perhaps some cinnamon. It reminds me of an Aveda hand lotion I have that has cinnamon and lemon in it. But the pine is still in the background, albeit faintly.

 

Not a lot of staying power--only about 45 minutes on my skin and now I can barely detect it.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Well, you know I have to try all the poisons (although I'm still hoping for a Cyanide BPAL at some point). Hemlock is shocking-green in the vial; I haven't seen any other oils that color.

 

Wet, it was Vicks' VapoRub with a touch of lemon. Ew. Drydown...not really any better, just less pungent. My skin doesn't like this. (Socrates would concur )It is, however, completely appropriate that Hemlock is a poisonous little imp that wants to make me ill. Even when I don't like one of Beth's oils, it's always a good expression of whatever she wanted to capture.

 

Hemlock is definitely gender-neutral and Brian expressed interest in it, so I'll give the imp to him. If he doesn't like it, off to swap.

[surf-tormented]

I tried this one out today and it smells like Bayberry oil on me. It lasts a lot longer than some of the other oils I have tried.

 

But, since I can buy a similar Bayberry oil for $3 locally, I have to ambition to buy a bottle of this, but I will savor the imp. Nice green color too. Absinthe green.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Thick and medicinal, and very slightly minty. The scent of Hemlock perfectly matches the bright green colour of the oil.

 

Wearing: Cool and green and mediciney. Rainwater, mint and lime. Very different.

[Lady Ravenglass]

I agree with Shollin here - very medicinal. This arrived this morning in my Samhain order and is bright green!! There's a hint of mint and a lozenge-y smell to it that makes me think of the nastier kind of cough sweets, but slightly lime-flavoured. I have an urge to bite into it and see if it's filled with chocolate (Mmm...chocolate limes ) I can smell the citrus, but it doesn't jump out at me. I can't see myself wearing this, except possibly to counter a cold, and Sudha Segara's gorgeous winter ginger does that quite nicely!

[Splendid Molerat]

I get a very clear image from Hemlock: walking the green forest edge on a cool morning, plucking at the dew covered plants.

 

And this is the one I went out to gather. Peeling off a top branch, I can hold the pale green new growth across my thumbs, and snap the sprig clean in half. The spray of sap from the break hangs in the air briefly, glowing poison in the sunlight.