Yuletide

[VorpalBunny]

The juice of ripe, bursting, blood red holly berries.

I agree with what a lot of people said about Yuletide making a better room scent. When it first goes on it's pure cinnamon. As it dries down, I get a hint of berries and an almost soapy note. I think it would make a lovely scent if you were making little scented hand soaps for the holidays. It's not one I'd really wear a lot.

[Voleuse]

2003 Version:

On first application, this is the prickly green of a winter garland, sweet and snowy pine. And then, ah me, it disappears almost immediately--and I really did slather this one on. What's left is evergreen with the faintest hint of fruit. A really gorgeous scent, but apparently not one that wants to stick around.

 

2005 Version:

In the bottle and on first application, this is prickly evergreen with a hint of spice in the background. I don't get as much of a fruity note on this version--there isn't anything I would describe as sweet, at all.

 

Sadly, this year's blend also disappears almost immediately on me. It's lovely while it's around, though. I adore evergreen scents.

Edited December 27, 2005 by Voleuse

[Macha]

2005 Version

 

Hey! Nobody told me Yuletide was cinnamon and clove!

 

I mean, seriously...I opened up the bottle expecting juicy berries and what slapped me in the face was instead serious, serious mulling spices — sharp broken cinnamon sticks, bits of clove, some orange peel, and underlying it all, the smell of evergreen trees (which does occassionally smell a bit soapy.)

 

This is gorgeous! I can see why people would be reminded of potpourri — this after all the smell that most Christmas potpourri is trying to reproduce. Personally, I think mulling spices are one of the happiest smells on Earth, so all I need to do is layer this with something apple-y and I think I'll be in some serious bliss.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Pine with a hint of sour berry.

 

Dry: Pine and spice. BEAUTIFUL for christmas.

[Lucretia]

Helooooo cloves and other festive spices!

Why did I not order this last year?

This is spicy yummy berries and trees and everything that makes me happy.

A very clovey dry down too, but not too dark like 3 witches was.

 

A winner!

Edited December 9, 2005 by Lucretia

[perclexed]

2004 version, and I really like it. It's like a plate of pfeffernusse, a crock of mulled cider and possibly a basket of warm cranberry muffins nestled near an evergreen. Kind of a scent that makes me think of how good it would feel to come home to that after being out in the snow and the cold for a long walk.

 

A little bit strong on me, and I barely put any on. Would definitely be fantastic in a candle if you don't have the evergreen, the cookies muffins or the mulled cider available.

[Chas]

2005 Version.

 

In the bottle: I'm not getting any berries out of this; it's all evergreen.

 

Wet on my skin: I smell like an evergreen tree, and oddly, I'm ok with that. It's not overpowering. It's a subtle, earthy smell that's very comforting.

 

Dry on my skin: Aaahh! Cinnamon! I'm still getting evergreen, but it's mixed with the spicy cinnamon, and it smells fantastic.

 

Edited to add: Here come the berries! About 30 minutes later I'm getting the berries. All three of the notes, evergreen, cinnamon, and berry are mixing together. This is gorgeous!

Edited December 16, 2005 by Chas

[Smurf]

This is a very warm and comforting smell to me. I gave it a whirl last night and I got a lot of pine and warm foody spices (which I wouldn't have thought was me) like cinnamon, maybe I missed the berries but in the bottle it smelled just like the aftershave my dad wore when I was little. I'll probably wear it a lot over Christmas and when I'm feeling in need of a sensory pick me up...even if my friend did say last night "is that smell you? - I've been looking around for something to eat".

[theshapeshifter]

2005 version

 

In the bottle: There's a bracing blast of sharp greenness, a strong holly smell that I never got from my imp of the 2004 version. In fact, it was so strong it scared the cat away!

 

Initial application: That sharpness is the first impression, lasting for a few minutes, but I can start to detect the scent I remembered from my imp.

 

Drydown: Just like Yuletide'04 - on me it's a blend of holly and warm dry spices (cinnamon and clove, mostly) and something just slightly waxy. I assume the waxiness is the holly berries, but overall it gives the impression of a beautifully scented Christmas candle. As I think I said in my review of '04, I'm sure that some people might prefer this as a room scent, but I find it totally gorgeous for wearing, and very comforting.

[QueenFae]

I think this actually smells better than holly berries! It's rich and a bit spicy, almost like it has a bit of cinnamon in it. It reminds me more of a lovely Christmas potpourri (I don't know how to spell that that you'd have sitting on your coffee table for Christmas Eve. This perfectly embodies what Christmas time smells like to me: rich holly berries, mistletoe, and spices. Quite pretty.

[wickedgoddess]

2005 Version

 

Wet - dead-on pine; I smell like a Christmas tree!

Dry - the pine fades faster than I would like, and leaves behind a spicy, cinnamon and clove potpourri. It's not a strong spice like Three Witches, it's very soft, and while I miss the pine, I still think this is the ultimate Christmas scent. I like Hearth better overall, but this is what I have been wearing to all of my Christmas parties, and I will be wearing it Christmas day as well. It's the smell of Christmas in a bottle. My only complaint is that it fades much too quickly on my skin.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[yeahbutnobut]

Yuletide 05

 

In the imp: pine/fir and cinnamon. I think this is a truer pine-cinnamon than last year's, which was a tad soapy/candle-y on me, but I'll see what my skin thinks.

Wet on skin: oh dear, I think this is getting soapy on me…

Dry on skin: ah, now, it's not too soapy. It seems to have stopped short of smelling like pure soap. Now it smells like Christmas trees and cinnamon and cloves. I do get a bit of last year's 'Badedas at Christmas' scent, but this one's a bit stronger on the spices, and the pine/fir note smells both of bubble bath and Christmas trees. Like last year, I get absolutely no berry scent from this whatsoever at this stage. And it does still smell like a candle scent- a good quality candle, that is.

After a while: the notes seem to have fused together, a smooth, slightly soapy, a bit candle like, pine and spice scent. Not dissimilar to last year's in fact. No berries here.

Verdict: to me, this isn't the scent of holly berries, but the scent of a lovely Christmas candle, with notes of pine, cinnamon, clove, maybe fir too. A very festive scent. it's very similar to last year's though I think the cinnamon note was a bit stronger at when wet in this version. Like last year's version, this scent would be more suited to a room fragrance than on my skin. I'll keep the imp though.

[Koumori]

Oh my word, how have I managed to miss this the last two years running? Yuletide is *delightful*. At first, it reminded me of a room scent or pine-scented candle, and I wondered if it might be too artificial for my taste, but it mellowed quickly into a warm, rich, Christmas-tree fragrance, cedar and a hint of something fruity, spicy and mellow. It just makes me want to hug myself. I can't stop sniffing my wrists. I plan to wear this until spring.

Edited December 25, 2005 by Koumori

[zenvodunista]

there's something in this that I don’t like. It's a little smoky and kind of spicy, but it's the kind of spice that I find cloying, not intrigueing or delicious.

 

n.

[zillah37]

This reminds me of Christmas potpourri, cinnamon and apples along with pine, berries, and spices.

 

It's not something I'd really wear very often, but it reminds me so strongly of the holiday season it's amazing. This is definitely a sense memory scent. I feel like I'm back at my friend Megan's house baking Christmas cookies with her and her mother.

 

Amazing.

[Kittyflop]

First on, it's pine and warm spices. Very different than I expected, nothing berry-like about it. This is about the most 'Christmassy' smelling scent yet - greens, firesides, candles, and baking smells all rolled up.

 

The throw is strong, and duration quite long. This is very seasonal, and I doubt I'd wear it much outside of holiday-type events, but I'll definitely keep the imp, and perhaps order a bottle next year if it comes around again.

[aidenraine]

I am definitely keeping this as a room scent, but I don't want to wear it. It just feels too much like wearing potpourri. It's got cinnamon, apple, and really smells a lot like ribbon candy to me, like passing my face over a nice box of the stuff.

 

It really is pleasant and warming, but does smell like crafts store at Christmas time.

 

An imp is really enough for me!

[Fefferbella]

Wow... clove, cherry candy and apples!

 

I wish this was a candle scent! I love it, but the clove makes my skin itch!

 

As said above... great room scent!

[foxroses]

i actually really like this. its very christmasy, VERY red, a bit spicy and tangy, but juicy sweet. i'm surprisingly NOT getting pine. i'd use this as a room scent around the holidays for sure. i'm just really impressed by how accurate and true this is, like holiday potpourri, but better, and spices, and just yummy!

[sophia_helix]

Dark pine at first. Wet, cinnamon shows up. It's very nice in a room-scent way, and virtually disappears on my skin within an hour. It would probably be good in a burner, so maybe I'll give that a try, but it's not knocking my socks off or anything.

[Miss Lynx]

This is nice, though I agree with the people who've said it seems more like a room scent than a fragrance to wear. It's got a very scented candle/potpourri sort of feel to it, and while I often like wearing scents that smell like candles, this is a little further in that direction than the scents I like best.

 

Initially, there's also a harshness to it -- a sort of sharp edge that's very, very green and pungent, but then it settles down into something like a cross between bayberry candles and mulling spices. There's an element to it that's a bit reminiscent of Tintagel (unsurprisingly, since that one's partly based on bayberry and mulled wine). I don't know if Yuletide actually has bayberry, but it smells like it does). However, it doesn't really have the complexity that Tintagel does.

 

It does very much suit the season it's named for, and I wished I'd gotten my decant early enough to wear it for Yule. Oh well.. perhaps next year. I don't feel the need to order a bottle, though. For the little bit of seasonal wear it will get, the decanted imp is enough.

 

Grade: B

[kettu]

this is deep, dark, cinnamon-with-a-little-berry red mixed with astringent, crushed-holly-leaf green. they work very well together.

 

there is an occasional air freshener/soap waft and it smells more like how I'd want a scented candle to smell. I really enjoy it, but I'm not sure I'd want to wear it more than the one time.

Edited January 6, 2006 by kettu keiju

[alicia_stardust]

Yuletide smells very green and piney in the bottle. In fact, I could barely distinguish it from Mistletoe at first. But I was oh so wrong.

 

On my skin, it morphs into this sharp but bright red and juicy menagerie of berries. The green part stays there but falls to the background so I can really enjoy the berries.

 

Of the Yule LE scents this year, this is in my top 3 with Jacob's Ladder and Lick It.

 

I give Yuletide a 5 out of 5 stars! It would probably make a great room scent, too.

[mexicat]

The reviews already here are pretty accurate to how I would describe this:Strong cinnamon,a spicy christmas-y scent that turns soapy,and more suited to a room-fragrancing oil.I do like it,but not on my skin.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Mint and berries

 

On Skin: This smells exactly like a Christmas candle… spicy and sweet. The berries are different, not like Midwinters Eve or Kali or anything like that… not juicy or winey at all. These are more minty and dry. I think there is cinnamon in here? Something very spicy. This is a smell that encourages me to snuggle. So many of these Yule scents are perfect room scents for the season… you could just switch from day to day and always keep your house in a festive Holiday mood!