The Head of Holofernes

[nekogrrl]

Dried blood, boiled wine, leather, galbanum, onycha, tonka bean, and pomegranate.

 

In imp: sweet wine

Wet on skin: *looks around* Did I accidentally put on Candy Phoenix? Cause the pomegranate in Holofernes is certainly smelling like Candy Phoenix.

Dry on skin: The pomegranate has faded somewhat, but it's still the dominant note. I don't smell anything else, which is disappointing.

10 minutes later: Still pomegranate. Maaaaaaybe a hint of leather, but it's not consistent.

Final verdict: I was hoping for more of a leather and blood scent, not Candy Phoenix Redux.

[suki]

in the bottle: yeah, there's certainly something in here that close to Candy Phoenix, at least in the bottle. i used to have the yule 2007 pomegranate scent and it didnt smell like this, this is more sugary-sweet.

wet on skin:like drinking wine while eating candy

dry down: this is all blood wine and fruit on me.

in all: a great mix, because i love all those notes. this is more of a "desert" wine than, say, Gluwhein, so those of you who sometimes find BPAL wine notes too "grapey" probably should skip this. but if you're a BPAL wine lover the way i am, this is a total keeper.

[hkhm]

bottle: wine, blood and pomegranate.

 

wet: this is still pretty much all wine, blood and pomegranate with a touch of tonka.

 

dry: the blood note fades quite a bit as this dries and this ends up smelling like a refined pomegranate wine.

[zankoku_zen]

This one was a sweet pomegranate wine. It actually smelled like there was a bit of cherry and almond in it. I didn't get much of the blood accord in this, which is fine with me. But yeah, sweet pomegranate wine.

[filigree_shadow]

Fruity and sweet. Grapes and pomegranate, but dry. This is not a bright juicy fruity scent, it's a dry fruit scent. If you like pomegranate or wine scents, give this one a try.

[Skirt]

I bought this purely because my boyfriend loves pomegranate.

 

In the bottle, it's definitely red wine and pomegranate.

 

First applied, it's very sweet, like red grape juice cocktail.

 

On the drydown, it's pure pomegranate.

 

20 minutes later, it's pomegranates, leather, and a bit of a resin smell that I can't identify, but really love.

 

Definitely a keeper. I love this!

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Candied berries and something tannic in the back ground

 

Wet on me – The candyishness remains but the bitterness of (I guess) the wine is more intrusive

 

Dry on me – It keeps that sweet, almost parma violet scent, without ever becoming truly gourmand

 

Overall – I like it, but it’s not at all what I was expecting from the notes and the context

 

[voodoocatwoman]

This is grape soda on me. Once it dries, it deepens and the super sweet backs off a bit. I still detect grape but it is tempered. I like this one.

[savage_rose]

I was thinking that this smelled like holidays when I was kid, but that's a bit disturbing (dried blood? wine? ). On it smells sweet and spicy, like wine, but also like dried fruit. It's just a lovely warm spiciness that's lovely and comforting.

[AuroraLlew]

OK, my review might not be perfect as I am reviewing from an empty bottle that had just barely enough for me to drag across my wrist.

 

I also admit the only real reason I wanted to try this is because my midle name is Judith

 

This smells almost exactly like prospero did to me, though I can tell it has a bit more tangyness from the pomegranite rather than plum. I don't really get any leather, just that little bit of something that darkens it a bit. Sometimes I love the labs wine note, but not in this one.

 

Ultimately, I like it just as I liked Prospero, but it just doesn't suit me. At least I don't need to track down a full bottle!

[Ceri]

In the vial: Yummy grape juice.

 

Wet: Powder, grape & leather.

 

Dry: Grape powder.

 

Overall: Mmm, I can't figure out which note is causing this blend to turn into powder on me. =/

[Lamia]

When I smelled this in a bottle at this month's ECWC, I reeled from the horror and foulness. Testing a frimp sent from Hlinspjalda just a week later, it smelled somewhat sweet.

 

On skin, this wants desperately to work beautifully on me. The ingredients are all proven successes, and it's giving the old college try.

 

Tonka and pomegranite aren't a perfect blend here, but they're doing their best.

 

I don't dislike this, but it's not worth the investment of a full bottle.

[sadtomato]

this smells like fruit stripe gum on me.

it's all pomegranate with just a hint of tonka.

it's pretty, but a bit too fruity for me.

[Jenn2D2]

Judith is one of my favorite apocryphal stories - I was predisposed to like this scent, but was a little wary given some of the reviews. Thankfully, this seems to love my chemistry.

 

In the bottle: sweet wine and light spices.

 

Wet: strong, heavy spiced wine. As it dries down, the spices become more predominant, with a slight metallic tang around the edges.

 

Dry: spicy incense and very sweet wine with the hint of metals and leather. I can see why for some the "grape" smell is dominant, but the spices are amped just enough on my skin to give an edge to the sweetness. The light tang of blood surfaces in the throw every once in a while, but just the barest hint.

 

To me, this is a perfect Yule scent - it reminds me very strongly of mulled wine, left on the stove overnight. It has cooled down, sitting in a pot overnight. There's a sweet overtone to the wine, but the spices are still really strong. The pot has given it a metallic edge, but it still might be OK if you reheat it while you open presents under the tree...

Edited April 24, 2009 by Jenn2D2

[sprocket21]

Whenever I see a scent with wine as a note, I tend to pick up a decant. I just can't help myself. I find that BPAL wine notes can really vary too - some are unmistakably red wines, while others are...grapey.

 

Head of Holofernes is grapey and powdery at first; then some of the darker notes such as the leather begin to emerge. It's really complex at this point - grape and powder and leather and tonka. I must say that I'm not a fan, sadly.

[ljaylh]

 

For a blend inspired by such a macabre tale, this is incredibly delicious and lovely. Pomegranate is always a friend to me.. when I first put this on, it's by far the strongest note - almost bubble-gum like in its richness but don't let that put you off if you're not a bubble-gum kinda person - my skin amps pomegranate like crazy.

 

Half an hour later, ahhh... leather and tonka bean. Nice - the pomegranate has softened now and gone more fruity than its original pink bubble gum, perhaps the boiled wine has something to do with that. I'm not picking up the blood note at all though, but the overall effect now is a leathery grape with a touch of spice.

 

Two hours later - all soft and pretty, just a less strong version of where it was at the half-hour point. Very enjoyable.

[Invidiana]

This was downright delicious from the moment it touched my skin. I knew I was taking a gamble because the first two notes in the description--dried blood and boiled wine--could possibly come out to be sharp metallic blood and and dry red wine, but it ended up being the total opposite. I think the "blood" in all of Beth's scents is her GC "blood" oil (am I right?) which involves delicious throbbing dragon's blood which does spiced berry marvels on my skin. Head of Holofernes was overall a deep and slightly spiced fruity/berry scent with the tang of pomegranate for an extra kick. And anyone afraid of leather, it's barely noticeable; if anything, it only adds to the depth and sexiness of the scent along with the tonka but doesn't come out screaming. If Gluhwein is anything remotely similar to this, I'm going to start howling for someone's unloved bottle.....

[donnatron]

Bottle: Pomegranate, wine and blood. Very strange.

 

Wet: Right on the skin this acquires a sort of nasty unwashed skin quality that I can sniff just under the pomegranate/wine combo. I think it's the leather struggling with the blood note. And maybe the galbanum.

 

Dry: It dries down to a spicy pomegranate/leather with a bit of grapey wine and some blood. There is a resinous quality that I assume must be the remaining ingredients. That unwashed skin note is gone. This is kind of a scary scent. It's fruity and sweet but the leather and blood note really darken it and make it a little threatening. It's a beautiful fruit scent but not for the faint of heart.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: I waffled on this one so much last year and then immediately regretted it when the Yules went down. I'm glad to have scored a bottle and I'm glad the funky drydown didn't temper the rest of the scent.

[undream]

wine in the imp! all spicy, fruity yumminess on the skin. i wasn't sure what notes were in this when i tried it, but because of the fruitiness and spiciness, i thought for sure there would be carnation, orchid, plum, along those lines. alas! at least i got the wine correct.

 

still, this particular oil, on me, does smell very fruity a'la plums and spicy a'la carnation, and there's an overlying smokey scent? something sharp and acrid, but pleasant, an overall very wintery feeling. sadly, i get no leather on this first try (i love leather!), but i'll definitely be hunting around for it next time. love.

[neverything]

in bottle: Difficult to tell the individual notes. Mostly sweet, a little boozy, an underlying sharpness. Something of a head shop smell, though patchouli is not listed as a note. Fairly strong throw.

 

wet: Sweet and herbal. Something familiar that I can't put my finger on. Probably I had some scented toy as a kid that smelled like this. Slightly Christmassy, but not in the usual way. Average throw.

 

drydown: Much the same, at first. Now and then, there's a little wisp of smokiness which becomes more prominent as time grows on. Grows boozier as well. May be making me sneeze. Musky at the end. Average throw.

 

verdict: Not unpleasant, but not really something I see myself wearing, either.

[marilyn eyre]

I got a bottle from Etsy a few years back and I never reviewed it! Since it's come back for Yules, I'm thinking of getting a backup bottle.

 

It's a very thick scent, if that makes sense. The pom and the wine are the prominent notes, and rest kind of form an incensey note that give it a lovely backdrop. And as this scent is based on one of my favorite stories/paintings, it's a win in my book. Delicious, and good for days when you want to conquer your task at hand.