Gluhwein

[RaeiNarcissus]

GLÜHWEIN
Warm red wine spiced with cinnamon sticks, cardamom, vanilla beans, honey, clove, lemon and orange rind, bay leaf, and honey.

Wow......... no pressure being the first to review.

Wet: When it says warm red wine at the beginning, they mean it! It's a very thick wine scent, and all the other ingredients blend together in a rather spicy but still foody kind of way. Serious wine. WOW for the spicy fruity wine. And it's STRONG.

Dry and after an hour and a half: The serious wine note has faded into the rest of the scent, it's not nearly as significantly wine-noted, I can't even smell the wine anymore. It's difficult to describe what exactly it smells like........ take everything that the scent description says the red wine is spiced with and blend it into something very............nice.

Give her some time when you try her, the wines strong but the hangovers great!!!!

[suki]

first of all, the soft green velveteen pouch this bottle came in is SOOOO nice- i have several of the black ones and i must say, this green one is just that much...nicer. ok! on with the review!

 

in the bottle: i had spiced red wine once, several years ago, and this is pretty much *exactly* as i remember it being- full of those wonderful yule spices and heavy, deep red, red wine. i'm swoony and slightly drunk already

 

wet on skin: totally the same, no deviation.

 

dry down: the wine is still totally present, just a bit more blended in with everything else- exactly as it is when you have a good cup of hot mulled wine on a snowy, snowy eve.

 

in all: the goblins have blessed me well this holiday/birthday season and i love, love, LOVE them for it!

 

 

 

[MeiLin]

I had a hard time figuring out which Inquisition I wanted...until I read the description for Gluhwein. If I could have only one (and really, that's all I have $$ for right now), that's the one I wanted. And I guessed right. It's delightful.

 

In the bottle: A sweet but not cloying, definitely red wine, with strong undercurrents of tanginess and spices, even a little citrus peel.

 

Wet: Strong red wine smell! yoiks!

 

Dry: I am SO IN LOVE. Cinnamon, cardamom, well-mulled citrus, honey and vanilla, in that order, all floating in a warm, very subtle, red wine. It's SO PERFECT. I have all these other Yules to try, but this is what I want to smell like all winter. We're having a very snowy, cold winter here in Portland (very unusual), and this is what I want to smell like all the time. It's like a space heater for my soul.

 

Thank you, goblins, it's beautiful!

[Dark Alice]

Sweet boozy wine. Spicy wine. I can smell the red fruits in this. and the wine. I love sweet wine. And to me this is holiday sweet wine. I have never had mulled wine so if this is it...then Glad I got to own this.

[absinthetics]

I just wanted to post, after I was thinking about this for a long time...but I figured out what this reminded me of. After dry down (on me, at the least) it smells exactly like Egged Mailbox.

 

Very cool.

 

The honey note is fierce. It's great.

[iiinterstate]

First impression is honeyed wine, but it doesn't take long before Gluhwein becomes complex...spicy/sweet. This reminds me a bit of Fearful Pleasure, only without the orange peel and with some added sweetness.

 

 

I'm not sure of my final opinion yet. I think this one needs to settle a bit before I decide whether I like it or not.

[ivyandpeony]

This is the most delicious spiced-honey blend I could ever imagine. I don't get a lot of the legendary BPAL wine note, although in the first hour or so there is a definite fruitiness, even a grapey quality, present - it's very balanced with the spices and the sweetness of the honey. Now, honey may be my favorite BPAL note of all, so I certainly don't mind that my skin is bringing it out so strongly in Gluhwein, although I don't tend to amp honey in general so I was surprised that it was so dominant.

 

There's definitely something that reminds me of Christmas here, sweetness and spices and a bit of citrus, but I think I could pull this one out as soon as the weather starts cooling off and wear it until spring. Of every single item the Goblins were dangling in front of us this season, this is what I coveted most, so I am beyond thrilled that it came my way!

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: sweet spiced wine

 

Wet on skin: clove, cardamom, vanilla. mmmm.

 

dry: as this scent dries down the honey becomes more apparant. Unfortunately, honey usually smells dirty in a bad way on me. IMHO those who can wear honey notes will adore this scent.

[Celestyna]

This is pure grapes and honey on the drydown.

I wish I smelled anything else, but the grape is a bit overwhelming for me.

[Methos]

STRONG red wine in the bottle. On my skin... homg. Warm, mulled wine, with a slice of orange simmering on top. It brought me straight back to the Festival of Young Wines in Tours. Good tiems.

[yeahbutnobut]

Gluhwein

 

In the imp: smells like honeyed mulled wine, or a stronger Fairy Wine.

Wet on skin: glorious sweet honey over a delicious sweet wine note.

Dry on skin: the honey note sharpens a tad, but now this reminds me of Mead Moon, but with a darker red wine note to it instead of golden mead. This is really wonderful. It smells a little different to the gluhwein I’m used to because of the honey-I’ve not had mulled wine with honey in it. but it works so well here, and the wine note underneath the honey does smell like real mulled wine, the spices in it are perfect-I can smell the cardamom, the citrus peel, the vanilla. And it does remind me of Fairy Wine, but much more wintry.

After a while: oh my goodness, this has just become incredibly wonderful! It’s not the smell of mulled wine, but I love it all the same. What I smell is a glowing golden honey with a sweet fruity-floral undertone. It’s familiar but I can’t say what it smells like…some kind of fruit juice, or lotus? After a few sniffs, I finally figure it out…it reminds me of Tum, but this is so much nicer. It’s not as sharp and herbal, a bit heavier on the honey than the grape, and the grape note is darker and boozier. But I think it’s the combination of honey, wine, bay and clove that makes it similar. And this has crazy, crazy throw. It wafts all around me and I get whiffs of honey and spice every now and then.

Verdict: I’ve been hoping and wishing for a BPAL mulled wine scent, and finally they made one…and it’s wonderful! Admittedly, it doesn’t smell like the mulled wines I’m used to, but it’s such a gorgeous scent in it’s own right so that doesn’t matter. The scent is mainly honey and wine with hints of spices and citrus peels and sweet vanilla. It smells like a stronger version of Fairy Wine, warmer and richer, but with more intense notes of honey and wine, and with the flowers replaced with subtle spices and citrus. This is also almost like a winter Mead Moon. The drydown of this scent, honeyed sweet grapes with vanilla, is irresistible. This scent is perfect for wearing at any time of the year, not just around the festive period. And it makes me want to make a mulled wine with honey in it.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yup!

If you like this, try: Fairy Wine, Mead Moon, Madrid, Athens, Death of Sardapanal, Tum

[tarotgirl99]

Thanks to a great swapper, I got a tester of Gluhwein to try.

 

Neither Bah nor Humbug worked on me. The Snowblind/Snow Angel twins were not for me. And in the imp, Gluhwein smelled SO wine-y, which never works for me. I was so cheerful, I felt like I had escaped a bullet. No mad inquisition obsessions. YAY!

 

It was with a light heart I smeared Gluhwein on my wrist. It seemed too light, so I smeared a bit more and bit more after that.

 

So quickly the wine note faded into nothingness.

 

And all I was left with was this glorious, luminous spicy honey. As another reviewer wisely noted, it's similar to my beloved Egg'd Mailbox.

 

True love, that's what this is. True love.

 

Damn it!

 

Gotta find more NOW. After I inhale my wrist just once more.

 

ETA: If you have some Svadhinaopatika, try it...for some odd reason, they seem to smell awfully similar on the drydown. Svad takes a lot longer to get there, though.

Edited December 29, 2008 by tarotgirl

[sarahmarie]

I LOVE THIS. Straight out of the bottle, it's wine wine wine-o-rama. My only real complaint, actually, is that there isn't more of that on the drydown. But what I end up with here is a beautiful, warm spiced honey scent, with maybe a touch of the wine. It lasts a long time, and for me, a little goes a lonnnng way. (My spouse has issues with the scent of honey, so I have to wear this carefully - but wear it I will. )

[WinterLeigh]

I'm in love with Gluhwein. Before trying it, I was worried it would be too boozy, and when wet, it is pretty potent. But once dry it's perfection. A gorgeous spiced honeyed red wine. It's evocative of a sleepy, happy holiday night sitting by the fire while it's snowing outside. Thank you lab goblins for this!

[Pepperminx]

Holy Red Wine!

 

In the bottle it's pure in-your-face red wine, but it calms down a lot once it's no longer wet on the skin. I'm left with a dark red honey scent with a handful of spices lurking in the background. I'm not totally bonkers about Gluhwein.. yet! I'm hanging on to it for now because it definitely has potential, and I will probably be wearing it when the right mood strikes. Not to mention that I think it will age gorgeously!

[Chas]

The smell in the bottle and wet on you skin is exactly the notes you see listed, spicey mulled wine. What interesting is how it layers as it dries. When I put my wrist up to my nose and sniff, all I get is cinnamon, but from a distance I smell the wine. It's almost like the wine has a strong throw, but you have to get close to really smell the cinnamon. The wine itself is very grapey, more like a reisling than a red. Or maybe a red that needs to be aged for a few more years.

 

It's a very pretty scent, but not one I'll reach for a lot. I think I'm going to put this one in my BPAL box and see how it smells in a year.

[tastycactuar]

I got my bottle of Gluhwein, and smelled exactly what everyone else is describing: hot red wine. Not hot as in spicy, but hot like it's been warmed. It's an amazing smell.

 

Unfortunately for me, I knew my godmother would absolutely LOVE it... so I didn't test it on myself, but gave it to her as her Christmas gift. She was ecstatic.

[greenranger]

I knew I wanted this. I adore spices, vanilla and wine both love me, and I have found a couple honey scents that made me want more. This made me think it might be like Athens, minus the myrrh, but adding spices.

 

 

Wine, mulled with lots of honey, spices and citrus rind. It is much spicier than Athens, and without the myrrh it smells very different on my skin. The honey, the wine, and the spices are all apparent on my skin in about equal strength. I'll need to wear this when I can handle the sweetness of the honey, as for me this is sweet. If I were making mulled wine to drink it would have more wine than this, and less honey.

 

As it dries, the wine is fading back and the honey is becoming even more dominant. This is becoming a spiced honey scent. Very tasty smelling, but, also very, very sweet.

 

 

~edit~

Compared to Delphi(the nearest GC equivalent, I think, despite the lack of red wine. Athens is only approximate as it lacks the spices and has myrrh and that changes it on me.), Gluhwein is much, much, more honey and less wine and leaves.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Aerinha

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, this is a very strong red wine scent.

 

Wet on my skin, red wine & spice. The spice becomes mostly cinnamon the more it dries. In the end, this is a cinnamon red wine with a touch of honey on my skin. Just a gorgeous holiday scent.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Very strong spiced mulled red wine and mead. This very much reminds me of red wine mixed with Chaucer's Mead after mulling on the stove with the spice packet.

 

Wet on skin: The wine smell goes away almost immediately. I am left with honey, cinnamon, clove, and a teeny bit of orange.

 

Dry on skin: Pretty much the same as wet.

 

Lovely!!!! I am glad I ended up with two bottles of this. A keeper!!

[Blood onmy hands]

Gluhwein is my surprise favorite of this inquisition round. I don't usually care for wine notes or spice, so I was expecting to hate this. This has none of the rotten fruit smell that I associate with wine, though, and while it is very spicy, it's not sharp and doesn't give me a headache.

 

In the bottle, this smells like fruity wine coolers, bubblegum sweetness, and cider spice lingering in the background. On my skin, this scent reminds me a lot of LUSH's Temptation soap (one of my favorite smells in the world), but more spicy than the soap is to my nose. It's spice and smooth fruitiness. I can't really pick out any of the listed notes on their own, but they all blend together to make a smooth, gorgeous fragrance.

 

Gluhwein just smells so nice, warm, and cozy on me. It's like an unusual fruit cider. My boy said it smells like spicy potpourri and the soap that I like, lol.

 

I wish I'd gotten two or more bottles of this, but I'll cherish the one that I do have.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

when sniffed from the bottle, i didn't much care for this.

 

on skin, wet it smells like heated, spiced (mulled) wine. or possibly mead.

 

but once it settles in on my skin? it smells just like Randy Buttercream from Lush.

(the scent of the fresh buttercream, before you use it. not the scent it leaves on the skin) and i LOVE EEET.

 

i wish i'd gotten multiple bottles of this instead of the other things i *did* get. oh, well. but this is lovely!

slightly spicy, boozy and warm.

 

and to quote someone else, 'cuz she speaks the truth:

 

It's like a space heater for my soul.

 

[kikithepirate]

This is very nice, but thankfully I'm not head-over-heels in love with it. In fact, it smells VERY similar to Tintagel, except with an added sweet creaminess. It's not too much of a morpher - before I even looked up the ingredients, I could pick out the red wine, cinnamon, and honey.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Light yellow oil. Sweet, fruity, spicy. It smells more like mulled cider to me than mulled wine. The citrus (esp orange) and cinnamon stand out most strongly, though most notes are present.

 

Wet: Less intensely sweet and spicy, warmer and more mellow. Honey, grapey wine and bay emerge clearly. This smells delicious - I want to drink my hand.

 

Dry: Slow to dry, but becomes less foody-sweet and more spicy-room scent as time goes on. The cinnamon is truly nose-tingling, and the now-stronger woody clove only adds to that.

 

Later: The citrus has gone, and I have yet to pick out any vanilla or cardamom, and really most of the fruitiness is gone.

 

Summary: About 90% very powerful cinnamon, 5% clove, and the rest is much fainter bay, honey, and wine. Barely sweet; intensely spicy. Incredible throw & longevity.

[scarletgenesis]

I had a feeling this would be my favorite of the inquisitions and I was right. The wine is a cross between syrupy cherry and spiced apples. The orange adds a bit of tang and the spices make me just say "Guh".

 

Funny, the first day I wore this to work, a friend came in and was telling me about spending New Years in Vienna. She talked about how cold it was and that all these vendors were selling this great drink called Gluhwein. It was fairly amusing, as I'd not told her about my perfume at all. I wonder if she could smell it and it reminded her of the drink.

 

Anyway, it's lovely and wonderful and sparkly!