Joulumuori

[RaeiNarcissus]

JOULUMUORI
Old Lady Christmas, the sweet, smiling wife of Finland's Joulupukki. Her scent invokes the comforts of Christmastime and the warmth of love and cheerful companionship: a glowing hearth, luumukiisseli, riisipuuro, and sima.

Ok, so luumukiisseli, riisipuuro, and sima translate to prune soup, rice pudding, and mead. I had to try it.


It was so nice!!! Very warm and foody and boozy. It's just starting to fade on my skin, and I put it on 4 and a half hours ago, so it's got a decent longevity. It's kinda what would happen if Hellcat came over for christmas dinner, got drunk on mead, and passed out in the rice pudding. I will be getting some of this, most definetly.

Oh, and I have no idea what happened to the prune soup.

[TheIceMaiden]

Thank you to the first reviewer for looking up the notes!!

 

Joulumuori starts off with what might be a combination of the luumukiisseli and riisipuuro - I smell warm spices (mostly cinnamon), rice porridge, and just a touch of prune. In the midstage, I get a bit of spice and a lemon-citrus light booze - the sima. There might be a drop of honey in it, but its not obvious. The drystage is the warm hearth - light smoke and a touch of charred wood, which keeps the scent from going too foody.

 

Unfortunately, as much as I liked the scent, I had to pass this up as it gave me a headache.

Edited November 16, 2011 by TheIceMaiden

[cfrancesca]

I was hoping Joulumuori would be a little foodier. It's hard to pick out the notes for me, but I seem to be getting boozy wine, citrus, smoke and a little bit of effervescence.

That's all I'm amping, no rice pudding or mead . Darn skin chemistry! I had high hopes for this one!

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Dark, almost smoky undertones are what make this special.

 

So there is a reason Beth put "glowing hearth" in the scent description.

 

This is a more meditative and magical version of BPAL's two Hearth blends from Yules past.

 

But then, Finland is further North and wilder.

 

For me, this version of Mrs. Claus does indeed remember when Santa was a shaman.

 

In my imagination, this Grandmother Yule may live in one place in a house with an oven but she remembers when the people lived and moved together as one with the reindeer.

 

Here is a Youtube featuring some Joikers:

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2009 by Heavenlyrabbit

[hillarygayle]

I had SUCH hopes for this...and it smells like pancake syrup when it dries down on me. *bursts into tears*

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Spicy prunes. And something sparkly, probably the lemony mead.

 

Wet: The lemony mead is front and center! But now it's being tempered by the prune soup and rice pudding.

 

The Dry-down: The prune soup, rice pudding, and mead are blending together nicely. Foodie, but more of a skin scent. Didn't get any smoky hearth, which is fine by me. I like that for a foodie scent, the lemon mead makes it sparkle.

[alioth]

In bottle: sweeeetness. Plum plum plum! And something somehow Chrismassy, but I don't know what it is. The outside of the bottle smells LOVELY.

 

On: Pluuuuuum! And some honey, and then that sharpness still in the background. It might be wood, it might be spice. Whatever it is, it pulls the scent back from being cloying. The spices come through more and more as it dries, as does something lemony. Then it starts to get creamier--rice pudding, I think. Then there's a lovely hint of smoke, which is what's going to make this special, I think. The longer I wear it the more I like it.I'm hoping some more smoky/woody notes come out, but as food scents go, I like this one.

[elenore]

Before I put it on, this smells very strong and fruity-not sweet, but kind of boozy, citrusy, and spicy.

On, I can smell a lot of fruit-I'm not familiar with these foods that are listed, but going by what others have said, I can see prunes, maybe plums, rice pudding-maybe, but this isn't very sweet. I can see mead-that must be the boozy part. It's citrusy ,but maybe like a pomander ball with spices stuck in it. I think there might be a whiff of smoke keeping things balanced, but I wouldn't call it a smoky scent.

Dry, it is a pleasant spicy fruit. I would try this again for sure.

[oneiromantics]

I generally adore the foodie blends, but this was too strong, too rich, just too much for me. It's as if, after a twelve-course Christmas dinner, your aunt sticks a prune cake drenched with honey and mead in front of your nose and urges you to try it, since it's her special recipe. A faint wave of nausea overtakes you. Maybe if you hadn't just eaten those twelve other courses, you'd want to try it. But you don't need cake right now. You need a nap, and maybe some looser pants.

 

Maybe it just means my preferences are changing, but I didn't care for this one, for what it's worth.

[angelicruin]

I'm getting spicy plum/prunes strongest on my skin. I can smell the mead though in the background.

 

It's nice, but with so many other Yules to choose from, I think I will stick with my decant of it.

[anomie]

In the imp: Sweet and spicy!

 

Wet: Definitely getting the prunes/plums. And warm spices over it - not necessarily Christmas ones but possibly ginger. Cosy.

 

Dry: Spicy fruity goodness.

[meaganola]

Wacky. At first, it was pretty much just like everyone else has said. Very lovely. Then I went for a 5-mile walk. I don't know if it was just the way it morphed on me or if it was affected by the walk, but by the time I got home an hour and a half later, it turned into the herbal/evergreen scent. Maybe a cross between rosemary and sage. I couldn't put my finger on it. Nice, though. I'll have to give this one another try when I'm not going to be hiking all over the place to see if it changes when confronted with activity no more physical than getting another glass of iced tea.

[Invidiana]

Oh yum. This is just so, so good...I know prune soup might sound sick to some people, but come on, people, prunes are just dried plums, and aren't the holidays about visions of sugarplums? This is a richer, darker plum note and the mead is sweet and golden; there's also a slight creaminess from the rice pudding and a brimstone-y warmth which I'm guessing is the "hearth" note. This year's Yules are all winners so far

Edited December 3, 2009 by Invidiana

[saralaughs]

I had hopes for this one.

 

On, it immediately goes to a nutmegy plastic prune. Then it got boozy. Lemony boozy. I ended up with a plastic mug of nutmeg lemon ale. I wanted it to work but my skin had different ideas. Obviously it wanted some booze, of the plastic variety.

[nekogrrl]

This is the strongest Yule scent I've tried so far.

 

Initial reaction wet is boozy and sweet. While it's drying, a cozy warmth starts coming out.

 

Oh, I finally figured out what this is reminding me of - pink grapefruit. I will have to say this is the strangest scent between notes listed and what I'm sniffing, which is fizzy sugared pink grapefruit booze.

 

I like it, but it's only decant-worthy.

[Altaira]

On me this isn't very foody. I can smell a bit of fruit, apple? but it's probably the prunes. Mostly this has an almost floral perfume-y scent. Very similar to Samhain. It's not what I expected, but I do like it. However I already have a bottle of Samhain, so a decant of this will be enough.

 

ETA one year later:

So I was retesting the Yules from last year I still had around. And this is totally different.

Why did I think this smelled like Samhain? They couldn't be more different now. Smelling more maple and hot cereal now, not getting the florals at all.

Edited January 2, 2011 by Altaira

[strahlend]

I had a really strong emotional reaction to Joulumuori as soon as I sniffed it. I got the feeling of bricks and something a little earthy and sweet. It feels familiar in the way that I think it reminds me of a person or place, but I can't think of why or how. I can't figure out exactly what it is here that I'm reacting so strongly to, but whatever it is makes me feel really, really happy.

 

On my skin it dries down to a sweet, warm spice that is neither foody or incense like and it still has a hint of something mysterious and beautiful in it. It smells on my skin as it does in the vile but somewhere after the first few minutes I seem to have lost the bricks part of the scent. If I had to guess I would say that it's the mead that's remaining, but it doesn't seem boozy to me at all, more of a sort of earthy honey warmth. I think I amp lemon usually, so I'm surprised to see other people mentioning lemon here because I'm (thankfully) not getting any at all.

 

I finally realized what this reminds me of. It reminds me of lighting incense charcoal and burning home made incense of powdered herbs and resins. It doesn't smell like incense itself, but the lit charcoal and the herbs/resins separately, then the honey mead in the dry down. I need a bottle asap.

Edited December 8, 2009 by strahlend

[Saya]

This is a spicy, warm, slightly foody scent on my skin. I like it.

 

[Ishtar]

Both in the imp and wet on my skin, Joulumuori is a robust, bold scent. The prune and spices are at the forefront, and in the background something reminds me of the grainy texture of the riisipuuro, if that makes any sense. The overall feel is foody and warm, without being overly sweet. It's a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs concoction, perfect for a cold climate.

 

The sima becomes more and more noticeable as the oil dries down, until suddenly all the other notes vanish, and all that's left is a fizzy lemon scent. Now I love lemon, but here the fizziness is so pronounced that it is a little hard to wear (although I am amazed that Beth manages to replicate fizziness in perfume form - how does she do that?!?)

 

I will Joulumuori another try to see if the other notes get more of a chance to stick around after drydown. If it still doesn't play nice with my chemistry, I will send it to my Finnish friend with whom I brewed a batch of homemade sima a few years back - I am sure that the concept alone will make her happy

[Ravenclaw79]

At first blush, this smells EXACTLY like the Moonlight Harvest Yankee Candle I have in my bedroom, spot on. Dunno why, but it does.

 

Dried down (and after a bunch of shoveling), it's much more subtle, almost like Midwinter's Eve but not really (the prunes, I guess) and a teeny bit hearthy and very close to the skin. Not bad. I'll give it a second test, but I might end up with a bottle -- this might replace Midwinter's Eve nicely.

[lunaticana]

I simply can. not. put this oil on my skin, this is too much spice for my nose, swap pile

[alhbooks]

For me, this is an excellent scent for a cold, snowy day (looking out at mounds of melting snow as I type...) The spices and woods are dry, the fruit is definitely dried and I get an instant hit of warmth. A little bit of crisp nordic cookie feeling, but not so foodie as to make me hungry. Not a scent for a warm day but I'm really loving it in the chilly midwinter.

[ami226]

On the skin: Huh..... An indescribable powder aura. Very interesting. It is starting to smell a bit more wintery.

 

I am not sure if I like this one.

[musichappens]

It starts out a bit spicy, warm & foody. As it dries down it's intensity goes down quite a bit and it turns into something maple-y smelling. Not bad at all, but I think I'll just stick w/ my sniffie.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love this scent. It really does "invoke the comforts of Christmastime" and it's like a perfumey version of "a glowing hearth." When I read "glowing hearth" I thought of ashy brimstone notes, but this perfume is like a warm, comforting glow. It's dark and spicy, and it has something like a fragrant, spicy wood smell to it (like the way that cedar has that spiciness to it, but this doesn't smell like cedar). It's sort of foodie-sweet, but in a perfumey way, and it's all wrapped up in this dark, spicy warmth.

 

This is super-comforting, warm, and unique. It doesn't smell exactly like food or glowing hearth to me, but it's like this gorgeous, perfumey interpretation of those things.

 

I definitely need to upgrade my decant to a full bottle of Joulumuori. I think that this would be a beautiful room scent as well as a perfume. My husband said that this smells beautiful on me .