Spicebush Swallowtail

[RaeiNarcissus]

SPICEBUSH SWALLOWTAIL
Brown sugar, sassafras, clove, and wild plum.

This is really nice. It was spicy and sweet and very delicious. I dabbed a bit on me at the lab, and wow..... I would say it lasted for about two hours before the spice faded, but I still had the sweetness underneath. Definitely getting me some of this.

[midnight_aeval]

And this one was my biggest disappointment of the 3 I ordered bottles of - It's like old, slightly chewed bazooka bubble gum! I will be retesting after my pregnancy because something is very off on my skin for this blend.

[Venneh]

The last of the three Metamorphoses that are going onto skin tests for me; this was sassafrass on me mellowed and sweetened by the brown sugar, just absolutely gorgeous. The plum never quite showed up on me, but I am completely fine with that. Again, going onto a full skin test for me, prolly a keeper. On the skin test, I get a bit more of the plum under the sassafrass at first, but it still ends up being a lovely sassafrass/brown sugar scent, definitely going to be one of my keepers.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Venneh

[Ishianti]

Out of the bottle it was... Chinese dried salty plum candy! Yes, that sounds weird, but any Chinese kid is going remember eating this at some point and the memory of it just hit me soon as the scent got to my nose.

 

The dry down brings out more clove, the sassafras fading but there's still a lot of brown sugar and plum. Very interesting combination. I like it.

[forspecial_plate]

I cannot seem to get the name of this scent fixed in my mind. I always have to stop and think.....'is it Spicetail Swallowbush?'.

 

I love this scent!!

 

First applied I get mostly brown sugar and clove. It reminds me of oatmeal cookies baking in the oven. I recognize the brown sugar note, it reminds me of Sugar Skull. After a while, there is a shift and Spicebush becomes a little less dessert and a little more dry. It's no longer strictly cookies at this point. I never really picked out plum specifically, but I can imagine what it's doing for the scent as a backing note. So if you read the description, and you're familiar with those notes, and you like them, I don't think you'll find any unwelcome surprises here.

 

Long story short, Spicebush Swallowtail is a winner. It will be an incredible autumn scent, too.

[mrstkeller]

I'm very new to reviews, so please forgive my crude descriptions.

 

I like this, but I'm still not sure if I need a bottle. I totally get the sassafras. . and a smidge of clove. It is really nice and had I not received these with some other moths/butterflies that I like more, I probably would be up for a bottle. Throw is decent on me and I did find that the sassafras mellows out and becomes generally 'spicy' on me. I can't pick out the plumb, but that could just be due to my nose not developed enough to pick out specific notes with bpal.

 

I will certainly keep the imp though!

[angelicruin]

Whoa Root Beer! And cloves.

[writergal969]

This will be so lovely in the fall. Possibly in my oil burner. I'm not sure this is a good skin scent for me, it gave me burning tinglies, but it IS lovely. Spicy, playful and reminiscent of fall, I think this is a winner. I will bump out some other fall favorites for this one....mm, the brown sugar and sassafras were amped on me (though I think I blame the clove for the burning) and it was a lovely combination when the plum got playful. 3/5

[Leopard403]

Spicebush Swallowtail is part pancakes, part Yankee Candle holiday blend on my skin. It's actually rather nice, but I cannot take it seriously in hot, humid weather.

[femmefatale]

As soon as I sniffed this I thought "Yankee Candle around Halloween!". I had my family sniff it and they said the same thing without me mentioning it.

It's very pretty and something I would love the house to smell like, just not something I want to wear as a perfume.

[Iceblink]

YUM! Bright sassafras to open but this mellows into a spicy, plummy brown sugar that is just delicious. It's a bit heavy for summer but hey, buy it now and it'll have time to age a bit before fall, right? If this will stay nice on my skin (clove can be a bit irritating on me), it's a bottle for sure.

[edenssixthday]

Spicebush Swallowtail - This is the first time anything with brown sugar in it has smelled good on me! On my skin, it's a brown sugar/sassafras/clove scent that actually reminds me a lot of sorghum. The plum is there giving a different type of depth to the other notes, but it's definitely a background player. For once, the clove is definitely present on my skin without amping to high heaven. Overall, it really does remind me of spicy sorghum and it's quite delicious. I'm amazed I can wear this "foody" scent, and delighted, too. It's not something I'd reach for regularly since it's out of the range of the type of scent I'd typically wear, but that's also part of what I like about it. It has really strong throw and staying power.

[sunlitgarden]

Spicebush Swallowtail

 

Brown sugar and clove, with the plum lending a fruity background. It's a little holiday candle-ish, but delicious! It smells like baking spicy cookies, or plum pie. It's really nice, but today is a warm summer day, and this is more of a fall/holiday scent. Spicebush Swallowtail is my favorite of the four butterflies, though (not a surprise, since I love warm spicy scents!) I think I'll be picking up a bottle for fall!

 

Edited 10/3: I did get a bottle of this and I'm loving it as a fall scent.

Edited October 3, 2010 by sunlitgarden

[astarinel]

I like this, but not as perfume.

 

It reminds me a lot of potpourri, but also specifically of Frumious Bandersnatch -- I think it's the spicy plum aspect doing that. It smells good, and the cloves behave and blend well even though they can go out of control on me sometimes. The sassafras also lends a sort of pleasantly root beer tinge to the scent. Overall, I'm enjoying sniffing it, but I don't want to wear it especially.

 

[strahlend]

This is a whole bunch of burned brown sugar in the imp. On my skin it mellows out a bit but remains an intense brown sugar scent reminiscent of candles and other scented products.

[anomie]

Imp: CLOVE! Also brown sugar. Mostly CLOVE!

 

Wet: Spicy and warm. This smells like the Yankee Candle workshop used to, back when it was loads of candles in wooden bins with a window into the factory behind.

 

Early drydown: It's calmed down quite a bit; still spicy and woody and warm, but the clove isn't as aggressive and the sweetness of the plum is coming out.

 

Later drydown: Pretty much the same. It's very nice, but it's just not me.

[Ravenclaw79]

This has a spicy smokiness that's a lot like Joloumuori. It also smells a lot like Yankee Candle's Moonlight Harvest. I may need a bottle.

[Invidiana]

Another lovely butterfly. Seriously, I've fallen hard with this whole collection, butterflies and moths. I'd forgotten the notes when I dabbed this on and now looking at them again a lightbulb went off as to what reminded me of the feel--not the exact scent, just the feel--of rootbeer; the sassafrass! I actually looked up sassafrass on Wikipedia and it was indeed used to make rootbeer until it was banned by the FDA for causing liver damage. It's very distinct and unique, and the scent as a whole reminds me of old-fashioned spice candy, like a richer version of Neccos. I normally amp clove but thankfully it took a backseat to the sassafrass here, and the sugar and plum lend it a lovely smooth sweetness and keep it from morphing into a spice rack on my skin (which many blends that have clove tend to do). Oh, did I mention I used to catch these things in my backyard all the time as a kid? They were my favorite butterflies because of the iridescent black wings, which were so atypical yet so gorgeous--just like this scent.

Edited June 26, 2010 by Invidiana

[Lethran]

In bottle: They are not kidding about the brown sugar and clove. The sassafras is understated, the plum gentle, but pervasive. It smells slightly burnt. Wet: Whoa, that’s a lot of plum. Brown sugar comes in second, maintaining the burnt effect. The sassafras is there, but no stronger. The clove is almost lost in the sea of plums. My skin chemistry is just not handling this well. I am thinking I should avoid the plum note as this is not the first time it’s gone wrong on my skin. Dry: Te cklove reasserts a little, but the sugared plum stays dominant. The sassafras also gains a little ground. The overall effect is fairly pleasing, though my skin is still a touch weird with the plum. I could almost wear this. It’s rich and a touch decadent in a November sort of way.

[Pepperminx]

This one smells so BUTTER RUM COOKIE on me it's not even funny. Spicy and sugary and Christmas cookiey. I have a feeling this will smell better with time.

[ivyandpeony]

This was absolutely beautiful in the bottle and wet, bright fruit with spices, and my skin then immediately turned it into cloying fruity spice with sugar that was on the edge of burning. I call this the caramel curse and it happens with certain sugar notes as well as caramel. Ah well - if you are free from the curse, chances are you will love this one.

[arlith]

Yum!

 

For some reason, this reminds me a little of craft stores around Christmas. I know its not cinnamon in it, but it smells a little similar to the bags of potpourri, but not exactly like it-its got a bit of darkness to it. Its evil potpourri. The kind that lurks under your bed, waiting for you to walk by, so it can grab your ankles and devour you.

 

At the 3 hour mark after application, its definately going fruity. I'm not so sure about it anymore (for the first few hours I was looking at buying a full bottle of it). Plumzilla has come to play and decided to take over the body of the Evil Potpourri. It was an epic battle, Evil Potpourri put up a good fight, but we're left with a potpourri smeared Plumzilla, emerging victorious and lounging in the remains of loser.

 

End result, I love it at the start. As the hours go by it starts to morph into a fruity something, its still nice, but I don't want to roll around in a puddle of it anymore. It won't be a bottle purchase for me (I have a decant), but I'll probably hang onto the bit I have of it-the initial application is so fabulous.

[reynardine]

I wasn’t sure what to think about this one, as I have never tried a blend with brown sugar in it and clove is an element that I usually don’t like. But I love plum, so I thought I would give it a try. In the decant, I’m getting a lot of sassafras. It also goes on strong on my skin and the brown sugar smells like, well, brown sugar. A sort of sugar but not that sweet. I can see now why the Lab included clove in this, because it does accent the other notes very well. It dries down to a very spicy, almost earthy scent (not dirt, though). Interesting, but not something I would wear.

[TheIceMaiden]

I threw Spicebush Swallowtail in my decant order at last second because although I like plum, but haven't been crazy about sassafras as a perfume note. Much to my surprise, this is my favourite of the butterflies and moths I've tried!

This starts off like a really good-quality root beer, sweet and spicy. The sassafras fades and I get sweet and spicy plum. The staying power isn't as long as I'd like, but I'm sure that will improve with aging.

If this scent wasn't associated with a butterfly, I'd consider it very autumnal. But I think it works for cooler summer days as well.

[Schmoozy]

 

Smoky, burnt root beer and clove cigarettes. Not a wild plum to be found, I adore sassafras, but can't stand the smell of brown sugar. Am on the fence with this one. It has great possibilities but I think ultimately the brown suagr note is too dominant.