The Nutcracker

[ofthegood]

Klara’s most prized Christmas gift. Broken by Fritz in a fit of jealousy, repaired by Drosselmeyer’s magic: frankincense, black mission fig, and galbanum.

This smelled lovely in the vial! I didn't get the fig, but a nice sweet incense smell. On skin, the fig still wasn't there - ever. I definitely see why other reviewers are thinking there's cedar in there, especially while the oil is still damp and fresh. It's a dry, masculine scent with a hint of incense and smokiness and spice. The smokiness grows as it settles, and it makes the blend really dry and maybe a bit stale, almost like incense or a scented candle that's going out. Any sweetness that I picked up at first disappeared.

I can see the Nutcracker - masculine, woody, a bit of stale resin/incense from Drosselmeyer's magic and repairs. It's just not the lovely fragrance on skin that I was hoping for from the description and the vial.

[porcelina]

at first, all i smell is wood. i think this might be the galbanum, which, according to my reading, can smell woodsy, balsam-like or piney. it's mixed with a lovely, fresh fig, reminding me a little of lush's figs and leaves soap (one of my favorites!). i do not get a lot of frankincense. this is mostly wood and fresh fig, a surprisingly clean scent and very enjoyable. a keeper!

[zankoku_zen]

For me, the Nutcracker is a mix of frankincense and fig. The frankincense is rich, slightly peppery and its balanced out by the sweetness of the fig. Definitely masculine in vibe.

 

I am not a fan of frankincense, but this scent is pretty.

[milo]

This wasn't really what I was expecting. I thought The Nutcracker would be more of a foody nut blend, but instead, it is more of a 'woody' nut blend. This really doesn't smell to much of nut flesh ( ), but of the shell and the wood that it grows on. This kind of smells like a wood workshop that makes expensive furniture, with a bit of musky cologne thrown in. This is an 'OK' blend, but a bit too dry and masculine for me to wear, and this is coming from someone who really likes woody blends. I don't get any fig, which would have made the blend more wearable to me. I think thisi would be great on a guy, but untimately not for me.

[aleciarivas]

This ends up as resiny wood with just a hint of sweetness underneath. Pleasant, but not lustworthy as I prefer.

[sunlitgarden]

I got a frimp of this in a recent sale package. Fig can be a bad note on me, but I'm still willing to give it a try. In the imp, it's resinous, and bittersweet - in that there's both a kind of astringenty bitter note and sweetness from the fig. On my skin, it's kind of headache-inducing, and bit on the cloyingly over-sweet side with a bit of nuttiness (which is suitable, given the name.) I've tried similar blends before, and they don't seem to agree with my chemistry - I think it's that fig note. There's something about this that reminds me of airplane bathrooms. o_o

[brilliantcat]

In the bottle: Yummy resinous frankincense.

 

Immediately after application: Frankincense cut with a bit of pine (likely the galbanum). It makes me think of fresh-cut wood.

 

Warming up: A tiny hint of pee. Not the full-on cat pee I've gotten with a few blends, at least.

 

Fading: Very slightly piney.

 

Faded: Average throw, short wear.

 

Overall: Not impressed. No hint of the fig at any point.

 

Rating: 1/5.

[IambicDearie]

This one faded faster than I expected it to, all my other frankincense-based things stay on for at least six hours. However, I don't mind it as much with this, as it tapers out into a very pleasant woodiness towards the end. It comes on a little too strong at the start for my tastes, but it's well worth it to let it mellow.

[sprout]

preconceived notions: (did not look at the notes) heavy on the wood, maybe some nuts?

 

Vial: predominantly wood notes, I am guessing pine as it is slightly evergreenish, but mostly newly carved wood

 

Wet (wrists): wood, hamster cage (cedar?), and a hint of evergreen needles, no nuts

 

Drying: I would have guessed this is pine and cedar, which I am guessing is the combo of the frankincense and galbanum notes, it smells like nonfinished wood planks with a fruit back up, looking at the notes I recognize this now as fig, it is a green fig, not overly ripe

 

Final thoughts: I love fig, and I love wood, and I love frankincense, so this was all made of WIN. Drat, this little decant will make me hunt down a bottle. I REALLY love this. (but I am surprised no actual wood notes, like cedar, pine or sandalwood and NO NUTS--what up with that?) I can see this being read as masculine, due to the predominant wood vibe, but I think it could be unisex. This type of blend is right up in my happy zone. Although I wish it had a hint of the dry coconut base that is in Black Pearl--maybe I can layer?

Edited January 14, 2015 by sprout

[Cali]

dry, smoky, nutty, woodsy. At first sniff I didn't think I'd like this at all, but now that it's slowly settling into my skin I actually find it quite charming.
A lovely frankinsence floating around in a dimly-lit wooden cabin.
Whatever I percieve asa nutty note (must be the galbanum???) in here makes this a meh for me, but otherwise it's lovely.