Mr. Fezziwig's Ball

[RaeiNarcissus]

MR. FEZZIWIG'S BALL
“Yo ho, my boys!” said Fezziwig. “No more work to-night. Christmas Eve, Dick. Christmas, Ebenezer! Let’s have the shutters up,” cried old Fezziwig, with a sharp clap of his hands, “before a man can say Jack Robinson!”

You wouldn’t believe how those two fellows went at it! They charged into the street with the shutters—one, two, three—had ’em up in their places—four, five, six—barred ’em and pinned ’em—seven, eight, nine—and came back before you could have got to twelve, panting like race-horses.

“Hilli-ho!” cried old Fezziwig, skipping down from the high desk, with wonderful agility. “Clear away, my lads, and let’s have lots of room here! Hilli-ho, Dick! Chirrup, Ebenezer!”

Clear away! There was nothing they wouldn’t have cleared away, or couldn’t have cleared away, with old Fezziwig looking on. It was done in a minute. Every movable was packed off, as if it were dismissed from public life for evermore; the floor was swept and watered, the lamps were trimmed, fuel was heaped upon the fire; and the warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ball-room, as you would desire to see upon a winter’s night.

In came a fiddler with a music-book, and went up to the lofty desk, and made an orchestra of it, and tuned like fifty stomach-aches. In came Mrs. Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile. In came the three Miss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable. In came the six young followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and women employed in the business. In came the housemaid, with her cousin, the baker. In came the cook, with her brother’s particular friend, the milkman. In came the boy from over the way, who was suspected of not having board enough from his master; trying to hide himself behind the girl from next door but one, who was proved to have had her ears pulled by her mistress. In they all came, one after another; some shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly, some pushing, some pulling; in they all came, anyhow and everyhow. Away they all went, twenty couple at once; hands half round and back again the other way; down the middle and up again; round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping; old top couple always turning up in the wrong place; new top couple starting off again, as soon as they got there; all top couples at last, and not a bottom one to help them! When this result was brought about, old Fezziwig, clapping his hands to stop the dance, cried out, “Well done!” and the fiddler plunged his hot face into a pot of porter, especially provided for that purpose. But scorning rest, upon his reappearance, he instantly began again, though there were no dancers yet, as if the other fiddler had been carried home, exhausted, on a shutter, and he were a bran-new man resolved to beat him out of sight, or perish.

There were more dances, and there were forfeits, and more dances, and there was cake, and there was negus, and there was a great piece of Cold Roast, and there was a great piece of Cold Boiled, and there were mince-pies, and plenty of beer. But the great effect of the evening came after the Roast and Boiled, when the fiddler (an artful dog, mind! The sort of man who knew his business better than you or I could have told it him!) struck up “Sir Roger de Coverley.” Then old Fezziwig stood out to dance with Mrs. Fezziwig. Top couple, too; with a good stiff piece of work cut out for them; three or four and twenty pair of partners; people who were not to be trifled with; people who would dance, and had no notion of walking.

But if they had been twice as many—ah, four times—old Fezziwig would have been a match for them, and so would Mrs. Fezziwig. As to her, she was worthy to be his partner in every sense of the term. If that’s not high praise, tell me higher, and I’ll use it. A positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwig’s calves. They shone in every part of the dance like moons. You couldn’t have predicted, at any given time, what would have become of them next. And when old Fezziwig and Mrs. Fezziwig had gone all through the dance; advance and retire, both hands to your partner, bow and curtsey, corkscrew, thread-the-needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig “cut”—cut so deftly, that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger.

Mince pie, dark beer, a well-loved spruce wood fiddle, and bow resin.

I tried this at will call, and it was a very strange party. It started out with kinda a bubbly alcohol scent, and then 30 minutes later, it was gone. And I thought, well, crap, and went on sniffing other things. And then i'm like....why am I smelling ginger on my hand!! And there was a sharp ginger coming from my hand. It stayed for another 30 minutes.....and then it was gone. 15 minutes later, I had bubbly orange. So, be prepared, Mr. Fezziwig is going to have ball on your hand, and you won't know what happens next!

[Aldercy]

I love this in the bottle. It smells so gentle and authentic, like how a room filled with old-timey festivities might actually smell-- not really stylized or exaggerated. There's a faint suggestion of hot savory food, but it's mostly warm, dry woods and resins. Really natural and unassuming.

 

Now let's see what it does on the skin!

 

Right off the bat, there's some ginger that I didn't get in the bottle at all. Ginger, a tiny suggestion of clove, and bundles of dried fruits (dried apricot and apple maybe?), so apparently the mince pies are really leaping out at this point. The wood smells a little harsher and more manly (like it's been soaked in a few decades of smoke and spilled stout) without the sweet, more innocent bite of evergreen I sense in the bottle. The resins are also blacker, cloudier and... stickier, somehow. I feel like there's a hint of tobacco or even opium? The spiced fruits of the pies fade as the oil dries.

 

It's very evocative. I think it does accurately depict the "work-hard-play-hard" rustic atmosphere of that passage (no high-minded Victorian luxuries at this dance!), but it also puts me in mind of all the slightly shady (but homey) inns that appear in fantasy novels. It's a late autumn night, you've been journeying for weeks, sleeping on the ground, and here's this inn with a big hearth, oak benches, roasting food and prize-winning beer. Can't beat that.

 

Makes me wish it was a room spray* instead of a perfume, but it's still a keeper.

 

 

*ETA: And, OMG, it IS. I love life.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Aldercy

[Heavenlyrabbit]

I giggle like a school-girl every time I see "Mr. Fezziwig's Ball" and do wish this had been named "Fezziwig's Ball" instead- if you get my drift.

 

This is a very happy and nourishing scent. Warm and inviting.

 

Mince Pie and Beer as advertised.

 

The Spruce is pretty laid back and so are the Spices so this avoids the Christmas Candle trap pretty well. In fact, this blend has some of the best behaved and well-contained spice notes that I remember.

 

Surprisingly less Beer than Mince Pie. Although the Beer comes back after a while.

 

And the "Pie" aspect is closer to the savory more than the sweet.

 

I agree with Alderci's take on this having a rustic quality. Something in here smells a bit "dirty" in the best possible way.

 

Edit- this somehow manages to disappear very quickly on me. Oh Well, it's a fun and enjoyable scent though.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Heavenlyrabbit

[cherrycherry]

Mr Fezziwig's ball is amazing and I am so glad I bought a bottle unsniffed.

 

As Aldercy said, it is a very evocative scent indeed. It reminds me of being in the pub at Christmas-time with my friends, drinking beers and ordering seasonal foods. It's darker and woodier than I thought it would be, but that's fine, it all adds to the richness. It's the first scent out of all the Yule's I've tried that has made me think 'Christmas in a bottle!' and because of that, I think this will be one of my new staples over the festive period. It's a complex nostalgia-inducer and very comforting. Love it!

[strahlend]

This is a very lovely scent. It's sweet and a little spiced, reminding me of soft leather and mild cloves. It's warm and snuggly. On the drydown it reminds me very much of Marquis de Carabas.

[cfrancesca]

This is mostly beer and mince pie on me. The pie smells warm, pruney, creamy, (I'm not getting much sweetness) and softly spicy, a mix of light cloves, and maybe a smidge of cinnamon and nutmeg. The dark beer is very much present throughout but actually blends really well with the pie. The beer amps more than the pie on me and I think I'm getting a little bit of spruce. I also imagine this as a Yule "pub scent". I like it, but I don't think I'd wear it because of the beer.

[Incendiare]

Mildy spicy Christmas candle in the imp? The spice leans more towards clove, the same that was in March Hare. Wet, it's still very much the same. Something warm and sweet is starting to make itself present in the background, probably from the mince pie. The beer never showed up on me.

 

The very first time I sniffed this before reviewing and even trying it, I thought it was rather strange, but now that I have left my imp sit for a day and let my nose warm up to it, I like it. This is a very Christmasy scent. like having dessert on Christmas day with my family whilst a warm spicy candle burns nearby.

[melange]

Since this one had to be discontinued early, I'm relieved to not have fallen in love with it, though I like it quite a bit. I smell the pie, I smell the beer, the wood and what I can only assume is the resin, and it is a scent that seems to want dancing. The notes blend to develop a warm, spicy quality and when I move my nose from the "Autumn and Winter" spot on my hand to this one, it's like being outside and coming in to the hearth.

[bheansidhe]

"Yule at the pub" is spot on. The opening bars of this dance are dark ale and strongly spiced fruitcake. The beer is thick, yeasty and hoppy, with the sweet black head of a fresh Guinness. The spices dominate with cinnamon, clove, allspice, and what smells like wine-stewed plums or prunes - an earthy, figgy fruit. I say beer and fruit, but I don't mean boozy or berry-like at all. As it wears, the blend ages to a fifty/fifty split of spicy fruit and dark resinous wood - the age-blackened timbers and dark shellaced floor of an old British pub.

 

Clove-spiced beer-soaked dark wood. Tragic discontinuation!

Edited December 13, 2010 by bheansidhe

[Blood onmy hands]

Ugh. I'm so upset that this was discontinued before I got my decants. I love Mr. Fezziwig's Ball and would have stocked up on the perfume oil and the room spray. It sort of smells like dark, boozy, sexy apple cider on me at first, but without that bad potpourri spiciness that a lot of apple cider type scents have on me. And the wood notes just make me swoon.

This dries down to spicy (sweet clove-ish?), masculine, dark, insanely sexy wood with hints of booze and spiced pie with anise. It makes me think of dark, polished wood in a dark pub, lusting after the sexy, mysterious musician playing in the corner... after an hour, it's back towards more of a sweet, boozy cider again.

 

I'm sad that I can't get more of this one; I'll have to hoard my decant for special occasions.

[Schmoozy]

I can see why this would appeal, but to be honest, it's not for me. I will definitely make a great room scent, so I look forward to when my spray arrives, but the although the mince pie is spicy and delicious, it's something I want to smell, not smell like. The best part of this scent is the bow resin and spruce wood fiddle. I absolutely adore wood scents and these are stunning. Thick syrupy resins and spruce mingling with the pie spices. I could bathe in it.

Mr. Schmoozy loved it though.

[laslibres]

Very nice...woodsy, and spicy fruit too. Clove, cinnamon, and some kind of fruit, like maybe candied citrus peels. Very deep and resinous, though, it's not all fruitcakey. It smells a bit like a masculine version of World of Fools.

 

I do get a suggestion of beer smell...and that's a good thing for me, because I like beer. It smells like the bar top in a really old pub, where the smell has permeated into the wood, and I love love love that smell, it reminds me of Ireland. It’s an old wood smell, like wood that’s been worn down by hundreds of hands over the years.

 

And of course, since I love it the most out of all my decants, it WOULD be the one that's discontinued. :@&*$!:

[SophieCedar]

In imp: smells exactly how it's described by the lab. lovely mince pie spice, dark stout beer, woods.

Wet: spice explosion! I smell all mince pie with a strong winey apple? Smells like mulled cider on me.

Drydown: ok there's more beer and woods, but it still mostly spicy mulled cider and possibly a touch of fig.

[NaiadOreiad]

I am trying this now and wet t is a bloom of wonderful warm dark scents. Its exactly what you would want to smell after walking through the snow to join some friends at a nice little pub. The beer is there but not overwhelming, the woods behave (hooray!) like sturdy thick beams saturated with the smell of long nights of singing and merrymaking. The pie is being served and someone just spilled a big glass of dunkel bier. I could see myself wearing this ALOT. like all year. I am so sad its been discontinued!

 

4.5/5

[zankoku_zen]

Dark, spicy mince pie and hints of spruce. Smells like Christmas cooking. It's dark, spicy, and flavorful.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Mostly the dark beer, but underneath are all the other notes.

 

Wet: Now I'm getting more of the wood and resin, with the pie lurking in the background.

 

The dry-down: And the beer has made a comeback, but it is nicely combining with all the other notes to make something lovely that's greater than the sum of its parts. This is what I could imagine an old English pub, you know, the local, to smell like during Christmastide. Between the pie and the resin, it's sweet but in a lovely deep and dark fashion because of the wood and the beer giving it depth and complexity. Pity that this had to be discontinued; perhaps it can return for another Yule.

[whisperstilled]

My decant circle just arrived, and in it was the decant of this scent I was lucky enough to grab before it was discontinued. I'm really excited tot try it!

 

In imp: I smell every note - warm mince pie, the resin, beer, and wood. They're all almost equally strong as well, though the beer and the wood hit me first. This is definitely a unique scent.

 

Wet: Beer with strong wood and pie notes. The resin is there to make the scent more complex, but more as a note that weaves through, not one that makes itself known in its own right. I'm still getting almost equal strength from the notes, which is what I find most impressive. This is a scent with some throw too. Even though I have another scent on as well, I'm smelling it from my arm as I type. This is sweetening as it dries, giving more of the pie and the fruits in the pie and less of the beer, but the wood is still going strong.

 

Dry: This dries down to a really nice, comforting scent, and absolutely does create an image in your mind, BPAL yet again perfectly capturing a scene in a scent. This is the scent of a rowdy Victorian Christmas party. The drydown has some of the beer but not too much, which is perfect, and sweet mince pie with wood to back it and a dash of resin. A really pleasant, unique scent. I doubt it's one I would wear every day, but it's a very comforting Yuletime wear!. 4/5

[Altaira]

I played violin as a child, and while wet I mostly smell rosin and wood with a bit of something sharp and sour in the background.

 

As it dries, the spices of the mince pie try and fight their way to the top, but the rosin and wood scents are just too strong. The sour note stays in the background. I recognize it more as the beer now. Considering how hard it is to get more of this, I'm glad it didn't work for me.

[MCS4096]

My bf really likes this one so I'm glad I got an imp before the party ended (it was a fast and furious one huh!)

 

The second I had him sniff it he called out "Mince meat pie!!!" Which he loves.. so it's very evocative and sentimental for him

Edited January 11, 2011 by MCS4096

[ljaylh]

Phew! So glad I don't love this one, now that it's discontinued!!

 

Mr Fezziwig starts off all mince pie.. quite spicy, slightly sweet.. and a hint of beer. So I leave it to dry down for 10 minutes, lean in for another sniff.. and where'd it go?? It's almost completely disappeared!!!

 

What's left on my skin now is a faint smell of beer and mince pie. Just a vague kind of spicey foodiness. I'm going to pass my decant on, because clearly there's no ball to be had on my skin - Mr. Fezziwig apparently left early.

[yeahbutnobut]

In the imp: ohhh, it smells like mince pies!
Wet on skin: mince pies, apple cider, warm wood fittings…
Dry on skin: I’m surprised at the strong apple scent I get from this, but that’s a good thing-provided the apple doesn’t go wrong. The home made mince pie recipe I used has grated apple in it. And this smells like mince pies! Maybe a tad more apple than the pies I make, but I smell the buttery warm pastry and the spicy, fruity filling. There is a splash of ale, and it’s surprisingly nice! A bit more fizzy and cider-like than the sweet barley scent of the beer in Feeding the Dead. I can’t smell the rosin note (shame, because as an ex-cellist, I love that smell) but I do smell the warm wood scent, it reminds me of the wood panels of a proper British pub-like the ones you find in villages, that have thatched roofs, very low ceilings, walls covered in brewing/ale related paraphernalia, and look like they were built centuries ago and haven’t changed since. This is glorious.
After a while: the apple note gets stronger but it seems nicely balanced with the spices and woods. The ale note is actually really nice-a little lighter than the more barley-centred beer note in Feeding the Dead, but it doesn’t smell like a pub crawl either. The whole scent exudes such an approachable festive warmth that I can’t help but smile when I smell it.
Verdict: mince pies and apple cider served in an English pub on Christmas Eve. I can almost hear delightful music playing, people dancing and singing, happy revelry fuelled by the booze on offer but no outright drunkenness. If there was one criticism is that I wish the mince pies and resin notes were stronger, they do get overwhelmed somewhat by the scent of spicy cider and ale, so at times this reminds me of Fearful Pleasure, which is my favourite apple scent, but with a Yuletide twist of pastry and dark fruit instead of the autumnal smoke in FP. I’m so glad I managed to gather about a half-bottle of this because this to me is one of those quintessentially festive scents that never fails to cheer me up. I’m wondering if half a bottle is enough…
Is it a keeper? I’d give anything to have more, and pray to the perfume gods for a future resurrection/revisit…
If you like this, try: Fearful Pleasure, Jolasveinar, Joloumouri, The Second of Three Spirits, Whoop, A World of Fools

[milo]

This is an odd time of year to try this, at 25 degrees celsius, but here goes! I'm getting lots of Christmas spice, and yes, it does remind me of mince pie, or plum pudding, a VERY spicy one at that, with lots of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. This reminds me of Christmas, and making me crave some plum pudding, as I'm not really a fan of mince pie. Very evocative, but I think it would be better as a room scent for me, but given the rarity, I'll just have to make due with my cranberry and pine blends. I don't really get anything else but the spice, and possibly apple, but it is sure getting drowned out. Fun to try!

[Nicnivin]

Well, this is just ridiculously gorgeous. Beth has the rare ability to create a complete story in a scent, and wearing Mr. Fezziwig's Ball does exactly that. Rich and deep, it smells just like the interior of a warm, welcoming English pub that has a blazing fire in the hearth, candles glowing on burnished tables, soft leather seats, and a plethora of pastries to eat.

There's a savoury/sweet note that really does evoke "mince pie", but it's not cloying, and I wouldn't call the perfume foodie per se, because there's a tiny evergreen note around the edges that cuts through anything sugary.

 

It's a stunning scent that's just perfect for Yuletide.

[Cali]

The pie in this is scrumptious! Very foody; lots 'n lots of that pie, and a good amount of booze.
On my skin the booze note thankfully morphs to something a bit softer in nature, with just a touch of wood. It's spicy and full of holiday joy!

[Casablanca]

Aged six years, Fezziwig's Ball is delicious, fun, drunken comfort. Cookery and beer and cozy and yum.

Mince pie is the strongest note, followed by a smooth, non-boozy blend of dark beer and warm, polished wood. I can smell there's more, which would be resin and any unlisted notes, but I don't know that I can pick any of that out specifically.

Mostly, this is the pie. Lightly spiced mince pie.

Good pie. Great fall scent. Two thumbs up.