Hungarian Caraway

[CiCi]

Caraway is an herb whose usage as a culinary spice, a digestive aid, and ritual herb traces back to the Stone Age. In modern aromatherapy, it is used to banish mental fatigue, relieve emotional strain, and soothe frazzled nerves. Caraway inflames love and preserves fidelity, protects valuables from theft, and is used in gris gris bags to safeguard children.

In the bottle this is very herbal and smells sharp and almost like dill. I have preserved my own pickles before and this reminds me somewhat of the juice or brine of that but not quite as strong. Upon dry down I can detect a light floral, perhaps white, but the sharpness still seems to want to take over and drown out everything. After half an hour or so there is a light spice or peppery vibe that I can detect and warms up the herbal base. This isn't a bottle I would reach for on an everyday use but it is interesting. The description says it helps with mental fatigue and emotional strain so I might try this in a tea lamp instead during bath time.

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

In the bottle, this has a resinous sort of quality with a sharp herbal bite.

 

On me, it stayed true from wet phase through drydown and beyond. It's a gorgeous, pure caraway- dry, woodsy and spicy and a little nutty with a hint of resin. Maybe a little bit the feel of hay, as well.

 

Catching whiffs of myself over the last few hours, I can't decide whether I smell like an herb garden at the edge of a field in the hot summer sun, or like I've just walked into a kitchen filled with hot caraway rye bread fresh from the oven and steaming with melted butter on it. Regardless, it's delightful.

 

I'm not sure I see myself wearing this as a skin scent, but definitely would use it in a warmer!

[Blood onmy hands]

I like this scent, but I don't know if I'll ever really have the urge to wear it or if it's really wearable as a perfume. It's strong, intense and savory. Reminds me of Kinnabari v4, so I wonder if that proto had the caraway in it. Smells like red clay, herbs, a hint of mint, a spiciness, a hint of rye bread... earthy, herbal and spicy. The drydown takes on a bit of a funky quality that reminds me of horses, barns and leather underneath everything else. It's interesting and I keep going back to it, but I probably didn't need a full bottle, lol.

 

ETA: This went bad in record time. Smells really sour and dusty now and reminds me of cigarette ash, menthol, aluminum foil, and body odor. I think that bpal is using lower quality oils as time goes on, because so many of the newer blends have turned rancid on me.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Little Bird

[Monday]

Yep that's caraway. Starts out a bit pungent just like the seeds when they are fresh, then goes on nice and woodsy. There are some similarities between this and India Ink SN, they both smell black/brownish, only where India Ink smells cold this smells warm.

That rye bread smell comes up after a while making me hungry. Aromatic, resinous and woodsy I wonder how this is going to age.

[OctoberGwen]

I like this very much, perhaps I love it, even on my skin. (Hungarian Caraway is an oil that I felt certain was destined for the oil burner only.)

 

This is the reason why I love single notes from Beth. It is such an interesting scent, and has such fascinating associations and properties. I will almost certainly add it to any protective charms I make for my sons.

 

Anyway, freshly applied it has a musty quality to it, like a potting shed where there are dried bunches of herbs hanging from the ceiling. It smells homey, and ancient and magical all at once.

 

The far drydown is just a soft hint of spiciness that sticks very close to my skin. I can't stop smelling myself when I have it on, and it definitely has a calming influence.

 

I'm very pleased to have found a bottle. Thank you, Ashmedai!

[zankoku_zen]

Woody, spicy, anise-like. Smells savory and puts me in mind of Indian Food. It's got a warm vibe and a black/brown color association in my head.

 

Aromatic, savory, spicy.

[milo]

At first, lovely caraway. I'm craving a piece of GOOD rye bread now with butter. My skin really makes a mess of it, though. It smells pretty astringent on me, kind of borderline chemical. Like a home depot product for floor laying. That's what it smells like, the rubber backing on linoleum, or maybe it's the glue that seals it down. I knew this wouldn't be for me, but I have to try all the SN's.

[Zii]

This was so rancid I could barely convince myself to put it on my skin and it did not get better. It was savory in a rotting way, dusty and metallic. NO THANK YOU.