Mistletoe

[Rinadoll]

The plant of peace in Norse tradition. If enemies met in the forest and came upon a sprig, they laid down their arms and observed a truce until the next sunrise.

Mistletoe! Oh, Mistletoe, how I love thee.

I wasn't sure what I'd think of this scent; it was a last minuate addition to my order. I opened the bottle and smelled Christmas trees. I was in love. I dumped it on my wrists and sniffed happily the rest of the day.

Definitely a lot of pine. I smelled the berries at first, even my mother commented on them, but they faded. I was pretty much left with a muted scent of pine, very spicy and Christmassy. I love it. The staying power wasnt as long as I'd have liked, though, except once - I accidentally spilled some on my desk (prompting a second order of two bottles!) and started scooping it onto me. Wrist, knees, cleavage, etc. The next night, more than 24 hours and a shower later, I still smelled like Mistletoe. Edited January 5, 2006 by Shollin

[sarada]

2005

 

Previously reviewed the 2004, but I'm writing a new review for this year's. I'm so happy to finally have a bottle!! I never even used the imp I had last year more than a couple times because I didn't want to run out.

 

Having tried a lot more evergreen scents from the lab in the past year, there's really nothing else quite like Mistletoe. It's the most pure, clear, perfect, crisp snow evergreen. It's not like an antiseptic pine cleaner, it's just the most natural green thing you'll ever smell.

 

It's the exact smell of fresh evergreens that you have cut out in the snow and are forming into a wreath. This is a must-have if you like evergreen scents. I don't know if it's technically pine, or fir, or something else, but it's without compare. Now that I have a full bottle I can slather a bit and it does have a lot more throw and staying power than I had originally thought.

 

This was the perfect scent to wear on Christmas!

[desu]

In the bottle: Evergreen with a slight berry sweetness.

 

On my skin: This has mellowed out to a very refined and elegant pine scent indeed, and there's just enough berry left to keep it from being all about the pine.

 

Later on: This one is mostly gone after 15 minutes. A shame since I was growing rather fond of it.

[zenvodunista]

a lovely pine based scent that isn't all PINE. a soft and pretty pine. i can't really smell the berries that much, though that may be what keeps the pine from being PINE.

 

if you like piney-stuff. get it!

 

n.

[yeahbutnobut]

Mistletoe 05

 

(I haven't smelt the 04 version.)

In the imp: pine! Winter pine and fir. Like a Christmas tree.

Wet on skin: pure Christmas tree!

Dry on skin: so far, this BPAL is the most authentic smelling Christmas tree smell I've ever smelt! It really smells like a fir tree has been brought into the house, and I'm sniffing it's branches…or like running through a Christmas tree farm. Deep green, slightly smoky and sappy, this is pure essence of a festive fir ready to be decorated and covered with baubles, tinsel, and fairy lights.

After a while: it remains true to it's Xmas tree scent but the sad thing about this scent is it fades so fast! Within about 2-3 hours, it's gone!

Verdict: I don't know what actual mistletoe smells like, but this smells EXACTLY like a Christmas tree. It's uncanny, I'm bowled over by how accurate this is. A lot of BPAL scents with fir and pine have hints of Christmas tree about them but this one is spot on! Its like concentrated essence of Xmas tree, like the lingering scent of one in the house times 100. I'm not sure if I'd wear this as perfume, but this would make the most wonderful room scent, and it sends nostalgic shivers down my spine. (now all Beth needs to do is make a satsuma scent and I'd have my perfect Christmas fragrance!) The only disadvantage is that it doesn't last on me. The scent is too fleeting and disappears in a few hours. What a shame, because I've been looking all over for the perfect Christmas tree scent, and this is it.

[perclexed]

'05 version - Not really peaceful for me. Has a bit of that "Pine Sol" tinge to it. OK, but overwhelming. Likely would do as a candle and not on-skin scent.

 

'04 version - definitely can smell berries in this more than in the '05 scent, though I'm wondering if that's mostly an aging issue. I definitely prefer the '04, and enjoyed wearing it in the spirit of the holiday season.

[zillah37]

I have issues with pine scents. For years I would get migranes around live Christmas trees. So I'm always a little wary of scents that are heavily pine.

 

Mistletoe is definitely pine-scented, but it smells a lot like eucalyptus to me. It's definitely clearing my sinuses. I doubt I'll be getting a bottle of this, but I think I'll use this instead of Vapor Rub this winter!

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Oh this is pine. Fresh, wet, strong smack of pine.

 

On me:

At first - yup it's still pine. Strongly so. And it's not that I hate pine, but I don't particularly want to SMELL like pine. I will agree with the fact though that this isn't pinesol or some pine air freshener. It's REAL pine. It has that airy *real* crispness about it, rather than smelling artificial. There is a very VERY faint little sweetness - and not sugary sweetness, more of a natural berry like sweetness (though I dont' smell berry, if that makes any sense). I really like that this isn't strong either, it's really very airy and light for being a green piney scent. There is a small hint of spiciness to this too, but again - it's more airy and light than anything.

 

Final note:

This IS a beautiful green scent - I actually really like it, but the truth is - I just won't wear it because pine isn't really my thing. Very nice scent though, I can see how this would be really reminiscent of Christmas for a lot of people (not for me though, since we always have a fake tree )

[furygrrl]

In the Imp: Pine and something faintly sweet.

 

On Wet: PINE TREE. Super crazy pine-aliciousness. I concur with many of the reviews previous to mine: this is the freshest, most realisitc evergreen smell I have ever come across. It's positively gorgeous.

 

Drydown: The intense pine mellows slightly. If I put my nose to my wrist, I can smell a vaguely sweet undertone mixing beautifully with an almost effervescent, Sprite-like bubbliness (the pop, not the fairytale critter.) I actually get the same aquatic-bubbly-sweet combo in Talvikuu, though it's much more pronounced in that blend. It's the evergreen that dominates *this* scent, and that's certainly not a bad thing, imo.

 

Overall: This is 99% tree, 1% something fizzy, and zero berries or anything else. I think it's a perfect holiday fragrance, most definitely suitable for wearing or burning. As for me, I'll be using my imp for the former - I rather enjoy smelling like a Christmas tree.

[karikazo]

Yep, very nice and simple pine/evergreens. Definitely something I would enjoy wearing in Nov/Dec as I am getting excited about Christmas. It lasted several hours and at one fleeting moment there was almost a candy smell mixed in with it...don't know if that came from Mistletoe, or from me still having cookie dough on my fingers that day!

[sophia_helix]

Wet, straight-up pine and strong evergreen. Quite similar to Yuletide, except lacking that candle-like berry scent.

 

15 minutes later, all gone. Maybe for an oil to burn, but I have candles similar to this.

[mayhap]

I have never had an oil disappear on me this fast! Seriously, it was Gone in 60 Seconds. One second, there was evergreen goodness, next second, there was ... nothing.

 

Ah well. I still have Dublin for my evergreen goodness that actually sticks around after shaking hands.

[slave1]

2005 Revisited

 

In Bottle: Pine

 

On Skin: Holy Christmas Tree Batman! I wish I had had this scent for Christmas, because we have a fake tree and all that was missing was the scent of a fir tree… this would have been the perfect room scent. I’ll save this imp for next year for sure. I’ve never smelled real mistletoe, but this smells like a fresh cut pine or fir tree… super strong but also sweet. I can’t even begin to imagine someone wearing this as a perfume though, unless they’re prepared for a bunch of X-Mas tree comments.

[Silverstrike]

This review is for Mistletoe '05.

 

This smells like Christmas tree. I don't get any other notes, just Christmas tree. This may be great as a room scent, especially around Christmas time, but not necessarily something I want to wear, although it's certainly beautiful and really just like a Christmas tree (have I mentioned it smells exactly like a Christmas tree?). If it had a hint of sweetness I think I'd be able to wear it as perfume, but the way it smells to me, it's almost astringent in its pineyness. But if you love pine, you've got to try this.

[tsarina]

As a friend put it, this is just like having your head under the Christmas tree while you get the trunk screwed into the base. Green vibrant tree all around! There's also something spicy sweet that makes me imagine red round tree decorations. It's almost berry like, but not quite and definitely tangy. This is the ultimate seasonal scent for me and I love it. It lingers for a couple hours on my skin.

[bibliophile]

This is a beautiful, crisp, and very real pine scent, as others have mentioned. I don't get any other notes, besides evergreen, from this at all. I have had it on for about two hours now, and it is strong with a lot of throw. Unfortunately, something about it (maybe just the sheer strength?) is giving me a headache, so I think I will try to find my bottle a better home!

[rinoastar]

Oh. Em. Squee!

 

Mistletoe, you are my love; I shall not want for another!

 

I was just despairing that I'd meant to grab a bottle (or six) of Mistletoe (unsniffed, since I'm a newbie) on description and reviews alone but had put it off until to late when my Holiday Moon order came in. I knew I'd ordered Holiday Moon and something else, but I'd forgotten that it was Mistletoe! I bet they could have heard me all the way at the lab for how loud I squeed when I realized. I immediately did a test spot and then slathered.

 

Let me explain: there's this scent that I love. It's not quite fir or pine, nor cold air or berries. It's got spice, but not the usual spices. I call this scent Christmas, because that's the only time I ever smell it, but it's one of my very favorite smells ever. Ever.

 

And Mistletoe is this scent. It's pine and fir and snow in the distance, crinkly shopping bags and cheerful music and the fresh slap of cold wind across your face. I love it. Mistletoe is hands-down my favorite of all of the Yule scents (even Lick It), and a very high contender for my favorite BPAL oil.

 

I am so in love.

[edenssixthday]

Mistletoe - Hmmm… not for me. It’s a very true-to-life scent, and smells a lot like Yuletide smells on me, without as much juiciness. It’s very clean, sharp, and green, but evergreen-type scents are one that I don’t usually care for. It’s got a modicum of throw, and lasts for a very long time.

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, this is absolutely true to the finest definition mistletoe. It's amazingly exact!!! Wet, it's green fresh picked, sticky leaved, mistletoe... there's just... it's just mistletoe. It stays the same as it dries and warms, and it breathes that nice slightly minty-green scent that mistletoe has. If I were a huge holiday person I'd probably love this scent but it's amazingly the same and unchanging on me and while I love how perfectly the Lab captured this scent... I like a little bit of variation in my scents. A shame but at the same time, I'm sure I'll find somebody who will love this one FAR more than I.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

very green, bitter almost

 

wet:

definitely a christmas scent of fresh evergreens in the house. Very strong

 

dry:

mellowed a little - not bad, but I just prefer yuletide and midwinter's eve for my holiday fix!

 

overall:

nice, but I prefer some of the other christmas scents!

 

rating: 6/10

[Meg]

In the bottle: Very green, fresh, nearly aftershavey.

 

Wet: Pine, mostly, and a hint of eucalyptus.

 

Drydown: As it dries down, it becomes gentler, still quite strong in the pine/eucalyptus department, but with a bitter bright green tinge to it, now. There may be hints of ozone in here, too. It's fresh, mentholated, even a bit icy at times. In extreme drydown I get the classical ozone "dryer sheets" scent.

 

Overall: An evergreen scent, mixing pine and something like ivy. A very green, fresh scent, but I feel it as too masculine for me, and it reminds me more of a cheap aftershave, Vicks Vaporub or a toilet deodoriser. Nice, but not something I'd wear, or even want a room scent.

[juniperus]

Bottle: Christmas tree, fresh cut, Douglas Fir

Wet: Same, but warmer..like the smell of the bubbling pine tar when you first put the log in the fireplace.

Dry: the sharpness of the evergreen has faded leaving behind soft wood and a sense of..cold. white snow.

Later: a quick fader, so perhaps a room scent after all, but so evocative..I felt a shiver.. what lovely images this carries in it. Magical. Really.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

it was holiday tradition for many years for me and my daddy to go out around the beginning of December to the middle of the woods or out in the middle of nowhere and...um. shoot down some mistletoe. because it grows the thickest, prettiest leaves in the toptoptop of really tall, old trees...

and, well, it was target practice and holiday decorating all in one

(yes, i'm just *that* classy, can't you tell?)

 

anyway, i don't recall mistletoe smelling anything like this...

i got this bottle today and dabbed a little on the top of my hand...

 

and smelled like a christmas tree. evergreen spray air freshener.

i kinda felt like i should be a tree-shaped air freshener.

 

i guess i'll keep this til the holidays and pour it in an oil burner.

[savage_rose]

In the bottle: Green, herbal, piney, fir smell. A little like Le Fee Verte, they must have similar notes.

 

Wet: Intense greenery action going on!

 

Dry: Still green, still tree-ish, but a little sweeter. Mmmm...I love this. It's not an everyday scent, but it's like a soft fleecy blanket, very wintry and comforting. I can see this being a hot weather scent, too...there's something cooling about this scent as well.

[puck_nc]

Origin: swapped for it at a Meet & Sniff. This is the 2004 edition.

 

Initial Thoughts: Since there was no particular note description, I didn't pick this up in 2005 when it was available.

 

In the Bottle: Fresh-cut Christmas tree!! So beautiful, I was groaning aloud in the coffeeshop at the Meet & Sniff. As others have said, Christmas in a bottle.

 

Wet: The evergreen is joined by a crisp cleanness that suggests cold and snow. I'm utterly in love.

 

Drydown: Holding true, with very little morphing. The green, the chill, the rich scent of Christmas evergreens.

 

Verdict: I am so glad I was able to get this! I hope it will be one of the second wave of Yuletide offerings this season!