Yggdrasil

[QueenFae]

The World Ash. Nine woods, nine leaves, and three herbs each for Ratatosk and Vidofnir, with three final herbs to placate Nidhogg.

I tried this one without reading the description, and I was really surprised when I found out what was in it! It smells foody on me, and I was actually thinking vanilla and cinnamon!! It's divine, I now realize I'm smelling the spiciness of the leaves and herbs. I immediately had my man try some on, I think it's gonna be really sexy on him. Great scent.

[quikslvr]

Bright white pines and green herbs. Brisk, fall or possibly spring scent. Fresh, verging on soapy. Dryer clean--air on a bright cool day. Goes soft on drydown.

[oakmoss]

I've liked all the woodsy blends I've tried so far (Black Forest, Mistletoe, etc.), but this one tops them all. There is a depth and magic to the tree-essence here, appropriate for the World Tree, which reaches as far below the ground as above, connecting the worlds. I was reminded of elves -- this is a scent that would be right at home in Rivendell. If you know Mermade Magical Arts incenses, this also reminded me of Druid's Grove -- a blend of oak, willow, juniper, mistletoe, fir, cypress, pine, cedar, birch, and some other oils and resins. I'm definitely getting many bottles of this.

[Northernminx]

Sharp, herbal, and a bit astringent when I first put this on I don't get quite as much woods out of Yggdrasil as others seem to. It's fresh, clean, and definitly reminiscent of green growing things, but it's also powerful and seems to be very...er... pardon the pun...well rooted. Incredibly complex, I can't begin to pick out the notes in this although it's a faint almost lemony musk as it dries down.

 

Interesting but not quite me.

[foolssilver]

wonderfully woody, but not as resiny as you might think. it's lighter, almost cedar-like, though i don't pick out cedar exactly. as others have said, it smells like wood on the wind, and a teeny bit sweet, too. i like it!

[cranberry]

at first, this was a very herbal, airy, fresh scent - really very interesting and nice. it smells totally open and airy and wafty to me. then pretty quickly it changes. no sandalwood or cedar (too bad as I love them) but instead this very stong musk with maybe some wood mixed in that turns into this very odd moldy disgusting chocolate smell. not good at all.

 

the opening is great but it ends very funky on me - it seems no matter what time of the month it is (I was thinking there might be a link there so I gave it another run). overall, I don't see it in my future for long.

 

ETA 6-15-06

I thought that I'd try this scent again as it's been almost a year since my original review. Once on, it does remind me a lot of Buck Moon - wow, this is fabulous! As it wears, the similarity remains.

 

After it's been on for an hr or so, the scent deepens and sweetens a bit. This is where my original impression of moldy chocolate comes from. I don't necessarily get that now but I can see how I did. It's a deeper musk that is slightly sweet but it's not a good musk on me. It does not smell good - so I'm thankful that I have Buck Moon, that Ochosi and one of my Devil's Night bottles remind me a lot of Buck Moon if I ever run out. I guess that my original impression still rings true.

Edited June 15, 2006 by cranberry

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Sweet herbs.

 

Just On: Fresh, pretty, sweet herbs.

 

An hour or two later: Light fresh herbs.

 

Around 6 hours: Light fresh and sweet herbs.

 

12 hours: The last bits and pieces of herbs.

 

Overall: This is a very nice blend, and everything melds together so well I can't really pick out any specific note. Very nice, all around.

 

After reading other reviews: I certainly got the herbs, but really didn't get much woodsiness out of this one.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: A refreshing smell, very foresty. It reminds me of the pine woods of the mountains here in Colorado on a hot summer day, but who knows: maybe the world tree really does smell just like that, I dunno. VERY strongly herbal.

 

First on: It subtlizes (love inventing new words) a lot on my skin. This is green... green grass, light herbs. I can't pick up any particular notes that I recognize but v. nice.

 

Dry: Very refreshing. Overall I like this one a lot more than I would have thought just from the bottle.

[eisoj5]

I think I'm going to have to try this one again; I put it on just now after my shower and it's practically gone already. I *so* want this one to work--there aren't exactly any other scents that are related to squirrels It's faintly spicy, kind of like the general blend of smells that you get out of a candle shop, and I'm not really picking out any woodiness to it. It's very light, too, as if the World Tree was a net of branches instead of a sturdy, solid trunk.

[Dark Seraphim]

What a beautiful fragrance. I loved it to death!

 

Bottle: Had a very familiar scent that I couldn't easily describe. Smelt like a lemon tree mixed with herbs and moss.

 

Worn: This scent works great on me. Doesn't change much when worn, but I loved how it smelt on me.

 

Burnt: Strong and perfect. Again, the scent doesn't change much, but I loved it in the burner.

 

One of the scents that I simply adore. I'd certainly get a bigger bottle. 9/10.

[arabella]

First Impression: Freshly sawn logs at the lumber mill.

 

Dries down to: It very quickly becomes a very light scent of fresh wood, but not any particular wood - sometimes it's more sandalwood, sometimes cedar, etc. It's pleasant but so faint that it doesn't "wow" me like it could if it were stronger.

 

Additional Comments: After reading the description, I see why all I got was 'wood'. It's a masterful blend but it's too tame for me and it had no "staying power". I wish it had been stronger or at least lasted longer.

 

Lasted: Maybe, an hour.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5

 

Edited: To add the rating

Edited July 24, 2005 by arabella

[olympia301]

Very much like my Chaos Theory 3: VIII, and almost but not quite citrus scent with woodiness backing it up. Yggdrasil has quite a good shot of the cold crisp musk which is in the Zorya and it does last a long time.

 

This is almost a perfect rendition of the wise Ash of the World, big and strong and woody. Once again a fabulous performance piece from Beth, something which really makes you close your eyes and see the image by just using scent.

[oatmealneko]

Woody & green. Initially, I got a lot of green leaves out of this, then the woody notes started pushing forward to front, which is weird, because normally I get lots of wood, then green. Green, woody, lots of trees, that's what it reminded me of.

[pekeana]

This is soft woods, leaves, and herbs -- it's woody, but also quite green. It's very soft and pleasant, but not high on my list of favorites.

[Wrenlet]

The dreaded skin chemistry strikes I got no hint of woods or herbs in Yggdrasil at all, just a heavy 'perfume-y' smell that snuck right up my nose and made me sneeze. A lot. My husband said he could smell faint, faint sandalwood with his nose right on my wrist, but his sense of smell is uncanny.

 

I had to wash it off. :whimpers: World Tree! I wanted to love you, but you don't love me back.

[jewelbug]

Bottle: very clean. Light, slightly woodsy--like a young forest after a fresh rain. Same feel as cool water, actually.

 

Wet: clean, aquatic, pale woodsy, I smell a hint of cinnamon spice (that bark kinda smell), and slight tart citrus. A light floral, and just a hint of sweetness. Still reminds me of cool water in feel, though it's not the same (I tested).

Dry, About 30 min later: Very light woodsy light floral. The cinnamon and citrus scents are apparently only apparent during wet phase. It's just light, clean and fresh, and still reminiscent of cool water.

 

Overall: Stays true from the 30 min on, but wears off in 2-3 hours. Reminds me very much of a slightly woody cool water. Very nice, and I might consider getting it in the future, especially for spring/summer, since its very light. This would be a great for slathering on after a shower. I wish it had better staying power.

I tried this on hubby too, since it was so wonderfully clean and gender neutral. It was equally wonderful and light on him, but also lacked staying power. I will still consider this for warm months, though. Lovely blend.

 

3 months later: I finally got my hands on a bottle of this! Now, with more bpal experience, I have to say that something in this reminds me of the black herb notes in Gomorrah. I own both. Coincidence? I think not....

Edited January 1, 2006 by jewelbug

[tinyvulture]

Extremely herbal, with an undertone of dry wood. No citrus on me thank god. Reminds me of Herbal Essences, only better -- more complex Green, leafy, and refreshing.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

floral??

 

On me:

This was quite surprising for me, because with Yggdrasil and it's description, I was expecting something rather dry and woody. ANd that is definitely not what is here. By no means is that a bad thing though! This is a green floral in my opinion - it has softly sweet floral like notes, but it's GREEN and lush. It's a wet, ethereal, dewey forest. It's very hard to describe this scent because I can't pick out any notes in it at all. But it's really very pretty!

 

Final note:

Very pretty, soft, green and full of life.

[Ajila]

Wet on me this is green and herbal, it reminds me of fir trees without actually smelling of them, if that makes sense. Dry on me it smells drier, harsher, the cedar becomes more prominate with those little patches of greeness in the background. It's too rough a scent for me to wear.

[Rackham's Vanity]

This is the perfect green scent.

 

Yggdrasil wet is sharp, piney, almost astringent, nearly aquatic. Whereas Nocnitsa dissolved from wet pine into sour moss on me, Yggdrasil says dry and even sweetens, with no sour note at all.

 

By two hours in, Yggdrasil is a settled, living forest of massive hardwood trees, with the tiniest hint of doeskin (I swear I can smell it!). Because this scent doesn't morph around a lot like other scents, it gives the impression of steadfastness, of a certain "rootedness"...just perfect for the World Tree.

[Lycanthrope]

I consider Yggdrasil to be a less dark, less pine-forest and woods aroma than Wolfsbane, although they definitely both share that woodsy, bark and leaf aroma. Yggdrasil begins on me slightly spicy, definitely green with a streak of mint. Like most mints, this fades quickly and I'm left with a light, grassy green aroma with a kiss of floral and maybe a touch of spearmint's sweet mintiness. Over time, this turns to a delicate cedar and pine, but it's still mostly like delicate forest air more than Wolfsbane, which is the essence of the woods asserting themselves. Pleasant, but has little to no staying power or throw on me.

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Very strong and woodsy-herbal... not what I usually go for, so I'd put off testing this one for a while.

 

On: wet, it's exactly as it smells in the imp - but as it begins to dry down, I can detect a cinnamon-like spicyness... nice! The scent turns out much more dry than I expected; dry woods tend to work better with my chemistry, so I'm glad this on lost it's "greenness". I'm left with a mildly spicy dry wood smell that's really quite soothing, and natural smelling without making me actually smell like vegetation.

[rainyseason]

I got this as a freebie with an order.

 

After the first sniff I put it in the swap pile, I just didn't think it was me. It's been a few weeks and this one stuck around so I reread the reviews and decided to give it another shot.

 

I put it on right before bed and kept sniffing my wrists, I could now smell what everyone else was talking about. Forests, damp tree bark, earth. But there was something familiar about it in an entirely different way. A peppery sweetness that I couldn't pinpoint. Finally it hit me. I had these pickle scented scratch and sniff stickers that didn't smell anything at all like pickles, but Yggdrasil reminds me of the scent.

 

It's still not a "Me" scent, but overall I really like it. I think it's the sort of scent that I wish I could wear, like I wish I could wear clothes from good will and second hand stores but somehow I look better in black sweaters and tailored pants.

 

That's why I love BPAL so much, such a variety of fragrances - there really is something for everyone.

[Blood onmy hands]

Yggdrasil is a really hard scent for me to pin down. It reminds me a bit of Hamadryad... in that craft store sort of way. I smell it and think instantly of potpourri and dried flowers. But this has a spicier (sort of peppery?) and slightly greener edge to it than Hamadryad did. And it has a slight fruitiness to it after about an hour that reminds me of powdery juicy fruit gum.

 

It's not bad... but I can't see myself wearing it. It gives me a bit of a headache in the way that being in a craft store and around too much potpourri makes my head feel stuffy. I think that I'll be swapping my imp.

[Firewaver]

I'm so in love with this scent!

 

It makes me think of what the US must have been like before Europeans came over and tore the land apart. It's so fresh and free-spirited. It made me feel awake and uplifted when I put it on and took a deep sniff.

 

Its like the wind whistling through the boughs of old and wizened trees covered with lichens and vines. Like a clear stream carrying autumn leaves down it's length. It's such a cool and pure scent.. it doesn't evoke any particular season, it smells like nature in general, in all it's phases. I must have a bottle of it.