Yggdrasil

[sarada]

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

I was very, very much looking forward to trying Yggdrasil and I ordered a 5 ml of this within about ten minutes of receiving an imp! I was not sure what woods it would wind up being, as I was disappointed to find that Hamadryad, another woody scent, came out like nothing but cinnamon on me. But Yggdrasil is that much dryer, lighter, airy wood that I had always hoped for. White light through a stand of tall, slender trees, a chily wind blows through the green branches, and in the center of the grove is the thick, knotted trunk of the World Tree. A cold, dry wood -- positively exhilarating. It smells like fresh, crisp air blowing through a forest thick with herbs and foliage, and crisp, white bark. Unlike darker woody scents, this dissipates very quickly on me, though the deepest woods cling on for a while...but it's worth putting more on, to get that blast of fresh forest air. Just when I thought I had smelled everything.....another masterpiece!

Two year update: This oil lasts magnificently for a very long time. It still smells like I remember it the first time though a bit more powdery for the woods (I think I smell white sandalwood clearly), and there is a slightly menthol quality, perhaps a touch of eucalpytus or it might just be one of the herbs. Very dry pale wood, with a faint menthol blast of deep dark green. Edited September 17, 2007 by clover

[Soli]

It almost seems cheesy of me to say this, but the best description I can find for both in-bottle and on skin scent is otherwordly/etheriel forest. However, I find it quite fitting for the World Tree to smell as such.

 

I can't identify what the woods and herbs used are (though I could take guesses after a few more tries), but the effect is not at all overpowering.

 

This is DEFINITELY an oil to get if you're Heathen/Asatru, ESPECIALLY if you're close with Odin.

 

(Nothing like a blue and black shirt, valknut pendant and this scent to start off a Wednesday.)

[Hallows_Eve]

In the bottle- A very nature scent- a real smell- not car freshener, nor cheap candle. This is an herbal gathering in a bottle, preparation to cook outside or make a salve, or maybe just an herb garden near the woods.

 

This reminds me a lot of the herbal shops that we frequent here, leafy to the point that you can smell a slight whiff of bitter afterscent that you get from stems when you pick a lot of herbs.

 

On my clothes (can't wear directly at the moment since I am pregnant): Still very natural and uplifting. It is a very easy scent to like, casual, not too powerful, not too formal. A gender neutral everyday kind of scent. One of a kind.

 

ETA- 6/10/05

 

Now that its been some time since I'd given birth, I have been wearing this on my skin. I have to say that it smells slightly more green and almost floral with my skin chemistry. Not overwhelming, more feminine than I would have expected. I still like it a lot!

Edited June 10, 2005 by Hallows_Eve

[Lucretia]

I can't really even begin to describe this. It is... herbs.. but not green crisp herbs, but woodsy dark herbs, and yet very clean at the same time.

The only other oil I've tried that even remotely reminds me of this is hamadryad, which makes sense, but the moss in that makes is lighter and sweeter than this.

 

I'm not really sure what to make of it. Definitly herbs, and I can make out a tree, but I don't know if this is one I would wear on a daily basis just cause it's a bit too.. well.. I don't even know what... this scent was really beyond describing for me (helpful I know... sorry!)

[darkling]

In the bottle: Light, dry wood.

 

On my wrist: A complex blend of woods and herbs. However, this is more of a brown scent than green. It is light and airy and ethereal rather than earthy.

 

Drydown: The woods and herbs have melded into one distinct sweet and calming scent. It is exquisite but difficult to describe. It fits perfectly with the image of the World Tree.

 

I found this scent very soothing and wore it to sleep. It was still faintly present when I awoke about 10 hours later.

[VorpalBunny]

This scent is very herbal and leafy. There is a sweet faint woodiness, but it's a predominantly green scent on me. It does have an ethereal feel to it. It's very pleasant and has a lightness with still having an underlying power. I enjoy it a lot, although I expected it to smell more woody.

[xoe]

To me Yggdrasil was a very light, woodsy/citrus scent. Though the citrus may be something else like chamomile or something. It is very light and breezy and beautiful. If I wasn't already in love with Wolfsbane as my woodsy scent, I would totally go for Yggdrasil. ...Not that they're really very similar, but I feel like I can only have one woodsy scent. But that's probably just because I am a weirdo.

 

 

** editing on 12/21/05 -- We used up the rest of the imp in a 4 oz bottle of (otherwise) unscented lotion. It is fantastic! Yggdrasil makes a wonderful lotion. The complexity is much more obvious. Really light and wonderful!

Edited December 21, 2005 by xoe

[Penance]

First sniff:

 

Oh God, I'm going to be ordering a 10mL of this...I can tell already. This is beautiful; herbal and woodsy, but not overpoweringly so. I love this kind of scent, so I'm really looking forward to trying this one!

 

Wet on skin:

 

This reminds me of summer camp so strongly that it's scary...I always loved the smell of the woods - the dirt and leaves and wood and fresh air - and Yggdrasil is that smell in a bottle but very subdued and not at all overpowering.

 

Dry down:

 

Dry wood and dusty herbs. This is the woods in autumn, when all the trees are shedding their leaves and the ground is dry and dusty. Yggdrasil is so much more beautiful than I ever could have hoped for...I'm absolutely, utterly in love with this one.

 

The bottom line:

 

This is going to be an immediate 10mL buy, no doubt about it. I love this one!

[Sushwa]

This is a beautiful, complex fragrance.

 

Wet, it's botanical, like crushed plants with a hint of balsam: a little cool & green.

 

As it dries down, the balsam lingers.

 

Dry, it changes to something warm & subtle & sophisticated. & it lasts for hours.

 

This one I'm ordering in the big vial!

[erishkigal]

i have been anticipating this scent for a long long time! i was a bit afraid of the oil being a very HEAVY wood scent.. but its NOT!!! its a light lovely scent. the thing that comes to mind for me is a ghostly forest.. its so nice and the blend just feels magical.

 

 

i'm buying a huge ol bottle of this!!!

[Diana]

This is a 5ml I bought unsampled, purely for the name.

 

I put on some after I showered last night, about an hour before I went to bed. I could still smell it when I woke up!

 

In the bottle, it is hard to pick out a note. It smells sort of cedary and herbal.

 

Putting it on, the cedary scent becomes rather piney, and slowly picks up a citrusy note. Juniper perhaps? There is also a slightly minty smell at this stage. I can't make out any specific note, and not for lack of trying.

 

As this wears on after a few hours, the cedary note kind of dissapates into a generic "wood" smell. The herbal stuff in the background kind of becomes a sweet, dry, grassy scent. This blends together in a really beautiful way. Wow. I really want to know what went into this!

 

This is one of my absolute new favourites. I am amazed! I also think 5ml is not going to be enough! I predict this one getting a lot of wear.

 

This is also really gender neutral. This smells fantastic on me, but would be so drool-inducing on a guy!

[Witch's Dagger]

Yggdrasil

 

This was a freebie from the lab

 

Preconceived notions: I don’t remember the lab description. Woody, maybe?

 

In the vial: Yes, woody and a little floral - like a clearing in the center of the forest where some flowers grow. Flowers no one has ever seen before that only grow right here. It’s a very secretive scent.

 

On me: I get a lot of cedar right away. Good cedar, too, the green, growing kind. I love cedar. I’m not smelling much else, though, and I have a huge bottle of cedar essential oil, so I’m hoping it’s going to be more than just cedar.

 

In a few minutes: I think I smell something citrus - verbena, maybe? - in the background. It’s not a sharp citrus, but more of an herbal citrus. It has a very good throw to it, and though it keeps threatening to go soapy on me, so far, it hasn’t. It’s very intriguing. Despite being so woody and down to earth, there’s something in there making it somewhat dreamlike and delirious. Once again, I’m thinking of an enchanted clearing in a forest, where the flowers are somehow brighter than they should be.

 

A little later: Is that rose? I think it is... There’s a wild rose climbing up the cedar tree. Uh-oh... is this rose going to take over? I hope not. Normally, when that has happened, it’s happened immediately, so I’m crossing my fingers. Ooh yay! It’s backed off and let the cedar come through again.

 

Later: Pretty much straight cedar again.

 

Overall: I like it. It’s a very unique and complex cedar blend. Definitely keeping the imp.

[surf-tormented]

I was looking forward to this one, but Yggdrasil goes from smelling like nothing to me, to a lemony herby light scent back to a powdery next to nothingness...it is frustrating. And it is gone, quick. Where's the cedar everyone is raving about? I can't smell it in the bottle or on my skin. Whimper. I love cedar. I dislike having to be the first nay sayer on this at lucky 13, but oh well.

 

It does smell like being outside, fresh like that, but all so brief.

 

I guess this should be a lesson to me not to buy full bottles unsniffed. I am coming to a theory that less is more on my skin, that complex blends tend to go to powder on me while the ones with a few notes, such as Vice, stay for a long time.

Edited February 21, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[Gin]

Wow. I smell green leaves and trees and herbs and cinnamon (?!). The cinnamonny note is the dominant note on my skin, with what smells like maybe raspberry leaf in the back. This is very nice! However, I had to stuggle to get the imp open--the top had started to crack--and when the oil touched my fingers that were holding the top of the imp, it stung a little bit, and it looks as though it's made my skin a little bit pink again today. I'm not particularly bothered, but those with sensitive skin may want to take extra care with this oil.

[stardust]

Yggdrasil smells like warm, dry woods--mostly sandalwood--and a hint of cinnamon. This is what I had wanted Hamadryad to smell like (that one made me smell like a cinnamon stick for hours).

I love it. It's one of my few OMFG scents.

[Renny]

Just got Yggdrasil tonight, and I love it!

 

 

The description fits it well. It smells very herbal, leafy, and almost flowery. I also detect watery notes back there.

 

It's truly a great scent, compliments and honors the World Tree.

[VelvetSky]

Yggdrasil is an incredibly beautiful, fresh woodsy/herbal scent that perfectly encapsulates it's description and inspiration.

 

This is a green, leafy fragrance....not at all deep or resiny. As it dries down, a very subtle and sweet floral pushes to the surface. The cool herbal notes underpin the entire blend with a wonderful freshness.

 

Yggdrasil is a perfume I'm going to enjoy wearing on hot, sticky summer days. It's perfect.

[regyt]

This is unique among the woodsy scents I've tried because instead of smelling like woods, it smells like the fresh air moving through the woods.

 

Wow.

[amrita]

Wet, this smells like fancy salon shampoo...hm.

 

A couple minutes later, dry cinnamon and brown wood bark come through. It seems aquatic to me. My skin sucks this up-- 15 minutes later, I can hardly smell anything at all! Now we're back to fresh salon shampoo.

 

One hour later:

This has dried down to something *very* similar to Wolf Moon-- faintly sweet, woody, and aquatic.

 

Weird! I was really excited about this blend, but it looks like it's doing something similar to what it did on Madame Nyx...

[shelldoo]

yes, a breeze in the woods, not fall woods, but freshly green, spring woods,

 

it did go a bit shapooesque but still smelled woodsy, like shampoo spilled in the woods.

[anmorata]

Yggdrasil:

Wet: Woody, with hints of evergreen in the background.

Drydown: Light woodsy scent. It's not as overwhelmingly evergreen as I initially expected. Not bad!

Longterm wear: I'm not normally a woodsy kind of girl, but this scent has just about won me over. It's not too earthy, not too green, it's very light and gentle. I doubt I'd wear it often, but I am rather fond of it.

[Finny]

Green herbal woods. This is interesting. It is green and sharp herbals, and dry woods. There is a light citrus, it reminds me of lemon balm. I can smell cedar, sandalwood, and oak, not sure what other woods are here.

 

It dries down to a very soft scent, woody, herbal, and very green.

[feline.by.design]

I'll add my chorus to the "It's not a heavy woodsy scent, wow!!" crowd. It smells a lot like, well, dirt to me when wet. Damp, decomposing leaves is the image I'm getting. Strange, but I like it.

 

However, Yggdrasil lightens up really quickly, and I don't know if anyone else is getting this, but I'm smelling something fruity, oddly reminding me of a heavier, headier R'lyeh, sans aquatic notes. It's actually really sweet, and a bit too ripe for me.

 

It smells nice, but in the end, I'm probably just going to keep my imp and pass on getting a bigger bottle. Funny enough, the Lab sent me a freebie of Yggdrasil while I was waiting for an imp I ordered, so I will wind up having one extra I may pass on to someone else who might be interested.

 

-doreen

[Orodemniades]

Y'know how when you're walking through the woods, and that incredibly sweet scent suddenly wafts through on a mild breeze?

 

Yggdrasil is just like that, except it's in highly concentrated form, and it's not floral!. I have no clue as to how that works, as to my nose there are simply no florals - and yet it's incredibly sweet. Yggdrasil's less green than I, a dedicated tree lover, would like, but ya can't have everything.

 

I doubt I'll be buying a bottle, but I'll probably get another imp after this one is used up.

 

Oro

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Sharp, green and woody! Also, am I crazy, or is there something tart and almost fruity here?

 

Wearing: OK, there's definitely a little fruitiness here. It's very sour, yet juicy, and...lime? Is that it? Whatever, it's a lovely complement to the woodiness. It does indeed smell like I just walked into a forest, with grasses and all sorts of plants around. I definitely smell some sort of evergreen, but I don't think it's fir or pine or even cypress. It's something that doesn't go metallic on me. Also, mint? Something very cool smelling. And a slight hint of floral. Incredibly clean, almost soapy in an Irish Springs way.

 

Later: OK, now I know there were flowers in this. It's done that weird sour powder thing that florals do on my skin, but this still isn't bad.

 

Overall: Oh, I dig it, alright. This is, like others might have said, everything I wanted Hamadryad to be and more. A keeper!