Niflheim

[Caitfish]

The House of Mists, a land of icy fog, shadowy darkness and soul-chilling cold. Dark, damp blossoms winding through an impenetrable, murky gloom.

In the bottle:
Pretty standard aquatic base here, think the water in Dragon's Tears or Tears. The florals are... darker... carnation perhaps, white florals. No rose here. Nothing sweet or cloying.

Initial On:
This is a very strong blend when initially applied. It's a floral with the same kind of melancholy as Black Dahlia. It's not lush, and not sweet - it would almost smell like dried flowers if it weren't for the aquatic notes.

After a While:
This remains a very strong aquatic - but it *is* gloomy, and very dark. It smells deep and mysterious. There was a very odd moment while wearing this where I thought that I was wearing Samhain. That's right - apple cider??? One of the floral notes here is rather spicy - that's why I lean towards carnation.

Overall:
I'm afraid that this review isn't very helpful - this is a difficult blend to pin down. It begins as standard aquatic fare, but then darkens considerably. It settles on a kind of spicy, gloomy, dark aquatic with just the barest hint of something that might be called a floral. It's a very odd blend indeed. Pretty, but a bit dark for my tastes.

ETA: If there is one thing that I did not expect, it's the warmth of the blend. It was described as ICY, and perhaps it is in the beginning, but as this mysterious spice rises all I get is warmth. Please take that with my usual disclaimer: I'm a full-blown redheaded Aries. Anything with a hint of spice turns into my own personal spice hell, so this blend could be very different on someone else. I can't wait for another person to review it!

[Lucretia]

I get a very icy scent out of this actually.

first out the bottle, oddly enough, I get cucumbers and menthol. Both things I associate with cool smells.

It then mellows to sort of a musty, cold, floral. Except I can somehow smell leather and menthol in this. Maybe I'm craaazy, but that's what my nose is telling me. Except the leather would make sense given that dwarves are supposed to live there (nibelungen).

I am so glad this does not smell like empyreal mist on me. I get sort of the same mist/murky sensation, but this one is not really as unpleasantly sweet.

 

So, in the end I get, fog, leather, something icy (possibly menthol) and sort vague hint of flowers that i couldnt even begin to identify except to say that they are very sharp.

 

I like this one quite a bit and may see myself getting a bottle when it starts getting hot outside, because this one feels very cooling to me.

[VorpalBunny]

When it first goes on, Niflheim smells like white flowers with a hint of cedar or something. As it dries down, it smells cold and foggy, with a nice floral predominating. It's a good light floral with just the faintest hint of darkness, for when you want the lightness of a floral but something a bit more sinister.

[The Ace of Spades]

First sniff: This one comes off as a soapy floral, with a bit of murky mist or thick air in there. Is that a hint of something weirdly fruity amidst the flowers?

 

On application: floral soap. Very good, French-milled floral soap. The scent is very strong at first application, even with a single drop, for me. Very lingery, very otherwordly. It does sort of give a sense of being in a garden Elsewhere.

 

After 30 minutes: This has turned to waterlogged, overripe flowers and fruit amidst rain and fog, vegetation on the verge of rot. (Note: It's a lovely smell, it just has that tinge of fading beauty about it.) And there's that hand-milled soap again... I wish this didn't make my sinuses hurt, because it's a very unusual sort of floral.

 

Conclusion: I'm sure this is lovely on others but there's just too much soapy scent in it for me, and it gives me a bit of a headache, so I think I'm sensitive to one of the notes in it. Le sigh.

Edited January 11, 2005 by The Ace of Spades

[Diana]

This is one I've been really excited to try. I got a 5ml unsniffed, again, for the name!

 

In the bottle it smells slightly floral and "murky." I can't put my finger on it. There is a bit of an aquatic note.

 

Putting it on, wet, the floral really comes out. Similar to some the Lunacy oils... white pale blossoms, maybe lotus? Then something else creeps out. It smells like a cross between plastic and motor oil. Oh no. It can't be! Yes, it is. Are you sure? Yes, yes I am. It's VETIVER. Ughhhhh nooooooo. Nausea sets in. =x

 

Letting it wear (because I'm stubborn and I want to make this work!)... The florals remain in the foreground. The vetiver is becoming more subtle and slightly spicy (almost like pepper!) and less like a wayward chemical (though I still HATE it and I know it's there!!@). There is an overall aquatic note that kind of works with the flowers in drowning out the vetiver.

 

Unfortunately, while this isn't terrible on me, I don't know if I can get around the vertiver (it's not you, it's me). I'm not a huge fan of aquatics either, so this is giving me a mild headache. It does really quantify Niflheim very well though. I'll probably keep the bottle to sniff on occasionally, but I can't forsee myself wearing this often.

 

Also, probably not the best scent choice when I'm already severely depressed.

Edited January 27, 2005 by Diana

[darkling]

Niflheim was all fog and gloom. I could not identify any of the notes present and I did not pick up on anything icy and cool about this scent. It is very oppressive and heavy.

 

While it absolutely captures the essence of the House of Mists, it is too gloomy even for my tastes.

[Finny]

This smelled wonderful in the imp, but on something in it gave me a headache.

 

It smells dark and gloomy, and wonderful. Then whatever gives it it's foggy watery note promptly gives me a headache and I have to go wash it off.

 

Off to swaps with it.

[VelvetSky]

Niflheim is a cool, foggy, dark floral aquatic. It has the added benefit (for me) of not being an aquatic blend with woody/resin notes on the drydown, which normally doesn't work on my skin. So I'm overall really pleased with this scent.

 

It goes on quite strong, murky and watery. The floral heart notes are very sweet and fruity, and the final dryout is a cold, powdery, white floral.

 

This is a very sophisticated watery blend. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. A keeper.

[Renny]

In the bottle- It smells like nasty, cheap cologne to me.

 

On me- The bottle scent turned into something much, much different once I put it on. It gives me chills... which I love because in this sense it really lives up to its name. I smell some flowers, and pure water. Someone mentioned smelling leather, and I thought I caught a leathery smelling scent too. But generally it's very cold, chilly, and watery. Great scent

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This smells herby, and a little sharp, almost like it's peppery? But it doesn't seem like it's actually pepper.

 

Just On: It's very herby, and still a little sharp. It makes me wrinkle my nose, not necessarily in a bad way, but not all that great either.

 

An hour or two later: It's staying pretty true to the imp scent, which is herby and slightly sharp. It's very blended, so it isn't like I can smell notes in it, and it's a little bit less sharp than it was to start.

 

Around 6 hours: The sharpness has faded more, leaving a well blended herb mixture. I like it well enough, but it's not something I'm dying to wear a lot. I'm very happy to have tried it though.

 

12 hours: I get the barest hint of herbyness when I try, but otherwise this one has gone away.

 

Overall: I like it okay, but don't LOVE it. I probably wouldn't reach for this very often, so it's a swapper.

 

After reading other reviews: I didn't get icy, I didn't get floral, I didn't really get murky or gloomy, I didn't get aquatics really, although the herbiness might have been just that.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Wet, trodden blossoms in mud and soaked grasses. This is dark and brings images of a murky wet day forward; a dull winter's afternoon where the land isn't cold, but the sun can't be found. In fact, it brings to mind camping in late October in the Santa Cruz mountains, when the fog rolls in over the wet evergreens and permanantly soggy oak trees, and the drip formed on branches from the fog's moisture rains on your head all day. It isn't at all cold, but you'd want to wear a sweatshirt anyway.

On me: The blend sweetens. The heavy earthiness is no longer there; the flowers haven't been stomped into the earth. They're still very wet, and the chill of the fog has kept them blooming several days than they otherwise would. It has become a pretty aquatic floral, but still dark and somber.

[slugbait]

Another freebie from the lab. One I wouldn’t have picked on my own, but welcome just the same.

 

I’m really digging Nifleim. It is clean, but dark at the same time. I can smell the vetivert in it, but it doesn’t bitchslap me like it does in the other blends. There is a weedy note; like dandelion. It blends perfectly with the dark tones of vetivert. It smells like laying out on the lawn full of dandelions early in the morning after it has just been cut, with a bit of dirt from trying to pull out weeds. As this dries down more, it gets a little more floral, cool feeling like fog creeping in. I’m totally loving this. I want to slather it all over myself. This would smell fantastic on a boy. I’m definitely getting a bottle of this.

[urraca]

Clean and dark is a good way to describe this scent.

 

In the vial and fresh on my skin it did evoke a salty masrh, but it was a scent I recognize from an Annick Goutal perfume that I do not like much, so I was worried. That note fades quickly though into a sharper green scent. Then the sharp note fades and it remains green and wet smelling. It does not at all smell like rot, but it evokes rotting vegetation, an ecosystem at work that needs you not at all, thank you very much. One of the notes in the dry down reminded me, well, of pot. The scent lasts for quite a while and continues to morph in interesting ways.

 

I do find it a little more masculine than I prefer but I'd love to slather this on an unsuspecting man.

[Eros]

This reminded me of a doctor's office. Specifically, the family doctor I had as a kid. Not medicinal, but like the jar of suckers he had in his office

Nice throw. More of a bright, tart candy and floral than dark and gloomy. Very nice but not for me.

[graycat]

in the bottle: wet foliage and flowers. not rose or gardenia more like a wild flower kinda smell. i can really smell the aquatic note which does not sit will with me.

 

wet: you know what, i can't bring myself to put it on. aquatic notes give me a headache. sigh....

 

scale of 1-5:

1

[LiberAmoris]

Niflheim on me is an aquatic with white flowers and a hint of cedar at the bottom. Very misty, like its namesake. The notes are blurred a bit, like a heavy fog rolling through a forest. I definitely get the slight leather note that other reviewers have mentioned. It's like watching the roofs of houses in a town get swallowed up one by one with mist, from a distance. Ominous, yet familiar.

 

I really like Niflheim, but I'll have to be in the right mood to wear this one.

[QueenFae]

This is what I imagined June Gloom would smell like. An aquatic base with murky, wet, dank blosssoms draped over a swamp in the spring. It's dark, yet soft and stormy. I can picture a mysterious forest just after it has rained. It's great, I'll enjoy using my impie.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this was a freebie from the lab. aquatic and sharp. very odd.

on: more floral, thankfully. there's something odd and salty, too, which i don't like.

1 hour later: still odd, but floral. vaguely pickle-like.

2.5 hours later: just generally floral.

overall: this just didn't do anything for me.

[Northernminx]

Cool and aquatic with a drydown of soft white flowers. This was gentle, somewhat feminine on me, but lovely and very ethereal and light and one of the aquatics that doesn't go all wierd and alcohol-headache-inducing wierd on me. Not quite to my tastes but I will offer it to one of my aquatic loving friends.

[arabella]

First Impression: Lemon Soda.

 

Dries down to: It quickly settles down to a very fresh and airy scent with a hint of citrus, a light floral and maybe, sandalwood (definitely wood) in it.

 

Additional Comments: A perfect summer scent, especially for the beach or those hot, sticky days.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5

[Blueelm]

One of my absolute favorite scents. I sampled this scent purely out of lust after the description. I didn't expect to love it the way that I do. This actually converted me to aquatics. This smell actually puts me into a better mood when I wear it.

 

Opening notes are bright and aquatic, with soft white florals. Cool rain, and crisp clean florals. This is still a rather dark. At first I was afraid this was going to be too aftershave-y. I love the vetevert with aquatic notes because it keeps it so grounded. This is such a brilliant scent. It so perfectly invokes icy slushy weather, the kind of fog that prickles your skin. Cold ocean waters, and mists. At the same time, it's so clean and soapy. I find the whole thing so calming, and somber.

 

As the vetevert emerges and the scent dries down, it becomes some what salty. More soft florals emerge. The best clean scent I know of. Niflheim is so comforting, and so very very me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Dark aquatic floral.

 

On Skin: This is one of the first aquatics I’m smelled that is more dark than bright. It is still crisp and wet, but a bit spooky and full of shadows. The florals are clean and white, and not sweet at all. The ozone note turns a bit soapy on me. I am actually going to try wearing this one out, I’ve never seen what impression ozone notes on me give to others and I’d like to hear some feedback. My final impression of it is a garden at night near the sea after a rainstorm.

[olympia301]

A good blend, a bit "department store perfume" but not in a bad way. I liked it but it was not real imaginative, there wasn't anything I could identify or "hang my hat on" so a description kept on elluding me. Rather like meeting someone else who isn't really going to tell you anything about themselves, maybe because there isn't anything to tell, really. All you can say after they left is,"She was a nice person." and let it fall like that. Sorry, but this is a blend more for the person who doesn't want to stand out or use perfume as a means of personal expression.

 

I also didn't find it cooling or misty cool. Yog Sothoth is misty and cool but Neflheim is room temp or a bit warm to my nose.

Edited August 19, 2005 by olympia301

[Monster]

I'll agree with the other reviewers when they say it definilty has an aquatic base.

Out of the vial it smells cool and dark, exactly like the description.

 

On my skin, however, this turns into pure florals whith the aquatic scent only lingering in the backround. It's very perfumy, but not overwhelming.

 

Overall, this isn't the "bad" type of floral, it's very lovley, just not for me.

[Blood onmy hands]

Nifleheim starts out smelling very aquatic, with a cool menthol bite. The menthol fades away quickly and I think that I can pick out some leather. It's very cool, dark, and smoky.

 

After about 15 minutes, I'm smelling white florals. That generic white floral smell that I get out of all of the white floral blends in Marshall Fields, where I cannot pick out any one flower. Very bitter and perfumey. The flowers are even overpowering the strong aquatic scent.

 

Niflheim is exactly the sort of fragrance that gives me a headache. I washed it off before it had even been on a full half hour.