Hearth

[allidavie]

Thoroughly revisited. This year’s Hearth is warmer, sweeter, and more traditionally comforting. This is the scent of candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine.

You could fry up an awesome apple cobbler using the stuff Hearth '05 smells like - honey, maple syrup and butter. Mmm. Surprising light with little throw for one of the foody scents. I don't get any plastic at all. I like this, but on my swap it / put it away and mull whether to swap it and probably eventually swap it / keep it and use it / hoard it and hunt it down all over the universe scale, this goes into category 2 - mull it over for a while. Edited April 9, 2006 by Shollin

[GemmaCat]

Looking at the notes listed, I can say that I'm not getting any honey. I am, however, getting oodles and oodles of sinfully delicious buttered chestnuts and thick sugar; like molasses.

 

This is a decadent, comforting scent, but very strongly foody. On its own, it's not something I would wear, but layered with Three Witches (revisited)? OMG! Scent-gasm!

 

I smell like a walking bakery, one that specialises in spiced cakes and candies. Beautiful!

[FiendishThingy]

Oh, Hearth 2005. You were the first BPAL scent I ever put on my skin. Let's see if it was worth it, huh?

 

In the bottle: Oh, yeah -- I smelled the buttery goodness before anything. I also got a nutty scent from it. It made me hungry, but this is okay.

 

Wet: WOW! I smelled some brown sugar, but mostly I got the warm chestnut smell. Reminds me of winter time in Chicago, with the German festival downtown...

 

Dry: The brown sugar smell dried into a lovely scent on my skin. The nuttiness wasn't as pronounced, which made the honey stand out more. I couldn't stop smelling my arm more than a few hours after applying it. What a way to start out with BPAL.

Edited April 21, 2006 by Katharina

[Shollin]

First sniff: The new Hearth smells like… comfort. Like being wrapped in a blanket beside a big fire and family and laughter and home. On a more mundane level, it’s warm and toasty and a little bit buttery without being too foody, rich rather than sweet. And once I recheck the description and know the pine is there, I can smell it very faintly in the background.

 

Wearing: It isn’t often that I get two different smells from the same scent on my wrists, but it’s happening with this one. Under the warm toastiness I smell a tiny hint of leather on my left wrist and fruit on my right.

[juniperus]

Bottle: Sharp and smoky.

Wet: Sharp and smoky, with a sweetness. Piney sweetness, working in combination.

Dry: More Leather, and we know how leather hates me. It's getting me in the throat, seriously - really strange..like I'm choking on smoke.

Later: Can't even make it to later, I have to wash this off, it's very not-nice to me.

[jarvenpa]

a gift from a forumite; I assume it is Hearth 2005, but I wouldn't be able to tell if it weren't.

 

Put it on with no preconceptions other than "oh, Hearth, should be warm, right?" and therefore didn't expect the first reaction, which was for my mouth to start watering, and for visions of slabs of toast slathered with butter and some red jam (not strawberry though, maybe raspberry) dripping on my fingers to start dancing in my mind.

 

The foody, warm sort of smell lasted a bit, then dried down to...the papery smell of dried everlasting flowers beside the dusty road in summer (yeah, I know, strange.)

 

Those flowers always smell a bit like butterscotch to me (pearly everlastings, know the ones I mean?) so it could be a butterscotchy fragrance I'm smelling, but my mind persists with the pearly everlastings, very dry, a bit scratchy, not much throw.

 

But, omigod, that delicious start!

[kunoichi]

A powerful scent that is like warm caramel and buttered brown sugar. Mm, comfort food! My skin gives the wood notes a kick, turning it into a slightly burned caramel smell but something much more delicious. The wood scents, the touch of nuts, and the butter begin to sooth and settle the burned smell, and give a solid bottom note for the sweetness to rest on. I love it - it is a gorgeous and long lasting scent! It's a deep, somewhat sweet scent that lingers on the skin. The chestnuts and the wood give it a complex depth, while the caramalised-like honey, candy and sugar gives it a lift; it's both dark and warm and divine! Mmmmm. It's amazing!

[Melantha]

I can get a hint of what this is supposed to smell like. I detect butter, and smokiness, and nuts.... but they're all just a little off on me. Another one I wanted to love, but it just didn't work.

[edenssixthday]

Hearth is extremely foody on me. I would have never guessed from the description of the scent. It’s very buttery-sweet when it’s wet, which is also the only scent I detected in the vial. Within a minute or two after applying, the smoke scent starts to mingle with the butter, and about 10 minutes after that, the sharp and bright scent of pine peeks through. It’s completely unlike anything I would have anticipated from the Lab description. I don’t normally like foody or buttery scents, but this one is warm and comforting… until the pine, which completely blows it for me. It’s got a ton of throw, and only the tiniest drop is needed, and the scent lasts and lasts and lasts.

[Galatea]

In the Imp: All I can pick out is a bit of sweetness and a bit of smokiness, no definitive smells at all.

 

Wet: BUTTER! RUM? Must be the brown sugar. Smoky bits in the background. It's really much sweeter smelling than I'd thought it would be.

 

Dry: As it dries the Buttered Sugar bath goes away just a hair and is challenged by the pine. Sharp and green. The smoke basically disappears after only 15 minutes.

Then eventually the pine goes away too and all that is left is sweet smelling butter with a bit of something 'eh' in the background.

 

Throw: Not impressive really. Like someone else said, for a foodie scent you'd expect more throw. But no, not this one.

 

Overall: Not for me. I like food scents, but not ones that make me smell like butter or baked goods.

Worst of all? My hubby said it made me smell like those buttered popcorn jelly belly jellybeans. *ugh* I hate those, and so does he.

This one will be going into the 'to be traded' box.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Ugh, butter note! And spice. And... pumpkin?

 

Wet: It melts away, before reemerging with a buttery chestnut note, salty rather than sweet.

 

Drydown: Chestnuts! Warm chestnuts fried in butter, a really yummy scent. There's a faint hint of what I pick up as pumpkin - maybe the pine, in fact? - and nutmeg. This reminds me of the chestnut and pumpkin soup we make in winter, yum!

 

Overall: A very warm and homey scent, ideal for a cold winter. It's foody in a savoury way rather than sweet, on me - actually the sweetness comes out in extreme drydown, a bit. The spice is soft and warm, and the blend sticks close to the skin. By the end, it goes a bit sharp and aquatic, like most floury foody smells (Sugar Cookie does this too). I wouldn't wear it, but I'd use it as a room scent.

[strawberry_star]

I got the feeling I would have loved the old Hearth, but the 2005 version doesn't work for me.

 

It smells like caramel almost like Red Lantern quality, and it smells slightly nutty but because it contains honey, it goes straight to plastic on me. I'm not too disappointed though because I get similar satisfaction out of Red Lantern and Midway without the dreaded plastic.

[RavenVelith]

In the bottle: WAAAAAAAAH! I just got...buttered... ;_; I dun wanna be buttered. That's the first thing I smell. Reaaaaaaaally warm. And I smell the brown sugar too. And that odd undertone I guess...is...smoke?

 

Wet: Waaaaah this has amazing throw! The chestnuts are really coming out. But so is the smoke and it's kinda turning me off. The honey and smoke is kinda...ehn.

 

Dry: Something is turning me off. It went kinda plant-y. The pine? Ehn. It's okay but not for me.

[gypsybaby1]

in the bottle: aw..damn... I just... aw damn... this reminds me of going to the coffee shops and smelling the fresh roasted coffee beans in the jars. Hazelnut cinnamon coffee, that's what this smells of...

 

drying: again... aw damn... the rich buttery scent is fading a bit and it's warming up to a spiced blend.

 

I'll have to edit this once I get home and it's completely dried. But for now, it's love, pure love

 

Edited July 26, 2006 by Gypsybaby

[luna65]

Thanks to maewitch for the decant.

 

Vial: This smells like maple bacon in the vial, that's how the notes add up to my nose. It makes my mouth water!

 

Skin: I think the wood comes out more with my chemistry, the sweetness recedes immediately and the smoke is more noticeable.

 

Drydown: This one stays mainly toasty, but a little sweetness returns. I guess it's for the best because I really couldn't wear something that makes me smell like maple bacon.

[Seanan]

Both wet and in the bottle, I am smacked upside the head by a wave of butter butter BUTTER. Nothing else. Just BUTTER.

 

As the scent begins to dry on me, a sharper, almost sour note emerges, followed by a nutty undertone that mellows the sourness almost immediately into brisk, crisp pine. I begin to smell like caramel corn with peanuts. It's very odd.

 

Fully dry, the pine has matured, and I smell like hot buttered chestnuts being eaten outside in a pine forest, probably somewhere within twenty yards or so of a roaring bonfire. It's very surreal, but very cool.

 

I heartily approve.

[Dinerdulcinea]

Sadly, I get "butterscotch and hazelnut cookies gone bad."

 

Not for me.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: Buttery and nutty with an herbal tang (how odd.)

 

On my skin: I was expecting the butter/nut smell to overwhelm everything and was already disappointed in advance, but actually, the pine is there, and seems carefully calculated not to overwhelm the nut smell. I'd have had the pine/cedar a little more present, or the alleged smoke more present. Something to make this feel less like a foody scent. I'm not quite getting cedar yet, but maybe soon.

 

As time passes the pine comes out more strongly and the nuttiness recedes a bit. It'd be a lot nicer if it wasn't so ungodly butternut smelling for about half an hour. Then it goes back to nutty. By this time the cedar is present, faintly, but commensurate with how much is left of the smell at all. The final ghost of it on my skin is a musky honey, and that's kind of nice.

[maijasu]

I hadn't heard much about this one and didn't know what to expect, but WOW!!! It's warm, smoky, woody, and sweet. It smells delicious without being overly foody, and I do smell a hint of pine, which behaves itself very nicely and doesn't steal the show. It lasts extremely well too--I applied just a dab last night and could still smell it this morning. I think this will be a cold-weather staple!

[ktesedale]

In the bottle, this smells nutty and buttery. Huh. I wasn't really looking forward to putting it on.

 

Once on, it's very nutty and a bit smoky, but the butter has disappeared. Yum. Not quite what I usually like in my foody scents, but it's good! It stays true to form until the end, too.

 

It disappears after about two hours, but this isn't a scent I'd like to wear for long periods of time anyway. It makes me kind of hungry!

 

This is a very warm scent, and it's comforting, something to wear at home, maybe while with family or cooking. It's definitely not a going out scent or a work scent, though.

[beachbabealways]

My very first review.

 

In the bottle: Cedar & Pine

 

Wet: Same as above with a hint of sweetness.

 

Dry: Sweet, Dries down to a nutty, buttered, bloated sugar cube.

 

I loved this soooo much and wore it for over a week with no problems. Then it turned on me. It became so sweet I thought I was going to hug the toilet. A friend recommended that I keep it and give it a try at a later date. I did and it was love all over again. The culprit that amped up the sweetness?? "That time of the month"

 

ETA: 4/16/09 ... This is still in my top 10 list of all time favs. Such an unusual and comforting scent.

Edited April 16, 2009 by beachbabealways

[mountainwitch]

I was hesitant about trying this one, because I was afraid the brown sugar and honey might turn into a caramel-like scent . . . And caramel turns into blackened sugar on my skin. Brown sugar, however, turned out to be an entirely different animal. I can wear this!

 

At first I get a heavy scent of fresh pine, but it softens almost immediately into a warm, golden, wonderful smell. It's all butter, and brown sugar, and yes, cooked chestnuts. My aunt's neighbor had huge chestnut trees at the edge of his property, and I used to collect bags of them as a kid. Some lovely fall days I would warm the chestnuts in the microwave and eat them after school. (Note: do NOT do this without slicing the chestnuts first. Exploding chestnuts are scary. ) Great memories, and a wonderful autumn/early winter smell.

[alston78]

In the bottle: I get a nice whiff of the whole blend, actually. The sweetness and buttery scents are on top, but the pine is grounding them underneath. There's just a hint of smokiness, too.

 

On the skin: while wet, Hearth '05 was very well balanced. The sweet notes weren't *too* sweet, the smokiness was faint, there was a delicate sharpness that kept the whole impression from being foody.

 

Drydown: As this dried on my skin, the smokiness and buttery sweetness became more pronounced. I didn't smell the fir so much. It reminded me a bit of toasted marshmallows - not because the scent is similar, more because it evoked the memory and feeling of a gently browned marshmallow with tiny burnt bits.

 

I agree with others that this is a nice room scent. On me, the smokiness was too pronounced and eventually gave me a bit of a headache, but the initial smell was delightful and right in line with my winter memories.

[steffanina]

Hearth (2005)-

 

In Bottle: I'm not sure which Hearth this is, but I guess I'm about to find out. --Oh, this must be the 2005, not that I'm sad about that. :-) I can smell the buttery richness, though there is the merest hint of woodsmoke too.

 

Wet: Butter and sugar though not thoroughly like caramel, as I might expect of butter and sugar. The cedar note is there, and I'm sure I smell pine, too! This is yummy and lovely!

 

Dry: The pine really starts to come out on this one, in a good way! There is a light sweet caramel to this--maybe more like brown sugar, and it's delicious. I'm so happy this one didn't go musty!

 

Overall: I really like!

[stardreamer]

First impression: Damn, it's that burnt-sugar smell again, like someone tried to make caramel on the stove and scorched the batch. And this one doesn't even have the Dreaded Rum in it!

 

Fresh on: Yes, definitely burnt sugar; also, I can smell the butteriness now as a smoother underlayer.

 

After a couple of hours: The cedar smoke puts in an appearance as the buttery note fades back. Now it really does smell sort of hearthlike.

 

Sadly, nothing ever damps down the burnt-sugar note, and I really don't want to smell like that. I wish I knew what was causing it this time, because I think I would have liked this blend otherwise. Bottom line: swap pile.