Hemlock

[loubric]

This infamous herb has a long, complex history: it has been used in spells of death and destruction, was a principal component in traditional witches' flying ointments, and was the poison used to put the philosopher Socrates to death. We have created a dark, profound herbal blend to personify and honor this wicked little plant.

In the IMP ~ Very green and herby. Mint, pine and eucalyptus notes.
On me ~ Spicy green, a little hint of Vix but hardly noticeable.

It’s a very clean, purifying almost aromatherapy type scent on me, with hints of lemon and herby sweetness coming through.

I think I really like this one! It feels and smells like I’ve been dancing through a dew laden wood, where the trees are dense and green!

[fairestrocza]

I am now about 30? 40? imps into a growing BPAL obsession, and I figured it was about time to start moving some notes from my spreadsheet to the review boards, starting with my first love: Hemlock.

 

 

In the Imp: Evergreen, slightly sweet (in a good way)...

 

Wet on Skin: On wrists, very piney. In elbows, a brief (very brief) blast of strong eucalyptus, quickly taken over by the evergreen scent...

 

While Drying: The eucalyptus fades into the background, serving to brighten the forest smell; a lemony scent appears...

 

After a Little While: A true evergreen scent. Pure, fresh, and slightly sweet, uplifted by citrus and eucalyptus...

 

Later: Good lasting power. Never turns nasty. Love love love!

 

Final Thoughts: Hemlock is my gateway scent, and my first 5ml purchase. The evergreen note is the pure, crisp, natural scent I associate with wandering around trying to pick out a Christmas tree (though I will likely wear this year-round whenever I want a little emotional boost). My fellow sniffers do not seem to like this on me as much as *I* like it on me, but that is fine - I still rate it as 5/5, and Hemlock is currently one of my two favorites.

 

Additional Notes: Back when I started testing oils, I assumed that Hemlock would eventually be replaced by some other foresty scent, but after testing quite a few woodsy blends, Hemlock is still in my top 5 overall, and looks likely to stay there. It makes me happy every time I wear it!

(edited to add Additional Notes)

Edited January 6, 2010 by Rocza

[PeshaRocha]

Hemlock smells like--hemlock!

 

It truly does smell just like walking in a hemlock forest on a warm day and reminds me of a summer spent by Candlewood Lake in a cabin on Hemlock Ridge--very nostalgic. It also smells similar to balsam fir needles, if you've ever smelled those, and I've always loved to use sachets full of fir needles to scent dresser drawers.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: First thing, the oil is green! Bright and crisp green, almost artificial! I've never seen an oil this color. A natural oil, anyway. It smells poisoned lime rind and sour herbs. It smells crisp, but sinister.

 

Wet: Crisp and green. I get a bit of soil underneath. Otherwise, it's a pretty clean scent. Clean and poisoned. Evil smelling. I can't put my finger on it, but that's the atmosphere it evokes.

 

Dry: Sweet and sour limes and kumquats! Not candy sweet, but light and pretty sweet.

 

Overall: Wasn't too sure in the imp, but works on my skin. A citrus smell that's not lemony, or lemon verbena, or very very sweet orange. It goes in another direction. Interesting scent. Will definitely use my imp.

[CiaoBonefish]

It's strange because I was craving mint tea today, and more specifically, something that smelled like it. I decided to look through my imps to see if I had anything that would satisfy my need. After realizing my imp of Dorian had somehow broken in half?!?!?! I gave up on trying to layer stuff.

 

Then I was looking for something new to test and I found a battered imp of hemlock someone had frimped me in a forum purchase. I decided, hey? Why not? It's GREEN!

 

In the imp this smelled almost exactly like Vick's Vapo Rub but a little more pleasant. I was intrigued because scents usually sweeten and mellow out on skin so it really did seem a bit promising.

 

I put it on... Woah! Liquorish? Where did you come from? I've never smelled Hemlock trees before so I can't really compare, but I'm getting a oh so slightly liquorish FEEL to it. It doesn't really smell like liquorish, only slightly emanates it in an herbal way. I've come to realize that herbal blends really like me, and I really love them. There is a dash of lemon in the mixture too keeping everything fresh.

 

Overall: Delish sweet slightly liquorish-like herbals, dowsed with cool rainwater, soft soft SOFT mints (hardly there), and a dash of lemongoodness to keep everything fresh. Reminds me very much of what hemlock would smell like (in my mind anyway).

 

Oh I really love this. Reminds me of mint tea, but SO MUCH BETTER! I suppose this will be added to my ever expanding bottle list now... it'll have high priority though

[Tanya]

This smells like a strogly herbal-forest scent on me. Pleasant, but I would like it better as a burning oil than a perfume. NOT a girly scent at all.

[impolight]

:::HEMLOCK:::

 

Having never had the opportunity to actually experience Socrates' last cocktail in person, it is difficult to gauge whether Hemlock is an accurate representation of the infamous herb (a teacher once said that Hemlock smells like an infestation of mice? O_o).

Hemlock IS violently, eye-wateringly, sinus-shriveling green in it's scent... A wee bit of this goes a LONG way!

The color of the oil is a delightful aquamarine sort of light-green.

Hemlock is remniscent of some very assertive greenery right out of the Imp; Spruce, Pine, Eucalyptus, Wintergreen, Lime rind... Yet, certainly it is it's very own scent.

Hemlock could be an industrial degreaser or a clinical-strength disinfectant...While this is a very clean and enjoyable scent, it is kind of difficult to imagine a cosmetic application where it would be... Appropriate.

Perhaps in a ritual?

A room scent?

Insect repellant?

No disservice to Hemlock is intended here, it simply would serve as a small additive to other notes as a proper perfume, per se.

Brilliant and bold!

[Blithgunde]

Hemlock is a burst of forest green when I first put it on. If I try I can sniff out pines and eucalyptus and maybe juniper berry. Next comes a lemony vibe hand in hand with a fruit that reminds me of old crabapples. The scents blend to a comforting spicy woodsy smell, tinged with bitters.

 

I love Hemlock. I ordered a bottle in my first BPAL order because of the description. (I love green scents.) I've been wearing it all winter to warm up on cold days. It reminds me of being in a sun-warmed forest.

[ami226]

On the skin: Whoa! Eucalyptus? Pine? A very green scent!! A little of this one goes a long way. Not my thing at all.

[melrose]

I gazed at the imp for the longest time, because the color was gorgeous . . .

 

First on: mint, eucalyptus, something a little sweet - please, please let me not amp the eucalyptus.

 

Near and far drydowns: bathroom cleaner. A very expensive, fresh bathroom cleaner, but nonetheless . . .

 

I'd love my bathroom to smell like this, but, on me, not so much.

[eugmyers]

Love the color of this in the imp, but on my skin it just smells like a pine-fresh cleaning product.

[raisin]

I'd hold on to this imp for the color alone (beautiful pale green) but it turns out I sort of like the scent, too! I get mostly eucalyptus with lemon and a hint of pine. Lemon usually goes very sugary and then dominates on me, but the eucalyptus is doing a great job of keeping up with it.

I'll probably end up using this one more as an after-work winddown scent, but it's beautiful.

[milo]

Wet, this is a sweet evergreen. It dries to a subdued berry-like evergreen, very reminiscent of Christmas. This smells exactly like a candle I used to burn to make the house smell Christmassy. I'll certainly try to figure out how to use this as a room scent, but on me, no, I don't want to smell like a Christmas tree.

[calivianya]

I received Hemlock as a frimp from the Lab, and to me this was just gross. I didn't like the smell of the imp, and I definitely did not enjoy the bit of it that got on my finger while I was opening the imp. It is a very green, bitter, herbal smell. My mother said it smelled like Christmas trees, and while I did smell a pine-ish sort of smell, to me there was an undertone just below the pine that smelled like unpleasant body odor. It was very faint, but I found it enough to be distracting. I could see how people who like pure herbal/wood scents could like it, but I need a sweetener in there for these to work on me. I'll pass on this.

[Altaira]

Hemlock is rather medicinal, with a faint sweetness keeping the pine from smelling like cleaner. It fades very fast on me.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: evergreen, pine-like, slight hint of a juniper berry. This phase smells like the non-poisonous type. From what I read about poison hemlock, it's a foul odor compared to parsnips or mice.

Drydown: more plant-like, less evergreen. Ok now I'm confused. Is this the poison hemlock version? I smell parsnips and slight warm pine. Maybe I'm just impressionable. Not a bad scent, but not something I'll reach for often.

[Vega]

Wet on my skin, Hemlock is initially sharp and very bitter. This burns off quickly upon drydown and a light, juicy berry note emerges -- albeit laced with an undercurrent of bitter herbs. A fascinating, slightly sinister juxtaposition between sweet berry and bitter, dark herbs. Definitely evokes the poisonous herb, and I'm not a fan.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This isn't something I thought I'd like, and I almost passed it on after the initial sharp, piney sniff of it in the vial. I'm glad I tested it, though, because once it hits my skin it blooms into a balsam needle smell with just a hint of the tree bark. It reminds me of one of my favorite LEs, Midnight Mass, but younger and greener.

[achromance]

In the vial: Mm! This smells like a spa. I'm picking up chloric water filled with herbal oils, as if prepared for some luxurious aromatherapy.

 

On my wrist: There's still that spa scent, although not quite as profound. The water has evaporated, leaving a mixture of enticing herbs behind. I just don't get a dark feel from this at all. It's definitely not bright either, but it's more dim mood lighting than dark, if that makes any sense. I think I'm picking up pine, and maybe aloe vera, although that might just be the spa image confusing me there.

The oil is very powerful, and seems to get more juice as it dries further. Then after some time, the scent seems to vanish in thin air. This is a very short-lived oil I'm afraid.

Edited August 4, 2011 by achromance

[aleciarivas]

Hm! This was a pleasant surprise! I usually abhor "green" scents, but this is one of those times I'm happy to follow my own advice- always try it at least once! This is QUITE nice- it's not green in an overwhelming scent, and it brought to mind pleasant hours spent trail riding in my childhood. Sun-warmed, lazy summer day greenery. I actually think I might love this scent! I'm setting it aside for further slathering- er- testing.

[persephonehazard]

In the imp, this is all evergreens to me. It's quite fresh and very piney. Dabbed on wet it's much the same, though with sweeter top notes. During the initial drydown the lemon breaks out along with a handful of herbs that I can't distinguish. I'm enjoying this, though I do sort of wish it was fresher and cleaner and brighter. It's definitely nice, though - and that sweetness lingers on for about an hour.

 

As the scent develops it gradually broadens out into dark herbals, smelling like a kind of greenish purple colour. It doesn't last too well on my skin, though, and would need frequent top-ups - after a few hours it's very faint, completely lacking in throw, and actually a bit soapy.

 

Two stars for this, I think, though with the potential for me to like it more after a few more tries - I think this one might be a grower.

[curlsandpearls]

Bottle: First off, the green color is awesome. I can’t decide whether this is floral/foody-sweet or herbal, or some weird mix of the two. It’s got a definite foody sweetness to it, weirdly enough. I can’t put my finger on it. Plums? Intriguing.

 

Wet: The minute it got on my skin, it went herbal-astringent. Woo, that’s pungent. Washing it off; swap pile.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: A piney, menthol-y, kinda fruity grren scent.

Wet: Incredibly fresh herby pine.

Dry: Eeenteresting. Pine and herbal notes are definitely the stars here, but I get hints of lemon, incense and perhaps berries too? A very complex and interesting green scent.

[k00kaburra]

I re-tested Hemlock for the first time in several years today; the initial fragrance was so sharp and pine-filled that I doubted I would ever want to wear it. I forgot about the scent for a while as I went about my business.

 

A few minutes ago, I was sitting here trying to figure out where the heck a smell of Christmas potpourri was coming from. It turns out that it's the Hemlock! Very interesting...I don't know if it's because this oil has been aged for /years/ or if it's because reacting differently to my skin than the last time I tried it, but this is nothing like I expected.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's certainly hemlock, but I get a bit of astringent pine, like juniper, in there as well.

 

Wet: It's a little more smoky than I would have expected on my skin. It's just a faint impression, but enough to surprise me. It's still very herbal but now I get lemon rind also.

 

Dry: After a 16 hour work day. only a faintly soft, slightly powdery scent remains. It's significantly different than wet or even dry earlier in the day, but it's still rather nice.