Hatmehit

[reynardine]

HATMEHIT
The Egyptian fish goddess, orginally a deification of the Nile River, the Great Flood, and the Waters of Creation.

The scent of the depths of the River, teeming with aquatic life, sanctified by holy herbs.

In bottle: almost minty herbal

Wet: light, very green smelling. There’s an underlying floral I can’t identify. Also aquatic tinge.

Drydown: Very clean scent. The herbs stand out pleasantly amidst the aquatic. Reminds me a bit of Leanan Sidhe, except the herbs have a different tinge to them. But very similar.

Later: The herbs deepen—that’s really the only word I can think to describe it. Still a touch of aquatic, but this is mainly a very clean herbal fragrance. Not what I would think of in winter—this seems to be a perfect springtime scent. Also, I still get a touch of mint, I don’t know why.

Lovely. I’m glad I went ahead and got a bottle.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is pleasantly delicate and reedy. The herbs give it a little bite. It absolutely captures the concept of the reedy banks of the Nile. Wet: This is still delicate, though richer on the skin. It’s a very light aquatic with the green reeds and rich compliment of growing herbs. The herbs are not at all medicinal and smell like healthy water rich plants growing along the banks. It is a touch floral, but not in a conventional way. I think this is the most unusual aquatic I’ve ever smelled and I’m quite pleased with it. The longer it has to warm, the more nuance unfolds. I’m having a hard time placing the individual plants, but the effect is as if one is walking along the bank barefoot and as each plant is bruised, it releases it’s own scent. It’s incredibly early springlike and refreshing. Dry: It fades rather quickly to a pleasant like reedy scent. I’m okay with that, but I wish it had more throw.

[ellebelle]

In the bottle: It smells almost ... clean. I don't really smell any of the individual notes in it. It smells green and woodly.

 

wet: It smells very much like it does in the bottle. It almost smells like wet dirt. As it dries down, it gets woodier and woodier - this is definitely a "salty" aquatic rather than a floral aquatic

 

drydown: This goes through a brief stage where it smells almost exactly like Jolly Roger to me, and then the herbs start to emerge from the aquatic-ness. As it dries, it becomes more and more herbal and the sort of woodiness is gone, or fades to the background. I'm not sure which herbs are in this, though I would agree that there is a minty quality to them.

 

verdict: I'll have to think about this one. If you like Jolly Roger and A Fit of Artistic Enthusiasm (which I do), you'll probably like this scent - it's a dirtier, more herbal version of those scents. I will definitely keep the decant, but I'm not sure this is worthy of a bottle since I own both of the scents I just mentioned.

 

ETA: The more this dries, the more is smells like the wet earth by a riverbank. I am impressed with Beth's ability to perfectly match a scent to its name, but I don't really want to smell like dirt.

Edited December 30, 2009 by Ellebelle

[pandorasmuse]

Received as a Christmas gift from Mr. Muse.

 

In the bottle: Very aquatic. Sweetly green-smelling. I'm thinking of the sun warming the crushed stalks of sweet rushes. A very happy scent.

 

Wet: Less aquatic, more herbal. Very lush plant life--exactly what you'd expect from a river. It almost smells like palmetto leaves, too.

 

Drydown: The smell of just-crushed plants has faded. It smells like plants do after their stems have been crushed. A little of the initial aquatic scent has returned.

 

Later: Balanced aquatic and slightly drying herbs, against a backdrop of rushes. This reminds me of visiting swamps in certain regions of the South: very wet, very green, very alive. I wish it had a little more throw, though. By this stage it's very faint.

 

This is beautiful. I love my bottle!

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Decant: green aquatic. like being in the water plants near the shortline

Wet on me: still green aquatic but nice.

Drying Down: now the more herbal scents some up and play with the aquatic notes.

Dry: There is a sweetness almost a resin-y sweetness that comes creeping up to lay amongts the herbs and aquatics. Very nice. Soft.

[strahlend]

I'm a Pisces with a lot of water in my chart and I felt very drawn to this fish goddess scent. Usually the scents people call aquatic just smell like soap to me, but I had high hopes for Hatmehit.

This scent makes me feel like toasting its creator! It's absolutely magnificent in its ability to conjure a feeling perfectly in line with its description.

As soon as I sniff Hatmehit in the imp I feel exactly like I'm standing on a river bank or near a large open aquarium with lots of fish. There's a tang to it and an unusual damp earthy feeling without being a dirt scent. I feel like I can almost see the shadows of the fish under the water. This is not some kind of glamorized version of standing on a river bank, this is the real deal. It's kind of clean, kind of murky, it gives the feeling of dampness where water meets earth as well as the things living in and around the water. Simply put, it's amazing.

On my skin it stays much the same but the herbal scent seems to come forward a little more.

This scent really is amazing I'm glad I have a bottle on the way!

Edited January 23, 2010 by strahlend

[ralenth]

Wet: Softly herbal, faintly aquatic.

 

Drydown: River grasses swaying gently, water lapping against the banks.

 

Dry: Very vividly a riverbanks scent. It's a little too much dirty goodness for me, but wow!

[edenssixthday]

Hatmehit - My skin amps the dirt in this scent. I also smell wet, green reeds and soft herbs among the fresh aquatic notes, but that wet riverbank dirt scent is too much for my liking. So sad.

[fairnymph]

Slightly murky freshwater aquatic - very evocative, it reminds me of how the ponds I grew up near smell. I get a bit of a rain-type feel, too. I can totally smell that there are fish and other creatures in this water, and weeds, and stones. All of that is in here - amazing! Then more faintly, as a separate layer, is the blend of herbs - green, a little gardeny, but not fresh - these are dried herbs. Not medicinal or mentholic, and I can't pick out anything from the melange.

 

Saltier (brackish, to be precise) and even more obviously aquatic - stronger on my skin overall as a scent. Cleaner. It's not a cool scent, however - it's not refreshing the way many aquatics are. Something(s) here add warmth and even a little dryness. Very intriguing. I get some sweetness, which could be herbal or some type of resin, and much more of the herbs The herbs are still very much dried, almost dusty, and they feel a bit dark, maybe even reesinous. Also a little woody? Quite complex. The herbs are very familiar but I still can't identify individual notes. But this definitely reminds me of at least one other BPAL blend.

 

It reminds me a little of Sturgeon Moon - the strong brackish aquatic base with super-realistic pond notes is the same - but otherwise they're pretty different scents. This gets even saltier as it dries, though it's still brackish and not oceanish. Definitely still pond/river. The herbs have, surprisingly, greatly faded, and are still a seamless blend I can't pick apart. I was imagining the wood, but not the vaguely resinous quality. This isn't the least bit soapy, and it's extremely unisex. I like the subtle aquatic sweetness that has increased just a tad.

 

This fades a lot on my skin, down to a soft brackish aquatic with a hint of herbal, almost smoky-warm resin. It suits the concept perfectly and plays beautifully on my skin, but I'm not especially wowed by it. I think I just prefer oceanic aquatics, and this is just a little too plain for me - no notes I really love to make it stand out. But also no bad notes. Very unisex, and the best of the Iteru line for me so far, but still not a winner. Very low throw and poor longevity.

 

At least I don't get dirt/soil like others are mentioning, not in the least.

[zankoku_zen]

Agreed with the aquatic assessments - but it's not cool but rather the sort of warm river water, slightly brackish and very plant like - be it reeds or herbs. A very 'green' aquatic in my mind. Soft, slightly sweet, and clean.

[Little Bird]

I wish that this smelled like wet earth, riverbanks, and water plants on me. It sounds like it has the potential to be so lovely, but Hatmehit does what aquatics usually do on my skin (turns to soap).

 

In the vial, this smells like sweet, tangy, murky water and greenery. On my skin, it quickly morphs into soapy aquatic with hints of sweet, herbal greenery. It goes soapy-clean and fresh, but it's still a light, soft scent that doesn't give me a headache, at least. It doesn't have much throw and only lasts about an hour. Still... too soapy for me