The Hag

[Greenwoodtree]

Black musk, bay leaves, galangal, bourbon vetiver, blackcurrant, and rum.



All I smell is rum and black musk...I miss all the other notes

[follis]

I am reviewing an aged 2010 bottle.

Wet: Smokey and sweet, I initially smelt tobacco in this.
Dry: Less smoke as it dries— I can smell bay leaf, galangal, rum and spices initially, but as it settles it becomes a rum note with vetiver/grass on the edge.
Dry down:  The other notes disappear and I'm left with a musky bay rum.

Long wear, short to medium throw.

[Lin Swanson]

I received a frottle of the 2010 version and was immediately intrigued. Normally rum notes are a pass for me, but in the bottle this was very witch's brew crossed with baking, somehow. Spicy herbal musk? I think the baking part must be the galangal, that's ginger-y, right?

On the skin: this is enchanted rum balls. Like, you think the danger is going to be they are extra boozey but after you eat them it turns out they were actually also poisoned and you have turned into a llama. I....kind of love this. Once again, the lab has provided me with a scent I didn't know I needed ?

 

[Cali]

Vetiver is one of my death notes, but i've been so curious about this one for a while, so i'm happy to get to try this!
And I'm happy to say that this is a soft, beautifully blended vetiver, that kind of feels like a velvet backdrop to the other notes. The bay leaves are strong, but in the few previous scents i've tried that had that note, it tends to amp on me. It's this spicy green note which goes wonderfully together with the rum here.
The blackcurrant gives this a slight fruity, quirky feel; slightly feminine, a swoosh of purply red.
Herbal, mysterious, jolly. Lovely!

[elissamay]

I'd like to jump inside this bottle and soak in it. This is one of those BPALs that made me pause for a brief moment and say, "That's it. That's the one. I don't need any more."

 

Of course I will always need more, but this is one that blends together several things that I love -- black musk, rum, vetiver -- and turns them into something sublime and beyond just the sum of their parts. It's dark, kind of creepy, kind of sinister, but it's sweet and sexy all the same. I could wear this every day and never tire of it, much like my original ride or die Anne Bonny.

 

Now if only I could find a couple aged bottles to appreciate how much more gorgeous this brand-new bottle will eventually become!