Whoop

[melange]

Golden sunlight and sweet fresh air brightening a Heavenly sky on Christmas Day: crisp winter air, shimmering amber, sweet honey, with a touch of pumpkin pie, pine cone, cranberry, and bayberry.

This is a scent that I thought I'd love. Unfortunately, I don't get the pine, but rather a muddle of notes that becomes the berries. I do get more of the amber, winter air and honey later on, but they're faint.

After reading the other reviews, I wonder if a bottle might be different than my decant, especially as it ages, but I can't afford to risk it. Cruel chemistry strikes again!

[Veronica]

This scent doesn't really morph much on me--lucky because I love it as is! I get an amber base, with the sweetness of honey and the berries mixed in and the pine in the background. It's really well blended, and just smells very...deep? and pretty on me. It doesn't strike me as particularly "Christmas-y" but I can definitely see why others think so. I would recommend this scent to most anyone--it isn't too sweet, too woodsy, too foodie, etc. I am a huge fan!

[sihaya09]

I'm unsure if I'm in love with this. I bought a bottle blind, 'cause I'm a totally bayberry lover, but this is AGGRESSIVELY piney, in a darker than expected way. Maybe there's juniper mixed in with the woods? The drydown is a soft blend of spices / cranberry / bayberry that is very pleasant, and I keep getting lovely whiffs of that now and again, but I don't know if I'd want to go through the initial application pine-a-palooza to get to it on a regular basis.

 

I'm going to dab it on my husband, who loves woody stuff. If it works for him, we'll keep it. If not, we'll swap. It's a very lovely scent, but as many people have noted, I'd rather have it as a room scent than a perfume.

Edited December 24, 2010 by sihaya09

[cuervosueno]

I was hoping this would be piney, and I even was excited about smelling like Christmas candle, which was what I wanted!

 

Unfortunately, this is all amber note of doom on me. I like amber, but some of BPAL's amber turns to stinky socks on me, and this one is OVERWHELMING that way. It's pretty much all I can smell--this funky note. And when I was decanting, I accidently got some on my hoody--disaster! All I could smell was that note (which obviously doesn't work on or off my skin).

 

So this is a huge fail for me, sadly.

[ofthegood]

I was really pleasantly surprised by this! I was fearing that it would be too foody or too much like holiday candles and potpourri... and it turned out to be a really lovely scent that definitely evokes Christmastime and all of its trappings. It was a bit sharp in the vial, but on the skin it immediately settled into a juicy bayberry/citrus/spice/pine mixture that was quite pretty! It got progressively sweeter with the honey and amber during wear, but I wouldn't have pegged those notes at the top. Lasted quite nicely, especially in my clothes - which still smell like it the next day! This is pretty, but not me.

[Tamaire]

Christmas. This scent is Christmas.

 

I'm having a great deal of trouble describing it any other way.

 

On me, Whoop is very dense so I'm struggling to find any particular notes (except, perhaps, a bayberry base) from first application to dry-down. It is also very warm, cheerful and glowing. I absolutely love it. It is so festive! (Though, to be fair, my boyfriend thinks that I smell like a Christmas candle when I wear it. I think that Christmas candles stink to high heaven, and I strongly disagree with his opinion. )

 

As far as throw and staying power are concerned, Whoop is pretty typical. It has a lot of throw immediately after application (enough to fill a small room, really), and it starts to draw closer to the wearer as the scent dies down. The scent disappears almost completely after three to four hours of wear. Then it's reapplication time.

 

My conclusion? Whoop is definitely a must-have for all Christmas-lovers. Its only downside is that it is a very seasonal scent.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[milo]

At first, I get the rather common yule combination of snow and berries. The berries fade off, and we're left with a rather unusual combination of snow and honey on me, but it works! I kind of like this phase, but not sure how much I'd wear this, as it is quite Christmassy.

[Altaira]

Something in this smells like bad breath on my skin. I get touches of the pine and fruit trying to break out, but the main smell is gross. I was really hoping this would work on me.

[steelgossamer]

Another really interesting one from my Yules pack!

 

In the decant: It's a bit spicy and a little reminiscent of trees and reminds me a bit of Tintagel.

Wet: Yep, a little like my beloved Tintagel! I get pinecone, spices, and something a little sweet.

Drydown: The pinecone gets stronger, and something a little tart (maybe the cranberry) comes through a little. Mostly pinecone at this point, though. After a few minutes, this is ALL pinecone. It's like sticking a sprig of tree in my nose.

Dry: After what felt like forever, the pinecone note starts to die down a bit and the spices come through again with some of the honey, the winter air note, and maybe just a little berry.

 

This one is warm, very piney, with just a touch of spicy berry. The honey and amber don't come through very well on me, but the winter air definitely does. It smells a bit like a Christmas wreath to me. It doesn't have much throw, but I think it will stick around pretty well. This is another one that I'll have to keep sniffing to make a decision on.

[surf-tormented]

In the vial: A crazy mix of Christmas foods, evergreen boughs and crisp mint air. It smells a bit foody to me, almost too foody for my tastes.

 

Wet on skin: It becomes a hot mess on my skin. Each note area (foods, evergreen, crisp air) trying to overpower the next. Who will win?

 

Drying: Hey, I think the evergreen boughs won, it is a nice pine with spicy berry and the slightest hint of food underneath it all.

 

Overall: It reminds me a lot of Arcana's Nick, except Nick has more berry and no spice or food notes in it. It smells very festive. If you like Faunalia or Wolf Moon and also like a bit of tart berry in the mix, you should go for this. Sadly, if you are a foody, the food notes don't seem to jump out of the perfume. I don't get much honey or pumpkin pie in this one. Which is fine with me, since I don't like food notes.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: sweet, chilly

 

Wet on Skin: fruity, sweet

 

While Drying: Cranberry and pine cone are prominent. Bayberry is present, but not overwhelming. The chilliness is more of a minty feel at the rear roof of my mouth, rather than an overt minty scent.

 

After a Little While: There is a musky lily scent in here somewhere that is throwing me off. The winter air seems to be menthol rather than mint or eucalyptus.

 

Later: Can't stand the up close scent, but the throw isn't terrible. I love the cranberry and pine cone, but whatever is turning lily-ish on me is ruining this.

 

Final Thoughts: I think I'd prefer this as a room scent rather than as a personal scent.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of bayberry. I'll be cautious with it in the future.

 

Whoop earns a 2.5/5 on my skin.

[reynardine]

Almost a green scent. I’m getting mainly bayberry and pine cone. Maybe a touch of pumpkin pie. Refreshing, but not extraordinary. It does start off strong, then carries a medium throw as it dries down. On the second testing, I found that I really liked the scent (and so did the Man: I think it is the bayberry). Bottle-worthy, maybe two. Wish there had been an atmos spray of this.

 

Edit 2013: this has aged pretty well after a couple of years--not as strong. It smells like walking outdoors in November: crisp, clean air with spices in the background.

Edited November 23, 2013 by reynardine

[moosue]

I expected to love this, but unfortunately its one of my least favorite Yules. It's so overwhelmingly ordinary.

In the vial it smells like medicine and is quite unpleasant. Of course it loses this as soon as you put it on, so we have that as a positive. It turns into what smells like a craft store, a Michaels or something. Lots o' cinnamon (the pumpkin pie?), pine and a slight hint of bayberry in the back.

It just sort of reminds me of an exceedingly ordinary fall scented candle.

Thumbs down from me.

[astarinel]

This one ultimately reminds me of a lot of other "wintry" blends, and doesn't have as much to make it stand out as I had hoped.

 

The snow note is the one I prefer, that also is in Snow Moon, and it reminds me of Snow Moon a bit, but where Snow Moon has a winter woods at night sort of feel to me, Whoop is more a cheerful daytime sun on snow kind of scent. It would make a decent atmosphere scent, I think, but I don't get any of the sweeter or foodier notes here, it stays primarily a snow and pine scent.

 

It's nice, but not really the sort of scent I prefer wearing as perfume -- I have wintry atmosphere sprays and Snow Moon to satisfy my desire for snow notes and evergreens.

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Evergreens, honey, and bayberry. This smells bright, cheerful, sunny.

 

Wet: Evergreens and a light version of the snow note, warming up at once into honey and fruit. The pine cone note reads as peppery wood.

 

One hour: Kind of ozoney but with a snow note. The sweetness isn't juicy, isn't cloying, isn't fruity; it's just evocative of warmth and light. The evergreen is still pleasant; this kind of reminds me of Ice Prince, only without the strong floral element.

 

Two hours: Honey note has matured into the tired floral scent. It reminds me of some kind of cooked honey, I'm not sure what, maybe teiglach sauce? No, it's more like the syrup in which I candied citron peels last fall. Cooked honey, a bitter citrusy impression, and something to make the mouth water, all inside a sunshiney wrapper. I continue to get the bayberry/evergreen counterpoint, also.

 

Three hours: Still the cooked citrus-honey impression, with an underlying muskiness that might be the amber. It clings to my skin and I keep trying to breathe it deeper.

[DifferentDances]

Decant!

 

Imp: Delicate pine-dusted pumpkin pie.

 

Wet: Light layer of the crisp winter air. Hints of the amber warmth and something very sweet and fruity.

 

Drydown: Hmmm..Strangely sour pine/salt. Reminds me of cocoa butter with salt chunks.

 

Dry: Up close it's a very warm, vaguely Christmas-y scent (vague in a good way!). But it's got zero throw on me.

 

My rating: 3/5

 

It's so pretty, and generic in a way I actually like (very well blended is how I think of it), but there's NO throw. No waft. My skin sucks it all up.

[CitizenBree]

Winter air, bayberry and pine come out the strongest. nice as a holiday atmosphere scent but not a perfume.

[Gael]

I had hoped for Christmas in a bottle. Well, Christmas if you've been buried under a pine tree. It seems better suited as a room scent which is what it became. I had to finally give up and use it in my burner. Even then I found I couldn't stand it.

[lejlkwiet]

The description and my initial sniff of the imp had me so hopeful! It was the most delightful combination of Christmassy scents.

 

Alas, my skin chemistry. As soon as I put it on I could smell nothing but strong, sharp pine. There's the tiniest hint of cranberry underneath but I only get it when I hold my wrist right to my nose. The pine did mellow down after a while, but the other notes refused to come out. I'm so sad, I was prepared to love this one.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Intense red berry! And a touch of pine.

 

On skin: This intensely red, berry-sweet note that dominates the wet stage must be the bay- and cranberries. The other notes gradually emerge with drydown, and now I can smell hints of cold pine, nutty pumpkin, dry amber, smooth honey, each morphing in now and a gain to accent the red berry note. (Pine and pumpkin are the most prominent of these supporting notes.) But the berries are the stars of this show, while the other notes play around the edges and tantalize my nose, but never fully match the berries. Overall, Whoop is is a deep, full, clear but cozy scent. I don't have a strong scent memory for place and season, but even I can tell that this is, indeed, the fullness of Christmas Day as experienced by Ebenezer Scrooge. Colour impression is the full redness of holly berries.

 

Verdict: A truly seasonal blend, which limits its wearability, and it's not my kind of scent anyway. Still, what a beautiful embodiment of Christmas!

[Gin]

No, no. Whoop is not good on my skin. I get a blast of pine, and berry and then just a muddle of potpourri smells. I'd probably like this well enough as a room scent, but on my skin it's very unpleasant.

[aleciarivas]

Smells light and airy, crisp is certainly the right word for this scent! I don’t really get any pine, and just a hint of fruity sweetness in the back. Pretty and airy, but not very distinctive to me.

 

 

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This really does smell as you’d expect from the description. I’d say bayberry, pine, and amber are strongest in no particular order. The honey is lovely support for the amber; the cranberry does the same for bayberry. The pumpkin is understated, but definitely adds to the richness of the scent. Wet: The bayberry is now supporting the cranberry, and together, they are dominant, with pine a close second. The amber, honey, and pie are forming a sweet foody background to the more powerful notes. It definitely has a Christmas morning feel to it. Dry: The cranberry and bayberry are nowe about coequal with the amber and honey. Together they are quite lovely and more delicate than when fresh. The pine is quite soft, but present. The pumpkin pie is stronger and shows off its nuance. I am saying this as someone that the pumpkin note generally doesn’t work for. It’s really quite beautiful and special in each incarnation.

[brilliantcat]

Website Description: Golden sunlight and sweet fresh air brightening a Heavenly sky on Christmas Day: crisp winter air, shimmering amber, sweet honey, with a touch of pumpkin pie, pine cone, cranberry, and bayberry.

 

In the bottle: It DOES smell golden! And very very Christmassy. Probably the bayberry.

 

Immediately after application: Pine, bayberry sweetened by honey and the spices from the pumpkin pie. It smells like Christmas to me the way Lambs-Wool smelled like autumn.

 

Warming up: Yum. It's Christmas.

 

Fading: Light bayberry.

 

Faded: Average throw, average wear.

 

Overall: The addition of the pumpkin pie, honey, and amber kept this from smelling like a Christmas scented air freshener and added a lot of depth while still smelling JUST like Christmas to me. WIN.

 

Rating: 5/5.

[Missy_killer]

In the imp: Oh wow, what does this smell like? My first thought is red apple, and then something sweet which reminds me o something from Lush.. Third sniff tells me that this is perfumey and has something "off" about it.

 

On: Again apple is the first note to jump out at me and then honey. I had to look at the notes here to see f there was anything else that I could detect. The honey has its "golden" smell going on, the rich and sticky kind. I think the "apple" I've been smelling all this time are actually the berries playing tricks on me. I start to detect some spices, maybe pumpkin spice-spices?

 

The spices vanished very quickly and hours later I could only smell honey.