Hurðaskellir

[RedAoife]

Favorite pastime: slamming doors. What a drama queen!

Booming carnation, iced mint, white fir, and itchy patchouli loudly disrupting a dreamy bed of lavender.

Yikes, first? Okay. Let's see. I made myself wait until Christmas before opening my blind-order bottles!

In the bottle, I get spicy, spicy carnation. Whee. It definitely "booms," but it's got some freshness behind it to keep it from getting too dense—the fir, maybe, or some green carnation stems.

Wet, I detect a spike of mint. It's almost like that lovely snow note that shows up in so many other yules—that'd be the fir and mint, I suppose—but it's quickly overpowered by the carnation. It’s quite unusual, and I’m excited.

Drying, it rapidly becomes...ecclesiastical incense? Some blend of the carnation with the patchouli creates a heavy, dead-ringer for the kind of incense used in my Catholic church. I’m picturing fewer slamming doors, now, and more images of low, golden light and flickering candles and the gentle, reverent murmur of heads bowed in prayer. Dang, this was just last night, at Christmas vigil. I can't smell any mint or fir now. It does have fantastic throw—I'd daubed a bit on my arm to test it, and I still keep catching whiffs of it. I even pulled down my sleeves in attempts to muffle it a bit, but nope, still booming away, even through the fabric. My sister just asked me why I “smell like church.” Awww . I wanted to smell like a fierce little Icelandic holiday gnome!


Verdict: It’s a beautiful blend, don't get me wrong, but I don't think this one's for me. I'll give it another shot, though, before I relegate my bottle to the sales pile. Church incense is lovely, but I just couldn’t wear it as a perfume. Now, soggy fireplace cinders, on the other hand…

[MtMoonKitty]

In the Bottle: In your face lavender - strong, but pretty

 

Wet On Skin: Lavender and something that momentarily seems mossy.

 

Dry Down: This turns completely in to sweet tarts on me and stays that way for a couple of hours

 

After a While: A couple of hours later this mellows out to a slightly icy spray of light floral. The lavender disappears, so perhaps it is carnation. Its very pretty at this point but has very little throw once it gets past the sweet tart stage.

 

It's nice, but I believe I will put this one away for a while and see how it ages.

[Pave.Gurl]

Impatiently, I just plopped this directly onto my wrists, and OH, it smells just like extremely fresh, extremely vigorous carnations, but with a little extra oomph of something.

 

This reminds me of the headiness of walking into the refrigeration unit at my mom's friend the florist during football season: the carnations are up front, but there is so much richness and depth to it, as though there's a whiff of mashed rose petals from the floor (even though rose isn't noted) and bruised filler greens (the fir starts to sneak its way into notice here, I think).

 

On the drydown, it reminds me of a very wealthy man's aftershave - the guy from the country club that always wore his vest and pocketwatch that Grandma made you hug, even though you were a little intimidated by him, because who wears a three piece suit all weekend? Quite pleasant, unexpectedly comforting, and very compelling.

 

It stays very close to my skin, and after about 2 hours, I have to put my wrist to my nose to wrap myself in it. A very masculine and cosy scent. I quite like this. I'm not sure it will be something I reach for often, but I feel like this will be a power scent for me - rich, without the sexiness.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Pave.Gurl

[JazzieCazzie]

I love love love mint in almost every way, shape and form, yet I have never been able to wear a BPAL mint note, possibly because it falls into the dreaded aquatic zone. Sometimes it's gorgeous on me when wet but never when dry (I'm looking sadly at you, Envy, one of the most glorious wet smells on me ever but not very nice when dry). However the other notes made this totally worth at least an imp in a decant circle just to give it one more try.

 

IN THE IMP: Sharp and clean and wintry. Bracing.

 

WET: The carnation comes out headfirst, as carnation likes to do, but the other notes quickly surround it to keep it in check and make sure it plays nice with others. So it's still got that "I'm carnation! Look at me!" thing going but not as predominantly as it usually does when in a blend.

 

DRYDOWN: The lavender and, yes, the mint rise up and take over on the drydown and it is a beautiful thing. I believe this may be the first time EVER that mint has not gone wonky on me. And ... oh, glory glory glory be ... it STAYS there. It is a lovely, light, slightly complex, transporting combination of mint and lavender with that bit of green to it ...

 

OVERALL: This is everything I had hoped Envy would be on me on drydown and more ... this is absolutely -- and, I admit, surprisingly -- on my big bottle purchase list!

[kscha2017]

Wow, what an odd but lovely thing this is. Sniffing the bottle I got a big, fresh, wet carnation (which reminded me so much of childhood Easters that I got tears in my eyes) and a bit of mint and fir. As I dabbed some on my wrist, I got a little waft of patchouli mixed in, then a big push of lavender before the carnation came back. It doesn't smell like the big wooden door I picture this lad slamming, but it -does- smell like all the flowers in the rosmaling pattern I'm imagining on the door! I'm gonna have to add a bottle to my recent order. This is very good and will be wearable in spring or summer too!

[Icefly]

When I first put this on, I mostly get a really strong lavender and a little bit of fresh carnation. The sharpness of the lavender is kinda jarring to me (and somehow seems to easily invoke door slamming imagery in my head ). However, this first stage lasts for just a moment, and afterwards, wow, how I love this!

 

The lavender fades and the patchouli takes center stage, mixing in with the carnation, and turning this into the nicest patchouli dominated scent I've smelled since Lush's Amazonian massage bar (sort of fresh and spicy). Seriously, that massage bar scent used to make me feel so cozy, and this has the exact same effect.

 

And regarding fir and mint, I generally love both, but neither one ever comes to the foreground for me in this (and I usually amp fir-type scents). I think they must just be somewhere in the background, quietly making this scent even better.

 

I am extremely glad to have a bottle of this.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Icefly

[Nyx_DevineNight]

In the bottle: Carnations!!!

​​​

Wet: ​Carnations! But quickly transforms into lavender. Then you get this pop of mint. So, it has become a minty lavender.

​

Dry:​​​ Dry, this remains a nice minty lavender. I thought at one point I could smell just a hint of patchouli, but it was so faint and didn't last that I wasn't quite sure.

 

This really is a wonderful scent. I love mint and lavender together. My only complaint is that this has absolutely no staying power. It fades completely in under 10 minutes. But, its nice while it lasts.

[freyasfae]

Whoa, that carnation is spicy and strong - it is definitely booming and the patouchli is definitely disruptive. I don't know how they BPAL does it. I wish the mint, fir, and lavender came through stronger on me, but it is mostly booming carnation laced with patchouli on me. I like my carnation softened or sweetened like in Alice - this really isn't for me, but is most definitely a compelling scent and very much a carnation lovers scent.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Lavender, fir, carnation, and mint. I'm mostly getting lavender and fir, though.

 

Wet: The lavender is the most prominent note on me, but the spicy carnation is gaining strength. Some scents with carnation in it end up being single note carnation on me – I hope this one doesn't do that! Then, the mint note appears, followed by the fir. The patchouli note is present, but it is lingering in the background. I have to inhale really deeply to smell it. The scent is very curious, because there is this burst of cold, and then a burst of warmth. It's rather fitting for a lad that enjoys slamming doors. It ends up being lavender, fir, and mint on me, followed by the carnation and patchouli.

 

Dry: This winds up being mostly fir, woody patchouli and carnation on me, with the mint and lavender lingering in the background. I prefer the wet phase of the scent.

 

Verdict: I'll be content with my decant.

Edited January 10, 2016 by dementia_divine

[mymymai]

ITI: Comforting lavender is the first note that greets me, followed closely by fir and mint. It’s a rather clean and refreshing scent so far.
Wet: Green, astringent, herby (lavender is very clear here), and lovely! I’d actually love a cup of this as tea. The lavender and fir are much sharper on my skin, but I tend to love sharp herb notes and this is no different.
Dry: Sadly, this doesn’t last on my skin. By the time I got home, it was gone. On second application, the scent becomes clean and comforting. The lavender is much more mellow, and mixed with the fir, carnation, and iced mint, it’s equally refreshing and relaxing, like iced tea on a cool spring evening.

[theseagrows]

this starts off as a woody-lavender scent on me. I think I'm getting a hint of patchouli and fir, but no carnation. it smells like branches and lavender, like lavender growing in a breezy forest. the patchouli becomes more apparent next, so now it's a lavender-patchouli mostly. there is an iciness here too. this smells a bit medicinal on me. I really wish I got more carnation! after being on my skin longer it becomes a very woody patchouli with hints of lavender.

Edited February 11, 2016 by theseagrows

[zankoku_zen]

Well, heck. This honestly smells to me like a carnation version of TKO. I get a ton of carnation, lavender, and a touch of mint on a bed of soft patchouli. So perhaps a slightly Xmassy version of TKO?

 

Either way, its gorgeous and comforting. But with carnations. Good throw and wear length.

[Little Bird]

I like the cool, herbal lavender in this, and the soft, earthy patchouli, but the mint and fir add a sharp, sour quality to the blend that I can't love. I'm not getting any carnation from my decant.

[bulletslc]

Wet it starts with a spicy menthol blast.

Dry down the carnation sticks around with a hint of minty sharpness.

I love carnation scents, and this one is unique and great if you need a cool yet spicy atmosphere.

[aquazoo]

Cold cold floral. It s a perfect storm of all things that don’t work for me.

[Cali]

Oooooh, very very pretty. Directly understanding that comparison to TKO Zankoku_zen mentioned.

Honestly all the notes mentioned are there; it makes for a minty sweet cloud of a dream, with that (very light) patchouli and lavender grounding it somewhat, and i don't know if i'm too familiar with carnation, but i do believe that's quite strong in here, though not out of balance with the rest of the notes. I don't know if i love this on my skin (it's a bit plasticy now that it's drying down, UGH!!) but it's SUCH a sweet lil character, this little guy. 🥺

Edited November 12, 2022 by Cali