Yggdrasil

[maribouquet]

The World Ash. Nine woods, nine leaves, and three herbs each for Ratatosk and Vidofnir, with three final herbs to placate Nidhogg.

imp: pine? something gummy, pungent, sweet like a crushed ant. maybe ginger, too?
wet: if a forest were made of the ocean, it would smell like this
dry: is that peppermint?

This smells like a man (or a hot stone butch) who has just brushed his teeth and is about to come cuddle me in bed. I like this scent, but I don't think I'll wear it enough to want to keep my imp.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is one that morphs a lot!

 

In the imp: Wint-o-green certs and Peppermint Schnapps?

 

First on the skin: Wint-o-green certs, cedar, and something vaguely foody...

 

After a minute: The certs scent begins transforming into something almost scentless, but which conveys the experience of inhaling cold, fresh, air. The woods really start to emerge to the forefront at this stage....There is just a subtle hint of spice, still I find it to be more along the fresh, woodsy, and herbal category...and this is not a bad thing!

 

After about ten minutes this has bloomed into the most exquisite tree scent! It's like being in an oldgrowth forest in the heart of winter! Underneath all the iciness, there is something warm and life-affirming. When it dries down all the way, it does get just a tiny touch cologne-ish, but this is such a gorgeous scent overall that I don't mind a bit!

 

Big bottle must-have!!

Edited November 17, 2007 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[coldandsleepy]

This was a frimp from the Lab. Thanks Lab!

 

Imp: not sure what i'm smelling, it's kinda jumbled. Definitely woodsy, but i'm not picking anything specific out.

 

On me, wet: seriously, this smells exactly like Irish Spring soap on me when it's wet. Irish Spring with an extra dose of pine. Also, it feels like it's burning my skin, but no marks are showing up so i'm just going to leave it on for now.

 

On me, dry: wow. Irish Spring is gone, and the woods have arrived. Oddly, this reminds me of something really specific. When i was very little, i lived with my grandparents on what had been a farm. It was largely wooded, and there was this one place where there were pine, fir, holly, and oak trees all in the same spot. This smells like that spot after rain, with all the damp leaves on the trees and the fallen needles underfoot. Awesome.

 

Throw and duration: wa-hooooah, whoa. I think maybe i amp everything in this. A teeny tiny dab with the wand became a scent detectable from several feet away. My husband found it kind of overwhelming and had trouble sitting next to me on the couch because of it. So, um, excellent bordering on dangerous amounts of throw for me. Duration was great, too; i applied around 6 p.m. last night and could still detect the scent at 10 a.m. this morning.

 

Overall: this is one of those heartbreaker scents. I really adore the scent on me dry, but the logistics of the thing just don't work out. It's way, way, way too strong for me to wear out in public, and since my husband doesn't really like it, it's not probably a good at home smell for me either. That's really sad.

 

I'd love to smell this on someone else who doesn't amp it quite so much. Or maybe i could put a bit of it in a carrier oil and wear it that way? Dunno. Guess i'll sit on it a while and think about it.

[bryghtrose]

This is actually kind of fruity, and green, and woodsy. Like juniper berries. And there's a coldness, a crispness to this scent. It reminds me a bit of Capricorn.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Oh well... I really had high hopes for the World Ash. While I like woods the nine leaves and herbs dont seem to work for me. That tends to happen when a blend has "herbs" listed.

It turns into a manly cleaner scent, not pleasant at all. I also tried it on my boyfriend and did not have any more success than on me. It was sort of sickening.

[gchris]

In Vial: Masculine sweet, smells like Fall

 

Wet: Perfumey, a little strong, smells like dead woods and leaves.

 

Drydown: Still sweet, has a hint of aftershave which causes this to smell a bit masculine but on overly so. This is very much a Fall/Autumn fragrance.

[binaryfaerie]

Reminds me of Calico Jack in the imp. Once I put it on, I can pick out a few things... cedar, pine, balsam... occasionally I get a whiff of something that reminds me of grapefruit. After a few hours it starts smelling sweet. Are there flowers hiding in there somewhere? Overall, though, it's very woodsy and calming.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Herbs and wood. A cooler scent… not very dry.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a lot more fresh than I was expecting. It’s got a bit of wood in it, including pine, and dry, green herbs. In fact, it’s getting heavier on the pine even as I sniff it.

 

After a little while: This has become much dryer… and the pine has retreated. Now it’s a dry wood scent (definitely a mix of different ones like cedar as well as dryer, blonde woods. The herbal notes are very dry, but there’s also a mix of all different ones. I think I get sage, but other than that I can’t pick them out. The wood and herbal notes are very well balanced though.

 

Overall Impressions: This one is just like I expected from the description: a mix of woods and herbs. It’s not too strong and seems to lie close to the skin. It has a dry feel, and a slightly dusty feel too.

[topazphoenix]

This scent is evocative of fresh pine needles......and gets a dustier, woody quality as it dries down. It would make a great scent for a guy, but it's not overwhelmingly masculine....just has a sort of refreshing quality.

Edited July 10, 2009 by AmandaKay

[CrazyPretzel]

Sarada's review of this scent (the very first one) sums it up very well. It's a woodsy scent but not at all heavy - there's an airy, misty, almost aquatic feel to it. It reminds me quite a bit of Wolf Moon but without the pine element. There's a bit of luscious greenery floating around in there, maybe ivy.

 

As a Viking enthusiast and student of Old Norse mythology, I'm very pleased with this blend - would love to wear it in a scent locket so that I could have a cloud of it around me all day.

[mazikeen]

My favorite scents are sometimes the hardest to review, and this is one of them. I adore Yggdrasil. It first it is almost mentholated and then it settles down into a happy bright green. Of the green scents I've tried, this one is my feminine green. It makes me think of new green plants in a spring rain. (That's the visual image... I'm not sure if it smells like that?)

 

Describing this is so hard for me-- when I smell this, my brain just says "LOVE" and then promptly ceases to formulate any descriptive words.

 

This is one of my all-time favorites.

[eyeska]

On me this is a beautiful, fresh, mossy green. I also find it's very close to my skin - it's got minimal throw on me. It's definitely a huge favourite, and my only complaint is that it doesn't last very long, and I would love just a little more throw so I can actually smell it on myself without drenching myself in it. I don't really smell any of the mints that people are mentioning, but I also didn't detect them in my imp of Cathode, so that might just be something I'm blind to.

 

This is my first big-bottle purchase. Just delicious.

[enderfem]

Imp: Really nice woodsy scent.

 

Wet: Smells like woods and snow. I like this.

 

Drydown: A very rich woodsy scent. Not my usual thing, but I find I can't stop sniffing it.

[donnatron]

Imp: This is a good example of my own natural circadian rhythms (or something). I smelled this last night and the strong pine smell put me right off. I smell it this morning and I get a smooth green herbal undercut with a touch of soft mint and the teensiest touch of pine.

 

Wet: The mint becomes the dominant note but it's not unpleasant. At lack of a better description, it seems like a very soft, creamed mint. More of a mint candy than a mint herb. The pine notes form a soft base and the entire scent takes on the quality of scotch mints.

 

Dry: Incredibly soft and unobtrusive. It's almost a... magical scent. It doesn't smell like I have perfume on, so much as I am some sort of forest spirit taking human disguise but I can't quite mask my forest origins. Lame description, I know, but it's a very strange skin-close scent. Very bright and refreshing, though. I can see this being a good cooldown scent on a hot summer day.

 

Throw: Very close to the skin to the point where people think you naturally smell herbal.

 

Overall: Am I one step closer to my holy grail herbal scent? If I didn't have to slather this like mad in order to get an hour's worth of throw, this might be a contender. As it is, it's a really nice scent and I can see it working well in toiletries for the upcoming hot months.

[ElinaMakropulos]

This is a beautiful sweet herbal - it's not so masculine I can't wear it, but not so feminine that my husband can't either I get a lot of herbs in the beginning and then it dries down to a nice soft cedar. I don't think I'd wear it but will definitely keep it for my oil warmer to make my house smell like a gorgeous forest clearing.

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, Yggdrasil is a green, herbal smell. Dry, I get pine with maybe another wood behind it. Unfortunately, Yggdrasil's so light that it's hard to tell what I'm smelling -- I'm only getting the occasional light whiff. I think I'll pass this one on.

[savage_rose]

It almost smells like vanilla and woods to me, with an invigorating menthol note to it. It's very light and unassuming to me, but very different. Lovely!

[martiangurll]

Yggdrasil:

 

Preconceptions: I should love this, I dig woody scents. And I am curious to see the Lab's interpretation of the "World Tree."

 

In the impsl: green, fresh cut herbs, forest leaves

 

wet: mossy, with woods, like cedar or sandalwood, and herbal

 

drydown: dusky woods, moss, like the vegetation on a forest floor mixed with fresh cut herbs--there's a hint of dried mint and a note like warm soil in the forest, topsoil but it is dominated by the dry woods and green herbs. Throw is average and wearlength not nearly as long as I'd like--I keep reapplying though because I like the wet and the dry phases.

 

Overall Impressions: I LOVE this scent. Its worth investing in a big bottle for me but that is no suprise, considering I am a sucker for the herbal and woody scents. It hits the mark for capturing the essence of World Tree and the Odin mythos. I have to admit, I fall for the idea of the blend as much as the actual olfactory impression and this hits high marks for its quintessential smell as well as its authenticity in capturing the impression of Yggdrasil. But who knows, maybe the herbs are just having a psychedelic effect on my mind

[kittycatpurr]

In the imp: Nice and astringent; yew tree, woodsy, leafy.

Wet: Balsam and eucalyptus?

Dry: It turns sweet on me. Perfume-y sweet. Not bad, but not great. Nice for smelling in the imp, but I want something I can wear.

[brsis]

Initial Thoughts: Tree scents haven't really done it for me so far (The Death of Autumn was dissapointing, Diwali was dry, and The Twisted Oak Tree was more of an 'eh, it's okay') and to be honest, I mostly picked this one because I had a minimum imp limit to get up to and my doll, Yggdrasil, was stood on the shelf just in my line of sight. But I'm always ready to be surprised, so let's see how it goes.

 

In the imp: ... this smells like something but I can't for the life of me figure out what. My nose must have just GONE this morning. It's very subtle and almost soapy in the imp.

 

On the wrist, wet: Never one to disregard a scent without testing it properly, I go ahead and dab a bit on... and... okay, what is that? It's sweet, but it's not like anything I've smelt before. There's a soapy herbalness to it, but it's actually... like not-very-sweet chewy sweets.

 

Twenty minutes later: After going to get a snack and returning to the computer... no, goddamit, I still can't make out a thing. I normally try and be so good and list the notes I can pick up on, but this is just a strange blended... something. And with my synesthesia shifting out of the olfactory-visual spectrum I can't even draw any good analogies at the moment.

 

Okay - this is a bit like Anubis, but younger and fresher. It's a touch like The East, but less floral. It's even a little like a toned-down Verdandi. This is... there's camomile, maybe, but not camomile tea, it's growing. There's fruit but not it's sweetness. There's something that might be a soft dry sandalwood. This is... young, but not green, soft but with depth, gentle but complex, it... refuses to be defined.

 

Verdict: I'm... really not sure. I may see how I get on with the imp.

 

Tl;Dr: Peaceful, gentle, ageless, complex - I can't even begin to pick out the notes. If you wanted a lighter Anubis, a quieter Verdandi, or a non-floral The East, this might be the one.

[taniableu]

After reading the description, I was very curious to see what this one would be like on my skin.

 

Initially, the menthol was rather overpowering, but within a couple of minutes it settled into a lovely light scent. Balsam and wood. Very nice. I didn't really notice any individual notes, I'm afraid that my nose isn't sophisticated enough to differentiate between the individual woods and herbs.

 

I was expecting a heavier scent, but it's actually quite light and ethereal. Very nice.

[Lamia]

This is very masculine. Like I've borrowed daddy's deoderant and body spray masculine. It evolves a LOT in the first 90 mins (woodsy, herby, no pine or green detected), and is a very quick fade - within 20 hours it's barely noticeable. How funny that I put it on and went ... soap? wait, no, men's deoderant, no, hang on it's changed AGAIN... Trade Bag, as should the husband ever decide to wear scents, he'll be wearing the Iago I bought for him, TYVM.

[thelaurenator]

A generous freebie from the Lab! I never would have ordered this for myself, but this is LOVELY. I get pale woods and pine forests, through a mist. There is also something sweet in the background, though for the life of me I can't figure out what. But it's gorgeous.

 

I'm loving this! It smells like an otherwordly Christmas tree... and sandalwood, I think. I think that's what that familiar sweet smell is. This is beautiful. Just beautiful. And it even smells great on my skin! Because of that sweetness (amber, sandalwood?) in the background, this blend becomes distinctly feminine and lovely and really pops on my skin.

[zankoku_zen]

There is definitely pine in this. At the beginning, it was an herby pine, slightly chilly. Now I get a very soft pine and a touch of sandalwood.

 

On the right guy, this would be a total knockout.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Aromatic herbs and slightly resinous

 

On Application

Pleasantly herbal and slightly sweet.

 

Dry Down

Much lighter and airier than I expected. Definitely a soft forest scent. Don't really know what to make of it. This one has me stumped so may have to revisit.

 

Rating (0-5)

3