Brand: Hexennacht
Scent Description: benzoin, clove, dark patchouli, bonfire smoke, candy corn, pumpkin pie, frankincense, cedarwood, cassia.
A collection of indie perfume reviews
Brand: Hexennacht
Scent Description: benzoin, clove, dark patchouli, bonfire smoke, candy corn, pumpkin pie, frankincense, cedarwood, cassia.
This comes off to my nose as a surprisingly sharp woody/ herby/ spicy face punch at first, and I don’t think I’m going to like it. I get a super sugary note on top of it all too, which I’m guessing is candy corn. I’m skeptical that all of this is going to work as one. It settles a bit into the sweetness and spicy pumpkin on application and it changes the profile to mostly a pile of spicy-sweet notes… but sitting on a piece of dank forest wood? The edges are softer and more blended on skin, so it’s an improvement, but I’m not entirely sold. A distinct touch of smoke appears after a few minutes. I like that part; it rounds things out some. I get more and more clove the longer it’s on my skin which I’m shocked to say I don’t like here. It’s trying to take over! I can smell the patchouli separately now too, but I can’t lump the scent into a “patchouli perfume” because it’s not really the point. The longer it sits, the more patchouli I get and now an impression of incense is coming through. I’m pretty into it at this stage. Spicy-sweet patchouli incense. What’s not to love? It reminds me a little bit of Necromancer, swapping the musks for spice. Interesting. The cassia comes on strong towards the end on my skin, giving me an aggressive oomph of cinnamon. I’m not a huge straight cinnamon fan without rich and heavy sweetness to cut it, so that’s not great because the candy corn note is MIA now. The final transition is into what I smelled in the bottle. It’s woody and herby with a trail of clove-ish spice. It’s not bad, but the last two transitions put me back into skeptic mode. The middle of the scent is where the magic is for sure. Probably not a need for me ultimately, but it has an achingly beautiful piece lost in the chaos that I feel a loss for. Oh well. Fun experience.
Lovers of Winchester Mystery House should absolutely pick this up! This is the sister scent to that one. It’s got the similar spice and fireplace smell that I love so much in Winchester Mystery House but with a touch more of a round warmth. This one is a little less dry because of the pumpkin and candy but it still isn’t overly sweet or gourmand. Definitely a perfect fall time scent!!
A jack o’lantern on a patch of black, loamy soil. I get pumpkin pie first – my skin loves this smell and always amps it. This is not to say this is exactly a smell just for fall. The pumpkin is creamy like freshly washed skin, and the spices lead into the dark patchouli and benzoin, giving intense woodsy, resinous, witchy vibes. It’s perfect for Halloween Spoopy Times, but I think it’s great as an all-year perfume. Rich and dark, it smells like ceremony and woods, skin musk from the toil over a fire, the bonfire smoke comes in waves of intensity – I can feel the heat on my face like a blush. The candy corn adds just a hint of sweetness, adding to the pumpkin pie, grounding it and keeping it from going full dark. I’m a big fan of dark atmospherics, but I think gourmand fans will love this one, too. This is a witch who practices their craft under the full moon, but always keeps candy in a pocket as they go about their daytime business – the best of both worlds. The clove, cassia, frankincense and cedarwood round the blend out, creating a base of woods and spice as much as an atmosphere – like eyes in the darkness at the edge of a forest. This is a blend that’s telling a story. I’ve been wearing it for an hour or so, and I keep getting surprised. I get a whiff of woods, then smoke, then a touch of the benzoin. I hate to compare perfumes, but I have to especially point out, if anyone loved and misses Coven, you need this. Coven was a wonderful blend, but this is like…. Coven went to magical grad school. I’m a huge fan of that blend, but this is so much more complex and layered and special. Every sniff I love it more.