Nightshade

6 thoughts on “Nightshade”

1. (Note: This was originally part of the Hexennacht line, was discontinued, and was later revived under the Hexennacht sub-brand, Mr. Hex. This review is of the Mr. Hex version, from a slink I ordered in November.)

   This opens as a very traditional but not unpleasing scent. The opening is sweet vanilla-violet with just a peak of amber coming in – it’s a light floral that doesn’t shout its presence. The amber note gives it a creamy and slightly powdery scent, but it doesn’t feel like you’ve accidentally doused your wrist in grandma’s setting powder: it’s powdery, but only just. Very feminine in the opening.

   It gets a bit more unusual when the vetiver starts to peak through after a couple minutes, giving it a sweet and smokey flavor. The vanilla musk comes out in the drydown with the oakmoss and it retains an edge of vetiver – making the fragrance more masculine in the drydown.

   This one is a little bit of an odd ball; starts very fem and ends in a more masculine, ambiguous place. It’s a bit of a morpher, and I quite like this as far as scent. However, the sillage is light, and it can only really be smelled directly on the wrist. It seems to last for a few hours in the dry down stage, in its own somewhat quiet way.

2. I so wish I discovered this before it got discontinued. In the vial, I get an ambery vanilla woody violet, but the violet doesn’t turn into Chowards or French pastilles on my skin. Instead, the violet disappears and becomes a somewhat (compared to say, Skinny Dip by Traveling Vardo or the Tihota dupe Hex used to carry) complex floral vanilla.

3. Mainly sweet vanilla and gourmand amber (a la Alkemia Ghost Fire) edged with powdery violets that don’t become apparent until quite far into the drydown. Bergamot provided a faint crisp edge that all but disappears in minutes, after which I can barely detect the earthier notes at all; Nightshade stays spiced and foody for most of its wear. Eventually morphs into a simple vanilla musk with a bit of added depth from the amber.

4. I’m so sad this got discontinued because this was my favourite Hex scent. My first thought was that it smells like a very expensive scent that comes in a green crystal bottle.. it smells mysterious somehow. Herbal, fresh and musky with wisps of sweet florals. I think it’s gorgeous

5. I didn’t know what to expect coming into this one. It has been on my list, but it was never near the top. I’ve heard it mentioned several times as a “sleeper” hit in the FB group, so I had to give it a shot with these samples. My first impression is… well, it’s a vanilla floral. That’s not usually something I would go for. It has a distinct freshness to it that I like though, in a stemmy way, like the smell of flower stems when you cut them. It’s an I’m-in-the-great-outdoors vibe without being piney or smelling like air freshener. There’s no darkness to it though, which I’m craving. After it sits for a minute or two, I’m coming around on it a bit. I want to call it vanilla orchid (which I love), but created with different components, if that makes any sense. It’s very, very vanilla, but so very green too. The greenness is what’s interesting. For the record, it’s nowhere near foodie vanilla. I’m standing in a secluded, untouched vanilla flower garden somewhere. I don’t think I’d wear this much on its own, though it would probably be a solid work scent. It’s reading too “classical feminine perfume”. I would believe you if you said it was an expensive mainstream scent (that could be high praise if that’s your thing). The dry down progresses into green-floral, then swerves wildly back the other way to extreme vanilla. Probably gonna be a pass for me. MAYBE a body oil contender since I nearly always layer those. I like this. I just want more from it for some reason.

6. This is a pretty floral that actually doesn’t give me a headache. It’s pretty powdery but the amber and vetiver ground it very nicely.