Hellstone

The name comes from a rock formation, located in England (more precisely in Dorset) and called Hell Stone. According to the story, the site served as a tomb for about 4000 years ago. Around 1866 it was restored. And from the excavated area has emerged a strong scent of Earth and tree roots, which served as the inspiration for this fragrance. This is another perfume that hit the market at the beginning of 2013, as part of the line of fragrances called "Volume 2" (released in 2012). In the composition, notes of organic jojoba oil, oil of vetiver from Madagascar, opoponax oil (sweet myrrh), ambrette seeds, absolute of beeswax and cumin, as well as chemical compounds like Geraniol and Farnesol, which enhance the floral aspect, Limonene, etc. On the skin, Hellstone is the most "old school" among all fragrances from Gorilla Perfume brand I met so far. Basically, it has three distinct facets: a green and spicy, thanks to its nuances of vetiver and cumin; a floral-musky, resulting from the use of the ambrette seeds with the synthetic compounds and, finally, a sweet and slightly resinous, with a touch of amber, due to the use of the opoponax and the beeswax absolute. A lot of people confuse the smell of the wax with the aroma of honey, but they are mildly different. The wax smells more like a maple syrup with nuances of tobacco, while the honey is sweet by nature. Both vary a little, depending on the flowers from which was collected the nectar. And because of this "old school" aspect, many women do not appreciate the Hellstone fragrance, although it is marketed as unisex. On the other hand, men who like scents like Gentleman, Giorgio for Men, etc. tend to fall in love almost automatically. However, Hellstone reminds me of a time when perfumes still were very strong and natural, true classics. Again, the rule applies: as in other creations of the House, there's a lot of projection and durability inside a linear scent, which not surprises during evolution. The jojoba oil does not confer smell, but it works as a natural moisturizer that leaves the scent more viscous, i.e. with greater lasting power on the skin. Unfortunately, I got to finish this review with some sad news: this scent no longer exists in the Brazilian store's catalog and, apparently, will not come back.

As nexangelus said, I get a strong “old church” vibe from this. It’s a beast of a fragrance and takes a certain person to wear it due to the ferocity of the opening notes, but I do get regular compliments when I wear it. Not in the way of “wow you smell beautiful!”, but in the way of “wow, you smell so good, like camping in the woods”. This perfume is raw power, fire and brimstone and something ancient all together and can truly be worn by men and women. It isn’t pretty or cute, but it packs an intense and commanding punch. I also like using the teeniest drop of this to deepen other fragrances or add complexity and it works beautifully every time. This is absolutely not a safe blind buy, unless you know you love intense, fiery, woody, arcane scents and even then it may not be. I wish this was still in production, because I’d buy a gallon of this stuff if I could.

I love the way Lush market their scents! Little bottles a la ye olde timey droppers reminiscent of traveling salesmen peddling mysterious substances in the 1800's. Hellstone has an acrid, harsh, sharp opening and settles down into something a little more palatable. Actually, when it settles it is warm, spicy and comforting. Definitely deserving of its name ('what the hell is this stuff!!??", you could almost think it was a little 'blugh' upon first sniff. Stay with it - the end result is not disappointing! This is definitely something for autumn and winter. In fact, it does remind me of smoky, glowing embers! I recommend this because its a Lush fragrance and I love the fact that you can buy something niche for a fantastic price! If you want something different, trying and get your cloven feet/heels/hands on this.

Please, don't listen to all those who say it's b.o. etc.! As every perfume, one needs to try it first person! I don't own it (YET), but I tried it twice recently and fell in love!! It's spicy and heavy, but i'm a oud addict anyway so this is mild compared to some arabian oils I own! Think about some Ajmal, Al Rehab oil perfumes, Hellstone is in the same family! And by the way, I don't like people saying that a fragrance is 'revolting': I do not like some perfumes myself (I loathe 'The One' by D&G) but I couldn't say revolting, I mean this perfume is definitely not a bad odour!! revolting is some scatological smell! Be moderated guys!

Ah I love it very much! It's really weird but also I found very attractive. I couldn't understand what it smell at all but I can get something smoky and sweet. This collection really unique and creative than I expected. İf you are perfume addictive and also niche perfume lover I think that you have try them.

Ok, so after some time, I absolutely adore this scent. If you like Bvlgari Black you may care for this. Imagine BB without the vanilla but a fruity metallic edge. Incredibly weird, unlike anything I would usually wear, I love it. This one is not for the meek.

I blind bought a 90 ml pure perfume bottle of Hellstone. For me it ́s a high quality sweet cumin fragrance, which brings fragrances like Dior Homme Intense to my mind. Only in high concentration. Together with A Voice Of Reason, the best Lush so far.

Very interesting....need more time but think it may be my new love.

I don't understand the real relationship between the name of certain fragrances and the olfactory proposal of their evolution. Hellstone is an example of this intriguation there that in me is generated without deep explanations! Difficult perfume, but quite acceptable because of the dizzying way in which it evolves at a delayed pace. Right off the bat, a heavy kick of Honey with indefinite Spices, and the touch of Honey is something uncomfortable because it burns in the nose, then in the throat and stays in this coming and going for long hours, until you adapt or run out for a sudden bath. Following it turns into a dirty Oriental, perhaps because of the Cumin slightly with an exuberant floral appearance and aimed at night occasions. The aroma that exudes from this phase refers to the odor of traditional natural herbal pharmacies, those very archaic ones, which had a wooden counter and wrapped our products in sheets of wood paper; it's all that smell there together in the same place! 3:) After the whole day stuck to the innermost cells, it gets aromatic heated, with notes of Vetiver, and a touch that resembles the smell of moist earth and dried seeds crumbled by your fingertips, a daydream just this phase here. The whole combination of this odor there becomes golden shaped, and that's where the compliments begin! Ahahahaha... Before that, forget them, just twisted noses and people away from you! So, don't stick to the baptismal name of this fragrance, forget the well-framed photo of Satan in it, and his bottle that refers to the container of ointments of hidden rituals, yes, forget all this, buy it and have at hand one of the most "beautiful" and distinct perfumes ever released by the English Lush!

I tested it a few times years ago and now I have a very small, very, very old bottle. It lost a lot of fire with the passage of time but that is ok, it makes it more wearable. I like Lush perfumes a lot because even the ones I don't enjoy make me feel something, they are all a tiny adventure in a bottle. This one is not an exception, it is an experience. This isn't bad but it is not great either. It starts smoky and leathery but I remember the newer bottles were much stronger and more like a campfire or old church. My older bottle is more like an old bookshop filled with leather armchairs and dust and wood. After half an hour the beeswax and honey come in and it changes a lot, becomes much more acceptable by others, sweeter, smoother, but it still quite unusual. Every time I test it now I regret I didn't buy it and use it more when Lush was still selling it because now I can only enjoy its shadow. But I know at the same time it was not a love for me and I agree with one of the reviews below that although it has a lot of potential something is missing.

To me this an absolutely beautiful transformator tool! As a base layer worn with something on top. Like Lush's Tramp or Gres' Cabochard. Whilest it enhances those two mentioned it turns Kiehl's Musk perfume into a beast. Multifascetted, deep, dark gloomy animalic beast. A smoke and honey bomb. It's pure magic! Worn on it's own on the other hand it is quite a strange one but it's by far not the awful concoction as rated here. But I agree, it has "some" dated notes and is absolutely not what too many perfumes are these days.

This definitely packs a punch, and is a fragrance I only reach for very occasionally. To me, it is a scent for a winter's day or evening. In fact, it reminds me of new years eve in Scotland - I smell whiskey, peat, pencil sharpenings, and a little warmth from the beeswax, but cant smell the cumin whatsoever. I love the scent, but I'm not so sure how many of my pals around me have liked it, so its definitely a perfume to wear with confidence, and for yourself!

Wonderful! Reminds me of the artificial fire scents at museums. Very unusual! Try mixing with Furze (lush) to give it a little sweetness.

I don't really agree with reviews that describe this as revolting, but I do agree that it's not going to be wearable on many people, and I'd be lying if I said I liked it (though I didn't test it in store, and managed to confuse it with Devil's Night Cap, so I'm now the proud owner of a tiny bottle). This goes on extremely harsh, it's woody, very acrid and just burningly harsh. Think tree sap, or slightly burnt, bitter woods. I tried Lalique's Encre Noire the other day and that has a burnt woody opening, but by comparison to this, Encre is sweetly smooth. I don't get BO from this, or anything nauseating, and I don't recognise the cumin if it's here (and I cook with cumin almost every day). After searing your nose with it's hot bitterness for a while this morphs into a too sweet musky scent. It just never, on my skin, finds a balance. First it's nose wrinklingly bitter and harsh and then it's an almost syrupy musk that just ends up being a bit fuggy. It's certainly a 'hot' scent which is interesting given the vetiver in it. I tried laying this over the Vanillary solid perfume I have, hoping that would balance this out a bit, no luck, the opening obliterates Vanillary and then teams up with the dry down to produce something even more sweet. I lasts well, at least 8 hours and projects moderately, but it's bot really something I'd see myself using much.

I can say for sure that I have NEVER come across a perfume like this before! I thought it sounded very intriguing given all the varying reviews here and on the Lush website, and as I wasn't able to try this in store I ordered a bottle. Now knowing how a lot of Lush fragrances go I was expecting something a little different perhaps, however this was terrible on me. I felt nauseous straight away. I left it on for a good hour hoping to find something in it I would like but this is a fragrance i really cannot do. I cant fault the staying power though, I scrubbed my arm twice and still all I could smell was cumin - I like this spice and cook with it all the time but cannot wear it it seems! A returns label is on its way to me as I write...

Today I dropped by Lush, and figured I would get familiar with all of their new scents. This one is definitely the worst of the lot. Most of the perfumes were unique, but not neccessarily in a bad way. This one is. Words cannot describe how much I despised this as I sniffed it. I even had to sniff it twice, because I couldn't imagine how anything could smell like this. I imagine this is what a burnt corpse smells like. The scent was so strong, and so corpse-bonfire-y. I don't have words.. I don't have words. Unless the bottle at my local Lush store was bad, this is the worst perfume I have ever smelled. Satan in a bottle. Which the packaging seems to reflect just fine.

A friend of mine got a bottle and hated it, gave it to me and this perfume is so disgusting I can't even describe it. Our friendship survived but only just. How can anyone like this and pay for it? Beyond me.

This fragrance did not work on me. On me it smells like B.O. On another woman it smelled sweet and musky, almost pretty. I think cumin is a hard scent to pull off and would recommend trying before buying.

Purchased this blindly....The discription was so intruiging. I wanted to love this so badly. Cannot love this....

I did not like this on my skin. Way too much spice for me! On me it smelt like stale sweat/Body odour, and spice. Do NOT blind buy.

This is a weird one. I found a 30 ml vintage dropper bottle of the oil. Maybe it's different when it's got an alcoholic base but this to me smells like pencils and brimmstone. I don't realy get the honey or any other note. Just pencil shavings, wax and Smoky brimmstone. I do like it though even though it's not something I'd gravitate towards. It kind of feels.. Unfinished. It has the potential do bring justice to it's name but then it doesn't realy. It starts of strong, blazing and smoking and then nothing ever realy happens past that and it just ends up smelling like greasy cedar realy. I'm happy to have it though since i collect vintage lush perfumes. :)

I’m surprised that lush hasn’t rereleased this fragrance as it’s one of their best. A super strong waxy and oily beeswax and smoky scent which is perfect very extremely hot days and the bottle suits the fragrance very well. A fiery scent wafting from the depths of hell but damn it’s good. I used to own the 30ml bottle with a pippete (this was the only version that was released in Australia) so I don’t know how this fragrance performs when sprayed but I’m guessing it won’t be beast mode but hell mode instead.

Boooooozzzze, wet tobacco , cumin. All the perfumes i own from LUSH is very potent, and this is the beastiest beast! About a half drop from the pipettebottle is enough for getting annoyed over it for the nearest future. The beewax kicks in pretty fast and makes the whole melody change down to ”almost wearable in public”. Its not that bad after a while, but i have never felt an urge to smell like this together with anyone. Picture and name on the bottle fits like a glove.

It is strange but when it's just applied I smell almost som kind of mustard-scent. It takes almost an hour before you can smell anything else. The opoponax, which is not mentioned as a note, but it is one of them, begins to play as also the vetiver and ambrette which makes it a little sweet on my skin. Is it worth waiting so long, I'm not sure

A bit too aggressive, but with a name like Hellstone I guess that's to be expected. It's a shame cause I really think I could get into this if they just turned the cumin down a notch. Not really a body odor vibe but kind of an edible/bbq sauce feel which is equally off-putting. This smells like someone was eating pork ribs in Satan's library.

I was kindly gifted some samples, hence why I tried this, but the devil and I were never going to get along due to strongly disliking cumin, ambrette and most perfumers heavy hand with vetiver. This is heavy on the vetiver and my eloquent first reaction was 'blech'

Not keen - reminds me a little of Lush's delightful Tuca Tuca perfume (violet) but with an unpleasant base reminiscent of cumin.

What? The? Hell? There’s not much more I can detect than graphite pencils. Go for it if that’s your thing.

I have two Hellstone for sale if anyone is interested