Hexensalbe

This wasn’t just my entry into niche, it was my initiation. I walked into Stele in Williamsburg dead set on finding something "unplaceable and unnerving." I love the weird earthiness and unplaceable qualities of Baie 19 but needed to up the volume and find a deeper cut (I knew I was destined for more than Le Labo!) I wanted to smell like I’d just returned from doing something unspeakable. Something sacred. Something carnal. I wanted strangers to both flinch and lean closer. We went through a ton of niche houses and various scents but when they handed me Hexensalbe I was like, "THERE SHE IS!" 🧪 Main Accords: Green — not fresh-cut grass green. Think bitter herbs and bruised leaves in moonlight. Aromatic & Herbal — like a salve smuggled from a monastery and infused with wild intent. Earthy & Resinous — wet bark, petrichor, ancient tree roots. Musky Skin — feral but close to the body, the smell of someone who’s been touched and touched back. Woody & Smoky — slow-burning embers after ritual. 🫧 Top: Crushed leaves, bitter herbs, a ghost of mint 🌿 Heart: Forest floor, roots, moss, maybe a touch of wormwood 🔥 Base: Soft musk, green resin, cold smoke, something almost metallic 💨 💨 💨 Sillage: Strong, ~6-8h and when it drifts off it's very much still there in an eerie, sexy way—like catching a scent on the wind and not knowing where it came from. Projection: It doesn’t announce itself after the top notes settle so much as haunt your skin. Think: “Who’s wearing that? Where are they? Why do I feel like I should follow?” This isn’t a crowd-pleaser. It’s not pretty. It’s not clean. It’s Hexensalbe - the balm witches used to fly and lovers used to rub into one another. Yes, it’s the one from Portrait of a Lady on Fire. You weren't supposed to do it. But you felt drawn to it and did it anyway.

On me, Hexensalbe starts as a strong and spicy herbal green witches' concoction. I can't really identify most of those initial notes apart from licorice but the overall effect is well balanced and so captivating! Also, as opposed to some other reviewers, I have to say the licorice doesn't come off as too bitter or salty on me, much closer to absinthe with a generous amount of sugar overall. As it slowly dries down, it becomes smoother and some light floral touches emerge (tuberose but smelled from afar), as well as a subtle sweetness. This perfume pulls a couple of magic tricks during the drydown, transforming in front of my nose. It's like during specific phases some notes will step a bit more to the front and then step back. Take the moss, which while noticeable, is very subtle and mostly adds that chypre-like depth to it without being overpowering, but a couple of times it did project a bit stronger. Same with patchouli which is that dirty kind that adds an earthiness and grounds the perfume. Hexensalbe really is a niche art perfume. Perfectly wearable, don't get me wrong, but I find it defies categorization for me. It's not really an aromatic and neither is it a green perfume. What it is in my heart honestly is a witches' potion and a pleasure to wear and explore each time. Longevity is under 5 hours with a lower end of moderate sillage and projection for the first half and more of an intimate performance for the last 2 or so hours.

Wooo!!! —whenever I see notes in a scent like licorice root, anise seed, star anise, wormwood, absinthe (basically anything containing a healthy dollop of that wonderfully witchy and aromatic substance, anethole) I become very antsy and excited to experience it. And so— I have sampled Hexensalbe and it’s glorious! It’s like others have said here, I imagine this is exactly how the inside of an old and long established apothecary shop would smell...or the scent of the air inside an elderly wise woman’s hut deep within a haunted forest of tangled foliage and ancient trees. Dark, dank, ancient, fungal, earthy, musky, bittersweet and medicinal—all underscored by the damp ash scent of an extinguished hearth fire . None of that sounds nice, but all these notes come together in the absolute best and most beautiful way possible. I know, those adjectives make this sound like Hexensalbe would be an absolute nightmare with which to bombard a poor unsuspecting shnoz. But, I carefully popped open the small sample ampule, and it only took the scent of one pale, glistening drop gently tapped into the tender flesh of my wrist for me to fall helplessly for this seductively dark scent. I’ve been hexed by the raw beauty of Hexensalbe, and there’s no going back. I’ve been yearning to experience a smell like this, so unapologetically herbal and natural. FULL. BOTTLE. WORTHY. Not for worshippers of scents pedaled by the social media gristmill.

I was delightfully surprised by this fragrance. I have been looking for a scent with licorice. As a speaker of Icelandic, and familiar with Scandinavia, the salty licorice note is absolutely perfect. That note endured the longest and highest, so it's fair/right those notes appear largest on the scent breakdown. As a fan of L'Occitane Bois Flotte - I found this salty note absolutely appealing. The herbaceous earthy notes, while not as bright or sharp as H24, remind me vaguely of the sort of quality. It's definitely made with male and female in mind, and if you're male and worried that is just glib appeal to buyers, it's not. It genuinely can be worn by male, and work very well. Sophisticated, without pretense. Fun without the flowers and fruit, or candy. It's genuinely earthy. I found that it paired BEAUTIFULLY with Kokorico. I couldn't stop smelling myself all day. I only need a fully bottle now (of both). Next pay-check. It is a bit hefty priced, but that will keep it obscure and secret enough to maintain it's unique identity. Successful licorice note, beautiful salt note. Both that last, and supported by an undergrowth of herbaceous. Delightfuly. Absolutely a favorite. So unique. Just perfect. For all seasons. Takk og þakka þér fyrir, The Swedes have done it! Skál

I never thought I would be saving up for a perfume, yet here I am. I got a tester bottle last fall and it quickly became my favourite, especially for going out in the evening. In the beginning it gives off a *lot* of liquorice with a somewhat woody undertone, which really adds a bit of extra confidence at the end of my makeup routine. It doesn't take too long for it to calm down and settle into a calmer woody? (though sweet) scent, that makes me feel like I should be in a moody speakeasy of some kind. As the night goes on the tune shifts slightly, landing somewhere I just associate with dark nightclubs with heavy music at this point, but that I struggle to pinpoint. It just kind of melts into you without quite disappearing in a way I find quite pleasant. I still smell nice once I leave the event I've been at, which I know because I keep going back and smelling it during the night. Basically, I really enjoy it and think it does what it's trying to do: something witchy but modern that really has me in its grip. Not to mention that it's quite nice to tell people "oh yeah, I'm wearing hexensalbe!" It's definitely my favourite by Stora Skuggan so far, which is quite telling because I have liked all their perfumes so far.

An incredibly beautiful, witchy wooden-herbal potion! By legend, the ingredients of a ‘witch’s ointment’ were poisonous plants-belladonna, datura, mandrake-blended with animal elements such as fat, blood, hair, and other substances like resins and wax. Considering the way many women were treated during the Inquisition, it is easy to believe that they resorted to such potions as a means of temporary relief from a brutal reality. This fragrance unfolds with that same raw, archaic energy-artisanal, almost untamed, carrying the spirit of the open steppe. Yet it is also magnetic, cohesive, and deeply refined. Stora Skuggan have brought the concept to life with brilliance; it strikes me as a work of real talent, not merely within its niche, but in perfumery as a whole. Licorice, a note I usually resent, is woven here like a thread of shadow-forceful at first, but softening as it settles, tempering the bitterness of herbs. By mood, imagine a meeting between Agent Provocateur and Oriza Chypre Mousse: that is the lineage, and perhaps why some detect an echo of ‘shaving foam.’ It is wondrous, magnificent, magical, and unconventionally beautiful- a fragrance to test and to treasure if this path calls to you.

I really like this and I can see this becoming a favourite, but the full size is so damn expensive :'( the opening is super earthy/green to me. Smells like fresh plants found in a forest floor where it is a little damp. After a few minutes, it fades to something a bit more woodsy, a bit smokier too. Like the plants are being cooked or treated with fire. It almost reminds me of Poltergeist by Heretic during this time (must be its similar notes in wormwood and probably the patchouli coming out here). The dry down for the rest of its wear time is when the licorice note comes out. It's not a gourmandish licorice... it's a bit spicier than that. When people say that the notes are supposed to be inspired by witch potions... well, idk about that but I can imagine the inside of a witch's cauldron as it is being used probably smelling like this. Love it. Longevity is about 5-6 hrs and I can still smell it on myself at that point, but I do find myself reapplying after that as a booster because I enjoy the scent so much and just want to continue smelling hints of it around me. Wish it was more affordable as it is expensive considering the full bottle only appears to be 30ml instead of the usual 50ml I see.

TL;DR: Rave! I want to bathe in this! Can't make it my signature scent, you say? Watch me. We witches fly on licorice roots these days - and what a fine one we have here. It's quite salty-realistic, gives the earthy, medicinal wormwood the perfect counterpoint in the opening, and lasts well into the drydown. Spicy-lush, middle-of-the-forrest, swamp-moist greenery. Delicious. Sensual belladonna, musky angelica, innocently soft tuberose and minty rosemary sweeten things up and let the balsamic black hemlock, dark patchouli and woody-sharp lichen gradually seep through and overtake the drydown. So smooth and green and cool. Pure bliss. What a magically addictive concoction. As much as I love the wild story and witchy imagery (evidently), I don't known what others find so skunky and unwearable about Hexensalbe. Is it a question of skin chemistry? Or am I just that far gone? Utterly depraved. Pleasuring myself with spicy devil's dildoes. Gasp! No decency whatsoever.

I love how unapologetically this smells like you just picked a bunch of herbs (of varying lethality) and ground them up in a mortar with a chunk of licorice root. I don't have the words to describe it (you might know what I'm talking about if you're really into foraging) but some poisonous plants emit an odor when you crush their leaves that feels like an olfactory warning to the oldest, most animal part of your brain. It makes you alert in a way that feels more refreshing than any citrus or mint ever could. Ripe would be too gentle a word for it... this might be pretentious to say but it feels like the promise of decay coming from something that is very much alive, with a biology so far removed from you that it will always be a bit alien. Wild herbal sap balanced with (but in no way softened by) licorice, which I don't really like the taste of, but surprisingly works really well in this composition for me.

This is incredible. Smells exactly what you'd think based on the name. This is a medicinal salve made by an old witch that lives in a hut deep in an old growth forest full of poisonous, magical fungi and roots. Sharp herbal accords and raw tea leaves, like a really bitter black tea with narcotic herbs mixed in. A little bit sour on the dry down but still magnificent. This might be a patchouli I can wear that doesn't go sour on me since the sour actually works here and reenforces the other notes in great balance. The oakmoss balances the patchouli on the dry down. There's a bit of a "rotten log in a swamp" vibe but in a good way. An arcane, misunderstood beauty.

As most people have said, the opening is licorice and the anise -like smell of the wormwood. Overall, it is herbal and fairly dry, like a herbal remedy or an aperitif. Personally, on the dry down, I get a whiff of the tuberose, and something a little animalic underneath even though I don't see that in the notes. I can't pick out the celery-like note of the angelica, which I have encountered in other perfumes and disliked. But maybe it's blended well enough with the herbs, that it becomes part of the whole, rather than a standout off-putting note. Decent longevity and projection. It's not overwhelming. Definitely a contender for a full bottle purchase, for me.

This perfume smells delicious to me, not just in that I’d like to eat it, but it literally smells like the word “delicious.” Sultry hisses and shhhs. In my minds eye, Hexensalbe is a vibrant green liquid, glowing, incredibly smooth. The painting of Circe Invidiosa immediately comes to mind. Hexensalbe is deeply herbaceous, licorice heavy, sweet, cold, and green. I think of hard candy licorice, the sound and taste of it rolling against my teeth. There’s a slight medicinal quality to this, it's clean, holds a bit of a cold aftershave feel. It definitely has a magical quality to it, something a bit intoxicating that keeps pulling me in for more.

Tried this at a counter over the summer and did not care for it, thank goodness I came back to the story of Hexensalbe. Sampling this in fall and what a dreamy licorice. I'm on a quest for my ultimate licorice scent and this is a stand-out. This makes me feel like stripping my clothes off and drawing patterns on my skin in paint made of crushed berries and mud. This is the ultimate fragrance to accompany The VVitch (2015) by Robert Eggers. The dropping of her gown, eerie drone, slow path into the forest, the chants of naked women fireside, Thomasin's body rising into the air, laughter, darkness. That is this fragrance.

I unfairly judged this scent in my first review...I received a sample of it when I bought my full bottle of moon milk. it’s actually a new favorite to my nose. I’ve learned that my chemistry does very well with medicinal tea scents and this one smells like chamomile and licorice on me which is interesting that chamomile isn’t a note listed, this scent so serene yet mysterious. It’s clean and ascetic but has a layer of darkness looming to it. I feel very witchy when I wear this and it’s one I’ve gotten complimented on often. I may buy a full bottle of this one.

This is probably my favorite from Stora Skuggan! I found that when sampling a lot of their other scents, their core dna would clash with the softer, more gentle scents. In this the strong liquorice root blends it all together in a lovely way that to me is dark and herbal without being medicinal. Out of all the samples I sprayed on myself today, it's the one I keep smelling. Two hours in the dark herbs have given way for the softer, warmer florals and it's so lovely. It leans masculine but on the right woman it would kick so much ass.

A northern forest on the precipice of dawn, undergrowth still wet with dew. Freshly unearthed licorice root, stems and leaves intact. Hours later and it’s midday, pine bark and mosses warmed by a never setting summer sun. Gorgeous darkness sans the usual clichés - no amber, leather or incense will be found here, only dark botanicals melting into comforting woods. Feminine in the way of pagan goddesses. This is a scent of things that grow in the shade of tall pines. For: Those who would like to live deliciously.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this given that I really dislike licorice candy. I don't get the candied form so much as what I imagine the actual plant to smell like- dusty, bitter, amber, but familiar in an old world way. It's fresh and dark at once. I can't stand soapy green scents and Hexensalbe accomplishes the feat of a green, herbal scent that doesn't go medicinal. It's got a really compelling patchouli + oakmoss that emerges in the dry-down. Sexy and mysterious.

Bitter medicinal licorice, dried herbs hanging from the rafters of a cold wooden shed with dirt floors. Reminiscent of a herbal tea or something you might drink when you have a cough. Opens more herbal and bitter but softens to the sweeter aspects of the licorice and mossy musk (giving it a chypre base feel). If you like L’heure Vert or other licorice/absinthe themed fragrances this might appeal. Really like this but price for 30mL is a stretch.

LOVE THE LICORICE NOTE. it comes out very fragrant like opening a dark candy jar. Over the first hour it disapates to reveal a more dark herbacious woody note. sits on my skin very nicely. A beautiful execution of an incredible concept. I don't know about it activating "images of otherworldly creatures and a primal sexual hunger." at least i hope it doesn't because my grandma complimented how i smelt.

This is the quintessential "witch of the woods" scent. It opens with a black licorice and absinthe-like quality, and settles into an herbal, mossy scent. The licorice is not too sweet or overbearing which allows the greener notes to shine through. I have yet to try a perfume from Stora Skuggan that I dislike. They're all so complex and unique, and I love that this fragrance house keeps me on my toes.