Slay of the Day - Hexennacht Hexenhaus 23

This is a very small fragrance house. The woman behind it is a Canadian perfumer who has spent time in the Pacific Northwest and is now based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The brand literally has dozens, possibly hundreds of fragrances, but all are produced by hand in tiny batches to order. Most are centered around themes of herbalism, nature, and the occult.

I have four from the house - Big Toddy Goth Girl (a rum, butterscotch gourmand), Belsnickel (a beautiful coffee gourmand), The Bell Witch (a musky, resinous, incense-themed aromatic), and Hexenhaus 23. I picked up the samples earlier this year from their distributor, and have been waiting for the cooler weather to really give them a wear.

The samples come as 1mL vials with the little dipstick applicator. I personally hate this presentation, so I decanted them into vials with little atomizers instead. They offer 30mL presentations for the largest size, and most are in the $60 range.

Guys of a certain age and from a particular walk of life will likely remember the concept of a Head Shop. Long before Hot Topic, Planet K, and Spencer's took up the emo / goth mantle in shopping malls across the country, you used to have to go to a little shop, usually obscurely out of the way in a part of town you didn't know existed. The guy behind the counter, when he wasn't following around the Grateful Dead, was happy to sell you any number of "tobacco" smoking supplies, including incense and exotic clove cigarettes. I used to smoke these things called bidis that were made with tobacco stuffed inside a tendu leaf. They've since been banned, so I'm not sure you can still find them anywhere.

Anyway, Hexenhaus 23 smells exactly like that place. It's clove cigarettes, Nag Champra incense, old books, and the faintest hint of tobacco. It reminds me of my 20s hanging out with Roxi, Nina, and Violet at the Elysium lounge, going to St Roch's to get new laces for my Doc Martens, and listening to the latest Black Tape for a Blue Girl.

Scent: 9.5.

This is my young adulthood in a single fragrance. It puts me instantly into a mind space that wants to put on The Cure, turn out the lights, and let the world know that I'm an enigma, a mystery that only the darkest of depths can ever understand. Nobody knows me, nobody gets it, I am the darkness. (cue Switchblade Symphony and Cannibal Corpses mix tape)

Performance: 10.

This is a freaking beast. I sprayed the last of the vial (it's my second wearing, so call it .5mL), and it's like I just put it on 8 hours later with no signs of stopping. It's gotten a little powdery, sure, but the Matrix soundtrack just came on and it's time to dance.

Projection: 10.

I'm in my office at the studio with the door shut, and someone just walked by and asked if I was burning incense in here. My door is a good 15 feet away, and the walls are made of cinder blocks, so I'm projecting pretty hard. Even I think it's getting to be too much. Next time, only 1 or 2 sprays instead of the 4 I did to finish out the vial.

Presentation: 6.0.

The bottles aren't very big, I hate the dipstick vial samples, and the labels are the same across all of the fragrances. They don't tell an individual story, even if the branding is consistent. I get that it's an independent house and they have to save on costs, but a little creativity with the labels would go a long way. It's hard to tell them apart just looking at the shelf.

Perceived Value: 7.0.

The $60 price tag for 30mL is not outrageous, especially for a small house like this. But how often will I wear it? Maybe a few times a year at most? You only need a couple of sprays, so a single bottle will last FOREVER. Will I buy a bottle? Maybe. If I were 25, abso-freaking-lutely, yes. If I had this back then, it would have been my daily driver, and I would have worn it everywhere and annoyed everyone. At 52, though, I'm not so sure it's giving the vibe I want to send out into the world. Maybe a toned-down, softer, more mature version. If I don't buy this, I will be looking for something that fits this profile.

OVERALL: 9.1. A-Tier in terms of quality, scent, performance, and projection. But the use case is low, and it is incredibly niche.

I'll be trying the others over the coming days. Since they are 1mL vials, it only takes a couple of wears to get through them.

Thanks for the time. Go listen to some emo goth music and have a good week.

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