Gaea

Dear Gaea, I would first and foremost like to apologize. I unfairly misjudged you several months ago, and said that I didn't like you, and that you weren't a good enough forest scent for me. Gaea, it wasn't you, it was me. At the time, I lacked the properly vocabulary to describe what I was looking for in my search for a "forest" scent. Turns out, what I wanted at that time was strong notes of coniferous trees--either pine or fir. I misjudged you, Gaea, because you contain neither pine nor fir--but you never claimed to. You never once lied about what you were, the misunderstanding is entirely my fault. Gaea is earth--literally in the name, and in this scent. Soil, earth, moss, stone...forest. Facets of the forest floor, more specifically. I was trying to see the forest for (only) the trees, and I ended up misjudging this beauty terribly. I can't see myself wearing this gem by itself all that often, as it definitely requires a certain mood to be worn solo. However, I *am* extremely excited about the layering possibilities and the earthy/soil punch that this could add to so many different fragrances. At the suggestion of @CaliforniaPoppy down below, I ordered a small sample of Mists Becoming Rain to layer with Gaea, and I'm super excited to try them together. I am also incredibly stoked to try this with MMM's Soul of the Forest and see if together they can harmonize into something magical.

In a continuation of my quest for a wearable wet dirt scent, I purchased a sample of Gaea. It started kind of astringent almost, but immediately settled into a sweet earthiness with white florals and a very slight smokiness. After several hours and one reapplication to get a stronger scent bubble, I get faint powdery notes in addition to clean, wet (kind of leathery?) earth. The longevity is nonexistent. I’ve had to apply nearly half the sample vial today in the span of 4 hours to be able to detect any whiff of it without snorting my wrists or sticking my nose into my shirt collar. If this had more staying power, it would be an easy full size for me. It really is lovely, though maybe not quite the pungent humusy soil scent I’m looking for.

I get the fern and the moss...I believe there are also background notes of patchouli and my daughter asked, "is there tea tree oil in that?" when she smelled it on my wrist. This oil grew on me. At first sniff, I believed it was too strong...but like many Alkemia oils...they are just so unlike anything we are used to in commercial perfumerie, that they can sometimes smell completely foreign to one's nose. However, I do love this...the only problem is it wears very close to the skin and grows faint with the brief passing of time.

unbelievably good, I have tried a lot of earthy, loamy green scents and gaea is everything I've ever dreamt of. It perfectly captures that "floor of a PNW rainforest" atmosphere I've been chasing. my ONLY criticism is its longevity.. it's totally gone within an hour, even on freshly moisturized skin. it needs to be reapplied super frequently. I'll check to see if they have an ultime version when I run out

From the bottle: Intense loamy soil On my skin: Dark and damp soil, green things decaying while submerged in a cold stream in a dimly-lit forest, then warms up a little with the sweetness of meadow grasses. Sillage is low. Longevity is barely 2 hours, and that first initial blast of soil is there and gone before you know it. I enjoyed blending this one with Alkemia's Mist Turning into Rain.