Coven

There are a few fragrances that attempt to emulate nature in general and grass and rain in particular. Many focus on freshly cut grass or a wildflower meadow. Light, green, floral even slightly sweet with clover. ( Think Marc Jacob's one or the, infinitely superior, Gap Grass ). Guaranteed to lift the spirits. Some go for a more urban interpretation, the smell of ozone and petrichor, of rain-washed streets, of the city wiped clean. Beautiful and evocative. ( Try Miller Harris La Pluie or, of course, Apres L'ondee ). This is neither of those. This is an altogether darker affair. Lost in the heart of the wild Wood. This is darkness and damp moss. There is soil and, yes, petrichor. There's an old tree trunk, fallen without a sound ( there was no one to hear, well, no one living ) but still teaming with life. Of fungi, beautiful but deadly. A Earth Witch plunging her hands into soil and calling forth elemental magic. If I had to imagine a person who would wear this, it would be Stevie Nicks singing about Rhiannon. "All your life you've never seen Woman taken by the wind Would you stay if she promised you heaven?" If you wear this, they will stay. (Postscript: I was tempted to describe this as a "unique" scent but a familiarity niggled at me. It DOES have a doopleganger: Hermes Eau de Gentiane Blanche Cologne. It has lighter, citrus notes but it dries down the same. Both are individual, singular fragrances. As is the person who inhabits them. )

It does smell damp, and very mossy. I don't get any boozy or spicy notes--just a cool greenness. It's like portal opens to a forest in fog, with water dripping quietly onto trunks and leaves and rocks. It has an authentic after-rain smell that soil gets, without that fakeness that a lot of ozonic frags have. And it does have a hint of decay--I think that lends to the the authenticity of it. It's like how I've been shopping for a good sea/ocean frag, but they're either very metallic or light floral/citrus (because who's going to add dead fish and rotting seaweed components when there's ambergris). Coven is the closest thing I've smelled to Demeter's Thunderstorm, which tragically they don't make anymore, but with better longevity than anything Demeter ever made, and decent projection. I love the name, and I like it enough to have worn the sample for three day now as it's pleasant to catch a whiff of outdoorsy in my workday. I just don't know if I'd reach for it very often--it might be something I'd like more as a candle.

Coven is great. It's one of the strongest grass/soil-dominant fragrances I've put my nose on. It's surprisingly fresh for such an ominously titled work. Buried underneath the earthen peat and moss I detect a warm sweetness (perhaps the whiskey?) and strangely enough, a muddled yet noticeable minty note. It kind of tingles the nostrils and adds a confounding ethereal quality to the overall composition. It's like sauntering through some dark, damp woods at 5 am. The air is cold and filled with foggy early-morning moisture and the thick scent of moss and dirt rise up from beneath you. Its very well balanced, and smells satisfying and evocative while still being very wearable and pleasant. My favorite from what I've tried in the Maack line...Coal is a close second. While I do love it, I occasionally get a little bit tired and have to give it a break, but I always return to it. Performs very very well, lasts all day and projects. 8/10

I just got a full bottle of this after draining a sample. To me this is more of a boozy light amber, punctuated by peppery greens. The "soil" is not very pronounced on me. If anything, it serves to just deepen the green notes, making them less fresh. I find it really addictive and love wearing it on warm evenings, where it really blooms. I get the connection to Chypre Mousse, which I also love, but they don't smell the same to me in the least. They share their earthy elements, but CM smells more like wet, loamy soil and mushrooms, with an abstract floral heart. Coven is slightly sweet,boozy, ambery, and green, and I find it pretty accessible and wearable. It's less weird than I thought it would be and I wouldn't call it avant guard, though the brand may have been aiming for that title.

Coven is gorgeous on me. I don't find Coven to be especially dirty, filthy, or dark, but I will say it is brooding, even if it's ultimately fairly traditional. For me it's a very clean warmth overall. The whiskey is very clear on me, in fact, the whiskey and moss pop a lot more than the soil does. I don't get earth or soil at all, to be honest, at least not before the green notes. It's very woodsy and green on me. Green, woodsy, ambery, spicy. I think more of wizards in a tower in the woods reading from ancient tomes more than witches gathering around a campfire in the middle of the night. This wasn't as daunting or harsh as I was made to believe, but still I think it's an incredibly handsome scent and one I'm planning on buying a full bottle of after I'm out of my decant.