Coven

Jesus fucking Christ this is such a deeply alluring, darkly green, and sensual fragrance, but it HAS to be smelled on skin. I've had three encounters with this one: The first encounter was when I tested it on paper at Scentbar in NYC - I initially wrote it off because on the test strip, it smelled like chemicals and that organic veggie wash / cleaning solution, if you know what I'm referring to lol. At the time, could not imagine this being an enjoyable fragrance to wear in the slightest. The second time, I met up with a friend for drinks. They're taller than me, so my face was closer to the nape of their neck as we hugged, and I got a whiff of a peppery-dark-green that took me aback. It was unlike anything I smelled before! On my skin at least, I usually find all green scents to wear the same: heavy dose of tomato leaf on initial spray, sometimes with some added fruits or violets, that quickly settles in to a creamy vetiver or a synthetic iso-e / ambrxon type deal. So this level of depth to a "green" scent was new to me. After learning they were wearing Coven, I immediately ordered a 2ml sample. The third time, as you'd expect, was testing that sample. And to my surprise, I was once again disappointed. It didn't smell on me the way it did on my friend - skin chemistry strikes again! But, after curbing my expectations (something we all must remember to do more often!), I let it settle, and bloom. Out of all the fragrances I have ever had and tested, this is the only one I've come across that feels like it has a "life of its own", it feels alive. Like a living second skin. Hokey to say, even cheesier to type out. Believe me, the corniness is not lost on me lol. But, much like a forbidden forest, or like a witch's beloved carnivorous pet flower, this fragrance exudes a magic of its own. Dark green, dirty, peppery, creamy, bitter, airy. Lovely. 10/10. Surprisingly wearable in all weather - from 40 degrees to 90 degrees.

I'll start with saying that Coven is a masterpiece. A masterpiece which is very easy to hate. A year ago in the Keflavik airport in Iceland I sprayed Coven on my arm and then boarded my plane, leaving the mysterious black bottle behind. Since then I've been dreaming about getting to smell it again so badly. Finally, one year later, I am back to Iceland and I get to experience this magical fragrance again. It didn't disappoint, it's even better than I remember it. Vegetal, foresty, damp, witchy and mysterious. I can picture a misty lake somewhere out in Icelandic nature, women of the past gathering and conducting their rituals, whatever they were, to speak to the forgotten gods. Their bare feet step lightly on the mossy ground, their hair are messy because of the never truly ending wind, their hands are cold, touching the slightly icy surface of the lake. The sky is grey but it's neither autumn or winter, it would be too cold for them to gather here during that time. I imagine Coven could be a signature scent of Eivør, and if her songs smelled of something it would be exactly this perfume. It's such a unique and beautiful take on vegetal smells which, in my experience, very rarely turn out truly great (I am looking at you Hermann by Eldo....). This scent is cosy and disturbing at the same time, and I can see how some could love it and some could hate it. I am not the biggest fan of Galbanum myself which is why I am so impressed with Andrea's use of it in this composition. It seems like a perfect fit, the last piece of the puzzle to complete it. The plant I usually don't like the smell of, I absolutely adore in Coven. This fragrance could be worn by anyone but I think the overall underlying nature of it is feminine. Not in a flowery girly way but in a raw, mystical, shamanic way every woman can probably relate to from time to time.

I have a 2ml tester of this, recommended by a niche perfume store. On first spray, I was not expecting to smell cocoa butter and shea butter in an oil burner that has just a hint of residue left from some magnolia and complex woody essential oil blends deepened over years of use. To be honest I was a little trepidatious that this would be feminine with a hint of forest just for edginess but not really unisex at all, because of the name. But I can see why it's described as unisex, it smells like well moisturised skin and piping hot marsala wine in an old cottage kept fresh with thoughtful use of dried plants - and I can totally see some sensible witches being responsible for such a scenario. I am getting a lot more sweetness and oiliness and warm spice than I expected, and FAR less realistic botanical greenness or wood. The oakmoss comes through a tad, but not in the mossy forest bog creature way I guess I was hoping for. I definitely feel more like a mysterious suave ghost and an elegant cottage witch on a date on a warm autumn night than I feel like a genderless dryad. Initial drydown is slightly musky but still warm sweet butters. Must wait to see how it develops. Edit: it develops into a hot oil bath infused with moss and lichen and sips on a sweet and ever-so-slightly bitter digestif, and it lasts reliably for 8-10 hours as a skin scent you (and anyone close enough to you) can huff when you need a mood lift of a hug-like boost of strength. It's not what I thought I was looking for, but it's one I would be delighted to add to my collection.

When I think of green fragrances, I think of bright, crisp and snappy scents. Scents heavy with notes like grass, bamboo, green apple or something bright. I don't mind these at all and actually quite like them. However, as I've grown older my tastes seem to have shifted and now I crave fragrances that walk on the wild side and border between niche and flat out bizarre. Enter Andrea Maack Coven. Still green in theory but, this is a deeper, darker green. This is a wet, mossy, forest at night on a hot summer eve green. It's captivating, darker, deeper, sultry without being skanky and almost possessing a hypnotic quality to it.Notes include Galbanum, Clove, Cedar Wood, Oak Moss, Vanilla. The most prominent being galbanum at first with the rest slowly making their way out as the scent lingers on skin. After a few hours, vanilla and a softer wood note become more noticeable. Very rarely do I buy a sample and then after trying it like I did with this one think "I need to buy a bottle of this immediately". However, Coven hooked me in, casted it's spell (poor joke and it stays) and left me spellbound. Not for the faint of heart, this isn't a bright and sunny fragrance ; this is one that conjures up images of dark wooded areas overrun by moss and plants. It definitely falls into that niche category and you (probably) won't find a lot of others wearing it (which I'm personally fine with, I don't want to smell like everyone else). If you're in the mood to try something unique and uncommon give this one a shot.

Somewhere in a gothic, dark world a witch would give a yearning customer love potion smelling just like this: strange, dark, yet alluring. It is a fragrance that many might find “unwearable” and yet one can also be so drown to its unique charm. It is a high quality fragrance work, and there is a definitive magic to it. Magic in a classical sense of it: with dark nights, witches, strange things happening and alluring promises whispered into the air. For me “Coven” opens with a scent of sweetly rotting fruit. This first wave is strong and can turn away unaccustomed wearers, but it also quickly passes to allow notes of warm, wet earth to shine through. In a span of a minute that wet earth becomes warming wood - not burning, but lying by a big fire - and later it gets touched by a sweet ting of spice. Spice is not overpowering, but also not openly pleasant. “Coven” wears long and well, lingers on both skin and clothes, and can even leave its trace on a room hours after you sprayed it from the bottle. It doesn’t attack you with its longevity and strength and remains consistently interesting, but this is definitely something to mind. It is more of a quiet night scent. Tried it during the day, and different notes simply feel a bit too heavy for a casual wear. This is something to savor and enjoy, something to bath in and really ‘feel’. A masterpiece through and through, but not for everyone.

Coven hit me in ways I didn’t expect it to. I blind bought a full-size after hearing multiple people explain notes that I adore. I pictured it smelling just like the cold, coniferous woods of my hometown area. When it arrived and I sprayed some on my wrists, I was overcome with nostalgia, not not because of the forest back home. I cannot explain it, but this reminded me of my father. I pictured myself in his slightly damp basement. He kept his wood down there, cedar slabs to be exact. He would paint on them. Then my scent memory picked up a smell that reminded me of his painting supplies. I suppose this makes sense...turpentine is a byproduct of pine trees. I’m not saying this smells like turpentine, but for whatever reason my nose and my brain connected the notes to it during the strong and punchy opening. After the initial strong opening that evoked these memories, everything blended nicely and I truly did get the notes of the woods I was hoping I would. It smells like the woods on a chilly fall morning, wet and decaying but fresh and haunting. The fact that the very particular personal memories still linger in the background makes this an extremely beautiful perfume. The vanilla note lingers in the background and softens everything while the oak moss is prominent to my nose and freshens everything up.

I bought a sample of it and loved it so much I bought a second sample when I went through that one. Then I saved up and bought a full bottle. My only dislike is that the largest they sell is a 50mL bottle, and I would buy a 100mL if they offered it. Hands down my favorite fragrance. A bit too expensive for me to wear every day, but if I could afford it, I would. It smells like the forest after a rainfall in October. The name accurately reflects the alchemy and magic that this fragrance inspires. It's the smell of dancing in the woods under a full moon at midnight. Oak moss and dark, woody smells, and fertile soil and earth magick. Super unique - I can't find another fragrance to compare it to. Definitely a compliment getter and something that stands out in a crowd. Longevity on me is a sold 9 to 10 hours. If I spray it on in the morning after I shower, I can still catch whiffs of it preparing for bed that night. Projection is less than arm's length, but admittedly, I only put on about 3 or 4 sprays, so it may have better projection with more application. Overall, this is a 10/10 for me. And one I will come back to again and again.

Mossy, green and spicy, dusty: 5/5 :) I saw a comment that this reminded the author of a beautiful butch at the renaissance fair and I agree wholeheartedly! There is a mystique and magic in this scent that puts you in a wild temperate rainforest with none of the fantasy of inexplicable grass clearings, walkable footpaths, or soft underbrush. This forest has blackberry vines that can painfully catch if you aren't careful, and logs hidden under thick layers of wet decomposing detritus you can trip on. The ponds are brown and marshy, surrounded by little swarms of bugs and thick, sucking mud. Your clothes are soaked through from pushing through the net of low boughs and ferns, saturated with freezing rainwater, whose source you can hear tap, tap, tapping above you on the broad leaves that comprise the canopy. This is the only fragrance I've encountered so far that can only be worn when it's cool and rainy. This isn't a hard rule by any means, just my preference, but I find the mossy earthiness evokes rain so much that wearing it on a hot day would feel weird to me. Love this scent and would love a full bottle!

I don’t usually start with the most popular fragrance when I try a new house, but Coven felt different—and I’m so glad I made the exception. This one is truly something special. Despite the name, it doesn’t remind me of witches, spells, or anything gothic. What I get instead is the raw, earthy power of the Icelandic wilderness. It opens with this deep, damp soil note, balanced by oakmoss, green grass, and a kind of cool, forest-floor freshness that feels like walking through untouched land right after the rain. It’s wild, grounded, and completely transportive. But what really baffles me is how underrated the performance is. The sillage is strong, but not overwhelming—it has presence. It lasts all day on skin and clings to clothing for days. I’ve worn fragrances that cost double this and don’t come close to that kind of longevity. Coven is atmospheric, bold, and beautifully done. One of the few fragrances that truly captures a sense of place—and in this case, it smells like Iceland’s wild heart.

In november of 2019 I went to a scene-y DIY music festival with some friends, held on a small plot of land on the outskirts of knoxville (or was it nashville?) TN. The first night temperatures dropped below freezing and we all slept unshowered and Bucket family-style in our tent so as to not freeze to death. I would later come to have the second worst acid trip of my life that weekend while shuffling amongst a crowd of essential oil perfumed proto-enbies, diabetes-hexed hobo johnson witches, and a TBI victim- who despite giving off a "forrest gump accidentally stumbling into historical footage" vibe, was so much more enchanted by the whole experience than these ssri guzzling scenesters that, despite his many TBI-induced faux pas, you couldn't help but be disarmed by his sincerity & excitement... solemnly headbanging in that mess to land acknowledgement Mumford and Sons and dysphoria punk and feeling the most intense of suicidal ideation- It all smelled like this. 10/10 buying a bottle.

This was the only sample from the discovery set that I really, really enjoyed. It is a fresh scent, but not like you just took a bath. More like, you just got out of a hot spring and you’re walking back to car with wet, hot bare feet over dirt, grass and crunchy leaves. It’s definitely peppery, very strong, and for me, it stayed the exactly same throughout the wear. Totally unisex leaning masculine, or at the very least, nothing about it is soft and girly. I think the name coven is not the best choice because you expect more of a witch shop scent and this is not that at all. Those that describe it as bell peppers and soil, yes absolutely, it reminds me of walking in to a humid greenhouse. It could be worn year-round in a very moderate climate, but would be overpowering in extreme heat. I think this is a unique nature-fresh fragrance that completely changed my experience and attitude about the day. This is what I expect from a niche fragrance. Love it.

I wear this frequently, except perhaps at the height of summer (and occasionally then, too, on suitably drizzly days). It's mysterious and earthy and melancholic, and suits that aspect of my personality quite well. The complex, moody scent takes all the typical bright, fruity, earthy, and grassy elements that might make up a "green" scent and subverts them. The crushed leaves are dark and waxy. The fruits are those tempting little red "berries" that you definitely shouldn't eat. The dirt is bitter and chilly. Everything is damp (shifting to "humid" on warmer days). Dude, it's so good. Most of the other Andrea Maack scents I've tried have been a bit meh for me (with Craft being a possible positive exception), but this one easily ranks in my top five favorites. (Plus: The bottle is super unique, with one of the smoothest, most efficient atomizers I've used so far.)

Oh this is a stunner! The opening reminds me off the smell of damp forest floors in the early spring or fall mornings. It’s moist, green, and cold. I could hear the sound of my feet pounding the forest trails when smelling the opening. There is something smells almost urinal to my nose in the middle. But trust me, it’s not in a bad way because there is a strong vegetal and herbaceous notes to balance it out. The mid and dry down remind me of something that I already have in my collection. I took me a while to figure it out, but in the end I did it. It smells of the whole journey of Parfum de Nicolai’s Patchouli Intense. This is only blind buy safe for those who like green perfumes such as Chanel No.19, Comme des Garçon‘s Serpentine, etc. Otherwise, proceed with caution.

By far one of my favorite fragrances, even though it is rare that I would choose to wear this. Really enjoy wearing it when I expect to be outside during cold weather, as a nice hint of greenery. Also a nice outside/cold weather fragrance because this scent projects about a mile. A little goes a long way. It also lasts forever, a coat in the closet still smelling of it 4 weeks later of one spray. I got it from Iceland duty free in the airport at an amazing discount if I were to buy it online. Definitely moss forest floor dankness, but it all comes together with a kind of elegance. A lot of "goth" marketed scents can be alienating to most palettes, or generic sandalwood/incense combos. This comes together in a pleasant way despite the unconventional notes to get there.

Love a mysterious green fragrance. CdG Amazingreen has long been a signature scent for me and I'd say that that one is the summery counterpart to Coven; both vivid, high-humidity green scents. Amazingreen reads like a grassy park in August around 5pm, having baked in the sun all day while Coven feels more like a forest trail in October or November; the leaves have started to fall in earnest, the air is cold but still soft. Recently I hadn't worn it in a while and exited my apartment building after a heavy rain and swear the world smelled like Coven... I actually went back inside and sprayed some on to match the world around me.

An astonishing dank-basement chypre. Gothic like the architecture - baroque and sharp-edged. Intense green galbanum, wet and camphorous cloves, an endless thick bed of oakmoss. This wasn’t your middle school goth girlfriend (who always smelled of sweat and Avignon - “like Morrisey!”). This is an eldritch vampire, shuffling the dark streets in a ragged gown, eyes tuned to infinity, mumbling to herself a half-remembered poem ... “damn that horror bat sex horror sex bat sex...” RIYL: Amouage Myths Woman; Zoologist Northern Cardinal; black velvet glistening in candlelight; the sublime promise of an empty grave.

Off the top it’s super green- smells like you’ve pulled healthy roots out of some wet soil. On the dry down the soil smell stays but the green fades. There’s some slight warmth from the vanilla and a little sweetness from the moss but primarily a soil scent - with just enough complexity to keep me obsessed. The sillage isn’t intense but I get a whiff off my skin through the day I am in love. If you’re like me and looking for a good “witchy” scent this is less of a musty smell then say BE raven might be- but the vanilla isn’t as strong as a Aura. I got a sample and will be going back for the FB.

I really like this- it's just so darn interesting! It's green, but not the fresh, bright, juicy green to me- the galbanum is sharp, but more dark green. Mixed in is the moss+a sort of dried herb kick. And then it transitions into earthy, woody, hint of clove, drop of vanilla. I feel like there's a missing component in the description of the low/long lasting note - there's something there I can't put my finger on. Is this my absolute favorite smell in the world? No. Is it not-a-perfumey, unusual, absolutely witchy, and my favorite thing to wear when I need to kick some ass? Definitely

Seems to be polarizing but for those of us who shun the relentlessness of sun, this is pure comfort. Starts off with a brisk crack of black pepper & crushed ivy galbanum to shake you awake, then there’s a long wander over some mossy moors, replete with mud & fog. Warms down with a lovely whisky back home. When traveling was still an option wore this all over Edinburgh & now the scent is inextricable from my memories of the damp romance of that splendidly spooky town. Particularly great in early spring, when you're breaking ground & sowing seeds for the garden to come. Dirt magic.

A treat for the right weather. Today chilly and grey it came out for the first time this fall and kept me company all day, vibrating its esoteric earthy magic from my collarbone. One blast is eternal on me. Something prickly and green, bringing authentic woodland sprite energy that I love to embody a handful of times each year from around now until summer. I’ve been playing around with greens like Scherrer and Silences, this fits right in. But for me those are “easy reaches.” I select this one with more intention because it commands more attention during its long, linear life.