Roots Uniscent

I bought this for myself at 14 (female), which looking back is shocking. Up until then I had only owned a lily of the valley fragrance by Escada my Mom bought me, and a travel spray of a light floral from Banana Republic. I remember thinking this leaned masculine, not at all my vibe at the time, but I found it so addicting I had to have it. I burned through it. Fresh and clean and aromatic but grounding. A sort of hot/cold experience. Flash forward many years and some of my favourite notes are cardamom and sandalwood, and I love a unisex scent. I would honestly own this again if possible. It might pull 00’s nostalgia, but the notes are modern and popular.

The Roots fragrances were made by Coty for the Canadian store Roots (and could also be found in the Canada pavilion at Epcot). I had gotten the original Roots for Him (which I love, but it's not on Fragrantica's database yet), and had recently gotten its little brother Roots Spirit Man (very similar, seems to be a little lighter with some citrus). So I had to "complete the collection" by trying Roots UniScent. I haven't smelled the feminine versions of the previous 2 (Roots for Her, Spirit Woman), but UniScent is very different from the male versions I have. I definitely can not see a woman wearing this. On me it seems very evergreen with a hint of mandarin, almost a harsh pine-like scent, similar to Geoffrey Beane Bowling Green. The drydown isn't bad, but it takes 2-3 hours for the scent to start mellowing out. Definitely a cold weather fragrance (not often seen here in south Georgia).

The original roots for men was the first fragrance I ever owned. It was warm and cozy, comforting. I think my grandma bought it for me on my 14th birthday 17 years ago. I wore it everyday until the bottle was empty.