Hinoki Meditation

Hinoki Meditation by d’Annam is less a perfume and more a whispered memory. The first time I smelled it, I was transported—straight into a quiet Kyoto forest, where the air is damp with moss and the wood of the temple walls breathes out centuries of incense. It carries the same spiritual hush I get from Eucalyptus 20 by Le Labo, but here it’s softer, more inward, like meditation in stillness rather than ritual in grandeur. If Eucalyptus 20 is a bright morning at the shrine, Hinoki Meditation is the moment just before dusk, when shadows stretch long and everything feels suspended. There’s a sacred warmth here—woody, smoky, resinous—but wrapped in something gentle and green, like fresh cypress needles underfoot. It reminds me of the colonial churches in Antigua Guatemala, too, the old stones and incense that linger in the air long after the last candle’s burned out. Completely genderless, deeply atmospheric, and achingly nostalgic. It doesn’t shout; it hums. It lingers close to the skin, but what it gives you is not performance—it’s presence.

Hinoki Meditation is a genuine surprise! It opens slightly challenging with a leathery and sulfuric facet, alongside "wood-chips". The smoke here though caught me by surprise, it is not a conventionally meditative temple incense smoke. Instead, it is a "fourth of July" type accord in an abstract sense: gunpowder, charred woods, celebratory fire. The hinoki emerges alongside green characteristics that lend to a fougere olfactory experience with a very masc presentation. It is absolutely unique. It accomplishes being easy to wear even through the smoke which is a feat in itself. Quite great woodsy scent! Score: 7/10 Wearability: 7/10 Projection: Moderate Longevity: Moderate

A stunning marriage of warm spices and fresh pine. So bright and sticky that the resins lean citrusy. ALSO there is something sweaty here (No its not just me). Irresistible. Like chopping wood under the sun all day. Pink skin dripping wet, blistered hands dirty and sap-stuck to the axe. Oh my god its incredible. This is the kind of direction I'd hoped the greens and freshies had taken in Enchanting Vietnam. This is distinct! This is the wilderness! This is human and evocative and complex! So beautiful.

I had high hopes for this fragrance. It does have a bit of the d'Annam complexity, namely in the opening as the spices of unburnt incense guide you through the fragrance. However, as soon as those spices cease its almost a clone of Hwyl. I will say the dry down of cypress is far better than the screechy end of Hwyl. Excellent performance, and out of the "exploring a forest" scents (CdG Hinoki, Big Sur Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus 20, Hinoki in Hinoki, and Hwyl) this is the most complex.

a deep-in-the-rainforest-temple scent, but surprisingly very polite and sexy. it could lean more on the masculine side but honestly does it really matter at this day and age. it really is one of the house's most longlasting scents where the drydown (at least to my untrained nose) isn't too harsh, but the hinoki notes sure are STRONG (which i absolutely adore). I could smell this on a man who's got his shit together, actually has a skincare routine, and very calm.

Very woody and spicy, which I personally love. I've never been to Japan so I can't relate to the experience of being inside a wooden temple, but I have been inside a tiny wooden Polish church that this reminds me of. Cypress note is definitely very strong, and there's a subtle sweetness that I can't place. I do kind of feel like this would make me feel itchy if I wore it for too long, but nevertheless I like.

This is so calming yet sexy. It opens with a blast of wood, spices and incense. It dries down to a musky classic men’s fougere. It’s very masculine. I do get Hwyl vibes from this. I imagine myself being a stoic Taoist monk in the forest. Performs pretty well, about 6 hours then sat close to the skin for a couple more. My favorite of the line, I think my next one will be Moonlight Samurai. 9/10

Wow. 6 hrs later it’s still going strong and hasn’t changed much. A really nice dry hinoki accord with just a bit of spice and frankincense. The hinoki is strong but still pleasant—-without the obtrusive, burning cinnamon edge found in Jo Malone Hinoki and Cedarwood. I can still smell it on my skin almost 24 hrs later. Impressive!

A meditative and spa like wood scent with warmly sweet spices and wispy incense. Very Hinoki forward, with the opening being predominately Hinoki woods paired with warm and balmy spices. The incense comes out as the scent develops in a very warmly smoky and subtle way. A beautifully tranquil take on woods

I really like this one! I wasn't very impressed at first but my second time trying my sample I fell in love. It smells like wood and burning incense but in a sexy way somehow. It reminds me of maybe a sharper version of Relique D'Armour and I love both!

Woody leather scent, uber masculine with some crushed leaves—and I would love to roll around on the forest floor with it. Very, very sexy. I love Hinoki Meditation but I am a little too femme to wear it, and unfortunately I can’t get my guy to wear it.

Smells delicious like a lovely and hardworking man who did something for you with his bare hands, less meditative that I was expecting, like Le Labo Eucalyptus20 but somehow less of a temple or church, less catholic guilt, but still in that realm.

Whaoooo.... Im absolutely in love with this as a winter scent. It's very Hinoki/cypress forward with spicy smoky incense in the background and a touch of sweetness. Idk it's hard to describe why I like it so much but it's beautiful ❤️

You are a tall dark and handsome man in a Japanese bathhouse. This is so kino i love it. Unisex but leans masculine. Makes me want to f*ck myself. I'm a woman and hopefully will be attracting many chicks with this fragrance.

D'annam really nailed the "historical wooden temple" smell here - for me, this very much evokes specific memories of visiting a big historical temple in Japan on a cold day with incense wafting.

didn't like the opening, it had a Vicks vaper rub smell to it but my god the dry down earthy, woody, spicy give me a sitting by the window in a cabin on a rainy day vibes 10/10 love it.

Beautiful grounding and very versatile. Smells like a spa in the best way

Reminds me of Okinawan temples. Love it

Definitely a standout in my Japan discovery set. I tend to love meditative fragrances and this one definitely suited my fancy. It will however be divisive, someone commented about it smelling kind of "pissy" which I'm guessing is the hinoki's slightly musky wood. Do be aware some might not like it. As for me, this is my jam, I will wear this straight after a bath with essential oils. It transports me into a spa. Usually, I find those type of "spa" fragrances chemical and synthetic but here I feel llike I entered a sauna in a forest. It's a very woody, slightly camphorous, kind of eucalyptus-like type of smell. It's supported by spices and smoke, of which I certainly get incense coming in not long after the opening. It reminds me of a more green, less sweet version of Zoologist's Macaque, which I adore. As such, I think if you own that it would be redundant but it's still a fantastic fragrance in its own right. You'll get good longevity from this thanks to its woody nature but it doesn't seem to push out much, it's a "heavy" type of fragrance, clinging to skin so if you're looking for nuclear projection, it's not that. On skin, it sticks a good 10 hours on me and I get whiffs of it now and then. Lovely stuff from a brand that hardly seems to do much wrong.

Smooth and harsh both at the same time. It is kind of in your face but at the same time, its a bit passive. Personally i dont like this profile, but the more i smell it the more i like it. When i think of someone who would wanna wear this, i think of a Tall bearded man with a red and black patterned jacket, who loves cutting down trees, with his axe whcih he always carries with him. He seems like the guy who can wrestle a bear, for fun.

this is a strong hinoki expression, perhaps a bit to spicy for my taste but it is controlled. a nice cleaner drier woody scent that remains neutral without being overly fresh or smoky. 4 stars instead of 5 because of the spiciness for me longevity is alright but not the most lasting projection and sillage are moderate but really its not overpowering or noticeable really but it has the ability for sure.

ive never smelled anything like this before, id say it reminded me of those old european churches for some reason, especially with the incense. if this scent was a color it would be a darker green or purple. LMFAO.. id never wear it for everyday but its a pretty interesting scent

It’s very woody and perfectly unisex imo, and indeed very meditative, even spa-like. But it’s more of an atmospheric ritual scent than a perfume to me — I use my sample before bed and it’s super calming, but it’s not something I’d wear to go out or purchase a FB of soon.

Smells quite similar to santal blonde by atelier materi, which is an almost half the price/ml as hinoki meditation on discounters. An enjoyable linear fresh spicy incensey woody scent but u can get cheaper for similar smell and performance

You're in the small playground backyard of the nearby preschool.... cypress trees surround the fence, and all of the kids have gone home. You unfortunately now have to bleach the entire playset. There's dirt and wood chips galore.

I liked this a lot!!! I wouldn't personally wear it, but I enjoy the hinoki cypress opener with the spices, It is medicinal, it's incensey, its green and its temple/church like. Super interesting.

A spicy pine forest essence or incense in a sauna is the best way I could describe this. Unisex, leaning masculine. Fresh, spicy, powerful, herbal, strong. I need to try this further.

Very nostalgic smell to me because it smells like a more earthy vapor rub. If you know what that smells like it’s pretty similar. I love the smell of it

Very temple-like, I could picture exactly what they were going for. If you're a fan of the usual woody/incense scent - this is for you.

This is super sexy. It's heavily masculine though, so I won't wear it but will appreciate it

Nice spicy take on a Hinoki scent that’s super heavy on the cinnamon/anise note. I find this isn’t as heavy on the cypress as a typical Hinoki scent but emphasize spicer aspects more than woody ones. Nice though! could potentially buy after my bottle of Hwyl runs out

It's a perfectly lovely woody scent. It doesn't really stand out as being super unique to me like Snoqualmie by Pineward or Falling Trees be RDF does for me which deliver very specific scent memories for me. I would say if you have those, you can skip.

Hinoki, incense and a lot of spices! It feels like you are burning a rich smelling incense in a hot onsen. Cozy winter scent. I can smell similarity to Aesop Hwyl.

Sexy masculine holiday scent, too masculine for me to wear but I would looove to smell this on my man.

a spicy woody incense, nothing special

I like the opening. It is evocative and warm, spicy, and woody. Does give the impression of Japanese incense, a bit of forest vibe. I'm mixed about the drydown. If I sniff for details, I still smell almost a deep aloeswood incense, slightly umami/savory. But there's also what other people note: a somewhat generic masculine cologne, a little barber-shop, and soapy. For the same ambiance and idea, Satori by Parfums Satori is far better, IMO. Very smooth, serene, warm, incensey, and classy.

It does feel contemplative, but I can’t help but feel that this is too masculine for me. It’s herbal, it’s woodsy aromatic, and it’s got spices. Not my preference, but I can see how this would be attractive to others. I just like ultra-feminine perfumes.

The opening is great, very natural woods with hints of resins, spices and smoke. It turns quickly into a pretty generic, old-fashioned barbershop scent, and after a few minutes, it's hard to bear for me. Older gentlemen might like this.

The most happens in the opening, it's an outburst of hinoki and spices. It gets very salty quickly, which makes me salivate. Is it the cypress or sandalwood causing that? Maybe. But once it settles it's an aftershave.

Tiger Balm and fir. I am not quite sure if I love it or can't stand it. Edit: I hate it. The worst fragrance of both Vietnamese and Japan collection.

It reminds me a lot of Zoologist macaque but in a little more arsh way. Not for me but a good fresh, herbal

Although it's not listed in the notes, this is a musk bomb. It's so offensively musky that I recoil every time I try to smell it. I was hoping for a botanical, woody, green scent, but this is fuzzy and overpowering. I think I'm coming to terms with the fact that I just don't like d'Annam's DNA.

As always, really realistic, and smells absolutely dog shit. Why would you want to smell like medicinal piss. If you like Layton, you'll love this. I hate both.

Smells like slightly spicy shaving gel

there are perhaps beautiful subtleties to be appreciated here, but the initial spiciness (clove, cinnamon, maybe even star anise?) overwhelms them so thoroughly that all i can think of is old-fashioned men's aftershave or cologne, with a hint of camphor that is reminiscent of tiger balm. i'm usually happy to wear masculine scents, but in this case 'curmudgeonly old man with joint pain' isn't what i'm aiming for. i was hoping for more androgyny, smoother, serene wood notes, but this fragrance is too loud to be meditative. it has very powerful sillage early on, though it did chill out by mid-afternoon, thankfully, at which point i layered it with tam dao and realised the latter does what i had hoped hinoki meditation would accomplish, while smelling a lot less dated and commonplace. don't get me wrong, it isn't wholly unpleasant, especially as i get less of the spicy volatiles and more green woodsiness. i think someone with the right swagger could pull it off and dispel the grandfatherly associations, but it just isn't for me. that's two for two 'no thank you's with d'annam, damn.

The opening was amazing in my opinion! Deep, dark Hinoki smell with just a touch of woody notes thrown in there. Strong green opening but more incense and smoke rather than a fresh forest smell (which Arashiyama is, and if you didn't like Hinoki and were expecting more fresh woods, should be your choice). Definitely reminded me of a temple. The drydown was a little harsh, which could have just been our skin chemistry but there was almost a dirty patchouli note in there. It might be the blend of spices with the overwhelming Hinoki note, or the sandalwood thrown in there that disagreed with my skin. This smells great on paper and almost would make the perfect candle but again, isn't something to blind buy all willy-nilly.

The opening is still a wonderfully, bright green, coniferous wood, moment. Similar to crushing fresh cypress leaves in one's hand, presumably hinoki cypress, ...but with that brightness further amplified by a piercing note of unlit frankincense. There is a general sense of spiciness to all this, but no one spice is identifiable, ...and likely a synthetic spice accord is mostly responsible. After that dies away, the woodiness is still very nice, though more ordinary. Creamy sandalwood (and musk?) and more cypress, ... but now more the actual wood, not leaves. I gushed about this in my last review, and wanted to check the stability of my admiration. ....It's still there. This is good wood, very good wood.

Bought the discovery set and tested this sample, i love the hinoki notes in perfumes as it smells to me very clean and bright and green, which it is on first spray with hinoki meditation, but slowly you start to smell the spice and frankincense which to me is a down side, i love when hinoki is used with less spicy overpowering notes like with jo malone's hinoki and cedarwood which gives space for the hinoki to shine and conquer while still having a heavy base with the cedarwood, i would honestly prefer jo malone's perfume over this one if you are looking for a hinoki based perfume.

I didn't get all that much hinoki in this one -- or it wasn't as prevalent as I thought it would be. I got the resins (not smokey or basey -- just the parts that are pre-burn resin, if that makes any sense) -- and not much of other, distinct woods. I felt this one could have been a LOT more woody (just based on what the name is and what I expected this to smell like -- totally my own fault and as a result of my own name-based expectations) -- and having said that, I did NOT mind this scent. Not something I would reach for again, but I didn't mind it, but totally not for me...

That opening of hinoki ...and spices (but which spices?) is so wonderfully full, sharp, and intense. It came off as very different from most other woody scents. I wonder if they extract from the leaves of hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), as well as the wood? Anyway, the exceptional experience of this brought me close to tears, in a good way. The later drydown of frankincense and sandalwood is also quite fine. For me, this is setting a new bar for green-woody scents, one that few will be able to meet.