TELL ME ABOUT THE FOREST (YOU ONCE CALLED HOME)

Fear not the power of the conifers. They shelter, They heal, They are responsible for much of the Earth's respiration. They are also associated with myriad connotations and folklore depending on the culture. Take the sacred spruce—the Hopi people believe that it was once a medicine who turned himself into a tree. In James Elliot's Tell Me About the Forest..., I imagine this is how that medicine man smelled just as he was about to undergo his metamorphosis. There's the slightest saline human perspiration (I would attribute some of this to a lovely thyme/time) but the resin weeps and the bark hardens, the needles sprout, the forest is in awe, and the transformation is complete in the dry summer air. Evergreen lovers do take note.

Wonderfully bright and authentic. If you think of trimming down a live Christmas tree to bring indoors, this is what the scent will remind you of.

Mentholated, green, crisp wet woods. Absolutely gorgeous.

This is probably my favorite aquatic woods fragrance that I have smelled as of the time writing this review. This sample set I received is my first introduction to James’ work and water based perfumes as a whole. I’m still figuring out if I prefer the water based or the normal perfumers alcohol, but that’s besides the point of this review. This fragrance starts with a bright and airy ambergris that’s super clean, refreshing, and watery. To me it’s clean water like property is very similar to DS & Durga’s “Steamed Rainbow” but unlike that one this one actually seems to last a bit longer than 30 minutes. Then as it dries down a bit more the juniper is what really takes the lead with the ambergris and thyme mixing in as support. The juniper being nice, light, and clean though as the ambergris reflects its properties onto it. It’s almost cold in a way that juniper berries can be which is interesting to smell from the plant itself. This and the opening seem to push of my skin within the radius that I can reach which is pretty good for water based! Then as it dries down to its base after about 3-4.5 hours it becomes a really airy and simple spruce and pine wood scent that has intimate projection. Overall? A pretty refreshing aquatic woody scent! It’s clean and crisp and perfectly unisex. I can totally see this being a persons signature scent during the day, but further testing of its longevity is required. It’s really nice and one of my favs from the samples I have smelled.

Absolutely divine. I have always loved evergreen scents; it didn't matter to me if it read as Christmas-y or air freshener-y because I knew I would enjoy it either way. TELL ME ABOUT THE FOREST (YOU ONCE CALLED HOME) doesn't read that way though, and I think it is due to the ambergris. It is slightly aquatic, and reminds me of a foggy forest. This is exactly how I would imagine the Twilight Saga to smell, which makes me like it even more.

Really nice, crisp, green, woody scent. I don't get much of the ambergris at all. To me, this is about spruce and juniper at the beginning, and then evolves into the scent of a log cabin with evergreen boughs hanging from the ceiling. The aquatic notes come through just enough that it never comes across too christmas-y, or air-freshener-y. This is one of my favourite forest scents.

Tell Me About The Forest (You Once Called Home)is fir and spruce and juniper and is an immediate love. I have a huge fondness for fairy-tale forest fragrances, but so many of them are sticky, a fairy forest syrup that you measure a bar spoon into for some sort of Hansel and Gretel cocktail. This doesn’t have that treacly quality; it’s...dryer? Maybe a bit bitter. I feel like it’s a bit of a hermit-ascetic with an acerbic wit and a love of irony. It reminds me of dense, darkened thickets in the midnight woodland art of Tin Can Forest.

Starts a nice piney woody scent but descends rapidly into pickle territory and stays there. Not everyone will have this experience, but many many woods go pickle on me, so if you get that, then this is still an accurate review. If you don't, this is a good piney wood scent.