Santi Ana

A day with Santi Ana By FolkWinds A Scent that showcases the changing of the seasons here in coastal New England. This one is very nostalgic for me as I grew up in upstate New York in the land of Apple orchards and have since spent the second half my life living here in Rhode Island. Imagine an apple orchard abutting the rocky Rhode island coastline in the late autumn months. Let’s take a trip...... “While Home visiting family for The holiday you decide to take a ride on some old back roads. It’s been years since you went to the orchard that you frequented as a child on family outings. Pulling up the to orchard you realize The “pick your own” apple season has long since ended and the orchard is currently closed. No one’s there so you jump the fence and help yourself to what’s left of the autumn bounty. You swipe one of the last few apples left on the tree and take a big juicy bite. The ground is strewn with fallen apples, turning brown, and beginning to rot. They are everywhere around your feet releasing a boozy fermented aroma. Honey Bees are buzzing around getting the last bit of nutrition from them before the long winter ahead trying to survive in the hive. Though the air is cool the sun warms your face. You walk between the trees on the hay lined Paths that crunch beneath your feet. Making your way to the rocky coast. Take a deep breath, and savor the beauty of Coastal New England in the late fall. This is a truly beautiful creation. Jono has really captured something special. With the opening you’re hit with that big juicy apple mixed with the mint and a touch of ambergris. As we work down into the mid the beautiful spices come up through and the apple note transitions from a bright almost sour green apple into an over ripe and bruised apple that’s starting to ferment. The Apple blended with all the spices that show up next gives it a mulled cider vibe. Next The mix of propolis, honeysuckle, and beach rose add another honeyed fruit layer to this already complex creation. A prominent hay note that blankets the whole thing winds up mimicking a woody base of sorts. If you love fall in New England, apple orchards, and cool winter ocean winds this is a must have for you.

Santi Ana by Folkwinds, where to start with this one! Lets begin with saying this is one of the easiest wears and grabs. Its light and airy but at the same time extremely long lasting and diffusive. Really perfect for any season. Opens up with a touch of mint, honeysuckle, and some gorgeous white ambergris with a dash of rose. The Hay is not necessarily noticeable but combines with the tobacco and propolis to add a slight woodsy note to the composition. Finally to round it all off, on the dry down you get this absolutely beautiful caramel apple note that adds the perfect amount of sweet goodness to the blend. Side note Jono and I were sending some testers back and forth earlier this summer and this is one of two scents I brought with me on my honeymoon out of a catalogue of scents. Its so perfect along with the rest of the releases from this house. An absolute banger!

Santi Ana envisions sitting in an old, dusty barn filled with green hay whilst the sun beams through cracks in the roof and the gentle whiff of summer flowers bellows through the air. Words cannot describe how transportive this scent is. The hay is the most dominant note - it’s dry, earthy, slightly green and smells as if the real thing is right in front of you. The juicy freshness of honeysuckle and apple create that imagery of florals on a hot summers day, whilst hints of sweet propolis and sharp mint tie everything together beautifully. This scent is magical, it smells strangely nostalgic and yet I can’t place a memory to it. The quality of ingredients is phenomenal, this is pure artistry but unfortunately you simply cannot justify the insane price for a perfume is more like a memory in a bottle rather than something you’d wear regularly.

The smell of a Virginia mountain on a crisp Autumn morning this is a nostalgic, natural, outdoorsy and very American woody aromatic scent from this new house. The scent opens with notes of green apple, mint, honeysuckle and rose hip. As it settles, we get notes of tobacco, liatris, hay, and slight spice. The perfume settles on a bed of ambergris, propolis and sandalwood. The masculine leaning scent has moderate to strong sillage and good longevity. Fans of brands like Slumberhouse will find much to admire in this offering which is a refreshing new voice in modern perfumery. It is transportive olfaction designed to take you to memorable places you may or not have been to. Enjoy! (Disclosure: I provided pro bono creative advice on earlier iterations of the perfume. I paid for my bottle of the scent)

Santi Ana begins very light green, almost waxy with the slightest mentholic hint. Dry hay and slight spice enter the fold soon after before a faint apple peaks out into the open. There is a kind of honey sweetness, but if the honey was infused into Burts bees chapstick. The mid to drydown seems familiar, living in the Midwest where fall hay rides and apple orchards are never far away. To my nose, there are accords of honey nut cheerios/apple Jack's cereal and flannel shirts. Kids bobbing for apples and running through mazes. All of this is contained in a sort of overall floral earthiness. It's probably the most intriguing, or maybe difficult, to fully understand of the first collection. The nuances are subtle and require your full attention. I've begun to enjoy it more & more the more time I spend with it.