Mown

I have only recently discovered Henley perfumes and I must say I am actually quite surprised by them. I expected something much different, much more “indie”. By that I mean a little rough around the edges, trying to be cool and edgy, maybe even a little weird. I’m not sure why I felt this way but for some reason I had it in my head. And what I am experiencing is the complete opposite. The fragrances are all polished, graceful, and you can tell he spends a lot of time on them. They are all perfectly balanced, beautiful, and crowdpleasing while still remaining unique and thought provoking. They have a natural feel about them but you can tell they are enhanced with aroma chemicals but he clearly knows how to use them. Instead of making up the majority of the fragrance as we often smell, they are used to enhance and perfect the structure and feel. Which is, in my opinion, the way the best perfumes are made. Mown is a perfect example of all of this with an extremely pleasing balance of chamomile, tobacco and champaca surrounding grasses and mosses. There is a delicate and natural sweetness to it, and a dampness. It reminds me of the steamy scent of sweet grasses and fruit trees that you get after a rain when the sun comes out immediately after. There is oddly an element of sadness to it that I can’t quite put my finger on. But the melancholic feeling is what adds to the beauty. It is completely unisex and impossible to label a slant either way. Beautifully put together.

A strange effect for me: this isn't so much mown as ... burnt, or at least singed and smouldering long grass... which is lovely in its own way. Just as well I love smoke, as I get a much much drier landscape from this than other writers here; I get no humidity at all, just one waft after another of parched dry grassland and light deciduous forest. Deeply imbued with all sorts of deep ochre-yellow-orange autumn colour, dry hay and tobacco leaves; even the sweeter notes (apricot? raisin?) add more dry warmth, rather than any more liquid sense of juice or pulp. Camomile and champaca summoning the flowers of the meadow into the mix. An archaic imaginary frontier farm at harvest time, then, with none of the manure or industrial chemicals of real-life agriculture, as you sit on the rickety wooden porch in the golden hour just whiling away the time as dusk draws in on a long autumn evening. Like that reverie, it can't last forever - this has less staying power than some of Hendley's other outdoor trips, enduring only 2-3h on me - but it's got tremendous nostalgic and evocative power all the same. Organic, rooted, authentic, natural, heart-string-tugging work here. You have to try it; no words will do it justice.

Szénaboglya tánc az avaron - a folyékony nyári napfény illata... Egy rituális szellemi és testi egyesülés a frissen kaszált szénával borított réten, ahova a szél befújja a nedves faleveleket a szomszédos erdőből, kamillás, dohányos klorofill-bombaként feltoluló olfaktorikus, kinesztetikus, már-már gusztatorikus orgazmus. Messze a nagyváros zajától, gyermekkori emlékek tolulnak fel, a nyári szünet utolsó fékevesztett napjai a nagyszülők házában, az őszt előrevetítő utolsó kergetőző hempergőzések a kaszált mezőn, mikor a bágyadt, sárgás-vörösen izzó lemenő nap sugarai zizegtetik a szalmabálákat. A széna abszolút illatos testvérével, a dohánylevéllel ölelkezik champaca szirmokkal borított plüss mohaágyon, verejtékes napsütötte bőrük pólusain keresztül aszalt gyümölcsök selymesen mézes cseppjei türemkednek a felszínre...édesen odaadó megkönnyebbülés.

Mown opens with dry blonde hay, fresh tobacco, and chamomile with just a hint of malty sweetness. The savory florals of the chamomile and champaca resonate with the earthier notes—it almost reminds me of a sea of wheat, shimmering warm and slow in the sun at the end of harvest; yellow and brown grasses rather than green. It's a pretty linear (and somewhat subdued) composition, but it gets a little mossier as it ages on the skin (and it sticks around for quite a while). Fragrances are tied to time and place for me—I first sampled this in the summer and could immediately just feel it was off. I've waited for the weather to cool to brisk fall temperatures, and Mown finally feels right. It's lovely. As I write this in October 2018, it's been out of stock for a few months on Hendley's website, but here's hoping it comes back soon. (8/10)

A really original take on the "New Mown Hay" genre of perfume. The few of those I've smelled from when they were all the rage in the late 19th/early 20th century were all centered on coumarin and tried to play up its sweet, almond, grassiness with few adornments. Mown smells legitimately like wet, freshly baled hay in a field in autumn. It's a truly atmospheric scent. Hendley leans into both the raisin-like quality of hay absolute with a dried fruit accord and the herbal, dry-tobacco facet of the substance as well. Despite the fact that it is so vivid and lifelike in its impression of hay, it feels subtle and wearable. Wonderful scent!

It starts out sweet, earthy hay, with cocoa-dusted tobacco, prunes, raisins .. Sometimes spicy like a sweet chocolate gingerbread. Slightly liqueur. Enough. This on my skin, until the powerful note of chamomile emerges. Distinguishing, balanced, dissolved in a dry, elegant, flowery cloud, masculine stuffed with oak moss. Like a double-breasted gourmant. Comfortable. Serene. Paternal. Masterfully balanced with a sillage of naughty but always enjoyable and present whiffs. More pleasant during the day, even in the warm seasons. An elegant and formal aura. I recommend the test. Charming.

I love it, I love hay and chamomile, it has just a little bit of sweetness that prevents the perfume to be too green for my taste. There are not many perfumes out there so lovely melancholic and meditative and it ́s for sure something different and original despite not loud or overly artistic. I think many people can like it but it ́s not for everybody to wear. Very good quality of materials. Soft, beautiful dream. I will order a full bottle soon.

This is my ideal summer "field" scent. Nothing overtly flowery. No citrus that I can detect. Smells like hay and muted honey, dry grass. I don't know what clover is supposed to smell like, but there is a sweet scent in the air on hot days in the dry midwest area of the U.S. where I grew up, and this is very close to that. Very comforting. This is an intimate scent for me--it doesn't project much away from the skin. Longevity is medium.

Beautiful perfume! Soft, mild and natural smelling. My favorites are natural perfumes and this one has a similar feel, no screechy contemporary popular aromachemicals that I can detect. Very smooth and comforting, happy. I would not describe it as sweet at all, the "sweet" in top of the description is what kept me from blind buying this, but when I got to try it yesterday, it went on top of my want list.

I'm glad to be finally sampling the latest from Hans Hendley, Mown, and it's quite intriguing. The most obvious component is a heavy use of hay, followed by some tobacco, and dried fruits for most of the sweetness, with some of the champaca flower to add its floral sweetness. Overall, it has the earthy, plant-like quality of the hay, but is also earthy, sweet, and even a bit green. It feels relatively inviting and easy to wear, but I'm assuming it's nonetheless unorthodox enough for some to be turned off by it. Certainly unisex, it's a pretty good performer but probably not as strong as most of Hans' other offerings that I've tried (i.e. Rosenthal, Amora, Fume, etc.). Still, it does well enough for what type of fragrance it is. I quite like it but I'm not sure if it's a "love" but I do want to try it some more. I'm not sure if I'm more intrigued by it or if it's actually something I want to wear a lot. Priced at $150 for 50ml or $28 for a 9ml travel size, it's not unaffordable but given that it's not a beastly performer, it more or less needs to be one you love in order to buy it. 7 out of 10

This really surprised me. From the name and some of the notes I expected a fresher, grassier type of perfume or at least a fresh mown hay. I have to agree with the absolutely beautiful review written below that this is an older hay. It’s starting to compost a little, and has been stored in a cool barn all summer. It has a very earthy smell, with only occasional glimpses of brightness. Mown is like a Fall festival held in a country village, where everyone sits on last summer’s slightly damp hay bales and the smell of the harvest, soil, and dried fruits permeates the air. There may be a little tobacco drying in the barn that the bales were stored in. It’s beautiful but a little sad and has that end of season feel of foggy days and impending winter. The dry down on this is very gentle and even at the ten hour mark if you put your nose to your skin you will smell a wonderful almost subliminal dried fruits sweet scent, it might actually be my favorite of all this perfume’s stages although I like them all.

Testing this for the first time. Goes on a bit sweet and smells like a dark, damp tobacco. I’m sensing some dirt which also smells vaguely chocolatey. The hay hovers above some of the denser notes and as it lightens up a bit, it’s reminding me of the brilliant Oriza L Legrand Chypre Mousse in all its damp forest floor, mushroomy glory. This is definitely an autumnal scent and I’m finding it wistful and a bit melancholic, but not disquieting. More-so than a similar themed perfume I love called Eau de Polder by L’Essence de Mastenbroek which is the hay theme but has more of a summer’s eve, pastoral feel and is less melancholy and more comforting. Mown is more of a mood and an ambience than a perfume to me. I’d probably treat it the way I treat my few mls of Chypre Mousse- occasionally I like to put a dab on my hand and just contemplate life until I’m forced to leave my little fairy lair in the woods because I’ve run out of half-&-half.

This is an interesting fragrance. At first sniff it immediately reminded me of hiking in a dry grassy area, and pulling out my fruit-heavy trail mix after it has been baked and warmed in the sun. The hay note is quite strong and is realistic. It is a dried hay like a hay bale, not the green hay that is growing in a field. It does have other plant notes mixed in, notably a dried tobacco. The fruits do have a sweetness that is reminiscent of dried fruits...fruits in the process of being dried. It could be the smell of an autumn harvest...hay and fruits. It is unisex and performance is quite good. I don't love it, but I think it is a respectable entry. If you are looking for a fragrance as I've described above, you can't really go wrong. There are sample packs and 9ml travel bottles available for a reasonable price.

With the name 'Mown', I was so worried that it would smell like grass and landmowers, but thankful to report that it is not so literal. It is herbal and outdoorsy, but in a sweet and comforting way. Smells like late summer turning into fall. I smell the chamomile quite strongly, smells like an evening outside with comforting mugs of tea. And definitely get the dried fruits, maybe people are eating raisin muffins in the grass. I can see the fireflies at dusk in my mind's eye. It's not a fresh grassy scent, it more just smells like enjoying the outdoors in a very relaxed way. It makes sense that it is called 'Mown' instead of 'Mowing' - as reviewers wrote below, this is not a fresh-cut hay or grass. I like it, and I usually do not enjoy grass type fragrances - this one is just nice and homey.

Fluffy sweet yet humid tobacco. Champaca on dried fruits is the humid effect, while adding tobacco is like adding a sour note to it, then comes the oakmoss, and fluffy hay. The tobacco is blended in with musk mellow and made it kind of harsh but soft. In general, the blend is tobaccoish, fluffy greenish, and slightly sweet... all is balanced and blended well like Hendley's creations. I still believe this guy requires more visits to different parts of the world in order to examine the hidden treasures that he could find and the gems that he will come up with from witnessing such cultures, & places. Hendley have the potential of being one of the leading perfumers, if he remained this creative & explored the world, then he will be a national treasure.

Soft sweet grass. It opens with an immortelle-tinged hay accord paired with stewed fruit and a bit of oakmoss; I don't get a very big tobacco accord. I'm not quite familiar with the smell of champaca, but there's a floral nuance (that doesn't smell like chamomile) which I really enjoy. I get more of the chamomile toward the end of the drydown, and it almost takes the form of chamomile tea. It is a nice scent, particularly for the late summer as mentioned in the press blurb. However, I find it to be a very quiet performer and I would like it to be a bit stronger. Otherwise really well blended mix and smells quite natural.

I recognize only a slight connection with Erawan when wearing Mown. Both are natural and aromatic, but where Erawan goes gourmand (I’m one of the people who picks up a chocolate/food note), Mown takes a walk along a mountain trail. You start near a farm, but the longer you walk the deeper you get into a meadow. My second Henley is intriguing. I’m getting to know the perfumer through his creations in a short amount of time, and I really like his approach to making perfume. This one is art in a bottle.

although all of the notes are smooth and well-blended into a completely unique fragrance, what is prominent to my nose is the chamomile. This is an earthy, green, tea fragrance with some oakmoss and hay. The green growing tobacco and mixed fruit were more prominent in the top but lend a touch of sweetness to the mix so that it isn't completely herbal and grassy. When it completely dries down, it is chamomile and oakmoss. Very dry.

There is no sweet grass (or fruit!) in this fragrance. This is the grass mowed last week, sitting in the summer's heat on its way to be composted. It's the scent that the bee carries on its thorax as it wends its way back to the hive, laden with pollen from the wild flower meadow; no sweetness yet to show for his labours, just hints of flowers and moss that have been brushed past on the way. If you are in a melancholic mood, missing garden scents in the doldrums of winter, this fragrance meets you halfway. It conveys a brief memory of spring and summer, - like pressed flowers, - but in the process, it reinforces a sense of exile from The Real Thing.

Mown is a whole lot of powdery hay, dusty orris and chamomile. It essentially smells like a nice scented candle. Very light, perfumey and unisex but leans feminine. The tobacco lasts for a whole 5 minutes which lends a dried fruit/spice/raisin nuance which is a shame because it’s the most interesting aspect of this fragrance. Had the opening 10 minutes lasted even an hour Mown would be worthy of a full bottle. As it stands I’m glad I own 15ml’s for those moments in the heat where I want something light, powdery, and gently herbal. Overall this is a green, herbal, powdery candle-like fragrance. There’s a gentle white musk adding powdery soft linens draping over the entire scent. Don’t expect much dried fruits or tobacco. This is all about lighter side of sun kissed fields and wind swept linens. Maybe that was the point? It’s the aroma of fresh cotton linens on a windy but sunny day in a hay field.