Soul Of The Forest

The scent profile of Soul of the Forest can probably be best described by comparing it to Autumn Vibes. Where Autumn Vibes can be described as a deciduous forest in early autumn morning with dewey wet orange leaves on the ground, Soul of the forest is more of a coniferous forest. The oakmoss and paminto in the top notes, combined with fir and tree sap in the mid give it a very pleasant piney smell, and throw in the incense and the group of notes gives a slightly camphor-like accord. There is a slight cumin accord, no doubt formed by that group of notes. But its yet another example of that cumin accord used well. It will pair well with Autumn Vibes in my collection. The drydown gives off slight vibes of Houbigant Bois Mystique, probably due to the cedar and incense notes common to the two. Update: I just sprayed Penhaligon Terrible Teddy on card and its giving me Vibes of Soul of the Forest on steroids. Update2: Now that I have become acquainted with Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles, I can say it's not very similar to Soul of the Forest. The coniferous and incense accords in Soul of the Forest are deeper, richer, more prominent. The fruity accord is more prominent than the dried fruits of Fille en Aiguilles. All of these accords are relegated to the background of Fille en Aiguilles, and it seems the vetiver is pronounced. Fille en Aiguilles is more non-coniferous woody. A dry, dusty woodiness.

TL;DR: I am tree, and tree is me. Life is good. Blind buy full bottle worthy. @archiephillips already got one shoutout, but I'll give him another and repeat the parts of his review that I agree with: "The opening is incredible, and the best part of the fragrance. Green and sappy fir with rugged cedar, alongside a tinge of dark blackcurrant. As far as I am concerned, Soul of the Forest captures the smell of nature pretty well. It's not quite photo-realistic, but this smells far more natural than synthetic...The replica series of fragrances can be very hit and miss, but this is a hit for me. It's definitely my favourite forest scent I have come across thus far." I am truly grateful that I cannot detect any pimento--I already got an olfactory assault of freshly sliced green bell pepper and jalapeno with MMM's "Wicked Love", and I am not keen on repeating that experience anytime soon. Unlike @theymightbejenny, I actually found mine for less than current Replica retail (despite it being discontinued) in the good ole' often murky waters of Ebay, and I have no reason to suspect that it's fake. I could not find any decants or travel sprays, so I went ahead and blind bought a full bottle, and I am glad that the risk paid off. I agree that longevity isn't great, but it's such a beautiful scent, and for a reasonable enough price that I can forgive the 4-5 hour longevity.

I've been on the hunt for a forest scent that is truly unisex, and this is the one! I agree with everything archiephillips said. All the other forest-y/pine scents I've tried generally fall into one of two categories: 1. smoky and/or overly masculine (Serge Lutens Filles en Aiguilles [smoky masc], IA Cape Heartache [smoky masc], Ineke Idyllwild [barbershop masc]) or 2. cloyingly fruity to the point that it overtakes the pine (Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest, Olympic Orchids Blackbird). This scent opens with a burst of freshness - there's pine needles here, as well as mossy rocks, and tree sap. Nothing synthetic to my nose - this is a beautifully authentic, crisp air, walk-in-the-woods experience. For my fellow dirt lovers, there's no loam in here, but it's still very forest-floor. The drydown is like an actual pine wood plank - drier than the opening, but still woodsy and natural. Even though it's listed above as a note, I don't get any incense or smoke in this, which I think is what keeps it from leaning too masculine. Performance isn't outstanding, but I prefer softer, skin scents so that's a plus for me. Because the drydown is a bit linear and soft, this layers well (with Demeter Dirt, for example). It's expensive and discontinued, but I have yet to sniff anything that comes remotely close, so it was worth the hunt. Hopefully they re-release it.

First 15 minutes are absolutely exceptional, but its magic is fleeting and it turns into a more polite and agreeable resinous skin scent fairly quick. I don't really understand why all of Replica's eau de parfums are priced more than the clear bottle line when they have the same longevity and sillage as the eau de toilettes. They just have more abstract names and come in a black glass bottle instead of a clear one, but otherwise they might as well be one and the same. The beginning of this smells like a true high-end niche. There's rich, damp moss, resinous and slightly sweet tree sap, I can almost smell wet earth. But there's also a very head shop feel thanks to incense and patchouli. It's somewhere in between your dad's aftershave and a hippie patchouli deodorant, but in the most elegant possible way. Smells very expensive and truly unisex. Then, at an incredibly quick pace, it mellows into a woody balsamic "your skin but better" scent, with faint whispers of burnt incense. And that dry down is also truly beautiful, but less strikingly one-of-a-kind and also far below expectations for this kind of price. Would likely be full bottle worthy if it was priced like the eau de toilettes, but it's a really hard ask at the inflated price for the black bottle line and an even harder ask at what prices it's going on eBay these days. Jeez.

I wanted to buy this for my son because he is a nature lover and loves to take walks in the woods, especially since he came back from a beautiful summer trip in Scandinavia where he spent a lot of time in various forests. I read about this beauty on here after it had been discontinued, as it often happens, but I managed to track down a bottle at a somewhat reasonable price. The bottle was new but the box was not sealed, so I don't know how much the fragrance has been affected from the original intent. This is what I got: The opening is very, very minty! It's so minty that it is a bit harsh, however that only lasts for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then it settles down into the soft fir and cedar. The woods is what projects the most. It's truly is such a comforting scent at this state. It's clean, woodsy, and a little powdery, especially as the journey comes to the drydown stage. I consider this to be a masculine fragrance but it could definitely work for a woman who prefers clean scents. Longevity isn't stellar but that's typical of Replica EDTs. My son's final veredict? He said, "It smells like Finland!" as he sniffed his arm over and over in sheer delight. So I would say it is a definite success.