Wood and Absinth

Bit of a long transition from opening to its credits. Testing blind this opened with what I thought may have been a good squeeze of lime, but a good 5-10 minutes later you'd swear you got some nice jasmine soap with a mineral floral edge, like a good g&t. But wait just a minute, that's not all... we're going to warm up a bit, get woodsy, and settle in within the hour to something a bit more welcoming. At times this transition felt like a tangy dessert in a patisserie decorated with floral arrangements. At one point it's a bit soft and pillowy, while petals of something float above. But it settles down to a spring wood, aromatic, a bit sporty, but familiar and comfy. The whole time in testing this blind I felt I was missing something obvious. Something so familiar yet it evaded me. Looking at the notes it must be the absinthe. Its initial bite slowly fades and gives the woods a musky spice that compliments them well. I'm getting more rosewood and cedar than the vetiver. The sage adds an herby aromatic fill without looking for too much attention. And Jasmine does well to keep it fresh (though some people might find this a bit too soapy). For whatever reason I get early spring mornings, when the air is still quite crisp and you know the day will be sunny but nice and cool. For me the projection leans more towards intimate unless you really lay it on, but pretty much hard to find after 6/7-ish hours. There's something about it I like but at times I feel it doesn't differentiate itself enough.

I purchased this one because I wanted to try an absinthe fragrance. I am still not sure how accurate the absinthe note is, but it blends well with the fragrance Overall, I find this one to be light, pleasant, and easy to wear in warm weather. The ceder, vetiver, and jasmine puts the scent into familiar territory so I would not rate this one as particularly unique. On the other hand, Palisander Rosewood is uncommon and I quite like it as a part of Strangeloves's Falling into Stars and Hermes H24. H24 bears some comparison with Wood and Absinthe. Both are fine fragrances but nothing exceptional in the way I find Falling into Stars to be. It is a unisex fragrance that seems more suitable to daytime wear. Mark Buston has created many fragrances over the years. If you are a fan of his then this one might be worth trying but I think there are many better options out there.