Earthtones #3: North Woods

A good friend of mine introduced me to this house by sending me multiple samples. I am so glad to have discovered this gem through sampling. North Woods, to my nose, opens with a blast of pine. The beginning phase has a resinous quality and reminds me exactly of the scent of the sticky sap seeping from coniferous trees. This phase smells like a wonderfully crisp day on winter. Very quickly, a strong waft of sweetness joins the woodiness. It swings the scent from the winter to a sunny spring day. I definitely get some basil here, and it just works perfectly. As it dries down, the sweetness subsides just a little, and I'm left with that lovely green pine, joined by some dark notes that I can't quite put a finger on. It turns back to being cool and extremely fresh. I'm a big climbing fan, and I can only describe this stage as high-altitude. The oakmoss note gives it the air-cutting freshness that you sense from being extremely high up. That's a solid positive in my books. This scent is extremely well-blended with lots of complexity and the smoothest progression. I find it hard to pin-point specific notes other than the fir (which I thought was pine), but that's part of the charm. It smells more like a situation and environment than a fragrance. The execution is just brilliant. The scent and performance are excellent and the resulting composition is extremely unique. This is a gem.

I received my sample of this today, and it's one of the most evocative fragrances I've ever experienced. As a child my favorite place to go was a beautiful old summer house in Jaffrey, N.H. owned by family friends. It was surrounded by acres of forest that I spent many hours exploring. As soon as I sprayed this on I was back in that forest. Everything was there - the cool conifers, the enormous leafy trees of all kinds, the damp places in the hollows of those trees where the rainfall never completely dried, the small clearings where the wildflowers grew and the rich earthy mossy leafy smell of the forest floor. This is pure artistry!

springtime woods in the northwest. for cold romping while you wait for the sun