Holy-wood

Holy-wood is a synthetic, but thoroughly pleasant, scent that, like all of the Nomenclature fragrances, is chemical without any harshness, screechy notes or unappealing industrial qualities. As the bottle with its brushed metal, good quality, atomizer and clear design allusion to laboratory glasswear suggests, this fragrance is a manifestation of skilled chemical lab work, not a blending of natural smells. Surprisingly, perhaps, it works well. The rose note in the mid and the opening are "rosey" without any of the heaviness, femininity or cloyingness that natural rose notes can sometimes have. The pink pepper in the opening and jasmine in the mid are really only nods to these things. There is a spicy, slightly camphorous bite joined to the rose in the opening and a vaguely white floral tone accompanies the rose and spice through the mid, and for 45 minutes or thereabouts, the fragrance is at once floral and not floral with an olfactory shape shifter ability that only skilled chemistry can produce. It is all just a bit intriguing and completely unisex. As the base notes weave their way into the lingering rose and spice, something very elegant and enjoyable happens. You are left with a noticeably projecting and somewhat enduring woody and soft suede scent with just a hint of spice and rose. Very nice indeed. Taken as a whole, then, Holy-wood is an interesting and very pleasant, office safe, fragrance that is ideally suited for fine, bright, crisp autumn days where the scent's clear, clean and transparent woody and rose-tinged leathery spiciness simply work wonderfully with the bright, autumnal air. Synthetic perfumery (and partly natural but essentially aromachemical scents more generally) is often viewed unfavorably here on Fragrantica, but Holy-wood is a testimonial to the fact that sometimes, when executed with great skill, these types of scents can be very nice indeed. Recommended.

I can't tolerate Armani's Rose Arabie. This fragrance is like a much better version of that to me. It doesn't have that cedar-like scent dominating the fragrance. It is well balanced. Probably the best in that Rose-wood category that I have tried in a while.

Dusty saffron jumps out first, followed by rose. Patchouli? No, but I do get an earthy undertone.

If I could describe this in two words, they'd be "it's fine". If you've smelled a patchouli-rose combo (which given how saturated the market is, I'm certain you have), you've smelled this - except you've probably smelled a better version. While this is done well in the sense that it does what it says it's going to do, it's incredibly simple and lacks nuance. There's no surprise here. Don't go into this one expecting something revolutionary.

A lot of rose to start, making this smell surprisingly drugstore, really similar to a whole lot of rosechoulis on the market. But it does open up with more pepper and sandalwood, and become something more unique. Still, I am "more is more" when it comes to woods, so this would not come close to scratching that itch for me. This is unisex as in "genderless," not unisex as in "androgynous."

To me this is a soapy rose with undertones of gently smoked white/pale woods. Smelling something sparkling, possibly aldehydes. Leans a bit feminine for me, though. 7.0/10

I ordered some samples from Aedes and they included a sample of Holy-wood gratis. When I first apply this, I really don't enjoy it. I have to smell it at arm's length. There is something in here that smells like bathroom to me. Not feces, not urine, but a literal bathroom. It smells like a tile bathroom in South Asia that is always slightly damp. It is clean, cleaned with bleach and other harsh cleaning products that have no flowery or lemony smell to mask the chemicals. It smells like that kind of bathroom when I get too close to where I've applied. Pretty unfortunate, and makes me almost gag. From a distance, this whole scent reads to me as a chemical but also hippie patchouli. After about four hours of wear, I no longer smell that bathroom accord. This is a synthetic woody fragrance, with synthesized rose and a sharpened patchouli. The funk is gone, and we are left with a futuristic rose/wood, that's the best way I can put it. The suede is not soft here. Maybe the Jetsons' home would smell like this. It still has a faint residue of bleach. This whole review isn't sounding that positive, I know - but wearing Holy-wood was not an entirely negative experience. I can appreciate this stripped and molecule-esque rose for the coolness factor of it. In the air around me, it smells modern and woody-fresh. It's not off-putting to my husband, so it's not as scary as I've made it seem above. These kinds of purposefully synthetic smelling fragrances (or "compounds") are not my style, but I did enjoy sniffing it this version of a rose-patchouli. It is definitely unique. Thank you for sending it to me, Aedes Perfumery :)

I should say at the outset that my fragrance preferences are far to the femme side of the spectrum. Bois des Iles is about as unisex as I get, but I have been trying to branch out and experience things beyond my comfort zone. I received a sample of Holy-wood with an order, and, knowing nothing beyond that it is marketed as for men and women, I decided to give it a try. It pains me to say that I get none of the floral notes described, nor sandalwood, nor patchouli. To me it smells way too far on the masculine side. I get nothing but sharp green wood, lime, and leather. It smells very, very similar to an aftershave my dad wore when I was a little kid in the 70s (neither he nor I remember what it was). I adore my dad, so it's a lovely association...but I don't want to smell like it. Unfortunately, it's a tenacious thing, and I can't get it off no matter how much I scrub. Bright side is that now I know what to get my dad for Christmas!

I experience two stage with this perfume. The first 30 minutes is utter disgust - I immediately get a petrochemical smell, like diesel at the petrol station. It is harsh and confronting and not pleasant. Then as it settles on my skin I get an interesting wood smell with an almost (I say almost because it is fleeting) camphor quality. Interestingly it is much nicer from a distance - sniffing it up close to my skin is not as pleasant as a waft from a meter away. I've definitely never smelt something like this before, and Nomenclature is to be applauded for pushing the boundaries. Such dry, woody scents are not for me, but I can appreciate the intent.

In vial, this smells like rubbing alcohol, but first on skin, it’s powdery suede and wood, with no scream. It dries fine, but the roses make it similar to Boadicea Ardent and its sweet florals with woody, tarry suede in a combination I don’t care for. It's just a little too sweet and cloying on my skin, with a edged wood base note. So nice suede and wood start gets murky in the end. Try before buy.

Looking at the notes I thought this would come off as feminine, but the top notes do not last long at all. Which is good, because there's a lot of depth in the leathery, woody, almost smoky base notes. It stays fresh somehow, in a synthetic way. Smells really pleasant and unique, but I could see this one being a bit polarizing.

deep, sexy, nothing too overwhelming, nothing sweet or fruity, just perfect.