Arizona

Oh yeah. Take me outside, baby ... in scent. A fascinating, quirky, honest breath of fresh air and sheer magic in its conjuring-up of distant lands far from my concrete jungle. A magic carpet, whisking you away - it fills the brief with Olympic Orchids' usual amazing brio. I have never in my life been to the US grasslands - the high chaparral is a purely imaginary landscape for me - but this precious juice takes me there effortlessly. Definitely a scent of place more than a perfume, yet a seriously impressive work of perfume art at the same time. Incredibly vivid sense impression of dry, almost crispy leaves and grass underfoot, all sorts of volatile oils shimmering off sunbaked wood, a sense of golden dust. Yes, I get serious tangs of turpentine and conifer at first (and love that) ... it's certainly raw, rugged not a 'salon perfume' in any way. Some might find it too weird, too rugged and ungroomed - round the edges it's almost ragged; if you get downwind of it at the wrong moment it verges on a liniment or a perfume oil - but in a strange way that's exactly what I love about it. Serious herbal vibes of artemisia and juniper make it almost medicinal, bracing like one of those borderline-horrible European liqueurs, but in a way that opened both my nose and my heart to it. Won't be a crowd pleaser; it's not interested in doing that, just wants to be true to itself. More sophisticated than it looks, then. Is there a wisp of smoke in the distance or the whiff of saddle leather in there as well? Not in the pyramid here, but definitely present in my mind. Very much of the same nature-heavy school as D S & Durga's Mississippi Medicine or Freetrapper but closest to the high, dry, herbal-aromatic feel of El Cosmico. I have an old bottle of this in its incarnation as Tucson and sprayed today for the first time in conscious memory. Was crazy to leave it untouched for so long. It doesn't wear as tough as it smells - the full thrill of the opening canter slows down a fair bit, projection is discreet, and it's down to a (still bewitching) skin scent only in 3-4h. Somehow I don't care and all my usual gripes about wanting value for money have been thrown out of the window, 'cause I'm galloping away for my own private Western adventure here. This stuff is worth every penny. When every respray brings a ride like this, who could resist? File under: EXHILARATING.

Arizona reminds me of the dry California chaparral. At first the perfume is more green and plant-like, but as time goes on it becomes linear like the smell of cut logs. Personally, I like it, it's a very tree-hugger, natural scent, not nearly as piney as Rainforest. I live in Northern Cailfornia, and I love to hike. Arizona reminds me of the many times I encounter fallen logs that had been cut by park rangers. The logs bake under the hot sun, and the heat releases the volatile oils. I think this would be a tough perfume for a lot of people to wear because it might seem more like a room spray or the scent of a log cabin rather than perfume. I guess you'd have to really LOVE that smell. I do! This perfume reminds me of a totally stripped-down version of L'Air du Desert Marocain. Take away pretty much everything--the spices, the amber, the florals and the citrus, and voila! You have Arizona. It doesn't last very long (2 hours) and stays ever-so-close to the skin, but I like it anyway.

Wow! Tucson (formerly Arizona) is amazingly evocative of western/southwest landscapes. The opening salvo is like rubbing your hands on sage bushes as you take a walk in the dry desert climate. There is then something hazily/vaguely floral-green-herbal-airy that conjures up the atmosphere/air surrounded by chaparral. I think of lavender, other herbs, and a slight grassy sweetness that brings to mind coumarin but not the candied tonka. This herbal top and heart segues into a sticky resinous pine-like amber accord that evokes sap without being treacly and overly sweet. Most impressively, there is a dry, luminous, airy quality to the whole thing, which is quite a feat to capture in scent, especially when working with such potentially heavy and bold materials. Quite a successful scent in both the image it conjures and wearability. I have a buy at least a small bottle of this (and how blessed that reasonable and affordable sizes are available).

Because of a bunch of sinus trouble, I was unable to wear any but natural perfumes for four months. I only had five natural perfumes in my collection to choose from and this was easily the most pleasant. In fact after a number of wearings I've grown to like it very much and I'm glad that circumstances forced me to spend more time with a fragrance I would normally have passed over without a second sniff. I grew up in Arizona and this fragrance does remind me of it. The scents of acacia and sagebrush are particularly apt. The dry down is gorgeous and creamy and for some reason has me thinking of sandalwood. Normally I don't care for piney scents on me preferring to leave them to the males of the species but because of the sweet, creamy dry down I think this one can go either way. The sillage is impressive in the beginning and the longevity is good for a natural at up to six hours.

This has similarities with Olympic rainforest but a dryer climate version. Its almost identical durring final drydown after 10hours. I have a sample of the new Tucson version. I get much more than the above pyramid. There is a spicyness with cinnamon and clove overlad with pine and artemesia. Also shares a camphor element with Olympic Rainforest. Starts to settle into amber and leather, brown sugar and spiced wood. Last drydown is like a warm cedarwood sauna. I dont get any floral. I prefer Rainforest, but if you dont like dank earthy smells this may be a better warm earthy option for you. ⛤⛤⛤⛤