Blackbird

As you make it to the edge of the cliff you hiked 3 hours to get to, you take a large deep breath in while you overlook the canyon. Immediately you are hit with the cool mid morning air and the sharp bristles of pine mixed with tart wild blackberry you picked while hiking up. As you sit down to take in the view a little longer you munch away at the blackberries in your hand. The sun above heating up the cedar, pine, and their resinous saps to reveal the smell they contain. It’s so peaceful, and you wish you could stop time here just to come back when you need it most. Life is good. Evocative, sharp, and beautiful. This starts with a very sharp, opening with nose tingling hay, in-your-face green pine needles, and very tart blackberry. This will be the main thing that turns people off this fragrance, but I personally enjoy it. As it dries down though... this is becomes much more rounded and super mass appealing. The cedar wood, amber, and resins mix in with this mashed fresh, slightly tart blackberry. As it dries down it gains the olympic orchids DNA musk base more and more but is somewhat linear besides that. I love this fragrance, but I already own an 10 mL of “Cape Heartache” by Imaginary Authors; it is the same fruity/woody profile but a bit sweeter with strawberry instead of blackberry. When I run out of that thought I will have to make the difficult decision of which one to get. Tried this x2 in the winter and it did great, performance and projection are insane: lasted after my shower that night and projected in a 6 foot bubble for most of the time. I think this would also really shine in the heat if you don’t overspray. 9.5/10 Signature scent worthy.

The berries in the opening are the perfect sweetness. The berry note never really goes away, but it does tone down as time goes on. They berries are actually deep & dark. I think the hay adds to the sweetness. The other notes become more prevalent after the first few minutes. It's like the berry starts to change with the other notes. There is a lot of depth in this potion. It actually reminds me of, wait for it, Orchids !!! What comes to my imagination when I wear this are some kind of deep, dark, & purple orchids. The other thing this composition reminds me of is a fine wine. Perhaps a berry wine. The cedar, amber, & fir create luxurious feel. I feel like there is a beautiful dark purple cloud around me when I wear this. A stunning composition. This combination of notes could easily be from a "Guerlain" or another successful perfume house. I have decided to sample this line properly. So I am going to give each one in my discovery kit a full complete wearing. I've been wearing this one all evening and will go to sleep with it later. UPDATE (6 hours later)- I find there is not far reaching silage, rather a radiation around you. The fragrance is lasting long, even though it has thinned out, its still going. Still smells rich. The impression that I get from reading about the founder of this house online, is that she is successful in her other fields of employment. Olympic Orchids is not something that she "has to do", or a business she "has to run". It is something that she seems to LOVE. To me that would indicate that Olympic Orchids is an outlet for her passion & artistry. And it shows!

Super fragrant pine forest! Unlike some other perfumes mentioned in the reviews that have a pine note dominant, this one does not remind me particularly of Christmas. Instead it is more reminiscent of being in nature and enjoying the outdoors. Even better, it has great sillage and longevity on my skin. The berry accord enhances the bucolic feel. Closed my eyes, and it made me feel like I was camping in the great outdoors! Lasted all day! Update - I like this so much I have worn it several days in a row now. It is beautifully sweet smelling and strangely addictive. It was wonderful waking up this morning and still smelling it on my skin. It smells so natural and refreshing. I am looking forward to being able to spray with a FB. All the better to spritz! 11/16 - had to order the FB! I am obsessed with this scent. The perfume is absolutely one of the best winter fragrances I have ever smelled. The pine is so fresh and clear. The berry is so lush. Blackbird makes you want to explore the secrets of nature. Beautiful. 12/18 - Already used up almost a full bottle! It is ridiculously good! Will have to get a FB every other month at this rate! Haven't had this reaction to any other perfume - it is fresh, makes you want to smell it all day, and you don't get tired of it like other scents. I have hundreds of perfumes to wear, but it is this one I reach for. The berry and pine mix deliciously and give you a "happy" boost in mood.

Saturated + fulfilling. A synthesized Oregon hillside in summer, berry juice running through your fingers and a little warm sweet blood extruding from the scratches on your forearms. Seeds in your teeth, the smell of the tacky leaves and overgrown grasses in the background. Sometimes a far-off waft of hot pavement through hot waxy-needled evergreens. She actually has bottled this. Close to heaven, which is Cascadia late afternoons in late summer. Apart from the overwhelming, ecstatic emotional weather system this brings forward for me, the scent also has a strong cognitive effect. Better than coffee, it sharpens my verbal/analytical aspect, while also (opposite of caffeine) creating a peaceful, do-nothing background to my thoughts. Perfect for a mid-day lunch with a friend or writing letters to loved ones in the end of summer. I would never wear it regularly because I want to keep this magic in its bottle for the most part - the same way I only listen to my most treasured songs on special days. Like Cascadia, the collective idea/experience/dream, there is something here about shared regional consciousness here that I'm not able to language yet. Maybe one thing that can get me there is more time with this scent, and others from this artist.

Blackbird is among the most aptly if not literally named fragrances there is -- something I like and respect about the same perfumer who came up with the intoxicating Woodcut. What you see is what you get. And this one is an absolute joy. What I get is about 70% tart, almost medicinal blackberry, plucked fresh from the bush, leaves and all. The rest is a masterfully blended cedar/elemi base that is very redolent of the main accord in Atelier's Cedre Atlas. In fact, the two are unmistakably similar. If you take out the blackberry and replace it with apricot and citrus, you will get something almost identical to Cedre Atlas. Different fruits, similar tart effect. I get little or no evergreen vibe from this, but I can easily imagine that berry tartness effectively layering over the evergreen sharpness in a harmonious accord that provides depth and comes out to something greater than the sum of its parts. Lovely scent with good projection and a long half-life for something that feels so light. Not sure if it's something I'd wear very much, but it's a smell I'm unlikely to ever tire of. Could be worth the investment if you like a good tart, realistic blackberry based scent. Hard to imagine one done better than this.