Soft Woods

The balsam and juniper keep this woodsy but without that bracing slap of a male cologne. More wild rose than domesticated rose. The more I wear it the more I love it. Truly unisex. I was hesitant to get a full bottle as the Libertine samplers were my gateway back in to the fragrance world, and I had so much more to sniff first, but i have since sampled a wide range both designer and niche and returning to Soft Woods feels like coming home to my quiet house in the woods after a long trip to the city. It puts me at peace.

Green conifer fragrances are tough to pull off for a perfumer but this guy nailed the scent, expression and strength. Sharp opening leads to a mellow airy green that you can wear without making an idiot of yourself. Possibly the most wearable of this genre you can get. I really like it.

This is my dream woodland rose! Enchanting wild rose & evergreen trees, deepened with some resins. Like sunlight woods leading into darker woods.

This is definitely a green and fresh perfume. The most prominent smell is without a doubt balsam fir, but I also get a lot of juniper berries and black pepper all the way through, with some florals (mostly rose) and something a bit fruity and a bit sparkly. There is a certain sweetness to it at first, but nothing overwhelming; on me, the sweetness almost completely disappears in the dry down, which in my opinion makes the perfume go from feminine to almost masculine in maybe two hours. Apart from that, the scent is pretty linear, but I do get a little more vanilla and resin in the dry down. It's got a major forest prince/princess vibe to it. Edit : I recently bought the perfume oil (I had only tried the eau de parfum) and it's a lot more on the masculine side, almost only juniper berries and pepper with some woody base notes, and a lot less rose and vanilla. I also find that it lacks the opening of fresh balsam that makes the eau de parfum so beautiful. Not unpleasant, but it doesn't have the forest-y vibe of the eau de parfum, which I feel makes it a little less interesting.

The opening is beautiful!! I was quite surprised by it and honestly it made me fall in love with this fragrance. It's really true to its name and the notes are blended perfectly while you can still tell them apart (especially the juniper). Unfortunately, it evolves in a simplistic and disappointing vanilla-musk-vaguely woody scent. Going back to the blotting strip, at first i thought that i had confused the labels somehow, as i couldn't recognize the smell as the initial one. That's unfortunate, and surprising as the rest of the line it's actually rather linear. I'll prob use up the sample for when i know I'm only a hour or 2 away from a shower or bed.