Wolfsbane

Wolfsbane is another interesting and somewhat baffling fragrance from Parfums Quartana. The notes aren’t presented as a tree, but as a long list, which seems accurate as every Quartana scent has been a melange of notes that seem to break from the rules of conventional perfume design. The notes are not balanced in the usual way, making it a bit chaotic and also intriguing. These fragrances that take time for me to fully understand (which can be hard to do with only a sample vial). Whether or not I fully understand them, they take me on a cool journey. Wolfsbane is my favorite so far. I can hardly break down the notes, as they present a cacophonous olfactory experience at first. What I can pick out are the absinthe and fig leaf, which are sharp and medicinal at first, but quickly fade. If you try this fragrance, don’t judge it based solely on the opening. The truffle is distinctive, adding a strange earthiness that persists well into the dry down, but only when sniffed up close. The scent bubble– which is large and more noticeable to others than it is to me– is surprisingly lovely and sweet (not cloying) with a powdery texture. What starts out as a quirky mishmash, dramatically transforms into something bizarre and very beautiful. It takes a minute to understand this one, but it is worth taking the time as it becomes lovelier with each hour it's on the skin. I admit, I don’t always fully understand the vision behind the perfumes I’ve tried from this house (which is NOT a dig on the designer). I'm happy to say that I *really* click with Wolfsbane. It’s extremely unique; it manages to balance the weird earthiness of truffle with a beautiful, sweet, compelling scent bubble. I love its many contrasts. I love the unconventional approach. I like that it rewards patience. The longevity is absolutely outstanding. This is going on my "must-have" list.

Perfume is a funny thing. I see people comparing Wolfsbane to Black Orchid. I can understand why. At the same time, had nobody mentioned it, I would not have thought to compare the two as I find them different enough. Actually, the fragrance I would compare it to is also one that I have compared to Black Orchid, and that is Precious Oud by VC&A. Wolfsbane is like the long-lost sister of the two; the missing link. I get a lovely earthiness from this fragrance that is strong on the tuber but equally strong on the patch. It smells more authentically like dirt or soil, so unlike those other two fragrances, this one seems more organic, down-to-earth, naturalistic. Almost like I'm on a hiking trail. I catch whiffs of fresh, green fig leaf, adding to the sensation of being in the great outdoors. Then there is a sugary, candied tuberose that smells as though it were dunked in absinthe, which is the next strongest thing I notice. I find it fascinating and complex. So it feels really fun suddenly, a little psychedelic, like it's Party Time...like I ate some shrooms on the hiking trail. I actually love all 3 of the aforementioned fragrances. In fact I owned the other two, but eventually sold them. Black Orchid felt unbalanced somehow, and Precious oud was honestly just too sexy (it's weird that I'm saying that, as that should be a good thing). I never reached for them. Wolfsbane is the one I would choose of the lot. I'm a nature and woods lover at heart, and I love the blend of nature and fun that I feel when I wear it. Bottom line: it's a gorgeous fragrance. I also enjoyed the very popular Poppy Soma, but Wolfsbane is equally wonderful.

This isn't a review as much as a testimonial... I smelled Wolfsbane while hanging out with Carlos, Steven and Manny, all Youtube fragrance reviewers many of us know of...And I smelled Dozens of fragrances last night with these guys. My nose was bombarded with the most beautiful smells you could imagine...Out of DOZENS of scents, 2 stood out to me...Oud Satin Mood by MFK and This... Just unbelievable fragrances. I will be buying this scent at some point for sure...It lasts forever, and it reminds me of a better blended Tom Ford Black Orchid...It's a head turning fragrance that worked beautifully on my skin and was on my skin through my nightly shower...I could smell it when I woke up this morning...There's nothing weak about Wolfsbane... The blend is amazing...and the quality of notes is very evident... If there was one thing to be a little disappointed about, it was the sprayer which shoots out tons of juice but not in a diffused way...Felt like I was spraying myself with a hose...lol...This isn't a huge issue to me however as Parfums Quartana is a new brand and many times u have to sacrifice something as a start up fragrance house unless u have millions in investment...Besides, U don't wear a scent's presentation, u wear the scent...So sprayers aside, this brand is very intriguing, and worth sampling for sure...Plus, the whole "basing fragrances off of killer plants" angle is very clever. Simply Put...A WOW FACTOR SCENT. I look forward to getting it and giving it a full fledged review at some point... YOUTUBE CHANNEL- SIMPLY PUT SCENTS

This is interesting stuff. Subtly animalic and, green in that sort of humid, swampy way. This line is definitely intriguing. It opens very densely. I detect fig, vetiver, black pepper, a faint whiff of cumin, a balmy sort of resinous sweetness, a slight funky animal aroma, and a couple of indistinct woody and floral notes. There is an interesting smooth-sharp contrast happening between the sweet, softer accords and the sharper spicier ones. The almost milky fig blends with the resins and provides a pleasant base for this interestingly bitter green, almost salty blend of pepper, vetiver, cumin and castoreum. The bittersweet dynamic coupled with the extremely earthy notes stands out as very unique to my nose. As the fragrance wears on it goes through quite a few different phases, at one point becoming a strange spicy white floral sort of thing, reminiscent of some funky tuberose fragrances I've smelled before. Eventually it dries down to a slightly spiced vetiver with a wonderful smooth sweetness. The longevity is incredible and the sillage is as well. Really really like this one and could see myself wearing this often. 8.5/10

I have sampled Wolfsbane , Mandrake , Hemlock and Digitalis.I really like the first 3.Digitalis was not bad , but it's not my thing. Wolfsbane do have a strong resemblance to Black Orchid by Tom Ford.It's not a clone , but the base is very similar ... to me at least.It's less sweet , a bit bitter and also it's green and boozy.The truffle note is the same like in Black Orchid-i presume they both use the same fixative/aroma chemical. Wolsbane and Black Orchid are like 2 twin brothers.If Black Orchid is a metrosexual extrovert , Wolfsbane is a manly "i do my own thing , and don't care about your opinion" alpha male .Unlike Mandrake both projection,longevity and sillage are really good.Longevity is at least 7 hours , with strong projection for the first 2-2.5 hours.Bare in mind my skin is dry , so to me that's a top notch performance.