Borealis

I find this fragrance quite lovely, though certainly not immediately accessible or approachable. It is definitely challenging, but I do not think it's wet dog, piss/poop (lol what?), and body odor, etc. as other reviewers have noted; I do agree that "ocean gales and forest air" is a bit of a whiff of a descriptor, however. For me, it's a fragrance that I can't really get enough of. Medicinal, mentholated, spicy, woodsy and green. The pine, peppermint, camphor, musk, black tea, ash and incense are very strong in the beginning. Its powdery quality is a rare hit for me, as I typically don't gravitate toward powdery fragrances. It settles quickly and pleasantly, leaving behind it's opening medicinal sting for something a ~bit~ softer and more approachable. I almost never get the sea water note, but the greenery it evokes smells distinctly coastal. And I can see the valerian being off-putting to others -- that stuff smells weird and tastes even weirder. It's warm and deep; bright only insofar as pine evokes notes of citrus; funky and camphorous. It's a bitter, cold, and windy winter's night in Maine. If it must be "ocean gales and forest air" it is hauntingly, rather than refreshingly, so. It pleasantly reminds me of Fernet Branca & Amaro Alta Verde -- and so I completely understand the visceral aversion others might have of this fragrance. If you appreciate complex and bitter aperitifs, I highly suggest giving this one a sniff. I'm seriously tempted to make this my go-to winter fragrance, day or night, but I plan to explore the rest of the Pineward lineup first—if this one is a "rare miss," then the others should be incredible. And hey if a vapor rub note pisses you off instead of reminding you of being cared for on a sick day then you can wear something else.

Smells wonderful with it's top notes, and I think would be liked by most individuals up until the middle notes kick in. There's a few controversial scents in the middle notes that really makes things smell strange, the Valerian root ends up smelling like used socks and feet to be frank. For most people this is a massive issue and should be a reason to not buy, but for weirdos like me this is exactly what I love. The other most noteworthy scent is camphor, which in the context of dirty socks just brings back the scents of dirty laundry mixed with mothballs. Camphor in other contexts can be rather wonderful, but this is not one of those contexts for most people. The other notes bring back a swampy pacific northwest feel which I adore having grown up there. If you like the description I have put forth on the negatives, this perfume is wonderful, and was quite popular with my boyfriend, but if any of those descriptions sounds awful to you, avoid this one as much as possible.

smells like a mossy patch of forest floor that was recently pissed on by a deer. while i can see why some people might find that offputting, personally i'm obsessed. i love dirty, forest-y, animalic scents, and when i smelled it on a test strip at my local perfumery i could not take my nose off of it for the next few days. i was smelling it until the fragrance had completely evaporated off the strip. it's primal, raw, unapologetic, and absolutely irresistible. was thinking about it for months until i finally caved and ordered a bottle. if you like challenging, dirty scents, you can't go wrong with a sample of this one.

This is my least favorite of all the Pineward samples I purchased - I’m a huge coastal veil fan but there’s something off putting about Borealis

This is the first true artistic and challenging fragrance I’ve ever smelt. There is nothing like this out in the market. Borealis is like hiking in the Northern Yukon of Canada next to the coast - rugged flatlands of tundra forest and cold waves crashing onto the shore with biting ocean gales of wind that turns your skin red. It’s super exotic - and how unbelievably unique and quality this is will transport you to a place you’ve never been. I believe the hate for this is definitely dragged because the people who hate it don’t apply the story to the scent. It’s unwearable unless you’re going to the arctic circle to hike or live in the depths of the taiga.

Idk if this is a simple misstep or a "challenging" fragrance Some respect is due though. If Pineward's main motif if making you quite literally smell like a forest, this one can't be called a total miss. This one reminds us that there are parts of the forest that don't smell "nice", where one would avoid spending time unless one absolutely had to. I'll certainly been in enough of those places. Rather than "ocean gales and alpine forest air" this is "dragging a dead moose out of an Alaskan bog".

Opened to this insanely thick medicinal smell, kinda similar to that mentholy stuff you spread on your chest. Up close it has this sweetness to it, and i quite like it. However every time I move away and smell the sillage, something in it smells like cheesy feet and its horrid lol. As it dries down that foot smell becomes more apparent. It's yuck.

Sprays on pissy, dries down pissier. I can understand it as art and a story told but it’s not wearable.

Sampling Pineward Perfumes Borealis, a 2023 release that I missed last year, a dark, earthy, hearty, woody, smoky, and somewhat funky blend that I find very challenging to enjoy from the onset, a “rare miss” from the house, as I saw one user put it. Despite having a very interesting note breakdown, dark juice, and superlative performance, it lands in an unusual space, weirdly at the intersection of both animalic and earthy funkiness, which I feel can partly be attributed to a blend of the deer musk, ambergris, valerian root, and camphor, which each individual or in smaller groups might work well but together do not at all feel apropos. It also strikes me as quite a departure from its predecessor, Boreal, a 2020 release that I recall loving, even though the narrative for Borealis explains that it adds some floral and aquatic facets to Boreal. I like some things about it but overall, despite being similarly robust in intensity to other releases, I get too many wafts of it, the majority of wafts, that I do not care for at all. It’s a great opportunity for me to say that almost every other release from the house to date has been a like or a love, with far more loves than likes, and Borealis is the rare exception that palpably does not work from the onset. 2 out of 10

Please understand, nothing I’m about to say is hyperbolic or trying to exaggerate for the sake of impact. This smells like sour, musty, old, sweaty socks you found in a humid, hot garage. Or if you’re trying to fit this into the forest vision and motif... some wet, mostly still water that’s got something rotting in it. I generally love Pineward stuff. Even the “difficult to understand” fragrances. And I can appreciate that when you’re making art (and Pineward is art), there is a deeply personal attachment to the development and final product by the artist. So it pains me a bit to write the rest of this review... however this is a premium product put out for consumption. This should’ve never been released, and has since been discontinued. The notes are incredibly deceiving and I can’t ever discern what causes the sour problem. It’s also deceiving that it was a flanker of Boreal. It was bad enough that I sent a polite email asking if something was wrong with the batch—got no response though. This was especially frustrating because what I really wanted to find was a fresher and zingier version of Boreal (which is great). Buyer beware if you see bottles of this showing up on the used market.

Reviewing the post-2024 reformulation of Borealis! Minty, medicinal opening followed by an unforgettably old fashioned powdery smell. Not good. There is another component lingering in the background that I'm not a fan of either. Whatever it is it leans pissy and sour. Perhaps the ambergris? Either way, I don't get "ocean gales and forest air" from this at all. Borealis misses the mark on what it sets out to do entirely. As others have pointed out this doesn't remind me of Boreal either. Boreal is a totally different scent when compared to Borealis. If you're unsure of which one to sample get Boreal instead and thank me later. Edit: Sprayed this on a second time (against my better judgment) and yeah this is just a pungent pissy poopy menthol smell to me. Like somebody soiled themselves and tried to cover it up with vaporub.

man where do i even begin.... first off no shame to the perfumer behind this because i do see the vision behind this and what this scent is trying to do. i also love the rest of the forest collection. however this perfume is absolute dog shyt... one spray and it will linger for ages....i sprayed once on a paper towel to show my roomate and a hour later our RA comes in the room and he goes...."WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL"...and for reference we go to a christian university so that word is a big no no --lol--jk-- ... ... ... well for the smell what its like is very muddy/earthy/damp vegetation/dog piss & sh!t, but there is also a minty note i get in the background for a picture it smells like a dog just rolled in mud and its own sh!t and tried to cover it up with a irish spring scented cologne. 3.1/10

This is the first fragrance I've tested that I actually hate. To me it just smells like someone who hasn't washed in a very long time. And the smell LINGERS. Currently having to air out my house from just two sprays on a test strip.

To me, this does not smell at all like Boreal. Mostly kind of seaweed. Pineward is a fun brand but this one didn't make the mark for me.

I knew this one would be challenging but had no idea how challenging. Husband says it smells like gym socks and I don’t disagree.

abosolutely gross, had to shower it off of my skin. smells like straight BO. rare miss from pineward

I love mostly everything by pineward but this one is a scrubber!! straight up cough syrup.

feet fetishists will luv dis one (smells like used boots or socks) :333

Repulsive, sour dirty laundry smell.

Just went through a Pineward discovery set with my husband, and holy smokes, this smelled like a wet dog rubbed with a small amount of Vapo-Rub, a dog that has never seen a bath. It is one of the very first perfumes I’ve ever smelled that produced a visceral reaction of disgust for me. I love a good atmospheric, but this...this was not that. The only atmosphere evoked was heat blasting inside a humid, nasty, dilapidated mobile dog grooming van. For reference, I have about 225 perfumes in my collection, none of them even remotely as repellent as Borealis. That being said, Pineward is an excellent indie house and you should not let Borealis color your perception of this brand.

This smells like Pineward Perfumes said, “You know what, we are an indie niche house, we need at least one super challenging fragrance,” found an ingredient that smelled bad (valerian root), and then just loaded it up. On my skin it is very linear. It is basically a sour, cheese type of smell the whole way through. In the drydown it gets a little less sour and more musty, but that is about it. I do not really get anything else. If there are other notes, they are buried under that the entire time. Not much else to say. I would like to know what the real inspiration behind this was, because I am not getting forest or anything like that, just something that smells off.

15th sample from pinward. this one doesnt even deserve a review. worst thing ive ever smelt, wet dog and piss trying to be masked with a weak fragrance. id rather wear my entire bottle of silencethesea before wearing this for a single day. unfortunately lasts extremely long and has been lingering in my room for 10 hours even when i scrubbed it off 30 mins into wearing it. 2/10

Okay I get the hate for the opening but it only stays dirty laundry stinky for like 20 minutes. Then it becomes very similar to nocturnis. Sweet herbal patchouli that really does not deserve the 2/5 y’all have given it. But I was scared for a minute there

They used too much Valerian root which makes it smell like feet lol. Released it anyway to recoup their costs and sell the already created juice, and then discontinued it.