Chandlery

Chandlery is a 2021 release from Pineward, and one of the first to really begin to show the range of the house. While many of the 2020 and 2021 offerings highlight conifers, forest scentscapes, autumnal, pastoral, idyllic and agrestic imagery, Chandlery came along and stirred things up - a lot. To a degree, yes, it's certainly a floral composition, and the tuberose and carnation contribute a soft, dry, powdery flower petal sort of character, and there's a ton of champaca in here for sure, but this isn't a floral perfume. It's incredibly waxy. Beeswax is a major contributor here, and it's definitely used in a way to convey a waxy hardened beeswax candles smell. There's also lavender absolute - not lavender essential oil. This avoids any of the medicinal, astringent, weird stemmy sort of lavender smells, opting instead for that pure, sweet, fragrant purple lavender smell - like crushing a dried lavender bud between your fingers. It's very calming and serene. There is some aniseed-like character lending some unique sweetness, which is bolstered by a healthy dose of whatever unique cinnamon Nick uses. It's heavy cinnamon, yet nothing like apple pie spice or Red Hots. Sweet, warm, earthy, and barky. The same plush, coumarinic hay-like Deer's tongue note from Autumnal shows up, tucked away in the middle, and everything ties together to create this warm, soft, sweet fragrant perfume that is quite waxy, almost slightly indolic, and shows the calming comfort of french lavender absolute, against the soft, waxy sweetness of beeswax. Chandlery is perhaps the most "perfume-like" of the entire Pineward lineup, thanks to the familiar tuberose, carnation, and anise inclusions, and because of this, trends the most "feminine" of the bunch, alongside Alfiryn. It isn't feminine, but I think women would be most comfortable within its scent bubble. Nick calls it, "a perfume of vintage sensibilities", and I understand that. Tuberose and carnation, to some, can smell a little dated, and structurally, this could possibly have a bit in common with older examples - however, because it's composed with an absurd degree of naturals, there really isn't a dated feel. It's timeless. Vintage-adjacent, sure, but it's as "modern" as any Pineward Perfume. Longevity is an easy 16 hours, with the first 8 being quite potent, and projecting nicely for the first 3 or so. There's nothing I can compare this to, because it's just so unique. A keystone display of Nicholas Nilsson's capability as a perfumer, and a beautiful perfume. Chandlery is actually one of my personal favourites, because it's so incredibly different and unique, and one of the best assimilation of such unsuspecting ingredients. It really does, to me, capture Nick's imagery of an old chandler's cottage, filled with beeswax candles and rustic farmstead collections. It captures that cozy, autumnal feeling that so many Pinewards do, and there's just this calming, cozy, pastoral serenity about it that makes it incredibly pleasing to wear. To me, it comes across very "golden" - as in, the golden-brown-tan hues of November - after the peak autumn foliage has withered and fallen - the trees now mostly bare, revealing their skeletons. A rural countryside setting, surrounded by these skeleton trees, and right at the edge of a deep, dark forest. The old farmstead - perhaps the same one from Steading or Autumnal, extends to the forest edge, where the rows of grain are still visible. Where they stop, lies the old stone cottage - ancient and rustic. Through the window, you see the flicker of candlelight. You wander over, and open the door, revealing a friendly woodland witch, working away, stirring a fragrant cauldron of woodland materials for some magical elixirs. Two handfuls of French lavender, a sack of champaca, three cinnamon sticks, aniseed, one tuberose, and some mystery sprigs. The beeswax candles that burn and illuminate the cottage fill the air and imbue the old wicker furniture with a dense, muted, waxy honeyed sweetness. She turns to you, setting the churner aside, and says, "come, dear child. Allow me to show you what your future holds", whilst pointing to the crystal ball on her alter. That's Chandlery.

I loved every single Pineward sample, I was so pleasantly surprised to get such a wide array of scents that all evocked such different forests. Chandlery was the one that made my eyes bug out. This is such a rich, luxurious stand out scent, I about fainted. I second TheSuperSniffer's review almost entirely. This was one of the only "interior" smells from Pineward. Most of their perfumes smell like nature, like outdoors, but this one is, as the name suggests, an interior. The image that came to mind was wearing a lot of white linens in a villa in the south of france. Wide, wood plank floors and beams above, golden light highlighting dust motes. Beeswax candles, dried lavender, and more wafting in from the fields outside. It is cool, comforting, cozy, finding that perfect balance of smelling elegant and regal but not cold and unapproachable. I want to get at least half bottles of most Pineward scents but this.... this is going to be a full bottle and one to spare.

I’m happy to see this perfume added to the database. Chandlery is one of my favorite “non foresty” fragrances to come from Pineward, who might as well be my favorite house to date. I’d defer to TheSuperSniffer for a beautifully written review of the notes and presentation, and would instead describe how Chandlery resonates with me personally. To put it simply, Chandlery is delectably calming and grounding. The other Pineward creation I associate this feeling with is Eldritch, though they’re not very similar. Chandlery is the soft and sweet floral beeswax atmospheric that is worthy of the word beautiful. I don’t think beautiful is a mandatory descriptor for superb fragrances and I’ve sampled a few truly beautiful fragrances that I’m not particularly drawn towards. Chandlery however is both for me personally as I find it equal parts beautiful and comforting. This would my scent to wear while winding down as the sun sets and reflect back on a day well spent.

This is reminiscent of a living history museum, and I mean that in the most complimentary way. Think creaky but spotless wood floors, an open door with warm sunlight pouring in, docents in soft cotton dresses giving demonstrations, a gift shop at the exit selling quilts and old-fashioned handicrafts. It smells nothing like generic autumn scents or that artificial cinnamon that chokes you when you enter a craft store around Halloween. Creamy, natural, uncontrived.

Chandelry opens as a boozy floral with notes of cherry and anise (think like a Ricola but in a very pleasant way). this is propped up by cinnamon and vanilla and gives the fragrance a powdery character. As it develops the honey and carnation cuts through blends with the herbaceous quality and reminds evokes Opium for me (my mom's favorite) as a result this leans quite femme.