Eldritch

It's the middle of the night, you went off the path in the deep mountainous forest. You start smelling some sort of smoke coming from a distance. Upon coming closer you see a group of masked individuals, you are witnessing something you shouldn't have. The feeling of anxiety, the heaviness of the burden you have on you, surrounded by nothing but darkness and resinous trees. Eldritch is a perfect representation of how iconic horror queens feel being chased down in a forest. It's very resinous and smoky, very heavy. The notes do not really give it justice; even though fir and pine needles are listed, I do not really get them on my skin; more so I get resin from those needles mixed with the smokey qualities of myrrh combined with leather. One of my absolute faves, I gravitate to that one quite often during cold dark days. Careful spraying on clothes though, it will absolutely leave a stain.

If you've heard scary testimonies of people encountering paranormal phenomenon while alone in the dark, cold, pine forest, this is the scent. This is my 2nd wear, and so far it smells like Murkwood with added mint and a little bit of acidity. These fresh additions really make it much more interesting, but also a little more challenging. There is a grainy harshness to this scent... it will burn the nostrils if oversprayed... and not only yours, but the people's around you too. Smells very masculine, bold, and badass, not a crowd pleaser. I been looking for a dangerous forest/nature scent, the other ones I tried are: Murkwood, Brokilan, Fanghorn II, Cotswald, Funerie. Eldritch looking to be the one I will get a full bottle of, it's the boldest.

I ordered an entire sample set and I wish I could be at a store comparing them as many of them have the same feel/smell to my nose. Initially, the almost dank soil or tea-like note was a bit off-putting but it quickly morphed into something beautiful. I don't find this to be an especially true-pine scent but rather a very nice blending of myrrh and opopnax with a dark woodiness. This is definitely one of the darker of the sample set I got. Its another perfect, fall or winter scent that harkens to fires in a cabin with molasses cookies in the stove. I am going to end this, once again, with a suggestion for anyone intrigued by the notes to order a sample set. You ARE going to find something (or many somethings) you like.

This one was swapped accidentally with one of my picks from my sample pack but I am not disappointed one bit. At first this scent is deep and damp with this pine berry like sticky sweet to it I can't stop smelling. This feels like a hand full of forest floor. Some resinous bark, sharp scented pine needles, wet earth. I think I could, and should, take a bath in this one. I don't much get an airy alive smokiness, rather an ashen log long extinguished. Maybe a bit of foliage decay. And something about Eldritch makes me think of a church. The color is dark and swampy. Simply gorgeous. Anyway, that's 3/3 on my Pineward samples and I'm in love them. Cannot wait to see what else they have.

After sampling Eldritch I went back for the 4ml bottle, which isn't as big as I'd like but it's what I can afford right now. This perfume is exactly what I was hoping for from this house, which is the smell of a dark and haunted conifer forest. This is no Christmas tree scent, this was created to evoke the "lair of ancient eldritch abominations," as Nilsson writes on the Pineward website. This is a romantic take on that idea, more smoke and spiderwebs than mind-destroying beast. I find the result wearable and cozy, especially in chilly autumn weather. If you want to smell like a forest witch, you should definitely check this out. 9/10

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first heard of this perfume. I read widely varying reviews but decided to see for myself. The first note I look picked up was definitely fir. The dry down smelled like a quiet and smooth leather. It's a scent that makes you lean in closer for a second sniff. It was surprisingly a very subtle scent. I'm still new to this so I'm not sure how big of a role skin chemistry has to play, but this one is amazing and hopefully becomes a staple

Smells a bit like Durbano's Black Tourmaline mixed with Lutens' Serge Noire and Slumberhouse Jeke. There are some tobacco nuances here and there so Slumberhouse Jeke lovers should be happy. I detect also some kind of burnt leaves smoke, camphor and naphtalene. This is not a nice perfume - on their website they named it "challenging" and I have to fully agree with that statement. I do not recommend buying a bottle of Eldritch blind.

i didnt expect to like this as much as i do, its very strong and almost strange or repelling, but it settles a little softer into something so heavy and comforting to me, its very warm and powerful. i thought of this scent immediately when i smelled lord of misrule from lush. this is one of my top favourite scents, but something i probably wouldnt wear in summer or hot weather.

got this as a freebie in a package with some more spicy autumnal frags and i LOVE this one. sexy, fresh and perfect for a date. feels masculine and strikingly piney/minty, almost like an aftershave. might give this one to my bf because it smells heavenly!

The notes feature don’t help. Smells very unique. Definitely some patchouli. It’s birch tarry, carmex like, camphorous, smoky, resinous, and dries down to patchouli vanilla and smoke.

WOW This is like a literal breath of fresh air in a dewy forest. Amazing Phenomenal Wtf I cant get over this

I love this one - it really appeals to my Crone self.

Eldritch is medicinal, herbal and resinous. It has an effect that reminds me of vicks vapor rub but after the initial blast it becomes smokey, piney and slightly sweet. The leather and patchouli are present along with something animalic and sour that im still on the fence about as it reminds of urine contributing to a earthiness/dirty quality that I grew to appreciate through the life of the scent on my skin. It is as one would expect it is a fragrance that evokes darker vibe but in a witch in the woods kind of way.

After the initial spray it comes out very minty, but as it dries it sweetens and the conifer and wood notes come forward more. Kinda smells a bit like 5 gum or that dark green therabreath mouthwash. I like it but it’s not as dark and spooky as I was expecting

Medicinal smell, strong herbal notes. This one is definitely weird and smells a little bit like some kind of cough syrup or something.

It’s like a witch making a herbal brew in a cauldron in a moist cave surrounded by dense pine forest.

Wtf this smells like horses and hay and a stable. My cat tries to lick it.

Very sweet? Almost like molasses? I absolutely get leather, myrrh, oolong, and opoponax, but not much of anything else. It’s initially very medicinal and sharp at first- I think that’s what a lot of these negative reviews are describing- but the dry down isn’t sharp at all, it’s very smooth and, I’d even say, gentle. I love woodsy, spooky, smoky fragrances and was really expecting to love eldritch, but I don’t have any strong opinions either way, it’s alright.

So... just sampled this and damn its strong, long lasting and i can smell it from quite a distance, its very medicinal and tree like, if you cant handle strong scents like me, personally i kinda get a headache, but it smells like its name, a dark deep foresty scent, and if you like it i think its a must, though i would only wear this to a forest, but i rate it 7/10

stale, menthol-soaked leather and licorice. feels like sitting in an old person's car in the middle of a pine forest. not awful by any means but I get the reviews calling it goth cough syrup

can only describe it as sour smelling with a hint of leather and pine.

The Pineward fragrances are unique, but rather rough drafts than wearable perfumes. Realistic, oily fragrances. The first impression of Eldritch is a herbal toothpaste, e.g. Himalaya's toothpaste. It's not bad by any means, but may be a bit offputting. From my experience, Eldritch is a concoction of something resinous and eucalyptus-like together with an unusual, light herbal sweetness. Maybe is a "dance" of oolong tea with opoponax?:) I can barely feel the smoke, but it's definitely there. Also, I hoped for a prominent pine note but sadly, I almost can't smell it. While smelling Eldritch, I imagine walking in the forest in late November evening. The sun has set, and only a tiny streak of light is visible on the horizon. The ground is thinly covered by snow. You slowly step on a carpet of wet and sometimes green, freshly frozen plants. In your sight, there is a wooden cabin that lures you with the warmth and light of the crackling fireplace. Personal rating: 4.5/13

This is a very herbal, resinous, amber forward oolong tea scent with smoky and leathery accords. The myrrh is really strong, amber heavy and slightly spicy. The leather is rough and rugged, with a smokiness to it. The patchouli in this is dirty, earthy, and herbal maybe even bordering medicinal. I think this one is just really overwhelming and way too amber heavy, with a touch too much herbalness.

Leather, myrrh, fir, and smoke opening. Then, tea, opoponax, and a touch of patchouli. Smoky, leathery trees, resins, and leaves. The resins of myrrh and opoponax get much stronger and are joined by moss. It's still leathery and smoky fir. It's very smoke, leather, conifer, and resin heavy. It ends with bitter resins in the final drydown. A dislike versus ok because I would never wear this.

I am almost completely sure it's my skin, since I don't see any mentions of this side-effect in the notes or other reviews, but it's a very old-musky perfume on me, like something buried and rotting. Also the vanilla is way stronger than I would've preffered.

smells like licorice and fish food with muddled mint that becomes a musty spiced honey (star anise), lowkey smells like kilian-angels share knockoff later on too

Smells like the head on a boat.

I only started hearing about Pineward sometime last year, but in reading over their website, I just realized Pineward is another project of the person who now runs Apoteker Tepe, which I thought disappeared a few years ago, but I guess it was sold by the original perfumer and has been purchased by this Pineward person. Considering that my favorite Apoteker Tepe perfume is The Holy Mountain, and it smells like a beardy grandmaster max-level wizard summoning the ultimate ancient mystical dragon lord of the 11th realm or whatever, and now I smell the extremely resinous potency of these Pineward fragrances, this is an acquisition which makes perfect sense. I ordered a sampler set, and for the first one, I think we’ll get into Eldritch. Which is what my middle initial stands for. Just kidding, it’s Elizabeth. Eldritch is comprised of my favorite notes, the sweet loamy decay of oakmoss, opoponax’s oaken honeyed leather, myrrh’s aromatic warmth, crushed balsamic fir needles, and peppery, tannic smoke. It’s so, so, freaking good. And now it’s the signature scent of Elizabeth Eldritch, a powerful tiefling warlock with hair that smolders and crackles in the sun, who has a passion for forbidden lore and whose best friend is a giant fire beetle. (Elizabeth Eldritch gets up to many misadventures with Peppers McGee, who shows up in my other reviews.)

Immediately upon spraying goes through a kaleidoscope of deep notes in quick succession that i could not relay here accurately. But it immediately settles into what initially came to me as an indolic-y headshoppy type of accord, it smells like the type of presentation of patchoulli that i am just not personally fond of- however it is flickering between that accord and something that smells crisply like dark ink backed by a realistically vegetal petrichor smell. I really like it when it goes in that direction. In the middle it almost feels like the clash of these two elements forms some type of wine-like accord to my nose. Overall the indolic headshoppy vibes of this just prevail far too much for my personal tastes, but if thats up your alley then definitely give it a try. As someone who isnt crazy about that type of profile i think amping up the foresty inky vegetal elements and pushing the indolic patchoulli into the background more would create a better experience, but again if indolic and headshoppy is your jam then its great as it is, definitely made with quality and has the old fashioned sensibilities of something like malle’s portrait of a lady.

Sweet sweet mulled wine, honey, amber, berries, tea and pine. Like every Pineward I have sampled so far, it smells gothic but in a Victorian way. Not modern or clean, it's something for someone who wants to live in a cottage or a crumbling Victorian home, it's dark but with ruffles, it's warm black. The best way I can describe these fragrances is in terms of the type of style they go with, because when we are talking "goth" fragrances, there's such a wide variety. I was hoping for something colder, less sweet, less gourmand, more like true forest floor decay, which is loamy, tending toward bitter rather than sweet. I don't love it personally. It's so very cottagecore. It lacks sophistication. It is twee. Another review mentions my exact feelings on the Pineward line generally-- they're rough drafts rather than completed wearable fragrances. I want to commend any independent perfumer who sets out to do something different, and it's an A for effort from me. But these aren't quite there yet, they need a little time, a little bit of tweaking, and a little bit of a different balance to be truly complete.

First off, I love this perfume. It's a perfect "cabin in the woods" atmospheric, with a warm, sweet underpinning of opopanax. Very comforting and nature-identical. I recently acquired an additional small (5ml-ish) bottle to bolster the 15mls I have to my name, and this bottle contains what I guess is the more recent, 2024 reformulated version. They're a different colour, with the new stuff tinged a more forest green, while the older bottle is a deep mahogany. They newer batch doesn't have the same sweetness, and has a noticeable addition/increase of more pungent, bitter, and sharp woody aroma materials. On first sniff, they're close enough...I prefer the original, but some may be interested in the new release.

wore this around the house one day and had to shower because it smelled like drinking absinthe in a cave next to an eons-old stagnant pool. today i wore it to work to spite my coworkers and it rained, and once the sky clouded over and I heard thunder, I felt intensely in the world wearing this. now i honestly cant stop thinking about it. great to wear when you are powerful enough to spar with its intensity, but this fragrance will not empower you when you are feeling weak, it will not pull you up to its level. it will eat you alive the moment it senses your weakness.

I hesitated to sample this for the longest time because the perfumer noted that it is a "challenging fragrance" and I expected it to singe my nose hairs off. However upon first sniff I fell in love with it. It smells like participating in some sort of ancient ritual in a dark forest surrounded by twisty mossy trees. All of the listed notes are present and beautifully blended to create a dark and mysterious scent. Definitely one for the weirdos.

My new favorite thing to do is spray random Pineward Perfumes (from the sampler) in inconspicuous spots at work and get reactions from coworkers. It's very entertaining and mildly hilarious. (I work outside, btw) "I smell food. What is that? Is that curry?" "Did you spray bug spray? It smells like lemon. What is that?" "What is that scent? It smells... it smells like... it smells like trees." lol

This is amazing. Everyone says this is a hard wear, it's not, it's deep and dark and mysterious. It is the scent of the leather bound spell book the witch left out beside the ritual fire, the earth that the old gods of the Appalachian mountains dwell upon, the darkness of a endless abyss just beyond the black forest. This is niche perfumery at its finest.

One of the better in the Pineward line, Eldritch is a smooth accord of pine, patchouli, oolong, and myrrh. Holds all of its constituent parts together while simultaneously allowing each a chance to step forward and speak. A congruent and satisfying green scent for the free-love hippie who has since grown up.

17th sample from pineward!! this is so good!! very strong at like 12 hours and it smells phenomenal. the smokyness is clean and works well with the leather, not hard to wear at all imo. dries down to a sweeter smell (smokyness a little present) which i take for the oolong tea and myrrh love this! 8.5/10

It’s promising at first. Love the camphorous medicinal blast it warmed me up with then.... Just a regular old tea bag. I love how it smells don’t get me wrong but these reviews set me up to expect my world to be changed. It’s just a tea bag smell. Comforting reliable tea bag

A very very strange fragrance. To me, this smells like a tour an old civil war America cabin. It smells like old cedar and firewood, in a 200 year old slightly dank way. It doesn’t smell BAD, but I struggle to think of an applicable time to wear it. Absolutely sample first.

First it’s pine and mushrooms. Then it’s plastic birch tar, then it dries to a gorgeous cistus labdanum and pine. I love this one after dry down, but the middle bit I don’t love at all. Birch tar and me have a challenging relationship.

Eldritch smells like goth cough syrup. This is lovely on paper, really aromatic and beautiful however it just smells like menthol on my skin. I was hoping for the resins and leather to be more prominent. Disappointing.

I put a single spray of this on my wrist half an hour ago, and it has surrounded me in basically a one-note patchouli bomb. I hope it mellows out and shows some of the more complex notes, but so far it's a scrubber.

Very myrrh heavy with coniferoust forest in the background. If you like myrrh, this is definitely one to try. The performance is poor, though.

If the keebler elf had a dark side, this would be it

Deeply medicinal. Kind of like Vick's vaporub.