Steading

I still remember the very first Pineward order I ever placed, way back when none of these had any reviews - perhaps one or two here and there. I opened my little burlap drawstring sack, and just had my mind blown over and over again as each one of them transported me to various scent memories - childhood associations, painting pictures of autumn in New England, Christmas, snowy forest walks, and October hay rides through pumpkin patches. Steading particularly stood out as special. So let's finally review it, now that I've spent nearly two years with it. That note breakdown looks... Suspiciously familiar, doesn't it? I'll admit, I sought this one out because I wanted Sova, but couldn't find Sova. I thought, surely, this a play on Sova - how could it not be? Well, does it smell like Sova?! No. No it really doesn't. There may be some vague overlap, and certainly some shared ingredients, but Nick has done something entirely different, and entirely original. First off, is the obvious maple component. I'm guessing it's maple absolute - it's right at the forefront - still in the blend, but always making its presence known. Next, is the barley. This stuff is downright wheaty. Malty, even. I'm a craft beer nerd as much as a perfume nerd. This stuff is genuinely a perfumed barrel-aged maple barleywine. Sova is dry, raw, dirty and rustic autumn-in-a-bottle. Steading is sweet, rich, cozy, wheaty honeyed maple autumn-in-a-bottle. I don't want to mention Sova again here, because it's irrelevant. There's a significant tobacco presence. Leafy, moist, and hefty. The hay lends some drier leafy facets, preventing it from going totally Tobacco Vanille. I don't know what poplar is lending, but the hops do lend a resinous, slightly green component, lifting all these dense ingredients - but not above the beeswax, which grounds it all in that distinctive waxy honeycomb sweetness. I don't get any smoky or medicinal peat, but the pine needles do peak through - although more of a dried, golden needle, rather than super terpenic fresh needles. Everything is all glued together by a stunning leathery, feral castoreum note, which is essential here. Steading makes me envision a farmstead - tucked away somewhere in the fields of Northern New England. Vermont, maybe. Taps stick out of maple trees, with buckets of sap ready to boil down into syrup - the smell of which is present in the air. It's late october - the ground is lined with fallen pine needles from the deep forest that surrounds the farm. There are rows of wheat and barley ready for harvest, and a small hop yard next to them - the buds, fully mature. The beekeeping boxes are filled with honeycomb ready to collect, and the oaken shed - door ajar, is filled with bundles of various tobaccos - drying and curing. You take a seat on one of the hay bales and kick off your dirty leather boots, as you take in the fragrant smells of the farmstead, and the beautiful autumn foliage that drenches the surrounding land in colour. You're well prepared for winter. Performance is typical of Pineward, with this stuff just gluing itself to the skin for quite some time. Sillage is impressive for the first couple hours, settling a bit for several more, and remaining a skin scent for the remainder of the night. Obviously not intended for summer wear. It not only captures autumn, but it's just so rich and heavy, you wouldn't want it in the heat. As far as the Pineward lineup goes, this is ine of the quintessential core offerings, and despite the cheeky note breakdown, really bears little resemblance to anything. It's incredibly original, incredibly unique, and incredibly Pineward, to its very core. Stunning. A masterpiece.

Sampling Pineward Perfumes Steading, a spicy, resinous, borderline animalic blend that might be among the most provocative of the house that I’ve tried so far, with listed notes of tobacco, hay, beeswax, barley, dried needles, poplar, hops, maple, and wisps of peat smoke. The hay in particular seems prominent, and reminds me of the hay note in Slumberhouse Sova (in which it is similarly central), complemented by woody notes, the resinous beeswax, and a touch of sweetness via maple. It has the effective of being an ensemble of fall/winter notes, creating a mostly outdoorsy vibe that nonetheless has roughly foody aspects added to it, not as purely outdoors as the more arboreal entries in the line but not particularly gourmand-like like Apple Tabac or Revelries. Steading is certainly a bit less safe than some of the other woodier entries but I love it all the more for that. Again, I’ll need to retry it alongside some of the others but this is an easy love for me. Steading has the same pricing as the rest of the line, at $135/80 for 37/17ml. 8 out of 10

I ordered a sample set of six fragrances of Pineward so here is my first impression on Steading. I feel in this fragrance that the nose, Mr.Wells really love the nature. Excellent, high quality ingredients and very natural smell. I imagine being myself in the middle of a grassy field where I feel the wet hay and the pine trees around. Very complex so it needs 5-10 minutes after applying to set down. Dry down is very delicious. Just a sligthly sweet, very comforting, unique, calming, natural and long lasting smell. Sillage is moderate. I think this fragraces is not made to attract others around you but to enjoy it yourself. To enjoy the smell of the nature and to let you to dream being outside in the wonderful nature. Great fragrance.

The opening is pure maple syrup. Hot, thick, so so yummy. Hops and barley follow with a pleasant and distinct dryness. Very earthy not at all like a beer to me. A heavy lit beeswax candle warming the entire room. Pine is very quietly in the background, just adding a bit of foresty freshness. Could just be the fresh maple. Before it can fully dry down theres a rummy tobacco that feels perfectly soft. The final notes are dry grasses and maple honey wax. Beautifully blended. Steading screams autumn to me though I can absolutely see this wearing well in hot summer and frigid winters. Pineward is going to be the cause of my financial ruin.

Love the scent and the color! Perfect late-fall/winter. But I use it 10-20°C. Imo great for greatly varying weather in Mars-April or Sept-Okt. The opening is marvelous and the dry down tones down to tobacco/beeswax. Whish there was maple syrup or maple extract, moreover the Honey. But love em both! That would have added a greater woody element to the overall woody notes that are in this somewhere. Lastly the notes listed here aren't 100% accurate. Notes: tobacco, hay, beeswax, barley, dried needles, poplar, hops, maple, and wisps of peat smoke. A dense wheaty tobacco perfume with dried fir needles and honeyed maple sweetness.