Sturbridge

Sturbridge comes across surprisingly soapy at first sniff, on account of the prominence of the frankincense. However, it soon mellows out into a spicy-but-not-too-spicy, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, woody-but-not-too-woody blend of baked apple, rum, and fir -- snug and comfortable, but more serious and interesting than anything like your standard gourmand, like a gentlemanly chat among work colleagues in a hobbit house after a good dinner. If it could sustain this stage for a solid several hours, it might be among a handful of favorites from Pineward. Unfortunately, on my skin, it's gone by lunchtime.

i got this in the pineward sampler for winter and it was a great first scent to try. this is a beautiful, nostalgic scent for me. the resin-y incense mixed with sweet spices and baked apple and hints of pine make me feel like i am at christmas eve mass in a cozy way. it’s very incense forward, but not in an overpowering way, if you enjoy the way catholic churches smell. it lasts a great amount of time—i sprayed at 5pm, and got home at 11pm, and it still smelled like it was just sprayed. overall very impressed and enjoyed this purchase!

Conifer lovers rejoice! Sturbridge is truly beautiful! This reads as fir & pine garlands, crisp winter air, warming spice accords & Yuletide resins. I’m shocked at how truly atmospheric and beautiful this is. Some may says it’s more masculine of center than unisex. Others may say it would make an ideal candle or wall plug-in rather than a fragrance. I do think it reads more masculine than unisex, but that certainly would not stop me from wearing it! I’d love to smell like I’d come from a winter hike! 9/10 for me 🌲

This is very realistic pine/fir right out of the bottle! Then it quickly becomes sweetly soapy. I’ve been on the prowl for a more affordable fragrance that smells similar to (and lasts longer than) Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles. Alas, Sturbridge isn’t similar enough to scratch my FeA itch. While the baked apple and spices are present here, on my skin, they’re background players in a scent where the conifers are definitely king. It is reminiscent of Lutens’ Fille en Aiguilles (particularly in the first 2-3 minutes) but only very marginally so, as the spiced Sheldrakean “stewed fruit” accord in that fragrance is much more pronounced than in Sturbridge. This smells SUPER soapy. I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising... many pine/fir heavy scents have a definite “Irish Spring” bar soap aroma to them. Even my favorite pine/fir forward scent, Fille En Aiguilles, has that a tiny bit, it’s just fortunately one of the few that doesn’t scream, “HELLO!!! HEY!!!! HI THERE!!! I SMELL LIKE IRISH SPRING!!!!” — Like this one😩 I only bought a dram size, and I will enjoy wearing this as cooler weather is coming in, however won’t purchase a fb. This is a nice clean fragrance, but I only bought Sturbridge because it’s listed here as smelling like my coveted Fille en Aiguilles. But it’s not a contender by any stretch. I’m going to purchase a dram of Pinward’s Christmas Wine next. Will it be similar enough to warrant spending less than $320, the current going price for a Lutens bell jar? Fingers crossed!🤞🏼

Sampling Pineward Perfumes Sturbridge, a 2023 release that I was aware of but overlooked until recently. It smells like a cross between resinous apple cider and fresh pine, and the note breakdown largely supports this, with key notes of pine resin, frankincense, myrrh, fir balsam, spices, baked apples, other woods, and (curiously) ambergris. It’s a little odd, in this respect, as usually fragrances in this house, and in general, tend to fall into either the gourmand-adjacent category or the woody/resinous category, and there is an abundance of the latter, especially, in the Pineward line. On the one hand, this intersection of ideas is refreshing and unique, expanding the diversity of the catalogue, yet on the other hand, I find it a bit vexing, as even the apple itself is not strictly a stewed/spiced/baked apple but sort of fresh and tart as well, and the woody experience isn’t purely dark and resinous but also a bit green and (also) fresh. So it has a lot going on, a busy intersection that undoubtedly will delight some and perhaps it’ll perplex others as it does me. I think I’ll need a little more time with it. As with most of the catalogue, it’s a very strong performer, and extrait concentration, with current pricing of $350/230/150 for 100/52/32ml, sold in the US via the house website. Overall, I’m pleased with this entry upon first try even though it’s not among my very favorites of the line. 7 out of 10