Woodland Rose

It’s been really hard for me to find a rose fragrance I loved enough to buy. And I’ve sampled dozens of rose fragrances in my quest to find one—including some pretty expensive ones. And as soon as I smelled this one, I bought it on the spot. I think it’s one of the most natural and wearable roses I’ve ever smelled. It has a lovely brighter raspberry fruit note that lifts it up. I wouldn’t typically be drawn to either of those notes, but the execution is amazing. It doesn’t smell “perfumey”/synthetic nor does it smell soapy or dated. I truly truly love this one. Highly recommend.

Woodland Rose is not unpleasant, but there's a sourness or tartness to it that probably wasn't the best direction for this fragrance and is headache-inducing for my wife. I suspect it stems from the oversaturation of amber, caused by Ranger Station's decision to use three sources of amber: labdanum, ambroxan and amber. Probably just one of those in the base would have done the trick. If not the amber, then they should have used a less sour rose note. I went into it thinking Ranger Station had created a more rose-forward cologne that guys could actually wear, but it's more like they didn't dare to be bold and stayed more away from the rose by smothering it with too many different amber and woody ingredients. If that sourness would just soften up and tone down, Woodland Rose would be excellent. But it doesn't. Unfortunate -- this fragrance has a lot of potential. Otherwise, I'm finding that, thematically, Ranger Station's lineups are safe, probably too safe. Reviewing High Horse and Oud Ranch here since they're not listed on Fragrantica: Oud Ranch smells like the patchouli incense that my pothead and hippy friends in high school used to burn or like a college town bohemian store. High Horse smells like lemons and flowers. In its dry down, it smells reminiscent of a very, very weak impression of Creed Aventus. I like both, but they're not signature scent worthy (though between the two, Oud Ranch stands a better chance). You're unlikely to stand out in a crowd or be memorable wearing any of the Ranger Station's fragrances I've tried so far. That said, they're pleasant smelling and won't repulse anyone.

Rose and alcohol. Gross! That's all I can say about this