Tartan

This is my first review, I think I should probably start with how I found Tartan. I was watching a Youtube video of the extrait collection and when I saw the notes I decided to get a decant, it was one of many I ordered from different houses, so I did not test it immediately, I think I tried 4 others before Tartan but when I got there, it blew me away, wow! Everything else I tried that day smelled flat and boring after Tartan. Not sure how or why but it took me straight to my childhood, I was smelling the wet dirt, rain, the woods, the humid grass, the dark green tall trees and the cloudy sky. I also thought of my dad, how he used get home around 6-7 pm and how the atmosphere smelled as soon as he got home, his suit, the air of the night, the relief that he was finally home (he used to travel a lot). It smells, woody mainly, cold but with some sort of very subtle tobacco that somehow warms it a little, and there is some sort of tart that makes it so balanced and addictive. I applied it once in my arm and could not stop smiling, I applied it again in my arm before bed and woke up smelling my arm in the morning. I am so obsessed with this perfume. Do not apply too much though, it is strong and it lasts all day, for real. I obviously bought a big bottle already and got the discovery kits, this one is the best to me. My bottle is different from the one in the picture though so I am not sure if it got reformulated, so make sure you try the newer version. This is now my favorite perfume. 10/10

Oh, how lovely. Memories of grandfather's lean-to and garage, carpenter's workshop, freshly cut boards and rainy Sunday view of a poorly landscaped garden. To my nose, this is a woody bouquet of great delicacy. The cedar is beautiful: very round, dusty, yet at the same time (almost) alive, a kind of personified tree. The cistus/hedione accord is superb, very pale, just the right amount of stretch-film plasticity, and I find the tuning of the notes particularly prodigious. The oak moss/shaving foam aspect, a little bit old-fashioned, is also present with finesse, calm, discreet and rejuvenating. I had to search for the jasmine tea for a few minutes, as well as the tobacco aspect (in this case pipe tobacco), but I finally found them somewhere, in a subtle, tannic, smoky and astringent front, hand in hand, the icing on the cake of a composition that is already as fine as it is delightful. Blindly, I might have thought it was a Comme des Garçons hit. Clearly a fragrance I'm keeping on the list of beautiful perfume gifts that would go to my +1. I didn't know Sarah McCartney, but I'm going to take a closer look at her creations. Love it.

Scottish Fougere. WTF (you say), but I've been testing this for a while, and the sheer volume of unfamiliar notes in this creation by Sarah McCartney means my brain is desperately, constantly, trying to relate to things it DOES know. It's ultimately a very 'textural' fragrance. I can 'smell' the roughness of woven coarse wool textile, as if it were smothering my face and I was forced to breathe through it. With this comes aromas of old wood, a herbaciousness that is familiar yet not, and the dying embers of a fire. When I think if Tartan more abstractly, and I then relate the whole experience to what I DO know... My brain thinks "Fougere, but replace every note with a Scottish-centric equivalent" Thus..... SCOTTISH FOUGERE! Love this more the more I wear it. Relatable example - if you have ever tried any Bogue Profumo fragrances, MEM in particular, then you are close to what I am smelling here in regards to quality of craftsmanship and originality. Top notch.

Fresh, cologne-like opening followed by a breeze from the loch. Then comes the star of the show - moss growing over boulders. Heather is in bloom. A lone piper plays o’er the moor. Rob Roy appears in the distance muttering “Macgregor despite them” while looking for stray cattle (I kid, I kid). This is the Great Scottish outdoors in a bottle. Unisex but leans masculine. Incredible staying power. One small mist from a very generous sample vial lasted all day. I imagine a handsome lad in a kilt wearing this. Both of my parents are of Scottish descent. I guess that means I am, too. My dad played bagpipes in a pipe band. I remember being dragged to Highland Games when I was a kid. I had no appreciation then. I love it now. When all the pipe bands gather at the end I get goosebumps. It's autumn in the northern hemisphere and now is the perfect time to wear this fragrance. I shall wear Sarah Baker’s Tartan to remember my father. I shall wear it with pride.

My review might be idiosyncratic - but this smells to me like a grown-up Abercrombie and Fitch! I went searching and I suppose the A&F cologne that was so popular when I was a teen was Fierce... Not sure if this is the one I am remembering, but Tartan to me smells like what I remember walking into Hollister or A&F smelt like when I was a teenager in the early 2000s. It's a grown-up, more woody version, like Hollister at Christmas, lol! But I love it. I'm surprised vetiver is not listed in the notes. To me, this is a creamy wood, it makes me think of the word 'chestnuts' but not in the sense that it smells like them. Brings to mind sitting next to the fire around Christmastime, wrapped up in a tartan blanket, feeling warm and congenial. I may just full bottle buy! Definitely unisex - I think this would be incredibly sexy on a man. Also reminds me of the show Outlander.

The combination of hops , buddha wood and two different varieties of cedar in Tartan is breathtaking , it gives off an intoxicating aroma of fine spirits, fruity booze and smoke, incredibly unique and nothing short of captivating. Featured in the note pyramid is bread, and as weird as it might sound, you can sense a very strange wheat bread smell, and sweet honey like nuances throughout the wearing, almost gourmandish. This is a very multifaceted perfume that hits you from all angles, the rich aroma of tobacco further enhances the richness in the heart, and not listed on the notes but present throughout is also cardamon. The overall picture is very dark and intriguing in my opinion. Sarah McCartney is the perfumer responsible for signing this brilliant composition for the beautiful niche house of Sarah Baker.

It's another humdinger. The wood notes were the first to hit me. Then I picked out a little hops, bread and whisky. I love this combination. I was worried it might be too alcoholic but it isn't. It's warm and sort of invigorating. It doesn't smell too foody but you are more aware those notes after a little while. I can't say SB scents evolve much so almost linear. First and foremost it's about wood. It's not very sweet but more warm and glowing. Someone sitting in a traditional highland castle living room in a plush leather chair with a glass of whisky in their hand with the lit fire glittering through the warm amber liquid. I have 4160 Tuesday's Buddha wood box and this is different enough to have both. There is no booze or food in BWB. Good longevity and sillage. Very unisex.

At first when I recieved the sample and tried it out on a piece of paper, I really didn’t like it. It was overly masculine to my taste. But then, when I tried it on, I completely changed my mind. On me, this fragrance smells like a pharmacy and a “chemical forest”. Also liquorice, menthol, herbal tea, metal and leather. Such a weird and unusual combination but it is quite frankly one of the best perfumes I’ve ever had. If you like interesting, woody, light fragrances, I would suggest you give Tartan a go.

Excellent artwork here, this smells like an English castle. I get the atmosphere of wood and stone, leather, bread and hops. It's got Buddha wood which I'm not familiar with, but the best way I can describe it is vintage expensive wood. Like an antique shop filled with the finest hand carved furniture. This does smell like the closet of royalty in Buckingham Palace 👑 Scent 9/10 Performance 7/10 P. S. The deep drydown many hours later, starts to remind me Tom Ford Oud Wood.

Madain Saleh... if we thought of it as the portal to Rapunzel tower! This is the gateway to dreamland of heaven. It's the gateway to bless & bliss. The sweet nutty woods is just beyond love & serenity, with that jasmine tea, and seedful bread makes a complete perfection blend. Since Sarah McCartney did it, then i believe it's kind of near her "Buddhawood box" hit. This one is just a perfection in a bottle for those who loves sweet nutty wood. Impressive.

When I was in Vermont in the Fall I would put on Tartan and then bundle up and for walks in the leaves. It's a magical outdoorsy scent that makes me want to snuggle up. Absolutely delicious.

Can anyone on here confirm if the recently released 'Tartan Cask' by Sarah Baker is the same ?

I think Tartan is aptly named. It does have a sartorial, clothing vibe to it. Maybe a musky, traditional Scottish mens clothier. Or even a walk-in closet full of traditional Scottish clothing. This does lean masculine. A "gentlemanly" masculine. And interesting note combinations to achieve this: hops, bread, leather, tobacco and woods. It reminds me most of Creed Royal Service, so maybe Tartan is a good replacement for the extremely expensive and almost-impossible-to-get special edition Creed. Tartan also seems a bit more tamed and wearable than Creed Royal Service. All in all I think Tartan has a place in my gentlemanly, refined and elegant occasion wardrobe. I just looked at the Tartan product description on LuckyScent.com, probably provided by the brand: "A fire is roaring in the library while you savor a glass of Speyside Single Malt, all nestled into a tartan blanket. Warmth and refined heritage envelope you after a walk with the hounds through mossy ruins in Scotland’s Highlands." Yea that's it. A fragrance well conceived and executed. Probably a better and more complete association than my sartorial focus. Warmth and refined heritage. Sarah Baker captured it perfectly with Tartan.

Tartan is a great name for this one - its rough and woolly but at the same time warm and cozy. You would want a warming scent like this wading in from the Scottish damp autumnal hunt or wander around the glen, single malt in one hand in front of the fireplace. Perhaps a tad too robust and masculine for me personally but I would appreciate this on someone else.

in a world of sweet fragrances, i would say this is the antidote, it is almost sour! i have a sample and i need to try it again, maybe on skin, because i am not sold yet but it seems to have disappeared from the brand's website. looks like tartan cask is not the same as tartan

leather, buddha wood, very dry wood with an almost camphor quality and some cedar and ISO E

An odd anise natural oil over a woody base. I'll be honest, I only picked this up because having 'Bread' and 'Hops' notes sounded really interesting. Now that I have smelled this, do I find this interesting? Eh. Not really, but this isn't bad. I don't find ANY bread here, though there is a definite bitterness here from the hops. The bitterness here is in the lead alongside some fresh almost minty note (It's very close to Anise, but not quite). The backing features a very rich and authentic wood that oscillates in strength while this is in your skin. The vibe of everything here is reminiscent of some natural oils you'd find in face oils and artisan soaps. It's has this natural earthiness. If I didn't know better, I could totally see Ellen Covey as the original perfumer here. Someone out there is going to absolutely love this (and from the reviews here it looks like some people did!). I enjoy how authentic this perfume feels, though it's missing something... This perfume has so much potential to be more than a background 'mood' perfume.

Very weird but to me this smells like cinnamon? And like a mentholy scent. Definitely not for me but it's very interesting and well done!

This scent gave me one of the most bizarre olfactory experiences that I’ve had. On me it was equal parts “veeerry eeenteresting (say that with a Dracula type accent) AND just nothing I would want to smell like on purpose. So the bread and hops take it into “way too much time in the pub” territory. And then there’s a sense that, being a little tipsy, you might have wandered off for a tryst in a barn, but it didn’t turn sexual. Instead you crash for a nap on burlap sacks. Then there’s a plastic or rubber element like newly opened kids’ toys, that must come from the chemical notes used. All in all a unique but unwearable product.

OK, I'm editing my impression from 2 hours ago... after I've now had this on about 3 hours, it has softened to a very inoffensive, sweet woody scent... It is also pretty faint though--so for me, that's a sum total of 2 hours of yikes, followed by a brief respite where this is unisex, soft, not bad...