Stash SJP

Where has this been? Where have I been? I tried Lovely when it first came out and, honestly, it bored me. More recently, I tried Covet (because the notes sounded up my alley) and it really did not work for me. I figured SJP and I were just not on the same wavelength. But I recently decided to give Stash a try - maybe it was the article about the jogger in Australia who was chased by the deranged kangaroo when she was wearing it. Or because I'm on a pistachio kick. Anyway, I ordered Stash as well as a full bottle of another fragrance everyone seems to be raving about. Both came yesterday. I started with the popular one and was not at all happy. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Since I was still a bit shaken from my earlier misfortune with the popular one, I just tried one small spray. Say what??? I didn't want to overreact. Maybe it was just that I was finally happy to have the overly musky soapiness from earlier out of my nose. Sort of like how you start going out with someone who is sort of ok because the last one was awful. Then you end up married to just ok and realize you rushed into it when you should have just taken a bath and read a good book instead. No? Just me? Anyway... I tried another few more zealous sprays of Stash. Even more glorious. It's dry, woody, boozy - but not sweet. That's a delicate dance to get right. (A few years back, I initially loved Angel's Share - but it quickly became cloying for me because it's just too sweet. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet, but not cloying...). What I find so amazing about Stash is that the boozy is there, but the woody/nutty elements, combined with the dryness, keep it from being cloying. I don't know that I can identify the pistachio as such, but I'm definitely identifying nutty. And cedar. Someone further back mentioned oud. I'm not getting oud - which is good because I am not a fan of oud. This smells like the sweaters I used to keep in my cedar hope chest - with the faintest bit of Love's Baby Soft still clinging to the cuffs. The patchouli and musk, I guess? That takes me back to a very specific time and place in my life and I just am in love with this scent! Longevity was about 4 hours for me, I guess. Projected broadly for about an hour before becoming more of a skin scent - but that might be hard to tell because I kept shoving my wrist in my daughters' faces and saying, "Smell me! Isn't this amazing???" However, I will also say that when I went out to get the mail, the guy who was cleaning out the gutters said, "Man, you smell great!" That was after about 3 hours and he was about 7 feet away. And it was completely unprompted - I hadn't even climbed up the ladder at that point. This is going to be great in the fall. If I had a man, I would make him wear this. But it doesn't really matter because it's great on a woman too, so I'm fine wearing it for myself. Now I'm off to buy another bottle, the roller bottle, and the hair oil.

So, Im one of those annoying "Maceration Whores". I just find it so interesting how much fragrances change when a bit of air is introduced into the bottle and how with a bit of patience, the performance changes (sometimes drastically) or both, the actual scent and performance change. And it's NOT just the "Middle Eastern fragrances either. The most drastic changes have surprisingly been with some designer and Niche frags.. I bring this up bc SJP Stash has certainly improved over the last 2 months I've had my (adorable) little 1oz bottle. So, before, when I'd first recieved it, I'd sprayed a good amount on and although it had decent/moderate longevity (about 4-5 hours), it just seemed to have quite weak projection. Fast'forward 2 months later, I did like 3 spritzes on my forearm just to test it out during my work shift and I just kept getting wafts of it throughout my entire shift and even after I got home from work! And that was OVER the usual 5 or 6 spritzes of my scent of the week Encre Noire which I love. Anyhow, I have nothing else that smells quite Like SJP Stash in my 100+ bottle collection and this really does smell quite "Niche". The gorgeous, subdued black pepper is amazing here and the other spices and Cedar are excellent aswell, but the Musk, that MUSK is freakin' INTOXICATING! It's not an animalic Musk, but it is very present and I think that it's what gives SJP Stash it's tenacity/longevity and unmistakable Sex-appeal. Stash is NOT a "sssmack ya in the face" type of scent. It seems somewhat soft, but it still manages to be quite present as you catch clear whiffs of it throughout your day which is an awesome effect for what I would consider a "Woody/Musk" fragrance.. SSSUPER SEXY! Now again, that type of performance came with a bit of time, patience and some maceration. I did a side by side comparison of my 2 month old 1oz to a brand new 4oz back-up bottle which I purchased after i noticed the performance improvements. The differences were NOT immediately apparent, what maceration did was give Stash some "Back Bone" and more nuance in the far dry-down along with a bit better projection and far better "staying power". Anyhow, this may just be one of my top 3 wood or musk forward fragrances and may end up being my all time FAVE Musk/wood scent. I have to give this thing an 8.5 outta 10. I very much highly recommend it! Oh and leans just a tad-bit on the Masculine side to my nose, but this has got to be ULTRA SEDUCTIVE, intriguing and alluring on a woman for sure! Thanks to whomever took time to read my review!

I was fortunate enough to have my package arrived..to have my Stash box soaking wet and the bottle almost empty. I could smell this before I took it out of the delivery box and right away I knew I was going to love it. I could smell the top notes of the spicy black pepper and the grapefruit, masterfully blended with the heart of the fragrance...the cedar. HOWEVER...when I sprayed the almost empty bottle of Stash onto my wrists, the spiciness disappeared (which I loved) and it went straight into the middle notes, or rather the middle note of atlas cedar. Which is a bummer, because I read the reviews beforehand stating that they get a nutty (pistachio), forest-y vibe from this due to the complex notes. My nose didnt get that at all-- this fragrance is pretty linear, and the star here is definitely the atlas cedar. BUT....the dry down becomes a creamy, woody, musky skin scent to die for. It's intimate, and it my favorite part of Stash. I get memories of my childhood, and the wooden shelves of books line up from top to bottom, I'm sitting on a big abc carpet, the school yard doors are open and I can smell the wind carrying trees & the pine underneath my nose. My cool female teachers are playing Sarah Mclachlan. I can feel myself remembering wishing that the Berenstain Bears were real so I could live inside of a giant tree like they did. I know this was made not to long ago, but definitely gives me a 90's vibe.... So I'm assuming the symphony of beautiful notes I experienced came together so well is because there was SO MUCH of it leaking out of my bottle onto my soaking box, I mean really. My bottle wasn't even 1/3rd full! Anyway, I'm disappointed that it's not as complex smelling unless I get another faulty bottle. And this might because the fragrance is a about 8 years old, so the top notes my have been overcome by the base and middle notes. BUT I cannot deny it's a beautiful fragrance, this is closer to niche fragrance for sure. I can see a male or female acoustic guitarist rocking this. It has such a tranquil vibe, not sharp or headache inducing to me at all. I'm going to buy the oil and see if any of the notes stand out differently from the perfume. I find myself wanting buy back up bottles for nostalgic purposes. BTW the lasting power is great...8 hours! Its autumn 🍁 time, the best time to experience this (in my opinion). While doing errands, Stash came around to remind me that I still had her on. 10/10 from me!🌟

Ooh I really like this. It's a very cosy, woody, creamy/milky, aromatic unisex scent. I'm female and I don't find it too masculine for me. I don't get much of the grapefruit, but I get a strong aromatic opening which I think is predominantly the sage, and I do find it almost an edible type of scent. The rich woods are really smooth, creamy and cosy. It suits cold autumnal and winter weather best, and on me personally it has fantastic longevity, 8+ hours and a moderate sillage. I was wearing it yesterday and all of a sudden it brought back a scent memory for the first time, despite having owned it for a year or so and worn it many times. I'm lucky enough to have spent several holidays in the French Alps skiing at a few different resorts, and it brought back strong memories of those times I spent away. I am reminded of being in a chalet or restaurant with dark wooden panelling everywhere, creaky wooden floors, cosy rugs, lots of rustic chunky wooden furniture and benches around, delicious french food like raclette, fondue and tartiflette, lots of deep and dark colours everywhere like deep red and deep green, red checkered tablecloths, an open fire roaring away making the room toasty and warm, and the dry heat and smell of sauna close by. I've never had such a strong scent memory outside of remembering an actual perfume itself! I initially bought the rollerball but my bottle had cracked at the top from where the rollerball was pushed in I assume and it leaked everywhere, arriving only half full. I used it up and couldn't stop thinking about it - it's lovely and I've now got two 100ml bottles that I got for £12.99 each so a fantastic price. I think it's now discontinued which is such a shame if so because it's a beautiful cosy fragrance. @qoesie - I've just read your review, I found it the same, it's just like a dry woody sauna isn't it! :)

Expected a little more sweet and femme, less earthy. Given the notes, having read Burr’s The Perfect Scent, and SJP’s reference involving euro-rail body odor (lol), I had no reason to expect sweet and femme. Stash is definitely not Lovely II. It's 99.9% girlie-free yet feminine in the same way to me as YSL's original Opium is feminine. Packaging is very well done, heavy glass, a cap that snaps snugly over the nozzle, lovely label. When I walked to the display at Ulta, the fragrance was so potent, it practically created its own force field warding off competing scents. Giant heaps o’ frankincense (olibanum), black pepper, sage and vetiver hovered in the air. I was all, Hot. Damn. Bring it. Bought the edp and elixir oil. The edp lasts many hours on my skin. Longevity is killer. The elixir is fabulous, can be used in the bath, on hair and skin, is non-greasy and true to scent. Stash is so unique and well made. Quality materials blended with an intelligence that doesn't seem to make it to mass-market anymore. Compared with its shelf mates at Ulta, Stash is a weird one, way left of center. Thank God. Niche for the masses. Hopefully, it will be so different and multipurpose in its unisex qualities that it will sell like hot cakes. Would break my heart for something this good to be discontinued. Take negative reviews as fair warning: Do not blind buy, especially if light, floral, fruity scents are your jam. After wearing it for a few days, I have found it addicting. Layer it as a base with Narciso Rodriguez for Her musc oil or SJP's first, Lovely... it is divine. Stash is my first remorse-free retail fragrance purchase in years. Thank you Sarah Jessica. xoxo