Willow

I purchased the Skylar perfume palette and of all the scents I tried, Willow is my favorite. I love that this line is clean, cruelty-free, and you can mix scents to find a signature fragrance that works for you and your body chemistry. Out of the 6 scents, Willow is my favorite. It's earthy, green, mossy, and woodsy. I like it. I really do think of walking through a forest or the woods when I spray it on my pulse points. There's nothing groundbreaking about the other 5 scents. Though they are lovely, they're also unremarkable, at least two are forgettable, and most all are so light that they disappear in a matter of minutes. Willow's longevity is much better than the rest, though still crappy as compared to other fragrances I own with similar notes. Willow opens with a distinct pine-like note. I can smell the cedarwood which can come off strong as an essential oil, but it's well balanced in this fragrance. For some reason, I smell some type of red rose in the dry down but ever so faintly. Sillage is moderate when you first spray it, but it settles pretty quickly into a skin scent. Longevity is terrible. Within 20 minutes, I can't quite smell the fragrance unless I press my wrist to my nose. Perhaps this would perform better if it was sprayed on a top. The frags in this palette are safe for office wear given how light they are, but I highly doubt I'd pay the $80+ for the full flankers, purely based on how bad longevity is. I have other clean-line frags that last the entire day within the same price-point, so I'd rather go with those. I'll give it some time because there's a part of me that wouldn't mind buying a full flanker of Willow. We'll see. I'm really glad I purchased the palette and got a good sense of how each fragrance performs before investing in full flankers. p.s., the first time I sprayed Willow, I was struck by how familiar it smelled. It took some days but I finally realized which of my other perfumes has a striking resemblance to it. Good Chemistry's (another clean line) "Firecracker" (not in Fragrantica's database). This one has starfruit, lotus, and vetiver which gives it that earthy, woodsy, outdoor smell that Willow has. Firecracker has a better price point and longevity/sillage. I'm really surprised it doesn't have Cedarwood which is what I first pick up on in Willow.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of this scent. It had very mixed reviews and I guess you would have to like green scents to truly enjoy this, but to me it really does smell like walking through an enchanted forest and finding a beautiful waterfall along the way. It is very earthy, deep green moss and fern just after a rain in the morning. Very beautiful and enchanting. There are only 3 notes listed, I can smell the cedar and I definitely smell the bitter green of the galbanum, I also get something a little sweet, like an aromatic floral which stops this scent from leaning too masculine, could be the bensoin, but I’m not sure if it’s just that. Do perfumes sometimes have hidden notes, or could it be just how the notes blend together? Either way, I’m in love with this! It takes me back to my childhood of being in the woods, climbing trees and making forts, or just sitting on the huge old tree in my secret spot way back in the woods behind my house that had fallen over the creek, where I would go to often with a blanket and a picnic and a good book to read.

I don't often leave reviews but too much hate on this one! I found this on a deal at TJ Maxx and I'm stoked. It's a stunning woodsy smell. It starts very green and woody, like an actual fresh forest rather than JUST dry wood smell. It dries down more dry and the green fades away, but it does still have a sweetness to mellow out the dryness. Most woody smells lean masculine to me, but this is true unisex and a beautiful fragrance. *do NOT take a shot every time I say wood. lol*

I honestly don’t understand why Willow gets so much hate. It’s very green and woodsy. I personally really like green fragrances so this one is good in my opinion. It’s simple and when I wear it it gives me the idea I am walking on a forest. If you’re expecting something super sophisticated, go somewhere else. This one is not for you.

Out of the perfume palette set I was happy to purchase at my local TJ Maxx, I love Willow the best. It’s almost a dupe of my top fave ImaginaryAuthors (IA) Memoirs of a Trespasser. I’ll buy a full bottle but I have a feeling I will not reach for it all the time. I will invest in a full bottle just to have in my collection. 🥰