Norne

Another person compared this to Serge Lutens' Fille en Aguilles. I agree that it is similar--but not the same. Perhaps the idea is the same, but Norne is even more fabulous. I cannot believe I'm writing this, but it's "better"--a better scent, more evocative, far stronger, lasts longer, and renders Fille "thin" by comparison. I have both. Now that there's Norne, I'm going to splash on my SL FA on with abandon during the day--and save this for cozier colder afternoons and evenings--and elegant, sexy date nights. (Btw--this works entirely unisex). Far more than the sum of its notes, Norne must have some vetiver and honey notes, as well as some kind of woods--I even detect some floral tones of rose with a whiff of cumin and possibly just the merest hint of a white flower, and something dusty and mentholated hiding deep deep within, nose-to-wrist. The top three inches are hay, green and sweet with honey, fruit notes of dried blackberries, plums on the ground, late afternoon sun at an autumnal tilt, crunching leaves. An incense that is not smokey or peppery or headshop, but just the remnants of a burnt wood that remain behind infuse the sweet tobacco-hay quality. I sprung for "Kiste" by this house--and this is of equal quality. I love this house so far, and am highly impressed with "the whole package"--from bottle to wrist to decolletage--the experience is strong, long, beautiful and rich. This is not for the faint of heart, the very young and nubile, but for those who want an experience and who have presence. Quality is way above average and as previous commentators have noted silage and longevity are fantastic--the dry down is not just the usual mall-musky warm-sweet vanilla-nothing--it's interesting. This is a lovely ride.

Okay. I own my Norne for over 6 months now. I’ve been exploring it starting in the middle of autumn, whole winter and whole spring as well. Norne is realistic, brings memories of mine, takes me places. First of all - thick, dark, wet conifer forest (mainly fir if I had to guess) with a lot of moss as the ground floor. Also - trees are covered with moss as well. I remember myself visiting forest like this whole lot of times in my childhood - being with my family while they were collecting mushrooms for eating purposes. Actually it was always during the daytime, but I can easily imagine myself that is exactly how the forest smells after the heavy rain, possibly maybe even after the storm. Then - a picture of dark, broody, evil and mysterious forest like in metal (mainly black metal) songs and bands use as a theme - Satyricon in Mother North as a good example. This is surely niche all the way through. Composed in 2012, when conifers in general weren’t exploited that much in niche genre. That all together makes Norne unique as it is. I have to give Slumberhouse and Josh Lobb due respect - just for that. There is a kind of spice in Norne which you won’t confuse with any other perfume on the market. Most people say it’s clove - I wouldn’t be so sure, but the spice is surely there. It lasts fairly long on my skin, but the sillage isn’t huge. That’s not a bad thing at all. If it returns on the market anytime in space I’ll probably buy a full bottle.

I'm glad to finally have a bottle of Norne, after subsisting off samples and decants for the last 4 or 5 years. It's a wonderful mix of clear, crisp fir, earthy, dirty and liturgical incense and a spice mix, being mostly cloves and or allspice/pimento. So, anyway, as I sit here with Mer perched on my stolen Pure yoga block, I really feel that Norne is something you live in. It will teleport you to a time and place where the wearing of Norne makes PERFECT sense. For me, it takes me to the frigid, frozen Nordic world. Personally, Norne is the smell of a frozen Rauma beachfront, with ice extending waaay out into the distance. No idea where the Bothnian coastline 'would' begin, where the sand 'would' meet the water, it's about 12 or 13 degrees below freezing (I mean Celsius, you uncivilised HEATHENS), and perfectly still. This is where Norne differs to Grev. Whilst both utilise the fir/clove combo, Grev takes me to Tohoku, getting an icy Nihonkai blazzard blast right in the face, whereas Norne takes me to a calm, frozen Nordic tundra. A birch forest, a quiet frozen lake and a winter cottage with a sauna. It's an amazing winter scent, but for mine, it's not something you can wear every day. Not for me, at least. Special occasions and rarely. It really is a trip. It teleports you, it really does. It doesn't transform you, but it certainly alters you...

Stupendous. Sheer bombastic brilliance. I might have been swayed in advance of even smelling this by the forum thread and wesleyhclark's classic review here (scroll down to read it! Please!) ... but every time I sniff this I swear I can hear the relentless banging of giant kettledrums on the Norse longship heaving into view and the grunting of heave-ho heave-ho from a squad of Vikings. It's completely mad. I am utterly in love with it. If Fille en Aiguilles is a Nordic princess then Norne is the tattooed pagan warlord who seizes her and sails away. All of the coniferous, resinous magic of Fille, but minus the red fruits and with elaborate layering of other woods and sacred incense over the top. (So it conjures forest shrines and weird spirit rites, not just a happy walk with a nice bit of mulled wine like Fille. There's also a good bit of damp humidity and a great whack of cloves... ) Norne is domineering and arrogant and assertive and it surely won't go unnoticed. For me, unisex skewing male, but the main thing is: just *how much* do you love to go into the deep dark misty mysterious woods? How brave is your heart? If you can't live without wildness then this one is for you. Be valiant and do battle with it. Scent Valhalla imho. Norne! None!! Long Live Norne!!!* (*it does live long, btw - another reason to submit to it. A force of nature.)

I had a slight idea of what to expect out of Slumberhouse's Norne, a celebrated cold-weather fragrance of a few years back, but I wasn't prepared for how dark or powerful it was. I get a mix of balsam fir, pine, resin, incense, and perhaps even some oud---all the dark elements usually paired with lighter notes are seemingly together in one utterly dark concoction. The blend is outstanding, though, as I can imagine this collection of notes being overwhelming or ugly in other hands. Norne is strictly appropriate for cold weather, and probably just nights. It's slightly dirty but still probably suits formal occasions (again, in the winter), as it's reined-in enough to offer masculinity without being overwhelming. Unsurprisingly, as an extrait, the performance is outstanding, one of the strongest fragrances I've ever tried in terms of both projection and longevity. Again, though, it's not overwhelming, but one should apply carefully, as the word seems to be that the juice stains clothing and skin alike. At $160 for 30ml (at Luckyscent, Twisted Lily), it's not cheap, but it packs a punch if you're looking for an intense winter option that doesn't require a lot of sprays. Norne is dirty enough that I have some reluctance to give it extremely high marks, but it's an excellent fragrance overall in terms of the scent and performance. 8 out of 10