Covered Bridge

This is an interesting creation. The longer it's on my skin, the more I enjoy it. At first I was caught a bit off-guard with what almost seemed like the scent of maple and walnuts. It reminded me of this ice cream topping called "wet walnuts" that they have in my town. It's basically walnuts sitting in some type of maple-brown-sugar syrup. In time, add to that a touch of sticky, resinous balsam fir, an ozonic element (thank goodness is not like melon! No Cool Water here!), maybe some soil? Some newly fallen leaves? The sweetness remains throughout, and the overall feeling is like a country bridge built with maple wood. I can see this whole scene in my mind. It's Autumn in Angela's fictional but immensely charming town of Foxcroft, and I'm heading home from my friend's housewarming party. I drive across the bridge, it's dark outside. The scent of home-baked pecan pie is clinging to my coat, so I crack the windows for a bit of fresh air, and the scent of crunchy leaves gushes into my car as I drive across the old maple bridge. Also can see the headless horseman in my mind, bwa-ha-haaa! I'm not big on sweetness or gourmand elements these days, and I don't think this one was intentional, but it works here. I also like how there is no spice. Great fragrance! Update: I was on the fence about buying the full bottle (a 5ml roller), but now that it's fall I find myself really craving it. I re-visited my sample, and it's just as I remembered it except that it smelled more masculine than I remembered, prompting me to look at the website for notes, and sure enough it mentions patchouli, vetiver, musk and fern, all of which I smell. I will be ordering the roller soon. I think I will wear it a lot this fall.

Covered Bridge smells like hiking in a pine forest and catching a whiff of a distant campfire. It's fresh-cut fir, cozy woods, and smoke. The odor starts off with bright conifer and smoke, and fades to a gentle, woodsy musk after 20 minutes. I find it smells extremely different on different people - the smoke is unusually strong on me, but on my friend it was much more sweet and sappy.

Perfect idyllic forest scent! Spring in the woods, the pure fragrance of nature. Maple sap being tapped hangs in the air. A draft stirs both new and fallen leaves, carrying the essence of deciduous trees and lying timber. More aroma tendrils float by, redolent of pine blossoms, and the pine's add of new needles and drop of old. New growth basks in returned warmth, shooting up from peat beds among the saplings. Moss spreads along the expanding creek banks, filled by spring showers. Wonderful! (P.S. SS's idea is more fall than spring, but it has so many fresh elements it could be either.)

The first topnotes are of smoke and dry wood, but these quickly wear down to make way for the earthy scent of conifers, pine needles, and dirt. The sweet notes of sap and pinecones and the slight spice of fir come through and soften the whole mix nicely. Covered Bridge is clear and fresh-smelling and the soil tincture isn't overpowering like I've found in some of Solstice's other realistic scents, it's actually a really nice and subtle base here. This fragrance smells like a walk in the forest, crisp and fresh and woody with notes of campfire smoke. Really delightful.

New Salem is a state historic site about an hour away from where I live that replicates the pioneer village Abraham Lincoln lived in for a few years as a young man. It's in a beautiful area surrounded by trees and meadow flowers. I went there recently with my kids and was amazed the cabins retained the extremely distinctive wood smell I remembered when I visited the site many years ago on a school field trip. Covered Bridge reminds me of that weathered, woody scent. It's very beautiful and evocative.