Monarch

This is a lovely scent, one of my favorites that I've tried from Solstice. Very wearable. It says it's for men but I find it pretty unisex. The resinous evergreen elements are definitely present, but the incense, musk and spicy aspects make it much easier to wear for me than some of the other "forest" scents from Solstice (Night Watcher for example I enjoy smelling but am still deciding whether I can pull it off. The evergreens are just bordering on Christmassy there... Here they are not at all.) Very pleasant and fresh on my skin, strong but not heavy. I could wear this anytime, anywhere. Edited to add: the above review was for the oil, but I have since tried the EDP and it is somehow even better. The red musk had a certain "grape-y" quality to it in the oil that is not showing up for me in the EDP and that grape aspect was the only thing I didn't like about the oil. The EDP also lasts longer, especially on clothing. I've tried so many resinous and conifer scents since this one (it kind of sent me down a pine rabbithole) and while I've found many truly lovely balsamic scents along the way I'm thinking this may be the one I need to FB.

This is so gorgeous, it's quite sweet despite the aromatic and spicy accords. It's mkre unisex in this way, more rugged in its scent profiles age. This is something that smells medieval with a very natural sweetness from the resins that becomes a bit skany by the bottom of the sample; where it's a rich and ambery liquid. Monarch smells of a man well fed, tended go, and glistening with soothing oils after a long soak in a steaming bath. He's resting in a room with a crackling fire as the crisp night air wafts into his chambers.

There's this cake we have in Europe, made from very bland neutral layers of sponge and butter+walnuts, topped with powdered sugar paste infused with raspberry extract. This smells to me exactly like that, with a bit of church (resins) in it. In my head I call it Church Cake and it's as intriguing as it sounds.

Starts as Orange blossom honey on me, then it develops a bit of pine wood. After it dries down it smells like Swedish Christmas soap; pine, orange, faint floral, lots of herbal honey. It's lovely and easy to wear for me. I definitely got more action than the previous reviewer!