c’i’aan

I blind bought Aka’ula which took me two weeks to figure out if I liked it as it was challenging in the dry down. I even roped my friends in to test it over night - and every single one like me said it was great for the first few hours but the next morning they said - nope - has an awkward unusual drydown. This is despite the fact that I have a tolerant nose for awkward scents. OneBlueSummers review below is clearly meant for this and posted here by accident I am assuming with all his references to lava... However... it really impressed me with the quality of ingredients and technical performance. So I bought this and monto’ac... This is of the same build and blows me away... Amazingly despite the heavy coniferous and mint dose placing it in close competition to House of Sillage 003, Slumberhouse Grev, Oliver Durbano Jade and Turquoise and Heeley Menthe Fraiche this easily justifies a purchase to sit amongst them. Yes, I also had Diptyque Eau De Minthe and it is not in the same league IMHO BTW. Unlike these guys the ridiculously cheap packaging seems to infer that they are happy to invest the money in the quality... I have no problem with that... Great projection and 3-5 hours before it’s a waft from a trail. Despite the note table I would describe it reminding me also of fresh crushed sweet parsley and wormwood. Well done Source Adage! I can only hope you expand your range quickly...I look forward from Aka’ula to your next release...

After two decades of collecting perfume, I get excited when I smell something that is clearly good quality. I appreciate cheap perfumes, just like one can appreciate cheap wine or coffee. However, it's still obvious when something is made of superior components. Source Adage c'i'aan is a higher-end fragrance. The coniferous notes are rich and full-bodied, balanced beautifully on grounded base of amber and cedar. The apple and mint add freshness but absolutely no sharpness. It's a strangely exhilarating, yet comforting sense--like being in a peaceful ancient forest. Is it the greatest perfume in my collection? No. But it is one worth having. If c'i'aan is any indication, the other fragrances from this house are worth investigating, too. They put in the effort to create a thoughtful concept, great composition, and high-quality blend. Fairly unisex. Good longevity and sillage. Personal rating for this fragrance: 8/10

Me and my wife stopped in to this wonderful fragrance store in Hudson NY on our honeymoon last year. We tested pretty much all of the EDP’s and to be honest they were all original and exciting in their own way. But this one really struck me as the best. I have about 50 bottles in my collection. And to be honest it is the most absolute natural smelling scent that I have. It is amazing. It’s like walking in a shaded cool forrest on a hot day. U can smell the greenness of the woodlands the freshness of the apple coming through the fir w a little mint. Gorgeous scent. As it dries the scent picks up more and more of the woody accords and the apple dies down a bit but is still very much intoxicating and invigorating. So I highly recommend checking this one out along with their other products. They are a niche/indie style house and well worth your time to check out.

This is the pinnacle of niche perfumery. 1. Create a scent that smells like nothing you've ever smelt. 2. Smell totally natural. 3. Smell amazing. 4. Last There is a smoking molten lava ash burn throughout this fragrance. I think if they would have added it to the notes pyramid they would have had more people trying it out. Its the same exact 3d lava effect its brother aka’ula is pumped full of. This thing is refreshing, earthy, grounded, centered and alluring at the same time. All with not a drop of any synthetics ruining it. Take all the notes in the pyramid and place them on some Hawaiian burning lava, add in a pinch of salty wind and here you have it. Even with that burning rock smell it still smells clean and fresh. This is the coolest guy in the room that all the dudes envy and all the girls want. Refreshing and clean with a rough side.

Dear Andy, I didn't make a mistake please re read my review. The wet smoky lava note almost smells like the burning note in the other mentioned but they added some aldehydes to it. Hard to explain. Many others have said to have smelled it too. Took me almost a year to wrap my nose and head around it. This stuff is magical. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

This smells exactly like Shout spray for stains, at times. But overall very interesting, woody, piny smell. I don’t get any sweetness at all. Not a blind buy. True niche, yes it smells fresh, but is it appealing to most? probably not

Sort of a fresh green, foresty smell, mostly cool.

Great opening, green, fresh and a little pungent with a load of mint, balsam fir and strong juniper. In this phase I have green whiffs that I also find in Aetai.... The apple note is well mixed and together with the woody base of cedar and amber it recalls various scents already felt with the usual post-gym shaving and shower attitude. In a better and much more mature way. The trail is elegant but it doesn't work on my skin. There is quality in this one though. As the scent evolves it feels juicier, almost fermented, losing a bit of charm, with the fir still dense, aromatic, sometimes dirty which in the long run... bores me . I see it well on a mature,confident person, well dressed in a classic way, who plays it safe and is anchored to traditions.

In the opening it is like pine-flavored industrial disinfectant, used on the countertops and floors of stripped office buildings amidst renovation. An emphasis on a synthetic pine, juniper, and apple. As it dries it adopts a creamy tonka and peppermint smell which is subtly like toothpaste. But it always hangs onto this sort of tree branch + fresh cut grass smell. To me it is a more mature cousin of the sweeter and more playful Versace Eros; a less mature cousin of the austere green fragrances ala Profumum Roma or Aesop. It sits in the middle. Personally I think there are more beautiful green fragrances in this price range. My advice would be to check out Mousse Illuminee. 7.4/10

THE KINDA GOOD: Very manly, 60yr old Wyoming man comes to mind. Outfitted with a menthol-like spearmint accord brought to you by a fresher than fresh mint note. The astringency is so potent, a person could actually mistake you for taking 100 showers. No doubt, the cedar note is indeed the viceroy as it governs the palace of aromatic accords which is why I think this leans masculine. You're likely to not have anything in your collection similar to this. THE BAD: Smells like someone has been snooping around grandpa's medicine cabinet. The opening actually smells like Bengay. From the start of the gun to the finishing line tape, there's no amber or apple to be found. You wouldn't be wrong to classify this frag as a spiritless contribution. By the nature of ingredients, this sits close to the skin..and as a result, you might actually forget it's on your skin. With competition so fiece in the niche arena, this could easily be overlooked.

Great stuff! Don’t get any of the cleaner associations with this, thankfully. An energetic green trichotomy of pine, mint, and green apple. Mint here is quite realistic, avoids smelling like toothpaste. Works quite well, but I wouldn’t say this is unaccessable or particularly niche. Definitely has a “cold” quality. Not sure what green apple has to do with Alaska though, as apples are certainly not endemic to alaska. Perhaps Alaskan natives today like eat a lot of apples? Lmfao. Great, inoffensive office scent or sports scent. Far superior to regular designer takes on these cool, fresh feeling scents though. Dumb reach scent. Just for that fact alone, fbw.

Found this sample lurking in the back of my fragrance shelf. Had sampled Source Adage's other release, aka'ula a while back. C'i'aan is not subtle. Felt like walking into a dedicated Christmas shop that is overly packed with people, fake trees and fir/pine candles burning hot. Eyes tearing hot. Can't breathe hot. The apple turns brown fairly quickly and you're left with a sickly sweet undertone that dulls the fir into a sweaty grandpa just passed out from too much turkey, eggnog and pie and is snoring and drooling in his chair vibe. Wake up, grandpa! Time to head home!

It smells like grass soda from the Rocket Fizz store in New Orleans.