No 4

This is soo amazing! No 4 was inspired by the powerful witch in Russian fairy tales- Baba Yaga. My amateur nose smells pine needles, minty patchouli, faint resins in the beginning. Darkness, deep into the (sometimes scary) forest. And a real forest, not perfume that's pretending to be inspired by a forests but puts sharp citrus all over it. (Have never seen a mossy pine forest with citrus trees in it!) It took 6 hours before the resins overtook it all, and they're smooth. In hotter weather, the resins are stronger in the beginning, too, but the greens is what still sets this apart from so many other resinous scents. To me, the base reminds me of Diptyque l'Eau trois, but this has so many more layers. Unfortunately, it's a limited edition and hardish to find, but I got mine at Osmodeus. Anna Zworykina will be responsible for me returning home and getting rid of almost all of my collection. I have never before encountered such complexity in natural perfumes. And they are so much better than both mainstream and niche ones- almost always there's something chafing my nose there. But AZ's masterpieces are just perfect! Edit October 25th Now in the cold fall weather, all I get is myrrh and labdanum. Nice, but I'm missing the extra layers. My hotter-blooded partner still gets all of the magical forest, so it will be his for the winter. I just love how Zworykina's creations are so alive and change with the seasons. And wondering how many of the ones I dismissed as "uninteresting" in the hot weather would be glorious now... That happened to No 0 that has been my late summer go to and Tobacco Tuberose is just now starting to grow on me. Edit March 3rd And it changed back into forest magic in the deep winter. This is one of my top 5. Or 3. A serious masterpiece, have never smelled anything close to being this magical. A breath of fresh forest air.

When a split for this perfume came up in one of my perfume groups on facebook, the description of the forest with Baba Yaga had me intrugued. I took the plunge and ordered a 5 ml decant. And I'm so glad I did. Normally I gravitate towards heavy and sweet perfumes (Tom Fords Black Orchid, I'm looking at you) and this one is nothing like that. On paper it doesn't contain more than maybe two notes that I like. But Anna Zworykina made me realise it doesn't matter what I like. The opening is a blast of resin, the tang you get in your nose when you pich the wet resin from a pine tree and put it in your mouth. I see the forest from my childhood in front of me, and as the scent progresses I slowly climb a montain in that same forest, and the heavy resin gives way to the dryness of tree trunks and blueberry bushes being heated up by the sun. there's a natural sweetness in there, or maybe just the oposite of bitterness. As I sit on top of that montain I smell all the plants of the forest resting in the sun. Other times I've tried this when I'm tired and sad, and the bitter opening collects me, and the stilness and slight sweetness(tea?) that follows soothes me. To me, this perfume is a gift. A full bottle is in the mail heading my direction.

I have tried over a thousand perfumes, this one is in my top 3. Anna Zworykina is a contemporary master. This perfume is a profound symphony of expertly blended notes, every one ringing true. Still brings a tear to my eye. I have not written a review with the word "genius" about anyone else. Zworykina is the discovery of an olfactory lifetime for me. Genius, living genius.

Wonder why this gets the lowest score of 2.something. and with that great review too! Wish I knew how that worked.

Anyone knows how I can get my hands on this, I'm in the US.