Holy Thistle

The scent of a ghost flitting across the Scottish Highlands in a billowing cape on the way to a lonely castle ruin. That's what came to my mind when I tried it. Nothing girly here as far as I'm concerned. Although there is green, it also has a heather-ish quality about it. I like the Union fragrances, they're original. Whenever I'm in London now, I'm trying to buy one of those lovely bottles as a souvenir. And it's pretty difficult to choose. Celtic Fire was the first, this one is my second. I don't much get the resemblance to Vent Vert by Balmain to be honest, that one is quite a different thing. Holy Thistle is haunting and mysterious. I really like the idea of ingredients coming from all over the UK. The scents remind me of all the beautiful places I've seen and been to and still want to visit. Love it!

This is delightful and charming. It is transparent and gentle, light, and soft and fresh, and 'green' but without the astringency that comes from galbanum or tomato leaf, and it is subtly sweet, but not powdery. For me it is definitely on the feminine side of unisex. Perhaps best for spring or summer. It does indeed smell of bracken or ferns. The pine or bay notes listed are not overtly evident and are probably used cleverly to amplify some aspects of the fern. There is a slight subtle floral sweetness and perhaps that does come from thistle. Although not listed, I suspect there is a little white musk in the base which may help make it last It reminds me of smells from my childhood in Scotland. Cutting armfuls of big bracken fronds to use as a bedding under the sleeping bag on camping trips. The scent of little patins of special Roger & Gallet soap that were opened when we had guests and which we got to use after they had left or were used to scent clothing in drawers. It is subtle and charming and I can understand why some sellers suggest it as a fragrance for a young woman on her wedding day. After the opening it sits fairly close and so is somehow 'intimate'.

Very green, just like the juice. The first scent I've tried with thistle, but the third I've tried from Union. Starts out with slightly bitter thistle and fern then gets more soapy and finally ending in a little sweet, fruity and very unisex drydown. Very airy and light, the fern seems to be the most prominent note combined with a sweetening musky ingredient which is not listed in the note pyramid. I do not really detect any pine or bay leaf in this one. A nice green scent, but longevity and projection are unfortunately less than mediocre.

What about the "bracken?" I don't know what that is, but it sounds like something to do with water. This scent is plenty wet, and cool, and herbal and yes, green. Persolaise said bitter, but I disagree. Not sweet, certainly, but perhaps closer to sour. Also foggy/windy. I wish it smelt just a little bit less like perfume. I think in that case it would be perfect.

Just kinda smells like a feminine fart lingering in the air.. I was happy to actually find a bottle seeing the company seemed to disappear. But after trying it idk I’m not really getting any green notes at all. Just a feminine musk. Pretty dissatisfied with this blind buy. But hey I paid 40 bucks so it is what it is. I have a chance to get the others in the lineup for same price but prolly will pass seeing how this one kinda sucks. I see why they are no longer selling these.. the bottle tho is beautiful, it’s all heavy metal framing. Maybe some women may like this. There’s Not much to it tho. It’s Very linear. Best way I can describe it: Your girlfriend just took a huge dump And tried to hide it with some feminine musky/flowery body spray before you Stepped into the bathroom. lol. Enjoy! 4/10

Taking the motto "buy local" to its logical extreme, Union, a new niche house from the U.K., set out to create perfumes using only materials sourced from their shores. I gather that this means that these perfumes are all natural? The only place where these creations can be purchased in the United States, as I far as I have been able to ascertain, is Henri Bendel. I received samples along with a recent order and so have decided to give Holy Thistle a sniff. This is a very green perfume, inhabiting the same general neighborhood as Pierre Balmain Vent Vert, although the latter is considered a floral green, while Holy Thistle boasts only three official notes: bay leaf, pine tree, and fern. My understanding is that most green perfumes today are produced using synthetics which create a scent fairly indistinguishable from grass. In this case, given the house's mission statement, I am assuming that they really did chop up a bunch of bay leaves and pine tree and fern, all sourced from the U.K., to produce this perfume. I certainly hope so, because although it reminds me a lot of the budget Balmain green, it costs several times more. I am also reminded vaguely in wafts of Diptyque Eau de Lierre and Robert Piguet Futur, both of which are also less expensive than Holy Thistle. I like Holy Thistle, but it's not the Holy Grail of green perfumes, and I confess to being incapable of distinguishing U.K. materials from laboratory-produced greenishness, so there would be no point in my purchasing this perfume. I do not really detect pine tree or bay leaf or fern. To me this is just green.

I'm located in the USA, and unable to find out where to buy Union Fragrances. I called Henri Bendel's in NYC, and they no longer carry non-Henri Bendel fragrances for over 3 years now! I tried using the UnionFragrances.com website. Their email us link is broken, and if you really dig, you find their email address, which bounced back when i emailed them! There is a UK telephone number, which i called. There is no outgoing message, and only one single beep when you call. Is this company out of business? Where may I purchase their products here in the USA? Thank you so much for any help. Much appreciated!