Oakmoss

[jj_j]

When I was a little kid, I was fascinated by the lichen growing on rocks at my grandmother's farm. I'd never found anything like it before at our house, and depending on the season, it had a very different character over time. I got in so much trouble when my grandmother found me picking it off rocks and eating it - I decided not to tell her that I'd been sniffing it, rubbing it on my arms, and eating it, all in an attempt to figure out the fascinating blue-grey stuff, for months.

 

While oakmoss grows in trees, it still has some of those same lichen-y characteristics. It's a moderately (compared to vetiver, in particular) earthy smell that some people prefer in place of patchouli, I'm told. I never found it to smell like patchouli, but it always smells to me like crisp, new dollar bills did when I was a kid, getting them from my grandfather when we went to visit that side of the family.

 

I started to type that this was another perfect re-creation, but I don't think it is. I think this must really be oakmoss, rather than a fragrance.

[shelldoo]

this is indeed, oakmoss, my cousin and i would pick the lichen off the trees as children and it left the exact same smell on our hands, yes i agree it does faintly smell of new dollar bills, this is a very earthy green scent w/o being "sharp"

[sarada]

Dark, dusty and musty, the smell of crumbling damp mossy wood. I can already tell that this is something that would drive my bf out of the house if I wore it around him, the sort of moldering scent that drives his allergies crazy. However, since I'm the kind of person who savors the scent of the woods after rain and loves moss and decay this is definitely the note that I recognized from many blends that suggest the deep dark woods. I think it definitely needs some other notes to play with it and keep it from getting too musty, but this is especially nice when I smell it at the same time as Spanish Moss -- sort of the light and dark of the mosses, one fragrant and stimulating (spanish) and the other (oak) is very still, gloomy and introspective.

[spark]

Oakmoss, as opposed to Spanish Moss, is very dry and dirty -- it's very much an earth/dirt smell. (Spanish Moss is very green and lovely.)

 

It's quite strong, as well, which surprises me because I haven't picked up this scent in the moss blends I've tried -- the only time I smell moss in moss blends is when Spanish Moss is present.

 

Not a keeper.

[Little Bird]

I was expecting this to smell more green and damp, since that's what I think of when I think of 'moss.' But this is a surprisingly dry smell.

 

At first it does smell a bit like damp tree bark on me... earthy, musty, and kind of woodsy.

 

In the drydown though, this is the crisp dollar bill smell that I get from Greed. Dry and papery. It smells just like money.

 

I don't know that I'd ever wear this or want a big bottle of it, but it's an interesting little scent.

[supremegoddessofall]

Herbal and green. I suppose it's mossy.

[edenssixthday]

Oakmoss - I tend to really like blends that have this note in it, although they never really smell mossy to me. I was really excited when I get a sniffie of this single note. It was tough to test because there was barely any oil left in the vial. I put a drop of fractionated coconut oil in the vial and let it roll around in a padded pocket in my purse for a week or two. Once I felt that I’d be able to pick up enough scent from the tiny bit of oil in the vial, I tested it on my skin, and sure enough, I was able to smell the note on my skin, albeit softly. And sure enough, just like I'd always thought, I don't get a wet, damp, mossy scent at all from this. Rather, it reminds me more of the scent of tree bark, like the smell of my hands when I was a kid after trying to climb the ages-old oak tree in our front yard. There's an earthy sweetness about the scent that I really like, and which is one of my favorite notes in blends like Perversion. I love this single note as much as I enjoy the blends that incorporate it.

[zankoku_zen]

The SN is interesting. I've had hits and misses with blends containing this note. At the very beginning, it struck me how this was the 'base' note for Ebisu - it's the sweaty, almost dirty, base.

 

The SN is herbal, something slightly damp and mossy. Earth and dirt.

 

Interesting.

[myth]

Thanks to the generosity of fairnymph I was able to try this scent.

 

This is a lovely little soft, warm fragrance that once you smell it, you realize it smells exactly like what you think oakmoss would. It smells like lichen! It's dry though; there's no moistness to it. Maybe ever just so slightly salty. Very light throw. Quite pleasant and comforting to my nose, very evocative of a tree with moss on it in the forest.

[The_Witching_Hour]

This really was a surprise hit for me as blends I've tried that include this note have been a combination of either 1) OMG -how pretty! 2) Hmmmm....interesting. I'm not sure what's making this not work for me 3) NO WAY. This just isn't for me.

 

So, in summary I think I'm safe to say that Oak Moss was never a deal breaker in notes for me when I originally thought it was.

 

Its pretty by itself- very comforting and similar to what I remember when walking through the trees of the Deep South (Louisiana) and taking a moment to just inhale my surroundings.

 

I truly love it for its evocative statement and wish I had just a bit more to enjoy!