Forest & Woods Scents (with and without evergreens)

[torikitty]

10 hours ago, Lucchesa said:

I haven't smelled this Mrs. Meyer's scent, but it sounds an awful lot like Gacela of the Dark Death:  Terebinth pine, pitch, and clove.  

 

Thank you!!

[torikitty]

Update: Gacela of the Dark didn't quite work, but The Cross of the Snow was pretty close!

[Rayleigh]

Looking for suggestions -- I have tried two forest blends so far: Fenris Wolf and Black Forest. Both of them I enjoy a lot, but as they dry the amber turns them sweeter and the woodsiness retreats. The end result is cozy and pleasant, like tree sap, but I would like to find something that stays more in that early, true forest smell and doesn't get quite so sweet. Are there blends that are similar for the woods smell, but don't have the amber sweetening them up?

 

Reading over this thread, I picked out three that sound like they could fit the bill: Thanatopsis, Loup Garou, and Yggdrasil. If anyone has other suggestions, or opinions on the relative woodsiness of those three possibilities, it would be appreciated. I'm also not so sure if it's the amber that gets stronger, or if the wood notes just get weaker on me with wear, so recommendations based on lasting power of the scent would also be nice. I much prefer to stick with impable recommendations, but I welcome any.

 

I don't have any Big No notes. Even amber doesn't always go sweet on me, so it wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker if it is a tame amber. The amber in Coyote, for example, is perfectly well behaved the whole way through.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Lucchesa]

17 hours ago, Rayleigh said:

Looking for suggestions -- I have tried two forest blends so far: Fenris Wolf and Black Forest. Both of them I enjoy a lot, but as they dry the amber turns them sweeter and the woodsiness retreats. The end result is cozy and pleasant, like tree sap, but I would like to find something that stays more in that early, true forest smell and doesn't get quite so sweet. Are there blends that are similar for the woods smell, but don't have the amber sweetening them up?

 

Reading over this thread, I picked out three that sound like they could fit the bill: Thanatopsis, Loup Garou, and Yggdrasil...

 

It may not just be the amber -- on my skin, pine notes, and maybe evergreens in general, tend to soften and sweeten over time.  (I happen to like this effect.)  I think all three of those are good to try.  Yggdrasil has a wintergreen feel that didn't work on me, Thanatopsis starts very foresty and does that softening I mentioned, and it may be that the eucalyptus in Loup Garou keeps it a little sharper.  You might also consider The Jersey Devil and Robin Goodfellow, or even Troll if you like dark smokiness with your woods.  

[Rayleigh]

Interesting, thank you! I'll take a look at those other suggestions, too. Decisions, decisions.

[rhinestone tempest]

On 5/7/2019 at 11:53 PM, Rayleigh said:

Looking for suggestions -- I have tried two forest blends so far: Fenris Wolf and Black Forest. Both of them I enjoy a lot, but as they dry the amber turns them sweeter and the woodsiness retreats. The end result is cozy and pleasant, like tree sap, but I would like to find something that stays more in that early, true forest smell and doesn't get quite so sweet. Are there blends that are similar for the woods smell, but don't have the amber sweetening them up?

 

Reading over this thread, I picked out three that sound like they could fit the bill: Thanatopsis, Loup Garou, and Yggdrasil. If anyone has other suggestions, or opinions on the relative woodsiness of those three possibilities, it would be appreciated. I'm also not so sure if it's the amber that gets stronger, or if the wood notes just get weaker on me with wear, so recommendations based on lasting power of the scent would also be nice. I much prefer to stick with impable recommendations, but I welcome any.

I'd throw my hat in for Brangwy--it's a sort of very dry, almost sharp wood that doesn't really mellow out all that much in my experience. It's not got the underlying musks that Fenris and Black Forest have, but you can always layer if you want a hint of it! (I haven't tried this combination yet but I think it could go great with Thieves' Rosin, which is very very musky with some pine Edit: do NOT do this, it smells like a bonfire of reliquaries and lasts forever. bad idea.)

 

Loup Garou is a very pleasant pine, but in my experience it's a little weak and fades easily, so you may have to slather. Seconding the minty notes in Yggrdasil, too; it's not a knock against it, just something to be aware of. I personally found Jersey Devil a touch on the sweet side, but it's more of an earthy sweetness (from the berries) so that may work better for the forest sensibility.

 

And if you're willing to stretch the definition of "foresty," there are also a couple less-woodsy scents that still lean natural/earthy:

Oblivion is heavier on the spices and patchouli but with a good sturdy wood underlying it. And it's a very cool green color in the imp!

Alecto is not very woodsy, but it is leafy and herbal, with some of the same earthy-sweetness as Jersey Devil.

If you really want to lean into the actual-plants smells, Squirting Cucumber is pure grass and leaves--no wood at all, but smells perfectly (and rather surprisingly so!) like a real plant. 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by rhinestone tempest

[Rayleigh]

Thank you for the feedback/suggestions! (And for the experiment, failed though it was.) My to-try list grows ever longer. Jersey Devil does sound a bit sweeter than I'm after. Brangwy, Oblivion and Robin Goodfellow all sound promising. And I'll have to check out Squirting Cucumber for that grassiness; sounds like a nice summer scent.

[cinnabar]

On 5/7/2019 at 8:53 PM, Rayleigh said:

Looking for suggestions -- I have tried two forest blends so far: Fenris Wolf and Black Forest. Both of them I enjoy a lot, but as they dry the amber turns them sweeter and the woodsiness retreats. The end result is cozy and pleasant, like tree sap, but I would like to find something that stays more in that early, true forest smell and doesn't get quite so sweet.

 

The two you name were very different in character to my nose - Black Forest was all pine needle and juniper greenness, while Fenris Wolf was a warm and woodsy (not leafy) cologne. If it's the true-foresty greenness you like, I'd recommend Theoi Nomioi most of all, as it's easily the best and purest "forest" BPAL I've tried. It's LE, but recent and I don't think very hard to find. If you want to stick within the GC, I would recommend Arkham, RPG Ranger or Ochosi for a similar feel. Arkham and Ranger are the most similar to Theoi Nomioi on me, but Arkham has a touch of flowers too, while Ranger has a noticeable leather component. 

 

If you're looking for something more like Fenris Wolf, less leafy and more woodsy, you have a lot of good choices - I feel like this is at least half of the masculine-coded scents in the GC. I would particularly recommend Dee. To my nose it's a better, more complex Fenris Wolf. (They share rosewood in common, and Dee has "soft woods" as well, which I think means fir or cedar.) In the same family of lovely woodsy colognes, the 2018 Luper Globe is also very good, although I haven't seen it kicking around much lately. 

[Rayleigh]

I just realized I never actually reported back on the results.

 

Loup Garou is probably the most True Forest on me -- the eucalyptus keeps it cool and crisp, without being overtly minty, and it doesn't get very sweet. I really like Oblivion, though I don't get an impression of Forest so much as somehow standing inside a wooden spice cabinet in the best way. Yggdrasil is more herbal to me, but refreshing and clean. Arkham was a wildflower meadow on my skin -- not a lot of trees or shadows to it.

 

Dee was one of the GCs I most looked forward to trying, though not for a forest scent. I love it as a comforting library/study incense oil, and it's one of my favorites.

 

Another that I didn't expect to be as woodsy as it is is Burial. I tried it for curiosity about earthy scents, but the juniper and patchouli combine to make it smell like rolling around in the rich, dark dirt of the forest floor.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Now I can smell like I just went for a hike, even when I'm stuck indoors.

[niffler]

Ok guys, I'm looking to order a few imps and I was wondering if anyone had recs for woodsy/earthy scents! I've been scrolling through the catalogue for a while and there's just... so many options. I get lost reading all the descriptions and daydreaming...

 

So far I've tried and LOVED: Druid, Dee, Antikythera Mechanism. 

Tried and liked ok but didn't love: Ranger (wanted so much to like it but patchouli amps like crazy on me), Strangler Fig (too sweet), Apothecary (fades quickly, lighter than I was looking for). 

Nope notes: patchouli, almond, rose, lavender, lily. 

Reading through this thread, I'm considering ordering: Loup Garou, the Black Tower, Coyote, Robin Goodfellow, Yggdrasil, Thanatopsis. 

 

Any and all thoughts appreciated!

[feyofthefellwood]

On 4/9/2020 at 7:35 PM, niffler said:

Ok guys, I'm looking to order a few imps and I was wondering if anyone had recs for woodsy/earthy scents! I've been scrolling through the catalogue for a while and there's just... so many options. I get lost reading all the descriptions and daydreaming...

 

So far I've tried and LOVED: Druid, Dee, Antikythera Mechanism. 

Tried and liked ok but didn't love: Ranger (wanted so much to like it but patchouli amps like crazy on me), Strangler Fig (too sweet), Apothecary (fades quickly, lighter than I was looking for). 

Nope notes: patchouli, almond, rose, lavender, lily. 

Reading through this thread, I'm considering ordering: Loup Garou, the Black Tower, Coyote, Robin Goodfellow, Yggdrasil, Thanatopsis. 

 

Any and all thoughts appreciated!

 

Hmm, my favorite foresty scent is Elf, but that would probably be too sweet for your purposes (plus, it has a lily note). Black Forest is a good one, although you'd have to like the black musk that emerges as it dries. Epidote Phoenix was a LE, but it's a really nice redwood forest scent with amber. Oh, and Berzerker is quite foresty and nice! It brings me back to the juniper forest around the place I grew up. I definitely smell the trees more than the leather or metal in that one (although skin chemistry can always vary).

[niffler]

Black Forest will definitely go on my list for a future order. Re: Epidote, maybe someday I'll work up the courage to order a full bottle of an LE without testing first. Metal notes seem wildly unpredictable with my skin chemistry so perhaps I'll keep stalking the reviews for Berzerker for a while... thanks for the suggestions

[torikitty]

Circling back around to trying to find something that was close to Mrs. Meyer's Iowa Pine scent...Nava's NAliday Tree is pretty close. It could do with a drop of clove to sweeten it up, but it's definitely hitting that pine note I was looking for. Hit me up with your imps if you didn't enjoy it, please. 😃

[reconditarmonia]

This may be a tall order, but I'm trying to find a scent to try that will help me get in the mood when I'm doing elf costumes/cosplays BUT I'm also not a huge fan of a lot of foresty scents I enjoy Arcana's "Bonfires at Dusk" (Woodsmoke, sweet beeswax, Oregon lavender, sandalwood, charred juniper, and the scent of swiftly appearing stars) and (BPAL) "Dead Leaves/Magnolia Champaca/Sugared Chestnuts", but other woody, leafy, swampy scents have sometimes just seemed unpleasant and sour on me. Anything I should be thinking about? I was wondering if Druid might be good. Based on my other tastes, I'm guessing that "cozy, but with more forest/tree notes than I usually go for" is probably going to be a better balance that TREES, MOTHERF**KER or fresh/floral+trees.

 

Pine doesn't work super well on me based on stuff like "Snow Scene" (might not be a note of death, just nothing that's largely pine) and I have checked out RPG Elf but I don't think I'd like it from the description.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Rayleigh]

@reconditarmonia, here's what I can think of for that vibe:

 

Bewitched is a rich blackberry scent, made more wild by the sage and musk but without any coniferous notes. Arkham, despite the description of being shadowy, is light, airy wildflowers. I haven't tried Druid, so I can't speak to it.

 

I haven't tried a lot of the Fae-inspired scents, but there's overlap in the themes between fae and elves. The perfume Fae is a nice peach grounded in moss. Maybe Dana O'Shee or Leanan Sidhe would work, though I haven't tried either. Something floaty and ethereal but not necessarily inspired by the outdoors may fit, like Persephone with its rose and pomegranate or Sudha Segara with its warm ginger. You may also consider the Last Unicorn scents such as The Lilac Wood, though those are bigger commitments since you can't get sample sizes.

 

Not to push you towards it, but I have to add that Elf is more than the sum of its parts. It's not too intensely woodsy, focused more on light berries and honeycomb. I find it highly evocative of sun-dappled woods. It's what I was thinking of until I got to the part where you mentioned it doesn't sound like your thing.

 

Good luck finding one that works for you!

[reconditarmonia]

Thanks!

[stellamaris]

Leanan Sidhe is one of my personal favorite although I would say it’s more of a tart floral then a forest scent. There were some awesome Trading Post things, hair oil and room sprays that were so incredibly forest and piney. Pine Forest at Midnight is amazing.