The Forest Reverie

[LizziesLuck]

A sunlit ancient forest, dotted with wild roses, grape vine, and queenly lilies, clothed in swirls of opium smoke.

 

In the imp and wet this smells very masculine to me- like cologne, and not the good kind.

 

Dry it's actually quite sweet, mostly grape with hints of woods (cedar, specifically) and floral. Not horrible, but not for me.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I can smell the grape vine, lilies, and roses along with the forest note.

 

Wet: The grape vine is quite prominent, and the lily and rose notes are rather strong as well. After the scent has sat on my skin for a few minutes, the opium smoke note appears. This is not a dark evergreen forest, but the sunlit one mentioned in the description. Although I do detect some pine, I feel like this forest is comprised of a fair amount of deciduous trees as well.

 

Dry: The forest note is far more prominent and green now, and the opium smoke has increased in strength as well, creating a smoky, leafy, green scent. The grape vine and florals are still present, but they play lesser roles now.

 

Verdict: Not for me. I really don't like the dry phase of this scent, which is too strong and green for me.

[lookingglass]

This has a very classic chypre feel. I smell a mossy, woody patchouli with heady opium notes, creating a dark mori/boho vibe. The soft touches of floral add to the fuzziness of the mossy notes, and mingle with wafts of incense. I do not smell grape at all for some time; in the drydown, since I'm looking for it, it is only there enough to add a hint of purple hue to the soft florals, like a juicy violet, but ever so slight, like one squish in a surrounding of moss covered, damp woods. It sits very close to the skin, and is dark, mature, and warm. Forest is related to my beloved DC'd Ekhidna, and her GC sister, Medea. It's beautifully gender neutral. I don't know what took me so long to try it! I will certainly be wearing this often.

[warriortwo]

(I got this imp secondhand and it looks to have aged.) To me it smells like roses and opium. In fact, it's the first rose scent I've liked. Usually rose smells quaint or old-fashioned, but this has a timeless edge to it. About 15 minutes after I apply it, it smells like dark red roses crushed in the dirt on the forest floor. It's different for me but sexy; I'll play with it more.

 

ETA: Today, I'm getting much more of a dark, syrupy red wine note. Still love it. Beautiful.

Edited January 17, 2016 by warriortwo

[freyasfae]

Grape is making me a little twitchy, but the florals are really nice in this, oh there is the smoke. I like the smoke and florals, but grape is still a no for me.

[Cali]

First impression: I imagine a landscape of pine trees surrounded by bushes of all sorts of flowers, some leaves glistening in the strings of light that randomly scatter through the trees. A floral pine forest.

Wet: Exactly as it was but SWEET! Almost a candy-type sweet.

Dry: It gets really minty a little later, very very lovely.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: This oil is the darkest one I'm testing today: a deep honey, almost buckwheat. First impression is syrupy-sweet opium. Then I get red grapes and a little rose.

Wet: Woody sap and syrup, a little opium and grape wine. This smells like a little light debauchery in the woods. Since opium is involved, it's a lazy debauchery -- why do anything, when it's so much more lushly satisfying to imagine it?

Dry: Lazy summer vices in amply flowered woods. More florals come out for me once it's dry. The opium smoke curls 'round the rose and lily, blending into a syrupy-sweet trio, but the grape is still quite present.

There's something nostalgic in this for me. It's not very me -- especially the grape -- but it has a memory lane thing. It's not topping my list for a bottle but not out of the question either.

[ShunnerOfHugs]

In the imp, this smells like pine trees. On my skin, strangely enough, it smells a lot like gummy lifesavers, but with something darker added so it smells more... I don't know, mature? It smells like a nice, slightly candy-ish perfume, not like a candy factory. Anyways, the candy smell stays for almost the whole day before turning into something more flowery and soapy for a couple hours, then disappearing. I know it sounds weird, but I really like it.

Edited June 21, 2016 by ShunnerOfHugs

[LiberAmoris]

The Forest Reverie really does smell like an ancient forest wreathed in opium smoke. I smell green trees and grape vine, and touches of the wild roses and lilies. But mostly it's opium smoke and green grape leaves and pine. The opium runs a bit cologne-y on my skin and the greenery's a bit bitter, so the rose and lily helps to balance this out. It's really evocative. I think this might be great on my husband, so into his imp box it goes.

[Coldfire]

Imp: dark, slightly heady, mysterious
Wet on Me: woods and opium. so far so good.
Drying Down: it's got a sweet but not sugar sweet powdery vibe going now. less opium less forest
Dry: powder. I wish this was more like a forest when all was said and done. but it's powder. alas.

[galahad]

In the Vial:

Slightly sour rose and lily with a green edge

On the Skin:

Really sour. Must be the opium. The green note is fascinating, almost savoury, however the whole is pretty much awful rose and musty lily

On the Drydown:

Something happens about 5 minutes into the drydown and this becomes sweeter and powdery. The opium is still strong and the florals rumble just under it. Then the rose really amps up. So not me.

[ramblingrambler]

Hmm. I don't get any grape or roses as others do. For me, this is mainly a "dead leaves and..." fragrance, oddly enough. There's a slight smokey sweetness to this, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I'm not particularly a fan of forest/leaves/etc., so I'm off to swap.

[strick9]

I really almost wrote this one off. I got it as a frimp, and thought i would love it based on the description. I'm not into any of these scents in and of themselves, but love the idea of them all together.

 

The imp itself smells super medicinal to me, but in a good way. Like an herbal tincture. or an unsweet sloe gin. A bit like Ricola cough drops, which i honestly love.

 

Wet and during the dry-down? Ugh. man. I don't like this at all. It's super astringent and I dont get any of the grape or opium at all. Someone mentioned tea tree, and thats almost all i get, except super bitter. I smelled my wrist for a solid 20 minutes and this was what i got and i was much sad

 

And then, magic happened. The sweetness came alive. I don't get any distinct florals per se... Maybe like the decay of lillies and roses, but not their actual presence. There's all sorts of wood going on, both green and brown, as well as forest floor. Maybe oakmoss. Lichen. Definitely something that's piney, and it almost reminds me of copal. and then the grapes and opium. Man, that grapevine and opium smoke on top of the forest floor? Spot on. This is incredible.

 

The uniqueness of this scent is what spurred me to write this review- I've never smelled anything quite like it, though i do apparently enjoy the Lab's red wine note quite a bit. I think you could wear this year-round depending on the event, but definitely on the daily for fall and winter.

 

I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

[roseus]

In the imp: dark greenery, smoke, and wine.

 

Wet: astringent and herbal, but I can smell something sweeter and fresher trying to break through.

 

Dry: I get smoky pine and wine. Sultry and mysterious.

[achildoftime]

I mostly get soft roses growing in a smoky forest. It's very woodsy and green at it's heart, but the opium makes it darker and much more complex. I was slightly worried that the roses were going to be stronger, but they politely rest in the middle not overwhelming everything but still make itself known. This is very pretty and it feels like a darkly feminine forest, to my nose.

[spookyumbrella]

Rich purple grapes, incense smoke and a bit of woodiness. I didn't get any rose or lily, but that's okay. I love this as is!

[marared]

This started out woody smoky grape - for about two minutes - and then it turned into strong syrupy grape, rose, and opium. Wine. Yes. This is sweet musky homemade WINE. 

[Biocarbons]

 Oh man, this is not for me, but it does an interesting morph.

 

Wet:

Bitter, sour lilies with powdery sour rose over a patchouli and funky musk bed (black musk?). There's a small cloud of grape tinged opium smoke hovering over my hand swatch.

 

Dry:

The musk finally takes a back seat and the sour edge goes away. Everything evaporates and becomes a powdery floating candy cloud of opium and green lilies.

[monocainsheresy]

Grape vines, roses, and smoke in equal measure, and the thought of a lily. Woodsy, green, and moody - takes me back to having my first order of samples smeared all over my arms! This one has that lovely classic BPAL-ness about it. Up close it smells kind of like paint, so.... I guess I would describe this as a BPAL stand in a Home Depot.

[Rane.]

Smells strong, but I love it. Can't pick up too many notes, but I do smell the grape vine & forest. Going to be a great male scent for me.

[sterlingstein]

At first whiff I thought it would be another Elf type of scent, but when I applied it I remembered just how different perfume can smell once it warms on the skin.

 

It reminds me so much of the dank forest scent that Burying Point has. Immediate new favorite. I love a good stanky perfume.

 

It smells as though, while partying in the forest with elves, you got too boozed up and fell face first into damp leaves. I adore it.

[Llanval]

Imp, aged ant 6 months: Skin chemistry fail, I guess, because all I get is the scent-memory of a grand dame, of a matriarchal, vintage Clinique Aromatics Elixir 😨

 

I wish this was more true forest on me, something that can compete with the true to life stone and pine forest of Theoi Nomioi, but it's not this bottle.

 

This is a dark and dire version of Clinique's Aromatics Elixir, and I'm betting the culprit is either the lily or opium smoke. *sigh* I really really wanted this one to work on me.

[skyturtles]

Yup, I get the opium right away. It's quite bitter and metallic. There's a hint of sweetness, perhaps coming from the grape vine, but it's sort of a sickly combination. The lilies and roses don't do much to soften it for me. I'd say it's quite a masculine scent; a woodsman who is bringing his fresh catch from the lake back to the cabin. It just isn't working for me though.

This testing was a fresh from the lab frimp.

[ShadowEtienne]

This one takes a little while to settle on my skin, but I do really like where it ends up. As it settles in, all the notes that end up being there take turns being out of balance. I was worried it was going to not turn out great, and then about 15 minutes in, everything balanced out into the really lovely, evocative scent it landed on.

 

A sweetly spicy resinous smoke with the barest hint or rose wafts through a clearing in evergreen woods where long overgrown grapevines are surrounded by sweet fresh lilies. It really does evoke a dreamlike place in the forest. Liles as always amp on me, so they bloom sweetly here, but the rest of the scent holds up to them.

 

This is delightful! I am very very sure looking at the reviews and also just with the wildly unbalanced settling phase on my skin that this is one that will be wildly different on different people.