A Karasu Tengu Copulating with the Knot-Hole of a Pine Tree

[zankoku_zen]

Pine needles and pine bark with terebinth, Bulgarian rose, white sandalwood, orris root, and oakmoss.

[Desirabbit]

When I opened the bottle, I definitely smelled forest, but when I came back to it that forest had taken the form of a man of knotty sinews and sleek athletic muscles. I'm normally asexual but this man felt like one that I wanted to slip beneath and become one with in white and flowy sheets. 

 

Note: I'm not versed in individual scent notes, so my reviews are my emotional experience of the scent. Sorry if it isn't helpful.

[Mountaingrrl00]

At first sniff this is authentic pine, very green, a little woodsy, a little sharp, really beautiful. I love that the pine bark is part of this. If you're afraid of smelling like cheap pine air freshener, don't be - it has a lot of dimension, and is like being in the Rockies, not in someone's car. Along the way it gets softer, more powdery, drier and more floral, with just a breath of crushed pine needles. Later on it becomes a diffuse earthy sweetness that lasts a long time.

[Casablanca]

This Tengu opens with lovely pine -- a triple-down on pine, with scents of sap, fresh needles, and wood. 

 

Eventually, after drydown, he develops a subtle but deep red rose, which adds a roundness and weighty floral sweetness, and a breath of pale sandalwood. From that point, the blend gives off kind of a woody resinous rose vibe, a forest floriental.

 

Later still, the orris appears, a little powdery on my skin.

[zankoku_zen]

Pine, rose, and oakmoss. It starts off as a lovely pine blend, and then the rose develops, and its like if a pine tree and rose had an inter-species baby.

...

Romantic Groot? Now I can't get the idea that this is what Groot smells like when he's off trying to romance... someone else.

 

Great throw and wear length.

[Threemoons]

Another True Morpher on me.  In the bottle: True pine bark.  As a very little girl, I would go to a park in the Pine Barrens with my folks all the time, and I remember the sticky pine sap coming out of the bark in the Spring; the folks telling me not to touch it, and me doing it anyway and having the smell on my hands and clothes all the way home.  On, wet:  Whut, WHUT roses WHUT?  How can roses be so nice with pine?  But here we are...a really pure rose attar just jumps up out of the pine out of nowhere.  Tiny peeps of orris root start to bubble up also.  Drydown:  The oakmoss stays well in the background, while tiny little dry wisps of woodiness also float up.  The dryer it gets, the more the sandalwood floats over everything.  At the end of the day I get a combo of dry sandalwood, resiny rose, and the ghost of pine bark and sap.  Really nice, oddly androgynous.

[theredkilt]

I get no rose out of this. I get pine things on a bed of oakmoss. A green woody chypre, dare i say?

[rivetted]

 i really love forest smells, and i was excited for this one, but i think the rose throws me off? I honestly thought i'd like this one more.

the forest isn't quite strong enough for me, and the rose is disappointingly powdery. 

i could really see a lot of people liking this one though, i think it just wasn't quite what i was expecting or looking for personally!

[Llanval]

I had high hopes for this one, as my wheelhouse is forest/garden/green scents. This started great with a big burst of true to life pine. I really love pine, pine bark and terebinth a lot and I've never had any of those notes go janky on me.  But about half way through the scent life, this bright, bracing, oddly floral tengu turns from true to life pine forest dotted with roses and almost lemon-like zest into that pine forest but with a generous waft of "grand dame oriental" powder. And that's the kiss of death for me.  So either it's the bulgarian rose, the orris root or the white sandalwood, or all three that's turned this too close to Mom/Grandma scent memories, but it just doesn't come together as I was hoping.

 

If you do like roses and florals with only a hint of bracing pine, this is a great experience. Just not for me.

 

Edit 2022.07.25: I kept my decant and wore it again about two weeks ago and fully fell in love with this scent all over again, ha! While it is a powdery floriental, it is beautiful, more lovely than I remembered. Plus, the slightly powdery dry down no longer bothered me. Luckily I was able to track down a full bottle to add to my collection because I was very sad I passed on this bottle last year, lol.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Llanval
Update

[HerbGirl]

I immediately got Hugo Boss vibes and was transported back to the late 90s when I loved that juice! It does settle down, in a way that the rose and oakmoss take over that doesn't thrill me but it still works. I will hold on to my bottle to see which notes end up being dominant.

 

Eta: After a few more months (Nov) the pine needles are more prominent and the entire blend is aging beautifully. It is wowing me now. 🧡

Edited November 28, 2021 by HerbGirl

[Rane.]

Swapped for this. It's the softest rose, a hint of something gives it musk, with some slight pine, bark, & Terebinth sharpness to it. Just rich enough, not overpowering. It has a powdery, dusty finish to it. Makes me feel femme. So very happy to have acquired this experience. Oooh baby now I smell the Oakmoss!

Edited August 31, 2021 by Rane.
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