Pine and Evergreen goodness

[stellans]

Burial is my favorite piney scent. It's got a dirt element that makes it more like the pine needles carpeting the forest floor.

I just got Thanatopsis as a freebie from the lab and was pleasantly surprised by it. It smells a lot like a pine forest at night. I think it's going to be a great scent for fall and winter (especially since I have to avoid a lot of the usual winter blends because the snow/ice notes are such a disaster on me).

Kenjari, have you tried Snow Moon? I have an aversion to anything mint which eliminates most cold/snow/ice blends for me, but Snow Moon? Is abolute piney, deep forest love!

[mhickle]

I need to throw my love for The Jersey Devil in here. The best part is the tomato leaf playing with the pine. Mmmmmm...I have an imp of it that I just love, and need to buy a bottle like yesterday!

[kenjari]

Burial is my favorite piney scent. It's got a dirt element that makes it more like the pine needles carpeting the forest floor.

I just got Thanatopsis as a freebie from the lab and was pleasantly surprised by it. It smells a lot like a pine forest at night. I think it's going to be a great scent for fall and winter (especially since I have to avoid a lot of the usual winter blends because the snow/ice notes are such a disaster on me).

Kenjari, have you tried Snow Moon? I have an aversion to anything mint which eliminates most cold/snow/ice blends for me, but Snow Moon? Is abolute piney, deep forest love!

I haven't. Oddly enough, I'm fine with notes described as mint, but anything described as snow, ice, or icy smells like fetid, stagnant water on my skin. I'll have to look for Snow Moon - I love forest scents, and it would be great if I could find a scent where the snow/ice notes actually worked on me.

Thanks!

[donnatron]

Belladonna and Undertow are both intensely pine-y on me. They both have a dense, lost-in-the-woods quality to them.

[ivyandpeony]

This time of year seems to bring out my cravings for evergreen notes - seems like Beth is more prone to use them in the winter LEs as well. I wish everyone who loves Dublin had as much of it as they could ever want *sigh* It's definitely my favorite and the scent that first opened my eyes to the fact that I could wear these notes!

 

I really like the way that Beth's worked that resiny pine pitch note into a few warm-n-fuzzy blends lately, too. I associate so many pine scents with cold winter and snowy woods, but I really find that bit of piney goodness in The Illustrated Woman and Pickled Imp delicious.

 

So, those of who've been able to try 2008 Yules and Wind in the Willows blends, any standouts in the evergreen department? (I'm thinking the pine and juniper in Moon of Small Spirits are going to make it just lovely, and I haven't ordered anything since the Harvest Moon update! So this little bottle can't travel by itself!)

[imposterpockets]

I have worn Black Forest twice now, and I think I may have to give up on it. While I love the way it smells wet (juniper and pine tempered by the musk), once it dries all I can smell is musk and a faint, blunted pine. Where did the juniper go?

 

Are there any woodsy, foresty smells that do not contain musk?

[sqwook]

I love Yggdrasil - though it's less pine-y than Black Forest.

Nero is another one to try - let it dry down before deciding because I found it kinda weird when wet.

Loup Garou

Nephilim (oddly) smelled like pine sap on me, so maybe it's worth a try.

 

Also, do you think you like lighter musks instead of "black"? If a lighter scent might work, I love Faunalia and Fascinum - and I feel they hold their brightness well. I found Golden Priapus too vanilla-y, but many love it. And Antony is more field than forest but really wonderful.

 

And an anti-rec: The juniper is Wings of Azrael fades away even QUICKER than black forest - perhaps nice enough in its own right but like you I was looking for more woodsiness.

 

Also check out the forests thread for a fabulous source of (way too many) ideas.

[tajana]

The Jersey Devil: Pitch pine with blackberry leaf, cranberry, cedar wood and tomato leaf.

Nocnitsa: Her scent is that of a lightless fir wood, nighttime air, wet forest mosses and upturned earth.

They are kind of similar... both have a bit of berry-ness going on, but Jersey Devil feels more "summery" because of the cedar and tomato leaf, Nocnitsa feels a bit colder. Both are lovely piney scents with a twist on me... my favorite "forest" scents in the general catalog!

 

Loup Garou: Juniper, cypress and galangal with the barest touch of eucalyptus.

As far as I can recall, Loup Garou was mostly juniper on me. Not much galangal, a brief breeze of cold eucalyptus, and then it dries down to pure foresty-ness. If you're looking for Black Forest minus musk, I think this is the closest you'll get!

 

Ochosi: His ofrenda is the soft shea he shares with Obatala, forest herbs, and sprucewood arrow shafts.

A bit different than the others I'm recommending, but I really like it, and if you were to purchase it from the lab this month proceeds will go to charity. It's a lighter, more gently clean take on a forest scent. It's got a really nice soft quality without being musky. It smells like a just-rained-on forest clearing to me.

 

ETA: Oh, and Tristran is one of my absolute favorite scents, and it just so happens to be quite foresty... it's got some green-ness (coriander/peppermint, mostly) overlying woods (redwood, rosewood, sandalwood) but it smells more classically cologney/perfumey than the others I recommended... it's not a straightforward "bottled trees" kind of thing.

Edited January 18, 2010 by findaghost

[hkhm]

nocnitsa was what i first thought of. it's a beautiful damp, piney forest with a hint of dirt. i don't get any berry-ness from it (wish i did though).

 

nephilim and loup garou would be my runner-up recommendations.

[imposterpockets]

These are great recommendations! Thanks to all.

 

I think I am going to test out Loup Garou and Yggdrasil next, as those were two where I didn't see much mention of floral/fruit/musk components in the review section. I'm definitely looking for something unisex and non-perfumy right now.

[SophieCedar]

I third Nocnitsa. It's very pure pine, moss, and dirt. Crisp dark green. It's really lovely. To lighten the mood and give it an ethereal glow, I layered with Ladon. It was divine.

[oakmoss]

You might also like Burial (and it's GC, so you can get an imp). To me, it is very evocative of a damp redwood forest.

[biocarolyn]

I love Jersey Devil. The blend is just lovely, and I can smell all the notes. The cranberry, tomato leaf, and cedar are in there too, but pine is dominant. Also, Nocnitsa, Black Forest, Loup Garou, Thanatopsis. But I get a pretty strong pitch pine from the Illustrated Woman, as well, if you are looking for something different but still pine-y.

 

Oh. And how did I forget Slobbering Pine? I like that one as well, pine for the days when something lighter is needed.

 

ETA: I keep thinking of things- Konseishin the Penis God from this year's shungas had fir & balsam, and was pretty strongly pine on me in the wet & early dry down. This is one of those blends I keep liking more & more, which is unfortunate because if I buy a bottle, people will ask me what its called. LOL.

Edited April 22, 2010 by biocarolyn

[modillian]

Frau Holle when it was fresh was a fir scent mitigated by slushy/snow overtones, but after a couple years of aging it's morphed into a more purely fir scent which remains surprisingly nice.

[plainjean]

I got mostly pine from Hermes Trismegistus v2.

 

I know there's another pine blend that I've tried, but I just can't seem to be able to think of it right now!

 

ETA: I remembered! Ogun had a pine-and-melon feel to me. The pine is probably just the gin or juniper, but still.

Edited November 8, 2010 by plainjean

[Jupita]

I have to agree as far as Nocnitsa goes, even if on me it smells mostly like eating currant candy in the woods...

It's very fruity and sweet, but it has a very piney undertone, that makes the whole thing kinda airy and dark.

[bheansidhe]

I have worn Black Forest twice now, and I think I may have to give up on it. While I love the way it smells wet (juniper and pine tempered by the musk), once it dries all I can smell is musk and a faint, blunted pine. Where did the juniper go?

 

Are there any woodsy, foresty smells that do not contain musk?

 

The new Dawn: Cernunnos is very piney and completely devoid of musk. It's lovely, dark and green.

 

I also recommend Yew Trees, Belladonna, and Nocnitsa.

[izile]

Hmm, going to bump this thread 'cause it seems very close.

 

Met a new guy, things going well, he has a LOT of commercial colognes. trying to tempt him away into the land of BPAL, at least for some options. Unfortunately, the notes he seems to like are the ones I avoid (but they do smell good on him). He likes pine, evergreen woods, and aquatics, kinda in that order. I guess I should really find out the names of the colognes he owns so that might give people who at least know about commercial stuff a better idea. I think the other day he was wearing something by Issey Miyake.

 

Thoughts for particularly light/fresh/clean pine? (to me, a lot of BPAL's pine scents have been exceedingly dark, sappy, and heavy)

[Vega]

Thoughts for particularly light/fresh/clean pine? (to me, a lot of BPAL's pine scents have been exceedingly dark, sappy, and heavy)

The Snow Storm! (I'm also surprised it's not been mentioned on this thread yet!) It's Yule 2007; to me it's living evergreen forest -- cold, thin, but beautiful in its purity and simplicity. I think this would be perfect for your man.

 

Other recs:

 

Moon of Small Spirits is evergreen, cool and clean, but without a strong pine note (it's more of a green temperate forest than an evergreen forest to me). But I also like it because it has a slight flowery/greenery touch, so it may be a bit feminine. I still recommend it for trying.

 

Light pines in the GC: Ochosi may fit the bill, it's an interesting mix of evergreen/woods and shea butter, which softens the sharp green edge. The Jersey Devil, although it's more leafy than piney to me. Nocnitsa is very similar to the Devil, if a tad darker and with a dirt note.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Vega

[backthatelfup]

I'm poking this thread because I love Dawn: Cernunnos something fierce as well as Thanatopsis but well, it's 70 degrees here. As much as I love them it's just not the weather for these.

 

I might have to check out Moon of Small Spirits; I just haven't found a BPAL white floral I can do and I'm wary around certain musks. But this 'green' profile is totally swoon worthy.

[jizatt]

Slobbering Pine! Very nice hot weather wearable pine, cold with no florals that I got

[backthatelfup]

Slobbering Pine! Very nice hot weather wearable pine, cold with no florals that I got

 

Oh, thanks I'll check it out!

[*butterflybynight*]

Yes, Slobbering Pine is very wearable! I've always avoided pine, but somehow got frimped SP and Nocnitsa, and both made it into the "Keep" pile!

[sqwook]

I am a fan of Slobbering Pine, too! Interestingly, I don't get pine from it really, and... that's okay by me. It goes almost golden-fruity, while still staying bright and clear, and for me, that makes it a winner.

[Floria]

Any recommendations for sweet, not too heavy, evergreen blends? I've tried Tombstone and liked it, but on me the root beer overwhelmed the evergreen.