Smell Bent North by Northwest

Indie Perfumer Smell Bent is responsible for a lot of scents that I have in heavy rotation; they’re fun scents at a price point that makes spraying with abandon not just a joy, but a duty.  They’ve come up with five new scents that according to nose and founder Brent Leonesio were inspired by a trip to Alaska.

Werewolf Lumberjack they write of as “oversexed wolf musk sprayed atop a pile of freshly cut timber“.  I don’t get a huge blast of musk out of this but I do get the wood.  Whether or not you’re musk-phobic will color whether you love this one.  I could have used a bit more skank, but that’s me.

She Wolf I like better: it’s like the lumberjacks sister.  Citrus and patchouli and vanilla make this a stand-out.

Mountain High is “fresh cannabis with balsam fir, lavender, vanilla extract, tonka, patchouli and sandalwood“.  It’s not headshoppy in the way the ingredients would lead you to believe, but on my skin there was something sharp in the opening that just didn’t work.  The later portions of the program were a lot better, but it’s not the one I’d reach for.

Total Eclipse (of the Heart) is “western red cedar accented with champaca, skunk cabbage, evergreen, and earthy, vegetal musk”, and is the one that I would reach for.  It’s sharp and green and delightful in a way that sort of reminds me of the way that Chanel No 19 used to be though it’s in no way is it a carbon copy.

Otter Lover is “bay, oakmoss, algae absolute, natural ambergris, castoreum, sweet resins and musk“.  The initial bay is a bit christmassy, but it calms down quickly to something resembling bracing mountain air on a cold day that has a touch of frozen green-ness, like a pine forest by a lake.  I like it.

All of these are available at the SmellBent Website.  A sample set of all five oils is available for $16.50, all five 4ML purse sprays for $16.50, including shipping.  My samples were courtesy the perfumer.

  • nozknoz says:

    Total Eclipse does sound intriguing – and when someone asks what you’re wearing you get to say skunk cabbage! :-)

  • Ann says:

    I sure wish a store near me carried this line so I could go in and spritz to my heart’s delight!

  • tammy says:

    This line gets soooooooo very musky on me, and since I know you turn musk all cuddly, Tom, I am a-skeert to try more from them. Otter Luvr’d be the one for me, I think, although if it weren’t for the cedar, I’d be all over Total Eclipse, too.

  • Joanna says:

    I love Smell Bent. I’ve been wearing Chastity Begins @ Home a lot lately. I see they have a reissue of ONE and I need to order me some. Thanks for the reviews Tom. I’ll check these out.

  • Ann says:

    Thanks, Tom. This line always sounds good to me but I have yet to get off my duff and get some to try. Must remedy.

  • Gvillecreative says:

    What good timing! I was just checking this line out on Sunday. I’ve never tried any Smell Bents and was wondering how musky the lumberjack was. Maybe I’ll check it out!

    What I was really looking for in their line was a dry woody incense, similar to the Incense series by CdG. I want to find something good but cheap enough that I can spray with reckless abandon on my sheets. Think that their “incensed” might be it? Is it similar to the CdGs?