Pineward Perfumes

Pineward Perfumes have a motto something like – if you don’t like pine…. go pound sand you tree-hating dope or something like that.   Well, not anything like that – it’s just the way I would put it.

Pineward perfumes are my new point of fascination.  I swear, I keep trying different ones and finding something else about them. They are rich, pungent and not IFRA compliant!  They caution you to test these on your skin first carefully and be aware that it can stain your clothes, so don’t put the perfume on your nice white shirt.

From their website – “Pineward perfumes capture abandoned alpine farmsteads, boreal bracken and briars, frost-laden and fog-blanketed firs, loam-covered logs, prickles of pine, thickly thicketed thistles, rotting rooted carpets, morel mushroom mycelium, sap encrusted spruces, misty, murky, mossy, forests up in a stoppered bottle. My hope is that wearing Pineward perfume will transport you to remote untamed forests far, far, past the reaches of civilization and into primeval black woods of fantasy.”

I’m just going to talk about one this week – I thought two and then scratched that because they deserve more time and I didn’t want to rush through the other one that I  probably love the most so far. Some are adventures deep in the forest, others are sweeter, others are much more incense or woods.

Let’s start with Pineward Murkwood. Notes of fir balsam, black hemlock, lapsang suchong, moss, incense, bitter myrhh.  The notes from the brand are “Liturgical incense and tangles of gnarled fir boughs, a dark and forboding forest.”

I’m not sure what I thought I’d be smelling when I read that, but there is this big old pine tree wrapped up in myrrh smacking you square in the nose on the open. And it is gorgeous. like you have found a way to stick your nose deep in the forest and smell it exactly the way an enchanted forest smells in your head.

As the pine-myrrh quits beating you on the nose, there is more moss and little tendrils of incense.  Then it is almost like this thing just starts smoking. Not in a big huffing way, but the tea just makes it breathe smoke… lovely, delicate beautiful smoke.  After that, it is one of those can’t keep your nose out of it scents.  The changes are subtle in the drydown –   it softens in some places and sweetens but every part of it has the same charm.

Playing around with an embarrassing number of the Pinewards on Monday, I walked down the hall to bed and busted up laughing. I smelled like some weird forest molested by elves and orcs.  Lots of trees, little magic and a little rough.

I love this brand. It is not for everyone. They do have scents with less pine and I think even no pine. My favorite is the one I’ll talk about next week. I had to order a bigger bottle, the sample I got was gone, and I had more love to smother it with before I started writing about it.

What I think I love most about this brand is they know who they are, they make what they make, and it is for some and not for some, and they aren’t compromising. I hope they stay that way.  There are just too few companies that are willing to own the perfumed space they are great at and let those who don’t love it go find what works for them elsewhere.  BTW, these are extraits of 34% and for a crazy great price of $128’ish for 37 mls.

Oh, have we heard that Rihanna’s Fenty is releasing next week?  I’m actually pretty excited about it.  Here’s to hoping it does not suck.

So pine or no pine?  I’ll draw a winner from comments to get a sample of Pineward Murkwood.