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SandN – :
I did not see it coming, but this reminds me a lot of Elie Saab Le Parfum Intense. Similar thick, sweet, resinous amber honey. I think the Elie Saab has patchouli, which isn’t listed as a note here, but the bases share similarities. I prefer Laurie’s formulation.
ziba48 – :
Though I’m not new to niche, I’m new to this house, but all I can say is wow! She designs great scents. This is a forest walk that evolves minute by minute until it settles for a few hours, and then fades into an amber-sweet wood melange. No, longevity is not great because of its mostly if not all natural elements, and silage is not killer after five minutes, though if one sprays a few times, you’ll get good wear out of it. I’m a bit heavy on the trigger because my skin is some kind of black-hole for scent. I think if you go my route, you’ll find the silage is fine, but longevity will still be on the shorter end.
This is EARTHY (I swear there’s a twist of patch in it in the initial top notes). But it’s not just patch which can be earthy and dirty–but dirt. I smell damp earth and vegetation that then moves into a lovely boozy-cedar wood quality with a hint of honey. After that burns away, there is a honey-sweet wood accord still underscored by earth. The floral violet accord is one of the rare times I’ve enjoyed violet; this presentation is neither candied nor powdered, perhaps a small bit of both but there’s a sweetness that is not cloying (the problem with some violets for me). The violet is a lovely wild floral smell with that touch of honey and earth. I swear it reminds me of when I’ve been transplanting violets or putting one in a pot–this conjures that experience, and I don’t consider myself a violet lover. Though not listed, there is a subtle incense, as if one is smelling an incense stick rather than burning it; the wood accords with the sandalwood present that way. Moss is throughout but very subtly and not to astringent or green or cool but present–this is one of those times I smell most of the listed notes plus a few more.
For the first couple of hours, this is a meditative, interesting, scent that I really enjoy. I don’t think it’s “sexy” necessarily or something I would wear for a date, but maybe more for myself during the day or night, whenever, wherever I need a soothing introspective scent. It’s atrtactive, and I think unisex, and might be “sexy” to some, but I find it just lovely and interesting to wear. It’s a “thinker” perfume. As a woman, I think it would also smell fantastic on a man, possibly sexy. Overall two-thumbs up. I have yet to find something from this house that I really don’t like.
Some have compared this to SL Filles an Aiguiles, and as a Serge fan (big-time!) and a Fille an Aiguiles fan, this bears little resemblance. Yes, one is taking a walk in a forest in both–but the forests, time of year, and vegetation are very, very different. SL FA is autumn, leavers off, berries, dried and falling rotten and sweet with sap and wine smells permeating the earth in late afternoon, whereas Forest Walk is California, greener, wetter, maybe up near the coast and possible early spring morning. Both are forests, both are great–but they’re not alike.
psv3 – :
A reninous fir scent. Reminiscent of Elixer Des Merveilles. But unlike EDM this is more raw and realistic. There’s a clarity to it. This is a forest that is dripping with gooey sap. I can remember smelling a scent from Boadicea the Victorious that smelled similar called Explorer, which was a fir based resinous scent as well.
It really made me feel the Christmas season. Who doesn’t like the smell of fir at Christmas time?
ylia836 – :
I have been on the search for a fragrance that fits this description: an evergreen forest in the beginning of spring. I want the cold air, the evergreens/fir/balsam, the dirt being warmed by the sun with a few flowers beginning to wake up from a cold winter. I’ve searched for the past 20 years and this is the closest to my description that I can find. I don’t smell very much fir/balsam in the top notes, but after an hour or so, the forest comes alive. Lasting power is 12+ hours and the dry down is beautiful!! I started with a sample, ordered the 5ml atomizer the next day and will be purchasing a full bottle in the near future. I have NEVER smelled anything like this and probably own over 1000 samples. It is true perfection if you are looking for an earthy, forest fragrance.
When discussing pine/fir fragrances, Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens always comes up. Personally, I don’t get any pine/fir/balsam, but mainly dried fruit. Not a fan.
igrek_62 – :
For me,the winner and new heavy weight champion of the world, this is the best I’ve ever worn, compliments up the kazoo. Sillage is perfect and longevity is about 8 hours or so. Forrest Walk is manly and just does it for me, someone else can break it down, I’m just going to enjoy it.
ayoguykdu – :
The scent of Lothlorien. A woodland trail, a peaty freshness, as the aroma of a fresh trod path is stirred. Leaves rustle in the cool breeze. A sense of contentedness spread with the fragrance of majestic trees stretching their deep roots. Earthy forest scent.
zemela88 – :
I’m addicted to this. It is so unique and I know for a fact that nobody in the world will ever smell remotely close to this scent. It’s a fresh clean and ripe earthiness that has been captured in the essence of fragrance. This has to take a lot of skill and I have a new respect for the perfumer. I own tabac Aurea . Winter woods and incense pure which of course smell good and are complement getters, but this is something I would wear around the house for myself as it smells so good and has a calming effect to it. Not sure if it would garner complements, but I wouldn’t wear this for that
madbobr – :
My opinion sits right between the previous 2 reviews.. It’s a delicate coniferous honeyed woods with a brilliant touch of violet and smells very natural. It’s definitely not boring but far from jaw dropping.. just really, really nice.
aa12.a – :
I was expecting something way more evocative of a forest walk, but this was still pleasant. It opens with smooth, honeyed woods; Devoid of all camphorous greenness that i typically associate with fir. There is also a noticeable violet powderiness, and amber balancing everything out underneath. The combined effect is much more cozy and smooth than anything meant to evoke the out doors in my opinion.
As it dries down, the woodsiness subsides giving way to an interesting sweet and almost clean-yet earthy oak-moss amber and violet blend that is certainly nice, but not in line with my personal preferences. It’s very nice, but it feels nonessential in a line that has some truly great fragrances.
Longevity is good, projection is pretty soft. Don’t go into this expecting some long dramatic fragrance shifts as this is fairly linear. In summary, nice, but not for me.
6/10
Sanja83 – :
I think this is an example where the notes listed according to votes hit the nail perfectly on the head… so if you like what you see, you will probably like this! It is truly like walking through a coniferous forest on a foggy day. I love it. Not exactly a versatile sent. I find it aromatherapeutic in a calming (nearly sedating) way. I wear it on Saturday mornings when curling up with a good book.
Highly recommended.
Toljamba – :
For those who find Juniper Ridge too crude, and Norne to be too vivid, Forest Walk is probably one of the most viable alternates in the game. It kicks off with some bitter coniferous notes that are rooty but also carry hints of the syrupy house aesthetic. (They’re somewhat reminiscent of the bitter notes that emerge in Nostalgie to get that incredible chypre/aldehyde effect). As it settles in, what you get is an array of blue/green alpine notes that hover above a subtle cedar. It’s a complex forest floor effect, but it is one that’s aesthetically sanitized—stripped of some of the more rancid characteristics you’d find in such an environment.
The depth and aspect of the forest is prismatic and quite trippy. Notes of fir and pine needles are detectable, but keep from going down the industrial air freshener path through the presence of the hemlock—a dark, sharp material with a slightly animalic bite. The residual bitterness is juxtaposed—somewhat awkwardly—against the sweeter notes of florals, but they’re turned down quite low, serving chiefly to take the edge of some of the rougher coniferous parts. While the blend is as meticulous as everything else from the line, it does strike me as a tad disordered—not quite as complimentary and unified as others, but largely due to the choice of the notes and the subject matter than the levels themselves. The odd juxtaposition of the florals does sort itself out over time in that the sharper pine/fir notes outlive the sweeter florals, and so an hour or so in, it starts to feel a little more considered and mellow.
I personally have a difficult time with certain coniferous notes, and I’ve yet to be able to really stomp down on what my beef is with them. I find that it’s herbal / shrub notes—what I would describe as more grey/teal than green—that can bother me. Although there’s nothing herbal at work here, it’s a shade of green that’s slightly too tainted by other tones for me to enjoy it fully. It feels somewhat contradictory in relation to more photorealistic compositions, rendering it as a tad too close to composed perfume in a genre that seems (to me, at least) to call for a little roughness. One other point of contention with this fragrance, albeit a mild one: compared with the other scents in the line, this one opens with a great deal of force, and it’s slightly overwhelming at first, eventually taming down into something more tranquil.
Even though my gripes are minor and hugely subjective, they might work in others’ favors—especially those who find some of the scents I mentioned at the outset to be too much forest. The sweetened section gives it more an aldehydic character; and rather than representing a specific forest space, Forest Walk strikes me as more of a collection of the author’s preferred facets of the forest that are polished and presented in a bold manner. Whereas I’ll stick with the nuanced brutality of Norne, Forest Walk can be perhaps be considered that scent’s softer, more civilized counterpart.
westline3 – :
I got a sample of it and tested it last night. Smelled mostly wood and resins, not so much evergreens that I am after. As for comparison to Fille en Aiguilles which is my signature, I do not find them similar and definitely prefer Fille. It seems like Forest Walk can be compared to Wazamba, however, I got rid of my sample and cannot test them at the same time. I also tested Winter Woods which got better reviews but I liked Forest Walk better. Yet, I am still not sure if I want a full bottle of it, will be retesting it again.
Update: This forest is too dry for me, I need some greenery. I will use my sample but will no longer consider a full bottle.
AL2723W – :
@babayaga: that’s what perfume is all about–chemistry and perception. Love to chat about and share experiences! Thanks for yours 😉
qogbqjblcps – :
@sweetnspicey, I just HAD to compare the two scents after reading your review, since i have samples of both Fille en Aiguilles, and Forest Walk. With all due respect, though I agree that they are in the same family, I don’t think they are that similar, or can even be compared*, and I don’t really think that one is obviously superior (though I personally prefer FeA). It’s the dried fruit that makes FeA a very unique, luscious scent-story, rather than just a well-done natural scent-scape.
Fille en Aiguilles has that sweet-tart-rich-almost spicy dried fruit note, while Forest Walk has a dominating sharpish, realistic, beautiful mossy note. Both are pretty wonderful, if you’re into the woodsy experience in a fragrance.
Cool! I’m so glad you wrote your review, it was fun for me to compare these two awesome scents for myself.
*After the top notes calm down a little, they do become a bit more alike.
vvvvvvvvvv – :
After wearing this again, I now realize this smells very similar to Filles en Aiguilles! Same concept–evergreen, woodsy, mossy, a bit sweet. I put on the Lutens this morning, after noticing the similarity last night, and Lutens smells like water compared to the beautiful Forest Walk. Sillage is better and so is the complexity of the scent. Major kudos to Sonoma Scent Studio!! I have a decant, but I feel a full bottle is in my very near future.
Anera – :
Very similar to PdE Wazamba. Pine hidden by a thick, sweet note (violets). I believe this has too much violet to be a forest scent.
abc1972 – :
Forest Walk opens very green, no doubts. There’s galbanum and fir but also something very resinous. From the very early stages the fragrance is pervaded by both an outdoorsy vibe as well as remarkable hearthy notes providing a wet-soil nuance. There’s something mossy and almost moldy that immediately brings to mind of wet foliage and, yes, a forest. A consistent violet note breaks in right away and smoothes the otherwise stark-ish opening. I’m generally not fond of violets but the way the accord is handled is absolutely nice. Maybe because it doesn’t lean towards the overly sweet, candied violet note we too often experience in classic perfumery. It provides a tad of powder and some sweetness but nothing to be scared of. The fragrance still goes on with its earthy vibe and it’s joined by smooth-and-deep woody notes and more resins. It takes a slightly darker twist that leans more towards meditative types of compositions. Very intimate, sort of sullen, perfect for fall days spent in the outdoor.
One thing to notice is that Mrs.Erickson completley skips any apothekary vibe which is typical of certain types of perfumery. Her fragrances smell natural as opposed to indie, beautiful as opposed to trendy and elegant as opposed to ridiculously priced.
Forest Walk is a bit too sweet to completely match my tastes but it’s very nice nevertheless.
Rating: 6.5-7/10
Санек82 – :
9am applied Forest Walk.
Lots of intense violets, at the edge of too much.
15 mins later, violet overload starts to settle down.
Now violets and forest begin their dance around each other.
The forest opens up after half an hour. This is now enchanting – the forest woods – damp, moist, mossy, hollow logs. The Tarkine Forest Regions, North West Tasmania all over. No mean feat. I walk through the forest for a couple of hours. Enjoyable.
By midday the forest gives way to amber and sandle wood. The best way to describe this – a very happy baby powder. I keep stealing sniffs of my wrist. Lasts from midday to 11pm at night.
Strength for all three stages – a close to the body encounter.
Good for unisex.
3.6 / 5
ENCUMMAUNCORN – :
That’s a lot of woods combined in one. Wet autumn leaves you find in a decidious forest plus a smell of a sun-drenched pine forest on a hot summer day – sweet and resiny, with delicate violets one can find in early spring on a forest edge. Almost all seasons represented, maybe winter here is in windy mossiness one can find in stately and dark fir massives of Canadian Rockies. So yes, it’s lots of worest walks, it is the very embodiment of many forest walks I might take here in Canada. Definitely not Mediterranean cypress and acacias walks, but something in climatic zone 3. Anyhow, I love it and would like a full bottle now.
lilaethikeVew – :
As someone that actually spends most of their time walking in the woods I had very high hopes for this scent. But I’m afraid that this doesn’t remind me of any forest I’ve ever been in. Mostly I get a lot of lovely violet, a touch of sweet benzoin, hints of sandal, and a constant undercurrent of jammy notes from the evergreen absolutes. An altogether nice effect, but a little too remiscent of grapes. There is nothing here that I would describe as overtly woody, earthy, rooty or mossy. In the end this feels more like a walk with a proper young lady through her tidy garden of violets and tightly controlled topiary than a venture into any place wild. I imagine many would enjoy this but alas it’s clearly not what I was looking for.
That said, every other scent I have tried from this house has exceeded my expectations. The combination of Lauries fantastic customer service and entirely reasonable price point are but the cherry on top of her usually masterful art. But if yer in the mood for a true forest scent look to Slumberhouse…
ziti07 – :
I’m not a fan of this one.
It smells exactly like a pine scented candle. If you’re a fan of that, you’ll like this.
drakas361 – :
Three words: Wet mossy rock
If you want to smell identical to a huge, gray rock, covered in bright green moss, this is your perfume! I want to smell like that, but I’m not sure I would want to around other people. So this might be one of those perfumes I wear only for myself, at home.
I find this perfume surprisingly sweet. There is something fruity in here because I might also add that it smells like moldy grapes. I was almost certain I’d see grapes in the list of notes.
It takes me to the forest floor. It smells like evergreen trees, shade, and dampness.
For some time I’d been lamenting the death of true chypres. I discovered perfumes like Cristalle, O de Lancome, Aromatics Elixir, and Paloma Picasso. I fell in love with oakmoss and wanted to find a modern one, only to figure out that nobody makes oakmoss perfumes anymore, whether it’s because of a ban on ingredients or because it has simply gone of of fashion, or both. If you are anything like me, you are equally heartbroken over this.
And here it is–oakmoss is alive again! Pun intended.
It’s vibrant, green, mildewy, and addicting in Forest Walk. I tip my hat off to Laurie for recognizing how badly this note is adored and desired by perfume lovers. Forest Walk is easily one of my favorites from this house.
cleetus – :
This is one of those “I wanted to love this” scenarios. I live in Northern California and I have hiked at Armstrong Woods a couple of times. So I was really looking forward to sampling Forest Walk.
The fragrance started out promising. Immediately I could detect an earthiness that did remind me of the forest floor but that was about the extent of it. For the rest of the duration the fragrance smelled too balmy, stuffy like I was inside a cabin in the woods as opposed to talking a walk in the woods. The fir balsam and cedar notes were barely detectable. The floral notes I couldn’t detect at all. The wood notes were present but they didn’t smell fresh. Maybe my expectations were set too high. As a point of reference I LOVE Serge Luten’s “Fille En Aiguilles”. Now that’s a fragrance that reminds me of taking a forest walk. I will say the longevity and projection of Forest Walk is amazing. Twelve hours after applying the fragrance I could still detect it after taking a shower.
CadeRoadeld – :
Sounds lovely:)
Kisel1980 – :
I’m a really fan about this brand.
Could only hope someone may import and distribute in EU.