Description
A green, aromatic fragrance inspired by the mysterious,
lush, mist-shrouded rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. The nose behind the fragrance
is Ellen Covey. Olympic Rainforest is available as a parfum extrait or EdP and features
notes of cedar leaves, green sword ferns, rhododendron, forest mushrooms, beebalm,
myrtle, oakmoss, black spruce, balsam fir, and Port Orford Cedar wood. Released
2010.
“Explore the mysterious, lush, mist-shrouded rainforest of the
Pacific Northwest, where everything is constantly green, every surface dripping with
water and covered with life in the cycle of growth, decay and rebirth. Cedar leaves,
green sword ferns, rhododendron, forest mushrooms, wildflowers from the clearings,
oakmoss, and Port Orford Cedar wood are all rising from the wet, leafy scent of the
forest floor.”
Dashko_O – :
It’s taken me a long time to write a review for this. This should be a no brainer. I grew up in a forest a few miles from Port Orford with ferns and mushrooms and rhododendrons tall enough to climb. This should smell like home. I like it and I think it does a really good job of capturing the forest floor and trees but something stops short of it being a love. There is something too harsh in the foliage, too medicinal. It is so close that I think it’s just my mood and I keep revisiting instead of writing this review, but it’s just not quite there.
If I can divorce myself from the scent I know I really enjoy this, especially after the first hour when it mellows out to a dusty cedar, myrrh, and evergreen needles
syzdykov – :
This is a trip through the northwest condensed in a bottle. Your hike starts through a recently burned forest, where all that’s left is smoldering conifers and tortured earth. You pass through this section pretty quickly to the untouched forest beyond. Dank earth, moss, ferns, and evergreens in profusion. The sweet flowering bushes along the creek add a touch of sweetness to an otherwise rustic, woody smell.
Incredibly well done. Good projection and longevity.
masik777 – :
I am a fan, after asking around about forest smells this is the best so far. Last very well, a lingering skin scent after 12 hours on me.
Opens very dark and dank. I get notes not mentioned above: yarrow, camphor, loamy earth. Think of it like a day in the forest, at dawn the forest is still wet and dewey. As the scent/day progresses the earth dries out and the sun starts shining.
Soon it loses some mustyness and gets slightly sweet in the dense foliage vibe. Very dark green with a hint of pine, mint and bitter burnt stump.
And finaly once the scent hits the zenith and the damp is evaporated there is a lovley strong ceder and faint beeswax. My fav Olympic Orchid, I will get the full bottle eventualy.
⛤⛤⛤⛤
Sabishi – :
Olympic Rainforest is the Pacific Northwest all at once. Dewy, wet, damp. Fresh balsams, evergreens, sweet and lush — pine, camphor, wood, lemon. Bitter decaying fir needles saturated with rain, releasing the last of their sweet thermic breath.
Pulpy fresh fungi, fat nectarous raindrops on their caps, bugs with glistening armour scurrying across the wooded floor.
This forest is alive and dynamic, full of animation… you can even smell the ferns unfurling.
I’ve lived in the PNW for 17 years and Ellen Covey is expert in her olfactory realism. Some environmental perfumes are challenging to wear as they are flattened into still life, but Dr. Covey magically breathes masterfully balanced life into every bottle she creates.
казёзя – :
سلام
شروع کار با هجوم شدیدی از روایح صمغی و چوبی از نوع درختان سوزنی مواجه هستید مخلوطی از رایحه صمغ مر در ترکیب با صمغ و شیره درخت کاج و صنوبر. مثل این هست که شاخه های تازه کاج بهمراه برگ های سوزنی رو با دست تون بشکونید و له کنید یا صمغ تازه ای که از شکاف های تنه درخت بیرون ریخته رو استشمام کنید اگه رطوبت بعد از باران رو هم بهش اضافه کنید می تونید رایحه این عطر رو بهتر تصور کنید. در ادامه با فروکش کردن حالت صمغی، روایح خاکی به کار اضافه می شوند تا حس و فضای جنگل رو بهتر شبیه سازی کنند. حالت خاکی که از قارچ و خزه ساخته میشه کمی من رو یاد فضای خاکی تام فورد اکستریم انداخت.
در انتها با کم شدن روایح چوبی یه شیرینی عسلی ضعیف و مهارشده به مشام میرسه.
اگه عاشق روایح چوبی اسپایسی و تلخ هستید باید حتما این عطر رو تست کنید.
وجودتان همیشه عطرآگین
мурат 777 – :
This is pure memory for me. I am walking in the woods near my home growing up, in Durham, NC. The minty note reminds me of picking mint leaves with friends to add to the tea we made by soaking tea bags in cold water in large glass jugs, the bags of tea suspended by the strings wrapped around a twig laid over the opening – thinking back, we perhaps might have considered cheesecloth to keep out flying pests, but we were 7 or 8 years old and we played in creeks and thought we were invincible.
The mint is joined with the smell of forest undergrowth, which in NC is dominated by yellow and white pine, and a multitude of other conifers and hardwoods. Virginia cedarwood ran everywhere and ferns were in bunches, as were daffodils and other colorful flowers that can survive the sparse sunlight available in a forest. Pine needles scented trails, and sap dripped on everything from both pine and gumball trees. Then, there was the fungi – and the moss! It was everywhere and so many varieties! Thankfully, we had been taught well enough that most was poisonous, or I am certain I’d have died from having attempted to eat some of it!
But, I digress – I am reviewing a scent, after all. This is not something you wear for compliments, or for others. In fact, you may not wear it at all – for me, this is a feeling – a story – a memory. It’s certainly nice, and evocative of place and time. This is a good thing. It’s more than a perfume – it’s a scent.
herbis – :
Getting Fir-Eucalyptus-Menthol at the top, with a hint of labdanum at the base.
I am Asian, and growing up, most families’ kitchens had a spice rack staple of Ajinomoto – MSG. It was explained to me, that it’s an effortless addition of umami (for lack of better translation, a ‘taste good’ compound). Many fragrance houses seem to rely on ISO E Super and other aroma chemicals, that give an “Is there a smell, or isn’t there a smell” sort of watered-down nose-umami. For a while, the hallmark of an ‘exceptional house’ seemed to be the diluted, quiet smell. It’s easy to mask a “not so great smell”, when you bring down the volume.
Olympic Orchids doesn’t cheat like that. From the 3 I’ve tried so far (Woodcut, Blackbird, Rainforest), all are loud, take great risks, and don’t suck. I like that. Their talent shows through. Thanks for keeping it real, Orchids!
strekoza – :
This perfume wears so smoothly on me. It oscillates between a bright burst of evergreen on a sweet wave of moisture and sunshine on warmed sap. It truly is the perfume I wear to feel light, happy, not to mention unique in my scent aura. It surprises me how it simultaneously projects as candied (but not cloying) and earthy (but not masculine). I feel energized wearing this, and pretty, too. And, it really does capture the smell of a hike in the Pacific Northwest, while still being something I want to smell like, to have others smell on me, to smell coming off of me during my day. Lovely art.
Olchik – :
Olympic Orchids Olympic Rainforest
A menthol-camphor hit in the opening with strong accents of pine and aromatic herbs. Then comes the lush, earthy undergrowth of oak moss, mushrooms, wildflowers and ferns. There is a grounding, and distinctly resinous ‘Olympic Orchids’ base note – most noticeably from the bracing woody notes of cedar, pine and a warm accent of beeswax; sharing its DNA with Woodcut.
There is something very soothing to the senses in Olympic Rainforest. The mentholated pine notes and the pairing of usually dry, woody notes with moist soil and earth is a feat in itself. I would wear this on one of those rainy days that don’t rain hard enough – the atmosphere feels rather unfinished in its business. Olympic Rainforest brings the rainforest and its ever-changing cycle of renewal wherever you shall need it.
apl666 – :
Wonderful conifer perfume! It is brighter and warmer than I expected. Like a walk on a sunlit Rocky Mountain trail in the summer, when the heat causes the smell of crushed needles to rise in the air. You can smell tiny mushrooms and a vague sweetness in the accord. Great natural outdoor scent. Loved it from the first spray to the lingering drydown on my pillow, almost like waking up camping!
korefan45 – :
Olympic Rainforest is definitely an interesting fragrance. At first it is a fairly harsh oakmoss and cedar. In a few moments I realized what it reminded me of – Demeter’s Zombie for Him. (Don’t laugh, they share a few notes, like oakmoss and mushroom).
But soon afterward OR starts to calm down to a softer cedar wrapped in slightly sweet beeswax. And after 2-3 hours it’s a nice cedar-y/balsam-y skin scent.
olga111 – :
Totally unbalanced, huge pinesol note dominates anything else. Myrrh bumps the camphor on the balsam and they both runaway with the scent. I can’t believe this is the intended result. Unless you are looking for a piney soliflore I’d avoid.
Muero – :
Everything Andabri said . . . Literally every word! Amazing mental imagery and olfactory journey! My sample will be well loved but I won’t be securing a FB.
zzlo1981 – :
Musky,piney and coniferous. This is usually not my thing but I am growing to at least like some of them. Imaginary Authors C. Heartache will remain my favorite as I love the strawberry note which gives it a twist but this is straight up damp and dark musky woods. I would have a hard time wearing this and this is a dislike for me. It’s not as off putting as Norne is to me “sorry Norne lovers” but it’s not upbeat neither.
Diablo2500 – :
Just wanted to share my experience with this one in case it happens to someone else. I was thrilled to stock up during their Black Friday sale and was looking forward to experiencing this one the most. After spraying it on – I took a big whiff and didn’t even finish inhaling when my gag reflex took over. I was in shock as to what I was smelling – it seemed the “cycle of life in the forest” started with decay! Thankfully I got interrupted on my way to scrub this off or I would have missed the beauty of the rest of this journey. Besides the opening on me – it truly does describe our beautiful forests here in the Pacific Northwest. If you’re a lover of evergreen scents – this is a must try – but be patient if the opening is difficult – as it will all be worthwhile!
mijsh – :
I like the Olympic Orchids range and vamt wait to try this one!
Dark_Insanity – :
Fir and pine and spruce and evergreen… basically this huge wet coniferous forest; the damp tree trunks, the bitter resinous sap, and earthy dirt covered in ferny undergrowth littered with mushrooms. All this foliage after a healthy, heavy rainfall. There’s a sweetness to it, not sugary, but like the sweetness of freshly cut, healthy wood if you’ve ever smelled it.
I usually stay far away from fragrances with any sort of interpretation of a conifer, but this one is really, really well done!
igorshcher – :
First whiff of this was almost medicinal, from the balsam and myrhh perhaps. The very next instant was earthy and damp from the mushrooms. Then after a min. or so, the fir and cedar came out. Then it was earthy again. Amazing. There is fir and cedar in the base.
After about twenty min. I started to get the wildflowers. What a divine floral to use here. So pretty, soft and sweet (not sugary at all). Wow. the complexity of this is astounding. The heart of this is the wildflowers with oakmoss and something I’m not familiar with, the fern maybe? The oakmoss is a little dusty. The fir and cedar are still in the base.
The drydown is fir, myrhh, honey and something earthy and woody, maybe the mushrooms. The honey sweetens this up giving it the perfect balance. The fir and cedar persist in the base, a constant throughout the evolution of this scent.
It lasted about five hours with moderate projection. This scent is worth every penny. It’s quite a show. The craftsmanship is awe inspiring. True artistry.
RoksiTi – :
Oh my…this perfume is phenomenal, sublime, majestic, embracing…just like the forest of my childhood. Me and my Dad used to spend innumerable weekends at his forester friend. In the summer, I would wake up to the song of millions of birds, eat my breakfast as fast as I could, take the dog and spend the day roaming the forest. I had my secret places, and while walking, I would compose fairy tales in my head. This perfume starts with the timber shed at the end of the garden, the starting poing of my walks: freshly cut pine, sap and resin. Then I enter the woods, it is early in the morning, there is dew dripping from the foliage and sparkling on the undergrowth. I can smell moss, fern, mushrooms, tree bark. Then slowly, as it gets warmer, the flowers start to emit their sweet fragrance. The change from the cool, wet pine topnotes through the floral heart and warm, honeyed wood drydown is like the passing of a summer’s day in the forest. I don’t understand how anyone can experiene this fragrance as simple or – horribile dictu – air freshener like!
I personally think it is a complex and beautiful perfume, definitely one of the very best in the genre.
nazar1989 – :
Olympic Rainforest smells like bitter, dark green foliage to me. I imagine rather mixed forest, not just evergreen. The scent is quite natural and very pleasant. When I think of rainforest, I expect something hot and tropical, but Olympic Rainforest is quite cool, although I can definitely feel the humidity there. This is so far my second favorite scent from the house, after Blackbird. Better than Slumberhouse Norne IMHO.
eva5555 – :
Disappointed that this did not work for me at all. It was very linear, starting out like intense pine and never really becoming anything else. It definitely smelled like the kind of cough drops I hate. The menthol quality made me gag after some time, at which point I had to scrub–and I rarely scrub. Being from northern California I’ve smelled my share of forests, and this to me was not natural, yes, more like Pine Sol.
Yur-gen – :
This is outstanding and I mean everything about it in all its phases-from initial application all the way to the dry down which is divine. Rainforest is so well crafted, deep and rich that this is truly a scent born of pure genius. It genuinely replicates the smell of a real forest and I know forest because I live smack dab in the middle of one that is comprised of firs, pines, spruces, cedars, larches, birches and ferns and I hike it all year round. I own several forest scents and this is the best, hands down. I never would have imagined that Slumberhouse’s Norne or Vikt could be topped but this did it. Simply superb and I am very impressed with not only the scent but its longevity and sillage. Truly remarkable.
v.vpopov – :
I can’t believe bay laurel is not listed in the notes because that is the what I detect the most or is that the myrrh? The opening of Olympic Rainforest comes on very strong with a very sharp damp smell of fir/pine along with the smell of damp soil. As the fragrance dries down it smells less damp. It’s as if the damp forest floor has dried out bringing out the smell of the florals. The first time I tried this I never could detect the beeswax note. Today I can. This is definitely niche. I wish the floral component was more pronounced but other than that I like this one. Olympic Rainforest is worth trying if you like the smell of a damp evergreen forest.
s4kwart – :
Lovely, therapeutic, calming yet playful. Mostly a wood-pine fragrance. But whatever the sweetness here is (beeswax? wildflowers?), it is the exact same light kick of sweetness also found in Nasomatto’s Absinthe. Which makes this an uplifting scent, rather than the dense sea of oils that characterize some scents in this line. And at a much better price than Nasomatto, I will probably have to snatch up a bottle. Well done.
olga222 – :
This perfume opens on my skin with a sharp pine note that might bring to mind a pine air freshener for some, but give it a few minutes and it blooms into a more rounded, sweeter smell of a Pacific Northwest conifer forest. It’s like the sun suddenly dissipating a very dense fog and the warmth letting other plants and trees release their scent. Norne by Slumberhouse reminds me of an evergreen forest in late fall, dank and boggy. Olympic Rainforest reminds me more of an evergreen forest before the rains hit, maybe early fall when it warms up in the afternoon and there might still be a few wildflowers blooming in the meadows. Later in the drydown there is a beautiful, restrained oakmoss note which, with the mushroom absolute, gives the impression of a more damp forest than the opening and middle. The longevity on my skin is about 4-5 hours. Love this perfume!!
knyaz-5 – :
I want to laugh when I read comments about this smelling like an air freshener. It has very bright and fresh fir top notes, but the heart to drydown of the fragrance is extremely earthy. I find it hard to describe it better than its scent pyramid does, really. It smells like wet, hyphae-encrusted bark, decomposing, mossy forest floor, and cool autumn air. Also present is a delicate floral structure that makes it remarkably wearable. Slightly sweet resins and oakmoss lend a sophisticated but natural chypre aroma to the base.
Overall, this is one of the most natural and wearable fragrances like this. It’s hard not to draw a comparison to Slumberhouse’s Norne, but this is the rich, live conifer forest of the Pacific Northwest to Slumberhouse’s dark, frozen timbers of Norway. I couldn’t possibly recommend a better perfume to a person who wants the rich, natural aroma of the conifer forest. My only qualm is with longevity, but it is possible that I’m just not applying enough from the screw-top bottle.
ademus – :
Olympic Rainforest was one of my early loves from Olympic Orchids. This perfume has a pensive, calming, almost therapeutic quality. It’s classically unisex, and well-suited to woolly sweaters on blustery days.
crupFoono – :
I am sure this would be the perfect scent for your outdoorsy man. There is just a hint of floral here with the aromatic tone set by the coniferous notes. Everything I try from this house is very well constructed. As always I would recommend samples.
Dimarin32 – :
Interesting notes listed… Im not too sure what Canadian balsam smells like but i do know that it’s used for cough syrup. I was contemplating if i had smelled anything like this…smells like a cleaned up version of Slumberhouse’s Norne. This starts out very cedary, earthy and a bit medicinal(probably contributed by the Canadian Balsam). On my skin, the longevity is sort of lacking, and the sillage is poor to average. Being a fan of gourmand, I can appreciate the sweetness in this somewhat piney scent. Overall, I would rate this between average and good; not “oh my god this is mind blowing”. I also bought the soap which is overall better than the fragrance. Like the fragrance, the soap also has a sweet touch. Well made. I hoped and wished rainforest could’ve lasted longer on my skin. This fragrance is right on time for primaveral testings.
TucheReutRifepyyya – :
To start, I have to say this is the most refreshing perfume I have ever smelled. I just wanted to drink a big, tall glass of ice cold mountain spring water. Olympic Rainforest is a full, lush green forest just after the first spring rain. Dewdrops glistening on everything, nothing but quiet. Just you, the forest, and the family of deer camouflaged behind thick brush.
Fresh greens and mushrooms are sprouting underfoot. You come upon a clearing and realize that you have walked into a meadow full of lush, colorful,fragrant wildflowers. This is how I see Olympic Rainforest. A fresh, vibrant, lush forest with hints of undergrowth, and wildflowers mingling with honey in the drydown to give it some sweetness. Very, very lovely and realistic.
Definately on my wantlist, you can’t beat the price!:)
I also see this very nicely unisex.
Perfect for nature lovers like me and lovers of pine scents.;)
goggyss – :
This is just about as close as I’ve came to a true forest scent. It opens with a strong whiff of freshly cut pine but that mellows quickly with the cedar. The oakmoss gives it richness & keeps it from being to “piney”. I couldn’t really detect anything that reminded me of a mushroom but maybe that’s the note that gives it that extra depth.
argon11 – :
Psh, this is no air freshener, hasn’t anybody every trimmed evergreen before???!!! So… zesty, spicy, resinous, mossy, evergreen. A moss covered knoll with mushrooms sitting in lush forest. a bit of flowers poking through. A lumberjack scent. The mushroom is not fetid, but adds character! Be adventurous people! Before synthetics, this was perfume! I shall not relegate pine to the room fragrance corner, no I will wear it! A confident woman’s scent, who’s at home in the forest. A hippie or nature lover. Let it settle people, such eager beavers. I don’t really care for the myrrh here, but it does work and it is a lovely masterpiece of a scent. I suggest you at least like nature if you want to sample this and not be disappointed.
elmir041 – :
All the notes listed here, made me think I would love this, but I got my sample and I do not like it at all. I love greens but this is like air freshener like previously stated, even reminded me of pine sol. Sad to say.
krecl86 – :
A predominantly oakmoass and pine fragrance, it opens with a green freshness to it that’s impressive. Fresh, bright pine accords, with heavy oakmoss and an undertone of cedar, all work well together in a balanced accord. A damp earthy, moistness creeps into the fragrance shortly, reminding me of dense, lush undergrowth, in particular, mosses, tree fungi, mushroom and decaying leaf litter, its got a sweet, earthy aroma, and very slightly woody overture thats quite lovely. Later on soft florals make an entrance with the beeswax to round this into a beautifully feminine perfume.
Sillage is average, longevity perhaps 3 hrs. Would like better wear time because this is gorgeous. I personally love the smell of oakmoss, its one of my favourite notes of all time and to see a fragrance like this which features it as one of the dominant notes so beautifully and so elegantly, has absolutely captivated me – this perfume will definitely make it my collex as a full bottle to be treasured. As a side note, interestingly enough, my husband who remains largely unimpressed with the entire Olympic Orchids line, actually liked this one, commenting that it was by far the best to him. If you love oakmoss then this will be one to try!
dolgih83 – :
This really does smell like a true to life forest. I live in the pacific northwest and can vouch that this is the real deal. It smells like our woods after a fresh bout of rain. This scent really does start out sharp. I prefer it better after it has a few minutes to settle down. I like this scent a lot, but I’m not sure I would wear it. It is a little too green and too fresh for me. Nothing against this fragrance, I’m just not really into green scents. Still I find this to be lovely. I would definitely use it as a room scent.
xbl607JeomiWogkig – :
This is incredibly evocative, I expected that would be more of an interpretation, but it really sends me back to hiking in the redwoods. It has that damp, earthy spicy-redwood scent of the forest floor, you can almost feel the cool mist on your face and the soft layers of bark under your feet. I agree with nargis’ review, it feels very alive. My only complaint is that it fades off a little too quickly and becomes very very light. This is something special though.
mva_1953 – :
I was so intrigued by the reviews and the notes! I mean, fern, cedar, moss, wax, can you find anything closer to the real forest? And I love forest, specially in the autumn when it smells of mushroom.
Olympic Rainforest for me at least does not at first smell much like forest at all. It is extremely sharp- I could smell the sample as soon as I opened envelope (an no, nothing was spilled). It smells kind of like those little trees you put in the car to freshen the air. Quite chemical, a concentration of cedar, but not the real tree, but something like a cleaning product. It is interesting, but not very pleasant or wearable for me.
It does get better as it settles down, I can see the real forest popping through, it becomes more gentle, and all in all, is not so harsh anymore, but it is still something I would only wear around the house rather than among people.
Sergioff – :
It felt like aromatherapy! Like if I was walking in a Canadian forest after the rain. I can remember smelling pine, moss and a little dirt.
I enjoyed it a lot. This is an introverted scent. Something someone wears for oneself.
Very relaxing I must say!
yura555 – :
Maurice, Olympic Orchids have webshop.
I have hunted years fargrance that smells forest of my childhood. This is perfect Finnish forest-scent. Love it!
Donobevabog – :
Wow! Applying this scent takes me to the forests of the Northwest Coast. The soil, ferns, evergreens and rain are present and extremely well blended. This is the perfect sports scent and nothing like the usual synthetic mess that populates this catagory . Another beautiful and evocative scent from Dr.Covey.
директор – :
I agree with jeca’s review. I live in the Pacific Northwest. Olympic Orchid’s “Olympic Rainforest” IS the fragrance of the Olympic Rainforest here in Washington state. As in Ellen Covey’s other scents of place, “Olympic Rainforest” really transports the wearer to a specific location. It’s like traveling via scent! Uncanny! When I wear this fragrance I feel the wet forests, never too heavy or sodden but invigorating, brimming with life and growth. The perfumer’s treatment of mushroom is masterful and the cedar is never overwhelming!
denwhoa – :
Look at the notes, they are like a walk in the woods, so it is, love looking for mushrooms in its layers :-)) Ellen’s fragrances they are never sharp, painful, you can always find a sun ray in the dark.