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sasik103 – :
This is life!!!! I absolutely love this scent. I get the Balsam Fir and the Cedar. I find it to be a fairly strong scent with lasting power. It radiates several feet and I only put on one spray.
Сиам – :
This smells really good and rich. A fresh black currant resinous spiced scent. Its dark but can be pulled off in the day time or night. A unique scent indeed. Not bad or the best as far as projection and longevity. I bought 10ml sample to test.
tofftanny – :
I love this!! Smells like resinous, woody, Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum-like with a small touch of leather-like scent. Very appealing!! Manly! Don’t expect a lot of sillage (arm’s length) nor staying power (4 hours for me about on clothes) for the price, which is a shame. But wow!! Very nice scent still!! Reminds me A BIT of Creed’s Spice and Wood… which I freakin LOVE!!! For the price, Soul Of The Forest is worth it if you don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for the Creed.
toledo – :
Jammy black currant over a woody, smoky, balsamic and slightly herbal base.
Very nice niche-quality scent. Would have been a perfect fit in the Tom Ford Verte-line.
My only problem is that the performance is lacking on my skin.
BifyBiand – :
Yuck yuck yuck.
The opening is extraordinary, which prompted me to buy it immediately at the store. Rich forest floor, full of oxygen, mixed with a bit of incense. Magical and unlike any other woodsy perfume I’ve tried.
And then slowly, it becomes an intense rotten pondscum smell that lasts for hours and hours. Like an aquarium tank that hasn’t been cleaned in a decade. Or a dead mermaid, or rotten skull. That bad. And super strong, even 24 hours later.
It’s an incredible shame because the opening is amazing, but this really can’t be worn in public. Maybe others are having a different experience, but a female friend of mine tried this and agreed, and we have very different skin types.
Definitely do try this at the store, and don’t wash it off for several hours, before you buy it. I applaud the risk-taking — this is a more cohesive and sophisticated fragrance than, say, Norne, which it resembles — but the end result is unwearable.
Dena37 – :
A dry and smoky forest. Soul of the Forest is perfectly named and executed. On me, I get forest fire, trees, wood, bark, sap, pine needles, moss. Some are notes, some are evoked. The only thing I would add is maybe a soil element or something to capture the life in the woods. This is a very still forest. Maybe mushroom? Mineral notes from a passing stream? It needs something.
Many would read this as masculine but I think it can be unisex. It is similar to Burberry London for men without the BBQ. Also, more elegant and refined. One reviewer said it reminded them of B.O. and I see what they are talking about. I think it’s the pimento and labdanum. And the dry-down is not as enchanting as the opening.
Soul of the Forest is nice but does not surpass my all-time favorite forest scents of Dasein Winer or Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest. Both are sweeter and stronger. This is more subtle and quiet with room for improvement.
Xeroxspoxk – :
I had realy high hopes for this one being a Fir scent lover .
It starts of very promising with blaccurrant and fir swet fruity and jummy And yes i was thinking in line of Vagabond prince enchanted forest at first . But very quikcly the top notes fades and al im left with are as some one else sayed , wood carvings and dry dusty wood ,almost a bit cardboard on my skin . I Totaly love the opening but its the dry down i have to live with in the end and this is not as good on my skin. i did not have any problems with longevity .This lasted a good 5-8 hours on my skin . alhough it gets closer to skin in the end . IMO the top notes are a unisex style scent .the drydown more masculin
goodveen40 – :
Opens with currant and fir, with the currant highlighting the slightly fruity aspect to fir needles (a la Filles en Aiguilles, but fresher). Next, I get a strong pimento note, with fir, cedar and synthetic oakmoss. I think the pepper is the BO scent that people are talking about – I actually love pepper notes though, and it is reminiscent of the actual peppery/BO note in woodsmoke. Think of the smell that your clothing gets from sitting around the fire – the pepper note in Soul of the Forest is a toned down callback to that scent. Despite this, it is not a smoky scent. There’s a hint of smoke but it’s mostly a cedar/pepper scent with a little fir, oakmoss and maybe patchouli in the background. It has a quality of airiness, as if you are in the forest and smelling your surroundings – maybe a touch of ozone-synthetics. It’s not as harsh as Norne, which is the smell of breaking fir needles in your hand and sniffing them up close. I don’t think they’re that similar; Soul of the Forest is more commercial and easier to wear. With the cedar and pepper, this one is closer to Comme des Garcons Wonderwood. Overall, I like it – I feel like the inclusion of the weird pepper note keeps it interesting when it could have been just another cedar scent. Projection isn’t great, and the scent doesn’t have a great longevity except for the cedar/pepper that stays on your skin for a long time. But it’s a solid offering from a house that often goes wonky on my skin.
strekoza – :
According to these notes, I thought I’d get Christmas, or alpine camping, or a dip in the swimming hole in the morning. What I got was No. 2 pencils, the inside of those old single school desks that have the hinged wooden top and rusty metal compartment (please tell me someone remembers these too), and a little bit of pungent B.O. I mean, I guess that’s sort of novel, but I wouldn’t choose to smell this way for hours.
gmi200 – :
Soul Of The Forest by Maison Martin Margiela: Magical was my impression when I first experienced this fragrance. One of my favorite scents, Labdanum, slapped me with a familiar hello, and blended perfectly with Moss and Patchouli My other favorite scent. I have always loved these two scents blended and frolicking together. Two scents that I have never experienced in a fragrance are included in this magical spell to the senses. Maple Sap and Pimento. I can’t detect these two since I am unaware of their scents. What I could have sworn on my life that was included within was the note Oud, I was so convinced that Oud was in it that I was surprised when I found the absence of it’s mention on the pyramid. I also could have sworn to have detected Iris and Violet, but they too are not mentioned. Could it be that the combination of the new scents Maple sap and Pimento together with Labdanum and Patchouli and Atlas Cedar create a sort of Oud scent, It’s possible and folks let me tell you, It is a marvelous thing. It is such an elegant and magical composition, infectious and addicting. It truly does conjure images of an ancient forest. The musty loam, Labdanum and Patchouli, The sharp snap of wet wood, Atlas Cedar, Balsam Fir and Moss, and the smoky air of burnt wood at a campfire, Incense. Smelling this fragrance will send your mind on transcendent journeys to a mystical forest where you will encounter Wizards and Hobbits, Dragons, Elves and Dwarves, ok maybe a bit over dramatized. But, this is truly a magical forest of a fragrance. Do not miss this one.
I was surprised to read the reviews of this not having much sillage and longevity but on my flesh the Sillage was enormous and the Longevity was super-super long 24 hrs plus. This fragrance will not let you return from your journey of fantasy and magic, you literally will have to wash it off to undo the spell and return to the present world. I love these kind of fragrances. This gets my Top award and Praise for absolute excellence. Bravo to the Replica series and Maison Martin Margiela. Can you hear the roar of resounding applause and the stamp of a standing ovation? You should.
profocenka – :
The ancient forest trope seems to be a pretty popular theme among indie perfumers these days. So I’m frankly a bit surprised that a designer/fashion label backed by a big commercial brand name decides to trudge down the same path. Soul of the Forest gives a graceful nod to Slumberhouse’s Norne and Alkemia’s Ydalir. I have to say (grudgingly) that it’s very well done. As an introduction to prehistoric woodlands suffused with thick smells of resin, sap, pine and lumber, it will do. While Norne is dark from the hemlock and incense, and Ydalir is rugged from heavy handling of the birch, Soul is pretty, unoffensive and wearable. It is also very sweet from the maple sap and labdanum, so beware if you can’t take sweetness. As for me personally, this perfume is a well worn path and I’ll stick to the ones I already have and love .
001uin – :
The other reviews here are pretty spot on. This is really quite a nice scent, predominantly blackcurrant in the opening but with a pine-ish quality, drying down to a nice base of musks & woods. But unfortunately, the longevity and power are very poor, especially for a relatively expensive scent. I think it would have been nice to see more of the mossy, earthy notes, and less of the sweetness, but still this is a fairly well balanced fragrance.
perfect-m-tch – :
Opens with that unique piquant tang characteristic of black currant on a bed of pine, quickly drying down to a smokey cedar. A lovely scent but WOW is it weak. I wouldn’t change a thing about the composition, maybe give the woody base more fullness at most. But the concentration/longevity needs kicked up a few notches to be taken seriously, which is a pity because the scent is good. I would still use it as a splash if it were half the price. Also makes me wonder if scents like Enchanted Forest (Vagabond Prince) or Blackbird (Olympic Orchids) would scratch the same itch? Haven’t sampled those though…
DmitriyVereshagin – :
This is easily my favorite from Margiela, with a great fresh woods vibe and almost zero sweetness. Could have been a really nice alternative to French Lover for me, but the poor longevity and projection here are unforgivable (it’s not similar to FL but is in the same genre).
I want an extrait version!
update: I guess the longevity wasn’t unforgivable because I ended up purchasing a bottle anyways and love it! Still wish it lasted a bit longer, but longevity is a bit better than I first thought.
mihailov21 – :
Smells like the fir scented candles sold at Anthropologie. I love it!
The spices & wood have a similar vibe to Burberry London for Men, but this one is way more juicy due to the berry note.
The sillage is close to skin but the scent itself is potent. Just a whiff of it now and then is more than enough to make its presence.
The good stuff disappears in 2 hours but the sharp wood drydown is there all day.
Raikin25 – :
Ooh, i can already tell i am going to develop a long relationship with this frag. It’s got character! Just about everything i was going to say about it StellaDiverFlynn says more exactly so I’ll just refer you to his/her review.
Have only tried one other in the series, Across Sands, and while it was good, Soul of the Forest is much much better.
Тоханчес – :
This is an absolute gem IMO. Smoky and Sweet. I love the incense! One of my favorites along with Jubilation XXV, TF Ombré Leather, Arabian Oud Kalemat/Kalemat Black and Oud Saphir. Yes, I like Soul of the Forest that much.
I have no issues with longevity with Soul of the Forest. I easily get 10 hours plus.
korn12 – :
The opening of Soul of The Forest appears quite sweet and fruity on my skin. That said, the black currant doesn’t display any jammy or ammonia-like quality, but rather pertains a tart edge, and feels dry and balmy thanks to the balsam fir. Sprinkles of pimento whispers an earthy, green, fresh spiciness, which makes the fir-fruity accord more invigorating. The incense here is sparkling, clean pine-like, which makes a lovely companion alongside the balsam fir.
Soul of The Forest doesn’t have any dramatic change. Only the focus shifts from fruity cassis to balsam fir with time, and the fragrance remains a lightweight, occasionally green peppery, mildly sweet coniferous skin scent. The sillage is always close to the skin, and the longevity is around 7 hours.
On the one hand, Soul of The Forest is very smooth and enjoyable to my nose; on the other hand, it reminds me of a handful of fragrances inspired by conifer forests or featuring prominent conifer notes. Soul of The Forest is much more streamlined and more abstract in comparison, and somehow feels more like a clever construct of a few aromachemicals than imitating rich, complexe natural essences. This modern, simplistic approach is very much in line with the MMM brand, which makes Soul of The Forest a solid offering to those who enjoy abstract, transparent woody fruity fragrances, and a lovely gateway soft coniferous fragrance to those who are concerned about its possible masculine connotation.
VLADISLAV123MBB – :
has the spicy clove-resinous touch of fireplace, but with the sweetness turned down by a lot and everything else filled by a light herbal incense
it reminds me of a cross between fireplace and any of the new TF vert scents, but for anyone who doesn’t want to smell like an actual forest or is too shy to go all the way.
also poor silage (projects for like, 10 min?) and avg longevity around 5-6hrs; their EDTs outlast this by quite a bit.
a tad disappointing from margiela but not an awful scent at all.
iuq007intitytek – :
This one is nice, but it reminds me of a car deodorizer more than anything. The best way to describe it is a generic citrus with the scent of pine needles pushed to the front. It’s not unpleasant, it’s just that I’ve smelled it or something similar before probably 10+ times.
But, more concerning than the lack of imagination is the fact that this scent doesn’t last, even as a skin scent. I get probably an hour max from it, and then I need to decide if I want to reapply or switch to something else.
There’s no way this is an EDP…even Tom Ford and Jo Malone have better longevity and they wrote the book on crappy longevity.
Very disappointed. 2 down, 2 to go.
ShTT39 – :
I love three out of the four. This one is my favourite and it lasts forever on me. I don’t smell too much of the incense though. Mostly smell a balmy fir scent. Reminds me of my dads fragrance Pinot Silvestre, but modern.
Vobla M – :
Smells amazing, but that doesnt cover the fact that both sillage and longevity is very weak. Too bad, it’s a pretty scent.
My tip: save your money, it is’nt Worth the price imo.
ItambSaGImpom – :
Oh my – reading the notes of this one has me absolutely sick with longing, and Dancing on the Moon sounds almost as enticing. But anything from this designer that I’ve tried in the past, no matter how good it sounds on paper, has left me somehow unsatisfied; I wanted so much to love Promenade in the Gardens and several others and just couldn’t.
It will probably be quite a while before I’m able to get my nose on this new line of MMM, and that’s probably good – this way I’ll have time to steel myself for disappointment…