Blackbird
Olympic Orchids (2013)

It's more blackberry preserves than fresh fruit to me–sweet and syrupy, with a tamed tart bite. But what could be a garish and cloying berry outfit is set against some woody notes and a hint of evergreen, turning it into more of a flannel plaid. It has a mentholated, effervescent quality that makes it feel fresh and outdoorsy.

But, I wish I could triple the fir and cedar in this. They are just the background, and the berry remains the star throughout. Though unique, Blackbird ultimately feels a bit too docile, too sweet and one-dimensional. It's a nice fragrance, but I want more from it.

This comes out of the gates crashing, a strong initial blast of raspberry. This isn't subdued raspberry by any means: it's aggressive, punctuated by a deep woody backdrop. The blackberry smell, while pleasant, does seem to overtake everything else. I'm getting very brief notes of leaves and florals but it's hard to sort anything out past that strong overripe bitter-fruity scent. It's encompassing, and creates a very straightforward experience.

This goes from incredible projection for the first hour to something much more subdued during hours 2-5. Unfortunately, I'm still not picking up much else during the drydown either. It doesn't have as much longevity as others that I've tried from the Olympic Orchids brand.

6/10

Wow, this stuff is delicious! Opens up with mostly blackberry, with a slight dark and wet cedar undertone. Quickly that fades and it becomes a dominant blackberry note that just lasts and lasts and lasts. Projection is not the best though.

Going by the price per ml, it turns out to be pretty expensive. It's sort of on the style with Jubilation XXV, but not as much depth. Very homemade smelling, and very cozy.

BLACKBIRD (2013) – Olympic Orchids

According to the Olympic Orchids blurb, “This fragrance celebrates the dry season and the warm, peaceful days of summer in the Pacific Northwest, …
The powerful scent of tawny dry grass, fir and cedar trees baking in the sun, releasing their sharp, incense-like resins, and juicy ripe blackberries with their jammy, musky sweetness…a juxtaposition of dry ambery-woody notes with just a touch of juicy fruit.”

Blackbird was a finalist for the 2014 Art and Olfaction Awards.

Released 2013. Notes 8: Himalayan blackberry fruit, dry grass and leaves, elemi, cedar wood and resin, woody-amber accord, fir balsam absolute, musk.

My first impression is that of yet another Angel flanker. The berry note comes on strong, as does an acrid oud-like note that is off-putting. The resins and woods are harsh, not warm and inviting. Happily, they fade to the background pretty quickly and one is left with a rich, jammy, blackberry gourmand that remains pretty constantly dead center.

An unusual combination of scents, since picking blackberries in conifer forests is not a past time common to most people. I am not a big fan of gourmand scents, as I believe that food belongs on the table, not smeared over one's body, but I must admit the quality of the oils used by Olympic Orchids has been consistently high, and this is no exception, being a strong rendition of the given note combination.

It is the bitter, acrid supporting note that makes this unpleasant for me, so I can only give it a neutral rating.

Wow...I loved this one! It is very blackberry centric, especially in the opening. And, as Odysseusm said in his review, the blackberry does stay quite prominent through the wear...but it didn't ruin any of the enjoyment for me. In fact, I loved the sweet aspect of the blackberry fruit. But, the real winner for me was when the coniferous fir and the resins started to ramp up. Oh, man was it amazing! I absolutely loved it and couldn't quit smelling my wrist. This one is definitely bottle worthy in my opinion. It is different, but in a very good way. I want more than a sample now! Longevity was about 8 hours on me, and sillage about 5.5 or 6 hours. A brilliant fragrance!

The concept is straightforward: picking blackberries in a cool, dark forest. The scent achieves exactly that: the berry notes are very jammy and rich; and the forest notes are resinous, coniferous, and grassy. Each component is exactly what it should be, and the notes are accurate and evocative. I admire a scent which delivers what it promises.
However, do I like this combination? No. In my opinion, the fruity note dominates, to the detriment of the forest notes. The fruit is foreground, the forest is background. I would prefer the reverse. The fruit note lingers well into the dry-down. I wish it would clear away, because those forest notes are quite good. Those are in the Slumberhouse or O'Driu style.
Assessing this sort of scent really depends on how much you like the combination, or at least a rich berry note.