Kingston Ferry
Olympic Orchids

KINGSTON FERRY (2010)

Olympic Orchids tells us that Kingston Ferry is “an aromatic, aquatic, and woody fragrance inspired by the scents from land, beach, and water at a Pacific Northwest ferry dock.”

12 Notes: salt air, rhododendron, lavender, tarragon, chamomile, heather, cedar leaves, sea-weathered wood pilings, diesel fuel, madrone, seaweed, sun-dried driftwood, charred firewood.

Kingston Ferry begins with a sharp green herbal blast of tarragon and lavender, accompanied by the somewhat sour scent of drying paint. There is a minty note as well, accompanied by the sharp, clean, dry aroma of spikenard/tea tree oil.

It does not evoke for me anything resembling land, beach, water or docks, and I've had a good deal of exposure to that world over the years. KF does not strike me as a wearable scent, simply an interesting combination of oils that is more academic than useful.

It is not terrible, just odd, so I give it a neutral rating. Not good, not bad, simply not something I would want to smell like.

I don't like this one at all. Starts very salty, herbal and aromatic -- clearly a seaside scene. No florals that I can detect. Then, it takes on the smell of urine. Like some animal has peed on a scrubby mint bush. The mint note grows, as well as a toasted, nutty note, resulting in a sort of hay/chamomile chord. There is a metallic note lurking in the background. I scrubbed it off.

Opens with an anbesol/motor oil mix, then becomes a saltwater aquatic that takes a while to shake the ointment smell. And oddly, it does make me think of boats docked at the harbor, with the smell of gasoline, engines and seawater (minus the rank fish smell; a fresh, clear seawater, if you will). A bit of nice pine comes through.

Not wearable for me, but it was fun to sample!

An interesting take on woods from Olympic Orchids.

Off the bat, I smell pine, but with a sweet liquid feel to it. I know this is going to sound strange, but imagine if they made a pine-flavored Kool Aid - it would be sweet and fruity but with a weird green artificial pine quality to it. Oh, and did I say sweet? If you can picture that imaginary kool aid flavor mixed with the smell of one of those pine car fresheners, that's kind of how Kingston Ferry smells to me.

The important thing is that, despite my inability to describe it without resorting to descriptions that make it sound weird or unappealing, it actually smells really good. It's like nothing I've smelled before, and in a good way. The fruit-implying liquid sweetness plays really well against the piney fragrance oils - the balance is such that it never smells cheap and candied or like Pine Sol. I'm also amazed that a mostly natural fragrance can so perfectly combine the smells of nature with the artificially sweet comfort of synthetics.

The drydown is a little disappointing - as far as I can smell, the base is pretty much just opoponax essential oil. But I still give a hearty thumbs up and would suggest this for pine fans and people interested in clever woody scents.

Quite a few of the Olympic Orchids perfumes start off as if someone has opened the door of a cabinet of essential oils – this is no exception. The effect is a bit like Nico's harmonium, an all-encompassing but rather shapeless drone. However, out of the embrocation-like qualities of this offering there emerged for a brief burst a fully-fledged sandalwood accord (no, it's not in the notes), after which the fragrance hit its stride. Mainly a somewhat herby-resinous green ringed with sappy wildflowers, I cannot perceive an aquatic theme. Most seaweed (a listed note) I've smelled stank, and I'm glad this does not. Instead this is intriguing and fairly light. The deep drydown (about three hours in) is almost purely resinous and returns us to that essential oils cabinet; something of a disappointment.