Solstice
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

Unconventional. Pleasing. A sweet breath of the weedy Southwest. This is not like anything you will smell at a fragrance counter. It's natural. The use of resins here is the real story. Not very apparent when first applied, but when the nose has time to settle in and get the nuances, you will get green grass, pine needle in the middle of white clouds of chalky sweet peppermint and the inference is one of 'cool' temperature in the scent. It has medicinal tones in it. So, the whole motif given by PAA's website description of ritual/ceremonial scent tones is fairly accurate for me here.

This is not just some silly scent. It is, for lack of a better description...."niche" but also pleasing. If this were bottled and sold by Clive Christian or Creed or Armani Prive, etc, I think it would get seriously good reviews, especially because nothing else on the counters smells like it......But.....it's from a small, wet-shaving company with sci-fi comicbook art......and, frankly, this originality is refreshing. For a brand that clearly is having fun and not trying to take itself too seriously, they have, IMO, some serious fragrances worth your attention.

I suggest allowing this brand to be what it is and that you like it for what it is. I have made a mistake in my own head of trying to put PAA in a box of a stuffy classic perfume brand that should have serious bottles and puffed chests of elegance. But that betrays the brand and its true charm. Instead of crystal chandeliers and tuxedos, it's some mustached, salt of the Earth, comical personality with a big imagination and every-man look who has a nose much more talented than anyone would assume. He's also got a fragrance savvy but more reserved partner who contributes some solid scents of her own.

Solstice is an underrated scent. Sweet, rich, potent with a heart of ancient ritualistic magic.