Pineward Perfumes

[Paddington]

Testing Katabatic today.

To be honest, I’m mostly getting Close Up brand cinnamon toothpaste from it 🤔

would u rather brush ur teeth with this or Geranium Pour Monsieur

 

[Theholyfilament]

would u rather brush ur teeth with this or Geranium Pour Monsieur

Honestly probably Katabatic, but I am partial to spicier/cinnamony pastes myself

 

[PStoller]

FYI, I'm doing a week or two of Pineward sampling/reviewing in the What Did You Try Today? thread. I'll summarize back here when I'm done.

Well, that was some months ago. I think I didn't summarize them here because this is an appreciation thread, and it became clear to me during sampling that the Pineward DNA didn't mix well with mine. There's just too much syrup in most of these pine trees to please my gourmand-averse nose. However, I did ultimately swap a bottle of vintage Ralph Lauren Chaps for a bottle of Murkwood, and I see merit in some others even if they're not for me. So, I'll post my condensed version here, with the obvious caveat that I'm not inherently "the Pineward customer."

*

Apple Tabac: If you hunt for them, the tobacco leaf and fir are back there somewhere, but I’m not prepared to cut through an apple grove with a machete to get to them. Thumbs up for apple enthusiasts; for me, a hard pass.

Autumn Dusk (aka Autumnal): Starts with peppermint on top, but even without apple, the grains and leaves have a mulled cider aspect, thick and slightly sweet rather than anything aromatic (apart from the mint). Perhaps it would work better for me in its nominal season.

Bindebole: More what I was hoping for. The opening is softly camphorous, leading into a clean (but non-PineSol) pine, then finally receding to comfy greenery with just a bit of chlorophyllic sweetness. Would I drop $100/oz for it? I’d need another pass to decide, but we’re headed in the right direction.

Boreal: Another beautiful pine scent, characterized at the beginning by cool mint but drying down to warm, mossy goodness with some resinous sweetness. Downside: sillage and longevity, while respectable, are modest. And while these are some of the better pine-themed scents I've tried, it's not so thinly-populated a category that I couldn't pull a few out of my cabinet that compete well. Second arguable downside: the Pineward house style is shaping up to be lovely, but literal. These are things you think about at $200+ for 57ml.

Chandlery: This occupies a space between Opium and Shalimar: an old- or older-school oriental feminine that’s perfectly unisex by today’s standards. There’s a fair amount going on here, but it’s the clove, sandalwood, and Guerlainesque vanilla in the base that dominate. Maybe it’s nothing new, but it’s a welcome rejoinder to the “they don’t make them like that anymore” lament.

Christmas Wine: What distinguishes this, as was clearly intended, are the cranberry and plum. The effect is not to my taste—I keep wanting to run and wash wine stains out of my shirt—but it works well as described. Anyone wanting a mulled wine scent is likely to be quite happy with this one.

Cotswold: Thankfully, it doesn’t smell like chopped chives and Double Gloucester. OTOH, Dr. T. remarked, "you're wearing that burnt sugar thing again." Nicholas Nilsson seems bent on reinventing the pine tree as a gourmand treat. This aesthetic clearly has its fans, but I want more wood and less pudding.

Eldritch: Despite the warnings in the description, this is not a challenging perfume. It's a vintage leather variation on the Pineward house style, minus the "burnt sugar" accord that perhaps the perfumer thinks is what it takes to make his fragrances friendly. The myrrh, patchouli, and oakmoss are sweetness enough. This may be the most wearable Pineward I've yet tested, certainly close to it.

Fanghorn II: A somewhat camphorous opening leads to a less-sweet version of the house's signature accord. For me, the less "burnt sugar," the better, and this earthy fir concoction fits the bill. FB-worthy? Perhaps if I wear it only when Dr. T. is at work or out of town.

Icefall: There’s a grapefruit top note that’s more about astringency than fruitiness, and some uncredited menthol that might be an aspect of “maritime pine” (think well-traveled wooden sea vessels) mixed with juniper and seaweed. These are balanced with sandalwood, cedar, and a couple of types of cypress, so there’s a bit of warmth under the ice, without any of the gooey sweetness that’s soured me on some of the prior samples. I’m not suddenly sold on sporty blue frags, but Icefall is, however unintentionally, one of the most interesting exercises in or adjacent to that genre that I’ve tried. It’s worthy of more attention than it’s garnered in the BN directory.

Murkwood: Like Fanghorn, Murkwood seems to have emerged as a favorite on BN, and I can see why. (So can Dr. T.: this is the first Pineward to which she’s had an immediate positive response.) The balance of incense, wood, moss, and tea is just so, and performance is deceptively good. Rather than foreboding, I would find this scent an invitation into the heart of the forest—one I would readily accept.

Revelries: This has that Nordic holiday thing that perfumer Nicholas Nilsson clearly loves, and often evokes as literally as he can. I get it—heck, I'm almost sold with the rum, clove, and cinnamon. It's the apples and raisins steering it toward fruitcake that lose me.

Steading: Nilsson and I keep sounding the same one note: his "honeyed maple sweetness" by whatever name, and my aversion to it. As usual, it's too bad, because otherwise, Steading's combination of tobacco leaf and fir needles with "wisps of peat smoke" would be right up my alley.

Velvetine: The description of the cypress as "musky" is on point; that's not something I've noticed much in other Pineward samples, and it helps create that "dark sweater" vibe. It conjures memories of Habanita. Alas, my memories of Habanita are not happy ones.

Oxylus: The vetiver is prominent and the fragrance is virtually free of the sticky sweetness that, for me, mars much of the line. Instead, it's a dirty green fragrance that evokes the forest floor without being stuck to it. Like Fanghorn II and Murkwood, this is what I'd hoped to get from Pineward Perfumery. Nicely done.

*

I think there's a lost review of Treacle out there somewhere, but it's obvious from the name alone that it's not my kind of thing. Otherwise, them's all the ones I've tried. I don't see that I'll ever be a committed Pineward lover, but there might be more exceptions to my disaffection than those I've noted here.

 

[Martin__]

I'd say Nocturnis along with Murkwood present the darkest forms of conifer nature. On my skin Fanghorn II is a wee brighter. Both three are excellent -I have not tested Brokilan yet.

 

[bl00drunzcold]

Treacle is good but don’t feel I need it if I have Jeke. Ponderosa is really good. Hayloft is really good. Hayride is hay and raisins and I don’t want to smell like raisins.

 

[Dr B1414]

Treacle is good but don’t feel I need it if I have Jeke. Ponderosa is really good. Hayloft is really good. Hayride is hay and raisins and I don’t want to smell like raisins.

I really love the opening and the heart of Treacle. Especially the opening, boom, in your face. But the dry down is a bit boring and generic to me. On the fence with this one. Needs further testing.

 

[PrinceRF]

I'd say Nocturnis along with Murkwood present the darkest forms of conifer nature. On my skin Fanghorn II is a wee brighter. Both three are excellent -I have not tested Brokilan yet.

You'll like Brokilan. It's fantastic.

 

[Tonyprince]

I just got my bottle of Brokilan today. I had little 5ml before but that is long gone. Nick kindly sent along samples of four of the new and upcoming perfumes. They are all very interesting so I thought I'd post my initial thoughts on them.

Hayloft - You have to really like hay because there is a lot of it here and it's very realistic. I also caught something powdery and slightly sweet at points. I found this one more and more interesting as the day went on. (It also survived a shower.) Although the hay is the prominent note, this also really does smell like a perfume more than a place. I will definitely be trying this one again.

Hayride - Obviously a sibling to Hayloft, this one adds a much more gourmand touch to the hay. There is a very strong raisin note and something that smelled like apple (cider?) to me, even though when I looked back at the list of notes, there is no reference to it. I also didn't get any of the hot cocoa or vanilla that are listed. For some reason people were eating raisins and drinking apple cider on my hayride.

Katabatic - Okay, I may have been influenced by having read a comment about Close-Up toothpaste regarding this fragrance but I do get their point. I also get the camphor and an unlisted mint note that smells to me like spearmint. All of this taken together does get me more than a bit of a brushing my teeth with Close-Up and then rinsing with Scope vibe. I also get some kind of dirty wood note which is an odd juxtaposition with the medicinal oral care products association with cleanliness. It's one of his strangest perfumes so far. Edit: In the late dry down this has taken a turn and now smells like a marriage between Autumnal and Icefall.

Pastoral - A few years ago I played Martin in a production of "Edward Albee's The Goat," which is about an architect who falls in love with a goat he meets when stopping by a roadside fruit market in the fall. He has a long section where he describes this market and the fall fruits, especially the peaches. This smells exactly like what I imagine that fall roadside market smells like. What I got as peaches is apparently apricot. I also got something that smelled like pear but that isn't listed. I also got a bit of perhaps the same old wood note that's in Katabatic. (It might not be the same wood but it had a similar effect.) There's also something tart in here. Maybe bergamot? I'm not sure. If you want to smell like a roadside wooden fruit market in the fall, this is absolutely one you need to try! Edit: Somebody just arrived at the roadside market with some fruit pastries to sell.

Everything Nick does is so much fun to try, even the ones that are not for me personally. I'll be looking forward to reading the comments of others while deciding what my next full bottle from Pinewood will be. There are certainly plenty of options!

 

[Martin__]

You'll like Brokilan. It's fantastic.

I'd have to order it directly from Pineward...

 

[Scent Detective]

You'll like Brokilan. It's fantastic.

Wearing this beauty today...it is fantastic. I get the most realistic pine nut note from Brokilan...more so than I do from any other conifer centric fragrance...and of course than any non-conifer centric fragrance as well.

 

[Martin__]

I think I’m getting Brokilän in 1 or 2 months. Too bad, that Lulua don’t have it, I will have to order it directly from Pineward website.

 

[Martin__]

In my rotation I am returning to my fall and winter staples. I've got first batches releases (if not the first batches, then original, unchanged formulas for sure).

So, in general I can say that both Treacle and Steading grow in the bottle. Mature very well, getting older and bolder.
Treacle ( I wore it yesterday) has less sweetness - all the resins and honey, vanilla, etc. are still there, but they went down a little bit. Definitely lapsang souchong in the opening and then tobacco in the heart and base are much more prominent.
Steading still has prominent maple (its signature, of course), but the second note I found very much up there on front is tobacco. Very, strong, thick, dried tobacco. Unsmoked.
Generally I own two Treacle bottles from previous batch and only one Steading in its original formula. I regret I didn't buy more Steading. Curious (even super curious) about new Steading, possibly also about new Treacle. I am hearing Steading has changed significantly (or even was tweaked, let's say), Treacle not that much.

 

[Castingshadows]

Wait..was Treacle reformulated?

 

[bl00drunzcold]

Wait..was Treacle reformulated?

No idea, I only know the sample I just got from the Autumn sampler

 

[Martin__]

Wait..was Treacle reformulated?

No idea. I'm referring to my bottles that I bought in 1st Q of 2022. However probably "Nick has not made any significant or noteworthy changes to the Treacle formula." Please don't quote me on that though.

 

[Dr B1414]

Steading in its original formula. I regret I didn't buy more Steading.

Ecuacion in Spain still has stock of the original one.
I love it. I think it's a very unique tobacco perfume.

 

[Martin__]

Ecuacion in Spain still has stock of the original one.
I love it. I think it's a very unique tobacco perfume.

Yes, Steading to me is also all about tobacco in a very unique way.

 

[Martin__]

Glad you finally got those, man! I think you told me a while ago that they were held up in customs, yeah? I hope you enjoy Funerie! Like I said, that one, to me, is seriously challenging (WAY more than Eldritch, which I love). I'm not sure I can pull it off, but for the imagery and concept he was going for, boy, did he nail it. Seriously moody, dank, musty stuff, that one. I'm fascinated by it, I just can't wear it.

Yeah, it didn't take long and soon I got my bottle. Eventually, to me, Funerie is also way more challenging than Eldritch. Bold leather with some tobacco and mushroom floor. What is interesting to me here, is the addition of morel mushroom. It makes it even stranger, bolder (in a way) and not approachable at all in any way, shape or form.

 

[Martin__]

SOTD: Pineward Treacle

Not only this is my favourite tobacco based perfume of all time, it is slowly growing to become my favourite tea based fragrance. I absolutely love the note of tea on perfumes. Here we have Lapsang Souchong, quite a specific type of tea, yes, but the familiar soothing and calming effects that tea scents give me is also present here. Outstanding. Love it so much, it's the only Pineward of which I've got a backup bottle.

 

[Martin__]

I’ve spent quite a lot of time with all three new late summer/fall releases I wanted to pick my nose on.

Funerie. This one - as I previously mentioned, I find being the most challenging out of everything Nick has ever created. That morel mushroom note is weird, yet fits to the rest of the composition smelling like something mold-like. Leather is bold, thick and black (to me), decayed rose makes it being quite close to nature. And tobacco gives it some extra smoke.

Nocturnis. Quite vintage vibe to it, like a tribute to good old Ralph Lauren Polo. It’s got a lot of oakmoss taken from Polo, I think, all together mixed with a pinch of tobacco and old familiar Fanghorn notes.

Ponderosa. My least favourite, being quite honest, but it doesn’t mean this is being a bad fragrance in any way, shape or form. Cozy, sapppy, resinous, warm, woody, a little balmy too.

Next summer I might reach out to those summer fragrance, if they are available of course.

 

[Scent Detective]

I’ve spent quite a lot of time with all three new late summer/fall releases I wanted to pick my nose on.

Funerie. This one - as I previously mentioned, I find being the most challenging out of everything Nick has ever created. That morel mushroom note is weird, yet fits to the rest of the composition smelling like something mold-like. Leather is bold, thick and black (to me), decayed rose makes it being quite close to nature. And tobacco gives it some extra smoke.

Nocturnis. Quite vintage vibe to it, like a tribute to good old Ralph Lauren Polo. It’s got a lot of oakmoss taken from Polo, I think, all together mixed with a pinch of tobacco and old familiar Fanghorn notes.

Ponderosa. My least favourite, being quite honest, but it doesn’t mean this is being a bad fragrance in any way, shape or form. Cozy, sapppy, resinous, warm, woody, a little balmy too.

Next summer I might reach out to those summer fragrance, if they are available of course.

The "fall" releases that just came out in September were Ponderosa, Pastoral, and Nocturnis.

Funerie was a "summer" release in July along with Alfiryn and Gristmill, so there were actually six late summer/fall releases.

 

[Martin__]

Okay, fair enough, thanks for pointing that out, @Scent Detective .

I just wanted to mention, that Funerie is an absolute killer in terms of longevity and projection. You have to be careful not to overspray it. All in all I am perceiving it as a leathe-tobacco-mold scent. Provocative and challenging. Way more than Eldritch is, IMO.

 

[Martin__]

I'm probably not wearing my conifer Pinewards as much as I should, I'm constantly afraid of loosing the juice, so that I would have to make backups, eventhough both of my bottles, Fanghorn II and Murkwood are pretty much full. Anyways...
To me and on my skin Murkwood is one of the darkest interpretations of the evil, sinister forest (much darker and thicker than N...e from S..........e). It's a bit like a herbacious, pine based cough syrup at times, that thick. Smoky! Absolutely unique. Also, totally different than that N from S mentioned before. Very long lasting, but because of its thickness, its projection is very minimal on my skin. To me it's being a synonime of really dark, dangerous forest hiding scary and dangerous mysteries inside...
I know many people got different experience, but to me Fanghorn II is an epitome of brighter forest on a sunny day. I think it's being less herbaceous, I don't find it being smoky, barely at all. Unique, yes, but resembles N a bit (at least to me). And also much thinner on my skin than Murkwood is (somehow).
I know I am buying Brokilan, so might update this conifer mini-review thread one day.

 

[Swoleiosis]

Really looking forward to my sample set! I hope to find my next favorite fall and winter scents.

 

[Swoleiosis]

There are so many, I'd better do two a day or it'll be spring by the time i give each their deserved attention.
going through them in order of interest. This first one is amazing:

 

[Martin__]

There are so many, I'd better do two a day or it'll be spring by the time i give each their deserved attention.
going through them in order of interest. This first one is amazing:
View attachment 305242

Ponderosa is great! Not my favourite type of a scent, but does its job. You might want to check how the Cotswold smells like, because it's also around and about ponderosa theme.

 

[Martin__]

I've just discovered how Murkwood has grown since I own it - it actually grown into really dark, quite smoky conifer. Like an evil version of Fanghorn and without moss. This seems to be a vision of a dark, broody, mysterious and evil forest. I love it!

 

[IsoESuperman]

Sample set of some newish ones arrived today, Katabatic and the two Hays. Only cursory sniffing on paper strips so far but Hayloft is the stand out for me. I’m getting major Body Kouros vibes from it, which is totally unexpected and wonderful.

Also came with either a prototype or future release called White Fir. This one I’m wearing on skin. No idea about listed notes but the opening was a major blast of nostalgia.

When I was in middle school I used to house these Halls Vitamin C lozenges. They were more like a citrusy breath freshener/candy than cough drop but I loved them. No idea if they still make them but the opening of White Fir was a citrus-heavy, slightly menthol-y, terpenic blast. Very much like those Halls (specifically the pink grapefruit one).

As it dries down that part fades into the background and what’s left is a more typical Pineward conifer base, like in Boreal and Oxylus - but still it’s own thing. Gets quiet fairly quickly like those too do, maybe some of the conifer extractions are as toppy as they are terpy.

Good stuff!

 

[Scent Detective]

Sample set of some newish ones arrived today, Katabatic and the two Hays. Only cursory sniffing on paper strips so far but Hayloft is the stand out for me. I’m getting major Body Kouros vibes from it, which is totally unexpected and wonderful.

Also came with either a prototype or future release called White Fir. This one I’m wearing on skin. No idea about listed notes but the opening was a major blast of nostalgia.

When I was in middle school I used to house these Halls Vitamin C lozenges. They were more like a citrusy breath freshener/candy than cough drop but I loved them. No idea if they still make them but the opening of White Fir was a citrus-heavy, slightly menthol-y, terpenic blast. Very much like those Halls (specifically the pink grapefruit one).

As it dries down that part fades into the background and what’s left is a more typical Pineward conifer base, like in Boreal and Oxylus - but still it’s own thing. Gets quiet fairly quickly like those too do, maybe some of the conifer extractions are as toppy as they are terpy.

Good stuff!

Also got a sample of each of these and White Fir is the standout for me.

Love the orange in my Christmas stocking under the tree vibe it’s giving to me! Awesome! And, FB worthy for moi.😎

 

[Martin__]

Speaking of lapsang souchong in perfumes - I freakin' love this note! I'm wearing L'Artisan Parfumeur Tea For Two, it is smoky. But, I have come to the conclusion it isn't the best in the "smoky tea" genre I know and own. The best one would DEFINITELY be Pineward Treacle!

 

[chypressa]

I have one hand labeled Pineward sample that I cannot find a mention of anywhere. It's called Burnstrom. Was it renamed, scrapped maybe? It's a really lovely springtime honey scent.

 

[Martin__]

My guess is it’s one of the (many, as I’m assuming) prototypes.

 

[Martin__]

I just wanted to share my opinions, as I am heavy Pineward user. I own like 7 bottles as of now (6 scents though, I've got a backup bottle of Treacle).

I find Pineward Perfumes to be unique and exceptional. The ones that stand out the most IMO are: Steading (unique combination of maple, barley, hay spiced with tobacco), Treacle (one of the best, if not the best tobacco I've smelled in a decade, no joke), Murkwood (smoky, very smoky green resinous fragrance with forest vibes, very dark at the same time) and last, but definitely not least two heavyweight of Nick's creations: Eldritch (leather with oolong tea and conifers, dark, hard to wear and quite inaccessible to the crowd) and Funerie (seems to be another leather-ish scent, but hell no! It's a very unique leather with funky mushroom vibes and some tobacco smoke in the deep drydown, also that decayed rose giving organic depth. Even darker and more inaccesible than Eldritch is - to me).

 

[ehou333]

Has any one else noticed significant "batch" variations in those besides those listed e.g. Fanghorn II? I have three versions of Revelries: a hand labelled one that is chocolate-y and resinous that I would love to get a full bottle of, but I'm guessing got change before the final cut, an official one that is more "fruit forward" and spiced / sour, and the new spray version that is even more sour and more almost medicinal in its spices. I also have noticed multiple version of brindebole and brokilan, but the variations are slight in those.

 

[Martin__]

Treacle is good but don’t feel I need it if I have Jeke. (…)

To each his/her own. IMO Treacle is better. I had a bottle of older Jeke and swapped it for Sova. Compared with Treacle all pre-2022 Jeke versions (including flask) seem to be too linear for my liking. At least on my skin.

 

[eigenstench]

Has any one else noticed significant "batch" variations in those besides those listed e.g. Fanghorn II? I have three versions of Revelries: a hand labelled one that is chocolate-y and resinous that I would love to get a full bottle of, but I'm guessing got change before the final cut, an official one that is more "fruit forward" and spiced / sour, and the new spray version that is even more sour and more almost medicinal in its spices. I also have noticed multiple version of brindebole and brokilan, but the variations are slight in those.

Yes, in both cases I went from sample to FB and was a bit confused. It was Bindebole and Gluhwein for me. I'm now tempted to get a dram of this year's Gluhwein to see if it's closer to the original version I smelled.

 

[Martin__]

Has any one else noticed significant "batch" variations in those besides those listed e.g. Fanghorn II? I have three versions of Revelries: a hand labelled one that is chocolate-y and resinous that I would love to get a full bottle of, but I'm guessing got change before the final cut, an official one that is more "fruit forward" and spiced / sour, and the new spray version that is even more sour and more almost medicinal in its spices. I also have noticed multiple version of brindebole and brokilan, but the variations are slight in those.

I own quite an old sample of Revelries, and it is definitely spicy, fruity more than chocolate-y and resinous. Interesting.

 

[Dr B1414]

My bottle of Ponderosa arrived yesterday and I'm wearing it today. Such a satisfying perfume. I can't really find anything off with this composition. Everything clicks. And I'm by no means a conehead. I think this could easily be a signature scent for people who enjoy the scent profile.

 

[Dr B1414]

Also sprayed some Pastoral on the blotter, first time trying it and I've been really curious about it. Love it as well, it reminds me of something like old Kiste but with some forest fruits thrown in the mix, more so than peach, and not quite as syrupy. Another one that has full bottle potential. These releases are getting better and better. I wasn't a fan of the house at first, but they sure grew on me. I seem to vibe more with the ones that deviate from the heavy pine DNA of the house, so far I own Treacle, Steading, Gluhwein, and Ponderosa. These are also nuclear like 1 or 2 prays and your neighbors will ask you to chill the hell out with them spritzes. I'll need to sample the hay ones as well.

 

[Scent Detective]

Have a bottle of Gluhwein on the way. Love this one and happy to have a bigger bottle in the collection!