Redwood

[jj_j]

This is the dry, dusty note we've wondered about in Seance, I think.

 

It's beautiful on its own, and it really smells like an old, fallen tree, half-buried in moss in the depths of a forest. It's a little musty and earthy, but almost dusty, because not much rain makes it to the bottom of a redwood forest.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

I actually ordered this one from the Lab right before the single notes were discontinued because I love a good earthy/woodsy/tree-smelling kind of scent.

 

My impressions:

 

Oh my...this is so perfect for me! I went to college at The University of California Santa Cruz, which is smack dab in the middle of a redwood forest and this is what I smelled every day walking to class. This makes me horribly homesick and so happy I could cry at the same time. JJ's right, this is the scent of a fallen redwood tree that's slowing becoming a part of the earth. I know this scent wouldn't be right for everyone, but for me this is the scent of what I'll always consider my true home. I'm treasuring this little bottle for as long as I can make it last.

[hypothermya]

Redwood: Single Note

 

A while ago, I was walking past a redwood tree and realized that I adore the scent of them. The smell of wet redwood and earth is absolutely wonderful, and, as far as wood scents go, it might actually be more beautiful smelling to me than cedar. And, like Penance, I've spent a lot of time wandering at UC Santa Cruz and other coastal California redwood groves. The most comfortable place in the world is curled up center of a hollowed redwood, nestled near the roots.

 

So I searched the lab high and low for a scent that might have redwood in it. And to my surprise there were none that listed it as an ingredient, but there was actually a single note offered. Which is why I got it.

 

Initial Impression

 

Smells dry and dusty. Most redwood forests require lots of mist and water in order to grow, as well as plenty of protection from the sunlight, so I've naturally never smelled much dry redwood. But this is it. Those few times where the bark has been dry and in my presence, it has smelled just like this.

 

Wearing It

 

I wonder whether or not this was also used in Tombstone, in addition to the cedar? There's a certain scent that the two share, almost a bitter dryness. In any case, when this hits my skin it becomes more wet smelling, and aquires a moist, flexible wood scent. It has that acidic smell to it that all of the redwood bark has. And it looses that earthy scent. I imagine that if I wanted the full experience of laying in the center of a redwood tree, I should try mixing this with some vetiver single note. However, I can't fault this scent at all for not fully capturing that scene for me -- after all, it has instead isolated the redwood tree and drawn that part of my memories out. There's almost a slight sweetness to this scent on my skin (which turns everything sweet, if it can help it). I really do love this scent. It perfectly captures the wood of a redwood tree. The scent of the leaves and earth isn't present, but pure unadulterated redwood.

[Theravada]

I've recently developed a fierce love for Beth's wood notes and blends, so I was eager to snag an imp of this.

 

This is really wonderful! Smooth, deep, languid wood with a slight hint of mosses and dry leaves. I'm also curious about what blends may have this as a note. The first thing that popped into my head when I opened this imp was, "Ah, Intrigue!".

[Shollin]

First sniff: Oh my goodness. I was expecting pencil shavings, based on a comment elsewhere, but this… this is a tree. A soaring, ancient tree, bark and leaves and even a bit of the soil around its roots. I’m blown away. I don’t know yet whether I want to smell like a tree, but I could see using this in an oil warmer to turn my apartment into the Muir Wood.

 

Wearing: This is one of those scents that you can taste as you smell, and it tastes like the woods. My skin generally doesn’t get along too well with wood scents… BUT redwood is different. It’s not at all sharp, like cedar and white sandalwood get on me… it’s not aggressively cold, like pine and juniper… but it’s not warm and soft either, like red sandalwood and whatever kind of pine it is that works on me (the one in Golden Priapus). It’s an entirely different beast, and it’s thoroughly wonderful. I CAN smell like a tree and be quite happy about it.

[cupide430]

Redwood

 

This is a flat, sort of plasticky wood note with a hint of old lipstick smell behind me. Maybe I have weird skin chemistry tonight because everything I tried didn't work on me. This is mostly plastic and old lipstick with just a hint of cedar.

[Ryvre]

In the imp: A dry wood

 

On: This is a dry, dusty wood. My grandfather does a lot of woodworking, and this smells like his wood shop when the saws have been on all day.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: salty, wet wood.

on: drier, more like old furniture. nice.

1 hour later: warm, dry wood. that salty note that i get from a lot of wood scents is gone. yay!

3.5 hours later: soft, dry wood, with a bit of sweetness to it.

5 hours later: barely there. like the smell of an old wooden drawer.

overall: this was much nicer on me than i expected, but i can't see myself wearing it.

[Blood onmy hands]

I wish that I had gotten the mossy-earthy tree smell that others have gotten from the Redwood singlenote . On me, this is pencil shavings and waxy-sweet chapstick. It makes me think of the inside of my school desks when I was younger.

 

In the drydown, this reminds me of the wooded drydown that I got from Carceri d'Invenzione. A dry, masculine, true woods smell. And, like Carceri d'Invenzione, this singlenote works out much better on my boy's skin than mine.

[ND¢]

I was lucky to get a generous imp-and-a-half of this, my most coveted single note. Yup, a real redwood tree, enormous and still in the sun. No green scent, just pure redwood, crisp and gentle and comforting. There is a hint of earth that comes out after it's been on a while, and the next morning it's faded to a sweet ghost of itself. I wish I could make that little vial last forever.

[sarada]

I can't believe I never reviewed this...I've had an imp of Redwood for ages and guard it with my life! I open the vial to sniff it for comfort, really. Fortunately, this note is so strong in Carceri D'Invenzione, that having a bottle of that is almost like having a bottle of this! A light, pulpy white wood, very natural and fresh smelling. When I'm walking in the woods I go up to trees and press my nose against the bark -- or if some bark is stripped away I try to smell the white wood pulp, I'm that crazy for tree scents.

 

Yes, it's also a little like pencil shavings and a little mossy. Dry and dusty, but not in a musty, forgotten corner of the attic sort of way. More like fresh wood dust falling on a forest floor.

 

If you want to bottle the scent of the woods, this is it -- the "light brown" part of the woods, as opposed to the green part. But definitely try Carceri if you want to get an idea of Redwood!

[wikkidraven]

dry, and dusty. like closing your eyes in a clearing of trees and taking a deep breath.

[emzebel]

Wow...this is such a warm, woody scent...completely evocative of standing in a redwood forest.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant bought off LJ

 

Initial Thoughts: Once I get beyond pines and firs, cedar and sandalwood, I really can't tell one tree from another by smell alone. So I thought I'd try this one when it became available.

 

In the Vial: Smells like a tree. Seriously, it's an interesting combination...I get a dry note, something dusty and arid and kind of like sawdust, but there's also a rich undertone that is very smooth and kind of cedar-y. I think it captures a just-cut-from-the-trunk scent.

 

Wet: The dry note is the winner, but it's not sawdust-y anymore. It's somehow both dry and smooth, something I wouldn't have thought possible.

 

Drydown: Hmm, this one is a fader on me. I have to work to find the scent after about fifteen minutes.

 

Verdict: It's a beautiful wood note. I'm glad I got the chance to try it and I think it would blend beautifully with other notes. I'll be on the lookout when Beth lists redwood as a note in future perfumes.

[zankoku_zen]

Redwood smells like a tree. Like a dusty tree bark. Dry, slightly warm (probably from the sun), woody. It's one of those trees that is so big, and old, but when you put your arms around it, you know that it's alive. Despite the age, and the dust, and the weather, and the fact that it might not be pretty. It's there.