Black Forest

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is the captured scent of a cold, moonless night, lost deep within the darkest wood. Haunting and desolate, this scent evokes images of fairy tale tragedy and half-remembered nightmares. Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress.

Every time I smell this all I can think about is the 90's TV series Twin Peaks...I can hear the musical score and see the super dramatic slow mo nighttime shots of wind whipping through the evergreen trees. I grew up in the Northwest, so pine smells don't instantly make me think of Christmas. And besides, this is most certainly a dark and mysterious forest (it has seeecrets! lol) I'm definitely keeping this. I love pine scents and this is an incredibly evocative one for me.

[liquidtrance]

Imp sniff: Wow. Fresh and clean! Not at all BLACK.

Skin test: Ooooh, the juniper/pine here makes this delectable. I sort of feel like a christmas wreath (not a tree, mind you!), but mmm. There's something that's making this chemically sharp for a bit, but I'm hoping that will fade off. The musk really starts to mellow this out as it dries. The woods also come back to the fore as this dries. Fortunately this never goes to pine-sol or cleaner on me. Really fresh.

After a couple hours this is supremely less pine/juniper, and much more musky.

Still, surprisingly great.

[tajana]

I wanted to get this because I love the way a forest smells, but haven't found the perfect foresty BPAL yet. Black Forest isn't the whole package, but it's quite nice for a while. Natural pine needles, sweet juniper, and woody cypress, in that order. It gets sweeter, muskier, and softer as it dries. It doesn't take long for the dark evergreen goodness to disappear in a cloud of slightly sweet powder with a slightly sour edge. Black Forest is probably drying to powdery doom on me because of the ambergris and black musk combo: don't have much experience wearing the former, but the latter occasionally turns on me. There isn't much more to say about it. I definitely prefer Thanatopsis for a good earthy pine/juniper perfume.

[rfredri2]

Wet, I'm almost afraid this will give me a headache. It seems very sharp at first. Once I put it on, though, all the notes blend together really well. It ends up a cool, sweet, woodsy and sort of salty pine. It's strangely addictive and I always end up sneaking sniffs of my wrists when I'm wearing it. This one stands out in my collection: nothing else seems quite like it to me.

 

[March]

I COVETED this scent. It would be Loup Garou mixed with Czernobog or Iago or Haunted!

 

However, now that I'm actually wearing it, my nose is not convinced. The light, bright, foresty scents have a completely different 'smell-texture' than the velvety musk and ambergris, and while it *smells* divine, it just feels strange in my nose.

 

Oddly, Thanatopsis works fine for me, so it's probably the ambergris that makes this scent feel like breating deeply the invigorating scent of a pine forest when suddenly someone throws a handful of powdered milk in my face.

 

I'll definitely revisit this scent, because I'm hoping that this is just an off nose-day.

 

[sarajane]

Oh, I love pine. This is beautiful. I probably won't wear it as perfume, but will probably use it as a room scent or to scent bathwater.

[jizatt]

I tried this because of my obsession with ambergris, and I'll admit I was nervous about the pine. When I first put it on, it was PINE and I thought *crap* because I don't want to smell like cleaner. But after it settles, it has the same quality as the pine in Illustrated Woman...

 

It smells like forest, not air freshener, and the ambergris gives it the smooth, ... almost chewy?.... feeling that is hard to describe. I am surprised to say that I like this and think I will keep it in my little box of scents =) It seems like a winter scent to me.

 

[devilot]

Black Forest

 

Pine. Ugh. That's already too much. And the juniper and cypress are "piney" to my unsophisticated nose. And I really dislike blends w/ piney scents. Pass!!!

[kunoichi]

From the vial, this is a cool, high and somewhat syrupy scent, and rather hard to describe. On my skin, however, the pine comes out to play from amongst the syrup as the scent warms, before it fades and the scent becomes rounded with musk. After a few hours, the musk becomes much more subtle, with an ever so slight tartness behind it all.

 

After the pine scent fades, it reminds me a lot of Morocco.

[Seismogenic]

I tend to be a fan of scents that represent landscapes and forests in general, so I couldn't not try Black Forest at some point. It'd been sitting on my wishlist for a while when Lizard Queen sent me an imp as part of a summer Switch Witch package. Many thanks!

 

In the imp: Mostly pine, though I can also detect a bit of the cypress and juniper. Something also makes this slightly sweeter, though I'm not sure exactly what.

 

Wet on skin: Still mostly pine, with cypress edging out juniper for second place in terms of evergreens. The thing that's smoothing everything else is becoming more distinct as ambergris.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, all of the evergreens have softened, though the levels of the three relative to each other haven't changed much. The ambergris is a bit stronger, and still sweetens and smoothes the trees out. I think I might be catching some whiffs of musk back there, though it's subtle. At one hour in, the musk is more noticeable, though it hasn't bumped anything else out of place. It blends smoothly with the ambergris, providing a dark and somewhat sweet backdrop for a primarily pine sort of evergreenness.

 

Five hours later: Still quite evident, though the balance has shifted from the tree notes toward the musk. It's mostly a soft musk, with just a little hint of pine left, and perhaps even less ambergris.

 

End of the day: There's definitely still musk left. Everything else is gone.

 

Overall: This is very very nice. On my skin, it's a close relative of things like The Jersey Devil and Thanatopsis, both of which I like very much. Something about Black Forest is more fantastical and less grounded of a landscape than the other two, though. I can't put a finger on why that is, but it definitely strikes me as the kind of landscape that might be in a fairy tale, with extra-tall trees and huge wide spaces between them, but somehow still managing to be overall dark and misty. This doesn't strike me as an evil forest, though, but certainly the kind of place where unexpected things could happen. I definitely enjoyed this one, and will be gladly holding on to the imp.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Dish washing liquid and pine. i.e. pinesol. Love the smell of pine, but this smells too chemically. But my skin chemistry does like pine, so will try it...

 

Wet: Smells like a dark forest! It's a deep cold clear scent. There's pine, a bit of dirt, and very lightly in the background a bit of sweet berries. Yet, there's a cold dark feeling.

 

Dry: This doesn't morph much on me. Doesn't end up smelling like chemicals. I don't get pine-sol from this when it's on my skin. And the dirt note fades away pretty quickly. Reminds me of nocnitsa, another, I guess, 'adult' forest scent. Snow Bunny and Snow Maiden are girly and this and Nocnitsa are grown up versions of the 2. Yet this doesn't have a lingering ammonia smell to it as it dries down. Love it!!

 

Overall: This is a good year round Yule scent. This is snow moon, snow maiden, snow bunny, etc...without the snow. Still have a cold feel, probably from the pine, but not a typical cold snow scent. Will definitely keep the imp!

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: slightly sweet, lemony evergreen, but not heavily evergreen

 

Wet on Skin: a soft evergreen, maybe a bit of berry (juniper? Bayberry?); so far, I am liking it! I love Hemlock, but some of my friends are not huge fans of the aggressive pine - Black Forest will probably easier for *others* to enjoy on me

 

While Drying: faintly lemony, still a more subtle evergreen than Hemlock, and an additional note (winter berry of some sort); The Boy says it changes from deep in the forest to a meadow smell

 

After a Little While: less powerful than Hemlock; I get more of the berry note on wrists, hemlock notes in elbows

 

Later: something very slightly Off (sour, BO-ish) and the rest is fading quickly… I prefer Hemlock

 

Final Thoughts: This one had great potential until it hit the final stages - still a lovely foresty scent.

Black Forest earns a 4.5/5 until it hits the final stages, bringing it down to a 4/5

[jamethiel]

In the bottle: Pine and juniper.

 

...

 

Look, I could write an incredibly repetitive review about how this was pine and juniper all the way. Three hours strong and it's still pine and juniper. It smells almost exactly like a disinfectant we have, called pine o'cleen.

 

It's not BAD, I just don't want to smell like disinfectant. I shall put it in my "Swap" pile"

[hkhm]

imp: mostly juniper with something dark and creamy behind it.

 

wet: juniper and cypress. period. it's nearly a pine single note. where is my beloved black musk? darn.

 

dry: still just pine. and i had such high hopes for the black musk. at least i'm fond of pine scents.

[voorishsign]

A very nice, woodsy scent. I don't care much for the lighter pine scents which always wind up smelling like air fresheners on me; this is an authentic, gorgeous pine, darkened by the musk and smoothened out by the ambergris. The juniper and cypress - two of my favourite notes - are just icing on the cake.

 

A very soothing, enveloping smell, unisex and very suitable for anyone who loves to smell fresh and intriguing without smelling perfumey.

[Schmoozy]

Perhaps one of my most favorite wood blends ever. This is pine, juniper and cypress sweetened with amber and a touch of musk. It is crisp, cold and strangely scray. For some reasons I always get shivers when I apply black it.

Black forest holds strong scent memories for me.

[Vega]

Imp direct from the Lab!

 

In imp: Pine-green with a dark, sweet undertone.

 

On skin: Dries down into something simultaneously pine-green and darkly sweet. A fresh, pine-green forest layered over a full-bodied, dark and deep sweetness that seemed almost berry-juicy. The green pine gradually burns off over time, leaving a musky sweetness. A deep, close and very dark forest; while I can imagine how the sweetness and pine can conjure a stifling and forbidding vibe, I actually find it warm and cozy.

 

Verdict: I definitely get a deep, black forest in this scent. Black Forest is deeper than The Jersey Devil, and more musky than Nocnitsa. I like it and will hang on to the imp, but will be searching for something more pine and less musky-sweet.

[ModderRhu]

Black Forest

Ah yes. Definitely pine, cypress, and juniper. Not sure if I smell the ambergris or musk, but there is a slight creamy undertone. Very Christmasy. Unfortunately I cannot break the association between pine and Christmas, so I can't wear or really appreciate any pine scents when it isn't Christmastime. I think I will love Black Forest during the holidays.

[Sabir]

Black Forest delivers pretty much what the description promises. It's like a dark, pine forest with a sense that something is lurking around the corner.

 

Unfortunately, pine doesn't seem to get along with my skin too well. As it dries the musk becomes powdery and the pine goes all cheap cologne on me. The end result is, this is not for me, but I can see why someone else might like it.

[SophieCedar]

Ooh oh oh I love this one!

Wet: thick sweet dark pine. Smells like the forests outside my house. The ambergris and black musk come out quickly. Aromatic, sweet, dreamy and dark as all get out.

Drydown: only gets more beautiful. The juniper adds a nice herbal sharp, almost like an earthen mimosa, top note. My head is floating away from my body. *sigh*.. I just wish the musk had a little more staying power. Otherwise it's perfect!

[mymymai]

ITB: I smell pine and heavy juniper. I am not getting ambergris or black must, but I'm perfectly okay with that.

Wet: Very heavy juniper with a bit of the ambergris making it just a little like a dense forest next to the ocean.

Drying: Sweet black musk is slowly creeping through the juniper and pine. The ambergris is dying down, but either way, this is lovely. I think if it doesn't morph too much, I will be getting a 5ml of it.

Edited December 19, 2010 by mymymai

[tallan]

Very dark and masculine. Lots of evergreens, but this is not a cold scent at all. There's one note in this that's very distinct, one I can't identify, which reminds me of something, only I have no idea what... I hate it when that happens. I suspect it's the ambergris, as I should be able to recognise the other notes. This entire scent is just so familiar in some unexplainable way. I'm sniffing and huffing, trying to come up with what it is, but no luck. I think I can smell the black musk, but I keep getting distracted by something in this that's almost golden, high and just a bit sharp. Hmm. Clearly evocative of something, but not a scent that works for me.

[Indigoash]

Ok, so I got this one in the mail today. I didn't get anything piny/woodsy out of it at all, and it seems so drastically different on me I'm almost wondering if they sent me the wrong scent marked as Black Forest. The imp was very strong before I even opened the bottle but it smelled very sweet and made me think of cakes... yeah >.<I think it's the ambergris. It smells great, I didn't get any other scents out of it = ( It got a little musky and almost masculine after it dried, but was very consistent for the last 7 hours. It's just now starting to fade off. I like darker scents, but have enjoyed this one the last few hours.

 

[Edit]

 

Ok, so I put this one on again today and I got a nice lay low pine scent when I popped the bottle open, followed by a bit stronger juniper. I think if I had to layer these scents when noticed it'd be: pine, juniper, and then the cypress... but even than the cypress is like a...you catch a whiff if it here and there the same with the pine. The ambergris and the black musk definitely keep a good hold on the woody scents. I'm glad I tried this one again. I think having put them on as soon as I got them in the house confused my nose a bit that made me think of cake.

 

I wore Black Forest to the park today and it went so perfectly with the smell of 'outside', my husband loved it.

Edited February 15, 2011 by Indigoash

[calivianya]

This is very forest-y and very masculine. I can definitely pick out the pine strongest, followed by the black musk. It's a little overpowering for me.

[pinkgyrl]

At first, it's a blast of black musk. As it dries down, it's just so gorgeous! On the dry-down, I get powdery black musk, pine, and a hint of cypress - this is surprisingly pretty and very evocative! If you're afraid of this scent, you should definitely wait until the dry down - if I would have judged this on the bottle sniff or on its wet stage - I never would have given it a fair shake.

 

It's seemingly warm and safe with something lurking just under the surface; it's very much a "story" type scent.