Stranger in Camp

[yeahbutnobut]

Stranger in Camp

Evergreen, damp grass, woodsmoke, birch bark, cedar, and Terebinth pine.

 

In the imp: spicy pine. Definitely along the lines of a Christmas tree, but warmer.

Wet on skin: Christmas tree! I love the smell of those festive pine needles, and this is the closest BPAL after Mistletoe to smell like that.

Dry on skin: oh, now this smells even more interesting than just a Xmas tree. Now I get an almost vanilla-resin sweetness peeking through, like benzoin, and I get that wonderful Mediterranean pine resin scent I love so much. When I was in Croatia, I remember my lilo and beach bag getting covered with sticky sap from the pine trees-a pain to wash off, a joy to smell. There are some gentle wood scents here too, a gorgeous grass note (better than the one in One to Tie, I think) and a soft smokiness. Now this smells less like a festively decorated tree and more like a pine forest in the summer. I'm not a camper but I do love the smell of pine forests in warm weather, and especially the really sappy pines, which I get a lot of here. That sweetness is what makes this scent perfect though.

After a while: the pine, which is almost spicy, tones down a little, letting that gorgeous tonka-benzoin sweetness through. It adds a wonderful cuddly warmth to the evergreen notes. The smoke note is so gentle, not full on campfire, but the scent wafting from the embers on a warm summer's night, with the smell of the trees and grasses all around. The gorgeous tonka-like background gets stronger and it reminds me slightly of the resinous sweetness from Black Forest, but it's not black musk, and doesn't have the heavy, syrupy feel of BF. It also reminds me of the smooth sweetness of Pinched with Four Aces, something that's not listed as a note adding a wonderful base to this forest scent. There's a gorgeous amber note that pops up after a few hours. This just gets better and better with wear. There's something almost Schwarzer Mond-ish to this now (not as dark, patchouli-ed and musky though), which I believe is the terebinth.

Verdict: I think I've found my holy grail of BPAL pine scents. It is pine perfection, the best forest fragrance of all. This is everything I hoped to get in the likes of Slobbering Pine, Knecht Ruprecht, Black Forest, Hexxenacht and Yule...whilst those were nice, they weren't the perfect pine-forest scents for me. This is though. I've been looking for a really sappy, resinous pine scent and this has a resinous feel to it, along with crushed needles. It has that 'summer pine' scent reminiscent of Mediterranean nights that I love so much. I also smell the woods and the grass and a lovely subtle smoke. But there's a wonderful, gorgeous sweetness to it which makes it even more delightful and wearable, prevents me from smelling too much like a Christmas tree. It reminds me of amber, especially at the end, and it is so lovely and warm and glowing and sweet, maybe there's tonka here too? it reminds me slightly of the sweetness in Pinched with Four Aces but less creamy, more resinous. Beautifully outdoorsy but with that amber adding another dimension to it. If Wolf Moon was a pine forest in winter, this is the summer equivalent. I'm so glad I found the right pine scent for me.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yup! as I said, it's my perfect forest scent.

If you like this, try: Black Forest, Nocnitsa, Talvikuu, Knecht Ruprecht, Thanatopsis, Wolf Moon 07

[slave1]

STRANGER IN CAMP

 

In Bottle: Holy pine Batman!

On Skin: This is a tree scent without a doubt. Very sharp, very pungent and very outdoorsy. The cedar sweetens it and the smoke gives a good base with a soft feel. This is not a scent I would wear as a perfume, but I would like to use it as a room scent especially in the winter when I want that fireplace kind of feel. But just a touch of it because it is strong and I wouldn’t want to give anyone a headache. I think a candle scented with this would be perfect. A beautiful forest scent and perfect for anyone who loves pine scents. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

pine tar soap. and sweat.

 

or possibly the way a guy might smell after tromping through the woods until he finds the right tree, then carries it back to the house and sets it up next to the fireplace.

sweaty man, smoke and pine trees.

 

graphic imagery, not what i want to smell like.

[suileach]

In the vial: Pine and juniper.

 

Wet: The same for a bit, but there's also soft, creamy, slightly spicy sweetness running through it. The pine calms down significantly.

 

Dry: Absolutely beautiful. Unlike some other foresty scents, this smells like more than just pine resin, more than just needles and bark. This smells like the scent left behind on the coat you wear at a weekend camping trip - sweet woodsmoke, damp bark, crushed evergreen needles and deciduous leaves, and dewy mornings with crows calling in the trees.

 

This is the foresty-camping scent I have always longed for, and is now up there with Lear and Wolf Moon 06 in terms of my favorite evergreen scents. Naturally, I was busy quitting my job and moving when this series came out, so I have just a wee imp. But I'm thrilled to have even that much of this wonderful, evocative scent.

 

[Myotis]

Wow I was finally able to get my paws on a bottle of this and am I ever glad I did!

 

It's mostly pine on me (which I LOVE).

But it's a warm pine, like in the summer and almost a pine sap.

There is a hint of the grass and maybe it's the birch bark I'm picking up. A wee bit woody, but not much.

I just adore this scent.

Although most of my friends would beg to differ, so this will be one I slather on when I'm home for the night so I can sniff myself and not have friends wriggle up their noses at me. (as they sometimes do with other BPALs I wear..*cough* Snake Oil)

[Czarina]

In the imp: pine.

Wet: pine resin.

Drydown: pine and something that smells like the coconut in Snow White. Huh??

 

Verdict. Disappointing. I wanted woodsmoke. I can't smell the complexities in this scent that others can. Alas.

[portalkat]

This is one of my favorite pine/evergreen scents. The pine and evergreen notes are so fresh in this and there is a vanilla like sweetness in the grass. The most surprising thing to me is that after a year, the smoke notes are more pronounced which makes me so happy. This is one of my favorite BPALs ever. The fact that the evergreen notes do not smell like air freshener is a huge plus.

[lilacea]

Wet, this is sock you in the face pine cleaner; high pitched and very camphourous, As it begins to dry, the birch sneaks it head in, adding a scent not unlike snapped twigs. I sweetens up a little, don't know what is causing this, but I suspect it might be the grass. The dry down on this is lovely though, all those green elements subside, and there's this subtle cedar, oakmoss and a touch of warm pale musk. Very subtle at this stage, very skin hugging.

[zankoku_zen]

WOW. This is a pine tree. Like pine and juniper berries, and the sticky sap. You know how you can buy a 'fake' Christmas tree fragrance so you can spray your plastic tree and try and pretend it's a real pine tree? Yeah, it's kinda like that except a GAJILLION times better. Because this ACTUALLY smells like a real tree.

 

God, part of me loves how 'sappy' and 'green' this tree scent is.

 

The other part of me wonders why would I ever want to smell like a Christmas tree.

[rayvn1]

Oh my, yes! Whoever recommended Talvikuu and Nocnitsa if you like this was right on the money. Sweet, refreshing forest scent. Absolutely lovely, but so faint! It's barely there and then it's gone in about half an hour. I absolutely love this one though. I'll be crossing my fingers that I run across a bottle.

[tartchef]

Pineypineypinepine, with a touch of something very sour Phoo.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Extremely pale yellow oil. Bright, fresh grass and forest! Not the gross sweet air freshener pine typical in BPAL's wintry blends, but REAL TREES and pine pitch, pine needles, bark and grass...I smell redwoods, too and a little sweet birch.

 

Wet: Darker, more bitter, more about the intense dark green needles and pitch, though there's still loads of grass, it's less airy, more of a bitter weedy grass with some dandelion in it, but in a rather nice way. I get a bit of a soil note; this is a much more 'grounded' scent on my skin whereas in the imp it's trees soaring into the sky.

 

Dry: GRASS! It has totally amped up along with the dandelion; all others notes pale in comparison. It really IS damp grass, too. Evergreen and pine pitch (Terebinth) are still distinct, but I can't pick up the birch without straining - even though it adds a mild creamy sweetness to the blend.

 

Summary: Dark green and now too bitter. Grass and dandelion and the bitter aftertaste of pine needles. I never got the cedar or smoke. I really love this in the imp and it's also very evocative in its wet stage, but I do not like how it dries down. Oddly, it's sweet creamy birch when I wash it off - of course! Decent throw and good longevity.

[filigree_shadow]

Sticky, dark, pine tar. It's not hugely complex -- that's pretty much just what it smells like. There's a little bit of campfire smoke over the top, too.

 

It's strong and very evocative of a forest.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Decant in a bottle from filigree_shadow.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I've been waffling on trying this one for a while. My first instinct when I read the notes is to think that it sounds amazing and that I have to have it. But then I remember that pine can go all sorts of wrong on me (if it's the wrong type of pine; I find some very harsh and astringent), which brings me back to reality.

 

But it's going to drive me nuts not knowing how I feel about Stranger in Camp. The possibility that it's as amazing as my brain wants it to be is too much to ignore, so I'm giving it a try.

 

First sniff:

 

Whoa, pine! This is like standing in an extremely densely packed pine/evergreen forest. It's super strong and reminds me a bit of Nocnitsa. I don't really smell anything other than pine and/or evergreen at this point.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Much less intense. It's a bit like Hexennacht and a bit like Nocnitsa, but there's some spice here, too. I don't know where it's coming from. Maybe the birch bark? I don't think of birch bark as having a spicy smell, but birch beer smells somewhat similar.

 

This is like drinking birch beer in the deep woods. Strange as that sounds, it's pretty.

 

Dry down:

 

Crazy skin chemistry strikes again! This smells nothing like the bottle scent and only partially like the wet scent. Once Stranger in Camp is dry, I get soft, creamy spice and a hint of tobacco and wood.

 

It actually reminds me of Pinched with Four Aces (although I'm positive that it's my skin chemistry causing the similar scent, because they've got basically nothing in common), which is completely inexplicable but a welcome outcome, in spite of the strangeness.

 

The bottom line:

 

I don't know what is going on with my skin chemistry doing bizarre things to scents lately. The weirdest part is that none of the scents I already know and love have started smelling different on me. I guess it's been dumb luck lately that's to blame for my having found three scents in the last week that morph completely on the drydown.

 

At any rate, I really like the (unexpected) way that Stranger in Camp smells on me. I really like Pinched with Four Aces but can't seem to track any down, so Stranger smelling similar is okay by me. Now, the only problem is that I've only got a tiny bit of this one and I need a bottle (or three).

[Lethran]

In a Bottle: Very, very evergreen and pine. The birch bark and cedar give support to the stronger notes and all four combine to say “November Forest.” The grass is soft support for the woods. The woodsmoke is pervasive, but well blended. Wet: My skin loves this and thins loves my skin. The woods stay well blended, but warm and differentiate more. The grass almost sweetens it, the smoke backs off to create a hint of burning without yelling “Smoke!” the way it does in the bottle. This is everything I’d hoped for. Dry: Sweeter on the drydown, and less pine/evergreen and more birch and cedar. Lovely and the evolution as it wears is a joy to the nose.

[JazzieCazzie]

Another one of the handful of straggling scents that I have tried and liked in the last year or so but never reviewed!

 

IN THE IMP: Beautiful pure green woods.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: On first application, it's not quite as awesome as it was in the bottle/imp because there is that little hint of Pine-Sol. Not enough to be blerg, but enough to make me wonder if I want to get more than what I have, which is about a half an imp.

 

DRYDOWN: Happily, I see why I kept it. The piney cleanser note evaporates quite quickly, leaving the rest of the awesome ... mellow cedar and grass amp up and it remains a beautiful, lovely, green woodsy forest scent.

 

OVERALL: I am always on the hunt for a GREAT green scent that has no icky notes and this is one of the best yet. I would totally wear this and will look for more.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 4.5