Pine Cone Sack Attack

[doomsday_disco]

Pine sap and amber ashes.

 

[Invidiana]

This is just like getting the sticky amber sap of a Christmas tree between the seeds of pinecones and on your fingers, and as much as you try to get the sticky stuff off, you secretly don't want it to come off because it smells so good. That was me was a kid and now I'm wearing it as perfume. 

[doomsday_disco]

I agree that Pine Cone Sack Attack is reminiscent of the sticky sap of a Christmas tree. My cousin invited my partner and I to attend a wreath-making class at a bar last month that involved clipping actual fir, pine, juniper, and cypress branches to assemble the wreaths. This reminds me of the pine and fir sap that got all over my hands while creating my wreath. While the amber lurks beneath the pine sap at first, it eventually gains strength and becomes the dominant note, backed by the pine sap. It reads as a golden variety of amber to my nose. 

 

I really enjoy the pine sap forward phase of this scent, and at first, I was bummed that the amber ended up taking over -- as I prefer my evergreen scents to stay evergreen-forward -- but this ended up growing on me the more I spent time with it, and I think this particular amber complements the pine sap note really well. I'll definitely be keeping my decant, and I plan on giving this a full-day slather to see if need a bottle.

[Saeva]

My partner and I ordered a half-bottle decant, mostly for their sake.  I dislike most single note scents as perfumes so I knew if it favored one note it wouldn't be for me. I was hoping for a pine sap/amber resin duet, perhaps with a smoky edge that didn't amp to burnt embers on my skin. I do like pines -- like in Frau Holle -- and ambers -- like this year's Red Amber & Pomegranate Atmo -- but this tips too strongly one direction for me. 

 

After letting it rest a week, we cracked it open to sniff and it smells like pine sap. Pines are common here and anyone who has smelled actual pine sap is unlikely to forget it quickly. This smells like pine sap.

 

Once applied, the warmth of the amber comes out a little bit. This scent is really well described, as I'd definitely consider it "amber ashes" with the emphasis on the cold embers of a dying fire when the smoke's already been blown away. In that sense it reminds me of 2024's Melancholy Fire. Mind you, I don't get any cinnamon from Melancholy Fire, so for me if you replaced the 'chilled bergamot' of MF and put 'pine sap' there it would be a good match for MF. Like a punch-in-the-face pine/melancholy fire mash-up. 

 

My partner is in love. They adore the idea of smelling like a tree. I'm very happy for them and it means I get all of Faithfully Yours, Charles Dickens. Win-win.