Carved Wooden Bookstore

[Silvertree]

Polished oak bark, tiny books with tea-stained pages and faux-leather binding, a scattering of dust,

and the gleaming painted fur of a porcelain calico book shop cat.

[elissamay]

Pure comfort. What's that word, hygge? Yeah, that.

 

Initially lots of leather, but that very quickly mellows out to a musky, very slightly woody sweetness. You can smell the crackle of the pages if you try!

[MamaMoth]

leather hits my nose first, with some oaken woodiness backing it up. i'm always a little skittish with "polished" woods, as they can come out a little sharp on me at times. but this is just nicely soft and oak-y. as it warms up i get something papery popping up... dusty but creamy, like a dry vanilla and possibly almond? a touch of black tea, threatening to go a little soapy but never quiiiite doing it. 

 

through drydown, leather remains the top note. it's just a wee bit plasticy, and rereading the description i see that it's "faux-leather" and i'm like, BINGO. 

 

between the slightly plasticy leather and the slightly soapy tea, it's not playing exactly nice with my skin chemistry. but i think those are me problems. it is cosy and atmospheric and i think it might be a hit with a lot of folks. 

[doomsday_disco]

This starts off with a blast of leather book (I agree that it's slightly plastic-y), but then an almond-y sweetness joins in briefly, followed by what I think is the tea from the tea-stained pages. The tea ends up gaining strength with wear, and there was a point where I wondered, "What is this root beer-y vibe I am getting from this scent?" And I believe it was a light anise from the tea, as some of the Lab's black tea notes have a bit of that to my nose, but I also would not be surprised if it were the oak giving me root beer vibes, because I experienced that with Baby's First Ballista. Eventually, that anise/root beer aspect of the scent also fades, and it's a much softer leather book with the dusty vanillic-pages (but it's a good dust) and some oak (which isn't sharp!). I don't get any of the usual suspects in the Lab's cat scents (like cedar or musk).

 

I am glad I let this rest for several days before trying it, because it was super strong on the leather and oak when my decant arrived, so that's why I tested it last. I think this is pretty nice and evocative of its inspiration, and I especially like how realistic the pages of the book smell, but I don't think I'd reach for it enough to warrant a bottle.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by doomsday_disco

[Roogna]

I am a leather fiend. I must try all blends with leather. This one is soooooo nice, and it's different since the leather really blends in with the wood. it's soft but very noticeable and makes me feel comfy. The dust&tea aren't something I can pick out necessarily but it has that kind of feel to it

and now that I read "root beer" and "plastic" in above reviews, I can smell that, BUT it's nowhere near as strong as scents that actually smell like root beer or that 90s kaboodle plastic LOL

[ghoulnextdoor]

The rich, oaken warmth of a firelit library in a grand country estate that you’ve been entreated to make yourself at home in; your host had to take a phone call, so please, browse the leather-bound titles, flip through those well-worn pages to your heart’s content. Beeswax candles flicker in the reflections of the gilt-edged mirrors hung from every spare inch of unshelved wall space, and as you marvel at the glowing refractions on the shimmering glass, a curious draft tickles your skin and shivers up your spine. Where could this peculiar chill be coming from? The room is nearly as warm as being swaddled in a down comforter in your bed at home! You trace its path to the bookshelf, where you notice a fine layer of dust along the surfaces of the floor-to-ceiling shelving and their contents, with the exception of one pristine title that appears absolutely untouched by time or human hand. You reach out to examine the book, and as your fingers graze the pebbled binding, you hear a series of clicks and the grating of hinges as that solid wooden shelf swings heavily inward…revealing a hidden staircase. Do you a.) hastily fumble the scene back into order, take a seat, and wait for your host? or b.) grab a candle stick and descend into the dark? In either scenario, you’ll smell of a mysteriously cozy Choose Your Own Adventure room full of books and firelight and waxy, dripping candles sitting atop delicate powdery doilies.

[zankoku_zen]

Popcorn, wood, leather. Yep. Smells like popcorn in a bookstore. Medium throw and wear length.

[puellacaerulea]

Old book smell, but make it extra cozy. This starts off heavy on the woods, old paper, and leather -- it's a somewhat sharp leather note, but it slowly mellows as it wears. The old paper is the most prominent note, and it's extra vanillic. There's not a beeswax note listed, but there's a slight sweetness behind the old paper notes that reminds me a lot of beeswax. If you like the idea of an old-books scent but found Ü too dusty or heavy on the balsam, this could be a good alternative.