Hwyl

For me, when I first tried HWYL after sniffed at the testing paper I was thinking with myself, "Is this exactly a perfume, why do people want to smell like this" because it's very sharp, heavy and made my nose uncomfortable, reminded me of a heavy and strong smoke stuffing in a Bhuddist shrine. The only smell I could get is a heavy smoke. On the other hand, my father, he's a rusty, simple and kind person. I gave him the sachet tester because he has talked to me he wanted to sometimes wear a cologne which smell like woody, incense(he personally likes a bhuddist incense) and also that reminds him of his mother(my grandma) he told me whenever he smelled something woody and smoky he's always thinking about his mom's accessories crate when he opens it, that is his memorable smell. So when he first sniffed HWYL, he said "absolutely yes" joyfully, he kept smelling the tester everyday, finally I get him a bottle of HWYL, He's really happy and enjoy the perfume, sometimes he sprays the perfume in the room as a home and linen spray, LOL

industrial.

This is stunning and something I've been looking for since I started my fragrance journey! The perfect woody scent. It has nothing else, just different shades of wood notes and some smoke. It's beguiling, nuanced, mysterious, and within two wearings this has become a top 5 fragrance for me! I bought a full bottle the day I wore my sample for a second time! I’ve looked for a long time for a woody scent that smells like… well, wood. And every single time I try something someone suggests or that is listed as a woody fragrance, it never smells like woods or like this. To say I’m beyond excited and happy to have found something like this is an understatement. As far as who can wear this and when, I’d say it definitely leans more towards a masculine scent, but a certain type of female could pull this off. And it’s definitely a more casual fragrance, not something you’d necessarily put on before going out to a fancy dinner or tuxedo event. Slightly learning towards a humid scent instead of bone dry wood, it has the most beautiful Hinoki Cypress Wood that is the dominate note the entire time. It’s almost like a sauna type smell. It's accented so nicely by the frankincense, giving it such a soft slightly lemon like quality. The smoky note (probably from the vetiver) is definitely stronger in the opening and first hr or so, but then recedes into the background and is incredible. And the touch of sandalwood (that you don’t smell) adds a smooth texture to the entire fragrance that mellows the whole thing out a few hours in. If you’ve ever smelled Hinoki from CDG, then you have a very good idea of what this smells like and how amazing this is. It’s like CDG Hinoki, but much better and has amazing sillage and lasts all day! Sillage is moderate to strong for the first few hrs, then moderate. And it lasts 10-12 hrs minimum. And this is coming from someone that has skin that hardly ever holds a scent for more then a few hours! Performance is amazing, but also appropriate. I don’t know what a Japanese forest smells like, but if this is what it smells like, I need to book a trip to Japan immediately! And for how well this performs with only a few sprays, it is very affordable and full bottle worthy. Barnabé Fillion created a masterpiece here!

Too strong. Wanted forest, but got old man vibe from this. 3/10

Deep, calm, mossy spa-like woods that stay fairly close to the body (which I like). However I find it a little too masculine on me sometimes, almost savoury. So I sometimes layer with a tiny spritz of a decent quality vanilla (I bought A Poem A Day from & Other Stories specifically for this, but Lush Vanillary would work too), depending on my mood and the weather etc - for me it works. If you’re just getting into unisex scents, it’s really worth testing. Still exceptional though. U.K. people - M&S Apothecary has some lovely inexpensive spa smells that are in a similar vein (I like Warmth).