There are times when the summer is at its hottest that I crave a woody perfume. There are never a shortage of this style of perfumes available to sate my desire. What has been amusing this summer is the woody perfume I have been wearing the most has the word winter in its name.
The fragrance brand Nomad Two Worlds is part of the wider initiative founded by photographer Russell Brand. In 2012 the brand introduced me to the indigenous Australian plant known as fire tree in their firs fragrance; Raw Spirit Fire Tree. Mr. James wants Nomad Two Worlds, through art, to find a wider understanding of marginalized and indigenous peoples all over the world. The ambitious plan is to use fragrance as one of the art forms. The Raw Spirit collection is the sixth of a planned ten perfumes. For this one called Raw Spirit Winter Oak it is meant to illuminate the U.S. Native Americans.
Harry Fremont
All of the Raw Spirit perfumes have been composed by perfumer Harry Fremont, for Winter Oak he wanted to capture the age and power of the oak while wrapping in the smells of the desert southwest. Winter Oak is, as all of the other Raw Spirit perfumes to date have been, a perfume with simplexity. Always when I wear these perfumes the first time I think they are very straightforward but there is a lilting subtext to all of them that seems to only be apparent to me after I wear them a couple of times.
M. Fremont starts with a spicy green opening of clary sage, geranium, and a very measured amount of pepper. The pepper adds only a modicum of piquancy to the otherwise herbal opening. Clove, olibanum, and mate form the heart notes. The clove presents itself in a more forceful way than the pepper in the top notes. Here the saffron and mate play the supporting roles. Finally in the base we get to that towering oak tree. Oak has a real green character especially when you compare it to cedar. In Winter Oak that green quality is more noticeable because M. Fremont has set your expectations up through the first two phases of development to be attuned towards it. As the oak grows it is supported by even more green from vetiver. After a few hours a very soft suede leather accord rounds out this perfume.
Winter Oak has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
Raw Spirit Winter Oak is donating some of the proceeds to The Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks, CA.
I have found Winter Oak to be just the right tonic for my need for summer woods even if the name tells me I should be wearing it in a different season.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Nomad Two Worlds.
–Mark Behnke
