COVERED BRIDGE (Foxcroft Collection 2013)

COVERED BRIDGE
Woods, Moss, Leaves, Wood Smoke, Dirt, Ozone, Fir Absolute

NOT TO BE USED BY WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT OR NURSING.

Offered in Perfume and Burnishing Glace as part of the Foxcroft Collection

Bell's covered bridge is the main conduit for crossing the North River in Foxcroft.  The view of town, the rushing river water and the towering peak of Mt. Willow are inspiring sights from either side of the bridge.   This fragrance celebrates the dry wood notes which represent the bridge itself, fresh Northern air and mossy green notes and is a must for lovers of woodsy outdoors blends.  Sixteen premium fragrance and essential oils bring the Bell's covered bridge to life.  Wood notes comprised of Virginia Cedarwood EO, Alaskan Cypress Wood EO, Blue Cypress EO and sandalwood meet earthy notes of patchouli, vetiver and musk.  A cool blend of oakmoss, dirt, fir absolute and fern envelopes the dry wood notes and pairs well with a blend of sweet fall air, hay and wood smoke elements.   Covered Bridge is a very smooth and evocative woodsy blend.   Fans of Crumbling Crypt and Wail of the Banshee may also enjoy Covered Bridge as it shares a few similar notes.

Covered Bridge starts out as almost straight fresh cut wood upon application. As it dries down, an aquatic note emerges, I suppose it is the ozone. I don't get a lot of smoke from this blend but it is there in the background. Between the ozone and wood, it really is evocative of a bridge over water. All in all, a lovely outdoorsy scent and I'm glad I purchased the full size.

Covered Bridge ended up being my surprise favorite of the Foxcroft Collection - it smells like what I'd wanted the original Foxcroft to be (before discovering that it didn't like me at all), the perfect essence of deep woods on a crisp autumn day. Freshly applied, it's all dirt and wet leaves, just like Foxcroft, but within a few minutes the fir/spruce shines out, and soon mellows out to something smoky and spicy and sweet, warm and crisp and evergreen. My only complaint is that it does seem to fade very quickly, not lasting more than a few hours on my skin. Still, I love it enough that I've already upgraded my sample to a full-size bottle! ;D

Covered Bridge is a very interesting fragrance and I do like interesting fragrances! It is also one that is firmly located in the orbit of the Solstice Scents genre in that there is an underpinning of wood notes. What I enjoy most however is the direction Angela has pushed the top notes in an autumnal green and dirt direction. It has not been pushed as far as the original Foxcroft fragrance in terms of wet leaves and damp soil as there is more greenery there from the fir absolute and what is probably a vetiver note. The thing I enjoy is probably the use of the Oakmoss which truly seems to push the wood notes in a darker direction than other fragrances such as Attic and Cedar Magus which are warm in comparison. At the twenty minute mark the dirt and leaf notes die down and the wood notes become more prominent though the green feel is still evident. Later again the patchouli seems to come through a little more, though it does seem to be a rougher and darker subtle note than most patchouli fragrances.

Sillage for this fragrance is quite good, particularly at the start though I would like a longer duration. Like "Jessie" I do not detect much smoke in this, but as there are an enormous number of ingredients mentioned by Angela, I have to admit in having difficulty in picking out many of the individual notes. In my view it is a fragrance better suited to cooler weather. Like a number of fragrances, I have found that a dual skin and clothing application does give longer duration, though it is still limited to a few hours. Because of both this characteristic and the cooler nature of the notes, I like the idea of wearing this as an evening fragrance rather that an all day one with additional applications. Recommended to at least try - as an atmospheric piece of art, it has won me over.

New Salem is a state historic site about an hour away from where I live that replicates the pioneer village Abraham Lincoln lived in for a few years as a young man. It's in a beautiful area surrounded by trees and meadow flowers. I went there recently with my kids and was amazed the cabins retained the extremely distinctive wood smell I remembered when I visited the site many years ago on a school field trip. Covered Bridge reminds me of that weathered, woody scent.

This has that burnt wood smell again, only the burnt smell isn't too strong so it smells like a cologne featuring smoked wood as a note rather than something on fire. After 10 minutes, there's a masculine musk smell and a bit of a leather-ish sort of bite to the scent, but the smoked wood is still prominent. After close to 2h, there's a bit of a BBQ smell to it.

This is a very nice, outdoorsy scent. It smells very familiar to me, and brings back a lot of memories from my childhood. It's quite subtle, and it reminds me a bit of Outpost (which is one of my favorites). It makes me think of being near forests and trees on a cool day. It's very nice.

HEY CYPRESS. Starts out with deep cypress wood. I like that it doesn't have the perfumey feel and is more like straight wood smell. After 10 minutes the fir and smoke creep in. Fades into a quiet sweet smokey wood. Moody and shadowy

I really love this scent when the woodsmoke isn't noticeable. The green notes don't go sour or sharp, and the moss smells so soft and.. snuggly somehow. The wood notes are also amazing and realistic. You can really imagine standing on a wooden bridge in the middle of a forest, if that bridge was made out of freshly cut wood. It's all freshly cut lumber and the softest, gentlest green notes ever. Dewy and natural. I get a hint of sweet, realistic hay as well after about an hour.
I just have a problem with the sharp woodsmoke note in this. It shows up from about the 30-60 minute mark rather strongly (like someone set the beautiful bridge on fire... so sad) and then I keep catching random whiffs of it. It really overwhelms the other notes and makes the blend sharp and harsh, where it is otherwise so gentle and calming to me.