GREY'S CABIN (The Woodland Collection, General Catalog)

GREY'S CABIN
Smoked Cocoa, Cedar, Embers, Black Musk, Copal Bark, Tobacco, Spice

Shake well before each use to help distribute the cocoa absolute.

Grey's Cabin is sheltered in a quiet copse of woods, well provisioned from the heavy winter just beyond the door. A warm blast of smoke and embers greets you upon application, coupled with cedarwood, black musk and a mug filled to the brim with rich hot cocoa. A hint of freshly baked spice breads sits on the far edge of the blend along with a subtle hint of tobacco. Grey's Cabin is a cozy fragrance to chase away the snowbound winter doldrums. Snuggle in front of the blazing fire on the comfiest couch with a Sherpa throw and an engrossing novel while sipping a creamy hot cocoa studded with marshmallows.

This blend contains many notes including: chocolate fragrance blend, cocoa absolute, cedar, black musk blend, aged patchouli, smoke, tobacco, copal bark and labdanum with a faint trace of spices and marshmallow. It is very woody, chocolatey, smokey and musky. Unisex leaning masculine.

People often mention memories of places that, in a very Proustian manner, remind them of a time in their past. While my background memories and geographical location preclude the idea of sipping coco front of a glowing fire in a log cabin in the snow, I can dream. Instead I can only offer you my review of Grey's Cabin as it smells to me.

I love the fact that Angela has used a cocoa note in such an unusual manner and the fragrance works a treat. I own a book called Chocolate in Cuisine by Frederic Bau in which he uses chocolate and cocoa notes in a wide range of both sweet and savory dishes. This is how I view Grey's Cabin, where the cocoa note is used in an unusual combination with Cedar, Smoke, Musk Copal, tobacco (for the necessary sweetness) and what I presume to be either cinnamon or perhaps cassia. For me. this takes Grey's Cabin in a very interesting non-gourmet direction. I know Angela does not describe it that way, but it is a very sophisticated fragrance.

I'm surprised to see this has so few reviews! Of the many atmospheric scents I’ve tried over the years this one is hands down my favorite. It really does remind me of sitting by the fire on a cold night with a mug of hot cocoa. When first applied, it is quite smokey with a sweet cocoa note. Once the woods and marshmallow come into play this becomes a sweet and comforting scent like none other. The tobacco note gives it a subtle clean feel, too, like a warm flannel right out of the dryer. It is definitely unisex, but I don’t find it to be masculine (for the record I am a woman who almost exclusively wears girly gourmands and fruity scents). On my skin this is a warm and cozy, woody scent with a hint of sweetness.

I was worried at first because when I applied it (even after making sure to distribute the cocoa) it was still almost overpoweringly chocolate-y, but after a few minutes the chocolate scent faded and the cedar and patchouli came through. After about half an hour it finally settled into a very nice balance of tobacco, cedar, and patchouli with the cocoa and marshmallow to round it out. It's a very atmospheric and comforting scent perfect for when it gets cold.

I agree with neveryoung, definitely a unisex scent but I wouldn't say it leans masculine. On me, at least, the sweetness of the scent brings it back to center.

Grey's Cabin makes very good use of the rich, silky cocoa absolute. I love chocolate paired with resins and earthy notes, and every note in this works really well with the cocoa. It starts off very chocolatey and then the other notes really shine in the drydown, with just a hint of hot chocolate. Black musk itself often smells resinous to me, conjuring up images of a night sky, and I really enjoy it here. There's a bit of smokiness, but it smells like burning incense rather than sharp woodsmoke. The ambery copal is lightly spiced, but not screaming cinnamon on my skin (yay!), the tobacco adds some earthiness...

Grey's Cabin starts off chocolately and then winds up being primarily black musk on me with an undertone of spiced, ambery copal, earthy tobacco, and incense smoke. The chocolate just adds a hint of sweetness in the later stages. I think that this smells really amazing on my husband. Dark and sexy with just a little sweetness to draw you in.