Deeply biased review of a beloved cheapie: My favorite woods scent ever.
People have called this fragrance:
Chloraseptic (a throat spray). Niche quality. Ahead of its time. Filled with Butter and chai. Astringent and impossible.
Only very few of these things are true. Firstly, it is not niche quality. It does not have the strength or projection for that. It does not smell like chai, butter, or throat spray, at least to me. And it is actually very accessible. However, it is truly very different from the average women’s or men’s fragrance.
It is an especially anomalous fragrance in the celebrity release world - one that does not have a hint of fruits, sugar or ambroxan, but is instead filled with woods and vetiver.
Stash is creamy soft wood with a bit of sweetness, so little it feels almost accidental. The first spray is astringent but that quickly dies down to a soft, lush forest.
The scent is deeply comforting and reminds me of a dry cedar box without being dusty.
It smells best when sprayed on a real Donegal wool sweater. Mixing with the natural smell of wool, it is gorgeous. Suddenly, you are traipsing through an Irish forest.
Unfortunately, this is discontinued and has not been available direct from the Sarah Jessica Parker website for a while. But perhaps as a consequence, it is heavily discounted online. You can get a 100mL bottle from Fragrancenet in the USA for only 34 dollars. You can also buy it internationally on eBay for similar prices. I hope that this happy state of affairs does not come to an end. I would hate to have to pay a hundred dollars for this bottle, or god forbid, have it become unavailable.
I wish it had slightly more projection and more citrus, but hey. I also don't want a fragrance to smell like lemon-scented wood cleaner.
I adore this one and so does a small cult of Stash lovers worldwide. Stash is truly for anyone who loves wood scents - it is completely unisex.
The woman, man, person who wears this smells bold, sophisticated, rugged and different. This is neither a candy sweet concoction or typical "blue" scent.
