Lammas Curious Perfume 2017

Is it a coincidence that I am commenting on the last fragrance of the "Wheel of the Year" perfume series by "Wonderchest Perfums" NY, which represents the high summer festival "Lammas," on an icy cold February day (at night it was -17° on our terrace, now at 11 o'clock it is still -7°) with bright sunshine and sparkling snow? And that I had it tested for many hours on the coldest night of this winter?
The natural fragrances from "Wonderchest Perfums," NY, in the "Wheel of the Year" series are meant to reflect one of the ancient Irish festivals. Ms. Brodskaya's scents are made from natural oils and essences. If alcohol is present in the fragrances, it is only distilled from grains. The perfumes have a traditional feel, yet they are pleasant, natural, and in my opinion still unique, sometimes very beautiful with interesting developments. Above all, they are very long-lasting for natural scents, lasting six to twelve hours on me. It is absolutely necessary to have patience and to wait for the development even with less differentiated fragrances.
The festival "Lammas" is about the ancient Irish pre-Christian festival in high summer, the beginning of the harvest: According to Wikipedia, it was also called "Lughnasadh." It was a lively and joyful festival with strength games, potlatch, meaning lavish feasts.
But there were also processions to graves with ceremonies at these sites.
But the most important aspects were engagements, weddings, as well as the very modern-seeming annulments of marriages and trial marriages.
Because, as described in Wikipedia, trial marriages were entered into for a year and a day. If no offspring was announced by the following May or - quite likely - if one had "reoriented" oneself, the trial marriage was dissolved during this festival. There was music, dancing, and surely streams of beer and mead flowed.
Now, when I evaluate the fragrance "Lammas," it is, for me, the most successful scent in this fragrance series. I find it elegantly restrained, not overwhelming with floral scents.
It is by no means an innovative perfume; rather, it reminds me of several other fragrances in the mid-price range up to "Soulle Ámbar" by Floris.
Like all of Ms. Brodskaya's fragrances, "Lammas" is earthy, woody, herb-green, cool-mossy, with a certain bitter melancholy running through it. Flowers do not play an important role. In high summer, the grain in the fields is ripe for harvest; at least it used to be. The earth is dusty and dry, most flowers have faded, the second hay harvest has taken place. This time no longer has the lush and lovely floral scents, but in the evening it smells of hay, of dust, and the crickets chirp. The light green foliage of the deciduous trees of corn and early summer has become dense and dark green-gray, the first unripe fruits sometimes look like already withered leaves, birches have already started to show yellow leaves here and there.
So, the festival "Lammas" or "Lughnasadh" fell into this time.
Weddings, strength games, heat, dust, orgies, dancing, and exuberance on one hand, and on the other, the ceremonies at the graves show how all festivals always mark the beginning, the end, or the peak of a period and the future and preparation for the next time, always mixed with nostalgia and farewell.
After applying it, I smell a dark green, herbaceous scent of leaves, almost unpleasantly perceiving ivy for a few minutes. But then, a pleasant mild oakmoss note rises again. I, who usually cannot stand oakmoss, like it in the Wonderchest fragrances as a reconciliatory soft moss note. Additionally, I smell aromatic ripe sour berries, such as black currants, sour unripe grapes, sour early apples.
Above all, I perceive a powdery, earthy, dusty, and summery aromatic hay scent, as well as the scent of dry grasses in light mixed forests and herb-bitter herbs along field edges.
It is buckwheat. And exactly, that is what I perceive: I love the scent of blooming buckwheat and then that of ripe buckwheat grains in the hot summer in the moors, which I can hardly describe. Also, the aromatic dustiness of freshly ground buckwheat flour is fascinatingly beautiful to me, which is incorporated into "Lammas."
- Instantly, I long for the hot summer scent in the open moor under the burning sun. The oaks then also exude their bitter-dark green scent when one seeks shade beneath them; there it also smells of moss. This is also meant here. In Ireland and Scotland, there are and were many moors and high moors, and in Russia, from where Ms. Brodskaya hails, too. -
Beneath that, I perceive a slight creaminess that gradually develops into a barely floral amber note. It must be ambrette, combined with very subtly used flowers, which I only perceive slightly as floral creaminess. If so, then the ambrette has developed an amber note with the aforementioned herbaceousness and buckwheat note that initially reminds me very much of the "Ambre Gris, Balmain," which I highly appreciate. I perceive this as very surprising and unique. Later, it becomes a bit milder and sweeter with the oakmoss scent, as mentioned above.
If I hadn't had to send the fragrances on as part of the natural fragrance project, I would have kept "Lammas," just like "Litha," for its cheerful early summer scent.
Fortunately, "Lammas" also has very good longevity on me; I could perceive the balsamic-creamy amber scent paired with powdery grain notes, almost old-fashioned moss notes with a hint of green herbaceousness until the next morning on my skin.
In my opinion, "Lammas" is a very successful fragrance.