Crimson and Clover Folkwinds 2025

Moving into the latter half of my Folkwinds coverage, I still have the heavy hitters coming and one of those is Crimson and Clover. While the fragrance features significant strengths, I find myself dwelling over the fact that Crimson and Clover is yet another Folkwinds fragrance that doesn't put enough emphasis on the wearable aspects of perfumery.

Having gone through the evolution twice, I'd argue the opening of Crimson and Clover is the clear highlight of the profile: much like some of the previous Folkwinds I've reviewed, I notice a medicinal amber, but in Crimson & Clover, that amber is opposed by a significant dose of apple tobacco and moderate-to-strong animalic nuances. In the niche realm, this structure is somewhat similar to the idea of combining the apple shisha smell of Kilian's Smoking Hot and the amber tobacco smell of Xerjoff's Empiryan. Obviously indie quality is present and there is depth beyond what this hypothetical combination has to offer, esp. as I suspect there is some oud utilized in the base, but the idea that this is an indie-quality and high-depth alternative to products like Smoking Hot and Tobacolor definitely isn't among the most outrageous statements I've made in a review.

Trying to match the experience to the structure, the scent features strong touches from the apple cider and apple notes listed in the top & bottom. These apple notes are accentuated well by an added sweet note, whether that be the ginger, the clover, the honey or some mix of the aforementioned. The tobacco, listed as green tobacco, doesn't smell like a niche tobacco: it has a very specific aromatic-leafy smell to it that has touches of tea, meaning the primary accords for this scent, esp. in the dry-down, are clearly going to be spicy-woody. I also smell some mix of the castoreum and Vietnamese oud offering up both animalic & smoky touches, but I find these parts more relevant in the top than in the base where the tobacco stars as the main character and I'd argue the dry-down doesn't actually feature a lot of depth beyond either just the tobacco or the mix of tobacco and aromatic notes.

Unlike the other Folkwinds I've sampled so far, I find the performance of Crimson and Clover somewhat conservative. I am going to put longevity between 8 and 10 hours, but the sillage really varies by how long you've had the scent on. I'd say the opening sillage is moderate-to-strong (between a 6 and 7/10), but it gradually (and rather quickly) degrades into something that will occasionally waft in arm's length (between a 3 and 4/10), so I'm going to balance the two and put it in the middle at a 5/10. At the time of review, Crimson and Clover sold out at a $495/50ml price point where I'd argue it's average value. As indicated in the opening chapter, I feel like I would've rated it higher if it successfully built around the apple better, but as is the case in most indie fragrances, the hefty usage of complex materials leads to reduced dimensionality while putting focus on the idea of smelling "aggressively different".

warm, very brown autumnal, initial spray kinda boring, not that much going on, it definitely is most reminiscent of smugglers notch but icl im not getting that much from it, Im really quite surprised.. but not pleasantly

its not a bad perfume, i just get very little from it, for me its like the most basic possible warm autumn scent, kinda dry, ever so ever so slightly sugary.

Its kinda like if you got a single drop of smugglers notch smelt it, and 10 years on tried to re create it with 3 single ingredients. I just wish it was more bold, stronger, polarizing, almost a challenge, apple cider acidity, smokey tobac, juicy apples but instead is a very flat blend of all together creating something thats just - nice

Little boozy apple cider, green tobacco and hints of bitter cranberries that live for short makes the opening. neither the apple cider nor tobacco dominates the opening rather they co-exist in harmony and compliments each other.

after 1-2 hours the boozy side of the apple starts to fade and the tobacco takes little more preasense whilst the oud starts to show it self better.

After that it goes more to the green with mixed of oud kinda smell but never ditches the tobacco nor apple complitely but they have become somewhat side kick at this point. at this stage there is also malt i detect but thats really not long lived.

Overall i was expecting lot from this when i bought it and it did not disappoint me at all. Its very well blended and there is clearly different stages to it. From start to finish very pleasent experience.

A warm, spicy fragrance that smells like a cozy autumn day.

It starts with a boozy, sweet smell of apple cider and cranberries, mixed with warm spices like clove and ginger. It feels very festive and bright.

The dry down is very deep and woody. It smells like old oak barrels, smoky oud, and sweet maple syrup. It is very long-lasting and leaves a warm, sugary trail.

Beautiful blend for the autumn winter time, amazing release from a great house.

I spray the fragrance on and within a minute I am at Sugarbush Farm in Woodstock - Vermont - during Indian Summer. It’s mid-October, the sun is shining, and the foliage is turning all colors. It’s amazing how quickly Crimson and Clover transports me back to that place; I fondly remember it. A fruity spiced wine with a piece of honey cake in a rocking chair on the porch of Maple Farm in the evening. The scent of hay lingers, and the farmer’s pipe is being packed. Slowly, more maple and conifer scents come into play. Do you know the smell of leaves and damp earth after a sunny autumn day? That rounds it all off! It feels rounded and well-balanced. Folkwinds has a calming effect on me, and I can easily imagine wearing it from autumn to New Year’s; it’s less suitable for summer. I find it very hard to evaluate this fragrance neutrally, as it reminds me of a wonderful time in a beautiful place/vacation.