Hello everyone,
before I get to the actual review, I want to say THANK YOU. This is my 500 (!) review here and this THANK YOU goes to you.
Now let’s talk about the fragrance and Folkwinds!
I have occasionally seen the bottles from the company in the souk and yes, I found the glass bottles stylish, along with the cap, like the cork logo with the black bird, but I honestly never engaged with the reviews here, the price, and the fragrance pyramid, the price, and so on...
I did this a few weeks ago and it was a small (big) mistake...!
Why?
The scents of the brand are special (!) and in several ways, the bottles are similarly designed and only differ in the color of the content or the finish of the bottle (color), or the ingredients are really high for the price range!
These bottles are very exclusive and have a low production number = for some this is exciting, but I just wanted to mention this, and on the other hand, the fragrances are really very, very creative and some aspects I did not see coming in the development and effect of the scent!
This is actually the perfect segue to
The Wonderland II!
I looked at the fragrance pyramid and the characteristics, and I can always form a rough, quite good impression in that regard..., but I’ll just say "forget about it".
When I had it in front of me and smelled it from the sprayer..., this XXL fruitiness with the subtle but unmistakable iris was already intense. However, that was only roughly half the truth...
Just 3 sprays (why I’ll explain later) and the fragrance pyramid lied about something. It was a dry, strong fruitiness. But whether that was just the plum, I don’t know! For me, it was a subtle, zesty orange and dark fruits - which exactly, I cannot say.
The opening lasts about 2 hours and it is a constant mix of a creamy (iris) - powdery (aldehydes) - fruitiness, which in my opinion never drifts into an annoying sweetness, because that’s not what I like.
After x hours, we get 1 or 2 listed types of oud. Among others, Malaysian oud is listed; I would claim that as an admirer of the Tigerwood series from EO (
Tigerwood Pure Parfum,
Tigerwood Royale +
Tigerwood: Terengganu), I recognize this smoky oud, but that is not the case here. Rather, it would be a green oud like, for example, Papua oud, although the impression is likely intensified due to the listed ivy and moss.
The late drydown is again very creamy and powdery with a subtle fruitiness. Probably the iris root gives the scent in the end an earthy - spicy - and green touch. Overall very exciting, multi-layered, complex, and high-quality!
I did not see this coming and somehow expected less. Really great work and artisanally well balanced. You can tell that someone really put in the EFFORT here and that should also be acknowledged = Good job!
The H/S is really top-notch and especially the sillage in the first hour is absolutely amazing! Those of you who know the old
Carlisle know how it is at first, and after 2 hours it becomes calmer + more pleasant and is enjoyable. After 6 hours, in my opinion, it becomes quieter and acts more like a bubble around you.
Regarding longevity, it is such that everything about 11 hours is utopian and does NOT correspond to the truth.
When and where?
When = September to the end of May
Where = almost everywhere during this time. Even at work = but SUBTLY (1x - 2x is enough)
How does it come across?
Unbelievably well, and since we are TALKING about a range from 16-year-olds to 88-year-olds (my wife’s grandmother), especially she really liked the scent!
In general...
It is and remains special and should be used as such, because otherwise, its MAGIC may fade very quickly, and using such an expensive fragrance almost daily = you can do it, but I advise against it, also financially... and there are (UNFORTUNATELY) very, very few...
The dear money / the purchase price:
I am somewhat TIRED of talking about whether a purchase makes sense or not; in that regard, it is very relative and my views may not align with yours and vice versa... . From a purely commercial perspective (which I am, among other things), I can say = test it, then we’ll see further!
And now have a nice day/evening or whenever you read this review, best regards, Benny
_______
(Now the same as almost always - because it applies!)
Now to the topic of luxury:
As you can see in my profile, I have really smelled many fragrances, and there are fragrances where you can detect a certain (sometimes) strong synthetic note, and you quickly realize that some fragrance houses focus more on quantity than quality, and there are some where you can tell "oh come on, let’s put in more + better" and you can also smell that at the end of the day.
A brief note on the topic of packaging, bottle, sprayer:
I’ll keep it short; I give a 9 out of 10 in every category, and I know very well that tastes are very different. So, if someone honestly rates this with a 6 or less... - PHEW. Beautiful and high-quality cap, nice timeless bottle design, etc.... so I find it very hard to rate it differently, and I’m not saying this because I like or dislike a brand!
Now a short note on my opinion:
I am not sponsored, influenced by anyone, receive money or anything else. I approach the topic of perfume as I am, honestly; everything else is not my style. My true personal opinion is very VALUABLE to me, and I hope maybe ;) that this is noticeable. If I don’t like something, like packaging, bottle, sprayer, or H/S, I will communicate that too!
Top Notes 
Bitter almond
Orris root
Plum
Aldehydes
Heart Notes 
Iris
Thai oud
Ivy
Narcissus
Spices
Base Notes 
Castoreum
Mitti attar
Moss
digitscents
Sirbennyone
