Bread in Chestnut Scents of Wood 2022

This is a marvelous, semi-gourmand fragrance. I say "semi-gourmand" because, while there are definite gourmand elements from the chestnut, bran, rosemary and spices, the woody and resinous notes bring a beautiful but non-edible accord.

Regardless of how one wishes to classify this fragrance, it's a new love for me. I've been looking for a fragrance with a strong, realistic grain note, as they often get lost on me, and this fragrance fits the bill perfectly. The bran absolute lingers on me throughout most of the life of the fragrance.

I adore the combination of bran, chestnut and spices. Cardamom is everywhere these days, but it works perfectly here. It's SO autumn, but this fragrance is definitely wearable in other seasons. The rosemary is a nice touch, but I get very little patchouli, only a bit of an earthy quality. The sandalwood/benzoin/tonka drydown is very nice, even if it pulls this fragrance away from (but not completely out of) the gourmand category for me.

Bread in Chestnut is unisex. It is a cozy, natural, comfortable fragrance and performs reasonably well, although projection and sillage could be better. It smells fantastic but is quite expensive.

Scents of Wood Bread in Chestnut is aptly named, a moderately-spiced bready, nutty blend, rounded out by tonka, olibanum, rosemary, sandalwood, and patchouli, a heterogenous woody, resinous, spicy mix that doesn’t lean too sweet, even slightly savory, with the rosemary oil and patchouli, albeit not fully a gourmand, particularly given the resinous aspects. It does not have a single aspect that’s as recognizable as say, the maple sugary in Praline in Maple, but it keeps in proportion an artful balance of distinct accords. Overall, I find it quite lovely and enjoy it as something gourmand-suggestive while not being too heavy, sweet, or spicy, but rather quite elegant.

Like most of the line, Bread in Chestnut is priced at $240/38 for 75/10ml, sold via the house website and great boutiques like Perfumology, where I bought my 10ml bottles, a great option to try (or have travel sizes for) a greater number of scents at once.

8 out of 10

A new instant love! It smells like a kitchen fairy who lives in a log cabin with a wood stove who makes the most magical loaves of bread and flies around the place casting spells to conjure up a feast of good food. The opening is mainly ambery and woody with rosemary, supported by a slight breadiness, nuttiness and a sprinkle of pepper. It’s very warm and balsamic and feels like the comfort of your older family members who always want to make sure you’re well fed. It’s fairly linear but I think it’s pretty perfect. You might lose the rosemary a little bit in the dry down but it’s still very calmly sweet, warm and ambery, very slightly herbal, and might have a very teensy amount of doll head quality from the tonka. Dare I say, I may like this more than Eau Duelle Eau de Parfum, it’s kind of a similar vibe but this one feels just a bit more like a warm hug.

This is not a typical gourmand and while this is called "Bread in Chestnut" this scent smells more like raw ingredients laid out on a wooden table before you start mixing and baking the bread, rather than a freshly baked, yeasty loaf. It's still very comforting and warm, though, and has a light nuttiness to it. I definitely notice the frankincense, but it's done with a light hand and is well balanced. The spices don't particularly stand out to me until this settles on the skin and even then, I get more of a general woody spiciness, rather than cardamom and rosemary distinctly. A little more sweetness comes through in the drydown, but this never becomes too sweet - at least not sweeter than bread, (which of course, is the point.)
I really like this, overall. It's not a very strong fragrances and sits close to the skin, but it's a pleasantly dry and woody fragrance with a rustic quality to it. I think this might be too light or simple for those who love when woody, resinous, and spicy scent profiles are strong, but would be great for those who want them more subdued and intimate.

As a fan of all carbohydrates, finding a rice or bread-oriented scent has been on my fragrance to-do list. This one is delightful. Oddly enough, depending on the day or when I'm sniffing it, it swings between both sweet and savory baked goods. On first wear, it immediately smelled like a cinnamon raisin loaf, and on the next, like a rosemary herb focaccia. Either way, it's inviting, cozy, and simultaneously both familiar yet unique in its breadiness.

If there's anything I had to dock points for, it's intensity. I usually don't mind a weaker scent and I'm normally happy to take scents as they are. But for something so unusual and pleasant, I find myself desperately wanting MORE of it.