Mycelium in Chestnut Scents of Wood 2024

Of all the Scents of Wood fragrances I've tested so far, this is the most whimsical of them, enchanting, fun, and it reminds me of childhood. It starts off freshly sweet and nutty with an earthy smell of wet soil. I am also getting a bit of spiciness and the combination of that with the earthiness and chestnut gives me the impression of moss and lichens, or the mycelium nuance in this fragrance. One thing that stood out to me about the overall composition is how fresh it smells. There is definitely a damp/wet aspect to it, but it's bright and not as dense as some of the other woody, "forest floor" scents I've come to like. It leans Autumnal and warm, but there's also an inviting liveliness to it, as well. Normally when a fragrance describes itself as being nostalgic, I take it with a grain a salt, but this one really takes me back to when I was a kid, carefree, and exploring the woods by my house with my brother. We'd look for snake tracks in the wet soil, fairy holes, and whatever treasures we could find among the trees. It felt fun and magical at the time and this fragrance brought those memories back to me instantly.

I seriously did not need to be falling in love with another fragrance from this house, but I have. It has that wet forest earthiness I enjoy in darker, woody scents, but this is a more lighthearted take on that scent profile - a little sweeter and less enveloping. I love it.

So, this is the first time I have experienced a fragrance with a fungi note. First time I sprayed the sample, it smelled just like walking around in the forest, foraging for mushrooms, with a dampy, earthy woody but calming smell. I am not talking damp like a patchouli fragrance, its quite literally like when you are sitting under a tree after it rains, and you smell that humid earthy smell in the air. But somehow, with the balance of the semi sweet vanilla in the base, nutty chestnut (which this is one of the most realistic and comforting nutty fragrances I have smelled) and smooth cashmere, bring a balance to the scent that makes this unlike anything I have smelled so far.

I got this sample from a trade I did with another person, and I didn't know anything about the brand besides their most famous fragrance, Plum in Cognac, but Mycelium in Chestnut is an unsung hero. It is so addicting, has great longevity on my skin, projection is moderate but for this scent profile it works. It is a cuddling scent, feels like a warm and sweet hug, and both in the air and up-close, it smells amazing.

I reached out to distributors and the brand, and it seems like the 75ml bottle is coming out next year, and I can't wait to pull the trigger on one. One of my favorite discoveries from this year 9.5/10.

This is my first proper wearing of Mycelium in Chestnut, one of the most recent releases from the celebrated house of Scents of Wood, its key note of mycelium being an unusual choice in that it’s the vegetable root component of a fungus. In this particular blend, it provides an earthy companion to the chestnut, woods, and tonka that comprise the rest of the blend, yielding a smooth, woody, earthy, semi-sweet, semi-nutty perfume that, like most of the SoW catalogue, impresses and is dense while not being overdone. Moreover, it does not smell like other perfumes, both within and outside of the house, and the curious mushroom-like note plays well to the point of being a unique, savvy discovery. I’d certainly recommend checking this out if you haven’t yet.

Mycelium in Chestnut appears to only be sold in a travel size (with the standard pricing of $55 for 10ml) for now, not yet available in the brand’s 75ml bottle size, sold via the house website and retailers like Perfumology.

8 out of 10