Praline in Maple Scents of Wood 2021

This is one of my favorites from Scents of Wood - a perfect combination of woody, sweet, and smoky. I decided to try this because I love woody scents and I'm obsessed with maple flavored/scented everything. I don't get a maple syrup smell in this, not that I was expecting that from the notes, but it's still sweet and toasty. The sweetness balances well with the gaiac and cedar, which the impression of maple wood. The smokiness reminds me of the outdoors on a cold night where you can smell the fireplaces of your neighbors burning wood (versus a close campfire smell). The resins in particular really round this fragrance out and they come out even more in the dry-down.

While there is the sweet and spice element to this, I personally don't think of this as a gourmand fragrance, but I still have a hard time not thinking of this as "delicious" to smell, so I get why the accords categorize it that way. It's so cozy, warm, and relaxing.

the opening scent immediately reminds me of violin rosin, the kind i used on my instrument's bow and, unfortunately, the very thing my old teacher used to hit me with. that old memory fades fast, thankfully, because once you get past that, the smell itself is honestly not bad at all!
after it settles down, it turns into a beautifully sweet and woody fragrance, making it absolutely perfect for autumn.
if i can give you a clear image of this perfume: picture yourself in a soft, brown leather jacket, stopping to hug the trees deep in a forest.
a warm fireplace is quietly crackling nearby, and you're casually roasting chestnuts. it's beautifully blended and never invasive a truly cozy and elegant scent.
definitely not a blind buy, but if you like maison margiela's by the fireplace, i think you are going to like this one.

Scents of Wood Praline in Maple, not in the initial catalogue of 2020 but was released in 2021, was one of fragrances that made the earliest big impression, though so much of the catalogue is pleasant and interesting to me. Praline in Maple fittingly has a maple sugar component and inspired by a springtime in Canada, there are also the woody and resinous hints that are evocative of being in a forest that’s neither wholly deciduous nor evergreen. It’s not excessively sweet, instead balancing the sugary maple with the woods and resins, a really pleasant experience that blends the outdoors and outright confection, somewhere in the vicinity of maple syrup as well as maple sugar candy from Vermont that I’ve tried. I think it’s a great example of how the line can balance out sweet and non-sweet elements, even though this fragrance in particular might be a little sweet for some, perhaps the maple-averse.

Praline in Maple is priced at $240/38 for 75/10ml, sold via the house site as well as great boutiques like Perfumology, the first to carry the brand in the US, and I do love the availability of the 10ml option as a travel / sample size. Performance is great and the fully 75ml bottle size design is elegant, and the 10ml size is tidy and classy, with its wood cap in a small cylinder.

8 out of 10

I've smelt almost the entire "Scents of Wood" collection and I think this one may be my favorite. It is Gourmand without being sticky or overly sweet. The praline is in harmony with the spicy wood, giving it a fresh earthy cedar note. I'm not usually a fan of "food smells" but this one doesn't feel "foody" to me.

It's a well balanced fragrance that would work amazingly on either a woman or a man. This scent is truly unisex for me.

If you love woody or gourmand smells, you have to give this one a try! I keep smelling myself and it's making me so happy. I may have to go back to buy a full bottle of this one myself.