PERFUME REVIEWS
Wit & West Perfumes has been reviewed by top fragrance blogs and publications including Fragrantica, ÇaFleureBon, Basenotes, Organic Beauty Lover, I Sniff Before I Sleep, as well as various social media fragrance influencers and bloggers including Redolessence, Joseph Colbourne and more.
See below for reviews of several different fragrances from the Wit & West Signature and Reserve Collections. For additional features and reviews including press articles about Wit & West Perfumes visit our Press page.
Brumaire Woods - I'm impressed by the thoughtful and innovative way fresh terpenic aspects of the top notes transition to an open and softly linalool-centered floral heart, calling to mind classic aspects of a Fougère within the ferns of our gorge.
"The Pacific temperate rainforests of western North America combine to form the largest rainforest region on the planet (as defined by the World Wildlife Fund). Today, less than 10% of the original coastal rainforest remains, making federally protected areas especially treasured as a part of our shared ecological heritage....Perhaps only perfume can capture the slow sensorial tempo and cool refreshing emotion of the Pacific temperate rainforest (of the Columbia River Gorge)...Such a matchless expression of place can be found in Wit & West Brumaire Woods. Perfumer Whitney Swales uses all natural and whole botanical materials to create a fragrance intimately connected to memory, history and sensory experience. Brumaire Woods invokes a calm and peaceful sense of rootedness and home." Read full review by Rachel Ng, Contributing Editor and Writer for the perfume blog website, ÇaFleureBon - Wit & West Brumaire Woods Review
Brumaire Woods a smokey, modern fougére
"Brumaire Woods is a really nice, smokey, modern fougére with lavender, mint, tobacco and oakmoss...There's something lively and animated about this perfume and it happens to be the one I have fallen in love with from this husband-and-wife duo's line..." From the Redolessence YouTube video featuring Indie American Perfume Houses for July 4th, 2022.
Brumaire Woods is beautifully well done...
"This house makes tremendously picturesque fragrances (if that makes sense) that are particularly well-blended. Yet...they still manage to express the personality of each individual ingredient in its highest form...This is a wonderfully joyful fragrance - it smells like taking a walk in the morning when the dew is still on the grass and the heat of the day is just peeking over the horizon...Brumaire Woods is beautifully well done..." @kicksandscents
Brumaire Woods is a BEAUTIFUL creation from my favorite house discoveries in recent memory...
A BEAUTIFUL creation from my favorite house discoveries in recent memory, @witandwest, Brumaire Woods. I've already gone into detail with this so I'll be brief. A soothing to the soul creation. Relaxing complexity. Lavender, Peppermint, Thyme, Neroli, Jasmine, Tobacco and Oakmoss. All off these scents I've tried from them must be worn and experienced to truly understand the olfactory journey they take you on. Very few of my 300+ bottles can do what this house has achieved in terms of taking me on a trip and really experiencing a fragrance. @mikescents
Brumaire Woods...is definitely my favorite from Wit and West.
I love that this is unabashedly herbal, warts and all, the way I love it. My taste for aromatics range from pleasantly subtle to full-on Santa Maria Novella antique medicinal-unguent strong, and Brumaire Woods is firmly in the latter. It stars with a fist gripping a sampler from the herb garden, smelling of mint, thyme, hyssop, pennyroyal, and the garden soil mingling with it all. The trigeminal nerve is activated: feeling cool, bracing, and sharp.
A few minutes pass, and suggestions of neroli are evident, but what really blooms on my skin is a heaping mound of oakmoss that fixes the herbaceous bouquet for a good while, feeling reminiscent to the mossiest aromatics that were marketed to gents in the 70s and 80s. One comes to mind: R de Capucci, one of the most oakmossy heavy fragrances I've smelled. This one is up there, and the thyme paired with it is a brilliant decision.
This is definitely my favorite from Wit and West. Joseph Colbourne, alphairone My Fragrantica, Colbourne | Basenotes Forum and JJ Colbourne - YouTube
Summit Rose - A sprinkle or two of it feels like you are in a pure and spiritual world...
"A sprinkle or two of it feels like you are in a pure and spiritual world when this friendly genie invokes balanced, elaborate and woven aromatic materials...Wearing it, makes you feel a strong and bright aura of Roses, with a mixture of Frankincense and Rosewood sweetened with Fir Balsam, with a smooth smoke of Marjoram, coveralls with influxes of green and fruity notes..." @freshnose_fragrance
Summit Rose - This one was love at first sniff.
"...This one was love at first sniff. The name really is exactly what you get. Growing up in the country side in northern MN, I spent many days getting lost in the woods, cutting and climbing trees. So naturally I enjoy coniferous notes. That green, resinous, piney, sappy, deep evergreen smell. This has just that. Mix that in with that same feel of that sweet, sticky, jammy rose, and this easily bumped every rose scent I have ever smelled, to the back of the line." @mikescents
Rosa de Bolero - Osmanthus begins an intricate dance with a gothic rose; leading to the creation of a new flower that is deep, mysterious and enticing.
"Dedicated to the bolero, Spain’s sensual dance, Rosa de Bolero is an ode to rose and Whitney’s passion for ballroom dancing. The fragrance bursts with saffron and pink pepper, two spices I love. I also detect something intensely aromatic and fruity with a camphoraceous hint. Perhaps that powerful vibe is conferred by the osmanthus absolute, with its undertones of apricot jam and leather. The osmanthus begins an intricate dance with a gothic rose, leading to the creation of a new flower that is deep, mysterious, and enticing. The fragrance is later mellowed by woods and frankincense…" @isniffbeforeIsleep and I Sniff Before I Sleep
Rosa de Bolero - The darkest, most unisex osmanthus
"...The darkest, most unisex osmanthus. Osmanthus twig on a biker leather jacket, with droplets of lapsang souchong...What's unsual here is how the tea note and spices make the leather fresh and almost water-color transparent. There's a lot of movement here, I can almost sense the waves of smell, when I wear it in an empty space, I feel like I am not alone." @scentaliona
Rosa de Bolero - It’s a true lovers trade secret of Roses and Osmanthus that keep your heart full and mind motivated throughout the day.
"...RDB is the life of a rose from its green, bright, and spicey inception, to its dark decay through time and space. Rosa de Bolero ages on my skin like a lifetime of love that was born and died before anyone even knowing it existed...It’s a true lovers trade secret of Roses and Osmanthus that keep your heart full and mind motivated throughout the day. RDB is a true tragedy for St. Valentine but a victory for any normal afternoon you need enhanced..." @scentwise
Gardenia 'Ono - sooo good that I just bought 2 bottles because I just needed it in my life!
"...The Gardenia and champaca create this magical floral accented with key lime. The first transformation you notice is that this one starts to sweeten up with the vanilla and tonka bean. The sandalwood finishes this one off and really makes this settle as a sweet creamy floral...sooo good that I just bought 2 bottles because I just needed it in my life!" @mikescents
Gardenia 'Ono - a uniquely done gardenia...
"A uniquely done gardenia...very natural, edible sweet, warm tropical-floral creamy gourmand, radiant, rich and smooth, almost like peach, or apricot spicy drink, can be tea, can be smoothie, velvety and pleasantly bright! All notes blend very well, I'm pleasantly surprised by this scent, can recommend for beautiful experience, for summer vacation or just for those who love gourmand-floral fragrances." @natlovemoon
Gavitella - I find this quite contemporary for a botanical, often something hard to pull off due to the nature of the shapeshifting organic ingredients.
"...It’s like peeling back the reddish-orange citrus skin, the leaves and all combined, and slowly revealing the innards of a glowing fruit orb. It’s like the spiced allure that one gets from indulging in a wondrous cider made of prickly pear and mandarin, stewed over a slow burn fire of cedar and sandalwood. It’s as bracing as it is coastal, and yes, that can be one and the same, or not, depending. Though, when the wood comes through, it’s as if the thicket of limbs replicates nerve endings, surrounding you like a nest, with the best type of nourishment for the senses. Deeply embedded is a passing accord that reminds me of a jazzy patchouli, but its fleeting. I find this quite contemporary for a botanical, often something hard to pull off due to the nature of the shapeshifting organic ingredients. The Italian Mediterranean, the Tyrrhenian coastline – Sardinia, Capri, Positano, Salerno, Ravello – a little of each seems to emerge from this artfully concocted perfume. The hills are alive, and the trees are in full bloom along the wavy shore. Enjoy the olfactory view from here." @tjnorrisart of notetakingblog.com. View the Full Review
Habari - ...this just may make you feel (even those who are irreligious) as though you have been given entrée into a world of magic, and the lure of angelic spirits.
"...What rises up first is the combination of clove and a shaded pepper note. The spics have a striking yet cooling sensation, both on my senses and on my skin – likely making this a great option to wear on the humid months of the Texas everyday. There are florals woven in and around the fine spice and balsamics here, though they are delicate enough to play a secondary role, sweetening the perfume just one iota. It’s breathy, lively, warm. This aromatic fragrance is altogether dynamic in its colorful spectrum and will garner attention from on-sniffers and even strangers...The phrase #blessed is so trite, but this just may make you feel (even those who are irreligious) as though you have been given entrée into a world of magic, and the lure of angelic spirits." @tjnorrisart of notetakingblog.com. View the Full Review
Honeysuckle Halcyon - After a few generous spritzes, my arm is drenched in deliriously pretty, honeyed flower that strikes me as an easygoing little sister to Parfums Delrae’s gorgeous Amoureuse: heady, syrupy and sensual.
"...On first spray, Honeysuckle Halcyon lets you know exactly what she’s about. After a few generous spritzes, my arm is drenched in deliriously pretty, honeyed flower that strikes me as an easygoing little sister to Parfums Delrae’s gorgeous Amoureuse: heady, syrupy and sensual. But baby girl is out for a good time and mixes in some peach juice and a scattering of mimosa blossoms. It is sweet, but not overly so, juicy and languid, and makes me want to twirl into the arms of someone mama warned me against..." Read full review on perfume blog website, ÇaFleureBon - Wit & West Honeysuckle Halcyon Review
Honeysuckle Halcyon - It smells somewhat forbidden, perhaps a bit taboo...even a bit naughty.
"...Honeysuckle Halcyon does indeed harken back to the days of 'speakeasies of 1920's Chicago' as mentioned in the story behind the perfume. It's a lingering affair - heavy in the air like a humid ballroom full of women and men dancing the night away, intense almost animalic jasmine invigorating the open with warm, almost thick honeysuckle enrobing the jasmine in a honeycomb of sweetness. It smells somewhat forbidden, perhaps a bit taboo...Perhaps it is even a bit naughty in it's suggestion of what's yet to come...It’s a fun night at the “the Green Mill” for sure. And a fun fragrance to boot. This is a perfect later summer into the first cool days of fall type of fragrance – champagne in one hand and the other bidding farewell to a fond summer." @kicksandscents
Honeysuckle Halcyon - When a scent changes your mood and makes you extremely happy, you want to wear it all the time.
"Upon initial spray you are surrounded by an effervescent peach that puts a huge smile on my face. In a few moments the most creamy, sweet Honeysuckle and Jasmine Sambac dance around the bubbling peaches to create a long lasting, delightful experience. In the dry down the patchouli and Haitian Vetiver make their entrance as they carry the florals and crystallized peaches through 4-5 hours of stage time. This is awesome for a 100% natural perfume!!! If you haven’t tried this Indie House you are missing out on a rare opportunity. @witandwest is a 100% all-natural botanical perfumery, based in Colorado. I am not paid to share my review. I purchased this fragrance directly from the House. I did not hold back from speaking my honest opinion. This fragrance is AMAZING." @tammielovesfragrances
Honeysuckle Halycon is possibly the most beautiful honeysuckle fragrance I’ve encountered.
"Honeysuckle Halycon is possibly the most beautiful honeysuckle fragrance I’ve encountered. As a handful of you may know, I’ve been searching for the perfect honeysuckle and THIS is what I was looking for. It is soooo vivid. It is hypnotic. It is full of depth and color and beauty. It’s exactly right. The projection and sillage are good. I was expecting modest performance, but I can smell it on myself for hours and hours after putting it on. The dry down is fabulous. This is a small business worth checking out. Natural botanicals may or may not be your thing, but they will almost certainly be unlike anything you’ve tried. You may find yourself falling in love with a fragrance you can’t find anywhere else." @a.perfume.collector
Honeysuckle Halycon...to be frank, it's sensational.
"I will state with confidence that this has honeysuckle absolute in it. I know it, because I own some, and this definitely contains the complex, heavy, rich, narcotic material that I procured from Mandy Aftel some time ago, along with a decent percentage of jasmine sambac absolute, which I love...But what do I think of it? To be frank, it's sensational. These materials were all put to good use and altogether it smells like a dream." Joseph Colbourne, alphairone My Fragrantica, Colbourne | Basenotes Forum and JJ Colbourne - YouTube
La Valse was intended to be the waltz to end all waltzes. La Valse seems to be a rose fragrance to end all rose fragrances.
"Wit & West's La Valse opens with a sharp, spicy, yet sweet pepper that is balanced to perfection so as not to be overwhelming with too much of a bite. Then, gliding with delicate steps, it wisps and dips me into the roses: Rose Bourbon, with its warmth and vibrancy and rose absolute with its honied and heady with a touch of spice are brilliant flowing partners.
After the lovely and elegant rise of the pepper and rose, I then drift into the finale with the last movements of this perfume. Whitney’s artisanal vanilla tincture adds sweetness and its close embrace is supported by longevity, endurance which is intriguing in a natural perfume.
La Valse deserves a deep, and graceful bow." Read full review by Sandy Lundberg, Contributor for the perfume blog website, ÇaFleureBon - La Valse Review
La Valse...the top notes smell like the aroma of a Swedish glugg distilled with rose, raisins, vanilla, and spices—delicious
"The top notes smell like the aroma of a Swedish glugg distilled with rose, raisins, vanilla, and spices—delicious. Soon, the rose becomes more prominent, jammy, with some piquancy, reminding me of one of my own composition ideas from some time ago when I combined black pepper with a damascone-heavy rose together. I get to revisit that concept here, fully realized, wonderfully rendered, and I am happy that it was achieved by a passionate perfumer." Joseph Colbourne, alphairone My Fragrantica, Colbourne | Basenotes Forum and JJ Colbourne - YouTube
In a world of penetrating perfume, Miki Mochi's call is a "come hither" rather than collar grab.
"I am hypnotized by the top notes of Miki Mochi. While at once it has the stark legibility of natural or predominantly natural perfumery, there is this mouth-watering, quenching sensation in the opening, stimulating not just the olfactory nerve, but somehow, the trigeminal nerve, a cooling sensation, as it were. Further on, the mimosa absolute is like green pollen and chewy propolis as it waltzes with a dried-raisin and prune osmanthus, dripping honeyed and damp, coming in and out of focus.
While intense and determined when examined close to the skin, its gossamer feel from further away resembles the ebb and flow of tree blossom perfume in a breeze. It's spatially cautious, signaling itself with heat or motion, like the swaying of boughs (or of arms). In a world of penetrating perfume, its call is a "come hither" rather than collar grab. Miki Mochi is the perfect companion for this Sunday evening in a soft robe, a salt rock lamp, and a good book." Joseph Colbourne, alphairone My Fragrantica, Colbourne | Basenotes Forum and JJ Colbourne - YouTube
Rosé L.A. - The ROSE is rich, dense, tangy sweet and oh so good.
"Perhaps it’s because I’m an LA (Los Angeles) girl 💯 that this scent captured my heart, IDK, but I can tell you that I received a dozen (no joke) compliments from random people while wearing this. The ROSE is rich, dense, tangy sweet and oh so good. I enjoy both the opening and the dry down 10/10 (that’s not the case with all fragrances). The resinous sandalwood is pure heaven wrapped with juicy mandarin and florals. Getting wafts of myself keeps me wanting more." @tammielovesfragrances
A treat for the senses - Haikus about my five favorites from the line
"...A treat for the senses - stimulating and provoking me to imagine myself in a host of places around the world, immersing my nose in some of the most glorious natural olfactory elements each location has to offer. I selected five (and this was not an easy task, as I was mesmerized by so many) samples as my favorites from the line. I’ve written a haiku about each...
GARDENIA ‘ONO - Scarlet i'iwi. Hop among the milky white. Kau'ai gardenia.
YUZU POP - Yuzu's blithe spirit. Harmonizes with sweet white. Blooms in joyful song.
LA VALSE - Velvet rose petals. Soaked in vanilla tincture. Float in honey pots.
SUMMIT ROSE - On a mountainside. Of balsam firs roses fleck. The blue-green landscape.
and my very favorite of all...
GAVITELLA - A citrus breeze glides. Through feathery cypress of. The Amalfi coast." @perfumehaiku
The Violetear - This is a stunning violet candy scent with slightly earthy and musky undertones and a delicately soft talc texture.
"Wit & West's The Violetear is a fresh Fougère, shimmering with the special radiance of the blue-green metallic, Mexican Violetear hummingbird. A herbaceous lavender opens the scent, with a subtle coumarinic undertone. Just as its namesake balances in the air, this fragrance does spectacular work of balancing the relation between lavender and coumarin that defines a traditional Fougère – effortless and refined. A skilled interweaving of rose de mai absolute (rose centifolia) and rose damascene provide a warm honeyed voluptuousness with superb lemon-citrus undertone and spicy green facets, the very breath of a fresh bouquet of roses. Mimosa adds powdery floral airiness to the fragrance, layering light honey-like floralcy with woody back-tones. The violet opulence of the reserve iris enfleurage rises in a rainbow of amethyst, mauves, periwinkle, and plum. This is a stunning violet candy scent with slightly earthy and musky undertones and a delicately soft talc texture." Read full review by Rachel Ng, Senior Editor for the perfume blog website, ÇaFleureBon - The Violetear Review