Winter Woods Sonoma Scent Studio for women and men

I have recently discovered this indie house and I am I impressed with all of the offerings I've tried. The quality of the ingredients as well as the craftmanship (or should I say womanship) of SSS is outstanding and you really get the feeling you are wearing something hand made.

Winter Woods is a luscious, dark and sultry creation however at no time does this perfume become overbearing. Quite the opposite, this is a perfume that makes you feel warm, secure and grounded. I applied quite heavily and thought there was a similarity between this and Serge Lutens Borneo 1834, but I don't believe anyone else has picked this up? ...maybe just my nose!

I would also like to emphasize like others have mentioned the fantastic customer service from perfumer Laurie Erickson. She reponds to all emails personally and includes a hand written note in the package. Top notch!

My wonderful, generous perfume pal Yamba1 ordered this for me for Christmas but due to postage delays I have just received it now, the 3rd week of January, and oh my God! I have fallen in love at 1st, 2nd and 3rd sniff. I don't know how she knew it, but this is just so much right up my alley. The main thing I loved about it straight away is that it reminds me very much of Les Nez L'Antimatiere, but with much more oomph! L'Antimatiere has for many months been my default night-time, sweet dreams perfume - I love the notes of butter, rain, tiny hint of mint, and musk, but Winter Woods smells like the same notes multiplied to the googleplex. It is a HUGE castoreum bomb but although it is strong it is gentle as well (don't we all wish for a man like this???) It's my perfume dream come true. Thank you, thank you, thank you dear Yamba1, I'm thrilled to bits. 10/10

Boozy woods with comforting, velvety vanilla base. This one is lovely, like a cashmere blanket, yet at the same time reminds me of June street fair, with imported woods, incense and perfumes on sale in the open air. Lovely

Laurie, what did you do? Waving your magic wand? Now I have to add this perfume to the top of my WILL BUY list. I blame you for that, but in a happy way :)

I fell in love with Burnt Amber of Neil Morris yesterday, and today I fall in love with Winter Woods of Sonoma Scent. Maybe they both have Castoreum...hahaha...

Anyway, it's the mixture of sandalwood and amber I smell the most and oakmoss. When it settles down a little, it does smell like chypre to me.

Sonoma Scent Studio WINTER WOODS, my last sample from this house, ended up being a pleasant surprise. This is a very smooth and delectable amber oriental perfume, where I was expecting another burnt cedar variant, of which this house has many. Although there is a fair amount of wood here, the amber really dominates, with a rich and golden, viscous texture. I may even like this more than ANNE PLISKA, and that's saying a lot.

WINTER WOODS is less spicy than some amber compositions, and quite a bit more ambery than others (L'ENCRE NOIRE, AMBRE GRIS, et al.). A perfect perfume for cold weather, WINTER WOODS also wears quite well on a mild summer day. This may be my favorite from Sonoma—I somehow saved the best for last... On my wish list!

A couple of days ago, I was heading for town, perfectly aware of that -3 celcius, snow and ice would affect my body temperature big time.Suddenly I got a voice in my head saying; "Put on some winter woods!" And I have to say, I`ve never smelled anything more suitable for extra cold days! It`s not only warm and comforting, it`s like it got several layers of warming materials. Almost like the way people would dress when skiing: wool closest to skin, then a new layer of wool, finished by an isolating layer for ultimate comfort. It`s a hint of freshness to it as well that remindes me of pine, but only a hint. Just enough to give the richness a bright spark.
Winter Woods totally lives up to it`s name. I love it and will definately reach for it on the coolest of the coolest days!

This little known gem is possibly the best spin on woods and amber I have yet encountered - there is, literally, nothing that smells quite as woodsy and amber-y, like the love child of a fine cabinet maker's shop and an attar store in the Middle East. Its so spectacular, in my humble opinion, that I wonder why it hasn't garnered a huge cult following, with thousands and thousands of us little perfume lovers trudging through the online shopping forests in hopes of snagging just one little bottle of this incredible fragrant cold weather potion.

Winter Woods is nothing short of spectacular as a scent, intense in presence - its an extrait for certain! - , quasi eternal in its duration - 12 hours and then some - and as magical as a walk in blue twilight through snow covered woods.

10 out of 10 for beauty, duration, sillage.

Caveat: You have to adore woods and amber, and have a fondness for perfumes with real presence.

This is a very nice winter fall scent...You have the feeling that you are in a village after a heavy rain, cloudy weather, you get the smell of earth, the trees and roots with the smoky-sweet smell coming out from the fireplaces in the houses. It is very natural, strong and attractive. For those who love woody scents, especially potion and silver wind woods from Dsquared2, this is a must have and much better with great sillage, longevity and unigueness. When you apply this, you want to sit outside in the winter with all this cold and wind just to smell the maximum of this scent...great, definitely great. Laurie Erickson who created, runs and sells the perfumes is a professional, very friendly and you will get the maximum of respect needed. I totally recommend this but only only for winter and fall! it is great for an afternoon trip to the mountains and outdoors generally! You get a so natural mountain/rainy/woody/smoky smell that you will never forget it!

I love this scent ! Gorgeously woody and smoky and semi-sweet and delicious and cosy and unisex charming...oooh...I cannot give it enough praise !
Very fortunately for us here SSS scents are now available and I am so happy about this I could jump with joy.
Yes, the brand offers excellent customer service and takes customer requests seriously.
I just wish I lived in California - probably would visit their boutique quite often :-)
Winter Woods stays on my skin long and really gives me that cuddly, cosy and heart-warming feeling of "being at home". It gives me inner peace.
I like many perfumes, but only very few can switch that feel-good-button in me the way WW does.

If you like it woody and ambery, slightly sweet and extravagant you must give this a try. Will reasure my bottle like a precious jewel.

I wanted to like this, but unfortunately it has the same kind of amber that Ambre Noir has, and that makes me nauseous after a few hours. It's a shame because of the three fragrances I've tried from Sonoma Scent Studios, this is my favorite.

It goes on with the notes of smoke, sweet amber, and something boozy, and together they make a wonderfully delicious aroma (not that it's gourmand at all, but that it is appealing enough to lick your wrists). It stays that way, and changes only to sweeten up even more at the end.

If you can stand amber, this is a well-blended, classy, and great-smelling scent. Finally, as others have stated, SSS is dedicated to their customers. I received my shipment in a few days even over the 4th of July weekend with a handwritten note from the nose behind the scent as well!

Mmmm. This is so warm and great for fall! It starts out a bit obnoxious to me, with really sharp amber. It quickly turns to sweet, smoky wood-the kind that makes me constantly sniff my wrists. This goes directly to wanted list.

I agree with all of the previous comments,Sonoma Scent Studio are efficient and have quality in their perfumes.You have the feeling when you put Winter Woods that you are resting near the trunk of a giant tree in the forest and smelling the birch,the roots and moses,the dirt and moist.

Like many others here, I am impressed with everything about Sonoma Scent Studio, from the quality and selection of fragrances to the thoughtful customer service.

Working my way through my sample box, I find myself today cocooned in Winter Woods.

The gorgeous opening is alive with woodsy spice. I do not detect oakmoss, but there is plenty of vetiver, guaiac and cedar in the greeting. Sandalwood becomes more prominent after the first 20 minutes and gives the ambery drydown a nostalgic, 70's vibe. What makes the drydown special is castoreum--a gentle dose, that never pushes Winter Woods into the dirty-amber realm of Bal à Versailles, but that made me reach for a BAV bottle just to be sure.

Another winner from Sonoma Scent Studio.

Honestly I would classify winter woods as a woody chypre, and if anyone is pining after discontinued Deneuve, may I suggest trying this one (quite a similarity to my nose)

I put this on and was transported down memory lane to a day spent at 10,000 Waves, a mountain spa above Santa Fe, NM. I parked in the upper lot then made my way up the pine covered walkway to the entrance. This is a Japanese themed spa, with clean lined walls and floors made of fragrant woods. I was there in the spring, when it was still chilly, and the fireplace was roaring and filling the room with a fragrant aroma.

I then moved on the the communal pool, where the only decision is to wear or not to wear a swimsuit (and how long to stay)

Winter woods captures everything from the initial walkway, to the crackling fire, to the pine covered walls surrounding the pools, and the au natural purity of the bathing experience. Truly relaxing, truly Western, truly special.

I am looking for a perfume that smells like the Winter Forest lotion from Williams-Sonoma. Is this similar or if not does anyone know of something out there?

Thank you!

Darlingbuds has already said all there is to say about this breathtakingly beautiful scent, so let me just tell you that to me it is the olfactory equivalent of an old song by The Cure called "A forest".
To me they both conjure up the same image of a dark, hazy, somewhat unsettling and at the same time irresistibly inviting forest. Deep, dark, mysterious and haunting. Incredibly gorgeous.

What a nice surprise! Sonoma Scent Studio's 'Winter Woods' is a stunning, rich perfume -- very reminiscent of the recently discontinued 'Organza Indecence'(Givenchy). WW is less sweet, less cloying, and a whole lot more woodsy. Still, an excellent alternative for those of you pining (no pun intended) for your beloved Indecence, AND a powerful, pretty perfume in its own right.

WW lasts nearly the whole day on my skin (though my skin is oily and perhaps holds the scent longer), and dries down to a lighter wood with wisps of smoke and the faintest tar.
If you work with sneezers or those otherwise sensitive to perfumes, this might not be a good choice for work (though you could, of course, dab it evvvvvvver so slightly somewhere discreet on your person), but make no mistake; though strong, WW is not 'loud' or obnoxious. The winter woods you'll find here is, just as Robert Frost's poem describes, 'the darkest evening of the year': dense, mysterious, and a tad supernatural. Just super, super juice.

Moreover, I'm also impressed with Sonoma Scent Studio's dedication to their customers; they're efficient, thoughtful and truly interested in making quality products. My shipping invoice had a hand-written note from Laurie Erickson (the nose) herself!