Replica - Soul of the Forest Maison Margiela 2016

Replica - Soul of the Forest by Maison Margiela

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7.8 / 10 143 Ratings

Replica - Soul of the Forest is a popular perfume by Maison Margiela for women and men and was released in 2016. The scent is woody-green. It is being marketed by L'Oréal. Pronunciation

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Perfumer

Quentin Bisch

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Blackcurrant, Pepper
Heart Notes	Cistus, Fir balsam
Base Notes	Plant juice, Bark, Vetiver, Atlas cedar, Frankincense, Patchouli

Ratings

Scent

7.8 (143 Ratings)

Longevity

7.0 (129 Ratings)

Sillage

6.7 (127 Ratings)

Bottle

7.8 (128 Ratings)

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 28.11.2020.

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Reviews

10/25/2020

10
Scent 8
Longevity 8
Sillage 10
Bottle

MiriamHa

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MiriamHa

Top Review 23

What counts in the end...

I've noticed over the last eight years on Parfumo and beyond that there's so much more you can test, at some point you get to the point where you focus on the essentials. I have tested hundreds of fragrances over the years, far more than I have written down here. Some I found so insignificant that it was not worth writing them down, others so convincing that I didn't need to write them down. At the moment my collection consists of 11 fragrances and 14 bottlings, I didn't update that here either, I know that sometimes bottlings disappear quite fast. So every day I have the choice between 25 fragrances and I have to say that even that is too much for me. Why? Because I think I could do with just five fragrances to cover what is essentially the essence. Sure, one day you move in with someone you've missed for a long time, but another one leaves with someone you're not in the mood for anymore. But the essence remains, in my eyes at least, that less is clearly more. For me there are four important categories: Christmas scents, incense, forest, amber. Of course there are several beauties within the categories, for example, I recently replaced "Ambre Précieux" with "Peau d'Ambre". Not forever, but simply because I don't think it needs several amber scents next to each other. Just like it basically needs only one from each of my categories. It can be changed at will, sure. But this madness with 30, 40, 100 scents I won't go along with anymore. I'm slowly using up my scents, not replacing them. There are few who can stay. One of them is Soul of the Forest. Why? Because it smells of the forest as I know and love it. In my student days I got up at 6 a.m. every morning to go for a walk in the forest. I loved it, especially in winter. When the trees smell frosty cool and sublime, when nature is able to stop time in picturesque dignity. When fir trees shine in all their glory and squirrels bury their last supplies, when robins sing on snowy branches, when you decorate your home with mistletoe. A few sprayers and I'm right where I like to be. In the soul of the forest

10 Replies

04/18/2019

MossGreen

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MossGreen

Top Review 12

Soul of the forest? Not at all.

So...I was allowed to test this scent, from which I had hoped for a lot, now extensively (thanks at this point) and I must say, he left me a little disappointed back.
I've just made it my passion to find the most authentic forest scents.
Since the fewest are suitable for the warmer seasons, I was all the more excited about this one.
Pepper, currant... Yes, that's exactly how it smells from the beginning... Only that this currant has never seen a shrub before and the fir balm, which turns on quite soon,
only very distant something to do with fir trees.

After a short time, when I was eagerly awaiting the heart note, a slightly sour, almost bitter tone mixed into the chord, and instead of catching the slightly tangy/synthetic opening, even more high-speed notes were whirled up.
The floral note misses its mitigating use here, bobbers for my nose inexpressively and slightly sweetly into the composition and even takes the whole thing in depth, but also, and I have to say this to her credit, bitterness.

Much too late the base starts with a little warmer-softer, more woody discreet sweet... But actually not on the skin, but only in the fabric of my sweater.

This fragrance is now wonderfully harmonious and even with some imagination to classify as "woody". But I don't want a fragrance that makes the sweater, which now belongs in the laundry, smell wonderful on the sleeve.

I felt like I was standing at Douglas...freshly waffled by slightly alcoholic, wildly mixed head notes. They just don't want to resign.

Remark of my husband during his walk (unaware that I just applied a >60€ perfume): "why is everyone using the same cheap fabric softener?"

A quite straightforward experience, not bad, quite pleasant to wear but with a forest the whole thing has quite little to do. Calling the scent the soul of it almost borders on presumption.
Rather the soul of a juice spritzer with more or less natural flavors and plenty of carbon dioxide.

Too bad...

8 Replies

02/04/2019

7.5
Scent 5
Longevity 6
Sillage 8
Bottle

Itchynose
38 Reviews

Itchynose

A fleeting soul

The first few seconds of Soul Of The Forest paint a vivid picture of water soaked woods after heavy rain. There is dew on the grass, earthy damp soil and wet green leaves keeping this timber themed scent friendly, soft and watery. There is even a sweetness in the air from maple sap dripping onto moist patchouli.

Sadly this beautiful image is fleeting. As if the forest floor was hit by sun rays that managed to find their way through the vegetation, the scent quickly evaporates before our eyes bringing the pleasant experience to an early end. One of the most evocative creations from Margiela, but also one of the most short lived.

07/21/2018

8.5
Scent 6
Longevity 8
Sillage 10
Bottle

Yharnam79

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Yharnam79

Top Review 8

Soul of the Forest on your skin, Wostok fir forest shower in your hand and everything around it is forgotten!

I'm a big fan of what we call "natural scents." It was the forest theme that particularly appealed to me. I like Vert de Bois and Vert d' Encens very, very much and Macaque also joins my favourites list. When I read the fragrance pyramid, it was already clear that I was on fire to get this fragrance under my nose. What should I say a very good decision (though not for the purse).

THAT is truly a forest scent!
Fir and cedar, moist smoky green in various facets and woods dominate here. For a change, not too much incense fumes waft like fog over the moss and wood-covered ground. Even a very light and wonderfully musty patchouli is perceptible and every now and then a slightly bitter sweetness flashes up (which is probably due to the black currant). In itself a cool and pleasant fragrance.
In the process, the green withdraws minimally from me, so that the fragrance becomes smokier and woodier in itself. On the whole, however, it settles in quite quickly.

Now to my only but nevertheless important point of criticism: the durability really borders on impudence. Already after 5-10 minutes the fragrance experience decreases rapidly. After 15 - 20 minutes only a hint of the fragrance remains. I feel that this is an enormous shortcoming; on the one hand because of the price, on the other hand because it really takes away the joy of this otherwise so great fragrance when you feel the need to replenish it every quarter of an hour. I have never experienced such a bad durability before. At least I don't remember it.

Conclusion:
Soul Of The Forest is a calm, almost meditative and yet strong character and self-confident fragrance. Also the name could not be chosen more suitable here.
I don't want to make a direct comparison as there are huge differences but from a basic point of view Soul Of the Forest is for me something like the rougher, more masculine and more serious brother of Vert d' Encens.
An incredibly charismatic, round and yet differentiated forest scent, which unfortunately suffers from its subterranean durability.

2 Replies

06/29/2018

7.5
Scent 6
Longevity 8
Sillage

Stanze

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Stanze

Top Review 23

Smell yourself nice

Maison Martin Margiela means something to me because I once met Mr Margiela in Normandy. He didn't buy the castle I was guarding, he bought another castle in Belgium. (And it was my fault again.) That's the short version of the story. Of course I found it impressive to show someone around who has their own Wikipedia article in several languages. He was nice and unspectacular. According to tradition, you don't look at the richest people for their money.

He will have nothing to do with this fragrance, except that the fashion house, from whose shops he withdrew years ago, still bears his name. I was still curious about the scents of his house.

I still know Wald well from my childhood in the Harz Mountains. I therefore always think that I must like the smell of the forest.

Enthusiastic I tried the perfume today after work and was immediately terribly disappointed. The top note told me nothing and when it had disappeared (quickly) I smelled liquorice. There's no liquorice at all in there. It had to be another puzzle smell. I sprayed after and didn't wait when the scent had disappeared. Then the wooden scents came to the fore, especially the cedar, but the incense lay like a wet sack over everything. With good will it smelled of damp earth and rotting wood.

Then I had the family tester M. testriechen. He said I'd have to spray it on. I sprayed after and smelled forest instead of liquorice in the meantime. I smelled the perfume nice. M claimed there was no liquorice, it smelled great like cedar and he would be sprayed later. The more intensive components are for me: the fir balm, the cedar and unfortunately the incense. Frankincense is usually a bit sweaty or overblown, at least something that starts with "schw" (dizzy, heavy, dizzy). Others obviously don't smell it that way, but find it "great", even on me. Otherwise, I think I should just let incense be, but if you always get such positive feedback. Sighs in the woods.

The scent already lasts a few hours and the projection I find quite tidy. Quite an incense cloud. In contrast to many people I find that incense does not smell like smoke, but just like incense. In my teenage years I used to burn incense (I was a hippie), actually it's rather an incandescence and he doesn't smoke much (yes, altar boys say the opposite, but I didn't have a church at home). I associate smoke with a wood fire, food roasted by Jamie Oliver or a house fire because of me. Smoke that triggers a fire alarm. The attempt to burn paper in a wood-burning stove or wet leaves on branches that are also wet. For me, incense is more incense than smoke, say: resinous.

Compared to "Falling Trees" by Régime des Fleurs, I found Soul of the Forest less wooded and more swish, but Soul of the Forest costs much less and you don't have to go to customs if you bought the perfume. Maybe I will be convinced of Soul of the Forest if I have tested it often enough.

In my opinion Soul of the Forest is not for summer, more for men and more for evenings and leisure. But that's for everyone to know. Because of me, women can wear it at work in the summer, too, and I won't drag them into a shower anyway.

10 Replies