Years ago, April Aromatics won me over with the decadent”glamour hippie” spicy patchouli, Bohemian Musk. I adore the the brands heady florals (like Tempted Muse), but I’m always drawn to what Tanja does with earthy notes. Erdenstern is like a cousin of my first April Aromatics love, Bohemian Musk. This is a botanical musk with a leafy bitterness over the brand’s signature “sophisticated, balsamic sweetness”.

Erdenstern opens as a dusty, dark chocolate cocoa powder and musk. It’s warm, earthy and cozy. There’s a bitterness from vetiver and a dried tobacco. The heart is boozy. It’s like whisky and tobacco leaves…sweet and balsamic. The musk is warm, furry and sweet. In the dry-down the musk gets powdery and sweeter. It’s like a musky amber with a dry, earthy vetiver. This dry-down is sort of the dry-down of old school fougères, but instead of oakmoss, it’s vetiver. The dry-down is bittersweet – sweet tonka and bitter herbs.

Overall, it’s the sort of fragrance I enjoy wearing when it’s cool, rainy and dreary. It’s one of those fragrances that comes across as moody and its emotions. I also like how the scent mixes with the scent of rain.

Notes listed include botanical musk accord, botanical ambergris accord, tonka bean, vetiver, tobacco, cocoa and oponax. Launched in 2014. PERFUMER – Tanja Bochnig

Give Erdenstern a try if you like balsamic, boozy scents or a “dark vetiver”. Or if you like perfumes like Frapin Speakeasy, Serge Lutens Borneo 1834, Jovoy Psychedelique, Roja Dove Enigma Pour Homme and/or Phoenix Botanicals Cocoa Noir. I’m not one that layers perfumes, but sometimes it just happens. Pro tip – I have found that this one does really amazing things when layered with lavender-heavy scents like Caron Pour Un Homme or Elizabeth W Lavender.

Projection and longevity are average.

The 1 oz bottle retails for $190 at Luckyscent. Samples are also available for purchase.

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Balsamic, “dark” vetiver…and musk. It’s one of those fragrances that pairs well with my emo moods. But, the price also makes me emo because I’m not the sort of person that’s going to pay $200-ish for an ounce of perfume. But, you guys already know that I’m cheap like that.

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*Disclaimer – Sample provided by the brand. I am not financially compensated for my reviews. My opinions are my own. Product pic is from Fragrantica. Betty Blythe from theredlist.com.