— fragrance —

O’ Tannenbaum Holiday 2011 Perfume Blogging Event

December 21, 2011

O' Tannenbaum record cover

O’Tannenbaum Holiday 2011 Perfume Blogging Event

When I was a kid, I thought O’Tannenbaum was “old tanning balm” and I had no idea what this had to do with Christmastime but I did have grandparents that would run away to Florida every winter…My family isn’t German and we never got those nifty marzipan pigs or chocolate filled advent calenders. (I’m still a bit jealous of German-American Christmas traditions.) I still don’t know the words to the O’Tannenbaum song but I know it has to do with Christmas trees. And these days I’m surrounded by Christmas trees even if they aren’t in my home…

Happy holidays from the Evergreen State and the Emerald City!  All of the rain keeps us green from moss to mold to mildew to conifers. This splash of color keeps us from going completely crazy in the fall/winter/spring. Well, most of us from going crazy. You’ve heard me say it a million times, it’s beautiful here and that’s why I chose to live here and put up with the weather. I’ll never forget any of the smells of the forest, how these smells shook my senses. For the O’Tannenbaum Holiday 2011 Perfume Blogging Event, I’m focusing on 3 Pacific Northwestern evergreen perfumes.

O'Tannenbaum 2011 Perfume Event

OLO Portland Fôret Perfume Oil – Fôret is like walking through the forest…or at least your memories of walking through the forest. Fôret is cleaner, crisper and romanticized like my first trip through the forests outside of Seattle. Forêt opens as fresh mountain air. You smell it and you know it’s evergreens. It’s fresh, crisp, green with a natural ginger and citrus side. Like I said, it’s a “cleaned up” version of Pacific Northwestern forests, no dirt or decay. With time Forêt gets less like the evergreen needles and more like the bark/wood. It starts to smell more of cedar and lead pencil shavings. This is a must try fragrance for those that want a fresh, woodsy scent.

OLO Portland Pauper Perfume Oil – Pauper is like being in a PNW forest in early fall. We get months and months of rain and you enjoy every minute before the gloom sets in. So take your strange friends and your absinthe and go to the forest. Pauper smells of dark, humid Pacific Northwestern rainforests. There’s a green dampness over a dirty, moldy oud. Balsam branches keep the fragrance fresh and foresty. The fragrance begins to warm up with the wormwood, the dark dampness goes away. Your body is warmed by the absinthe. Pauper goes from damp to dry from a little gloomy to merry. The dry-down is this beautiful dry, woodsy green scent.

Juniper Ridge Elk Meadows Solid Perfume – I’m saving the best for last. Made from wild-crafted, steam distilled ingredients native to the PNW, Elk Meadows smells EXACTLY like Mount Hood’s high meadows (in Oregon). There is nothing else on the market like this. This is a stunning, accurate fresh air fragrance with citrus evergreens and wind-blown wildflowers. This scent captures a place in time but at the same time this isn’t just a concept fragrance. Elk Meadows is completely wearable. The dry-down is evergreen trimmings with turpentine and freshly grated ginger. I wear it at my desk, sniff my wrists and I’m reminded of spring in the mountains, happy memories. The natural solid perfume is in a jojoba and beeswax base that has a nice throw and is very long-wearing. I highly recommend this fragrance.

OLO Portland fragrances are available at OLO and retail for $40. Juniper Ridge solid perfumes are available at Juniper Ridge and retail for $65. Only 94 of the Elk Meadows have been produced.

 Don’t forget to check out the other perfume blogs participating in O’Tannenbaum/Old Tanning Balm

All I am a Redhead

Another Perfume Blog

Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies

Beauty on the Outside

Eyeliner on a Cat

Fragrant Reviews

Muse in Wooden Shoes

Olfactoria’s Travels

Parfumieren

Redolent of Spices

Scent of the Day

Suzanne’s Perfume Journal

The Candy Perfume Boy

Undina’s Looking Glass

*OLO samples from Knows Perfume Seattle. Juniper Ridge solid was provided by Juniper Ridge. I am not financially compensated for this review or any others. My opinions are my own. Album cover from Amazon.

25 thoughts on “O’ Tannenbaum Holiday 2011 Perfume Blogging Event”

  1. I really, really love Juniper Ridge’s Elk Meadows, and I’m happy to read that you do too! I’ve got their Yuba as well, and they’re both extremely wearable, blissful scents. I want to try their other scents now too. Juniper Ridge’s products have the crunchy granola ethics you hope for but with a high-end lushness you never expected. Obsessed.

    (oh, and LOL at Old Tanning Balm)
    Carrie Meredith recently posted..O Tannenbaum! [a joint blogging project]

    1. It’s rare for something to be a “concept” and still wearable but these are. I’m obsessed with the line. They sell it at grocery markets out here, everything except the limited run solid perfumes. Hubs has went through waayyy too many Siskiyou Cedar soaps in the past 3 years. I’ve got so many people hooked on the soaps, tea and now I hope the room sprays and solids. It’s a great line, like you said ethical but lush. This isn’t any happy hands at home 😉

      -I’m sure it isn’t the only song lyric I’ve misunderstood my entire life. It made sense at the time. Old people went to Florida for Christmas – old tanning balm.

  2. Victoria, you have a way of making even rain sound good, which is saying something, as there are too many clouds and rainy days here in Pennsylvania to suit me. (Or maybe I should say, you make the rain forests sound good. I have a feeling that if I lived in the PNW, I would be taking my strange friends and absinthe to the forest quite often.) 🙂

    By your description, Juniper Ridge Elk Meadow sounds gorgeous. Don’t know if I’ll ever try it, but enjoyed reading about it. Happy Holidays to you!

    1. You have to be positive about it or it will all end up being a bit Twin Peak-ish insane-o. Trust me. There are plenty of times during the year when I look at real estate in southern California. Have I mentioned my Vitamin D deficiency?

      It is gorgeous. It’s like having the beauty of the PNW but without all the gloom. You can enjoy it from the comfort of your Pennsylvanian home.

    2. I have to second this. You’ve made Elk Meadow sound like an absolute must try, and I appreciate reading a review like this from a state that I associate with the absolute best in natural forest smells. 🙂 Oregon smells amazing.

      1. Oregon does smell amazing. And to think, Oregon is on top of the world’s largest mushroom. If you ever miss the Oregon wilderness, you can always sniff Elk Meadows.

  3. Going to go digging for my OLO samples now, and move that stalled shopping cart at Juniper Ridge up on the priority list! Thanks. 🙂

    1. It’s financially dangerous reading perfume blogs…I’ve “bumped” a few more purchases up after reading some of the participating blogs!

  4. Oh, my. That Portland Pauper hits all the right buttons for me. Which implies that I spend a lot of time tippling absinthe in county parks, alas. 😉 I too love those German/Scandinavian traditions, though some a bit… Grimm. I was trying to explain the Icelandic “Yule Lads” to a friend today, and it sounded like Halloween! 😀
    Meg (Olenska) recently posted..O Tannenbaum!: A Holiday Group Blog Project

    1. Life is too short not to.

      Yule Lads, they are the robbers, right? I love all of that Northern European holiday stuff. And I’m sure it’s all based on something morbid. I’m from TN. There aren’t many Christian German-American’s there or at least in comparison to my husband’s upbringing in OH. I’m still in awe of some of their family Christmas traditions.

  5. Although I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to fully smell any of these perfumes, I still want to try all of them.

    I’m amazed at how much throw you get from that solid! That’s rare, in my experience.

    “Old Tanning Balm” – that’s hilarious! I believe a tannenbaum is a fir tree, which may or may not smell of old tanning balm. Probably not, because who would want one of those in their home (besides Snooki)?
    JoanElaine recently posted..O Tannenbaum!

    1. Perhaps a nice Pacific Northwestern can get you samples of the OLO. Perhaps 😉
      I was really surprised by the solid too. It’s the “strongest” that I’ve ever tried. It’s more expensive than most but a “better value” because of that.

      Snooki probably doesn’t let it get old. Douglas firs smell orange-y.

  6. Old Tanning Balm is hilarious! 😆
    Those OLO scents sound very interesting, but then as Suzanne said you even make rain sound desirable. 🙂 Thank you for introducing me to that line.

    1. There is something in the OLO line for everyone…I think. There are a few very good florals too. I hope that EDPs are in the near future since I prefer alcohol based perfumes over oil. Saying that the oil in OLO isn’t “greasy”.

  9. I have to admit that ‘fir tree’ and ‘green’ scents in general are not favourites of mine but your description of Juniper Ridge’s Elk Meadow has me most intrigued!

    1. I used to dislike “green” scents. I liked woods, but green wasn’t my thing. After actually smelling trees, I learned that to bottle this is a wonderful thing. It’s all of those terrible mainstream masculines that ruined “green” for me! When it seems “real”, evergreens are amazing in perfume.

  10. I don’t know any of these, but you make them sound wonderful, and JREM sounds jus perfect. It’s always a great incentive when ” there’s nothing else like it”. Wish you a happy Christmas

    1. And there’s only a few made, lol 🙂 I forgot to mention that they come in new-old stock 1930’s salve tins. Unique!
      Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas!

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