For Walks
Blocki (2015)

When wearing this, I imagine a woodland walk on a secluded trail. It's a forest of mixed deciduous and coniferous trees, and the air is damp from an overnight rainfall. The sun now shines down and I detect the smell of violets. I turn a corner, and encounter a whole bed of them under the forest canopy; it feels magical. Then I think about how the passage of time is felt through these seasons; the flowers that unfurl, display their beauty, then recede and decay. This cycle requires a new year to witness once more: the small, precious window through which to experience the pageant, the glory of spring. It's one more year gone by in one's life, and so many of us let it pass, thinking that there are endless springs ahead of us. But are there really? Why aren't we here, now, relishing these gifts, the ephemera that has been a source of inspiration to mankind for ages? "They are just flowers, just plants." Plant blindness is a real phenomenon.

Australian perfumer Kevin Verspoor presents us with a fragrance named "For Walks." Isn't that something? A tribute to a contemplative excursion. Maybe one even recaptures a sense of wonder that is lost through the hardening of adulthood. The violet here is a cool aquarelle, highlighted with just a pinch of mint and highlighted with evergreen. Then there is a boronia accord: this Australian flower is beta-ionone rich in its aroma and is reminiscent of raspberries, tea, dried stone fruits, and even tobacco leaves. I cannot say for certain if any boronia absolute is used here, as it is one of the most expensive botanical extracts available to the perfumer's palette, but its presence is felt, and adds to the mystique of For Walks. It somehow makes it feel even more reflective. My nose even discerns a shade of fresh sage leaves in the heart. It's also worth noting that there is this lovely transition from the violet and boronia into a red cedar. I am glad I could wear this on what seems to be one of the last cool spring days here in New England.

Effervescent, perky violets further brightened with mint and sweetened with cherry, while a quiet animalic pinch of urine hums in the background. If that sounds gross, it kind of is, but you have to smell really closely to notice anything other than sweet chemical brightness.

The best part happens as the ionones responsible for the violet in the topnotes make their switch into suede - there's a point where the suede gets creamy and rich while the brightness is still going that's a really nice juxtaposition. The base is a little disappointing, a mix of aquatics and melon with a pinch of soap that reminds me of 2007 in a bad way.

In all, I like the topnotes and the suede middle, though the pee and melon aquatics seem unnecessary, so I'll split the difference and vote neutral.