Knize Forest
by Knize

“Knize Forest – a hint of simplicity (ein Hauch Ursprünglichkeit… I’d translate this as ‘primordial’) – nature’s declaration of love for the modern man – a fresh, green and balsamic fragrance.” Knize brochure which came in the box with my bottle
Knize Forest is intriguing and complex. It is very herbal and green, so it won’t be to everyone’s taste. I like it, and find it to be a classier and very satisfying scent. I’ve revised this review, as my knowledge and understanding increase.
First, my brochure lists the following as elements (some of these differ from the BN pyramid):
TOP: lavender, bergamot, lemon, juniper, clary sage, verbena
MID: oregano, spruce, carnation, rose, geranium
BASE: cedarwood, moss, labdanum, amber, tonka, sandalwood.
In addition to these elements, I am convinced that there are mint and violet leaf notes.
Forest opens with a green-citrus blast from the lemon and verbena. The juniper and lavender add a fresh, even perky quality. This phase is excellent. There is a hint of a rubbery note here (not unpleasant) which may be from the clary sage.
The mid notes are primarily herbal and floral. This is not a pine or spruce-dominated scent at all. In this phase I get a very strong minty note. I used to think it was rosemary but it is less resinous and more creamy, like mint leaf. Here the scent is quirky but pleasant, as it moves from a somewhat deep rose floral to an assertive herbal tone.
The drydown has light cedarwood and sandalwood notes. Tonka gives a grassy flair due to its coumarin.
Underlying everything, I’m convinced, is an excellent application of violet leaves. Not too much, just enough to give a quirky freshness to everything. Certainly Knize Two has lots of violet leaves and I get a whiff of them here too.
If you like herbal scents, then Forest is worth a try. I own many, many green scents and I can say that Knize Forest is unique. What we have here is a quiet walk in woods which border on grassy meadows: everything is aromatic, restful, and cool (but not piney).
Revised from 14 July 2008

I find the name "forest" a little bit misleading.
It is a spicy fougere with a lot of herbal notes.
But in contrast to most reviewers, I can't get the pine (coniferous) notes here like in Polo or L'Artisans
Fou d'Absinthe.
It starts very spicy with a touch of bergamot. It is dominated by sage (from the top to the base), accompanied in the heart by a very nice ambery and herbal note.
I can notice some oakmoss in the dry down, which might justify the claim of a "forest-scent".
But it's definitely not as prominent as in Polo.
I'm in general not a big fan of fougeres, but I will KF keep in mind as a remarkable spicy scent with
a unobtrusive fougere base. Longevity and sillage is above average.
(6/10)

My favourite Knize so far. A great mossy scent with brilliant longevity. Unfortunately, it's a little too conservative (or possibly mature) for me.

Definitely worth a try!

[Original submission date: 15 January 2007]

Green, woody, soapy, fresh -- reminds me a bit of Creed's Vetiver on steroids. Only one caveat -- it evokes the 1970's (must be all the moss), the bottle design and font also take me back to that era -- looks cheap, but isn't. Sillage and longevity are both outstanding.

what an absolutely GORGEOUS green fragrance. this is the greenest scent i've ever tried.....i don't really see much comparison to anything else around at the moment. This stuff is THE cleanest fresh grass cut, open forest green you'll ever try. KNIZE are truly the kings of fragrances. Absolutely brilliant.

Minty pine like Polo. It wears like Cool Water (doesn't smell like it) with more refined notes and pine added. It's not that simple, though. A refreshjing lemon accord interplays with the pine giving an elegant cooling effect of a forest. Sehr wunderbar!