Slumberhouse

[Birdboy48]

One man operation is the situation, so it will just take some time. Packing and getting things ready for shipment is what takes the time I think. My sense is that once things are boxed up there will be a big mailing and we'll all get our orders around the same time.

As mentioned above, Josh is a totally honorable guy, so I'm just hanging tight

[CompassRose]

Slumberhouse -- in my admittedly limited smelly travels, this is the only house ever from which I enjoy, and am interested in, and can wear, all of the scents. True, both Grev and Kere have a ferocious, bitter, herbal, rooty note on me (it's pretty much the only thing I get from Kere) which physically wears on me after a while -- but even that, I don't hate.

I do find some of them a little bit room-spray adjacent (again, on me, and I have perfume-rotting skin) -- Rume smells like a freshly opened bag of lebkuchen, Vikt like a newly cut balsam fir, both of them not much else -- but still, I can wear them, and I like them, all day.

Norne and Seva are my favourites of my sample bunch. Norne seems as though it would be just plain evergreen forest, but there's something smoky and dark in it that makes it more interesting than Vikt. Seva is sweet, spicy and warm in a way that I initially dismissed but which I keep wanting to come back to.

I am, in my minor and picky way, impressed. (Considering what my skin did to Imaginary Authors, which I saw mentioned in the thread -- killed them all, killed them absolutely dead -- I should be very impressed, I think.)

I am a little worried, though, about ordering anything from them if the batch variation is that wide! Tough call.

[Birdboy48]

I am a little worried, though, about ordering anything from them if the batch variation is that wide! Tough call.

My sense is that if they get reformulated, the reformulations are more "refinements" than anything else. I have what I believe is a sample of the original Grev, and as I once said, it seemed like the kind of thing that would eat a hole in your wrist, and that the freakier guys in the Mad Max movies would wear if they wanted to get dressy. From what I understand, that one's been tweaked a little.

None the less, the general strength and intensity of some of his things remains impressive, and it's my (admittedly unsupported) believe that Josh is one of the few existing perfumers you could point to who likely doesn't give a flying sh*t about IFRA regulations.

As an aside, I got a note saying that all his newest bottles will have the names etched into the glass ( take that, Serge Lutens special bottles !) like that bottle of Pear+Olive that we saw a picture of here. An expensive process, I guess, and pretty high-class for an indie outfit.

[hobbes22]

I am a little worried, though, about ordering anything from them if the batch variation is that wide! Tough call.

Like Birdboy said, I think the changes are more like refinements than what we consider reformulations (technically, yes, he is changing the formula).

Josh seems to be doing these changes to improve the scent or to try something new, not to reduce costs/make more money. I'm not really aware of any other reformulations that are done to improve the scent (okay, actually I think MDCI Un Coeur en Mai was reformulated to increase the concentration).

If anything, I am worried about Slumberhouse reformulations because I'm worried about missing out on future potential improvements. What if I buy a scent I enjoy only to find I enjoy a later version even more? Wow, how is that for a change.

[Fhaoilgeal]

One man operation is the situation, so it will just take some time. Packing and getting things ready for shipment is what takes the time I think. My sense is that once things are boxed up there will be a big mailing and we'll all get our orders around the same time.

As mentioned above, Josh is a totally honorable guy, so I'm just hanging tight

Just got a shipping confirmation from PayPal saying my Slumberhouse order has shipped.
I ordered from Josh the Saturday of his Thanksgiving sale. No worries.

[Akahina]

I just got my shipping info too. Mailed today and delivery tomorrow. I do live just 3 miles away! Can't wait.

[Birdboy48]

Yep, I got my shipping notice today as well.

[demcav]

Me too, email received today notifying me that my order from the sale weekend has shipped!

[Nasenmann]

Same here.

[Buysblind]

Me too.

[ziffy321]

As did I.

[Picassoutine]

Has anyone who ordered during the sale received their shipment? I figured Josh would be busy but I've never purchased anything from Slumberhouse, and I'm not sure if I should be waiting for a shipping notification or if a package will just show up. And if so how far behind shipments are.

I ordered Rume at the tail end of the Thanksgiving weekend sale (actually early early Monday morning, thanks to the fact that it was still at the discounted price in the cart, even though the price on the site had already reverted to normal). This evening a confirmation of shipment arrived via PayPal and it is projected to arrive by the end of the week, faster than expected.

I tried a sample of Norne and decided it wasn't quite what I had in mind, actually went for Hinoki for the piney mode. Although the mojo coming from the Norne sample convinced me I did want to try a bottle of something from Slumber. I'm a relative newbie at this and already can tell I prefer niche fragrances, being an artist myself and preferring the artisan style. Everyone's comments here really help, and Rume seemed like the way to go.

So let's meet back here to compare notes.

[Birdboy48]

Yep, I think Josh just waited until he had everyone's orders boxed up, and then sent them off all at once. Step one, then step two.

[RunSun]

Seems like it as mine is in the mail as well, looks like a good amount of people probably took advantage of his Thanksgiving sale.

[Akahina]

Am I the first to get my order? Perhaps since I live in Portland. I ordered one, Norne. Amazing. Really does smell like Douglass fir needles and a northwest forest. The juice looks black in the bottle but when you spray it on ths skin it is green. Very dark in color and probably something that would stain light clothes. I have pesonally wanted to dabble in making a fragrance and always wanted to use something that smelled like a northwest forest. I love this one! If I were to use this idea for a fragrance I would personally go a slightly different direction but that is not a critique. My idea includes different notes in conjunction with what Josh has created here. I will not bore you with my ideas... Norne is incredible with no apparent top notes and transports me to a simpler time in my childhood evoking memories of camping with my parents and of Christmas trees and fir sap. A delicious smell. Now I can enjoy this scent any time I want to.

I hope and expect you will all get your order soon. No samples this time and that's fine by me. Got a nice very short note and the addressing was by hand, not computer printed. Nice pedsonal touch. Hope to meet Josh someday.

[Fhaoilgeal]

Received Rume and Pear+Olive today in their new bottles etched with their names. Really fine presentation and both wrapped in individual grey fleece bags secured with a ribbon. Everything accompanied by a hand written note from Josh expressing his thanks for the order. Makes me smile and says a lot about Josh's ethics and style. One gets the feeling of being personally attended to by Josh and Slumberhouse.

Very very nice.

[Tonyprince]

Received Rume and Pear+Olive today in their new bottles etched with their names. Really fine presentation and both wrapped in individual grey fleece bags secured with a ribbon. Everything accompanied by a hand written note from Josh expressing his thanks for the order. Makes me smile and says a lot about Josh's ethics and style. One gets the feeling of being personally attended to by Josh and Slumberhouse.

Very very nice.

I got mine today, too, and I agree with all of the above comments. What struck me about this particular comment, though, is that Pear + Olive is in one of the new bottles. I wonder if that means it's not going to be such a limited edition after all.

[Akahina]

Pear + Olive was the first to have the new design bottle. It looked so good that I suspect it is the reason for the bottle design change for the whole line

[Buysblind]

Well...Pear and Olive arrived today...


Very impressive...I love it!


I don't want to do it an injustice and try to describe it yet--I just sprayed some on about 15 minutes ago--but I will say that the pear note is beautiful and it settles in with a smooth, effortless harmony.

If you're interested in this one, I'd say it's a pretty safe blind buy, so long as you like pear. Smells great on my wife too, but don't get it confused, this is completely unisex.

This will be a lot of fun to wear. I'm looking forward to it.

By the way, my whole experience with Slumberhouse has been uplifting. From, the quick, friendly response when I sent them an email, to the way the fragrance was packaged and shipped...even the handwriting on the box...it's just been great. You can tell that Slumberhouse takes pride and care in every step of the process, and I found it all very reaffirming.

[Birdboy48]

My Sova (ex-Tunis Mills) came today as well. In the flat-top bottle, with the etched title, and still with the little beads to bring the 50ml bottle down to 30 ml.

[Picassoutine]

Rume came today, in beautiful bottle with hand-written note.

Just put it on, this is going to take a while..... most intriguing, at any rate.

The cola note makes me smile — it's like having a cidery-spiced Coke while in a memory of Christmas past.

[El_Guapo]

Just order the sample pack in the last week. Looking forward to getting them...

[Kybid]

Wow Norne...I finally got my bottle...I say finally, not because of slow working on the Slumberhouse end, but because I live in a small town and they tend to forget us here. Anyway, I'll say it again, WOW NORNE!! Awesome stuff. It exceeded my expectations. So true to a forest smell. I had read that it has some similarities to Polo Green and I have no idea how anyone could even consider them as a comparison to one another. Not a fan of Polo Green, and I can see that I am going to be a huge fan of Norne...and they smell absolutely nothing alike, nothing, nada, zip.

Norne is dense, thick and dark...just like the forest that it smells so much like. You can definitely smell the frankincense!! It's awesome. I have become quite an incense fan so the frankincense is an awesome touch. And, man does Norne last. I sprayed on one small spray to test it out this afternoone, and, it's been 9 hours and it's still quite detectable. My wife got out of the car to run an errand and when she got back in the car she just said "Man you smell soooo good", so I think it's safe to say that it gets my wife's approval.

The only bad thing about Norne is that I am now very intrigued by this house which could hurt my wallet quite a bit. Awesome stuff. I'm very impressed!!

[CapriDog]

Got Norne and Vikt last week. AMAZING juice!!! Probably need to sample Pear&Olive soon.

[Akahina]

Got Norne and Vikt last week. AMAZING juice!!! Probably need to sample Pear&Olive soon.

These are the threeI have and I love them all. My Vikt is a limited release oil he did last year. Pear + Olive is most suitable for warmer months IMHO.

[demcav]

The only bad thing about Norne is that I am now very intrigued by this house which could hurt my wallet quite a bit. Awesome stuff. I'm very impressed!!

You may consider ordering the sample set next. In my case, Josh was willing to swap out the Norne for another scent when I bought a sample set since, like you, I already had a bottle of Norne. If it's any consolation, I think you started at the top with Norne!! Although, I have yet to sample P+O...

[Picassoutine]

Great to give some support here for indie perfumers. I want to sample the rest of Josh's creations eventually and continue the momentum as my budget allows.

Liz Zorn of Soivohle is another interesting niche artist.

[CapriDog]

These are the threeI have and I love them all. My Vikt is a limited release oil he did last year. Pear + Olive is most suitable for warmer months IMHO.

Thanks for the heads up Akahina. Cannot wait to sample it.

[Beranium Chotato]

I have Grev, Norne, Pear+Olive, Sova, Jeke, and Sana. I also have minis of Vikt and Flou. Pear+Olive has always been the standout for me. It is very intricately engineered and has quite a sophisticated structure but is at the same time quiet, tantalizing, and simple. The oddly savory, brandy-like drydown is pretty much like crack for the nose. Think back to the first time you had salted caramel and what a revelation it was--you'll be in the neighborhood of the joy that is P+O. The airy structure also ensures that for a good 12 hours you'll keep getting hits of it--almost like the sound of laughter carried on the wind. It haunts you a little bit with the quality of something that you can't quite locate or discern and the sadness that comes with it. It has saudade. P+O ranks right up there with my favorite Jean-Claude Ellena scents. As Akahina says, it doesn't do as well in colder weather, but that doesn't really stop me from just spraying on more. It is a true masterpiece of a fragrance.

I enjoy the others quite a lot as well. Grev is an alien creature of a spicy grapefruit (?) with the laser focus of a spotlight--one in which you are kind of blinded to what is really in it. It's a very bold, staccato stab of something you have never encountered before. Norne contains a bit of the paradox of P+O--simple and complex at once, but more of a mono-smell in structure and very thoughtfully stitched together from unusual raw materials. With its reference to the Pacific NW, Norne is kind of the quintessential Slumberhouse; and I think it was courageous to take back the scent of pine needles and spruce from cheap air fresheners. Jeke has also been reformulated recently and in doing so it's been opened up in a beautiful way. It is my favorite tobacco scent. It reminds me of a modern and actually wearable vintage Tabarome. Sova is somewhat in the mono-smell wall-of-absolute style of Norne but with a completely different palette of more honeyed notes like hay, cocoa, vanilla, and hops--none of which really stand out on their own but in unison create a very powerful autumnal aura. It's great stuff.

A note on the reformulations: the impression I get is that the scents are viewed as living, evolving creations. Refinements are sometimes made with a new batch. If this scares you too much, just buy a backup bottle of your favorite. From the variations I have tried to date, however, I have found the refinements to always be improvements.

[CapriDog]

Thanks for your well thoughts about P + O... Sounds so great and kinda sad.

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Thanks for your well thoughts about P + O... Sounds so great and kinda sad.