Havenhollow Hearthmoor Review: An Autumn Farm Adventure

If you have followed my work through the years, you will know that I love those dense, rugged American brands. The ones that embody the more rural side of America. Farms, forests, mountains, pumpkin patches, and apple orchards are a source of deep inspiration for me. Growing up in New England and then the rural south has always tapped into my love for the outdoors and craving a simpler life than what the metropolises may offer.

Havenhollow is one brand that fully embraces this. The owner and perfumer, Eric Valentino, lives in Maine. I lived in Maine until I was around 9, and I will tell you, it’s a rugged terrain. From the cold ocean waters filled with the best lobster in the Americas, or possibly the world, to the snowstorms known as nor’easters, the state certainly has its share of perks for those who want a simpler life with an affordable cost of living.

Eric creates compositions that showcase his love of nature and the various climates of the United States, but I personally think his favorite is a down home scent that smells like where he lives. This is exactly what Hearthmoor is. A cozy farmstead in a picturesque autumn scene out of a Thomas Kinkade painting.

The issue with many autumn scents is that they are perfume-y, which works to give you a comforting scent that resembles fall. However, they do not truly smell like the most popular season. They are simply fairy tale versions of it. They are good for a nice pick-me-up like a Hallmark Christmas movie, but they are not rooted in any feasible manner of reality.

This is where Hearthmoor excels with a robust blend of cedars…Earthy Alaskan, intensely woody blood cedar, woodsmoke hiba, and warm incense cedar make for a unique and enchanting group that really brings home the idea of freshly hewn lumber with stacks of dried firewood ready for the chilly winter season.

There is a forest behind the farm from which some of the lumber came from. The sticky, terpenic sap still clings to your hands as the calluses remind you of the sweat that it took to get prepared for the upcoming freeze.

Apples and maple sap add an autumnal sweetness to the scent. Mostly red apples, slightly sugared and almost boozy, mingle with the dry woods, recalling memories in an orchard breaming with dots of red and yellow that matches nature’s kaleidoscope of fall hues.

Maple sap. sticky and dense, oozing from a a tapped wild maple tree on a cold winter’s day is met with the warm, cozy spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, as if the chimney is casting a cloud of smoke as the scent of harvest baked goods caresses the landscape in an enchanting call to shelter from the chilly northern winds.

Hearthmoor is not for the average nose. It’s not an auburn sweater with a pumpkin spiced latte type of fall scent. It’s complex, deep, evocative, and unapologetic. It tugs at the heartstrings of those that wander the wilds. It’s not a photo op to show off your newest scarf. It’s untamed and authentically itself.

While there is nothing wrong with the fantasy of autumn, as I do love it as well, but sometimes you just want to reach for something more. A scent that feels like your childhood, and brings about vivid memories of rural life, and that is what Hearthmoor is.

It’s a grand release by a talented up and coming perfumer, but this is for the fans of Slumberhouse, Pineward, and Folkwinds. It doesn’t attempt to be any of those houses, but it’s a similar style of perfumery. I only have a sample, but I will be obtaining a full bottle as soon as I am able to. It just fits me perfectly, and it pairs perfectly with a brown flannel. One of my reasons for creating this blog was to cover houses like this and my heart is full of joy. I can’t wait to see what Havenhollow has in store for us in the future.

Buy it here when it comes back in stock