PK Perfumes Ere Review: A Mountain View

One thing that has kept me reviewing perfume for so long is the adventure. Every scent can take you to a faraway place that you have never been. You can summon pictures of places from scents alone and imagine being in them. This was an integral part of my healing while I watched after my mother and it also assisted me with my PTSD from my time in the military. The simple ability to displace yourself from the situation with something new heralds the coming of brighter days, and that is simply therapeutic.

I’ve known Paul Kiler for years. He has always invited me to his lab out in California, but that’s difficult since I live on the East Coast, though I will make it there someday. He is known as someone who enjoys teaching and readily shares information about perfumery with others. He has also been making perfumes since before I even started reviewing, which feels like ages ago.

However, just because I can’t go to California in person doesn’t mean a scent can’t take me there, and this is precisely what Ere does. Paul has beckoned us to join him on a journey to the California Sierras.

Ere is unique in the forest realm, as it’s not heavily reliant on sappy, resinous conifer needles or rows of ancient cedars. It’s part forest spelunking — part gentlemanly fougere. It’s no wonder that it sings of classic fougeres, as Paul harvests a special plant from the mountains called the Kit-Kit-Dizzie fern to concoct this elixir of the woods. Fougeres are based on the smell of ferns, and is there a more accurate way to portray them than using real fern?

Ere is green, so green that it would make Poison Ivy from Batman hold a vendetta. That special fern is front and center, with a sweetness that I find hard to explain. It’s almost slightly resembling lavender, but with this potent fresh herbal cloud of bliss hanging overhead.

You can feel some balsam fir in the background with a cool, piney aroma that is lifted by mastic. There is a sweetened hay scent along the trail, green and young, well before the autumn harvest. Shades of bitter galbanum and angelica add a meadow-like aroma to the scent, feeling like the smell on your hands as you traverse an open field and run your fingers along the blades as you wander.

Earthy, shaded oakmoss reinforces your walk in the woods, while rows of warm cedar, baked from a hundred suns, fill your lungs with the joy of nature. You can really just feel the aroma of the forest, held beneath a canopy of shaded elder trees, cordially inviting you to bask in their domain.

The one thing that I cannot figure out about this scent is the powdery note. There is something distinctly fougere and slightly vintage about Ere. Is it the fern? Is there a hidden lavender note? I am not sure, but it doesn’t feel like a barbershop scent. It feels connected to the natural world that the scent is painting. It’s both warm and cool at the same time, without smelling like shaving or bath soap.

Ere is not for those that want a scent that is upfront and shows all of its colors at once. It’s a scent that wants you to sit down with a cup of tea and hear its ancient stories through the soft rustle of the trees’ leaves. It’s vividly complex, approachable, and downright spectacular.

I tried Ere years ago, but I was too wet behind the ears to understand it. I am so glad that I picked Ere up. It was actually due to a Facebook post that I made about supporting each other. I realized that I had yet to purchase something from Paul, so I went and picked it up.

Ere does more than paint a picture, it actually takes you to those mountains that Paul has held dear since his youth. It’s his letter to all of us, an invitation to see the world through his eyes while cherishing each moment. I simply adore Ere, and I couldn’t be happier to rock it this spring. Try it on a cool, rainy day and watch the magic unfold. Just don’t blame me if it makes you want to go buy a new flannel to wear with it.