Using unique Australian ingredients ticks immediate boxes for those looking for something a little different and Goldfield & Banks hits a home run with every bottle. Some are a little harder to discern than others. What I love about this set is how surprising it is, there are twists and turns with every spray and settle. Complete with test strips and a guide booklet, it's worth the investment to ensure you're getting the best from your Aussie scent choice.
We'll work this set left to right and, as always, reveal the full bottle purchase worthy of the crew.
Let's get into it
Wood Infusion
I wanted so badly to love this. With a bold statement of mandarin at the top - an elusive note I have yet to find anywhere that suits my citrus craving - but it was so fleeting. My novice knowledge is aware that rarely does a citrus note belong on the base but someone has to make it happen. Wood infusion of Australian woods - We have familiar Agarwood Oud for sure, I've never met an Oud that isn't a sexy sit-on-the-skin. There is iris present, and this can be overwhelming in some fragrances but not here. With a name like Wood Infusion, I was hoping for some real chunky slivers of Fraser Island driftwood but if you are blind buying this, it's not that woody. It's a great choice for a unisex Spring scent.
Bohemian Lime
Straight-up masculine. Vetiver is dominant for me in this fresh scent and I instantly link this to a familiar, masculine cologne. It's bright and clean, and there is a slight dash of finger lime on first spray. Finger limes in the true sense are full of bursting little citrus pearls and for me to be dousing myself in this, we need way more pearls up in here.
Sunset Hour
Wow. Fruit salad in a bottle. But not the sad banana and an apple wedge that Aunty June might put together, this is a fusion of hot spices and exotic fruits you would pay top dollar for in a fringe city restaurant.
I'm so excited that almost instantly you get a blast of ginger and pink pepper, and then comes a unique mix of peach and vanilla that is the opposite of cloying. And in a weird twist of fate for the fragrance world, that peach and pear stick around longer than the vanilla does in the base.
It's not at the top of my list for a full-bottle purchase, but it's definitely up there. Unusual and stunning.
Pacific Rock Moss
This is the GOAT for me, such a mossy fragrance without the dirty petrichor attached (in the nicest possible way - we love dirty petrichor). I first tried this in-store and could not stop sniffing myself on the way home. I keep coming back to paper, this reminds me of clean paper, maybe it's the cedar? There are no paper accords listed but each to their own skin, I say. It's so fresh and different to anything I have come across and will be on high rotation this spring and summer,
I have the travel size of this and will upgrade to full size imminently.
Desert Rosewood
Another in the set would be a great gift for the fella in your life or for friends who love a masculine-leaning scent. Rosewood does not smell like roses. It's earthy and smooth and calming. There is little sweetness in this scent despite it being a gourmand, and the vanilla is absent for me. Cardamom is a pleasant surprise giving this fragrance a deep spice hit - I mean just look at the colour of this! It looks like whisky and when I wear this that's exactly what I want to be drinking.
This is a special occasion fragrance or a staple for the cooler months.
Southern Bloom
Bruny Island, off the southeast coast of Tasmania, is one of Mother Nature's triumphs. The definition of wild and wooly, flanked by a picture-perfect coastline and equally magical flora and fauna just a step away inland. Not only does the indigenous plant Boronia flourish here, it's a booming essential oil industry. Southern Bloom is the essence of Tasmania, it hits hard on the first note and not gonna lie, it gives me industrial-strength air freshener. Once it settles, it's a gentle sweet powdery floral, the Ylang Ylang is classic and true, but on my skin, the coconut is absent.
This is a lovely springtime fragrance, I'm never eager to use the word 'lovely' as a descriptor but if the cap fits... Southern Bloom may be a lovely fragrance for you.
Travel tip: fill your car with gas or charge before hitting Bruny Island. There's one petrol station at Adventure Bay and I'm talking from a low tank experience.
White Sandalwood
This was the last of the set for me to try because I am up to the back teeth with sandalwoods. Woo, what a surprise. This is a true 70s-style sandalwood and would suit anyone who leans towards that aesthetic. A sophisticated incense stick, with a very clean, almost soapy mid-note I can only imagine is coming from the rose and thyme combo. As this settles, the rose becomes more beautifully prominent but you do not lose that sandalwood at all.
I can't believe I'm saying this given my shun of sandalwoods but I would upgrade to a full size of this in a flash, for those sunny Sunday arvo sessions in a beer garden under a tree, listening to a barefoot band play Black Crows covers. It's a winner.
Velvet Splendour
A floral bomb, this is sweet and sophisticated, without the smokiness that some 'sophisticated' fragrances project. Opponax and tonka bean are in my top five notes and I wouldn't be sad if these were dominant, but they aren't, the sweetness of the Australian blooms of mimosa and orange blossom stick around for a while, quite genius. There is no one note that stands out here, but they all blend together beautifully.
Taking inspiration from the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, this is giving me more early Summer Friday evenings on Sydney Harbour with a cocktail in hand. If you like florals, you will love this.
Blue Cypress
If this is inspired by Kakadu, then it has to be the cool watering holes that are dotted around that region of Australia. This fragrance is a dive into the ice-cold waters of the Northern Territory. This is so green and fresh, I swear it's almost minty which has to be coming from the cypress. I avoid patchouli like the plague and it was the one note that put me off trying this tester but unless it comes through randomly, it is absent from me and I couldn't be happier.
As you pull away from this you get a splinter of chlorophyll that is delicious, and if you want to know what that smells like, over-chop parsley. It is the definition of green and it is obvious here. Star anise and lavender are faint but present in the middle. OOOh I love this.
What a journey this set has been, it's made me close my eyes and appreciate what unique landscapes we have in this country to take inspiration from, and more so the possibilities of new and interesting fragrances from Goldfeld & Banks in the future.
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