Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream (Céline Barel) 2023 + Pine Trees and Potential Giveaway

 Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream

Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream Collage Artwork by Carlo Zambotti

 Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream is the first perfume in an all-new collection called Les Potions D’Entéléchie inspired by Founder and Creative Director Joseph Quartana’s personal healing experiences. Joseph’s avant-garde and intellectual approach to perfumery led him to investigate the healing practices of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream is specifically informed and inspired by the Aristotelian concept of entelechy [ en-tel-uh-kee ]: when all one’s personal potential is fully realized and one has mastered one’s own vital force directing growth and life. An important part of the ancient Greek practice of entelechy was exposure to combinations of sacred essential oils. Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream puts us in the mindset to live our full potential all day, every day. Created minutes from the site of the original Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in Bethel, NY, this new fragrance is a supercharged reboot of aromatherapy into fine perfumery that blends the best of cutting-edge science with the wisdom of ancient wellness formulae.

Creative Director Joseph Quartana and IFF Perfumer Celine Barel

IFF Perfumer Céline Barel and Art Director Joseph Quartana, courtesy of the brand

Pafums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream was created in partnership with IFF perfumer Céline Barel. Through childhood memories growing up in Grasse, France and years of experience in the fragrance industry, Céline Barel has refined her approach to creating scents. She believes that perfume should trigger synesthesia and invoke color, sound, shape, and ambiance. IFF Perfumer Céline Barel makes an especially dynamic teammate for Creative Director Joseph Quartana, as she feels that perfume can be conceptualized in terms of fashion. Joseph Quartana’s background is in exactly the type of experimental and high fashion that provokes artistic synesthesia. According to Joseph, “this was an experiment to see if we could elevate the common pine to a level of ‘divinity.’ Céline was a dream to work. We were both really into the idea of perfumes as healing mechanism, and we looked at formulations for meeting gods and goddesses in the Classical world to find and keep that ‘spark of life’ within yourself as a result. Both of us have synesthesia, so we were nicely matched.”

Forest of the Golden Dream by Parfums Quartana

Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream Queen, courtesy of the brand

 Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream opens likes the warm sun on one’s face, a beautiful day out in nature. The leading citrus accord is excellent, as spices with citrus, floral, and green aspects are layered together with Lemon and Pamplezest® to create a warm and complex encounter. Cardamom, Coriander, and Pink Pepper contain lemon facets as well as cool aromatics like eucalyptol and camphor undertones. These spices round the harsh citric edges of the lemon with fresh floral linalool and eugenol facets. Pamplezest® is an IFF citrus material with camphoraceous and earthy undertones that can weave through a fragrance and even be felt in the base. It pairs wonderfully with Laurel Leaf, the slightly woody and camphoraceous green material streaked with eugenol and spicy cinnamic pepper touches. The Pink Pepper has a big crossover with olibanum (both having spicy, terpenic, and lemon aspects) that brings us to the heart.

Best pine fragrances

Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream Collage Snake Pine, courtesy of the brand

The heart of Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream walks us to an enchanted forest, where pine needles crunch underfoot, crisp evergreens hang in the air, and a golden solar radiance follows from the opening. Olibanum creates a bridge from the spicy materials of the top with its lemony, spicy, and terpenic qualities. Mimosa extends the floralcy to a deeper place with a woody backbone and helps the blend achieve a sweet-soft, slightly powdered texture and honeyed smoothness. Violet Leaf and Eucalyptus keep the scent reaching toward the heavens and create harmonious parallel energies, a kind of dynamic current flowing skyward and earthward. Siberian Pine Needle, Fir Balsam, and Fir Balsam Resin work together to embody a sublime sense of place. Woody and coolly aromatic, we are transported to a sacred forest of ancient wellness.

Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream has a reserved and intimate dry down. Inward-looking Cypress is fresh, green and quietly resinous with a balsamic ambergris-like undertone that connects the enchanted forest to our human flesh. Sandalwood, Patchouli, and Moss lay us gently down beneath the towering pine trees to contemplate how we can achieve our full potential. We draw in deep breaths of sacred energy on our way to becoming our best selves.

 Notes: Guatemalan Cardamom Oil, Pink Pepper Oil CO2, Coriander Seed Oil, Laurel Leaf Oil, Sfumatrice Italian Lemon Oil, Pamplezest, French Mimosa Absolute LMR, Olibanum Oil, Violet Leaf Absolute LMR, Siberian Pine Needle Oil, Canadian Fir Balsam Needle Oil, Fir Balsam Resin Absolute, Eucalyptus, Coolwood, Cypress Ultimate Absolute LMR, Sandalwood, Patchouli Oil LMR, Moss

Disclosure: a sample of Forest of the Golden Dream was kindly provided to me by Parfums Quartana, opinions, as always, are my own.

~ Rachel K. Ng, Senior Contributor

Forest of the Golden Dream Parfums Quartana

 

Thanks to the generosity of Joseph Quartana we have a 50 ml bottle of Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader in the USA ONLY, (if you are not sure if you are registered click here – you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid). To be eligible please leave a comment with what you thought of Forest of the Golden Dream and where you live. Draw Closes10/12/2023

You can pre-order Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream here.

Editor’s Note: Parfums Quartana Ierofante is the 2023 Art & Olfaction Awards Winner of the Independent Category. My review of Ierofante is here.

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35 comments

  • Brad Woolslayer says:

    Forest of the Golden Dream sounds like a wonderful and unique take on a walk through a pine forest. I would love to try this one. I live in Maryland USA.

  • Bonnie says:

    The notes in Forest of the Golden Dream sound amazing. I have been wanting to find a forest fragrance that isn’t smoky and this creation by Celine Barel sounds perfect!

  • Sarah R says:

    The mission behind Forest of the Golden Dream piques my curiosity and I can’t wait to get my nose on it. I have no doubt it has places to take us.
    Quartana’s Ierofante is a favorite of mine. I find it to be immersive and sublimely mood elevating.
    I am in Massachusetts, USA.

  • Teresa says:

    I love the idea of a fragrance that helps you achieve your full potential. I’m sadly aware that I fall short, though I try! Forest of the Golden Dream also sounds like a lovely scent, even without the spiritual assistance it may offer! I live in the USA

  • roxhas1cat says:

    This makes me want to go hike in the forest!! Loved that last sentence about deep breaths and becoming our best selves. This article makes me think back to my NM summer vacation and hiking in the Jemez (yes NM also has forests) and thinking it was the best day ever. I would love to experience the enchanted forest. I only have one fragrance in my collection (which I wore today) and was thinking I need something else pine centered. Thanks for the chance. Luckily my local shop carries this brand so I can get my nose on it one way or another. Thanks for the kind giveaway. USA.

  • Arron_Q says:

    I am pretty new to this brand, but recently tried their Ierofante and was left mouth agape by it’s incredibly experimental yet refined composition. While this appears to be a bit less avant garde compared to Ierofante’s rocket fuel experience, I’m willing to bet it is no less magical. As a fan of all things resin, seeing the list of various pines, firs, and balsams gave me that tickling sensation in my tummy. Sounds like a perfect scent for the cooler temps that just recently hit us here in the south. Best of luck to everyone. I live in NC USA.

  • NewSmells says:

    Forest of the Golden Dream sounds very unique to the fragrances I’ve seen before. The woody and lemony notes mention sounds very suitable for spring, with the mention of it being like a warm sun also makes me think it would perform beautifully in the winter.
    TX, USA.

  • Ken White says:

    The Forest of the Golden Dream appears quite distinct from the fragrances I’ve encountered previously. The combination of woody and lemony notes suggests it would be a perfect match for the spring season, while the reference to it being reminiscent of a warm sun leads me to believe it could also be enchanting during the winter months. I’m particularly drawn to the concept of a fragrance that inspires one to reach their fullest potential. New Jersey, USA

  • Steve A says:

    Does not read like a linear scent according to the reviewer. My first thought was this offering could be a worthy complex winter wear. US

  • Lisa Binkman says:

    I love the natural fragrance of the forest, the forest floor, the trees, pine, wood…this feels like Forest of the Golden Dream brings this alive with beautiful complexity and a meditative spirit. A gorgeous wear for this time of year certainly.
    Lisa in US

  • johnmadison says:

    Forest of the Golden Dream sounds very cathartic to me, and fragrance does push me to be my best self with its mood lifting properties. Really sounds like an incredible perfume.
    John, Minnesota – USA

  • themuskymaven says:

    I’m so intrigued by this description! I love forest scents but don’t always feel like they meld into my skin. This sounds like it could be what I’ve been searching for “ Where the enchanted forest connects with our human flesh” I live in California USA

  • castlemicro says:

    Hello from Florida, and thank you to Rachel for the review!

    Forest of the Golden Dream sounds quite fresh and beautiful. I’d love to smell how Pamplezest fits into the broader composition.

  • MatthewKeilwitz says:

    This sounds like one of my childhood memories of growing up in the Willapa Hills. Sweet summers of fir pitch and deep, loamy temperate rainforest duff. Spicy, spunky, musky spruce pollen. I would love to give it a go.

    FL, USA.

  • JSO says:

    A fragrance that connects to the forest, particularly while I’m stuck in an office sitting at a computer, sounds like it could be very healing. To be “transported to a sacred forest of ancient wellness” sounds like something we could all use. N.Y.

  • Frank G says:

    Forest of the Golden Dream seems interesting with the IFF citrus material Pamplezest which I’ve never heard of which has camphoraceous and earthy undertones. Thank you for the opportunity. From New York, USA.

  • helenlam says:

    Pine as a perfume I think can be tricky because it commonly makes me think ‘room spray’ vs. a fragrance I want on my skin. However, this one draws me with its golden-ness….the mimosa to give it bit of sunny floral brightness!

    I live in the USA, thanks for the giveaway!

  • Annika says:

    I like the idea of viewing perfume as a healing mechanism. I would also love to have a scent that can help me become my best self. I wasn’t familiar with the concept of entelechy but it seems a good thing to strive for. The enchanted forest fragrance of Forest of the Golden Dream sounds lovely. I’m in the US.

  • rmsssss says:

    I’m so excited for this next phase of Parfums Quartana! The Les Potions Fatales were all so creative, and Forest of the Golden Dream sounds like a worthy successor. Honeyed and smooth, yet woody and aromatic, it sounds so lovely yet I’m having trouble envisioning it due to all its complexity. Thank you for the opportunity to win a bottle and try it myself! I’m in MN, USA.

  • AleksCipri says:

    Oh I didn’t know he started a new line with this fragrance! I thought it would be in the same line as the previous masterpiece of a release – Ierofante. One thing stood out to me – when he mentioned he wanted to elevate common pine to divinity…I disagree…pine to me is never common…in cold or very warm weather…pine always leaves me speechless. It’s one of the best smells out there. I’m so intrigued by this fragrance. I also want to see how is mimosa combined with pine (one of my favorite floral notes). And Olibanum is always welcomed in my fragrances! I’m from Illinois US.

  • Paul H says:

    I love Celine Barel and I am glad she is coming out with a new Perfume. Forest of the Golden Dream sounds delightful and the Heart of the perfume is what intrigues me the most. I live in Phx, Az

  • BigMickyD says:

    “The heart of Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream walks us to an enchanted forest, where pine needles crunch underfoot, crisp evergreens hang in the air, and a golden solar radiance follows from the opening. Olibanum creates a bridge from the spicy materials of the top with its lemony, spicy, and terpenic qualities. Mimosa extends the floralcy to a deeper place with a woody backbone and helps the blend achieve a sweet-soft, slightly powdered texture and honeyed smoothness. Violet Leaf and Eucalyptus keep the scent reaching toward the heavens and create harmonious parallel energies, a kind of dynamic current flowing skyward and earthward. Siberian Pine Needle, Fir Balsam, and Fir Balsam Resin work together to embody a sublime sense of place. Woody and coolly aromatic, we are transported to a sacred forest of ancient wellness.” This sounds lovely, and I would love to try it. I have an address in the USA.

  • minteacup says:

    This review really makes me want to go “forest bathing…” just going to some woods to walk and and soak in the atmosphere. It really is a panacea for the spirit. I love perfume that captures a slice of that experience. I am very intrigued by Forest of the Golden Dream’s list of notes, I can only imagine how blissful it smells! Definitely going on my sample priority list to seek out, and I would be so grateful and excited to win. I am in the USA, thank you for the review and the opportunity!

  • mmerline says:

    Ever since I tried Zoologist Squid, I notice whenever Céline Barel is attached to a perfume. Her fragrance interpretation of entelechy with Joseph Quartana is just as interesting as her other perfumes I’ve tried; aromatherapy-inspired citrus over a heart of sun-blasted pine forest, with olibanum woven throughout. This sounds like an ideal fragrance for when you’re feeling cooped up and need some restorative time with nature. Thanks for the review, Rachel.

    I’m in the USA.

  • Torax says:

    Fantastic review by Rachel.
    Parfums Quartana is something I really need to try. Forest of the Golden Dream is a perfume that looks that has been taken out of a fairy tail. I love how its inspired by the authors healing experience. All about it is an amazing experience and something more for the soul than for anything else. I would love to try this fragrance, it would be a very different experience.
    USA here.

  • AromaDulce73 says:

    This sounds great! A green healing fragrance, interesting. I don’t have anything like this in my collection.

    Los Angeles Ca USA

  • zibbyz says:

    I love pine, cedar, and sorts of piney tree scents. We went to the semi-arid desert in Oregon this summer, and I loved the vanilla-y smell of the Ponderosa pines. This sounds really nice with the spicy and sandalwood notes as well. I’m in the US – thank you for the review and the draw.

  • Wendy says:

    Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream is an exquisite fragrance that embodies a journey of personal growth and self-realization.I love the inspiration of ancient healing practices and the Aristotelian concept of entelechy.

    I noticed some of the oils used in Forest of the Golden Dream I actually use personally to relieve pain and stress, such as coriander seed oil, eucalyptus oil, and siberian pine oil. I love the citrus and wood notes, and the green mosssy dry down.

    I’m thrilled about the release of this fragrance that has been meticulously crafted over eight years, especially since I already possess a bottle of Lily of the Valley. Followed on Instagram. Much love from NY,US!

  • Michael Prince says:

    Forest of the Golden Dream sounds amazing. I’ve always loved nature and walking through the forest, so this fragrance really resonates with me. You get that green, woody, and earthy feeling with that cool crisp Pine and resins filling your senses. I’m also a big fan of Parfums Quartana. I am from the USA.

  • Regis Monkton says:

    From Parfums Quartana, I’ve tried Bloodflower and Mandrake, and I can like both of them, especially Bloodflower. I’d like to try Forest of the Golden Dream because I think its list of notes is very appealing to me. I would like to add more fragrances to my collection which include ingredients such as: Siberian Pine Needle, Fir Balsam, Fir Balsam Resin, and especially Cypress. I would like to see how Parfums Quartana uses the ingredients mentioned in the notes listing. I live in MD, U.S.A.

  • wallygator88 says:

    That’s for the great review Rachel.

    This fragrance really sounds like the elevation of pine/fir to the highest. I’m imagining beans of sunlight and warmth streaming down into an open patch between the pine trees, warming the air with scent.

    I really like the warm citrus opening, the Olibanum with it’s terpenic meditative qualities, use of mimosa to add vibrancy, the movement into medical greens with eucalyptus and violet leaf and then coniferous greens with all the different firs.

    Such a beautiful fragrance.

    Cheers from WI, USA

  • moisesst says:

    I recently sampled Ierofante from this house and loved it. You can really tell they use a lot of high-quality ingredients. I’m not sure what you mean by this being a fragrance that helps you achieve your potential, but pine fragrances make me feel so confident that I can fulfil my potential, though I struggle a lot. Pines grow in my home town, so this is a comforting scent profile for me. I live in Illinois, USA.