Soap & Paper Factory doesn’t actually sell paper. And, sure, they have some soaps, I guess, but I’ve always loved them for their fragrances. When they paired up with the highly-reputed visual designers at Patch NYC, the two produced a line of colognes that weren’t only stunning on the dresser top, but extraordinary on your skin. Today, I want to talk about the Soap & Paper Factory x Patch NYC Stag Cologne.
Scents are so difficult for me — I love them, and love the idea of cologne and perfume, but the ones that are marketed to me on a daily basis… smell terrible. A good floral scent is hard to deny, but the powder-y, fruit-laced, hyper-feminine scents in ridiculously shaped bottles are just not appealing, whatsoever. They make me feel like I’m a teenager and I’m in trouble. Probably some kind of flashback from a Victoria’s Secret body spray or something.
In high school, I would go to the local department store and ask for samples of men’s cologne “for my boyfriend.” These days, I drop the charade because it’s becoming more common for women to wear “masculine” fragrances. Our generation finds them good for more than just spritzing on your pillow.
Now, how to describe Stag cologne?
I toiled over this review for days, frantically looking up other posts from other bloggers, trying to figure out if it was even possible to write a review about perfume or cologne that made any sense at all, and if there was a possibility that I could convey how amazing this smells without sounding like I took a bunch of ecstasy and sat under a ceiling fan.
In short: I didn’t find anything. So, please bear with me while I try to explain why this is just a really beautiful thing to smell on your own skin.
I am about to move to the forest pretty soon, as I’m building a Tiny House and have secured a little spot in rural Washington to seek out all my forest hippie fantasies. Stag plays right into the visions I have for that idyllic lifestyle, as it blends images of the woods and fresh air with just a little bit of balancing sweetness.
Stag has specific notes of Siberian Fir, cilantro, citrus, and raspberry.
Without actually smelling this, it sounds absolutely ridiculous, doesn’t it? Cilantro perfume? It is my favorite fresh herb, and the smell of it brings me utter delight. Reading this label challenged me to see something basic and odd like “cilantro” and think of what it really smells like: clean, green… almost a sweet grass scent with some crispness and depth.
Now — I need you to play along with me for a second. It’s the only way this is going to work.
Imagine a gigantic pile of freshly cut cilantro thrown into a bowl of even fresher pine needles and chunks of cold firewood. On top of that, a handful of freshly cut raspberries and a lime peel. Mix all of that around, and inhale deeply. That’s what Stag is like.
At first spray, I get an overwhelming sense of Christmas. The Siberian Fir comes in strong at first, but once it clears and settles down, you get a little peek of some raspberry – but not syrupy sweet raspberry like the stuff you pour oover desserts. Stag brings out the earthy side of raspberry and while there’s a tinge of sweetness, it’s mostly just rich, almost wine-like berry. The cilantro and citrus are the clean high notes that balance out allllll that sexy, Siberian musk.
This is marketed by Soap & Paper Factory as a men’s cologne, but I can’t think of one woman who wouldn’t love to roll around in this scent. Patch NYC maintains that this is a unisex fragrance, and I absolutely agree.
As I mentioned earlier, this Soap & Paper Factory x Patch NYC line is absolutely dresser porn. Each bottle is adorned with a beautiful teal and golden-hued damask, and a cameo with gold foil identifies the scent with a beautiful, hand-drawn mascot.
This 4oz bottle of Stag cologne is priced at $46 on Soap & Paper Factory’s website, but if you want to experience Stag outside of a perfume/cologne confine, Stag is also available in a purse-friendly solid perfume tin for $22, votive candles for $15 each, long-burning soy candles for $36, and a gorgeous triple-wick candle for $62.