The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The name says everything. Forest of the Golden Dream is about that specific moment in late afternoon, when sun cuts through pine canopy at a low angle and every needle glows. Parfums Quartana tasked Céline Barel with translating that interplay of shadow and light into scent. The challenge was working with conifer materials while maintaining warmth throughout the composition. The solution centered on mimosa, with its yellow, floral presence, layered beneath an evergreen structure built from pine needles, fir, and cypress absolute. Sandalwood reinforced this warmth with its creamy, woody depth. The result captures the forest, but with light still filtering through it.
What's notable here is the contradiction the composition holds without breaking. Eucalyptus and pink pepper open sharp, almost clinical, the smell of a forest pharmacy. Then the mimosa arrives, golden and soft, pulling the fragrance toward warmth. Cypress absolute and sandalwood deepen it further. The frankincense in the base adds resinous weight without heaviness. It's a composition built on tension: cool against warm, sharp against soft, green against golden. The name doesn't lie, this is a forest that wants to be hopeful.
The evolution
The opening arrives quickly. Guatemalan cardamom and pink pepper CO2 spark against Italian lemon, bright and clear, like stepping from shadow into direct light. As the lemon recedes, the conifer heart takes center stage: pine needles, fir, and cypress absolute arriving in succession, evergreen and resinous. Throughout this dominant phase, the composition maintains a sense of warmth. Mimosa absolute works quietly beneath the surface, softening what could be sharp edges. Sandalwood adds cream. The drydown shifts toward earth: moss, patchouli, and frankincense bring the forest floor forward, grounding the scent with an intimate, resinous quality.
Cultural impact
Forest of the Golden Dream occupies a particular space in the conifer fragrance category. By pairing evergreen materials with warm florals, it offers an alternative to sharper, more austere interpretations of the forest theme. The combination of pine, fir, and cypress with mimosa and sandalwood creates something that reads differently across contexts, maintaining its character whether experienced in morning light or as the day fades. It's a scent that invites re-examination, revealing new dimensions with each wearing.
The House
Parfums QuartanaParfums Quartana is a niche fragrance house founded by Joseph Quartana in 2016. The brand emerged from Quartana's earlier ventures in the fashion and fragrance space, following his work with Seven New York, an avant-garde concept boutique, and SixScents Parfums. The house specializes in plant-based fragrances, with an output spanning approximately 42 perfume releases over nearly two decades of work. Notable offerings include Poppy Soma, Hemlock, Mandrake, Midnight Datura, Venetian Belladonna, Wolfsbane, Lily of the Valley from the 2016 collection, along with more recent releases such as Iero Fante (2022), Forest of the Golden Dream (2023), and Beaut'Air (2025). The brand positions itself outside conventional perfumery structures, emphasizing botanical alternatives and unconventional aromatic combinations.
The Creator
Céline BarelBarel favors a restrained, mineral freshness that appears most clearly in her work for Aesop, particularly Tacit and Aurner, where citrus and wood build something both spare and lasting. Her zoological work for Zoologist, including Squid and Dragonfly, shows a different regist…
