The Snow Maiden

[absinthetics]

THE SNOW MAIDEN

The Snow Maiden is the daughter of Spring and Frost: as lovely as the first snowfall, and as striking as a sliver of icicle. Isolated because of her chilly otherworldly nature, and unable to know love, she longed for the companionship and warmth of mortals. One bright, white winter's day, the Snow Maiden came upon a gentle, handsome shepherd named Lel. She grows fond of him, and beseeches Mother Spring to grant her the ability to feel. Her mother is moved by her daughters plight, and blesses her, but the moment the Snow Maiden is struck by the depth of love she feels for Lel, her heart warms, and she melts.

Ylang ylang, osmanthus, spring berries, and daffodil cloaked in hoarfrost.

In the bottle: The daffodil and hoarfrost carry with it the chilly pine scent added to the somewhat acidic daffodil. The berries bubble up after the pine and remind one certainly of Ice Queen, it can't be helped. However, she's gentler.

Wet: The Ylang ylang and osmanthus snake out of the bottle and mute the pine scent. I'm glad of this as I love the winter scents but really don't like pine nor mint. When this is wet it becomes a touch incensy.

Drydown: The pine takes more of a back seat and lets the berries dance. I can barely tell her aparty from Ice Queen to be honest. But she's kinder, and as I am not so much of a pine fan I prefer this to the Ice Queen's harshness, but when she grows up she wont be Snow White.

[Nadirah]

Reminiscent of Snow White, not as musky, add some more florals to it and you have Snow Maiden. To me it smells like violets or something that gives it an almost soapy smell. It is potent, I put a bit too much on at first and got a bit of a headache. Everyone else in the house seemed to like the smell of Snow Maiden

[UltraViolet]

 

 

In the bottle

Very fresh smelling.

On

Soooo Good. If you liked Skadi, you'll like this. It's a green scent but also a berry scent. It reminds me Misteltoe or Skadi with a jolt of something akin to grapefruit. So fresh, clean and green smelling.

30 minutes

Hasn't changed.

Throw:

A bit.

Scent category:

Aquatic/Green/Fruity

Summary

Along the lines of Skadi, Misteltoe, Snow Angel even but more of a fruity quality. Nice.

 

Purchase again?

Yes.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

[maijasu]

In the bottle, I smell berries, light florals, and something cold.

 

On my skin, the berries and florals disappear and this becomes all mint and pine. It's very cold and refreshing, and it has some seriously strong throw. I was hoping for a little more complexity, but considering that pine can make a scent unwearable for me, this is surprisingly nice. Not multiple-bottle-hoarding nice, but still lovely.

 

For snowy scents, I still prefer Kumari Kandam and Cloister Graveyard in the Snow.

[slave1]

THE SNOW MAIDEN

 

In Bottle: Winter florals

 

On Skin: This is a beautiful chilling winter scent. The chill comes from the hoarfroast which really does make me shiver so nicely. I get a nice pine, sweet and not overly piney. The florals are also sweet and add a nice bright feel. The berries are my favorite adding a red punch to an otherwise white/light blue scent. This does remind me of Skadi, Snow White and Ice Queen in a way. They’re all sisters. I love all four of these scents, I’m not sure what it is about them that just makes me smile. I’d say Skadi has more pine and Snow White has more floral and a berries (even though Snow White doesn’t have berries listed as a note, I get berries from it). I’m not a fan of pine on it’s own, but as soon as the sweet berries and florals pretty it up, I’m won over. A beautiful scent that I’m going to be wearing for sure and alternating with my Snow White as my “winter pretty scent”. Strong throw and long wearlength.

[Little Bird]

This is another blend that I was hoping would smell something like Skadi (I know, I know... even my boy has told me I need to let go of Skadi already, lol). Everything that I try seems to lack the spicy warmth that made Skadi so wonderful. The Snow Maiden is nothing like Skadi or Snow White on my skin.

 

This is a cold, clean, bitter scent to me. More like Snow Bunny than anything else. Clean (almost soapy) slush notes, a bitter grapefruit, and something like perfumey white florals. Cold and sharp. The sharp florals get stronger in the drydown and the soap gets a bit more pronounced.

 

The Snow Maiden turns more and more towards cliche department store floral perfume on me over the hours... suffocating, stinging flowers and chemicals. If white florals tend to give you headaches, you might want to stay away from this one, because it's migraine-city for me.

 

[olympia301]

 

This is what I was hoping Skadi would be for me. It is indeed a cold fir shot all the way through, but it has a candy like/fruity side to it as well which never goes away and gives the fir its charm. This one is not at all a pine-you-to-death scent, it's using the conifer family in scent the way it should be used. With respect and for the whole scale that the ingredient gives. This one honors the fact that fir can produce fruit and be charming in the off season. It is one of the few fragrances I would recommend for use on your skin or in a scent warmer. Really charming.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: this smells like a Mojito from Fridays. Which is a good thing.

 

Wet: sweet, slushy, fruity with a wee hint of mint.

 

Dry: this scent really morphed. After a few minutes it smells like cranberries and fir needles. A really interesting scent!

[shelldoo]

in the bottle it reminds me of ginger, and that slushy snow smell

 

wet wow no ginger here minty, slushy. and yeah mojito sounds abt right. this is skadi with alot of mint

 

 

strong, lots of throw. mint and bpal's famous snow scent

[porcelain72]

In the imp: gentle green flowers. I can definitely smell the daffodils.

 

Initial application: this doesn't initially strike me as a "winter" scent. It's more evocative of flowers blooming after a cool spring rain.

 

Drydown: ah, there we go. Now I'm picturing those same flowers attempting to remain standing under the weight of snow falling around them. The ylang ylang keeps the daffodils from getting too cloying. It's all floral, no pine, mint or berries to speak of. It's what I had hoped Snow White would be, if Snow White hadn't turned to Play-Doh on my skin. Very lovely, with a distinct but not overpowering throw, and a surprising amount of staying power.

 

Smiley rating:

[Em-]

I knew from sniffing the bottle that this was going to be a chill winter love for me, and I'm not disappointed - this is a scent for everyone who wanted to love Snow White and Skadi but for whom something was just a little...off - there is the chill wet snowy frosty mossy piney scent as the base with absolutely lovely frozen berries (isn't it amazing how frozen berries somehow smell different from fresh ones?) and just enough floral to make things interesting.

 

I love this. My only regret is that evidently I am going to have to slather like a madwoman, because here it is, not even noon, and she is gone - Gone!

[Musamea]

I've been looking for a good osmanthus scent for awhile now, and decided to take a chance and buy a 5mL of Snow Maiden unsniffed.

 

Impressions:

In the imp and wet: Wow, that is... very astringent. Definitely a "frosty" scent.

 

Dry: Scent's turned kind of waxy. I can't figure this one out. It's at once too sweet and not nearly sweet enough. It smells like it's trying to turn into something warmer, but the chill of the hoarfrost and daffodil keeps pulling it back. I'm not getting any osmanthus at all.

 

Extreme drydown: About 5 hours after application, I'm getting the same note I got from Night's Pavilion. I'm guessing that's the osmanthus, since it's the note the two blends share. Hmm, it's not at all like the delicate, elusive scent that the osmanthus bushes by my porch give off when they bloom.

 

This is one for the swaps pile.

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle, this was all snow.

 

Wet, it smelled a lot like Skadi. I even did a little happy dance because I thought it would be a good substitute for my beloved discontinued blend. Alas!

 

As it dried, the pine faded swiftly out, to be replaced by sharp ylang-ylang and snow. Now, half an hour later, it's still a sharp flowers-and-snow blend, with no berries in evidence. ::sigh::

[Medici]

Yep. Reminiscent of Snow White, but with pine and minus the marzipan sweetness.

 

Snow Maiden has a sweet, sharp bite to her.

 

Wet: cold and blustery, quickly sweetened by the daffodil. If that coldness is hoarfrost, me likey. (I had no idea what hoarfrost was up until today - I was expecting something like... silvery snow. Something glacial, and this is it.)

 

A little while in and I get a smack of osmanthus, which is the reason I bought this blend.

 

In drydown, it turns to ice on my skin. Sweet ice, and a little bit of pine sap.

 

Another winner.

 

This is the sort of thing I think about wanting to wear when it's January and freezing and I'm hating our Canadian winters. Snow Maiden might just perk things up for me this year.

[jasmine]

This is a high-pitched, pale floral scent that blossoms on my skin and, after a time, darkens into a reddish smell. I can’t confidently speak to the scent of osmanthus or daffodil, but the ylang ylang is here. I don’t detect anything that smells like berries to me.

 

This is a highly perfumey scent. Normally, this bothers me, but there’s a certain level of sophistication here that convinces me to let it go. After more time passes, I can pick up a touch of the berry when I concentrate -- a subtle blackberry -- but the florals are strongest. The mood of it seems somehow haughty and distant. (I know that description fits “ice maiden”, not “snow maiden”, but I really am trying to judge the smell instead of the name!)

 

The elegance of this scent is undeniable. This seems like a scent that would go well with upswept hair, heels, and mascara. I’m afraid it clashes a bit with my personality, but it’s a beautiful creation nonetheless.

[Shura]

This scent is just great! It reminds me very much of Skadi; if only a bit more sweeter.

 

It defientely smells different than I expected it to (with the daffodil and all), but I'm actually rather pleased with it. It's a very sharp scent.

Edited November 26, 2006 by Shollin

[jewelbug]

 

Imp: Everygreeny slush notes and sweet fruity berries.

 

Wet: The slushy evergreen notes are less on my skin than in the imp, though they are still the dominant note. The berries add sweetness, and the florals start to come out. I think this has eucalyptus or mint in it, cuz my wrist feels tingly, but I can't smell them in the mix (well, maybe a touch of eucalyptus, actually). Its odd, but I'd call this both warm and cold. The berry/floral seems warm to me, but then it is slushy/evergreeny. A really fun combo, and one that reflects the story in the description perfectly

Dry: The florals come out more when it dries, but they don't overpower the slushy notes or the berries. This is really gentle, like one would expect of a maiden. There are gentle warm, slightly creamy florals, a sweetness (from the berry, I think, but the berries aren't identifiable anymore), and a subtle pretty slush note (some combo of pale citrus, evergreen and eucalyptus?).

 

Overall: Snow Maiden is subtle, gentle, sophisticated and quixotically cool and warm. This is a skin scent, since the throw is small. On me, it only lasts 2-3 hrs, but they are lovely hours. I don't think I will get a bottle of this, simply becuase I can't reapply that often, but I'm truly glad I tried it.

Edited November 26, 2006 by jewelbug

[PilotKitten]

More ylang ylang!! Either my skin amps these wayyy up (which hasn't happened before) or there's a LOT of this note in the blends... this is horrid. I get a slight fruity berry tinge to this one which does save it a point or two from being completely written off but this ylang ylang is just too much for me. Blech.

[jenleigh]

I have the same story to tell with all these type of blends - Snow Moon, Ice Queen, and now this one too, as lovely as it was in the imp. The pine comes out and overwhelms the other notes in it, then turns to straight-up Pine-Sol smell.

 

I think Snow White and Snow Angel will remain as the only two snowy blends that work at all on me.

[sofaking6]

Well and The Snow Maiden is an elusive nymph! At first blush this actually reminds me of The Darkling Thrush - it's icy cold without being minty and with a high, bright note just singing out at you.

 

I get about 10 minutes of that enjoyable combo, then about 15-20 minutes of sweet floral and pine, then presto, it's gone. Not even pine-sol left.

 

ADDED Dec. 5:

 

This is a moody maiden! Sometimes sharply frosted, sometimes sweet and coy, sometimes haughty and elegant.

 

Lots of morphing on me. The Snow Maiden begins with the same icy blast as The Darkling Thrush and even Snow-Flakes. One she starts to dry, the pine and berries show up, and are so well-connected that it smells much more like sweetened sap than like needles. After that, and not long after, she dries to a light, misty floral.

 

I would like some more staying power in this blend, especially during the first two scent-phases, but it's very lovely all around.

[supremegoddessofall]

Berries and ozone, with a touch of a minty feel. Very, very "winter." The florals are soft in the background. This is a really pretty scent that screams "it's cold outside but warm in here."

[edenssixthday]

The Snow Maiden - This reminds me a lot of last year's LE blend, Yuletide. It's the scent of bright red holly berries nestled in a bough of green holly. That's pretty much all I can smell from beginning to end -- I don't detect the ylang ylang, the daffodil, or the hoarfrost notes. It's all holly and berries on me, and it's lovely! This seems to me like the perfect scent for Christmas Eve. The throw is above average, but not super strong, and the staying power is about average.

[ajcj213499]

This was this year's Yule winner for me. I LOVE it!

 

It is very sparkling and cold and fresh, like a bright snowy morning. I don't really smell the florals very much, it actually reminds me a bit of Sea of Glass, but without the sharpness that SOG has. Lovely!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Snow Maiden was one of the rare blends that I had to try for the name and concept rather than the notes--I would feel like I'd missed out this Yule if I didn't have at least an imp of her. I love that Beth created so many new blends this year, since testing and reviewing are a huge part of the BPAL fun whether or not the scent becomes a fav. Snow Maiden smells like Skadi crossed with Eos, which is just as odd, yet lovely, as one might expect--crisp pine and snow like Skadi, but with soft pale florals. This reminds me a lot of Snow Bunny--there are subtle differences, but it's so closely related as to be a good replacement for the Bun. I'm honestly not too crazy about the pine/frost family of scents, even though I think it's very cool that Beth keeps finding variations to play with. I'm glad I have an imp but don't need a bottle.

[eggplant]

Odd-this is very, very masculine on me. It's nothing like what I expected. Instead, all I get is straight up masculine soap. Bummer.