mishi-bear

This blend is surprisingly mild on me, but not really in a bad way. I get a lot of the ti leaf off the bat. It's a nice clean smell, leafy. It's not too bitter at all though, it's tempered and sweetened by something else. That something else being, I think, the tonka. It's quite sweet here, and has an almost vanilla like tone to it, but not quite. It's definitely not foody, but it's a tempering note to this blend. I get some of the leather, more on wrist sniff than in the throw. It's a very mild and close wearing leather though, not at all chemical and not at all strong. It just has a distinct leather sweetness to it. The lilac fougere is definitely 'ethereal' but a lot more mild than I thought it would be. I don't get anything masculine smelling from it at all, which is a bit surprising since fougere can usually be a bit cologne smelling. I just get the lilac, a sort of light and wispy lilac at that. It lends a hint of it's purple smelling floral, but not strong enough so that I'd consider this blend floral at all. The white musk and the oudh provide a nice fixative quality here, but are overall both quite mild. I get a hint of that sweet cleanliness from the white musk, and just the tiniest hint of something woodsy and a bit nutty from the oudh. Overall I actually really like this scent, but... it's so incredibly mild. This definitely wears pretty close to the skin, and some of the notes are whisper quiet. This decant I tried of it has been aged about a year, so I'm not sure if it's an aging thing or just a skin chem thing.. or if that's just how it is. I really do like it though, and I don't entirely mind that it's so quiet and personal.

Lots of lilac and violet in this blend, in about equal measure. The lilac is sweeter and milder, a bit more floral. Very pretty. The violet does have a slightly sugared edge, but doesn't go into weird sugar territory. It's just a bit sweeter, but still classically violet. It doesn't have as much of a floral tinge to it as the lilac does. It does smell more bathy. A little bit soapy, but not too much so. I do get a distinctly white floral to this, both in the wrist sniff in the throw, but it is a pretty mild one. I think it is the orris. Not as in your face as something like jasmine, this is sweeter and more lily like. A bit powdery. Stephanotis supposedly smells a bit like jasmine, but I can say I don't get anything jasmine-strength in here. I think it might be adding to the slightly bathy/soapy smell in the violet, without being too distinct otherwise. Osmanthus tends to go smarties on me, like a fruity powdery hard candy. Here though it's very mellow. I do get a hint of that light almost fruitiness it brings, but it's incredibly mild. More on the wrist sniff than in the throw. Overall this is an interesting scent. It does lean a little soapy, but not so much so that it bothers me. I can see it not working well on others though. It's very purple smelling otherwise, sweet and floral, very fun. It manages to both remind me of something a grandmother would wear, but also maybe a fairly young child. It does have a sort of calm innocence to it.

2018 version. There is lavender here, obviously. Definitely more than a thread. It's obvious that this is a lavender scent. It's nice. Pretty, purple, lavender. The other notes though really do separate this from a typical straight lavender scent though. They support and slightly change up that lavender and make this scent have a bit more depth and complexity. The amber is lovely and sweet, definitely pale. Something about it + the lavender goes into an almost lavender tea like territory? It has a sweet sugary freshness, with something almost vanilla like. The ambergris is musky, but actually lacks what I call a 'beachy funk' in this blend. I can tell it's ambergris, because it does have a distinct sweetness, but it doesn't go anywhere even slightly oceanic. It's just grey, sweet, musky. The amber + ambergris also take the edge off the lavender significantly. I like lavender, but sometimes it does make me sneezy. But that sneezy edge is muted by the amber and ambergris combo. Overall you likely would have to enjoy lavender to enjoy this scent, but it's definitely different enough from other lavender blends to be worth trying either way.

This is... really NOT Zombi smelling to me at all. Was expecting Zombi + snow, instead this is really its own entirely different beast, that just happens to have a few notes in common with Zombi. The snow note in this one is distinctly pine like initially, with something lemony to it as well. It's quite sharp on application, but becomes more mild with dry time. There is that rose note. But while in plain Zombi it did smell dried to me, here it smells a lot softer, lusher, and more perfumey. The florals smell chilly, but alive. I think the more sour quality of the rose is eaten up by the slightly astringent pine note in the Frost blend. There is some kind of woodsy combination at the base of this that just screams 'Christmas scent' to me that I just can't place. It's not spicy, just woodsy. It does mostly fade away. The pine note becomes a lot less astringent in the dry down. It gives way for a much softer and sweeter snow note to appear. It is definitely NOT the Snow White snow note though. This is definitely aquatic, but sweet, soft, chilly, and fluffy. More of the dirt note from Zombi manages to come forward at this point as well. It's a distinctly sweet earth note, but definitely earthy. I quite like it. It smells damp and cold from the Frost note as well. With even more dry time, I do think there is a white floral to the snow note, but a very mild one. Likely some sort of lily. It does make the scent a bit more soapy, specifically like Ivory soap, when it appears, but it's not overpowering. Overall this one goes through quite a few interesting stages. I do like the final stage, but I think I actually prefer some of the middle ones more. This is definitely a pretty successful transmutation of a classic GC scent into something else though, and definitely feels distinct enough from plain old Zombi to be worth owning both.

2018 version. Very beeswax dominant. It's sweet and creamy. Not too waxy. Has a subtle almost honey like edge to it. The dust note is sweet and, well, dusty. It actually is making me a little sneezy. The chalk note is strange. I actually do get it distinctly. It starts off mild but gets stronger, and then morphs a little weirdly. It has an almost vegetal tone. A little funky? Overall I was hoping to like this one a lot, but it's kind of meh on me.

2018 version. Initially very heavy and bitter, almost entirely a very dirty cedar. It lightens up considerably as it morphs and the sweeter notes come forward. The cedar moves to the background. The fig comes forward and it's a nice fruity note. Very red-purple, dark and tangy. It has an almost pomegranate like undertone. The tea leaf complements it well, sort of bittersweet and clean. Somewhere between a green and black tea. The sage is sweet and herbal but overall very mild. This isn't a bad smell once it dries but it's still not for me. A little more heavy and bitter than I like my scents.

2018 version. There is something in this that surges lemony on application.. not sure if it's just a secret note. There is a good amount of rose to this. Mostly tea rose. It's sour and sweet, a bit powdery but nice. Only a bit of the geranium though. The apple peel adds some freshness but mostly fades on application. The bourbon vanilla is mild, mostly on wrist sniff. It does add a bit of creaminess into the throw. I actually don't get any mahogany at all... Overall not a bad smell but I'm not super a fan of this secret lemon note to be honest.

I literally only get the snow note from this one, sadly. It's basically just a dupe of Snow White on my skin. I do get the tiniest hint of a creamy pumpkin and a bit of a spice note on a very very deep wrist sniff, but I have to go looking for it. It's not in the throw at all.

The fried dough note is pretty nice and realistic. It doesn't smell too 'oily' but definitely is a fried bread smell. The blueberry note isn't bad, not the most realistic blueberry, but it serves the scent well, but it does kind of smother out the dough scent. Overall pretty straightforward and not bad but didn't grab me much.

Lots of coconut here. Honestly very tropical smelling and beachy alongside the ambergris. Not the most 'yule' scent... The ambergris is beachy, musky, a little funky in a good way. I like ambergris but again... not sure this is conveying the intended vibe. The white musk is clean and sweet, not overly strong. Not too soapy either, mostly helps amplify the muskiness of the ambergris. I do get a bit of sweet nuttiness on the wrist sniff from the almond milk. It does have a creamy aspect to it from being milk and not just almond. Compliments the coconut well. The honeysuckle is very mild. I do get a hint of floral, but just barely. Overall this is.... very summery. Not really a very spirit-y or yule-y scent. This is all beaches and coconuts.

So definitely the Snow White snow note in this one. Crisp, a bit floral. The rose is probably the next strongest note here. It does suit that snow note, which isn't surprising... The snow note does make this rose just a bit soapy though. I actually get a decent amount of the bergamot, kind of spicing that rose up just a little bit. I do get just a bit of that fruity plum. Not very strong, and not the most realistic plum note, but it's suitable here. It does cut the sweet floral scents of this blend just a touch. The oud is pretty mild. It's musky, a tiny bit woodsy, but very close wearing. Mostly a nice fixative. The sandalwood lends just the tiniest hint of something woodsy at the base. Overall this is a nice blend at first. It does become a little too much like straightforward Snow White as it sits on my skin though, which made me reconsider getting a bottle.

Definitely a distinctly gingerbread scent more than a ginger scent. It has that ginger smell to it, but also has a bready molasses sweetness to it. Very accurate, and nice. I'm not sure how much extra ginger is in this on top of that. It definitely has a ginger smell but not a significantly extra gingery smell. And definitely more ginger as a spice than fresh sharp ginger. Overall it's not a bad smell at all if you want to smell like a gingerbread cookie. I can take it or leave it though and have no desire for more.

2018 version. Quite sour smelling at first, though that aspect becomes more mild with wear time. The rose initially starts off as sour, but gets more floral after a moment and its sweetness shines through. Definitely has a bit of an aquatic tinge to it as well, and some sort of greenery. The bergamot also contributes to that bit of sourness. It does smell almost lemony fresh here, definitely has a sort of citrus smell going for it. The cognac is hard to pin down. There is a bit of booziness but it's mild. I'll be honest and say cognac is kind of weird and elusive to me Overall not a bad smell. Not something worth a full bottle to me, but very refreshing.

Very lavender forward, but it is a chilly lavender. A hint of some sort of snow note to this, but I can't place which one. There's also the mint, which isn't too strong, but lends a nice cooling effect. The bourbon vanilla comes out a bit more with dry time. It isn't an overpowering vanilla scent, just kind of nice and creamy. It kind of helps cut the nose tickling edge to the lavender and mint. The amber is a nice sweet fixative while also being apparent in the throw. It's nice and sweet. Overall a nice blend but it didn't wow me.

The grapefruit in this is initially fairly strong but does fade. It actually lasts a decent amount of time on me before fading, unlike in plain Cheshire Cat. The lavender is there, but mild. Very muffled by the snow note. A little soapy unfortunately. The snow note in this is definitely in the same wheel house as the Snow White snow note, but isn't just screaming 'Snow White' like it has in a few of these other Frostbitten blends. The floral edge to it is a lot more muted, leaving more of that fluffy aquatic. It doesn't really help in making the lavender any less soapy, but it's at least not just driving this scent to be purely Snow White. While I do pick up some sort of vague planty something in the background, it's very mild, and very buried. Assuming that's the delphinium and/or the chamomile. Admittedly I found plain Cheshire Cat to have a bit of a weird funk to it that this one actually lacks. I think it's from the dark musk, and that seems to get entirely covered up by the snow note in this. Overall a pretty successful Frostbitten blend though. It has a good amount of both snow and the qualities of the original.

2018 version. Initially there's a lot of that zingy mint-pine snow, making the scent start off very masculine. It does become a lot more mild and less masculine with dry time though. It sort of lends a clean refreshing edge to this scent. The more pine like edge to it becomes much more faint and leaves more of the mint remaining. In this stage I think there is a light vanilla to this snow note as well. The almond blossom itself is really faint on me. I do get a very almond smell in the decant, but on skin anything like the actual nut scent disappears entirely and leaves behind a pale creamy floral. Overall not a bad blend once it dries, wasn't too keen on the wet stage though.

The champaca rises to the top of this, a nice incensey and almost fruity top note. I like champaca, so it's not bad. The cacao is earthy, a little less like chocolate and more earthy and ruddy on the skin. It forms a nice base to this though. Oddly enough it seems to be the gingerbread where this goes kind of wrong on me. The chocolate and champaca kind of work together, but the ginger-molasses cookie kind of makes a weird bitter funk to this that I catch a whiff of now and again. It's thankfully not a constant part of the scent, but when I do get a whiff of it it's not really pleasant. Overall a dud. I think maybe this gingerbread scent just doesn't work on my skin at all.

Lots of lime and lemongrass at the top... citrusy, bitter, tart. I think there's a bit of the hinoki here as well, also a bit lemony but with something more woodsy to it. There's some florals beneath that though. Mostly the water lily with a bit of iris. I do get the occasional fleeting whiff of the peony. There is something just a little soapy to this that I can't entirely place. I think it's the musk with the florals and a bit of the coconut meat. As it dries the more citrusy top notes fade and leave behind a floral blend with a hint of something sharp. I think that's actually the snow note finally coming out, definitely the more astringent one. A bit minty/mentholy. Overall not a bad combination.

2018 version. This blend is interesting at first. It has a clean linen quality to it, sweet and clean, a little powdery. A hint of sandalwood and a lightly resinous benzoin. Buuuut then there's a white floral, I'm guessing the immortelle, and it's in my face shrieking. Sweet, white, a bit soapy. Way too strong, and giving me a headache.

2018 version. This is very similar to the GC scent Mithras on me, because of the olive oil. This is a lot more gentle than Mithras is, though. A good amount of olive oil, oily and savory-sweet, but softened considerably by the beeswax. The beeswax is creamy and soft. There's also just the tiniest whiff of a smoke note. Very mild, a lot more mild than I was expecting. I just get a hint of it in the background. Overall a very pleasant scent, but I couldn't really justify a big bottle purchase when I already have a 5ml of Mithras. I also wish there was more of a smoke note to it. I actually might try a decant of this again in the future though, to see if it's different in future years.

2018 version. Hey, do you like amber? Because this is an amber scent all the way. A sweet amber, powdery, a bit resinous. Definitely more powdery than resinous. A little bit feminine leaning, at least to my nose. I like resinous amber, and incense-y amber, but I also like this sweet soft powdery amber. All the ambers, all the time. 😁

Musky, bready. A bit of molassesy gingerbread. More just 'bready' though. I think this is the least successful at smelling like gingerbread out of all the Gingerbread + Whatever blends from this release.. Really only a bit of molasses, and a bit of ginger. The oudh is very woodsy with some muskiness, and incense. But that woodsiness kind of smells like pencil shavings. Not the best iteration of oudh that I've smelled even from BPAL. Something about the combo has an oddly savory funk to it. The pencil shavings smell and the savory bread. Something about that combo register as 'weird meat' to my nose in an odd way. Thankfully that's mostly on wrist sniff. Overall a dud on me, but it's entirely possible and likely that my chemistry just took this scent and beat it to hell.

(2018) Snake Oil! With Snow White's snow note! If you've tried those and liked both, then this is worth a try at least. Personally I skipped on getting a bottle, just because it felt like I could just layer my SO with SW and get about the same effect.

I admittedly didn't go into trying this one with high expectations. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of 'popcorn' being a good thing I wanted to smell like from a perfume. I was thankfully surprised though! The popcorn has a saltiness alongside a hint of a fat buttery note that really keeps this scent from being too cloying. The corn note leans more savory and forms a great base for the sweet cotton candy and vanilla spun sugar to play around on. I will say I don't get any wood at all, but I don't exactly miss it not being there either. Pink and foody, sweet and fun. Very much a carnival scent, and very easy pleasing. I can see how other folks might find it too childish, and it's not something I'd really wear that often as an adult, but it's definitely a fun scent.