Cloister Graveyard in the Snow

[lilirose]

Three white musks, ozone, frankincense, mint.

I was gifted with an imp of this by triptychenchanted, after longing to try it for at least a year, as I’d heard it’s very like my precious but unobtainable Ice Queen.

And it is so very much like Ice Queen. Maybe slightly more ozone- which doesn’t bother me as I love ozone-based scents. As a matter of fact (O blasphemy!) I think I might like it better than Ice Queen.

It is so much evocative of the painting. I can imagine I’m walking towards the ruined chapel, the snow crunching beneath my feet, the faint smell of incense emanating from the cold stone. I’ve spent an awful lot of time in old graveyards (as my husband once had the job of copying inscriptions in ancient Irish graveyards for addition to a database) so this is a smell I know.

This one is definitely going on my wishlist for a 5ml.

[waternight]

In the imp: Ozone and white musk, hint of mint. Reminds me of Crow Moon.

Wet: No more Crow Moon - very reminiscent of Kumari Kandam! This is COLD. Snowy and slushy indeed. I smell ozone and a bitingly cold mint. The white musk provides a soft, smooth base and grounds the high notes of mint and ozone. This is amazing. Truly.

Dry: The musk and ozone combine in a beautiful way, and while the mintiness of the mint fades, it still lends it's coldness to the blend. Also, I only applied a drop or two to my inner arm, and could smell this for HOURS. It's got crazy throw. This is gorgeous, and a keeper.

[bristlecone]

A friend sent me a decant of this a long time ago and while I'd sniffed it and tested it, I'd never actually worn it for a full day. Today seemed like a good day to give it a chance. I get a lot of ozone in the beginning, which gives way to the mint, and there's something that smells almost fruity in there too- like melons, specifically. Eventually I pick up something that smells almost like vanilla, strangely enough. Might be some combination of the musk and mint that's doing that. I've had trouble with frankincense in the past (I'm almost certain it's the note that sometimes smells like pickles on me), but it behaves here.

 

This is a cold, white scent to me, but reminds me more of ice than snow.

[masquedbunny]

This seemed appropriate for today. I pass an old graveyard every morning and evening; and, though there's no cloister, it is newly blanketed in snow from yesterday's all-day snowfall. Scented my wrists, collarbone, and hair.

 

In the bottle: Sharp ozone--the first impression is fresh and cold.

 

Wet on skin: Still very sharp and piercing, but also a little sweet and green. Then I catch the frankincense, and there's the reminder of something ancient underneath the cold and damp.

 

Dry on skin: Ozone and frankincense, primarily. But that green scent is still in the background; it's not minty to me, though. It's more like conifers. Ruins in the cold and damp, in a clearing in the woods, this definitely evokes its namesake for me.

 

Not something I'd reach for every day, but it's lovely and suits this weather and my mood.

 

It is really staying strong in my hair.

[Molls]

 

seriously.

I can NOT stop smelling my wrist.

 

I haven't had the best of luck with the salon scents. But this is sooo worth the wait. The musk, the mint, the cold snowiness... it is heaven upon my arm

[tacey]

A little disappointing, but I mostly get mint out of this. And it's not really saying 'cold' to me, either. It's just mint -- keeps going rather sweet, actually, which is interesting. Maybe a touch of the frank behind the mints, but I don't notice any other notes.

 

It doesn't last well on my skin at all, but in the scent locket it's holding up nicely. For mint, that is...

[SophieCedar]

In imp: sure smells like dirt and snow. Similar to death of the gravedigger however it's colder and crueler. Brrr...

 

Wet: same however I can smell the mint a little more now. I know there's 3 white musks in there however the ozone/dirt smell is so powerful!

 

Drydown: the frankincense never really makes an appearance on me. I would call this a novelty scent. I would maybe use this for perfuming letters to people I don't care much for (jk I wouldn't bother to write to someone I don't care for)

[ami226]

Whoa! I definitely get intense ozone and mint from this one. Kinda makes my head ache.

 

There is really no morphing with this one. It is straight ozone and mint on me from application to drydown... Not my kind of thing.

[voorishsign]

At long last, this has arrived I've bought this blindly, mostly because I love musk, ozone and frankincense, and I trust the mint would behave. Plus, I love the painting

 

In the bottle: mmmhhhh. Ozone, musk, a whiff of frankincense and a tiny slip of mint.

 

On wet: Ohhh yes. Now that's the stuff. Sharp ozone, fresh spearmint and a bit of frankincense. What a wonderful start.

 

Drydown: The musks come out a bit more and the mint turns more herbal and dry, which I like. Ozone stays strong, which I'm happy about because I always get disappointed when ozone is in an oil but eventually fades. I want it to stick around! Frankincense mingles with the musks a little and deepens them.

 

Absolutely stellar, I love it

[DraloreShimare]

In the vial – Light mint.

On the skin – Musky mint, and turns muskier the longer it sits.

Dry – Musky frankincense.

 

At the outset, this reminds me of Euganean Hills - both definitely have the same cold minty undertone. But then Cloister Graveyard turns into a dirtier scent, dirt & snow, as compared to winter on the wind that I get from Euganean Hills.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Earth and ozone with a sharp tinge of mint.

 

On skin: A fascinating dichotomy of deep, earthy frankincense mixed with sharp, thin mint, which dries out what would otherwise be humid ozone. I get the impression that dirt and pine are also in this blend, although the musk/frankincense and ozone/mint may be tricking my nose into imagining those. This is simultaneously deep and shadowed, and sharp and thin and airy, "hollow" in feel. The blend really befits the image: Cloister Graveyard does feel like the cold and stillness of deep winter blanketing a dreaming, contemplative graveyard. There is no snow falling, just frozen snow on the ground and brittle bone-dry frost limning everything. Still with the sleep of death, and bitterly cold with the chill of death.

I was scratching my head trying to pinpoint what was so familiar about Cloister Graveyard... then I realized it reminds me of Kumari Kandam!! (The blend I thought was utterly unique! and it seems I'm not the only reviewer to notice this.) Even so, Cloister Graveyard is more thin and sharp and shadowed -- a pale imitation of the rich depth and complexity of Kumari Kandam.

 

Verdict: I can't help but compare Cloister Graveyard to Kumari Kandam, and the latter is a favourite and so much better, so this blend may fall by the wayside. Despite the similarities, Cloister Graveyard is still different, and lovely, and definitely fits its Salon theme. I really admire Beth's scent artistry, to make a perfume that really resembles the painting! I'm glad I got to enjoy this.

[TheIceMaiden]

Cloister Graveyard in the Snow smells like a winter day - grey skies, cold crisp air, and the scent of the air before a storm hits. Its colder and drier than the Yule "snow" scents.

Its my favourite of The Salon blends, and one of my favourite GC blends overall.

[GeorgeJr]

I know that there are no woods listed in this scent . Then why am I so picturing a walk in the woods through a good snow ? This one has the classic BPAL " snow " note to it . Very much so . The musks are not the hit you over the head kind . This is a very clean , cool scent . Very nice on this cool winter day .

[calivianya]

I do get a blast of a citrus-y smell from the frankincense upon opening my tester, but the white musks and ozone balance it out nicely on my skin. This smells very classy and very clean to me - like an expensive soap. The mint is present as more of an afterthought than a dominant smell. I don't notice it so much as feel it in the back of my nose when I breathe in. I am overall very impressed and I have a feeling a bottle of this will be sneaking into my cart next time I make an order.

[Gin]

Mmm, love. To me, Cloister Graveyard starts out like Nuclear Winter and morphs into Cold Moon 2004--mint and then that almost-citrus ozone note. Fabulous.

[stellamaris]

This is just incredible, it even feels cold on the skin. I know I love the ozone, it has the same feeling as Stormclouds Over the Midway.

The mint is nice and soft but still very there, I Love this.

Through all stages it's very clean and cool, but not at all soapy or artificial.

Edited July 27, 2011 by stellamaris

[milo]

A lovely tester! Thanks I thought I was getting the lab's snow note, but it must be the ozone. It basically smells like mint and snow to me, which is great, but I have other snow blends I like better. Ded Moroz is awesome as well as Skadi. This is lovely in it's own right, and I'll probably use it more in the summer for a cooling blend, as I don't think I have any mint/snow notes.

[elka_knits]

I avoid ozones and any scent that contains notes like white or crystalline so why did I buy this? Oh yeah because of the minty slushy snow. Cooling on the skin and perfect for a hot humid summer day. I cannot imagine wearing this in the winter time tho perhaps I will try to some day.

[achildoftime]

It smells like a freezing winter day. It's cold, and a little sweet. The mint is the most distinct note, but it's not one of those aggressive mints. This scent is sweet and soft, maybe a little musky but it's not heavy by any means. It really does feel like the first steps outside after a big snowfall. I really like this.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Clean white musk, ozone, and frankincense with just a little bit of mint.

 

Wet: The white musk, ozone, and mint jump out at me first, and then the frankincense emerges. The mint is stronger on me than it was in the decant.

 

Dry: Cool white musk with a soft mint backed by a soft frankincense note. It smells light, fluffy, and snowy. After a few hours, the frankincense becomes the dominant note, backed by the ozone. It no longer smells snowy on me.

 

Verdict: I’m glad I got to try this one, but I wish the snowy vibe hadn’t gone away after a few hours!