Cloister Graveyard in the Snow

[pekeana]

Cloister graveyard in the snow, Caspar David Friedrich.

Three white musks, ozone, frankincense, mint.

 

I open the bottle and went "why did I order this again?" Well, with three white musks, ozone, frankincense, mint to work with, okay, yeah, I remember now. I love frankincense and I love mint even if it doesn't love me...

 

In the bottle, Cloister is piercing, high-pitched, cold, solitary and sinister. It's ruins poking out of the snow on a winter night, waiting to grab you and drag you to your doom.

 

On my skin, the mints play for a while, then the ozone creeps up from behind and beats the mint down till its nothing. Ozone, musk, and once in a while a breath of frankincense -- but the frankincense isn't strong, it's subtle and a little creepy.

 

The closest scents in the BPAL catalogue to Cloister Graveyard in the Snow are definitely Nuclear Winter and Wolf Moon. It's the same mints as Nuclear Winter and the same snowy/icy slush as both Wolf Moon and Nuclear Winter.

Edited September 1, 2006 by Shollin

[eleventhousand]

Clean, fresh, cold, and seamlessly blended.

Absolutely not me at all, but I love the painting, so I had to try.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: sweet and ozoney

 

wet: minty, ozone, and still a touch sweet. i am wondering where the "sweeteness" comes from

 

as it dries the mint becomes more prominent, as well as the white musk. it still has an ozone quality, but ozone is not the most prominenet note on me. this is a fresh, clean, almost sweet quality. not my usual thing but not nearly as ozoneish as i was expecting

[Ah Xia]

This scent really conjures up the essence of the painting -- you have just stumbled across an abandoned abbey, dusk is falling faster than you realized, and the snow leaves a heavy silence across the land where none has tread before you.

 

There's mint in this but it's not a happy-let-me-garnish-your-iced-tea mint, it's a dark mint which almost comes off smelling like pine for some reason. It's not too ozone-y and there is a sort of sweetness to it (must be the white musk?) You get a sense of the still air and the aura of someplace that's been forgotten.

 

This is my favorite blend of the Salons for far. I love the painting and I love this perfume. Well done!

[ayelienne]

In a word, Exquisite.

 

This particular Friedrich painting has always resonated deeply within me; I find the work to be evocative due to its realism and at the same time profoundly contemplative due to the subject matter.

 

That said, I am completely and utterly delighted with Elizabeth's interpretation of Cloister Graveyard in the Snow. She has perfectly captured the stillness and the profundity of Friedrich's work in this blend; Elizabeth has successfully instilled the faded majesty of the cathedral, the chill of the winter air, the lingering essence of the life that was in this sanctified space and the solemn permanence of death that ultimately conquers all that comes before - all this is found in one little bottle. Stunning.

 

I am so very pleased that this blend wears so well on me and am grateful to have been given an opportunity to dwell in this space through another of my senses.

[Galatea]

In the Imp: Crisp and clean. I smell the mint and ozone straight away.

 

Wet: Mmmmm, cool without being MINTY!, airy and breezy without being totally COLD. I don't notice any musk action at all at first, and the frankinscence keeps to itself, or does a good job of blending in, quite a bit.

 

Dry: The frankenscence and musks ever so slowly develop throughout the drying process. Being what they are (resin and base notes) this make perfect sense, but the lazy, and still throughly blended, process of it is amazing. There is no definately moment of "Ah! There it is!"

 

Throw: Not a terrible lot of throw, as is typical of blends with mint and or ozone for a top note. Subtle is their first name. A mint top note that throws much more than this would tear your head off with it's menthol smell.

 

Overall: This is a wonderful perfect blend for a hot summer day. Musky, minty, ozone is akin to an orgy of a good blend, the frankenscence adds enough of an earthy anchor, and yet keeps to a background and well blended position, that it make the orgy fun and not too crazy.

 

Rating: +++

[SyringaVulgaris]

 

Really, words are superfluous.

 

Except to say that yes, I smell a similarity to my all-time favorite, Ice Queen. Cloister is sharper (ozone) but goddamn it's close enough for me!

 

White musk is the key. Lots of it. Hints of mint. I am very ignorant about art, and bought this for the notes -- but the painting is gorgeous, as is the scent -- cold, yet beckoning.

 

I actually gasped when I opened the bottle.

 

See also:

[ladygwyn]

This reminds me a LOT of Nuclear Winter. Nuclear Winter is one of my top 5 scents, so that's a good sign, but I was worried it might be too close.

 

However, this may possibly be one of my new all-time favorites. It has the mints and ozone chilliness of Nuclear Winter, combined with the soft muskiness from the white musks. The white musk dry-down is my favorite aspect of Fae, another of my favorites, so I had high hopes for this scent.

 

It starts off with the cool whispery mints, and then dries down to the musks, but still retains a bit of the mint. It's really fantastic and lovely. It *is* very similar to Nuclear Winter, but just different enough in it's own right. My only complaint is that the throw isn't as strong as it could be, at least not on my skin. I find this with Nuclear Winter too, so I just end up slathering. I also find NW has a little better throw when in my hair, so that might be a way to work around it. Of course I would have to end up loving an expensive Salon scent :/ Am definitely going to have to get a bottle of this eventually, though.

[Alchemy21599]

Ayelienne's eloquent review sums up my experience with Cloister. I must acquire a bottle.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Frankincense!

 

In the imp: Very crisp and clean. It reminds me quite a bit of my beloved Ice Queen, actually.

 

On skin, wet: Ozone, white musk, and mint! I'm not sure what it has in common with Ice Queen, beyond the musk. Maybe Ice Queen has ozone? Or perhaps Cloister has a bit of spruce? I'm not sure, but this is beautiful.

 

On skin, dry: Again: beautiful. Very quite, clean, fresh, and cold. I smell the coldness of the mint more than I smell the actual mint, if that makes sense. And then the frankincense appears. Cloister then becomes an oddly cool, smokey incense-laden musk scent. It's just too smokey; not my type of scent at this point.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I'm not much of a frankincense fan, even when said frankincense is blended with two of my most beloved of notes (white musk and mint). Cloister and I are not to be.

[PurringPulsar]

Cloister Graveyard in the Snow

 

In the imp: smells just like Nuclear Winter. Ozone and mint.

Wet on skin: very similar to Nuclear Winter and Ice Queen.

Dry: this is gorgeous. It is very, very similar to Nuclear Winter, only with the musks of Ice Queen. The white musk notes are fantastic, spreading a serene, soft white blanket over the icy ozone and mint. The mint note is greener and less sweet than the usual peppermint scents, and there’s a wetness to it, like cucumber, which I also got from NW. I can just about smell frankincense but it’s very faint. It’s all about the snow in here.

After a while: this gets greener and cooler, despite the mint disappearing. The musks also get stronger, adding an almost warm feel to contrast the cool icy ozone scent. This is a beautiful scent, it’s like walking through a silent graveyard in winter wrapped in the finest fur coat. It seems to stay like this for a long time, though the white musk seems to get stronger, a little sweeter as well, before become just cool white musk with a soft, fuzzy feeling and, strangely, a little hint of warmth.

Verdict: I’m so glad I’ve found a GC alternative to Nuclear Winter and Ice Queen. This smells like both of them, and yet it is different. It has IQ’s white musk but doesn’t have her floral-fruity notes, and whilst it has a similar mint and watery coolness, it doesn’t have the sterile, desolate feel of NW. It doesn’t morph much, just retains that wonderful icy musk, with a hint of slushy watery coolness to it all, and the ozone doesn’t turn to washing powder on me. This scent speaks of serenity, of silence. It’s a scent of the seasonal death symbolised by winter and the calm, icy stillness it brings. It feels contemplative and meditative, and despite its cold icy mint-ozone, there’s a smooth, slightly frankincensed white musk that covers the scent so gently, and it feels almost reassuring, or hopeful. A beautiful, evocative scent, and another olfactory work of art from the Salon.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Will keep the decant, and buy more once my Nuke Winter and Ice Queen run out.

If you like this, try: Ice Queen, Nuclear Winter, Talvikuu, Cold Moon (all LE, this is the GC substitute)

Edited October 10, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[maijasu]

 

*picks self up off floor and tries to commence reviewing*

 

 

*tries again*

 

Wow. Cloister Graveyard is just amazing. It's fresh and minty, but not sweet or overbearing. And the white musk keeps it from getting too cold, although it's still a chilly scent. The mint doesn't hang around long, and the whole blend is very light and subtle, much more so than I'm used to, but it's gorgeous. I will definitely keep my imp, and might need to splurge on a bottle when it's almost gone.

[hologhost]

This may be my 2nd favorite mint ever. (After Snowblind.) Its a green mint - but not spearmint. Mint with leaves. Ice on the grass. I must get this.

[PilotKitten]

This smells like a chill winter wind. Slightly minty but full of ozone-y freshness. The frankincense is a bit more harsh than I thought it would be, but it still manages to fit. This blend almost feels like it should've been a Yule LE, it's that evocative of winter's desolation and loneliness. One of the musks in this has a slightly sweetened tinge to it that is just wonderful. And the mint isn't at all as harsh as I envisioned. Very nice and exact intrepretation of this painting I believe.

[arabella]

First Impression: Cold, dry and musty.

 

Dries down to: The mint comes to the forefront and softens the whole.

 

Additional Comments: The mental image I get is of a crypt surrounded by a wrought iron fence under a soft blanket of snow as the morning sun breaks through the surrounding tree branches. It's quietly lovely. (I hadn't seen the painting when I wrote the review - I was quite shocked when I saw it come to life - almost exactly as I'd pictured it - at the head of these postings.)

 

Lasted: 3-4 hours.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5

[edenssixthday]

Cloister Graveyard in the Snow - I can rarely wear mint, and I never wear it well, so this scent knocked my socks off when it smelled incredibly lovely when first applied, and then stayed lovely throughout the entire length of wear (which was quite a long time). The ozone in this blend is definitely the strongest note, and it's crisp, cold, and almost pine-like. There's a touch of sweetness to the scent, but I can't tell if it's one of the musks that's sweet or if it's from the mint. The frankincense is barely discernible and lends just the slightest earthy quality to the overall blend. In general, this reminds me a lot of Talvikuu and Nuclear Winter, only about a kajillion times better! Those were both fun to try out, but this is one I'll be hanging on to and wearing a lot this winter. The level of sillage is above average, but not overwhelming.

[Little Bird]

This is heavenly in the bottle. A flurry of salty, dry ozone meets creamy white musk and a sweet, chilly mint. Like the dry chill of a winter wind. I'm not smelling any frankincense.

 

On me, this sweetens up even more. It's a clean, sweet scent. Girly ozone.

 

Cloister Graveyard in the Snow dries down to a sweet vanilla mint with hints of salty ozone and clean musk, and the overall impression is that this is both a very chilly and a very dry scent. I never smell anything like frankincense from it.

 

Lovely. I think this one is my favorite of The Salon .

[Voleuse]

Ooooh. Mint and snow and a little bit of ozone, all in a beautiful and delicious slush. I was nervous the frankincense would take over, but there's only a hint of smoke in the background. Overall this is sweet and cold, along the lines of Wolf Moon and Ice Queen--to my nose, at least. I definitely want a bottle of this. Yum.

[gaai]

I was gifted an imp of this by the lovely PilotKitten

 

It was the only Salon blend that had been calling out to me, but well.....it's one of the more expensive perfumes, isn't it.....so it had to wait.....

You can imagine how happy I am to finally be able to smell it!

 

It reminds me of my beloved Nuclear Winter....a lot....but there's more to this....a sweetness that NW doesn't have so much, and the muskiness..

It's absolutely gorgeous: cold mints, musk and ozone (don't smell the frankincense so much). I fell in love with the painting and now with the oil as well......it's a very accurate representation of the painting, I think.

Well done!

[forspecial_plate]

First sniff: Ozone! Clear and cold, slightly minty, very bracing scent. This out-refreshes F5. I like all the notes here and I think they work together beautifully. Not getting a whole lot of frankincense and probably wouldn't have guessed it was in there had I not read the notes. It may come out more later, but so far it's been over an hour and the scent hasn't morphed much at all. Very chilly, almost like Snow-Flakes as it dries down.

 

Another beautiful interperetation, and I guess I should just stop saying that in my Salon reviews because it's true for all of them so far. I could wear this...probably won't get a whole bottle of it but it's nice.

[maribouquet]

After striking out with so many snow blends, Cloister Graveyard In the Snow has restored my faith. This is lovely and contemplative (and so very much what I'd hoped Snow-Flakes would be for me, and then more.)

 

The ozone is there, cold and snowy, touched with mint and sweetly, mournfully grounded by frankincense and the pale musks.

 

I really like this, and it is such a beautiful expression of the emotions I feel from the painting. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

[supremegoddessofall]

Definitely cold - I can actually feel my nasal passage getting colder as I sniff it! It's more ozone-y than minty. Not getting much of the frankincense, and it's really not musky at all. Sort of reminds me of Numb.

[phedre]

wet: mint and ozone

 

wet on skin: frankincense sweetens it a bit, but it's still mostly mint with a touch of ozone.

 

ten minutes later: mint is blending in nicely and almost disappearing. The musks are lovely, light and not too masculine, and the frankincense keeps it light. Very pretty.

 

An hour later, this hasn't changed much. Still minty, cool, ozone with frankincense. Nice, but nothing special.

[sarada]

I've wanted to try this for a long time because I love snow blends and this is a favorite piece of art of mine (also my mom's favorite artwork). The comparisons to Ice Queen were also very exciting, though I already feel like Talvikuu and Kumari Kandam kind of fill that niche for me and I don't wear a lot of overtly minty blends.

 

Just as I expected, this is very close to my memory of Ice Queen, but the mint is on top in this blend. Rather than the impression of the smooth surface of an iced-over lake, this is a quick blast of ice cold air just outside a church, because I do get a hint of that frankincense.

 

It doesn't quite have the complexity of Ice Queen as it dries though and stays a fairly flat mint. I love that icy quality that is achieved by the mixture of pale musks, electric airy ozone and a breath of cold mint, but it's just not making the magical backflips that Ice Queen used to do for me. And I think I like the complexity of Kumari a bit better too, with its evocative mineral notes.

 

This does what it set out to do and evokes the artwork for me, but I think I have enough blends like this for the moment. Maybe if I run out of the other ones I'll give it a spin again!

[dawna]

in the vial: cold, freezing ozone and mint.

 

On the skin: Reminiscent of Nuclear Winter indeed. Strong mint, almost sinus opening.. Its gorgeous!

 

On drydown: This is very much one of the wintry scents, its very minty and cold and when it starts to dry you can smell the musks and frankincense rounding out the beauty of this in the background. Its been on for about 30 minutes and its just amazing. I love this!