The Snow Maiden

[Gin]

The Snow Maiden

 

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

 

Love it! It's a softer Skadi-like blend. Not quite so pine-y on me as I remember Skadi to be, but bright and chilly with a lovely almost(?)-minty edge -- quite refreshing on this humid spring day! (I can't believe this has ylang ylang in it. I can't smell it at all, and yy usually gives me a headache.)

[Bain]

I have this in my locket right now.. I've just fallen in love.

 

Wet: it's all crisp berries and woodsy notes - I almost said soft, but it's not.. it's not sharp pine, but.. Crisp. Crisp is a good description.. It's so lovely, cool, and yes, I agree The Snow Maiden is a good alternative to Ice Queen, definitely. It's just so perfectly me, I can't stop sniffing it.

 

On my skin, it goes just slightly darker, duskier, but not too much.

[aestien]

Bottle: almost a lemon scent is that the daffodil?, berries, pine

Wet: the pine moves forward, but doesn’t overpower, sweet berries blend nicely with the tart lemon note, and the ylang ylang hangs in the back as a nice round base

Dry: this stays consistent with the berry, lemon, pine theme

 

This fits the season very well, and I found myself wearing this all through the holidays and into January. It’s a nice balance between warm and cold, sunshine on snow.

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Candy.

Wet: Creamy candy with a tiny hint of pine.

Drydown: Something in here just turned slightly sour-sweaty. It's taken over the creamy candy and the pine.

Dry: Faint pine, faint candy, with a couple of berries, with a teeny bit of snow/chilliness.

 

My rating: 3/5. It's just so faint.

[LadyBug]

I'm not sure what most of the scents are in this one but I can tell you that they're pretty! It's a cold scent that's perfect for the winter! It smells a tad bit floral with a bright undertone of something! I'm not doing too good at this. haha! This is very feminine and elegant and I recommend it to everyone!

[alicia_stardust]

The Snow Maiden and I are very acquainted. I spent an inordinate amount of time huffing myself silly while trying to compare this to The Darkling Thrush and Snow-Flakes, because while they are all different, they all share the same snow scent. I was trying to compare the way each one morphed and changed.

 

The Snow Maiden is very innocent. It is cold and snowy and definitely blanketed in winter, but it also has hints of early spring crocus and small shoots of bright green stems that are peeking out of the snow. There's almost a "yellow and green" sort of scent to this. I find it very lovely, very hopeful.

[arabella]

First Impression: A sweet, lemon-tinged floral

Dries down to: It stays much the same on me

Additional comments: This is a cool, sweet and crisp floral. I'll probably enjoy this more in hot weather.

Lasted: 3-4 hours

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[Moryssa]

I don't know exactly what the lab uses in the scents that are "snow"/"ice", etc related... but whatever it is makes me nauseous. I thought it was the mint, since all the other ones I've tried have specifically mentioned mint, but mint isn't listed as a note in this one. *sigh*

 

It's just very sour and chemically and bitter and ...

 

I wanted so badly to like this one, too. Now I'm really glad that I joined a decant circle for the yule blends (including Snow White) instead of just buying a full bottle untested...

 

 

--M

[cranberry]

This smells of slush and sweetness. Sweet berries and something that smells of watery stem (that portion of the scent reminds me a bit of a watermelon berry plant). This is just gorgeous – a blend of winter and spring. Like there’s still snow on the ground but it’s water-laden and plants (bulbs) are starting to poke through in patches where the snow has melted. This is just gorgeous - fresh, clean and cheery.

[iiinterstate]

Oooh, never tried a daffodil blend before, and I smell it right away.

 

However, the florals disappear quickly, and I'm left with something that truly reminds me of Moon of Ice, only fruity instead of pine-y. It definitely smells like winter, but also like spring isn't too far off. For the first time in my BPAL history, I almost wish the florals would stick around a bit more. My skin ate them and what's left behind isn't super exciting.

[jizatt]

I agree with the other reviews that said this is a warm scent. I'm having a hard time placing what I smell. There is a bit of the snow, but then its... almost foody on? Not sweet, or baked exactly, or spicy... but maybe the wierd amber thing that others have noted -- amber goes very rich on me sometimes. Really, I'd say that this is like a snowy Mouse's Tale -- at least on my skin! Adore. Crave.

[Schmoozy]

Snow Maiden is definitely an offspring of Snow White. While the almond note is not there, there is a delicate snow vibe, touched by berries, and just a hint of mint. It has a crisp feeling that I don't get with Snow White. While I detect woodsy notes, they come across very soft and gentle, and mixed with daffodil, and ylang ylang, produces this woody delicate floral.

It is simply a stunning, sweet, crisp snow scent. I adore it.

[tinyvulture]

This is in a class with Snow Moon and Snow Bunny. It’s got that sweet slush note, combined with the perfume of various florals, and tart red berries. Unlike those other blends, there’s no noticeable pine or other forest trees here. The clean white snow, the berries and the flowers are joined by something musky, like animal musk. I don’t see musk listed in the scent description, but there’s definitely something warm and almost sweaty. Not in a bad way. Maybe the snow maiden was hanging out in the snow-covered forest, gathering berries, and she decided to run for awhile to warm up. It’s still a pretty, feminine scent.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Mmmmm...this is lovely. I'm quite sad that the decant I just received in the mail turns out to have a faulty cap and leaked out a fraction of the imp's contents already, because I can already tell this is love at first sniff. This is the smell of the earliest stages of spring - all slushy melting ice with the stems and bright petals of daffodil flowers poking their way through thawing snow as the sun shines down. Absolutely lovely and I will have to track down a bottle now. It's a bit more floral than what I usually wear, but the boy even loves it (he hates florals, too) and I have been looking for my holy grail spring scent. I won't have to keep looking anymore, because this is most definitely *it*!

[angelicruin]

2006:

This scent reminds me of Snow White a bit. It's fresh slightly sharp green floral and pine blended with berries. Definitely an embodiment of winter and Yule holidays.

 

2009:

Sweet pine and melting snow are the main notes on my skin. On the dry-down, the pine becomes even stronger and a bit less sweet.

Edited January 7, 2010 by angelicruin

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Pale golden yellow oil. Cold, sharp, piney snow, sweet berries, and bright flowers. I can pick out everything except the ylang-ylang (which is fortunate).

 

In the bottle: Less sweet, more floral. Still heavy on the snow note, which is a bit hairsprayish. The osmanthus (green-fresh) and daffodil (creamy) are really gorgeous, though.

 

Wet: Less sweet, more floral. Still heavy on the snow note, which is a bit hairsprayish. The osmanthus (green-fresh) and daffodil (creamy) are really gorgeous, though.

 

Dry: The berries are tarter - cranberry? Almost citrusy!And this is taking on a soapy edge. Also, this is richer and heavier in the floral department, so clearly some ylang-ylang has emerged, but it's well-behaved.

 

Later: The berry note sort of reminds me of the one in Belladonna, that sort of wild dark fruit. Also, both osmanthus and daffodil have greatly amped. I would love this without the pine.

 

Summary: Some delicious musk emerges, but that sharp pine note just refuses to die, which is a shame because the florals are gorgeous and the berries tartly juicy. Decent throw, fades a lot.

 

Ice Queen crossed with Snow Moon?

Edited April 3, 2009 by fairnymph

[Shollin]

First sniff: Bitingly cold air, sunsparkles on the snow. There’s a hint of berries and greenery underneath, but it’s all sheathed in ice.

 

Wearing: Frozen flowers and frozen berries hidden just beneath the surface of a frozen world. The sweetness is there, but I can’t get to it through the bitter cold.

[Caerphilly]

This is the 2009 version.

 

Smells exactly like Snow Moon, Snow Bunny, and the First Soft Snow. Pine, snow and light florals. Not as astringent as Snow Moon and not as perfumey as Snow Bunny, More floral than the First Soft Snow, but essentially, all four smell the same. If you like Snow Moon or Snow Bunny stock up on this and you'll be satisfied!! I know that's what I will do!!

Edited November 19, 2009 by Caerphilly

[HamletsKeeper]

I will just say this scent is not at all what I was expecting. It smells like some sort of fizzy drink in the bottle. The berries are very sweet and mixed with the hint of pine it all smells very sugary and soda pop like. On my skin it doesn't morph at all. I get soda pop straight up. No snow, no frost or ice. Nothing except this weird candy smell. Not for me.

 

On extreme drydown it becomes berry shampoo. Yeah, so not what I was thinking of. I think it's the Ylang Ylang giving me the shampoo vibe here.

Edited November 24, 2009 by HamletsKeeper

[Venneh]

'09 Blend

 

In the bottle, this smells like slush and flowers buried underneath. Slightly astringent. On my skin, it's reminiscent of Szepasszony for about five second before turning into really astringent glass cleaner. Not for me.

[sofaking6]

'09 blend...this is really a dead ringer for the 2006 version..I've been hoarding my bottle for years and now I can finally use it up. I am such a fan of The Snow Maiden. It's super sweet daffodils, bright winter berries, and the BPAL slush at the base. On me this scent never goes astringent, it's always bright, fresh, sweet and floral. I get more compliments wearing this than just about anything else. Yay for The Snow Maiden's return!!

[astarinel]

This reminds me a lot of Snow Moon.

 

I actually like this quite a bit, but it has that same "snow" note that a lot of the snowy blends do, and as that note can be rather loud on me, this blend doesn't have enough to differentiate it from the others enough for me to need a bottle. I do love daffodils as a note, but I don't get terribly much of that here, more of a generic light floral scent under the snow that reminds me of Snow Bunny with a bit more sweetness.

[kelpsoda]

'09 version

Snow (ozone-ish), flowers and a berry note. Smells a bit like shampoo to me. Nice and fresh.

[opticnerd]

09 version

I basically get a slightly more floral version of the Shivering Boy here. The snow note is that ozoney/juniper/pine kind of note, and mingled with it are some crystalline floral notes, which I have come to associate with the Lab's ylang ylang note. I don't get any daffodil or anything else that is quite as pronounced a floral (thankfully for my daffodil hating skin). Its clean, light, slightly sweet and rather feminine.

[IronMollyBlack]

Snow, juniper/pine, a touch of sweet berries, a whisper of musk, and florals that threaten to go to headacheville, but stop just before that point. I almost didn't spring for a decant of this one, but I'm glad I did.