The Shivering Boy

[sarada]

Cold, cold forever more. A winter storm roaring through empty stone halls, bearing echoes of despair, desolation, and death on its winds. The scent of frozen, dormant vineyards, bitter sleet, and piercing ozone, hurled through labdanum, benzoin, and olibanum.

When I sniffed this at will call the main impression I got was a snowy scent with a hint of cold grape or wine and perhaps a touch of ivy or greenery. Testing it now that I have a bottle, it is even more complex and varied than I expected.

There is a sharp, cold feeling to this -- that wonderful BPAL snow note that we've seen over the years (in this, I'd say it's closest to the snow in Snow Moon or Death of a Gravedigger) but it's a little more piercing and "perfumey" because of a blast of ozone wafting over a snow-encrusted stone tower. There is an interesting effect produced by ozone and resins like labdanum and olibanum that creates a staticky aura of "perfume" over the other notes.

The vineyard aroma comes out as it dries and the crackle and fizz of that sleet and snow starts to fade a little. It's a pale, frozen grape wine, just barely there, to give a slight blush to the blend. I'm imagining frosted, frozen bundles of grapes lost in the snow in a stone courtyard.

Very evocative. The image and story surrounding it really make it for me -- if this had been given a more generic name I might find it too perfumey but looking at the picture of the stone tower on the label and thinking about a ghost and a snow storm, make me very eager to wear this out on a bleak winter day. Hopefully it will be a few more weeks before we have one of those in these parts though!

[alicia_stardust]

THE SHIVERING BOY

 

WET: Sweet, biting, cold, slush.

 

DRY: This is a very cold, wintry scent. I do not smell fluffy, powdery snow. Instead it is a biting cold winter storm with sleet that is layered over resins and icy grapes. The cold, biting, wintry part of this blend reminds me of Hunger Moon in some ways. Beyond that cold and ghostly ozone, the benzoin has a very balsamic and sweet presence. The other resins, labdanum and olibanum, are sort of sticky, warm, and rich. They contrast the cold very nicely. Just when I least expect it, a sweet and icy grapevine and wine scent wafts up through the storm and the resins. This is such a perfect winter scent. It is so evocative.

[Cheri]

Shivering Boy is pretty, but not until it's been on for over an hour. The first hour it was cold, sharp, and almost stung to smell it. It's reminding me a lot of Snow Bunny with the cold, sharp smell over soft scented fruit. I may have to test again after it settles from it's trip here, but it might have to find another, more appreciative home.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

This scent is an ice wreath. A ring of clear ice with berries and greens frozen inside it.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the bottle: my first thought was frozen grape juice.

on skin: the grape juice has become something else - maybe wine, maybe some exotic berry (i don't drink much wine - unless it is kosher) but whatever it is, is mulberry-ish on me.

and the smell of cold. not minty-cold, but like frozen, arctic, unbearable cold.

 

end verdict: reminds me of a candle i bought from a local winery that's made with leftover bits of grapes... very strongly scented but not all that complex.

pretty, but not for me.

[Eutectic]

I love this beyond all reason.

 

Wet--it's cold with a hunt of fruit and greenery underneath.

 

Dry--this is amazing. Cold but not unrelenting. There is warmth here under the snow. Warm fruit newly frozen and something more, like the scent of bayberries or sweet greens.

 

I am beyond help. This is the winner for me of all the Yules. It is pure magic on my skin!!!

 

ETA November 09 review:

 

Oh my Boy came back!!!!

 

Same as 07, same wonderfulness and classy cold fruits and greens. God how I love this scent!!!

Edited November 14, 2009 by Eutectic

[Silverstrike]

I'm on the fence. I thought it was wonderful for the first hour, but after that something sweet got really amped up. It kind of made me think of currants, and the thing is, currants and I don't get along. I'll retest later.

[SurrealReality]

In the bottle/imp (and wet on skin): Sharp green vines and sour grapes

 

Dry: Cold airy ozone coming out over top of the other notes. The sharp green edge to the vines is fading a bit. The grapes have turned into sweettarts

 

Later on: This scent is fading very quickly on me. It has become a little soapy and the sweettarts have turned to powder. Now it's just a soft slightly sweet, slightly tarte powder, with a bit of green vine, a little soap, and cold ozone floating over top

 

My rating in the bottle/imp: 2 out of 5

My rating on my skin: 2.5 out of 5

 

I really do not like notes of grapes, wine, or vines, but I decided to try this blend anyway because of the benzoin and olibanum, but sadly I get neither of those. I'm sure that someone who likes the smells of a vineyard will appreciate this scent more than I

Edited June 24, 2008 by SurrealReality

[tartchef]

:sigh: Ah well. I had to try, right? The imagery & concept were so lovely that I ignored the ozone & no-list resins... and got a mouthful of soap. I could taste it in the back of my throat the moment I put it on. In the bottle, it's amazing - coldcoldcold, almost prickly & sharp, like sleet hitting your cheeks. There's the promise of frozen grapes & frosted wreaths of evergreen & ivy, and the resins lurk around the edges, bittersweet & spicy.

 

Alas, this will be much happier on someone else. Though it would be worth a shot in an oil burner...

[SeaLady]

I may be a little biased, because I've been in love with this one since I saw the name. My brain weirdly identified it immediately with Imriel from the Kushiel books, and I needed to smell it immediately.

 

But biased or not, it is a thoroughly lovely scent. At first it is cold and sharp, with resins and evergreen and berries and an after-smell that is almost menthol-like in quality. The berries remind me of the juniper that was in last year's Wolf Moon, but not as strong as those ones (they gave me a headache ;.; ).

 

After a couple hours, it's soft and sharp at the same time, and warmed up from the skin. It smells more like the fluffy, fluffy snow on a wreath than the hard and crunchy, or icy snow. It's quite lovely, and I'm almost sure before the Yules go down that I'll be getting a bottle.

 

(Apologies if my review is in questionable english, NaNo makes my eyes fall out.)

[Morrea]

In the bottle: very grape and incense - reminiscent of Urd, without the patchouli

 

Wet on skin: grape-y incense, sharpened by the ozone-sleet notes

 

Dry-down: the ozone and sleet fade relatively quickly, leaving behind wine, grapes, and incense.

 

This is cousin to Urd, though this is softer and less demanding. Unlike other reviewers I got no greenery from this, either as evergreen or as vines, and this was primarily a soft, fruity resin on me, which I like. Wine tends to go very sweet and cloying on my skin; there seems to be a wine note here in addition to the grape, but it stayed well-behaved. Lovely stuff, I'm glad I took a chance on a bottle.

[tinyvulture]

straight out of the imp, i get a whirl of different notes – the tang of ozone, the soured grapes and bitter greenery of the vineyard, the sweet slush and snow, and various sweet incense resins. i also smell woods and evergreen needles, which add to the overall outdoorsy, wintry feeling of this blend. i like the contrast of the biting, bitter notes with the sweet, comforting ones. after it dries, the resins and ozone are still going strong. i don’t get much fruit out of it, at all. i can’t wear many ozone blends but i really enjoy this one.

[TroubleDoll]

In the bottle, this reminds me of Death of the Gravedigger. I put it on and it is sharp wine with a slushy undertone. As it dries down, the resins and wine create a sweet, fruity scent that is heightened by the snow note. Very complex.

[girlygirl]

Wet: cold, sharp. A chill in the air.

Dry: warm grapey but not sweet. Now the Shivering Boy is snuggled in Mama's quilt.

 

Lovely. Complex. Delicate. Unique.

[slave1]

THE SHIVERING BOY

In Bottle: Sweet pine

 

On Skin: Hmmm, how come I am the only person getting pine from this? It smells like a fresh cut pine tree! I smell pine, ice and snow… cold air and a dark night. I don’t smell grapes, and I don’t smell the resins. I’m worried I got a mislabeled decant? Ok, about 20 minutes into wearing it, I do get a grape note, but still no resins. Let me check into it… Strong throw and long wearlength by the way.

Edited November 20, 2007 by slave1

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sharp ozone, men’s soap, and a lot of resin.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells of Irish Spring soap on me: a bit of pine, a lot of ozone, and a hint of resin. There’s something fruity underneath everything, but it’s very faint.

 

After a few minutes: Ok, now this smells a little better… the sharpness has died down a bit. It’s still heavy on the ozone, with a hint of pine and something sweet underneath… wine grapes, I think. It no longer smells of men’s soap… now it smells like a holiday candle. It’s very crisp and cold with a bit of resin, some pine, and that sweet fruit note peeking through.

 

Overall Impressions: I wish this one loved me… I really do. On my skin, this is just generic winter scented candle smell. It’s cold, crisp, and lonely, with a hint of sweet fruitiness underneath the cold abyss of the rest of the scent.

[steffanina]

The Shivering Boy-

 

In Bottle: A much spicier and resinous scent than I expected. I think that's the benzoin.

 

Wet: Grape sweetness and resin. Again, not at all what I expected!

 

Dry: This isn't bad at all, but it doesn't feel cold; it feels like ritual and wine and peace. Not one I'll want to wear, though.

 

Overall: Interesting; not quite for me.

[rachel2205]

Got an empty bottle of this in a decant circle, so just enough left to lightly test... It's an intriguing scent. Not sure I would wear it, but I find it quite compelling. It smells a little masculine, but not overly so. There's a sweet herbal smell, that's the best way to describe it. Definitely not an aggressive herbal. But what is that sweet smell?? Is it fruit, or is it floral? It's so light that it's hard to say...

[Little Bird]

The Shivering Boy has bpal's usual snow note (which is a lovely, cool, slushy note). At first there's a bit of sharp ozone that I don't really like, but it doesn't smell like dryer sheets on me at least. In the drydown this gets spicy on me for some reason. It smells kind of like sharp cinnamon and snow.

 

I had hoped for more of a grape vineyard in the snow backed up by some resins, but this smells like it should be a winter candle fragrance to me. Snow and spice, but too much on the sharp/potpourri side for me to enjoy it.

[wren08]

A provocative name, drawing forth an image of frozen, stunted masculinity. Fortunately, the scent is none of this although, perhaps, well named irregardless. It's an androgynous scent, neither very masculine nor very feminine. There is an outdoor quality without any obvious wood or specific tree fragrance and there is a whiff of a fruity, slightly cake-y, sweetness that ghosts through from time to time. It is not possible to imagine this being a summer fragrance. The question put to me was: "How on earth do cold AND resins work together?" To this I can only respond that they are obviously rather perfect compliments of one another. Think of a snow covered pine tree (although I detect no pine in this mixture) or taking a steaming hot shower in a snow storm out of doors. Ice so cold that it is warm. It embodies the principle of opposites perfectly blended yet retaining their separate unique qualities for which there is no suitable english word so I must fall back into Sanskrit... this is the essence of Baraka.

[nevarra]

I thought I had a mislabeled decant as well! My first thought on the skin was pine, but not in a pine-sol scent. More like a winter, walking through the woods pine. After it dried back a bit, it definitely amped up with something sticky and sweet but sharp (the resins?). The grape, finally started coming through about 20 minutes later, but I really had to dig to get that. For about 5 minutes it was way too overpowering but now it's not so bad. Scratch that...the longer I'm wearing it the sweeter and more cloying it gets. It's actually starting to catch in the back of my throat to where I can taste it.

 

THE SHIVERING BOY

In Bottle: Sweet pine

 

On Skin: Hmmm, how come I am the only person getting pine from this? It smells like a fresh cut pine tree! I smell pine, ice and snow… cold air and a dark night. I don’t smell grapes, and I don’t smell the resins. I’m worried I got a mislabeled decant? Ok, about 20 minutes into wearing it, I do get a grape note, but still no resins. Let me check into it… Strong throw and long wearlength by the way.

Edited November 28, 2007 by nevarra

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Cold

 

Wet: Cold snow, ozone and a hint of grape, I think. This one is hard to pin down. I think I like it, but I'm not sure. It's my first ozone scent.

 

Drydown: Now there's a touch of warmth in it, which is odd in Shivering Boy. It's kind of sweet as well. I can still smell the snow and ozone. I think I like it.

3.5 outta 5

[inkheart]

Ok, so despite my love of perfume, my sniffer is still not as sophisticated as some people's on this forum, so I won't be able to describe every single note, or write a beautiful, poetic review like I've seen some do. All I know is this is EXQUISITE. I think I can almost go as far as saying this might be "MY" scent. It starts out cold and mellow, and progresses rather quickly int a sweet, very nearly cloying/suffocating scent, but THEN! MAGIC happens. On me it softens into a rich, honeyed perfection with the backdrop of the most full-bodied, tantalizing grape you could EVER imagine. I think I literally gasped when it entered it's complete phase, it's that magnificent. I literally want to be drowned in this scent. Spectacular!!!!

[Gale]

This is a wonderfully evocative scent!

 

Wet: The BPAL snowy note hits, but even here, there is a hint of the sweetness of the vineyard. Really beautiful even so early.

 

Dry: Wow--incredible. Pine resin, snow, and grapes meld together into a gorgeous sweet warmth. Strange, but it feels warm. I love this one!

[djuna]

There is a large kefluffle going on on another board over this scent, so I threw it into my last order on a whim.

Very, very glad I did. It's very light, but very deep at the same time--I get what must be the snow note, which to me is cold and slightly smoky, like the smell of a day when it's going to snow and the sky is white, and the air is very dry. There's wine, or grapes, slightly sour but not in a bad way, a sort of aged wine note, not a fresh grape or candy grape scent. There's something almost cinnamon-y, which must be one of the resins. I don't get any pine, but something ever-so-slightly woody which could be the vine note. It almost reminds me of church--it's dry, a bit sweet, and the resins are a bit incense-y. Very unique, and a winner.