L'Inverno

[puck_nc]

White musk, winter plum, pine wood, benzoin, orchid, and stargazer lily.

Origin: Straight from the Trading Post

Initial Thoughts: This was the only one of the Four Seasons that didn't have a deal-breaking note in it, so I was much relieved when it turned up as my quiz result, eliminating my need for abject begging. I am a huge fan of stargazer lily, and white musk is one of the musks that doesn't amp badly on me.

In the Bottle: This is absolutely beautiful. The pine creates a wonderfully chilly feeling, and the lily and benzoin are lurking in the background as subtle hints of sweetness. Even if it turns to cat pee on my skin, I'm likely to keep the bottle and use it in my scent locket, it's that pretty.

Wet: The plum has come roaring out, adding a nice fruity element to the wintry mix for a moment. Then it backs down to meld with the rest...I'm getting a cold blast that's just a little more piney than it was in the bottle.

Drydown: Hmm...the chilly edge has faded quite a bit. I now get a lot of the plum and florals with the musk and benzoin combining for a rich darkish sweetness. It's still quite lovely, but it doesn't shout "Winter!" the way it did in the early stages on me.

Verdict: Like I said, I'm keeping this for the scent locket alone. But it is a beautiful scent on my skin as well. Edited June 26, 2008 by Shollin
fixed BPAL tags --Shollin

[sofaking6]

Oh MAN...this is beautiful. The chill is pretty unique and mellow among BPAL winter blends, and even right away the musk and benzoin jump up and dance. The plum sort of glazes the florals...they are on their own but also purple and a little fruitylicious. Every note is gorgeous, distinct and perfectly complementary.

 

On wet, L'Inverno truly sings. As it dries, the pine fades and the plum and florals take center stage. After about 3 hours it is down to skin musk and benzoin.

[Akurarei]

L'Inverno

 

In the Bottle:

Lily, white and bright.

Also a hint of the white musk - also quite bright.

 

On my Skin, Wet:

the white musk amps tremendously at this point!

I still get a "bright" impression instead of a "cold" impression - I'm not sure why though.

as this begins to try, the lily makes a comeback.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

I don't know if this is a trait of the white musk or if the musk and lily combination is responsible, but now I am getting sandalwood.

it could be the pine that is registering differently for some reason.

Strangely, I do not smell plum, benzoin or the orchid notes.

 

Verdict:

lovely scent - I haven't tried it in conjunction with the bath oil yet, but I'm sure that the combination will be just as delightful.

the thing that does bewilder me on this though is the "bright" impression I get instead of a "cold" impression - it seems more Spring than Winter on me.

quite different from all my other BPAL scents though!

7 of 10 Ranking!

[Katherynne]

In the Bottle: Ozone-y chill, with strong lily

 

Wet: LILY! Lily and winter's chill.

 

Dry: My skin amps the lily -- it's pretty much the only thing you can smell for a while. After it is on a while, the scent begins to mellow into ice-crusted flowers, keeping the piney cold note going strong. I am in LOVE with this scent!

 

I knew by the descriptions that L'inverno was the one I would like best, and I was so happy when I got it in my quiz!

[Myrrha]

Wet -- The lily, ozone, and pine sort of club together and that mixture is what I smell first. The lily doesn’t jump out and scream “lily!” at all, you have to look for it buried under the ice. The musk is in the background.

 

Dry -- It gets sweeter as it dries. The plum comes out and sweetens the musk. The different notes seem to take turns mingling with each other. After about a half hour the gorgeous plum-sweetened musk comes to the forefront with the orchid, and the ice is in the background. Oh, this is lovely! It has delicacy and strength. Like a really beautiful, detailed ice sculpture.

 

Drydown -- After 2 ½ hours (scent goes quickly on my skin) it is an icy white scent of chilled musk with just a little bit of orchid lingering. After 3 ½ hours I could still smell it but only with my nose right up to my wrist.

[zankoku_zen]

Wow. I didn't expect this one to be such a morpher - so at the beginning, this is very much snowy pines. In fact, on wet, it's almost a dead ringer for Skadi on me. It's got that heavy, wintry pine going on. As it dries, the pine recedes and instead I get a frosty plum. The plum warms up though, and its a very sweet, heavy plum scent on me. After an hour, it definitely has an extremely warm base (benzoin) and it's still plummy with a touch of florals.

 

Not what I was expecting. At all. But pretty nonetheless. I don't think I need as much as I thought I would - which is good, since the other descriptions have me intrigued.

[Suu4LC]

Let me tell you how good this is-this is so good, that even though I wasn't really interested in the room spray or the bath oil, I HAD to have this oil after one sniff of it at Will Call. Oh, AND I don't like pine. Or winter as a season for that matter!

 

THIS IS THAT GOOD.

 

Gorgeous perfect icy frosted winter plum. All the other notes help round this out and are blended just right, and the result is just wonderful and evocative and genius.

[coldandsleepy]

In the bottle: sharp ozone, casual pine, and faint, creamy lilies. Mmm. Smells good!

 

On me, wet: much the same, though I'm losing the lilies pretty quickly here. Noooo! Come back, lilies, come back!

 

On me, dry: chilly pine and benzoin. Mmm, benzoin. I'm also getting the faintest hint of plum, but it's pretty faint.

 

Throw and duration: throw's about average; however, the duration is definitely on the low end for me. I think I got about 4 hours out of it both times I wore it. Sadness.

 

Overall: This is a sort of somber wintery scent. Makes me think of a snowy winter evening. I like it a lot, but I'm sad that the lilies (my favorite part of the initial scent) just go poof on me, because seriously, I love me some lilies.

 

On a scent pairing note, here is what I did the first time I wore this:

1. Sprayed the bathroom with the L'Inverno atmospheric spray.

2. Bathed with the L'Inverno bath oil.

3. Toweled dry, then applied the L'Inverno perfume oil.

 

It's amazing how different and yet how complimentary the three scents are together. They're... they're really awesome. <3 L'Inverno!

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Winter!

 

In the bottle: Something akin to ozone, strong pine, and lily. Interesting, but this may end strangely.

 

On skin, wet: Very strong, very cold pine, and just a hint of lily. The pine begins to calm down immediately, and the plum quickly comes into the foreground, and the white musk is right behind it. This, of course, is a fantastic thing!

 

On skin, dry: L'Inverno is a morpher. It goes from an intense pine to a slightly sweet, very cold, musky plum with the slightly sharp tang of orchid and pine beneath it. Without that tangy (that's the only word I can think of to describe it!) background, this would probably be too candyish for me. Thankfully, it's not, and I? I am completely in love with this.

 

Conclusion: L'Inverno reminds me of nighttime in the dead of winter, just before the Christmas season, when the season hasn't yet given way to red and green and white lights, warm spices, and hot cider (or egg nog!); when winter stands on its own and isn't tied down to a holiday; when all you can think about is the six feet of snow the weatherman's promising, the 5-foot icicles hanging from your roof, and the absurdity of early-morning pledges that you'll never ever complain about the summer heat again. L'Inverno is winter -- not Christmas; winter -- in scent form, and I simply adore it.

Edited July 18, 2008 by Aredhel

[savage_rose]

I'm kinda kicking myself that I didn't get another plea for this...it reminds me of Numb, and is a cool, soft piney floral. And the benzoin just gives it this little jolt of intensity. It's an incredibly soft, smooth wintery blend, and it's like a refreshing, bracing icy breeze. SO NICE right about now.

 

With the bath oil: The layers together add a depth to the scent...together, it's like you get a three dimensional representation of the season. So many flowers, and the fir and pine together are so lovely. Not overpowering, just refreshing. Mmmm...

[alicia_stardust]

L'Inverno can be summed up in two words: serene and poignant. It has such a strong winter essence, evoking images of still and silent winter nights, pine and snow, winter flowers, and the dark stain of plum. The pine wood has just enough presence without taking too much of the stage, and the white musk really enhances the sweetness of the plum and the chill of the sweet and dusky florals. This is beautiful!

[Summerpixy]

I like icy/cold blends. I've got Ice Queen perfume and Ice Prince bath oil and wow - L'Inverno is just lovely and balanced and awesome. I feel so complimented the goblins selected me to this particular set. Right now I'm wearing the perfume on it's own, but later I'm going to try combining the three to see just how decadent I can get.

 

It is ice, and fruit and atmosphere. In this summer weather it is the perfect thing to wear.

 

If you like anything that meets those descriptors - you must try and hunt down some of this. It is well worth it.

 

9/10

 

Why only a 9? I can only get this one bottle, which will make me sad when I use it all up.

[greenranger]

In the bottle I'm smelling cinnamon apples...or cider...?

 

On, a sweet whiff of pine...very sweet sugary pine sap. All the other notes besides pine are just showing up as sweet.

 

Temperature wise, this is still a cool scent. It is blending, somewhat. It is still a very sweet icy scent.

[taramarie]

On me, L'Inverno is pine, plum, and flowers. It's gorgeous and a new favorite, but I'll save it for when winter comes.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet, STRONG pine (scary!), and vanillic, resiny benzoin. Pretty damn sweet. I can't detect florals, and only a hint of candyish plum. There's a good spike of white musk though, and the lab's cold snow note is lovely and distinct.

 

Wet: Golden coloured. Even MORE piney, egads. A christmas tree is bludgeoning me to death while drowning me in sugarplum syrup. *shudder* This is super overwhelming. Florals coming through a bit, but they aren't clear - more of a generic piercing perfumey muddle. Likewise, the white musk is sharp and just too strong.Only the snow and benzoin, which amazingly are holding their own in this hectic mess, make this bearable.

 

Dry: Okay, only a few branches are clobbering me now; I'm no longer praying for my life (or a pool of bleach). The plum - I'm assuming 'winter' here is a euphemism for 'intensely candied' - remains strong and sugary. Meanwhile, the flowers have certainly bloomed. I can smell the lily's soapy edge but not its floral heart, and the combo of orchid and musk is still so bright it's almost headache-inducing, with plastic and alcohol overtones.

 

Summary: High-pitched, perfumey white florals and sharp white musk over syrupy sweet dark plum candy and mentholic pine. Lighter notes of pure snow and warmly sweet, resiny benzoin are not enough to temper the excesses of the major players. Apart from its sweetness, it has a cologney feel that could work on men. Gave me a headache with its powerful throw, and refuses to wash off.

 

It figures that the season I most expected to love is, so far, the worst. Well, at least I should make someone else happy!

[Dark Alice]

Winter Plum and Pine. This is a very clean scent. Not overwhelmingly pine and not like the other winter scents that have not worked well with me from the lab. Chilly winter morning eating a plum. I love it. I can't wait to wear this when the weather begins to cool.

[AEris]

Wow!!!!

 

This is a beautiful, delicate Winter scent! The hint of pine wood is just that - a subtle hint, nothing dominant at all. The plum and musk add a lovely bit of sweetness (although this is Not a sweet perfume), and the stargazer lily is a gorgeous, soft, cool floral.

 

For a little while in the drydown, I also get a faint suggestion of apple cider in there.

 

This is just wonderful, and I don't always gravitate towards the wintery scents. Finely tuned!

 

4.7 out of 5

[inurbanus]

This starts out as a chilly pine smell, but after about an hour of wear, the pine disappears and the plums come out. Unfortunately, this isn't the sugary plum note that I love so much in Midwinter's Eve -- to my nose, these plums are syrupy and smell a bit more mature than I care for. I can't smell the lily or the musk. I'm thinking I'm having a skin chemistry issue with this, since it seems much in demand and its reviews are glowing. I must say, I don't really care for pine scents, and L'Inverno isn't going to convert me. But, I would imagine that this is a must try for anyone who likes the more "wintery" scents.

 

3/5

[Little Bird]

I was completely wrong about these four seasons inquisitions. I thought that I would love L'Autunno, like L'Inverno, like L'Estate, and hate La Primavera. The exact opposite has turned out to be true (love La Primavera, really like L'Estate, am iffy about L'Inverno, and hate L'Autunno - though my favorite thing out of the entire four sets is the L'Estate atmosphere spray, which I've been wearing as a perfume <3). I digress.

 

L'Inverno smells better in the bottle than it does on me, so it would probably be amazing on the right person with the right skin chemistry. In the bottle, this is a frosty plum that reminds me of a less sweet and more sophisticated Midwinter's Eve. Very lovely.

 

On me, my boy said this smells like "cleaning supplies and syrup," which definitely doesn't sound good, lol. I think I get mostly the plum and lily, and they're going wonky on my skin. The plum sweetens and starts to remind me of grape candy, and the lily starts going to baby powder. Over time, this starts to turn plasticy and strange. Grape candy and plastic, which makes me smell like some awful grape scented toy, and I've never cared for the artificial grape smells.

 

I think I'll keep this and see how it ages, but it's definitely not something that I'd wear at the moment.

[filigree_shadow]

Pine and... uh... pine. It does seem to be a softer sort of pine than usual, but to be honest I can't really pick out any other notes. My skin is horrible with pretty much all "winter" scents -- it turns them all into basically the same scent. Cold forest. That's about it. I keep trying them just in case I find one that works, but so far I haven't had much luck.

[Schmoozy]

This was the one I had to have. Winter. I am all about winter, all the time. L'Inverno had me itching for winter and the beloved yules back in July.

Cool, snow covered pine trees, with a lush winter plum followed by musk. This is sooo beautiful. Slighlty floral, but mostly a light, slushy pine with plum.

I am in love. It did not disappoint. Bring on the yules!

Edited September 29, 2008 by Schmoozy

[cranberry]

Snow, berry with a touch of spice, Of all the blends I’ve tried this reminds me most strongly of Skadi. At least when wet. The pine is crisp and cold. The plum sweet and juicy. I loff this.

 

As it wears it doesn’t remind me so much of Skadi, but that’s ok. The winter ice seems to recede and the plum becomes stronger. There’s lily here too, and I love lily. It’s wonderful here and adds a crisp edge to the sweet plum. Still so beautiful and so evocative of winter days. As it wears, the plum, orchid and benzoin become dominant. The snow recedes even further. I like this too but I love the opening of this oil.

[Victory]

When I first got L'Inverno, I thought, THIS is what I wanted Midwinter's Eve to smell like!! Midwinter's Eve was a horrible stemmy sort of scent, but L'Inverno was a gorgeous fuchsia plum scent (with faint white musk way in the drydown), and I loved it. As it's aged, the plum has backed off some so that I can smell the other notes. Now, when the oil is wet, the plum is the strongest note, but the musk and wood are beginning to peek out. The plum is a sweet one, not hard candy like in Midwinter's Eve, but sweet. Very, very happily for me, the pine wood is pine WOOD, not PINE wood- not particularly distinguishable from the stable wood in Gunpowder, for example. When L'Inverno is dry, the plum, florals, musk and wood sort of carousel across my skin. The plum is still the strongest note, but I like the soft woodiness and muskiness. Surprisingly, I think this is my favorite of the Four Seasons- I had been a bit concerned about the pine, but for me it's just a wood notes, the plum is wonderful, and everything else is beautiful.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Victory

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Sweet plum with the lily and musk in the background

 

Wet on me – The pine wood comes immediately to the fore. There is a little softening sweetness to it, but mainly it’s pine

 

Dry on me – It goes a little perfumy, but eventually it dries down to a sweet, musky plum

 

Overall – I like it more than I expected to. I need to decide if my desire to keep it is actually a ‘must keep the set’ mentality

 

[ami226]

This is pure stargazer lily on me!! Which is awesome as it is my favorite flower (along with the Kentucky Derby Rose!)

 

This one never morphs, and I never smell anything (except possibly a slight sweetness of the plum) other than yummy, perfect stargazer lily. Smells exactly like the flowers sitting on my coffee table! Mmmmmm! PERFECT!