Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills

[Yvaine]

Senseless is the breast and cold
Which relenting love would fold;
Bloodless are the veins and chill
Which the pulse of pain did fill;
Every little living nerve
That from bitter words did swerve
Round the tortur'd lips and brow,
Are like sapless leaflets now
Frozen upon December's bough.

Skin musk, white sandalwood, balsam fir, frozen black berries, cedar, winter rose, and white amber.

In the bottle: Sharp, citrussy and white. A touch astringent.

Application: The sharpness really comes out. I can smell the white musk, but it's at the mercy of the balsam and maybe the cedar. There's something green citrus about it, like unripe lemons.

Drydown: This smells a lot like CK One for a while, which I was not keen on. But after an hour or so, the sharp astringent quality that reminded me so strongly of perfume has faded and it's a lovely white musk sweetened by rose, amber and berries. The potential sweetness of that combo is reined in by the earthiness of sandalwood and maybe still the balsam a little. The rose doesn't amp on me, which is unusual because it almost always does.

Overall: A lovely scent once full drydown is achieved. Not too strong, very subtle (not faint). This is maybe the scent you would put on if you were going out on a date that you knew was going to get up close and personal and you wanted the other person to think you just smelled naturally that good instead of be-perfumed.

[Kimbernunk]

This one is a major morpher on me.

 

In the bottle and wet on my skin, it's almost minty, but not quite - I suspect it's a combination of the fir and the frozen berry note - anyway, it literally smells COLD, like cold air outside. The effect on my nose is chilling, like the temperature has somehow dropped. This stuff is worth a bottle for that effect alone.

 

The cold effect wears away after about ten minutes, like the perfume puts on a sweater and warms up a bit (albeit not completely). At this point, the rose and amber come out. I'm not big on rose and amber can go a bit too saccharine, so this part scared me the first time.

 

However, sandalwood is an awesome "fix everything" note for me - things that ordinarily amp or go nuts or go plastic (like rose on me) are all calmed and relaxed with sandalwood. The upshot is that sandalwood usually means I can wear things I otherwise wouldn't touch. It's the same thing here - after about a half hour of the rose, everything settles down remarkably.

 

The dry phase (which lasts for HOURS) is very mellow, relaxing, subtly sexy, and just all around AMAZING. Like Yvaine said, it's not a scent that's hugely noticeable as "OMG PERFUME." It's sandalwood and skin musk primarily; the other notes sort of drape over the top very lightly, swirling with the lightly musky sandalwood.

 

The throw is fairly average - I notice whiffs of it from time to time but it's so subtle that I almost forget that it's the oil that I'm smelling. It's been going strong now for 5 hours - the first time I wore it I could still smell it well over 10 hours later, and I'm not a slatherer. It just lasts.

 

Overall verdict: I MUST HORDE THIS. This is the first oil I'm getting multiple bottles of. It is a 10/10 LOVE.

[Dark Alice]

This is one of the most gorgeous scents I have ever smelled. It's light, with balsam fir and something cooling....it's not eucalyptus......it's a little cologney something in it reminds me of Brom Bones. It's such a clean, cooling scent with just a hint of fruit. I love it and I think that next to L'inverno, I have found the perfect winter scent.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Cedar and fir wrapped with light musk, sandalwood, and a hint of rose.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a chilly, icy and almost minty cedar and pine scent with a bit of berry, rose, and light musk sweetening it. It’s astringent and smells very cold and crisp. The notes all seem to be blending nicely.

 

After a little while: This has gotten more airy and feminine as it dried. The notes in this are almost seamlessly blended and combine to form this chilly, foresty floral scent. The cedar is probably the most identifiable note, then the black berries and rose adding a good dose of sweetness and smoothness. The musk and sandalwood really don’t warm the blend, but they swirl around and smooth out and ground the cedar a bit, keeping it from being too high of a note. The blend is still very cool and icy however, and has a crystallized sort of feel.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a pine and cedar scent I could actually wear, and I’m so excited about that. It’s a bit sweet and floral with more than a hint of berries and rose, but that really helps balance the pine and cedar. The other notes just blend together so nicely in this. I can sense them more than pick them apart because they’re so nicely blended. Overall I have to wear this to see if I would use it enough to warrant a bottle, but it’s a lovely scent to experience.

[Leopard403]

In the bottle: Musky Christmas trees.

 

Wet on my skin: MINT!

 

An hour later on my skin: STILL MINT!

 

[windbourne]

*melts into puddle of goo*

 

It's Winter Maiden bath oil, as a perfume! (well. Really more along the lines of the way the Four Seasons Inquisition bath oils & perfumes were similar, but not quite identical.) Think I'm joking? Here's the scent list for Winter Maiden: Snow-laden woods, iced blackberry and bergamot, white rose, and crystallized amber. See what I mean? It's a bit muskier, and I can definitely tell the sandalwood is in there, but it makes a gorgeous match. Layering for the win~!

 

This is the first cedar scent that I (remember) trying that's really worked on me, perhaps because the cedar finally gives way under the assault of the amber, rose, and sandalwood.

 

It's pretty strong, and lasts for hours and hours (I took a bath and scrubbed pretty good, and it was still sending whiffs up from my wrists.

 

I'm totally in love, and will buy a bottle.

[Katherynne]

Yeah, I don't know what happened here, but -- on me, this is a dead ringer for Cloister Graveyard in the Snow, which I already have. It's a slightly sweet mint with a bare whisper of herbal tones underneath...

 

Therefore I won't be needing a bottle!

[black_and_bloom]

Wow, this is beautifully blended. I was a little nervous that it would end up too piney, or winter sharp. But I get a hint of coolness balanced by sweet, warm berries. No powdery rose, either! This is simply gorgeous - a win for sure.

[PersephonesChild]

I totally get the CK One thing, too, and it lasts on me-- and makes me feel slightly headache-y.

 

Eventually, it melts into white amber-goop.

[angelicruin]

In the imp: I agree with the above review that it smells sharp and citrusy with some rose

 

Wet on skin: I am smelling the cedar, fir, blackberries.

 

Drydown: creamy (I think the white amber?) woodsy blackberries and rose, but not a heavy rose scent.

[goblinshark]

Amazingly, I do not get rose at all from this, nor berries. It just smells herbal and minty. Like Nuclear Winter it is a smell I enjoy, but don't want to smell like personally.

[Schmoozy]

This is probably going to be one of my favorites of the yules.

Cedar and fir are blended with musk, sandalwood and amber and lightly dusted with black berries

and rose. I thought this may come across as a heavy scent with all the powerhouses inside, but it is light and airy and very pretty. As it dries down the amber and sandalwood create a golden dusty feel and accentuate the two woods - cedar and fir. Frozen black berries give Lines a cold/snowy feel and combined with rose really give it dimension.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Schmoozy

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is musky berries with sandalwood...

 

once applied the balsam fir is elegant combined with the white amber...

 

really sophisticated and perfect for a holiday happy hour

[mgrazulis]

Brisk balsam and cedar underneath. Blackberry sweetened by skin musk and lightly scented roses. Clean and cool with a layer of amber...sandalwood out at the edges. Gorgeous wintry feminine woods with a drop of blackberry and rose. Mmmmmm....beautifully blended.

 

[jehrichardson]

Wintery, fragrant, and light. Resiny woods, but very delicate. Musky, but softly so. Just floral enough to smell clean. Very wintery and lovely - but this is like Minnesota winter with clean bright air, crystalline blue sky, sparkling cold, and the faint echoes of woodsy smells kept bright by the cold, and faint by the wind.

 

Mmmm! Keeping this one. Yummmo!

[innocent]

Oh wow. This is nice. The notes are all very well blended - I had thought this combination and warm and cool notes might turn out strange, but its very nice. The cedar doesn't come roaring out, the amber and rose don't combine and turn to baby powder, and somehow the whole thing still smells cold without turning into soap or dryer sheets on me.

 

The only downside is that this one fades very quickly on me. I'll be considering a big bottle of this.

[Ravenclaw79]

Initially, this was men's cologne, one that's really familiar but I can't place the name (it's not like I smell much men's cologne -- my boyfriend now doesn't wear smellies).

 

And then, it was CEDAR. Not cedar... CEDAR. Screaming CEDAR. I like cedar, but it was just too much. I smelled like a closet. And I couldn't get it off, either -- I scrubbed it five times before it would even think of fading.

[stillalive]

awww, the rose dominates in the ramen noodle powder sort of way. From a distance I can tell it's nice, but up close it's like "ewww... ramen..."

[Little Bird]

It was the "frozen black berries" that excited me about this scent, even though bpal's amber is generally awful on me and I tend to like less complex rose scents. In the vial, this smells like musky fir. On my skin, this morphs instantly into a sharp, unpleasant musk and something minty & strange? Maybe I'm getting the "frozen" part and no blackberries. Sandalwood often goes smooth and slightly powdery on my skin, but bpal's amber notes turn to baby powder. The combination of sandalwood and amber here makes the drydown a powdery, dusty mess on me. I think I smell a bit of dry cedar as well, but it's not helping in this case...

 

Lines just doesn't work with my skin chemistry. It's all musk and powder and no berries (no rose either, and I often amp up rose). It sounds pretty, and would probably be gorgeous on someone else, but it's not for me.

[Seadreamer]

Oh woe... I wanted to love this. I loved the sound of it. What did my skin do to it, you ask? My skin turned it into CHRISTMAS TREES!!! And more CHRISTMAS TREES!! (All caps intentional.) Kind of stinky trees, at that. It's the Christmas Tree air freshener from hell. I wanted sandalwood, white amber, frozen berries and roses. Sadly, I did not find them. Stupid body chemistry. *pouts*

[alhbooks]

I'm so happy to be getting the perfume version of Winter Maiden bath oil...loved it last year and I still love it. And happily, I don't get the mint or the heavy cedar noted elsewhere. Definitely a keeper.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Oh, that smells good! Evergreen, but blended near-perfectly with rose and sandalwood.

 

Wet: Still good. It's predominantly balsam on me, but some warm notes allay the cold evergreen sharpness. I might be falling in love with this one.

 

Half an hour: This is delicious. The balsam is wonderful and just screams winter solstice at me. There's something sweet and fruity at the bottom, making my mouth water, and the rest of it is so well blended that I cannot even figure out what I'm smelling. Exquisite!

 

One hour: Yum. Just -- yum. This runs the risk of going over to candles or Christmas shop on me, but it hasn't yet. I'm hoping it holds out the way it is, because I love it. It smells like finding a tangerine in the toe of my Christmas stocking did when I was five: magical!

 

Six hours: I had a busy day and lost track of this. But it held up well, although now it's trended toward gentle musk. My husband, who rarely expresses opinions about scent, liked this one. This one appears to break my rule about cedar, too. I might have to acquire some more of this.

[LauraB]

Oh wow. Ohwowohwowohwow!

 

I have no idea what is in this, but I get something cold, something minty, something floral and, um, something else that I'm guessing is balsam fir because it's vaguely medicinal (in a good way!) And together it is fabulous. Want more!

[herkissofshame]

I had high hopes for this one! I loved the concept behind the oil and I really wanted a nice, snowy, berry oil to really mark the holiday for me.

 

Alas, I wasn't to get it here!

 

Wet: Citrus-y and fresh. Mint, cedar, with some ozone and a tinge of cold berries.

 

15 minutes in: Whoa. Not at ALL what I expected. The cedar's very cold, which is lovely, but mint! I hardly knew thee! The mint's gone, as is the "cold" sensation. Right now, I've got musk and citrus ruling this fragrance with an iron fist.

 

1 hour in: Sadness. My chemistry hates me! This is an extremely generic perfume-y smell on me. No cedar. No balsam fir. No berries. No mint. Just a well-blended, cologne smell that's strangely masculine.

 

I blame the ozone! It is mine enemy over the years. Oh well, I'll always have 'On Darkness'!

[Ohmaude]

In the vial: Ooh that's very pretty, minty and bracing!

 

ON my skin: Fir, Mint, Berry and rose and Cool Water cologne, but lovelier. Oh and there's the cedar.

 

This is gorgeous, but I don't think I will be wearing this. I'm just not a cool scent kind of girl, but I can appreciate the artistry of this blend, it is amazing.