GardenCat Report post Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) Skin musk, white sandalwood, balsam fir, frozen black berries, cedar, winter rose, and white amber. One of my favorite Yules - it's cool without being cold, a sophisticated scent - DH thought it was wonderful! So delicate without getting lost in the snow. Edited February 10, 2009 by Shollin Abridged Lab description - but thanks for adding it! --Shollin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
modillian Report post Posted March 15, 2009 In bottle: smells acetonic, not good. Wet on skin: completely delicious. O.o Soft and resinous, with a very sweet note in the middle mixing with the lower resins. Ah, the supersweet note is the berries and the slight powderyness is the rose. The is beautiful, a powdery-soft perfume perfect for a girl or woman emulating a wintery puff of snow. Similar in theme to Snow Bunny. Unfortunately, the wood notes don't show up enough, and eventually the sweetness amped with the white amber reminds me too much of the sickening sweet pea note even if it doesn't quite achieve the Herculean nauseating quality. I won't be keeping it, but I can appreciate the artistry nonetheless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
asciident Report post Posted March 28, 2009 Wet: Spearmint gum. WTF? First on: Super spearmint. Dry: Same on drydown. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sprocket21 Report post Posted April 22, 2009 In the vial: Minty plastic...*goes back to look at notes again*....Wha? O_o On me: This is VERY faint on me. I can detect a hint of mint (again, where is THAT coming from?), and not much else. I don't get ANY other notes. Dang. Maybe it was a batch issue? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catattack Report post Posted May 2, 2009 Wet: Sweet mint and leaves. Drydown: Slightly floral, slightly tart from the berries. The floral note is non-descript. It's not distinctly rose. Eventually, the mintiness fades, and this becomes a very beautiful and wearable herbal scent. Very wintery. Overall: This is a dark winter scent. It is so pretty. I imagine a cold, desolate wintery scene. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
donnatron Report post Posted May 24, 2009 Bottle: Frozen citrus. ?? Dunno. Wet: I really like the lab's snow/ice/slush note. It really makes your nose tingle and replicates that feeling of stepping out of your nice warm house into the cold. The snow note doesn't really linger on my skin, however, and in Euganean Hills it kind of acquires a lime quality. I get some warm amber and skin musk. Dry: I don't actually know why I like this so much because when I describe it it sounds kind of nasty. Frozen citrus skin musk with roses and amber. The fir and cedar lend to the general frozen forest feel. I guess it's kind of like smelling someone wearing amber/rose perfume with hypothermia but I can assure you it is much prettier. The longer is sits on my skin the more the skin musk and amber and rose meld to create this very pretty and delicate skin close sort of scent. Throw: Minimal. Overall: I like it. I'm just very inarticulate at explaining why I like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralenth Report post Posted June 16, 2009 Source: Lab Bottle: Citrus shaved ice with a tinge of floral hovering in the background. Wet: This smells cold and bright at the same time. Drydown: I'm getting a grassy note (hello rose, I hate you too) peeking through as it dries, though it comes and goes. Also, I experienced a brief minty burst, but it faded back into the citrusy ice scent I was getting before. Dry: Chilly, with a bit of bleak mint and a faintly tart citrus and berry. It's difficult to pick out notes. As time wears on, I get less citrus and a little more berry, but even that is still minimal. Overall: It's an interesting diversion for a summer day. I like it, but I'm not sure if I like it enough for a whole bottle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekittenkat Report post Posted June 20, 2009 In the bottle: The woods are the most prominent notes: the sandalwood, the fir, and the cedar. Wet: Still getting all those notes, but something sweet is coming into play; I suspect it's the berries, and maybe the rose. This oil is cool on my wrist, and I'm in a rather cold air-conditioned house! The dry-down: The musk and the amber are a wonderful grounding element for all the other notes. Everything has blended together into a lovely scent. This is the smell of the most wonderful fir woods ever, lightly dusted with snow. The Christmas-time roses are peeking through the snow, and over in a shady area, last night's cold snap has frozen the late fall blackberries. I wore this oil a lot during the wintertime, after the winter holidays. It's wonderful on its' own, however, when layered with The Winter Maiden bath oil, it becomes even more itself, if that's possible, and lasts for hours. When I combine both like that, I always feel as though I'm in the best of heady dazes. All good, no bad. The poem that goes with this is utterly tragic. The coldness of the poem is well-reflected in the notes of the perfume oil. But of all the 2008 Yules that I have tried, this is still my favourite. I ordered it unsniffed, simply because of the frozen black berries. Some might think it a masculine scent, but I feel that it's gender-neutral and can be worn by anyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdiym Report post Posted October 2, 2009 I don't get minty, I don't get pine or cedar. I get something vaguely sweet with a very subtle undercurrent of skin musk, which is the first musk ever that I didn't want to gag from. I LOVE this. I bought 2 bottles immediately. It smells sweet on me, not foody in any way, but still sweet, like a sweet cousin of Hellhound. It's wonderful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ouch! Report post Posted October 7, 2009 Oh my gosh this is such a stunning perfume!!! The wet stages??? Not so much but the dry stage is gorgeous. When it's wet I'm getting a frosty mint and the greenery from the Fir. It's a nice crisp clean scent in this stage but not my favourite. The dry stage is . It retains the clean freshness but it get's softer and soo pretty. The amber is giving such a nice feel to this perfume. It does smell a bit plasticy but in SUCH a good way I really want to slather in this...it's gorgeous. I don't get any berries strongly but I can see they're playing their part. The perfect winter scent to make you feel fresh and crisp like a winter morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maewitch Report post Posted October 21, 2009 Wet, this is all fir and cedar, quite sharp. As it begins to dry down, it begins to sweeten up considerably. I never quite get the blackberry note - it's an indistinct suggestion, like berries under ice indeed. With the amber and the rose, however, it's enough to lend this blend the softness it needs to be beautifully feminine, despite that strong wood presence. As it dries further, the amber and sandalwood lend a cool, powdery undertone. This is overall a sophisticated scent, with a deep core of femininity under a seemingly austere exterior. The sartorial equivalent would be wearing plum-colored, fantastically laced and delicately made underthings under a sleek, minimalist grey pantsuit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
penemuel Report post Posted October 25, 2009 I've tried this for the first time in a year (pulling out all the Yules now that new ones are released) and tested it. It's a beautiful, cold -- almost ICY -- scent, with a rich undertone that lends a sweetness to it. It's beautiful and sharp, and makes me think of a night in the mountains with a bright moon limning the snow in radiance. I honestly can't pin down a single note in it, but it smells amazing. Wintry, woodsy, bright and a little sweet. I love it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tragedy Report post Posted December 6, 2009 I get dirty mint from this from the start... Its lovely, but then something gets perfumey, I think it may be the cedar... Its like a cologne-ish scent. Not too keen on it. try again later Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdgnika Report post Posted May 9, 2010 (edited) I was positive this one would be a sure thing. Sandalwood, musk and cedar? Easy. But, in the imp, it was all Chanel No. 5 chemical yuck. On the skin, it SCREAMED Chanel No. 5. I'd get a bit of sandalwood and vanilla every once in a while, just enough to tease me that it would get better, but then it would prove to just be taunting me and Miss Chanel would go back to shrieking at the top of her lungs. Edited May 9, 2010 by VeronikaGalt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DraloreShimare Report post Posted July 6, 2010 (edited) In the vial – Sweet, minty, fresh, and chilly. On the skin – A sweet cool scent, with mint and fir. A little aftershave-y. Dry – A soft wood scent, very cedar-wood chest. I really like this one, I might have to find more. Edited July 6, 2010 by Dralore Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DifferentDances Report post Posted August 15, 2010 Bottle: Rose and berries anchored by pale woods. Wonderfully delicate! Wet: It all blends together, and is warmed by the musk and amber. Drydown: Too delicate. This is now just a vague...green aquatic? Dry: Aquatic. WEIRD. Not unpleasant, but not at all the result I'd expected from the notes and the bottle scent. Guess it was just TOO delicate for my skin chemistry. Would I ever wear this? No. My rating: 2/5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
filigree_shadow Report post Posted December 18, 2010 Anything with a cold note in it invariably doesn't work for me... except in this, apparently. It's sweet, chilly, and very pretty. It seems like the frozen part is about equally as strong as the fir and berries. I have a couple of cold perfumes already (Snow Bunny and Snow-Flakes), and that's probably all I need for a wintery type of scent. This one is very good, though. If I hadn't already decided I liked those a long time ago, I would want this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drarra Report post Posted April 16, 2011 In the bottle: This smells COLD. I smell woody firs immediately, and there's a hint of something minty? Wet: Holy winter rose, Batman! The rose is right there, up close and personal. This would not generally be a good thing, but it's grounded by the fir and woods. It's so cold and beautiful. Dry: As I wait, the rose is fading, and I'm getting more of the woods and skin musk. For some reason I cannot determine, there is a hint of mint to my nose. This is a cool, calm scent that smells very clean (but not like detergent). I really like this. It's very understated, like a perfume you want to wear when you don't want it obvious that you're wearing perfume. This is an unexpected winner for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aviatrix Report post Posted January 13, 2014 At first, I could swear I get a big blast of mint! Hm... This has a really cold and wintry feel to it, that is very evocative. I am getting the woods as well and a slight warmth from the skin musk. I can't really comment on the berries, but there certainly is something a bit sweet in there as well. Still, there is a mint overtone. I was expecting a more woodsy blend, but I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. It's certainly a scent evocative of winter, and I would add it to the long list of beautiful snow notes that BPAL has come up with over the years. I only have an imp, but I am happy I have it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
achildoftime Report post Posted November 16, 2017 I'm really happy I stumbled upon an imp of this. I wasn't looking for it, but after wearing it I really do have a fondness for it. It starts very chilly and minty. It smells very, very cold for the first ten or so minutes. And once it dries, it's almost like walking inside a warm, cozy home after enduring the cold outdoors. I get a lot of sandalwood, but it's hard to distinguish anything else. I know it's there, but my nose isn't tuned enough to tell anything apart. I won't need to hunt more down, because it doesn't have great throw for me. I'll still really enjoy the imp I have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizziesLuck Report post Posted January 27, 2018 Wet: This reminds me of Ice Princess bath oil right away (not a bad thing!). Frozen fruit, hints of woods and mint. Absolutely lovely. So wintry and pretty. I don't always love mint, but this is perfect. I don't always love woods, but again - perfect. Ditto with fruit. This all just works, and I can for sure see wearing it on a winter hike. Dry: This is really lovely. It's cold and wintry, but also bright. I can see if being a great "transition scent" into cold spring days as well. I will happily wear this while I traipse through the woods. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites