There's a Certain Slant of Light

[ouch!]

Thin, tinny ozone with frankincense, white sandalwood, white amber, hyssop, bitter violet leaf, and shadowy wisps of smoke.

 

This IS a thin scent. I get a slightly minty/menthol note from it at first with some ozone and violet. It kinda smells cool. It's nice but not a stand out scent at all unfortunately. The throw is not crazy but it's a pleasant scent.

It's a good mix of notes, the frankincense comes out a bit more after a while. But...really it's a little bit meh.

 

It softens alot more when it's completely dry, and smells like a soft floral.

[Monster]

In the imp: Minty ozone

 

Wet: Again, minty ozone with a sharp violet leaf and a bit of amber. This reminds me of something from the Steamworks series.

 

Dry: This smells like fresh morning air to me (with the mint acting as sort of a toothpaste in the morning smell ). I'm not detecting any smokey notes at all. This is a very bright ozone scent with amber anf violet (to keep it from smelling like laundry soap).

 

Overall: Very nice! I can appreciate this one but I think it's a bit masculine for me (says the girl who lives vetiver. lol I just associate most ozone aquatic scents with men. I think that's because my father wore all ozone type scents when I was growing up.)

[Invidiana]

There is a lovely sweet coldness to this blend, and at the same time you do sense the "slant of light" from the white sandalwood and white amber. To me it seems antique without falling into the old-lady trap; more "antique" in the sense of actually travelling back in time and sitting in that same shadowy room that inspired Emily Dickinson, with dusty beams, a thin veil of smoke hanging in the air, and a vase of dried flowers sitting on the table. As a poet myself, I'm especially a sucker for Beth's poetry inspired blends, and this one definitely evokes the essence of that particular poem

[Schmoozy]

 

Soft dry sandalwood, violet leaf and hints of amber combine with frankincense and smoke. Throughout the entire scent, wafts of ozone - metallic and bright appear making the sandalwood and violet leaf seem sharper, dry and very bitter. I adore how dry and woodsy this is, and somehow the smoke manages to remain non-existant throughout.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Cold herbal softened by a whiff of florals. And minty, even though no mint is listed in the notes.

 

On skin: A thin and cold blend. The ozone here is indeed thin and dry, not the humid, wet ozone that I love in Lightning and most other ozonic blends. A tendril of dry, gritty, black smoke runs underneath. And surrounding this are notes of a herbal type, all dry and thin and cold. I still smell something like mint, although this may be the other notes blending together. Overall, There's a Certain Slant of Light is one of the driest, coldest blends I've encountered. It is light but also shadowed at the same time, and absolutely no body or sweetness or warmth. Well -- perhaps there's a hint of incense depth, the barest whisper of florals, but those are just beyond my nose's reach. It does have a hollowed, expansive feel to it, like what the air of a huge frigid vault would smell like. Colour impression is, indeed, a shaft of yellow-white light through dark gray shadows.

 

Verdict: There's a Certain Slant of Light successfully evokes the mood of the poem -- it is sharp, cold, and thin. Successful, but I don't really like it, and prefer something with more body and sweetness and warmth!

[Anita]

not much here on me with this one, it's minty but not overpoweringly so, and..... that's it.

[Upstart Crow]

I avoided getting a bottle of this one for years, even though it was on my list. I normally don't like frankincense and sandalwood is meh, but they're just gorgeous in this blend. I get an ozone, ethereal, incensey violet with just a hint of amber (which really fleshes the scent profile out) and a hint of smoke. Wow.

[gloame]

When I first smell this, I always think 'citrus' but then I realize it's the coolness from the hyssop (which I think is what I love so much about Snow White). It's green and fresh, but also snowy and a little bit sweetened. Very lovely.

 

Where I'd wear it: Cold, sunny days

[doomsday_disco]

2008 version.

 

Cool, mint-tinged ozone, a pale variety of frankincense that has a bit of an orange-y aspect to it, and just a smidge of smoke. These are the notes that I get from this at first. The cool ozone, which doesn't smell soapy in this one, is present throughout, but the white amber note gains strength over time and ends up joining it as one of the dominant notes, with just a touch of violet leaf.

 

I liked this one more than I thought I would from the list of notes. I probably won't hang on to it, since there are a few other white amber scents in my collection that I'd reach for over this one, but it is a nice, light, cool resinous scent.

Edited December 5, 2020 by doomsday_disco
Added vintage.

[torikitty]

Soapy ozone, definitely not for me.