Blue Snowballs

[jolarocknrolla]

... because the holidays can be really, really frustrating. Blueberry slush with a hint of lime and blackberry juice.

Same snow note as Nuclear Winter, very high-pitched and cold/ozone. I also gets lots of lime and that is quite complementary to the snow note. I do get a bit of blueberry up front, but it fades quickly on me (which is fine, blueberry always smells just a tiny bit fake IMHO). There is a slight underlying sweetness and what I would call bitterness, more like blackberry leaf rather than sweet blackberry juice. The sweetness does balance out the cold note a litte but that slushy cold is what stays with you long-term.

What is funny to me is that the cold note has a strong throw and the juicy/sweet notes have a short throw so when i bring my wrist close to my nose i get a lot more juicy sweetness but from far away i get more snow. Fun scent

[stellamaris]

Wheeeee I must agree with the Ayatollah, this is a super fun scent!

I had pretty much the same experience, with the blueberry leaving fairly quick, leaving a lovely sweet snowy thing behind, which lasted for a long time.

I love this, it's cheerful and pretty.

 

Edit : So, I loved the top note of this so much, it went into my scent locket, where it is amazing. This is going to need back ups...

Edited December 9, 2012 by stellamaris

[batsy]

In the bottle: A fake blueberry note mixed with that note in Selkie that always hits me. (I think it's ozone?) Not bad; decidedly strong, though.

 

On the skin: This reacts on my skin just as Selkie does, but with an underlying plastic blueberry note. (This will sound weird, but I had a My Little Pony that was scented blueberry and it smells just like she did.) As it begins to dry down, the lime creeps out for me; I'm not getting blackberry anything, but maybe the leafy smell is tied to the blackberry? It's not a strong wet leaves (probably more like wet fir needles), but it's also got a bit of spice in it (the ozone?) to my nose.

 

Verdict: I like this. It really does remind me of Selkie (which I liked) but it's a lot stronger and seems to last longer/throw more on me. I may try layering it with something.

[neuilly]

Hmph. This starts off as a really yummy blueberry and then quickly fads revealing some luscious blackberry which also quickly fades and I'm left with ozone. Pretty much single note ozone. I guess that's the "slush". Good to know I prefer snow to slush

 

Sadly this bottle is going to have to go into sales/swaps.

[Wren12]

Mmm...I love this!

 

In the imp...ooh, yay, this has the same ozone/cold/snow note that I so loved with Monastery in the Mountains, with a slight sweet/tart note not present in that scent.

 

On wet...the snowy note stays chilly and quite nice, with the tart lime giving it a nice base. I very much get fruit, but can't pick out the type, just some sweetness.

 

On dry...still love it! The fruity sweetness is tempered by the lime and the whole is overlayed by that lovely cold now note whichbinds it together...almost like tart fruits in a cold glass covered in fresh snow on a high peak somewhere. The first time I worr it I felt that it didn't have much staying power, but this time its holding on strong.

 

Overall, totally adore it, and this confirms that I love the labs snowy notes. I think I may like this better than my previous chilly fave, Monastery, and I'm fine with that because I'm lucky enough to have half a bottle headed my way!

[astarinel]

Ugh I am disappointed.

 

I always try the Snowballs scents, and they're always amazing in the imp, but they don't stay balanced on my skin.

 

Within about 10 minutes of drydown, they tend to become mostly snow/slush notes. While I do like the lab's snow/slush notes, I prefer them when they're part of a blend. I loved the fruit in this one in the imp, and the lab's blueberry note is amazing, but it's gone so fast. I had the same heartbreak with Yellow Snowballs last year, where the imp scent was wonderful but it turned meh on my skin.

 

In this one, although the blueberry disappears super-fast, the blackberry and lime do hang around a bit, but they're kind of overwhelmed by slush. In the long drydown, after about an hour, the slush finally starts to fade and I'm left with a very pretty chilly blackberry lime beverage kind of scent, but it takes too long to get to this stage.

Edited December 29, 2012 by astarinel

[ReallyZeb]

In the bottle I get a beautiful limey berry mix and if I was very stupid I might just drink it! It stays like this while wet but almost the moment it dries, all that juicyness vanishes and I get a fresh, slightly citrusy snow note. While I might well love it in a bath oil or shower gel and it's nice enough, it's not what I want as a perfume

[zankoku_zen]

Blueberry and the same slushy snow note from Monastery in the Mountains and Ice Queen that I love.

 

Ultimately, it dries down to Monastery in the Mountains - meaning ALL snow, no fruit.

 

Cold, snowy, ozoney.

[Dark Alice]

Minty, slushy blueberry. It reminds me of the Dessicated berry perfume but with a cold note too it. I do enjoy the decant...but that will be enough for me.

[milo]

Lovely snow note with a touch of blueberries and lime. I don't really like the lab's blueberry note, but here it is understated and blends nicely with the icy snow. I sometimes have trouble with the snow note, and it's turning slightly fungus after a bit, but it fades in and out of the icy-vanilla slight-blueberry combination. I'm glad I have a decant, but don't need any more. Similar to Monastery as ZZ pointed out, but that one I have no problems with fungus wise.

[Little Bird]

Blue Snowballs starts off as sweet blueberry and lime with the slushy, cool snow note. It makes me think of snocones. As it dries down, the fruity notes fade quickly on me and I'm left with the snow. I actually really like the lab's cold, clean, slightly sweet, melty snow note, so it still works for me. I do wish that the blueberry would stick around, but I'll probably still keep my decant of this.

[Nachtwulf]

I really wanted to like this. So many of the notes sounded so good.

 

Unfortunately... this is like... sour jolly ranchers. WAY WAY WAY too much lime. Lime lime lime sour lime (just a hint of berry) lime lime pucker up and ew.

 

There's something strangely plastic and artificial too; that same plastic note ruined Pink Snowballs for me too.

 

Sadly disappointing. Maybe it will mellow more if it sits. But right now, it is consistently 'sour lime plastic with a hint of berry' and not at all appealing.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Blueberry, blackberry, and a touch of lime.

 

Wet: The slush note comes to the forefront.

 

The dry-down: The notes all blend together very wonderfully. A lovely scent! So glad that this got made after the post in the Yule suggestions thread, although the touch of lime is a special note that keeps it from being too sweet. Many thanks! I'm going to be wearing this year-round.

[hecate_jones]

In the bottle: cold, snow and... sour! Definitely lime!

 

Wet on skin: Oh, glorious, exactly what I was hoping for, it's the blackberry note from Blackberry Scones and Jam! With friends! It's like blackberry jam and lime curd with blueberry preserves and... snow!

 

This is definitely the lab's snow note, and this version reminds me of Shivering Boy... I think because I always get that hint of frozen grapes/grape vines from Shivering Boy, and the fruitiness of this reminds me of that.

 

Drydown: the sharpness of the lime goes away and leaves a fruity cold smell that goes a wee bit powdery, but lovely.

Not a lot of lasting power, after a few hours, it left behind a faint haunting hint of sweet and was gone.

[BuxomM]

awww no blackberry. I get a cool, slightly fizzy scent with a bit of yuzu. This is a way toned version of yellow snowballs. This is what I thought yellow snowballs would smell like ... weird. My skin amps citrus.

Edited April 23, 2013 by BuxomM

[mymymai]

ITB: It reminds me of blueberry snow cones. Yum!

 

Wet: Slushy blueberries with a hint of blackberry jam. Gosh, this is heavenly.

 

Dry: The blackberry is a bit more distinct here, although the blueberry is still sweet. I'm also getting a lime and the snow note. It's a really delicious and fun scent.

[Eemia]

Snow scents are probably my favorite type of bpal. Do I say that a lot? Well they're my most loved and the ones that are usually make me want to clap my hand all excitedly. Something about the snow note is just beautiful to me and with the combination of blueberry in this one (my number one fruit) the label might as well had my name in bright pink glitter. It starts out with the stinging, crisp snow snow note that reminds me of clear ice and sharp things. Just shy of a cold, astringent sensation. I'm picturing eucalyptus for some reason too. There's a sweet and slightly sour citrus tinge that adds to the sharp quality. But there's also a beautifully gentle, mushy blueberry note that's so damn good but it fights with the sourness and prevents me from completely loving this on my skin. I've always had issues with blackberry going sour and off, almost like it's rotten in some way. I was really hoping that it would just stay far, far away in the background or at the very least just present itself in the form of little hints here and there. Instead it amps in this and clashes with everything else until I can't enjoy the amazing snowy blueberry. It dries down a little better, into a sweet, clear fruitiness. Maybe if it ages long enough the blackberry will just phase out. That's the happy fantasy I'm going to stick with.

[cherrycherry]

This is a gorgeously sweet snow note mixed with the blueberry note from Blue Lollipops with an extra little kick of citrus. I knew this would be good. Though I didn't order it the first time around it was available, I got my bottle today from a lovely forumite and I am so glad I did! It's just so beautiful. It also reminds me of the snow-cones I devour every year when the fair comes to my city. Coldness and sweetness and syrupy, sugary fruitiness. I may need another bottle of this (thank God it's available again this year at the TP!) because this little baby is going to get some regular lovin' from this BPAL addict! One of the best snow-based blends to date.

 

Edited to add -- now this has settled some, since arriving in the post, I've come to realise just how much it smells like gummi bears!

Edited December 16, 2013 by cherrycherry

[zankoku_zen]

2013 version

 

I get blueberry on wet, and dries to a blackberry predominant slush. There's something that smells almost 'piney from the slush note' and its a very Christmassy blend.

[DovaKitten]

This is an unexpected but delightful surprise! After trying Purple Snowballs, I expected this to smell wonderful in the decant and "eh" on my skin, but actually it just smells edible delicious all the time!

 

Wet, this is BLUEBERRY. I agree that this smells sort of artificial, but in a nice way? It smells kind of like blue Skittles--not for everyone, but definitely something I want to smell like on occasion.

 

As it dries down, it does become incredibly Christmasy, which is weird to me, since nothing about the notes particularly screams "HOLIDAYS" to me. Is that a hint of baking spices in there? It's like sour blue snow--blackberry, blueberry, and lime all blending together so well that they really just smell blue--with baking spices in a way that is lovely and not nearly as weird as it sounds. It works really well, and I think I'll keep my decant around for a while, but I probably won't be going back for a bottle.

[Astarial]

Strong, sweet blueberry and blackberry juice, with just enough lime to tarten it up.

 

Over several hours, the fruit gradually fades, leaving a light, sweet, snowy skin scent, but it has pretty good staying power for such bright notes.

[brilliantcat]

Sugary sweet, almost effervescent blueberry/blackberry with just a hint of the lime adding brightness. On drydown it goes to pure snow/slush with a slightly sweet edge and maybe a touch of fir. DISAPPOINT.

[aquazoo]

Chilly blueberries, then candy.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Tart blueberries with a zing of lime

 

Wet on me - Definitely very sweet blue berries, but there's a dryness behind it that I associate with Beth's gin note

 

Dry on me - As with Black Snowballs this just completely disappeared

 

Overall - Vanished on my skin

[hammy]

In the bottle - Sweet, fresh blueberry/berries/sugar combo, with a little zest to it. I knew I liked it the minute I sniffed it.

 

Wet - Oh, I love this. Such a happy smell! Still getting that fresh sweetness from the berry, with a little bit of lime zest, and what smells like a cold front moving in.

 

Drydown - MIGRANE OF DEATH. Oh god, get it off! (The worst part? Even as it started eating my brain from the inside out, it STILL smelled nice and I was STILL tempted to sniff my wrist where it was applied.)

 

Verdict - It was a gorgeous smell, but my vision starting closing in on me before the oil had even dried. There was nothing I could do but lie down in a dark, quiet place, close my eyes, put a cold towel on my head, and pray I had scrubbed all of it off my wrists. Swap.