Like Brooms of Steel

[The Poison Queen]

Like brooms of steel
The Snow and Wind
Had swept the Winter Street,
The House was hooked,
The Sun sent out
Faint Deputies of heat-
The Apple in the cellar snug
Where rode the Bird
The Silence tied
His ample, plodding Steed,
Was all the one that played.

 

- Emily Dickinson

Sharp, metallic slices of snow and freezing wind with a faint hint of cellar dust, burlap, and apple.

In the bottle: There is such a strong camphor note to this that I cannot smell anything else. Whew.

On the skin: Bitter camphor and eucalyptus with a hint of sour apples.

Dry: Medicinal and sweet, but not the usual apple note I am used to from the lab. Not... really what I was hoping for with this scent. This is off to the swaps.

[Lycanthrope]

Camphorous, dusty, corrupted apples and ash.

 

Yiiiikes.

[Spork]

Not sure what this smells like, but it is a very comforting scent to me with a hint of apples when first applied. Dry down reminds me of blankets at my grandma's house in the winter, I love it! Scent is rather subtle and lasts for hours.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: This actually reminds me of vapor rub. I am not really looking forward to it.

 

Wet: Vapor rub and a bit of apple. It is becoming less vapor rub-like over time, and more like the metallic snow in the description. It's still too medicinal for my liking, but at least the apple is starting to emerge more over time. Now it smells like medicinal apples.

 

Dry: This mostly smells like medicinal apples now. The apple is the dominant note. The medicinal quality is not as intense as it was during the wet phase. I can detect a bit of the dust and burlap as well.

 

Verdict: I ordered a decant of this one because I love apple scents. Unfortunately, this blend is too medicinal for my liking, so I can only see myself wearing it when I am ill. I have several apple scents, and I prefer them over this, so I will be keeping my decant for the time being... but I won't be needing a bottle.

[Bluestblood]

Wet: Strong menthol and eucalyptus - similar to vaporub.

 

Dry: The eucalyptus mellows out and some very subtle apple peaks out. It reminds me of a metal bowl that has been rubbed in eucalyptus oil, wiped out and filled with big, red apples. There is definitely a metal quality to it that - while subtle - is a big part of the end result.

[Honey Girl]

I don't get anything but dust out of this. Very sneezey dust. I was really hoping for more apple.

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, its a huge blast of snow and menthol.

 

And then it warms REALLY quickly. And I get the same apple note as in All Hallow's Apple (big, red, juicy) with a touch of burlap (a linen-like note).

 

Overally, it ends up being a very clean apple note with the swirls of snow and burlap, but not like apple blossom. Lighter than All Hallow's Apple but definitely more 'apple' than say, the Annurca Apple Blossom SN.'

 

This would make a great room scent.

[SadariEvenstar]

I think I'm in the minority, but I kind of liked this one. It's cold and dusty with just a little apple. The only reason this one didn't make the cut was because there were so many more that I had to have.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Icy and sweet. Mentholated. It smells very much like coughdrops - honey menthol maybe. Usually when I’m reminded of coughdrops it’s a bad thing, but in this case I like it.

 

Drydown: The notes begin to separate a bit, allowing me to appreciate them outside of the coughdrop impression. There’s some incredibly chilly wind (brrrrrrrr!) and a healthy dollop of sweetness. The apple is contributing to the sweetness no doubt, but its distinct scent is buried beneath a good deal of sweet mint. No dust or burlap so far, but what I do smell is quite nice.

 

Dry: The same but with a tiny hint of burlap. Which, by the way, is incredibly burlap-like! So cool! But overall, very refreshingly cool, mentholated, and minty, with a pinch of apple and a trace of burlap. It's perfect for the cold I'm harboring right now!

 

 

 

 

8.5 out of 10 bones

[Dark Alice]

Minty. Menthol mint and something clean. I love this scent...I just need to find a partial of it.

[Sangria2]

In the vial: Very strong, sharp menthol and eucalyptus with the barest hint of something sweet underneath it.

 

Wet: The menthol/eucalyptus immediately begins breaking up, and the apple comes racing out of nowhere. Now it's slightly medicinal, minty sweet apple. I also got an extremely brief salty tang of metal, which disappeared as quickly as it showed up.

 

Dry: This reminds me of an apple pudding that my Grandma makes for Christmas, with the addition of mint. Apple usually fades on me, but this one sticks around. If I sniff my wrist, I can also smell the burlap and it does smell true. With each inhalation I'm getting a cold sensation in the back of my nose, and the minty apple in the front.

 

I like this one, but unfortunately it doesn't last. It had moderate throw and within an hour it's almost gone, dried completely down to powdery dust that I have to really search for. What a shame.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Vick's Vapor rub and moth balls. What the heck? Sinus-clearing, to be sure!

 

Wet: An incredibly mint-soaked apple, buried in some dusty ole burlap sacks.

 

The dry-down: Someone ate the apple, and then shut the cellar doors, so I'm left holding the bag. A dusty ole burlap sack. *drops it* I was hoping for a funky version of SGA, but this? This is the Mighty Morphing Bpal Power Ranger. Seriously, don't D&D rangers wear this stuff? And here I was worried about a steel broom.

[MCS4096]

Eucalyptus and apple I was hoping for a juicier apple, a bit of metal, and a better behaved mint. Yowza.

[alyelle]

Imp: dust, apples, and the faint traces of ozone

Wet: sweet and cold; more like apples in refrigeration storage than cellared burlap sacks

Dry: a soft, sweet, almost powdery apple, with a dusty undertone that grows gradually fainter with time.

 

Overall this reminds me a lot of Snow Glass Apples, but without the strong earthiness that has. The darker, dust scent here is almost imperceptible, except at very close range, and despite the snow notes the apples are sweeter and warmer. The throw is minimal, and the life probably a bit lower than average on me - maybe 3-4 hours. It's a lovely scent, just very delicate; reapplication is definitely necessary. I'm glad I tried it, I do love an apple-based fragrance, and it would be a pretty decent substitute for anyone unable to get their hands on Snow Glass Apples.

 

Stars: ★★★★

Edited February 4, 2014 by alyelle

[Gwydion]

In Bottle: Lots of the minty snow note, beautifully blended with it’s apple support, with touches of vaguely dusty burlap. This is way too much mint for me, and it’s very likely peppermint. The dominant mint is way too strong for me to skin test, but it really does go well with apple.

[milo]

Icy at first, then more of the apple comes out. Dry, unpleasant fungus with a touch of apple. I don't know why some ice notes do this to me, it's ruined many a blend.

[Nyx_DevineNight]

​

In the bottle: Really getting a Vicks Vapor Rub vibe.

Wet: This is strong Vicks and a hint of apple in the background.

Dry: Hmm, no change. I was hoping for a little more apple out of this. But its just sitting there, faintly in the back. But I like the menthol vapor rub smell, so this is still good.

[tauntonlake]

If you like the smell of Tiger Balm, menthol and camphor, (which I do), you will love this .. it's the perfume version ... I happen to like this scent, but I think one bottle is enough for me ...

[lady_pandora]

This scent is weird but I think I like it. Initially the throw is medicinal, eucalyptus maybe or something camphoraceous, and the skin scent is more of a smoky wood. Gradually the throw calms down and the apple comes out more in the skin scent, though there's still a chilly edge to it from the medicinal note. Makes me think of melancholy late fall.

[VetchVesper]

So when I was EXTREMELY stuffed up, this is one of the few bpals I could still smell. I can smell the apple, but it's definitely heavy on the camphor/eucalyptus notes. I don't get the burlap until it dries down a bit, and then it's very light. I totally get the Tiger Balm and Vapor Rub references, but this becomes much lighter and smoother on the skin. This isn't something I would ever wear as a perfume, but it is soothing and comforting, and I could see using it for aromatherapy purposes or as an atmospheric room scent. It really does have the feel of a chilly cellar or barn, or maybe the way someones skin smells when they first come in from the cold. I've almost talked myself into keeping it b/c it's so different. Hmmmmm....

[LavenderCoffee]

2013 version: the "sharp, metallic slices of snow and freezing wind" is quite prominent when freshly applied, as detailed by other reviewers. becomes an interesting atmospheric scent as it dries down, but not much apple to my nose.