The Snow-Shower

[JasminDreams2010]

Stand here by my side and turn, I pray,
On the lake below, thy gentle eyes;
The clouds hang over it, heavy and gray,
And dark and silent the water lies;
And out of that frozen mist the snow
In wavering flakes begins to flow;
Flake after flake
They sink in the dark and silent lake.

See how in a living swarm they come
From the chambers beyond that misty veil;
Some hover awhile in air, and some
Rush prone from the sky like summer hail.
All, dropping swiftly or settling slow,
Meet, and are still in the depths below;
Flake after flake
Dissolved in the dark and silent lake.

Here delicate snow-stars, out of the cloud,
Come floating downward in airy play,
Like spangles dropped from the glistening crowd
That whiten by night the milky way;
There broader and burlier masses fall;
The sullen water buries them all-
Flake after flake-
All drowned in the dark and silent lake.

And some, as on tender wings they glide
From their chilly birth-cloud, dim and gray,
Are joined in their fall, and, side by side,
Come clinging along their unsteady way;
As friend with friend, or husband with wife,
Makes hand in hand the passage of life;
Each mated flake
Soon sinks in the dark and silent lake.

Lo! while we are gazing, in swifter haste
Stream down the snows, till the air is white,
As, myriads by myriads madly chased,
They fling themselves from their shadowy height.
The fair, frail creatures of middle sky,
What speed they make, with their grave so nigh;
Flake after flake,
To lie in the dark and silent lake!

I see in thy gentle eyes a tear;
They turn to me in sorrowful thought;
Thou thinkest of friends, the good and dear,
Who were for a time, and now are not;
Like these fair children of cloud and frost,
That glisten a moment and then are lost,
Flake after flake-
All lost in the dark and silent lake.

Yet look again, for the clouds divide;
A gleam of blue on the water lies;
And far away, on the mountain-side,
A sunbeam falls from the opening skies,
But the hurrying host that flew between
The cloud and the water, no more is seen;
Flake after flake,
At rest in the dark and silent lake.

 

– William Cullen Bryant

Flake after flake – All lost in the dark and silent lake: a snowflake dissolving into an indigo pool of blue jasmine incense and violet leaf.

Oooh- am I first?!
Well, for starters this is very evocative. As it opens, I can't detect any of the incense or violet leaf; it literally smells like frozen water falling into cold water. The chilliest top note burns off a little and the resinous floral becomes more apparent. If you're a violet hater, don't worry because violet leaf is more of a cool green almost herbal note. This isn't the powdery purple flower. The Jasmine is apparent but is somewhat mellowed with the incense. This could be a unisex aquatic blend. I really do enjoy it. However sadly the snow note can be headache provoking for me and this does come on pretty strong at first. But I will keep the bottle because it is so unique and I am hoping it will mellow with age. <3

[Lycanthrope]

This is very nice. Each year with the Yules I generally find one or two blends that I stock up mightily upon, and this is one of the two (the other being Unmanageable Snowdrift).

 

Wet, this definitely has a strong aquatic tone, and a similar 'icy' note as Moon of Ice, Cold Moon, in that it has a quasi-eucalyptoid topnote. On the skin, I do get a little bit of a green-tinged subtle jasmine, but what I'm reading is a kiss of blue lotus absolute (?!) as the main floral component. The jasmine does not arise to the surface like a diva, but the kind of lightly sweet but extremely hypnotic florals must be a more subtle, smoky blend. Agree that violet leaf is always a gritty green, slightly resinous type of scent as opposed to my favorite floral, violet (the voluptuous heady purple type), and it's really not terribly potent in this blend either.

 

Over time, the aquatic note burns down and this turns into a very pleasant, close-to-the-skin subtle incense, without too much in terms of jasmine petal. You can still tell that it's a light floral incense, hugging close to the skin. I may be biased by the description but this is a blue smoke. I think a little bit of japanese koh incense, a single spiral of blue-tinted smoke risking from a charcoal burner.

[Akurarei]

This one is a cold, misty and very beautiful snow scent.

It has touches of florals every once in a while.

Just lovely!

[VetchVesper]

This Yule, I am becoming aquainted with the lab's "snow" note and finding that it's not really my thing, but if it IS your thing, you might want to check The Snow Shower out.

 

It starts out very minty in the bottle, with a hint of menthol bite lurking in the background. I can smell the florals, but to me, they aren't really identifiable as anything but sweetness. On my skin, the scent starts to evolve. The mint softens and blends and becomes "snowy" smelling and the florals come out more, though not enough for my tastes. The sweetness has a sugary quality to it, and the snow almost seems aquatic, but not quite. Actually, this reminds me a tad of Kumari Kandem.

 

The final stage on me is a cool, sweet blend, which is light and fresh and does evoke a sence of night sky and snowflakes. This one also has good throw and a decent wear length on me. Again, snow - not my thing so much, but a pleasant and evocative blend.

[jensdays]

Ugh. No snow, just incense that smells slightly soapy. Not impressed at all. If it doesn’t morph soon I’m washing it off. Lexie walked into the room and said “something smells really good. Perfumey” but when I held my wrist out to her she said it wasn’t good up close, and she didn’t like it.

[stellamaris]

Beautiful, a perfect slightly dark snow scent. Can't wait to wear this in the hot weather!

[Aviatrix]

This is a soft and slightly ozoney floral snow scent. I get the violet, but none of the jasmine. It feels like a close relative to The Darkling Thrush.

[zankoku_zen]

Soft, slightly ozoney floral. I get violet, but no jasmine. It's like a brush of violets and snow. Low throw, low wear length.

 

Delicate, cold, violet.

[Kmye Chan]

In the imp: floral and clean.

 

Wet: very clean, bright soap! And a bit of white florals. It reminds me of Thalia, it has that same bright clean smell to it. Pleasant, but really it smells like I've just stepped out of the shower.

 

Dry: it takes 10-15 minutes for this to come out of that strong soap stage. Then the scents resolve somewhat into an aquatic jasmine and a hint of incense. I don't really pick up the violets, or maybe very very green violet leaves.

 

Throw: this is quite potent on my skin.

 

Weirdly enough this is a really clean aquatic soapy smell on me, none of the sort incense mentioned by others - although very appropriate to the name?

[tealeaves]

A really interesting scent, and not quite what I was expecting! I think I expected a bright, clean floral, sweetened and softened a little by the incense. That's more or less what I got, but not quite.

 

Wet on the skin, it's very clean and bright and somewhat soapy-sharp, as the other sniffers noticed. It definitely leans aquatic, a cool green floral. Not necessarily jasmine, and no violet to speak of (although I don't know what violet leaf is like on its own) but floral. After it's dried down, the sharp soapy quality fades and the incense comes out, mellowing the aquatic floral and warming it ever so slightly. It's less an incense note and more how the incense affects other notes. Overall, it's nice - a cooling floral scent for hot summer days, perhaps?

[Little Bird]

Soapy ozone/aquatic, a hint of mint and a strange, dry jasmine that's odd with the soapy water feel. I don't like soapy scents, so I didn't get far with this blend.

[Cali]

Ahh, there's that sweet minty snow note you'll find in many other perfumes such as Winter-Time and The Snow at Dusk. Wayyy too soft on me for my taste, but it's still an enjoyable, slightly soapy jasmine with the incense and violet quietly in the background. The Jasmine is similar to Lucille Sharpe's.

Watery, and basically dissapeared onto me a couple of minutes after drydown. Aw.

[ShadowEtienne]

This is soft and lovely but present on my skin. This scent evokes a small pond with mint and not yet flowering violets and winter jasmine growing around it, with a frozen crunch around the edges and soft fluffy snow falling silently into the water.

 

There are aquatic elements to the scent for sure, but they are calm and still and gentle. I'm not getting much of something I'd identify as incense, just some drier notes that add to the herbaceous elements of the mint and violet leaf. 

 

This is a wintery smell that promises spring in the future because by this sheltered pond there are small delicate green things yet, and the cold of winter has not overtaken all the water. I'm really enjoying it in the warmer months that I'm sampling it in because it is evocative of chill without being clashing or glaring against the weather.