It Sifts from Leaden Sieves

[Dark Alice]

It sifts from Leaden Sieves –
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road –

It makes an even Face
Of Mountain, and of Plain –
Unbroken Forehead from the East
Unto the East again –

It reaches to the Fence –
It wraps it Rail by Rail
Till it is lost in Fleeces –
It deals Celestial Vail

To Stump, and Stack – and Stem –
A Summer’s empty Room –
Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,
Recordless, but for them –

It Ruffles Wrists of Posts
As Ankles of a Queen –
Then stills it’s Artisans – like Ghosts –
Denying they have been –

White frankincense, pale dry patchouli, white sandalwood, and a tuft of coconut-white snow.

This is lovely. Soft frankincense, wood, with the barest hint of patchouli...it definitely makes this dry. The snow is not prevalent at all...it's it's just snow...with barest hint of coconut. I hope this will age well.

 

 

[TijuanaBible]

This is a patchouli scent for people that are afraid of patchouli. It's very well blended with the frankincense and sandalwood with just a breath of coconut. It seems like it'd be perfect to use year round. Can't wait for this one to age a bit.

[Atrous]

Frankincense and sandalwood seem to be the predominant notes.

They meld together beautifully.

The coconut in this is, I don't know, wispy? fluffy? something like that. You get idea.

There's also I really pleasant sweetness to this blend, not too strong and not foody.

I can't say I detect any patchouli, which is a shame, but I still really like the blend. Maybe the Patch will emerge with a bit of aging.

[lookingglass]

This scent is very dry and surprisingly light...sandy even...but not warm. The coconut is similar to that in Goblin, but it's so DRY. It's not particularly patchoulish or resinous...it's like the makings of incense before it's bound together.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant circle by Trailer Trash Princess

 

Initial Thoughts: When I started playing with BPAL, I learned that frankincense, patchouli, and sandalwood were serious ampers on my skin. I later learned that *pale* or *white* versions of these didn't amp like a tsunami to the point of drowning out other notes. Having three of the doable versions of these deal-breakers in one scent was super-tempting, and *coconut* snow was the icing on the cake. If I can finally find a patchouli/incense scent that doesn't tip over into too-much territory, I'll be very happy.

 

In the Vial: Definitely dry. Very sandalwood, but with a chilly impression.

 

Wet: Not so dry now, but still very sandalwood. Either the patchouli or frankincense is adding a richness to the scent.

 

Drydown: I am getting a true meld of the incense/patchouli. The sandalwood is still a bit stronger than the others, but they are all coming together into a gentle skin-hugger of a scent. Plus I'm getting the coconut, but not so strongly that it tips the impression. I would call this a unisex blend.

 

Verdict: I'm going to try again to be sure, but this may be almost exactly what I was hoping for when I read the description!

[zankoku_zen]

Coconut snow frankincense on wet. As it dries, the snowy coconut top note disappears and I get more of the patchouli. This ends as a patchouli-sandalwood mix, with a whiff of coconut snow on it. Dry, strong, and manlier than I expected. Medium throw and wear length.

[Jenjin]

This is a lush, TIKI beach scattered with gleaming driftwood and heavy, hanging, fuzzy coconuts. I'm getting smoky, incense note along with teenytiny bit of sweetness from the patchouli. This is truly a unique blend. Velvety smooth with a perfect balance of gleaming sandalwood, a whisper of dry coconut meat and a perfect patch base. Rich and moonlight dreamy, the sandalwood is the lead singer, as the other notes weave in and out like a symphony. I'm not certain this has enough sweetness in it to suit me, but very wearable for anyone who prefers very dry scents.

Edited January 31, 2017 by Jenjin

[Deliciousness]

Wow - this scent surprised me - it is really dry and woody on my skin. Turns out that is a very "dusty" sandalwood with a light and airy patchouli. I'm not getting much of the Frankincense and nothing of the coconut-snow. Bummer - cause I really wanted to have "coconut snow" come forward - even if a little bit to temper the bone dry impression of this perfume.

[_surya]

This is Anne Bonny in the winter. I really really love Anne Bonny, and I quite like this, but I would have to death match to see if I really needed a bottle which seems so similar. If Anne Bonny is your thing, you will appreciate this scent.

Edited January 11, 2017 by _surya

[joopjoop]

Very pretty and dry. To start it is fuzzy incense and very dry, almost dusty patchouli and then the sandalwood warms up on the skin. I think that the white sandalwood that BPAL uses is just beautiful and it is really the star of the show here. Throughout its wear, there is just a hint of dry coconut, but after about 3 hours, surprisingly, the coconut snow comes out more giving just a little sweetness that nicely balances the sandalwood.

 

It's a lovely scent and in contention for my favorite of the Yules.

[freyasfae]

Patch is always iffy on me, but pale or white patch is okay and often patch completely surprises me, but with the other notes in this - this one was a real gamble for me! I mainly picked it because I love the coconut-white snow BPAL note, and I wanted to smell it with these other notes, so I got this as a decant. I won't wear it, but it smells lovely - delicate, yet woodsy and resiny.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, this is mostly a cool, dry coconut with grainy, almost powdery, hints.

 

On my skin, this is a dry waft of frankincense and sandalwood, both pale and grainy, and dry coconut. An intriguing, calm scent. It rests fairly close to the skin, talcum-like in mood and also a bit powdery in the nose.

 

In drydown the white patch emerges. I can’t do dark patchouli, but quite like the white and red stuff. As with Desert Places, this overall blend reminds me of a desert, though the coconut suggests an oasis here and there. It’s like standing in white sands, watching them blow and tuft off dunes. Over time, the blend’s coconut develops on me into a slight cream tone over the whole.

[Kay Torres]

I swear that my experience is so different than everyone else's that I'm wondering if my decant was mislabeled. This is vanilla and Pine Sol on my skin. It dries down to pure Pine Sol.

[SophieCedar]

Any fans of Midnight Mass or other resinous blends should not pass this up. Its like going to happy church...think like if a Roman Catholic mass concluded with virgin pina coladas, a big group hug, and everybody got to wear that cool ass robe for sec.

 

The coconut snow is wonderful with frankincense and white patchouli. Drydown is where its at. That's when I say "BOTTLE".

 

 

ETA: why did I capitalize pina coladas? I mean I know the drink deserves some reverence... but really....

Edited January 24, 2017 by SophieCedar

[LizziesLuck]

I just want to be able to wear and enjoy Frankincense...why is that so much to ask for?? I like patchouli. I love sandalwood. Coconut snow sounds amazing. So this is going to be the one!!! I can feel it...

 

 

Wet: Blech. Why the heck is this peppery? I can smell the Frank, of course, and something woody, but also something really peppery, and it's weird, and throwing me off.

 

Dry: Frankincense. Single note. I give up.

[gloame]

In the bottle, there's something tangy that almost but not quite reminded me of pickles. But don't worry, it doesn't last. Definitely a dry patchouli. It's soft not crisp. I'd hoped for more of the coconut, but I'm not getting distinguished hints of it. I have a dozen of the Lab's patchouli scents, so I may not need this one.

[Aviatrix]

Super, super dry and slightly coconutty! This somehow reminds me of Tombstone, but that might be the overall dry quality. It is rather comforting the more I wear it, so if you want something warm and cosy for winter, this would be perfect!

 

The throw is pretty good, too.

[whisperstilled]

In the imp, this is patchouli, sandalwood, and sweet coconut. Patchouli really isn't my thing, so I hope it's weaker on the skin than it is in the imp.

 

Wet: Very well-blended, this one. Patchoui and sandalwood sweetened by the coconut. Little frankincense giving it some warmth.

 

Dry: That pickles comparison is apt. For whatever reason, I find coconut teas and coconut perfumes tend to sharpen into a weird pickle-like scent. This one is a little sour and weird for me.

[LiberAmoris]

Love the Dickinson poem about how snow transfigures (and to the voice of the poem's mounting fascination/horror, erases), so was excited to try this. The notes are pale and pale brown. Frankincense and patchouli are the strongest notes on me, with the white sandalwood and white coconut providing a thin blanket of creamy, downy woods. Backup worthy.

[lucycat]

In the decant, I can’t smell anything but patchouli, the strong, pencil-shaving kind. Patchouli continues to dominate once this is on my skin, though the sandalwood comes out after a little while. I can just smell the frankincense on my hand, and only there; it’s very soft. If I didn’t know the “tuft of coconut-tinged snow” was in this blend, I wouldn’t be able to identify the slight sweetness as coconut at all.

[lizabelle]

Why did all the Yules last year have to be so dang pretty?? I'm still trying to track down bottles I missed out on, and now it looks like I'll be looking for this one too. The sandalwood in here is very dry, borderline pencil-shavings, and also borderline cedar-y. There's a warm resinous tone to the base, which I guess must be the frankincense, but it's like no frankincense I've smelled before. I would almost believe there's citrus in here! The patch is surprisingly mild-mannered in this, and very perfumey. The coconut is subtle and serves more to blend everything together than really stand on its own; it almost reminds me more of coconut milk than coconut meat. The whole blend is brighter and softer than I expected, and less dry. There's a lot of depth here that's keeping my hand close to my nose.

[tziporra]

Why am I the only one who gets mint?

 

A minty snowy blast out of the bottle the wet stage is by far my favorite. Then the "lead" sets in and it's very sweet (coconut-y) mentholly woods. The dry down is where we lose the mint (so sad to see you go emphemeral and beautiful top notes) and it's woody with the sandalwood and the rose-y impression I always get from dry patchoulis. The impression is very much heavy gray skies (but no ozone) with piles of snow.

 

I like this and it's one of the reasons I can't hang out with people who "hate patchouli" -- I'm not crazy in love with every patch I meet but when I find one l like I'm not giving it up for anyone, not ever.

 

Tzi

 

edited: for too many verys

Edited March 17, 2017 by tziporra

[Teamama]

The love-child of Ann Bonney & Brown Jenkin. I unexpectedly really love this. Dry like desert snow.

Edited to add: Even better after a year of aging. And, thank heavens, my changed skin chemistry isn't amping the patch. Delicious & dry. I swapped & got a backup bottle, it's that good.

Edited March 10, 2018 by Teamama

[Lucchesa]

My review could almost be identical to Lucycat's. I got the pencil shavings both in the imp and wet, and only after a long drydown did I begin to be able to make out the frankincense and sandalwood and the faintest hint of coconut. Not that I wanted this to smell like a pina colada; faint was just right. I expected a bit more of the lab's snow note in the "tuft of coconut-white snow" but it is nothing like, say, Tres Riches Heures. After about an hour and a half it is really, really pretty, but I'm not sure I'm that patient.