Frostbitten Dorian

[doomsday_disco]

[No additional description provided. Scent description for Dorian is here.]

In the bottle: Slightly chilled Dorian. The musk and fougere of Dorian mingled with the chilly sweetness of Snow White.

Wet: On my skin, I'm getting powdery snow and Dorian. The snow note is not ozone-y or extremely minty, nor is it citrus-y or of the slushy variety. Although I do get a sufficient amount of the cold component and Dorian, the frostbite note is more prominent on me. As it begins to dry down, the chilly part of this particular snow note ends up increasing in strength.

Dry: It's a lot sweeter now, thanks to the sweetness from the snow note and the sugared vanilla tea from the Dorian (which always ends up being a dominant note once dry on me). I applied Go to Sleep, Darlings on my upper arm for reference (which features the snow note from Snow White without the floral notes). At first, Frostbitten Dorian isn't as sweet, but the scent becomes sweeter over time.

It is a blustery day in the hundred acre desert, and as I was walking around outside, I kept getting hit with the same magical chilly sweetness that I get from Snow White.

Verdict: Hoard-worthy.

[VioletChaos]

In the Bottle: Straight up Dorian. No footsie-ing around about it!

 

Wet On Skin: the fougere aspect is particularly strong in this version, at least at this stage. Unlike Frostbitten Bliss, which I got equal measure of Snow White and Bliss, this, at least for now, is ONLY the strongest, most cologne aspect of Dorian and nothing more.

 

Dry Down: Alas, it's stayed the same.

 

In All: I've enjoyed the recent forays into Dorian exploration that have come out this year that I've tried (Spinning on Graves, Paper Phoenix) but the frost note in this has had the effect of taking the delicate balance of Dorian's components and, unfortunately, amping the ones that make me smell like a dude-bro out at a bar on a Saturday night

 

I'll give it a chance to age, but I have a feeling this will go off to the swap pile in the end...

[roseus]

The snow is sweet but not full-on Snow White snow to me. There is a chilly aspect that I don't get from SW, that I think must be a musk that pronounces the fougere aspect of Dorian and pushes it a tad bit more cologne-y to me. However dry it is a nice balance musky fougere and chilly sweet snow, with some vanilla tea underneath.

[hammy]

In the bottle - Cool and refreshing! Not getting much beyond that.

Wet - Unmistakably Dorian, but with an additional element I'm not loving. It almost feels like there's more lavender than usual? That might be it.

Drydown - God, I wish I could have a bit of this with just a little less lavender. It's gorgeous as it wafts, and then I stick my face into my wrist and ... it's super herbal. I think the lavender is actually amping on me. Damn it. (For the record, I don't have this issue with regular Dorian.)

Verdict - You know what, guys? I don't even care. This scent will get stuck. in. your. head. I find myself absentmindedly raising my wrist up to my nose every few minutes just to get a little closer to the magic smell. I just have to remember not to get it too close or I have herbal issues. The medium-to-low wear length left me wanting more. Gorgeousness.

Edited December 5, 2017 by hammy

[achildoftime]

It's chilly, sweet Dorian. Wet, it does smell like the sweet snow of Snow White and the suggestion of tea. The Dorian comes out much more as it dries for me. It's not as biting cold as I was expecting. I think it's like the tea ice cream that specialty stores sometimes have. It's a little chilly and way more sweet than just tea in a mug. It balances between the snow and Dorian pretty well for me.

 

It's only been settling from the mail for a day, but if it stays at least this lovely it's an absolute winner.

[zankoku_zen]

To me, this is a lemon tea version of Snow White. I mainly get a more sugary lemon version of Snow White (so chilly almond milk + lemon sugar). Foodier than I expected. Medium throw, good wear length.

[Beary Strange]

In the bottle: Christmas--I'm struggling to explain what I mean by that, I want to say it smells like Christmas trees, but it's not straight up fir smell, it's way more than just trees: it's the wreaths and the spices and mistletoe and the fire going in the background.

 

Wet: said Christmas smell with men's cologne strongly coming through; there's also a slight chilled edge despite the warm Christmas smells that even feels cool on my skin (I'm guessing this is the Snow White aspect people mention)

 

Dry: Hello! The fougere, cologne scent of Dorian is at the forefront, but it's very much warmer than Dorian usually smells on me. My skin doesn't seem to be amping any sweet elements. It's all warm cologne with that Christmas scent lingering in the background.

 

If you enjoy smelling like men's cologne, as I very much do (it's my preferred scent profile) this is definitely a must-try...or must hoard in my case. It seems to have fairly good throw. Will update on lasting power.

Edited December 9, 2017 by BearyStrange

[sarandipitee]

I love Dorian with all my heart, but SW is awful plastic dolls head mess to both my nose in the bottle and once it hits my skin.

Thankfully Dorian wins out over the two scents after dry down but I don’t think I can make it through the wet SW part.

Basically if you can’t do Snow White, at all, avoid. Happy to have tried, but I’ll find a new home for my bottle.

 

I totally take it back. Finally after over an hour into wearing it, it's more of the lovely fougere Dorian (think unaged Dorian) with a tiny hint of vanilla plasticness. I may try to age this one and see what happens.

Edited December 12, 2017 by sarandipitee

[Madame Mew]

This is very frosty cologne smell to me, and don't get much vanilla or lemon, rather a good amount of lavender. I love how long the wear is. Not the best throw, which is why I have started wearing this before bed. It's very pretty and barely masculine. I think this will get better over time and really adore this.

[Kerry]

A Dorian that has been cooled in the snow! A lovely scent, it changes Dorian to a lighter, more delicate version. Almost smells like a little floral has been added. Its really good!

Throw on this is just enough, not too loud.

[LizziesLuck]

So excited to try this! I love Dorian. I love Snow White (and I can tell from sniffing in the bottle this is the Snow White snow note). This should be a favourite!

 

 

Wet: OMFG this is gorgeous. It really is exactly like I expected. That glorious Dorian fougere, with the frozen-coconut-water type snow note from Snow White (that's what it always smells like to me at least). It's beautiful and I could bathe in it. Both Dorian and Snow White are comforting scents to me - this soothes my soul. PERFECTION. Hoard worthy. Oh wait. I mean, you don't want any. Here, I'll dispose of yours for you....

 

Dry: This comes out very Dorian dominant (which I find interesting, as the Snow White dominated with Snake Oil). I am sure all those missing Dorian will rejoice to get to have this! I will be seriously thinking about getting a back-up, as this is really an awesome combo - Dorian with just a hint of bright chilly Snow White. Heaven!

[boomtownrat]

Frostbitten Dorian is the kind of BPAL that you could use to enable someone who is used to more commercial perfumes. It's not that it's perfumey, but it's quite sugary, a bit floral, and a bit light-musky. There's a hint of tea with lemon, but on me, the sweet snowy note dominates the blend. (I've yet to try Snow White, so I can't say how the snow note compares to it and will defer to what the other reviews say.) Something in it reminds me of Lick It Softly, as though they're siblings: one musky-floral and one minty. If you think Dorian could be sweeter, try Frostbitten Dorian.

 

As for me, I think I need to wear it on my wrists and not my throat, because it does have a fair bit of throw on me. Wear length is hard to gauge, but I put it on in the early evening and it was still going strong close to midnight when I went to sleep.

 

This would be good for work or any social gathering where I don't want to overwhelm others with a heady scent. I could see this being perfect for a winter wedding.

 

Edit 1/8/2018: After almost a month, I'm finding Frostbitten Dorian is getting too strong for me to wear because it makes me feel like I'm going to get a headache. I'm not sure if it's ageing that way or if I'm in some kind of hormonal phase (or maybe it's the unusually cold weather). I have wiped it off to get to the sweeter, more wearable late stages every time I've tried to wear it, which I've only done four times at most. Maybe it would be better on my husband.

Edited January 8, 2018 by boomtownrat

[milo]

I was wary on how anything could improve my beloved Dorian, and I'm glad I went with my gut. There is far too much of the ice note here, and it's pretty much drowning everything Dorian out. There's an odd, fleeting fungus note here I sometimes get in certain bpal notes which adds to the unpleasantness. I wish I got what others are getting, and I'm sorely tempted to upgrade just to see if I got a ice heavy decant. I do get a lovely fresh lemon note at first, associated with fresh Dorian, but it is drowned out by the ICEBERG! Not my cuppa.

Edited December 23, 2017 by milo

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in the standard perfume world, y'know how there are flankers - limited-run scents with the same base fragrance but tweaked up a bit?

 

on me, this was like Dorian Blue. or Dorian Aqua. or Dorian Sport. like it should be in a metallic light-blue box with shiny silver trim.

 

whatever sort of combination of notes added to a base scent to give it that sporty vibe.

and compared to straight-up Dorian, way more masculine.

 

i can't wear Snow White. i keep a little bit of it every year because the smell reminds me of a specific memory - the air freshener my dad kept in his car, plus his cologne, and the smell of his 1974 Lincoln Continental Mark IV two-door land yacht.

 

Dorian, though, is a scent i can wear pretty much any time. (except the hair gloss. it goes weirdly white musk on me).

 

i feel Dorian is gender neutral - it is just a delicious smell. this, though, to me is absolutely masculine. i like it, and i need to put some on my husband to see what it does on him.

 

i think this could be a gateway scent for husbands and boyfriends who aren't too sure about this whole perfume oil thing.

[LiberAmoris]

Dorian in the snow! This is Dorian's lemony tea and fougere with a good dusting of powder. The Dorian is a strong presence, the snow is very light on me once this dries down.

[Minh Scent]

Oh, this is just beautiful! Dorian soaked in white musk vanilla! Doesn't get better than this!

[astarinel]

The snow note in this doesn't smell particularly like Snow White to me, which is good, because Snow White is terrible on me.

 

This also doesn't smell particularly like Dorian to me. Maybe I just haven't smelled fresh Dorian in a while, but this mostly smells like vanilla musk with lavender and minty snow.

 

I actually like this, but it doesn't smell anything like what I was envisioning. Definitely gets a bit sweeter as it dries, and wears fairly close to the skin. A cool, soft scent.

[hazakaza]

I've always wanted to enjoy Dorian more than I've actually enjoyed Dorian. I've reached for it a few times but I swapped away my backup bottle and have always reached for Cake Smash over Dorian, or even my homebrewed equal parts Dorian-Doc Constantine-Snake Oil blend over the pure stuff. I love tea, particularly the bergamot-y Twinings Earl Gray Dorian has, and I haven't found a musk that's disagreed with me (and most of them I adore), but overall the effect has been that I don't love the blend as much as I've wanted to.

 

I think this blend solves my problems. The bergamot tea note that makes me reach for Dorian when I do is still front and center, but the florals of the snow really bring it to a new height. It's almost creamy without being *cream* (cream and milk notes tend to go sour on me). The vanilla-sugar also fades and marries with the floral in favor of something I almost want to call vanilla orchid. I've never tried Snow White so I can't speak to how it compares to that, but if this is what Snow White smells like then I might want to see if I can find a decant. This is an absolutely lovely blend and definitely worth a look!

[donkehpoo]

Wet: A sweeter, chillier version of normal Dorian. Dorian and vanilla snow?

 

Dry: YUM. Okay. The snowy aspect of the blend has died off, and it smells like marzipan and Dorian now.

 

This is SO, so good.

 

(As a side note; there's a lot of comparisons to Snow White in the reviews. It's been years since I've tried that blend, but it was absolutely HORRIBLE on my skin, so I'm not getting the comparison.)

[Lucchesa]

I have not actually ever tried straight Snow White, so I can't comment on that front, but Frostbitten Dorian is super nice. It's quite similar to Dorian on me but chillier in tone with the snow note I recognize from Cotton Phoenix. Musky sugared snowy vanilla tea -- yum! No throw on me (which is normal) and only average wear length, but well worth reapplying!

Edited October 14, 2018 by Lucchesa

[torischroeder9]

2018 version

 

Also worth noting: It's been a while since I tested regular Dorian.

 

In the decant: Tea and white musk in the foreground, the same snow note as in this year's Frostbitten Snake Oil in the background. (I have also not actually ever tried straight Snow White or possibly any of the Lab's snow-prominent perfumes.)

 

On my skin: 

 

Wet, the snow note gains more prominence so it's at least an equal player with the tea. The white musk has temporarily receded. In the early dry phase, it becomes so much snow that I also lose the tea. The snow is beautiful, though, so I am not complaining. 

 

After about half an hour, I notice that I'm getting a pretty good amount of throw from this. I wonder if it's the snow note itself or if one of the light musks (I often amp musk) is helping to boost it on my skin. It takes about forty-five minutes for anything like Dorian (or like my memory of Dorian, light musk and sweet light tea) to come through, and when it does, it's still well-balanced by the sweet, creamy snow note. 

 

I like this a lot, and it works better for me than I remember Dorian itself working (I amp musk but eat tea, so Dorian isn't balanced on me). The additional "frostbitten" notes give it more depth. On me, this is light enough -- in character; it still has good throw -- to be a warm weather scent. 

[neuilly]

For some reason I expected this to be a softer or maybe more vanilla version of Dorian (perhaps I had read some reviews before trying it). Instead this feels like a much more 'traditionally masculine' version of Dorian. Maybe it's just amped fougere? Regardless this is the strongest cologne feel I've felt in a while with a BPAL scent. It would be fantastic on some but it's not for me.

[theredkilt]

Imagine Snow White putting her arms around Dorian. It's much more of a subdued Dorian, only the lemony musky notes peek here and there, while the frostbitten aspect dominates, like a clean blanket of fluffy sweet almond snow.

[cinderfallen]

Oh man. What am I gonna do when this is gone? I prefer this to the original Dorian, which I find to be overwhelming in its lemon/tea/musk. it's subdued with all the best aspects of that wonderful snow note and delicate tea aspects merging together to form something delightfully new. 

[monocainsheresy]

2018 version

 

Softer, cologne-ier Dorian and almost ozonic ice

Edited March 11, 2019 by monocainsheresy