Song of the Otherworld

[zankoku_zen]

On the darkest nights of winter, the swirling winds buffet battle cries and the moans of the long-dead on their blue-fingered eddies. Storm clouds rumble in the east, and a host of wailing spirits, wights, and ghouls gibber, drift, and creep through the land.

 

Sleet and champaca, fir needle and opoponax, blue musk and cypress, balsam and snow.

 

This one is slushy wet snow (I get the Ice Queen snow note), with whiffs of fir and blue musk. It reminds me a fair bit to Ice Queen, sans the berries and the blue musk always makes a strong appearance for me in a very distinctive manner. Good throw and wear length.

 

Evocative of the deep cold quiet of a snow day in the middle of the night.

[patina]

I could tell there was a blue element without reading the notes. Champaca is sometimes bad on me but this isn't at all. There's certainly an evergreen presence here too, though the scent softens it.

 

This is very different from Perchta's sweet white powder snow, it's more ice for one thing. It is sweet in it's own right because of the resins. Almost a pineapple ice scent. It's a bit like a blue moon (or one of the lab's Blue Moons) hanging over an ice and snow covered fir tree in the dead of night.

 

It's going to be a hard call deciding on a bottle between this and Perchta 2018.

Edited January 14, 2019 by patina

[Deliciousness]

I'm a sucker for opoponax and champaca and thought the blue musk, cypress and balsam would give this a wonderful winter feel.

On application, this blend was sharp and icy. As it dried down, I could tell it was the slush and snow notes creating a chemically nuanced dryer sheet. Not getting much in the line of balsam, opoponax or anything other than the high pitched notes  of snow/ice. After a while, the chemical scent dies down and is replaced with a slightly more mellow powdery icy dryer sheet scent. I want snow and ice notes to work with my chemistry - but my skin does not seem to cooperate. I'm sure this is a wonderful scent on someone else, just not me.

[doomsday_disco]

I was really hoping that the champaca would be well-behaved and that this would be a snowy forest scent. Alas, all my skin seems to want to bring out are the champaca and sleet notes. I don't get any of the resin or tree notes, although the blue musk does end up peeking out after a few hours of wear. The champaca note just kept increasing in strength over time, too, so that eventually, I was left with a predominantly champaca scent. And while I don't dislike the note, it's not what I was looking for. I am disappointed that the other notes didn't show up on me.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: I'm a fan of opoponax, and this smells like a cold, slushy opoponax with some blue musk.  (It's also a note that can totally amp on my skin, and/or turn to bubblegum, so keep that in mind.)

 

Dry: Getting more of the tree notes now (I think the fir is sticking out the most), but the opoponax is still the strongest note on my skin. (The blue musk and that snow slush are still there, too.) I do wish the champaca would have made an appearance, though; it's usually a note that plays well on me.

 

It's actually quite pretty, but I know this isn't something I'd wear more than once or twice a year. I'll hold on to my decant, but I won't need to upgrade.

[LizziesLuck]

This called to me - a combination of the name, which I love, and the prospect of a cool-woody-oppoponaxy blend that might be similar to Savage Forever (at least in my head) which I adore so much and so unexpectedly.

 

Wet: The sleet note is a lemony clean one rather than a minty cool one, which is somewhat disappointing to me. I don't get much opoponax or wood at all either, which is also disappointing. I hoped this would be a bracing outdoor blend, but on me it's more of a cold and clean scent.

 

Dry: This was not at all what I had hoped for, but when it dries down it's still quite nice. A cold slushie scent. Hints of woods. Good for winter, though not my favourite snow scent. I like it, but wonder if it would be better loved by someone else.

[tinyvulture]

There's the lab's sweet/slushy note (think Snow White), but seems not as sweet as usual. The dark, earthy cypress and balsam notes even it out. It is like a dark winter night, a little creepy...fits the description very well! Wondering how blue musk is different from other musks? Can't pin that down.