Winter Stars

[zankoku_zen]

The world’s heart breaks beneath its wars: starlit blue musk, a burst of night-dark amber, sweet patchouli, lemon peel, bergamot, French lavender, and cypress.

[SeroSpu]

Bottle: Quite cold-smelling, the lavender and cypress stand out the most to me. Very evocative - reminds me of a clear winter sky.

Wet: Sweet patchouli and blue musk overlaid with lavender and cypress with a slice of the lemon and bergamot. 

Dry: Soft, grounded lavender with a touch of citrus.

 

A wistful scent for me, especially after moving away from a cold climate. It's hard to put into words, but it's like winter stargazing in a bottle with a gust of cold wind.

[Casablanca]

First impression on skin: Musky lavender-amber perfume, with smidges of lemon and patchouli.

 

Drying: Sweet patchouli grows, but so does powder. Is there white musk in here with the blue? I'm not sure what, but something is turning to billows of powder on me.

 

Dry: Lemon-lavender powder musk, a whiff of cypress, and an impression of other notes buried in powder.

 

This one was kind of a mess on my skin.

[zankoku_zen]

Patchouli, cypress, touch of amber and sweet lavender. It's mainly a soft patch-wood with amber and lavender in it. Cozy, slightly masculine, and its like a warm rug on a stone floor. You just wanna sit down and be comforted in front of the fire. Good throw and wear length.

[feyofthefellwood]

Sampled my sister's decant. This is a lovely, dreamy scent with a smooth lavender sweetened by the other elements. Would definitely be a good sleep scent. 

[doomsday_disco]

Winter Stars features a sweet patchouli note, lavender, amber, and musk backed by the bright citrus notes and cypress. The patchouli is the star of the show on me throughout wear, and the scent is a bit sharp in the early phase due to the citrus and cypress. They end up calming down over time, but I don't think I could use this as a sleep scent due to that aspect of the scent. To my nose, it is more of a perfume-y sort of scent than a cuddly one.

 

I do think Winter Stars fits its inspiration, but I am not sure how often I would reach for this over other lavender and patchouli scents in my collection. (I vastly prefer A Moment in Time and My Tiger.) I'll let this settle some more and retest before deciding whether or not I should keep it.

Edited February 7, 2020 by doomsday_disco

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Lavender and cypress. The lavender is smooth, and not that sharp herbal type (that I ... hate). The scent is like being cozy, outdoors, when it's cold.

 

Dry: Okay, I take back what I said. This has turned mega sharp, and the coziness is no longer. Strong, sharp lavender, patchouli, and cypress.

 

Nope.

[artisjok]

One arm is delicious cozy patchouli, snuggled by musk and smoothed by amber. The other arm is a sharper patchouli, cut through with bergamot and shivered by cypress (a touch of amber lurks in the distance). Such a funny experience, and it happens every time I try it, at least for the past few days.
Even more interesting, the drydown made me so confident that it was benzoin dominant over patchouli base, before I knew the notes. Of course, it must be the amber because there’s no benzoin. By this stage it gives me a similar peace of mind that I Am Tired of Tears and Laughter (favorite bedtime scent), though not as beloved as that one. I’m glad I have this bottle though, and can save my darling sleep scent a bit.

I do love patchouli, and sharper herbal scents often hit the mark for me, especially with musk & amber present. Winter Stars is a win for me. The difference between my arms intrigues me and makes me think of the diverse energies beaming down from the multitude of stars. 
 

Edit: oops! Forgot to mention the herbal lavender is present in most of the experience until the “benzoin” phase. Yummy. 

Edited March 25, 2020 by artisjok

[simpletwice]

Got this as a decant just because I loved the name, and blind-tested without remembering the notes, and wow?? I love this???

Sexy, cozy, and masculine-leaning. A woodsy, clean lavender  at first - with a nice, round, polished complexity - and a sweet, skin-close patchouli that lingers as the rest of it fades. Warm and sophisticated. I don't get cold from this at all, it's downright snuggly. Reminds me a bit of the Steamworks line. 

[Lucchesa]

Apparently I never reviewed this.  It is gorgeous.  I pulled it out this morning for some reason -- I needed some aromatherapy for a long grueling drive.  It starts off (of course) with a blast of lavender, but that never lasts on me.  Still, it was nice, as was the citrus and the cypress, very high end spa treatment.  Then it warmed up with the amber and patchouli, each note clear as a bell, then they all meld together into a harmony, becoming one thing, mainly amber-patch-cypress, that almost had a leathery bent to it, which is I think why so many reviewers are describing it as masculine.  I think it's perfectly gender neutral and since it's still available, I may need to pick up a bottle.