After the Winter

[zankoku_zen]

Turn your face southward toward the summer isle: rolling green grasses, Taitian vanilla, white coconut, fig, orange blossom, baobab leaf, and golden amber.
 

[zankoku_zen]

Coconut, amber, and fresh green grasses. On wet, I smelled grasses, orange blossom, and a whiff of vanilla. Very spring like. As it dries, you get the coconut and fig come out, giving it a more tropical blend, and the amber warms it up a fair deal so it ends up being more like an early summer. Delightful for those that love spring, coconut blends, and just want something tropical. Good throw and wear length.

[Casablanca]

First impressions: White coconut, Tahitian vanilla, and green grasses. They show up in that sequence, at first, on each inhale; then they blend together, and orange blossom and a hint of fig creep in, too.

 

In drydown, the blend becomes waxy on me. The green grasses start to remind me of the vibrant green in Emerald Lace.

 

The coconut and Tahitian vanilla give this a summery vibe, but the orange flower feels springlike.

 

[Leopard403]

Oh dang. I like this. At first it’s all green grass on my skin, but then there is coconut that isn’t suntan lotion-y in the least but is probably made overt by that vanilla and amber base. I get maybe one quick whiff of sweet fig if I reeeeeally hunt for it, and at least to my nose any delicate orange blossom is eaten up by the rest. The name is perfect and precisely evocative. Might need to get more of this one.

[puellacaerulea]

Grass notes can be hit or miss on me, so definitely wanted to test a decant of this first. In the decant, the grass jumps out at me the most. Once I apply, the coconut, fig, and vanilla amp up more, though grass and orange blossom seem to be the dominant notes. It's like a combo of fresh, springlike grass and orange blossom with fruity, creamy tropical notes lurking just underneath. Fortunately, the grass isn't a skin chemistry fail on me. I wish it had a little more staying power -- about 5 hours after applying, I'm just getting a faint hint of coconut and fig. Still, it's a really pretty and unique scent, somewhere between spring and summer.

[Carolan Ivey]

I usually stay away from anything containing vanilla because my skin tends to amp it, but this blend is very well balanced, rich and creamy with a hint of coconut, brightened by green notes, and mellowed by the amber. I plan to wear it on my next beach vacation.

[starbrow]

Bulbs. This smells like bulbs.

 

That's not helpful. I mean, I've smelled this before in a car full of plants on the way back home to be planted. A waft of potent rich dirt and green growing things and a whiff of floral. But then there's a perfumey element that's really confusing, because it's tangling with the freshness and I don't know quite what to think.

 

A lot of poofy vanilla, powdery greens. (How are greens powdery? Like in the way that you can break grass and herbs down into that green powder stuff you put in shakes. YUM.) I would never guess there was fig here. Never. And I love fig! I could use more fig. I love orange blossom too, yet it's leaning jasmine. The more I smell this, the more I'm glad I didn't blind-bottle.

 

With medium throw on me, I'm not mad at this scent for hanging around, but it is not the insta-love I thought it could be. I am not in love with the powder, the perfumey-ness. Some things I think smell really great when they smell like fancy perfume. This, I would have loved as actual green grass and sweet vanilla and dirt-grounded florals. It's a big meh for me. No bottle. 

 

[Rayleigh]

Goes on like rolling down a hill. A faceful of green grass! The grass is a cousin of the dead leaves note, similarly vegetal but distinctly green and fresh.

 

Then comes the vanilla and coconut, and they play leapfrog with the grass for dominance for a while. It's not at all a suntan lotion coconut. The fig is very subtle, as I usually pick out fig immediately and I can barely find it here. The throw is all tropics, all the time. It's a strong throw, too. Long wear time, ending up as mostly a vanilla'd coconut.

 

A scent to wear somewhere balmy and green, green, green.

[VetchVesper]

This reminds me a tad bit of Shoggoth at first.  It's bright, fresh, a bit floral, a bit citrusy, sort of chaotic, and very Spring.  I think the shared coconut note is also adding to a similar vibe.  I get more of a sugary lemon blossom than orange blossom from After the Winter, at least at first.  I can smell the grass and the coconut, but for me, they are backup notes and this stays primarily a bright sugary floral.  I wouldn't call it green or particularly coconutty.  Maybe tropical.  

 

After a bit of dry down the "lemon blossom" gains a bit of a bite and smells more distinctly like neroli.  Another one this reminds me a bit of is Snow Bear, from the Lilliths a few years ago.  Though the notes are different, it's in the same scent family.  It's pretty and well suited to those who like youthful, bright Spring florals.  I'm not sure how much I would wear it though, so I'll probably pass my decant along.  So far, this is the fragrance that has worked best for me in this release.  

 

ETA - Wanted to add, if you enjoyed Smug Yale, I think the base in this is similar.  The florals take center stage though.

Edited June 4, 2020 by VetchVesper

[niffler]

Ever been slapped in the face with an overwhelming sense memory? I got that with this scent. It reminds me so strongly of being in Hawaii visiting with family that actual tears appeared in my eyes. It's uncanny. The greens, the coconut, the warmth and hint of sweetness with that twist of orange blossom, just reached straight into my amygdala and said "Hey, remember this?"

Ok, so the scent itself is lovely and tropical. With vanilla and coconut and amber you'd think it would be pretty sweet, but it's really not. Something about the combination of the greens and the orange blossom (the baobab leaf? is that the miracle worker here?) is sour and a bit spicy? It's unexpected in that way of exploring a whole forest of flora and fauna you've never seen before. Incredible. I mean, I'm probably biased. But I love this. 

[Estamets]

On me, this is a Cousin of Dead Leaves single note. It’s a slightly less spicy, more green, less dead dead leaves.