Winter Sunset

[Belladonnastrap]

A radiant inferno of blood orange, sheer amber, tangerine, clove husk, red cedarwood, and red myrrh bursting against jagged peaks of black pine, fir needle, and snow-white musk.

[Kanra]

This is a lot lighter than I expected. Honestly it's a perfect companion to Sunrise in Winter. I bought the two (and A Moonlit Winter Landscape) without regards to the notes themselves because I love sunset/sunrise/moon landscapes and wanted to see BPAL's take on the atmospherics. While Sunrise had a lot of power at the beginning (mostly due to the vetiver), Sunset is a lot mellower. That isn't to say it's a weak, barely there fragrance, just potentially less polarizing and a little more subdued.

 

Blood orange and tangerine definitely stick out the most. Whereas Sunrise had the vetiver and oud to give it a darker twist, Sunset has the black pine and fir in the background that are also prominent (yet not distracting), giving this depth and a certain darkness. It's very musky, soft, and another introverted and contemplative atmospheric scent.

 

Like Sunrise, I don't think it's one that will become very popular, but I think fans of atmospherics and more meditative scents will find it a great addition to their collection.

 

I don't know if it was intended to be a companion to Sunrise, but the two fit together well in a series of moods of the sky. This one is very evocative of the art on the label: a cloudy, moody sunset atmosphere. If that seems like your type of thing, I think you'd enjoy it. I'm keeping mine for my moodier, more introverted days.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Kanra

[doomsday_disco]

Winter Sunset starts off strongest on the orange, with touches of the conifers, clove, and the white musk snow note. Over time, it becomes less juicy orange and more musky orange with clove and conifers. The resins are confined to the background.

 

I liked the wet phase of the scent, with the juicy blood orange, but sadly, this scent confirmed that there's something funky that my skin does with an orange (or similar citrus note), clove, and snow combo after a while of wear -- it goes kind of savory and smells odd on me and is absolutely a skin chemistry thing, because the scents never smell that way in the bottle or vial. Although this one isn't quite as unfortunate some of the other scents I've tried with this type of combo, it's still not something I can pull of wearing.

But if you can pull off that scent combo, and are looking for a musky orange clove scent accompanied by some foresty notes, or want a scent evocative of a sunset in winter, this one is worth a try.

[Casablanca]

This was a friend's decant I got to sample, so I'm going by memory.

 

Winter Sunset opened with tangerine and blood orange, and soon added a broad, earthy smear of red clay and patches of snow. The picture brought to mind for me was a bold sunrise or sunset over a red earthy-clay landscape streaked with snow. I thought of Winter Landscape from the 2017 Yules, but with more citrus (snow-thick scent, chalky with sandalwood and clove, streaked iron-orange and tonka-brown). Winter Sunset was similarly very much a landscape scent.

 

I think this impression of earthy red clay came from the clove, red cedar, and red myrrh combining on my skin. Especially from the red myrrh -- but it blended with the clove to trigger my scent memory of Winter Landscape's clove, clay-like earth.

 

The conifers didn't make an appearance for me: My skin and mind instead made this about the citrus glow on the snow-streaked red clay earth.

[Laughing Seagull]

Something in this goes unpleasantly bitter and waxy on me for a good while.  I could swear that narcissus was here, though it isn't in the note list.  Heck, there aren't ANY florals in the note list.  I'm baffled.

 

Maybe what everyone else is reading as "clay" I'm interpreting as "wax."

 

The maybe-narcissus does taper off and is replaced with pretty much pure clove after a while, and I do like clove.  There are other clove scents I like more though, where I don't have to sit through a waxy nightmare to get to the good stuff.

[birdieflyaway]

This decant is a strong orange with hints of clove and a tiny amount of pine in the background for me. It fades into a softer blend, maybe the amber is assisting with that. I'm happy to be able to try it, but this is one of those scents I prefer as an environmental goodie, like in a candle. 

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Blood orange and sweeter citrus (tangerine) with a tinge of clove. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's bright juicy orange and tangerine. A touch of amber and myrrh come out on the drydown, giving it a slightly drier, huffier element. As it dries, there's a touch of deeper notes -- cedar, fir, pine in the background, though blood orange and tangerine still take center stage. It stays pretty true here, with the cedar and clove providing a touch of earthiness and the pine and fir providing another layer of depth. I no longer get the amber as such, but I wonder if it and the white musk help amp the blood orange and tangerine, which are very much the shining stars on my skin. 

 

If this were an atmosphere spray, I would absolutely buy a bottle. As it is, I find that very citrus-forward scents fade in their citrusiness as they age... which might mean I hold off on this as a long term (bottle) investment. It's utterly lovely right now, though! 

 

Edit: The following morning, the white musk and amber -- airy but not necessarily snow like -- are more pronounced, with a bit of orange and pine floating off of them. This version is also fresh and delightful, though I would possibly still enjoy it more as an atmosphere spray than as a perfume oil. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by torischroeder9

[zankoku_zen]

Citrus and clove bursting through piney snow musk. Like morning sun dying on snow. Good throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

CItrus!  So much citrus!  Blood orange and sweeter tangerine dominate the opening.  I never got clove from this one.  Or myrrh, that I could tell, which is a shame because I wanted to know what red myrrh smells like.  Just lots of citrus on a backdrop of snowy evergreens, with amber coming out in the later drydown.  This didn't last particularly long on me.  It's very pleasant while it lasts, though.  

[a_bear]

Starts off with lots of citrus and a little bit of spice from the clove and cedar. Sadly the white musk comes on really strong and pulls the scent into soapy/perfumey territory. I think the myrrh may have something to do with that as well? I really want to love this one, but the white musk is too much for me.

Edited January 5, 2022 by a_bear

[Threemoons]

Wore this for the first time since getting it last year.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Starts with a strong citrus/leaves note but eventually dries down to a sort of woody soft skin musk/amber.