The Snow-Woman

[Seajewel]

Japanese black pine needles and sake in a rapidly melting snowdrift. 

[doomsday_disco]

This one starts off heavy on the sake and pine, but the sake actually ends up becoming the dominant note. It's very bright and has a lemony aspect to it with a boozy edge. Underneath, there's a slight Ricola herbal cough drop vibe that I think is the snow note mingling with the pine. That might scare some folks off, but it's actually more comforting than medicinal! But that vibe isn't long lasting, and the pine ends up retreating after some time. It leaves behind the bright sake and some melting snow. It's not like a lot of the other snow notes the Lab has used as of late and is more like a watery musk with a touch of soft mint... which makes sense for a melting Snow Woman.

 

I really enjoyed the wet phase of this when it was sake and pine dominant, but I wish the pine had stuck around longer! I'm going to let this bottle rest for a few weeks and come back to it, but I may have to scent locket it to capture that initial burst of sake and pine... because that combo is super uplifting every time I sniff it.  

[Rane.]

Ah yes, just as listed, I smell it all. Fresh pine needles, not too strong yet boozy sake, & that interesting melting snow note. How do they do it? I guess we'll never know. 😜 Smells the same wet, & dry. Dominate pine blending well with sake, & wet ("minty" I guess?) snow. This will be a summer favorite!

Edited March 29, 2022 by Rane.

[scentedbythesun]

This smells like straight up gingerale to me mostly, which was a happy surprise because I love fizzy scents. It dries to more sake-like and snow. I never get pine which is a good thing by me. Even though it smells like soda, it's still very adult and upscale smelling. I love this one and I'm glad I blind bottled it. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by scentedbythesun

[Casablanca]

Dark pine is the strongest note in Snow Woman on my skin, but the sake follows it closely, and then an ice note completes the trio.

 

The sake note reads as kind of thin, sharp, and tin-like to me. The ice is, similarly, thin and sharp to my nose...

 

This sounded good to me from the description, but the pine is really the only part of this fragrance where I feel at home, unfortunately.

[Soupy Twist]

Menthol and snow in the bottle. Goes on as a particularly sour, medicinal menthol. The menthol burn eventually calms down as it dries, but it’s still a sour kind of snow.

[Follow My Nose]

I was hoping for a cousin to Skadi and was not disappointed!

 

On my skin, this starts out with strong pine, the needles and the wood, but calms down as it dries. My favorite chilly snow note comes out to balance the pine and the whole scent is rounded out by the sake note, which I am less familiar with. There's some booze in there, but not too sweet, and maybe a faint hint of rice in the background? That could be the power of suggestion, I'm not sure my nose is good enough to actually pick the rice smell out of the sake. Once the pine calms down, The Snow-Woman stays true and the notes all balance each other well.

 

There's a lovely freshness to this that makes it different from Skadi but still in the same wheelhouse. Definite bottle buy for me!

[roseus]

Really gorgeous snowy pine straight on. It gets a bit less chilly as it wears. It's hard to pick out the sake but I think it's giving a mellow sweetness to the blend. 

[zipegs]

This actually reminds me a lot of Stainless Steel Dildo! I"m not getting too much pine, actually. It's a cool, fresh wet-snow scent that's kind of gingery and bubbly (much like Stainless Steel Dildo or Spurious Cooter Bees without the punch of Honey). It does fade pretty quickly on my skin but I'm enjoying it enough that I'm eyeing a full-bottle purchase!

[zankoku_zen]

Snow and piney oil. Yep, this smells like cool snow and pine. Japanese steampunk. Medium throw and wear length.

[DizzyGinger]

Pine is the showiest note here, with a menthol backbone that I'm assuming is the snow; the two together have kind of a eucalyptus vibe that I'm into. As it wears I get more of the sake, which reads to me as more of a thin, slightly boozy lemon thing. I was concerned the lab's snow note would come across more like a sweet mint like it has in the past, but it isn't particularly - I'm mostly getting eucalyptus piney goodness. It might read medicinal to some if it isn't your jam, but it definitely is mine so I'm on board. My only critiques would be the pine isn't as prominent throughout the wear, and it fades incredibly quickly (as in, less than an hour I'm ready to reapply). I'll keep slathering it on though! I love that it says winter without being mulling spiced or gourmand.