thekittenkat

This is for the 2011 version.

In the decant: A lovely red rose.

Wet: Haughty indeed--she's going to powder on me, oh noes.

The dry-down: Rather disappointing, this. The Queen doesn't like me, but that's no surprise. I give her a chance every year. This year she's sour rose powder. There's some kind of amber in here, I'm betting. Scent locket to the rescue!

This is for the 2011 verison.

In the bottle: Juniper berries in the snow under some hemlocks.

Wet: Hemlock is a bit strong now.

The dry-down: It takes about an hour for the hemlock to calm down, and allow the berries to come back, with their slight sweetness. However, reading over my review for last year's version, I think that I prefer it to this one. Took a chance on a partial (the label art is rather neat) and will let it age.

In the decant: Honey, not too sweet, and linden blossom.

Wet: There's that pesky orange zest.

The dry-down: The orange starts to fade, but there's the ambers going all powdery on me. Yet another scent locket scent.

In the decant: Carnation, green tea, and blue musk.

Wet: Orange zest is orange zest.

The dry-down: The orange zest is calming, allowing the tea, musk, and carnation to re-appear.

Later: The lily of the valley (which often turns into a sharp, brown note on me) has made, alas, its presence known. It's not too sharp, but is bringing that brown note (like a feral musk, but not like civet) to the party. I will have to use this in the scent locket, as I like the scent of the decant.

In the decant: Clove, vetiver, and sandalwood, with a hint of the moss.

Wet: Mostly vetiver, and a touch of the bubblegum sweet note from the lotus. Not pleasant.

The dry-down: Mostly vetiver from beginning to end. It even takes out the evil bubblegum note from the lotus root, a first for me. If you like vetiver-heavy blends (Yule Cat comes to mind), this is worth a try, esp. if you want something like SN vetiver.

In the decant: So very well-blended that it's difficult to pick out any one note.

Wet: And the vetiver bamfs in!

The dry-down: After a while, the vetiver softens, thank goodness! And the scent goes back to that well-blended feeling that I had when sniffing the cap wand of the vial. If anything, the plum and poppy sweeten the moss and vetiver to a point where it's almost a sweet herbal scent.

In the decant: Poppy and musk, and a bit of clove.

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but with more poppy and less clove.

The dry-down: This is an elegant scent, mostly the musk and the poppy. Luckily the orris root never came into play, and the clove adds some spiciness, but doesn't amp. I am surprised by this blend, as I expected it to be deeper and darker.

In the decant: Rose and carnation tempered by skin musk and linen.

Wet: Carnation is amping.

The dry-down: Mostly carnation, softened by the musk and the rose. I only got a decant because of worries about the amber and mums, but not picking up those notes. If you like any of the carnation blends from the Lab, you should try this lovely and gentle skin scent.

In the bottle: Mostly frankincense, but also a touch of oude and hyssop.

Wet: Some of the rose is coming forward to add a hint of sweetness, but so far this blend is mostly the other three notes.

The dry-down: Now it is rose-scented incense, a bit like all those other church incense blends that that Beth does so well, but not too overwhelmingly incense in tone. The rose note blooms but doesn't seem to amp, so I would say that all four notes combine in a pleasing fashion and keep each other in check. If you have any issues with any of the four notes, this may be one scent that could work for you, since no one note predominates as it is drying. I scored a partial of this, and may look for more.

This is for the 2011 version.

In the bottle: The lovely icy snow note and a whiff of coconut vanilla drink.

Wet: The ozone is very present.

The dry-down: This year's version is mostly ozone and some sweetness from the flowers. The coconut/vanilla note went poof! the moment it hit my skin. This will need some aging.

ETA: After an hour or so, the lovely cold coconut scent that I am used to in early versions of Snow White started drifting up from my wrists, I am happy to report.

In the decant: Lots of lavender.

Wet: And now the sharp green of the violet leaf comes on stage.

The dry-down: What a morpher! I ended up with saffron and gunpowder tea, a bit spicy. Interesting, but don't need any more than my decant.

In the decant: Something cool and floral.

Wet: A sharp note is appearing, probably from the iris.

The dry-down: The sharp note of the iris has calmed down, and that cool note, which is probably the indigo musk, has returned. I would like to try this musk again, but not with florals that I don't like: orris and iris.

This is for the 2011 version.

In the decant: Lots of flowers!

Wet: The flowers are somewhat sweeter than before, and there's hints of the lovely sage.

The dry-down: Pleasant florals, but nothing special. And really, that's a surprise, because of the mum, the tuberose, and lily, all of which can turn sharp on me. Was expecting this to be a hot mess, but it's okay, probably because the purple sage roped and tied the flowers.

This is for the 2011 version.

In the decant: It's the winter flowers--white and bright.

Wet: There's a hint of plums, but those sharp florals dominate.

The dry-down: The sugared plums are coming more to the foreground, but those winter flowers are still making this blend sharper and brighter than I would prefer. Some aging will certainly soften the florals.

In the decant: The white musk with touches of the mints.

Wet: Spearmint rushes to the top.

The dry-down: Both mints are now in competition. Not a cold scent, so to speak.

In the bottle: Cool air and something faintly sweet.

Wet: Fir needle has arrived!

The dry-down: The champaca flower and white musk have combined with the cool ozone note to give the sense of a pleasant late winter/early spring evening here in the Deep South. There's still a chill in the air at night, but some flowers have started to bloom, adding their sweetness to the air. Very elegant.

In the decant: Eucalyptus, backed by blue musk.

Wet: Blue musk is the most obvious note now, but the eucalyptus is still in there, batting.

The dry-down: A hint of the ice/snow note from the frosty iris, but luckily not much iris (note of doom). Basically, the musk and eucalyptus have combined into something that one might indeed think of as evoking the spirit of that cold hour before sunrise in the winter-time.

ETA: this is for the 2011 version.

In the decant: Yuppers, that's egg nog.

Wet: Egg nog with lots of brandy and rum.

The dry-down: Egg nog all the way. If this was the real thing, my family would love to drink it. As it is, I'll just wear it.

In the decant: More spearmint than peppermint.

Wet: Wow, holy mint, Batman!

The dry-down: The mint calms down, somewhat, but taking a big whiff of this will clear things out. The vanilla and the sugar are present and probably tempering the mint. Very intense!

In the decant: Light citrus and saffron.

Wet: And, as expected, the citrus notes are going sharp.

The dry-down: Mostly icky citrus, although I knew that when I came aboard. I just had to test a scent with pom and mimosa, two of my fav scent notes. Oh well.

In the decant: Red musk (the blood) tempered by stone and wood.

Wet: The metal note has risen to the top.

The dry-down: And there it stayed. There's hints of all the other notes, but this metal note domination is why I tried only a decant. Also, I'm not a big fan of red musk, but wanted to try the Workshop for the wood, stone, and ozone notes. Not for me, alas. Smelling like a workshop did sound rather interesting.

In the decant: Eucalyptus, some mint, and certainly the ozone.

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but with a faint sweetness coming forward.

The dry-down: This became a skin scent, and is slowly fading. I like it because the white amber didn't get too powdery, yet at the same time I don't like it, because I suspect that the amber has reined in the scent too much. Yet another scent that reminded me of Moon of Ice in the wet stage. I'll put this in the scent locket in the future.

In the decant:Pepper, ginger and tobacco. Afraid if I sniffed too much, my poor nose would not be extinguishable!

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but the myrrhs are trying to tame it with some sweetness.

The dry-down: Mostly, just a sweet pepper scent, if that is not a contradiction in terms.

In the decant: Rosehips backed by ginseng.

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but with a hint of chamomile.

The dry-down: Everything has combined into a well-blended scent, but the rosehips are still the most obvious note. It's rather more herbal now, but the ginseng gives a hit of spiciness, and the fig, not a very loud note, is more present in the fruity sweetness that's mostly the rosehips. Very nice! A possible order and back-up.

In the bottle: Fruits and florals, with some sweetness.

Wet: The pear comes forward.

The dry-down: There's not really a note here that I don't like. The rose musk is a very beautiful musk, and seems to become the major note in the drying process. But all the other notes are there, if only so well-blended that it's a bit difficult to ID them one at a time. Red currant can amp on me, but is behaving itself so far. The bf really likes this, so a back-up bottle is on my list.