Nuclear Winter

[ktesedale]

Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints.

I expected this one to be mintier - it's too bad it wasn't, but I still loved it. And I agree with others - this is what I expected Numb to smell like.

In the bottle, it smells almost bitter.

Wet, it smells just like heavy, wet snow. No mint yet.

Dry, a bit of something like grass (to my mind it smelled like underbrush in the forest) comes out, as does the mint. The snow turns more aquatic, to something like slush.

Overall, this smells clean, but in an earthy/wintery way, not a washed way. I really liked it - but it only lasted about two hours on me. The mint faded first, and only lasted about one hour. Still, it smells good enough I don't mind reapplying.

[Fefferbella]

This smells justl ike toothpaste on my skin...

 

 

I really like it, and plan to keep an imp around for clearing my sinuses when I have allergies....

 

And I agree with others - this is what I expected Numb to smell like.

 

Ditto!

 

This was really pretty, I didn't expest to like it. It was a frimp from a forum trade.

 

Sweet, almost buttery mint, lasted all day! Wow!

[GemmaCat]

In the bottle: yah for mint! Minty-minty-mint! *licks lips*

 

On my skin, wet: still that lovely minty smell and the chill of eucalyptus. Actually, this is helping to clear my sinuses. . . ^^;

 

On the drydown this becomes the coldest, frostiest spearmint with a surprisingly gentle, even creamy, undertone. It's not so much annihilation as it is the very first flower struggling to push itself above the surface of the snow. This is like Shattered's less emotional twin. I'm a big fan but not quite enough to hunt down a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Thanks to the lovely ljuser kamyra for the imp.

 

I've been looking forward to a minty extravaganza

 

In the imp: Smells minty sweet

 

On Skin: WATERMELON?!?!?! Yes ladies and gents, upon contact with my skin, this smells just like a watermelon.

 

I had this problem with Snow White. No snowy goodness for me. Instead, pina colada on the beach sort of smell.

On Drydown: Very crisp, slightly minty watermelon. There is something almost floral peeking out. There is still that note of sweetness.

 

Three hours later: Light floral. Slightly sugary.

Verdict: So much for minty and chilly annihilation! This is still very chilly and cool, but in a 'ooh! ripe watermelon on a scorching hot day!' sort of refreshing. It's a good thing this is summer because it's a very summery scent. I have to say I do like it... but not because it's a winter scent.

 

Rats. Damn wonky skin chemistry!

 

 

ETA: I swapped for another imp, in my desperate search for something more like IQ. This does share some commonalities with it --- and I think its because it has peppermint. I think NW has more than IQ does. It's also missing the berries --- not to say that it doesn't have a fruity kinda tone to it. But it is more pepperminty and sweeter than IQ.

Edited February 7, 2008 by zankoku_zen

[telesilla]

In bottle and wet: Cold minty, but it's a green mint and not the sweet mint of Lick It.

 

Drying down -- Still minty, but it's got that odd band-aidy smell that Hemlock had for me. Nancy thinks there's anise in it but I'm not so sure.

 

15 minutes later -- I think this is the green note that's in Cthuhlu, because this smells like minty Badades. It's a cold smell but not the barren desolate cold of nuclear devastation; it's too green for that. This is more like when you have a cold rainy snap early in spring.

 

Later: It doesn't really morph much. It's a keeper; this is gonna be really nice in the summer when the temperatures get up into the 100s.

[empi girl]

Cold, aquatic, hint of wintergreen (not as minty as I'd hoped it'd be on me), and the scent of mossy/green sea plants. More masculine than feminine. Sort of cologne-y on me. I thought it was interesting, definitly captures the idea, but not a scent for me. I am discovering I like them warmer and a little sweeter, so this is off to swaps.

[pickman's model]

Ahh, this was one I was squeeing over for a long time. I was looking for something different form my usual heavy, sweet, spicy-incense stuff. I had to try it.

 

In the bottle: Lemony-mint. With ozone. I also get a bit of something floral, but not the usual florals which fill me with sadness and send me to the sink to wash. These are the lightest, palest florals ever. But more prominently, minty-lemon ozone.

 

Wet: Mint, with the lemon abating and the ozone and florals dominating. Not like anything else I have. It smells liek cold, that's for sure.

 

Dry: The florals have settled into the background, the mint is gone, and the lemon is a vague glow. The ozone and cold have taken over. I adore this. I live in Canada, and it smells like walking on a very, very cold day. The kind where your eyes water in the wind.

 

The scent reminds me of the Lovecraft story The Colour Out of Space, where after the Colour has taken over, everything's eerie, glowing and the plants are gorwing lushly, but twisted, strange.

I love it It, along with Emblaming Fluid shall be my constant summer scents.

[malanna]

This starts out smelling very fizzy, vaguely like Sprite, because of all the carbonation. The mint comes out half an hour later, but it still smells like Sprite. An hour later, it smells a bit like the first stage of The Dormouse, when it's all acridic herbs and astringent smelling. Another hour later, it calms down, and smells cool. It doesn't make me think mint so much as menthol and the cool feeling your tongue gets when you're chewing on icy gum--the stage immediately after the initial "gah, my tongue is overwhelmed by the coolness of the gum" stage. Nuclear Winter pretty much smells the same after that, except, of couse, getting lighter as it dries.

[Meganaut]

I got a bottle of this recently off Ebay, so here's my first review.

 

In the bottle:

There's definetly a sense of coldness to this, but I don't get an immediate scent of mint like I do with Ultraviolet. Instead, it had a cool, cologney smell. It's green and nearly floral, but in a very light way. It's strong in the bottle.

 

Wet:

Smells cooler and greener now. The scent fades and mellows a bit, more of the green scent coming out. There's a slight juniper and eucalpytus smell, but the topnote, which I can olny describe as white floral, is fading into the background.

 

Drydown:

After a while, a smoky scent starts to emerge. It reminded me of the scent of menthol cigarettes and thyme that my ex-roommate used to trail around.

 

Verdict:

After my second day wearing it, this scent grows on me. It has an intimation of coldness, with the sharp scent of artifice that would make it perfect for touring a bomb crater. I wish the mint were stronger though. That's probably just me, as the mint in Ultraviolet fades pretty quickly after I apply that also.

 

-Karen

[Babylon]

This starts off as a chilly green winter mint (definitely not a foody or sugary sweet mint) on top of slushy snow. Beautiful! After awhile, the mint fades away, and the scent becomes... well... It's hard to describe the scent. It's just a really chilled, barren and desolate, never-ending cold nothingness scent. It's the perfect capture of a nuclear winter. You can almost see ruins, covered in snow, with a constant wind howling, no signs of life... that utter stillness.

 

I love the imagery, and I love Nuclear Winter. It's turned out to be one of my favorite scents.

[jakey]

I got this in a swap and for some reason neglected it until this morning.

 

Why did I wait so long?? I love mint, and this is one of the best. Beth's Yule scents seem made for me.

 

It fades pretty quickly, unfortunately. I'll have to whip up some sort of scented lotion so I can layer it, and then keep it in the scent locket also.

 

Mah-vellous.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Pine, buttermint and a tingly, slushy snow scent.

 

Wet: Pine and mint, there's a definite forest scent.

 

Drydown: The forest scent is very obvious, it smells of wet pine needles, wet leaves and vaguely of ice. The mint's gone into the background, but it leaves a coolness that gives the impression of being in a snowy forest.

 

Overall: A slightly buttery and tingly mint over a strong pine forest scent, with a hint of ice. It smells cold and clean, and pretty masculine. I don't think I would wear it, but it fits its description perfectly and smells very pleasant. Would be a good head-clearing scent.

[sideviewhotel]

Finally testing this out. In April, yes. I'm anxious to make a little bit of space in my imp box, so that means I have to get to testing all the decants and such I got around the winter holidays. Well, they were a bit late in getting to me, so yeah. :x

 

This is just.. Mmm. It's minty, but.. aquatic. Which makes for minty snow, obviously. It's actually cooling on my skin. Not exactly a spring scent, but probably one I'll keep around for summer when I want to chill out.

 

As it dries it gets a little masculine. Like, cologne-esque.

 

ACK! No! It's getting more and more masculine. Like shaving cream. Boo. Hopefully that changes, if not, it'll probably get put up for swaps. Which is a bummer, as it's so wonderfully cooling and minty when wet.

[lizardling]

Review:

The mint is the first thing I smell in the bottle, but it's not toothachingly sweet like a peppermint cane or a scrunch of fresh mint leaves. Maybe it's not mint mint, but it's a cousin. It's grounded by something else. I keep getting my breath taken away when I sniff it. Like... uh. There's something under the mint, something green. Almost fruity, but not because it's so clean and cold.

 

On me:

 

Wet: Same as above, but that mysterious green is strengthening, becoming a bit sweeter as it dries. Still cold. Mint is fading. My sinuses are freezing even though the thermostat says it's 70+ in here.

 

Throw's not too bad, few inches for a small swipe from the imp. Seems to have pretty good resistance to fading.

 

Dry: Aha. The green's more of a floral now that it's dry. More of a very pale white floral. The mintlike part is now pretty far into the background. Absolutely none of the resins, ambers, spiciness, or woodiness that I gravitate toward usually. Pretty far out of my usual scent profile, but not a bad scent. And my sinuses are still frozen.

 

Conclusion:

This is one heck of a nuclear winter in a bottle. I might try it in the summertime, if that, but I'm not totally attached to it as something that I'd wear. Great experiment, though!

[storme]

In the bottle: Whoa, mint. Mint and mint and pine. There's a faint sweetness to this, like a chewing-gum mint.

 

On me, wet: Mint and pine and ozone and citrus. It's a very blinding bright white-green sort of scent, and sort of sinus-clearing.

 

On me, dry: watermelonish minty airy light cucumbery snow. Man. The mint fades down a long way, and this becomes very breezy and bright and watery and not as sweet as I feared.

 

Verdict: From the scent in the bottle, I wasn't expecting this to be such a big hit with me. It'll be great as a cooling summer scent. Hooray for getting a whole 5ml of this unsniffed!

[Alchemy21599]

I received this decant as part of a swap.

 

In the vial: minty, but not chewing gum mint. More subtle and there is a sweetness that I can't identify.

 

Wet: Wow. This is very complex, not just straight mintiness.

 

Dry: This is a really lovely blend! There is a sweetness and green note in the background rounds off the mints. I have done the unthinkable and fallen in love with a discontinued LE!

[nancybridget]

Citrus mint blend. Very yummy.

 

This is making me crave a candy cane and it's April Showers time.

 

Refreshing and uplifting.

[Elrianra]

In the bottle: Citrus and mints, tart and sharp. surprisingly like toothpaste but not unpleasant.

 

On me wet: Soapy, but like a handmade soap with lots of fresh herbs in it. I'm getting mint and I think maybe rosemary - very pungent and witty.

 

On me drying: Mint. Wintermint and a touch of spearmint. Very cool and crisp, winter-ish but not snow-like. Just icy cold and empty of sympathy.

 

On me dry: Sharp, peppermint definitely coming up. Tangy and it smarts the nose, as though reproving me for sniffing too deeply. Still a slight bit soapy, but not at all unpleasant. A clean, cool and refreshing scent; just a tad foreboding.

 

Final conclusion:

1 Hour Later - A soft breath of mint is left, but it's otherwise completely faded away.

 

Finale:

This one has a bit more throw than some of the others - only to be expected from a mint oil, but it's not too much or too powerful. The only true downside to this one for me is that it's so short lived, barely an hour and it's gone. Ah well, it's still a lovely scent.

[cameroncrazed]

In the imp: wintermint

 

Wet on skin: MINT! And more mint! I think the top notes are wintermint and spearmint. Can't detect any peppermint.

 

Dry on skin: Settles into a more aquatic mint. Like someone's made a mint-flavored/scented snow cream and let it melt. Springs of mint floating in pools of what used to be snow and ice. Something vaguely herbal underneath all the wonderful mintalicious aquatics.

 

Overall: 10/10. I feel 20 degrees cooler wearing this, will be great for those scorching Southern summer days where I don't want to do anything except for lounge in the AC (or any day I want to regain my high school title of Ice Princess). Wish it had a bit more throw, but still really nice. Honestly, once dry, not nearly as minty as I thought it would be. I can see this being nice on anyone, definitely falls in the unisex category for me. Wish I'd been around to order a bottle when they were available.

[gwyllgi]

I'm not usually a fan of mint, so this was quite an impulse bid. (eBay, I love thee. Especially when I come in too late to catch interesting things elsewhere.) It's definitely mint, with a hint of toothpaste but not chewing gum, but... wait... the toothpaste edge is melting away and it smells like fresh spearmint leaves, cracked and oozing minty goodness. It's got a hint of greenery under the mint (whether entirely in my nose or not) which makes it more herb than food.

 

For a Yule scent, this is a remarkably perfect summer scent. It's 90 degrees and humid at the moment, but every time I sniff this the temperature drops and I feel just a little bit less grossly overheated. (Hey, I'm a Northerner. Anything over 80 - anything over 70 - is too hot.)

 

It stays such a lovely, herby mint on me that I'm terribly glad I let myself be ruled by my impulse, as I never would have tried this if left to my usual logic.

[absinthetics]

In the imp: It smells minty, but not overlpoweringly so... I like it. I like winter scents but hate the stereotypical 'mint' that always gets thrown in there... this mint is bareable, ...

 

On Skin: The best part about nuclear winter for me, is that on the skin, the mint dries down to just a simple ...harshness... this is 'as minty as winter should ever be' in my opinion. Nuclear winter is winter... I like it a lot, though there's this weird sort of sweetness that runs in the back ground... it's deep though, lurking... It's hard to catch.

 

 

 

Verdict: Chilly annihilation. I think she hit it. Though... the sweet strangeness makes this wasteland not so wasted. Though maybe if you think about it, it could have been the illusion of what was once there, lurking like a ghost in the vapid, frigid wasteland. I would buy a bottle of this. And I have never, ever said that about a minty scent before.

[edenssixthday]

Nuclear Winter - My first impression is that this is a cold, dry mint. It's not a sweet mint in the least (it's nothing like Lick It, for example). This scent is what I expected Numb to be (although I'm glad it's not since I like Numb!) As the oil dries on my skin, I also notice some type of tree scent. It's hard to distinguish the type, but I think it may be white birch. The longer I wear this oil, the less and less it smells like mint and the more dry and stark it becomes. Two hours later, the mint is entirely gone, and it's very stark, with a hint of woods, but I also notice something that's just a touch sweet -- or maybe "sweet" isn't the right word, perhaps "fresh" is more appropriate. This is a wonderfully strange scent, but certainly not typical of any of the scents I would normally wear for fragrance purposes. I will most likely pass this one on.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Absolutely frigid. Bone-cold and blindingly white. This is the mint at the end of the world. (And therefore quite possibly the after-dinner mints they serve at Milliways.)

 

Wearing: So. very. cold. Perfect for late-June weather.

[elfmaiden]

In the imp: Minty cold with a hint of sweetness.

 

On my skin: This really does not stay minty on my skin in a good way. After a few seconds it kinda started to smell like "Double-Mint".

 

Dry: All the mint has vanished and I'm left with something really surprisingly sweet and wierd.

 

I was alittle disappointed, but I know it's not the oil's fault as it smelled perfect in the IMP! My skin tend to makes alot of things smell REALLY sweet and this was the first Minty one I tried. I love mint too. *Sigh* Oh well!

 

Jenn

[gaai]

In the bottle it was all nice and chilly, green mint......

 

On my skin the mint goes away far too quickly and it turns into some kind of perfumey smell which I'm not sure I like all that much.....

 

It still smells chilly though....like snow with some fresh grass underneath it, trying to come up.....but then there's that perfume smell.....

 

I'll have to test it a couple of times more....when it's not so hot maybe and I'm in a different hormonal fase......

I really had high hopes for this one and I love the label (I'm a sucker for the pretty) so I don't want to put it up for adoption.....but I will if it refuses to work on me.

 

eta: Okay, I guess it was indeed some kind of hormonal fluke......Because I've tried it a couple of times more and it stayed wonderfully minty and fresh an chilly and no sign of that dreadful perfumey smell....

So I will keep this for sure!

Edited July 29, 2006 by gaai