Snow Moon

[Macha]

In December, the skeletal, ice-rimmed fingers of winter take hold, and the nights are long, chill and dark. The first flurries of snow touch the land, and the earth itself becomes quiet. A scent of purity and silence, soft with falling snow, as dark as Midwinter: an icy flurry over the winter blooms of narcissus, pansy crocus, dahlia, tulip, chrysanthemum and white rose, with a hint of fir and birch.

So I opened this bottle up and thought, "Ice Queen?" Boy, it sure does seem to be a perfect dupe in the bottle ”” so much so that I initially was unsure. I mean, Beth's come out with a few fragrances this year of the "chilly" and "icy" variety, and I was reasonably confident that my frosty needs had been more than adequately fulfilled by Talvikuu, Snow Bunny and well...Ice Queen.

I apply some of the oil, and sure enough: Ice Queen. It's that same frozen scent, closer than anything else I've tried this season.

This stage lasts for about five seconds on me, and then ”” as if the Ice Queen herself was drawing back a fluffy white curtain to reveal the true scent of Snow Moon ”” the perfume changes utterly. I was actually smelling my wrist as the scent changed and turned from glacial ice to the blooming of winter flowers and the smell of trees still covered in snow. The smell of birch, that woodsy, rich bark smell, and the various flowers creates this incredible aroma ”” not a pine forest in winter, but a deciduous forest ”” dark, chill but so vibrantly alive. It's very clean, woodsy, not at all "piney." This seems more a winter cousin of Dublin or Whippoorwill than Talvikuu. It's calm, serene, and stunningly beautiful.

I am SO glad I have two bottles of this! I was worried it would be redundant, but in fact, this is completely unique and compelling, and nothing like the other winter scents released this Yule. I am completely in love with this.

[thefaeriegirl]

Macha's review was perfect, so I have little to add.

 

I'm amazed as how this scent morphs. It does go comepletly pine on me in the end to where I just end up smelling like cold pine trees.

[blood*rose*flowers]

Tried at Will Call-

 

This scent starts a little stronger sweet on me but goes to a blend of green and sweet. The thought that kept running through my head was that this one is a green Midwinter's Eve. Its cold and clean with the green as Macha said not piney in any way but a much cleaner green scent.

[wickedgoddess]

I've never tested Ice Queen so I can't compare this to that, but wet this smells cold, with a bit of eucalyptus, and some soft berries.

 

Dry - as it dries, it becomes woody. Not pine, possibly birch? It's a soft wood scent, barely there. This is very pretty and I like it, but I doubt I would wear it, as I am just not much of a cold scent person. It's absolutely lovely though.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[fallow deer]

Snow Moon starts off very evergreen, and I was slightly put off since I seem to have a lot of piney scents already, and I tend to only use them for the bath or room. However, as others have said, once the piney top note burns off, the flowers shimmer through, and they are delicate and bright. Snow Moon is the winter couterpart to Flower Moon. The floral notes are similar, but icier and not nearly so blatant. It's pretty after the sharp pine note burns off and the label is lovely also.

[wichapi]

Sitting here with my bottles of Ice Queen, Yuletide, Skaadi, Mistletoe, and Snow Moon... Plus my container of French Roast coffee beans (to clear my nose between sniffs.)

 

In the bottle: most similar to Skaadi (not getting Ice Queen or Talvikuu at all, with Yuletide being far more spicy on the cinnamon and clove side.) Down deep, Snow Moon has a bit more... mint? Eucalyptus?

 

On wet: (back of wrist) pine laden and very sweet; maybe a touch of Mistletoe... Bayberry? There also seems to be a midnight rose which is more prominent in the atmosphere than on the skin.

 

Dry-down: good staying power... a bit of spice comes up on skin... Carnation?

 

Love it.

[Dianella]

What a gorgeous blend! On first sniff I get nothing but snowy pine/birch notes which really worried me - I'm not a big fan of those notes. After about 20-30 those notes have receded into the background and I'm getting a beautiful floral scent with a base of snowy branches - like a small patch of flowers in snowy woods. There's a hint of berry that wafts in and out as I sniff. Truly, this is a lovely scent.

[astrobabe]

Starts off in the bottle very cold- ie Cold Moon or Frost Moon. Must be some eucalyptus or mint.

 

Drydown- ooh piney- but good pine-y. Not like Lysol and crap but more like when you hug a tree and find that you've got pine sap on you that has warmed up a bit.

 

 

Dry- combination of pine and cedar. Just what you want to snuggle up with on a cold winter day.

[Freya]

Between Snow Moon and Snow Bunny, I've decided that I must own every "snow" scent I find. This smells crisp and green. It's floral and slightly sweet, as well. If I had to pin-point the overall essence, I'd say it's cold winter flowers covered with pine sap.

 

Also, the bottle image is SO pretty. I would love to send out holiday cards with this design on it!

[brownbear]

I love Macha's artwork on this one. My favorite so far.

At first sniff I thougt eucalyptus, but that changed into birch with a bit of the pine. Once it dried it went more floral. It definitely smells cold the entire time. I probably wouldn't have ordered this because of all the florals and I'm not usually a cold scent type of person, but my birthday is this month. And to my delight I like it very much. It does get floral after a bit, but it stays cold. Overall it is beautiful.

[Scarlettfish]

I thought I wouldn't like this after hearing about how piney it is, but I do, surprisingly enough. I am getting a little bit of pine, with flowers underneath. I can definitely see where others are getting the touch of eucalyptus, but it is not so much as to be overwhelming - it is merely a hint of it. It's definitely a cold scent, but it has a bit of sweetness which makes me suspect there is something berry in it. In fact, I'm almost positive that there is a berry note in this...it comes out stronger the longer I have it on.

[oakmoss]

Of all the Yule and wintry blends I have, I've been hoarding a precious imp of Skadi, doling it out drop by drop, as it feels the most like this season to me, at some deep heart place. Well, I can stop hoarding (pretty much) because Snow Moon has that same essence -- gentle cold green forest, not overly sharp or metallic... quiet, dreamy, mysterious. It reminds me of Loreena McKennitt's Yule albums, specifically a song called "Snow":

 

In wood and water, earth and air,

A silence everywhere...

[puck_nc]

I bought it from the Lab for the gorgeous description. I love florals, I love the smell of ice and snow. Surely a winner!

 

In the Bottle: a blast of chill and snow, with strong evergreen and faint florals. Promising.

 

Wet: PINE! EVERGREEN! I feel like I'm sitting on a branch of my Christmas tree. My husband remarks that I smell like Pine-sol, though I don't get that.

 

Drydown: This one is taking forever to morph even a little. While I wait, I regret that this isn't the scent in-bottle...it would make a wonderful room scent at this stage. Eventually some 30 minutes later, florals start peeking out but it never loses the cold, chilly scent of the trees.

 

Verdict: I think I'm going to hold onto this one and try again in a week or so. I'm not ready to give up on it.

[desu]

In the bottle: Chilly evergreens are quite prominent with a slight hint of sweet florals rustling in the background.

 

On my skin: Sweet evergreen everywhere.

 

Dry: Still the same sweet evergreen. The woods are keeping the florals in check which I really like since florals are generally of an ethereal nature on me. I am especially happy the rose note did not turn to soap on me like they usually do!

 

Later on: The evergreen boughs part to allow the florals to slip through, I think the narcissus and rose?

 

I really like this one. I'm not much of a "cold" scent person, mostly preferring luxuriant sun-soaked scents, but this... this is something I can see myself wearing often this winter.

[aedes]

 

Home run for the lab with this one. I've tried nearly all this year's "snowy" scents, but none of them had really struck a chord with me. That is, until Snow Moon. This is so beautiful. Very well blended, I get warm, slightly sweet florals (*sniff* is that hibiscus?) and woods under a chilly, ozone-like top note. Like a warm, beating pulse under the snow. I think I should have bought more than one bottle...

[Lucretia]

alot like skadi in the sweetness of this blend. Winter snow, and berries (which I guess is one of the florals) at first. I like it here, but soon it becomes way too sweet for me. Some sort of bizarre snow candy!

 

The final, several hours later, dry down is very nice. The smell you get when you open the window on a snowy night. But I'm not sure about the sweetness earlier. This may or may not work out for me.

[jessamynit]

I agree that it's a lot like skadi. I get berries, eucalyptus, pine, maybe some mint (or maybe that's just my instinct because it's "cold"), also maybe some grapefruit? it's not but I don't think it's me. I do like it better than skadi, however (which was too spicey-sweet for me).

 

edited to add: that's strange that other people are getting ice queen! i.q. is one of my favorite scents and I don't get it at all. funny how different noses can be.

Edited December 25, 2005 by jessamynit

[cantabile]

Okay, I had to get Snow Moon to commemorate my first winter living in Illinois, after growing up in a part of California where snow was a freak occurrence.

 

I'm so glad I did.

 

in bottle: I definitely smell the "snow" note, icy and pretty. Strong evergreens, with sweet flowers backing them up, and a kick of mint at the end.

 

just applied: Definitely evergreens, pine in particular, laden with snow and ice.

 

drying down: Oh man, those floral notes are so lovely... and hey, wait, do I smell fruit?

 

dry: A perfect, idealized winter forest on my wrist! Makes me want to go wander around outside and breathe in the cold air. Maybe it's a weird comparison, but I'd say I think of this as Hexennacht's icier, purer sister, actually. It's sweet, but not a pushover scent by any means; it means business.

 

verdict: Arrived just in time for Christmas, and I'll be wearing it the whole day, and all winter, in fact. Maybe I should've gotten two bottles...

 

also: pretty label. Macha, you did that? I like.

[joseybird]

First of all--LOVE the label! Prolly my fave BPAL label so far, besides Mi-Go

 

Pine, eucalyptus, and sugary candies--that pretty much sums up Snow Moon for me! Very, very similar to Snow Bunny, although I think I like this one a wee bit better

[MsBraz]

This is beautiful! I was worried about the florals but they don’t stand out. I can’t wear harsh powdery florals.

 

Snow moon smells like the outside, under some sweet evergreen wintery trees.

[emzebel]

I bought Snow Moon against my better judgement, because I was afraid that the florals would overwhelm it for me, but I was really hoping that it would surprise me.

 

Alas, there is something in it that just does not agree with me - it is clearly a beautiful blend, but it is very sharp on me and the florals are very strong on my skin, like a winter floral bouquet with pine branches. I can see how people would love this blend (and the label is amaxing), but it's just not me.

[lorajc]

When this first goes on, it is a bit strong on me and smells of Beth's icy/slush note. Once it starts drying down, this becomes much nicer on me with the florals coming into play and softening it out. I don't really care for this when first applied, but I love the drydown. It is a soft snowy blend with a touch of florals on me. It is very appropriate for this time of year. It does remind me very much of Ice Queen without the mint and didn't Ice Queen have melon? I can't remember.

[olympia301]

 

A touch of sweet berry under fir, maybe. It's not just a hard old pine smell, it's far richer and more complex. I like it, not as a perfume but as an all around scent to remind you of the best parts of winter, that there is sweetness in the dry ice. Much much nicer than you might expect from anything having a coniferous note.

 

The label is so fitting and so well done, from the font to the image it is great design. Also, thanks for putting the month and year on the lunars. I am not sure that was being done before but it is so nicely reliable now and well presented.

Edited December 26, 2005 by olympia301

[Tramp]

Sweet evergreen branches. This is what I was hoping Talvikuu would smell like. It has the birch and pine forest notes but it is tempered with a sweetness. The floral notes are not jarring - they blend together really well to produce more of a feeling softness rather than individual notes duking it out for supreamacy. This really is lovely and has quite a bit of throw. The sweet florals hover above and around you but if you get in close for a sniff you can really smell the birch in there.

 

Rating (out of 5)

4

[UltraViolet]

Here's the lovely bottle: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y181/lush...owMoonmypic.jpg

In the bottle

Wow this really smells like Ice Queen in the bottle. I smell that watery base but icey cold water...and that fir/pine smell that is so good.

On

It's really twangy with the watery scent and the pine is lovely and gives this some nice throw. It's almost a pine and grapefruity combination of throw.

30 minutes

Long lasting scent, medium strong. The floral is nout more and it smells like a wintery slope with pine trees and flowers. I'm loving that almost minty scent that's coming out in the background now, very fresh.

Throw:

Yes

Scent category:

Green/Aqua

Summary

Initially more pine and aquatic, then as it dries it turns more floral.

Purchase again?

No. Not my thing but the pine and the iceiness and the florals have a wonderful throw and a beautiful dry down. I'm loving that burst of fresh floral that I get a whiff of at the back end of the sniff, it's almost minty herby, it's gotta be the pine or one or two of the florals. That little freshness peaking out is what keeps me smelling this on my wrist.

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

Edited December 27, 2005 by UltraViolet