Snow-Flakes

[Kimbernunk]

The radiance and desolation of winter.

For me, this was a near-sugary very wintergreen blast at first - almost like wintergreen gum. Then it calmed down - the wintergreen-ish note calmed down a bit and something aquatic showed up on top, and the slightest hint of something in the background (for a moment at one point I thought it was skin musk, but I only smelled it once and if it was there, it was faint). Very clear, clean scent, very lovely. Edited December 3, 2009 by Kimbernunk

[Venneh]

Eucalyptus and mint in the decant, and on my skin. Starting to think my skin doesn't like eucalyptus, as this is doing something similar to what Christmas Rose did on me. Yeah, this one isn't for me. Swaps/sales.

Edited December 3, 2009 by Venneh

[Evilynn]

In the bottle: Mint and...dill?? Uh oh. That's usually my broken nose's way of saying Here Be Violet! and violet on my skin tends to smell like things rotting in a river or vomit.

On: Sort of softly minty and there is definitely violet in there, but it's behaving a bit better than normal, maybe violet leaf rather than violet? It's almost a little cucumber-y

15 minutes in it's mostly a sort of aquatic mint on me.

 

I'm not sure if I'm going to keep my bottle, but this might actually be a violet that I can wear (and I *like* the smell of violets, it just hates my skin). It's not at all powdery on me, and I'm testing Snow White at the same time and can't really see that many similarities between them, but I amp almonds and violet, so that might explain it.

[dronzeka]

I get primarily wintergreen or spearmint. Maybe something a little aquatic in the background (almost cucumber-y?). It's quite light, airy, and delicate. Very fresh, if not really quite what I'd associate with snowflakes (it reads as very green to me, a pale watery green). Myself, I love peppermint and pennyroyal but am pretty meh on every other mint, so am not sure that this quite works for me, but it is very nicely done.

[IronMollyBlack]

Initial blast of wintergreen, and then, like others have said, something aquatic, and like Anna D. said, a bit like very faint cucumber? And a hint of something floral, with a trace of musk? Fades down more minty-aquatic then down-right snowy. The snow-flakes, they have melted.

[heleng]

This is lovely. Wet it's cold,crisp,green and minty. As it dries it loses some of the icy feel and softens to a green, herbal scent.

I want to wear this when the sun shines and feel cool, actually I want to drink this when the sun shines, it reminds me of a cocktail with loads of ice,cucumber and mint.

[Ishtar]

On me, Snow-Flakes is a softer, minty Snow White. The resemblance between the two is really striking, at least for the first half-hour or so.

Past that stage, the scent becomes greener and more aquatic, and I have to say that it evolves in a very neat way.

 

No, neat is not strong enough, make that fascinating: to my nose, the notes remain the same throughout drydown (as far as I can tell, they don't morph, fade, or amp), but as they dry, it's as if they recombined on my skin to take the blend in a different direction. Exact same notes, only in a different permutation - and voila, a different scent. Fascinating, I tell you.

 

After complete drydown, the overall feel or "aura" still reminds me of Snow White, but if I smell my skin up close - which I gladly do since this is so lovely - the watery green scent is actually very reminiscent of Szepasszony, one of the precious few aquatics that I truly love.

 

Crystalline, airy and pure as driven snow... Snow-Flakes is a thing of beauty. Between this and Pink Snowballs, I will be cherishing this year's variations on the Snow White theme - they are all gorgeous.

Edited December 6, 2009 by Ishtar

[jtb2008]

09 version.

In the bottle and on the skin, it smells a lot like Nuclear Winter. To me, at least. There MAY be a little of what makes Snow White Snow White. Know what I mean? Just like Nuclear Winter, it doesn't last too long. Not bad, but not what I was expecting.

[izile]

'09

 

in decant: sharp and sweet cold mint. I can see how this could eventually age to smell like my bottle of Nuclear Winter 05.

 

wet: There's almost something candy-ish, but just barely, about the mint. It's not nearly as candy or sweet as any of the Lick It incarnations, but it's sweeter than I thought from the decant. This is very cold as it hits my pallet as I sniff deeply.

 

dry: this is a good one, I think, if you just want cold. I get that frostiness and definitely mint, but there's a bit of a powdery edge (but not Baby-Powder-of-Doom), it's not sharp-stabby cold any more.

[verbranden]

This is a beautiful, light, soft wintergreen that doesn't morph a whole lot. It is a pretty tenacious scent for how light it is in the vial. This is going on my list of potential bottle buys for sure.

[Iceblink]

I missed out on this one last time around so was glad to see it return. I get watery cucumber with a hint of mint. This says "green" to me more than snow and ice. Not my thing, but a light, interesting scent.

[ami226]

On the skin: Oooh! This is a tasty mint!! Like spearmint gum.

 

 

[musichappens]

A very faint, but pretty wintergreen that fades on me uber quickly.

[Victory]

When I first sniffed this when the bottle was cold, the snow and mint were about an even mix, then when the bottle heated up it was snow with faint mint, but now that the oil has settled, this is really menthol-y. I was prepared for mint, but I don't care for menthol. After an hour, the scent cuts out almost entirely, and finally comes back with the snow note and a faint mint. It makes me think of a winter storm, aptly enough- the punch of menthol is like the frantic flurry of snowflakes, then you run inside you don't see the storm/smell the oil, and later you look out the window and see the pristine drifts of snow, glittering with the sun. I wish that the snow note was more prominent throughout the phases, and that the oil was stronger and lasted longer, but I think this will get a lot of use anyway. I get a headache most days, and I think this will be good for that.

 

Edited to say, I find this to be much less sweet than Snow White, a little less sweet than L'Inverno, but sweeter than Perchta, which has no sweetness at all. Just for comparison's sake.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Victory

[malaliath]

Snow-Flakes 2009

 

In Vial: Sharp and green; minty but with an herbal undertone.

 

Wet, On Skin: Pretty much the same as it was in the vial. It's cold and sparkly.

 

Dry, On Skin: I'm getting a touch of pine. There's a crispiness to the scent as it dries down. Like another reviewer said, I am almost getting some strange echo of dill. It's interesting, but I sense it's probably too cold to be bottle-worthy for me.

 

Later: It is indeed wintry. Too cold for me though ... I'll probably enjoy my imp, but this won't be a bottle purchase for me.

[milo]

I get ozone and a wintergreen mint. The snow note doesn't work on me very often, unless it is subdued, and thankfully, this is one of those blends that the snow note is in the background. I really like this, but can't see myself smelling like cool mint very often, except for in the heat of the summer. I'll keep my imp to enjoy then.

[HamletsKeeper]

Well this is the surprise hit for me out of all the Yules. I have tested 17 of the 29 Yules and so far this is the only one I can say I truly like. Odd because it’s also the one I had the least interest in from the notes. On initial application it’s all white mint, but dries down to a beautifully sharp, crisp frozen aquatic with a perfumey edge. I get no pine or mint on drydown just something wonderful. This is nothing like Snow White which I found to be cakey, it’s crystalline, pure and icey. I like it, maybe even enough to buy a bottle.

 

This is actually what I imagined First Soft Snow to smell like. Once dry I get beautiful ethereal florals and frozen aquatic. All white, crystalline and pretty wonderfulness.

[Sawasdee]

I love Snow-Flakes! Upon reading the description, I had low expectations as I am not typically a fan of mint scents. On wet and the first 15 minutes it is cool mint with some white florals and a bit of the snow/ozone in the back, which is alright.

 

But the part that I really enjoy is when dry, it morphs into a beautiful aquatic, with hints of cucumber, and the florals come out more. Light crystalline green and slightly perfumey. Definitely bottle worthy.

 

Edited to add: So, the next couple of times I wore this, I ended up with migraines. Damn. Such a great scent too.

Edited December 30, 2009 by Sawasdee

[sqwook]

2009 version

 

In the bottle: Cold chilled ice-covered floral

 

On me: Cool, in a similar way that Ultraviolet is, but with a natural fresh-mint scent instead of eucalyptus. And maybe it's… what, underneath, exactly? Perhaps light florals, cool air, and a lovely vanilla, as the mints burn away (which they do fairly quickly, as usual). And then a cool green feeling, akin to aloe or cucumber though this is NOT a cucumber scent at all, it's more cool vanilla.

 

This might be just amazing in the heat of summer.

 

(On me, FYI, I do not get any wintergreen, or menthol.)

 

Try this if you like: Ultraviolet, Envy, Squirting Cucumber.

[Redillon]

Very sugary green smelling. Yup, wintergreen and spearmint and an herbal undertone. I can smell a little light floral peaking out too, but not much. It's a very interesting scent. I can't say I want to smell like a wintergreen lozenge but it's definitely a "cool" scent.

 

It mellows out a little so there is a bit more floral but the wintergreen is kicking ass. Part of me likes it. Reminds me of the wild wintergreen/spearmint that would grow during the summer.

 

My skin just eats a lot of scents......this one included.

 

Turned waxy smelling.....bummer.

Edited January 6, 2010 by PuppetMistress

[FandF]

This is a very pretty scent! Reminds me of green stems and a slight hint of mint...a floral snow scent. Also reminds me of snow white before snow white turns kinda funky on me. This is a lovely scent that reminds me of a beautiful winter night...not sure I'd reach for it but probably a love scent if you are looking for something in the green stem/cucumber peel arena.

[Lorelai1945]

'09

 

Snow-Flakes is very light and has a hint of mint in the background, with a soft...almost soapyness to it. Kind of like baby shampoo smell a couple of hours later. It is definitely very white and cold. It doesn't have much lasting power; my skin seems to soak it up. I get a lot of similarity to the feel of Snow White, minus the rose and the coconut. It's nice, but not something I think I'll need a bottle of, especially since it doesn't last very long.

[MamaMoth]

This is sweet light wintergreen gum when first applied, with a base of some kind of white floral maybe with some greenness to it... If you're like me, gum/floral doesn't sound very appealing. But it's actually quite nice! As it dries, the wintergreen backs off and it turns into a non-obnoxious cool floral with a minted sweetness.

 

I like this ok. Even thought it's not really "me," I might occasionally wear this when it's hot outside.... if not for the fact that it's completely gone about 30 minutes after I apply it. :\

[fairestrocza]

In the Decant: wintermint gum and a watery/juicy floral note

 

Wet on Skin: sweet, spicy, minty, floral - first impression sweet, a little spicy, then the mint comes through, with a hint of floral beneath (seems like a bulb plant)

 

While Drying: This is in some respects how I thought The First Soft Snow would be… I didn't order that one because I was afraid it would be too floral… maybe it is more accurate to say this is how I hoped TFSS would be, and I am glad I got Snow-Flakes instead.

 

After a Little While: this warms up and sweetens on my skin...mint is bright but not abrasive - makes it feel chilly, but not cold... sparkling… floral is fresh and a lovely complement

 

Later: smooth, a little bit sweet, but not in a foody sense… can't really be characterized as minty or floral now, just a beautiful, well integrated scent

 

Final Thoughts: I like all phases of this one (including the lingering scent on coat cuffs later). It is long lasting but not overwhelming. This scent grows on me more and more each time I wear it. I will be ordering 2 bottles for sure.

Snow-Flakes 2009 earns a 4.5/5 on my skin.

 

Update: It looks like my next order will have several bottles of Snow-Flakes! I let some friends test it from my decant, and a few fell in love. One says it smells like fog.

A male friend is also ordering a bottle after testing mine. We were out running errands, and I got a burst of happiness every time I passed through a space he had recently occupied as I could smell the lingering traces of Snow-Flakes!

Edited January 27, 2010 by Rocza

[fairnymph]

2009

 

Extremely pale yellow oil. Sweet, cold mint (spearmint and peppermints) with soft, creamy, fluffy snow. Lovely! Very fresh and light - but not weak - and evocative.

 

Mintier, a little less sweet - a really perfect 50/50 balance of p-mint and s-smint - I make a tea that's a blend of these two mints and it reminds me of that, but much cooler, fresher, and brighter. The snow note is the same from Snow White and Pink Snowballs, but it's much lighter and less present here. This is a fantastic, elegantly simple mint scent unlike anything in my collection!

 

I'm not sure this oil will ever dry - it's been a few hours now! Unfortunately, the snow note has amped up (boo) and turned a little plastic on me, but it's tolerable - if just barely so. This is less mentholic, much less fresh and bright, a really soft and surprisingly creamy scent now. Unfortunately I am getting something like cilantro, which I detest above all other things on the planet. WTF.

 

Yeah this is going to plastic dollhead (that sort of musty, slightly powdery note that a lot of baked goods dry down to) with cilantro. Wtf. It was so gorgeous but once it finally dried it turned evil. Only mildly evil, but still evil. Most of the lovely mints of the early stages is just gone, though the remaining traces are taunting me. Oh evil skin! At first this has great throw but it fades down to lower throw and overall doesn't last long on me.