The Winter of Our Discontent

[grrrlennyl]

Embrace your villainy: balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia, rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke and cypress.

at first: this smells very christmassy to me.
on: fresh woods and sweet spices with a hint of smoke. this is really nice and perfect for winter holidays.
half an hour later: super soapy.
1.5 hours later:still the same.
3 hours later: woodsy and incensy.
overall: this just isn't something for me.

[juniperus]

Bottle: smokey evergreen and, well, winter.

Wet: this is already complex and difficult to pick apart...darkness, evergreen, smoke...

Dry: the notes are starting to separate some - the myrrh and musk are really deepening, and the evergreen and spices are prominent

Later: wow. I don't know that I can say more - and I'm kicking myself, because when I read the notes I was so certain it wouldn't work because cypress often does bad things...I ordered the decant mainly because I loved the name and I'm ever curious. argh! I missed this!

[OdetteOdile]

No evergreen on me but lots of resin, sweetish wax, clean woodiness (is that the rosewood?), powder, something faintly floral...but it’s not turning into roses on me.

This is a real morpher. It keeps getting nicer and spicier - dry, dark baking spices (without the sugar.)

 

It has the ghost of the note that made Carnivale turn so bad on my skin - that dead vegetation note - but in this it’s just subdued enough to work. In fact, it’s part of what’s great about this scent. There’s something in it that comes across as a hint of sexual rankness and perversity underpinning seduction - innocence twisted and defiled. (Which exactly matches my memory of the compelling, disturbing scene in the 1995 movie when Richard seduces Lady Anne.)

 

I keep inhaling it deeply from my arm because when I do that, I get hints of the ephemeral notes that create the overall balance. There is exactly enough of everything in it. It skirts the edge of being rank on me and turns sexy and lush instead, while still retaining something dangerous. (Very much like having a strong pheromone attraction to someone you know would be bad for you.)

I won't be wearing this at work - it would be too distracting.

Edited February 16, 2007 by OdetteOdile

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

rosewood

 

On me:

Some people have compared this blend to clove cigarettes, and on some level, I agree. Sometimes I catch a whiff of this one when I'm doing something and it DOES make me think of them. But when I sniff it purposely, I don't really get that impression. What it does make me think of is incense. A rosewood incense to be exact. It has a slight greenish rose note without being ROSE and the other notes make a sort of deep, woody incense base.

 

It's sort of dark and deep and mysterious smelling and yet somehow it is also a bit green and a bit rosey. It makes for an unusual combination that is difficult to describe.

 

Final note:

I swapped for this bottle because of the clove cigarette comparisons, but I find that it only vaguely reminds me of them. It's still an interesting blend though and leaves me on the fence about whether or not I should I keep this one!

[lightgatherer]

This scent is definitely an interesting one. Something in the initial combination smells like baby powder to me and stays that way for hours - it's just like Dragon's Musk all over again. After several hours, the baby powder smell dries down, and I get a spicy clove scent. I like the spicy clove drydown, but it's not worth smelling like baby powder for hours on end. I want to try this one on the boy and see if he can manage to skip the baby powder stage.

[lapillus]

In bottle: Spicy citrus

 

Wet: a pomander! Very Christmasy (and medieval)

 

Dry: Spicies have overtaken the citrus – strong throw

 

Later: Stays much the same, but fades faster than I’d have expected. It must have been the citrus that gave it the initial throw.

 

Summary: fun and spicy. I’ll be quite happy with this imp and if another wander my way I won’t complain, but it’s not a scent I’m going to need often (as a matter of fact it may hide in my imp box until next holiday season.)

[batsy]

In the vial: a woodsy aquatic? There's cypress and balsam. Probably the artemesia, too.

 

On the skin: Well, smoke, musk and that cypress. It smells like burning wet trees. It's manly, to my nose, but a nice sent. The rosewood popped after drydown; not sure why I suddenly thought 'wormwood', but I did.

Edited March 17, 2007 by bat

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

This is unfortunately terrible on me, but as I loved the name/inspiration, I bought a bottle when the Yules were still available. I was hoping more of the rosewood would show itself on my skin chemistry, but alas, this blend pretty much explodes into heavy(!!) pine and generic winter greens scent (with a smog of incomprehensible nuttiness thrown in, no less) once it touches my skin. The culprit is likely the cypress/nutmeg working together to aid my downfall here, but why the hell does it have to overwhelm everything?

 

Court

[mspixieears]

Amber, a touch of vanilla or even chocolate! I thought I got something like orange blossoms and even honey. It smells similar to a lot of things I’ve tested and is not quite as remarkable as some of the other BPAL fragrances tried. I get the familiar powdery, resiny drydown. I can also smell something like sandalwood in the drydown.

[urbanruralferal]

I bought a bottle of this, unsniffed, and at first sniff and application, I immediately shoved it to the back of the shelf. too cold, too rosey.

Today I tried it again, and I actually like it. It seems like others have had the same reaction...

 

It actually reminds me of the Caterpillar, only with the rosewood being at the top rather than the jasmine. so much so that when the Winter died down, after several hours (nice average throw) I put on the caterpillar, and they meld well.

 

A rosewood box in a unheated box, dark musk and/or myrrh adding a swirly deep softness to it. The spices were apparent at first, and there was something fleetingly citrus about it too, but all that receded (but didn't disappear) after the first hour or so.

I will keep this, since I have a bottle, but I really only need about 2 imps worth. My husband wasn't around when I was wearing this. I don't think it would sit well with his sensitive nose. he would call it a "grandma's bathroom scent" but he's missing out!

Guess it's time to get some more decanting supplies...

Edited April 6, 2007 by urbanruralferal

[glass_cat]

Oddly enough, the first thing that came to mind when I smelled this on me was a post I made in a thread here where people were talking about what their BPAL box smelled like. I talked about liking the smell of mine a lot and wishing I could find a blend that smelled just like it. Winter of Our Discontent is very close to that scent. I originally talked myself out of buying this when it was originally available from the lab, but I recently won a bottle on eBay, so here it is in my collection anyway.

 

Winter of Our Discontent is really one of those scents that shouldn't work well on me... like... at all. Predominantly this is a very woody blend, and I even get a hint of pine from it, and normally pine and I can't stand one another. However, the woodsy and foresty notes in this are nicely tempered by the myrhh, the spiciness of the cloves, the sandalwood, and that lovely smoke note that simply makes so many of my blends for me. I even get a faint hint of something floral, which I'm happy for. It keeps it from smelling too much like something I'd rather smell on my boyfriend than on me. In fact, the longer I wear this, the more the florals drift to the top and beautify this. It's so lovely and comforting and warm.

 

I'm actually quite sorry I didn't have this in my collection over the winter. It would have been just the thing to reach for around Christmas time or on cold, snowy days indoors. However, it isn't so characteristically "winter" that I feel like I can't wear and enjoy it now as well... especially on rainier, cooler spring days. It's incredibly comforting, unique, and beautiful. I'm so incredibly grateful I was able to acquire a bottle.

Edited April 11, 2007 by glass_cat

[RemAkimichi]

I just bought a decant from someone on the board.

 

In the bottle: Sharp cypress and a hint of cloves.

 

On me (wet): OMG hello Nutmeg! Nutmeg and cloves and TREES! Not smoky, incense kind of trees but "lets walk in the woods!" kind of trees. This is a spicy christmas scent

 

On me (dry): Sweet cloves, that faint spice of nutmeg, and candle smoke. Soft, light, and nothing of a villian in my mind.

 

Overall: Definitely one of the first scents that I can actually pick up almost every note, recognize them, and not have the fainter ones overpowered by a stronger one. Maybe my nose is just getting better, but this lovely layered scent is a GREAT holiday oil.

 

EDIT: Some hours hours later, and I must add that it has turned into a dollar store christmas candle smell now. That makes me so terribly sad

Edited April 17, 2007 by C O U R T of M I R A C L E S

[lapillus]

In bottle: Spicy citrus

 

Wet: a pomander! Very Christmasy (and medieval)

 

Dry: Spicies have overtaken the citrus – strong throw

 

Later: Stays much the same, but fades faster than I’d have expected. It must have been the citrus that gave it the initial throw.

 

Summary: fun and spicy. I’ll be quite happy with this imp and if another wander my way I won’t complain, but it’s not a scent I’m going to need often (as a matter of fact it may hide in my imp box until next holiday season.)

[fountaingrl]

I'm a sucker for anything with myrrh. This blend is one of my favorites. Not only is it a blissed-out resin-fest, it is mixed with spice. The clove and other notes come forward and make TWOOD very complex. Usually resins give me that "incense, yum!" comfort feeling. This one doesn't get my snuggle mode going the way Minotaur does. This one is almost aggressive. It is weird and wonderful, the scent feels cold even though many of the individual notes by themselves are 'warm' tones to me.

 

I got a decant as a frimp in a swap, and went in search of a big bottle on the Forum that same day. Glad I did, well worth it!

[Naamah_Darling]

Green cypress mingles with the sharpness of orange for a cologne-like base. There is a faint hint of clove, but not a sweet baking clove, more like an old, dry clove. The balsam and rosewood are mixed, too similar and too twined together for me to tell which is which. The smoke and musk, likewise, are bound.

 

Smoke roils out, and spices, but this is a cold scent, a remote scent. It's the cypress and the orange, I think.

 

The throw is spice and smoldering wood. Closer, it's powerful rosewood and rich musk. There is a hint of myrrh, but not too sweet. This isn't a sweet scent. It's grim, and it's rather dark.

 

As it ages, it gets sweeter, the spice and the rosewood predominating, the fading smoke and cypress warming a bit. The myrrh is dusty and golden.

 

I like this. An aged, arcane scent with a trace of menace at the beginning, that smooths out to a lovely finish with just enough of a perfume edge to it to keep it from being murky.

[Neely]

In the bottle: amber and nutmeg. I love Beth's nutmeg note.

 

Wet: warm amber and nutmeg.

 

Dry down: warm amber and nutmeg, with rosewood. This doesn't morph much on me. This is warm and comforting, perfect for cold weather.

 

30 minutes: amber and nutmeg, lovely dark and rich.

 

Conclusion: this is wonderful, rich, and well blended. I love it.

 

Rating 1-5: on my skin this is a 5.

[Babylon]

Cyprus, citrus, and incense. As it dries, it smells like a lit clove cigarette resting on freshly chopped rosewood. An interesting scent, and it doesn't necessarily smell "wintery" to me as most of the other Yule blends do.

[arabella]

First Impression: Flowers and pine

Dries down to: An oily, smoky sheen settles over it

Additional Comments: This is a cacophony of Christmas notes yet somehow it all works. I can't pinpoint any one note but the whole feel like the Christmas spirit.

Lasted: 1-2 hours

Rating: 3 out of 5

[n0thing]

I *really* hope this returns this Xmas!

 

Clove was the note that appealed to me, anything christmas clovey smelling is a winner!

 

I was initially unsure of how heavy/soapy/perfumey this smelled along with the clove, it seemed quite depressing and too traditionally perfumey-heavy for me, but it's really grown on me, and now i love it (maybe something to do with proper winter weather having now descended here!)

 

It's not a sweet smell at all, 'bitter' isn't quite the word though.. It is quite perfumey and dark, and it's certainly not got the same 'woohoo it's christmas!!' vibe that things like Lick It and Yule seem to give off, but to me it's a very cosy, indoor by the fire late at night christmassy smell - nutmeg off the top of eggnog, clove studded oranges.. LOVE!! (although my mum seems determined to steal it!)

[etienne]

Wet on skin the citrus scent is very strong, as is a general spicyness. On drydown, I smell TEA - yes, very strong tea! Tea, citrus and possibly the clove. After about an hour it has turned into a very Christmassy scent that reminds me of potpourri. I find it slightly old lady style scent, definitely very overpowering. (It probably doesn't help that I slathered...)

 

I wanted to love this but unfortunately don't think it's working very well on me. I imagine this could be quite a nice room scent when used in an oil burner, though.

[hkhm]

bottle: cypress & balsam, myrrh & nutmeg, clove, rosewood, musk... i think i can smell almost everything here.

 

wet: the orange warms up and goes sweet as soon as it touches my skin, mixing with the spices and greenery and a very light smokiness.

 

dry: this is sweet and spicy greenery once dry. love, love, love.

[blktauna]

In the bottle: light incensy blend/woody

 

Wet: lovely spice. I totally get the myrrh, clove, nutmeg and dark musk. It has a similar feel to the Catterpillar but no patchouli dirtiness. There's a touch of wood but its not drying.

 

Dry: A flash of the orange comes up. It's not juicy at all, but more rind/dried in feel. It's sublte but yummy.

 

This is gorgeous. I love the Catterpillar and this is the lighter, non headshop version of it. It sits close to the skin but holds on a long time. Very Yulie and wonderful.

[femmefatale]

'06 version

 

At first this is one of the most realistic tree scents I've ever smelled. Then the smoke starts to come out along with the rosewood and the barest hint of incense. I'm not getting too much of the spices and citrus, more like an impression of them.

This is beautiful and there is something about it that's keeping it from turning into potpourri.

It's actually a very realistic scent and I get the visual of a slient snow covered forest at night.

 

I love this! I think I'm going to have to pick up this years bottle to see how it compares.

[hkhm]

bottle: cypress, clove and musk. this is far stronger than the original version. i'm not sure if it's just because my other bottle is older, but this one is much more pungent.

 

wet: this is pine, just pine and spices. i can't pick the individual spices out though i really think it's the clove that's trying to take control.

 

dry: this turns to a smoky pine and nutmeg scent as it dries.

 

(this is for the 2008 version, my review above is for the 2006 version)

[jehrichardson]

In the bottle, this smells like home to me. Not my current home, but my home away from home for many years - a farmhouse on the North Yorkshire Moors filled with the smell of cooking, fireplaces, people, leather, dogs, homebrew, whisky, and books. This is most certainly the Winter of my Contentedness - no discontent here!

 

On the skin its a bit more bitter, a bit more leathery, dustier, sadder, and thinner, but still really nice.

 

Since it does change on the skin, so I may use it as a room scent when this sterile American suburb that I live in now gets to be a bit too much.

 

Mmmm!