Ded Moroz

[zankoku_zen]

Light, darkness, kindness, and malice: golden amber, white amber, redwood, teak, bois du rose, sage, tree moss, and snow.

I am very torn on Ded Moroz. The amber is warm, and there is a hint of rose, but I love the cool aspects of it. It doesn't smell like snow per se, and the rose isn't obnoxious.

It smells pretty, and it does the hot vs. cold thing very well. I might have to wear it more and see if I need a bottle.

ETA: Totally got a bottle. The hot vs. cold thing was too intriguing for me to pass up!

And I have to add, the more I wear it, the more I like it. I do think it is a winter blend, but I get green woods, with warm rose infused amber. LOVE IT. Edited April 28, 2010 by zankoku_zen

[Pottersville]

Wet, redwood, teak, sage, and tree moss are at the forefront, making Ded Moroz slightly spicey and earthy, with a nice underpinning of sweetness. Very soon, however, the ambers club all the other notes into submission, making this another generically sweet, powdery scent on me.

[nekogrrl]

Initial wet impression comes across as very fresh and cold. Almost herbal.

 

Drydown: This scent is disappearing quickly, which is sad. I was hoping for some appearance from the ambers and woods.

 

I'm going to try this scent again, as I think I had the highest hopes for this out of the Yules I wanted to try.

[Ishtar]

Out of the imp, the fabled Ded Moroz smells predominantly of sage - a wonderfully good sage, at that.

 

Initial impression right after applying: a hint of mint melds beautifully with the sage. It's an unusual, almost playful combination that in my mind's eye translates into sparkly, silvery swirls. So far Ded Moroz is very light - almost faint - suprisingly enough for an amber/wood blend.

 

Smelling my skin up close, I notice that Ded Moroz is one of these scents that take on a different character depending on where it has been applied. The crook of my elbow has retained the fresh sage and mint of the wet stage. The inside of my arm is all white amber and rosewood, whereas on the opposite side, the golden amber is blooming into a rich, honeyed, almost fruity note.

 

Really, the ambers are lovely in this - pity they're so faint. I think I would enjoy Ded Moroz more if it were a little stronger. As it is, it is a gorgeous scent with a very distinct personality, yet I feel like I am missing out on its more subtle aspects because of the lack of throw. I will definitely wear it again in a few days, to see if under different conditions the deeper notes such as the teak and the moss come out more and make this blend a bit more robust.

[Schmoozy]

 

This is damn good. Amber and woods with sage and snow. It is resiny, woodsy, herbal and minty all at the same time. I don't see how a blend can have all these notes inside and not become a jumbled mess. But it works. After drydown the teak and redwood mixed with the two ambers are the real stars of Ded Morez. It is light and it is dark, and it is really good.

 

 

[surlygurl]

When the decants came, I sniffed this one - the most expensive, coveted, etc. bpal so far - and was "Eh. This is nice. No biggie". Then I put it on.......

 

I was suddenly in the middle of a forest. It had recently snowed, and everything was white & fresh (the labs mint/snow note). I could smell the trees in their chill. The sage & wood remained frozen while an amber warmth played in the openings of the forest. Eventually the sun warmed up the woods & this scent generated a sort of melancholy warmth.

 

Wow. A definite bottle buy.

Edited December 5, 2009 by surlygurl

[strahlend]

In the imp I smelled what seemed to be amber with a hint of anise?

On my skin it smells herbal and clean. Nice but not what I was expecting.

Oh, and I'm not a fan of rose and I don't detect any here.

The longer I sniff the more it grows on me. A trace of mint? It's quite lovely.

 

Ok, I've had more time to devote to observing this scent. I don't know what I was thinking but there's no anise, but strong mint phase in the early dry down. The base smells warm, the amber I assume, a hint of woods, and that slightly soapy mint. Eventually the mintyness mellows and balances with the warmth and the hint of soap to create a rather pleasant mood. Although I'm a fan of some blends with mint in them, this one doesn't sing for me.

 

Edited December 7, 2009 by strahlend

[megank4]

Don't really like this. I think it is the tiny bit of tree moss that is ruining everything. Dang it!

 

[Suusje]

This starts as moss and mint and after a little while it turns into something minty yet slightly warm as well. It's an odd little number, but not really my thing.

 

ETA: the mint is gone now, but there's not really much left of anything

Edited December 8, 2009 by Suusje

[Blood onmy hands]

I really like Ded Moroz (and my husband loves this on me too), but I wish that it weren't so subtle. I can only smell this if I press my nose up to where it has been applied. It's very light and doesn't have much throw at all. It also only lasts about 2 hours on my skin before I have to reapply it. It's still lovely, though, and my husband likes it enough that I can use it as a light scent when we're just staying in and cuddling. I'll probably get a full bottle of this.

 

On to the scent - Ded Moroz smells like fuzzy, soft mint leaves and a wooden, vanilla-y amber on me. My husband happily said that it smells like sweet flowers and trees, and I can definitely get the 'tree' impression from the soft wood tone of the ambers. It's a delicate, comforting scent, and the amber actually doesn't go powdery (bpal's ambers usually go powdery on me). I wish that it had more throw, but I'll love this on days when I feel like I can't handle a strong fragrance.

[LizzyLies]

It starts off and stays mainly moss with a touch of mint on me. The amber is present, but it plays a supportive role.

Overall a lovely scent, though a bit greener than what I usually go for.

[bryghtrose]

I was really hoping this would be awesome, because the notes are awesome, but it just went all wintergreen on me.

[pinkusmaximus]

I suspected this might not work on me thanks to a few of the notes, but I thought I'd give a decant a shot just to see what all the fuss was about. It's fresher than I expected--I thought it'd be heavier--and at first it really does evoke the feeling of being in the middle of a quiet winter forest, but ultimately it dries down to something that smells like generic men's cologne, which isn't what I usually go for. Too masculine for me--I'll try to rehome my decant so someone else can try it.

[Ohmaude]

In the winter I go cross-country skiing in the forested mountains outside of town. The absolute quiet, the scent of cold pine and fir, the clear air, the sparkle of ice. Ded Moroz is so evocative of this experience.

 

This is a whiff of very rare amber perfume in the middle of a snow-covered forest. This is one of the few blends where the rose does not overpower the other notes, in fact every note is lovingly balanced. I often can't do overly pine scents, but this is more the suggestion of forest. The rosewood is just perfect.

 

The scent hangs close to the skin, and the throw is light, which I'm so very happy about. This would be brassy and overly-perfume counter if it had more throw. Instead it just hovers. Absolutely gorgeous.

[Iceblink]

I'm not quite sure what to make of this one. My nose keeps saying WATER! and I'm thinking that's the snow. Wet, there was a lot of moss that's calmed down a bit now. The woods are getting stronger as it dries. It's definitely got a snowy forest feel to it. I may need to try this again just to get a better feel for it. Wintry, not overpowering, not much throw.

[hhg]

When the decants came, I sniffed this one - the most expensive, coveted, etc. bpal so far - and was "Eh. This is nice. No biggie". Then I put it on.......

 

I was suddenly in the middle of a forest. It had recently snowed, and everything was white & fresh (the labs mint/snow note). I could smell the trees in their chill. The sage & wood remained frozen while an amber warmth played in the openings of the forest. Eventually the sun warmed up the woods & this scent generated a sort of melancholy warmth.

 

 

Ditto -- and beautifully said. I can only add that I am utterly amazed the amber hasn't gone powdery on me here, as it almost always does. A beautiful scent for midwinter revels.

[musichappens]

This is a very light scent on my skin and it faded very quickly. For the small fraction of time that I could smell it, it reminded me a bit of men's cologne. Not one of those cheapy colognes though (like Axe .. yuck), but a more sophisticated one. If I had a SO, I'd totally make him try this.

[patina]

First of all, when I read the name, I keep thinking "Dead Morose."

 

This is wet and minty, almost melony, but there's amber and wood to back it up. This smells pale-green to me.

If it is a forest, it's a winter forest in the morning, after a rain (is that the snow note I smell?). This may be better in the summer- I'm just not sure how I feel about this one.

[KesHiro]

Oh, Mr. Moroz, you and this big ol' bag of holiday surprises you've handed me, you!

 

I remember hearing about Ded Moroz long before I got into BPAL, so when I saw it available for purchase this year I decided to give it a try.

 

In the bottle, I get a mossy green note with lots of soap. Wet, it remains mossy but the woods and sage come out, softening the moss and giving the entire scent a wet forest-y vibe. As it dries, the amber and rose begin to warm the scent and after about an hour, the rose comes out a bit more. It's a little stronger than I like, although the wood, sage, and moss seem to beat it down enough to keep it from turning into a death note.

 

This is definitely not what I was expecting; the scent has a strange warm/cold vibe going on, as someone above mentioned. I was expecting the deepest part of the woods on a freezing night and instead find myself standing at its edge as the afternoon sun melts the snow into slush.

 

My review makes it sound as though I'm unhappy with the scent but this is far from the truth. It is definitely not what I was expecting but I find it growing on me the more I sniff it. I actually see myself wearing this more in the late winter/early spring and it layers nicely with Snow Maiden.

 

Definitely a keeper, though no back-up bottles are in its future.

[Saya]

Maybe my skin is funny, but I get no mint from this blend like others have mentioned. It's all warm amber, woods, and a bit of greenery.

 

I'm not usually a fan of scents like this, but this is beautiful. I'll end up buying a bottle of this before the Yules come down.

[VorpalBunny]

I thought I was going to love Ded Moroz with all of the notes that I like in it. First sniff is complex and woodsy and beautiful. On, it morphs into a cold, minty, wintry smell on me. It's not bad, it is still a pleasant scent, but it's not one of my favourite Yule scents. I'm glad I decided to try an imp before buying a full bottle.

[myoubi]

Three words: wintry PENCIL SHAVINGS.

 

argh. I was really excited for this blend, but in imp, on skin, and after 30 minutes it stays exactly the same. Away with ye!

[blackbirdpie]

Based on Ded Moroz's reputation, I bought a bottle unsniffed. That turned out to be a very good decision.

 

Others have said that it smells more like a forest thawing in late winter than a midwinter frozen landscape. To me it does smell like midwinter, but midwinter in a southern forest – chilly, but not frozen solid. Lots of moss, earth, and wood, with a touch of minty snow. It’s a beautiful scent that may be the next best thing to taking a hike through the Georgia mountains in January.

 

These geographically evocative scents are the most impressive thing about BPAL to me. I keep thinking about that scene in Harold and Maude with the Smell-O-Ramas: “Subways, Perfume, Cigarettes, Cologne... Snow.”

[Pika]

So disappointed. I think the moss and aquatic-wet-type notes took over on this one, and strangled any warm amber and woods right out of it. Amazingly, I can't even smell any mint through it either, although there's an element of "cold" hanging around in there. Drat chemistry! I want what everyone else got.

[terrenity]

Am I the only one that gets vetiver from this? O.o Maybe that's just how my nose is interpreting moss...

 

In the decant, and wet: EEKVETIVER. (or something like it.)

 

Drydown: Praise the BPAL gods, the vetiver-ish smell fades, leaving a faintly sweet aquatic note. It reminds me a bit of Sarah, in that it's very atmospheric, and also shares that low, cool, sweetness. Unfortunately I think my skin chemistry has eaten up the foresty-green notes; I feel like I'm not getting the complete picture here. I'll have to sneak this one into Giteone's imp pile and see if it works better on him.

 

Overall: Pretty, evocative, and unique, but not really me. I'm glad I had the chance to try it though!

 

 

ETA: Interestingly enough, I don't amp the rose in this one. Huh.

Edited December 18, 2009 by terrenity