Ded Moroz

[HappyLoveJoy]

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

 

I took a chance on this one because of the amber & rose but it is absolutely stunning on me! It's cool frosted flowers, moss and cucumber and with a touch of sweet minty musk that must be the snow note. It quiets down to a soft, subtly sweet cool floral that is very sexy in the way that 'O' is sexy, if you get my drift. I mean, really, this evokes a rose that has been suspended in a block of cucumber-mint ice, dusted with mossy-sugar-crystal-musk. Lovely in every sense of the word.

[AnnieB]

I know it's a little brutal of me to praise this to the moon considering that it's not easy to get hold of, but it really is an amazing scent.

 

This is the best perfume I've seen with amber and rosewood and compares very favourably with Givenchy Organza, though less complex and more direct (in this case a virtue). The sillage is amazing but not overpowering, elusive, classic and teasing. I literally had 2 people walk past my office (the door was open).. stop, turn around, walk back and *sniiiiiiff* (I'm known as a perfume freak around here) and say 'hey, what on earth are you wearing, it's divine?!'

 

The last few years there've been an avalanche of rosewood/amber orientals released and I think I've tried them all, from Wood & Absinth by Mark Buxton, to Frankincense & Myrrh by Czech & Speake, and Ded Moroz surpasses them all.

 

In the bottle, I do get the wet minty top note that a lot of people are reporting, but it's overshadowed by the looming rosewood and amber. It smells very much like I imagine a trade ship or caravan would smell in the winter... full of spices and crates of precious woods and amber.

 

Fresh out of the bottle on my skin I get some strange peppery/chocolate vibe going on... imagine a crate full of unwrapped York Peppermint Patties inside a velvet lined rosewood box. I wouldn't want to -eat- them necessarily, but they still smell really good. Almost immediately the minty accord dries down and you're left with sage, rosewood and amber.

 

As a test today, I asked my non-perfumista friend to sniff and identify all the notes she could, in the bottle and dried down on my wrist. She picked out the rosewood (it smells like those oriental/Indian boxes at Pier1, she announced), the amber and she couldn't decide if it was cinnamon or mint, but pegged mint when she smelled it wet. She also picked up a faint woodsmoke note that I'm not getting, but then surprised me by picking out sage by name.

 

This lasts and lasts and lasts and lasts. I've had it on all day without feeling like reapplying once. I bought a bottle from Mrs. Black (bless you!) and had decanted off an imp to carry with me in my backpack and gave the imp to my sniffy friend who was my sniffing buddy today. I also sent her directions to the forum, so if you're out there, A, don't blame me for a burgeoning addiction to BPAL, blame Mrs. Black!

[sarielswish]

In the vial, amber and mint... very cold mint. Reminds me of a foot refresher spray I have that makes my skin tingle when I use it. Color, white.

 

Wet on my skin, tee hee! It tingles, just like the spray! Very minty. Smells nice, but I don't see where I'd wear it as a perfume. Although, Ded Moroz is the mint that I was looking for in Nuclear Winter.

 

10-15 minute drydown - Most of the mint has dried off so I'm getting amber, moss, and sage with a hint of the coldness from the snow. Very nice.

 

Note - I can't really see myself wearing this as a perfume because I can't get the thought of FEET! out of my head long enough to really enjoy it.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Um. This is all pale, cold, sharp mint. Does the snow note have mint? That's all I'm getting in the decant... this doesn't bode well.

 

On skin: Entirely astringent and mentholic. 100% cold, thin, sharp, aggressive MINT. Egad! No amber? No woods?! Outrageous! *rages* Furthermore, this mint note is way more tenacious than the other mints I've tried: it's stronger and stays on longer. It burns off eventually, but all that's left is dilute and hollow -- a ghost of damp woods and frozen snow.

 

Verdict: Well, I got the malevolent, destructive side of Ded Moroz -- he came in a blustery, freezing fury, and then vanished without a trace, leaving a destroyed scent behind. This may be a storm in a teacup, but I'm actually quite angry that a blend that had all my favourite notes had to be ruined by stampeding mint. If only there wasn't a snow note in Ded Moroz!

Mint, you and I are through. You've ruined too many scents for me. I'm never seeking you out again, ever.

Edited August 27, 2010 by Vega

[ravenscanary]

Source: Untouched decant

 

In the decant: Sage and moss - sharply green and brrrr cold

 

Wet: Sweet sage over what smells like wintergreen dominate, but I also get the amber/wood/floral underneath. A cold but sweet perfume. I dig this, but I'm not sure how it's going to dry.

 

Dry: More amber and floral come out. This isn't really my thing, but it's very evocative of both heat and cold, and is certainly very pretty, almost delicate.

[zankoku_zen]

This is for the Ded Moroz proto, from way back in the day.

 

Because of the age, both the amber and the rose are much more prominent. There was also a small tinge of pine. It faded much quicker than I expected.

 

I have to say that I adore the released version much more, and some of it has to do with the staying power (perhaps because I slather more of that?).

[porcelina]

ded moroz is beautiful!

 

the first thing i get is the snow note- fresh, cool, just a teeny bit minty. other than that, it's reeeeally hard to pick out individual notes here, because it all blends together in a really delicious way. my overall sensory impression is golden light, pale woods and fresh snow. it's beautiful and chilly, sweet and serene. the woods and resins here are not dark and overpowering- the snow keeps everything fresh and bright.

[inurbanus]

This is a review for the 2009 Yule release.

 

I was not really sure what to expect when I bought this. Individually, the notes sounded wonderful and I always wanted to try this after the famous Lab auction. However, I didn't really know how the snow would mix with the wood and resin notes. Well, it does smell a little jumbled at first but after a couple of minutes everything calmed down and I really liked the result. Rich, warm wood lit with heavy amber and a dusting of crystalline snow. At first I didn't care for the way the slushy mint of the now mixed with the wood but after I got used to the combination I really dug it. It smelled like an Aveda product, and since I really like Aveda, I was a happy camper. I can't wait to wear this again. It's gorgeous and unique, definitely one of my favorite Yules.

[Roogna]

this is the ONLY rose scent so far that I can wear. Normally, I amp it so much it gives me a splitting headache. Here it's so soft and subtle and nice...but there's still a "bite" in my nose to smell it

it doesn't really smell "floral" or "herby" on me...but something in between and I can't pick out any other notes specifically

[mymymai]

ITI: It’s an interesting scent. I get bois du rose, a touch of light, white sage, a cool and sweet note that must be the snow, and subtle hints of amber.

 

Wet: It’s cold, sweet, and powdery on my skin. The bois du rose is delicately balanced with the white sage, the tree moss, light teak, amber, and snow. It’s lovely!

 

Dry: It’s soft and comforting, like freshly laundered clothing. The ambers lend warmth while the snow and teak add that gentle scent that is indulgent and comforting at the same time.

[tinyvulture]

Slushy snow, with mint and sage notes, and also redwood and warm amber. It's both warm and chilly at the same time. It is too faint, which is too bad. I'd love it if it were stronger.

[annemathematics]

2015: beautiful soft ambers and warm woods. a light dusting of snow. unisex.

there is indeed a comforting gentleness to this scent.

very light in throw and longevity, due to newness.

lovely.

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2015 by annemathematics

[MtMoonKitty]

I'm not sure how to describe the stages of this one. In the bottle and wet on my skin, the snow really stands out. I LOVE the lab's snow scent! The ambers go powdery on me (happens all the time), but in this blend it isn't an "old lady powder" and I don't mind it. After a while it turns in a sweet, creamy scent that I have the hardest time describing. I will say that when the words BPAL and creamy are used in the same sentence it usually spells disaster to me but I like this one a lot. I'll wear it often and hopefully don't use it all before I get to see how it ages.

[freyasfae]

From Yule 2015.

 

This is mostly woods and greens on me, but not an astringent winter tree, softer and rounder. This is a ground with patches of snow, not snow covered. Really beautiful and compelling woodsy scent.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Soft, sweet, woody florals, but with a chilly edge that reminds me of traditional perfume. Specifically, it reminds me of the glamorous women of my grandmother's generation. It feels nostalgic, almost sad - I imagine this to be the scent my grandmother would have worn when my grandfather went off to war.

 

Wet: The woods and greenery take a huge step forward. Holy crap, this is indeed like walking through a forest with just a dusting of snow on the ground! The I can almost taste the sweet, crisp scent of the snowy air on my tongue. After only a few minutes, the snow note (if this is what BPAL's snow smells like all the time OMG WHY DIDN'T I BUY ALL THE SNOW NOTES THIS YULE) becomes dominant, and the woods, sage, and oddly unmistakable tree moss take a backseat.

 

Dry: Fairly true to ITI. Soft, sweet, and nostalgic, and stays close to the body. In my mind, this is the perfume of a girl just growing into womanhood in the 1940s or 50s.

[Aviatrix]

2015 version.

 

This is super faint on me! I get mostly a bit of amber with a hint of something like evergreen. Quite pleasant!

[DiesMali]

This is a decant from the 2009 release.

 

In the imp: Sharp herbal mint!

 

Wet on my skin: This goes on as sharp, shimmery, chilly sage and mint with a hint of moss and wood.

 

Dry: For a while, this remains chilly sage and mint, though the moss and woods come through more as it dries. After about 2 hours of wear, something unusual happens and the icy mint and sage just ...melt. At that point, the scent becomes a powdery, creamy pink rose! It's like I put on a completely different perfume! This is really interesting, and I might have to track down a bottle if I keep enjoying how this decant morphs!

[Casablanca]

2016 version

 

Ded Moroz comes out on my wrist as a bright carmine fluid. For the first several days I had this, it smelled almost like nothing. It just smelled something like a weak saffron on my skin, if anything, though no such note is listed. I’ve let it settle now for six days, and it has a little more to it now.

 

The first impressions are minty, snowy sage, deep reddish wood, and a touch of pale amber. On an exhale I can feel, also, a little teak lingering, barely there. I feel like I still get a suggestion of unlisted saffron, but it could be something else. After it dries, Ded Moroz becomes a very pretty mint-sage-wood skin scent.

 

This is lovely, but, sadly, still kind of thin. I hope it fills out more with more settling.

[Elspethdixon]

Wet/in imp - sharp/thin, herbal, tangy-sour (almost like pickles?)

Freshly applied - sharp kitchen herbs and something cool and minty. There's definitely a strong mint note in this - my skin even feels cool where I applied it.

Five minutes in - sharp and at the same time slightly musty. Something in it tingles in my nose. Like Grandfather Frost's slightly-musty but pine-scented robes after he comes in from the cold outside, maybe? I don't know that I want to wear it, or if I even like it, but it's definitely interesting

Twenty-thirty minutes in - it's gotten softer (I can detect the amber and fuzzy snow note now) and a little sweeter/less sour, but the tangy herbal note is still there, as is the nose-chilling bit. Like a crisp, cold outdoors day with a hint of just-about-to-snow in the air.

It doesn't morph much past this point, though I get several hours worth of wear out of it. I have no idea what caused the pickle-like effect early on - maybe the bois de rose going sour bad!rose on me or some combination of the tree moss and snow notes?

[gloame]

2105 imp'd version

 

Wow - teak, sage, and snow create the most unusual blend. I can't stop sniffing it. The sage is right there at the forefront, but the teak and the snow are so good at holding it up. I get ghosts of moss but I can't pick out any of the other notes. This in incredibly unique. Maybe not something I'd wear, but I do like it!

Where I'd wear it: New Year's Day and fresh beginnings

[mandragora369]

2017 version

 

In the bottle: this smells amazing! I love amber and tree scents.

 

Wet on my skin: I hardly smell anything, there is a faint amber and tree/moss note.

 

Dry: the scent dissapears extremely fast on my skin, which is sad. When I'm outside in the cold air, i cannot smell anything. Inside there is this faint smell.

 

The faintness is at least still detectable after a couple of hours, but altogether this is a disappointment.