Snow White

[hipslike___cinderella]

A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.

 

I've been waiting a while to review Snow White 07 from my decant. First of all, I built up anticipation for this wildly. Second of all, as much as I tried not to, I just had to compare this to Snow-Flakes. I know it's not fair... but some people have been noting comparisons, and I love Snow-Flakes so much it could make my heart jump... so naturally anything NEAR it gets me way excited.

So, disclaimer aside, here are my thoughts: Snow White 07 (I've never smelled any other year, btw) is EXACTALLY Snow-Flakes, if you subtract that icy, phenomenal mint note and replace it with something to the tune of vanilla almond. All the night-blooming flowers are identical to my nose. Seamless, and I could never name the flowers for you. Maybe it's just me... but this blend isn't cold at all. There's a fluffy, airy, whiteness, but it's... not cold. I expected something chilly, and I got ultra-creamy, feminine vanilla flowers. Most unfortunately, I am no lover of vanilla/almond/coconut.

It's still pretty for what it is. Maybe I'm judging poor Snow White harshly? It's just not what I expected. Seeing as I don't like popular hits like Snake Oil, and Dana O'Shee kinda makes me ill, maybe I should have held reservations.

[girlygirl]

When I received Snow White in the mail, I opened it to sniff immediately. It smelled very green and I did not like it. I tested it a day later. Still very green. Did not want.

 

Fast forward to this week. It smells completely different. Now I get the creamy marzipan/floral goodness everyone was raving about, even on my skin. Either it needed to settle a bit or it's my hormones, whatever the case, I am glad I kept this one!

[Jenesis]

I had to get a decant of this, just to see what everyone is raving about! Mine is the 07 version.

 

Sadly, this just... doesn't work. My initial reaction was "Blech!" and it's still "blech" 2 hours later. Thick, cloying, oversweet, floral-marzipan-thing.

 

I'm sure this is lovely on the right person.

[neddykapoozle]

i was expecting something cold, snowy, frosty, with maybe a hint of green and flowers, but I get greenery and almondy vanilla cream flowers that have been chilled through. its nice, like a green dana o'shee, with some flowers and a little more oomph.

 

As I wear this longer, snow white is starting to grow on me. very beautiful and polished, but still young and innocent.

I love it enough to keep the bottle but not enough to stalk down another and be petrified of using it. Will happily use the bottle up!

[ifinena]

Snow White 2007

Wonderful, wonderful, fantabulous!! It works with my chemistry and it's light and soft, just a touch creamy, barely cold (not getting any mint, thankfully), just the barest breath of something fruity, a gorgeous blend. Doesn't have too strong throw. So this one, not only needs but actually deserves slathering!!!
Such a wearable, feel-good scent, for me.
I can see a multiple bottle purchase in the very near future

[agnusdei]

Well, I'm very much in love with the idea of Snow White. A lot of the winter blends sound like they may be too heavy on the pine for me (I don't mind pine, but it's not really something I could imagine myself smelling like), so snow, wind, and a touch of flowers sounded positively lovely. However, Snow White smells nothing like that! It doesn't come as a surprise considering the reviews, but it's still strange to me to read the scent description and then smell my wrist because it's blowin' mah mind trying to see both as the same thing. Snow White is sweet, sweet, sweet when wet... one of the other reviewers mentioned 'chilled sugar cookie dough' and I think that's a very accurate description. The main note seems to be an almost overwhelming bite of almond. I usually enjoy the scent of almonds, but these almonds are so buttery sweet, like creamy almond cake frosting. It might be a little much for me! Aside from that there is definitely something cold about this scent, though it's not a total outdoorsy vibe, more like a chilly blast of air from an open window rushing into a kitchen filled with the scent of baking. A touch of snow, but without anything green and alive (at this stage of wear, at least). Oddly though, Snow White isn't really too foody, either. Weird! On to the dry-down.

 

After giving it maybe a half hour to settle, the volume finally gets turned down on the almonds - they're still there but it's more of a waft than a blast. A lot of reviews mentioned coconut and I'm getting some of that as well, and the flowers have come out now too. I have no idea what kind of flowers these could be, it's more of a general light and airy floral with nothing specific jumping out at me. It's a little powdery now as well, but not in a bad way.

 

Overall, I think it will take a few more wears for me to really determine how much I like Snow White. For now I'm just glad I made it through the crazy sweet dry-down because there's a light and soft winter floral waiting underneath all those almonds that's just lovely.

[grifyn_whiffs]

I was eager to try this one after hearing so much about it. The initial whiff is very promising -- it smells like a crystalline blanket of snow and delicate flowers. Unfortunately, like Snow-Flakes before it, my skin had eaten it within about fifteen minutes. There's something about the pale white florals that my skin just soaks up. I have to assume it's the floral notes since I've tried snow storm and snow notes by themselves and had them turn out beautifully.

 

I don't get the almond notes or vanilla. I do get a faint edge of mint (I love mint, so that's fine), but mostly "small white flowers poking up through slushy snow."

 

I'm curious to smell this one on someone else. I'll bet it's brilliant on someone whose skin behaves for the notes.

Edited January 3, 2008 by Grifyn

[mothglitter]

My initial whiff of Snow White (as with all my BPAL purchases thus far) was under the influence of sinus infection, so I smelled nothing (the others, I could smell a bit; Snow White seemed much fainter). Now that I'm well , I'm loving Snow White. I like to wear it with Peacock Queen, for some reason...

 

Here's what I get from Snow White: pale rose, cold, the slightest hint of something like powdered sugar...? Definitely white and mellow, soft. Beautiful. It's cold but not in a sharp way; instead, it's like being chilly while wrapped in a not-yet-warm fleece blanket. Definitely a cool smell of winter roses with just an undercurrent of sweets.

[ravenfeathers]

i had unreasonably high expectations for snow white, the one that everyone raved about, the most wonderful, most coveted scent ever, it seemed like. well.

 

in the bottle sweet Raid®. ew! (that's nasty bug-killing stuff for those who aren't stateside.)

wet on skin gah, yuck! still Raid®!

dry on skin it's like dana o'shee and... Raid®. bleurgh. :D

 

i have a very bad association with Raid®, which doesn't smell horribly awfully bad, but makes my windpipe close up. this has the smell without the windpipe closing. this is easily the second more horrible BPAL on me in the history of ever.

[sfsassy]

Snow White is my HG scent. I have 3 versions of it. My nose is not too keen, but all 3 years smell around the same to me and that is a good thing.

 

Snow White on me has a hint of creamy almond or marzipan with a cool winter feel. Maybe there is also a hint of white light florals. Nothing that I can pin point 100%, but I do know I love it.

 

I love wearing this one when there is a lot of snow on the ground.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Er... pine. Straight pine.

 

Dry: Pine and plastic. Are you kidding me? I was expecting something wonderful out of this, from all of the raves I've read about it! I'm crushed. At least the scent didn't last long on my skin.

 

 

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give this a 1.

We just didn't get along.

[naeelah]

The first time I sniffed it, I thought, "It smells like soap." But my first encounter with the fragrance was via the BPTP soap, so I thought, my brain's just making that association.

 

So I laid off the Snow White soap for a while, and tried out the perfume ('07 version). Still smelled like soap. Had some other people sniff it -- they also said soap. Ah well. I hear that Snow White ages wonderfully, so maybe that soapiness will go away, but I never expected this to be a "me" scent -- I just wanted to see what it was like.

 

It definitely encapsulates the concept well. It's light, cool, and innocent, and sweet. It doesn't seem to morph much for me. It's light, breathy flowers, a touch of something cool -- it smells like cold air, only it's not at all like the lab's usual ozone note -- and a soft, powdery, faintly sweet quality. It's that last note that seems to make the overall effect very soapy on me.

 

So for me it's great in the shower, not so great just on my skin. Much to my chagrin, but much to the bonus of everyone who loves it, this stuff lasts FOREVER. 4-5 hours and it had barely faded a bit. So wear life is most excellent. Throw is a little better than average, but it's a gentle scent.

[mothglitter]

Wet: Er... pine. Straight pine.

 

Dry: Pine and plastic. Are you kidding me? I was expecting something wonderful out of this, from all of the raves I've read about it! I'm crushed. At least the scent didn't last long on my skin.

 

 

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give this a 1.

We just didn't get along.

 

Wow, you must've gotten a REALLY jacked up batch or something; I don't get any pine whatsoever in this. Actually, I don't get any green notes from it. To me, it is strictly white. It smells to me like white roses with a chilly note. Defnitely whites roses in snow. With a hint of vanilla.

 

Wish you could've gotten a good one; it really does smell so pretty

[persephanise]

Year: 2004

 

I also get pine and plastic from this with a hint of something sweet and floral.

 

The strange, weird Raid and plastic smell (yes I can totally see that is smells like Raid) keeps it from being bottle worthy. It's too bad, because there is something in here I *really* like, and it has such potential. But the plastic + poison smells kind of kills it for me. For shame.

[Czarina]

2007 version.

 

In the bottle: ah, coconut sweet floral.

Wet: instant horrible burnt plastic Playdoh. How can this be??

Drydown: the plastic disappears and this again smells like a sweet coconut floral.

 

The horrible plastic-y phase seems to last only about five minutes, but it is scary.

 

I wonder if it will grow out of it if I let it age. I don't get any pine scent from this at all.

 

ETA: Just walked past a staff person who said, Wow, you smell nice today--4 hours after application. So the wearlength is pretty good for such a soft scent.

Edited January 9, 2008 by Czarina

[ACVail24]

Snow White 2007

 

I have Snow White 2005 and rarely wear it because it has always smelled like suntan lotion on me.

nothing wintery about it sadly.

 

But on to the 2007 Version:

 

In the Bottle:

Smells more floral-y in the bottle than my 2005 bottle. so that's a step in the right direction already!

I can smell Beth's famous 'Snow' note as well, it seems quite crisp, actually.

it still has that vague suntan lotion undertone though, so who knows how it will wear?

 

On my Skin, Wet:

Suntan lotion with coconut.

hmmmm...that's not very encouraging, but the suntan lotion in 2007 is not as overpowering as my 2005 bottle. So I'll wait and see.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

More coconut and now the long-awaited appearance of some florals!

I think I can see why this scent is so popular at long last!

If the florals are more intense on others, I can understand why everyone loves Snow White so much...up until now, I had only a heartbreaking experience with her 2005 incarnation.

2007 has lifted my spirits!

 

anyway, I get coconut and floral wafts from my wrists - and if I keep my wrists moderately away from my face I get the snow note

however, if I bring my wrists directly to my nose, it's nothing but flowery suntan lotion.

weird, weird.

 

Verdict:

Hooray on a version that works better with my chemistry!

it's a very faint scent, just enough to keep me interested in my wrists, but the up-close experience is still lacking unfortunately.

7 of 10 Ranking!

(I am glad that I bought Mirror,Mirror and a stand-alone bottle for this year's Snow White. Also, my best friend loves Snow White so if this year's was worse than 2005 on me, then she would have been randomly gifted her favorites )

[violetflower]

Unfortunately this did not work on me!

 

As soon as it hit my skin I got a playdoh smell, and it didn't change, ever! This one made me feel sad, I had such hopes!

 

[Rovylern]

Wet, this is basically an almond single note on my skin. There isn't even a hint of floral.

As it dries, well, it's still almond, but with a hint of something sweeter. Since I'm a foody to the core, that works perfectly well for me and I may try layering it. It doesn't feel cold to me at all, it has more of a spring feel. I only wish it had more throw; apparently, Snow White is quite a shy girl because it's so light that I could miss it entirely if I didn't have my nose pressed against my hand.

 

It's not what I was expecting, but still definitely a winner.

[Dinah]

Oh, wow, my skin eats that one up.

 

The first blast that hits me is the same, wet-air pure cucumber note that I get from Snow Flakes. As the scent developes it gets fainter and upon dry-down, the soft almind/coconut combo sweetens it up a bit. As the sugared notes becomes stronger the perfume is a bit more noticable.

 

On the whole, this is like a lighter, fainter and less-cucumbery version of Snow Flakes on me. To me, it doesn't smell like I imagine Snow White smelled like - it smells like whatever special, magical concotion she used to keep her complexion so clear and youthful. In fact.... *runs off to sniff* yup, my B Gone cleanser smells similar, only lacking the sugared note.

 

This is a truly lovely scent, but I think I might have to slather this to get any proper effect. As others have pointed out this should be perfect in warmer weather.

[voodoocatwoman]

Did not think I would like this one because it smells very grassy in the bottle. However, once it's on my wrist, I pick up night blooming jasmine. After it's dried, it becomes very soft but has good staying power. I am glad I got a bottle.

[lady_pandora]

This review pertains to Snow White '05.

 

I hesitated to try this one because Snow White fans seemed to also be big fans of Milk Moon, which went cloying and gross on me. I am pleased to report that they pretty much smell nothing alike, at least on me.

 

Snow White turns out to be a soft, delicate, but undeniably sensual floral with maybe a tiny hint of almond, and reminds me not just of Snow White but of the archetypal Maiden Goddess, innocent and lighthearted, and not cold but maybe a little aloof, like she'll just laugh and dance away if you try to catch her. (My personal association with this scent is with Blodeuwedd; the story involves a floral-scented candle I used to burn in Her honor years ago. I don't remember what flower it was, and I've never found anything that smelled like it since, until Snow White.)

 

Not a lot of throw, but it sticks around forever and never does any unfortunate morphs on me. I like it a lot.

 

ETA: I've figured out another thing this smells like. It smells like a really expensive deep conditioner that I adored but couldn't afford to buy regularly and have now forgotten the name of. Soft, floral, a little almondy but not Play-Dohish, and really comforting and expensive-smelling.

Edited December 10, 2012 by lady_pandora

[Dinerdulcinea]

Snow-covered silent hills, soft and deep.

Full-moon of blue-ish brilliance.

Goliath winter-white evergreens

ringing frozen blossoms

of too-early Spring.

Fragilest whisper of white

tinged with palest green-blue.

Tugging, subtle memories

of warmth and home and food.

 

Aurora borealis of scent.

[Shannihilation]

As most of you know, I hoard Snow White 05. It was one of my first BPAL loves and my utter devotion to it has never wavered. I always wondered though why people said it smelled like coconut. I never smelled coconut in it at all. It was always just very crisp and green on me. So, needless to say I just HAD to have Snow White 07 when I saw it. In the bottle it smells pretty much identical to 05. But on my skin it's a bit different. Still crisp and green, but now I seem to get a whiff of coconut here and there. HUH? Coconut?!?!?! I don't know how I'm getting coconut out of snow, winter wind, and flowers but I am. Not much, but there is a hint of it there.

 

All in all, I still prefer 05 so I'll keep hoarding it and wearing what I have now. I think I might let the 07 age a bit and try it again.

[Emerrific]

2007:

 

Hmmm, this was beautiful in the bottle, and really impressive! It smelled like snow! Unfortunately, the first time I tried it the snowy smell took over and went a little wierd on my skin. With my body chemistry it was actually a little playdoh-ish. After I let the bottle settle for a bit it got nicer, but still not quite what I was hoping for.

 

I found a buddy who has skin chemistry that is NOT destructive and gave it to her...on her wrists it was the awesome goodness that everyone is raving about. The entire time we were hanging out I kept catching whiffs of her and trying not to be jealous.

[SmileCat]

Snow White '04 was the first bottle of BPAL I ever ordered. Alas, I did not like it; it was far too coconuty for my taste and I passed it on to a better home. I skipped SW '05 remembering the fiasco of 2004.

 

Come winter 2006 and I adore Snow Flakes, but sometimes it's too piney for my nose.

 

Cue yule 2007.

 

Have you ever seen something, a piece of art or the unthinking kindness of a child, that is just so beautiful, so perfect in its form and grace that it makes you cry?

 

Take that feeling, distill it, put it in a little amber bottle, and send it out from a magical place. That is Snow White '07. No rapturous exclamations or outpourings of love, but quiet tears and that little catch in your chest every time you uncap the bottle. A cessation of all troubles, absolution of all ills.

 

'Happy' is not the right word for this. Snow White does not make me happy. Snow White gives me peace.