Snow White

[VorpalBunny]

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

 

When it first goes on, Snow White smells like Angel Food cake. Then a bit of the almondy note from Dana O'Shee starts to come out, and a hint of mint perhaps, and a bit of white floral -- it almost reminds me of a subdued version of stephanotis. It is a predominantly a foody scent, though, so I am glad I didn't order a whole bottle. It is nice and sweet and pretty, but it's too dainty for me, I prefer the Yule LE's that I bought.

[nevermore]

Snow White certainly lived up to the hype that I had heard about it. It's somewhat coconutty, but not overpoweringly so. I can't really pick out any other notes, though there is some floral and something "cool" (but not mint). It's lovely and light, and I think it will be lovely to wear over the summer.

[Arafel]

Snow White

 

In the bottle: Potently almond, with a kiss of bee pollen. Her breaths come out, visible in the frozen winter air, her dewy breath that silky sweet smell of kisses yet had. It's chill, but the sun is out, the frost is frozen, but ready to blanket all once the sun goes to sleep.

 

Wet: I feel she's sitting next to several rose bushes, those of the gentlest scents; white, pink, peach, yellow and cream colored. She's reading a book, scanning the pages, quirking her lips into a small smile every now and then as the chilled air catches her raven hair and dances in it's strands. The flowers...the remnants of those that bloom in the dark, not surrendering to that of the roses, but delicate...so delicate. So sweet and warm, her flesh, in the midst of winter. Still strong in scent, but calming...

 

Dry down 15 minutes later: The flowers mingle with the almondy bee pollen scent of her skin, warming from the heat of her body that pulses outward from her overcoat. The wind is still, but sways around her coyly, playing with the ends of her hair, whispering in her ear. Such a crystalline scent that is reminscent of a woman's kiss in winter, chill with a warmth of inner glow.

 

Such a harmonious oil, very quiet, thinking, but beautiful in thought. The night blooming flowers are gentle and soft, almost as if they've sunken into her almondy cream skin as she slept.

 

very beautiful I love it I know there aren't any almonds in it, nor bee pollen, but I smell it, it's there whispering at me

[Diana]

This reminds me of a candle scent that I've used to make xmas candles around the holidays. I'm not sure what the notes are in that either, though. Kind of a foody-floral mish-mash of smells.

 

In the bottle, this is a wet, oily floral scent. Slightly buttery. Odd.

 

Putting it on, a really odd note appears, and I have NO idea what it is. It's not agreeing with my nose at any rate. Thankfully that isn't the predominant scent and is mostly hidden by the weird aquatic-butter flowers.

 

Drying down, a slightly minty scent appears and this softens up. The weird funk smell is still kind of there, but only if I stick my nose up to my wrists and really inhale deeply. The floral note reminds me of a note in Frost Moon... lotus perhaps? I'm not getting coconut so much, but I see how some people would get that out of this oil. I think it is masked by the floral scent on me.

 

As odd as my description sounds, it really is a soft, lovely scent. I probably wouldn't get a second bottle of this, though. It's nice, but not something I'd envision myself wearing very often.

 

---

 

ETA: months and months later...

I didn't like this because it smelled "plasticky," but after I let it age for a few months, it is WONDERFUL. The mint kind of dissapated and now it's a creamy, sweet, wonderful cacophany of coconutty musky pineapples.

Edited October 20, 2005 by Diana

[sigh]

I tried Snow White in 2003, and it just didn't work with my body chemistry at the time. I am so so glad I gave her a 2nd chance in 2004 now that I've gotten my thyroid and hormonal issues somewhat resolved.

 

This year Snow White is just lovely on me - yippee! She dries down to a creamy, slightly coconutty/almondy/vanilla with a touch of honey and a light musk undertone. Very soft and comforting, a bit mysterious and also a bit shy.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Like a light, fluffy, marzipan scented cloud

 

After Wearing It:

When I first put this on, I was a bit disappointed with it as it was too light for me and I actually prefer heavier scents. I kept thinking maybe if I actually bathed in it, it might work. My perfume style is oddly extroverted for my personality type, and I like to share my scent with everyone...whether they like it or not. So a scent only I can smell when I think about smelling it, no matter how pretty, doesn't hold much appeal.

 

Fortunately (and surprisingly!), Snow White bloomed on me right after it dried. Wet it was just a sweet wisp of a scent, but once it dried, the notes just billowed out in waves, enveloping me in a marshmallow cloud. And then Snow White and I were in love. This is such a sweet, fluffy, gentle scent. It didn't smell cold to me at all, and while it wasn't warm, it did make me think of being wrapped in a blanket.

 

The scent itself smelled mainly of almond and vanilla, laced with coconut. I could smell a bit of mint, but just a whisper of it every now and then. It did remind me of Dana, though it was less green in its finish and I liked it much better. The scent lasted surprisingly long and had great throw, so all around, Snow White's a winner!

 

Final Thoughts:

So glad I bought two bottles of this! It's too gorgeous for words and has definitely made it into my top ten!

[Neko]

In the bottle: On first sniff, pineapple and jasmine jump out at me, unfortunately they are followed by a strong plastic note that might be the "flurries of virgin snow". Needless to say, I'm a little worried. I clear my nose and take another sniff: now I get soft, creamy vanilla... and plastic.

 

On my skin (5 min): The vanilla dominates the scent at this point, but it remains gentle and smooth, like vanilla ice cream rather than vanilla bean or vanilla extract. The plastic has faded, but it lingers in the background. The fruit and florals have disappeared for the time being.

 

On my skin (30 min): The pineapple note has reappeared, though it is less intense than it was in the bottle. The vanilla is going strong, and clearly serves as the backbone of this scent. The heavy plastic note is all but gone, however it leaves an overall synthetic touch to the scent that makes me unhappy. Strangely, it seems a previously unnoticed herbal note is trying to break through. The jasmine is hiding far behind all of the other notes, adding the smallest breath of sweet floral to the blend.

 

On my skin (1 hr): I can smell the mint note that others have mentioned, though it is far from the bright, piercing mint I am used to... instead it is rather dry and herbal, and it is very, very light. Still, I am happy to have it around (I love mint). The pineapple note is throwing. I can catch it wafting through the air around me. The plastic note seems to come and go in waves: sometimes I smell it, sometimes I dont. I think it might actually be white musk behaving strangely with some of the other notes on my skin (usually white musk smells lovely on me).

 

 

I would just like to testify how much this scent can change on the skin. When I first tried this on two and a half weeks ago, it was predominantly jasmine, almond and pineapple. The plastic scent (probably musk) was also far more intense. Now it's vanilla and pineapple with just a touch of jasmine and mint, and a much lighter dose of plastic/musk. Its strange how much skin chemistry can change in such a short amount of time.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Let me begin by saying that I am on thyroid medication (all the time) & antibiotics right now. I'm sure they will effect the blend.

 

Here's what I smell:

 

Wet: mint & loads of it, icy, cool with a tiny hint of fruit.

 

Dry: floral, lighter mint & a wee bit of something musky.

 

My daughter asked if I was wearing "Playdoh".

 

That about says it all.

 

I'll try this again in about 10 days & see if it's any different.

[wolfie13]

I couldn't WAIT for this to arrive - I felt sure from the descriptions that it would be one of my favorites too.

 

Alas - and I'm glad to note that at least I'm not alone in this - this was not good on me, not at all. It was that note - whatever it is - that others have mentioned.

 

The plastic-y/playdoh smell.

 

I smelled a touch of it in the bottle and it grew much stronger on me upon wearing.

 

I REALLY wish I knew if there is a certain scent in this that I would know to avoid in the future. Anyone have any ideas? Or maybe it's just a certain combination of things that reacts badly to my chemistry.

 

Big sigh on this one. But it seems to have found a very happy home with Rollergirl.

 

And I guess cases like this just balance out the scents that I don't have much hope for at all but end up really enjoying!

[tart]

I got a wonderful compliment on Snow White from a customer of mine. She thought my perfume was light and gorgeous, soft like baby's talc, but with maturity.

 

When I first put Snow White on, I could smell something creamy like Dana O'shee. After it started drying, I got the funny Band-Aid smell that others were talking about. But a few minutes later, after it completely dried, it was gone.

 

Snow White smells fresh -- I don't have any fresh scents! There is something tropical in it that reminds me of what I wanted The Star to smell like. It creates an interesting image of snow in the tropics. It lasts nicely throughout the day.

 

I think of all of the bottles I own, Snow White smells the most grown-up.

[malati]

My first impression upon application was that this was incredibly buttery which was quickly replaced by coconut reminiscent of the toasted coconut mushroom sweets.

Within 10 minutes it had changed to marzipan, bitter rather than sweet, before becoming floral.

 

By this time I was absolutely confused and unsure as to whether I liked this. The process then reversed back through marzipan and stopped again at coconut. At various times during the day I thought I could sense pineapple with the coconut, sweet rather than acidic, and the marzipan was to and fro in the mix.

 

I can still smell this on my wrist nearly 12 hours later and it still puzzles me. My strongest feeling is one of intrigue. I can't say I love this but I want to wear it again.

[couscous]

I actually smell quite a bit of Ivy in this one. There's a scent Annick Goutal makes, I think its eau de Camille, and I smell a lot of that in the first stages of snow white.

 

Warming up the ivy is a musk of some sort, a sweet vanilla, and probably several buttery florals.

 

It's a masterpiece of ingenuity, but I didn't like it at all. Its definitely the butter-y stuff that's making me dislike it, and that's not surprising. I don't like smelling buttery!

 

However, I had to try it after the glowing reviews, and I'm glad I did, because really...a warm scent called "Snow White" is just ballsy and fantastic. It is very snow-creamy, and it is like no other BPAL I've tried.

 

This bottle will make someone very, very happy

[shadow]

Hmm, I think Snow White and I are just not meant to be, which shocked me to no end. The first BPAL scent I tried was Dana O'Shee, and I have very fond memories of it. I see the similarities between the two scents, they feel like each other, but Dana O'Shee has a bit of green and grain in it and Snow White is like a big fluffy creamy confection.

 

It is absolutely lovely, and striking, but I find that it has too much throw for me. When I wear it, it's all I can smell. If I ever become capable of giving up some of my oils, I might consider gifting someone with this, but for now I'll hold on to it and see if maybe I was just too sensitive.

 

(Disclaimer - this week I started a new vitamin/supplement regime, and I was already feeling a bit ill this morning, so it may very well be that I was just oversensitive. I'll edit this if it's different next time.)

[voodoobaby]

From the description I was expecting this to smell like the inside of a freezer, which would have been a very, very good thing for me as ice is one of my favorite smells. However, I was in for a slightly disappointing surprise.

 

In the bottle: Butter. Very sweet butter. And a bit of almond. Even in the bottle it's a barely-there scent, very light.

 

Wearing: Very warm, and not snowy or cold at all. This is the sweet, creamy, nutty smell of vanilla soy milk...at first, at least. After maybe three to five minutes, I keep sniffing, and a bit of a charred smell of all things starts coming through. Then...what the heck? Burnt rubber bands?! This is along the lines of the plastic smell others have talked about, only much worse. After a few more minutes, the burnt rubber bands thankfully fade out a bit, leaving toasted almond (or maybe even hazelnut) and what smells like a very faint white musk. At this stage it isn't bad, but so not my cup of tea. It would be great for layering, however, especially with something as warm as, say, Hearth. I will more than likely be passing this on to someone who can enjoy light scents.

[purely_cosmetic]

I've had an imp of this for a while, from someone who was kind enough to decant me some from her 5ml.

 

Every time I have worn this Ive had a completley different experiance, which i find very odd!

 

I remember trying it a few weeks ago, and being new to bpal perhaps put just a tiny bit too much on, although even then it was just a couple of wipes from the stick thing. (technical term, lol)

Throughout the day the scent got stronger and stronger, and although it was a beautiful scent - very creamy, vanilla, mixed with coconut, ice cream and a very light nutty smell, light vry very faint almonds - it got the point where it was so strong it was making me feel nauseous.

 

 

About a fortnight later I decided to try again, but this time, within seconds of putting it on my hand, it started to itch, and generally made my skin feel very uncomfortable. Disappointed, I quickly washed it off, because the itching was driving me crazy!!

 

Skip forwards a couple of weeks to today. Because Im on the search for a 5ml bottle of snow white for a birthday present for a friend, I thought Id try the snow white again, as i was in the mood for a creamy scent.

 

In the bottle it smelt dreamy, and Im not often a fan of BPAL in the bottle, normally I have to wait for it to dry before Ilike it.

 

Lying on bed, sniffing my wrists, (recovering from a late night!) it was lovely, and then all of a sudden a very strange smell of "burnt" began to creep in....BUT ONLY ON MY LEFT WRIST. I must have the craziest body in the world. so although my left wrist still has the creamy smell, there is an undeniable taint of what smells like burnt plastic. The right wrist smells creamy, but faded.

 

So there you go, a crazy rollercoaster of snow white experiance! Im going to leave it on for another hour, and see if it begins to get much stronger as it did the first time I wore it.

 

I find it very strange that the exact same vial of oil can have such different reaction on the same person!

[paperdoll]

This review is for the 2004 edition, though I was fortunate enough to smell 2003 and they smell pretty much exactly the same to me!

Initial Sniff: A cold, creamy floral. I can see where people are smelling coconut, but I don't smell it unless I'm thinking "coconut" as I inhale.

Wearing: This one stays true to the bottle on my skin. Cold, creamy, floral, sweet, fluffy, distant, apart... No, Snow White does NOT want to play. She wants to sit on my arm in all of her cold regal perfection and look at me with a pleasant exression on her face.

Final Impressions: While beautiful beyond question, this perfume borders on antisocial for me. Not that it makes me feel antisocial, but I feel that I am hanging out with somone antisocial all day. I'll definitely try it again - maybe I was just in a weird frame of mind.

[etherealchild]

In the Bottle Buttery white softness...... ahhh. so yummy....

 

Wet Perfect combination of comforting warmth, delicate white blooms, and complex and subtle layering of scent. You get the sense of Snow White being a snow flake that when touching your bare skin, melts into warm fluid yumminess......... there is pear or white grape making an entrance right now..... mmmm. I love this the way I love Blue Moon, Juliet, Queen Mab, and Ullalume....... the way Beth has blended such lovely florals is breathtaking.

 

Drydown The floral notes are hard to single out and identify. I think I got my finger on jasmine. I also detect notes that smell like mimosa, hydrangea, orchid, and heliotope, but I could be wrong. There is definetly pear and white grape, but it is subtle, therefore not disrubting the fragrence by making it bitter or fruity. It has softened further...... I wish I could drink it. It smells good. Damn good.

 

Two Hours Later Lighter and softer still. A bare whisper of what it was in the bottle. It is one of those tightly wound forals that unfolds on your skin...... Yet you don't need to really reapply. It is simply staying closer to my skin...... ::sniffs arm and drools::

 

Verdict This is now one of my favorites. What a shame it is a LE.

[renaissancerouge]

Wow. I may have found a new favorite which is an effin' tragedy as it's an LE. This is a gorgeous contradictory fragrance that's both buttery and clean, chilly and erotic, and creamy sweet. I want to dye my hair black, rouge my lips, and wander bereft through all the nature the South Side has to offer in the dead of winter. The boyfriend really loves this one, too. I've only had it since Christmas, though, and the miniscus is already at the label!

 

ETA: My boyfriend just spilled most of my Snow White on himself today. I'm torn between hating him because it was my SNOW WHITE and hating him because he smells good in it, too. Hapless males, what to do?

Edited April 23, 2005 by renaissancerouge

[Stanzi]

What an unusual scent! It's truly a winter fragrance. I think I can detect notes of mint... vanilla... just a bit of almond... pine? More than anything else, it reminds me of bayberry candles, only cooler. Maybe real bayberries, in fact... I don't think I've ever seen actual bayberries, but this is what they *should* smell like, with frost on them.

[luxuria]

 

I want to write a poem about Snow White. I wish I could because I just don't feel like I can do this justice otherwise. This is perfect! This is snowy, but only the most fluffy, light and freshly fallen snow. It puts the "frost" in "frosting!" Even those damn light florals didn't taint this one. I definitely smell some lightly minty coconut at some point, which enhances the "snow" quality rather than smelling tropical.

 

It does kind of smell like "nothing" in the bottle but once on the skin it manages to both be an incredibly light and soft, but strong fragrance. So many contradictory qualities that just WORK!

 

I'm actually willing to pay an absurd amount for another bottle on ebay now. It's worth it. If I use this up and it doesn't come back next year...well..bad things will happen.

 

etc. etc.

 

[edit] I've managed to peg the bottle smell as watery Scotch Tape. Uh...sure glad that smell doesn't carry over.

Edited January 21, 2005 by luxuria

[Miggins]

Sweet, creamy - reminds me of buttercream but with something extra... mmm, sweet, lightly musky and slightly buttery but in a very fluffy kind of way. I like!

 

ETA: On prolonged wearing, I find that my skin amps up the musk but it's oh-so-sweet and snuggly and lovely. It's hugely long-lasting, and has a nice throw. Weirdly, it reminds me of Laura Biagiotti's Venezia, Cosmetics-To-Go's Himalaya, and Lush's Snowcake and Butterball. But amazingly better. And although it's warm and snuggly, I have a perverse desire to keep it in the 'fridge!

Edited January 25, 2005 by Miggins

[Sara]

Hmm...not exactly envisioning snow here. Snow White is a very creamy, almost "milk-sweet" scent hinted with coconut and very gentle, non-offensive florals. And I use the term "florals" lightly. It's just a very feminine scent that conjures to me comfort and heavy, sweet milk drinks - like eggnog or chai, without actually smelling like those...just a feeling.

 

I have a feeling that this could definitely offend a "delicate" stomach with the milky sweetness..I nearly regretted applying it at first. Thankfully it mellowed and so did my recent hormal "tenderness" to scents.

 

Very pretty scent.

 

Edit: forgot to mention this has a very nice *throw*. Lately oils are disappearing into my skin, but this one is still swirling around me like a lovely cloud of light fragrance.

Edited January 16, 2005 by Sara

[LupaWulf]

Sweet... very sweet!

 

I'm not certian what sweet Snow White reminds me of. Just delicious, happy, light and wonderful.

 

Something underneath REALLY should be found in the Love Potions. I never pictured Snow White as a tartlet, but this scent really could drive people mad.

 

I wore this one to visit my mate. There was definate agreement on the above statement. He decided it amplified the "good enough to eat" scent that's allready on my skin.

Men are so silly!

 

I really didn't know what to expect from Snow White, certianly not this degree of yum. I find some of the wearing similar to Blue Moon, but with more of a creamy tasty scent.

 

Either way- worth every penny paid!

[Fulltiltredhead]

Angel's breath. Deliriously beautiful.

 

I get gardenia, narcissus, stephanotis, apple blossom, ivy, a touch of coconut (although I had to look for it), and, overwhelmingly, yes, snow cream, that ice cream made from snow. Maggie Moo's Udderly Cream ice cream, maybe - with flowers on top. It's also ozonic - there's a fresh rain/snow/clean air after a storm smell. A deliciously cool, clean, fragrant, floral breeze.

 

I'm delighted by this.

[Theravada]

Sweet shredded coconut, just a hint of white florals and something slightly cold and green....which I think might be lime. I would not at all describe this as a floral blend. It's more along the lines of a "foody" blend.

 

This totally reminds me of a freshly baked vanilla cake with creamy, coconut icing topped with fresh shredded coconut. It's reminds me of a little girl's birthday party. With virgin pina coladas and princess costumes.

 

I'm not sure if this my type of perfume, but it's very pretty and I think I'll be keeping my imp. Not sad about missing a big bottle though as this is just a bit too sweet for my tastes.