L'Inverno Soap (by Silk Road Trading Company)

[copyshopclerk]

White musk, fir needle, cedar, winter plum, neroli, white ginger, sandalwood, and eucalyptus.

This smells woodier than I was originally expecting - I think the cedar, sandalwood, & fir needle are what I notice the most, but the eucalyptus is almost like a scent aftertaste (if that makes any sense!) giving a coolness to the scent that wasn't as noticeable to me when I sniffed it directly. There is a slight sweetness, but unlike the summer and fall soaps, it's more like a whisper of sweetness than a defining factor. If you don't care for plum, I think you'd be fine with this as it does not smell outright fruity, but rather just a light impression of it.

It's interesting comparing this to the other two soaps I got (L'Estate and L'Autunno) because while those were rich and lush and sweet, L'Inverno is more ethereal and almost stark in comparison, which I think makes it very evocative of winter.

[slave1]

L'INVERNO SOAP

 

Packaging: Beautiful, label is on pic upside down though. !

Here is pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/icem...ff/IMG_0684.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/icem...ff/IMG_0692.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/icem...ff/IMG_0693.jpg

 

Soap it self is a light blonde color.

 

Dry scent: Outdoorsy but so very mild. One thing I've noticed from these soaps is how refined they are. Nothing is loud, brash or overwhelming. They are mink coats you slip into and feel luxurious and totally pampered by. Here, the scent is crisp but also warm. The fir and cedar are woody with a nice sweet sappy tone to them. The white musk is very toned down, not soapy at all like it can be sometimes, just soft and clean. The sandalwood shows itself with that perfect velvety texture that just makes you want to cuddle it. The white ginger offers the lightest spice and combined with the neroli really warm the scent and give it a golden undertone. The eucalyptus is very light , just enough to give the scent the contrasting cool note. The note I don't really smell is the Winter Plum, but it may be part of the sweet undertone I get from the neroli and ginger. Overall a very pretty scent and perfect for winter.

 

Wet: Will edit when tried

[Lycanthrope]

And as I did not get L'Autunno, here is my last soap review, L'Inverno.

 

The soap is wrapped in a very pretty label, with a sort of nunnish (is that an adjective?) gal. She is quite demure, not quite as orgiastatic as the Estate gal, wrapped in a nunshawl and acting all like LOLWUT, ITZ INVERNO, I'Z WAITIN FOR BPALZ. The soap itself is an off-white bar, slightly more ivory in color with a hint of tan instead of Primavera which actually had more light green.

 

Cold, the soap smells quite creamy, and there is just the faintest hint of pine. I am surprised that this is not more foresty, and at first was a touch disappointed as Inverno was the soap I was most looking forwards to, being a winter/slushfiend. It reminds me a touch of bayberry candles, and I'd say this smells like Winter smells... inside. Does that make sense? It's the scent of general ambiance around winter, boughs of pine and burning candles, a bit of the extinguished smoke hanging around for good measure. But it doesn't smell like 'Christmastime' in that it's not hugely evergreen, or orange spicy, or turkey (which I suppose is good, who doesn't want a nun that smells like carved meat?).

 

Wet, oh, there is the pine. Oh, there's the crisp additional touch of bough and it's WONDERFUL. The fruit probably does contribute to the overall scent but it's mostly ambiance for me, no juicy fruits or sharp neroli. It's very subtle. Oh, this is the holidays for me. Yes. Lathering is the same as the other soaps, maybe a little more? It's also remarkably soft, softer than the other two soaps. The scent is not whomping me on the nose, but it's there. It is also very transient and it's wisped off my skin afterwards.

 

Want Inverno Oil Plz!

Edited May 5, 2008 by Lycanthrope

[coldandsleepy]

Compared to Primavera, L'Inverno is a really gentle and subtle scent. Like copyshopclerk said, it's got a certain starkness to it. For me, it evokes a beautiful, empty eucalyptus grove where all the tree branches are covered in frost. Aside from the eucalyptus, I can pick out the sandalwood, the musk, the fir, and the ginger... and they're all so gentle.

 

Not only does it smell good, but it felt exceptionally refreshing on my skin. (Maybe that's a tiny bit of the eucalyptus sneaking through?) I'd slivered off a little piece, expecting I'd get two or three uses out of it because I don't usually need a whole lot of soap... but this felt and smelled so good that I burned through the entire sliver in one go.

 

If I could figure out how to make babies with this bar of soap, I would. It's that good. While I like Primavera, my love goes right to L'Inverno.

[forspecial_plate]

I pick up on the fir and eucalyptus mostly, when I smell this. I can tell the other notes are there. Overall the scent is very subtle and doesn't stay on me after the shower is over. But I also started smoking again so maybe my nose is just deadened. : / I didn't really smell white ginger or plum, specifically. Not much fruity about it.

 

I love the high quality of this soap. Very nice, moisturizing with soft suds. I think it's a good soap for hot weather, as it has a slightly bracing quality. I'd like to try the oil when they come out!

[savage_rose]

Scent-only review until I try the soap.

 

This is lovely, but definitely my least favorite so far of the 3 I tried (L'Autunno and L'Estate were the others). It smells like a creamy musk, with a hint of woods and herbs (a subdued eucalyptus?). It's nice, but not quite as me as the other two. We'll see after I've tried it though .

[Victory]

Thank, Lycanthrope, for the sample!

 

Strangely, I don't smell any of the eucalyptus or fir (I'm happy, since I don't find eucalyptus pleasant) at all. I only smell the plum. And as opposed to the plum in L'Inverno the oil, this plum is very deep purple-smelling. I find the plum in the oil to be a fuschia sort of smell. Maybe it's because I love plum and my nose looks for it, or maybe because the soap has aged (I got the sample back in November, so it's more than 8 months old by now). The soap itself is also different that what the other posters have described- it's a deep tan, caramel-ly color. I'm very pleased to have received a sample of this to go with my other L'Inverno products!