Crimson Christmas

[Rheliwen]

CRIMSON CHRISTMAS
Have you been bad or good? Santa has sharpened his candy canes, and he's got his eye on you! Gore-splattered snow, chimney smoke, and bloody, broken peppermint sweets.

The label is awesome! All bloody like a nice horror should be

Crimson Christmas is the kind of scent that differs based on the amount applied. Right now I have a smidge on my hand and it smells like cold, slightly mentholy pomegranates. It smells wonderful!.

With a heavier hand I smell the menthol (which to me is part of the bpal cold snow note), peppermint, ripe red fruits, and just a lasting memory of smoke.

It has the same minty coldness I found in Ice Queen but it doesn't go all peppermint patties on me like IQ did. The blood/fruit in this add just the right amount of juice to keep things really grounded.

It smells like a diabolical winter, where evil lurks in the air and you don't want to be out in the woods alone after dark.

ADD: I wore it to brunch this morning and I kept getting whiffs of nag champa from this when I waved my arms around, but not when I brought my wrist up close...weird.

After several hours it has dried into an evergreen/berry scent like Skadi or Mistletoe. Edited December 20, 2008 by Shollin

[pinkgyrl]

This is the most unusual scent! At first sniff, I was like "ewww..." and now I'm falling for it!

 

I get leather (I think this is the smoke note), a ripe ripe berry note - almost tart - I was thinking cranberries - but whatever it is - it's a bright, strong red note, and a breezy, wintry note overlaying the blend - the peppermint is not a "you just got smacked by a candy cane" smell but more of a snowy, icy smell with just a teeny hint of candy. This is so unique, and I'm very glad I took a chance and grabbed a bottle.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is smoky sour patch kids....

 

once applied this morphs into something completely different! while i am still

sensing smoke, there is peppermint and elderberry wine...wow...very strong sillage this

is a true christmas beauty...the smoky iciness have me spinning in olfactory

heaven here folks...

 

if not a must buy (as in my case!), a certain must try!!

[sfsassy]

To me it smells just as I pictured in my head. A very chalky, ashy warm scent....then comes a hint of mint. I really like it, but can't tall you which note it is that makes me love it so.

 

Worth trying for sure.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Steampunk Christmas.

 

The opening has a lot of the "Smoke".

 

And it isn't wood smoke from the fireplace or smoke from Herr Drosselmeyer's pipe.

 

It's sort of an earthy "smoke".

 

Kind of an Industrial vibe to this.

 

Thank heavens, the opening backs off. The other notes are there, a minty smell for sure but not too terrible sweet.

 

Still, I think there some vetiver in here? Or something that vaguely puts this in a more masculine territory.

Edited December 10, 2008 by Heavenlyrabbit

[blacklacestatic]

Wow! This is a really difficult one to describe. It's full of win though!

 

In the bottle: A cold feel, not quite mint but icy, with a tart " sour red fruit" kind of twist.

 

Wet on skin: Super cold and snowy and icy. Mentholicious. I feel like it's helping me breathe, but that might be all in my head. Definitely very cold. It feels "blue" now too, a pale, icy, cool blue. I don't really get any smoke, but I'm not sure exactly what smoke smells like. I've never tried anything like this. SGA comes close with the cold feel, but not at all with the scent.

 

Drydown: This is when it gets really good. Creamy and clean smelling. It smells a bit soap-like, but before you get all like, "Ew, It goes soapy?", I mean soap-like in a luxurious creamy, feminine scented soap that makes you feel all pampered. Almost floral, there may be a bit of vetiver mixed in as well, as it has a typical vetiver dry-down haziness. Maybe that's what smoke is? The haziness? It reminds me of some kind of blue flower whose name escapes me. There's a slight hint of candy too. I love this so much, It's so unique!

 

Overall: I wasn't sure about this one because I don't usually go for things with notes like "gore-splattered snow", but this has taught me that things such as that can smell pretty darn beautiful and not quite as horrifying as they may seem. I love this one, my boyfriend likes it a whole bunch and I will enjoy wearing it all year long.

[schackjj]

This went straight to soap on me. Bar soap. Cheap bar soap.

 

Not fair

[gingiemay]

I got no candy canes at all in the bottle, mostly a blood element and a chilliness. On me this smells like pine, soap and blood.

[katya]

This went straight to soap on me. Bar soap. Cheap bar soap.

 

Not fair

 

I experienced the same scent. I didn't smell any mint at all, which disappoints me as I was really hoping for some mint.

 

Overall it is a nice smell but it's not for me. I think I may give this to my husband to wear.

[Eros]

In the bottle- Tart red berries underneath a dusting of frost. I like tart berries =)

 

On skin- A touch of peppermint sweetness peeks through, like a whisper, with a hint of smoke hovering in the background. As it dries down it takes on a bit of a metallic edge, like blood, which is quite fitting of the description.

If I close my eyes and sniff my wrists it's easy to envision everything in the description.

Dark, sinister, and absolutely beautiful.

[msbcozad]

Crimson Christmas

 

I can smell the smoke and peppermint in the imp, but my skin completely absorbed all smell. How completely and utterly bizarre. No matter how much I slather, there's no scent.

 

Trade pile.

[steelxrose]

Crimson Christmas

 

Starts out with tart fruit, then quickly morphs into bathroom cleaner. No peppermint, no coolness.

 

Maybe I need to age you for a little while, dear CC?

[Minerva]

I noticed the tart fruit, then a hint of smoke (vetiver?) and then slushy bathroom cleaner / laundry detergent. I was really hoping for some mint with a kick but that was not to be.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, the smell of this makes me gag. It makes me feel like I have bitter cough syrup caught in my throat, and smells of a harsh, sharp cleanser that tried to be scented with some mint.

 

On my skin, I don't smell any of the fruitiness or smoke that other reviewers have mentioned. It really smells like some sort of harsh bathroom cleanser on me... harsh bathroom cleanser that wants to be a mint. The mint note isn't like peppermint on me; it reminds me of the watery, non-sweet, medicinal sort of mint that I get from Snow, Glass, Apples.

 

When I tested this a few days ago, the smell started bothering me so much that I had to go and take a bath to get it off. Crimson Christmas is probably in my top three (bottom three?) of least favorite bpal scents. Not good at all on me

[femmefatale]

I've pretty much realized that snow scents do not work on me. Sadly, this one is no different. It goes a very masculine soap scent with a hint of mint. Not really bad, but very much not me. And I was most excited about this scent.

 

It's going into dh's box since I think this will work better for him. I'll update this post once he tries it.

[Dark Alice]

This is the oddest perfume. I don't smell the blood note...but the peppermint and snow notes are doing some weird hoochie coochie dance....and they are smelling like a cross between vicks vapor rub and peppermint...and the strange thing is that I love it! I think that I will keep my imp though!

[catattack]

This scent does not work on me. It started out as an overwhelming pine/evergreen scent with red fruit. Didn't smell any candycanes or mint. Then as it dried down, the fruits went away and the evergreen/pine mellowed.

Further drydown, a leathery/smoky scent crept up and the scent went soapy. I'm bummed that I never got even the slightest whiff of candycanes. I had hopes for this one.

[Neyahala]

I too, had high hopes for this.

 

On me: it starts out really smoky, then morphs into the perfect peppermint scent for about 10 min, then turns to soap for about 20 min, then mellows out into this nice scent that I'm not really sure how to put into words. Hubs was disappointed that it actually works on me, since he likes the smell of it as well, but I'm not going to be giving up my bottle.

 

On Hubs: It starts out really smoky, then turns to peppermint, and stays that way. That's the way I wanted it to be on me, I'm totally jealous.

[AmandaArcana]

*pout* devistated again!!! Smells great in the bottle, once it hits my skin *PooF*...instant dryer sheets. Fresh, overly scented dryer sheets.

[Schmoozy]

I love the way this one smells right from the bottle. It is tart, and sweet and just a hint of peppermint in the background.

Once on, I can definitely smell the snow note. It is crisp, and I can detect just the tiniest trace of pine. This blend confuses me though, as I can also smell something fruity. It feels and smells like red fruits, and when mixed with the snow and peppermint, it reminds me of Midwinter's Eve. Sort of!

The leather appears in drydown, and rounds out the snow and tart fruity peppermints.

[Iceblink]

I wasn't expecting this to be so fruity--it recalls The Hamptons a bit, with that cranberry sweetness. There's a slightly minty frostiness, and a smoky note that's getting stronger and stronger the longer this dries. It's not really working for me--it's a bit cleaning-productesque--but I do like the first fruity blast of it. I think the smoke and mint are killing it on my skin.

[milo]

I get a snow note, metallic note (probably the blood?), and a dash of mint. Most of the lab's snow notes do not work for me, as well as the metallic. Still I was holding out hope that the mint would be the dominant one here, but alas it is not to be. This smells like a really strong (good quality) hotel soap in the end. Not for me.

[megank4]

Definitely getting a red berry hint. When I hold the bottle up to my nose and huff, I get a very slight blood note (which is okay because I hate blood notes- couldn't stand Blood Garden), very slight smoke, and very slight peppermint. No snow.

All in all, okay. Unusual.

megank4

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Bright, sweet, a little minty, kind of evil.

Fresh on the skin: Uck. Smells a bit like kitchen cleanser, but a sort of sweet, organic kind, but still a bit searing.

5 minutes later: Speaking of searing, it's making the inside of my elbow burn a little. And by burn I mean like an ice burn, all chilly. The skin there is admittedly more sensitive than that of my wrist, but it's still rather disconcerting. And it still smells like a fairly brutal cleanser. Hrm.

15 minutes later: Fresh and clean and searing and weirdly lemony. I have no idea how my nose has taken snow, smoke, and peppermint sweets and gotten lemon kitchen cleanser, but there you go.

30 minutes later: My whole world smells like fresh, bright, citrusy cleanser. It's not a bad smell, but it's really not something I want to personally smell like. It might make a decent room scent. It certainly has enough throw.

1 hour later: This has calmed down into a sort of fizzy clean citrus. It reminds me a little of Independent, actually.

4.5 hours later: Still very fresh and clean and fizzy-ish.

6 hours later: Well, it's pretty consistent, anyway.

12 hours later: Soap.

 

Verdict: Enh. Not really me.

 

One phrase: Fizzy clean citrus cleanser. (This is very confusing, given the notes listed, but that's what I got.)

 

 

[yeahbutnobut]

Crimson Christmas

 

In the imp: I don’t smell resin, but I do smell red berries, something a bit pine-y, and smoke.

Wet on skin: blood accord, holly berries, ozone, pine, a faint hint of mint, and some coal smoke.

Dry: what a strange but intriguing mixture. The first thing I am reminded of is Tintagel. It reminds me of the mix of mulled wine, dragon’s blood, evergreen and berries in that scent. This though has a less dragon’s bloody note and more of a fruity-metallic blood accord. Also, this has a fresh scent which is partly from the peppermint, and partly from the snow, which in here, is a lot more ozone-y and pine-y, a tad more masculine and harsh, than the usual snow notes. More like Black Ice or Ice Prince, or maybe L’Inverno, and less like Snow White or Ice Queen or Skadi. And then there’s the smoke…it does have hints of vetiver, but also a dark dusty coal scent. I don’t get any resins, other than a little pine/fir sap.

After a while: drat, this seems to do the same thing as Blood Moon 08. Instead of smelling like that lovely snow note, or resins, or berries, or candy canes, this winds up smelling of metallic ozone and soap! The blood is sharp and iron-y, like blood but also like steel blades, this scent does have a hint of something unsettling about it. But it’s the soap note that disappoints me most, as I don’t want soap in here!

Verdict: this one was a little disappointing. I was hoping for mint sweets. Or resin. Or the snow note. But I get a weird scent which at times reminds me of Tintagel, and at other times of a colder version of Blood Moon 08 which I didn’t like. The cold, cutting ozone with it’s metal and blood does seem to fit in with the theme, it has a hint of that same violent vibe I got with Blood Moon, and in here it works with the concept, but I don’t like it on me. And it turns rather soapy on me at times, which isn’t good at all. So this one isn’t one for keeping, I’m afraid.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? No.

If you like this, try: Blood Moon 08, Tintagel, Black Ice, Black Tower