In Winter in My Room

[ami226]

Pink, lank, and warm: grapefruit, yuzu, tuberose, peony, violet leaf, pikaki, Indian frankincense, and tonka.

On the skin: lots of grapefruit and florals. Such a spring scent!

After a bit, things turn kind of bitter and quite tart! This one does not like my skin.

[CynicalPink]

Bottle: Grapefruit, peony, and tonka. Exactly what I bought the scent for!

 

Wet: My goodness that is pink. I though High-Strung Daisies was pink but this is PINK. The yuzu and tuberose and peony are at the forefront

 

Drydown: Clean! The tonka gives it a creamy, warm feeling. The yuzu didn't last too long, but the grapefruit is hanging around. Pink flowers all around!

 

Overall: I like it! I needed something aggressively pink to add to my BPAL collection and this fits the bill. And even though it is a bright scent, I can still get the winter vibe from it.

[femmefatale]

This smells *awesome* in the imp. Fruity and bright smelling with just a hint of florals.

 

On my skin though? It smells like one of those candles we used to put in the bathroom. So so sad.

[tajana]

Well, when I opened my box of BPAL, it smelled strongly of tropical things. A bad sign! The bottle of In Winter In My Room was cracked, so I just slathered some on immediately and cut myself on glass in the process.

 

Wet: Sugared grapefruit and yuzu, swirled with light floral blooms, lots of peony. Delightfully PINK and refreshing. I could see how someone else was reminded of melons: the citrus has a cool, wet edge rather than a sharp and sour one. The yuzu is cheerful and a bit candylike, but that's fine with me. This smells really cheerful and fresh.

 

Dry: As it dries down, the tuberose really comes out in a big way, which is fine by me, because tuberose is one of the "biggest" flowers I can do. I think I can also pick out the violet "leaf", which is great. And MMmMmMMm waxy sweet tuberose petals. The tuberose is coming out more strongly than the pikake does. The grapefruit/yuzu combo obviously fades with time, but there's a slight fruity, bright tone that gets left behind. There's a smooth base of light frankincense and creamy tonka which is integral to giving this full body, lasting strength, a general sense of harmony. I got everything I wanted out of this!

 

Overall: LOVE! This dries down to be SUCH a good floral, and I'm SO picky and easily bored with florals. This, though, is fabulous and pink and induces deep huffing of the wrist. The throw and potency isn't the best ever, but maybe it'll settle down and toughen up after it's been out of the mailbox for longer. Instant favorite! It's not wintry at all, really, but the frankincense/tonka base gives this enough roundness that I'll freely slather this any time of year I need a yuzu-tuberose-magic pick-me-up.

[DeltaCat]

Peony and grapefruit! very bright, cheery, anti-winter. As it dries down the grapefruit comes out more, but still this is a very nice scent. Muted grapefruit.

[HamletsKeeper]

Bubblebath anyone? A blend of various cosmetic companies generic smells to give me Eau De Last Minute Xmas Gift. Maybe I’ll mix it up into a spray and give it as my Kris Kringle this year. Seems rather fitting. Oh wait! It’s turning into sicky powder, yes frankincense I know your name.

[reynardine]

In decant: very bright fruity scent

 

Wet: Still bright, althought the frankincense is coming out and, yes, irritating my nose.

 

Drydown: No, it’s no good. Frankincense is setting off the allergies. I thought I’d try this one despite the one death note because I really liked the other things going on, but this just isn’t going to work for me. Need to wash it off before I get a headache.

 

[kawaiiferreto]

I tried this a few times in hopes that it would love me, but alas. I was hoping for some tartness from the fruits, as I prefer scents that have either a tart or spicy bite to them, (or both!) This actually starts out really strong on sweet sweet grapefruit, like grapefruit candy, and ends up as sweet citrus and slightly powdery floral. The resins in this don't really stand out. It is nice, and certainly warm and inviting, but not a standout scent for me.

[cyberpuff]

This was a scent where the literature that accompanied the scent description got me more than the notes in the scent. That said-

 

in the imp: it's a citrus- pink grapefruit and yuzu at the top- and floral mid- very soft peony.

 

wet on my skin: the same, with an earthy undertone.

 

a little later: The frankincense comes out, so does the pikaki. I think there's a friendly fight going on for Who's Going To Conquer Citrus.

 

An hour later: I don't know what violet leaf smells like, but I think that's the wild note that makes the floral, citrus and resin play nice on my skin.

 

Overall, this is a very pink scent like other people have noted. The combination is unusual, but there's something oddly familiar about it. It has the effect of being a "good witch" scent, because it has such a cheery citrus that's tempered by the tonka and frankincense. Maybe the violet leaf with those two makes a kind of bpal base that makes the scent be not-so-sunny-florida-orange-juice-girl.

[Lyrical]

In imp: warm grapefruit, the sort that is pink inside. Complex and a little dusty.

 

Wet on skin: citrus is usually a cool scent, but this is definitely warm. Pink grapefruit and yuzu with tropical flowers over a base of tonka. A hint of bitter pith and a touch of spice. I'm surprised there isn't ginger here.

 

Dry on skin: possibly the nicest citrus-floral blend I've tried. I tend to like citrus perfume more in theory than in practice, but this is very pretty and I'd like to see how it ages. The drydown is smooth and sweet and I think I could really love this!

 

Faded to almost nothing after a couple of hours.

 

Second day slathering: this is very nice. It feels very pink-and-orange, and brighter than I would normally wear, but it's got a soft vanilla-ish base (tonka?) and it's very pretty.

[MeiLin]

Yikes, the poem that goes with this is creepy enough that I don't like it already!

 

In the decant: Oh dear. It's a tropical. I like tropicals. Lovely tuberose and pikaki, lightened with grapefruit. Someone else said it was reminiscent of the Tikis, and I agree, until...

 

Wet: Nope. This is a very sinister smell. Pink, lank and warm indeed. Something about it sets my teeth on edge. It reminds me of Sarah from the Literary Vampire series--just a bit too loyal to its theme. *shudder*

 

Dry: Tikis + Literary Vampires = this.

 

Just--no.

[PersephonesChild]

This description stood up and called my name-- I love citrus, florals, and I've recently developed an affection for frankincense. Not to mention the fact that I found the poem beautiful, haunting, and very fortunately, one of Emily Dickinson's poems that breaks out of her stiff rhyme and meter scheme through the use of broken lines. (Honestly, she would have written better poetry if she'd gotten out more, but that's another story...)

 

The citrus is very bold upfront, underscored by the pikake. Of course, as naturally occurs with such high-pitched notes, as the oil dries, the citrus pulls back somewhat, but the juiciness of the pikake remains. Very dimly underneath, I get the sense of a resiny base that grounds the blend.

 

I would like to contend that this is not a Tiki-style blend-- the Tikis were decidedly light-hearted, caricatures of themselves. In Winter, In My Room is much more serious and dark, and the resins make it somewhat unexpected. Bright citrus and big flowers don't always indicate silly exuberance-- here they hint at the sensuality of surreal violence and flesh. I would say the blend is more Asian than it is tropical, and has a very similar way of using light notes to achieve a certain solemnity. Very nice.

 

[Lorelai1945]

In Winter is all sweet flowers and citrus. It's exactly the type of scent I used to love when I was a teenager. I don't mind it, but I rarely wear florals, especially with the added citrus. I completely understand when people describe it as "pink" or "orange".

[surlygurl]

In the bottle, it smells pretty and light, like something a young girl would wear.

 

On my skin, I get pikake, citrus, a light mixed floral blend, aaannd...... soap. Is there moss in here? No? Don't know what could be doing it, then. This smells like very pretty soap. And there it stays. Oh well.

 

 

[Invidiana]

I know this is both difficult to describe and actually believe till you smell this, but it actually is a "pink, lank and warm" scent. I'm so glad Beth chose that route for this Dickinson poem instead of taking the "worm" literally as an earthworm because I am not into very earth-heavy scents at all, lol. Being the lit nerd I am, "worm" can also mean "dragon" (i.e. Tolkien's Glaurung whose name literally means "Gold Worm") and this scent actually does match the image of a dragon more--a sleeping dragon--because while it isn't fiery, it's still warm. It isn't an astringent grapefruit at all, and not a candy grapefruit either, just warm, slightly tart, slightly sweet, kind of like gentle heat in a bottle. I think the tonka and frankincense really add to the warmth, and my skin amps frankincense more than grapefruit which I'm glad about. It's a gold-pink type of scent (there goes the synaesthesia again). I told you it was difficult to describe!

[greenranger]

A blanket of warm tropical florals, shot through with powerful strands of tart citrus.

 

It settles down into a warm tropical floral with a bit of zing. I like it, but, I'll have to wear it more to figure out how much.

[Venneh]

In the tester, this is a very bright, floraly scent, almost borderline soapy to my nose. On my skin, this is a very bright, tropical scent. We'll see what this does. ...Yep, tropical floral soap.

Edited January 13, 2010 by Venneh

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Decant: yummy Grapefruit and Yuzu

Wet On Me: lovely lovely yuzu and grapefruit and the tuberose joins the act.

Drying Down: The grapefruit has disappeared now and it's mostly the yuzu and tuberose

Dry: sweet creamy white floral blooms

[thelovelybones]

This is late winter/early Spring when the ground is still cold,but the flowers are just beginning to bloom.A very pink scent,but it is subdued.On me its straight peonies,tuberoses,and violets.So glad I bought a bottle,its perfect for cabin fever.

[fairnymph]

Light yellow oil. Fruity-floral that's bright, sweet, and light but also deep. I get a LOT of pikaki and too-sweet, slightly buttery tonka (blech), a little soapy tuberose, and not enough citrus and peony - though I can pick them out. Sadness. Oh, and of course the frankincense is detecable, and it's also too sweet for my liking here, and too heavy.

 

Tarter- much more grapefruit and especially yuzu - yay! Also soapier from the tuberose, and overall MUCH more floral - I get more peony, but the tuberose and pikaki are totally dominating. I like pikaki but not THIS much. This blend reminds me a lot of La Primavera, but is doing much less well on my skin. The tonka and frankincense are still sickeningly rich and sweet, even more so than in the imp.

 

SUCH strong throw, and also, I think is is making my rosacea flare. The tonka is so incredibly strong it literally makes my stomach turn, and the combination with the soapy-powdery tuberose is dreadful. I love the citrus, but it just isn't enough with the aforementioned heavy hitters. Likewise with the peony, which is lovely. The violet leaf is sort of cologney, almost making this something more unisex. And something is going to powder in this - I suspect the frankincense, but it could be the violet leaf.

 

Nose-stabbingly painful powder/soap with buttery-sweet sickly tonka and heavy frankincense and overwhelming pikaki and all the other lovely notes totally smashed below. In fact the gorgeous citrus almost smells BAD here because it clashes so poorly with the other notes. One of the least well-blended scents I've ever tested, and a huge disappointment. Crazy strong throw and longevity.

 

Why do only the BAD citrus scents last on my skin? Ugh!

 

[ImperatrixMundi]

It's really pink. Very pink grapefruit pink. In fact it is all grapefruit and yuzu at first and maybe something a little floral in between but everything else is lost. I guess this is for spending christmas in the Caribbean. But it fades really fast and leaves a faintly sweet residual scent that is a little powdery. Not really thrilled with this but then I never do well with fruity-florals.

[silver_springs]

Wow this is not a holiday scent at all to me. It's very tropicals and spring/summer, pink fruits and bright flowers image.

 

I really loved this, in fact it was the standout yule for me from the ones I tried. It sounds weird but it smells like really great expensive potpourri but I mean that in the best way possible as it still wears very well on the skin too. Ultra-feminine mix of fruits and florals. All-around a lovely scent that I'll wear quite often I know.

[Suu4LC]

This is such a unique, gorgeous, unexpected addition to the Yule offerings this year-in a weird way this sort of reminds me of Snow Angel's sexy tropical sister, pink and fruity, but instead of being candy and sugar, this has a tropical flower vibe and the maturity of the frankincense.

 

The yuzu and grapefruit are very noticeable here, so if you don't like either of those notes, steer clear! I am generally not a fan of frankincense (I like how it smells in an atmospheric way but not as perfume), but its in just the right amount here to keep the blend grounded and add depth and maturity.

 

I think this is a perfect February scent-pink but still wintery, sweet and sexy-perfect for Valentine's day!

[Argentwolf]

This is a really gorgeous, creamy, fruity scent. Utterly laden with pink and orange goodness; I get a lot of images of a sunlit room redolent with the smell of flowers and a freshly-ordered fruit basket. So very yummy! It has a little bit of throw, and lasts quite a while even under the rigors of things like washing one's hands during cooking and such.

[voodoocatwoman]

Wow, how fruity! How sweet floral-ish! My first impression was an uber-sweet floral, like gardenia or jasmine...

 

This blend packs a wallop. And I like it. Hit me again.