Snowball Fracas

[biocarolyn]

SNOWBALL FRACAS
This means war. A scent tight with delirious adrenaline. Muddy dirt and frost-covered moss from the trenches rubbed into winter clothes and snow impact overspray. This scent hits like the sting from those dang icy hard snowballs... the ones that have been packed too hard by someone who is not playing nice... nailing you right in the face.

I wanted to try snowball fracas because I like dirt scents, and was really curious about the ice/snow note. This is my first BPAL Yule season, so it's new to me.

In the bottle, this does smell cold. Really cold, but it is hard to determine exactly what is giving that impression. This doesn't smell at all like mint, but it almost has the same feel as wintergreen- that chilly scent.

When I put this on, wet the dirt note comes out more strongly. This isn't the loamy warm dirt in Destroying Angel, more like the dry dirt that I smell in Zombi. I haven't smelled Graveyard Dirt, but it smells like I would expect that to smell.

As it dries down, the dirt note becomes less prominent and this is a strong version of icy-snow smells. It is similar to Moon of Ice, which I also enjoyed. This will be a great winter scent.

[thekittenkat]

This was another scent that I was looking forward to. I mean, snow and dirt? What could go wrong? Well, I was sadly mistaken. I put this on, and never got any dirt. It's only mint, and wintermint at that. I love dirt scents. Graveyard Dirt and Old Roswell Cemetery are two of my all-time favorites for dirt. Where is my longed-for dirt? It's like Wintermint chewing gum. No, really.

[spiresinthesnow]

This one reminds me of a frozen Death Cap, its more aquatic, and dominated by shivering mint. Although its lost most of its sweetness. It still has a tinge of rich wet ruddy soil in its depths. Interesting!

[angelicruin]

Starts out as snow, dirt, and moss. As it dries, it sweetens on my skin, though I am not sure what is causing the sweetened effect. As usual, the snow note goes minty on me on drydown. The dirt note seems to disappear, but the moss remains. I agree it's a good winter scent.

[meaganola]

This is one I had a feeling I was going to love based on how much I dig Season of the Inundation. I was right. Snow and dirt has turned out to be one of my favorite combinations. If anyone had told me that a year ago, I would have thought they were insane. Dirt held no appeal, and the stuff I had tried with snow caused extreme pain. Then SotI came along, and I discovered that as long as it's not accompanied by tons of evergreen notes, snow is *awesome*, and snow plus dirt demonstrates why the Lab's full name includes the word "Alchemy." The nice thing about this one is that it's missing something that makes SotI a scent that only feels right to wear in the spring, so I can wear this one in the colder part of fall and winter! *Very* excited about that.

 

And I thought I was going to be the only person I knew outside of fellow BPALers who liked it. I was wrong: My aunt's housemate spontaneously commented that it's really pretty. This is going on the upgrade-to-bottle list. Other snow scents (so far, that's Snow Maiden and First Soft Snow) will have to go head-to-head to get to be on that list, but this is just such a singular standout that it doesn't have to compete. It just has to be itself.

[arlith]

This one started of interesting to me, just like I hoped...all cold and dirty.

 

Then the moss came out to play. I've come to the conclusion that I amp up moss the way I do rose.

 

I ended up with an aquatic/floral moss with a hint of wintergreen (within 5 minutes of putting it on). It was very sweet, cloying, and I couldn't get it to wash off. It lasted for hours on me, despite my frantic washings.

 

Neat idea, but the moss and something that turned sweet killed it for me.

[arsenicsauce]

This smells on me exactly like Golden Priapus. Obviously they share a sticky sweet note I amp like crazy, and I suspect it's either juniper or this kind of pine. Not the sharp pine-sol scent I get from most evergreen blends, but a sweet, fake-holiday-wreath scent that Home Depot smells like from the end of October to January. I don't get anything sharp or cold from it, sadly, this is not for me.

[opticnerd]

This blend starts out with a similar sharp, juniper/pine snow note as a few of the other Yules, but has a slightly tougher edge which seems to be a bit of ozone and mint mingling with the frost. Almost tangy. I feared the dirt note, but instead found the dirt to be a very subtle oakmoss sort of note that blends beautifully with the mints and ozone and brings this to be a very wearable, clean unisex blend that is completely reminiscent of an adrenaline-charged snowball fight. Very fun!

[Altaira]

Huh. All I smell is cologne. It's a nose thing, not a skin thing because the same is true in the decant as on my skin. I guess that is the "aquatic" note people mention? I haven't had much experience with it in other blends.

 

I don't smell dirt, I don't smell mint, I don't smell anything other than a fairly basic, high-priced cologne.

[septima_pica]

Ha. On me, this is very similar to Death of the Gravedigger, which makes sense. Mostly a snow scent, with a touch of minerals and a little resin (juniper maybe?). The moss is barely there. After an hour or so, it's a faint aquatic cologne. From the description I was vaguely hoping for something that would give me the adrenaline rush of a direct hit to the bridge of the nose, but no such luck. Pleasant, but I'll stick with Gravedigger, which is more resinous and dirty.

 

Will update with Kalirren's review, because he tried it and liked it a lot better.

[papermaker]

This scent reminds me of being a kid, and there was the first like 1 inch snowfall, and everyone decides to have a snowball fight, but the snowballs are just as much dirt as snow. It starts as a cold scent. All mint and ice. Then comes the dirt. later as it dries it is a nice mix of dirt and the cool ice/ snow smell that Beth does so well. Once completely dry it dries down to ice.

[Blood onmy hands]

I really hoped that this would smell like dirt + bpal's snow note on me (I had it in my mind that this would smell like mud and be awesome). I don't smell any dirt or earth notes here at all, though. Snowball Fracas smells like bpal's frozen, watery, slightly sweet snow note, plus an extra hint of sweet pillow mints and dryer sheets. It's a little too sharp, bright, and clean smelling for me. It makes my throat feel tight and my head ache after a while.

[fairestrocza]

I've been avoiding this review for a while, because I keep hoping that the next time I try SF something will miraculously change this from a meh scent to an omg scent...

 

In the Bottle: vague pine, dirt, slightly soapy

 

Wet on Skin: slightly soapy, fresh, earthy

 

While Drying: starts to do the Stormhold Soap bit, but the dirt note tames it; soap comes and goes during the initial stages

 

After a Little While: there is something minty somewhere, but it is more an impression than a scent ('aftersmell'?) - this is the icy/cold aspect; Comments from fellow sniffers: 'I can smell the moss and the dirt,' 'I like smelling the whole tree instead of just the evergreen,' 'It is earthy.'

 

Later: the soapiness eventually goes away, and the scent loses its initial throw, and sweetens a bit

 

Final Thoughts: I picked this bottle based on the concept/description/name. Fresh from the mail, it smelled WAY too close to Stormhold; letting it sit for a few days, and gently mixing before opening, made this a more integrated scent; I would have liked slightly more pine. Would be interesting layered if I can find the right complement. I am beginning to realize that I should tread cautiously near scents containing precipitation notes, no matter what the form, as they have been very hit or miss with my skin. That being said, I am not yet willing to give up on Snowball Fracas. I will be doing more layering experiments with this one.

Snowball Fracas earns a 3/5 on my skin.

 

Layering Attempts: So far I've tried it with Baneberry & Hemlock. Baneberry was nice, but still not quite what I'm looking for. Layering with Hemlock was interesting. I mixed them on my wrists, then rubbed wrists into elbows. The scent (beautiful) that I got in my elbows is how I imagined Snow White would smell (based off reviews) on people who don't turn that one into single note plastic.

 

ETA: I brought this out a few weeks ago for a friend to try, and it smelled great on her. I decided I ought to give it another chance myself, and I am very pleased with the way this one has aged. The soapiness has decreased significantly, and the drydown has an added sweetness that was lacking before. The dirt note is stronger and more true. This may end up in regular rotation this winter.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Rocza

[musichappens]

This scent is very familiar, I can't place exactly what it smells like to me and it's driving me crazy!! On me, it's a very clean aquatic type of scent. I don't get any dirt whatsoever. It's also way too strong for me as it's slowly, but surely starting to give me a headache.

[edenssixthday]

Snowball Fracas - I don't generally like dirt notes, but I love the snow + dirt in this scent. It's a really awesome combination. It smells like BPAL's typical snow note plus fresh, wet earth, nothing more and nothing less. It's not what I would ever choose to wear for a personal fragrance, and I can't really imagine using it as a room scent or scenting bath products with it...but I still want to keep smelling it because it's just so perfect.

[Schmoozy]

Cold, wet snow with bit's of pine, moss and dirt. Throw in some juniper berry and mint and you have Snowball Fracas. It's a fun, clean scent.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Schmoozy

[ami226]

On the skin: Dirt and white snow. And something green.

 

Whoa, this turns major aquatic on my skin. Ouch.....

[slave1]

SNOWBALL FRACAS: Limited Edition Yule 2009

 

In Bottle: Dirt and aquatic

 

On Skin: The classic BPAL dirt note comes to the foreground right away... it's the same dirt note from Zombie and Graveyard Dirt. Surrounding it is a fresh aquatic note, very clean and crisp. I expected the note to be more cold in feel, maybe a mint or something... but I don't get that at all. It's a gorgeous scent, but it doesn't feel Wintery to me. It's more fresh and Spring like if anything... with the smell of rain and dirt. Even though there is a dirt note, it feels clean... very refreshing and crisp. It has a moderate throw and medium to long wearlength.

[surf-tormented]

Thoughts: First off, I don't know why this oil isn't as popular as others. It has the best name ever. Snowball Fracas. Come on, git yerself a bottle, pronto. It's got an awesome label, which is good, because I wasn't too impressed with last Yule's design of labels. This one is a lot more fun and readable, with the old timey Victorian devils on them. I only wish the devil on this one was actually hitting someone in the head with a snowball, but oh well, you can't have everything!

 

In bottle: Smells very cold and snowy. It reminds me of Ice Queen, but there is a dirt like note in there too. It also reminds me of Black Ice, without the musk.

 

On skin: This is like Graveyard Dirt meets a non-plummy Ice Queen. It does sort of smell like mud at first and then I get a nice creamy ice scent and fresh dirt. It isn't as strong as I would like it, but notes of the perfume last 8 hours or so. I put it on before bedtime and still smelled it behind my ears in the morning, it ended as soapy minty snow. I always feel I need to add my skin is white pale and dry. I have heard if your skin is darker or oily or any combo of the above, it can smell different. So if you are an albino and have really dry skin, this could be the scent for you. That is, if you like snow, dirt and grassy notes.

 

Drydown: Wow, dirt. Wow, Ice Queen happiness. It gives off the notes I liked in that perfume, which I used two bottles of and then that scent never came back to the BPAL catalog as far as I know. This could be a replacement. I also get a whiff of a sort of green clover note at the end of its cycle on my skin. It's a winner.

 

Conclusion: This is the scent for those who avoid foodie or fruity scents (what are there 18 of us out there since I notice the oils I get tend to have a lot less reviews then those in the sweet or food catagories?). It's a nice cold scent, since I try to trick myself into believing I still will see snow on Yule and Christmas. Waking up to a 80 degree Christmas isn't like my Midwest childhood, that's for sure. I do wear these Yule scents during the hot California summer when I want a quick chill. This would be great for that! And those who long for Ice Queen could probably get this instead.

 

I'd call this one Hoodoo Mama Ice Queen if Snowball Fracas wasn't such a fantastic name and a good use of the word fracas, which doesn't get nearly enough use these days. We need to use words like fracas or else words like "phat" become accepted new words in the dictionary and words like skedaddle leave official printed dictionaries. It's true! So use fracas and use it widely!!!

Edited December 15, 2009 by Madame Nyx

[milo]

I actually thought this was going to be a cocoa/snow scent. Probably in the excitement of the Yules, I thought mud equaled chocolate. At any rate, by the time I figured out it was the actual dirt, I really didn't want to cancel my decant.

This is pretty awful on me. I have a friend that smokes, then chews gum to hide the smoker breath, and this is pretty much what it smells like. Smoker breath that really isn't masked too well with the mint/snow note. Not for me.

[Dark Alice]

Eucalyptus and mint. No dirt, no true ice, no nothing! Maybe my skin is revolting since I am getting over this cold/sinus infection thing. Somehow I doubt it though. *sigh*

[DeltaCat]

Snow covered tree dirt I can detect a slight moss note, but it doesn't interfere too much. it is simply snow covered tree dirt. very earthy. Too bad it also caused me to have a sneezing fit...the first ever bpal to do that.

[Kimbernunk]

This was massive screaming juniper and pine for about two hours, and then it all of a sudden shifted to ozone and dirt. WEIRD. I like it now that it's been on for quite a while, but I was enamored of the first phase. I don't really notice any dirt or moss - just the screaming bright juniper/pine and then the ozone. I'll keep playing with my decant, but I don't need a bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

Pine! Snow! Dirt!

 

This has the same sweet icy snow note from Ice Queen, but definitely with pine as opposed to IQ's fir. I also get a slight linen note as it dries.

[MeiLin]

I grew up in SoCal, so I thankfully do not know this feeling.

 

In the decant: Agh, that cologny "snow" note that does not play nice with my chemistry.

 

Wet: Moss and the snow note. Do not like.

 

Dry: Freshly dry-cleaned clothes, and something else--something edible--that I almost get and then slips away from me. Ah, the vagaries of scent memory. Edit: Fried chicken! I swear, KFC. A brief hit of KFC.