Winter Heavens

[cfrancesca]

Sharp is the night, but stars with frost alive
Leap off the rim of earth across the dome.
It is a night to make the heavens our home
More than the nest whereto apace we strive.
Lengths down our road each fir-tree seems a hive,
In swarms outrushing from the golden comb.
They waken waves of thoughts that burst to foam:
The living throb in me, the dead revive.
Yon mantle clothes us: there, past mortal breath,
Life glistens on the river of the death.
It folds us, flesh and dust; and have we knelt,
Or never knelt, or eyed as kine the springs
Of radiance, the radiance enrings:
And this is the soul’s haven to have felt.

- George Meredith

Black midnight winter skies glittering with points of light: chill air, champaca flower, white musk, fir needle, papyrus reeds, and grey amber.

I find Winter Heavens really evocative and atmospheric, I was surprised at how it really captures the winter night. Most of the notes are well-blended and they create this dark fruity scent with soft sparkly musk and hints of chilly air and pine trees. After a while the champaca and chilly air peeks a little more. The entire scent is softer and fruitier than I was expecting and it falls a little flat on my skin but I could see this working well on someone with the right skin chemistry.

[hlemonds]

When freshly applied this is all floral...it doesn't register as Champaca to my nose, but I think that is because the white musk is confusing my nose and making me think of a more high-pitched sort of floral. It might be the "chill air" element as well. Once the initial blast dries down however, I love this! That's not to say I don't like it wet, it's just not a scent I would ordinarily choose. Once dry it is lovely. I think that my nose mostly picks up the white musk and grey amber, which are a wonderful combination. I think that my nose might be reading the amber a bit like vanilla. I think it is a lovely amber note. The champaca adds a slightly fruity sweetness in the later drydown. Very pretty!

[bicyclette]

I also found this very evocative of a cold winter's night- wet, I get a lot of the champaca, kind of a heady white floral, along with a blast of the chill air. There's also something a bit green- the fir needle? But as it dries I mainly get the white musk and grey amber, and it's a very pretty combination. The amber kind of warms and sweetens the further into the drydown it gets.

[fiddlehead]

This is a musky floral on my skin with something sort of fruity note wafting in and out.

Edited December 9, 2011 by fiddlehead

[ResinManiac]

Tried this just the other night and was pleasantly surprised! The fir is not at all heavy handed in this and the champaca/musk/papyrus/amber combination comes together to create a incensy brightness, like an actual light aura. What I mean to say is this scent GLOWS like lights on a tree or like the proverbial stars it's meant to evoke. Wonderfully beautiful, me likey

[Lucretia]

This is much more of a fruity floral than I thought it would be! It's not *white* smelling like some scents in the same family are though, this is more muted and subdued. Nothing sharp going on here. I think I'm definitely picking up papyrus also, but no fir at all and not really any musk. It's not what I expected at all, but I think I'll find a place for it in my winter rotation when I'm looking for something cozy but not foody smelling.

 

ETA: I slathered this today and I'm absolutely in love with this scent now! So pretty!

Edited December 11, 2011 by Lucretia

[ACVail24]

Winter Heavens

 

In the Bottle:

clear & cold smelling - but not overwhelmingly strong like other 'cold' scents

 

On my Skin, Wet:

'Black crystalline' is the best way to describe this one.

it's like looking through a heavy crystal vase in a deep dark forest at midnight.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Not as cold now, but still pretty dark & clear.

I don't really detect any one note - just the final product, the vision as a whole.

it's an atmospheric perfume, not foody or spicy or floral or resiny.

 

Verdict:

I really like this one - it's dark but not moody

I really like the clear quality of this one, and it's especially nice to have such a clear perfume without the heavy cold aspect.

lovely!

[Dark Alice]

I remember one winter evening looking at the sky and watching the clouds slowly drift in and saying Oh Shit! We are going to get hit with a blizzard. And that's exactly what happened. This scent evokes that memory from me. It smells like a pre-snowy night, the biting chill in the air, the cold snap of the wind, and the scent of moisture. Cold damn moisture. This is one of the few scents that is truly aptly named. It smells like the Winter Heavens...before it dumps a butt load of snow on us.

[Lit Chick]

Wow, this was not what I was expecting at all.

There is a new note of doom for me - papyrus.

When very freshly wet, I get a blast of lovely bright floral and a fresh grass scent. And then the grass amps and eats everything, then it mellows, and then I get very strange smell, like the grass is farting out the flowers. How weird is that? I bet that's the fir, because I'm one of those people that sometimes gets hints of body odor with fir/pine. As it dries, the champaca and ambergris start to make an appearance (and those ROCK), as does whatever gives that chilly scent. It's SO close to being really nice, so very very close. But my skin disagrees with the green notes too violently.

[strahlend]

Sniffing the decant – This is unusual. It's making me think of winter in the desert. Or Egyptian winter incense. I think it's the sandalwood and white musk (which I associate with white and egyptian scents) combined with the cool feeling notes I'm picking up on.

 

Skin Test – At first this smells high pitched and white. I'm getting the impression of crystal blue musk (maybe the white musk with the amber), a touch of soap, a bit of ice and the slightest hint of mint.

 

After a while - it softens up into a more gentle musk scent with just a hint of cool air and maybe a touch of pine.

If you like winter scents but find them to be too heavy or sharp, this might be what you're looking for.

[patina]

I'm strongly reminded of Zorya, though I don't smell jasmine in this. Instead there's some other white floral. Weirdly, it reminds me of magnolias, though it doesn't really smell that much like magnolias. Champa? Is that you?

 

I do get some chill, dark night sky with conifers off to the side. It's lovely, but I find grassy papyrus taking over.

 

I'm glad I got to try this but I don't think I'll need a bottle.

[yeahbutnobut]

Winter Heavens

 

In the vial: cool musk and a fresh floral that reminds me of hibiscus.

Wet on skin: ooh, there’s the papyrus, and a bit of fir.

Dry on skin: surprisingly perfumey, but not in a bad way. There’s a bright, piercing note here that reminds me of posh perfume, probably a combination of musk, ozone, amber and champaca. The papyrus adds an intriguing touch-I agree, it does have an ‘Egyptian’ scent to it because it reminds me of the smell of papyrus paintings people have bought me when they went to Egypt. The champaca seems to be surging through the cool musk and dry papyrus, which is not good news because champaca tends to go bad on me, and I will be heartbroken if the champaca ruins this. The scent has lost that chilly fir and night air scent for the time being.

After a while: champaca all the way! It seems to have devoured the notes that suggested frosty night air; instead it smells like warm, exotic, slightly spicy-floral incense. It seems on the verge of turning to something cloying, but though it’s a bit too much for me it’s actually not doing its worst here. Yet. If anything, this champaca smells more like a posh perfume than usual. I really like the papyrus here even though it’s only just detectable under the champaca.

Eventually the scent seems to develop an unusual but pleasant resinous note, almost like myrrh or opoponax. Maybe that’s the amber, glimmering through the haze of champaca, and slowly but surely, the scent turns into incense-not nag champa, but something muskier and more regal-like Temple Viper, but a lot gentler. And then the papyrus paper scent makes a comeback. Then the scent turns into really good quality nag champa incense. This is totally different to what I expected from this scent, but I think I like it!

Verdict: at first this disappointed me-I was expecting this scent to evoke one of my favourite things about winter-an utterly clear, cold night where the very air seems to have frozen still, and the sky glimmers with the most vivid, dazzling constellations. I was hoping the white musk, fir and chilly air notes would do that…but then the champaca smothered these notes like a thick fog through which the stars cannot shine. But eventually the scent morphed completely, into an exotic, beguiling incense scent. It makes me think of a nebula, thick clouds with stars shining through the cosmic murk. There’s a mysterious feel to this scent that makes me sniff my wrist repeatedly. It’s actually quite sexy in that subtle ‘come hither’ way, and wouldn’t be out of place in the Lupercalia line. A lot warmer and less frosty than I expected, once the champaca calms down this really becomes something special.

Is it a keeper? I’ll give it another try because it’s growing on me.

If you like this, try: Temple Viper, Khajuraho, Mr Ibis, Cytherea

Edited December 30, 2011 by yeahbutnobut

[Pynki]

In the bottle i get a lot of pine from it. I was wary, but I thought I'd give it a go. Put it on? It immediately turned into Elizabeth Arden: True love. Not what I was looking for. Now it's sort of a tart floral that is quickly fading. I think this one might be destined for the swap pile, but I'll give it another go for one last chance some time.

[milo]

Dominant snow note at first, and then a chilly white floral comes into play. The smell reminds me of paperwhites for some reason. Soon, a musk comes in, and the whole effect is a chilly floral perfume with a touch of musk. This is far too 'white' for me, but nice to try!

[Eemia]

This feels like cold weather in heavy tropics. It's surprisingly seductive and minimal. I think it's the coldness that makes it seem so bare. I got smokey incense and sweet white floral right away. Some white florals can turn soapy or powdery on my skin but this does neither. It's very lush and wet smelling. As it dries I get a more prominent amber note showing up.

 

Gorgeous. With a few exceptions I tend to wear my Yules only during cold weather, but this is one I can see myself choosing anytime of the year.

[angelicruin]

Very heavy floral notes on my skin to the detriment of all other notes. It's actually vaguely nauseating on my skin, so I this one is definitely a pass.

[amanderinorange]

This is a weird blend for me.

 

In the bottle is a floral perfume lacking in the champaca, pine or musk that I was expecting to jump out at me.

 

On my skin this is pretty much exactly what I smelled in the bottle. After a little while though this turns into sugar. That's right, sugar. A little bit floral, but it smells very closely to how Faith and Hope do. I'm kind of glad that it turns sugary though because I can see wearing this far more often than if it had stayed how it smelled in the bottle.

[annaham]

This one is...interesting. At first, it goes SUPER sandalwood on me, then dries down to citrus (think tangerines) plus something a bit woodsy after about 20 minutes. Probably not bottle-worthy, but I can see myself wearing it on cold days.

Edited January 9, 2012 by annaham

[Blood onmy hands]

On me, this is a perfumey white floral sharpened with a cold, slightly soapy ozone and white musk. I wasn't really expecting this to be floral at all, but it smells strongly of something like tuberose/drugstore white floral on me. As it dries down, this thankfully softens a lot into more of a creamy, cool, perfumey white musk and slightly powdery amber with a floral-ish sweetness. I'm not getting the fir or grassy notes that others have mentioned. Winter Heavens is a strange scent...

[calivianya]

Wet on my skin, this is a blast of cold floral! I think I am getting the white musk, champaca flower, and fir needle the strongest. It is an interesting combination, and I'm excited to see where it goes. However, it starts to sour within ten minutes. I'm not exactly sure which component does the souring, though I strongly suspect it's the grey amber. That doesn't always go well on my skin, and it's not going well here. Ugh, this is totally nasty on the drydown; I'm going to have to go wash it off.

[Altaira]

In decant: This is a light, high pitched scent with the kind of white florals I usually interpret as cat-poop (Jasmine, orange blossom, etc.)

 

On skin: Straight up floral perfume. Not my thing at all.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Surprisingly floral and purple. I’m not sure why champaca, amber, and papyrus make purple. The pine and “chill air” are delicate pinpricks of winter sharpness. To be clear, it’s predominantly and interestingly floral. Wet: Less purple on the skin. Still champaca dominant with the lovely amber/papyrus support. The musk is more obvious on the skin and turns out to have been part of the support for champaca. The pine and chill are even more understated. Lots of throw. Dry: Still very purple, even though I know champaca flowers are white/yelloww/orange. It’s a mystery. Anyway, the champaca, amber, and musk have a lot of staying power. The result is womanly and sexy

[Invidiana]

Aptly named. This is a wonderfully cool and clear scent with lots of ethereal white musk and heady champaca flower at the fore, supported by something not quite ozonic but still fresh and clean (but not soapy) that makes me think of breathing in the crisp air on a winter morning. There are hints of fir that stay in the background to contribute to the wintry feeling (though this is by no means a pine scent) and the papyrus may be contributing to the clean feeling along with the gray amber. Evocative and beautiful.

[Helas]

Winter Heavens' notes seemed evocative and beautiful. I had an inkling that the champaca and papyrus might make it too warm and tropical-smelling, however, and I was right. This just smells like heady jungle blossoms drooping in the heat to me. The cool, crisp aquatic notes that I hoped for are completely smothered by the champaca. It's not a bad scent, but it's so completely unlike what I expected that I can't help but feel disappointed. This was the Yule scent I looked most forward to, and I will probably end up swapping it.

[zankoku_zen]

White florals and a touch of amber. Chilly, white, floral.