A Lady Tall and White

[grashopper8]

A fur and cap all made of snow: frosted vanilla sandalwood.

A Lady Tall and White opens with an intense frost accord, which hits my senses as an aquatic shiver with a kiss of cool green mint and frozen winter pine needles. Newly anointed on the skin, I am not sensing the warm vanilla sandalwood base that I was expecting, so I am biting my lip and reminding myself to be patient and just let the scent develop!
As the aroma settles and starts to reveal the true fragrance, the cold watery iciness calms (but does not vanish by any means). I am vaguely reminded of Snow Glass Apples, the same chilly flurry of top notes dances in the air and in my memory.
The oil melds further with my chemistry and the hum of depth underneath the snow is smooth but quiet. This isn't the rich vanilla gourmand Child Of Monsterbait: Underpants as I may have hoped, but it is delicately beautiful and possesses a subtle tenderness. The lightly musky sandalwood tone emerges with a peaceful silence.
I look forward to slathering this to see what happens. Right now, it smells like starlight and snowflakes.

[Frills]

I put this on right off the porch instead of letting it settle like I usually do. In the bottle it's very frosty, very sandalwood-y.

 

And it has tons of throw! You need maybe a little dot on your wrists.

 

Fresh on, it smells pretty much like it did in the bottle...maybe a little bit soapy (which is my skin chemistry and sandalwood duking it out). I get a hint of it warming up, but no sign of vanilla yet. Lots of frost! Little bit of sandalwood peeking through my wonky skin chemistry.

 

I'll have to let it settle and try it again. As it is right now, I like it, but I really really want it to be more vanilla and less frosty sandalwood.

 

ETA: After about an hour it settles down and smells a lot like Midnight on the Midway. Which is one of my favorite scents ever. If you miss Midnight, snatch this one up before it's gone. (And give it plenty of time to mellow!)

 

I knew I wouldn't regret getting a full bottle

Edited December 12, 2014 by Frills

[Bluestblood]

This is gorgeous. It starts with a strong blast of the lab's snow note backed by the most gentle vanilla and sandalwood. It is almost exactly like Monastery in the Mountains.

[sammy]

A Lady Tall and White starts out with a blast of the frost accord, as AEris and Bluestblood mention above. It's a chilly mint note that pretty much takes over the entire scent. Then, as soon as the scent hits my skin and begins to dry down the magic happens.

The frost accord almost completely fades and I'm left with a beautiful sugared vanilla and the barest breath of sandalwood. This scent truly evokes winter.

The sugared vanilla note lasted for quite a few hours, amazing considering my skin can eat scent.

 

I did test this right out of the mailbox, so once it settles I may have some things to add.

It's pretty damn amazing right now and if it gets even better than this, it's going to knock my socks off.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Sammy

[Ina Garten Davita]

The cold sniff reminds me of the sparkling sugary snow notes of Snow Angel, but none of the bright lemon tea scent.

There is a hint of ozone that comes through once it's applied to my skin, the ozone doesn't linger long, which is good because it's not a note that I'm particularly keen on. (I hope it ages out.)

 

Once dry, the ozone is gone and the creamy vanillic woods start to peek out and it starts to warm up. I amp sweet and this scent is quite sweet on my skin. This one is a morpher, starts chilly and snowy then turns warmer, creamy and sweet, although the perception of the chill remains like looking out an icy window while you're inside, warm and cozy.

 

Lovely scent, reminiscent of Snow Angel at the top and at the long dry down.

[suki]

In The Bottle: I'm reminded heavily of the sweet juniper note in 21 when I put the bottle up to my nose. Nothing but juniper. It's very holiday-like, don't get me wrong. Just not what I was expecting the 'frost' note would be like.

 

Wet On Skin: I'm still getting nothing but the snow note at this wet stage. I like it, but I hope to see the vanilla and sandalwood soon...

 

Dry Down: Oh, you pesky water and ozone notes. I thought for sure it would be held in check by greater forces but...nope. There is nothing but frost on me. Forever and ever. If the Lab decides to do a vanilla-sandalwood scent on their own, I will be very, very happy. But with my skin chemistry, those more subtle notes simply can't fight their way through the total amping of frost.

 

Sigh. Off to swaps you go...

[Dark Alice]

In The Bottle: I'm reminded heavily of the sweet juniper note in 21 when I put the bottle up to my nose. Nothing but juniper. It's very holiday-like, don't get me wrong. Just not what I was expecting the 'frost' note would be like.

 

Wet On Skin: I'm still getting nothing but the snow note at this wet stage. I like it, but I hope to see the vanilla and sandalwood soon...

 

Dry Down: Oh, you pesky water and ozone notes. I thought for sure it would be held in check by greater forces but...nope. There is nothing but frost on me. Forever and ever. If the Lab decides to do a vanilla-sandalwood scent on their own, I will be very, very happy. But with my skin chemistry, those more subtle notes simply can't fight their way through the total amping of frost.

 

Sigh. Off to swaps you go...

THIS! I get the frosted "snow note" and pine. Frosted pine with no vanilla sandalwood. I am so sad to see this as this is the one I was most excited about. Off to the swaps with you...

[MuskWitch]

In the bottle: What is that? Something I've smelled before, a smell associated with an experience, not a bad one. Some effervescence, maybe a touch of "forest" or pine needle - in a good way, That may be the "frosted" note. The vanilla and sandalwood are blended with the "frosted" really well, they don't scream out at me from the bottle, in fact they are hiding very well behind the effervescence.

 

On my skin - effervescence effervescence effervescence and nothing else.

 

Dry down - still effervescence. It doesn't really remind me of snow, it smells like effervescence. It isn't a bad smell, it just isn't something I want to smell like.

 

I'm going to let it sit for a week or so and try it again. I received three of the Trading Post scents today and they all smell "fresh". In other words, they haven't been mixed together long enough for the notes to get to know one another. I think they need to sit for a while. Including this one!

[Atrous]

Right away I get a blast of chilly, sparkling snow.

It morphs quiet a bit during the dry down. For awhile there's a strong juniper berry scent to this and as it starts to recede there a short time where this smells exactly like Skadi.

The frosty note continues to dominate this blend but isn't quite as chilly and there is a hint of greenery. slowly vanilla and then sandalwood make their appearance but stay low key.

A truly lovely blend.

[gingiemay]

Soft and sweet vanilla and sandalwood. There is a bit of sharpness from the snow note at the beginning but it goes away quickly. Really lovely.

[oceandreamer001]

This is gorgeous. It starts with a strong blast of the lab's snow note backed by the most gentle vanilla and sandalwood. It is almost exactly like Monastery in the Mountains.

Spot on. It evokes Snow White for me, without the coconut. It's gorgeous, and I think it actually replaces Skadi for me as favorite winter blend. That's HUGE. Skadi has been it for me since it first came out. 2004? 2005?

 

It's that good.

[LiberAmoris]

A Lady Tall and White offers an elegant twist on the snow note with vanilla and sandalwood. The sandalwood is particularly nice here and comes forward beautifully on the drydown. I'm someone who really amps the snow note so have to be careful about wearing it on my skin, but I'm going to hang on to this and see if aging mellows it out a bit—the combination of notes is really pretty. If you love the snowy blends, definitely try this one!

[zankoku_zen]

I really get the pine and snow on wet. The middle drydown transitions into a snowy sandalwood and dries down to a sandalwood with a hint of vanilla. It takes several hours though. Medium throw and medium wear length.

 

Its not an instant love but I would be interested to see how this ages.

[RoseThornAndOak]

This is piney. A soft, delicate pine. It conjures images of soft, white snow and fabric, but it mostly smells like the pine needles with soap. Its delicate. Pine doesn't play nice on my skin, but I'll let it age and see. Snow Flakes works better for me. However, if you were a fan of Cloister Graveyard in The Snow or missed it, this one is similar from what I can remember, although I would have to try them on side by side to give you a full comparison.

[Numanoid]

Sniff in bottle: Like Muskwitch said....bubbly and sweet!! I don't associate that with snow or cold. Maybe that is supposed to be the "frosted" part of it?

 

On skin: The fizziness goes away and I start to smell the vanilla/sandalwood come out.

 

Dry down: I get a little bit of some pine (?) or something woodsy...very soft vanilla, but mostly the sandalwood is what I smell. It is lovely and has a soft "walking in the winter woods" feel to it, but I don't think this is for me.

[TheIceMaiden]

This is the first bottle I've ordered unsniffed in a long time. And I'm glad I did, because I adore it and have gotten multiple compliments too!

 

I was worried about the mention of pine or evergreen notes, as both trigger migraines for me. But I don't detect any in the perfume. It starts off with a refreshing blend of eucalyptus & a hint of mint. The sandalwood and vanilla come into play next, both are very soft and well-blended. Not foody or woodsy at all!!!

 

The throw is moderate-to-light and the staying power is a few hours minimum.

[dementia_divine]

In the bottle: Frooooooost. If I inhale really deeply, I can smell a bit of vanilla sandalwood in the background, but it is hidden beneath all of the frost.

 

Wet: A minty, bright, ozone-y frost note reigns. The vanilla sandalwood note is very faint and seems to be content with hiding in the background.

 

Dry: The frost note is still the most prominent. The sandalwood has emerged now, along with the vanilla, but the vanilla note is faint and stays very close to the skin.

 

Verdict: I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet. I don't dislike it, but I was really hoping to get more vanilla sandalwood from this. I think I will hang onto this for a while to see if the vanilla comes out more with time.

 

*edit* After two years of aging, the vanilla part of the sandalwood has come out more, but there's still a long winter to get through before it arrives.

Edited November 22, 2017 by dementia_divine

[theredshoes]

I'm normally cautious about snow and ozone notes, but this is one of my favourite fairytales, so I went for a decant.

 

In the imp: An almost-clear oil, not that thick. First sniff is sweet but sharp, not unpleasant but pretty intense. It's really hard for me to describe or analyze. I got almost a faint citrusy note, but my husband didn't (his opinion: "Smells like Christmas....no, I don't know why"). Definitely a chilly smell. I get no mint.

Wet: Sweetens up a tiny bit, but not much -- I'm still waiting for the vanilla and sandalwood. I don't get pine -- it's still a pretty sharp bright cold scent, with maybe some of the juniper. Not a heavy smell, but definitely sort of piercing. Usually "high white" scents give me a headache, but not this one -- maybe the vanilla's softening it up a little? This smells the way bright sunlight looks on snow.

Drydown: My husband could definitely smell the sandalwood long before me ("Incense.....smoky? I like it, it's not sweet like your other perfumes," HAHAAHAH //cries). I finally got the sandalwood note, smoky-sweet, but it took a while, and was mixed with the juniper (?) in a really interesting way. I don't think this has a lot of throw, but it hung on for quite a while.

Verdict: Definitely a wintry cold smell and it suits the subject perfectly. Not something I'd want a bottle of but I'm really glad I got the decant. Bright, icy, snowy, faintly sweet but a deep chill underneath. I think the sandalwood and vanilla darken this down and sweeten it up a lot, because other snow scents just don't work on me (Snow White goes right to the infamous Play-Do).

Edited January 3, 2015 by theredshoes

[violetblue]

In The Bottle: I'm reminded heavily of the sweet juniper note in 21 when I put the bottle up to my nose. Nothing but juniper. It's very holiday-like, don't get me wrong. Just not what I was expecting the 'frost' note would be like.

 

Wet On Skin: I'm still getting nothing but the snow note at this wet stage. I like it, but I hope to see the vanilla and sandalwood soon...

 

Dry Down: Oh, you pesky water and ozone notes. I thought for sure it would be held in check by greater forces but...nope. There is nothing but frost on me. Forever and ever. If the Lab decides to do a vanilla-sandalwood scent on their own, I will be very, very happy. But with my skin chemistry, those more subtle notes simply can't fight their way through the total amping of frost.

 

Sigh. Off to swaps you go...

This can be my review as well. :cry2:No vanilla or sandalwood! Almost soapy/fruity and ozone.

Edited January 7, 2015 by violetblue

[Gateau]

In the bottle and wet, this is a total blast of aquatic, ozone snow, and honestly, it's not my favorite smell. I was hoping for vanilla with rich sandalwood and a kiss of snow.

 

Once it's dry, that snow recedes, and now I'm getitng mostly sharp, white sandalwood. This is not my skin's preferred sandalwood, and I probably should have anticipated it since this is a very white scent description. Well into the dry down, I smell the vanilla on more equal footing with the sandalwood -- a good thing, because often scents describing their vanilla content don't leave me smelling it at all except as some kind of grounding note.

 

Definitely a chilly scent -- this is not something I'd put on when I want to wrap myself in vanilla. But if I can tolerate that opening aquatic phase, it could turn into something quite nice. Wintery and a little less intimate than other vanillas I like. I'll hold on and see what kind of settling it does.

[theseagrows]

this starts off with the familiar bpal snow note, all white and fresh. it's been so long since i've experienced this note! it's nice to smell it again. after about 5-10 minutes i get a hint of something other than snow, something warmer yet still hard to place, because the snow is dominating, but i think it's sandalwood(?)

 

overall this is mostly just...snow. there is a hint of something else in the background, but it's just too much an ozoney/aquatic scent for me.

[astarinel]

In the decant, I get some lovely sandalwood, but when I put it on, it goes primarily to ozone-y frost. I like cold notes, but when they're too airy, they go weird and dryer sheet on my skin. This one is definitely doing that, and I get very little vanilla or sandalwood at all, just frost and ozone and pine.

 

I wonder if there's some batch differences in here, because if I smelled this, I wouldn't come up with any of the notes in the description other than frost. When I smell it in the decant, I get some of that sandalwood which I generally like, but it seems to disappear on my skin.

 

This is not the snow/cold note that I tend to like, which is also in Neither Peace Nor Rest, but a more ozone-y/pine-y varietal that I don't. I had sort of high hopes for this, but I did just get Some Strangeness in the Proportion to satisfy my vanilla sandalwood needs, so I will be able to deal with the disappointment.

[AmyO'Shields]

My decant was all beautiful snuggly vanillaed sandalwood after a bit of snow, but my bottle is all snow :-( with just barely a hint of the sandalwood. Why?

[stellamaris]

I could not wait to try this one and was absolutely right in my eagerness.

The minute I smelled it I thought oh wow, Whirling Wind Moon, which was one of my favorite hot weather perfumes, I used up every last drop. I love to wear snowy things when it's hot.

It's a little less "thin" than WWM, that must be the vanilla and sandalwood. Wet it is lovely, and dry.

Hoard worthy.

[MCS4096]

I ordered this right when it came out, and I guess I just read the description too fast and missed the implication of the "frosted" part... 'vanilla sandalwood' sounded simple but perfect and amazing and I jumped right on it. I was so confused when I got my bottle and all I could smell was the Lab's snow note. I actually wondered if I got a mislabeled bottle. But I checked the description again and "aaaaah... right"

 

So this has aged since I got it (before Christmas) and still.. I only get snow. It's like snow SN. I get absolutely nothing else. I will continue to hold on to it, like several other folks here, to see if age brings anything else out. But I was rather disappointed in this I'm afraid.