Although it may be the year of marsala according to Pantone, in the Boston area this year's color is "Crusty Dirt-Smattered Snow", and as of this post we are barely over 3" away atop our existing 100"+ snowfall from hitting the snowiest winter ever since they began keeping records. So even though it's finally March, this season is beginning to feel even more desolate than last year's polar vortex.
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| Since this photo was taken we've had at least another foot of snow. Goodbye, stop sign! |
Normally during the dead of winter I really look forward to plucking away at different perfume samples. It gives me something to look forward to in my mailbox! My most recent package was a collection of sample vials from Solstice Scents, but when I actually started to sample them, something dawned on me. They were all somehow related to the color white. Someone save me from this endless winter...!
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| Winter Dove, White Fox, Snowmint Mallow and Violet White Leather... move over marsala! |
Winter Dove
Regular size: 0.35oz rollerball perfume for $15Winter Dove is a gourmand floral blend featuring vanilla crystals, fresh nutmeg and sweet cream sprinkled with spicy pink carnation petals. The scent is sweet, spicy, creamy and feminine.
I think it goes without saying that "winter" and "dove" both conjure up very white imagery, so the two together make for a lovely winter combination in Winter Dove. This is a favorite of my sisters', as she's my go-to for all gourmand scents. We're both especially fond of it because it smells like a spicy-floral eggnog!
It never turns saccharine sweet nor does it smell like a dairy-centric cream. Some cream notes in perfumes (particularly the Haus of Gloi blends) sometimes lean a bit sour on my skin. The carnations and vanilla keep things warm and soft. The best part is that it's neither overtly gourmand or floral - I can see this working well as both an office-appropriate scent or something for a cuddly date night.
Oh man am I glad I snagged this though - I cannot wait for my boyfriend to come back for another long distance visit so I can sneak a bit on him when he's not looking. This stuff smells like sexy winter man musk. There are strong wooden cedar notes, and the vanilla helps take the edge off it. The cedar in particular is very potent. It has been four days since I tested this fragrance and I'm still smelling it on the cuffs of my bathrobe! There's a frosty nip to White Fox, the frozen dirt and snow perhaps? It's clean and crisp but not minty. This is untouched, pristine snow blanketing the forest floor, not the exhaust-smoke-stained piles of grey snow-sludge by the side of the road.
It actually reminds me of a desert I had out in California at one of the Snow Station restaurants - a soy "shaved snow" dairy-free deserve. It looks dense and heavy but melts away in your mouth like silky frozen cotton candy. This is what one of my favorite shaved snow desserts smelled like - crumbled cake crumbs with a bit of peppermint and coconut flakes. Cool and sweet, Snowmint Mallow also had the added bonus of clinging close all day long in a very snugly, unobtrusive way.
Violet White Leather was the surprise dark horse hit in my samplings of white-centric Solstice Scents fragrances. I was slammed with a bad strain of the flu and have been sick at home for over a week, and Violet White Leather (VWL?) was a constant comfort I kept coming back to again and again. It initially opens with a distinctly leather tone, but it smells like a cool, well-loved and worn leather instead of something squeaky clean and new. To be honest, I don't even pick up on any "violet" notes, but there is something vaguely floral that tinges that "floating cloud of vanilla".
After about half an hour leather really smooths out and everything truly starts to meld together in a sophisticated, elegant mix. I imagine this is a very elegant lady's soft leather gloves, the scent of her feminine perfume having transferred to the lining as an echo of what it smelled like earlier and mixing with the gloves' natural leather scent.
This was really a stellar collection of fragrances, and I'm struggling to decide which I should upgrade to a full size! I highly recommend you check all of them out!
It never turns saccharine sweet nor does it smell like a dairy-centric cream. Some cream notes in perfumes (particularly the Haus of Gloi blends) sometimes lean a bit sour on my skin. The carnations and vanilla keep things warm and soft. The best part is that it's neither overtly gourmand or floral - I can see this working well as both an office-appropriate scent or something for a cuddly date night.
White Fox
Regular size: 0.35oz rollerball perfume for $16I actually almost didn't buy White Fox because I saw "clean silky white fur" and for some reason my mind went straight to, "Ew, wet dog??" - I am rarely around animals so perhaps I'm not the best judge of what "clean silky white fur" would smell like.Vanilla Musk, White Fur, Wood Blend, Frozen Dirt, Snow, an elegant skin scent featuring a soft vanilla core accentuated with notes evocative of clean silky white fur.
Oh man am I glad I snagged this though - I cannot wait for my boyfriend to come back for another long distance visit so I can sneak a bit on him when he's not looking. This stuff smells like sexy winter man musk. There are strong wooden cedar notes, and the vanilla helps take the edge off it. The cedar in particular is very potent. It has been four days since I tested this fragrance and I'm still smelling it on the cuffs of my bathrobe! There's a frosty nip to White Fox, the frozen dirt and snow perhaps? It's clean and crisp but not minty. This is untouched, pristine snow blanketing the forest floor, not the exhaust-smoke-stained piles of grey snow-sludge by the side of the road.
Snowmint Mallow
Regular size: 0.35oz rollerball perfume for $15Even though my sister is the gourmand authority, she draws the line at mint. "I don't want to smell like toothpaste" is her excuse. In her defense, Snowmint Mallow is minty, but not a sharp wintergreen. Cakey peppermint with fluffy marshmallow clouds, maybe a teeny smattering of flaked coconut.Snowmint Mallow is subtle yet sweet and cakey blend featuring cool creamy peppermint, vanilla cake, white flaked coconut, fresh baked cookies and a dollop of marshmallow creme.
It actually reminds me of a desert I had out in California at one of the Snow Station restaurants - a soy "shaved snow" dairy-free deserve. It looks dense and heavy but melts away in your mouth like silky frozen cotton candy. This is what one of my favorite shaved snow desserts smelled like - crumbled cake crumbs with a bit of peppermint and coconut flakes. Cool and sweet, Snowmint Mallow also had the added bonus of clinging close all day long in a very snugly, unobtrusive way.
Violet White Leather
Regular size: 5mLoz rollerball perfume for $15A new offering from the most recent Valentine's Day collection, this was another fragrance I was hesitant about snagging because leather is just not a scent I lust after. I also have a tricky time with violet notes in perfumes, but Violet Mallow and Violet Truffle from Solstice Scents haven't let me down so I figured why not?Violet, Vanilla, White Leather, Coumarin - Soft powdery violets resting on a vanilla cloud float atop ripples of supple white leather.
Violet White Leather was the surprise dark horse hit in my samplings of white-centric Solstice Scents fragrances. I was slammed with a bad strain of the flu and have been sick at home for over a week, and Violet White Leather (VWL?) was a constant comfort I kept coming back to again and again. It initially opens with a distinctly leather tone, but it smells like a cool, well-loved and worn leather instead of something squeaky clean and new. To be honest, I don't even pick up on any "violet" notes, but there is something vaguely floral that tinges that "floating cloud of vanilla".
After about half an hour leather really smooths out and everything truly starts to meld together in a sophisticated, elegant mix. I imagine this is a very elegant lady's soft leather gloves, the scent of her feminine perfume having transferred to the lining as an echo of what it smelled like earlier and mixing with the gloves' natural leather scent.
This was really a stellar collection of fragrances, and I'm struggling to decide which I should upgrade to a full size! I highly recommend you check all of them out!
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