Blizzard

[Jenjin]

A solitary track stretched out upon the world: grey amber and white oud, ti leaf, vanilla ash and white sandalwood.

 

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
Snow:

years of anger following

hours that float idly down —

the blizzard

drifts its weight

deeper and deeper for three days

or sixty years, eh? Then

the sun! a clutter of

yellow and blue flakes —

Hairy looking trees stand out

in long alleys

over a wild solitude.

The man turns and there —

his solitary track stretched out

upon the world.
– William Carlos Williams

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Jenjin

[WoolyBee]

I was really curious about Blizzard. All notes that I like, but almost identical to Cat at the Table. Full disclosure, this test is done only a few hours after I received them in the mail, so I’ll be curious to see how it settles after mailshock. 

 

At first application (one on each hand), these smell almost identical. My nose seriously didn’t know what to do. Although after some time and some sniff to sniff comparisons, they show their differences. To my nose, Cat is brighter and the roasted white tea is the dominant note, with the other notes present to give it some body. Blizzard really highlights the oud, ash, sandalwood, and amber. Holy hell. The “ash” of the vanilla ash almost smells like the faint whiff of a snuffed out candle. But it’s subtle, almost like someone blew out a candle in the next room and then they walked away and gave you a hug. It’s not what I would consider a typical smokey note, but I think the oud and ash are the culprits to giving me that vibe. I know oud is sometimes scary, but I love it. I think it’s really well blended in Blizzard and quite tame compared to some oud-dominant blends.

 

Ugh wow divine. It’s dare I say… sexy?! The two smell completely different to me. Granted, it could be that because I’m doing a side-by-side sniff test, the similar notes are cancelling each other out. Only time will tell. But good god y’all, this is amazing.

 

Slight Update: I wore this the day after I got it and it is beautiful! The oud is woody and deep, without feeling like a forest. It’s so well blended and is a VIBE. I feel cozy and sexy all at the same time - think sexy without trying. Effortless, if you will. This is a standout. It’s the first of this year’s Yules that I’ve tried so far, but I can see this one becoming a regular part of my rotation. 

[white_jenna63]

Appropriately, I tested this while shoveling the driveway....just came in last night, so minimal time to settle down. I didn't get a chance to do a full throw/lasting test due to the activity, but it's still clinging on faintly after one hand washing.

This is a lovely, soft gray white scent. I don't know that I could have picked out any of the notes individually, but since they're all kinda similar, that doesn't really mean anything. I wore Cat at the Table several weeks ago, and I remember it being brighter as well. Blizzard is a lovely gender neutral scent that really would be perfect for just about any occasion. Definitely worth picking up if you've been on the fence about it. Perfectly evocative of the name, if you're safe and cozy inside watching it.

[VioletChaos]

Seconding the claim of "sexy"- this scent is sexy as hell in a somehow casually understated way. There's also something in here that, on my skin, makes it a very close cousin of Night after about 30 minutes. I'm deeply perplexed because there's not a single note of overlap between the two scents, and the note in question in Night is the inky musk, and there's nothing in Blizzard that seems like it would come close to that, and yet, there it is.

I've no objections over a sexier version of Night, since that scent is one of my ride-or-die fragrances, so that just makes me love Blizzard that much more.

[Amoraexcena]

I got this in the hope that it's a little like To a Wreath of Snow, and while it's not similar really, the vibes are there. They're both scents that work super well on me in biting, cold North-American-winter air. This is a little less floral and definitely less sweet on me than WoS. While WoS is pure, soft white, this also has a bit of a green edge I attribute to ti leaf that reminds me of the scent of our rainforests after snowfall. It doesn't really have a woody scent, more resin-y, evergreen needles crushed underfoot. I'm surprised that the white sandalwood isn't turning into pencil shavings on my skin as it tends to. It's an intensely WINTER scent of slivers of deep green herbaceousness encased in pale ashy resin and layers of ice. 

 

It's already very nice and wearable, and I look forward to seeing how this ages. 

 

This is definitely going into my winter rotations, especially for walking my dog! 

[doomsday_disco]

Blizzard starts off with a blast of ti leaf, which smells like the Lab's astringent, somewhat lemony, white tea note on me. It's backed by the resins: first, the dry, white sandalwood is the most noticeable of those, then, the grey amber joins the ti leaf on the center stage, and then finally, the white oud gets its chance to shine. It is not an indolic oud note, although I didn't really enjoy the white tea note accompanying it. None of the resins ever fades away; it's just that they all take turns sharing the spotlight with the ti leaf.

 

This scent was not a love for me. Maybe if I had gotten some of the vanilla to sweeten things up, but the white tea with the oud was just too astringent on me, verging on sour, by the end of the day.

[Madame Mew]

Big love for this. I love Cat at the Table, and this definitely started out very similar but the drydown is definitely leaning a bit more “clean” and wintry than the former. It’s very peaceful and again as stated above, less bright and gender neutral, even though I didn’t think of CatT as fem. Definitely bottle worthy. Quite zen. 

[Ennikar]

This is an odd one - very difficult to describe. I do get a "cool" impression... other words that come to mind are "round" and "watery". I think I can pick up the white oud? Maybe ti leaf? The other notes combine in a way that that reminds me of leather. It's well-blended, in that I don't get distinct vanilla or sandalwood but believe they're here. Throw and longevity are pretty lab-typical.

While I can see the love for it, so far it does not compel me. Might retest later and/or try it on a friend who has an affection for leather notes and seemed interested in the bottle sniff.