When the Winter Chrysanthemums Go

[wl552]

WHEN THE WINTER CHRYSANTHEMUMS GO
When the winter chrysanthemums go,
there's nothing to write about
but radishes.

Lest the next few updates be dedicated solely to radishes, we've created this scent to keep the winter chrysanthemums alive. A gentle flurry of snow dusting the season's last chrysanthemums, illuminated by pale rays of winter's amber-tinted sunlight.

To be honest, at first WtWCG is not what I was expecting, but waiting for the later stages is worth it.

In the bottle: it's minty.

Wet on skin: still pretty minty. *sigh*

Drying on skin: mint with a hint of dried out flowers.

A bit later: soft flowers glowing with the winter sunlight to warm them in the cold.

Overall: if I can get past the mint stage, (I don't care for this kind of mint, there's no sweetness to it at all), WtWCG turns out quite lovely. I'm glad I took the risk and bought a bottle unsniffed.

[SlySionnach]

My boyfriend sent me three scents, because he's awesome. I coveted this one (and actually ordered it for myself so now I'll have 2 bottles! First time ever!) so I tried it first!

 

Bottle: It smells like toasty mint. I'm guessing it's the Mums giving me that warm feeling.

 

On Skin Wet: Oh. My. God. I'm in love. Truly, this just shot up to my favorite list. It's minty, and I can smell the Mums and all together it just smells like winter lingers in the background. I have no clue what that scent is, but it's there.

 

Dry: Mums in snow. This is aquatic, minty Mums and I could not love it more. Even my MOTHER loves this (and she hates almost every BPAL that I like). She loves it so much that I have to order 2 (she said 5! FIVE!) bottles for her. She even spilled about a quarter imp's worth of it on her arm before.

 

Delicious. So freaking delicious. Gah. I could rave forever.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

My guess without having notes to go on was Rhododendron but I'm happy to defer to to Mint.

 

This is a beautiful perfume that evokes cool December morning as the sun begins to slowly warm up the Mums outside in your garden as you peek out the window of your kitchen as the coffee starts to perk.

 

Not the most complex perfume ever but it is stunning in its simplicity.

 

I don't get anything Aquatic, though.

 

Just the gentle coolness of the green, the woody sweet of the mums and an underlying bit of warm familiarity of the amber.

[thekittenkat]

As advertised: mums, a hint of snow, and a touch of amber (that's what I'm guessing the sunlight note is, because it got a little powdery in the dry-down). Like I was thinking in the Yule speculation thread, this is like Mum Moon, only with snow and not so spicy. If you like mums and snow and amber, this is the scent for you.

[cinderfallen]

I absolutely love this blend. This is even better than Snow-Flakes! Haha, well. I say this probably because that and Winter Chrysanthemums have a lot in common. WC is not as aquatic and slushy as Snow-Flakes is, and is more subdued. It reminds me of late afternoon light cast on an expanse of powdery snow. It's the scent of cold air and a frigid water source full of sweet water. It's perfect.

 

At first the mint is prominent, but that's just wet and doesn't linger long. As it dries down, it becomes the glistening quality of ice crystals forming on frozen flower petals. There is no heaviness to this blend at all, and not even any of a real floral aspect. The chrysanthemums are slightly spicy, and make only the suggestion of flower petals--not a true "floral" perfume at all. The amber--what kind of amber is this that can remain so translucent and delicate? It feels like a delicate ice floe supporting the rest of the notes.

 

I absolutely love When the Winter Chrysanthemums Go. I love it especially when I don't want to broadcast the fresness of Snow-Flakes. It is a distant cousin to Snow White with the snow note, as many of the Yule line is related to each other. This is in my top 10 scents of all time, for sure. Unique.

 

I usually can't do aquatics like Sea of Glass, Lady of Shalott, etc., but the Yule slush note is different. I love them!

Edited November 22, 2009 by cinderfallen

[HamletsKeeper]

In the bottle I get soft powdery mint on top of flowers. Very light and you can't guess at all what this scent may end up smelling like. On my skin it's quite strong mint on top of tart, astringent chrysanthemums. I can't say I love this one. Nothing about it is particularly special to me. If this is snow I'm not getting snow at all. Just minty, mint.

 

This scent disappears faster than you can say BPAL and leaves behind mum's that have been sprinkled with Snow White. No throw, no lasting power either. Couple that with the decidely underwhelming drydown and I think I have a new one for my swaps pile. The label art is weird. Olive green with a devil on it. Not sure I get the connection...

Edited November 24, 2009 by HamletsKeeper

[angelicruin]

Wet on the skin, very minty, but soft, not sharp mint. Floral notes emerge after a minute or so. Stays pretty much as a soft snow-covered minty floral on my skin through dry down. Very nice, but again, I will be content to just have a decant of this.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, this was a complete morpher on me. When first applied, this is strong snow and chrysanthemums. It reminds me of a cold Flowering Chrysathemums from last years Lupers. But as it dries... WOW! It's been a couple of hours since I put it on and it's settled into a really wonderfully soft mum and amber scent, with just a hint of coldness. It's STUNNING!! I've actually had three people come into my office this morning with the sole purpose of smelling the room because it smells THAT. DAMN. GOOD!!

[gypsyjolie]

Powdery, minty dried flowers. I didn't get enough amber after the mint fades somewhat to warm it up enough for me. Pass.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Snow and ozone, with a hint of mint and warm, dusty chrysanthemums.

 

Immediately on skin: This blend smells like cold air with a tinge of ozone and mint with a golden warmth wafting above. The golden bit is dry and spicy, and almost even dusty. It’s a nice contrast to icy part of the blend.

 

After a little while: The mint in this has settled down a little, but the iciness is still the most assertive part of the blend. The golden warmth is still lying gently over it, bringing to mind yellow sunlight streaming through an ice frosted window. The chrysanthemum note is slightly spicy and blended with a soft, warm amber.

 

Overall Impressions: The snow note in this is so lovely. There’s a bit of ozone and mint in this at first, but it died down pretty quickly after I applied it on my skin. This scent is a perfect blending of icy cold air, golden amber, and a hint of spicy chrysanthemums. It’s perfectly balanced between lightly warm and sweet, and cold and chilly.

 

[saralaughs]

First applied, I get mint. Not a hugely minty mint but mint nonetheless. After a bit, that is joined by wood. Yes, wood like woody the woodpecker. Only not birdlike. But wood.

 

Those two mingle for awhile and then the mum pokes out. Of the snow. Like just poking. As in I can barely smell it. I get amber as well but only for a bit. Then everything disappears, like it was never there. As in presto-chango-re-arrang...GONE!

 

Ah well. There are others...

[tacey]

This smells a lot like the 2008 Yule There's a Certain Slant of Light, to me. They both have that cool, watery sunlight feeling -- chilly amber, apparently.

 

Not really my thing, either time, but quite nice. Very delicate.

[kelpsoda]

fresh snow (some combination of pine-mint but not ozone) with amber and chyrsanthemums. I like this a lot, but I think I'll use it as a room scent rather than wearing it. This reminds me of Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills, a bit.

Edited December 3, 2009 by kelp

[Leopard403]

Gorgeous and complex while wet, I definitely smell the spicy warmth of those mums. Unfortunately, it's straight up mint when it dries.

[kbrighton]

This is the scent of dried flowers rimmed with frost.

 

At first application the snow note is prominent, not minty snow but somewhat aquatic and lightly ozone. Then the scent/feel of dry flowers emerges, dry frozen flowers. Dry I also detect some amber. The notes all blend together into a pleasantly unique complex scent. The more I sniff this, the more I like it.

[unlaced]

In the bottle: mint...

 

Wet on my skin: minty flowers

 

Drying/dry: still just mint and a bit of dusty chrysanthemum.

 

I think I'll let this some age a bit and try it again. Hopefully it will get some depth and I'll be able to smell some other things besides just the mint and a bit of mum.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from eviltemptressdq's circle

 

Initial Thoughts: I like trying snow scents, I like florals.

 

In the Vial: Very softly minty snow, with a warmth behind it that's probably the mums.

 

Wet: The mint softens even more, and there's the mum! I think it's my first time getting chrysanthemum as a perfume note so strongly, and I like it!

 

Drydown: Hm. Either the mint has soured or mums don't like my skin. Something has gone kind of stale.

 

Verdict: I'll try it again to be sure, but sadly, at the moment this isn't a keeper.

[Prism]

in bottle - mint, snow, and a hint of warmth that I'm guessing is the mums in the background.

Wet - snow, and distinctly mum. It's a little aquatic or green to my nose. This is certainly a simple, delicate scent.

dry - that mum/green/aquatic scent all over. snow in the background and a little amber.

 

rating 3/10

In short - this i'm sure will please someone, greatly. it's just not me. It's a little "old lady" like on me.

[tartchef]

Oh. Oh yes. There's that lovely, quiet snow & amber from The Darkling Thrush - cool, watery-sweet, and very still. But instead of deep purple violets, I'm getting just a brush of spicy, leafy mums - it's a much lighter mum note than in, say Death of Autumn or Mum Moon, more akin to Flowering Chrysanthemums. Just perfect.

[Diva Urd]

I'm getting minty ozone aquatic from this. I was hoping for a bit more floral coming through, but it's strong minty ozone aquatic. It smells very similar to "Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers" on me, which also didn't really work for me. Sad

[surlygurl]

Hmmm.... something like Nuclear Winter, with a touch of floral. Cold but very bright, even a bit sharp. It's pretty for a while, then just disappears. Not really me.

[pinkusmaximus]

Hmm, I didn't get any mint from this at all. On application, it smells of cold, faintly spicy mums...like you walked into a florist's refrigerator and stuck your nose into an arrangement of mums. It's chilly (but not minty) to my nose. There's a strong initial blast of scent that's very pretty, and then it fades away completely in about 30 minutes without ever morphing into anything else. I like the scent very much, but with such poor lasting power I doubt I'll buy a bottle.

[ami226]

Minty floral.... Interesting, but not the kind of scent I am interested in.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like fuzzy mint leaves and snow.

 

On my skin, this is snow with a soft, sweet, vanilla-y mint added in. This actually smells a lot like Cloister Graveyard in the Snow (one of my Salon favorites). As it dries down, I can smell a dark, baby powdery amber taking over the scent. Nothing about this smells floral to me, though.

 

This is all sweet, minty snow and baby powdery amber on me. I really was hoping for a chrysanthemum scent, but I can't smell any floral here

[tasty]

Ugh, this one's disappointing. I was expecting spicy chrysanthemums, instead I get a strange minty aquatic. This one does not make noses happy. :/