Winter

I blind bought a bottle of 'Winter' based on reviews, reactions and the note pyramid. I have a deep love for all things sap and conifer-based and whilst I do enjoy 'Winter' very much I have to say the fragrance is not quite what I was expecting. The opening does bring an immediate burst of conifer – the spruce and pine here presented with a very essential oil / crushed-needle aspect, a million miles away from that artificial air-freshener quasi-pine scent. However the coniferous medley rapidly takes a back seat, and soon (20 mins) becomes barely detectable. What instead comes quickly to the fore is the lavender seated against the cardamom. The lavender here is very unusual, presumably a consequence of the extraction technique, and really does have none of the herb's usual harshness or medicinal aspects. Instead it smells like the kind that is used in confectionery – extremely sweet and pure. The cardamom is the lesser of the two partners, but brings a depth and warmth to the lavender and the two are really exquisitely balanced against one another, harmonizing beautifully. But there is another very important element at play here. If I was blind testing 'Winter' I would have said that sugar was an included accord – white, refined, possibly powdered/icing sugar. Along with this is an unmistakable creamy-ness, suggestive of light whipped cream. Since neither of these are mentioned in the composition I assume that they have emerged from the other notes in combination principally, maybe, as a bi-product of that lavender extraction. Add all of this together and you actually have an almost gourmond fragrance that, after the coniferous opening, essentially evolves into a lavender cream dessert – delicious but undeniably very sweet. The progression from there on is entirely linear (it basically just slowly fades out). Sillage is moderate to good throughout but I do get outstanding longevity – this is a highly concentrated composition that evidently contains high quality ingredients. I find that it's clearly detectable at 8 or even 12hrs from application. Although highly appealing in it's own right I've also tried layering this with other coniferous fragrances to try to amp up the needle/sap aspect. Norne and Wald were both too diffuse and fuzzy. Bottega Veneta Pour Homme combines interestingly, bringing a sharpness that plays well against the confectionery sweetness, but the BV is so weak (i.e. dilute) that the effect only lasts around 30 mins and then 'Winter' punches straight through & back to full strength...which speaks volumes about it's potency! For me sweet fragrances work best in extreme cold temperatures, and 'Winter' will be an absolute gem to wear with snow or hard frost on the ground – a very distinctive and high quality composition.

I got a sample of this from Twisted Lily in Brooklyn, and after a few days of actually trying to crawl into the tester vial, I had to actually make a detour on my way to the airport because the thought of waiting for shipping was just too much. To me this is kind of like a madeline moment: it reminds me of one of those frigid winter days in NYC, a week or so before Christmas; the corners of the sidewalks are stacked deep with Christmas trees, so that you're walking through this corridor of evergreen. Down the block is one of those Nuts4Nuts carts and you can get that warm, praline smell through the fresh, crisp resin-y, briskness of the trees. Definitely agree with Jovian about the sugar note, but it's not overwhelming and it just provides this kind of cozy grounding to the cold and bright feel of the evergreen. I wonder if that's the cardamom and lavender playing together, because I can see where the spiciness of the cardamom works with the spruce and pine, but cardamom also has that kind of winter spiced dessert/chai association that might be bringing a sweetness out. Seriously addictive, very natural smelling scent. Just as a weird aside: I don't know if this is just a scent association for me or what, because looking at the notes there's no reason for this, but something about this kind of reminds me of the smell of the original strawberry flavour Chapstick -- I actually bought a tube of it after getting the sample and there's definitely *something* there, but I'm not sure what! Interestingly, when my husband first smelled it on me (about an hour after I'd sprayed it on), he mentioned getting a kind of fruity ("melon-y") scent at first sniff, so who knows! Also, re: the candle vibe others have mentioned... Trader Joe's is currently (Dec 2016) carrying a candle called Cedar Balsam that definitely has a lot of similar things going on. Some yummy, natural Christmas tree deliciousness and because it's a coconut/soy wax, some of the creamy sweetness of the coconut just peeks through, but not enough to actually overpower or be recognisable as coconut. Good stuff.

Word of warning, I have been told that Sam Rader's Winter may have been reformulated, but I cannot confirm this one way or another - those with newer bottles complain that it can smell a bit like Yankee Candle's "Blackberry Forest" or "Fresh Balsam" depending on climate and also whether you put it on blotter or skin, so just a heads up. My older decant is a photorealistic, frosted pine and blue-spruce scent - it is as if I was trimming the branches, crushing the needles, and getting doused in pine resin like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. Rich, gentle lavender; powdered, vanillic sugar; sweet cream; green, raw coriander; warm pralines; and spicy cardamom underly this scent and make it both more homely and a tad syrupy, though they are thankfully kept subdued by the two woody notes, which are the stars of the show. Lavender takes over near the end, but never becomes soapy or powdery - instead it transitions from bright to a darker, almost woodier tone in its own right. Overall this fragrance is candied, and at the opening has a hint of some nonspecific fruity/melon tinge, taking it to a place where it is almost gourmand in its sweetness. It also truly comes across as "chilly" (at least with my mental associations), though it is definitely a smoother, happier, daytime Christmas scent. Helps to clear the sinuses as it feels like sucking in a breath of icy forest air; alternatively one could imagine decorating a Christmas tree while a family member is baking sugar cookies in the next room over. Unisex, long-lasting, moderate sillage, good value, 7.5/10 scent - good for cozymaxxing

I disagree with the reviewer who said this is "men's cologne." I am a woman and I love it. No, it's not floral. No, it's not what you have been trained to think of as a "feminine" perfume. Yes, at first spray you get a lot of Christmas tree/ holiday candle, but let it settle. It turns into a beautiful soft, warm scent. You have to learn to wait. An hour in it's almost the smell I have wanted my whole life- warm sun baking on pine needles on the forest floor. Sometimes I wear it for walking in the woods, sometimes I wear it with all black velvet or green silk. It can certainly be casual or formal, and it is gender fluid. If you love forest scents you should try it. If you are familiar with Cape Heartache you will find that this is similar but thankfully it is missing the offputting strawberry note. This is just deep, evergreen forest that turns warm and a bit sweet. I find that it lasts about 8 hours, which pleases me, too. And hey, Sephora girl, I know a woman who wears Winter and smells warm and mysterious, and she wears red lipstick and sometimes looks a little witchy, sometimes a little forest-nymphy. Your boyfriend is a bit intrigued with the mysterious forest woman - he might be a little scared but he likes it at the same time.

So beautiful and evocative. The pine does makes it "wintery," but there's a sunny, slightly fruity accord to this that would work great in any season. I could very easily imagine someone wearing this in spring or summer without it feeling out of place. I saw someone else say the citrus vibe might come from cardamom, a note that's slowly become one of my absolute favorites. I swear, 4/5 times when there's a really nice warmth to a perfume I'm wearing, I look it up and it's cardamom. Along with lavender, it's one of the ingredients Winter has in common with its absolute stunner of a sibling, Winter Nights. That combination of fresh air and subtle spice is what makes them both really sing. The fact that they both have a Christmas tree smell would make me think they both have pine notes, but no, just this one, and it does take a backseat. It's there, for sure, but not loud enough to exile it to winter only use. Just sprayed the last of a sample I've had for a few years and I'm super bummed not to have this at the ready anymore, because this is expensive . I just don't have the money to justify a full bottle of this, unfortunately. If this and Winter Nights came in a travel size duo, I'd buy it super fast.