Description
According to Dasein: “Created by independent perfumer Sam Rader, WINTER is a blend of blue spruce, forest pine, black cardamom and French lavender. The rare forest pine essential oil used in WINTER unisex fragrance is harvested from the twigs and blue-green needles of giant pines in the Austrian Alps. The use of this oil in the blend immediately conjures the presence of a majestic winter tree. Perfumer Sam Rader also chose to use lavender absolute from France to give the blend a rich, sweet, soft base that only a pristine absolute can offer. Unlike steam-distilled lavender essential oil that smells medicinal, lavender absolute is created by gently extracting the scent of soft lavender petals through use of a solvent, which allows for a sweeter, richer, fresher bouquet.”
Winter was launched in 2013.
Indedenuh – :
Fantastic…this is how a pine/spruce perfume should smell…as it is in the mix and not overpowering…this actually has a softness to it…also love Winter Nights by this same house, which takes out the pine and adds in the smoke…
ANDRO987 – :
I absolutely, positively love this fragrance. It’s seasonal and wintry without smelling like an artificial tree or candle. It reminds me of the holidays but in no way limited to Christmas. It’s clear and fresh but still sort of sweet and natural. I wish I could wear it all year, and even bought a dupe for it because it opened me up to a litany of scents I didn’t know I liked! Winter is deceptively simple yet keeps your interest.
P.S.
Don’t let people tell you this smells like a Bath and Body Works candle. I hunted for a candle that even comes close to this scent and the B&BW ones do not! The best I can recommend is Yankee Candle’s “Blackberry Forest” but it’s not as complex. Try checking out the Trader Joe’s one someone mentioned below.
radiogubitel – :
Winter is the first creation by Dasein Fragrance that I’ve had the pleasure to try and it does not disappoint. It’s pleasantly dominated by spruce and pine, a fresh woody delight that does remind one of winter, at least in much of North America, where such trees are widely found.
The lavender adds to the freshness and the cardamom essentially comprises the spiciness, but Winter remains subdued by the woody duo that make up most of the scent profile.
The use of pine rings similar to that of Imaginary Authors Cape Heartache, but certainly CH is dramatically sweeter due to a pronounced strawberry note, whereas Winter is milder and slightly spicy due to the cardamom.
Winter performs above average for an EDP, and at $95 for 50ml is not a bad value at all as it’s very wearable for women and men alike. In my collection it would prove a bit redundant as I already have a love Cape Heartache, but I’d encourage others to try out Winter as it does have a similar Christmas tree candle reminiscent vibe about it. Still, I’d call Winter a “like” not a “love,” as the gap between it and the blend of CH is substantial.
7 out of 10
drunkardever – :
ETA: After a few weeks, this has become a favorite. Something about the sweetness and freshness makes me want to smell this 24/7 right now. Just ordered another decant to last me until I can swing a FB. Beautiful!
In the very beginning I smell pine toilet bowl cleaner. But after about 15 minutes the cardamom comes out swinging, and it smacks everything else far into the background. I wasn’t sold at first, but it is growing on me.
azovmen – :
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.
3308426 – :
I would totally burn this Yankee Candle in my home. But oh wait! It’s a perfume. Yeah, not so much for wearing. This is pure pine on me – I don’t get the lavender at all. It smells good, but it’s definitely too one-note to be a wearable frag, especially when that one note is so strong. My wrist literally smells like I just hugged a christmas tree.
modova – :
This is the best smellin perfume of all time.
Нина Курмель – :
I want this frag. It is as close to herbal essence shampoo that I used to love as any frag I’ve ever smelled. I would probably wear it year round. Love the fir because it is not harsh like fir is a lot of times. And I love cardamon period. Will buy FB
zate – :
This smells like a bath and Bodyworks candle. Specifically Fresh Balsam. This is something I would like for a home fragrance, but I can imagine using it on my body again.
Nickolay – :
I was hoping this might be nice, but it doesn’t work for me at all. Strong spruce, piney scent reminds me of old school pine scented air freshener and bathroom cleaner. Scent is not natural smelling at all. Minimal development,everything is swallowed by that giant pine/spruce note. I can barely smell the cardamom or the lavender.
vsevol – :
I agree with all the prior reviews except that I don’t get any of the sugar/cream gourmand aspect described by Jovian. As with Dasein’s Spring, this strikes me as a more masculine scent, more suited to a man, but it is terrific and I would like this a lot on my husband. The lavender note really is special — not soapy at all, but fresh and herbal, as if the leaves’ essence were also part of the extract. So far, the scent is lasting and strong on my test strip. I may have to go back and try it on my skin — or better yet, take my husband to the store and try it on HIS skin!
37SEREGA37 – :
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.
barbitura – :
Testing in the summer, this smells like cardamom iced cream! A delicious and naturalistic cardamom with chilly sweet cream and a dash of pine.
Mevki377Negeltzex – :
This truly was love at first sniff! One sniff, one dab, and five minutes later I ordered a full bottle. Normally I stay far away from anything with lavender in it. However, the lavender in Winter is soft and lovely with none of the medicinal or soapy aspects that normally I object to. Light, crisp freshness of pine needles, as if they were crushed between your fingers, warmed up by cardamom with a subtle background of ethereal, sheer lavender. It will remind some of Christmas but I can see myself wearing this at any time of year. I think I like this even more than my beloved Fille en Aiguilles. Longevity and sillage are both impressive. I love it so much that I also ordered samples of Dasein’s Spring and Summer which both sound lovely and come in appropriately evocative bottles.
Вуду – :
A new love! I have been sampling several “winter” perfumes, and this is one of the most beautiful.
It will remind you of Christmas and winters at a ski lodge – probably in the Austrian Alps where some of its’ ingredients are acquired. The spruce and pine are crisp, resinous. Just like fresh cut boughs. Smells like some of the sap stuck to your fingers as you gather branches to decorate. A cardamon twang in the background adds zest, a clean accord underneath of lavender, making the whole stunningly beautiful. Reminds me of Enchanted Forest, another gorgeous winter perfume, which is a little plumier from its’ black currant note. In WINTER, the fir has more of a clean brisk feeling. Sillage and longevity both moderate on my skin, so I’m ordering a FB immediately for the full spray effect!