Siberian Snow
D.S. & Durga (2008)

The opening notes starts with labdanum combined with a touch of brightness, courtesy of a minty aroma that is more deep than spritely refreshing.

Later in the drydown the labdanum merges with a warm and comforting incense that pairs with a whiffs of white pepper and a styrax that at times displays a mildly waxy characteristic. The incense is fairly rich but not too dark, and lacks any high-church ceremonial flavour.

Further down the track of development the incense and styrax combine with a medium-dark opoponax and a soft and smooth amber. All these component mix together and the result is quite beautiful at that stage; this constellation of great blending lasts for several hours on my skin. The final stage is more mundane when the base is mainly left with a somewhat flat musky nose.

He sillage is moderate, the projection very good and the longevity eight hours.

A winter scent that, unusual for a fragrance today, improves with development and at times is quite convincing. I would settle it right between and positive and neutral score overall, but the decent development shifts it - just - into the thumbs-up range. 3/5.

Siberian Snow is mainly a woody all-season fragrance with some floral elements. Testing it out in the summer definitely leads me to believe that this could be comfortably worn in the summer but still be truer to a winter selection.

The mint and patchouli come off to me like pine and resin, but the prominence of these notes suggests a cold weather fragrance to me, especially the mint, which I do not associate with summer.

Decent on projection and longevity, Siberian Snow marks the last of a sample pack of D.S. & Durga from Luckyscent, and I'm left with a similar impression to most---namely, that it's another scent that's intriguing and smells very natural but simply may not be worth the price tag (they're all $125 or $145 for 50ml). The best in the line was one of the strongest, Bowmakers, so I may go back and try that, but like most, Siberian Snow is good but probably not good enough to consider buying.

6 out of 10

For a while, the only place that carried DS & Durga in my town was in a store that cared little for presentation. Each time I visited, the place looked like closing time at WalMart with merchandise strewn all over haphazardly. This line was no exception, and you'd be hard pressed to find a bottle with a working sprayer to actually try them out. Needless to say, that store went under and I swore I'd return to DS & Durga at a later date, but my initial exposure to them was that they were a bit on the harsh side with some general balance issues. Anyhow, they're now within reach again at a much better spot so I'm finally giving them the spin they deserve.

Unfortunately, Siberian Snow – a scent that got my interest from the description – was not the best choice to begin with. It's ambroxan, patchouli, civet, something vaguely citric . . . and it's terrible. It sits somewhere between the white musk powder of cashmeran and a fistful of civet replacer. It doesn't change much and smells utterly sophomoric. There's just not much more I can say about this one, but if you're exploring the line for the first time, don't make the mistake I made and sit this one out. Very bad.

Well, it is marketed as a feminine scent and it professes to have powdery notes. Not snow powder, rather an intensely sweet perfume powder. That sweet note dominates through much of the early going. Eventually it burns off and I can detect some of the herbal and woody notes. In my opinion, nothing particularly note-worthy here.