Snow
Note Profile
About
Snow is a fantasy accord for something both its sources say is odourless. Snow, like water, has essentially no smell; what people call the smell of snow is cold suppressing every other volatile, frozen soil ceasing to emit geosmin, and a rise in ozone before a snowfall. The perfumery accord recreates that as cold, clean absence, and the values in this vector are deliberately low because faintness is the claim being made.
Scent Profile
Cold ozonic freshness leads, and it is thin rather than aquatic. A cooling sensation sits right behind it, which is partly not a smell at all - both sources say the feel of cold air in the nose contributes as much as any molecule. Then mineral, the clean metallic edge attributed to ozone, and a transparent clean-musk body. A light aldehydic sharpness on top of that. Nothing green, nothing earthy and nothing warm: the sources say snow is less organic than rain and that the accord removes the organic elements on purpose.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
Origin
No material and no extraction. The accord is built from ozonic molecules, cold-metallic aldehydes and transparent musks, and it works by what it excludes - warmth, sweetness and organic matter - as much as by what it puts in. The ozone part may be real: ozone concentration does rise before winter storms and it smells slightly metallic and clean, reminiscent of chlorine.
Usage in Perfumery
A conceptual top-note accord for winter, minimalist and icy compositions, pairing with white tea, iris and mineral notes. Measured usage is inconsistent about where it goes - of five placements across five brands, two are in the top beside mint and clementine and two are in the base beside cedar and musk.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Snow
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Snow appears prominently.
No perfumes featuring this note have been reviewed yet. Check back soon.