thekittenkat

In the decant: A cool incense mostly, with hints of dry leaves, and something sweet.

 

Wet: Now the florals appear, backed by the incense.

 

The dry-down: It's switched back to mostly incense, but it's now warm and compelling, with hints of all the other notes. This, like Samhain, is a perfume oil that I like to try every year, as I always detect some subtle difference. Also, I like incense blends more often than not.

In the decant: A smoked pumpkin, like one that's been in the drying or smoke barn/house, not a jack'o'lantern with a burning candle.

 

Wet: That's nice! A smoked pumpkin cut up with maple syrup being drizzled all over.

 

The dry-down: Well, shoot! The licorice decided to work some bad magic, and now I have an unripe pumpkin covered in licorice. The cold sniff and the wet phase were lovely, so saving for the scent locket.

In the decant: Very pumpkiny, with citrus notes melding deep in the mix.

 

Wet: Suddenly, the citrus and the pumpkin are clashing! This does not bode well.

 

The dry-down: Really, I should have known better, as citrus notes do not work well on my skin any more, but I expected the pumpkin to tame them. Nope, not to be. There is a big war going on, and from some unknown direction, brown musk has arrived to trounce the lot. (I wonder where it came from, as it's not listed, but I know and dislike the note well.) Frack! A sharp note has emerged! An unholy mess that must be washed off asap. Might try in the scent locket another time.

In the bottle: A cool piney forest, with some flowers lurking under those snow flurries.

 

Wet: The piney woods are very determined to make their presence known.

 

The dry-down: As this dries down, the pine forest starts to recede in the face of a lovely floral bouquet that has only been lightly touched by snow. (This is not the minty snow note, but the icy one, which is my fave of the two.) Do not let that initial blast of pine frighten you away! The artwork on the bottle is as elegant as the scent itself.

This is for Boo 2012.

 

In the bottle: Sweet vanilla cream, with just the softest hint of something fruity, perhaps like a berry?

 

Wet: Now a little more sugary and a little more fruity.

 

The dry-down:Settles back down into the vanilla cream, not so sweet or fruity, and just a slight hint of the cotton note. So far this is my fave Boo, ever since the scent debuted.

In the bottle: On cold sniff, this reminds more of Antique Lace more than Black Lace, which is quite fine with me, mixed with a fallen leaf note.

 

Wet: The sweetness is fading somewhat.

 

The dry-down: This lovely scent doesn't morph too much as it dries down, although the incense note comes out more to the foreground. The leaf note may be indeed the same from my beloved Falling Leaf Moon. I've often dabbed a bit of Milk Chocolate Buttercream on FLM to give it a touch of sweetness, but might try Boo! instead. If you like any of the scents with dead/dried/fallen leaf notes, this is certainly one to try.

Samhain '12 today, and which ever All Souls bottle I first put my hands on tomorrow.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore red velvet cake (it's basically but not exactly chocolate and there's cream cheese icing to boot!). So I was really looking forward to this bath oil.

(Please note that I don't use the oil in the bath, as I'm a shower gal, and only use the bath oil like a lotion.)

I applied some of this to the back of my clean and dry hands. First sniff, was just a generic sweet scent. As it dried, I got hints of the dire plastic note that vanilla can sometimes turn into on me. After it dried, there were whiffs of something like red velvet cake when I waved my hands around, but if I sniffed the skin, it was back to that mildly sweet scent. Several hours later, just that generic sweet scent. Maybe I amp cream cheese? Why couldn't I have ampped red velvet cake instead?

I do so dislike to give a somewhat negative review, but I ordered this right away, instead of getting a decant, and I'm a bit saddened.

I'll test again, after it has a bit more time to settle, and re-read the label to see if I need to gently mix or shake it. And then I'll edit this review, hopefully with better news.

ETA: Well, it's been a while, so I'm trying this again. It's better for the aging, but there is a sharp note lurking under the generic sweetness. I'll revisit around Box of Chocolates time. Note that I did gently shake the oil before testing this time. Adding that the sharp note (what could that be?) does lessen as this dries down. I plan to layer with chocolate scents and cake scents.

I sniffed the candle wax first before I lit the wick. This reminds me a bit of the recent Oak Moon and a bit of Falling Leaf Moon, but sweeter and more aquatic than either of those two.

Once lit, the candle is still reminding of those two lunar scents, but there's a mixture of fresh leaves, still on the tree, and leaves that have just fallen to the ground, perhaps dashed there by an autumn storm. There's still that sweet coolness in the air. No dirt, not really woodsy in feeling, just lots of leaves, freshly-fallen and still clinging to the branches.

I do like it a lot.

Beautiful tin with a lovely vintage Halloween picture.

The hard candies inside are yummylicious without being too sweet or too overpowering in flavour. If you like old-fashioned candy, please don't miss out!

Lots of tart crisp red apples, ready to go plop onto the black-brown dirt beneath the apple trees. There's woods for sure, and far off in the distance, a touch of woodsmoke on the gentle breeze.

 

Beautiful and evocative.

A little bump.

 

Adding my two cents.

 

Aged Snake Oil.

Aged O.

Lady Una--the honey is so good.

The Phoenix in Autumn--lovely scent, and not heavy like Samhain, as an example.

 

Any of the apple-based scents.

 

Hay Moon, Mead Moon, Storm Moon.

 

The three Summer's End scents from '09:

Under the Harvest Moon (not as lovely as any Harvest Moon on me), The Last Rose of Summer (perfect except for the bad orris), and Shadowless like Silence (a bit powdery, but drying like the end of summer).

 

Also Lughnasadh sounds perfect and Mabon (I prefer the '04 version to the '10) is perfect.

 

Atlas, if you like sweetish milky coffee drank in the woods. (I associate drinking coffee with the cooler and cold months.)

 

Nonae Caprotina, as figs ripen at the end of summer.

I'm putting together my first imp order (yay!) and am having a hard time deciding on a fall scent. The #1 thing that makes me think of fall is warm wind (warm being 50-60 degrees) with a cold, crisp edge to it. The second thing I'd be looking for would be a wood smoke or leaf burning scent. Thoughts and suggestions? (Pumpkin, apple, and floral scents don't appeal to me, but I like an incense-y scent.)Thanks!

 

I looked back through the thread and there are some GC autumn-like scents that were suggested. Otherwise, jump on one of the decant circles so you can try the Limited Edition (LE) Halloweenies as a sample, like an imp.

 

In the decant: Honey, but not sweet, more herbal in feeling.

Wet: Still an herbal honey.

The dry-down: Getting some sweetness from the vanilla orchid and the gardenia, but still herbal in nature. I rather like this.

In the decant: lots of the coffee!

 

Wet: The other notes come bouncing back, thank goodness!

 

The dry-down: I don't really care for the combination of chocolate and orange, like in those Christmas treats, but this isn't bad. Might be a nice scent at Christmas time, actually. Much more lovely than expected because of the ebony and orange notes.

In the decant: Woods and more woods on a base of orchid and tonka.

 

Wet: The ebony wood is most prominent.

 

The dry-down: Yes, the woods have blended back together, along with all the others into a scent that I shall wear this autumn. It just has that feeling.

In the decant: Patch, choco mint, tobacco. Promising.

 

Wet: The florals come zooming along! Note: the oil is very reddish in colour.

 

The dry-down: Strangely, it's all calmed down and blended together in a faint, slightly sweet floral, that's not terrible but really isn't my style. Morphed like nothing that I have ever smelt and tested before!

In the decant: Intense pepper and tomato leaf and the other spices.

 

Wet: Alas, the geranium jumps out. This reminds me of the potted plants that my grandmother had blooming on her front porch all summer long, a nice memory.

 

The dry-down: More and more sharp = me, more and more sad. I was hoping for a tomato leaf/honey/beeswax-dominated blend, but no such luck.

In the decant: Amber dominates the citrus notes.

 

Wet: Citrus notes, mostly.

 

The dry-down: Now the notes are blending together in a musky medley ( the "musky" note is probably coming from the amber. ) Certainly a morpher!

In the decant: very well-blended perfume oil.

 

Wet: Woah! There's the citrus!

 

The dry-down: The blood orange is being over-ridden by the wood and moss, but not quite. The sharpness of the citrus is still rather a loud note.

In the decant: Ozone tempered by the other notes. Lovely

 

Wet: Seems to be turning sweeter.

 

The dry-down: Alas, the brown musk is coming to the foreground and dominating the blend. Yet another one that doesn't work in the dry-down.

In the decant: Musty lemon peel all the way!

 

Wet: More of the same, with a faint hint of the spices.

 

The dry-down: This has not morphed as it dried. Not my thing. Never got even a hint of the current.

In the decant: Nice combination of scents that smells somewhat herbal.

 

Wet: Cedar, frank, opium tar and coffee are the most obvious notes.

 

The dry-down: Now the dread lemongrass starts to rear its ugli head, alas. I like this better wet. I was afraid of the lemongrass and rightly so.

In the bottle: OMG! *eyes roll up* Just an amazing scent, with the cedar, the balsam, the benzoin, the ambergirs and the oudh.

 

Wet: ZOMG! This is one of the most marvelous things that I have ever scented on myself. All the notes, with the exception of the black pepper, are medling together. Glorious! I am in .

 

The dry-down: Okay, trying to calm down here. Sweet dry cedar, with some vanilla and ambergris mixed in, and the resins of the oudh to keep it grounded. A wonderful skin scent! Beth, thank you for creating this divine scent--truly you were inspired! To say that I want-nay, need more of this is an understatement.

In the decant: The sage is first off the mark, followed by the frank, and a light hint of the patch.

 

Wet: As I applied this to my wrist, the patch just exploded.

 

The dry-down: Well, if I had wanted a SN Patch, I would have looked for one. :| I'll just wear this in the scent locket.

 

Later: The SO detected some sandalwood, and I'm getting a hint of the balsam, but we both agreed that this is mostly patch.