LiberAmoris

The Mournful Influence of the Unperceived Shadow has that same cola note that I get from Sin—it must be the black patchouli. I adore 'coca cola' patchouli! This is patchouli untethered, dark, sweet patchouli that you fall into like a swoon. 'Shadow musk' is an amazing note in a note list and I think we should pause and appreciate that on its own. The black patchouli, shadow musk, labdanum, and myrrh super-collide to form a dark, resiny-vegetal wave wall that comes so fast that the saffron is practically swallowed up. But it persists, bringing warmth and a slightly leathery, bittersweet, red-orange currency. This is definitely and without question a patchouli blend, and I love it.

Purple! Violets, lavender, iris, orris. The 'smoked violet' note is beautiful and appropriately complicated, dark. This could either go super-pretty sleep blend or sexy day perfume for me. Stealthily, Stealthily reminds me of Carey Mulligan's purple-grey-blue dress in Luhrmann's Gatsby (when she meets Gatsby for the first time after many years). It's absolutely stunning.

You Fancy Me Mad is so fascinating—I had no idea what this might smell like from the notes, and even after a couple of tests, this has eluded me a bit in terms of how to describe. I guess this is a patchouli blend, but there is just so much going on. It's like patchouli with a bunch of flashing flights. The lemon, neroli, and orange blossom are particularly vociferous when wet, raising a chorus of bright voices. The bitter clove, opoponax, and vetiver work like an undercurrent, pulling in the opposite, baritone direction. As it settles and dries down, this is still a patchouli blend, but the markers of patchouli have been modified or replaced. There's a citrusy, blossomy thing happening instead of something vegetal. The vetiver brings something earthy and dank, but the clove is enriching it so it smells more rooted and spiced. All in all, I think I like this and I imagine I will like it more in time, after aging.

I Heard Many Things in Hell is an herbal iris on me with an underpinning of frankincense. The chamomile and lavender combo makes this very calming, and the end result is something like a meditative, herbal cologne that I imagine a viscount might dab on as part of his morning toilette. I don't know that this is one I'd reach for often, but I really admire the use of iris here.

Groan of Mortal Terror is probably my favorite Halloweenie this year. On my skin it smells like a straight-up split of ambergris, opoponax, and Bulgarian tobacco. Sweet, resiny, ambered tobacco—uncomplicated and perfect like a fuzzy fall sweater. A backup was necessary.

The Eye of a Vulture on me is a watery milk, lilac, and iris blend. The milk note is like skim milk—it's not excessively creamy, just a sheer whitewash of milk. The overall effect is of a pale milky floral, like the lightest purple lilac ever—nearly white. I don't get any coconut milk at all. It's a very delicate floral, but has a lot of personality. It's quite unusual, I'm not sure I can think of another BPAL scent I've tried that's similar. I really love this, but I'm a lilac and iris lover, so it's kind of a no-brainer.

2017 version:

 

La Calavera Catrina starts off with a strong scent of dead leaves and marigolds. The dead leaves note backs off quickly, and the chrysanthemums start warming things up. The wild roses, bourbon vanilla, and chamomile ease in about 10 minutes later—much to my relief, as they're all notes I love. Dry, this a lovely dry autumn floral with dead leaves skittering around in the far background. The chamomile is surprisingly active in the drydown, adding an herbal powderiness that's really pleasant. Marigold and dead leaves still aren't my favorite notes, but they really recede and I quite like the end result.

I can't believe this is my first year trying Day of Skulls! I love how the florals, tobacco, cocoa, sandalwood, and beeswax cycle in and out and the sillage, like they're all tumbling around in a revolving door. The florals are my favorite part—hydrangea, rose, kantuta, cactus flower—telegraph lush ornamentation. The sandalwood and frankincense are as dry as bone. This feels very much in the vein of Kali, Dia de los Muertos, and Mictecacihuatl.

I threw a bottle of Solstice Lace in with my Krampus Lace order, and I'm so glad I did—this is gorgeous. Everything here is so well balanced. The bonfire smoke and lightly tangy apple wine are present but really subtle. The 'vanilla cream lace' and amber and copal are divine together. The cognac, tobacco, and St. John's Wort bring an herbal depth. All together, this reminds me a bit of Mabon (2004). It has that same apple-y, fall-ish vibe, although the 'lace' here pushes this in a more gourmand direction rather than earthy. Such a beautiful blend!

Wow, Beaver Moon 2017 is a dead-on hit to the description of a chipotle-, caramel-, cocoa-, and coffee-inflected cheesecake. It's a piece of cheesecake that you order and arrives festooned with chocolate-covered coffee beans and chipotle dust, with a plate striping of caramel and chocolate. This is an over-the-top dessert that you think you'll only have a few bites of but end up finishing. Not an everyday scent for me, but I'll enjoy pulling this out when I'm craving dessert.

Mmmm, champaca. Dead Leaves, Coconut, and Champaca Blossom is light on the dead leaves note, letting the champaca blossom take center stage. I don't even get much coconut from this. Dry, this is champaca with a darker shadow than it normally throws, a beautiful, golden autumn floral. I'm so glad to have this in my collection!

I bought Take a Knee to support the cause, but am really enjoying the scent even though I'm not someone who loves apple pie. This is pure apple pie and a drop of grass, a simple combination that's really uplifting. We have so many great fall apple scents, and I love that this one feels more like it sits in springtime territory. It's bright and happy!

Chocolate Pumpkin Floss is a simple pleasure: pumpkin spices and a hint of pumpkin itself with milk chocolate. Similar to Pumpkin Brownies, if you subtracted the sour cream note and dialed the spice back just a bit. As with PB, surprisingly wearable and very yummy.

White Pumpkin Floss is my favorite of the two flosses I tried this year. This smells like spicy pumpkin, vanilla, marshmallow, and a wan bit of chocolate—it's scrumptious.

2017 version:

 

I've never tried September Midnight before...it's a little bit like an autumnal Persephone! The combination of the amber chypre, myrrh, and black pomegranate is harmonious. If you love the black pomegranate note, you should definitely give this a go. Juicy pom on top, and underneath, hints of dry autumn days—turning trees and golden sun.

In a Whispering Gallery is such a pale, light scent. This is refined and genteel. Wet, the leather and iris are the strongest notes, but the sandalwood and tobacco flower float up as it dries. The bergamot is very subtle on me. A couple of hours after dabbing on, it's a very luminous sandalwood—smelling a bit like a fancy pair of white leather gloves or a fancy soap from Italy. Very courtly somehow, and super wearable. I bet this would layer beautifully with the Post's Skeleton White hair gloss.

2017 version:

 

Hallow-e’en, 1914 is really evocative. Wet, the maple leaf and ivy notes are strongest on me, smelling reminiscent of the dead leaves note. The grave dirt note is also really prominent, and the combination is perfect for conjuring up late October. As it dries, the cypress and honeyed fig come to the fore. The honeyed fig is particularly welcome as it adds a touch of sweetness. The notes here work really well together to create a portrait of a time and place. For those who love the scent of leaves and dirt, and who want an intensely atmospheric scent that doesn't skew gourmand.

Haunted Seas is definitely a dark aquatic. This is the water under dark skies, more grey and black than blue. I get ozone and saltwater plunged into opoponax and labdanum. As it dries, the resins settle and the water rises, so this ends as a tempest-tossed sea recovering after a storm. For those who like their aquatics on the moody side.

I was so curious about Pumpkin Chypre—the description of a pumpkin-y auburn chypre was compelling. The chypre category in perfumery is one I like, although not at the beginning of my perfume explorations—it took me a while to appreciate it. This is definitely a twist on the category. I get dry pumpkin, a touch of dead leaves, oakmoss, perhaps a drop of bergamot and lavender, and a breath of golden amber? It starts off 'cologney', as chypres do, but it quickly warms up to something sweeter on my skin. My husband smelled it on me and requested his own bottle.

Cardamon Cream Pumpkin Cake is lighter and less foody than I was expecting, in a nice way. The cardamom and cream are the most prominent notes, and make this a lightly milky-sweet and brightly aromatic scent. The pumpkin cake actually trails for me, supporting with a little starchiness and a very wearable level of pumpkin. The cinnamon is definitely present at all stages, but it's not stronger than the cardamom note on me. This dries down to a cream-forward scent with nice hints of other notes.

I love Gingerbread Haunted House. It smells just like a gingerbread house to me: the icing is there, I smell a bit of red hots, gummies, licorice, and a bit of chocolate and pretzel. And of course, the awesome gingerbread note itself, which is the main player here. Making gingerbread houses at Christmastime was something my mom, my brother, and I would do each year...then we'd try (and fail) not to pick the candy off as the days went on. This is a great capture of that scent memory for me, and makes for a very fun perfume.

Cinnamon Chai Cupcake smells like a vanilla cupcake with caramel-chai buttercream frosting on top. I was expecting more chai or a black tea note that's more prominent, but the cupcake and vanilla notes pull more weight, at least on me. Sometimes vanilla doesn't engage well with my skin chemistry, and that might be happening here. Even so, I'll set this aside to see if a little aging is clarifying, because I really like the milky chai.

Pumpkin Brownies was such a fun surprise. On me, it's like Bliss + spicy pumpkin pie with a dollop of sour cream. The combo is surprisingly toothsome, especially since foodie pumpkin isn't always my thing.

On Seeing a Tuft of Snowdrops in a Storm is a really pretty winter-into-spring floral. Wordsworth's sonnet* about the noble snowdrops, underdogs of winter, is a lovely inspiration for this snowdrop-strong blend. Appropriately, snowdrop is the strongest note on me, with sweet pea and pale honeysuckle right behind. Dry, it's a waxy, lightly buttery, pale white and yellow floral with a salty, almost marine flume.

 

*Arguably, the grand tension/conflict in Wordsworth's poetry is Nature versus God, which we see in high relief in this particular work. I highly recommend reading The Prelude (the 1805 version, not the 1850 version!), if you haven't already.

Another Cathedral fan here. Of the 'Pumpkin Spice Whatever' blends I've tried this year, this is the one with the most prominent pumpkin spice note. It's an interesting mix with Cathedral's ecclesiastical resins, and I may ultimately prefer my Cathedral without spices. But I'm going to set this aside for some agin because there's something really compelling about the dusty woodsy resiny notes in Cathedral mixing with the pumpkin pie spices. Reminds me a bit of some cinnamon-laced woods that were burned to add flavor to a cocktail I tried once.