Upstart Crow

GhillieDhu is right on the mark! I, too, thought that Carlin was an autumnal companion to The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, and I agree that it is the ivy and the heather. I've had some mixed results with heather as it ages, however, so I hope that this will age as well as Passionate Shepherd has. In the bottle I can smell the gorse, anise and sage the strongest. On me the heather and ivy come out the strongest, with the anise and what I think is the fumitory or thistle as a pleasant backdrop. I can't pick out the snapdragon. It's quite a lovely scent, and one that I'll probably use a half bottle of, but not a full.

I have the 2009 version. This is seriously one of the most beautiful Halloween BPALs I've ever tried, and one of the most complex blends. One moment I get sharp florals, the next I get chocolate and tobacco, the next I get honey. Reviewers who have said this smells very much like Samhain 2008 are right on the mark, I think. It has that same autumnal sweetness. What a beautiful scent! So glad I swapped for a bottle!

Very smokey and lovely; I love brimstone, smoke, clove and metalic notes, and they're all blended so well here that I can smell each of them individually. None of them dominate, and the blend is by no means as overpowering as The Death of Autumn and Chant d'Autumn, of which it is reminiscent.

Oh, boo! I took a chance with this one because I do rather enjoy BPAL's apple note. Unfortunately, it smells exactly like Poison Apple on me with a hint of milk and spices instead of the brash, wonderful florals. I really, really hoped it would be the delicious apple pie/spice/mulled cider scent everyone else praised it as, but no luck OK, I tried it again because I'm stubborn like that . And I don't know what was up earlier, except that maybe I tried too many imps at once. The apple is still the same note in Poison Apple, but it's a lot less dominant now -- I'm definitely getting the spices, the apple pie and the milk. It's a gorgeous scent, and makes me wonder if I will actually appreciate autumnal foody scents! Think I'm gonna need a bottle

The description the Lab provided is really unfortunate, I think, in the same way that its description of The Chilling Cellar in 2007's Halloween line was unfortunate. Julia Stone is a beautiful scent -- impeccably blended and rich, and it's one of the best scents I've tried all year. In bottle: very green and earthy. Think of working in the garden on a day when you have to tear out a bunch of weeds and you pretty much have the idea. On me: When wet, I get a very strong 'papery' note that reminds me very much of the papery note in Lurid Library. As it dries, the green comes out prominently, but not overwhelmingly. I get a *lot* of garden smells here, but nothing I can identify (no cucumber, though). I really think that fans of Planting Moon, Lurid Library and more vegetably scents like Squirting Cucumber will love this. For people who don't like greenery so much, this blend will also work for you. It's very subtle, and very sophisticated. Verdict: An enthusiastic 5/5!!! And I'm getting a back up bottle, I think.

What a beautiful spring floral scent! In the imp, I get strong daffodils, greens and what smells to me like orchid (probably the cala lily, which is in the orchid family). There's a certain sharpness to this that definitely has to be the dandelion, too. On my skin, the daffodils really come out, and so does the lily. It reminds me of my grandma's garden in April, which is a very good thing. This is definitely a good one for floral lovers, especially for those who like their florals medium strength. It seems to have a decent throw and lasts a good few hours.

Vetivert is one of my favorite notes, as is loam, so I knew this scent would be dreamy on me. And it is! In the bottle, I'm hit most strongly with the cedar bark and vetivert--it's a very dark brown/black scent, if that makes sense. In bottle I also get a sweetness that reminds me of very expensive dark chocolate. It must be the grass note (which typically smells sweet to me), because there's no chocolate in this blend. On my skin, the cedar fades to texture, and the vetivert and loam dominate, with a little of the grass' sweetness. I love this scent because it reminds me of a heavier cousin to Hessian of the Hollow, which is my ultimate vetivert blend, but where Hessian is sweeter and spicier, vetivert is musky and heavy like the tomb. Definitely worth a bottle! Though I think vetivert haters and agnostics would do well to avoid this one.

I got a decant of this scent because I found, much to my surprise, that I really enjoyed Bonfire Night last year, which was also a scent with beer. I was a little worried, but this turned out to be delicious. In the bottle I smell something sweet - not bitter like beer, and not cloying like sugar. The barely comes out very strong, too. On my skin, the sweetness softens and the barley comes out even stronger. A very delicious scent. I may need a bottle.

The 2008 version is so light on me that I can barely smell it And when I can, I get more of a loamy smell than a dirt smell. Still, I'm going to hang on to my bottle to see how it ages, or maybe to wear on a day when I want a dirt scent that isn't as strong and rich as Worm Moon or Premature Burial.

I have clinical depression and dysthymia (high level incapaciating depression AND lower grade depression that is pretty much a daily thing), generalized anxiety disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (non-combat related), as well as mild Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This blend is so successful in helping me through those that I have added it into my treatment regimen and informed my therapist of its efficacy. I will also tell my psychiatrist about it at our next appointment this month. - Jo

Has anyone else had the following reaction to Death of Autumn: Mild nausea mild headache (not migraine level, but just a general foggy feeling) numb lips (?! I swear I wasn't trying to eat it LOL) Mildly itchy eyes If so, have you been able to determine what ingredient caused it? I know it wasn't the kus, because I've worn vetivert before and it has never bothered me. Nor is it the autumn leaves and amber, because Ephemera and Antony don't make me ill. Could it be that I just sniffed the darn thing too long and too close? I really like this one, too!

It's nice and smokey and pungent, but I think that it's the scent that gave me a mild hedache, a slightly queasy tummy and a numb lower lip (?!? i wasn't eating it, I swear!) Has anyone else had this kind of reaction? Could it be the clove?

I got this from the forum, actually. Thanks, Ah Xia! In the bottle: I can definitely smell the autmn leaves, the rose and lily. There's a bit of a vinegary scent too, which reminds me of autumn rot. Strong, unusual, and lovely because it is unusual. On me: Autumn leaves really come out and the vinegar softens a bit to the scent of, naturally, apples. Something sweet about it, too. Something rainy and autumnal. The only downside is that it fades pretty quickly on me. Conclusion: It is very lovely. Glad I took the risk and bought the bottle. This is definitely one I'll keep.

OWWWWOWOWOWOWOOW! This imp quite literally burned me. My wrists turned red and the skin hurt for the rest of the day, even though I washed it off really quickly after it started to burn. I swapped this one for an imp of Santa Muerte, which did not hurt me. I do wish the main site had warned that this was, apparently, a conflagrant, as it seems I'm not alone in my skin's bad reaction to it. I had a bad reaction with another spicy perfume, serpent's kiss, after this, and now I'm a bit scared to try anything with Cinnamon in it. It was really a shame, too. Fire is my element, so I was hoping a firey imp would work on me.