Xaila

This was a last-minute addition to my decant circle order, since I realize I didn't get a single one of the dead leaves. Boy howdy am I glad I did! In the vial: GREEN. This had me slightly worried, I won't lie. It had a very vegetative smell, like freshly cut grass with a bit of sweetness. On skin, wet: I still get that 'freshness' for a little bit, but then the red musk emerges and adds a really lovely warmth. Not sure if it's due to the red musk or the dead leaf component itself, but it quickly starts smelling a lot more like the dried and crispy sort of leaves. On skin, dry: Wow, the dead leaf thing is just spectacular. It makes me want to go roll around outside in a giant pile of freshly raked leaves. The red musk adds that delicious warmth and dry, almost spicy feel. The neroli adds a touch of sweetness and light that balances some of the bitterness. The amount of throw this has on me is nearly perfect, which is rare. A gorgeous and unexpectedly nostalgic blend. Neroli tends to remind me of Chanel No.5 which in turn reminds me of my grandmother, and of course the happy memories of playing in leaves. Red musk is generally kind to me, though sometimes can be overly masculine. Not so here - I would say this is a really unisex blend. This is basically what I wanted out of October, but October is just too bitter for me. Just ordered the hair gloss version of this and it'll be a definite bottle order before the weenies go down.

2015 Version: Not sure if it's just me, but this year's seems significantly sweeter - at least initially. I've never really been able to detect the apple note in this, so maybe that's what it is. The wet stage is all sweetness and that delicious Samhain spice that's present in all versions I've tried. Eventually it becomes very dry, woodsy, and spicy on me. The only other version of this of mine that I can find is 2007, which seems to have more of a cinnamon punch. Even when it's been worn for awhile, the '15 definitely is sweeter. My mother didn't care for it but I quite enjoy it. It's got the hint of fruit without being a foodie apple pie sort of thing.

I've been after a nice "fireplace-y" scent for ages and was excited to see that this exists. I've pretty much had nothing but bad luck with this kind of thing so I was kind of anxious at the blind bottle order. In bottle: I was surprised how green this smelled. I got a lot of evergreen smell. Very sharp green with something a little herbal and a smoky undertone. Wet on skin: When I tried this as soon as I unboxed it, I got the dread BACON. I have no clue what does this. I have a suspicion it's vetiver but I can't be sure. I was worried at this point but let it settle for a few days. It's a good thing I did, because the BACON effect seems to have mostly vanished. Now I mostly get smoky and woodsy with the evergreen, which isn't as sharp as in the bottle. It almost smells like cedar? Dry on skin: A spicy-woodsy scent mostly dominates now, with the smoky and evergreen background. Oddly this doesn't have the throw on me I thought it would. It's very much an outdoors scent rather than "fireplace-y"...you really do get a forest sense from this. I'm also reminded of BBQ smoker chips. Overall: I definitely want to hold onto this and see how it ages. Smoke is very hit or miss with me and the appearance of the dreaded bacon smell got me a little worried, but I actually think this will turn out well. I love evocative things like this but I'm not sure I'd wear it out.

My first thought upon reading the description was that this might be similar to another aquatic favorite of mine, The Phoenix. I was not disappointed This is most definitely a marine aquatic and reminds me of the smell of salt water on the wind, minus the funky low-tide sludge. There is definitely a touch of mint in here that adds a nice sharp freshness. I also feel like there's SOMETHING floral, but way in the background. It gives a sense of long-faded cologne maybe. The woodsiness of the 'coffin' is also very nice and actually reminds me a bit of old driftwood. If you like marine aquatics or any of the "pirate" blends, try this!! It reminds me of a "cleaner" booze-free Jolly Roger and a less citrusy The Phoenix. Very unisex too, IMHO. I definitely love it!

Wow. This is very well blended and I can't seem to pick out what the notes are. To me this is sun-scorched herbs and grasses. Maybe a little sandalwood too. It feels dry and warm without being 'burnt'. If you like herbal or spicy blends, I'd say give this one a try! Definitely a good summer and autumn scent, and smells very unisex to me.

I was going to do a comparison using my imp of GC Fenris Wolf, but it seems sadly that it's gone off a little bit (it IS several years old though). Poo! I'll just have to go by memory. Anyway, Fenris Wolf v2 is brighter and more resinous to me than the released version. It seems much more unisex. The released version was always extremely masculine to me and was much heavier on the sandalwood and red musk to my nose. I do smell the musk in v2, but it's more understated and the sweet resins definitely come to the forefront. Wet - Spicy woods, very resinous amber, and a little touch of the musk. Drydown - Definitely feels more "dry". The amber softens into something that feels almost powdery, but not baby-powder. The spiciness of the sandalwoods comes out and you get a nice whiff of the musk. I got a lot of compliments on this one. Interestingly when I sniffed the shirt I was wearing last night this morning, it smelled like straight up sandalwood. This is a beautiful blend but I can see why they went with the released-version formula in keeping with the theme. The released Fenris Wolf screams animal "power" in a way that this doesn't quite match. Released definitely has something else too. Maybe the rosewood? I'm not sure. I love both of these though! I'm so grateful I got a bottle of the proto and I have to resist the urges to slather...

This is almost straight-up butterscotch candies on me. It's almost a bit TOO sweet. I get plenty of the sugarness, but the cookie part is a bit..absent. I think I'm gonna let this one settle down/age a bit before making any real judgment on it. For some reason a lot of foodie blends are way way too sweet to my nose when they're totally fresh.

I'm not doing all that much today. I'm debating whether to wear Samhain or Sugar Skull today... Samhain is my favorite, but I haven't given Sugar Skull any love this year. I also need to decide what to wear on election day!

Just got this one today. I've been dying to try it, since I'm a fan of both Dorian and Snake Oil. I seem to be in the minority in that this is very, very Snake Oil on me. Weirdly, it most resembles my really-aged imp of Snake Oil more than any newer Snake Oil I've smelled. It's got a much softer, more feminine edge to it than straight SO. I'm thinking that's due to the lavender. I can definitely detect Dorian's tea in here though, even though the Snake Oily-ness is more dominant to me. Overall everything meshes together really well. I tested this on the back of my hand, and I think I had my hand to my face all day I like it because it reminds me of everything good about Snake Oil, yet it doesn't overpower me like Snake Oil sometimes can.

I just opened my '07 bottle today to see how age has treated it and was very pleasantly surprised. It's rounded out really well. Not that I didn't like it when I first got it, but now I can smell the nutmeg and stuff a lot more. It makes me want a nice, moist slice of gingerbread now. The perfect thing to warm up to on a brisk autumn day.

I just received my 08 bottle today and was not disappointed. Samhain is my favorite of the BPAL blends, and this year's definitely lives up to it! I get a lot more of the "apple cider" smell out of this one than the 07. 08 has a really lovely warm and sweet smell that just screams "autumn" to me. It reminds me of a warm mug of spicy apple cider on a chilly late-October night, when the leaves are crunchy on the ground. Is this an evocative scent? You betcha! The one thing I really can't detect much of is the Pumpkin, but I'm willing to bet it might come out more when this ages a bit. I'm so definitely not making the same mistake I did last year and not ordering backups. This is so going on my next order.

I get the lemon and what I think is orange at first whiff. This is a very citrusy-sweet scent on me and immediately reminded me of a little girl. Underneath the bright, sweet citrus I get the faint undertone of florals, but not cloyingly so. All and all it reminds me more of hard candies than anything. For some reason I'm very strongly reminded of pez candies. A very pleasing, bright, and feminine scent. Not one I'd probably get a bottle of, but I'll probably use up the imp