October

[clockworktomato]

Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air.

In the Bottle: I was immediately disappointed when I sniffed this in the bottle. It smells sort of like a bouquet of flowers will smell once they've been sitting in the water too long and they've started to droop. It was that scent of dusky, dry flowers mixed with a little bit of a damp, moldy scent. But hey, I know better than to judge the oil in the bottle, so I swabbed some on.

Just after application: It begins to open up, but slowly. The damp aspect of the scent goes away and it's left with a dry version of the old bouquet/floral scent, yet the floral is still one of dark, heavy flowers -- it almost feels wrong to call it "floral." I can only think of one thing when I smell this: Miss Havisham.

Twenty minutes later: Okay. Okay NOW we have something. The florals have all but wafted away -- you have to really put your nose to wrist and sniff hard to get the hint of floral, and even then it comes across more as a sugary blend than the scent that first wafted out of the bottle. The dryness has finally morphed into leaves, and just leaves, and it's woody and crisp. This is a complex scent. I thought it would be a favorite, then I thought I would hate it, and now I'm somewhere near ambivalence. It's one that I probably won't wear very often, but I still really enjoy it. Edited September 22, 2007 by Shollin

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

green, wet and leafy

 

On me:

My expectations of this scent were pretty high - I wanted something that smelled like an October night for me - burning leaves and crisp Autumn air. So, it was definitely not what I was expecting when it went on my skin and I smelled green trees - not pine, but possibly fir? It's definitely a "cold" airy scent with touches of green, and just a tiny hint of sweetness that might be interpreted as smoke, but comes off as musk to me.

 

In the dry down, this is actually very similar to The Carpathian Mountains, only without the minty note. It's a bit masculine, but appealing and airy and clean.

 

Final note:

Not what I was expecting, but it's still a nice scent - possibly too masculine for me though.

[requieminblack]

Right out of the bottle this has the same exact crisp and bitter dead leaf smell as Death of Autumn but stronger. I admit at first it was a sharp shock of something that also reminded me of the mens cologne department at Macys as others have mentioned.

 

Once on my skin it warms up and mellows out after 10 minutes or so. Now I am getting smoke with a whisper of the bitter dead leaf smell. Smoke always tends to go powdery on me so now it is 'dead leaves with smoke and baby powder and mens cologne' smell to me as it fades.

Edited September 22, 2007 by requieminblack

[couscous]

October opens up smelling just like the Rat King, then it starts smelling exactly like Irish Spring soap with a touch of smoke. I'm not joking- get a bar and see for yourself! After about an hour, you can almost smell something twig-like- but you have to try hard and know to look for it, and that doesn't really count. If the suggestion of Red Leaves and sap were meant to be here, they did not translate over at all. Maybe this needed something to weigh it down-make it feel a little heavier? Maybe something remotely chilly to duplicate the change in the air?

 

I'm disappointed by the fact that this smells far too generic to be worthy of such an amazing month- or to live up to its wonderful copy.

 

Having said that, though, I actually like masculine scents quite a bit, and I like October, too. I'm not going to swap it, and I'll wear it happily and often. It feels clean and warm, and it doesn't suffer from the craft-store plague that so many autumnal scents (not Beth's, usually) seem to have these days. I'm always annoyed to discover that the candles and body products of my favorite season always smell like cheap and cloying pie spice . Kudos to Beth for going in another direction entirely, but this needed something more.

 

Buy this if you liked Rat King, obviously, but also if you liked some of the pirate aquatics. October is not an aquatic, but it keeps the clean and soapy feel of one.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: very dewey ivy and a wee bit of pine.

 

Wet on Skin: uh, oh. This smells like dude-fume.

 

Dry: OMSquee! I'm so happy that I waited for the dry down. This oil captures the scent of a chilly October morning in New England. I like it so much that I may order another bottle.

[alicia_stardust]

OCTOBER - Surprising, but still oh so good!

 

Wet: In the bottle I smell a very sharp, green leaf scent. It reminds me of the way bitter greens taste in those over-the-top salads that you get at nice restaurants. The green scent is so strong I can almost taste it. Beyond that there is a touch of ozone.

 

Dry on Skin: It keeps that strong green leaf scent, but now added to that are decay and dampness. I smell maple leaves, golden and crunchy. There is an ozone/wind smell that makes me think of the cold, sharp air that fills my lungs on a cold autumn day. There is an air of masculinity to this, but not overly so. It evokes the images of October from the perspective of nature and autumn, rather than the warmth of Halloween and desserts. I love it!

 

This has a long wear length and medium throw. I think this captures the essence of October perfectly. While I do like it on my skin, I think I will like this far better as a room scent. I'm going to try it out!

 

 

Edit: I put this in an oil burner and OMG it is divine as a room scent! There are no words to describe it!

Edited September 22, 2007 by alicia_stardust

[Victory]

In the bottle and directly upon application, October's a really sharp scent that I could believe is green leaves, but I don't have much idea what the oil smells like past this point because about three minutes after I apply, the scent disappears almost completely. If I squish my nose up to my wrist I can very faintly make out a little sweetness, maybe some leafiness. It's so disappointing, though. It's just... gone! I guess I'll put it aside and let it settle some more, maybe try wearing it in a scent locket. I'm not giving up on it just yet, but so far it's been a real disappointment.

 

Edited a month and a half later- October is much better now than it was. It's never a strong oil, but it does last throughout the day. That green, sharp smell is still present when the oil goes on, but fades away quickly. October smells leafy to me with a sweetness presumably from the sap. I wish there were smokiness, but I'm content with what this is.

Edited November 8, 2007 by Victory

[hellomoonglow]

After a very large purchase from the Lab, I think it's safe to say that so far, I like their autumnal scents the best out of the ones I've tried so far. I haven't been around long enough for winter or spring though, so we'll see....

 

Now, about October: Warm. I smell something of Bordello or O in here. Wonder what the similar note is? I love Bordello! On the dry down, it's nothing like Bordello, or O for that matter, but still very nice and warm. It almose smells manly after a good, long dry down. But in a good way.

[Medici]

In the bottle: Cold night air, a hint of struggling chlorophyll.

 

Wet: In a crooked little town they were lost and never found… fallen leaves, fallen leaves, fallen leaves… on the ground. Yeah, wow. Talk about wet leafy goodness – the sort that sticks to your boots. I’m really impressed by how atmospheric this is. It’s like standing in the middle of a forest on a grey day in the fall, just after a cold rain. I can practically see the trees with their skeletal branches. It’s a combination of black, red and orange, all swirled together.

 

Drydown: The first time I tried this, I mistook the forest ambiance for something that leaned closer to men’s cologne. While I can still see why I made that initial association, I’m glad I gave it a second chance because this really is what I was hoping October to smell like. It’s a definite keeper.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: A very chilly but green fresh-leaf sort of scent.

 

Immediately on skin: Very light, green, and crisp. It smells more like fresh, green springtime leaves than red leaves. It has a clean type of feeling to it, which might be the autumn wind part of the description. It definitely feels like a chilly scent.

 

After a few minutes: The green note has really faded and now it’s just a very masculine, light cologne type of scent. It’s still very cool, and reminds me of cold, rainy autumn days. There is a dry scent to it that smells a bit like crackling leaves now, but it’s mixed with something very wet and cold.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is a very delicate one, so be prepared. It’s fleeting and I have to lean close to catch whiffs of it on my arm. It’s very unisex and there’s not a touch of sweetness to it. It’s dry and crackly, and cold and damp at the same time. If you’re looking for a scent to remind you of a very chilly, rainy autumn day, this is it.

[flyingpizza]

This really is exquisite--it is truly the smell of autumn, of leaves and cold and dampness. But I have to realize that these scents that excite me so much in their realistic woodsiness, Whippoorwill and Nocnitsa to name a couple, always end up giving me that headache-inducing men's cologne/ozone experience. It is lovely and amazingly crafted, but not good on my skin.

[funkmoppet]

I completely love the way this smells in the bottle. Leafy, green and promises of a great forest blend.

 

It hits my skin and has a scary...corn chip moment. Corn chips? Something odd like corn chips. Whatever it is I don't like it and prepare myself for Cassanova-type rebellion on my skin.

 

Luckily, though, that goes away fairly quickly, and without incident. Then this turns into a pure unisex blend. Yep, there's damp leaves, sodden forest, wood - and as this dries down there's an ozone-like freshness in there, along with the barest hint of spice right behind it all. This would be lovely on a guy. It's a light, misty, outdoorsy blend with a fresh edge.

 

It may well be the smell of Autumn if you lived around this kind of forest smell. But it's less autumn to me - more stumbling across some Nordic hottie in a misty, damp forest.

 

It's now quietening down to a lovely nuzzle-me wood-and-nordic-man forest smell, which has just endeared this blend to me a little more.

 

This would indeed be a fantastic room scent. And after a while on my skin, that's what this would have to be. Why? Because it's now going to doom-powder on me!

 

Bye bye Nordic hottie. *sigh*

[waternight]

In the bottle: Fresh and green. Woodsy, the crispness of sap, and just a hint of pine.

Wet: Less green, more woods. Treeeees! The pine note is more of a feeling rather than your standard "pine" scent.

Dry: Loses the crispness. This goes pretty much warm creamy woods on me. I love it, but it's very much like Dragon's Bone. I think I'll keep this one for a room scent.

[elenore]

sigh.

I was so excited about this one. However, all I get is a manly, cologne-like scent. I kept it on, hoping on the drydown it would settle into something more fall/leaves/smoke-like, but the cologne just lingered. This one's going in the swap pile. Darn.

[Belladonnastrap]

October smells like the Autumn Lord. Deep dark woods, a bonfire and a chill of winter in the air.

 

Go to a forest with the sweetest smelling man you can find. Take some dry twigs and light a fire and sit reaaaaaaaaallly close to him. Make sure the day is foggy. Take a deep breath.

 

 

That's October.

[fountaingrl]

Oh whyyyyyy October? WHY????

 

I wanted this to be the lighter, airier cousin of Death of Autumn. I thought it would be even better on me, and I love October so it made up for my lunacy (Libra) not working on me.

 

But on my skin? This oil starts out smelling scortched, and on drydown I get a mix of:

 

just-sharpened Ticonderoga pencils, magazine-insert cologne (complete with cheap paper note), and cumin. CUMIN!

 

I smell like a really bored admin assistant who had wendy's chili for lunch while reading Glamour and trying out the samples. POO!

 

[cuervosueno]

October is the cruelest month.....

 

Not really, but this October certainly wasn't kind to me. I was worried when I read the reviews describing it as masculine, because masculine often equals cyphre to me, and this does smell of cyphre. In the bottle it smells green. Exactly as an earlier reviewer put it--the smell of crushed leaves, or leaves when you pull the veins from them (yes I did that as a child. And I peeled twigs, which gave off a similiar scent).

 

I kept waiting for the metamorphis other people talked of, and while some of the green fades, I'm still left with a very green smelling scent, masculine, and not at all like dry leaves to me. No smoke either.

 

it conjures summer rather than autumn for me.

 

So off it goes!

[darkblade]

Bottle: o_O Woah. It does smell like a cool autumn.

 

Wet: Bit of smoke, but not too much. It's very very light. Which is good, because smokey scents tend to kill me. And it smells like leaves! Dry leaves, not wet rotting ones. There's a bit of resinous sap to it that makes me suspect that will age quite nicely too. I know I'm walking into this one with a bias because I really wanted it to be good on me.. it's closer to what I hoped for from Samhain. Don't get me wrong, it smells NOTHING like the Samhain 06 that I have, it's simply what I would expect from a scent NAMED Samhain.

 

Dry: Oh no! My skin seemed to have sucked this one up.. where did it go?? *waits hopefully* Oh good. I think I just sniffed it too much and my nose got used to it. The lab descript is straight on for this one.

 

Verdict: Oooo bottle! I almost want to get two, except I'd never ever use that much...

[Teggy]

DAMMIT!!!

 

I adore this scent. I've spent a lot of time experimenting with BPAL, trying to find that perfect forest scent. A lot of them are pine-y or smell like pencil shavings. Living in Los Angeles, we don't have "October." We have cold gravel and dirt. I grew up outside Chicago and went to college in Ithaca, NY; both cities that truly embrace the beauty of autumn leaves turning colors.

 

October truly feels like maple leaves and it's not too astringent. Sometimes leaves can do that. This scent reminds me of home. It's soothing and makes me feel happy and refreshed.

 

Sadly, once it dried on my skin, it disappeared. Looks like this will be a scent-locket and room-only scent.

[neuilly]

Sadly the scent I was looking forward to the most and it doesns't quite work on me. It smells like woodsy men's cologne. This would work really well on some people but I'm saldy not one of them. Swap pile!

[batsy]

In the bottle: I'm not sure what to place that as. One minute it's very strong and manly, the next it's Fruit Loops.

 

On the skin: Still fruit loops. It's a tad smokey, sweet in a wrong way. It's extremely masculine, that's for sure, kind of like old-timey mens cologne (something my grandfather would have worn) with that fruit loop base. I'm not sure if I like this or need to swap it. Maybe a few more tests.

[Finny]

October, wet leaves, a bit cologne-y during the dry down, but it goes away quickly. It is a lovely green scent, and best of all, it isn't a pine scented green scent. I love green scents, but hate pine so this is going to be well-loved.

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

In the bottle, the smoke scent was so strong to my nose that I almost physically recoiled. When I first sniffed it, I was so put off that I stuck the bottle back in its box and didn't even think about trying it again for 2 weeks.

 

Wet:

A fresh scent that I guess is what some people are finding soapy (even though I don't find it that way as yet), with only hints of smoke and leaves. So far, I like this a lot more than I expected I would. I think it has a common note with Spider (the green, sharp note). Since Spider is my favorite BPAL so far, that is a good thing. Since I have already gone through half a bottle of Spider since July, it is less of a good thing because October is LE.

 

Dry:

On me, dry, this is like Spider walking in a forest in autumn. Um, there's really no way I could like something more. I will have to waer this all over and not just on my wrist to be sure, but I might just have to get another bottle of this.

[alianthe]

In the bottle: To my nose, there is an unpleasantly overwhelming top note that drowns out everything else. It reminds me of pulling apart summer weeds at my grandmother's house as a girl, sharp and almost painfully green. I suspect, though, as I smell it, that this note will calm down and the things behind it will come out.

 

On me (dry): The unpleasant green note softened to near obscurity, leaving behind a full and complex chorus of autumn. Turning leaves, bonfire warmth over a crisp starry night, when footsteps become a crunching susurrus.

 

Conclusions: Definitely going in the top ten.

[grifyn_whiffs]

I'm testing this one and The Death of Autumn at the same time, thinking of them as cause and effect scents, BUT... not caring for October so far. There was an astounding "that's a red leaf" feeling as I started sniffing, which makes me wonder how the lab can sometime capture a COLOR in the bottle. It sets my synaptic firings all a-tingle.

 

This goes a little too man's cologne on me, as well. The only thing that keeps the smoke from taking over is the sap, which I like... a faint woody sweetness in the back. But, too far in the back.

 

Is it weird that going back and forth between this one and The Death of Autumn makes the bitter clove in the latter REALLY pop out to my nose?

 

Nice... evocative, but not really my thing. Will add to swap/sell list.