L'Autunno Bath Oil

[cantabile]

Sage, myrrh, patchouli, molasses, sweetgrass, cedar, and cinnamon sugar.

Wow, am I really first? I don't think that's ever happened, and it seems unlikely to happen again any time soon.

Anyway. I just got out of a lovely baff with this stuff, and it's just as fantastic as its companions. Whereas the perfume smells more like "autumn revelry/festival" and the atmospheric spray smells more like "autumn leaves and woods," this has a "harvest" feel that's really appealing.

It's pretty whoa-patchouli, so that's something to keep in mind. (I'm fine with patchouli, but I'm glad it was prominent in this rather than the other L'Autunno things.) The other major notes, to my nose, are the sage and another herbalish quality that I assume is the sweetgrass. The cinnamon sugar and the molasses add a nice sweetness that lingers in the background. I think I caught faint whiffs of the cedar and myrrh, but I'll have to try it again to be sure.

I'm never used the BPTP bath oils before, and I'm happy with how silky this made the bath water feel and how soft my skin felt afterwards. It did leave a slight residue that built up in my cheap-ass razor when I tried to shave my legs, so I'd advise rinsing off in the shower first before shaving.

I absolutely love this. I'm pleased as punch about every bit of this Inquisition. Now I'm off to go try applying the perfume over this.



edit: Okay, I told myself I wouldn't forget it this time around, and what did I do?

Translation for the text on the side, as provided by Wikipedia:

Celebrates the peasant, with songs and dances,
The pleasure of a bountiful harvest.
And fired up by Bacchus' liquor,
many end their revelry in sleep. Edited June 30, 2008 by Shollin
Fixed BPAL tags --Shollin

[Sushi-n-Sake]

In bottle: Molasses and resin

In tub: The molasses fades to a background sweetness, and I don't smell the patchouli and myrrh after that. What I get now is spicy carnations which must be the sweetgrass and sage combining with the cinnamon.

 

Verdict: I wish the patch and myrrh would have stuck around, but it's lovely nonetheless. Also made my skin soft. Next time I'll try using more to see if it stays truer to the out of bottle scent.

 

ETA: Since this review, I've discovered that I really prefer the bath oil applied directly to my skin after bathing. It's completely non-greasy and retains that original yummy scent!

Edited September 15, 2008 by Sushi-n-Sake

[nekogrrl]

Oh L'Autumno, how I love thee!

Let me count the ways!

 

When first I poured thee into my bath

Sage rose to meet me-

But wait!

What else is wafting?

Sweet myrrh with a

Spicy cinnamon edge.

 

Swirling in the back were

Patchouli and cedar

Never coming to the fore.

 

Long did I soak,

Breathing in the

Scents of autumn.

 

I wish I could

strain the bathwater

before it goes down the drain.

 

*****with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning***

[hackess]

I don't know if I'd associate this with autumn, per se, but it's gorgeous. Tonight I used it at the end of my shower by pouring a bit into my hand and rubbing my skin down with it, then lightly rinsing.

 

The oil in the bottle smells pretty close to cinnamon toast. At first application, the patchouli is incredibly strong, bolstered by resinous myrrh, but the earthy phase lasts for just a few seconds and gives way to a light and sweet herbal scent. The result is super-soft skin with no films or residue...and I keep sticking my head inside my bathrobe to sniff myself.

[iiinterstate]

drooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool.

 

Those of you who are constantly refreshing your mailboxes waiting patiently for your CnS's will not be disappointed!

 

In the bottle, this smelled far too sweet for me and I thought I might end up passing it on to my mom, but the scent in the bottle and the scent on my skin are two completely different worlds. My tub is less than comfy, so I slathered the bath oil all over myself towards the end of my shower, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I smell like deeeeeep dark brown sugar and cinnamon, with a base of cedar (a note I usually dislike) and sage+myrrh (these blend SO well).

 

Best of all, now that I'm all dry, I still smell delicious!

[Neely]

I too thought that this was way to sweet in the bottle. And I haven't tried it in the bath yet (more like an old west pine coffin in size and shape). But I wanted to review it for those of you still debating on spending the money. Let me tell you, you want this if you love Autumn. When I put this on my skin the sweetness of the sugar went away and I was left with grass, and spices with a hint of molasses but just the barest huff of treacle. It smells of a field in Autumn when the grass is yellow and turned to staw. It smells of the hay in a hay ride at the pumpkin farm while the smell of spicey baked goods that the farmer's wife made to sell wafts on a crisp Fall afternoon, I love it.

 

 

Now, I feel I cannot review this properly without mentioning how this oil blends and combines with the bath oil and the room spray (reviews on each of those will include impressions with the perfume oil). I didn't get to take a bath yet, but I had to well, rub on the bath oil to my forearm then apply the perfume oil to my wrist, then I sprayed my room spray. OMFG!!!!!! Here I am in the middle of a hot Mo' fukkin' Tex-ass Summer, and I am instantly transported to Autumn. My favorite Season (the imps' quiz was indeed the most accurate of quizzes). The bath oil smells of dry golden Autumn grassses, combined with the crisp, sweet freshness of the apple, and the heavy dark fig and patchouli with bonfire smoke and I am on a hill in a field of dry grass on a crisp Fall day eating a picnic of sweet apple and fig while someone burns leaves in the distance. This is so damn good, I am fighting the bad angel to buy another set and horde it.

[ElinaMakropulos]

Count me as another who slathered on the oil in the shower rather than using it in the bath It is incredibly caramelly-sweet in the bottle, but as soon as it was on my skin it was allll patchouli with a bit of resin in the background. However, it's a perfect, smooth, delicious patchouli, deep and mysterious. My bottle of L'Autunno is all wrapped up at the moment for a mini MnS tomorrow so I layered it with Chanukkiyah, and it is just amazing. All spicy, woodsy resinous goodness!

[Monster]

It's the middle of the summer but I had to try this and take a hot bath with my new L'Autunno bath oil.

 

I wasn't too too thrilled with this scent out of the bottle, if you haven't tried it in the bath yet, please do, it completely changes.

 

This has a thick molasses scent with a dash of cinnamon and a whole lot of myrrh. I've never really tried bath oils before and i really like the way it left the soft scent of the oil on my body along with a nice, smooth (not greasy) silky texture. It added *just* the right amount of moisture to my bath.

 

Very nice!

[greenranger]

I tried this on the back of my hand, and will try it in the shower or bath later.

 

On me, molasses, patchouli, sage and sweetgrass. Ooooh.

 

There's almost an anise note coming forward. It's probably a combination of other things but it's interesting.

 

Drying, it's a sweet, earthy, grassy scent. I reeeeaaaally like this so far.

 

On the skin, it eventually ended up all sage. Bleh. =(

 

----

 

Used in the shower, Cedar, molasses and patchouli. Much, much woodier and earthier than straight on the skin. If only it stays like this....

 

As the water dries, the scent becomes more just patchouli and cedar, a drier, warmer, scent. If the sage doesn't ambush me, this bottle is not going to last long at all.

Edited July 16, 2008 by Aerinha

[suki]

as i noted in another bath oil review-i haven't yet used this in the actual bath, but i frequently go for "off label" uses of bath oil, namely straight on my skin, and also in my hair as a sort of leave-in conditioning treatment, so i feel ok about reviewing this oil from those perspectives:

 

in the bottle: thick, sweet molasses; just a touch of deep resinous patchouli; and a sweet spice that i identify as myrrh.

 

on my skin: the sweetgrass is peeking out now with some skin to warm it up. the molasses has taken a giant step back, which i admit disappoints me somewhat. but overall, it's warmed up to a nice, full late-summer-in-the-barn sort of scent, which is just lovely with me.

 

in all: i'm not sure i'm interested in using this in the bath, to be honest. but i can see putting lots in my hair after a swim at the beach, letting it mix with the sticky saltwater into something glorious and beautiful smelling.

[savage_rose]

All I can smell is molasses and cinnamon sugar. Hello maple syrup! Breakfast is calling.

 

Paired with the perfume: add maple syrup to the mix of cider and spices, and WHOA! I cannot pull my hand away from my face long enough to type. It makes it hard to get through a review, let me tell you . This is an amazing concept, and an amazing execution. My favorite season in a soon to be favorite set of oils and sprays. Amazing.

[alicia_stardust]

This is my second favorite of all the seasons bath oils and it definitely competes with my favorite so it's a close call. I had the pleasure of testing the L'Autunno bath oil prototype and it was heavier on the patchouli than this seems to be. I liked that one, but I LOVE this release of it.

 

This just feels like autumn, pure and simple. I get a rich and warm patchouli-molasses at first, with the cinnamon sugar and cedar not far behind it. The sage seems to be more of a diffuse herbal base that lends itself to the other notes more so than takes center stage.

 

I really love this, and it's especially good to have remnants of this on my skin as I apply the L'Autunno perfume. Holy smokes, it's good!

[porcelina]

ok, i haven't taken a bath yet but i drizzled a bit on my knee and am now sniffing away. on my skin this is very dry- sweet dried grass, a bit of sage, cedar. very different from the gooey-sweet molasses scent i got when i took a whiff straight from the bottle... i wonder how it will compare in the bath.

[Nox Eterna]

OMG!

I haven't taken a bath in this yet either, but I rubbed some on my arm and....

You know how the pavement smells after it rains? This is IT . Like walking on a damp sidewalk through a neighborhood where someone is having a fire in the fireplace and another house in the far distance is baking something delicious.

Beth, this is absolutely AMAZING!

[dluszcz]

Too bad this isn't edible I used this as an aftershower moisturizer since I'm not supposed to take baths, and I have to say that it is very highly scented. At first, it was a very, buttery molasses and cinnamon sugar- like a wonderful winter drink. The butteriness dried down to leave a wonderful molasses and burnt cinnamon sugar with a hint of mellow patchouli. This is sugary without the sweet. It reminds me of burnt kettle corn and the farmer's market upstate NY on a snowy fall morning.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this reminds me of blends like Bad Luck Woman Blues and Tiresias. The molasses and cinnamon sugar smell like rich caramel and the other notes add an earthy, herbal, woody quality to the blend. In the bath water, this is mostly foodie sage for me, like caramel with a hint of spiciness and the dry, herbal sage. It's almost too sweet for me when it's in the water, so I'd definitely have to be in a foodie mood to bathe with L'Autunno.

 

On my skin, it's amazing how much this shifts. The foodie/sweet aspects fade to the background and the myrrh & sweetgrass pop out. The myrrh is smoothly resinous and the sweetgrass adds a scent of dry grasses. It's a little bit smoky, like burning sage, but not enough to bother me. The touch molasses adds just the right hint of sweetness.

 

After the disappointment of the spice crazed L'Autunno perfume oil, I'm glad to see that this doesn't have an overwhelming cinnamon note. The myrrh and sweetgrass in this bath oil are gorgeous.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed only; I don't use mineral oil products.

 

Caramel! Deliciously, creamy rich, burnt-sugar caramel - brown sugar and molasses and vanilla, with a light touch of cinnamon suggesting sticky buns; definitely the sweetest of the 3 components in this season's set. Intensely foody, but other complexity lies beyond. The herbal-bitter, slightly smoky tinge of myrrh provides depth, as does some intense, somewhat rooty, deeply earthy patchouli - these aspects remind me greatly of the room spray with its Country estate, suave bachelor feel. The sweetgrass is a softer note, dry and haylike, merging with the dry warmth of cedar and sweet woody spices.

Edited August 14, 2008 by fairnymph

[oakmoss]

Unlike the L'Estate bath oil, which stayed pretty consistent for me whether it was sniffed from the bottle, used in the bath, or dabbed directly on my skin, L'Autunno is different in each form. In the bottle, it has a more edible scent, the molasses and cinnamon sugar making it richly spicy, foody. Dispersed in water, the patchouli comes forward, and lingers post-bath on my skin, blended perfectly with the myrrh to make yet another variation on the theme. I really don't get the cedar at all, which is fine, as it tends to be pencil shavings on me. I don't have the perfume (I bought the inquisition with someone else), but after the bath, this scent layers beautifully with anything resiny or incensey. With Penitence, especially, it is sublime. And a little really does go a long way -- I've had about six baths with it so far and am not even a third of a way down the bottle.

[girlygirl]

In the bottle: cinnamon sugar, very sweet

What's on my skin after bathing: the GOOD kind of patchouli, resins, and a hint of cinnamon. Very fall - dark and woody. The sweetness just tempers the woody earthy elements - perfectly blended and lovely.

[grashopper8]

I am mostly reminded of Red Lantern with this oil - A deep, dark musk with a rich, sweet caramel base. The patchouli note is palatable, friendly, and warm; and there is also a dried leaves/sweetgrass hue.

 

(It is quite lovely, but I got sick of it after a little while - I blame my monthly visit for that, it was the first day of my 'deal' : -)

 

Life sure has been busy - I can't believe it's taken me this long to start testing the Four Seasons bath oils!

[Wwindy]

As mentioned above, the L'Autunno bath oil is really, really sweet when you sniff it in the bottle. I've been using it as a post-shower moisturizer rather than bathing in it, so I can't tell you what it does in the tub -- but on my skin it loses virtually all of the sweetness. My husband says it smells like a hayride on me, and it does! It's got a very strong grassy hay note underlaid by the cedar and sage and rounded out by the warm, subtle patchouli.

 

It's very pleasant and evocative of the season, but here's the thing: Combined with the L'Autunno perfume? This. Is. SPECTACULAR. I don't even have words. I'd been wearing the perfume on my skin and the room spray in a locket, and yeah, that's a nice combination too, but the perfume and the bath oil together? SO GOOD. It's just so deep and rich and complex and... and... quintessentially autumnal! I can't get over how fabulous this pairing is.

[yeahbutnobut]

L’Autunno bath oil

 

In bottle: molasses! This smells of cinnamon and treacle. Very caramelised.

On skin: I applied this to skin after showering, and I like it a lot! On first, it smells like cinnamon sugar and molasses with a nutty undertone. Not sure why I smell nuts here, but there’s definitely an almond/hazelnut thing going on, which reminds me a bit of Ventriloquist’s Dummy. I also smell cedar, a lovely woodsy scent mingling with dark smoky patchouli. Something in here is going beautifully smoky, like a subtle hint of bonfire wafting over the spicy sweetness. I fear this will turn too caramelised/treacly over time. But thankfully it doesn’t…in fact, this gets even nicer at drydown. It’s all cinnamon and brown sugar (very similar to El Dia de Reyes, without coffee) with an undertone of cedar and patchouli, a gorgeous smoky note wafts over it all. I also smell a lot of myrrh at this point, it’s the myrrh that smells just like the resin, and has a slightly musky/golden feel to it. There’s also a similarity to Devil’s Night by now, and I love DN so this makes me very happy. This, after L’Estate, is my favourite of the bath oils. Spicy, earthy, woodsy and smoky, it’s another gorgeous autumn scent that will layer very well with many of the Halloween LE scents.

[PlasticBlue]

Maybe it's because I really needed a soak after shovelling off the walk two days in a row...

 

but...

 

:D

 

Sweet in the bottle, in the bath and as an after-bath moisturiser it becomes a lovely grassy resiny scent. Mostly sage and sweetgrass, I think. Which is fine, as I like sage and sweetgrass. It's not overly greasy on my oh-so-dry winter skin, either, which is a big plus.

My bathrobe smells pretty now, so I think I'm going to wear it all day.

[twilighteyes]

Mmmm. This is all heavy syrupy molasses and earthy sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and patchouli. I am not getting any cinnamon leaping out at me which is ok -- it is SO beautiful. I had to get a back up bottle of the bath oil!

[Gin]

L'Autunno Bath Oil

 

Why, L'Autunno Bath Oil, WHY? It's no secret that I'm a selective description reader (I focus on the notes I like to the exclusion of all else) but by all accounts, this should work. This should not only work, but it should be amazing. Instead, it smelles like burnt caramel/molasses and dries down to burnt sage-cedar-sweetgrass. And it makes me feel sneezy. ARGH! I love autumn above all other seasons, and I can't help but be seducd by the sound of BPAL's autumny blends, but they usually make me feel sneezy. I can usually put up with it if it smells good, but sadly, this doesn't even have that going for it.

 

*runs off, crying*