Pumpkin Princess

[JLH]

PUMPKIN PRINCESS
Before the Grand Dame was the Pumpkin Queen, she was a Pumpkin Princess! Bright, sweet pumpkin with vanilla fluff, guava, chocolate-dusted white amber, tiare, red currant, raw honey, and meringue.

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed from a lovely forumite.

In the bottle this smells like a very, very sweet pumpkin, but wet on my skin something creates a very sharp, high-pitched floral that's a bit overpowering. I'm thinking that it might be a combination of the tiare, and possibly the guava or currant. I was pretty worried, because the floral note was bordering on a headachey commercial perfume.

But, after drying, Pumpkin Princess becomes much gentler on me. That sharp note burns away and I can finally smell the light sweetness of the pumpkin, white cocoa, and meringue, combined with a fruity-floral note on top.

I'm hoping that aging this may tone down that wet stage a bit, because the dry stage is lovely. Edited October 31, 2011 by Silvertree
Added Lab description.

[kirsten]

Admittedly, this smelled incredibly off-putting to me in the vial. It reminded me a bit of Jack, if Jack were smothered in marshmallow fluff---that same kind of buttery pumpkin. But I'm a trooper and I put it on anyway. It's nowhere near as bad as Jack (can you say out with a migraine for five hours? ) but it smells pretty gross on my skin. Dries down to a weird, soapy floral with the occasional waft of marshmallow.

[Incendiare]

Initially, I thought this was going to be great. Like a bright and wonderfully happy pumpkin blend. Then I started thinking that maybe I'll find it boring due to the combination of fruits. Upon opening my vial, a beautiful pumpkin wrapped in amber and sweetness, probably from the honey, wafted through the air. On me, the amber comes out even more. I can smell delicate chocolate curls now too. After a few minutes, the guava has made an entrance, but it's just enough to give this a hint of tropical in the far distance. The more this dries down, the more perfumey this gets. I am contemplating getting a bottle of this.

[Lethran]

In bottle: I have had mostly bad luck with pumpkin, but gave it a test anyway because I’d never seen a meringue note, and I’m curious like that. The pumpkin note is the pumpkin note, particularly bright and strong in this setting. You pretty much have to love pumpkin for this to work for you, as it is so intense. The rest of the notes form two camps. The stronger camp is made up of vanilla fluff, amber, meringue, and what I’m guessing is the taire. (It looks to be a sort of gardenia, and that would account for the very soft, white floral impression). The other team is the fruit and honey. I do think the idea of putting a bright fruity spin on the pumpkin and all those light fluffy fragrances in team 2 is unusual and inspired. The problem is, I nearly always respond badly to the pumpkin note, and it is intense enough here, that skin testing is unwise. I do think it suits it’s concept, and for someone good with pumpkin fragrance, this would be a good addition to their collection.

[porcelina]

pumpkin princess makes me so SAD because it is the sort of bright, fluffy, happy scent that i would so love to wear but it does not love me. the fluffy vanilla and sweet buttery pumpkin just goes flat and plasticky on my skin and is no good. even the amber, currant and honey, which should help it work on me, stay hidden. alas, i was not meant to be a pumpkin princess.

[animalcule]

In the bottle and wet: smooth light pumpkin, lots of tiare and a hint of pleasant fruitiness.

 

Drydown: pumpkin, a hint of vanilla, but mostly amber and tiare - unfortunately I am not a fan of amber, although this is the solitary perfume with amber I've tested a couple times and considered keeping. Swapped!

[angelmecha]

In Imp: Pumpkin and super sweet orange fruits. (And oh, look: guava, sweetened by meringue-- yes, that's what I'm getting.)

Wet: It morphs a LOT on my skin. Pumpkin, which was hugely apparent in the imp, fades almost completely and leaves the chocolate and amber. The guava is still there, but it's just a faint juiciness in the background. Mmmmm. This is much softer than I expected after hearing all the Hawaiian-fruit reviews... I'm getting amber, chocolate, and vanilla. It's a more mature sweetness than I thought. I want to eat it.

Drydown: Once it's fully dried the pumpkin peeks out a little more again. It's a sweet, guava and pumpkin.... I like it!

Verdict: I think it's a 3.5/5.

[sea_stars]

This is all pumpkin, guava, and vanilla fluff on me. Perhaps a little honey in the background. Sweet, playful, but not overpowering. A great everyday, anywhere fall scent. And such a cute label!

[Honey]

This indeed smells like a floral commercial perfume! Or, to me, it smells like a perfume blend used in a classy shampoo or hair mask.

 

The nutty pumpkin is detectable but disappears very quickly. The guava and red current add a fruity note to this scent, and one that I like a lot! The floral and sugar/vanilla mix is a really lovely blend! But there is a.. kind of marine/ozone note to the scent that might be the reason why it doesn't work for some people. Maybe that is the tiare? I don't get any strong individual notes, but PP is floral, sweet, juicy and almost.. Caribbean. Like a late summer scent really. I guess I will keep this one and wear it in about a year.

[Gateau]

In the decant -- pumpkin, something cakelike, sugar hit

 

Wet -- vanilla pumpkin, sweet and flowery

 

Dry -- This is pretty. I can pick up the vanilla, florals, and bit of pumpkin. But all the sweet stuff converging makes this feel a little young and girly for me -- truly princessy!

 

Bottom line -- a pretty, sweet blend, but not something I'll reach for. So I found a good new home for my decant.

[Schmoozy]

The Pumpkin Queen is hands down one of my favorite scents ever, so I was pretty excited to try Pumpkin Princess. This is absolutely stunning. Kind of a lighter more spunkier version of the Queen. This is pumpkin with light florals, a touch of tropical fruit, sweetened with honey and smooothed over with amber. At times I can smell the barest hint of chocolate underneath it all. As it continues to wear, the pumpkin slowly fades to the background and the honeyed amber with tiare, vanilla and guava are the stars.

[calivianya]

Wet on my skin: Pumpkin Princess is definitely aptly named! I am getting a huge burst of very sweet pumpkin with something high and sweet... the tiare?

Five minutes: No change, actually.

Drydown: I think I must amp pumpkin. I was hoping the pumpkin would back off a bit and I'd have a slight pumpkin scent with more focus on the vanilla fluff, amber, etc., but pumpkin is still the dominant note on my skin. I wish I was getting the honey/vanilla musk others are getting. This is definitely too pumpkin-y for me.

[astarinel]

This is a little... odd.

 

There is definitely a pumpkin note, but notably not a buttery one (those are awful on my skin). I'm going to guess the mix of currant and tiare is what's making this go a little tart and soapy on me, unfortunately. I can get hints of pumpkin, guava, and chocolate, but this scent just isn't mixing well on my skin.

 

If you're one of those people who doesn't normally like the lab's pumpkin notes, this is a comparatively wearable pumpkin that definitely stands out as being different, but the other notes in this end in fail on my skin. I'd be interested to smell this on someone else, because as it dries I start to get something really pretty and bright, but it's too late for it to work on me.

[ljaylh]

Yep - no surprises here.. this is exactly what the label says - sweet pumpkin with fluffy vanilla, soft powdery chocolate, sweet honey, sticky meringue and a bit of tang from the guava and tiare. The only thing I can't really find is the red currant, but there's so much sweet fruitiness in here already that I don't really mind its absence. And the pumpkin here is quite mild, it's a timid little pumpkin.. not a big old fat meaty one.

 

This smells just like it should - soft, sweet, fluffy - perfect for a pumpkin princess. Unfortunately, I'm not a pumpkin princess.. this is another Weenie decant that I bought just for interest (I wanted to try it!), not for keeping, so off to the frimpies box with this one

[Ghost of a Rose]

My imp is a decant from schackjj, The Goddess of Decanters (to borrow a quote from another participant in our decant circle.)

 

In the imp: The artwork is adorable! Oil is clear and nearly colorless, with just the faintest tinge of ivory. The first thought I have when I sniff the imp is, "Butter." I don't know where that comes from! Except for some honey, nothing else is specifically identifiable. One thing for sure, though - this is unabashedly foody. And nothing at all like pumpkin pie.

 

On me, wet: The butter is again the first thing I smell, but now it is more defined: the butter in a graham-cracker pie crust. And pumpkin. Then the tiare, strong enough to restrain the foodiness of the blend. Which makes me like it a lot more than I did in the imp. It also still keeps this from being pumpkin pie in spite of the pie crust.

 

On me, just dried: The tiare is now strongest, but not by much. The butter, honey, and pumpkin are giving it a run for the money. In the background, I notice the currant, and definitely the guava (which I love.) This is really interesting, not just a straightforward foody fragrance. No chocolate or amber so far. Vanilla might be in there, but it behaves itself, blending in seamlessly with the pie crust note. I don't expect to smell meringue, since it doesn't really have much of a smell other than sugary.

 

After 10 minutes: The guava and red currant are the stars now, with the buttery note a strong supporting actor. The tiare is still there, and I'm starting to pick up the vanilla a little.

 

After 20 minutes: The amber is beginning to come in strongly, making this mostly a fruits-and-amber scent, and more perfumey.

 

After 30 miinutes: Save as above.

 

After 1 hour: The fruits have gone plastic-y, as they always tend to do eventually on my skin. But there are the warm amber and vanilla notes to rescue it, at least to some extent.

 

After 2 1/2 hours: The scent is pretty much gone.

 

My rating: 4 stars

[Juushika]

In the vial: A sweet, airy, Jack-esque pumpkin.

 

On me: The pumpkin's earthiness comes out as this hits the skin. Initially, Pumpkin Princess is surprisingly spicy and pumpkin-y, darker, drier, and not as sweet as I was expecting, but never heavy. There's some amber warmth and a dusting of sweetness, and perhaps a touch of extra fruitiness (currant, I think), but those are subtle; the pumpkin is predominant. A warm, sweet, dark-toned, full-bodied scent. The sweetness comes out as it wears, and the pumpkin grows less earthy, tending towards Jack's pumpkin but without the waxiness. Unfortunately, the scent develops a certain fruity/floral perfumeyness at its tail end (about three hours in), which may be what others are calling tropical but to my nose seems pretty much a generic perfume. Scent-color is a glowing golden orange. Throw is moderate low, and wear length is moderate.

 

Verdict: I love Pumpkin Princess upon application—its a warm, welcoming pumpkin scent, but errs towards the raw honey side of the other notes: its sweetness is gentle instead of cloying, and there's something earthy and warm in its golden fruits. But it conforms to expectations more and more as it wears, and I don't love that as much—the glowing golden pumpkin is pretty nice, but the tendency towards perfumeyness isn't my style. All in all a wash-up; I'll keep this around and retest it, but I'm not won over yet.

[Caper]

i shied away from this one because of the guava and tiare but i happened upon a half bottle and decided to get it on a whim.

 

imp: golden warm pumpkin with a hint of a bright floral. mostly a buttery golden pumpkin.

 

wet: pumpkin and bright floral. a touch of amber and vanilla blends with the floral and makes a really refreshing mix, light and nuanced.

 

dry: the floral notes dominate on me and i thought that would be a no go but i like it. i had no idea i would like a tropical floral blend but it is really soft and nice.

 

i'm so glad i got the half bottle, i will definitely use this for fall. likely even as summer starts to turn because the lightness would work earlier in the season than some of the more dry leaf autumn scents.

[Voleuse]

This feels like a fluffy vanilla-pumpkin scent (baked, but not in a cake way), but there's a slightly sharp fruit note that I can't quite identify. It morphs into something grounded, somewhere halfway between nutty and burnt leaves, but the entire scent fades so quickly on me, I can't really parse it. At the end of a few minutes, I only get the faintest hint of pumpkin, and a bit of guava, I think.

[taramarie]

In the bottle, Pumpkin Princess is pumpkin, meringue, and guava. Wet on my skin, it's mostly guava. As much as I adore the label (Lilith is so cute!), this isn't for me.

Edited November 16, 2011 by whiterosepetals

[Wench457]

In the bottle, this is sweet vanilla pumpkin. On me it becomes harsh and sharp, with almost a chemical scent when sniffed close up. I nearly despaired.

 

However, on drydown, the throw is a lovely vanilla floral. Up close I still get that chemical note, but the throw is totally swoon-worthy. The pumpkin remains a bit player, and I could wish for a bit more since I adore that note, but I can't bring myself to mind much since I love vanilla florals even more.

 

I think this one is going to age incredibly well, and I'll definitely be getting a backup, or two!

[surlygurl]

Fresh on my skin, its a bright pumpkin with sweet florals. Very pre-teen girly with a toothachingly sweet throw. As it dries, it becomes less sweet and more grounded - I think the white chocolate anchors it. After the drydown, it becomes mostly vanilla with grounded florals. It's a soft & girly scent, very pretty, with not much complexity.

[zankoku_zen]

I get whiffs of pumpkin on wet, but then it dries down to a sweet vanilla, chocolate and fruity combination.

 

Light, girly, sweet.

[ami226]

On the skin: A sweet pumpkin! Makes me think of an iced pumpkin yummy of some kind. With a hint of fruitiness? That is slightly unexpected. After a bit, the pumpkin fades and I am mostly getting a yummy fruity vanilla. Hmmmmmm, I am liking this one more than I expected to...

[Eliyetres]

It's very fruity and warm, but for me this is like some creamy tropical juice... since I'm not American and haven't grown up with the smell, it's not at all what makes me think about autumn, this feels more like a wierd smelling piña colada... and a very sweet one. I just don't think that pumpkin is for me!

[filigree_shadow]

Definitely a favorite of the Halloweenies from this year. I think this was the only 5ml I ordered straight from the Lab from this update, and that was a great decision! I love BPAL's pumpkin, and I almost always love foodie scents unless they do that weird burnt plastic thing or the dreaded play-doh thing. This one does neither -- it is cute and fluffy and adorable, with not so much pumpkin that you feel like you're drowning in buttery pumpkin. It's pretty much perfect.

 

I've worn this many times since October and plan to keep wearing it! I have no qualms about wearing pumpkin scents outside of the rigid restraints of autumn.