A World Where There Are Octobers

[Invidiana]

A WORLD WHERE THERE ARE OCTOBERS
October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.

Anne reveled in the world of color about her.

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs" 'I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them."

An armload of maple boughs and a swirl of autumn leaves.

October has a sister! Almost anything with dry leaves has my heart and this is no exception. The leaf notes definitely remind me of October, but I feel that while that one is evocative of late October when there are cold winds and crunchy leaves everywhere, this one is more evocative of early October when all the leaves are ablaze. The maple wood note is actually very close to oak, perhaps just a tad sweeter. The sweet undertones come out more as this dries down, and it seems like there is a hint of sap here too, though somewhat lighter than the sap note in October. It's not maple syrup or the least bit foody but there is a very, very slight undertone that hints at it being related to maple syrup if that makes any sense at all whatsoever. Like something that says this is the raw state of what eventually ends up as maple syrup. Maybe that makes a bit more sense. Keep in mind I could potentially be high from all the Weenies I've already assaulted my nostrils with. But I love how this one brings out a distinct "redness"--there goes my synaesthesia again--in the leaf note. It just so clearly illustrates brilliant red leaves, along with memories of apple picking in upstate New York, in my mind.

[Lycanthrope]

Dear Invidiana: I cannot post my reviews after your reviews, since you perfectly nail every scent with so much more descriptive ability and much clearer than I can!

 

I totes agree.

 

Doods.

 

This is like less gritty October.

 

I get more wet green leaf, intermixed with a light powdery wood, and slightly crinkly mostly yellow and orange leaves. There may be a bit more woodsiness to this than standard October with less... um, musty rot?

 

This, please note, is coming from a wolf who LOVES the smells BPAL uses to describe and embody decay.

 

 

 

 

Mmm.

 

 

/wolfpounce /leafsplash /rollrollroll

[Beckiemort]

Oh this is beautiful and unlike anything else I have in my collection.

 

First of all, I love the smell of leaves so I hoped that I would love this scent. I also have a deep love of Anne of Green Gables (I connected to her so much as a child) that even if I didn't like the notes I thought I might have to purchase it. Thankfully it's a beautiful and evocative scent.

 

In the bottle: It's all leaves, sharp, green and very vegetal. It's definitely more tree like than Summer Summoning Spectacular and fresher smelling than Autumn Lace.

 

Wet: It's still definately a 'green' scent, but it doesn't feel green, if that makes any sense. It reminds me of cold Autumn days of driving up the mountain to school when the skies are still clear, but the trees have started to change colour. It doesn't necessarily smell like those trees, but it makes me feel like I'm there.

 

Dry Down: As it dries it continues to get sharper and almost cologne like. It's not unpleasant, but rather odd. It reminds me of something almost aquatic - like fresh rain on those fallen leaves, like a good fall storm. I seriously wish I knew where I was picking up the aquatic sharpness from.

 

This mellows out as it dries. The leaves settle and the wood starts to emerge a bit. My skin starts to sweeten the blend a bit and tames the sharpness that the blend starts with. I love the addition of that little bit of sweetness in combination with the leaves and wood. I love it and the memories of which it reminds me.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Beckie

[heyjjudette]

I have never smelled a scent like this! I wanted to purchase a Halloweenie, and this one just called to me. I've been looking for a pure leaf scent, pure autumnal scent, and this screamed that.

 

When I sniffed the bottle, I can't say I was happy. It smells (from the bottle) very much like some kind of potpourri I have smelled. Not completely unpleasant, but just something that I wasn't loving.

 

I put it on, and on my skin, I am really liking it. I still smell that potpourri scent, but like I said, it's not unpleasant. It actually reminds me of these group of shops that were near my elementary school in the woods. There was a candle shop there, and this scent takes me right back to it. I'm not sure if it takes me back to the shop itself, or if's just the woods that surrounded the place.

 

Oh and this made my skin tingle, which no other scent has done! Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing!

[The Poison Queen]

In the Bottle: Maple and wood, almost foodie smelling to me, with a sharp bit of green to it.

 

Wet: Much more wood and more green-ness, I was worried about that sweet maple smell but it seems to have disappeared.

 

Dry: A leafy floral, MUCH better than my initial impression of it, and I think it might need to rest for a few days. Will update my review if it changes upon reapplication.

[ladymeag]

Do you like Sonnet d'Automne but wish it was a little deeper? Do you like October but wish it was a little lighter? This is like the two met in the middle.

 

In the bottle: Slightly sharp, green, definitely leafy but more like the kind of wet leaves that fall of a tree and stick to everything than dry, falling leaves if you know what I mean.

 

On the skin: The first few minutes of this made me afraid it was going to go soapy. There seems to be a light vanilla-type musk in here somewhere, I think. As it dries, it brings out that musk campfire-and-mossy-woods smell that October has that I love so much. I think this one is only going to get better (and smokier) with age. As it is now, it seems like it will become part of my procession into early winter with Sonnet d'Automne, A World Where There Are Octobers, and October.

[Lani]

I just got my bottle of this today, and oh man. I really really love this. In the bottle there's an herbal, green smell with just a tad of sharpness and almost a citrusy scent. On me it dries down to a sweet, rich, woody smell with a bit of smokiness. It definitely reminds me of a bright, crisp, autumn day with beautiful bright leaves all around. Gorgeous!

[sharkdiver]

I love this! It's much softer than October, softened mostly by the sweetness from the maple...but it's not overly sweet by any stretch. It smells almost like a light floral leafy smell, meets a commercial perfume - it's stunning! So far this is my favorite of the weenies!

[distracts]

Huh, I feel like I'm smelling a completely different scent than everyone else!

 

In the bottle, I smell sugar. A little bit of greens but mostly sugar.

 

On me, syrupy sugar and ozone. As it dries it gets more and more ozoney. I don't like sugar scents and I don't like ozone scents and this is like some horrible combination of the two.

[lizardqueen]

I definitely think the comparison to October is apt! To me, AWWTAO smelled very much like October in the bottle: leaves in the process of drying, a bit of grass, a bit of bitterness. It warms up on my skin, though--the drying leaves are still there on the outside, but with a maple wood core, and as it dries I get more of that core. Very, very nice!

[tinyvulture]

Dry autumn leaves with a hint of maple sap, and also a dab of cologne. October meets Falling Leaf Moon. (For me, October had a heavy cologne quality, and AWWTAO has that to a much lesser extent. FLM on me was very sweet, and in spite of the maple, AWWTAO is less sweet.) There's a warmth to it, and it really captures those first few days of autumn when the leaves start to fall from the trees but it's still sunny and warm in the afternoons.

[ObliqueRed]

I really wanted to love this scent because of the Anne of Green Gables reference (OMG, if there were an Anne of Green Gables GC section or LE group I would be FORCED to buy ALL THE BOTTLES) but alas, woody scents are always iffy on me, and this one is no different. Sigh. It just went in a way too men's-cologne direction on me.

[MiasmaResonance]

Very green and masculine in the imp, reminds me of the actual October weenie, as I think others have mentioned.

 

Wet on my skin, this is sweet and a touch more feminine than October, but still reminds me a lot of just a mens cologne. It's a sweet ozone thing...

 

Drying, I'm not really going for this one. October was much more impressive to me. Oh well!

[savage_rose]

Dry, crunchy leaves with a hint of sweetness. And a suggestion of smokiness. The perfect autumn scent!

[ACVail24]

This is a combination of dry leaves and maple syrup on me - it's absolutely lovely, and very evocative of fall!

 

(ETA, if this is ever offered as a Bath Oil, I will be hoarding )

Edited October 21, 2013 by Akurarei

[Zii]

They promised me woody sweetness and gave me rose??? This smells like roses and green sap. I can only hope this is a trick of my sick nose...

[OctoberGwen]

This is almost green to my nose and there is a note that becomes nearly sour on my skin. I think that I need more components to make this wearable, like Elegy IX with its honey, cognac, and patchouli to offset the leaves and boughs.

 

In the oil burner, though, this scent is fabulous. It's like walking through my native New Hampshire woods in the Fall.

 

Definitely a keeper, despite not being something to wear.

 

 

ETA: Heh. I spoke too soon.

 

After a couple of weeks, this has settled down and is now really lovely on my skin. Beautiful red leaves, just a touch of sweetness, and a hint of sap-filled woods. So evocative of Autumn, and so unique to my collection. I'm glad I tried it again.

Edited October 23, 2013 by OctoberGwen

[lucycat]

I love Anne of Green Gables, so I probably would have bought this even if the notes were those of the Cuthberts' cow pasture. Luckily, A World Where There Are Octobers smells much better than that.

 

In the bottle I smell green leaves and maple sap. The sweetness is not nearly as sweet as that of maple syrup, but it's there.

 

On my skin, this smells green. To me at least, these aren't October leaves, but green, wet ones from earlier in the season.

 

After hours, the greenness fades and more of a wood smell emerges. It's as if the leaves actually go through the process of turning color while I'm wearing the oil. The subtle mapley sweetness comes forward. I agree with tinyvulture that this really captures early autumn.

 

This smells very unisex to me; the sweetness is so subtle that I think it would work on a man as well.

[HighPriestessIce]

I'm getting crisp dry leaves and a hint of maple smoke. The maple has almost a gritty sugar quality to it, making the blend almost feel crunchy. Then the smell of green branches comes in and there's a coolness. The leaves are still the dominant note though and they seem to be the same type from Sonnet D'Automne.

[tziporra]

I did not grow up reading Anne of Green Gables, not even one time. However, I have read it to my children as an adult, and I can definitely understand the charm of a bpal inspired by Anne.

 

I love this scent on its own merits.

 

Wet, it is just like the scent description - incredibly fresh leaves and maple. The maple is awesome, like the interior of a violin dusted with some sweet resin.

 

Dries down to gorgeous fresh ruby leaves and the most beautiful maple wood scent. Many woods are too dry on the skin, but this one oozes maple sap. Definite bottle.

 

Love.

 

Tzi

[SophieCedar]

This one has me the most perplexed. I cannot for the life of me figure out if I like maple boughs. Its cool, brown, green, red, and a touch of ozone.

[darkeyedfran]

I need a backup bottle of this, this scent is perfect autumn in a bottle. This plays so nicely on my skin! This is crisp air, big multicolored trees, and just a touch of sweetness. I do not get a maple syrup smell from this, just the slight naturally sweet tinge. I also don't get any green scent from this, it is all dry crunchy leaves and beautiful woods.This truly brought me back to walking in North Carolina in October. This has good throw and I am absolutely in awe at how Beth managed to capture this scent. I need more so I can wear this all the time.

[Erinofhere]

This is for sure dry crunchy yellow leaves. Only it is very strong to my nose. There is something medicinal lurking in the back ground that is putting me off this scent.

 

No matter how much I want to love this...I just can't. That medicinal smell is ruining this for me.

[SadariEvenstar]

I didn't think I liked this when I tried it the first time. It seemed faint and kind of strange. I gave it a full day test anyway because I really wanted it to work. (Leaves! Anne!) I'm glad that I did, the scent really comes into itself when I wear more of it over a longer period of time. The leaves are warm and sweet and dry and a little bit musky. It's very like the leaf note in Sonnet D'Automne.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This is beautiful, and a perfect palate cleanser after trying the sweeter or foodier fall scents. A World Where There Are Octobers is a clean, fresh, unisex scent. It reminds me strongly of my favorite Yankee Candle fall scent, Autumn Leaves. It's warmer on the drydown but overall smells cool and crisp, perfect for creating the feel of woods in autumn.