Devil's Night

[Reinaluna]

... This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk.

Devil's Night: Im thinking about getting another bottle of this already! This blend is very autumnly sexy! When first applied I get the boozy sugariness, then it drys down to a musky spicey sweet smell. I get a little hint of nuttiness with this one also. I love it.

[LiberAmoris]

Like other reviewers, I had a reaction of "Sugar Cookie!" when I first opened Devil's Night. For me, it's a smoky gourmand blend---cool nights, bonfires, and freshly baked cookies. The musk here is delectable.

 

I was so hoping that this one would be love at first sniff and it is. I'm glad I got ahead of myself and ordered another bottle based on my unbridaled optimism.

[shelldoo]

this one simply *had* to work on me, there was no choice. having said that....

 

the bottle is gorgeous. i love the vintage postcard idea.

 

in the bottle: sweetness, reminecent of gingerbread poppet or shub, an alcoholic tinge, like s deep sherry scent not a cheap booze scent and what i think might be a touch of pumpkin or pumpkin spice

 

wet: stays very true but a hint of smokiness is now mingling w/ the sweetness.

 

as it dries it lightens much, it is a soft second skin feel that the musk must add to the blend. this is sweet, smokey, gingery, w/ a touch of alcoholic beverage. it is a fall night for sure, it reminds me of a child that samhain and shub would have if they mated. this is gorgeous. and i definitely need more.

[brownbear]

Holy cow!

I just got this in the mail thirty minutes ago and I'm ordering another bottle. It is so tasty. It's smoky, warm, tasty, sweet, oh man. oh man oh man. Maybe I should get two more bottles. Um sorry this isn't much of a review, I have to keep stopping to smell my arm. It is definitely autumn and foody. wow

 

ETA: yup still one of my favorites. When I layer it with samhain it gets really sweet, like heavy dark honey. One of my roommates said it smelled like a candy shop and another roommate said it smelled like vanilla.

Edited November 28, 2005 by brownbear

[velvet]

what shelldoo said!

it is very pumpkiny on me and it does have a certain edge that i love in shub, perhaps it is cinnamon and ginger?

im very please with this scent, my only halloween scent this year.

it is cool yet it has the warmness of a distant bonfire (not bonfire smell)

i'm going to be wearing this the rest of fall

[AliBabble]

this one encapsulates halloween joy, for me. at first - out of the bottle and while wet - it is very dark, sweet caramel or molasses mixed with hot buttered rum. drool-licious. then the maple syrupy sweetness dries down a bit, and the spices poke through...i'm not sure exactly which spices they are...like allspice or even cardamom thrown on a pile of smoking dried leaves. so damn nice. and to top it off there's a touch of soft, snuggly muskiness in there too. heavenly.

[coulrophobe]

Preconceived notions: This was the Halloween scent I was looking forward to most - love the concept, and most of the notes work for me. Booze can be iffy if it's rum, but smoke, musk and sugar usually work.

 

In the bottle: Smells a bit more foody than I expected - a bit buttery (nooo!), yet smokey... very odd.

 

On: Ah, that's better! Now I'm getting a warm, spicy-smoke smell that just shrieks of autumn. I can't smell the booze at all; instead, I get something reminescent of Sugar Cookie, but with smoke (Sugar Cookie is a dry-sweet-spicy scent on me, rather than an overtly foody one).

 

I rather like this one. It take a long time for the musk to emerge, but all stages of the blend are absolutely lovely.

[zenvodunista]

i continue to have skin chemistry that has a rule: if it's popular among my fellow forumites, it won't work on me.

 

when i ordered this, i wondered what "thuggish musk" would be like. now i know: it's what i smell like when i wear Devil's Night -- a sweaty frat guy. MMMMM! :rolls eyes:

 

n.

[thefaeriegirl]

I smell like thuggish drunkards who have been gorging all night on not only booze but candy...lots and lots of candy. Oh, and one of them is wearing that stuff my grandfather used to wear, Bruit, is it called?

 

Yes, I can catch the other elements in the description as well. This is one of those that smells exctly as described.

[quikslvr]

Musk first, and a very nice musk. Really hard to describe, though. Very autumn, very skin scent. I love it, but it's really, really hard to put into words. I'm not getting sugar, per se, nor booziness. Maybe a touch of both, but it's mostly this other thing--this dark, smooth, skin musk, and sweet smoke. I am so in love with this. I'm hoping it doesn't turn on me later into the drydown.

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I've been desperately wanting to try Devil's Night since it was released (I ordered 5 bottles thinking I'd adore it), but since the reviews started coming out I've gotten a bit worried. I think maybe I've been spoiled by Samhain because I wanted (and was hoping for) something similar to Samhain and Hexennacht. Devil's Night sounds a bit too sweet and spicy for me since I was hoping for something more like Samhain: dark, autumnal...falling leaves and bonfires, that sort of thing.

 

First sniff:

 

Snickerdoodles?!

 

That's...different. All I smell in here is cinnamon, sugar and something akin to cookies and vanilla. In short: snickerdoodles. Not at all what I was expecting based on the description of this one.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Whoa, this one's a morpher (at least on me)! Once I put Devil's Night on, it turns from snickerdoodles into something spicy, sweet and musky and somehow dark even if it isn't quite what I wanted. My skin loves to latch onto cinnamon and musk, so that could be the reason for the change. I'm not really sure I like this one or not right at the moment. This is going to be a tough one from the looks of things.

 

Dry down:

 

I like this, but I don't love it the way I'd dreamed of. It's basically dried down into pure snickerdoodles again. No sign of the fires or other autumnal goodness the description promises, but that may just be my skin chemistry throwing a curve ball. At least there's still time to get more Samhain to replace Devil's Night with.

 

The bottom line:

 

Devil's Night is a hair's breadth away from breaking my heart. I wanted autumnal goodness, fires and falling leaves and I got snickerdoodles...more akin to Sugar Cookie than Samhain and not what I wanted, really.

[sarahmarie]

At first, I got sweet, musky, booziness from this, with just a hint of the spicy bit everyone's talking about. It's very autumnal, and very wild and windy feeling. As it dries down, it becomes more and more musky. I don't usually like musk, but this one is very light as musks go - I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it.

 

The problem I have with Devil's Night is that I'm afraid it's too musky on my skin for me and not enough of everything else. When I directly sniff my arm, I can smell some sweetness, and definitely a fall wind underneath the musk - but mostly what I get from this is musk. It's light, it's not unpleasant, but it's not really what I wanted. It smells really great wet, but I think my skin wants to amp the musk up way too much.

 

I'll probably give it another try in a few days, when I'm not on my period and when I'm totally healthy, since I know both sickness and menstruation can mess with skin chemisty...but as of right now, it's not looking good for Devil's Night. I'll edit if anything amazing happens next time I try, though!

[sh1mm3r]

I'm glad I'm not the only one getting cookies from this.

 

The first time I tried it, it smelled a bit boozy but faded quickly. The second time I tried it I applied a lot more, and got more cinnamon + vanilla, less smoke, but it still faded just as quickly.

 

It's not a bad thing to smell like, but I also was hoping for the smoky boozy evening. This is more of a Yuletime scent than this time of year, so I'm putting it away until then.

[Loligo]

Help me, help me! I've been mugged by a thuggish musk! Normally musk is a good thing on me, so I never dreamed it would overwhelm this scent the way it has. Like someone else said up-thread, I smell like a sweaty frat boy, one who's been drinking, smoking cigarettes, and eating candy corn. Uh, yum? No.

[lookingglass]

A big waft of dusty smoke mixed with a bit of spiced booze hits me first. Then it sweetens down a lot and binds with the musk, maybe some fir or other tree back there. Definitely thugish...

 

It smells like an advent calender I had one year when I was a child...excuse me while I have a scent memory moment...pine trees, candy, cinnimon, the faint smells of scented paper...

 

If you like Blvgari's Black, you should like this. This is more masculine to me, than gender neutral. It smells so much better on DH...That is OK...he deserves at least one of my Halloween blends!

[Diana]

I'll echo the chorus of "this is nothing like I expected." Not that I really had any expectations. I just saw "musk" and got all click happy with the ordering.

 

In the bottle, this seems watered down, but I think all the 2005 Samhain blends kind of smell that way for some reason. Especially in comparison to their 2004 counterparts.

 

Anyway. Putting this on this doesn't go boozy on me at all. Instead, I get warm cinnamony-ginger sugar. Kind of the evil bastard child of Gingerbread Poppet and Wrath wrapped up in a warm blanket. A tiny hint of smoke erupts about 20 minutes later, but kind of peters out after a moment. I can barely smell any of it at all now. The musk is there, but I can only briefly catch wisps of it now and again; if I try to purposely smell for it, I can't detect anything but the gingerbread smell. I will state, that if thugs smell like this, I really need to meet more Detroit arsonists or something.

 

This is nice, but a little faint and not quite where I want it. However, if history teaches me anything, it's to try an oil out, leave it on a shelf for a few months and try it again. I have a feeling this is going to be amazing once it has a chance to sit for a while. I think the musks will really develop into their full potential if I leave it be.

 

Devils Night, it's not you, it's me. I will revisit you soon. In the meantime, get meaner!

[sideviewhotel]

I opened this imp and was like.. BZUH?! VELVET?? Because I got this straight up minty chocolate smell. o_O

 

But, on? Oh where did that chocolate smell go? I don't know WHAT I'm smelling now. Musk, maybe? If it's musk, this type obviously does not agree with my skin & nose, because I don't like it much. It smells waxy.

 

Bummer. I'm not getting any smoke, booze or sugar goodness. I'll edit if it morphs into something better.

[aidenraine]

Oh sweet lord... I will not drink the imp. I must keep telling myself that. This is too edible-seeming.

 

 

I'm not getting autumn night; I'm getting chocolate orange. Just straight creamy milk chocolate and orange. Where's the smokiness I anticipated?

 

I am trying to smell musk, and I guess there's some in there, but... it's very faint, very behind-the-scenes.

 

Is that plastic I smell?

 

Hmmm slight musk. No autumn fires, no real booziness.

 

 

About 30 minutes after application I smell a nice musk under the chocolate and orange, but it doesn't wow me, particularly, and there's still no smokiness.

[graycat]

wow, my new LE halloween fav! i was starting to think i was off my rocker because i was reading a lot of "smoky, boozy, thugish" and i was only smelling spiced sugar cookie! i love this on or as a room/car scent, i only wished is lasted on the skin longer!

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - a very, very sweet boozy scent.

 

Dry - still sweeter than anything else. I get a trace of booze, a touch of musk and the tiniest bit of incensy smoke, but I am not loving this the way I had expected to. Strangely enough, it's a bit too sweet for me. This might end up going in the swap pile; I will have to try it again before I decide.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[gingersnapp]

This was spicy and smoky, albeit mildly so. Nothing overwhelming, just a nice autumn scent. Very beautiful. And it lasted quite a long time too... I can still smell it in my hair and it's been about 20 hours since I applied it.

 

Two thumbs WAY up.

[clover]

Devil's Night

 

Sniffing from bottle: Sugar. Definitely reminiscent of Sugar Cookie.

 

Upon application: Cinnamony sugar cookies. Not getting autumn leaves or thuggish musk at all. My skin tends to turn even the darkest scents kind of sweet, so an oil that is this sweet to start out with is toothache-inducing on me.

 

Conclusion: I can see where people would love this, but it's far too foody for me.

[metaldog32]

Devil's Night

 

Have been looking forward soooo much to reiview this oil..I could barely contain myself today. Now mind you..I should have done this yesterday..but I had been procrastinating..and having too much of a good time enjoying Gypsy Queen.

 

Okay enough digressing...

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Definitely a sweetness is wafting up to me..slightly boozy..almost kind of like maple/brown sugar..but not so strong. This almost seems TOOsweet for me..but I am staying with this..as I am sure that if I get through this stage, the "meat" of it's fragrance will show itself to me. Come ooonnn autumn smoke, leaves, bonfires...

 

Applied wet on skin: There is the sweetness again...and it's not bad. I am not a foody scent person per se..but this isn't bad. However..all reviwers who said 'sugar cookie' hit the nail on the head. This is ALL I am smelling...so I am trying to be patient so that the other notes come out and play too...

 

Couple of minutes drying on skin:(Tapping foot impatiently)...Where oh where ARE you autumn chill, leaves, smoke and bonfire??? Don't you want to come to my party??? It's all sugar cookie..and although this is nice..this isn't exactly what I was hoping for...

 

I so wanted to have those other notes..to have a bit of a smoky yet touch of sweet with the fires nearby...and well..all I am getting is a very yummy sugar cookie...if I whiff deep enough I can almost tell myself I can get a trace of smoke..but I don't know if it's really there or I am just wishing it to be there...

 

Drydown:All players are a faint memory..wispy but still the sweet and a mere breath of spice..along a base of what I think is musk...nice indeed.

 

I wish I had been lucky enough to smell the other notes...oh well.

 

By the way..staying power and throw were a bit disappointing. I had to re-apply FOUR times...and the longest I could get the fragrance to stay on me was at best 2 hours..talk about elusive...

 

Bottom line:As much as I hate to admit...Devil's Night has the dubious honor of being the first BPAL fragrance to truly break my heart. I don't hate this scent at all..I just had such high hopes..and well..it just boiled down to cookies. Everyone who was lucky enough to experience the full range of the scent..I am happy for you. As for me..I will keep my bottle...it is good as a fall scent..but I am still on the lookout for the scent to truly embody autumn for me.

[Voleuse]

Ooooh. On first application, I get something very similar to Shug-Niggurath, I think. Faintly sweet and acrid and very gingery. After a bit, a hint of smoke seeps in. The smoky notes intensify after that, and the sweetness disappears entirely. I can see where it might be cigarette smoke on some people.

 

After a while, this fades to smoke with a hint of florals. I'm not sure what I think about this yet. I've ordered a bottle, so I think I'll try it again later.

[rinoastar]

I'm not very good at picking out notes yet, but I've decided already that I love this one.

 

In the Bottle: Pretty. Kind of perfumy, and the first thing that gets me is the musk. It reminds me of the smell of the oil perfume shop at the Renaissance Faire, and it's very nice.

 

Wet: A bit flat; one-sided and sweet. It's sweeter and there's an almost vanilla-y smell drifting up, but it's got almost no throw.

 

Drydown: Oh, there's the throw. The musk has sweetened a whole lot and I'm getting a very lovely vanilla. Normally I'm very unfond of the smell of vanilla, since the extract smells like poisonously strong alcohol and the commercial stuff not much better, but if all of Beth's vanilla scents have this gorgeous complex warmth to them, I'm gonna go hoarde.

 

Half an Hour Later: After very briefly passing through a stage in which the "vanilla" feeling I got turned into a very slight layer of baby powder, it seems to have completely disappeared. It's still a gorgeous, gorgeous scent, but the musk has definitely jumped back to the forefront. Ironically, it was the musk that scared me the most in the description (which is why I only have an imp of it, decanted for me by the lovely syrenmyst), but it's gorgeous on me, as well. At this rate, I'm fearing for the berry and fruit scents I ordered that I was certain I'd love! There's an undertone of "fall-themed candle" underneath, but as far as I can tell there's no smoke or booze. My chemistry has merely amped up the sugar and musk to unbelievable proportions.

 

An Hour Later: I think I'm in love. If all of my orders are as unbelievably gorgeous on me as this one is, I'm going to be beyond poor in only a few short months. As it is, I'm already thinking of buying a full bottle of this, even though I really ought not. It's just the most perfect fall scent on me, and I hope I love Samhain half as much when it comes in! I'm getting whiffs of dryer sheets (in a good way!) coming up from my wrists as I type, and every few sentences I have to stop so I can compulsively sniff myself. It's a lovely fall smell, warm and cozy, and right now it reminds me of a cross between warm laundry and good, handmade incense. I'm catching more of the smoke scent now, sharp, and slightly acrid but in a pleasant way.

 

Overall: This actually reminds me of a specific place: in the fall, the Renaissance Faire that I work for runs a haunted house on its site. There's a little glen where the Astral Sea Pewter booth stands and there has been such lovely incense in it for so many years that months after the last Huzzah, the wood has soaked up the smell of softly burning incense and distributes it around the hollow. Smelling Devil's Night is like sitting on the bench in that hollow, thinking and remembering when you were there in the summer with your friends, laughing and enjoying the chance to run around in silly clothes. You admire the lovely fall leaves, and the smell of the bonfire just over the hill grounds you solidly, but you can't help remembering the summer and carefree days, wishing they'd never ended.

Edited November 2, 2005 by rinoastar