Invidiana

THE TRIUMPH OF DEATHThe Triumph of Death, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. East Indian black patchouli, red sandalwood, dark musk, peru balsam, ambrette seed, vetiver, and ambergris accord. Ah, dusky woody evil. There is a lot of dark patchouli and sandalwood with a thick resinous balsam that gradually sweetens as it keeps drying down. The fact that this is red sandalwood accounts for some additional warmth and a shot of sensuality that penetrates the darkness. No vetiver death here! The vetiver just anchors everything in the background like an all-encompassing veil of shadow, and the black musk also contributes to that ominous feeling. There is a deep smokiness from the vetiver for sure but it's sexy and smoldering rather than overpowering. This scent is very evocative of the colors and images of the painting without actually smelling like a scorched battlefield but rather evilly alluring. If you're a fan of Samhain, The Hell-Gate of Ireland, Samhainophobia et al like I am you will love this one too.

Henry Fuseli Mandrake root, apple blossom, dusty brown sandalwood, coconut milk, woodmusk, and soft leather. This is a contemplative scent, soft and dusty in a pleasant way. The first things I smell in the wet stage are the sandalwood and coconut milk. I love the uniqueness of this sandalwood note, which really sets itself apart form the too-dry sandalwoods and the sexy sandalwoods that often appear in Ars Amatoria and the Lupers. This one is unexpectedly comforting, like a furry blanket you've just discovered in the attic and now can't let go. There is an additional, earthier woodiness behind it, which I believe is the mandrake root, and a hint of very well-worn brown leather. The creamy coconut milk and gently floral apple blossom also wrap themselves around you like that furry blanket. It's something I would want to be wearing during a long rainy day, curled up on the sofa, oblivious to everything else except the book I'm reading.

Deep blue musk, olibanum, passion flower, galbanum, immortelle, and sweet myrrh. I feel blue musk is one of those notes that is often underrated. The blue musk in this I feel is deeper than that in the Blue Moons though still with that lovely ethereal quality that blue musk tends to have. It evokes the endle intanglible expanse of night sky or the crystalline depths of the ocean without any aquatics. The floral element here is surprisingly sexy and seems classically Oriental to me, but is given a unique freshness by the blue musk. I'm not too keen on what passion flower and immortelle smell like on their own, but together they are highly sensual, with an almost sandalwoody quality but not quite. There is even a tinge of an orrisy quality to them. The flowers and musk are grounded by the sweet resins, which still remain light enough to retain the gauzy dreamlike spirit of the blend, which is appropriate seeing how it was created to compliment a painting involving a ghost. Like a glowing vision of a phantom, this really beautiful and almost otherworldly.

DARK PUMPKIN MEAD Thick, heady pumpkin mead sweetened with clover honey and a hint of maple. Ah, mead. Only my favorite thing in the world to imbibe. What's this, you say? Pumpkin mead? Forget the "I die", I'm already dead. I haven't ever been able to find a ready-made pumpkin mead (of the drinkable persuasion), but this one (of the smellable persuasion) bottles up everything I hope the real thing will someday be. f the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire were as crazy for pumpkin as I am, this would be in all their drinking horns. Let me clarify that this actually isn't a boozy scent. It has that characteristic honeyed sweetness of mead which is tempered by a golden, almost bready undertone that the honey gets from fermenting. Compared to a sniff of the actual (drinkable) bottle of mead in my liquor cabinet, this is by far a darker, richer scent. I'm sure the pumpkin contributes to this quality but it also seems like the honeys used here are generally darker. I also think the maple contributes to the "dark" aspect; while the pumpkin and honey mead are definitely the prominent notes here, the undercurrent of maple deepens it further. The maple note here is more like that amazing Grade B maple syrup you can never find in your average supermarket, not as sweet but a more robust dark amber. Long story short I want to roll in this for all eternity.

There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! As if Samhain couldn't get any better, along comes this. I die. Samhain already has a pumpkin note, but this is Samhain meets the Great Pumpkin meets ultimate autumnal-scent bliss. Like the other 'Patch blends, the pumpkin note is warm, creamy and lightly spiced enough so it adds some warmth but doesn't amp to the high heavens on my notoriously spice-amping skin. Because the original does have spices of its own, this one is slightly spicier than the other pumpkins but not insanely so. Samhain's patchouli, apple and woods are still very much pleasant, just subtler. If the original Samhain is Halloween after nightfall, I'd say this is Halloween during the day. Maybe it's the golden quality of the pumpkin, or maybe the additional sweetness added by it (though it doesn't get anywhere near cloying). Kind of like Samhain with a slice of pumpkin pie on the side. I love them both to death.

It seems to me this and UOH2 were Banshee Beat protos because the same notes are present but in different proportions. I would say this one is the woodier version of Banshee Beat. The patchouli and vanilla are obvious enough and a tiny bit of hemp fades quickly on the drydown, but this version has the addition of what I believe to be oak. I LOVE oak. It reminds me--in the best possible way--of a vanilla-oak candle I have that I can't bring myself to burn because I just want to keep huffing it. The main difference is that this has the addition of a warm sensual patchouli that is a perfect complement to the oak and vanilla. This is like the woodland version of Banshee Beat, rich and warm. Definitely a keeper!

The best way I can describe this is as the love child of Panther Moon and Fledgling Raptor Moon. It's pleasantly warm but at the same time has a certian darkness about it. There is definitely something toasty here, I'm thinking toasted sandalwood, and patchouli, along with something pleasantly nutty that I can't quite make out; some of that must be coming from either of those but maybe there is some sort of nut in here that I can't identify. It isn't almond or walnut or hazelnut; possibly chestnut? This could posibly have a bit of massoia bark as well. Grounding it there is a warm musk like Egyptian musk but also something darker which I'm guessing is black musk. There seems to be a smidge of tonka in here as well, adding a touch of sweetness to the whole blend. Enveloping, beautiful and complex.

GOBLIN MARKET Apples and quinces, Lemons and oranges, Plump unpecked cherries, Melons and raspberries, Bloom-down-cheeked peaches... Like honey to the throat, but poison in the blood. Let me just say that I'm so relieved I don't get any melon out of this because it generally doesn't love my skin, but it's all ripe fall fruits uninterrupted by any melon shenanigans. Now that that's out of the way I can let the goblins seduce me with their tempting fruits. There's the juicy sweetness of the peach and apple, checked by the red tartness of the cherry and raspberry. I can definitely distinguish the quince note; I've eaten them baked many times and it smells like exactly that. It's kind of like a less sweet apple with something of a starchy, almost bread-like undertone. I also like how the quince adds something warm and hearty to the blend and balances the sweeter fruit notes. There is a hint of citrus from the lemon and orange, and they're both sweet-tart juice notes rather than the more bitter rind notes. The presence of citrus here doesn't make this a summery scent at all but has more of the effect that the orange in Fearful Pleasure has, even though they're very different scents. I'm thinking there might even be a kiss of golden honey here though I can't be completely sure with all the fruit action going on. I adore Christina Rossetti's poem so much, and this is like the lines above were brought to life and bottled.

Moroccan Pumpkin Patch There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! Pumpkin makes an amazing pairing with Morocco. These two were just meant to be. Both are warm scents that amount to double deliciousness when they come together. No doubt that the incensey notes of Morocco make this something of an exotic pumpkin, not the burlesque pumpkin of Sin in the Pumpkin Patch but more of a belly-dancing pumpkin with a sheer red veil (from the red sandalwood of course). The light spice of Morocco, including that from the carnation, also blends perfectly with the pumpkin note, since pumpkin and spice are just a natural pairing to begin with. The spice is present enough to contribute warmth and sensuality but not dominant enough to amp to infinity. I love how the warm musk in Morocco adds something to the pumpkin that's hard to put my finger on but makes it even more warm and inviting. Belly-dancing jack-o-lantern indeed.

THE MONTAUK PROJECT Vile weapons spawned in A mysterious sanctum Yes, Tesla still lives. The government’s most dangerous and fantastic experiments are conducted in Montauk, home to the real Men in Black. Mind-shattering psychological weapons are developed in top-secret facilities, where researchers also investigate invisibility, psychic and psionic power, and travel through hyperspace, alternate dimensions, and time. Breathtaking native flora concealing a bastion of covert government experiments: shagbark hickory, sassafras, black gum, bald cypress, pine, dogwood, wild comfrey, swamp sunflower, and trumpet creeper. Aaaand another one of the Black Helicopters that goes insanely manly on me. It's very piney and cologney wet and in the bottle, and while I was hoping for some exotic florals (I don't exactly know what comprises the native flora) to burst out and save it, but the masculine pine cologne dominates all the way. It's almost completely pine wet, with the cypress making this something of a sharp pine, and as it dries down it gains more of a woodiness from the bark note. Finally on the extreme drydown I do get a hint of florals and a bit of sweetness from the gum, as my skin does sweeten most resins, but it's still very highly masculine and just won't work on me. The cypress, which is often a death note for me, doesn't help either as it gives it a sharp and medicinal edge. It would probably work well on a guy or anyone who really has an affinity for bracing pine scents, but I can't pull it off.

Synaesthesia-heavy review incoming. This smells like a disco ball. Not that I've ever smelled a disco ball. It's just that if a disco ball had a distinctive smell, this is what I would imagine it would smell like; sparkly facets of icy mint catching different colors of light as it twirls around. It's really the snow and mint notes that stay at the forefront for me, with whiffs of different fruits coming and going. I smell something different every time I move. ETA: More of a frosty sugarplum scent comes out on the drydown. This is certainly a morpher!

YE GODS. This is so much more than your average caramel macchiato. The caramel is delicious and chewy, less of a milk caramel and more caramelized sugar, and the coffee balances it out with just the right amount of depth and bitterness to keep it from going into cloying territory, but the scent as a whole is not bitter at all. There is something musky about it on the drydown; I think it's my skin, but I'm here for it. If only someone could make an actual drink that tastes like this smells, I'd die happy.

I've fallen hard for this, because it's basically tropical honey. There is an element here that reminds me of the Coconut, Vanilla Bean and Tiare hair gloss, possibly the jasmine which (even though star jasmine is a different species than tiare) comes close to that tiare note on my skin. The amber and beeswax meld together in one glorious sticky nosegasm that the jasmine takes to the tropics. It's honey, but not cloyingly sweet, just rich and golden. I am definitely going to try wearing this together with the hair gloss at the risk of doing nothing but sniffing myself all day.

Along with UOH34, I'm assuming this was a proto for Banshee Beat because I'm picking up the same notes but in different proportions. This one is the more vanilla-heavy of the two, and I believe there is more patchouli, and a more dirty patchouli, in this one than the released. However, there is enough rich vanilla to mellow it out enough so it doesn't stun my nose with patchouli overload. I used to be afraid of the dirtier patchouli notes but this one is downright sexy tempered with the vanilla. It has an even stronger through than UOH34 and a distinct personality; I wouldn't recommend wearing it to work. I get a tinge of hemp like in the released but it's not a note I amp and virtually disappears on the drydown. I would say this is like a wilder, more feral version of Banshee Beat, like Banshee Beat going from day to night. Another winner!

PALLAS ATHENE Pallas Athene, Gustav Klimt. Antiqued amber, cumin, saffron, frankincense, Atlas cedar, myrrh, mandarin, Ceylon cinnamon bark, and osmanthus. I didn't think this had a chance of working on me because of the cumin and cedar. Boy was I wrong. Sometimes I can amp cumin, true, but here I get only a tinge of it wet and then none at all. Cedar can alo be problematic but instead of the cedar death I expected a la Sacrifice, I get a surprisingly soft woody background. The real stars of this scent are the resins and mandarin, especially the amber. It's a rich, full-bodied "expensive"-smelling amber that is just sweet enough and thoroughly sophisticated. The frankincense and myrrh add even more golden resinous body to it and the mandarin adds to the luxury of the scent. I get a hint of spice from the cinnamon and maybe the faintest trace of floral from the osmanthus, but these are just details that round out the whole picture. It's a complex scent that reflects the ornate nature of Klimt's painting. The bottle I am testing from is not mine, but I'm definitely picking up one of my own with the next Lunacy. This is just way too lovely to pass up.

A bit of history: the Weisse Maus (White Mouse) was a Berlin cabaret where guests could choose a black or white eye mask to remain anonymous. It was known for the naked "beauty dances" performed by women after-hours. The proprietor claimed they weren't supposed to be sexual. Right. This one is very deceptive. At first sniff, this is an airy green floral with a lemony tinge, the greenness and lemony quality fading to give way to a certain "whiteness" as it dries down. To my nose it's probably white orchid, honeysuckle that actually behaves, possibly a non-cat pee jasmine and other white blossoms. It seems innocent enough. However, the further it dries down, the more its seedy underbelly comes through. There is a certain muskiness with a tinge of sweetness beneath, like a scented evocation of the supposedly non-sexual "beauty dances" that went on after the more wholesome crowd retired for the night. It seems to me like white musk and white amber (which must be what's adding the hint of sweetness)and white sandalwood. Even though it isn't a smoky scent, as a whole it's reminiscent of white smoke or vapor, like the characteristic haze flooding an actual cabaret.

REPTOID DOMINION Reptile overlords We serve you unknowingly. Hello, Antichrist. Some 300,000 or so years ago, bipedal reptilians from the constellation Draco (who are also, coincidentally, from the lower level of the fourth dimension) came to Earth in order to pillage the planet's monoatomic gold supply. Monoatomic gold enables these reptiles, who appear exactly like humans, to process unthinkable amounts of data, travel trans-dimensionally, and shapeshift. The Reptoids, who formed the basis of the race of Gods known to the Babylonians as the Annunaki, made their homes in the bowels of the planet. These reptilian beings are also called the Watchers, the Fallen Angels, the Sons of God, Nephilim, or Grigori, and their evil machinations have been recorded as far back as Biblical apocrypha. Monoatomic gold isn't the only thing that fuels their formidable powers; they can also utilize human fear, aggression, guilt, frustration, and anger to the same end. In order to promote the chaos and discord necessary for generating as much of these negative human emotions as possible, the Watchers crossbred with specifically selected influential humans. There were three primary breeding programs: the first resulted in the creation of the creature that the Bible calls Adam. To date, the vast majority of political and financial leaders of the world are half-reptile, and they have a vice-grip on all aspects of human society. The prophesied False Messiah, (the Antichrist, or Dajjal), will be a product of the unholy union of Watcher and human. Malevolent superintelligent para-dimensional shapeshifting reptoid musk. I was positive this would turn out to be an unholy disaster on me, but I was too curious to resist testing it. From sniffing the bottle I immediately picked up a musk note very similar to that in Hunter Moon 07 and Ivanushka, both of which went to Coty powder on me in 2.5 seconds. This musk is in the same vein but more pungent; wet it hit me like a very potent animalic, which is why I'm guessing it must have some sort of civet bouquet and a strong one at that. On the drydown it does indeed go powdery, but a very masculine sort of powdery with a pungent undertone (the components of which may have been intended to distinguish this as "reptoid" musk) whose deathgrip keeps growing more and more powerful and is just plain wrong with my chemistry to the point that I need to wipe it off. It's clear my skin will never play well with Hunter Moon/Ivanushka-type musks no matter the blend.

While the released Sugar Plum Fairy had a candy aspect to it, this one is pretty much all yummy candied fruits. Wet it actually reminds me of sticking my nose in a bag of gummies, and then as it dries down the types of fruits make themselve known. There is definitely a lot of sugarplum, which I expected; there also must be candied cherries in here, almost like a maraschino cherry note and candied apricot that is sweeter than the apricot note in the released. There is also hint of candied citrus, what I believe is orange, lemon and lime, though it isn't dominant. I also get the tiniest hint of spice from what I think might actually be a type of gumdrop note. It's actually more in league with scents like the Confectionary proto (more fruit candy) and The Kingdom of Sweets (less tart) than its released version, but delicious all the same.

No 138 West 27th St. Mrs. Lizzie Goodrich, the dashing brunette, whose smiling face is ever ready to welcome her patrons keeps this house. Mrs. Lizzie as she is generally called, has five good-looking lady boarders whose cheerful dispositions tend to drive away the blues. There is a regular physician attached to this house, and every attention is shown to visitors. As a first class house, it is neatly and comfortably fitted up, and is very quiet and orderly. A merry honeyed carnation dotted with dried ruby fruits. I was crossing every limb on my body this would work on me since my name is Elizabeth. By some kind of magic it did! Sometimes I amp carnation to the point of it crushing everything else, and red or purple fruits can sometimes go cloying on me, but not this time. What stays at the forefront is honey, honey, golden and glorious honey. Full disclosure: I amp honey. The carnation is not too strong, more like a decorative flower behind the madam's ear, and the fruits add a bit of a tart (see what I did there?) element with a blush of red. First-class house indeed.

At last! A scent based on the Victorian notion of ennui as man's downfall! Ennui is French for boredom, which was thought to be a one-way street to damnation in those days. Before my fascination with 19th century writers obsessed with decadence--Baudelaire, Mallarme, Huysmans et al--bores everyone to death here, this smells fantastic. It's like furniture made from the most expensive of aged exotic woods, which seem to be mahogany and teak to my nose, and well-worn brown leather alongside the finest of dark chocolates and a goodly shot of booze which I'm taking to be cognac. It isn't a booziness that clubs you over the head but it's present. There may even be a trace of cigar smoke in here. It's dominated by the woods in the wet stage, but as it dries down the chocolate and booze emerge, make themselves and settle comfortably on the woody background which warms up as it keeps drying down. It has a certain sweetness to it probably contributed most by the cognac and chocolate. The chocolate here must be a dark chocolate note because I get that really rich smoky type of cacao that goes perfectly with the wood notes. This is not really a foody chocolate blend; exotic cacao is just one aspect that contributes to the whole idea of rich Victorians who are up to their eyeballs in luxuries succumbing to boredom and turning to illicit pleasures to get a rise out of themselves. In other words, I love it and can't wait to see its final iteration.

HAUNTED HOUSES All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. We meet them at the door-way, on the stair, Along the passages they come and go, Impalpable impressions on the air, A sense of something moving to and fro. There are more guests at table than the hosts Invited; the illuminated hall Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts, As silent as the pictures on the wall. The stranger at my fireside cannot see The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear; He but perceives what is; while unto me All that has been is visible and clear. We have no title-deeds to house or lands; Owners and occupants of earlier dates From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates. The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air. Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires; The struggle of the instinct that enjoys, And the more noble instinct that aspires. These perturbations, this perpetual jar Of earthly wants and aspirations high, Come from the influence of an unseen star An undiscovered planet in our sky. And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud Throws o'er the sea a floating bridge of light, Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd Into the realm of mystery and night,- So from the world of spirits there descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this, O'er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends, Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quiet, ineffective ghosts haunting the realm of mystery and night, stretching dusty hands back to homes and lifetimes unforgotten: pale gossamer musks swirling in thick, dense otherworldly vapours through cracks in dry wood and old, old stones. I've always wanted a haunted house scent that could work as a perfume on me. There have been so many I tried in the past that would have been great as atmos, but just didn't like my skin for one reason or the other. I think I finally found the big exception in Haunted Houses. It's a scent that evokes the feeling of a ghostly, abandoned house without actually smelling musty or moldy but more ethereal and even feminine, in an unexpected way. In the beginning I got the wood first and I was gritting my teeth hoping this wouldn't die an untimely cedar death on my skin, but it ended up doing a complete turnaround to show off the pale musks instead. They have a lovely cool, crystalline feeling that evokes things like fleeting ghostlike visions and dust swirling in late-afternoon light. There still is subtle wood in the background, and a bit of a cool stone note; they round out the scent more than anything else, adding to the feeling of a house from a forgotten era. Come to think of it, this really reminds me of the actual haunted house in NYC that I went to visit a few years back. I can almost feel the invisible presence of a ghost.

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.

The house No. 99 is presided over by Mrs. Bunce. It contains twelve lady boarders. The house is well furnished, very pleasant, and is well stocked with beautiful girls. It is the most quiet and orderly house in Mercer street, and frequented by men of taste. Tobacco leaf, amber, sweet golden musk, blonde sandalwood, and hay sugar. I had such high hopes for this, from the tobacco leaf to the golden musk to the hay sugar and amber. I wanted it to be like an autumn sunset in a bottle. As an atmo it probably would be an autumn sunset in a bottle. The only thing I was leery of was (skin chemistry strikes again) the sandalwood. Sandalwoods that are blonde to white tend to screech on my skin, and unfortunately, this one gladly gobbled up all the gold gloriousness I could smell in the background. In an effort to get past the sandalwood takeover I tried picking out the other notes. The combination of those is like the last honeyed rays of sunlight falling upon the hay bales of a harvested field. Sigh.

Lyric night of the lingering Indian Summer, Shadowy fields that are scentless but full of singing, Never a bird, but the passionless chant of insects, Ceaseless, insistent. The grasshopper's horn, and far-off, high in the maples, The wheel of a locust leisurely grinding the silence Under a moon waning and worn, broken, Tired with summer. Let me remember you, voices of little insects, Weeds in the moonlight, fields that are tangled with asters, Let me remember, soon will the winter be on us, Snow-hushed and heavy. Over my soul murmur your mute benediction, While I gaze, O fields that rest after harvest, As those who part look long in the eyes they lean to, Lest they forget them. - Sara Teasdale A myrrh-darkened amber chypre sweetened by newly-ripened black pomegranate. The first sniff of this transported me straight outside to the depths of an autumn night. Granted the air outside doesn't smell exactly like resins and pomegranate, but what I really mean is that it evokes that feeling of a September (or October or November) midnight. This is a seriously dark pomegranate note, not nearly as bright as that in Persephone or The Fruit of Paradise. I love how this pomegranate is almost dark enough to be akin to blackcurrant, but still retains that characteristic "red" quality. This is the last pomegranate of the season, whose juice is as bloodred as the edges of an autumn sunset. The resins work to add depth on the drydown, which I can best compare to that same autumn sunset purpling and darkening before it succumbs to completely to nightfall. While the pomegrante note is perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, I believe the myrrh adds just a hint more sweetness--I tend to amp a subtle vanillic sweetness in myrrh. I feel September Midnight is the counterpart to Autumn and Winter, a prequel for what's to come as the days grow shorter and the nights deeper.

AUTUMN AND WINTER Three months bade wane and wax the wintering moon Between two dates of death, while men were fain Yet of the living light that all too soon Three months bade wane. Cold autumn, wan with wrath of wind and rain, Saw pass a soul sweet as the sovereign tune That death smote silent when he smote again. First went my friend, in life's mid light of noon, Who loved the lord of music: then the strain Whence earth was kindled like as heaven in June Three months bade wane. A herald soul before its master's flying Touched by some few moons first the darkling goal Where shades rose up to greet the shade, espying A herald soul; Shades of dead lords of music, who control Men living by the might of men undying, With strength of strains that make delight of dole. The deep dense dust on death's dim threshold lying Trembled with sense of kindling sound that stole Through darkness, and the night gave ear, descrying A herald soul. One went before, one after, but so fast They seem gone hence together, from the shore Whence we now gaze: yet ere the mightier passed One went before; One whose whole heart of love, being set of yore On that high joy which music lends us, cast Light round him forth of music's radiant store. Then went, while earth on winter glared aghast, The mortal god he worshipped, through the door Wherethrough so late, his lover to the last, One went before. A star had set an hour before the sun Sank from the skies wherethrough his heart's pulse yet Thrills audibly: but few took heed, or none, A star had set. All heaven rings back, sonorous with regret, The deep dirge of the sunset: how should one Soft star be missed in all the concourse met? But, O sweet single heart whose work is done, Whose songs are silent, how should I forget That ere the sunset's fiery goal was won A star had set? Bitter currant and dry leaves. Winter wind at dusk. This one hasn't gotten any review love yet? I'm shocked. Now I am a sucker for anything involving dry or burning leaves, and the dry leaf aspect of this scent is amazing. It really is dry leaves--not rotting leaves, not wet leaves, just dry crackling leaves. The blackcurrant is the perfect type for this type of scent, dark and bittersweet. It adds a hint of sweetness (just like the sap note sweetens October a little), but isn't foody at all. While I love my foody scents I don't feel foody would be appropriate for this particular one. There is also somethign extra in there that indeed reminds me of cutting winter wind; it's very difficult to describe, but that wind during November/December has a distinct cold but dry smell it carries with it and I think Beth captured that perfectly in this blend. For anyone who loves dry leaf scents and October as much as I do, don't hesitate to pick up a bottle of this.