Zii

I tried Jack today and I'm praying a Theme in Yellow is nothing like it. Jack was all fake buttered popcorn (like popcorn jelly beans) and Citronella...

 

The first time I tried Jack, all I got was the buttered popcorn smell too. It was so buttery it made me ill. I stuck the imp away and forgot about it so much that I didn't even think to be cautious the first time I ordered Halloween pumpkin scents. I finally remembered to try Jack a couple of years later, and the butter had faded and it had aged into something I could actually wear. But of all the pumpkin scents I've tried since then, and I have many, only one has been a huge disappointment, and that was The Shattered Pumpkin, from tthe Sleepy Hollows in 2008. It was just a watery pumpkin guts scent and I was so glad I only ordered a decant. (Typically I go straight to bottle purchases for my Halloweenies.) That pumpkin note is the only thing that will keep me from eventually ordering Theme in Yellow, if it smells like raw pumpkin guts with a candle burning inside. I just don't care for that smell.

 

The Pumpkin Lattes haven't worked for me, but that was because of the expresso, not the pumpkin.

 

My all-time favorite pumpkin patch is 2009's Pumpkin IV- Pumpkin, black musk, tobacco, myrrh, and clove. That one is just perfect, but I really like every single note that is in it. I really get a lot of compliments when I wear it.

 

This year, I really can't wait to try all of the Pumpkin Patch, except Alice. And I'm really keeping fingers crossed that adding moar pumpkin to Samhain is finally going to turn it into what I have always wished it was. I love it as a room spray but Samhain just turns medicinal on my skin. I really hope adding the pumpkin is going to take this over the top for me.

 

But all of the other pumpkin scents I've tried have been the warm, spicy kind of pumpkin. I can't wait to read reviews of Theme in Yellow and so many others in this update!

See, I wouldn't mind smelling like a true jack-o-lantern, myself. I was hoping Jack would smell like pumpkin pie, and I started getting some of that during the drydown, but it still wasn't great, and totally not enough to make the horrid first 5-10 minutes worth it.

I tried Jack today and I'm praying a Theme in Yellow is nothing like it. Jack was all fake buttered popcorn (like popcorn jelly beans) and Citronella...

Both me and my boyfriend got bitter lavender. The fruits have gone cloying and are very secondary to the herby note.

And as it dries, it goes old lady lavender...

I was so excited to be frimped this, but the wet stage was citronella candles and buttered popcorn jelly beans. It gets more like spiced pumpkin as it dried, but I can't survive the wet stage...

Ordered the following in my Decant Circle:

A WORLD WHERE THERE ARE OCTOBERS

AUTUMN FANCIES

DARK PUMPKIN MEAD

HAUNTED HOUSES*

SAMHAIN 2013

SIN IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

SAMHAIN IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

DORIAN IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

THEME IN YELLOW

ACHLUOPHOBIA*

PLACOPHOBIA*

MICTECACIHUATL 2013

THE HELL-GATE OF IRELAND 2013

Gonna buy bottles of the things I starred unless the decants are awful.

First sniff: Oh dear... Medicinal musk... In fact, on second bottle sniff, it made me sneeze. I almost didn't test it at all, but I didn't want to give up on such a promising description and really adorable bottle.

Wet: Trying just a drop, I couldn't get my wrist away from my nose. It's nothing like what it smelled like out of the bottle (thank goodness)and it just the most wonderful smell. I smell a lot of beeswax and vanilla, which I can only assume is the parchment, plus a really spicy incense note. My skin loves this, and is amping all the things I love.

Dry: My little tiny drop dried down very quickly into a really sweet, slightly powdery incense. Most of the distinct parchment notes are gone, but I think the sweetness must be the beeswax notes I smelled when it was wet. It's still very strong, even though I just tapped the cap to my wrist. This one is probably going to linger, and if I get any odd morphs, I'll update my review.

Dryer: The honey notes are back!! They ease the powdery scent a little and make it crisper.

Also, this is the 07 blend, and I'm sure the age has a lot to do with how strong the richer notes are.

OK-WHITE PATCHOULI, ya'll! The new Lilith new blend, Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending is the first BPAL I know of to contain it,and I cannot WAIT to smell it!!!! Does anyone know of another?

 

The first time I smelled white patchouli was as the Tom Ford, White Patchouli. I've also smelled (and used up a bottle of) Maggie's Pharm'sWhite Patchouli oil.

 

From the Now Smell This article linked above:

"* Per Tom Ford, “We used patchouli orpur, which takes out some of the darker, smoky notes of patchouli”. (Women's Wear Daily, 6/20/2008). As near as I can tell, the word “orpur” is of fairly recent coinage. It seems to refer to ingredients that are of natural origin, but that have been molecularly modified, and according to W Magazine, the word is derived from “origin” + “purity”."

 

In both the cases I've smelled it, it's quite fresh yet exotic: a blend of "clean" pachouli (that seems to be the base of the new orientals, a la Coco Mademoiselle), soft wood, a slight incense note, and white flowers, creamy, but with a distinctive green note. I've gotton numerous complements when I wear them, and I appreciate its "summer oriental" quality.

 

I wonder what the BPAL White Patchouli note will smell like!!! (((grabby hands!))) Who else is with me?!

I am also super exited, though not at all interested in the Lillith blend. It may take care of that gross burnt headache some pach gives me, which would be exciting because it's one of my favorite base notes.

Well, this thread pretty much backs up my idea that I gravitate towards more masculines scents! And I'll be sure to check more out!

If there is a scent of any kind in my room, I often dream, which is why I'm very excited for my atmo sprays that are coming soon.

I think the oddest dream I ever had was wearing Loviatar, which was a very abstract bonfire pagan ceremony.

Yet another place where I am recommending Jupiterian Phoenix. It's very piney, but not in a Pine-Sol sort of way. The cedar and some of the musky stuff makes it smell just like a walk in the woods, and if I had more than a few imps, I'd get a spray bottle of it for my room.

I am dying to try Greed, myself. Pach is very hit and miss for me, even in Beth's capable hands, so I eagerly await any testing!

It's not so much an ocean scent as a seaside scent, but Jupiterian Phoenix is a walk on a Maine island for me. Pines, cedar and a little something that reminds me of a faint whiff of salt air.

We are about to get the weenies for the year and I am so excited! I am going to be getting Lurid Library, from last year, and while not at all foodie, it is shaping up to be a killer fall scent.

This scent takes me straight to the Maine woods. Very much like the scent of pine needles crunched underfoot. There's something a bit salty in this for me, which is odd given the notes, but I utterly love it.

I find this is pretty much the same wet and dry, though the ceder does mellow as it dries, leaving more room for the other notes. I never smelled anything resembling tea.

Wet: Amber, amber and more amber. There's a hint of sweet, though it's not recognizable as the lavender, though I assume it must be. There's also this dark peppery scent which might be the moss.

Dry: This is such a peppery and warm scent. I put it on just for kicks and am feeling vastly more content with the state of things. And the fan in my room is catching the throw and filling my little dorm room with it.

Got an imp of the Malignant Dreams of Cthulhu in Love that smells almost exactly like the Cupcake face mask to me.

I adore this scent, and am so happy my friend gave me the rest of her imp.

To me, it's a lot more smokey than leather. It's Hellfire's darker, bitterer (but not bad bitter), cousin. I would say this reminds me of a dive bar, filled with cigarette smoke and sweaty bodies. There is so much spice and energy in this scent!

I want to wear it all the time, but alas, do not have enough.

So, as most of you probably know, the new Indiana Jones flick, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is being released on May 22. The boything is a huge fan of Harrison and his not-afraid-to-get-dirty character and is going all out on the last day of October to look like Indy himself. A little bit geeky, I know...but hey...

 

But herein lies my question...are there any scents that might personify this classic fictional hero? Think Bond- cosmopolitan, ladies man, libertine- but scuff it up a bit and show me what you get.

 

Thank you!

Hellfire!

Vanilla pipe smoke, leather and dust.

I was hesitant with this out of the bottle because it was very heavy and slightly bitter in the bottle. But when I tried it the lighter scents amped beautifully. I am really surprised the description says there is no vanilla because there is a distinct sweet note that I am having difficulty placing with the listed ingredients.

Wet: Very heavy with the tobacco. It’s very amped on me and leaves a great chocolaty smoke on my skin. Notes of spice, burnt caramel and musk. Very layered with vanilla and smoke cutting at the richness of the musk and tobacco.

Dry (an hour): Much more on the sweet and smoky side now. Smells like vanilla pipe tobacco.

Dry: (6 hours): It’s pretty much all vanilla now, in the best way. It’s still smoky, but has gone very sweet and subtle. Sometimes vanilla throws too much when it's the dominant scent, but the smokiness that's been present the whole wear tones that down.

I adore this scent overall. I think it hits the right line between masculine and feminine for me. I dislike many men's scents for being too musk heavy, and many perfumes for being too sweet and this has the benefits of both with none of the things I don't like. I will most certainly be buying a full bottle!

--edit--

If I had to have one complaint, it's that this scent stays very close to my skin. Been huffing my wrists since I put it on.