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Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air.

 

2014 Version

 

In the bottle: Vegetation at the end - husks, vines about to die - with airy notes mixed in.

Wet on my skin: Deeper - night air, leaves, hay, almost a vegetable musk.

Drydown: More musk and a very nice balance between all the notes. Almost a blackened tone, but not outright smoky/burned, or too heavy a feel. Reminds me of a muskier Scarecrow.

I liked the balance on October a lot. The throw was pretty light on me and the duration was average. I wish it had a heavier presence; I like all the stages of this scent, but I have to sniff my wrists closely to pick up that I'm wearing it.

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At first all I got from this was white musk and a very strong scent that reminded me of fresh ivy vines.

 

Once it dried down a little it smelled much more like dry autumn leaves with a little bit of a woodsmoke smell.

 

It is rather masculine but I don't think it smells like men's cologne and it certainly wouldn't be WEIRD on a lady. Sort of androgynous.

 

I was skeptical about buying a full size bottle of something unseen (un-smelled?) but I'm glad I did. I really like it, it's super unique.

 

I'm always on the hunt for things that have autumn scents, without being spicy pumpkin or apple cider or what have you. I specifically am always on the lookout for something that smells like Burning Leaves (a la the Type O Negative song which says "Her perfume smells like burning leaves/every day is Halloween" - October is getting closer that scent but not quite there!

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Starts out with wet and green grass, definitely an outdoors smell, with a bit of cologne. Maybe a smidge of smoke in the background. Very sweet, planty, almost floral but not quite.

 

Settles down to something sweet, pleasant, almost aquatic?

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2015 version.

 

This feels more wintery than October for me! Maybe October in a colder climate. It's definitely very wet and there's something rather sharp about it. I do get a touch of smoke but not nearly as much as I'd like, I really have to hunt for it.

 

This is very "classic perfume" aquatic for me, which is unfortunately not really my style.

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2011 version:

 

A very situational scent, probably better suited to a room fragrance than for wearing. Both new and now, it smells like a leaf fire. I can't make anything else out. I pull it out now and then when I'm headed out for an autumn walk and want to smell/feel like I'm ablaze or might be, but it's pretty intense and I can't imagine most people appreciating being near it, so I keep it for times I'm unlikely to run into anyone else.

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2015 version:

In the bottle I got mostly dead, damp leaves, with a little spice and smoke. As it dried on it got smokier, the scent of burning leaves, with something sharp. There was also this cold scent/feeling when I'd smell my wrist. On me it had a decent throw, the people around me would get mostly the smoke and spice. Not something I would wear everyday but nonetheless I am in love with it.

 

ETA: after letting it settle for a bit the dead leaves got fainter and the spice and sap more prominent. Even more beautiful than I had originally thought.

Edited by roseus

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2015 version:

 

This starts off as -very- leaflike, as if I were sticking my face in a cluster of leaves still on the branch. Then there is something sweet -- that must be the sap. As it dries, it gets a very dry and smokey feel to it. I definitely like the ambiance of it, though it does not throw much and seems to fade quickly. I enjoyed it more than Magnificent Autumn, however.

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2015 version.

 

This has become my default scent for the month of October as I await the arrival of this year's Weenies.

 

The scent itself is super evocative. It's dry leaves and sap on a chilly, slightly wet autumn day. My skin often eats the dead leaf note, so I get more sap here. It really smells like being under trees on a day in the late fall; just wonderful.

 

October has low-to-moderate throw with longevity of about a half day.

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2015 version

 

In the imp: Oh, wow, that is OCTOBER! Same leaf note I recognize from Magnificent Autumn, but dustier, dryer, with a cold breeze under it. THAT'S what October smelled like back when we had seasons! Perfect!

 

On me: ...aaaand all of five seconds later, it morphs into my Maw-maw's perfume. And stays that way. That sharp, unpleasant, old-lady-ish scent. I never even knew it was a perfume as a kid, it was just what all the back rooms in Maw-maw's house smelled like. Like old things and having to watch yourself around them.

 

*sigh* so much for that.

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Recently received a tester of this in a swap (not sure what year). I get lots of green vetiver and a bit of white musk. Perfumey but unisex. Medium throw. Nice!

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2017 version

 

In the bottle, it's much more aquatic than I expected. The dead leaf note is there, but it's more like wet, just-fallen leaves on a rainy day. I can't pick up the smoke or sap yet. After applying, it goes weirdly soapy on me for a bit, but it warms up and de-soaps considerably as it dries down, with what I'm guessing must be the smoke note. By the time it dries down, it reminds me a lot of Hallowe-en, 1914, with less sickly sweetness in the background. If you're not into the dead leaf note, I'd avoid this, but if you like unisex green scents, it's worth trying.

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Smells lovely and green upon first sniff. October is my favourite month so I had high hopes with this one. As soon as I put it on I smelled soap. I sniffed my wrist at different times throughout the day, hoping the scent would change. But it didn't :( The soap is a lovely masculine/neutral scent, but still not what I was hoping for. Disappointed.

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This is the 2017 version

 

Wet: Ooh! That's interesting. I was expecting dead leaves, but these leaves smell as if they're still on the trees - maybe the scent of leaves that have turned but not fallen yet. I like the imagery of that. I hope some smoke comes through, eventually, but right now it's all about the leaves.

 

 

Dry: Leaves - almost but not quite dead leaves. Pleasant! But I have a couple of dead leaves scents that I like just as well, and this really isn't anything magical on my skin, so I likely don't need any more. Glad to have gotten to try it though!

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Ahh, there's the lovely leaves note, this time not necessarily dead, but blended well with something that smells like maple syrup.

Like any leaves note, this amps on me like crazy. Magnificent autumn but sweeter!

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I don't know about red leaves; my first impression of October is "green," sharp and green with a faint smokiness. It is not a particularly sweet scent on me. I get more of the dead leaves note, which on me has a beautiful old-fashioned perfume vibe, in drydown. A crisp, outdoor scent, evocative of early fall, not as dark and sweetly smoky as Samhain. Perfect for when you have to be indoors but long to be out in the elements.

 

ETA 2015 version

Edited by Lucchesa

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Not sure what year this is.  My guess - 2015.

This is spicy, woody dead leaves on my skin, maybe a touch of ozone - giving it a cool and cologney vibe.  There's also something I recognize from the Samhain fragrance.  I'm thinking either the mullein or the "damp woods" note, since I'm not familiar with those.  It starts to get a titch powdery on me as it wears.  It's pleasant, and would smell nice on a man or a woman.  It makes me think of snuggly sweaters, blue jeans, and leather boots crunching in dead leaves, so - October appropriate.  

It's not, however, something I need more than a decant of, but then, I'm not a huge fan of "dead leaves" scents in general.  If you are, this is a classic.  

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My reviews of October '07 and '10 were from August 2010 so I thought I'd bump this for it's current release.

 

I remember '07 was more cologney than I liked and ended up rehoming that bottle.

 

'10 and '11 (which I am running out of now!) smell almost identical to me, both beautiful dark leaves, sap, autumnal air, and they are two of my absolute favorites.

 

2020's version of October is (thankfully) pretty good. Red leaves, sap, cold air, a touch of a cologne (which should age out) a hint of damp dirt and just a bit of smoke. It is what I expected and hoped for based on my previous bottles. Autumn in a bottle.

 

Eta: The drydown has gone a bit powdery and cologney? Not sure what's going on. I will update if things change.

 

Eta2: still seems very light compared to previous versions. Hopefully it will get stronger with age.

Edited by HerbGirl
Drydown

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Edit: this is for October 2020

 

Wet: .... green pepper. It smells intensely of fresh cut green peppers. Thank god it morphs quickly! 
 

Dry: this settles into something very subtle but very beautiful. Reminds me of an October afternoon, intensely blue sky with golden sunlight through the leaves, a distant fireplace wafting smoke through the chilled air. I get a vegetal top note, rounded by the smell of cold (is it sensation or smell?) all over a gently sweet spicy smoke. It stays very close to the skin on me. 

Edited by Chanteuse87

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2020 Version

 

Wet:  I want to roll in this.  I want this as a wallflower for my house.  This is cool air, damp leaves, and tree with someone's fireplace far off in the distance.

 

Dry: Still damp leaves and cool air.  It's literally how October smells in California. 

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2020 version, this smells...leafy. Definitely like a leaf. You've picked up a giant dead leaf and squashed you nose into it. A strong vegetal smell that can't even be described as green, as it smells like, well, dead leaves. My nose doesn't get the "cold air" quality like others seem pinpoint nor a smoke note, but it does fade into a spicy cologne.

If you want to smell like a pile of autumn leaves, this scent is for you. 

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2020 version - tested from a decant that rested a few days.

 

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who says green pepper! Spot on! Just like I got from Dead Leaves, Tunisian Amber, and Smoked Balsam, this starts out with a distinct whiff of green pepper! Amazingly green and crisp. And just like the DL, it morphs quickly away from chlorophyll to dry, woodsy leaves. I love it.It's like all the smells that strike me with awe when hiking through the woods in the Fall - dry, crackly leaves and the spice of oakmoss - the smells that make me gasp *oh gosh what is that can I please smell like that* are here. Nailed it, y'all. I will add this to the rotation of bottles I reach for to keep that fresh, autumn hike vibe when I get home and take off my boots.

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Slightly grassy, soapy, and aquatic. It's nice! There's maple. As time passes it's less aquatic, more of a sweet mossy leaf note.

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2020 edition.

 

Big damp red leaves, right in the face! Like the mother of all leaf piles, from which all Dead Leaves scents branch off and grow. On skin, this retains that scent better than pretty much any Dead Leaves scent, though, but it's also mixed with something that is sweetly smoky. My dumb nose wants to say that it's almost chocolatey, like sandalwood; that must just be the smoke and sap mixing. It's quite pleasant, and pretty tenacious, only fading away at the very tail-end of my evening after all-day wear. I think this one is a keeper, this time around.

 

If you tend to like Dead Leaves scents then I recommend October, as well, for what at least initially is a good, healthy blast of damp, freshly-piled autumn leaves.

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2020 version. 

 

In the imp: classic October - sap, dry leaves, and smoke.

 

Wet: moist October air, almost damp, laden with soke and dying wildflowers. This is a lot more floral than my 2011 version, and sweeter than what I remember of my 2015 version, though I would like to do a direct comparison of all three one day soon.

 

Dry: Little morph, but settling to a more amber-driven leaf with a top swirl of smoke. Pending re-wear for a final verdict. This eventually settles to dried wildflowers, soft October sunshine on hay and slightly crackling leaves. It has a real warmth that the other two years did not, and a surprising amount of floral - a proper October for the southern hemisphere! Fairly short-lived (6hrs tops) with a mild throw. 

 

Stars: ★★★★½

Edited by alyelle

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2010 version here! In the bottle, it is a weird, unpleasant chemical smell. But on the skin, it immediately becomes sweet dead leaves with just a hint of smoke. It is a very specific dead leaf smell though - reminds me of walking through areas of Pennsylvania and Maryland in fall. Definitely different from my own Pacific Northwest dead leaves. I want to try layering it with some other fall scents for sure.

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