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Pumpkin with cactus blossom, sage, and sweetgrass.

 

bottle: it sort of smells like a pumpkin liquor.

 

wet: now i can smell the sage. sagey pumpkin.

 

dry: the pumpkin is gone and all that remains is the sage and a very soft bit of what is most likely the sweetgrass. this is a much crisper scent than i was expecting, pumpkin usually smells very creamy on me.

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OH MY WOW!!! :P

 

So. GOOD.

 

Bottle art, sooooooo pretty!!! BEAUTIFUL colors, M.! And that pumpkin is DAMN jolly... makes the scent all the more lovely to own!

 

ItB: PURE, unadulterated, buttery PUMPKIN with a spicy kick... mmmmmmm!

 

Wet on skin: More of the same, buttery bit is sliding into the back seat for the ride... the sweetgrass is getting into the front for co-pilot position :D Getting yummier by the second...

 

Drydown: OH LORDY!!! This is freakin' nummmmyyyyyy... I wore this to bed the other night after discovering the COMFORT SCENT STATUS it presented to me... OMG... the best schnuggle into the blankies - and sleep was sooooooo nice...

 

Throw: 4/5

 

Staying power: 4/5

 

All-around goodness rating: 5/5 JUST SOOOOOOO YUMMY I can't get over it!

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Mm, this is light, floral and warm. Has a little of a dry sensation to it which I like and the light floral is very lovely combined with the rest. It becomes very light but with an extremely lovely waft to it of gentle floral sweet orange-golden wonderfulness. This is very different from anything else I have and I shall certainly be holding onto it.

Rating: 4/5

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In the bottle:

All I can really smell is the pumpkin when I sniff the bottle.

 

Wet:

Pumpkin, with something floral and vaguely soapy. As it dries down, it becomes less soapy and more "clean". The pumpkin in this one is lighter on me than in some of the other pumpkin blends--like someone else here already mentioned, it seems to be a less buttery pumpkin than the one we see in Jack, Pumpkin Queen, or Pumpkin V. At some points I can't smell the pumpkin at all, but it's peeking out every now and then.

 

Dry:

My skin seems to eat this blend. I'll have to slather it on and try it again. I think I like it, but time will tell.

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In the imp: This is pumpkin, but with something clean and fresh behind it. Something a little dry, and a little green, and just a tiny bit floral (dry floral, rather than sweet).

 

On the wrist: Oh yeah. The greenery really comes through on my wrists, leavening the sweetness of the pumpkin. It smells first sweet and edible, then hot and dry with just a hint of a penetrating, floral sweetness, a little stronger on the left wrist. I catch a different aspect each time I sniff.

 

One hour later: Dammit! That metallic note has quietly appeared and is starting to take over! It's not jarringly wrong, which is why I took a while to notice it, but I'd really rather it weren't there at all. Maybe I can try this again later to see if it's a hormones-changing-skin-chemistry thing, because otherwise I'm really loving this...

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straight sniff from bottle is sweet pumpkin ....

 

omG...once applied the sweetgrass and sage combine perfectly with

the pumpkin and round it out to perfection...my absolute fav of the

bunch! bravo beth :P

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I wanted to try a pumpkin scent ad picked this one because I was interested in the cactus and sweetgrass. I had never tried any of the pumpkins since I got into BPAL. I opened the decant and ...GUH.

 

So strong...I pushed it away. It's too much.

 

Then my fiance smelled it from a distance and said he kind of liked it. So I put some on.

 

Once it calmed down, we started to fall in love with it. It's warm and a bit spicy. It's a great fall scent and it's yummy! We couldn't stop sniffing it. I was sure I was going to trade this away, but I bought a bottle because...we loves the Pumpkin IV. Yes we do.

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Imp: Warm buttery pumpkin with a solid wall of green.

Wet: The pumpkin rapidly gives way to a more lush green harvest smell. Vaguely sweet and herby with the pumpkin predominating as a nice base note.

Drydown: The pumpkin is nothing more than a warm, buttery base note carrying the mildly herby, sweet greens. Yum.

Dry: Herby greenness. Mmmmm....

 

My rating: 5/5. OMG this is delicious. O_O I wasn't expecting to like it this much!

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If I was a pumpkin, this is the kind of pumpkin I'd like to be. Unfortunately, foody scents really don't do anything for me. I like to smell food, but I don't like to smell OF food. But happily, the pumpkin goodness burnt away to leave an absolutely delicious fresh green smell of cactus and sweetgrass. I think the pumpkin kind of anchors the sweetness of the herbs and keeps them from getting too syrupy. Rather nice on the drydown, but I don't like that buttery punkin pie at the beginning.

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Right off, I got the buttery pumpkin note, but it quickly overtaken by the sage and sweet grass. This went very herbal on me. Unfortunately, I have yet to find an herbal blend that I really like, including this one.

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:P At first, this is ACRID on me. Strong, sharp, acrid herbal. As it dries it calms down a bit and becomes a bit sweeter, but still definitely herbal. After an hour or so, I start smelling something like lemon Pledge. Ummm...no. It's okay after the strong acrid stage and before the lemon Pledge stage, but it's just not my preference. Throw is pretty strong, especially at first, and it lasts for several hours.

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In the imp this starts out the same as Pumpkin V, and Pumpkin Queen, and Jack. Buttery pumpkin! Wet, it stays much the same for a while, but then the other scents start to come out. There's still some almost-fruity pumpkin smell, and a touch of sweetness that might be cactus flower. Under that though is a dry sort of grassy scent which has to be the sweetgrass, and a hint of light spiciness which must be the sage. I was wary of sage, because while I love the scent of it (my grandmother grew some and dried it to use in cooking, and I would often pick a leaf and walk around smelling it), I don't seem to like it much in perfume. I once had a room scent with it that I couldn't stand, either. I think the sage may be adding to the dryness or grassyness, but isn't standing out as sage. This is a warm sort of scent, and I'm enjoying it a lot. I think my decant may be enough, but I'll be keeping it.

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For a moment, wet, it's a sweet pumpkin, not as buttery as PQ or Pumpkin V, and a wonderful autumnal dry grass--and then the cactus flower starts amping. And amping. And amping. And the lovely pumpkin and sweetgrass are swept away in an avalanche of what smells like Dawn dishsoap to me. The sage didn't put in an appearance at all that I could tell.

 

Uncool, cactus flower, uncool. :P

Edited by northatlantic

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I really really, enjoy this one. It might just be my favorite of the bunch. I get a very earthy pumpkin, one that is still in the patch. The sage and sweetgrass mix so well with the pumpkin and keep it from being buttery (so if you hate the buttery side fo pumpkin, try this one!) and foody. As it dries, the sage comes out more and gives it a little bit of a smoky quality. This is fantastic and I am even considering getting a backup bottle, as I think I would definitely wear this one all year round. Wonderful!

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As with all of the plunder, this starts off wet as PURE buttery sweet Pumpkin! I find this one changes fairly quickly though on dry down to not be as sweet, not as buttery yet still pumpkin. There is a sweetness but related to the sweetgrass but it's very dry. I find this one has much less throw and lasting power than the others. It's pretty but probably one I would reach for less often than the others just because it doesn't really have much scent on my skin. Image wise, I'm imagining a hay ride at the pumpkin patch. Very fall like.

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For the first couple of hours this was a light green, grassy, slightly bitter scent on me. Well into the far drydown the bitterness has disappeared and it's an intriguing scent that makes me think 'honeyed grass' (if that's helpful to anyone!)

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This scent gave me the "Oh my god, I'm a bpal addict moment." After trying it, I thought "Damn! I wonder if I can still buy a bottle! Wait-- I already bought two bottles this month!"

 

In the imp, this was incredibly sweet. I couldn't name it particularly as pumpkin. It was sweet and buttery, yes, but didn't smell like carving a pumpkin at all. I was a little concerned. However, on my skin it morphed magically as it dried. The sage emerged, the sweetgrass, the faint sweetness of cactus blooms-- quite the olfactory experience! I love sage, and I'm delighted with how artfully the sage sits right on the edge in this blend-- on the verge of being the center of attention, but never stealing the show. Truly this blend is everything I wanted Tenochtitlan to be. Also, I am now officially lobbying for more sage scents.

 

Oh, yeah, and I really am a bpal addict.

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Both of the Pumpkin '07s I've tried start out with this super-buttery graham cracker crust smell. This one evaporates into a nice sweet pumpkin/nondescript (or else unidentifiable to me) flower/herbal smell, and I dig it, though it doesn't send me into raptures. :P

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Imp: Very green, much more so than I expected. I can barely smell pumpkin from the imp.

 

Wet: One of the notes immediately has me thinking of dia de los muertos--cactus blossom? Its a dusty green scent with only whisps of a pumpkin base.

 

Dry: That dusty scent is amplified to incredible proportions. It smells like the dusty notes from dia de los muertos, a bit of herbal and less than a bit of pumpkin. Also...a hint of pencil shavings?

 

Overall: I think if you like DDLM and pumpkin blends, this is for you. Granted, the pumpkin in this one strikes me as a little weaker than in most of the pumpkins. Glad I tried it, but its not for me. Off to swaps.

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When I put this on, I immediately get a kick of pumpkin. It reminds me of pumpkin pie filling. Then a slightly sweet herbal scent comes out. Is that the sweetgrass? I can't make out any sage at all, which disappoints me because I love the smell of sage and it would give this blend an earthier feel. It's still very pleasant, though; a warm sweet scent.

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Is this really what the desert smells like? If so.. guess who is moving out west! :P

 

I adore this blend. It is earthy and grounded without smelling like dirt or musk. It is sweet and light without being sickening and it has some power to it. It has a lil bit of most elements I want in a perfume.. all in one! I actually get little to no pumpkin in this one, though maybe that is what keeps it sort of.. earthy smelling to me. This is a little flower, though not cloying in the least.. it is just.. a wonderful scent all around, I have nothing bad to say.. at all.. perfect everyday scent. It's unusual enough to keep things interesting but still very wearable and more than pleasant to my nose... I wants more!

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PUMPKIN V 2007

 

In Bottle: Sweet pumpkin

 

On Skin: The dominant note is pumpkin without a doubt, but the planty notes help keep it clean and not too sweet or cloying. A very nice balance. As the scent develops the cactus flower comes out, very sweet but in a floral sweet way, not foody like the pumpkin. I really like the contrast of the notes and how this becomes a not completely foody scent. I like how it has a green side, yet still remains quite Autumn like. A medium throw and medium to long wearlength.

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My first thought was pumpkin and fresh hay! This is really different. The pumkpin base is there, but it's hiding beneath a thick veil of earthy, fresh sage and the lovely greeness of sweetgrass. Sort of like an earthen pumpkin incense. Very hard to describe, but rather pleasing to the nose. Maybe not my favorite PP scent, but very beautiful in it's own right.

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Pumpkin IV

 

In the imp: buttery pumpkin with a hint of sweet greenness.

Wet on skin: buttery pumpkin, sage, and greenery. Maybe a hint of floral.

Dry: hmm, this is really interesting. There’s that familiar pumpkin undertone (not as buttery now) but I also smell a lot of herbs and greens. There’s something here that smells almost fruity, like lemon perhaps, or like dried berries or even roses? I’m guessing that’s cactus flower, it does remind me of something I smelt in Santa Muerte. I smell a lot of dry, balmy desert sage in here. It’s a really unusual combination, the foody pumpkin really contrasting with the dry, scrubby herbs and that strange floral.

After a while: now the butter returns, moving away from the pumpkin, which I don’t smell as much any more. Now this smells like buttered sage, and it reminds me of herbs used in my mum’s cooking. It’s borderline savoury, but it also has that lovely warm dry herbalness that smells like summer evenings, which I love. The butter note is distracting though. There’s also that dry floral note, which at times smells like an intriguing mix of blackberries and dry rose petals, and at other times, it smells almost like air freshener. Don’t know what to make of this yet.

Then the butter fades, and it smells like sage and sweetgrass. This is actually quite nice now. It’s the most atmospheric of the pumpkin scents, it makes me think of an evening in the Southwest US desert. It’s a very dry herbal scent, with just a smidgen of sweetness. The cactus flower has settled into an agreeable fruity floral now.

Then the scent gets an odd oily scent which is almost sour, it’s like rancid pumpkin. It’s a shame because I really like the sage in here, but that pumpkin note is being a bit weird. And then it goes back to nice warm sage-this blend can’t make up its mind, and I can’t make up mine regarding whether I like it or not!

Verdict: this is a strange one, and I’m torn about it. At times it smells warm and herbal, with a lovely desert sage note, it’s a scent evocative of a warm summer night. But at times this smells bizarre on me-the floral note does weird things and the pumpkin’s buttery scent sometimes turns rancid. This is the most unique pumpkin scent and there are times when the combination works, and times when it just smells wrong on me. I think this one will have to go, despite it’s pleasant sage note.

Emoticon rating: :P

Is it a keeper? Not sure. This fluctuates between nice and not so nice…I may swap it.

If you like this, try: Santa Muerte, Coyote, Antony, Pumpkin II

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So normally I wouldn’t go for the pumpkin based scents…but ever since I hit olefactory gold with Pumpkin Queen I decided it was worth the investment on getting the whole plunder; beth was a genius with Pumpkin Queen so I figured I had nothing to lose.

 

This fourth one I picked randomly..and it was probably the one I was the least inclined to try; somehow I couldn’t wrap my mind confidently around the matching of pumpkin with flowers, herbs and grass.

 

However..nothing ventured nothing gained..so I put it on last Sunday and went to see Cirque de Soleil’s Wintuk in NYC with my mom and sis. Here are my thoughts on how it translated.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: -smells like candy corn to me. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing..just smells awfully foody. I don’t get any flower or herbs or grass yet..just that overwhelming candy corn vibe which I have to assume is the pumpkin.

 

Applied wet on skin:buttery candy corn with some sort of floral in the back..and it’s really muted…the floral that is.

 

Couple of minutes on skin- Okay..the candy corn/pumpkin vibe has burned off a bit….I get a tad bit more of the sage and I think cactus blossom..something wispy sweet at the tail end..but for me this is still a bit of a foody blend.

 

Ten minutes later:-Wow..the pumpkin has taken a backseat..and now it’s just basically a soft waft of the grass and sage. Not overly herbal by a long shot..but it blends with the pumpkin to temper it so that it is a lot less foody and just kind of warm..a bit dry and possibly a touch creamy??? Really very comforting if you ask me.

 

My sister said I smelled really snuggly…

 

Twenty minutes later: -Now it’s all grass and cactus blossom…softened..wth the pumpkin really just barely there…and not super buttery/foody at all. Finally this morphed..and in a surprisingly good way.

 

Drydown-Sweetness…a wisp of herbal dryness..that’s all she wrote on my skin.

 

Lasting power on me is 5+hours with throw average.

 

Bottom line: this was a surprise hit on me; it started out overwhelmingly foody but transitioned to a beautiful variation on the pumpkin fragrance; that southwestern feel really made it sing. I like it.

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