To Autumn

[Seadreamer]

Mist and mellow fruitfulness: mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat.

I wanted to love this. It has apples, and ripe apple (not green, sour apple) is shaping up to be one of my favorite notes. Unfortunately, something in here just doesn't agree with me. I bought the bottle unsniffed, before I found out about decant circles. The description just seduced me.

In the bottle: lush, spicy, dark. Yum!!

Wet: Ooooooh! Like! Spicy leaf smoke, sweet apples! More yum! My puppy-girl adores it too, and actually rolls on my wrist, so she can share. *lol*

After about 15 minutes: Oh... why am I a little queasy? The scent can't be doing it! *inhales it like I'm dying for air*

After 30 minutes: *green* Um... Maybe it is the scent... Is that a migraine I feel? Nooooooooo!

After I washed it off my nausea went away. I would say I was just getting a migraine, which does cause me to be terribly queasy, but since it never developed.... Maybe I was just sniffing too much of it. I'll probably try it again, with a lighter application and not so much intense sniffing. But if I get the same result, it will have to go onto the Swaps pile. Oddly enough, I was lying in bed when I tried this. My sheets smelled of it this morning and it was glorious, with no nausea. We'll just have to see.

::edited to add lab description. Edited November 6, 2008 by Seadreamer

[Wwindy]

Oh, yum.

 

This starts out all apple and hazelnut, with a bit of sweetness from the opium and a touch of something almost gingery. The hazelnut is very rich and velvety, almost like chocolate. As it dries down, the overall effect gets smokier and darker, with the damp fall leaves (I know the description says dry leaves, but they don't smell dry to me!) coming forward.

 

I'd say this is darker and a shade more masculine than L'Autunno, and it's a walk in a deciduous forest rather than an evergreen forest like Samhain. Another fabulous fall blend!

[savage_rose]

This smells like a hot cup of nutmeggy apple cider, sipped while walking under a canopy of orange, red, and yellow falling leaves. The apple is perfect, sweet but not cloyingly so, and it's warm and lovely. And just a little woodsy. Nice!

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Woodsy-sweet, with the tiniest bit of apple.

Fresh on the skin: Harvest-themed potpourri. Warm, sweet, spiced, bit of apple and nut but mostly woodsy things. Pleasant.

10 minutes later: Yup, totally apple cider scented potpourri. I'm not sure how I fee about smelling of potpourri, but this would be a lovely room scent.

2 hours later: It has been gradually calming down from that strong potpourri scent, though it's still basically the same, just softer 'round the edges. It's interesting, I quite like this, but it just doesn't quite feel like something that's supposed to be on my skin. Maybe I'll try putting it in my hair next time. Or figure out what I did with that oil burner I used to have.

4 hours later: This is remarkably stable. I do think it's lightening a bit, veering much closer to a plausible skin scent than it was before.

Morning after (~11 hours later): Completely gone.

 

Verdict: Nice, but more like a candle or room scent than a personal scent.

 

One phrase: apple cider potpourri.

Edited November 14, 2008 by jencallisto

[Argentwolf]

There are definitely dry, dead leaves here, but they are accompanied by sweet, warm apple cider and poppies. It's a very nice autumn scent -- right smack in between the earthiness of Chant D' Autumne and the warm deliciousness of Fearful Pleasure.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: yummy, sweet crispy apples

 

wet on skin: same, but with a slight spice to it- the red leaves, perhaps?

 

dry down: yup, crunchy leaves and sweet apple cider. this is autumn in a bottle, alright!

 

in all: i agree precisely with what Argentwolf said: To Aumn lies right in between the autmn leafy goodness of Chant D' Autumne and the yummy apple of Fearful Pleasure. Wonderful

 

 

 

[mhickle]

Oh wow. This is just...absolutely delicious. Super sweet apple cider -- but not sickening sweet -- spicy sweet, a little, well, fruiter than apples smell. The leaves ground it - it's pretty much exactly like wrapping gloved hands around a mug of cider and sitting on the deck with a blanket, watching the leaves fall from the trees. Needless to say, I want more. Like now. I can't stop smelling my wrists.

[Lamia]

This starts like apple cider. Almost immediately (thank goodness, since I really don't like apple cider) it became straight apples. Not cold apples, like Snow, Glass, Apples but warm baking apples, with a touch of woody burning leaves. Fantastic

 

A quick fade, but that likely has more to do with the damp laundry that I was hauling around on bare arms. Darn, I'll just have to reapply, what a pity

 

This is an all-encompassing scent - some perfume give a hint that they are there, this surrounds you in a warm happy environment.

[gchris]

"in vial: cider and herbs

 

wet: sugar cookies and sweet musty herbs.

 

dry: the slightest note of dirt makes this blend true to it's namesake.[/size]

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Fruity, nutty, a little like really good sherry. Yum!

 

Wet: Whew, this one is intense and very autumnal. I smell apples, and baked products, and spices, and hickory nuts, or maybe it's black walnuts. Definitely fresh, wild nuts. Wow. Wasn't expecting to like this one.

 

Twenty minutes: It's more like potpourri now, but with a spicy bite. Definitely not my usual style, but pretty nice anyway, and I just love the nutty note. It reminds me of scavenging hickory nuts off the ground in the fall when I was a child; nothing in the world tasted better than those nuts, broken open with a rock and devoured on the spot.

 

Hour and a half: This really is delicious, but it still says potpourri to me, like fragrant wood chips impregnated with stronger scents. The nutty note that I adore is less noticeable now, too.

 

Three hours: Still very nice potpourri.

 

Four hours: Still potpourri, but less aggressively so. And I still catch the whiff of burning and crisp dry leaves that makes this so autumnal.

[MCS4096]

In the Bottle: The apple is predominant, but the moss covered bark and leaves are there in the background (I kinda wish it was vice versa) The nutmeat (... ) rounds the whole scent out, keeping the apples from being too crisp.. that is I'd say they're red, not green ones.

 

Wet: Apple pie.. the nuts definitely combine with the apple giving it a foodie aspect. Smells a bit like a traditional apple pie scent.. those leaves and bark need to speak up! They're there, but they're so close to the skin that the throw is all apples.

 

Dry: Still apple pie.. my skin has completely swallowed the bark and leaves that were only hinted at before. Most unfortunate.. although this scent is totally delicious anyhow! nom nom nom

 

For those interested, by adding a swipe of Death Cap you can capture and enhance the dirt/bark/leaves aspect of this scent!

[Magpie]

I had to try this, no question, because I adore Keats. When I saw that this was in the Halloweenies, I ordered a bottle unsniffed, and just really hoped it was nice. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed!

 

In the bottle: warm, intoxicatingly delicious dried apples, slightly smokey and woody.

On wet: Foody, with a strange freshness underneath. Occasionally a slightly more foody and less sweet appley note peeks out. In fact, this does not smell like the description to me (in a good way!). By that, I mean that I was slightly sad that the notes described were so at odds with the mental image I got when I read Keats' poem for the first time. Not at all - this is precisely the smell of golden, lazy autumn afternoons, with the sun spilling across bushels of apples and sweet grains! To me, this is the smell of harvest and plenty in a dusty storeroom smelling of its contents, with occasional peeks of late flowers. It embodies my favourite image from the poem:

"Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind..."

 

The poppy is wonderful, lazy and sweet, blending with the apples in a way that isn't too sweet, but makes me rather sleepy! There is still an undercurrent of freshness that breezes beneath the warm loveliness, just the breath of a slightly chill autumnal wind that speaks of winter's approach. The sweet foody nutmeat and apples still peek through occasionally, but this is like a swirling mileau of scents that aren't ever the same. I haven't detected a hint of mist except for that brief cool breeze underneath, but this is such a warm scent it doesn't need anything else to make me happy! This is definitely a scent for August/September, when the late afternoon sun is almost palpable. Amazing. I love this so very much: I hope it doesn't run out too quickly!

 

It really doesn't have much throw, and fades a little over a couple of hours, but loses none of its heady scent.

[nellieburger]

In imp: Mossy apples… Mmmmm apples! On me: Apples are the undercurrent of the other notes. Poppy juice is most prominent. It’s nice!

[rayvn1]

Oh yes indeed! This is what I was hoping for in a Fall scent - I definitely get the mist and golden apples. Ths dried leaves crackle in the background. Much more successful than Punkie Night for me. I need to track down more of this stuff!

[forspecial_plate]

At first this was too odd, and it has taken quite a while for me to dig it out and try it again. Imagine that Samhainophobia has a young niece or nephew (could be either gender, really). Cute as a button, but also cheeky as hell. That is To Autumn, to me.

 

The subtlety of the moss, bark, mist, and leaves....all swurrled together....really make this scent for me. It's a great example of how Beth refines her skill more and more, with each new season. <3 I love her use of these odd, almost abstract notes like mist, stone, and dust to create a mood or feeling.

[catatonic1242]

In the bottle: Apple cider with a side of roasted nuts.

 

On, wet: Heavy and cloying, mostly the smell of nutmeat with very little apple, if any.

 

On, dry: Fades very fast (like, 20 minutes fast), but during the time it was on, I didn't get any apple at all. It was smoky and almost overpowering on my skin. I could see wearing this in a scent locket if that would keep it from morphing away from what it was in the bottle.

[djsiberia]

i'm not sure why i picked this up. i get a sharp poppy apple combo and its melowed out some what from when i first got it. it's a complex blend and i think i might need to revisit this in a couple more months.

 

i suppose i was hoping this would some how be a spicey apple blend that was like apple cider.

Edited June 6, 2009 by djsiberia

[sprocket21]

djsiberia, I feel exactly the same way. I look at the notes now and I'm like "Why did I get this one again?"

 

On me, this is a very crisp apple with a hint of...florals? I amp apple, so that's mostly what I'm getting from this. VERY crisp, very reminiscent of autumn - which feels a bit strange as it's the middle of June and I'm sitting here in shorts and a tank top!

 

It's very lovely, but I think I have enough apple scents to last me a lifetime (<3 Punkie Night!).

[caffinatedangel]

Some reason I wanted apple cider, too. I should remind myself that unless it says "warm apple cider" it's probably not going to smell like it. Their pretty accurate with the descriptions

 

It also smells exactly like the Apple scented candles from Yankee Candle that my sister loves. But I'm not sure how I feel smelling like a candle. It's nice, and most certainly autumny, but almost cliche in a way. It's not bad- just not as interesting as I hoped. Maybe it'd be decent as a room spray? But I never do those so I'll just swap this off, albeit a year later .

[splendidissima]

Spicy apple cider, with something earthy (leaves?) in the background...and yet, as it dries, an aquatic note comes out, as mentioned by others. Definitely makes me think of autumn--kind of nice when it's 100+ degrees out and fall can't come fast enough. I'm not sure how well the two levels (spicy apple and aquatic mist) work together on me; they don't quite blend, but hover. I think I'll try this in the oil burner and see if that will help, but a bottle probably isn't necessary.

[topazphoenix]

This smells like spiced apples and pine needles and yes, I can definately pinpoint the nutmeat. It reminds me of a cinnamon apple candle or a bag of potpourri.

[Invidiana]

I love both autumn and John Keats, so how could I resist? This is a cornucopia of autumn-foody goodness (very appropriate considering the label is a cornucopia) The bark, leaves and galangal add a wonderful outdoors-in-October undertone while the apple pulp and nutmeat are responsible for that rich, warm, irresistable aroma of a pie just out of the oven. Love!

 

 

[saralaughs]

Immediately upon application, I get wood. Dry wood and something else...leafy. The poppy juice is there as well, reviving it from being totally parched. A few minutes in, I get the nutmeat. The apple pulp has joined in with some spice. It's approaching apple pie territory. Apple pie that you happen to be eating outside but still...apple pie and that is like the kiss of death for me when it comes to apple scents.

 

I wanted more outdoors, less kitchen. Didn't get it.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: Aptly named. Smells like Fall. The first time I sniffed this, it was a bit perfumey for my taste, but I like it more now. Very smooth. I smell leaves and sweetness.

 

Wet on Skin: I smell a touch of galangal (slightly camphory), and some sweetness and mustiness. Mellow.

 

While Drying: This gives an almost-foody impression, but the apple is indistinct, and I can't pick out any nuts.

 

After a Little While: Calm and mellow, like taking a stroll in early Fall during light-jacket weather. Low to medium throw, with the spiciness dominating the wafting scent.

Later: slightly spicy, slightly musty, slightly sweet, with a slightly watery note behind it

 

To Autumn earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[loubric]

In the IMP I am overwhelmed with warm sweet foody goodness then almost immediately I’m hit with a man’s cologne scent!

On me the apple is very strong but has an underlying spicy and warmness to it. As it dries down the apple is becoming even more pronounced with only very small hints of spice, chocolate, nuts and dried leaves.

 

Lovely and not at all what I expected!