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Deceitfuldescender

The Changeling

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Blonde wood, linen swaddling, pumpkin rind, and bourbon vanilla.

 

This falls in the "grown up fall scent" category for me.Perhaps it's a little too grown up, as it is reminding me of expired granny perfume baked in a bonfire. I was hoping for the pumpkin and bourbon vanilla to make more of an appearance. Instead this is more of a smokey woodsy scent on my skin.It's not a sexy woodsy smokey either. I will let it age and re-test.

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This one is very Nutty to my nose...I smell the pumpkin, and the wood, but somehwere int he combination, it has a nuttiness about it. It's not bad, but It's not my favorite either. I may actually swap this one, since I bought a bottle unsniffed.

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The Changeling - I tend to really like scents that have this blonde wood note, most recently Tree of Life and Atlas, but they're always verging on being too sweet, and in this blend, add that pumpkin rind and vanilla to the blonde wood, and it's just too much for me. It's very butterscotchy and rich, far too cloying and heavy for my taste, I'm afraid. It has a quality about it that reminds me of the nuttiness of Sleipnir, as if there's hazelnut or chestnut or something similar in it, as well. I think people who tend to prefer sweet bakery scents and don't mind woods, could potentially really enjoy this.

Edited by Edens Sixth Day

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In the vial: A familiar cologney smell that I can't name. Woods? Linen?

 

On me: Bourbon vanilla as it goes on the skin, almost as dark and dirty as tobacco. About ten minutes later, an earthy pumpkin emerges, spicy and earthy, made that much darker by the bourbon vanilla. The scent has a surprising sweetness, thick and dark but not quite cloying, and a certain perfumey quality, especially in the throw. The background hides a dry/cologne note, somewhere between blonde wood and linen, which makes the scent a little airy and counteracts the dark spice of the pumpkinand I don't love it for that. Throw is surprisingly high, and wearlength is incrediblebut many hours in The Changling morphs into a pure perfumey, fruit-touched, insistent sweetness.

 

Verdict: I quite like The Changling for an hour of two, when the pumpkin emergesthe lean towards rind makes it dark, spicy, earthy, unique and quite lovely. But the occasional off note in the background keeps me from falling in love, and bourbon vanilla does its best to run away with the scent. For a few hours it's fine, casting a dark sweet dirty shadow over the scent, but the almost-cloying perfume that it becomes at the tail end of wear is frankly offputtingso much so that I washed it off. Aging may help the notes settle, and I'll hang on to my decant, but this is is more than a miss than a hit for me so far.

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This is really interesting - I could swear there's something nutty in here, like hazelnut. It reminds me very much of Wezwanie/Hold from The Salon when it first goes on - it has that same warm golden nuttiness.

 

I do like blonde wood (hehe.. she said blonde wood) - and it's lovely here, soft and clean with just a hint of sweetness. I get the linen swaddling, but more in feel than in fragrance, although it's definitely the same linen note that I know from other BPALs like Wensleydale and Dirty, and Antique Lace. And I love the pumpkin in this - it's not the usual pulpy, fleshy sweet-ish pumpkin that we see in Weenies.. I do like this 'pumpkin rind' - it's a nice change, slightly woody, and it gives the pumpkin smell without making the whole thing smell of pumpkin.

 

And bourbon vanilla - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love you.

 

After a full dry-down, the nuttiness does mostly go away - I'm still reminded very much of Wezwanie/Hold though - minus the honey, add pumpkin. The Changeling is really quite nice, but I've got my favourite pumpkin blends already and there's nothing new enough in this one to tempt me into needing a bottle :smile:

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Origin: decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: I think at one point in the very, very long list of Weenies, I started picking everything that had vanilla and didn't have an immediate death note. Otherwise I cannot explain why I chose this one...

 

In the vial: Extremely dark, sweet and rich pumpkin, with a woody undertone.

 

Wet: It being my skin, the blonde wood jumps out first...wonder if it's a sandalwood? But it morphs very quickly into more pumpkin and vanilla.

 

Drydown: The linen peeks out and gives the whole thing an airy quality without the sharpness that ozone would add. Under that it stays a very sweet, slightly nutty pumpkin.

 

Verdict: I am waffles. I don't think I need a bottle, but I don't know if I'll use up the imp.

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in the bottle it smells like… cookies?? :lol: i am thinking this is a combination of the often buttery pumpkin note and bourbon vanilla.

 

on my skin it starts out as buttery cookies but gradually the wood and the linen note i love from herr drosselmeyer emerges. this is not a pumpkin spice scent! i really like it, it's sweet and creamy without actually smelling like baked goods (after the initial OMG COOKIES stage passes). the wood and vanilla reminds me a bit of my beloved antikythera mechanism!

 

edit: i am so sad. the pumpkin has faded to a plasticky mess. i cannot wear ANYTHING even remotely foodie! i hate you, skin chemistry.

Edited by porcelina

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Wet, defininely dominated by the blonde wood, though there is a sweetness here that is rather unpleasant to me, caramelly or butterscotch as zz noted above. Dry, the sweetness is less, and the woods come out more. This is quite nice, but I don't know how much I'd wear it, as it does kind of lean to the masculine side. Not to say a female couldn't pull it off, it's just not 'me'.

Edited by milo

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Intriguing yet again! These weenies are turning out quite complex! I get very very mild non-spicy hints of shub in the background, but it's almost boozy upfront. Once again, will take me a bit to figure out all it's layers, but it's pleasant enough at the moment.

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Bear with me y'all, I haven't done a review in a couple of years. I am not all that great at writing, so I usually shy away from reviews.

 

But.....this is the first new scent that I have seriously fallen HARD for. When I first got my decant and put some on, the first thing I got was a smokey burnt smell. But that only lasted a few seconds. It dried to the most wonderful pumpkin I have ever had. The combination of scents here make this the most realistic woody/fall pumpkin. It's not a foody sweet pumpkin at all.

Even though it is not a listed component, I get an almost sandalwood and pumpkin vibe.

 

And this has amazing throw and lasts forever! I have gotten tons of compliments on it. One of the vet techs at the animal hospital I take Olive to practically licked me because she liked it so much!

 

Ordered a bottle and have already bought one partial. Plus, I am probably going to buy at least one more from the lab before it goes away.

This is going to age wonderfully. :thud:

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This is not at all what I had imagined. In my mind, it was vanilla heavy with pumpkin & light woods.

 

In reality, this is heavy duty blond woods with something smokey and menacing attached. It's a strong masculine scent. Even after it dries and something caramelly comes into the mix, it's still too strong for my tastes. Oh, and pumpkin? Where?

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I get a very strong, sweet wood note, along with vanilla. Smells delicious, but I was hoping for some pumpkin as well. Reminds me of Antikythera Mechanism.

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The Changeling might be my biggest letdown of the 'Weenies this year :(. I was hoping for sweet vanilla and pumpkin with clean linen and wood notes, but this is mostly a charred wood and perfumey musk smell on my skin, with a little bit of burnt butter edge to it. It actually smells a bit gross on me...

 

YES!!!!! THIS. EXACTLY. I haven't actually even put it on my skin yet to try because I am too afraid from the bottle smell. It was in my top 3 most anticipated to love of the Weenies, but when my order arrived and I sniffed everything and re-ordered the bottles based on how the smelled on a quick whiff.....it dropped from #2 to all the way towards the end, in the beginning of the "almost too scared to even test on my skin" section.

 

B/c all that I can smell in the bottle is burnt butter and ashy wood over some strong manly cologne. In fact the very first time I opened the bottle to sniff, I cringed and winced and jerked my head back. mecry.gifWhere is the vanilla and linen and blonde wood? Why is there instead a Vetiver Ash Monster and his friend Too Much Axe? I am trying to keep an open mind and work up my courage to give it an actual try on my skin but I am truly aghast....

 

Although, the name of this scent may be oh so appropriate if it actually is one of those perfumes that undergoes a metamorphosis through the magical mysteries of derma-alchemy...oh so truly and really a CHANGEling?

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Buy, beg, borrow or steal this, it doesn't matter how but if you like pumpkin you need this. The wood/linen keeps this from being strictly foody, but it's pretty darn close. And it is awesome. My husband said that I smell like pastries.

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On the skin: Woodsy! A sweet woodsy! A sweet slightly nutty wood scent. I keep smelling BPAL's tobacco sweetness in this one. :think: Hazelnut?

 

Definitely not what I was hoping for. I was definitely looking for more linen and vanilla rather than woods and nuts. :lol:

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In the bottle: Gentle pumpkin and sweet vanilla with hints of wood and cloth.

 

Wet: The wood and linen are over-powering the pumpkin and vanilla.

 

The dry-down: Now everything has calmed down, and all the notes have blended together. This is a good scent for autumn. :)

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Something here went maple syrupy on my skin in the wet stages. As it dried, the maple syrup scent faded and the linen and woods became more predominant. This ended up being a little more harsh than I anticipated. The vanilla and pumpkin weren't as present on my skin as I was hoping. Overall, I think I'll keep this aside for aging.

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I've worn this one four or five times since I got it. I keep putting it on thinking that I can't remember whether I liked it last time, but based on the notes it should be a good one. I put it on, give it a sniff and think Sure, that should be fine, and go on with my day. And as far as I can remember, that's where it ends. I can't remember ever wearing this scent and thinking Hey, something smells good -- oh, it's the Changeling! Apparently I put it on and then instantly forget I have it on and don't interact with the scent at all. Kinda odd. That doesn't usually happen with me.

 

I like it -- it has the squashy pumpkin scent to it rather than the buttery pumpkin scent, and I do like that. It's less foody. I like the blonde wood and the linen. Basically there isn't anything about this scent that I don't like. It smells nice. It just doesn't seem to be knocking my socks off for some reason.

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Sniffed: Warm pumpkin, faintly touched with vanilla and light wood.

 

On skin: The dominant notes in The Changeling are soft, gentle pumpkin scent, and creamy vanilla. It's warm, rounded and gently foody... but with a touch of weirdness. I think it's mainly from the linen note, which has a tendency to become a bit artificially sweet on my skin. The light wood is probably also contrasting with what would otherwise be a straight foody blend. The Changeling is a cozy, soft scent befitting a child, but with the slightest tinge of spookiness that work with the Salon image theme.

 

Verdict: The Changeling is a lovely, soft blend that perfectly balances pumpkin and vanilla, and is also slightly offbeat and fascinating. Even though I'm glad to smell it, I don't see myself wearing it much.

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In the vial: A delicious mix of sharp and dry notes from the wood, and a rich foody background of pumpkin.

 

Wet on the skin/ immediate thoughts: I recognise the woods from Miskatonic University but it's not as sweet.

 

Development: On me, this is an enveloping, rich scent, with the wood notes dominating the others. Perfectly evocative of am autumn night and a woodland faerie returning to the forests of Arkham with a stolen child!

 

If you like this, try: Red Lantern, Miskatonic University, Tushnamatay

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Warm buttery pumpkin forever, with a bit of an edge from the bourbon. It's the same pumpkin as Pumpkin Latte and just as sweet, but I'm so glad for the absence of vanilla for me because I amp it adnauseam. Interestingly delicious, but a bit foody for me.

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Wood, yes, but not pencil wood or plywood like most woods, but more of an oaky old wood. Maybe, if I strain, there s vanilla. The thing I couldn't identify before is the pumpkin; without the brown sugary spice that normally goes with pumpkin, it is more of a dry gourd smell. That sounds bad, but I don't mean it badly. It's not the pumpkin from a can, it's not the fresh cut of a jack o lantern, it's a dry, grounded, earthy gourd.

 

Of course, sugary incense on my skin, but ith that deep, grounded pumpkin keeping it from being too headshoppy.

 

Eta: this is a review of it today, so obviously it is aged. Sometimes I copy and paste old reviews.

Edited by malibusunny

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Sweet vanilla bourbon pumpkin rind. A delicious foodie scent, but unfortunately it's been a half hour since I put it on and the woods and linen have yet to show up. I am sad.

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This is mostly wood with a hint of vanilla on my skin, it almost smells like leather to my nose. Strange! I'm not getting any pumpkin from this. Maybe my nose is weird tonight or the imp aged strangely. Either way, it smells lovely, just not what I was expecting!

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