Samhain

[bellumed]

Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.

Samhain '12 is very chilly and woodsy. Also very November, all crisp air and just the threat of snow. On skin, I can detect cloves and apples. Overall the effect reminds me of walking through the forest with my breath puffing out visibly in the cold. Edited September 1, 2013 by bellumed

[brilliantcat]

2010 version

 

In-bottle, it has a slightly medicinal smell but once it gets on my skin, magic happens! A lushly smooth patchouli with the essence of fresh leaves and something almost creamy. Earthy but not dirty, yet refined. Autumn in a bottle! I don't get apple or pumpkin or anything else fruity but I think those notes are lending a bit of sweetness. It's incredibly well-blended and I love it.

[Missy_killer]

This is for the 2012 version.

 

To my nose: Wow, this is strong. I mean REALLY strong. First sniff I get burning campfire, apples and patchouli. It's very smokey and manly.

 

On: On my skin there's a blast of red apples and mullein, it's still really strong but without the burning campfire. I want to say that I have some sort of memory of this smell, but I can't find it in my head. It's late autumn/early winter. It's dark outside and there are small fires set up here and there to light up pathways. Some people have put apples on stakes, roasting them over one of the fires.

 

30 min later: the apples are till here, still red and sweet now. A dark grey-smokeyness is in the back, making this not overly sweet. I was just out walking the dog, and got whafts of this during the entire time. And since it's cold and rainy in the part of Sweden that I live in, it was just the perfect scent for being outdoors!

 

Last time I tried Samhain (around November or December I think) it did not smell like this at all. Back then it was just burning campfire all the way. This gets sweeter as it ages?

This is the review I wrote a couple of months ago. I tried Samhain again yesterday, and it was SO strong, apple-y and sweet it almost gave me a headache. And all the smokeyness was gone.

[Lorna Brigid]

Mine is from 2011, and I wear it every October 31st.

This is the quintessential autumn blend.

For me, the apple, mullein, damp woods and clove are the strongest notes that jump out on my skin. It almost smells like an appley beer brew out in the woods around a bonfire on a chilly night.

There is definitely stay and throw to this, and I think due to the notes and the strength, that is why I only wear it around October 31st. It's just a very specific blend.

Very well done, too!

[Erinofhere]

Samhain 2009

 

The art on the bottle is very adorable. 2 circa 1890? Ladies decked out in some sort of bat costumes? (maybe it’s cockroach costumes…or aliens…they could be aliens) and a pervy guy looking at them. He may not be a perv...but he gives off the creeper vibe. Maybe it's the moustache.

 

This is a very wonderful scent.

 

At first it's all apple cider. After a bit on my skin fir needles and clove come out very strong.

 

I'm not picking out much pumpkin. I was hoping for more pumpkin. I can also get whiffs of smoke and leaves. ohhh when the leaves show up it's just beautiful. I am getting a bit of beeswax and honey too. I'm also getting a slight boozy note too.

 

Hmmm..yes..this reminds me of a cool fall night in the country. Not so much Halloween but fall in general. It's cold enough for farmers to start burning their brush piles and everybody has apple somethings baking in the ovens. wow. This is really taking me places.

 

I am so glad this isn't foodie. I was scared it would be.

 

It has pretty good staying power. It’s been on about 5 hours and still going strong. It has very good throw, a few people have already commented on it.

 

I hope 2013 smells like this..

 

WIN!

[thekittenkat]

This is for the 2013 version.

In the bottle: The fruits are spiced, sitting on the damp forest floor.

Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but everything is doing that lovely blending thing.

The dry-down: Sweet and spicy and damp woods--a wonderful version of one of my fave scents.

Note: can there be a pumpkin emoticon, please?

 

***********************************************************

 

I seemed to have reviewed the 2013 version twice!

 

Here's another review from Nov. 27, 2013.

 

This is for the 2013 version.

In the bottle: Lovely--all the notes just swirl together in a wonderful blending of many of the scents that I love about autumn.

Wet: The woods and the fir needle dominate for now.

The dry-down: Close up, this is the woods in autumn after a cool, brief shower. From far away it's
all the other notes muddling together. Interesting, a two-level scent. I get a bottle every year, simply because it's so different each autumn, and yet is still the essence of the season.

Edited October 6, 2016 by thekittenkat

[darkeyedfran]

I have the 2012 bottle of samhain, this is by far my favorite fall scent! Everyone asks what i'm wearing that smells so good! I had one of my colleagues try to rub this off of my wrists onto herself today. This is a tricky one, though...it starts out very cough syrup on me and then starts to blend into a sweeter more spicy blend. As this ages I can smell the patchouli more as it wears for several hours, it's a wonderful moment when that richess comes through. Some days this turns a little bit baby powder towards the end but not as much as it used to when it was fresh. This makes my day and apparently everyone around me likes it as well!

[CemeteryAngel]

I just got in Samhain 2013 and am so excited. I have never done a scent review before and am still suffering from a stuffy nose and congestion, so I am not able to fully appreciate the wonderfulness that is this scent. I will add to this review hopefully in a few days. All I can say right now is this--I want to smell like Samhain 2013 for the rest of my life!

 

 

Okay, it has been several days since Samhain 2013 came in, and I finally tried to wear it. I still love the way it smells in the bottle, but something happened when I put it on my wrists--something bad. The best way I can describe it is I smelled like smoke from an electrical fire. Stupid body chemistry! I am not going to give up though! I will try again in a week or so, and if worse comes to worse, and I really can't wear it, I will just sniff if and enjoy it that way.

Edited October 8, 2013 by CemeteryAngel

[tangygnat]

Samhain 2013

 

 

I was hoping for a warm, bewitching cabin hearth nestled in a spooky, haunted woods. Instead, I got a child's Halloween journey, from the pumpkin carving all the way through the sugar crash.

I shy away from candy scents, so this won't work for my skin, but I'm still excited about its potential as an atmospheric room scent.

 

In the bottle: Clove and nutmeg vibrating over heady patchouli.

 

Wet: Spices are very strongly at the forefront--they're a bit sharp, almost acrid, but softened by a sweet patchouli base. Whiffs of candle- warmed pumpkin poke through.

 

Drydown: Patchouli grabs the reigns as the spices mellow out. There's an artificial sweetness now creeping in to the earthiness--candy vanilla, chocolate.

 

Dry: We've upended the candy bag; Tootsie Roll chocolate takes center stage, buffered by tiny lingering licks of patchouli

 

Fade: Sugar crash--the earthy, spicy goodness has completely vanished, leaving behind only the lingering, cloying odor of a stale Tootsie Roll

[yakiguri]

Samhain '13

 

Samhain has been the one BPAL scent that everyone else loved but would never love me back. I always got dirt and nasty moldy wet leaves, none of the autumn awesomeness everyone else got.

 

Then Samhain '13 came along and I think I've FINALLY found MY Samhain. The blend starts off with spiced apples and dark woods, and pretty much stays that way. There is a bit of sharpness to it which I think is from the mullein, but I'm really hoping (and expecting) that aging will smooth that out. I even got an immediate "ooh, you smell nice" from Mr. Elf. Definite bottle purchase, and may spring for the pumpkin version too.

[rinster]

Despite shark week handicapping my fume testing, this is exactly what I remember from my 2012 decant. The leaves get along with the apples and the fir coexists with the pumpkins in a peaceful and humble state of tranquility. No notes chest thumping, fist pumping or displaying frenzied bravado here. We all just get along for once. Ahhh.

Edited October 9, 2013 by rinster

[welcometothefamily]

Samhain 2013

 

In the Bottle: Similar to Samhainophobia, but a lot softer, less earthy and smoky. Can smell the pumpkin, maybe a little apple, and veeeery soft spices.

 

Wet: I can smell apple, and spices, and it's quite earthy too. Vaguely watery, but my nose might think that because its not as dark smelling as samhainophobia, and slightly sweeter.

 

10 mins: Can definitely smell apple.

 

Drydown: Still apple, but this isn't fresh cut apple, this is pie filling apple that has been stewed with spices. It's quite yummy. Still a little earthy too. Like eating warm pie filling in the woods.

Verdict: I like this. Not as much as I like samhainophobia, but I like it. It's light and yummy, and foody without being foody, if you catch my drift. It smells like pie filling but not like 'oh my GOSH who chucked a pie at you' pie filling. It's probably not fair to compare this to samhainophobia because thats so much darker and earthier, but I think this one is like a lighter, more airy cousin. Yum!

 

4/5

[snowbryneich]

Samhain was the only weenie I ordered prior to getting decants as I'd tried previous years. (Though I can't remember which years) Previous Samhain blends have smelled very spiced fruit on me - the red apple has been very prominent. 2013 was isn't sweet at all to me - not in the bottle or on the skin- it's a darker woody smell with wafts of patchouli and spice. Different to what I expected but still very nice. This is so autumnal - it is definitely going to be my go to scent for October

[lucycat]

Samhain 2013:

 

In the bottle I smell apple and honey.

 

On my skin, this is apple, warm spices, honey (I do keep getting honey even though a honey note isn’t listed) and autumn leaves.

 

The notes I’ve listed sound as if they would be craft store potpourri. Instead, Samhain is the essence of autumn. I wanted to go around all day with my nose buried in the crook of my arm, but that would have looked weird at work. I’m so glad I decided to get a bottle unsniffed.

[zombiewench]

2013 version -

 

In the imp, this stuff is FANTASTIC. Even in the closed imp, my room now smells appley and woodsy and spicy and delicious. It reminds me of a renaissance faire, which is one of my favorite smells in the world!

 

On me...eh. The woodsy smell turns a bit dusky, and the apple smell gets all medicinal, and that's all I get from it. Not awful, but not the deliciousness I get from the imp, and not something I would wear. Now if this were a candle...

[BoneBone24]

(2013)

 

Wet: Whoo! That’s a strong blast of menthol! Medicinal is definitely the word.

 

Drydown: More with the menthol. It reminds me of Blood Kiss without the cherry and wine. After 10-15 minutes things settle down a bit and I can begin to smell the other notes. There’s mentholated fir at the top, with baked apple and spices beneath that, and sprinkling of smoky earth at the bottom. Perhaps a kiss of caramel is in there too. Woodsy, sweet, spicy, and cool.

 

Dry: Chilly fir and apple are still most prominent, but now they’re followed by clove, earthy woods, smoky vetiver, herbal mullein, and just a pinch of patchouli and buttery pumpkin - in that order. It’s the perfect balance of woodsy, earthy, and spicy with just the barest hint of sweetness to add intrigue.

 

 

 

 

<3 !

 

9 out of 10 bones

[vthesiren]

2013 version.

 

Warm, spiced apple and pumpkin. There's an apparent woodsiness when I take a deeper whiff.

 

Even after it's dried down, it never strays into "craft store candle" territory like other spiced fruit blends. This was one of the first blends recommended to me by a forumite, and I'm so glad I finally got to try it.

[theredkilt]

2006 version:

 

Since 2011, I've been reading raving reviews about Samhain, but i never dared to purchase a bottle, since i was afraid i would get on the drydown only leaves and fir needles.

 

The 2006 release opens with a pungent VaporRub smell and it lingers for 15 minutes and slowly fades away, giving way for something bitter (maybe the mullein and leaves) and the most amazing cherry tobacco accord, which gloriously trumps over what's left of the bitter mishmash and reigns supreme on my skin. It reminds me very much of Burberry's London for men only better.

[alyelle]

Imp: A very complex blend! Apples, clove, tree bark and fallen wet pine needles; sugar and spice with a cold undercurrent of ozone.

Wet: Pumpkin, spices, rain in the woods, apples and hazelnuts in cellar storage. A kitchen in winter, bright but cold, slowly starting to heat as spiced wine brews.

Dry: A delightful blend of pumpkin and spices, more like pie than soup, with the faintest hint of apples

 

2013 version. I've not had the chance to try earlier versions of Samhain (there was always something in the 'Weenies I wanted more) but this year's blend is gorgeous. There was no stage that was unpleasant, and unlike most of the other patchouli blends I've tried, that note doesn't dominate; as you can see, I hardly get any, which is a refreshing change. I particularly love the odd 'cold but warm' feeling of the wet and early dry stage - it's the comforting feeling of being indoors with the brightest, warmest lighting when it's pouring outside and the whole world is grey. The throw is strong (don't put it on before bed) and the life is better than average, upwards of 8 hrs on me.

 

Stars: ★★★★★

[Teaker]

I was so looking forward to this scent, but unfortunately it's just a big mess on my skin. It starts off smelling like empty beer cans and ends up like play-doh. The frustrating part is that I keep picking up these little hints of niceness underneath, something cool and earthy/fruity. But overall it's a no go for me.

[Morsigne925]

Finally reviewing my bottle of '12!

 

Bottle/wet: Strongly herbal, like leaves; definitely smell some apple-cider scent in there

 

Drying: Becomes a really lovely fall day, especially like one in Seattle, where it may have been raining; apple-y and spicy and woodsy, crisp and cozy at the same time. I really love this one!

[tyche]

I got this one in '12, along with Punkie Night & Autumn Coolness. This is my least favorite of the three, something is just too strong for me - maybe the patchouli? I've been out of the BPAL loop for a little while, but I'm looking forward to the upcoming Weenies!

[Myria Jean]

I have a decant of Samhain 2012. Apparently I amp apple, mullein, and fir, because on me it was Apple Cider Cough Drop.

[Ginspu]

My first thought on trying Samhain was "this smells like sipping spiced cider while sitting outside on a crisp fall day."

[spectrum-in]

Wearing Samhain today, and two of my supervisors at work just came in and said: What smells so good? Like...fall? Something pine-y? Wow!

 

So yeah, second everything you've heard. Cider, woods, leaves, fall. Beautiful.