In the bottle: Mmm...sweet, sweet apple cider. It's that same Golden Delicious apple note I get from Harvest Moon 06 (even though it's red apple listed in both blends - to me, it's very golden).

On wet: Instant spice, a dash of wood, the smokiness of myrrh, peppery-creamy carnation, and something that makes me think of (oddly enough) fresh, cool water lingering around the edges.

Drydown: Spice - including that fantastic peppered cream of the carnation - is still the most prominent aspect of this blend. The subtle, sweet earthiness of fig is detectable, though, as are the occasional whiffs of those sparkling golden apples. The wood, myrrh, smoke, musk, and patch are all sticking close to my skin, and, depending on where my nose is at any given time, I get bits and bites of each to varying degrees - really lovely. No toasted almond to be found. I'm thinking it got buried under all the other smoky/woody stuff.

Overall: Another delightful autumn scent to add to my collection - like the love child of spicy-woody-smoky-dry Chrysanthemum Moon, and the spiced apple-patchouli goodness of Samhain (with a dash of happy-apple influence from cousin Harvest Moon 06). I'd have preferred a *wee* bit more fruit to contrast with all that spiced smoke, but that's a small thing against everything else I enjoyed about this blend. And who knows what will come with some age? I'm betting it'll be even more incredible next year! 4/5