LiberAmoris

Groan of Mortal Terror is probably my favorite Halloweenie this year. On my skin it smells like a straight-up split of ambergris, opoponax, and Bulgarian tobacco. Sweet, resiny, ambered tobacco—uncomplicated and perfect like a fuzzy fall sweater. A backup was necessary.

The Eye of a Vulture on me is a watery milk, lilac, and iris blend. The milk note is like skim milk—it's not excessively creamy, just a sheer whitewash of milk. The overall effect is of a pale milky floral, like the lightest purple lilac ever—nearly white. I don't get any coconut milk at all. It's a very delicate floral, but has a lot of personality. It's quite unusual, I'm not sure I can think of another BPAL scent I've tried that's similar. I really love this, but I'm a lilac and iris lover, so it's kind of a no-brainer.

2017 version: La Calavera Catrina starts off with a strong scent of dead leaves and marigolds. The dead leaves note backs off quickly, and the chrysanthemums start warming things up. The wild roses, bourbon vanilla, and chamomile ease in about 10 minutes later—much to my relief, as they're all notes I love. Dry, this a lovely dry autumn floral with dead leaves skittering around in the far background. The chamomile is surprisingly active in the drydown, adding an herbal powderiness that's really pleasant. Marigold and dead leaves still aren't my favorite notes, but they really recede and I quite like the end result.

I can't believe this is my first year trying Day of Skulls! I love how the florals, tobacco, cocoa, sandalwood, and beeswax cycle in and out and the sillage, like they're all tumbling around in a revolving door. The florals are my favorite part—hydrangea, rose, kantuta, cactus flower—telegraph lush ornamentation. The sandalwood and frankincense are as dry as bone. This feels very much in the vein of Kali, Dia de los Muertos, and Mictecacihuatl.

I threw a bottle of Solstice Lace in with my Krampus Lace order, and I'm so glad I did—this is gorgeous. Everything here is so well balanced. The bonfire smoke and lightly tangy apple wine are present but really subtle. The 'vanilla cream lace' and amber and copal are divine together. The cognac, tobacco, and St. John's Wort bring an herbal depth. All together, this reminds me a bit of Mabon (2004). It has that same apple-y, fall-ish vibe, although the 'lace' here pushes this in a more gourmand direction rather than earthy. Such a beautiful blend!

Wow, Beaver Moon 2017 is a dead-on hit to the description of a chipotle-, caramel-, cocoa-, and coffee-inflected cheesecake. It's a piece of cheesecake that you order and arrives festooned with chocolate-covered coffee beans and chipotle dust, with a plate striping of caramel and chocolate. This is an over-the-top dessert that you think you'll only have a few bites of but end up finishing. Not an everyday scent for me, but I'll enjoy pulling this out when I'm craving dessert.

Mmmm, champaca. Dead Leaves, Coconut, and Champaca Blossom is light on the dead leaves note, letting the champaca blossom take center stage. I don't even get much coconut from this. Dry, this is champaca with a darker shadow than it normally throws, a beautiful, golden autumn floral. I'm so glad to have this in my collection!

I bought Take a Knee to support the cause, but am really enjoying the scent even though I'm not someone who loves apple pie. This is pure apple pie and a drop of grass, a simple combination that's really uplifting. We have so many great fall apple scents, and I love that this one feels more like it sits in springtime territory. It's bright and happy!

Chocolate Pumpkin Floss is a simple pleasure: pumpkin spices and a hint of pumpkin itself with milk chocolate. Similar to Pumpkin Brownies, if you subtracted the sour cream note and dialed the spice back just a bit. As with PB, surprisingly wearable and very yummy.

White Pumpkin Floss is my favorite of the two flosses I tried this year. This smells like spicy pumpkin, vanilla, marshmallow, and a wan bit of chocolate—it's scrumptious.

2017 version: I've never tried September Midnight before...it's a little bit like an autumnal Persephone! The combination of the amber chypre, myrrh, and black pomegranate is harmonious. If you love the black pomegranate note, you should definitely give this a go. Juicy pom on top, and underneath, hints of dry autumn days—turning trees and golden sun.

In a Whispering Gallery is such a pale, light scent. This is refined and genteel. Wet, the leather and iris are the strongest notes, but the sandalwood and tobacco flower float up as it dries. The bergamot is very subtle on me. A couple of hours after dabbing on, it's a very luminous sandalwood—smelling a bit like a fancy pair of white leather gloves or a fancy soap from Italy. Very courtly somehow, and super wearable. I bet this would layer beautifully with the Post's Skeleton White hair gloss.

2017 version: Hallow-e’en, 1914 is really evocative. Wet, the maple leaf and ivy notes are strongest on me, smelling reminiscent of the dead leaves note. The grave dirt note is also really prominent, and the combination is perfect for conjuring up late October. As it dries, the cypress and honeyed fig come to the fore. The honeyed fig is particularly welcome as it adds a touch of sweetness. The notes here work really well together to create a portrait of a time and place. For those who love the scent of leaves and dirt, and who want an intensely atmospheric scent that doesn't skew gourmand.

Haunted Seas is definitely a dark aquatic. This is the water under dark skies, more grey and black than blue. I get ozone and saltwater plunged into opoponax and labdanum. As it dries, the resins settle and the water rises, so this ends as a tempest-tossed sea recovering after a storm. For those who like their aquatics on the moody side.

I was so curious about Pumpkin Chypre—the description of a pumpkin-y auburn chypre was compelling. The chypre category in perfumery is one I like, although not at the beginning of my perfume explorations—it took me a while to appreciate it. This is definitely a twist on the category. I get dry pumpkin, a touch of dead leaves, oakmoss, perhaps a drop of bergamot and lavender, and a breath of golden amber? It starts off 'cologney', as chypres do, but it quickly warms up to something sweeter on my skin. My husband smelled it on me and requested his own bottle.

Cardamon Cream Pumpkin Cake is lighter and less foody than I was expecting, in a nice way. The cardamom and cream are the most prominent notes, and make this a lightly milky-sweet and brightly aromatic scent. The pumpkin cake actually trails for me, supporting with a little starchiness and a very wearable level of pumpkin. The cinnamon is definitely present at all stages, but it's not stronger than the cardamom note on me. This dries down to a cream-forward scent with nice hints of other notes.

I love Gingerbread Haunted House. It smells just like a gingerbread house to me: the icing is there, I smell a bit of red hots, gummies, licorice, and a bit of chocolate and pretzel. And of course, the awesome gingerbread note itself, which is the main player here. Making gingerbread houses at Christmastime was something my mom, my brother, and I would do each year...then we'd try (and fail) not to pick the candy off as the days went on. This is a great capture of that scent memory for me, and makes for a very fun perfume.

Cinnamon Chai Cupcake smells like a vanilla cupcake with caramel-chai buttercream frosting on top. I was expecting more chai or a black tea note that's more prominent, but the cupcake and vanilla notes pull more weight, at least on me. Sometimes vanilla doesn't engage well with my skin chemistry, and that might be happening here. Even so, I'll set this aside to see if a little aging is clarifying, because I really like the milky chai.

Pumpkin Brownies was such a fun surprise. On me, it's like Bliss + spicy pumpkin pie with a dollop of sour cream. The combo is surprisingly toothsome, especially since foodie pumpkin isn't always my thing.

Another Cathedral fan here. Of the 'Pumpkin Spice Whatever' blends I've tried this year, this is the one with the most prominent pumpkin spice note. It's an interesting mix with Cathedral's ecclesiastical resins, and I may ultimately prefer my Cathedral without spices. But I'm going to set this aside for some agin because there's something really compelling about the dusty woodsy resiny notes in Cathedral mixing with the pumpkin pie spices. Reminds me a bit of some cinnamon-laced woods that were burned to add flavor to a cocktail I tried once.

Here's the thing: Snake Oil is just so delightful that it mixes well with others and pumpkin spice is no exception. This is a spicier Snake Oil on me that somehow manages to smell and feel 'lighter' than it does in its usual incarnation. I imagine this will do well with some aging, and I look forward to pulling out the bottle next fall for some more wear.

I love Perversion, and Pumpkin Spice Perversion is a nice twist on a BPAL classic. Wet, the pumpkin spice is evident, but this dries down to a slightly richer Perversion on me, a heady mix of rum and tobacco and leather and tonka with a bit of oaky chardonnay.

I wish I could buy a whole bottle of Silence. The gardenia fights the cedar a bit in the beginning when wet, but it calms down pretty quickly into gardenia and woods, with lavender filling in the cracks. It's an unexpected combo, but very relaxing. Somehow these notes conjure up a phantom note of white coconut, and I get drifts of that as the day goes on. The gardenia is GORGEOUS. Super calming, a perfect scent to release at this time of year when the holidays make life a bit stressful. I'm glad I have my imp of Silence to take things down a notch at the end of the day!

Dead Leaves, Bourbon, Black Cherry, and an Orange Twist = Dead Leaves Old Fashioned! This is a dead-on, dead leaves version of an Old Fashioned cocktail. Boozy scents aren't always my friends but the bourbon here is restrained. It has a caramel edge that's really nice. The black cherry and orange twist aren't too loud either, and the dead leaves note, which can run bitter on my skin, smells like a suggestion of dead leaves rather than a leaf pile that's buried the other notes. Well-balanced, just like a good cocktail. I'll really enjoy this one.

Krampus Lace is festive red musk goodness. This starts out honey-sweet red musk with tobacco and leather on me and dries down to red musk with vanilla cream. It reminds me of a 'Yule red' version of Creeper Dragon, as it has that same vibe with leather, red musk, honey, and cream merrily intersecting. I'm really glad a nabbed a bottle!