The Autumn Folk

[Jenjin]

The chord vibrated in the air between them — a connection point.

Hay-dusted oak, honey mead, pumpkin rind, vetiver root, corn husk, and maple leaves.

[VioletChaos]

Full disclosure: the autumn leaf notes tend to HATE me. Like, with a fiery, cologne-y passion that breaks my heart every year at this time when folks get to slather on the Dead Leaf scents. But I figured I'd take a chance with this one because literally every other note in this blend is something I adore (and works on me), so I'm hoping for a Hail Mary. Let's see how it goes, shall we?

In the bottle, I get the corn husk immediately which combines with the hay note in the best possible way. The leaves are peeping in the background, which always smell fine in the bottle, I hope it translates to my skin without issue! 🤞

Wet on skin and through to dry-down, I get wisps of the hay, the oak, the corn husk and the leaves. I was hoping for more vetiver, which is a note I adore, but I am pleased as punch to have found a maple leaf scent that I can ACTUALLY wear!!!

I suspect that the other notes, with their dry-earthy qualities were enough to do a course-correct with my skin chemistry. So if you, too, are a person that's been sad about a lack of Dead Leaves in your life, definitely give the Autumn Folk a try!

I'd say this is a low-to-medium throw, so test cautiously until you know how your personal chemistry will respond.

I can't wait to see how this ages! ❤️ 

[ghoulnextdoor]

An unexpected autumnal breeze; crisp leaves carry secrets of golden fields. Honey-tinged sunlight clings to weathered bark, earthy roots anchor fleeting warmth. Tattered pumpkin rind scrapings compost with the sweet decay of fallen foliage. Deceptively fresh, almost cheerful, yet a ghostly chorus lingers in wind-stirred branches - a chill, whistling echo of summer's fading warmth.

[hivesofbees]

The top notes on this scared me. The sweet blast of mead, pumpkin, hay, and maple signaled "October craft store" to my brain --not exactly the vibe I was hoping for. However, on the skin, the sweetness subsides to a gentle background, the corn and woods start to come to the fore (and do I detect an unlisted orange blossom?). The vetiver brings a hint of dank earthiness that keeps things grounded. The overall effect is meadowy and sun-kissed, and I suspect this will work better as the days get shorter and the nights colder.  For the moment, it's not quite a love but I do think I'll be reaching for it from time to time. My experience with BPAL is that often the top notes settle a bit as they age, so I am hoping this can be a real hit for me by next autumn (and I will update this review if so).

 

[AbbyNormal]

I am so glad I gave this a chance to recover from mail shock. When it first arrived I tried a small drop and it immediately smelled like poop. There was a pleasantness underneath it, but poop was definitely the forefront. The same thing happened with my Hatman from the same order. So I set them aside. 
 

Today I tried them again and there were zero signs of poop. The Autumn Folk is much brighter than I expected, almost a touch effervescent when first applied. The leaves are present but hanging back quite a bit, and it’s much sweeter than I thought it would be from the mead. There’s a touch of pumpkin and it reminds me of the pumpkin in Pinched w/ 4 Pumpkins (pumpkin is starting to not look like a word anymore). In fact, the longer I have it on the more it reminds me of Pinched, if you swapped out the coffee and cinnamon for leaves and mead. I’m very happy I went for a full sized bottle!
 

 

[Elspethdixon]

In the imp/wet - light, sweet hay and mead combined with something cool, probably either the corn husk or maple leaves

 

Freshly applied - the hay and mead are joined by a hint of something musty, an undertone of warm pumpkin, and just a whisper of dry/dead leaf note. On my hair it’s a nutty hay and mead like it was on the wand.

 

Drydown - The first ten minutes or so have a distinct soapy element to them. It’s reminding me of one of Lush’s soaps, but I can’t remember which one. Once that dies down, Autumn Folk is a pretty faint scent on me. Right up at the skin I get sweet warmth, but the throw is cool and even slightly soapy from the dead leaves.

 

By two hours in it’s completely gone :(, Alas. But for those two hours it was the first and only dead leaves-esque scent I’ve been able to wear well.

[puellacaerulea]

In the decant and immediately after applying, this is a warm, autumnal gourmand -- even though oats aren't listed in the notes, it reads like honey and oats (which could be the hay) to my nose. If anything, it reminds me of a local soap shop's oatmeal stout soap (in a good way). As it dries down, the leaves and vetiver come out more, giving the scent an ever-so-slightly cologney (again, in a good way) backbone and taking it out of strictly gourmand or fall-craft-store territory. Warm, autumnal, and earthy-sweet -- like Corn Riggs but with some pleasant oomph from the vetiver.