Recommending a BPAL pumpkin blend...

[Bea-Bea]

Hi all

Im really interested in buying an oil that contains pumpkin, Im Australian and down here we have NO pumpkin flavoured perfumes or oils so i dont know what to expect.

I kinda like the idea of Jack but im not sure.

Any advice will appreciated

Ta

[forspecial_plate]

In my opinion, the pumpkin scents actually smell more like pumpkin pie spice, which is clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc....than actual pumpkin.

 

Jack smells very buttery at first, but the butter fades and it's sweet and spicy after that...and unfortunately, turns a little dusty on my skin. But it's a general catalogue scent and therefore available to buy a sample vial of it, which might work out well for you.

 

If you're feeling braver, I recommend Pumpkin Queen, which is a limited edition available only for the rest of this month (3 more days?). It's similar to Jack with the addition of some scrumptious notes like Egyptian amber, ginger, and I forget what else. It was a bit sweet for me but worked better than Jack did. I bought it for my mom for Christmas and I really hope she likes it!

 

There is also the whole Pumpkin Patch available as a set, also LE, if you REALLY want to dive right in. I haven't tried any of them, but they don't seem difficult to find in the swap/sales forum. You can read reviews of all of them and see if any sound interesting to you.

 

Anyway, hope that helps some!

[harmonyfb]

I suggest buying Pumpkin Queen instead of Jack. Jack smelled like rancid butter on me - but Pumpkin Queen is divine. I've bought three bottles of it, which is unheard of, for me.

 

The Pumpkin Patch #3 is also nice, if you like candyish-sweet scents.

[ajcj213499]

Jack was one of the first BPAL's I ever tried... it is strong! Like others have said it's very buttery- too buttery for me in fact. Pumpkin Queen is nice, it's not straight pumpkin- the mandarin and fig round it out so it's not so foody. The best straight pumpkin I've found is Pumpkin Patch #5 (with woods and ivy), I think it's my favorite pumpkin blend.

 

You might want to order an imp of Jack, even though some people find it too buttery a lot of people love it...

 

[jewelbug]

I also prefer Pumpkin Queen to Jack, so I vote for that one!

[sarada]

Pumpkin smells like pure molten butter to me, as a fragrance oil, and although I love eating pumpkin pie, I detest the scent. Apparently, once the butter scent burns off, most pumpkin scents also include delightful spices. But if you don't like the smell of melted butter, you might not like the pumpkin scents.

[Bea-Bea]

Thankyou all so much

I think i'll try pumpkin queen first and see how i go

Great help guys

Ta

[PilotKitten]

Yeah... my vote's for PQ too. Jack was rancid gourd on me while PQ was actually quite nice.

[Electra]

Pumpkin smells like pure molten butter to me, as a fragrance oil, and although I love eating pumpkin pie, I detest the scent. Apparently, once the butter scent burns off, most pumpkin scents also include delightful spices. But if you don't like the smell of melted butter, you might not like the pumpkin scents.

 

I have the same problem. *sigh*

 

Jack was screaming buttery pumpkin on me. I never got to the spices. Pumpkin Queen was much better at first, but unfortunately within 5 minutes it dried down to orange Kool-Aid and stayed that way. I never tried the Pumpkin Patch because five bottles of pumpkin? On my skin? Yeah right, with my luck with pumpkin.

 

I do love pumpkin-scented (non-BPAL, so far) oils in my fragrance burner - just not on my skin. I wish I could wear them. But I agree with Sarada, you need to have at least some tolerance for butteriness in a scent to be able to wear them.

[fiddledragon]

I actually didn't find Jack unpleasantly buttery, but on me it was such a perfectly precise pumpkin bread scent that it just made me feel hungry and confused because the *entire dining room* smelled like pumpkin bread after one little dab, and yet there was no pumpkin bread! I tried Pumpkin Patch #4 and unfortunately pumpkin seems to go very oily on me when it's not knocked out by bread and spices -- not buttery, oily. Bleagh. I still might break down and get a decant of PQ, though...ginger!

[mspixieears]

I *hate* those sorts of pumpkin scents traditionally but a lovely person sent me an almost empty imp of Pumpkin Queen and it's delicious! I recommend hunting it down for trial if you can!

[black*cat]

Do any of the pumpkin blends have anise in them? I searched the forums, but can't seem to find anything, I really love the smell of sweet spicy pumpkin & black licorice together.

[Browneyes]

In anticipation of the Halloween update, I find myself worrying/wondering about pumpkin! I have never tried a pumpkin scent, and I really don't know if I would like it. But I'm soo curious about it now, especially after the "Revolutionary Pumpkin patch" ideas in the speculation thread in the BPAL Chatter section of the forum.

 

Upthread sarada mentions that pumpkin smells like pure melted butter to/on her, which makes me go:

I really really can't do overwhelming foodies like Drink Me, though I do adore some foodie blends (like Shub and Misk U, to the extent that those can be considered foody at all - I guess I like foody elements in combination with something resinous/woody/dusty??). My absolute maximum in terms of foody scents is Eat Me, and even so, vanilla does sometimes go plasticky on me. And I don't think I can do dairy, i.e. milky, perfumes very well

 

Soo... my point is, I'm worried about the foody level of pumpkin scents. Do you have to be a hard-core foody? Does the pumpkin smell "buttery", in the sense of real butter?

 

(Unfortunately, I won't afford to place an order before the Halloween update at all, so I can't try out Jack. )

 

Thanks

[hackess]

I don't think you have to be a true foody, no. Most foody scents turn kinda blah on me (vanilla? Powder. Caramel/butter/cream/milk? Rancid. Chocolate? Moth balls. Seriously.), but pumpkin and its spices are gorgeous.

 

Jack is the only pumpkin scent I've tried that's buttery at first, but it fades so quickly into beautiful juicy peach and apple over warm pumpkin.

[fireflower]

'Ello everyone. So, I was browsing through all the LE today and decided I absolutely must try some of the Pumpkin Patches. However, funds are tight so I only wanted to go with a couple of them. So far Pumpkin III and Pumpkin V look most appealing to me. The chocolate/caramel/pomegranate part of Pumpkin III sounds most intriging and I like red ginger, which is in Pumpkin V. So for those of you who have tried some, which are your favorites? I really like light, sweet scents and some fruity scents. Not in to anything too strong or musky. Anyone have any suggestions?

Edited October 9, 2007 by ivyandpeony
added the subtitle to clarify - current PP blends only!

[hackess]

The only one of this year's Plunder I didn't like was Pumpkin II -- the champaca was overpowering. I was hesitant about Pumpkin III, as BPAL chocolate and caramel usually don't turn out well on me, but in this blend they were fantastic. It smelled almost like hazelnut coffee, strangely enough, and when dry was a very creamy pomegranate, not overly sweet. Pumpkin V was touted as Pumpkin Queen's little sister, and that's pretty true. It's fruitier than PQ, and not nearly as spicy or regal. Pumpkin I smells like candy! Pumpkin IV is slightly green, thanks to the sage, and really is the only one that retains its pumpkin smell throughout.

[fatalbellydance]

Pumpkin I - fresh juicy grapes, yum

Pumpkin II - nice carnation note, but nothing to write home about

Pumpkin III - divine, lovely fall spice, and I've tried alot of the lab's older fall scents, this is my absolute favorite.

Pumpkin IV - was interesting, I live in the desert and this definitely got that feel right, it smells very nice

Pumpkin V - bad bad butter note, too foody for me

 

Overall, III is my favorite, with I and IV trailing behind.

[miss apple]

Pumpkin V with Pumpkin II a close second.

[Ahania]

I really like light, sweet scents and some fruity scents. Not in to anything too strong or musky.

I think III is much lighter than V, which I hadn't expected at all. V is very rich and much stronger. I barely notice the pumpkin in III, though.

[fatalbellydance]

Sorry, I was getting III and V confused. V is my favorite, while III got swapped immediately.

[kwsix]

III is way too foody for me to wear. It smells nice in the bottle, but it's overwhelming on my skin, in the same way that scents like Gluttony and Hellcat are. Pumpkin I is my favorite (fruity grapey goodness), and I really like Pumpkin V too (spicy, no butter on me). Pumpkin II was nice on me also (sweet and oddly reminiscent of Hellion on me). IV smells nice, but I'm fairly indifferent to it.

[Elizabethm]

pp 3 was waaay too foody for me. i love pp 5. i got complemented on it today at work by a few people. it smells so autumnish.. it has great throw and lasting power.

 

Going to get another bottle in my next order in fact!

[ivyandpeony]

I had the same experience as Elizabethm, evilmistressoftoast and others who were just overwhelmed by the gooeyness of PP 3. PP 2 was worrisome from the time I ordered, since champaca can mess up a blend for me - I think it would be lovely on people that can wear that note, though! And I kind of knew that 4 wouldn't like me too much because of the sage, which I turn into bandaids.

 

So if you've been paying attention, you might already have guessed that I love No. 1 and No. 5 this year. No. 1 is light, fruity and sweet, and No. 5 is spicy and rich. So they would be my recs.

 

If any of them feature a particular problem note, my advice would be, don't take a chance. Pick the one that sounds like the best match for your skin chemistry and your preferences. The notes that I knew were risky fulfilled my fears and blew it for 2 & 4!

[waternight]

5 is definitely my favorite - the red ginger is amazing and sexy. 4 is a VERY close second, so fresh and wonderful.

[dixiehellcat]

Pumpkin I reminded me a lot of Purple Phoenix--I guess it's the grapes.

Pumpkin II - I don't know why tobacco notes work so well on me when I hate smoking but this is my favorite punkie.

Pumpkin III - too chocolatey for me--foody smells and I don't get along.

Pumpkin IV - agree with the poster who mentioned the green notes; they make this one a little sharper than I like.

Pumpkin V - the ginger gives this one a nice kick on me.

 

Overall II is my fave, with V second, and IV third.