October

[laliloo]

Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air.

I'm in the UK. I'm also having a 'fitness blitz' at the moment (go with me on this, OK?!). The weather here yesterday was grey. Drizzle, mist and just general dullness. The worse kind of October weather. This morning I awoke to a dew-soaked glittering garden, blue skies with white clouds scudding across, bright autumn sunshine lighting up the gorgeous leaves that are still clinging to the trees. It wasn't difficult for me to get my sorry arse out of bed and it wasn't even too much of a problem to get same sorry arse dragged into the woods at the back of my house for my now-customary 3 mile run.

After I got back and settled into work, the postie arrived with two packages of decants, one of which was October. I put it on, closed my eyes and to all intents and purposes, I was once again running through the woods on this perfect October day. It is perfectly wonderful.

See? I got there in the end.

To me, I really don't find October to be particularly masculine. I can see that a man could wear it, but I don't feel at all uncomfortable wearing it and I'm a fairly girlie-girl. It smells of the outdoors. It smells of leaves, and air, and dew and just a smattering of a chill convincing the trees to don their autumn finery. So far I haven't smelt any smoke, but I think I may need to wait a little longer for that.

Absolutely wonderful.

[hologhost]

Interesting this should be October - a time for dying plants. I've not smelled many scents this GREEN. This plant is alive. It reminds me of the Green Man or a male plant spirit. Not the bright green of spring, but the strong deep green of fertile places in an old growth forest.

[steelxrose]

October

 

I was afraid to try this one because Death of Autumn just did.not. work on me.

 

In bottle: All I get is dry leaves. (oh no)

 

Wet on skin: Wet, moldy leaves with the faintest hint of smoke in the air.

 

Drydown: This wasn't so bad after about half an hour or so. It turns very musky and bearable on my skin. Quite possibly the sap in it.

 

I should have known that I couldn't wear (many) of the Halloweenies. I'm still 50/50 on October. Maybe aging it would help....

[jewelbug]

Imp: a light, clean, green vetiver?

 

Wet: This sounds like a very masculine clean green scent, like crushed leaves. There is a similar nutty smokiness as in Bonfire Night.

 

Dry: Very cologne like vetiver/green scent with a hint of smoke. Somewhere in the mid-dry-down this sweetens a bit, almost apple like. But ultimately this ends up as a clean, slightly woodsy and leaning-towards-masculine-cologne scent.

 

Overall: A nice blend, but not something that hubby or I would wear regularly. Fades in about 4 hrs on me.

Edited October 1, 2008 by jewelbug

[Northernskygal]

This is sort of mannish.. I guess.. I liked it

 

It had an underlying sweetness that stopped it from going super aftershavey for me. Sadly, my skin eats this in all of about a half hour and I am strangely left with a slightly sour smell on my wrist. No nice man, or leaves or sap.. just a really light sourness.

[slave1]

OCTOBER

 

In Bottle: Sap and leaves

 

On Skin: This again is an outdoors scent, but whereas Death of Autumn was dry and bitter, this scent is more vibrant and sweet. The leaves have freshly fallen and are still pliable, not brittle. The smell of sap lingers and in the background someone lights up their fireplace for the first time this season. A beginning of Autumn scent and quite pretty. I actually love this scent and wouldn’t mind having a bottle to wear as well as use as a room scent. I ordered decants of the Fall scents to try before getting bottles, well the 2 scents I was going to get bottles of without even sniffing, were the 2 that ended up being my favorites from the decants… Perilous Parlor and October. I guess I should trust myself. It’s a unisex scent, should smell great on anyone. Very light throw and short wearlength.

[metaldog32]

Someone such as myself who absolutely loves autumn was compelled to buy this outright. Dry autumn wind? Red leaves? Touch of smoke and sap??? Count me in. This sounded as fabulous as Devils Night had; am hoping I get more autumn from the latter than the former.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Definitely leaf-like..a bit chilly. Almost smells like wet leaves to me..wet leaves raked after a chilly soaking in November; they are in mound to be put in leaf bags..when you take great big armfuls..this is what I smell.

 

Applied wet on skin: Wet leaves and then in a brief second..cologne-like??? Maybe a touch aquatic??? Very interesting. ..am not sure I am registering the smoke or sap yet in the air but it’s early..I can be patient.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Nice…now I get the touch of smoke..still with that cologne-like quality..it’s softened and blended with the leaves..giving a bit of the chilly/cold quality. Really evocative. It’s subtle but certainly not invisible. Genius how Beth does it..capturing an essence or mood..especially autumn. I love Samhain. I love Harvest Moon. This is just another face of autumn..and she has done it again..wowed me.

 

Ten minutes later:Wow..this has faded fast on me..although I still get the wisp of smoke..which I love actually..I just wanted the other notes to stick around a bit longer…darn skin chemistry..come back leaves and cold chilly air..come baaaackkkk….

 

Five minutes later...it’s still here..that leaf and cologne like chilly note peek lightly through..throughout it all the wonderful wisp of smoke hangs around..and I do enjoy it so.

 

I have worn this a couple of times and although it settles down in throw as to seem as if it has faded in reality October hangs around fairly long-give or take 5-6 hours.

 

Drydown: Dry leaves, a thin curl of smoke…and something akin to a sort of sweetness..I wonder if that was the sap???

 

Bottom Line: Evocative of autumn indeed; it’s atypical and I love it for that very reason. Great for the weekend while walking through the fall foliage. I like it enough to even wear to work..when I want to remind myself what it’s like in the brisk outdoors of late fall.

[PurringPulsar]

October

 

In the imp: whoa, strong masculine cologne, petitgrain, and a mossy autumnal smell reminiscent of the Cobalt Blends Devil's Night scent (not the BPAL DN scent).

Wet on skin: the cologne like aspect really comes out, sharp and perfumey. It's a citrus-petitgrain sort of scent, with moss and green sap.

Dry on skin: autumnal cologne. The manly, sophisticated yet sharp cologne scent is dominant for now. It doesn't smell ozoney like most windy scents, but it is a cool, tangy note, like a splash of citrus aftershave with petitgrain or neroli. It reminds me of the citrus-neroli top notes I get in scents like Clio, Destroying Angel and Rat King. It almost reminds me of a kind of traditional man's scent, clean cut and classy. Underneath that I smell the more 'natural' notes- moss, tree bark, leaves and sap. There's a lot of moss here, and I'm guessing that there's galbanum here because that smells very much like green sap to me. I don't smell any smoke though and I don't smell much of the leaves either…it would smell more like autumn if it weren't for that sharp, powerful cologne.

After a while: the harsh cologne has toned down quite a bit now, some of the petitgrain still lingers but now I smell a lot more moss and dry bark and trees and leaves. Mmm, this is not bad. I think there's a soft musk underneath it as well. The moss is now the dominant note, it reminds me of tree bark covered in thin dusting of green lichen, a dry moss scent as opposed to a swampy one. I also smell a passing hint of dry leaves-but it's fleeting, like a drifting leaf on the breeze. There's also a nice coolness to the scent, it is airy now, not as piercing as before, it is now a smoother scent.

The scent then moves into a chypre-like scent of smooth moss and greener notes, along with hints of autumn. It smells very sophisticated-not a perfume that evokes being out in the autumn air, but one that hints at it, and is laced with more classy elements. The scent does seem to fade fast though, which is another disadvantage…all the promised autumnal elements are just swept away, leaving a trace of moss on the skin. It's not bad though.

Verdict: this isn't my thing…I was hoping for the crisp scent of an autumn breeze mixed with smoke, earth and crunchy leaves that I know and love and that I've been smelling recently whilst in the park, but whilst this hints at it, it's not quite there. I'm not keen on the pungent cologne-like scent at the beginning, it smells a little too much like traditional men's perfume and it is very sharp and piercing. After this fades I get a hint of woodsy leafy moss and then poof, it's gone. Or very faint. Not for me-I have other autumn scents I prefer.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? it's too sharply perfumey, and doesn't smell exactly like the autumn scent I hoped for.

If you like this, try: Clio, Destroying Angel, Ulalume, Hunter Moon 07, Death of Autumn, Rat King

[QueenFae]

This is a perfect blend between a sophisticated men's cologne and a leafy, lovely, autumn air smell. It's like making out with a hot guy next to a fragrant pile of leaves! Now, come on, who doesn't enjoy that??

 

On the dry down, the leaf note comes out a bit more, and smells a bit more "dead." This is very much a masculine essence of the month of October. The boy will love this, but it's not quite my thing.

[othelloperrello]

Sigh -

 

as for the second time I untwist the cap on the slim brown bottle, pass the cap just close enough to my nose to taste on the air - awaited, forestalled when November didn't work out at all as expected*, re-

awaited and kindly received from afar, my birth month October! - dipping the tip of the slim straw and trailing it around the strangely-various textures of my forearm.

 

But no, something's hideously wrong, and though I struggle against it for minutes, hours, I succumb at last to the fact that I am among those whose 'skin chemistry' - ancestry, energetics, personal creed, gastronomical habits, whatever it is - does not mix with this oil.

 

Never a wisp of the far-off woodsmoke, the heavy piles of leaves, sap or bark, autumnal winds.

I get overwhelmingly powerful cheap cologne - no perceivably different than the huge bottles of cologne shaped like chess pieces and ships that I used to play with in my grandparents garage.

 

My partner smells it the same on me, and she's wiser in the smells.

I feel slightly betrayed by my birthmonth mix, but have high hopes for 'death of autumn'.

 

 

 

 

 

* see November, et al.de

[steelgossamer]

This is a keeper for sure. I tried it on a fairly cold day with a touch of wind and it suited my mood nicely.

 

in the bottle: sharp, very masculine, I was fairly skeptical at first

wet: still sharp, but more soft than before, crisp and smoky

drydown: the sharpness faded and left a woodsmoke and musk scent behind, reminded me of a wood stove and leaves. Lovely.

 

It was strong for about 4 hours and 5 hours later I can still smell woodsmoke on my wrist.

 

I love this, and wish I had a larger bottle. A big bottle of this might go on my wishlist unless I can find something similar in the GC...

Edited January 6, 2008 by steelgossamer

[VioletChaos]

there was no difference between in the bottle and on skin. it was all the same, and it all smelled like cheap men's cologne to me. when my boyfriend wore it, i could smell it from across the room, which i feel is a baaaad sign.

 

sigh. i really was hopeful about this, but i got none of those leafy notes others spoke of.

[stephencaffine]

This scent brings back great memories. I grew up in Washington where there aren't many deciduous trees. When I was 10 we lived with my Grandma in Pennsylvania for a year. behind her house was a woods, and this is the smell that I got when I'd take my dog for a walk in October.

 

This smells of cold, wet, and slightly moldy oak leaves. There is a smell at the back that reminds me of woodsmoke. This dries down to a damp incense and brown smoke. There is still a whiff of dead wet leaves about.

 

I love this. My BF isn't as fond, but he doesn't like the scent when I first put it on. once I've had it on for a bit, he likes it as the incense smell is nice. I think this will be seasonal, as I can't see wearing it in the spring. It is a very reminiscent scent, and I want to wear a sweater when I have it on.

[joseybird]

Sappy, fresh damp leaves with something warm, earthy, smoky and spicy in the background.

 

This really is gorgeously atmospheric. It's like a fresh day in autumn, walking in the woods.

 

I miss scents like this. My first favorites were scents like Samhain and Lughnasadh--scents that really paint a scent tapestry. This isn't quite as complex as Samhain, Lughnasadh, and Mabon, but it's still gorgeous.

[MaeKitty]

In the Bottle: Leaves and smoke

On Me: This is great. It is almost exactly like an October wind. Cold, with the warmth of leaves and sap, with the smoke in the background. I don't know how Beth does it.

[Apple]

I really like October, even though it smells nothing like the description nor my own impressions of what the month of October smells like. To me, October is a dead-ringer for the Cartier fragrance "Declaration". The description of Declaration on the Sephora website reads: "tangy top notes of bergamot and bitter orange are soothed with earthy notes of rosewood, coriander, oakmoss, and patchouli," and the notes are listed as: bergamot, bitter orange, birch, oak, Moroccan artemisia, cardamom, musk, and vetiver.

 

Both scents are bright and crisp, citrusy and unisex. To my nose, they are very clean, green, and sharp fragrances, and I like them a lot. I only wish October had smelled more like, well, October. Which is to say, dry oak and maple leaves, dead grass, brittle twigs, and brisk breezes with a hint of snow in the air. But it is nice enough in its own way.

[gchris]

October

In Vial: Smells like crisp green plants

 

On Skin: You can smell the dryness of this blend. The green is beginning to smell more like leaves. Because it is so green, this smells summery to me. I am beginning to smell the sap from the trees. This is a nice outdoorsy blend. The more this dries, the more I smell honeysuckle. Not the sweetness of the flower but the greenness in the plant.

 

Later: I didn’t get any smoke from this. In the end this smells like leaves and tree sap. It really is a nice scent. Not as summery now as when wet. I do not get masculine cologne from this as others have. To me it smells of nature, which I find non-gender specific. I really like this, maybe not for everyday wear, but I definitely want to smell this again.

[inurbanus]

October is fresh, sweet, and surprisingly green. It captures the mood of walking outside on an autumn day perfectly, and while I can see how it's a bit cologne-y, I don't think it's especially masculine. I'm not getting a lot of smoke out of this one, but I don't mind. I like how mellow and laid-back this is.

 

4/5

[ambersparrow]

I ordered this last Fall as my first BPAL purchase, and I was not disappointed.

 

In the vial: Crisp greenery tinged with a slightly acrid smokiness.

 

Wet on skin: Dead, wet leaves. The smokiness is still there, though not as acrid and it has an undercurrent of sweetness, which must be the sap.

 

Dry on skin: Mellower, smoother version of the wet stage.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Wearlength: Long.

 

This is absolutely gorgeous. I can see how some might think it masculine, but to me it evokes memories of walking outside on a crisp, grey, Autumn morning. The wet leaves sticking to my shoes and the cool moisture in the air dampening my sweater.

 

Autumn is my favorite season, and October is my favorite month... this scent is a perfect tribute.

Edited April 23, 2008 by BelligerentTart

[prrrplegrrrl]

This is the first scent I tried that made me sneeze! I was so sad, because I love autumn scents, but I just can't keep this one on Sensitive noses may want to beware.

[sparkybish]

I really like this, and it's a bit masculine, so I layered it with Morocco, and it is beautimous!

[strangemodegirl]

This is what I was looking for when I bought Death Of Autumn. Don't get me wrong, I *heart* DOA, but October is more...I dunno, perfect?

 

To me it smells like wet leaves that are just starting to turn. Like someone else mentioned, I get GREEN when I smell this. Like the way it used to smell down by the creek I used to play by when I was a kid, yeah, like damp ivy.

I LOVE it!!!

Edited June 6, 2008 by strangemodegirl

[darharper]

I got October from a forum member and it was my first bottle purchase unsniffed.

 

I adore this fragrance! I now have another bottle on the way from another lovely forum member!

 

In the bottle: leafy, smokey, woodsy

 

Wet: definitely the smell of autumn. It went on very masculine, but, I still loved it. It conjured happy memories of frolicking through leaves, wood fires, and the crispness of the season.

 

Dry: it changed, but, in a good way! It now has a spicy scent that is both commanding and gentle. I now smell autumn rain and tree scented breezes. The notes combine into a gorgeous celebration of the season. My husband said it smelled "damn sexy" on me. I have to agree. I feel warm, fuzzy, confident, and sexy. I want to walk in the woods now. Too bad it is June!

 

I must try it on the husband!

 

Definitely a keeper! I wish it was still made.

[PersephonesChild]

I got a bottle of this from a swap recently, along with a whole mess o' imps, and then went on vacation immediately afterwards and forgot about the bottle completely. When I returned from my vacation, my orders for the Dyan Moon/CD decant circles had arrived, so I busied myself with sniffing those. I think I would have completely overlooked that I even had this bottle of October, if it weren't for the fact that tonight I was hanging out in my room naked, and was to lazy to put on clothes to trek to the other room where my new decants are. Instead, I decided to pick over my bottle collection, and what should come to my hand but my bottle of October!

 

I opened and sniffed (which I almost surely must have done when I first received it) and then realized I'd never skin-tested it! While, will or no, this had to be tested immediately! I was a little concerned about the scent-- for some reason, I'd never really thought of dry leaves as being a "me" kind of scent, but my boyfriend really dug Autumn when he first smelled it, so I thought I'd let him check out October.

 

But what's amazing is how much this scent really meant for me-- not him, no, not at all, because on my skin, this smells exactly like going for a walk in the mountains of North Carolina in the Fall. The leaves have a slight spiciness to them, and there's a hint of spruce, some smoke from a nearby wood stove-- incredible! I don't think my city-dwelling boyfriend will be nearly as moved by this as I am. Wow.

[oddment]

When I first got this bottle back in winter, it was too harsh and strong for me, and smelled slightly chemical, so I put it away and was considering trading it on. I am happy that I kept it, since it apparently settled in the meantime and now smells brilliant--I smell like dead leaves! It is a bit masculine--my immediate thought is that it is dead leaf cologne--but the lack of sweetness makes it a nice compliment to other autumn blends I like. The smoke smell isn't strong; most of what I get is leaves and bark.

 

I really like it--it's unusual and fetching.