November

[valentina]

Yet one smile more, departing, distant sun!
One mellow smile through the soft vapoury air,
Ere, o'er the frozen earth, the loud winds ran,
Or snows are sifted o'er the meadows bare.
One smile on the brown hills and naked trees,
And the dark rocks whose summer wreaths are cast,
And the blue Gentian flower, that, in the breeze,
Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last.
Yet a few sunny days, in which the bee
Shall murmur by the hedge that skim the way,
The cricket chirp upon the russet lea,
And man delight to linger in thy ray.
Yet one rich smile, and we will try to bear
The piercing winter frost, and winds, and darkened air.

Autumn leaves damp beneath the first snowfall.

This is one of those "how did she do it??" scents, for smelling November virtually paints a picture in my mind. In the bottle and upon initial application, I thought November smelled very much of pine, and reminded me a lot of other forest-in-the-snowstorm scents. Then, after 5 minutes, the fragrance of leaves arrived, and I was astonished! November smells exactly like wet leaves and snow-laden trees after the first snowfall, before the leaves and the plant life have utterly frozen and died away for the winter. On my skin, there's also a heavy element of ozone in this scent, evoking for me a late autumn storm, when rainfall turns into heavy, wet snow. Finally, I get whiff of wet earth underneath the leaves and the the snow.

November is unisex-to-masculine without being dark and heavy, and I think this scent will please greatly anyone who loves fragrances that smell just like the outdoors. I think it is an utterly precise and lovely olfactory evocation of walking through a park after the first snowstorm in November.

[sarada]

November, aside from being my birth month, is definitely a favorite time of the year for me despite my freezing cold fingers as I type this right now.

 

November, as a fragrance, is a little colder than I expected, but absolutely perfect. It reminds me slightly of Talvikuu actually, but less white-blue in tone since the snowy scent is layers over some of the dry leaves we've seen before in October and Death of Autumn. There's just the slightest hint of those dry leaves though peeking through the minty frost layer as it dries -- as if that dark and gritty leaf scent from The Death of Autumn is being buried in a snowdrift.

 

After it has dried for awhile, it is mainly snow in the woods -- dry, dark trees and crystalline snow, crunching the leaves underfoot. Very, very natural smelling and though we don't generally get any snow in November here, it still sets the mood for the season ahead. I'll be wearing this one throughout the winter.

[willowlux]

This is beautiful. One of my stand out favs of this years order. It reminds me very much of the Darkling Thrush. I get wet frosty dead leaves on the barren ground deep in the forest.

It has extended staying power as it lasted on my throughout my work day. And in an oil burner it filled the entire house with a its loveliness.

[TheIceMaiden]

Autumn and winter have always been my favourite seasons, but the month of November has always been a strange, in-between month to me. There's the post-Halloween letdown but its too soon to think of Christmas. The autumn leaves are still falling, although winter often comes early (especially here in New England) to cover them in snow.

 

Beth has captured that in-between moment in nature perfectly in November. November has the autumn leaf scent of October burried under the snow/slush note found it many past Yule scents. There's also a brief hint of earthiness (not veviter, more of a dirt note) under those leaves. The snow note is stronger in the drydown than the leaf scent so November is perfect for the Yule collection rather than the Halloween/autumn collection. Its a gender neutrel scent, moderate throw, and so far has good staying power. Its a lovely scent and I'm glad I went with a bottle purchase.

Edited November 5, 2007 by TheIceMaiden

[alicia_stardust]

NOVEMBER

 

WET: Snow, a touch of fir, autumn leaves.

 

DRY: November is a heavy blanket of fresh snow over piles of leaves. There are oak leaves of all colors, maple leaves, dead and dried pine needles, acorns, and the last traces of living plants and late flowers that have stubbornly withstood the cold before the first snow. There is a slushy mint quality to this and the leaves are the perfect mix of earth and nature; not too swarthy but still very earthy. This smells just like the month of November. Whereas the start of this scent is more leafy, as time wears on it becomes colder and more snow-like until I am left with only traces of soft, powdery snow. This is so lovely that it makes me wish that William Cullen Bryant had written poems about all the other months!

[Rhowan]

I am just so very in love with this!

 

Have you ever had to bag up the last pile of leaves after it happened to snow unexpectely the night before? As you pick up the first big handful of the fozen leaves and shake as much snow off as possible, have you smelled that cold, dusky, icy scent of the leaves underneath the frosty air and the newly fallen snow!?

 

This is EXACTLY what November smells like -Somehow, Beth was able to cram a HUGE pile of dead, wet and frozen leaves and a new fallen snow into this little 5ml bottle. I am telling you, from in the bottle all the way to dry down, the scent is dead on! It has good throw and lasts quite awhile too. This is another oil that Beth has done that gives me total recall of a specific time and place! Good job Beth!!

Edited November 8, 2007 by Rhowan

[dluszcz]

To start off, I am so thrilled to death with the 2007 Yule scents I was clever enough to order!

 

With November in particular, in the bottle it was pleasant, fresh, woodsy winter greens with hint of bitterish spices. On my skin, it immediately turned to the most cold and clean foresty green, like I'd gotten into the "inner sanctum" at a high-end florists while they were preparing the x-mas wreaths. As it dried down, the rich browness of frosty wet leaves developed, balancing out the greens. After a while on my skin (and under my nose) I'm getting a sad, salty note of the winter sea.

 

I think November is definately on the gender-neutral to masculine side, which makes me happy as those kinds of fragrances seem to sit better with my skin, even with conventional, "department store" perfumes. But it's gentle and complex enough not to smell like a high school locker room. This definately deserves to be worn with a gorgeous sweater!

 

I'm editing this because I just tried out November in my oil burner. After trying on all of my Yule blends, this ended up as my least favorite due to a bit of lingering weirdness that developed after time on my skin, which seemed to result in a bit of a headache. However, in the burner, it doesn't seem to fade or change to that point, and is definately pleasing as a room fragrance. It's clean and woodsy without smelling like Pinesol, and the sad, saltiness lingers far longer. It also seems to be clearing up my cold congestion. Bonus points....

Edited November 18, 2007 by kittysdesire

[hkhm]

bottle: a crisp sharp pine cologne scent. this does remind me a bit of october, but with pine.

 

wet: this is very woodsy/piney at first, quite strong for the little dab that i tried on my arm. after a few minutes a sort of heby note appears. this has a very outdoosy feel, very chilly and crisp.

 

dry: november has dried to the scent i get from old pinecones, like the glory of pine trees from long ago. this is an amazing scent and i like it a lot more than i thought i was going to.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the bottle: my first thought was "chinese food?" but i knew that couldn't be right, so i kept sniffing, and then i got chinese food and an xmas tree.

 

on skin: xmas tree and mentholyptus-y stuffy head clearing mediciney ick.

 

sadly, no dirt. no snow, no leaves... and this most certainly needs a new home

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

Burning leaves.

 

Wet:

Burning leaves, and an aquatic note that I'm not sure I like.

 

Dry:

The aquatic note seems a lot calmer on the drydown, so this blend may work on me after all. I'll have to give it a try and see.

[tartchef]

Wet, November is surprisingly sweet - Willowm()()n is right in that it's very remeniscient of the Darkling Thrush. There's that same sweet violet/slushy snow note, but with an undercurrent of crisp dry leaves. Once this wears for a bit, the leaves get wet & release a lovely spicy scent, underscored by damp leafmold & a tiny bit of evergreen. This is perfect for today - it's damp & drizzly, but not too cold, so you can smell all the wetness.

 

November is, strangely, not as desolate & dry as October - there's a hint of warmth skating along the surface, like being out in the cold & wet & taking shelter in the doorway of a nice shop that sells pretty notepaper & fancy tea..

 

ETA: Nearly a year later, the evergreen is more dominant... not ovewhelming at all, but more prominent than when November was fresh. Still that lovely sweet slushy intro, now with sticky pine boughs slapping against your legs as you crunch through the snow-dampened leaves. I am SO glad I held onto my bottle - this will be spectacular when the weather finally changes...

Edited September 15, 2008 by tartchef

[forspecial_plate]

Complete revision of my first review.....

 

I like to wear November to work, because it has a nearly 'traditional' quality that fits in my work environment. But to me there is complexity, too. It brings to mind a brook or stream that isn't frozen, but there is snow all around. It's snowy and kind of aquatic, but also there are leaves and pine trees. There is something here that I can only describe as 'salty', perhaps there is a beach nearby. And there is also a sweetness underneath the dry leaves, kind of like the sweet grass in Stranger In Camp. It plays against the cold and dry notes. In fact, this is almost like the winter companion to Stranger In Camp, but with the dry leaves of October, and a good deal of watery, slushy snow.

 

October makes me think of shades of brown, gold, and dark green. November is more like bold strokes of white, grey, and black, and maybe the darkest green.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Forspecial Plate

[tinyvulture]

this is the dried leaves of October, minus the “men’s cologne” note that turned me off, plus the sweet slushy note that i’ve come to enjoy in many BPAL yule blends. it’s completely true-to-life. it reminds me of my childhood in michigan, sniffing at the cold, biting air after the first snowfall. frozen leaves and bits of snow crunching underfoot. it’s really beautiful.

[steffanina]

November-

 

In Bottle: Oh, my, yes, a snowstorm in a pine forest.

 

Wet: Almost eucalyptus, that pine scent--almost! There's a nice little cold scent above it.

 

Dry: This scent trembles on the verge of being a pine scent like Jolasveinar or Knecht Ruprecht, and a winter, snowy scent like Black Ice or Snow-Flakes. That makes it unique to me!

 

Overall: A nifty, edge-of-pine and edge-of-winter scent.

[taramarie]

On me, November is similar to October -- wavering between autumn leaves and cologne. November adds a touch of cold. I like it now but I think I'll like it even more once it's aged a bit.

[ariosa]

I think that I am in love with BPAL's snow accord. I already had loved October, though it tends towards masculine on me. November is nice, with the snow accord added to the leaves... I don't think I love it, love it. But I like it enough to wear the decant, though it does push to the masculine on me as well, so I'll only wear it when in a certain mood!

[illyriajem]

I was thinking this scent would still fit back with the autumn scents, but it is definitely on the winter end. Wet and pine. There's the hint of something darker just underneath, if only it would come out more. Unfortunately, pine is just not my scent. Saimhainophobia remains my love in the area of dead leaves of fall.

 

Into the swap pile with October and Death of Autumn sadly.

[slave1]

NOVEMBER

 

In Bottle: Pine and ozone

 

On Skin: The pine screams out of this at me. Very very sweet and sharp, almost like a pine single note. I don’t really get leaves though, I get pine needles. With a nice crystal clean snow ozone note. Very crisp and cold. I love how this scent is gender neutral, and how the feeling it invokes makes me want to pull a blanket around myself and cuddle with my man. It feels likes winter, it feels cold, it feels like a true shiver running all through me. Pine scents don’t work on me, but I would LOVE this as a light room scent, especially since I have an artificial tree and miss the smell of a real tree. It has a strong throw and like most pine scents on me, a long wearlength.

[spinsterwithcat]

Today I received my first ever LE decant circle package, containing Yules from nisaba, so I decided to celebrate by popping my review cherry!

 

In the imp November is strong, cold and sharp - 1 note in particular (which I think must be the snowzone) reminds me of a very old skool men's cologne, but not in an unpleasant way. It's crisp and bracing like the air that hits you on the first proper winter morning of the year.

 

wet on skin there's more of the same, underpinned by a faint wisp of smokiness and something richly organic, which quickly develops into a dark, damp soil full of crumbling leaves. This is such an excitingly cold, damp scent! And overwhelmingly brown!

 

The leaf mould intensifies during the dry down and there's a threat of mustiness creeping in that I'm a little wary of - I fear the consequences of wearing this anywhere that might be warm or stuffy, but it's perfect for a walk, watching fireworks, curling up with a book or having coffee at a pavement cafe on a brisk morning.

 

a while after drying November reminds me of 2 things - the first is this ramshackle old wooden scout hut in a village I know, which is tucked away down a woodland lane and is gradually being reclaimed by nature. There's not a dry fibre in the building and despite the trees growing through the roof and mushrooms on the walls it's still full of mildewed canvas tents, canoes and ropes, as if waiting for the scouts to return....Simultaneously magical and grotty!

The other memory evoked is of huddling amid a pile of ancient tomes in the freezing basement library at Somerset House, listening to the faint, echoing laughter of skaters on the rink in the courtyard above.

 

Although I can't imagine getting too many opportunities to wear it I absolutely LOVE this atmospheric scent and will cherish the imp. I might even try to pick up another so I've one to dab on now and again and one to keep, but it's too niche to justify a 5ml purchase.

 

 

ETA: I've got Rose Red on the other wrist and simultaneous wafting results in a rather gorgeous combination of bright floral and damp earth. It's the smell of raking up leaves and pruning roses on a frosty, foggy morning. May have to reconsider a big bottle so I can try layering them!

Edited November 27, 2007 by SpinsterWithCat

[pinkpepper]

I was really surprised by how much this smelled like generic cologne in the bottle. But then I put it on and even though the cologne was still there, there was something deeper underneath. I really can't describe it, but it does smell just like November, with its crunchy faded red leaves. Or at least, how I imagine the ideal November. Maybe November on the east coast? . . . We definitely don't get this November where I am! After it dries down, it morphs and goes a little sweet on me. It's also a little bubbly, almost carbonated! If you've ever smelled Fendi, this is Fendi soda! I don't think there will be a bottle for me, but this imp's sure going to be emptied out.

[akiko]

Like pinkpepper, I thought this smelled like cologne or perfume in the bottle. It's a scent I can't place, and I'm not sure it's one I like.

 

I tried it on anyway, because it's still November for a couple days, and the perfuminess is diminished somewhat. I can't describe it at all, except that it smells like November. I think I detect the aquatic note someone else mentioned, and I don't often like those. But somehow, it all works together to smell like fallen leaves and cold.

 

I probably won't buy a bottle of it, but I'm going to use the imp.

[Little Bird]

In the vial, something funky and dark green underneath an aquatic note (smells more of rain than snow to me). The dark green almost smelled like spinach or mushrooms to me, dark and not very sweet.

 

On my skin, this smells like sweet slush and something vegetal. Sweet slush and celery? It's watery and a bit sharp. Over time, this starts to smell like sweet dryer sheets, a bit of mint, and celery. Odd, and probably not something I'll ever wear.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Pine, ozone, and a frosty, cold cologne-like note.

 

Immediately on skin: I get a lot of pine from this blend, and a very masculine cologne-like note underneath. It’s a very chilly, cold, crisp scent.

 

After a few minutes: The pine has faded a bit, but this blend smells very unisex on me. It’s clean, crisp, and chilly. It’s hard for me to identify any notes, but there is a dry leaf feel to this, as well as cold ozone.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is dry but icy at the same time. It’s more on the unisex side, but it is really perfect for a November scent.

[edenssixthday]

November - This actually reminds me a lot of what you might get if you blend October (the BPAL scent) with The Snow Storm, minus the mint. It's got that sweet scent of wet, rotting, autumnal leaves of October and the crisp, chilly scent of The Snow Storm. This is probably one of my more favorite winter scents, which surprises me as "autumn leaves" usually indicates an earthiness that is fairly unpleasant on my skin. I like it a lot. The only problem is that after drydown, it fades rather quickly.

[Astarte]

I generally find "leaves" type of scents too unfulfilling for me and its rare that I find an earthy scent I love. So I've not tried October or any other leafy type of scent.

 

However the above point is moot since the clear piercing pine note kills any affection for the scent as a whole.

:/