To Autumn

[Ravenclaw79]

Mist and mellow fruitfulness: mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat.

This is really harsh and masculine, which I totally wasn't expecting. It's like a Phoenix Steamworks with nutmeats -- it's that sort of harshness to me, that kind of masculine not-me-ness. Bleh.

[Lyrical]

In the bottle: dry, woody, nutty, mossy, misty autumn! Not much apple pulp yet.

 

Wet on skin: slightly bitter, earthy, warm. It's in the same family as the other autumnal scents, yet nothing like any of them! No Vicks, not much apple, no pumpkin, no patchouli, not foody - perhaps the closest one is L'Autunno, but this is gentler and more like real autumn woodland.

 

Dry on skin: sweet and increasingly buttery, but not foody - it's a warm, dark, earthy, subtle sweetness. It's actually very close to Pumpkin Patch #5 from 2005 - the one with 5 woods and galangal, only this is sweeter, fruitier and creamier, and just on the edge of foody. Lovely! And best of all - no itching! Not much throw and short wear length.

[tartchef]

I totally agree with Lyrical about the PP #5 similarity - take out the really heavy pumpkin note, and they'd be nearly identical when To Autumn is wet. A deep ivy & spicy woods scent...

 

Once things dry down, the nutmeats & poppy come out, balancing each other nicely - the bitterness of the poppy mimicks that of the brown husks of hazelnuts & walnuts. The apples are subdued, adding a subtle sweet fruitiness. I'm getting something else, almost a dirty coffee note - sounds bad, but it's actually really nice, deep brown, nearly a dry cocoa & soil feel. It's in the same part of the spectrum as Death of Autumn, in a way - I get the same range of color associations, and can see fans of one enjoying the other. The ivy has sadly vanished, but the end result is still really good. It's deeper & warmer than Samhain, less sweet, too.

 

A surprise winner - the real scent of the harvest, the trees, the fields, the earth... Wow.

[Athenae]

Really gorgeous, smells like walking through a cool forest on an October day. I can't really distinguish any of the notes of this, except to say it goes through a briefly weird cologne phase that then mercifully goes away. I love it on the drydown, all nutty and perfectly autumnal.

 

A.

[Hayet]

I *love* this one. And I can't even begin to describe it. I get the nuttiness and the spice, but it's also mellow and warm, like a warm shaft of sunlight. It's lovely, and lasts quite a long while on me.

[zankoku_zen]

Hmm.. I can see this one being along the lines of previous Samhains, and PP #5 2007. It's got that ivy/pumpkin thing going on, but on me I also get the dry leaves and alot of nuttiness.

 

Perhaps too nutty?

 

If you think the pumpkins are too buttery, give this blend a whirl. It's got it as a component, but it's not in your face. Very nice and seasonal.

[Juushika]

"Nutmeat" made me curious enough to grab a decant.

 

In the vial: Crisp, dewy apple and ... something else! But I don't know what.

 

On me: This is difficult scent to pin down. It's completely different from the imp scent, but what it is is difficult to say. It's organic and mulchy—wood, moss, and leaves. There's a touch of spice, and a faint warm-earth feeling. It's not a cool or misty scent, which is disappointing. I don't get any of the foodiness that others report, not apple nor nutmeat. It is autumnal, but not particularly evocative. The scent of autumn lawn mulch, decomposing in between rains. Color is dampened red-brown.

 

ETA: On second try, it's autumn bark and leaves, dry and surprisingly spicy. Mist is still missing in action, likewise fruit and nut. It's not as bad or as disappointing as it was, but it remains unevocative, rather flat, and not particularly pleasant.

 

Verdict: I didn't know how much I was looking forward to this scent until I began to suspect it wasn't working on me. I was wishing for evocative, misty autumn outdoors; parts of that are present, but the entire image isn't realized. What's left isn't horrible but isn't particularly likable either. I'll retest my decant and hope that today is just a fluke of chemistry, but I'm pretty disappointed.

Edited October 6, 2008 by Juushika

[ankhfangirl72]

Hmmm... I'm finding it hard separating the notes for this one. It seems to be mainly pumpkin, but maybe that's the apple? I get the woods aspect, and the leaves are there but faint. It has an odd smokeyness to it that might be the poppy or the nutmeat, I'm not sure. It reminds me of both Samhain and The Death of Autumn.

[ladyver]

crunchy autumn leaves, spices and apple cider - reds, browns and greens - it really does capture autumn in a bottle!

 

and then 5 or so hours later (if i put my nose up to my wrist) the nutmeat comes out to play....mmm... yummy

[tdgnika]

In the bottle: wonderful mulled cider in the bottle.

 

Wet on the skin, it broadcasts that wonderful mulled cider smell, though on the wrist it smells like there's more to it, but I can't identify just what. I don't get any specific sense that it's bark or leaves, and I'm not familiar enough with galangal, poppy juice and nutmeat to know if I'm picking those up.

 

This cider smell stays through drying and seems pretty long-lasting. This one is a definite winner on me.

[Kimbernunk]

Wet, this is mostly apple and wood and leaf and nutmeat. No poppy or galangal.

 

Dry, the poppy and the nutmeat are predominant on me, followed by the leaves, with a mellow gingery apple behind it and a swirl of aquatic (the mist!!) on top of it. It's like sitting next to an apple tree mostly. I really like it! It's a very soothing blend.

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, it's apple spice to me.

 

Wet on skin, it's a yummy apple spice musk on me.

 

As it dries, I can pick up the moss and bark notes. This is such a beautiful and perfect scent for Fall. Will be one of my favorites for a long time to come.

[gnl]

In the bottle: A nutty kind of apple smell. There's a little bit of bark/wood smell underneath it too.

 

Wet: It's a little hard to pick out the different scents, it's blended nicely together. The apple becomes more of an undercurrent, and there's a bit of an aquatic scent, which I guess is the mist. The warm nutty/bark scents come to the forefront with a little dry leaves added in. It's a very earthy smell and the aquatic hasn't gone off on me yet like they have a tendency to do.

 

Dry: Dry leaves is now definitely the strongest scent. Underneath is a nice apple cider.

 

Verdict: Definitely an autumn scent! Very nice blend and a nice scent, though not much of a throw. Definitely keeping.

 

4/5

[gwynhwyfar]

This made me want to cry. This was in the top-five for oils that I was looking forward to sniffing. Unfortunately, something in it or some combination of the notes means an instant headache for me. And not a little one, either. Decanting this was an interesting experience (I actually ended up wearing a mask to do so). It's very strong, but that's the best that I can offer, I fear.

[MeiLin]

In the imp I smell galangal almost exclusively; wet, too. Dry, I get the nuts and poppy, with the leaves and bark in the back. The apple is just a tiny touch. Wet, it's not hideous, but Sir and I kept sniffing to see if it had morphed into something more pleasant. Now that it's been dry more than an hour, it's much, much nicer. I was going to swap it all, but now I think I'll just not get a bottle.

[oakmoss]

In the bottle and on application this had an earthy, mulch-like scent that reminded me of walking in the woods after a heavy rain. Alas, on drydown it became almost single-note walnut, which is nice if you like walnut, not so nice if (like me) they make you faintly sick. Worth keeping the decant as a curiosity, but it's not something I would wear again. Nut fans, though, take note!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Apple and oakmoss with a light poppy/opium note and something almost cake-like.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very apple-dominated scent. It’s a fragrant, red, juicy apple with a bit of oakmoss adding some whisping fragrance and this interesting almost foodie note underneath. I think it’s the nutmeat, but I’m not really sure. This scent is interesting how there’s this misty, fragrant apple and then the more solid base of nutmeat and faint crunchy leaves underneath.

 

After a little while: This gets less grounded as I wear it and definitely becomes a more ethereal fragrance. It’s still quite strong and has great throw, but the nutmeat and leaves in the background fade a bit while the apple, moss, and poppy juice get a little stronger. It’s sweet, but not overly so, and not really cider or fresh apples. It’s more like apple perfume, but with a fall overtone.

 

Overall Impressions: Whereas Samhain is earthy autumn apple, and Fearful Pleasure is cider apple, To Autumn is misty, ethereal and slightly foody apple. At first the nutmeat is very strong and makes this almost foody smelling, but as I wear it that fades and I’m left with something akin to Poisoned Apple with a definite fall flavor.

[AmyAngel]

I honestly didn't expect much of this one, but it sounded intriguing and since I know Samhain doesn't work on me I figured I'd get a decant and give it a try. When I first put it on, I got plenty of apple and dry leaves, with some spiciness and a bit of almost-cocoa (but not bad like cocoa is on me) nuttiness. As it dried, I still got spiciness with a hint of apple and dry leaves. I thought it was fascinating, and very, very Autumn, but really couldn't decide if I LIKED it or not.

 

Apple sometimes is iffy on me, but it seems to work here, and to linger - not as obvious "apple" but as a subtle sweetness smoothing out the spiciness and the dryness of the leaves. I continued to get the spiciness and the leaves all day. It definitely smells like Autumn, but to me it's a warm Autumn scent. Like the morning was cold, and evening will be cold, and in the shade it's chilly, but you're outdoors in the sunshine dressed warmly, shuffling through the fallen leaves, maybe carrying a basket of apples back to the warm house where they'll be baked into a pie. I don't find it foody at all, or smell any particular spice - I think it's the mossy bark that maybe is the hint of spiciness.

 

In order to decide if I really liked it, I wore it to work today. My semi-enabled co-worker sniffed it in the morning, and said that it was spicy and she really liked it. I could smell it lightly around me all day, and when I left work 9 hours later my co-worker asked to sniff it again. It had faded quite a bit, but could still be smelled on my wrists (I didn't slather, either) and she said she still liked it. Throughout the day I kept sniffing at it, and after wearing it all day I decided I really DO like it! I'm going to need a bottle of this!

 

Halloween is my favorite holiday, but the 'weenies last year didn't work so well for me (except Pumpkin V). This year seems to be a different story! I already have 2 bottles, and will be buying at least 2, probably 3 more - and I still have a few scents left to test!

 

ETA: While some people seem to be getting caramel apples out of this, I am one of those people whose skin turns caramel into OMG SALTY! and I don't get ANY of that from this. There's a definite warm sweetness, but I'm not sure it's actually caramel, so if you can't do caramel don't dismiss this one!

Edited October 24, 2008 by AmyAngel

[Ohmaude]

Oh my.

 

This is perfect. The galangal really comes through and makes this a spicy, but not foody, apple and autumn woods scent. It's not yankee candle either, it's just fantastic. It has a lot less throw than Samhain, which To Autumn is related to. If Samhain is a dark, cold autumn night, To autumn is walking through a apple orchard in autumn sunlight. Again, perfect.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Ohmaude

[obsidienne]

This was my [internal] reaction when I put this on my arm:

 

"OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG..."

 

Pretty much.

 

An hour later, I was still sniffing my arm and thinking, "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!"

 

I wore To Autumn yesterday and didn't really get a chance to write down my overall nasal "experience"; but that doesn't matter. I'm buying two or three more bottles of this and keeping them in the fridge, in case it's not brought back next year (btw, Beth? It would be a CRIME AGAINST US ALL if you didn't bring this back next year . I almost have no words for how beautiful the scent is. Just extremely good feelings.

 

This scent smells like warmth and autumn and cozy and yummy and happy and content and home. Like warm ripe drunken caramel apples with some faint wood and spice and a lovely, completely-not-dirty smelling smoke and ... I dunno. I'll wear this again tomorrow and come back to my review and flesh out the notes. I should mention that it turned out very sweet on my skin; I forgot what was in there and was almost sure that it was honey, which my skin amps like crazy. But it's not honey. So I don't know what the sweetness is from. It's a good sweet, though.

 

Throw: great; Lasting power: great.

 

Get it while you can!

[Coldfire]

Bottle: dark spicy apple and nuts.

Wet on Me: deep spicy apple with some of the bark to balance it and cut the sweetness

Drying down: The bark and leaves and nutmeats come out more now and the spicy apple blends down into the background.

Dry: Woody with a fruity shadow. Darkest coolest autumn days for me. Rements of baking apple pie on a wood stove scent. Will reach for this again and again in Autumn

[changeling]

In the bottle: A knock-me-down dark, delightful, nutty scent with a hint of something sweet reminiscent of my childhood.

 

 

Wet: I am trying this two ways, on bare skin and over a carrier oil. Bare skin: A dark, nutty aroma reminding me of an old-fashioned chocolate shop from my childhood when they were engaged in making a batch of dark chocolate almond bark. It progresses to become dark and warm with delicious apple highlights. Frankly, it makes my mouth water. Carrier oil arm: A much quieter, less complex blend, just a plain warm dark aroma. I find this interesting because the other scent I'm trying over skin and a carrier oil for comparison showed a more complex form initially on the carrier-oiled arm.

 

 

Dry: For me, at least, To Autumn does not come out well with a carrier oil. I can barely detect the scent on that arm. On the bare skin, on the other hand, I still have that apples-and-nuts-in-warm-darkness aroma that I am enjoying intensely. A lovely autumn blend, especiallly for a gloomy day like today!

[akiko]

I can't decide if I like this one. It captures autumn well, but I'm not sure it's good on me.

 

Imp: Apples. Caramel apples.

 

Wet: Caramel apples. As it dries down. a more aquatic scent comes out, as well as the rotting leaves smell.

 

Dry: The aquatic leaves smell comes and goes; I prefer it more when it goes. Right now, it's more caramel apple. Unfortunately, I think this is the same caramel note that goes plastic on me.

[tinyvulture]

Mellow fruitiness and hazel shells, as the poem says –- an understated apple note combined with rich hazelnut. Hazelnut, so lovely in Wezwanie/Hold, is fast becoming one of my favorite notes. Yet the woodsy tree bark, raspy dry leaves, and mist keep this scent from being totally foody. You’re on a hike in the woods on one of those chilly autumn days where it hasn’t rained yet, but a cold moisture seems to hang in the air. you stop to enjoy an indulgent snack of crisp apples and nut butter. I may need a bottle of this.

[smokey188]

In the Bottle: Sickly sweet I don't know if I can handle this but i'll give it a try

First on: Hmmm smells like caramelised nuts, then hello galangal adding spicy goodness to the mix.

30 minutes later: Oh my god i smell like opium!!!

2hr's in this has settled down to a spicey creamy opium with just a hint of nuts it smells amazing and slightly narcotic! medium throw and medium wearlength. Would I buy it again Hell yes!