Meditation in Autumn

[Gwydion]

Withered vines, gnarled trees, twilight crows,
river flowing beneath the little bridge,
past someone's home.
The wind blows from the west
where the sun sets, it blows
across the ancient road,
across the bony horse
across the despairing man
who stands at heaven's edge.

A desolate scent, dusty, bleak, and withered: old wood, burnt brown sandalwood, and twisted vines.

MEDITATION IN AUTUMN 2008 (LE, Halloween):

In bottle: Astringent, yet pleasing, it really does smell of vines and old wood. This is reminding me of the ivy patch by the pines in my Mother’s yard, shady and moist and darkly green. It’s also got an aftershave feel to it. Wet: Sharply masculine ivy cologne. Weirdly appealing. Oddly, it is also reminding me of freshly washed cotton laundry, drying on the line. Dry: More sandalwood than wet, but keeps the same over all feel.

[sarada]

I've been sniffing this one for a couple of days to try to describe it best -- it fades quickly on my skin but the woody notes come out more; in a locket the wet ivy smell is stronger longer (and it has a bit more of a cologney/fresh feel) but there is less of the wooden base note.

 

In the bottle I'm hit by a very wet, dark green ivy with the woodiness underlying it. Think of a less burnt Twisted Oak Tree covered in wet ivy. On my skin, a glittering wood emerges, dark and sparkling under moonlight, wreathed in dampness and sharp green foliage. The fresh, wet greenery is almost citrus-like at times. It fades to lighter woods on my skin but stays strongly green in a locket. Ivy fans will definitely want to try this out. If Twisted Oak Tree was too smoky, this might work better for you. Or if you like things in the Black Tower family of scent -- though this is a bit less complex, it makes a beautifully bleak and simple statement of silhouetted trees under a damp tangle of vines.

[Ms Density]

This smells collegiate to me. It’s almost cliché—Dead Poets Society, anyone? This scent is like those boys taking a shower and then immediately wandering out into the misty ivy-covered woods near the university on an early evening in the Fall, heading to local caves to discuss Walt Whitman or some such. I do have a soft spot in my heart for this kind of literary romanticising (despite other problems I have with the movie, I always loved this idea), so this works for me. This does go through a strong man-soap phase on me, but once that goes away, I do enjoy it quite a bit. I’ll probably experiment with dilution for this one, or try to force some on my husband.

When I asked my husband to smell this on me and tell me what he thought it smelled like, he said “like an orange, like… like a cowboy eating an orange.” So there’s another perspective!

[Brianne]

This has a clean, soapy smell to it on me. Like Irish Springs - it's kind of a green soapiness, but still has that "shower fresh" smell. The sandalwood is REALLY toned down in this for me, so even in the drydown the effect of this scent is very unisex and not very woody. A really clean scent.

[RemAkimichi]

In bottle: Wet and astringent, with a faint hint of green like ivy soap.

 

On me wet: Heavily astringent, but with a warm undertone, most likely the sandalwood. It keeps it from going to the medical side, and reminds me of herbs and wet leaves.

 

On me dry: CARROTS. When I sniff it directly the scent remains that medical green of ivy and the faint warmth of sandalwood. I get this hint of smoke, or maybe more like the scent of embers in a fire. But in the back of my nose and throat is the scent and taste of sweet wet carrots. Since I like carrots, this is a good thing. It's a very unimposing scent, choosing instead to remain subtle but there.

 

I think it will be a good scent for my botany class <3

[DarkMouse]

It really has an outdoors in the woods with ivy sort of scent in the imp.. but it isn’t nearly as dark as I expected. My skin is amping a green, almost citrus, soapy scent which is actually really nice.. though completely unexpected from something with ‘burnt” in the description. I like it, and I'll wear it.. I just wish it was a little darker.

[femmefatale]

This is not at all what I was expecting. I really thought it would be darker and smokier, instead it is a very bright and green scent. Reminds me a bit of a perfume my friend used to wear, Clinique something?

It's very nice, just not my thing.

Oh, and this has a hell of a throw and staying power. Wow.

[savage_rose]

First sniff: water/ozone

 

On: Oooh, more masculine than I was expecting, but nice! Very aquatic, entwined with a very clean, masculine kind of green woodsiness. It's like an aftershave, but greener and a bit tangy. Very nice!

[greenranger]

This is a fairly faint scent on me; Mostly I smell like I have been out pruning all the old growth in the garden, and bagging it up. Dry brown vines being taken down to make room for new growth in the spring.

[spicyelenore]

At first, all I can smell is a light greenish, melon-y scent. melon? okay...

later, still melon.

dry-aargh! Melon! I expected something more dark and burnt smelling from this, but all I get is melon! Oh well.

[Leopard403]

Not good on me. As others have said: Too astringent, too green, too soapy, too cologne-y.

 

HEAVENLY on my boyfriend.

[Ravenclaw79]

Wood-y, cologne-y, a tad dishsoapy. Sadness.

[olive]

Irish Spring singlenote

[palomar]

I really wanted to love this one, but on me this smelled like a fall night spent in the men's room at a public park. chill wind and urinal cakes. sigh.

[siddal]

A also get a big blast of ozone and soap on this one. It's a pretty, clean scent, with a touch of green, but not for me, unfortunately.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is sweet woods and a fresh vegetation note- sort of grassy but not quite. When first on this is the same woods and leaves but also a bit "perfumey". There's a creamy note underneath too. After a few hours this is a nice warm sandalwood mixed with sweet autumn leaves. There's an underlying earth/dirt note too. On the dry down this is a warm autumn blend of leaves and woods with a touch of sweetness. This is really nice. It truly captures the feeling of autumn.

[aquazoo]

I can smell the sandalwood right off. It does have that fall scent to it, the way it smells when you go outside.


[zankoku_zen]

I kinda get the Irish Spring. It's a very astringent woody note. And actually, it makes me think of my husband. So while I like the scent, I'm not sure I want to smelly like my hubby.

 

It's got this clean ozoney aquatic feel to it, but underneath its got a green wood base.

[llhorian]

In the bottle it smells like something from an apothecary.

 

When put on it's a strange and subtle scent. Somewhat leafy or herbal, it's very hard to place. Terms like 'clean, fresh, dry, crisp' come to mind. I sort of get images of airy rooms with fragrant woods.

[someteacup]

I am a fan of masculine-ish scents, so I found this absolutely lovely. It's soft enough for me to wear without being accused of wearing cologne.

I do get a smell hint of citrus-y fruitiness, but it's extremely subtle. The dominant notes I sense are the old wood, sandalwood, and some cologne-likeness. I can smell the dustiness towards its finish, which makes it a more "serious" scent.

[Dark Alice]

This smells like a generic man cologne. The kind that I used to smell when I worked in retail. Must wash this off, but I love the concept behind it!

[forspecial_plate]

Totally not what I expected. This scent is bright green and fresh, with just a little 'bite' that makes me think of a hint of frost on leaves. The woods are very elusive. I do understand the soap and cologne comparisons. Overall, I really like this, although usually the viney green scents are not that exciting to me. I feel like I want more than a decant, except the scent vanishes from my skin in about 3 or 4 hours. Still no sandalwood to be found, I guess it's there and I'm just not picking up on it. I may want some more of this....at least another decant.

 

edit to add, this has become a big favorite. It does last a long time, and over time more of the complexity comes out. I think I can even detect the burnt wood note. In the earlier stages there seems to be a slight touch of mint or snow. Overall, a really great scent that turned me back on to green viney blends.

Edited December 28, 2008 by Forspecial Plate

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this is soapy-clean, bright, and green smelling. If I hold the bottle far away from myself, my brain interprets it as a sexy, clean, boy smell. If I sniff it within a few inches away, it just screams SOAP.

 

On my skin, this is sharp, bright soap with a swampy sort of green smell suffocating underneath the soapiness. Meditation in Autumn puts blends like Dirty and Wensleydale to shame. Those are pleasant enough, clean scents. Meditation in Autumn is like being buried alive in laundry soap. It's so crazy-strong on me that it makes me feel a bit sick. Dry soap flakes with a cloying sweetness to them.

 

After several hours, this mellows down to something wearable for me. It smells like sexy, clean, skin with a hint of very faded, masculine cologne. It smells like sexy, clean boy again. I'm not sure if I can handle the first couple hours of this, though, even if I do like it after it has dried down and faded a lot.

[akiko]

This reminds me mostly of last year's November. It's got the same cologne-y scent to it. Sometimes I get a whiff of something woody, but mostly it smells like men's cologne. It's oddly aquatic, too.

[Razoth]

Mirroring what others have said: this is not a dark, burnt smelling oil. There isn't a scent of dry, dead leaves or decomposing wood in this; rather, it is the scent of freshly pulled vines, withering but still green, and dusty dry wood, all touched with a crisp, cool autumn wind.

 

It is a very cologne-like scent. There was more of a herbal, green scent in the bottle than while on my skin, but it does remind me of good, fresh aftershave.