Halloween: Los Angeles

[Seismogenic]

I grew up in Los Angeles, and spent most of my Halloweens here. Of all the Halloween nights, one stands out the strongest in my memory. When I was in third grade, the hills behind my parent’s house were on fire. The fire was growing, and it was close; we were on evacuation watch all that night. The fire was massive: the skyline was vibrant, electric orange, and I couldn’t stop staring at it. It felt like noon at midnight to me. The smoke penetrated everything, drowning out the scent of my grandmother’s caramel apples. Halloween in Los Angeles has a peculiar scent, and there always seems to be something ablaze here. To me, Halloween in Los Angeles will forever smell like fire and fascination.

The sky on fire: a strange incense of burning brush, junegrass, tumbleweeds, chaparral, and wild sage.

I am so incredibly excited about this one. I believe that the first thing I ever posted in the "Fantasy Island" part of the board was the hope for a Santa Ana Wind or California wildfire scent. I effectively got Santa Anas with Windy Moon last year (that's how it smells on me, anyway!), and now here's the fire! The fact that Halloween: Los Angeles is thus tagged with time and place makes it even more appealing to me, since Southern California + October = Fire in my mind. The Esperanza Fire in 2006 was huge and occurred in the last week of October and was my first exposure to this phenomenon; the series of fires in 2007 were even bigger, and led to blood red moons right around Halloween. The 2008 season got worse in November, and 2009 did its worst in September, but the connection between fire and Halloween in the greater L.A. area was already set for me. So I'm excited for that, but also for the notes - all of the desert-y scents I've tried so far have been good on me, and I also generally do well with smoke scents, so this bodes well.

In the bottle: First sniff is actually kind of syrupy sweet, but it becomes more smoky before I even finish breathing in. There is definitely oh-so-familiar dried grasses and brush behind that smoke.

Wet on skin: The initial impression of sweetness is gone. This is all about smoke and dry brush right now. There's maybe something a little spicy about the brush, but really, it's dry dry dry and incendiary. I can't pick out the individual plants, but this definitely smells like a southern California hillside.

Drydown: Freshly dry, the initial sweet note is sort of back, though nowhere near as strong as in the bottle. It still goes away quickly within one sniff, and leaves smoke and dry brush. I still can't pick out one plant from another, but that's the chaparral ecosystem for you! At one hour in, the sweet note has disappeared again. The smoke has also become more intense, which totally makes sense, since that's generally what happens the longer a fire burns! It's a very dry smoke, and underneath it is still all that dry chaparral.

Five hours later: There's no appreciable difference between now and the one hour mark, actually. It's the same blend of smoke and heated dry grasses and brush. Not much of a change in intensity, either.

End of the day: A bit of smoke and a bit of ozone. Still very present.

Overall: Funny thing here: if I were to go outside and the air smelled like this, I would go, "OH CRAP" and start thinking about evacuation routes while loading irreplaceable things into my car. But the air does not smell like this right now; it's the oil on my wrist, and in this context, it's an awesome smell. That is to say, this really well and truly does smell like a late summer California brushfire. It's exactly the right combination of plants under the right ridiculous heat, and from there, it only makes sense that there's a lot of smoke. When the smell is not coming from an actual fire, I can appreciate how it's a sort of strange semi-arid incense; I don't have to feel bad about thinking it's a good smell like I would if there were actually a wall of flame advancing down the mountain toward campus or something. In terms of related scents, I'd say the nearest relative is Windy Moon, which makes sense, since that was meant to be a hot dry wind with a hint of smoke (and since it smells like Santa Ana weather on me). This is a more specific scent, though - it really does get a location and a time of year into that bottle. Even if it weren't good on me, I'd keep it, for that association with what fall in southern California means. Luckily, it's actually good on me, too!

[tdiym]

I think it's unfair for me to evaluate this in the bottle, because it doesn't smell like that at all once it's applied. In the bottle, to me there's almost a medicine-y undertone but on my skin, there's no hint of that.

On my skin, it's woody and smoky. It doesn't remind me of anything else, the smoke is subtle but unmistakable. The grass is light, so on me it smells like smoky wood. I love this and definitely will be purchasing at least one back up bottle.

[DeltaCat]

Dear Sweet Smokey Goodness,

I want to have your perfume babies. K? Thx.

~DeltaCat

 

P.S. The smoke scent I have been waiting for! Sweet but still smokey! Yeah!

[RhinestoneHousewife]

This did smell a bit medicinal in the bottle...then I figured out what it was. It smelled like film! Like the old school rolls of film. I kinda dug it. So I put in on my male photographer friend and in about 15 minutes it smells manly and delicious on him. I don't remember any specific notes, just that it smelled good.

[b00cat]

OH MY...who knew that burning tumbleweed could smell so, so good ??? Smoky and sweet grass on first application, after 15 minutes or so the sage starts to peek out. Has great staying power and the drydown is gorgeous! Reminds me of the fall nights I spent in Tucson..sigh. Me thinks I need a bottle of this before the Weenies come down!

[Dark Alice]

Instead of burning sweetgrass and incense I smell like tangy Texan or North Carolina BBQ sauce. I want to eat my arm. I want to smother this scent in pork and chicken and eat it. Why oh Why LA do you smell like BBQ?

[cfrancesca]

This is a really nice blend of smokey goodness. I find it similar to the smokiness in Devil's Night, but without the sweetness (and slight creaminess) I get from that one. It's very wearable and not too strong. I would definitely recommend this blend to lovers of smokey scents.

[dawndie]

Wet: icy cologne

 

On skin: greenery with a bit of smoke

 

Half-hour later: green cologne

 

In conclusion: I also grew up in southern California, and since we were close to the beach and not the foothills we had a lower threat of wildfires. I remember at least a couple of occasions as a kid, though, where fires were close enough that we'd get ash covering our cars and stinging our eyes. This blend is very green -- I expected brown burning things. It's almost clean-smelling, like the smoke is hitting the wall of fog and sea air that is sitting a half-mile onshore.

[MCS4096]

Guys. Guys... hey, guys.. This is Thriambus! Seriously! Don't judge it in the bottle-- get it on your skin and it opens up into this wonderful, warm, dry breeze of a scent. It's gorgeous

[angelicruin]

Smoky, yet sweet fragrance. Very dry. I rather like this one.

[MeiLin]

I chose Halloween: Los Angeles since most of my girlhood was spent in the beach cities of LA. I lived on the southern tip of the bay, and every year we watched the Malibu hills on the north tip glow orange with flame. Really an amazing sight. Consequently, the description resonated.

 

In the decant: Hm. Smells musty, like a musty steamer trunk.

 

Wet: Smoky sage.

 

Dry: Wow, this really does smell like LA during hill fires; that smell hangs over the whole basin.

 

Verdict: I'm not sure if I want to smell like Malibu in the average autumn, but damn, she sure nailed it. How do she DO that?

[Little Bird]

Los Angeles smells smoky, dark, and sweet. It's like smelling coca cola, a pile of burning leaves, and pine. I usually don't like smoky scents, but this isn't sharp or heavily smoky, and the thick sweetness keeps the smoke in check for me. Of the Halloween scents in this series, this is the one that smells most like Halloween to me (growing up in the middle of pine forest in Missouri), reminding me of bonfires, pine forests, and heavy sweetness...

[Voleuse]

Oh, wow. This is sage and incense, smudgy smoke and...something is turning to Vasoline on me. Huh. What is happening? Noooooo. I love smoky scents, but this went medicinal and oily on me. Alas! I get some smokiness, and a bit of sweet sage, but Vasolineness never completely goes away.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Voleuse

[edenssixthday]

Halloween: Los Angeles - This scent reminds me of a time when I was about 8 years old, and I stood in my grandparents' front yard in Riverside County and watched the hill behind them burn. The scent is beautiful. It smells exactly like LA in the fall -- slightly charred dry grasses and warm air, maybe even a hint of hot asphalt.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Fascinating scent. Smoky woods with a bare touch of something herbal and something sweet and then something approaching turpentine/evergreen tar.

Edited September 27, 2010 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Sheyona]

I grew up in LA county so when this scent came out i knew i had to test it.

 

In the bottle and wet on my skin it is smokey and slightly reminiscent of tiger balm... the white tiger balm not the orange. Upon drydown the scent morphs into sage, smokey smudgy sage like the type you burn to cleanse your house. It's not got the best staying power on my skin only 2-3 hrs at most before fading into the mere's hint of smoke on my wrist.

[zankoku_zen]

Smoky, burning wind and sage. I definitely get the sage on the drydown and a spicy grass.

 

It has a masculine edge for me. Spicy, smoky, dangerous.

 

If you smell smoke, there's usually a fire.

[Gwydion]

In bottles: It really does smell like burning brush. I’m not familiar enough with the plants to put specific names to the scents, I’m smelling. This is not my prairie, but it smells fascinating, sweet and sharp, and wild by turns. Something in there may be a little heavy for me, but we’ll see. Wet: Mmmmm… very masculine and strangely sexy while still smelling like a place. The smoke comes out a little more on the skin. I’m wishing I knew which names went with which scent element, so I could describe this better. It’s spiky and heady and a little cruel. Something in there reminds me a little of leather without being leather. It is very strong and intense. I’m not sure I could wear this in a larger amount than the skin test from an imp gives. Dry: Mmmm…. Lovely. My skin loves this. I have had bad luck with smoke noes, but not this one, and the mix of plants is full of character, complex, and strangely sexy. It is also long lasting and quite strong.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: Reminds me of Jezirat al Tennyn

 

Wet on Skin: Jezirat, but less feral and more wearable.

 

While Drying: This feels like it wants to go ozoney or soapy on me, but the smoke is keeping it in check.

 

After a Little While: Smoke in the air… this is the scent of a smudge stick rather than burning wet vegetation.

 

Later: At pulse points, I am getting more of an intimate, bonfire smoke scent (more like burning logs), while other areas are giving off a distant smoke in the air scent (more like burning brush). Very evocative.

 

Final Thoughts: Jezirat lite! Like Jezirat, this isn't an everyday scent, but it will be perfect when the mood is right. I'll definitely hang on to my decant.

Halloween: L.A. earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[cyberpuff]

Personally I think the name of this scent is a misnomer- it should encompass coastal California during all of the lovely, hot, burning fall.

 

Wet: there's a chemical element at play over sweet sage. I can see how this could smell like asphalt, or tar. It reminds me of the smoke from Devil's Night.

 

Drydown: Sweet, smoldering wild grasses.

 

Later: The scent doesn't change on me much from the drydown. The grass, sage and smoke are really well balanced.

 

Verdict: Just lovely. I love the time of year that this scent evokes (basically, right now). I smell this smell every morning on hot days, up in the dry hills, and I love it. I will wear this when it's hot like now, and when it's cool to remind me of my favorite season. It's a bright and mischievous scent, on the sweeter side, but I bet the smoke would smell lovely on a man.

[milo]

I don't normally like smoke scents, but this only has a touch of smoke. I mostly get a lovely sage with a bit of smoke. It kind of smells 'hot', like a wildfire burning (as described!) Very evocative, and I just may hunt down a partial.

[valentina]

My spouse purchased this for himself at my urging, but I had to sample it myself, as the scent sounded too intriguing not to try! On me, Halloween Los Angeles is a dry, vaguely smoky sage and chaparral fragrance. It smells more like holding some crushed leaves in your hand and smelling a fire in the distance. On my spouse, it is certainly much more smoky, almost tar-like, rather akin to being in the city smelling a nearby fire, with the burning vegetation off in the distance. I find this to be a fairly masculine scent, but I would love to wear it on a day when I'm in a t-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots.

[crebbsgirl]

This was dark and sweet. The smoke wasn't overpowering on my skin. Sage was a predominant note during the wet stages, but as it dried, it really smoothed out. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to last very long on my skin. Just a couple hours of wear time.

[Ceisdein]

In Bottle: Medicinal, smoky, sharp, almost like burning eucalyptus. Not attractive at all.

 

Wet and Dry: Holy... it smells almost exactly like the Fireside candles from Bath and Body Works. As it ages on me it's a rolling, warm mix of woods and smoke and sort of vanilla sweetness and pepper. That means it smells fantastic. FANTASTIC. Exactly what I had hoped for from Devil's Night and didn't get.

 

Overall: Have I stuck body parts in the melted wax from a Fireside candle in hopes of the smell sticking to me? Yes. Yes I have. Yay, for this scent instead! I had written this one off as something I wouldn't like and now I am so, so glad I got a decant of it. Decent throw, middle of the road wear time and I love it.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: I'm getting sweet plants with only a hint of smoke.

 

Wet: Sweet incense, hint of those plants, but the fire and smoke are rolling up from under-neath.

 

The dry-down: Sweet smokey incense poured over those plants. I'm very surprised by how good this is, and am thinking of getting a bottle, or at least a partial.