La Calavera Catrina

[archaesophilia]

The Lady of the Graveyard! Autumn leaves, wild roses, bourbon vanilla, dry chamomile, and a bouquet of bright chrysanthemums and Mexican marigolds.

 

It took me a few minutes, but eventually I realized what this reminds me of-STRONGLY-which is Harvest Moon 2013, the one with the roses and leaves. Sniffing them side by side, HM13 is a simpler, more grounded scent, while the florals of La Calavera Catrina are more complex (obviously, because there are more of them) and it's a little more herbal like other people have mentioned. I think this is going to age really well; hopefully the leaves note will mellow a bit with time like HM13. Definitely a keeper!

[LiberAmoris]

2017 version:

 

La Calavera Catrina starts off with a strong scent of dead leaves and marigolds. The dead leaves note backs off quickly, and the chrysanthemums start warming things up. The wild roses, bourbon vanilla, and chamomile ease in about 10 minutes later—much to my relief, as they're all notes I love. Dry, this a lovely dry autumn floral with dead leaves skittering around in the far background. The chamomile is surprisingly active in the drydown, adding an herbal powderiness that's really pleasant. Marigold and dead leaves still aren't my favorite notes, but they really recede and I quite like the end result.

[Lucchesa]

2017 version, and the only one I've tried

 

Calavera Catrina was surprisingly bright on me. The dead leaves were in the background, and I did not get the harsh, weird marigold smell that ruined Biwa for me. Instead, it's an unusual (in a good way) herbal floral, with light roses and mums and chamomile. I don't get a lot of bourbon vanilla; I wonder if that will become more prominent with aging.

 

Whereas October and Samhaim conjure up an autumn day in the northern latitudes, this is a sunny October afternoon and reminds me that people have picnics and parties on the Day of the Dead.

[Aveya]

Imp: Almost wine-tang. Must be bourbon and flowers.

Initial Skin: Herbal and green. Surprising! Very much like The Vine or Passionate Shepard

Drydown: I don't.. this is so green! I was expecting October or Harvest Moons or Samhains. The Mums and marigolds are really predominant here. I didn't know what to expect as far as perfume versions of them go - but yep. This is, to my nose, a spring scent. Maybe this is what autumn smells like in California . We call that summer here in South Dakota.

 

Later drydown gets a bit dustier and less Fresh Green. But by that time, the rose starts do to it's thing and keeps things feeling floral and fresh.

 

Verdict; Green, Floral, Bright, Spring/Summer scent to me.

 

Lovely for the right people. Swapper for me!

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle

On first sniff, this is dead leaves and autumn flowers. Gorgeous. Autumnal. My favorite season.

 

Wet on skin

Almost immediately on touching my skin, this warms up slightly and I can smell a touch of vanilla along with dead leaves, marigold, some rose, and chrysanthemum.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

The florals are more pronounced, the leaves are more of a background note. The wild roses are also a stronger presence after 30 minutes. If I think about it, I can detect a little bit of herbal vanilla, but this is definitely a floral scent and not a vanilla or herbal scent.

 

Thoughts

This is what I imagine diving head first into a pile of leaves and roses would be like, or at least in my dreams.

[HerbGirl]

This review is for La Calavera Catarina 2020. I am assuming it is supposed to be a reissue since the notes are identical and there was no new topic created.

 

I figured it would be appropriate for me to write the first review for this year's incarnation since I wrote the first review of 2011's. I bought this to be a backup of one of my favorite scents and boy am I disappointed.

 

This smells nothing like my bottles from 2011. Not a bit. It smells like a non descript field of mushy spring thaw (no cold or icy notes) with a touch of peat or some kind of old manure (not poop, just the grassyish scent from horse poo). No roses. No chamomile. No leaves. No mums. So, this isn't a backup bottle for me because it doesn't smell like I was led to believe it would. There's nothing "sharp" or loud here like I had expected and hoped for. No higher pitched loveliness like the original had. I am curious to read future reviews to see if maybe it was just my bottle. Blah.

 

Eta: This morning there is just the faintest touch of mums or roses but it is so faint I can't tell 😞. Still nothing like the original, not even after 9 years of aging. I want to clarify that this is still a nice scent and I would wear it but it is nothing like La Calavera Catrina's previous releases.

 

Eta: Aaaand based on the review below mine, I must have received a poorly mixed or mislabeled bottle. At least I know I was right. 😕

Edited March 14, 2021 by HerbGirl

[Laughing Seagull]

This was my one blind bottle purchase out of the 2020 weenies.  Between the theme, the reviews of previous releases, and the rose/chamomile/vanilla combo, I was pretty confident that this would work out.  Directly out of the mailbox I found it off-putting, so I set it aside for a couple of weeks.

 

This oil needs about an hour to settle down on my skin before it actually smells nice.  It begins as an unpleasant cologne + chrysanthemum leaf + vanilla-less bourbon smell, which gives me the impression of getting wasted at a skeevy bar and collapsing into a potted plant.

 

An hour or so later, the chrysanthe-booze stops being so overwhelming, the chamomile and vanilla finally decide to start existing, and this becomes a very seasonally-appropriate, just-slightly-sweet crunchy leaf smell with that chrysanthemum scent breezing by every so often.  It's very dry.  Definitely a "dried leaves and flowers" kind of smell.  I don't really get the rose, but I don't miss it.

 

This fragrance lingers for quite a long time.

 

I'm hoping that with age the initial blast of chrysanthe-booze will calm down (or just gtfo).  I also tried a little dab of this on a blanket to see what it would do.  The answer is "Herbal Essences, Forever."  I would not put this one in a locket.

[Madame Mew]

La Calavera CATARINA or Catrina? The lab's site and my bottle say Catarina, so I am unsure if this is supposed to go here. I do see the notes are identical though. Sorry, I am a bit ocd about these things. Ok stahhhp (I say to myself).

 

Anywho, I love this and I didn't expect to. I did blind bottle it, because I have nothing with chamomile, marigolds or chrysanthemums. It started out a bit sharp to my nose, in the bottle and on the skin. It took about 30 mins to get to a phase that I found pleasant, but once it got there, it was a full on YES. It's a very dry, somber, floral blend, and is a great addition to my collection. 

[Misspouki]

I have the 2020 version:

I'm not really god at describing smells but all I can say is that it's a very beautiful floral scent. I smell roses for sure and white florals and something sweet at the end. Beautiful!

[torischroeder9]

2020 version. 

 

In the decant: Immediate harsh green bell pepper dead leaves note. Behind that, rose. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I still get a little of the dead leaves, but it's the gentle herbal chamomile that climbs to the top of the scent. As it dries, the roses come out a lot on me (as is typical), so they're the dominant note in the scent. However, I still do get some sharpness from the leaves as well as herbal chamomile and earthy chrysanthemums and marigolds. Sadly, it stays predominantly rose on me from here on out. I say "sadly" because, while it is still certainly beautiful, I have tried lots of blends where rose takes over, and I was sort of looking for the chrysanthemums and marigolds here. 

[supreme_c0rt]

I'm not super big on florals, but I wanted to give this one a try since I grew marigolds over the summer and fall and I love their ruddy, spicy scent. To my nose this is a perfect 50-50 of rose and marigold. Dead leaves note is present, yes, but third fiddle to the marigold/rose, which I'm happy about since DL is temperamental and fails on me more than it succeeds. The chamomile and bourbon vanilla lend a sort of dry creaminess to it that folds everything together beautifully. 

 

One reviewer said DL smells like green bell peppers, and I totally get that. For that reason, this sort of reads a bit more like "summer garden" than it does a true autumn. I still like it, because I like my florals green and fresh, spicy not powdery, and this delivers in spades. And so it goes on my shortlist of favorite rose blends.

[MoonRayne]

First 15 minutes, screaming dead leaves.

Once this settles down it is late summer florals hung up to dry, and I mean late. These are the flowers you collect before the first frost, when all the veg in the garden has been harvested and you want to hang on to summer for a little longer. The rose is there but it is a light tea rose subdued by the mums. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by MoonRayne

[Argentwolf]

A brief puff of dry leaves and sweet flowers, all mingled together. It disappeared quickly. 

[aphrodisms]

Golden and warm, this is mainly chamomile and roses with a hint of smoothness from the vanilla and some atmospheric crunchiness from the leaves/other flowers. Lovely and very seasonal.

[Threemoons]

Wanted to go all autumnal today, and still trying out some of last year's Weenies, so reached for this.  I am normally not into really dry florals/the Lab's deal leaf note so much, but this is amazing.  In the bottle:  Sharp dry leaves, with a hint of fresh cut green flower stems.  On, wet:  The dried floral notes start to diversify and bloom out, as well as some kind of really gentle white rose.  Drydown:  After several hours, the sharpness of the dried leaves is gone and I am left with a very fresh, light, bodega bouquet scent--I know carnation isn't listed but I am getting carnations and marigolds and chrysanthemums from the corner bodega that you would grab on the way out to someone's place for dinner.  Much fresher and lighter than I thought it would be; very clean.

Edited October 19, 2021 by Threemoons

[alyelle]

For the 2020 version.

 

In the imp: Autumn leaves, a big bunch of flowers, and slightly dried chamomile, as though its partway on its way to being tea.

 

Wet: Rose, sweet vanilla bourbon, freshly-cut chrysanthemums. 

 

Dry: Florals, very delicately blended, with a slightly leafy undertone, fading off to a rose-tinted vanilla. Medium throw to start tending mild as it wears, but a very long life (10+ hours).

 

Stars: ★★★★

[LavenderCoffee]

2020 version. This has been in the timeout/swaps drawer for two years because I did not enjoy it when I first got it. Retesting today and realizing I never reviewed it, I'm not sure I gave her a fair shake the first time around. There is an onslaught of DEAD LEAVES when opening the bottle and on application that probably put me off of it, but the leaves settle down pretty quickly now, and give way to a gorgeous autumnal rose scent. Once it dries, I get less rose and more of the other flowers plus chamomile. It's really pretty! And notable for me to get a scent in which notes like dead leaves and roses actually take turns and play well with others. Those notes can really go bonkers for me, which is tough because I want to love them.