Sonnet D'Automne

[doomsday_disco]

Tenebrous Love: a shivering white musk with vanilla-infused white cocoa, amber incense, and dead, dry leaves.

2014 version.

In the decant: I'm mostly getting the dead leaves and the white musk.

Wet: The white musk and dead leaves are the first notes to emerge, followed by the amber incense. The leaves were a lot stronger in the decant than they are on my skin, and after a minute, I start to get the vanilla-infused white cocoa. It's rather light at first, but it seems to be getting stronger as the scent sits on my skin. The dead leaves note isn't headache-inducing in this one, fortunately, but I do get some of that freshly cut peppers vibe from it.

Dry: The dead leaves reign for a while, but the scent ends up being a white musk and vanilla-infused white cocoa scent, with swirls of amber incense and dead leaves being carried by breeze. I prefer this phase of the scent.

Verdict: I admit that I was afraid of the dead leaves, but save for that fresh pepper vibe during the wet stage of the scent, they weren't a problem for me. I don't feel the need to try to hunt down more of this, but I think I'll hold onto the decant and wear it in the autumn.

[theredkilt]

2011:

 

Just pure dead leaves giving off an aquatic vibe and nothing else.

[Missanneshirleyofgg]

Testing Starbrows collection of scents...

 

2015 version. This is probably as much of a cologne Dead leaves vibe that I could tolerate. Light perfume, but doesn’t venture into department store territory. After a few moments this begins to wane. The cocoa note is not gourmand, but it adds the lightest touch of sweetness to the leaves. Incense doesn’t seem dry at all: almost fluffy! I wonder if that’s the amber. I really am digging it. Definitely a chill to this scent. Like, the frost but no ozone, mint but not peppermint.... it really is a shivering white musk!  Pretty! 
 

This is a winner for me, I wouldn’t mind finding this in a swap, and want to try out other years to compare.

[starbrow]

I don't know that I ever would have tried this in my current state of knowledge about perfume notes. Back in 2018, I knew nothing! It sounded nice, I acquired. So I acquired Sonnet D'Automne. And then...there was magic on my skin. That's the closest I can describe it.

 

Okay fine, more specifics? This smells like shimmering silvery leaves, tenebrous and trailing. Or amber white cocoa, a symphony of sweet beauty like it was in Hohensalzburg Fortress, transformed by incense into a mysterious poof of perfume rather than a gourmand drink. If cocoa is normally a no-go for you, this is not a chocolate-dominant blend. The vanilla is poofy but again not wildly gourmand, just very beautiful. The amber incense doesn't have any specific type of incense pointers when I sniff it (I'm guessing a light frankincense but I can't be sure), so I will just say this is a deftly incorporated pinch of resin that helps tip this more in the atmospheric direction than gourmand.

 

For the longest time, I thought I universally liked white musk because this one was so good on me. However, I think THIS white musk must be a very unique and delicately crafted one, because it avoids the laundry curse altogether and has a gentle clarity and shimmer to it that is hauntingly beautiful. Similarly, the leaves avoid the Dead Leaves curse and have their own brand of chilly-breeze crispness. Occasionally, when I'm the most scent-sensitive, it is a bit much. Almost all of the time, it's exactly how I want to feel leaves in my bones this time of year.

 

There is something about THIS blend that is exquisite for my skin chemistry. Most scents fade on me within a few minutes. This one I can catch whiffs of 12 hours later, a lovely kiss of scent when I turn my head. I don't know that this will be helpful information for anyone except me, but it's what makes Sonnet 2011 top five for me. (Other years are definitely blended differently, so take note of that.) Love love love in 2022!