Halloween: Montreal

[parm]

When Halloween comes to Montreal, winter doesn’t lag far behind. Trick-or-treating is done in mad, giddy dashes between houses, an exhilarated rush in the darkness. The air is crisp, sometimes biting, and more than one toddler waddles through the eve, bundled in a snowsuit beneath their inevitably rotund costumes. Chimney smoke and woodstove fires, and all the classic scents of Halloween – loads of candy, leaves, cold earth, smashed pumpkins left over from Mat Night’s debauchery – are sharp and clear in the frosty air.

La fumée de cheminée et toutes les odeurs de l'Halloween - bonbons en masse, feuilles mortes, terre gelée, citrouilles écrasées - parfument l'air glacial.

Being a native montrealer I of course had to purchase this scent.

When I first opened the bottle I got almost everything that is listed with the candy sweetness on top. As soon as I put it on it morphed instantaneously into a scent i am very familiar with. Imagine being out in the country during fall in the northeast, if you ever have been it's the smell of piles of fallen leaves being burned in the backyard. It's a smoky scent that does contain a pumpkin note but not in the least a sweet one, it's more the smell of being in a pumpkin patch. I would have preferred a little more of the sweetness to linger on the skin but as it is the scent really does evoke fall. It may not be the city of Montreal on Halloween but I have to say I'd prefer to smell this in the air rather than what we do actually get. If you like smokey warm scents than give it a try, maybe you'll get more candy than me

[Kayah]

The Will Calls reviews of.. is that maple syrup? and smoke?.. intrigued me to no end - I just had to get this one.... and.. well, it's not in the notes, but the moment this hits my skin I could swear I'm dousing myself in yummy sweet maple syrup... then it goes a little sweeter.. the candy, I think..

 

..and this cold-evergreen note comes out to the front, blocking out everything else. It's like a blast of cold wind - and with it, as it quiets down quickly, comes the smell of smoke from burning wood..

 

I honestly don't get much of the leaves or earth, and I can't distinguish the pumpkin... this scent settles down to be candy-sweet woodsy smoke.. it's delicious.

 

 

It's not going to be my go-to-daily-wear scent, but I love it for the atmosphere it creates and I will put it on, in secret private moments, to huff at an image of Montreal on All Hallows Eve..

[violetblue]

This is what I imagine Wiley Grasser to smell like....hmmm first applied sweet candied strong cold pine and leaves. I would love this as a room scent, undecided as a perfume oil for now, but it's pleasant - reminds me of a candle scent too much I think...

[Imbrium]

Halloween: Montreal and I, we are having some relationship problems. It's not her--it's me. See, I amp musk like crazy, and though it's not listed in the notes, I swear I smell musk--it reminds me a bit of the way the musk in Ice Queen smelled on my skin. The musk is joined by the sort of maple syrup smell that others have identified, and as the scent dries, the two become a bit better balanced, but never seem to make room for any of the others notes in the description. The throw is decent--the scent wafts up to my know from my wrists as I walk around. It's pretty and sweet, in a subtly autumnal sort of way.

 

So, the problem isn't Halloween: Montreal. It's me. I wanted the pine, the smoke, the leaves, the pumpkin--I was hoping for, you know, like a hint of maple syrup in a log cabin kind of smell. Maybe there's a pumpkin hanging out in the background, you know? But my skin chemistry appears to have others ideas.

 

This scent had two tests to pass in my house, though. My husband doesn't normally wear scented things, but he was born on Halloween...in Montreal. So he had to try this, too.

 

On him, it's still sweet, I still smell that musk hiding underneath, but the predominate scent is the pumpkin, interestingly--the buttery sort of pumpkin I smell in most of BPAL's pumpkin blends (and which doesn't work as well on me...so maybe I shan't complain about that one not showing up on my skin). As it dries, I smell that musk again, but it seems a bit colder and sharper, and I suspect the influence of whatever note or notes make up the frosty air.

 

He says to him, it smells like "crunchy leaves and spiced cider...but not the cider part, just the spices." Maybe my leaf detector is off? Perhaps I'll go lie down in the yard and smell things for a while.

 

Interestingly, hours later, the spot where I applied Halloween: Montreal also smells faintly of the leaves--though very, very faintly, as I've had to wash my hands a few times.

Edited October 8, 2011 by Imbrium

[angelicruin]

I pick up the lab's snow/winter note in this blend, which is always chilly mint and pine to my nose mixed in with candy, pumpkin, and just a trace of leaves and dirt. I guess I can see the reference to maple syrup as well, though I initially just considered it to be the candy note. I love this blend.

[stellans]

Sadly, what angelicruin said here:

lab's snow/winter note in this blend, which is always chilly mint and pine to my nose

is exactly what Halloween: Montreal smells like on me, with the added sweetness of maple syrup which unfortunately doesn't sit well with my skin chemistry. There is a slight smokiness, and I can also smell a hint of the leaves promised -- but unfortunately, the mint overrides everything, so this blend is not anything I can wear or even have open around me.

[yamiko]

Halloween: Montreal is the closest I'm going to get to a Halloween: Vermont for now, so I jumped on the chance to get it.

 

It's pretty much everything magical about a chilly Halloween night. I get mostly pumpkin on me, slightly sweet and slightly smoky. I do smell the chilly/winter note that others are noticing, too. It makes sense; I think it's snowed the majority of Halloweens I've lived through. As it dries, the wintery note fades and I get spicy pumpkin and dried leaves with a background of woodsmoke.

 

This scent is making me sooooo excited for Halloween!

[boxinghelena]

Something in Halloween: Montreal did not work on me at all. I think it's the smoke/fires or someone mentioned pine. I think I'm getting that too. I hate pine notes. So disappointed.

~

[Rshields]

From the bottle I smell something delicious yet indiscernible. I smell a toasted, roasted something or other. Vague description, I just can't describe it and the descriptive notes are not coming to mind.

 

Upon application to my wrists this is all PINE and MINT. Pine and mint overkill. I'm not picking up anything else, and it has faded so quickly after drydown that I am left "pining" for more, more of the notes in the description, not anymore pine. I am getting a faint waft of smoke left clinging to my skin.

 

I picked this up from Pretty Indulgent for about 30.00 USD. A little bummed out on this one,and will

be passing it on.The description was everything I wanted in a Halloween scent, sadly it did not deliver.I suggest a trying a sample first if you can. The pine may disagree with you as it did in my case.

[sarahmarie]

This is everything I wanted in a Halloween scent, for real. It smells just like trick-or-treating on a perfect, crisp night, crunching through dry leaves. I get sweetness, light smoke, dead leaves and crisp air. There is the tiniest hint of pumpkin. It's Halloween in a bottle, to me. I love it.

[Little Bird]

I was excited for the "loads of candy and smashed pumpkins" in the description, but I don't really get any sweetness or pumpkin from this blend. I get snowy, slightly sharp pine and a whiff of sharp woodsmoke from this. The drydown is oddly perfumey and musky smelling on me. I'm not a fan of this one...

[edenssixthday]

Halloween: Montreal - I love the icy snow and evergreen note in this. It reminds me of The Shivering Boy. However, it's equally balanced by super sweet, caramel-sticky, foody notes that don't work well on me at all. Others have mentioned maple, which could be accurate. All I know is it's incredibly cloying. There's also something in it that reminds me of the scent of dirty tires. Obviously something in this scent isn't agreeing with my skin chemistry. Good thing for those who love it - a little goes a long way and lasts for ages.

[fetish911]

All I am getting is the Labs snowy/cold pine note and waft of something very very sweet. It does remind me of a Yankee candle- the scent name which escapes at the moment. This would be a fab room scent. I don't think I would wear it much though.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Sweetish green sap with fruity undertones.

 

On me: Goes on as the outdoors—winter trees with a touch of dirt and green sap; warm, organic, but late season. There's some smoke in the background, warming up the organics, and pumpkin underneath, warm and round and orange-gold. As it dries down, it grows sweeter—not quite candy, although there may be a touch of it there, but a maple, sappy, organic sweetness, sticky and thick. The smoke and warmth dissipates, leaving a cooler-weather scent, but there's still some fruitiness, plenty of pumpkin and perhaps a touch of apple, to provide body. In both forms, Halloween: Montreal reminds me of Samhain—it's in the same family certainly: seasonal, outdoorsy but touched by foody elements, sappy and sweet. Montreal leans green and orange (pine sap, maple, pumpkin) where Samhain leans black and red (pine forests, apple), and Montreal lacks some of Samhain's complexity (I miss the smoke and spice of the earlier stages of the scent), but it well suits the description. Throw is moderate, but the oil is potent—it just takes a drop, and wear-length is going strong so far.

 

Verdict: As noted, I prefer the complexity of the scent's earlier stages. But the similarity to Samhain is telling—like Samhain, Montreal evokes human celebration on the edges of late autumn wilds. It's not as well refined a scent, but it still encapsulates a certain autumn experience. I'll be interested to see if it balances a bit better as it ages—the sappy sweetness can be a little heavy for me—but on the whole I quietly adore it.

[milo]

Icy, sweet candy vanilla with dried leaves. I could swear there is some kind of mint here, but maybe it's just the snow note. This is REALLY good on me, it's what I wanted Waltz of the Snowflakes to be. I only hope the sweetness doesn't amp on me later, which is what some sweet, snowy blends do. The sweetness really is kind of got a slight maple vibe, but it really adds a nice touch to the snow. Nice!!

 

After awhile, the sweet maple does amp. sigh.

Edited December 13, 2011 by milo

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Sweet, pine, smoke, candy, and dirt.

 

Wet: Lots and lots of pine and snow!

 

The dry-down: Still lots of pine, but hints of that candy sweetness. I'm hoping that some aging will tone down the major pine note, and bring out more of the notes lurking in the background. Interestingly enough, as the scent dries down, the coolness goes away, and the scent warms up (must be the smoke and woodstove fires coming out).

[zankoku_zen]

Icy mint, pine, loads of candy and pumpkin. It's still a bit sweet for me, but I find that this has been one of the more enjoyable 'candy' scents out there.

 

It's the smell of a crisp Halloween night and pumpkin pie. I find it highly evocative.

[jolarocknrolla]

The top note, and the note that I get most when wet is candy (like jolly rancher candy), very similar to Pumpkin Princess (which is ALL candy to me). The other notes that are more evident when the perfume dries down and the candy dies off a bit is smoke and leaves and something like rain? The "rain" is not aquatic, it might be the "cold" note other people in the prior reviews talked about. I don't specifically get maple unless it is part of that candy top note. Definately get smoke towards the end, lovely!

 

This is what you would get if it had rained a bit during the day and you went out in the evening while the leaves underfoot were still a little bit damp and you passed a bonfire that had been put out a while ago so just a few wisps of sweet smoke wafted on the chilly wind. then you huffed some jolly ranchers

 

Honestly a very wearable and delightful scent.

[tinyvulture]

Autumn leaves, the sweet chill of the lab's snow/slush note, plus touches of smoke and sugary candy and mint. I'm not picking up any pumpkin. Similar to November, but sweeter. The one time I visited Montreal, it was a cold and snowy autumn, so this scent is nicely nostalgic for me.

[porcelina]

the cold air notes of halloween in montreal make me think more of christmas than halloween. there is a touch of smoke, cold air (which has a strong pine component) and sweet candies. unfortunately, it reminds me a bit of a holiday candle. i think i would like it better as a room scent.

[inhumation]

This smells like the artificial perfume of the potpourri and candles section of places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond when they start stocking up on autumnal themed stuff. Pass.

[Numanoid]

Well, since I totally fell in love with Halloween Las Vegas, I thought, I have to try this!

 

In bottle: I get the smoke scent...and that hint of something sweet, but it isn't a candy sweet to me. Odd, I know.

 

On skin: UGH....this does not play well with me. I get something sharp and medicinal!! Must be the "frosty air" or "leaves" notes, but this goes sharp and sour on me fast!

 

Dry down: Still the same as above....was so hoping this was going to be smoky, sweet and pumpkin-y, but hey....they all can't be winners. Off it goes!

[LizziesLuck]

I adore Montreal, and have spent a lot of time there - lots of happy memories from a really happy part of my life.

 

 

Wet: I get the Lab's "cold" note, quite strongly, with hints of woods and chocolate. I think there's some pine in here, and it's amping up, which is likely to ruin this for me. When I think Montreal, I don't think pine trees

 

Dry: You know, I really thought I wasn't going to like this, but it has dried down to something really nice. To me, it's more Winter in Canada than Halloween in Montreal, but I get the general idea. Frost in the air, woods close by. I do get hints of sweets (chocolate sweets, I think). It's very light though, not much throw or staying power. I could see getting a bottle, but only really for sentiment, I doubt I would wear it more than once a year. But if you enjoy cold, woody scents, this would be perfect, I imagine.